You can do this man!
As long as you have enough recovery… its only 30s as you say.
I think you will be able to hit that pace based on the 5k pb but it will be damned hard work. The one thing I would make myself remember is form. Run fast but don’t chase the specific pace to the detriment of form.
I spent a number of years trying to hit what I thought were fast repeats but I was wasting a whole heap of time and energy on not putting all my energy into going forwards and I was all over the shop. Once I concentrated on getting everything going in the same direction while going fast I actually started to go fast. I did a set of 1 minute repeats on a twisty course around a grassy park at around 3:20-30/km pace the other day and really surprised myself.
- climbs out of a dark cave *
So i’m running again! lol
Races are back on in september (we got the confirmation first week of august) so i’m doing 2 tris in sept
So… i haven’t had a proper new pair of cushy runners in YEARS. Last pair i bought were nike free 3.0 about 7 years ago and i’ve got minimalist since (barefoot shoes, zero drop, very low stack height like vibrams, merrell vapour glove, earth runners, etc).
I decided i was gonna mix it up and re-add some cushyness to my life and started shopping around,
I landed on the Altra Escalante 2.5 but man, those “bounce back plushy” shoes for a lack of better terminology are SO WEIRD. Like the fuelcell tech in New balance shoes is just mind blowing to me lol.
So i’ve gotten about 2 runs in the Escalantes and i run faster in them at same heart rate… so i might be using them when i race, i’ll use them maybe twice a week and keep the minimal stuff for the rest of the week.
It’s so nice though to have a cushy shoe that has enough space in the toe box.
Any of you follow a polarized heart rate running plan? My problem is I have to practically do intermittent jog/walk to keep my heart rate under 75% for my easy runs. I’m 53 years old, 5’10" and weigh about 175 pounds and the max heart rate I’ve seen this year is 167 so 75% of that would be 125bpm. Any advice for polarized run training for my easy runs?
I don’t but I used to do MAF years ago, walking is fine. It may hit your pride, but it works.
if it was easy…everyone would be doing it!
Walk/jogging is super underrated for a lot of runners IMO- you’re basically looking for aerobic stimulus so as it’ll achieve the same thing regardless. It can also help strengthen connective tissue and joints and “ease into” the impact side of things if you’re newer or more injury-prone.
Advice-wise, be prepared for some pretty big fluctuations in your ‘easy’ pace especially in the beginning, or if you’ve got some harder sessions on the bike. I find myself relying on RPE a lot more running than I do cycling.
I would also pay a lot of attention to form- it’s not uncommon for things to degrade a bit when you’re running slower than you feel is natural, and you’d be surprised at how much effort you can save. Depending on your history, short hill sprints or strides can help there and would probably fit fairly well into a polarized plan.
I’d also go about establishing frequency before length of individual runs- once you start getting regular aerobic runs in it’s surprising how quickly you can see improvements.
Maybe the 5k time needs to be beaten then!
Yeah my watch has been goading me for months with 21:xx predictions but I’m into marathon/Ironman training so the really fast stuff will have to wait until Christmas or the new year
I’ve decided to do a 30day RED 5k+. Mainly on trails
Just to get me I run mode before I start my ultra training program ![]()
My favourite thing in the world is the race predictor on my watch. Current predictions/PBs are:
5k: 18:48/19:43
10k: 39:01/41:54
Half: 1:26:18/1:39:03 (very hilly course, anything longer than a 10 mile race is silly)
Marathon: 3:00:04/Never done one, never will do one
Don’t worry, and do that intermittent thing if needed. The important point here is developing base cardio capacity, and building up running efficiency. I usually need 4-5 weeks of easy runs at the beginning of a season before my tempo on easy runs trends towards its ‘normal’ level. It’s a classical error to push those workouts too hard. You may tolerate a bit higher HR in the beginning (say up to 78%), but concentrate on increasing how long you can make these runs.
I have the Sprinter, it just keeps going. Love it. Light, well balanced, the red blinking light on the back - it’s perfect for me. Saved my life a few times, it’s like a magic wand that repels cars. Sunrise is later and later every morning, the light is about to get out of its summer break and see action again.
80/20 running kinda deal… 80% super easy, 20% with more intensity.
It’s hard on the pride. But stick to it. It’s quite impressive to see what happens when you do.
Helps you avoid injury
Brings your z2/easy pace up to a point where you might be able to use it almost during longer races (that might take a while to achieve)
For me its a bit meditative, my breathe is slowed down to the point that i can nose breathe and i don’t have to check my watch because i can feel it in my breathe pattern if im going too fast/too hard. Also my watch does have an audible alert that tells me if i get past the threshold but overall i aljmost don’t need it.
I loved the light!
Sadly it didn’t loved me back.
Mine was breaking every 6 months…
the last time, diamond back gave me a credit for the light on their store. Was able to get a different headlight (storm which is water proof) a t-shirt and few camp lamps (that I have stored for emergencies)…
Glad it is working for you
Quick update, that lacing technique solved my bleeding feet problem ![]()
I may be slow …
But I know what I’m doing ![]()
Curious…what’s everyone using for trail shoes? Bit of a new area for me!
Ideally something fairly minimal- fortunately no injury history as of yet, and I’m not doing anything super gnarly. Tend to prefer something stiffer without a whole bunch of cushion. ![]()
I just picked up the Pegasus Trail 2… I got them just before they announced the Trail 3 so I’m not entirely sure what’s changed.
Coming from the road variant, which I really enjoy, they feel great. I’ve done two trail runs in them so not much experience to speak from but they’re really comfortable. The react midsole has a good amount of give and feels good under the foot.
I could easily see this as a bit of hybrid shoe that I could use to run to and from the trail.
