As I live in a really flat place, doing hill workouts isn’t an easy thing. However, I live near a tunnel, which I use for 1:30 minute hill ‘sprints’ and I can use a treadmill at work.
Photo by chuttersnap on Unsplash
The workout
So, today I’m going to do a hill workout, consisting of 2x2000m at 8% incline at an easy pace — easy on flat grounds, which really doesn’t mean easy running uphill. Between the two efforts 1x1000m at 2% incline and to complete, a warming-up and cooling-down, resulting in a workout of 12K total.
Afterwards
I can’t say I really enjoy running on a treadmill, as it is very, very boring. But I see that as a positive thing, too — running longer races, like a marathon, tends to test your mental capabilities too, so being used to doing workouts alone and inside kind of prepares you for that. Anyway, the results… Well, the first 2000m at 8% incline were hard, so the 1000m at 2% felt like a welcome recovery. The second 2000m at 8% were too hard, I’m afraid. I completed 1500m and then set back the incline to 6% — which is still a lot compared to flat roads. This helped and as my watch and footpod were way off (registering ‘merely’ 11km instead of 12,6km the treadmill indicated at a steady pace), I think I did too much incline. Still, I just couldn’t keep up at the 8% incline and as I felt my form deteriorating, I decided to take it a bit easier. Afterwards, I think it was a good, pretty hard workout that I could definitely feel in my upper legs.
Workout data
If you want to see the workout, check it on Garmin (you can see it without an account) or on Strava (you need an account).
No milk running today. Today is core day, so an hour of circuit training at the gym at work. The training consists of a circuit (hence the name) of seven strength exercises using weights, dumbells, ropes et cetera. Each exercise lasts 1:40 minutes and between strength exercises, you do 1:40 minutes of cardio, like treadmill running, rope jumping, stationary biking or rowing.
Photo by Chase Kinney on Unsplash
While I don’t really like strength training, the circuit training works well for me, because there’s a motivating instructor (who, not unimportant, gives feedback on form and technique), and there’s usually around ten other people, so it’s kind of a group thing. Anyway, it’s is a bit of a necessary evil for me, but I try to do it one hour every week. While that may not sound like much, I think it’s good for core strength and balance and together with the ten minutes of core training I do at home everyday, I do feel the benefits.
Yesterday I did an endurance run, which means it’s time for a tempo workout today.
The workout
This workout consists of 8 times 1000m at lactate threshold — around 3:50/6:10 for me — totalling at 15K including warming-up and cooling-down.
Afterwards
This workout went well, although most of the intervals were a few seconds too fast (around 3:45-3:47). Well, I consider that to be the margins. As always, I found the two first intervals the hardest, searching for the right pace and cadence.
Workout data
If you want to see the workout, check it on Garmin (you can see it without an account) or on Strava (you need an account).
Doing hill sprints without hills is, well, quite hard. Not impossible, though. There’s the obvious choice of treadmill intervals with a significant incline, but you could also try to define ‘hill’ a bit more loosely.
Photo by Don Shetterly on Unsplash
I do 8*400 meter hill sprints every week and I use a bicycle tunnel near my house for that. The tunnel is 900 meters long, but the lowest point is not in the middle. From this lowest point to the most nearby exit is exactly 400 meters, so that’s perfect. I know people who use the ramp of a parking garage/ I guess these are shorter, but steeper.
After yesterday’s intervals, today’s the time for an endurance run.
The workout
This workout is simple: a steady 14K run in heart-rate zone 2, which for me, most of the times, comes down to a pace around 5:00/8:03. Before starting, there’s a warming up of 4 minutes, consisting half a minute of knee lifts, butt kicks, cross passes, and arm swings intertwined with half minutes of jogging.
Afterwards
I felt a bit tired from the previous day and a full day of work, but running was fine and steady at 4:55/7:55 with a high cadence (190spm).
If you want to see the workout, check it on Garmin (you can see it without an account) or on Strava (you need an account).
So, today I got started with my first workout for a faster 10K time. (See previous post.)
The workout
The first workout is a speed workout and consists of 10 times 400m at 3:20/5:22 pace at the track, with a 3000m easy jog before and after the interval set. In between the intervals, a 200m easy jog.
Afterwards
Although the track was really crowded and some trainers didn’t seem to have their pupils under control, the workout felt good and the pace did too, albeit I went a bit to fast the first few rounds. I used a metronome at 198bpm to maintain form and a high cadence. I’ve been using a metronome for a while now and while the beeping starts off as really annoying, you’ll get used to it.
If you want to see the workout, check it on Garmin (you can see it without an account) or on Strava (you need an account).
I’m going to train for a faster 10K. My current PB on that distance is 36:26 and I’m hoping to shave off a minute. While this may not seem like much, it actually is — it’s the difference between an average pace of 3:38/5:51 and 3:32/5:42.
The program
I’ve created a program, loosely based on Pfitzinger & Latter’s 10K plan in Faster Road Racing: 5K to Half Marathon. The 11 week plan has five workouts a week, with one day of cross training and one day full rest. The first week has a total of 75K and it peaks at 88K in week 6.
The guidelines I’m following in this program are:
Each week consists of a tempo workout, a speed workout and two endurance runs, each with its own benefits. (More on that later.)
The hard efforts account for approximately 20 percent of a week’s total, the other 80 percent of the kilometers are at easy pace (whether it be a long run or the warming-up to a speed workout). This guideline is based on Matt Fitzgerald’s 80/20 Running.
Let’s hope I can do this and let’s also hope I do not forget to continue this series here.
I’m the last guy there, with the yellow shirt. It was very, very hot this day, so I was quite happy to run a 10K in 37:24
Okay, technically not a movie, but episode 5 (‘The Hot Tub’) of Seinfeld, Season 7. The episode revolves around Elaine’s friend Jean Paul, a marathon runner from Trinidad who has previously missed his chance to compete in the Olympic marathon because his alarm clock didn’t work properly. (No, it was not the snooze…) This time he has come to New York to run the famous 26.2 Miles.
The cast of Seinfeld. Copyright Castle Rock Television.
To make sure he doesn’t oversleep this time, Jerry offers his couch to Jean Paul to sleep on and he promises to wake him up in time. Kramer’s hot tub ruins that plan however. Be sure to watch this episode!
As is often the case, things stop working when fixing is impossible, expensive or just annoying. In the latter category, my Garmin HRM-run chest strap stopped working just when I was visiting the States. I figured it was the battery, but of course I didn’t pack any batteries.
I bought some quite expensive Duracell 2032 batteries and replaced the old with the new. My watch however did not find the strap. I carefully followed the instructions on both Garmin’s site and on their forums, including waiting half a minute (and longer) between taking the old battery out and putting the new one in, but nothing worked. As the batteries came in a two-pack, I tried the second one too. Nothing, so I figured the strap was broken. I usually keep all my receipts, but, of course, when I got home, I couldn’t find this one. So, no warranty. Therefore, I bought a new, less fancy strap.
A couple of weeks later, I ordered some batteries online and I figured I could use some CR 2032’s, so I ordered ten of those, but this time, from a different brand — GP. I tried them in my ‘old’ HRM-run strap and guess what, it worked again. I talked to someone at Garmin and he said ‘Oh, yes, Duracell’s do that some times.’ Nice… it would have saved me a lot of money knowing that before investing in another strap.
Moral of the story: try different brands of batteries. If you use a Garmin HRM-run chest strap, try other brands than Duracell.
If you use a weight scale from Medisana, you can only sync your weight stats with the Vitadock app and website. As I could not find any way to get these data into Garmin Connect, I wrote a converter which you can find at https://www.reuneker.nl/files/vita/. It’s limited in the sense that it only allows you to import your weight (so not BMI, bone mass et cetera), but it works.
