Hal Higdon 10k Training Program: Novice (Progress Thread)

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  • dewd2
    dewd2 Posts: 2,449 Member
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    I looked and couldn't find a 5k close to you this weekend (darn it :D:D:D ).

    Run it hard. See how you do. You may surprise yourself.
  • robertw486
    robertw486 Posts: 2,388 Member
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    With no race to be had, I'd assume most people run for time in a race, so I'd agree with the crowd suggestion to go for it. With the longer miles you've been putting in, I wouldn't be shocked if you set a new record time for the distance involved.... unless maybe you count back to your military days.
  • OldAssDude
    OldAssDude Posts: 1,436 Member
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    Thanks for the replies.

    i really don't have any interest in running any races as of now. My sole purpose of doing this program is to be able to run at least 10 miles. So if I do make the 13.1 miles on the last week, I can go around bragging that I can run over 10 miles. :)

    I will try to push it on the ones that say race, but I feel like my anaerobic fitness level has taken a hit, and I don't know how far I can run in the higher zones now. But, like @dewd2 said, I may surprise myself.

    Thanks again.
  • DX2JX2
    DX2JX2 Posts: 1,921 Member
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    OldAssDude wrote: »
    Thanks for the replies.

    i really don't have any interest in running any races as of now. My sole purpose of doing this program is to be able to run at least 10 miles. So if I do make the 13.1 miles on the last week, I can go around bragging that I can run over 10 miles. :)

    I will try to push it on the ones that say race, but I feel like my anaerobic fitness level has taken a hit, and I don't know how far I can run in the higher zones now. But, like @dewd2 said, I may surprise myself.

    Thanks again.

    Running is pretty much always aerobic. Even at the higher HR zones. It might be a bit soon to see a real improvement in time but trust me when I say that getting comfortable running a 10K or longer at an easy pace will do wonders for your ability to run 5K at a race pace.
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,676 Member
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    If you can't find a race nearby this weekend (always an issue in winter) then run a mile easy to warm up, then 3 as hard as you can maintain the pace, then a mile easy to cool down. Your breathing during the 'race' should be hard, but not so hard that you have to walk to catch your breath.
  • dewd2
    dewd2 Posts: 2,449 Member
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    OldAssDude wrote: »
    Thanks for the replies.

    i really don't have any interest in running any races as of now. My sole purpose of doing this program is to be able to run at least 10 miles. So if I do make the 13.1 miles on the last week, I can go around bragging that I can run over 10 miles. :)

    I will try to push it on the ones that say race, but I feel like my anaerobic fitness level has taken a hit, and I don't know how far I can run in the higher zones now. But, like @dewd2 said, I may surprise myself.

    Thanks again.

    Not buying it. You fitness is improving no matter what those gadgets tell you. ;)
  • OldAssDude
    OldAssDude Posts: 1,436 Member
    edited January 2019
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    dewd2 wrote: »
    OldAssDude wrote: »
    Thanks for the replies.

    i really don't have any interest in running any races as of now. My sole purpose of doing this program is to be able to run at least 10 miles. So if I do make the 13.1 miles on the last week, I can go around bragging that I can run over 10 miles. :)

    I will try to push it on the ones that say race, but I feel like my anaerobic fitness level has taken a hit, and I don't know how far I can run in the higher zones now. But, like @dewd2 said, I may surprise myself.

    Thanks again.

    Not buying it. You fitness is improving no matter what those gadgets tell you. ;)

    I agree 100% that my aerobic base is improving, and my leg endurance is improving. But I feel like my anaerobic (zones 4/5) has decreased slightly. I used to do much more intense but shorter workouts, and I'm not sure how well I will fair doing that for 3.1 miles.

    And that is not going by the my Garmin. It's going by how I felt the one day that I did intervals. They felt harder.

    But like you said. I may surprise myself. :)

    Friday is an optional easy run / rest day, and Saturday is a rest day. I will just do casual walks both days and try to hit it hard on Sunday, and see what happens.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,840 Member
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    OldAssDude wrote: »
    Thanks for the replies.

    i really don't have any interest in running any races as of now. My sole purpose of doing this program is to be able to run at least 10 miles. So if I do make the 13.1 miles on the last week, I can go around bragging that I can run over 10 miles. :)

    I will try to push it on the ones that say race, but I feel like my anaerobic fitness level has taken a hit, and I don't know how far I can run in the higher zones now. But, like @dewd2 said, I may surprise myself.

    Thanks again.

    You've moved your goal from 10 km to 10 miles (16 km)!

    I didn't read all the pages, but I'm guessing that means you've done a 10K then. Well done.

    I did 14 km last weekend.

  • OldAssDude
    OldAssDude Posts: 1,436 Member
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    Machka9 wrote: »
    OldAssDude wrote: »
    Thanks for the replies.

    i really don't have any interest in running any races as of now. My sole purpose of doing this program is to be able to run at least 10 miles. So if I do make the 13.1 miles on the last week, I can go around bragging that I can run over 10 miles. :)

    I will try to push it on the ones that say race, but I feel like my anaerobic fitness level has taken a hit, and I don't know how far I can run in the higher zones now. But, like @dewd2 said, I may surprise myself.

    Thanks again.

    You've moved your goal from 10 km to 10 miles (16 km)!

    I didn't read all the pages, but I'm guessing that means you've done a 10K then. Well done.

    I did 14 km last weekend.

    I went from the 10k to the 10 mile then to the half marathon plan, cause the 10 mile plan did not have an optional cross/run day on Wednesday.

    My longest long run on the plan so far was 6 miles, but I felt good on one of the 5 mile long runs and ran 6.84 miles that day. I guess I just wanted to see if I can run at least 10k.
  • OldAssDude
    OldAssDude Posts: 1,436 Member
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    I have been noticing something over the past week or two.

    I don't know how to explain it, but I feel like my running has gotten more rhythmic or steady lately. Don't know if those are the right words or not. Like I'm in some sort of zone that feels comfortable, and I feel like I can go for a while like that or something. When it happens, my heart rate is usually between 140 and 150, and even when it gets above 150 it still feels like that, but at that point my breathing starts getting to the point where I'm huffing and puffing a little.

    I wonder if my max heart rate and lactate threshold are higher than I think they are. When it hits about 155 it feels like about a 7 on the RPE scale because I can still say a few words with out too much difficulty.

    Or maybe it's just all in my head. :)
  • dewd2
    dewd2 Posts: 2,449 Member
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    Not in your head @OldAssDude. Your body is learning to burn fat. When you go 'balls to the wall' your burn mostly glycogen. Now you're also burning fat which is the fuel that allows runners to run for distance.
  • OldAssDude
    OldAssDude Posts: 1,436 Member
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    Week 6 is complete...

    dp7owrx4fr11.png

    Today I was scheduled for a 5k race. I did not enter any races, but my intent was to run it "like" a race. Well, it snowed over night and into this morning so this is what I had to run in...

    azjnla72aa9l.jpg

    As I was trudging through the snow to get to the lake, I started thinking... maybe I'll just do a longer slow run instead. After trudging through the snow for over a mile, by the time I got to the lake, I started thinking... Maybe I'll just run a slow 5k, because this snow is taxing my legs quite a bit.

    Once I got to the lake, I started the run. I started slow. Then, I started hearing @dewd2 in my head. He kept saying... run fast you "kitten"!!!... run "kitten" fast!!!... stop being a "kitten"..."kitten"!!!

    I tried to ignore him, but he just would not shut the "kitten" up, so I started running faster. He still kept busting my "kittens", so I started running even faster. I hit zone 5, and wanted to slow down a little, but he told me if I slowed down that he was going to kick my "kitten"..."kitten", so I just kept going until the end...

    jragmlalvgjq.jpg

    wfrrn6ihyush.jpg

    It turned out to be the fastest 5k that I have run so far, and I think I could have probably knocked at least a minute off my average pace if I was not running in snow the whole "kitten" way.

    I did wear my Garmin HRM-Run chest strap monitor for this run, and it did calculate my lactate threshold as 147. Here is the activity in Garmin Connect...

    https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/3297044240

    Thanks @dewd2 ... ya "kitten"... :)
  • robertw486
    robertw486 Posts: 2,388 Member
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    Well I can't speak for @dewd2 but I'm thinking maybe he might have said to first make sure you don't bust your butt on the snow!

    But I'm glad it wasn't too slick, and you set a fastest time. Maybe when it clears up you can test the theory of the snow slowing you down, since it probably did.
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,676 Member
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    Nice job on the run. I would have just run it easy, because of the snow, but it was a good workout and it sounds like you had fun.
  • dewd2
    dewd2 Posts: 2,449 Member
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    That dewd2 guy is an *kitten*. :D

    Great run.
  • dewd2
    dewd2 Posts: 2,449 Member
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    BTW - At least 2/3 of the nutjobs I run with were out on the trails early this morning in the snow. I slept in. I'll run tomorrow instead. Way to be dedicated @OldAssDude
  • OldAssDude
    OldAssDude Posts: 1,436 Member
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    Duck_Puddle wrote: »
    OldAssDude wrote: »
    Week 6 is complete...

    dp7owrx4fr11.png

    Today I was scheduled for a 5k race. I did not enter any races, but my intent was to run it "like" a race. Well, it snowed over night and into this morning so this is what I had to run in...

    azjnla72aa9l.jpg

    As I was trudging through the snow to get to the lake, I started thinking... maybe I'll just do a longer slow run instead. After trudging through the snow for over a mile, by the time I got to the lake, I started thinking... Maybe I'll just run a slow 5k, because this snow is taxing my legs quite a bit.

    Once I got to the lake, I started the run. I started slow. Then, I started hearing @dewd2 in my head. He kept saying... run fast you "kitten"!!!... run "kitten" fast!!!... stop being a "kitten"..."kitten"!!!

    I tried to ignore him, but he just would not shut the "kitten" up, so I started running faster. He still kept busting my "kittens", so I started running even faster. I hit zone 5, and wanted to slow down a little, but he told me if I slowed down that he was going to kick my "kitten"..."kitten", so I just kept going until the end...

    jragmlalvgjq.jpg

    wfrrn6ihyush.jpg

    It turned out to be the fastest 5k that I have run so far, and I think I could have probably knocked at least a minute off my average pace if I was not running in snow the whole "kitten" way.

    I did wear my Garmin HRM-Run chest strap monitor for this run, and it did calculate my lactate threshold as 147. Here is the activity in Garmin Connect...

    https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/3297044240

    Thanks @dewd2 ... ya "kitten"... :)

    Huh. So...running slow most of the time actually makes you faster when it counts? Who knew?

    Congrats! Fantastic run!

    And listen to @dewd2 the 28495005066 times he tells you in exactly the same way to slow the kitten down.

    Thanks.

    I'm getting better at listening.
  • OldAssDude
    OldAssDude Posts: 1,436 Member
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    robertw486 wrote: »
    Well I can't speak for @dewd2 but I'm thinking maybe he might have said to first make sure you don't bust your butt on the snow!

    But I'm glad it wasn't too slick, and you set a fastest time. Maybe when it clears up you can test the theory of the snow slowing you down, since it probably did.

    I love running in the snow, and I do bounce pretty good too for an old guy.

    I wiped out full speed on a packed dirt trail one day when my foot caught a root. Landed on my knee, then my forearm and elbow, then seesawed over that onto my face, then flipped onto my back, and slid on my back a little.

    I laid there waiting for the intense pain to hit, but nothing. So I jumped up real quick, made sure nobody saw me, and kept going.

    I did get a little dirt in my eye. :)

    I got a 10k race on my schedule in 3 weeks. I don't plan on doing race, but I will try to run it as a though it is a race. Not sure it will be as fast as my 5k pace by then, but who knows.
  • OldAssDude
    OldAssDude Posts: 1,436 Member
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    spiriteagle99 wrote: »
    Nice job on the run. I would have just run it easy, because of the snow, but it was a good workout and it sounds like you had fun.

    Thanks.

    Yeah, it was a good workout. I hit 170 at the end which is what I had my MHR set to, and I was not to the point of passing out or anything, so I'm guessing my MHR is higher than 170. I have since changed it to 174.

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