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I remember you had to have a shower after the Gosport half. Where most of us are just happy to chuck some warm clothes on!
Well my schedule has a 6 mile long tempo on Thursday which is about 5 seconds per mile slower per mile than hmp. it'll probably come out closer to hmp.
Is there any structure to the quality sessions week on week? I'm assuming there is.
I'd recommend trying 3-4 miles first or something like you set out above. Or doing a 6 mile tempo but maybe at mara pace to then build from.
I'd forgotten about having a shower after Gosport. I think it was because I was going to have to take a long train journey the same day. Though it was raining a bit so really that should have washed all the sweat off.
They've apparently cut out that 2 lap airfield bit now, but replaced it with a 2 lap bit right on the coast. People say it tends to be massively windy way more than not! All in, not worth it.
Maybe showering was valid, as we ate after too.
Lit - euwwwww
Hi McF
Good luck at Gosport smashing the once-a-weekers and grans, SG
8-9.6-14.5 ...... just so Pete doesn't feel left out
Hi McFlooze
8.2m-9.8m-4.7m so far for me this week. All easy-ish runs bar 4 miles of fartlek. Long run planned for tomorrow, then all the effort will go in over the weekend with a parkrun and race-as-long-tempo combo.
Good kilometrage Mace !
Is that a plush toilets champs entry then Lit ? I saw they opened those up this week (the entries, not the plush toilets).
7-5-0-8.4 for the week.
6@HMP....6.26, 631, 6.27, 6.29, 6.33 and 6.33 for 6.29 average for 168 hr. Forgotten how hard that session is! I felt a little sick in the last half a mile also. With wu and cd a lunchbreak 9.5 all in.
I am definitely not as fit as I was in September, which I suppose is understandable and perhaps there is still an element of post mara recovery going on.
I try and tell him he's either doing the tempo too fast, or the race too slow, but he won't have it!
We've done it before, but 6miles HMP to me is definitely one for the former type of description. I'd find that phenomenally tough.
Closest I think I did was the 20-15-10-5min threshold session recently on the track.
The 20min was just under 3.5miles, so to have another 2.5 on top consecutively would be an outrageous effort, especially on the road.
The feeling sick you both mention is some sort of clue too!
David, I'd be more inclined to suggest you take the average of that session, and either split it in a 2x3miles, or 3x2miles, or better still adding 10-15secs a mile and easing the zone down, still comfortably hard, but not too hard.
Probably the latter, with a string of 6.5milers at that zone, and then slowly add blocks of HMP in. Before converting to the former, right when peaking for your next half.
To be fair, if a ran a half at 6.29 pace I would be quite disappointed. I don't think i've raced a half that slowly in 2 years. I'd expect in a race scenario to be 5-7 seconds per mile faster than that.
My run was at the race course so perfectly flat and tarmac surface with no roads to cross or pedestrians so not all that indifferent to a track. Also, SG, 3.5 miles at threshold would be a very different session to 6 a bit slower than hmp. For me a threshold session would be pushing 6.15mm and at that level 15 seconds a mile faster than today would have been impossible for me over 6 miles.
I'll take your advice and try to stick to the 7:15-7:20 pace for the next quality session.
If there's one thing I probably still haven't quite added back after my long and tedious recovery from the 2015 summer half saga, is going into a race thinking "i'm doing xxx per mile / km" and pushing for that. The Moz training gave the confidence for that.
DT - sounds closer to top end MP (theoretical before we start all that up again
Have you managed 6miles HMP continuously at your raced HM pace many times in the past?
My threshold zone, worked out off the VDOT formula versus 5k achieved time actually threw up a very similar split to my Feb half. 2 seconds difference.
Back in the Moz days, I worked to a 5-10sec difference.
And David, you nutter, blooming miles too fast even for a session that would be very challenging as it is
Although your zones are still settling them down as you'll be on a nice improvement streak, so not quite as cut and dried
If we ask you to do 6miles at actual HM pb pace in a couple of years you might find it different!!
I have drifted from that in last 2 years as my entire focus has been on a sub 3 marathon and you don't necessarily need to hurt yourself in training in the same way. I feel that back then I raced much better for my fitness compared to what I do now and I think the reason was that I was going big tempo sessions and was used to racing discomfort. My plan in next 8 weeks to brass money is to get back to that with some nasty looking tempos and see if my theory is correct.
I have done 4 and 5 miles in training a few seconds per mile faster than half pace but when I move onto 6 mile and beyond distance I haven't tried to beat HMP.
I am interested in pushing boundaries at the moment but not to the point where it hampers training through injury etc. I'm still adjusting and as you say my current paces may not be quite as they should be. Slowly the consecutive sub 7:00 miles are creeping into training and at the moment it feels good.
DT19 - I'd be over the moon with a 6:29 average HM. Something for me to aspire to.
Thanks as always for the guidance. As Skinny said about 800 pages ago, posting on here provides motivation which I'm incredibly grateful for.
That, was the Moz programme. Always got me to the pb barrier, despite already drilling my times down from 2002-2010.
Don't go too nasty a tempo though! Don't be like my local pal! He's about 70 races into his "career" now, and still won't see that being in the top 2-3 after 200-400metres EVERY race is not helping him. You'd think 15-20 people, even in smaller races going past within a mile would be a clue!!
DH - You're going nicely. And plenty of joy ahead, as long as you keep keen. Just remember to spend enough time savouring the pbs before looking to the next one - very easy to forget this!
I'm pretty good now at setting off sensibly in a race. Often, when I actually get to a parkrun I'll find myself in about 20th place after 400m and usually end up in top 5. Some of the people I'm passing at 800m come in about 90 seconds behind me so have run 30 seconds a mile slower in the end. It amazes me they are not on their are after 1k.
I used to start too hard, and there's a fine line between a race reducer, and just getting out keen.
I never do the former these days. Worst ever was setting off at about 32min 10k pace for a gruelling MT 10K in about 2006 on a scorcher of a day when I probably wasn't much better than 40mins. Cans till remember lying down for about 30mins in the grass after, ruined!
After the GSR, I was a little shaken up, so confidence has been slow to recover, losing to 2 clubmates the week after at XC. IN hindsight, 6.05 pace on grass wasn't a disaster, the other guys are probably just on form.
Sunday was better, but I had to rely on experience, when 2 other clubmates I've always beaten tore off.
One guy, I noticed on strava did the first mile 13seconds faster, but ended 43 seconds behind over a 5.85miler. It was a strange course, totally flat, grass, paths, bit of soft farmer field but lacking any of the really tough features of the other courses.
Due to that I think people presume they can go off at road race pace, and midway it hits them hard they've overdone it massively!
You've probably got the pacing spot on if noone overtakes you from midway on. Better still if you start ghosting by people, without any increase in effort.
The other local guy though, what can I say.
He's bad enough on most courses, but one of our XC starts with a flat 100metres, then straight down a 1/4mile hill.
I dare say he'll be leading 31 min 10k guys down there!! (pb 36.44)