Cooler weather .... cool LT Run

Temperature dropped down to 19C and some drizzle (!!!) so it was the ideal setting for my long(est) Tempo Run: 12k (7,5Miles).
I never made such a long Tempo Run before, as my past of "interval trainer" was more based on running 4x1000m at "burning legs" speed and felt duly exhausted after the 3rd interval ...
Also I felt very important to gradually increase the length of the tempo run because they really show the improvement of your aerobic condition.
A usual 20/25 mins effort involves pushing hard from the start and does not give a real indication of how fast the HR would drift from the ideal LT training zone to the "over the top" area.
While running at least 35 min let you settle into a good speed and observe the feed-back from the heart and legs more carefully. Ideally, you must rise gradually into your LT training zone (for me 170 to 180 bpm) and stay comfortably in that area.

to set a pace, the table from "Daniel's Running Formula" gave me a pace to respect of 3'39"/km (5'53"/Mile). (if you do not have this book, you are making a mistake...)

It all went very well ... I was running very easy and I avoided on purpose to push more than the target pace, even if the HR was still not in the target zone for LT training until Km8.
At the end, I totaled a 43'12" that is a very fine 3'36" pace very steady and easy. Still have stamina to push the last 2k into the 3'2x' area.
Could I have gone faster ? I guess that hitting earlier the 170bpm and than rising to 175/177 I could have been more in the 3'32" range ... but "train not strain" seems a good idea in this phase.

As I said before, I am now in the final tune-up stage of the training period and I find the workouts more and more easy to complete. Also the recovery is very good. It is a good indication that the training is going in the right direction, but I believe that for every runner at this stage there is a dilemma whether to push more and gain some little extra plus or just go with the current form ...


to close, I post also the HR curve (included speed and cadence) because it is really a nice graph!!
(AMENDEMENT: I am struggling to transfer the Polar curve into Jpg or Tif because I could not find a conversion SW that I hid somewhere ... the chart will be uploaded asap ... be patient)

TODAY's QUESTION

• Do you use the tables in "Daniel's Running Formula" ? (all Daniel's tables remove a lot of subjectivity in the training, perhaps it is no the right way to improve the sensibility to your own running feelings and physical conditions, but overall I find them quite challenging and sensible)

3'38" (5'52"/Mile) pace

Weather is getting "chilly" (21C in early morning) and I felt quite good, so I decided to stick to my original plan of a 10k Tempo Run, even if my conditions earlier in the week were to be classified as "deadly tired".

At the end, It was a 36'24" (3'38" pace) with an average HR of 175. The HR went over 170 only after 2k and I always lift the throttle when it was surpassing 180, so I had only few spikes at 180 in the slightly uphill section of my 3,95Km loop (the usual one around People's Hospital and Residential Area).
So everything went right on target: If you read Daniel's "Running Formula", a Tempo Run of 40min for a VDOT of 63/64 should be at that exact speed and effort ....

This week I will therefore do 3 serious workouts, but there is around a very sounding philosophy of making only 2 Big Workouts in the sharpening phase of Marathon build up. Give a look at the website www.therunzone.com I like it very much and coach Tinman is very wise in his suggestions. So probably for this week I will overdo a little but from next week, I will stick to the "2 Big Workouts" philosophy, with a Long Run (with variations) + a TempoRun/Interval/marathon pace or similar.

Another thoughts was about the Polar Rs800sd calibration ... all my pace/effort was based on hoping the Polar was well calibrated. There are several websites speaking about the calibration of the Polar footpod, but at the end of the day, even with a perfect calibration you have a 1% error, that makes around 2 sec/km at that speed (not little, I believe). Also the issue of the calibration is basically unsolvable: I used the NB RC600 lightrainer shoe this morning, and my calibration was done several months ago in fairly accurate way. But my stride perhaps is changed a little and this affect also the calibration factor. And do not forget that the calibration is also affected by the actual speed so basically you should have a array of calibration factors based on the shoe and the speed of the training ...!!! Said that, I am considering to buy a Garmin Forerunner... at least I would be 100% of the average speed and distance (even if also the Garmin has his share of weak point).

Lastly .. the name "People's Hospital" for public hospitals in China is really misleading ... because basically patients have to pay everything. There is a very limited social security system with medical insurance, but cover only local residents and also it is common for hospital asking extra-money to boost their income, plus the awful habit of local doctors to ask for bribes to take seriously care of patients.

To summarize, 4 concepts on the table today:

- Speed of Tempo Run (do you follow Jack Daniels' tables or use a HRM o go by feeling o use McMillian's website pace calculator ?)
- 2 Big Workouts concept for marathon sharpening
- Polar vs Garmin (and why Polar's watches can not have their firmware upgraded ...grrr)
- Social Security in China and Medical Care (...a little off topic)