Summer's finally here, with two consecutive days at 38 to 39 deg C. Stepping out of the air-conditioned office felt like stepping into a furnace. Every surface, wall and road radiated hot burning heat. Certainly not ideal weather to run.
However, I ran early morning on the first 38 deg day and late in the evening on the second to avoid the worst of the heat wave. Short runs - fartleks about 1:15 to 1:45 hours. The second session was long intervals - 2km at HR155, recover and then 1 km at HR165. Supposed to do this twice, but I did three sets instead for good measure. Able to come within the time targets, although HR was a wee bit higher than the 155 target.
Thu's rain brought much welcomed relief, bringing the temperature back down to the low 20s. Getting spoiled by this cool weather...
Anyway, did a short 7km recovery run around the Oval at HR145, ave pace 7:00.
Showing posts with label intervals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label intervals. Show all posts
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Saturday, May 16, 2009
TLog: hills, brick and speedwork
Sat early morning, headed to NUS to avoid the traffic. But the NUS buses were still plying although in fewer numbers. Even so I took a stumble at the bus terminal along Prince George's Park as two buses were reversing and I slowed too much. Nothing serious, just a couple of scratches.
The first lap was not too bad. Many riders were doing the South Bouna Vista circuit and were going the other way from me. A few were struggling from the exertion. One in particular, stopped at the junction of S B V and Prince George's Park, and was still there when I did my third loop.
Anyway, I share his pain. Coz that was how I felt after two loops. HR was way up in 180s. and I took a few minutes breather after my second loop at Kent Ridge Drive. The third loop was agony, and boy was I glad to crest Kent Ridge high point.
At the car, I did a quick change. As quick as crampy legs and arms (and even hands!) would allow me to. It wasn't much of a brick workout as the slopes took too much out of me. Only a slow 1 km run was about all I could muster. :(
Speedwork: 6x400m intervals, target of 1.33 average. OMG! "Coach is really pushing me!" was what I thought when I read the training program. An additional rep and 1 sec faster average? I was really doubtful when I started out this morning. The sun was out and it was about 8:30 am. Not my favorite time to do intervals. Any way, here's how it went:
1.29.75, 1.32.55, 1.30.29, 1.34.29, 1.35.16, 1.33.92 (ave: 1.32.2)
Well, believe it or not, I managed to hit the target! The dispersion narrowed, no where near my fastest but well down from the slowest rep last time. :)
What was it that coach said? "I told you you can do it. Now that I know you better as an athlete, these aims are achievable."
Somewhat odd, as I don't think of myself as an athlete.
The first lap was not too bad. Many riders were doing the South Bouna Vista circuit and were going the other way from me. A few were struggling from the exertion. One in particular, stopped at the junction of S B V and Prince George's Park, and was still there when I did my third loop.
Anyway, I share his pain. Coz that was how I felt after two loops. HR was way up in 180s. and I took a few minutes breather after my second loop at Kent Ridge Drive. The third loop was agony, and boy was I glad to crest Kent Ridge high point.
At the car, I did a quick change. As quick as crampy legs and arms (and even hands!) would allow me to. It wasn't much of a brick workout as the slopes took too much out of me. Only a slow 1 km run was about all I could muster. :(
Speedwork: 6x400m intervals, target of 1.33 average. OMG! "Coach is really pushing me!" was what I thought when I read the training program. An additional rep and 1 sec faster average? I was really doubtful when I started out this morning. The sun was out and it was about 8:30 am. Not my favorite time to do intervals. Any way, here's how it went:
1.29.75, 1.32.55, 1.30.29, 1.34.29, 1.35.16, 1.33.92 (ave: 1.32.2)
Well, believe it or not, I managed to hit the target! The dispersion narrowed, no where near my fastest but well down from the slowest rep last time. :)
What was it that coach said? "I told you you can do it. Now that I know you better as an athlete, these aims are achievable."
Somewhat odd, as I don't think of myself as an athlete.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
TLog: Run till I puke 2
Here it goes again. Another 5x400m speedwork intervals with 200m recovery:
1.28, 1.29, 1.32, 1.34, 1.41 (ave: 1.328)
Not my fastest (1.26), but the average time came down slightly to achieve the target of 1.33 :)
Felt like puking after the fourth lap, which was why the last lap was an unremarkable 1.41.
1.28, 1.29, 1.32, 1.34, 1.41 (ave: 1.328)
Not my fastest (1.26), but the average time came down slightly to achieve the target of 1.33 :)
Felt like puking after the fourth lap, which was why the last lap was an unremarkable 1.41.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
TLog: TriZEN fun ride and intervals
Labor day, May 1
Swine flu notwithstanding, I met the TriZEN group at F2 car park along east coast for a fun ride. There were 8 bikers of us in two groups. I wanted to join the slow group, but Kelvin (who led the Trizen swim at Sentosa earlier in the year) would have none of it. So I joined Kelvin's group with another 3 bikers.
Henry is training for the SD 84k (second attempt) and IM. All the others had lots of experience in the 70.3, IM Langkawi, etc. Kevin had a spanking new Specialized tri bike. And there were a Ceepo, an Orbea and other nice bikes. And mine was the only road bike without aero bars!
One and a half loops with turnaround at the Changi Ferry Terminal and at the Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal. We went in a line, with bike-length drafting. It wasn't too close, which suited me fine, as this was my first time drafting. And yes, it was easier. Going at 30 kph didn't feel all that hard. :)
I had some mechanical trouble with my front wheel / calipers at the TMFT turn, and so didn't join the group for the second leg. Kenny stopped by to chat - he was the last biker and also had some trouble with his bike. Nice bunch of guys, and I really enjoyed the ride.
View Larger Map
May 2
Back to intervals. 5x400m. Target to reach 1.35, but only managed to do that for 3 laps:
1.26, 1.32, 1.36. 1.43. 1.39 (ave: 1.35)
For my own benefit, the first lap was 2 sec better than my last best. Did it feel tough? You bet, especially the last two laps. But recovery was faster.
I still don't like intervals, but they are getting slightly easier. So we'll see.
Swine flu notwithstanding, I met the TriZEN group at F2 car park along east coast for a fun ride. There were 8 bikers of us in two groups. I wanted to join the slow group, but Kelvin (who led the Trizen swim at Sentosa earlier in the year) would have none of it. So I joined Kelvin's group with another 3 bikers.
Henry is training for the SD 84k (second attempt) and IM. All the others had lots of experience in the 70.3, IM Langkawi, etc. Kevin had a spanking new Specialized tri bike. And there were a Ceepo, an Orbea and other nice bikes. And mine was the only road bike without aero bars!
One and a half loops with turnaround at the Changi Ferry Terminal and at the Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal. We went in a line, with bike-length drafting. It wasn't too close, which suited me fine, as this was my first time drafting. And yes, it was easier. Going at 30 kph didn't feel all that hard. :)
I had some mechanical trouble with my front wheel / calipers at the TMFT turn, and so didn't join the group for the second leg. Kenny stopped by to chat - he was the last biker and also had some trouble with his bike. Nice bunch of guys, and I really enjoyed the ride.
View Larger Map
May 2
Back to intervals. 5x400m. Target to reach 1.35, but only managed to do that for 3 laps:
1.26, 1.32, 1.36. 1.43. 1.39 (ave: 1.35)
For my own benefit, the first lap was 2 sec better than my last best. Did it feel tough? You bet, especially the last two laps. But recovery was faster.
I still don't like intervals, but they are getting slightly easier. So we'll see.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
TLog: Run till I puke
In my friend tekko's blog about counting pace, he associated interval running as vomit run. That's how I felt when I completed the 6th and last interval this morning. I felt like puking. But barely stopped short of just that.
This morning's session called for a 6x400m intervals with 200m recovery. "Try to average 1.35" was what coach advocated.
1.35? Average? I was highly skeptical. The fastest I ever did was 1.31, way back in Sept last year. My last 400m best time was 1.41. Anyway, just do it! was what I said to myself as I went out this morning. BTW, MRK gave me the stiffs again last night and this morning. Bad news.
After 1 km of warm up, my very first 400m surprised me - 1.31. Aha! It must be the Saucony Type A2 racer. Light and fast.
Second lap - I struggled. But when I looked at the time - 1.28! My fastest time ever. (This works out to a 3.41 pace or 18.8 km/h). I was a happy camper.
The other laps, I went way above 1.35 - 1.40, 1.37, 1.41, 1.40, for an average of 1.36.
ave HR per lap: 159, 173, 170, 170, 167, 171
max HR per lap: 183, 190, 188, 188, 185, 187
Bad knee or not, I am happy.
This morning's session called for a 6x400m intervals with 200m recovery. "Try to average 1.35" was what coach advocated.
1.35? Average? I was highly skeptical. The fastest I ever did was 1.31, way back in Sept last year. My last 400m best time was 1.41. Anyway, just do it! was what I said to myself as I went out this morning. BTW, MRK gave me the stiffs again last night and this morning. Bad news.
After 1 km of warm up, my very first 400m surprised me - 1.31. Aha! It must be the Saucony Type A2 racer. Light and fast.
Second lap - I struggled. But when I looked at the time - 1.28! My fastest time ever. (This works out to a 3.41 pace or 18.8 km/h). I was a happy camper.
The other laps, I went way above 1.35 - 1.40, 1.37, 1.41, 1.40, for an average of 1.36.
ave HR per lap: 159, 173, 170, 170, 167, 171
max HR per lap: 183, 190, 188, 188, 185, 187
Bad knee or not, I am happy.
Monday, April 13, 2009
TLog: 100m swim intervals
Today's swim session moves on to 100m laps instead of 50m laps. The mental thought for this swim is: "Think fast"
Here are the 10x100 lap times:
2.05, 2.17, 2.21, 2.24, 2.23, 2.19, 2.19, 2.22, 2.21, 2.20
Ave 100m lap time: 2.17
One interesting observation. For the last two laps, I focussed on smoother strokes instead of high pace. In fact, my stroke pace slowed down and breathing was easier. Surprisingly the lap time went down to about 2.20.
Practiced 200m of sighting again.
Wore my tri-suit for today's session. The compression feel was still there, although after some time in the water, I didn't feel the compression as much. There was a slight gap at the back near the neck ... possibly due to my hunched shoulders, and I felt that water was being trapped in that cup. Couldn't feel my legs and butt as much, as the thighs and back were covered. Ordinarily, I could feel the air on the small of my back when in the horizontal position. Took some getting used to.
Here are the 10x100 lap times:
2.05, 2.17, 2.21, 2.24, 2.23, 2.19, 2.19, 2.22, 2.21, 2.20
Ave 100m lap time: 2.17
One interesting observation. For the last two laps, I focussed on smoother strokes instead of high pace. In fact, my stroke pace slowed down and breathing was easier. Surprisingly the lap time went down to about 2.20.
Practiced 200m of sighting again.
Wore my tri-suit for today's session. The compression feel was still there, although after some time in the water, I didn't feel the compression as much. There was a slight gap at the back near the neck ... possibly due to my hunched shoulders, and I felt that water was being trapped in that cup. Couldn't feel my legs and butt as much, as the thighs and back were covered. Ordinarily, I could feel the air on the small of my back when in the horizontal position. Took some getting used to.
Friday, April 10, 2009
TLog: intervals
Supposed to do 10x400 intervals with 200m recovery. My main focus is to go fast, but not so fast that I don't have enough gas for Sunday's brick session of 2-hour bike + 3 km run. So here's how it went:
1.41, 1.48, 1.52, 1.55, 1.50, 1.53, 2.07, 1.58, 2.27
The last 400m was up a slope, and that took the wind out of me. Wound up with just 9 laps. HR averaged 165 with highs in low 180s for each of the intervals.
Slightly slower than the intervals at end Jan.
1.41, 1.48, 1.52, 1.55, 1.50, 1.53, 2.07, 1.58, 2.27
The last 400m was up a slope, and that took the wind out of me. Wound up with just 9 laps. HR averaged 165 with highs in low 180s for each of the intervals.
Slightly slower than the intervals at end Jan.
Monday, March 9, 2009
TLog: swim review and 1-km intervals
Met up with coach last Friday for a swim review. A few points noted - initiate earlier left pull, avoid strong kick on left side, ensure no crossing over when reaching on the right. Focused on these tweaks this morning and happy to note the fall in lap timings:-
Pull drill lap time: 1.16, 1.13, 1.14, 1.17, 1.16, 1.17,1.21, 1.20, 1.22, 1.21,1.19, 1.16
Front crawl lap time: 1.15, 1.13, 1.18, 1.14, 1.14, 1.24, 1.20, 1.18, 1.20, 1.16
The tradeoff was a slight increase in stroke count ... up to 20-21. And one more thing. Hypothesis: Bilateral breathing leads to faster laps. Hypothesis not tested, just based on anedoctal evidence.
Ran 5 1-km intervals last Sat and here are the splits:
5.16
4.59
5.12
5.10
5.06
400m jog recovery between the intervals. I was quite surprised with this workout, coz I thought I could probably do only 5:30. Ave HR went up with successive interval and max HR was 186 recorded on the fifth 1-k interval.
Pull drill lap time: 1.16, 1.13, 1.14, 1.17, 1.16, 1.17,1.21, 1.20, 1.22, 1.21,1.19, 1.16
Front crawl lap time: 1.15, 1.13, 1.18, 1.14, 1.14, 1.24, 1.20, 1.18, 1.20, 1.16
The tradeoff was a slight increase in stroke count ... up to 20-21. And one more thing. Hypothesis: Bilateral breathing leads to faster laps. Hypothesis not tested, just based on anedoctal evidence.
Ran 5 1-km intervals last Sat and here are the splits:
5.16
4.59
5.12
5.10
5.06
400m jog recovery between the intervals. I was quite surprised with this workout, coz I thought I could probably do only 5:30. Ave HR went up with successive interval and max HR was 186 recorded on the fifth 1-k interval.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
TLog: intervals and swim
Back to intervals. Managed only 4x400m due to time constraint (weekends are usually like this!). Improved on the times although the 4th was slower:
1:40; 1:38; 1:39 and 1:56
(pace: 4:10; 4:07; 4:09 and 4:52)
Swim session in the afternoon was touch and go, but the weather held up and it was a go. Again due to time constraint, I managed only 24 laps. Good news is that I was able to continuously swim the 300m warm-up, 500m pull bouy drill (lap time between 1:25 to 1:38) and 200m warm-down.
It has been a long three weeks. One more tempo run tomorrow before recovery week.
Monday, January 19, 2009
TLog: Intervals
It has been a while, but back to interval training. Not my favored training, as I usually like longer slower-paced runs to take in the scenery, smell the flowers, etc. Anyhow, today's workout is for 5x400m fast paced runs, with 200m recovery. This was how it turned out:
Lap pace (min/km) time
1 4.23 1:45
2 4.23 1:45
3 4.23 1:45
4 4:20 1:44
5 4:32 1:49
Slower than the intervals in Nov last year, which averaged about 4:15 pace (4 sets only). But max heart rate: 203!! This is the highest recorded. Not sure if this is good or bad....
Lap pace (min/km) time
1 4.23 1:45
2 4.23 1:45
3 4.23 1:45
4 4:20 1:44
5 4:32 1:49
Slower than the intervals in Nov last year, which averaged about 4:15 pace (4 sets only). But max heart rate: 203!! This is the highest recorded. Not sure if this is good or bad....
Sunday, November 9, 2008
TLog: Intervals
Interval training is not a new concept to me, but simply something that I have never done. Idea is to get the fast twitch muscles working and interval training is a well accepted way to improve speed. So rounding off this tough week is - well, interval training.
Supposed to do 6x800m intervals at 3:00 (4:30 min/km pace) or below. However (!), due to family commitments, I had to bring it forward. Having done a 1km swim in the morning didn't exactly put me in great condition. So it is not surprising that I could only manage 4X400m intervals. The paces are: 1:31, 1.41, 1.41 and 1.48. Only the first lap came close to the target of 1:30. :(
I could not sustain the fast pace over the entire 400m, even when I started out more conservatively. Tough work that needs getting used to. But gotta start somewhere.
On the swim, I tried something from the TI drills. This is the switch drill. Start with arms extended on the side, face down. Zipper upper hand and enter quietly in front. Catch up, then rotate with body and head together to the other side. At the same time, ensure extension of arm. Take 2 to 3 yoga breaths, then face down again. Repeat.
Found this drill to be easier as I got more air and spend less time between breaths. Checked that the upper hand is in the air each time to ensure that body is horizontal, since the flat position is now omitted. Also practiced the second drill, now into the third week.
Supposed to do 6x800m intervals at 3:00 (4:30 min/km pace) or below. However (!), due to family commitments, I had to bring it forward. Having done a 1km swim in the morning didn't exactly put me in great condition. So it is not surprising that I could only manage 4X400m intervals. The paces are: 1:31, 1.41, 1.41 and 1.48. Only the first lap came close to the target of 1:30. :(
I could not sustain the fast pace over the entire 400m, even when I started out more conservatively. Tough work that needs getting used to. But gotta start somewhere.
On the swim, I tried something from the TI drills. This is the switch drill. Start with arms extended on the side, face down. Zipper upper hand and enter quietly in front. Catch up, then rotate with body and head together to the other side. At the same time, ensure extension of arm. Take 2 to 3 yoga breaths, then face down again. Repeat.
Found this drill to be easier as I got more air and spend less time between breaths. Checked that the upper hand is in the air each time to ensure that body is horizontal, since the flat position is now omitted. Also practiced the second drill, now into the third week.
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