Two Fruits

Friday, May 16, 2008

Run, Bike, River

Yesterday:
Bike ride: 16.0 km
Today:
Distance: 7.75 km
Time: 41' 18"
Rate: 5' 20" per km
Bike ride: 12.0 km
Weather: sunny to start, then cloudy, cool, temp 13 degrees, humidity 70%, NW wind at 13 kmph
Week: 45.6 km
May: 191.3 km
Year: 1925.95 km

Yesterday was an active rest day, so as I needed to go to the bank and to work, I rode the bike. Cheaper and easier than driving, burning calories instead of fossil fuel. Nice day, good easy ride.
Today, was a very short comfortable run just to keep moving. The run was around the back of Calwell to Theodore and home, about as flat as possible I could find when you live near the top of a hill. Just to aid the recovery, I jumped on the bike to ride down to Pine Is to stand in the cold water for 10 minutes. The sun had disappeared and the temp seemed to drop a few degrees, not all that warm to start and now much cooler. Easy ride home.
Easy afternoon packing and going over the list of what I need to take. For all the runners in the Canberra half marathon on Sunday, weather forecast very cool, I have packed the sunscreen, afternoon forecast about 24 degrees.
Speedygeoff, I have a technical term question on running. My Runner's World "Complete Book of Running" page 151 describes speed training. Question is - my speed work at the oval, is it tempo running or "cruise intervals"? I run 10 laps at tempo pace, then have a short break for a drink, change directions and away I go again. Mostly the running time is near an hour, the book describes tempo as " a steady pace but lasting only about 20 minutes". Cruise intervals are " run at tempo pace but broken into three to six repeats with brief rest periods between them". Just a technical term question, whatever I do seems to work for me, and good fun. I like this session almost as much as a real long run.
Ewen, I didn't see your name on the half marathon start list, in fear of being out sprinted by Strewth in the last 100 metres.
Carbo loading today, nothing else can be done now, just get to the start line. Will blog the result on Monday night, if all goes well, a bit of a story, if not, won't be much to tell. Thanks for those that wrote to wish me good luck.

3 Comments:

  • Yay - you sound so prepared. Very best of luck for an awesome run and a totally fantastic weekend. Looking forward to reading all about it next week. You go, go, go - you deserve a great result!

    By Blogger strewth, At May 16, 2008 at 6:09 PM  

  • A tempo run can be a lot longer than 20 minutes I would think, so call your efforts tempo running if you like. I think that the longer you continue to run just under your LT (lactic threshold), which is what tempo running is, the more likely you are to need to slow down so as not to exceed it, which may be why some sources suggest 20 minutes as a maximum, although this seems pretty arbitrary. For me about six km is where I need to slow, ie about 25 minutes or so. If you run tempo intervals, ie break up a long tempo run as you do, why I imagine you could maintain a faster pace, which is an excellent idea. I haven't come across the term "cruise intervals" but the description you give makes them look very like what I have just called "tempo intervals".

    By Blogger speedygeoff, At May 16, 2008 at 11:45 PM  

  • Half marathons aren't on the radar. I've decided to be a 3000/5000m runner until I race a decent one (which could be never!). Yes, Strewth is going so well she'd outsprint me in the last 100m (presuming I were ahead at the time).

    Good luck again. Don't "do a CJ".

    Keep doing what works for you Steve - just stay out of lane 6 ;)

    By Blogger Ewen, At May 17, 2008 at 11:31 AM  

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