Running...it's all about having a good time!!!

Brooks Adrenaline GTS 8 Men

15% off for Fast Running Blog members at St. George Running Center!

Location:

UT,USA

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Age Division Winner

Running Accomplishments:

11 marathons

Marathon PR: 3:17:06 2006 St. George

1/2 Marathon PR: 1:24:20 2008 Painters (adjusted to account for incorrect length. Official time 1:23:19)

10K PR: 38:39 2008 SLCTC 10K

5K PR: 18:37 2008 Uneventful 5K

Short-Term Running Goals:

Sub-18:30 5K

Sub-38:30 10K

Sub-1:24:00 1/2 marathon

Sub-3 hour marathon

Have FUN!

Upcoming races

October 4: St. George Marathon

Long-Term Running Goals:

Sub-18:00 5K

Sub-38:00 10K

Sub-1:20:00 1/2 marathon

Sub-2:50:00 marathon

Consistently place in the top 5 of my age division as long as my body will allow it.

Run until I'm 99 with Kim by my side and continue having FUN!!

Personal:

I've been married to the lovely Kimberly for 21 years. We have 5 great kids.

kimkimilee.blogspot.com

Favorite Blogs:

Sponsored Video: British Heptathlete Kelly Sotherton in a Nikelab

Wed, Jul 02, 2008

Easy Miles Marathon Pace Miles Threshold Miles VO2 Max Miles Total Distance

7.00 0.00 5.00 0.00 12.00

AM: After warmup of 2 miles or so I did some mile repeats. Was planning on doing these on a straight flat road close to home that is almost exactly a mile long but with the nasty canyon wind I decided to do them down in the river bottoms instead and take advantage of the slight downhill and no wind factor.

The goal was to do 5 mile repeats at 10K pace with 2-min recovery jog in between. While I would eventually like to see my 10K pace at close to 6 minutes even, I know I'm not there yet and since I've been in a bit of running slump the last couple of months I wanted to give myself plenty of leeway on pace so I wouldn't be tempted to end the workout early if things didn't go so well. So I decided to shoot for anything in the 6-6:30 range. By running in the river bottoms mostly with a slight tailwind and slight downhill I also hoped to set myself up to not tank the workout.

All in all feel pretty good about the workout. Not spectacular and not as easy as I would have liked it to be, but well within the goal and good enough to let me know I'm not far from where I'd like to be. My legs were also still a little fatigued from the Loafer hill runs on Mon/Tues and it was warm so I'll give myself a B+ on the workout.

Mile splits: 6:11, 6:11, 6:10, 6:19, 6:09.

All miles except for mile 4 were probably slightly downhill with a slight tailwind. Mile 4 had about a 1/2 mile of slight uphill and headwind. I think if I would have done these on flat with no wind they would have all been around 6:15.

PM: Ran a couple of miles with Paul. He was planning on going further but turned his ankle on the dirt trail so he wisely decided to turn around and head back. Not sure on pace probably in the 8:30-9:00 range.

Comments

From Mike Warren on Jul 02, 2008 at 10:47:25

Tom, that workout sounds like an A to me. You have a tuff grading system. Very awesome workout, low 6's, I am impressed. You have been so consistent, I am looking forward to your STGM run!

From Dale on Jul 02, 2008 at 10:54:43

Great splits, especially considering you've been doing some hill work the last couple of days. I'm thinking at least A-.

From Kim on Jul 02, 2008 at 11:50:41

He DOES grade himself hard! I'm glad his grading on me is a lot more lenient! Great job Tom!

From Ian on Jul 02, 2008 at 12:42:40

A decent workout Tom.

From marion on Jul 02, 2008 at 13:45:17

Hey Tom- as to not hijack Kim's blog, I thought I'd come over here and ask you a "Dear Coach Tom" question. Last weeks Payson Canyon run went great. No soreness the following day. Very regular, easy run. This week our long run is only 7 miles and we were going to do that one again with a 5K "fake run" at the end (after the hilliest part is over). Should we just do the easy controlled down hill part again and save the gusto for the "fake race" at the flatter end OR should we do easy the whole sat long run and have a fake 5k on Friday? What is you advice? Or should we scrap the fake 5k all together and do it next week?

From Tom on Jul 02, 2008 at 13:56:37

Marion I think your plan of doing the 5K "fake run" at the end of your 7 mile run sounds good. Just make sure you keep the other runs between now and then in the easy/conversational pace range. If in doubt err on the side of slower. Also make sure you don't go over your mileage goal for this week. If you are wanting to do these 5K fake runs regularly I would always do them on the "off" week when your planned long run is shorter than the week before. And as always listen to your body first. If for some reason your body signals indicate it doesn't want to do the 5K fake run at such-and-such pace then resist the urge to follow the plan to the letter-of-the-law-at-all-costs and just run at the pace that feels right.

From marion on Jul 02, 2008 at 15:16:38

Thanks! another quick question... How do I know a good pace for a 5k? Is there a formula? :)

From Tom on Jul 02, 2008 at 15:49:17

Marion there are websites like the following that will give you some rough idea of pacing for various distances based off some distance you have recently run in a given time.

http://www.runningforfitness.org/calc/rp.php

So you if you put in your 10-mile race time I think it gives you a 5K pace of around 10:20 or so. Of course there is also Sasha's Predictor once you've run one of the races on his list.

However there are a number of variables with running that can make these estimates/formulas meaningless. In particular for newer runners who haven't yet had time (as in years not weeks or months) to build up endurance and a running base it's fairly common that the difference between 10-mile pace and 5K pace will be wider than what this calculator would predict. You may very well be capable now of holding a sub-10 min pace over a flat course for a 5K.

Maybe you could use this Saturday as an experiment. Perhaps run 1st mile or 2 of the 5K around 10 min/mi pace and see how it feels. If you end up not being able to hold 10min pace for the entire 5K it will give you something to shoot for in a couple of weeks.

From marion on Jul 02, 2008 at 15:53:07

BRILLIANT, bloody, brilliant! I will go there right now, to the one you suggested and to Sasha's!

Thanks so much and have a great week!!!

From Tom on Jul 02, 2008 at 15:55:00

Oh I just remembered the 10-mile race you ran I think was a mostly downhill race so perhaps your flat 5K pace is maybe closer to 10:30 than 10.

I guess the bottom line is that until you get some more running/races under your belt it's a little tricky to make meaningful pace estimates. I would give yourself a wide pace range for Saturday, run by feel and make it a learning experience.

From marion on Jul 02, 2008 at 16:04:18

Yes, the 10 miler was all down hill. We'll go for 10:30 for the first mile and see how we feel. If 10:30 is good, maybe try 10:15? The 10's have been feeling pretty good on our runs for the last week. It will be pretty much down hill all they way down to my house (I live .33 away from Petetneet) It's 6.6 from the hairpin turn above Maple dell to my door, if I cut over to Main street and then home.

Thanks again!!

From JohnA on Jul 02, 2008 at 18:41:15

Great workout today Tom. Anytime you can get close to 6 min miles, you are running awsome.

I was thinking about running hard 2 times a week instead of 3. Your podcasting buddy did one podcast on "aging with speed" One of the themes he mentioned was to give yourself more recovery time.

From Brent on Jul 02, 2008 at 20:46:39

Coach Tom, nice workout. No race on the 4th? Ditto John, close to 6 min. mile repeats on a hot day. If you take the heat factor into account, what would be the "Kool" pace? Pretty Kool. Lots of Kools going around, must be hot.

Stay Kool, B of BS Rools out

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Running...it's all about having a good time!!!

September 08, 2008