Speedwork is hard!
The new program demanded a lot more discipline and determination from Miles, Wade and Gallop.
The tempo run in the first week was an unknown, but at least it was a gradual increase in pace till the peak and a gradual decrease.
At the start of the 2nd week, Miles could feel the body taking a toll.
Monday is a constant 4.8km every week, a good warm up for the rest of the week.
Tuesday’s run sees an increase in 800m (half a mile) every week. It will gradually get more and more difficult.
Wednesday’s speed work proves to be the hardest run of the week. Not only is speedwork new to them, they have to run it after 2 consecutive days of run.
Thursday’s recovery run is a good relief, alternating between 4.8km and 6.4km.
Finally, they reach a rest day on Friday, before embarking on a easy long run on Saturday.
It will be a long 8 weeks for the trio.
Macro Week #09 (10km Intermediate)
Micro Week #02, Session 1 –
Plan: Run 4.8 km
Actual: Run 4.81 km (38:31 mins)
Monday’s run is known as the warm up run. A consistent 4.8km every Monday to start the week. Miles kept this run easy, with average HR at 140 bpm, though he would have preferred it to be below 140.
Micro Week #02, Session 2 –
Plan: Run 5.6 km
Actual: Run 5.64 km (48:01 mins)
Tuesday’s run was just 800m longer than the week before at 5.6km, so it should not be too difficult. But Miles was careful to run this at an even more conservative pace than Monday’s run, keeping in mind of the dreadful interval run the next day.
Micro Week #02, Session 3 –
Plan: Interval 8x 400m
Actual: Run 6.21 km (48:01 mins)
Finally, the day of reckoning has arrived. 8 x400m Interval!
According to the website, Miles should be running the intervals at 5km race pace. But Miles was still not certain what should be his 5km race pace. Since they have targeted a 6:45 mins/km pace for their current 10km, their 5km race pace should be slightly faster. He decided to run his intervals at 6mins/km pace, which translate to 2:24 mins/400m.
Unaware of how he should pace himself, Miles decided to go all out in the first round. After a 10mins warm up, Miles started his first 400m at a blistering pace of 5:16 mins/km (2:09mins/400m). As he cooled down in the same duration of time (2:09mins), he decided to be more conservative and push for a 5:45mins/km pace (2:18mins) for the rest of the intervals.
For the rest of the 7 sets, Miles managed to run them in
5:46, 5:48, 5:53, 5:52, 5:42, 5:47, 5:58
Slowed down a bit during the 4th and 5th, but recovered in the 6th and 7th, only to relax in the last set.
“Needs a bit of getting used to in order to maintain a consistent pace” Miles thought to himself. “It’s early days, I still have time to adapt.”
….. (to be continued)
Disclaimer
This is a work of fiction. If you think you recognize yourself in here, you’re probably mistaken… or you have a very unusual life. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents are either made up entirely or borrowed from the author’s overactive imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental — and if it’s not, well, that’s just awkward.
