10k reps session I and Triggs beach run II

Sunday 20th May AM; Went to Triggs again with brother-in-law Steve. Pretty mushy surf, strong left to right rip, and not very good waves mostly. Cold south westerly winds, not too bad warmth once i got into the water ("no wetsuit Jon" strikes again), but the wind-chill really hits you as soon as you get out of the water. Spent about 10 minutes trying to get out far enough to get a bodysurfing ride, and had a few shots at it, but in the end not really getting anywhere, so enjoyed my quick dip, but left steve to keep trying with his surfboard and boogieboard, and decided to do the beach run I had done this Wednesday again.

So ran 4km in 31 min.07 ...Heart rate 150...splits; 15.53/15.14
Possibly negative splitted due to running the last few hundred metres on cyclepath instead of beach sand. Slightly shorter course this time than on wednesday, but I think it was still significantly quicker. This time I ran in vehicle wheeltracks nearly all the way. A great run to strengthen the legs pushing off the sand (ran in shoes instead of barefoot this time also), and set the tone for the day.
Then went for a latte with Steve and more talk about the joys of married life, and babies, various plans we have etc...

Headed for home to touch base with my wife Kathryn, and then after doing a few minor chores heading out to Noranda to do the reps session from hell, the "10k reps session" probably one of the toughest reps sessions I have in my training arsenal of experience. Its one mostly my old racewalking coach and my dad know about, its a bit of a "secret" session, so not going to go into a lot of detail about it. I will say though that when I do this one I need to be in the right fram of mind cos as I was reminded again today; the last 3-4km of this 10k reps session is very! demanding phsically and mentally, with very sustained! high! levels of lactic acid to cope with for a long period of time. Big gains from this session to be had, but I think the sustained continual pain involved is too much for a lot of people (serious athletes included) to cope with. Yes I am saying that this is a reasonably hardcore session not for the slightly soft/fainthearted. Its a bit like running 6-inch or 6-foot 45km, you have to be reasonably mentally tough, and you need to be physically ready.

Resting heart rate was 47 for me this morning so I was always going to try and get the 10k reps session done today, especially with the Challenge 10km race on next week, which I hope to do, and for me to have any chance of getting near my initial target time of 44-46minutes, this session is crucial for me getting prepared I think.

Ran 10km reps session @ Noranda in 44minutes 17secs.54 Heart rates; 180-192. 4min.25 per km average. Fastest 1km split during the session; 4min.12.
Last couple of reps felt tough, was an intensity level I have not experience often in the last 12 months or so. I knew that the second 5km would be quite hard and it was!....Overall very happy to finally get this session done, hope to finetune with a few more easier sessions in the week, and hopefully have a good race on the weekend in the Challenge 10km. Was trying to get under 44minutes, but just couldn't nail that one today. I think this reps session and the 42km run last weekend, have significantly opened the window of opportunity for me to have some good racing this year, if I can build on this in the coming weeks. We shall see.

WEEK 9 (14/05/07-20/05/07);

Volume; 199min + 30hrs MR. Sessions; 6 +MR Best RHR;47 bpm Sleep; 42.5hrs! *60


OD/LSD/LFD sessions; NIL.

Races/Time trials;NIL

Reps sessions; 10km rep session 44min 17secs HR's 180-192.

Comments;
Good to get some shorter beach runs on the board during the week which really helped me to cope with what was another very stressful week, tough rounds at work, especially the one alongside Jacobs ladder on the "scarp" of Kings park. Started that work round with an ascent of jacobs ladder, climbed 15 floors of stairs in one apartment building went up and down Mount St, and basically it was a tough day where I was on my feet for about 10-11 hours...Still not getting enough sleep, and a lot of driving around the metro, makes me one tired man. Excellent to nail my first 10k reps session for well over 12 months, and to do it well under 4.30 per km, so a very good session to get under the belt, was hoping for a long ride or run, but I think after what I did at work recovery was more important this weekend, and the reps was priority numero uno, plus with a 42km run banked from last week, as long as I do something the following week it won't matter much. So overall another step forward this week, and hope to consolidate and go even further forward next week, its the business end of my prep for the perth Marathon now for sure...!