Tempo Run at Nowton Park Suffolk

At lunch time I headed for a run to Nowton Park.

This is one of a number of parks in and around Bury St Edmunds. Nowton Park is on the fringe of the village Nowton and Bury and is Victorian in design. The Lime Tree Avenue was planted in 1880 and gives the park a sense of grandeur. Every Spring there is a daffodil display from the 100,000 bulbs planted as a yellow corridor along the lime trees.

I live around 2.5 miles from the park so after a mile warm up I put on some music on my IPOD and commenced a 5 mile tempo run.  Today

was another warm day and I wished I had taken a drink with me as I began to struggle after 3 miles. I think this was a combination of getting used to running in mid day warmth and a tickly dry throat. I have been fighting off a cold but may be losing the battle.

It being the second week of half term and the weather being so good the park was busy with lots of family's enjoying picnic lunches.

My run once I reached the park was to run up and down the lime avenue. There is a gentle upward incline as you head towards the maze and the Victorian Folly.

My splits were 8.11,7.52,8.01,8.31 and 8.24 for a total of  41.19 for the 5 miles - 8.12 pace. I was hoping for something closer to 8 min miles but this is fine.

I jogged home making a run of 7 miles which was slightly over my schedule which called for a 6.

Tempo Run

Lunch time today was my last quality training session before my half marathon  race on Sunday at Stowmarket, Suffolk. I am in a taper week and didn't run Monday or Tuesday. I am putting up my feet a bit and planning to enjoy plenty of carbohydrates such as  pasta , pizza and potatoes. Along with a few beers I could get used to this.

However my tempo run today was a 6 mile effort. I warmed up for a mile in 8.29 and then switched on the Ramones to accompany me on the faster four mile tempo run. I felt good starting off running down a hill and finishing the four miles up a hill. My 4 miles were run in 32 mins 3 seconds. Splits were 7.46, 7.54, 8.07 and 8.16. Overall that it is my best tempo run pace that I have managed during the half marathon training.

I warmed down with a slower mile home in around 9 mins.

I am still a long way short of what I was running pace wise before all of my injuries last year but I am heading the right way.

I have a couple of short 4 mile easy runs planned before Sunday but that is it this week

Five Mile Tempo Run in Fornham St Martin Suffolk

Wednesday in my training schedule usually calls for a tempo or speed interval run which I always look forward to. It's something different from the usual easy paced runs which make up most of the rest of the week. Of course it is also a chance to test yourself and to see how the training is going.

My run today consisted of a warm up mile , five miles tempo and warm down mile. I ran the same course as Monday following the route around Fornham offering as it does a 7 mile course with not to many roads to cross where you can get stopped by the traffic.

After two days of snow and sleet the weather was mild , in fact possibly the warmest day of the year at about 8c. I only wore one layer for the first time this year- a sweat shirt and tracksters and my Asics Gel Stratus 3. If anything the sweat shirt was a little too heavy and a thiner thermal top would have been adequate as I got warm on this run.

My warm up mile was run in 8.35. I then paused and set the IPOD to music rather than running podcasts. I am sure I run faster when listening to music rather than speech. On the IPOD I had The Ramones, The Beatles, Jimmy Eat World, The Saints, The Lillingtons, Joy Division, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Beach Boys, Editors and The Jam.

With the music belting out I was able to tackle the tempo run. The schedule called for 5 miles at 7.54 mile pace. I was happy with what I did achieve though I didn't hit this pace my mile splits show 7.48,8.12,8.09,8.19 and 8.28. So my 1st mile was under target but I then slipped back to over 8 minute miles averaging out at 8.12 miles for a total of 40.58 for the 5 miles. I felt good and comfortable for 3.5 miles but then had to grit my teeth for the last 1.5 as my times showed I tired particularly for the last half mile.

When I tired I had reached my lactic threshold maximum. Tempo runs  create lactic acid in the muscles and eventually you do begin to slow. Running at tempo pace often enough should help train the body in dealing with lactic acid. As it will make the body more efficient in removing lactic acid from the muscles.

Thats good news because next time I  run, I shouldn't  build up as much lactic acid in the muscles as the last time I ran at that same pace. The body will be able to get rid of lactic acid faster too. At least thats what I have read.

I warmed down for a mile and half feeling that this was a really worth while session and has helped overcome some of the disappointment of not racing on Sunday.

Five Mile Tempo Run in Bury St Edmunds Suffolk

Wednesdays are my days for tempo runs. Today the tempo run distance was a little longer being 5 miles instead of 4. Then again everything is a little longer I think in week 4 of the Runners World SMART Coach training schedule.

I am continuing to hit the mileage targets as per the schedule so that is going very well. However I am going through a week at the moment where I am feeling tired, whether that is due to the steady increase in mileage every week or it is a week where my energy levels are lower I am not too sure.

When I set out at lunch time the weather was dry but it has turned colder again and temperatures are hovering around freezing due to the winds having picked up.I ran an easy first mile in 8.26 to warm up though this should have been a bit slower. Some how knowing I am going to pick up the pace during the tempo run I usually run a bit quicker in the warm up than I should.

For my tempo run I couldn't really avoid some hills unless I chose to run on a track or found  a flat mile to run up and down over and over again. So my times for the 5 miles seem to flucutate quite a bit  8.06, 8.35, 8.15,8.17 and 8.23. Total 41.38 average pace 8.20. As the schedule called for 7.59 mile pace I am again outside of this.

I jogged home the final mile in 9.24

Just 24 days into the new running schedule there is a need for patience as I don't have a consistent platform of base mileage in the bank in the last 6 months of 2009 and can't expect instant results such as noticable reductions in times. The main indicator of how the training is going at the moment has to be on how successfully I am able to complete the longer runs. I have another 11 mile run this Sunday and completing this distance in reasonable shape will boost the confidence as the body gets to used to spending this amount of time on the run.

What I found helpful when out on the run is to listen to podcasts as a change from music sometimes. A brand new podcast which I think is an excellent listen is called Marathon Talk. The episodes tend to be about an hour which is just right for me as all my training is for an hour or more these days and it saves having to change the ipod over not easy to do I find when the player is in armband wallet.

What I like about this new podcast is how they have chosen to have a no of regular features. It has a news desk feel and is introduced by Martin Yelling and Tom Williams and each episode they interview a running personality.  Although it is marathon talk it would appeal to any runner though they have clearly launched it at this time to appeal to the mass of folks training for a Spring marathon.

Four Mile Tempo Run in Bury St Edmunds Suffolk

Day 17 of my Runners World SMART Coach Schedule. Wednesdays are tempo run days and tonight it was a repeat of the session I did 2 weeks previously.

The session called for 6 miles in total  1 mile warm up followed by 4 miles at 7.54 pace and then a one warm down. How did I do? I am happy with the session because It is a definite improvement on the same session two weeks previously. My splits were warm up of 1.07 miles in 9.24

followed by tempo miles four miles with no rests in between miles of 7.52,8.11,8.12 and 8.20  followed by warm down of 1.04 miles in 9.19

So the first mile was pretty much spot on what was required I then began to slow for each mile so I couldn't keep the consistency. However all the miles were quicker than 2 weeks ago when I ran 8.30, 8.44, 8.50 and 8.53 for the same course.

Too early to say if the training programme and push ups are working but perhaps some green shoots of recovery are beginning to blossom I hope though never count your chickens before they hatch . Hows that for a cliche filled sentence!

The Snowman's lost his carrot

The slow thaw continues in Bury St Edmunds Suffolk and snowmen all over are shrinking and losing their eyes and in the case of this one at Fornham All Saints his carrot nose.

Although the roads are clear the pavements are a variety pack you just don;t know what you are going to get ice slush snow and clear sections. All of which meant that for my tempo run today I did a warm up in search of a fairly clear section of pavement which I found out at Fornham All Saints.

This was day 10 of my Runners World SMART Coach schedule which hopefully will gear me up for a crack at a half marathon at the end of March. Yesterday was a total rest day no running or push ups and I felt strangely inactive after 4 continuous days of running. Today called for a tempo run of 7 miles including a warm up 3 miles at 7.24 mile pace with half mile jogs in between before a warm down mile home.

How did I do?  Warm up of 1.73 miles in 15.08  Tempo miles in 8.11, 8.17,8.17  . I did the half mile jogs and then ran home 1.33 miles in 11.49 A total of 7.12 miles.

Ok again I was nowhere near doing my tempo runs in the pace suggested by the schedule I am just not in that condition and it was still slippery in places. However taking the positives from this my 4 tempo miles last week were between 8.30 and 8.53 so perhaps there has been some improvement. Perhaps I am increasing my anaerobic threshold or it was just less slippery than last week

Felt good today after my rest yesterday which was needed as I had been feeling a little pain on the outside of the knee. A sure sign of Iliotibial band syndrome. It didn't affect my running and I only felt pain by pressing it. But seemingly gone today though something to watch out for in the coming weeks. I have never had this before so not sure what may have caused it but I suspect overuse brought on by the sudden regular running in this training schedule, running on ice, overpronating which I do or running on hills which I do.

More grey snowy photos on this post. The church is All Saints at Fornham All Saints village. You can only just see that the snowman has lost his carrot.

Tempo Run in the Snow - Bury St Edmunds Suffolk

Day 3 of my 11 week Runners World Smart Coach Schedule saw me venture out in the snow. Compared to much of the country I think we have got of lightly so far as snow fell in Suffolk today at lunch time and for a while was heavy but at the moment I think we have had around 7-8 cm so not too bad. The Met Office forecast for tomorow in Bury St Edmunds is much the same with the possibility of more heavy snow and icy roads.

Once I had layered up with hat and thick gloves two tops and tracksters my schedule called for me to do a "warm up" mile! Which I did and to be honest apart from the inevitable slipping effect the snow was ok to run in.

I then had a go at the 4 mile tempo run but to be expected I couldn't run at the suggested pace which was 7.54 miles. Instead overall I ran 8.45 miles. I did put in tempo type effort in to the run but a combination of my lack of fitness/sharpness , lack of previous tempo running and the snow conditions lead to my downfall. However I am taking the positive from this run firstly I got out there when it would have been so easy to giveit a miss, running in the snow must effect your pace so perhaps my 8.45's were worth a little more and practice makes perfect so each week I might see some improvement in my tempo running.

Times were warm up 8.56.Tempo miles 8.30,8.44,8.50,8.53. Warm down mile 9.35

So I definitely slowed on the tempo miles as I tired.

Day 2 of 77 of the Runners World Smart Coach Schedule

Day 2 of my 11 week half marathon schedule called for a rest day. I can do that and to be fair I have just completed day 3 , week 3 of the push ups programme. Tonight I did 5 sets of push ups which included sets of 22, 30 , 20, 20 followed by a final set of 30 . Grand total of 122 for the 5 sets though don't think I could do much more than what I am doing in one set at the moment.

My schedule really begins to get going tomorrow night with a tempo run weather allowing. Tempo runs were absent from my training last year so I am really looking forward to this at the moment. According to Toby Tanser tempo runs are the single most important session you can do to improve your speed for any race distance. Interesting to me is the view from Tanser that tempo runs trump track sessions for the longer distance runner as it obviously trains your body to sustain speed over distance.

I would normally attend a track session once or twice a week but will cut this back to perhaps just the one for the period of this schedule. It would seem that tempo running is more important than speedwork for the half and full marathon

What is a tempo run? From what I have read it is a comfortably hard run for 2-4 miles. It is not race pace but if you could you would slow down. A good easy warm up and cool down with the tempo run being the meat in the sandwich.

An interesting site on Toby Tanser and his work can be found here

Tempo Session - Newmarket Rd Bury St Edmunds Suffolk

Enjoyed a quick lunch time session without any nagging pains

I did an initial warm up to my starting point in Newmarket Rd Bury St Edmunds of 1.28 miles in 11.05 an 8.40 pace.

Stopped to reset my Garmin Forerunner 205 before do a mile from the top of Newmarket Rd junction of Oliver Road to the Falcon Pub at the bottom of Victoria Street. This is a mile only problem being the need to cross some busy junctions which canmean you have to stop.

My mile time was 7.47 which gives me a target for the new year which I can and will beat.

I then jogged back to the bottom of Westley Road and did a 2 mile tempo run around Westley Rd, Oliver Rd and Newmarket Rd.  My 2 mile time was 16.47 or 8.24 miling. Again I am sure I can beat this in the new year health willing

To finish up my final tempo spin was a Half Mile run along Westley Road. My time was actually a slower pace than for the mile which shows I was tiring doing a 3.55 or 7.52 miling pace

Gives me targets to beat for the new year when doing tempo runs. Will look to add a 3 miler when I found a good circuit to do this.

Photos are a view from the top of Gibralter Barracks looking along out Risbygate Street and towards the town centre. This was part of my run today when doing the mile tempo run