Six Weeks To Bust A Gut
I had a great Sunday run, 13-miles among that crazy bright palette of Fall leaves - my farthest run since Steamtown. The funny thing was realizing a few hours afterwards that I hadn’t even thought about bringing a gel, when for months I’d made sure to suck down that sweet snot for anything over 12. How soon I abandon the old ways.
As for today, I did a radio spot in the morning, got home and stuffed a meatloaf sandwich down my gullet, waited forever for it to digest, then went out for my first tempo run in months.
One of the best things about 5K training is iddy biddy tempo runs. Seriously, the optimum LT time for this distance is good ole 20-30 minutes. What a novelty! In fact, looking at my logs, the last time I did a 3-mile tempo run was Nov. 14, 2007. It’s almost enough to make a gal feel guilty…almost. Total workout was 7 miles with 3 tempo, the tempo splits were 7:56 (windy start), 7:52, 7:43 for an avg of 7:50.
I should also mention that I’m using the park markings instead of the Garmin for quality workouts from this point on. It’s the only smart thing to do because today, for example, the Garmin autolaps consistently came up 4-6 seconds short every mile! Sheesh. It’s not always that bad - Sunday was spot on with the markers, but I clearly can’t depend on it. Thus, I won’t be doing my beloved 600s for a while, instead I’ll be doing speed workouts to 1/4 and 1/2 miles - but it’s worth it for accuracy’s sake.
In 5K news, my latest happy development was finding another 5K three weeks after the Turkey Trot, which means I now have 6 weeks to do some damage instead of 3. “Huh? What’s that you say? December…cold? I can’t hear you, fingers in ears la la la la la.” I’m living in denial but that’s alright, I figure it’s about time I do some uncomfortable races.
As for training, after all my hemming and hawing about different 5K plans, just when you thought I was going to pfollow Pfitz (sorry, I can’t help myselpf), I made an executive decision to return to the same plan I used last Spring: The Flo Plan (a.k.a. The PFlo Plan). The Flo Plan consists of 45+ mpw, one tempo, one speed plus the requisite long and easys. Nothing mysterious (bread and butter as far as plans go) but highly effective and I get to do whatever fun speedwork I choose. Lovely.
So once again, at least for a while, I’m the Boss of Me. I hope I like it, though I warn me, I tend to disrepect authority - plus I can tell I’m going to be a bitchy boss already. Gotta go now, I have to tell me that I’m about to be laid off. Who hired this whack job, anyway?
Tags: 5K, tempo, training plans
November 11th, 2008 at 7:59 pm
Sweet snot? I think you’re ruined my next Gu ingestion!
It’s possible that those trail markers are less accurate than your Garmin, by the way.
November 11th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
Aw Jim, sorry to ruin your Gu experience.
The markers are right, they sometimes use them for events around here and you can even see most of them in Google maps, so I’ve measured them through that as well. Sometimes the Garmin lines up perfectly with all the markers (like this last Sunday) then today, bleh, so the painted markers win.
November 11th, 2008 at 10:40 pm
To Flo the Boss: You should fire that whack job!!
To Flo the employee: Get out quick! The boss is a real bitch!
November 11th, 2008 at 10:43 pm
Boss: Who is that Bruce guy?
Me: Dunno, he just comes here.
Boss: He called me a bitch.
Me: Well, I am.
Boss: Get me a decaf mochachino. The Bruce can stay.
Me: Yes ma’am, I mean, me.
November 11th, 2008 at 10:45 pm
Perhaps the 3 or 5 of us should seek help.
November 18th, 2008 at 7:23 am
Which model Garmin do you use? I have used the 201 and thought it was pretty good but I’ve heard it can’t compare to the newer models. I’ve also heard that the 405 has a lot of problems. Any thoughts?
November 18th, 2008 at 10:03 am
Hi P.J. I have a 205 and a 305 (got the 205 as a cheap backup when the price went down from the 405s coming out), both give me the same anomalies. From what I hear, the 405 is the same as far as satellite accuracy, just a different cosmetic design. I’m sure it depends on where you live - I just happen to live in an area that is pretty flaky that way.