Pounce! 27K in 2:02:38 - Time to work harder - PRs broken.

I was aiming at a sub 2hrs 27k. I practically demolished half a loaf at lunchtime for fuel then drank plenty of water. I was gonna try running two days after my Sunday 24K and see how it goes.
It was alright - though I suspect 3 days would have done me more justice and I would have got a decent shot at doing a sub 2hrs 27K. Total time 02:02:38  Total of 2224 cals burnt. Average 13.4Km/Hr.
From 7K, I broke my PRs.
My endurance is almost there. I now need to do more speedwork so that I can get better times. I have also learnt a lot about the rest I require and fueling myself for my runs. Gotta get stronger and faster now.        

Here are the splits:
1    04:20   
2    04:13   
3    04:26   
4    04:21   
5    04:18    21:41
6    04:24   
7    04:26   
8    04:21   
9    04:22   
10    04:18    43:34:00
11    04:24   
12    04:28   
13    04:35   
14    04:27    01:01:29
15    04:27   
16    04:26   
17    04:31   
18    04:35    01:19:29
19    04:32   
20    04:41   
21    04:34    01:33:17
22    04:46   
23    05:00   
24    04:52   
25    05:00   
26    04:54    01:57:52
27    04:48    02:02:38

I struggled towards the end.

Today's Planks: 2:32, 2:33, 3:05

Crouching....

140s X 3 planks.

31 Aug 147s X 3 Planks.
Enough Said.

Group Run route - 24K in 1:57:58

This was an improvement over the two hills of almost six minutes.
So I am pleased with my progress.
I was careful to fuel properly so on Saturday I ate quite a bit. And I made sure to get as much sleep as possible. Then I did no exercises at all on Saturday. I was having visitors on Sunday so I slept late because of preparations.
As I had said earlier, I have decided to make my discomfort zone my comfort zone so I was definitely gonna tackle the hills. The two Hills. I was up at 5:45. I stretched thoroughly. Especially my groin and illipsoas and I warmed up well. 

I started okay. I didn't push so hard because I wanted to be strong over the hills. I collected a lot of mud, especially at Muthirwa because it was drizzling. My recovery past Muthurwa was much better. And my recovery past the UpperHill was also not so bad but my times over the hill were slow. I was happy with my times between 17 and 20K and I credit it to some funny fellow with a rucksack who had a funny running style.
He zoomed past me at the 17k and I watched him, wondering who the h...? then I maintained my speed just watching him and his I-may-have-boils-under-my-armpits form running about 50m ahead. After running for about 300m, I decided why not see what he is made of. And I stepped up one gear. I passed him past the TMall hill and he was very sportsmanly when I passed him. Encouraging me and all.
After three seconds, he passed me again. The challenge was on! And so was the drizzle!
I was gonna chase him and pass him or die. After one and a half Kms, I was breathing down his neck and he kept looking back. He tried to open a gap but I was strong and I stayed on him like white on rice.
 
He came to an abrupt stop just past sunshine, wincing with his left arm digging into his site. He turned to look at me with a pained expression, explaining his failure to keep up. I just said "pole" and zoomed past, trying to keep the momentum. I passed 21K in 1:42 and cleared in the above time. I need to do a sub 1:40 21K on this route and improve my performance on the hills.
I shall be back on the same route soon! Meanwhile, I need speedwork and a Sub 2hrs 27K.
Did 135s X 3 lunges today.
Keep running.
A

16k in 1:11 4:28 pace. 14k in 1:01:57

Total Time spent was 1:11:41. I had a bigger goal but I believe I ran out of energy. I missed my goal of 14K in 1 hr by 1minute 57 seconds. Ndereba's quote of "Respect the distance" is taking on a new meaning for me. I need to eat more and rest more to hit new times.

1    4:19.9    
2    4:25.5    
3    4:18.3    
4    4:15.6    
5    4:17.8    
6    4:19.1    
7    4:24.4    
8    4:29.4    
9    4:25.2    
10    4:30.0    
11    4:29.9    
12    4:34.3    
13    4:31.6    
14    4:36.9    
15    4:41.5    
16    4:52.1    

135s Planks X 3 this morning. Groin is better. Hip is acting up.

Keep running.
A

26K in 1:57:18 - 21K in 1:33:38 14K in 1:01:43

I probably just needed to eat.

I over-ate on Saturday and could not run on Sunday because I was at a team building at Egerton University. But I really misbehaved diet-wise. And I felt bad about it. Though in hindsight, no damage is done. Even in my mannerlessness, I was still choosy and kept away from the bad foods. I am hovering at about 73-74Kgs but I have decided to gradually go to 68-69. Maybe not this year, but, ultimately. I inspired a colleague and now he has inspired me.

I also had a painful hip and groin. The hip pain was really bad. The hip is now fine but the groin injury persists.

 

At any rate, I decided to go and burn the excess calories I had consumed over the weekend. I prayed that I wouldn't exacerbate my injuries. My feet were fast and light. I knew I was well-hydrated, I knew I was strong (all that eating! and my 155s x 3 plank workout was so easy that morning, I knew I was strong), I knew I was light. I knew I had fresh feet from 3 days of rest. I also knew I had time (skived work at 4:20). So mentally, I just built a wall of confidence and focused on the challenge of a sub 2hrs 26K.

The weather was perfect and it went very well. I had a 300ml of water near the pitch just in case. I ended up not using it during the run. I regulated my speed and avoided going fast because I had a long way to go. 

But I now feel I can attempt a Sub 20 mins 5k or a sub 30mins 7k in a few weeks. I think I should give it a shot soon. I could even have done better because I was still strong at the end but I developed a stitch at the 24th Km which messed my pace.

Now that this is done, I can focus on the hills and the roads. Mentally, this will push me higher. I set may PRs yesterday.
My 10K was 43:59, 13k in 57:14, 15K in 1:06:17, 18K in 1:19:52 (finally!) 21K in 1:33:38

My average pace 4:31
Here are the splits:

1              4:25.9   

2              4:24.4   

3              4:21.5   

4              4:21.3   

5              4:30.2   

6              4:17.7   

7              4:17.2   

8              4:29.7   

9              4:27.7   

10           4:23.9   

11           4:25.2   

12           4:25.7   

13           4:24.5   

14           4:29.0______1:01:43  

15           4:33.2   

16           4:31.9   

17           4:31.2   

18           4:32.1   

19           4:35.1   

20           4:34.1   

21           4:36.7   

22           4:37.8   

23           4:40.2   

24           4:45.6   

25           5:03.2   

26           4:32.0

Total Time 1:57:18.9

Like I said, I can now go to the roads with more confidence. I was using the track as an excuse but the reality is I wasn't just strong. But the test of the salad is in the eating. Lets go to the road and face the hills.
Cheers guys. 

2000m x 5

1k warm up. Stretched a muscle while jumping out of a trench.
200m walks in between. Splits:

8:10
7:57
7:55
8:06
8:27

13k Total. Some hip pain is giving me grief.
Fuck.

A

Mixing Things up

I went for a freestyle run tomorrow. I was undecided whether to go fast or slow. So I decided to train myself in surging and recovery then later decided to just do a tempo run. I decided to start slowly (6:35!) and started speeding up from the 6th k and cleared the next 5k in 21:21. Close to my 5K PR of 21:20. I think I am coming back. Eventually.

I closed it at 16k in 1:14.
I think next time I will try to push it to 8K and see what happens. I will have the 8K padded with 4K just before it so I accelerate gradually and then try to maintain top speed - hence tempo run.

1              6:35.9   

2              5:09.8   

3              4:38.2   

4              4:44.1   

5              4:30.1   

6              4:28.9   

7              4:25.9   

8              4:16.7   

9              4:21.5   

10           4:12.6   

11           4:15.7   

12           4:19.0   

13           4:28.0   

14           4:35.1   

15           4:31.6   

16           4:27.8    

Cheers guys. Keep running.
A

Embracing the Hills -

When I was relaxing on Saturday, undecided on whether to do a 27K or a 24K, I saw this poster:

And that was it. What is my discomfort zone? Hills! I have decided to spend my time in my discomfort zone until it becomes my comfort zone.
I have decided to use that group run route of 24K for all my long runs until I can do it in Sub 1:50. Or die trying.
So thats what.
Its been quite a while since I completed a run more than 20K. So I did yesterdays run reminding myself that its better to be efficient than to be fast, even though one has to be fast to be efficient.
It went alright although there is a muscle between my legs that really bothered me. It was quite a problem. But I pushed through.
I am just glad that I completed the run and didn't have to drop out or walk. So that is my baseline. Now I just have to train, rest and push hard.

I was conservative and for the first time, the Upper Hill hill didn't destroy me. I wasn't that fast, but I felt comfortable. I am realizing hills are about technique, not strength or power. I realized that there are two kinds of hills on that route and they need to be ran differently. I was bothered a lot by some groin pain between my legs but I pushed through to clear the 24k in 2:02. I met GK on langatta road. Whats most interesting is that, after I stopped running, I realized I was totally drained of energy. I could not even stretch or do my lunges. I almost puked. I also felt like crapping. I stopped about 500m to my house but I stopped 4 times while walking home to gather myself and avoid passing out. I feel like a new me is being born. I felt like this in Feb the first time I tried 32k. I even had to flop in my bedroom and remove my shoes while lying down. Either way, lets see whats round the next corner. Upper hill plus langatta road hills r good for ndakaini training. I want to maximize on this route b4 Ndakani. I hope I can contain the injury.
My feeling is that my body was hanging onto my energy stores after the weight loss but now it has found a way to let me access them, so I can run. From the run, there are several areas that I can see I can improve on and thats what I will try and do in the next several weekends.
Today I did 95s Plank X 3.
Cheers guys.