P + D training for VLM 2013

Lit - last time I used this function it was through the RW garmin ready schedule and it gave 10 secs either side of target pace, but often got beeped at to slow down, I think my target pace was probably a bit off. I am feeling better now so will try the VO2 intervals tonight. 

Went to Delamere over the weekend so just did a couple of 6/7 milers easy on Sunday and Monday as still getting over this tummy thing from Friday. I see from the parkrun website that Delamere parkrun is to start on 2nd March, I think that will then be my nearest 

I am itching to do a half now especially as Helsby was cancelled, I have a choice of    10th March Ellesmere or 24th March Ironbridge, I would prefer to do the Ironbridge as my friend is doing it and it is supposed to be a really nice course etc. but it is only 4 weeks before London and common sense is telling me that 6 weeks out would be better. Both fall on 17 mile long run weekends so I could add the miles to the beginning and end to make it up to the distance. Is 4 weeks out to close to the marathon to do a Half?

Busy morning for me had to squeeze everything in as on an afternoon shift and wont get home till 9 tonight .

Schedule today was 10 miles GA so made it a bit more interesting, I did 1 mile warm up then 7 miles MP ave 8.09s then 3 miles @9s...quick shower then pilates class, which is harder than anything else I do, my balance is crap but guess it can only get better.

literatin wrote (see)

Sorry to hear you're not feeling well, Pottermiss & 15West. 15West, sounds like you need to just go back to bed and stay there and not try to eat anything till you're feeling better. Probably just as well you couldn't have a sports massage either! If someone tried that elbow-in-bottom manipulation on me when I had a stomach bug I'd probably just vomit on him.

I did tomorrow's VO2 intervals in my 10-mile run this morning, as I wanted to leave extra recovery time before racing at the weekend. First time I've used the 'advanced workout' function on the Garmin for this, so I did all the intervals with the Garmin yelling at me to slow down. Probably good for me, as I tend to go too fast rather than too slow, but I'm not 100% convinced I got the pace zone right when programming it. Partly because I've never raced a 5k so had to guess what my pace would be if I did, but also how much of a range do others give themselves when setting the desired pace zone for intervals?

Lit,

What sort of recovery periods did you have in between the VO2 intervals? Was it a slow jog/walk or just your General Aerobic Pace?

Recovery periods were 90 secs jogging at about 10 - 10:30 mm pace -- I hadn't set a pace for those, just the time. And for the 6x 600m intervals I'd set it to 6:10 to 6:34 mm pace, which resulted in lots of beeping, but I did manage to stay in more or less the right zone on average. It's the first time I've done intervals with anything other than just a basic countdown timer, so in the past I've just gone by feel.

Lit - I use that function for all the intervals I do.  It invariably bleeps at me in the first few seconds as you are getting up to pace and then usually OK.  I normally set it about pace +/- 10 secs to allow for a bit of variation.  Did you feel like you could have gone at a faster pace throughout? If so, maybe you get set the barre too low so to speak.  I always leave the recovery without pace so that if you need to walk you can.

Pottermiss, I also considered doing a half 4 weeks before VLM and was advised not to by people on this very thread... but I think that was partly because I've never run a marathon before.

NN, voluntary extra MP miles before pilates is hardcore...

HeOw, there are some pretty speedy women round my way -- same ones at most local races so I don't fancy my chances of being in the top three women at anything just yet! I came 10th in the county XC champs, but so far behind the 9th woman I couldn't even see her.

Fiona - I did feel I could have gone faster throughout, though probably not by very much and it was quite right to beep at me! My problem is I'm crap at gauging pace and always go zooming off and then have to pull myself back. But I might set it for 6 - 6:20mm next time.

I think I'm also a bit unsure re. exactly how difficult the VO2 session should be. P&D say to do it at 5k race pace rather than 3k pace, so obviously it's not meant to be the actual most difficult session ever, but I spent the run fluctuating between thinking 'well, you do have to repeat this 6 times so it shouldn't be THAT hard' and thinking 'am I really working hard enough to benefit?'.

Lit, I wouldn't worry too much about it - P&D also mention that intervals are not the key session for the week, and also have a specific section saying you shouldn't run them too hard.  

From a (vaguely) remembered piece of advice from years ago, to get the most out of an interval session you should run all at them at a consistent pace (i.e. not start too fast and be unable to maintain that pace for the last one) - this is more important than running them 5 secs quicker etc.

I'd say your probably about right on pacing - my best 5k is just over 20 mins but I know its relatively slow against my 10k/HM pace (which do align with the 3;15 marathon).  Your interval pace equates to just under 20 mins, and that sounds spot on for a 3:15

I think I probably do the 800m too fast as I don't think I could keep the pace up for 5k, I will try and keep it realistically 5k pace tonight. 

HeOw wrote (see)

Pottermiss - I was in Delamere on Saturday. I am helping with the admin side of Parkrun and am going to a course on Friday night to be taught what I need to do, then on Saturday morning will be supervising the pilot run. Really excited, I'll be there most weeks. I can fiddle yer a PB... Re HM, I'm considering doing another as I think I could dip under 1:40 and am too pondering one end of March. I think it's a personal thing and depends how hard you race and how well you recover. I'll make decision after I've done this weeks training as I ran Wrexham Sun and need to see how hard it's hit me before I decide. Is Ironbridge flat? 

Put me down for sub 20, no-one will notice 

The Ironbridge half is flat/down hill for the first half (I think) but then has a big hill followed by a steady climb for the last 5 miles, at the moment I am telling myself that I can do it a MP pace as a practice for the marathon as part of a long run with the advantage of water stations provided. 

Lit - I have recently seen some plans with a HM at 4 weeks out, but they were not as heavy on the mileage as P&D, and I would think we would need to be careful about overdoing things that close to the race as there is a 20 miler the following weekend and the legs would need to be recovered enough to do that and the rest of the plan justice I guess. 

In regards to setting pacing in Garmin, I'm sure you have to put the slower time in first, I set it the other week to keep me in my marathon pace zone, I put it in as;

6:35 - 6:45

It didnt stop beepeing and vibrating until I eventually has to stop and change it

I put it to 6:45 - 6:35, not long after it settled down and I didnt hear it all run.

Just a thought.

Craig - thanks for that tip! Just setting up my VO2max workout for tomorrow and I reckon you've saved me an annoying vibration-and-beep-fest...

might depend which model you have, though -- mine was only beeping at me cos I was going too fast! But I'd set the workout up on the Garmin Connect website and then transferred it, so it might be different.

& Pottermiss, I think the other reason I decided against the late HM was that I wanted to run it fast, not as a long run with MP. So go for it!

Thats how I did mine Garmin Connect, but obviosuly if you are going to fast it s going to beep, but if you put in the fastest time first, it is never ending beeping.

Got a general aerobic 9 tonight, how are they supposed to be run, how do others on here do them?? My marathon pace is 6:40 so i'm thinking arounf 7:45-8:00??

advice from the physio was encouraging. He doesn't see anything that suggests shin splints or anything more serious than tight calf muscles, and tight tibialis anterior muscle, most likely a result of fatigue and not enough stretching. He suggested more stretching, unsurprisingly, with the caveat that if the pain progresses such that it does not subside after warming up, then i should consider taking a break and returning for a further check. He said it would most probably respond well to a stepping off the gas slightly for a week or so, and doing lots more stretching. "You can't really stretch too much" was his mantra. So, all's good.

Thankfully this week is pretty low intensity for me, i've got: 6, 14, 6, rest, 6, 16 (with 12 at MP). The 14mi is at Med/Long run pace, and the 6milers are all at recovery pace, so hopefully will be in decent shape for the MP run at the weekend.

That's what I mean, Craig, I put the fastest time in first too but that didn't seem to cause any excessive beeping. I have the Garmin 410. Sounds about right for the general aerobic run -- the book is a bit vague about them but I think it's just a putting-in-the-miles pleasantly steady shorter run.

AG - excellent news from the physio. I love stretching.

AG, great news - have you got a foam roller?  Great way of squeezing out the tightness (although you dont say that during it!)

Thats sounds good as my legs feel a little achy after half marathon on Sunday, so a nice steady run will be just nice with the dog in the sun.

Literatin, Craig - I'm setting up my workout in Garmin Connect then uploading to my Garmin 610. So I put slowest pace in the 1st box (5:57) and fastest pace in the second box (5:37). Sounds like what Craig did. Should be fine for tomorrow right? 

i don't currently have a foam roller, Stutyr, but i'll be getting one to try to roll out the bumps in the tib anterior, and maybe batter my ITB at the same time. I feel a bit better about jogging home tonight, now that i'm not going to be waiting for my shin to snap in half at any time.

It worked that way for me, and if you look at the schedules you can get from Runners World, all the data is entered that way, just saying I put it in the other Sunday, the other way, it was constant 'speed up' or 'slow down',.