Does it get any easier?
I asked Jo this morning "does it get any easier?".
I was in a grumpy mood - waking up at 5:20am in order to get a run in before work, and to make matters worse it was dark outside because of the clocks going forward last weekend. Also we hadn't changed the time on our central heating system - so it was cold in the house, not mega cold but just not warm enough to entice you to escape the duvet. I miss my sleep :(
It was pretty much the same yesterday - that seems to be our Wednesday and Thursday routine; up at 5:20am (Jo has a snooze as she gets ready quicker, whereas I like a certain amout of "gaze into space" time so I have to get up when the alarm goes), then out the door by 6:00am. Run 15km on Wednesdays (at a nice slow pace) and 12km on Thursday at a much harder pace.
Jo said "yes it does get easier". I'm not sure I believe her!!
Today was particularly difficult. The first ten to twenty minutes of a run are usually difficult, but usually I relax a bit and then begin to enjoy it. Today's run was at a hard intensity (DPT) so I didn't really get to relax (no matter how hard I tried). It didn't help when Jo started singing along to "Lose Yourself" by Eminem. Jo listens to music on her iPod whereas I prefer silence (or rather, the sound of my feet and my breathing); I prefer to lose myself in a meditative state - so when Jo sings it brings me back to reality (which is fine if we're doing an easy run, but not when I'm trying to shut myself off from the effort of a hard run). Jo's better than me at running at higher intensity - several times today she engaged me in "idle" chatter. Since we were doing a hard run I assumed idle chatter meant she wasn't working hard enough ;) so usually this was followed by me asking "what's your heart rate?" or "how's your effort out of ten?". Jo's response usually implied she was at exactly the heart rate/effort that she should be at - I cannot understand how she could sing or chat at that intensity; she's definitely made of sterner stuff than me.
For anyone who hasn't bothered looking at our training plan (and I don't blame you...it bores me too), here's a summary of our run types. Regeneration runs, usually Monday, are very very easy - just to shift some lactic acid from the weekend's runs. BT1 (Basic Training 1), usually Wednesdays and Sundays, is also pretty easy, still at fat-burning (65%) intensity. Then we shift up to BT2, currently our new Saturday runs; this is still at a "talking" pace (75%) but now we begin to utilise more carbs (although fat is still the predominant fuel used for this). Stepping up to a much harder pace is DPT (Development Phase Training), usually our Thursday run; this is a tempo run (i.e. you can manage an hour at this pace without stopping, but not much more). DPT is hard (85% - hence about an 8.5 out of 10 in perceived effort) - expect to be hungry after this run, as it's now using mainly carbs (which the body will want to replace ASAP after the run, hence the hunger pangs). Finally we come to PIT (Peak Interval Training) - just the thought of these scare me!! These we don't do yet - thankfully we have about 10 weeks of training before we get to this intensity of training, but I am not looking forward to it. PIT will involve going as hard as you can for the interval duration (1km or 2km), hence expect pain and serious (95%) effort.
So - does it get any easier? I'm afraid not :(
PS. I weighed my rucksack after the run this morning (containing work clothes and water). It only weighed 5kg (11lb) hence only half as heavy as Freddie and George's weight vest. It sure felt heavier than that :(
I was in a grumpy mood - waking up at 5:20am in order to get a run in before work, and to make matters worse it was dark outside because of the clocks going forward last weekend. Also we hadn't changed the time on our central heating system - so it was cold in the house, not mega cold but just not warm enough to entice you to escape the duvet. I miss my sleep :(
It was pretty much the same yesterday - that seems to be our Wednesday and Thursday routine; up at 5:20am (Jo has a snooze as she gets ready quicker, whereas I like a certain amout of "gaze into space" time so I have to get up when the alarm goes), then out the door by 6:00am. Run 15km on Wednesdays (at a nice slow pace) and 12km on Thursday at a much harder pace.
Jo said "yes it does get easier". I'm not sure I believe her!!
Today was particularly difficult. The first ten to twenty minutes of a run are usually difficult, but usually I relax a bit and then begin to enjoy it. Today's run was at a hard intensity (DPT) so I didn't really get to relax (no matter how hard I tried). It didn't help when Jo started singing along to "Lose Yourself" by Eminem. Jo listens to music on her iPod whereas I prefer silence (or rather, the sound of my feet and my breathing); I prefer to lose myself in a meditative state - so when Jo sings it brings me back to reality (which is fine if we're doing an easy run, but not when I'm trying to shut myself off from the effort of a hard run). Jo's better than me at running at higher intensity - several times today she engaged me in "idle" chatter. Since we were doing a hard run I assumed idle chatter meant she wasn't working hard enough ;) so usually this was followed by me asking "what's your heart rate?" or "how's your effort out of ten?". Jo's response usually implied she was at exactly the heart rate/effort that she should be at - I cannot understand how she could sing or chat at that intensity; she's definitely made of sterner stuff than me.
For anyone who hasn't bothered looking at our training plan (and I don't blame you...it bores me too), here's a summary of our run types. Regeneration runs, usually Monday, are very very easy - just to shift some lactic acid from the weekend's runs. BT1 (Basic Training 1), usually Wednesdays and Sundays, is also pretty easy, still at fat-burning (65%) intensity. Then we shift up to BT2, currently our new Saturday runs; this is still at a "talking" pace (75%) but now we begin to utilise more carbs (although fat is still the predominant fuel used for this). Stepping up to a much harder pace is DPT (Development Phase Training), usually our Thursday run; this is a tempo run (i.e. you can manage an hour at this pace without stopping, but not much more). DPT is hard (85% - hence about an 8.5 out of 10 in perceived effort) - expect to be hungry after this run, as it's now using mainly carbs (which the body will want to replace ASAP after the run, hence the hunger pangs). Finally we come to PIT (Peak Interval Training) - just the thought of these scare me!! These we don't do yet - thankfully we have about 10 weeks of training before we get to this intensity of training, but I am not looking forward to it. PIT will involve going as hard as you can for the interval duration (1km or 2km), hence expect pain and serious (95%) effort.
So - does it get any easier? I'm afraid not :(
PS. I weighed my rucksack after the run this morning (containing work clothes and water). It only weighed 5kg (11lb) hence only half as heavy as Freddie and George's weight vest. It sure felt heavier than that :(
posted by Sat Sandhu at
10:27
2 Comments:
Greeting from Colorado! My friend Megan and I will be joining you and all these other crazies who consider such an event "fun"! We are "pork and tofu" until a better name befalls us, which Im sure after multiple hours training together will bring us. We're avid runners and after several marathons decided to crank it up a notch (or several notches it seems!) Happy running out there!
Christy
Hiya Christy (and Megan),
Welcome to the madness! ;)
Since you're from Colorado you can tell us what to expect from the region!!
Keep in touch. Thanks,
Sat
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