Week 33/2010 Summary

I must thank everybody for the kind words on my Sunday's race.
It was cool to be back to a real race after almost 2 years...

But in reality, looking at the race with a more detached analysis, I really sucked...

End of May, I run that 5KRace and ended up in 16'59" only based on a good cycling training and some easy runs. That time equates to a 35'20" on 10k using the McMillan calculator.
(I would say the weather was slightly better in May, but only a couple of degrees lower)
So running 36'50" is really slow in comparison .... especially after 6 weeks of training based on only running
I can not say that I "underperformed" the race because also all the training leading to last Sunday was pointing to a 36'xx" performance...
The issue was that I was sucking in training and the race went along the same lines.

I still need to figure out the reason because it is pointless to train in the wrong direction. I might be that I had problems to absorb the workload (running 80km weekly after months of no running...), but suggestions are welcome...

Weekly Summary:

MON: 6km on tradmill
TUE: no running, unplanned
WED: I ended up at the Sport Ground  in the early evening and went for 800m intervals at 10k pace, with 400m recovery jog.
I was clocking around 2'50"-2'55" with moderate to hard effort and that was exactly what I was looking for,,,
unfortunately in my 6th interval I slightly pulled my hamstring in a kind of sprint...
THU: jogged 10k harmstring was tight
FRI: rest (my daughter's first day of school ... took time to get her ready)
SAT: I planned a longer tempo run, but ended up miserably...
I was shooting for 9km @3'50" pace but started maybe a bit too fast and after 4k I felt the hamstring tight plus i was already cooked, so i aborted the workout...
no point to push when the body is not there...
I am a little concerned about the hamstring because is not easy to treat
SUN: best run in ages... I just wanted to go steady and easy with some kind of progression in the pace and for the first time in months I was able to keep 4'20"/k with very low bpm until I started to push a bit harder @4'05" which still felt reasonably easy. Total 16km

TOTAL: only 60km for the week, with 1 poor workout and 1 decent steady run...

NOTE: I throw my old light weight trainers in the garbage and switched to a pair of Mizuno Elixir 4 (which I won at a race 2 years ago...., no I think the current model is Elixir 5).
These shoes are simply great, they feel the right amount of cushioning but very responsive.
....as I mentioned time ago, I stopped using heavy trainers like Asics Kayano because together with orthotics was like running in boots and I think was a major reason of heel striking.
With lightweight trainers or even better racing flats, the stride is more natural and more "mid foot landing".
I do not buy into the barefoot running fashion because the foot was yes done to run barefoot, but on unpaved roads... probably the Lord did not plan the foot to run on concrete all the time...
so some cushioning and protection is needed, but as less as possible... when I run in flats or lightweight trainers, I feel the stride much more efficient and mid-foot landing