Head boiled again

It was Monday-Legs again at the start of the week and I battled on through to get in just over 5K in 30 minutes. This despite the fact that the temperature was up to 10C and quite pleasant I just felt - yuk.

Today though, was somewhat different. I've found generally that I can't tell how a run is going to go until I'm about half a mile down the road. Today, I was half a mile down the road and thinking about a 5K race I may enter in about a month's time. And then I was wondering what sort of PR I might set - it being my first race and not having a PR yet. And then I was thinking that I would need to know what my race pace should be before the race. And then I looked at Mr Garmin who told me I was running at around an 8 minute mile pace.

So, I was feeling pretty good and decided I would try to maintain a faster pace for as long as I could and see what happens. The way I began measuring the effort was the feeling of resistance I was getting in my quads, something akin to wading through water, except very "thin" water. I used this and a steady breathing rate to try to maintain a steady pace and just kept giving it a bit more gas.

At the 3 mile mark, I knew I was well ahead of my normal pace and was wondering where I would end up running to, as I would have to walk back. I was also feeling a little nauseous having completed the main 400 yard incline section in my otherwise flattish circuit. The main problem I was having here - and sorry if this is a bit gross - is that I was building up a load of phlegm at the back of my throat and, well, I'm not a spitter. So this had only one place to go and my stomach just wasn't liking it.

I could also feel my heart rate was probably close to my HRMax, though I had no good means to record it. This lasted for a couple of hundred yards and I was back to a more comfortable throat and heart as I passed 5K and my usual finishing point.

I completed the run having covered 3.6 miles in 30 minutes at an average pace of 8:22. Nothing mechanical broke. My head looked like it had been boiled, which is probably a good indication of effort - I haven't had a boiled head for months now. This might show that my normal speed, which I've been keeping down to spare the ankles is not really fast enough for a good workout, but 8:22 is too fast at the moment. It's nice to know it can be done though.

So, having done this, I arrive home to find in my mailbox 2 pieces of advice which advise me to do something entirely different. Firstly Phil (thank you!) suggesting I run 30 minutes more frequently in the week and add some lower effort workouts to make a total of 5 sessions.

Secondly, from Runner's World who drop me an email every week or so with links to some wise words for beginners. One of their 35 training principles for beginners is:

"#3 Go farther, not harder Once you reach the magic 20-minute mark, build up to 30 minutes (then 40, 50 and 60). Don’t make the mistake of trying to get faster – don’t try to run your 20-minute course in 19 minutes. Increasing endurance is your first priority. "

So I think the message is clear. This morning's push for speed might have been fun to try, but it's not going to be any good for me to continue right now. I might look to increase my pace slightly as I know I can sustain it, but not currently to anything faster the 9:00, probably more like 9:10. Instead, I need to increase my workout frequency, thus increasing my weekly mileage and perhaps then increase the time I spend out there on each run. But, keep the 10% per week rule in mind.

Training so far this week:

Mon: 3.11 miles, 30 minutes 9:39 pace. 10C
Wed: 3.60 miles, 30 minutes 8:22 pace. 5C

All the best.

Mr Stumble.