Running

How are you calculating your threshold HR? As far as the textbook goes, lactate threshold is about the sort of intensity you can maintain for an hour's all-out effort, so unless you're Mo Farah, half marathon intensity will be a fair bit lower. Looking at my own figures, roughly: max HR 200, threshold 180, HM 175. (Marathon 168.) I'd say your HM HR could be around 165, although for the purposes of a race if you wanted to be a little conservative you could start out around low 160s and see how it feels, pick it up in the second half if you're feeling comfortable.

one week, til 10k.
worried, less beer, moar run needed
http://app.strava.com/activities/315290776

Starting to enjoy ultra training, upping the miles and dropping the speed leads to very nice relaxing days out on the trail.

Back to back long runs at the weekend are tough though, 22 miles on Saturday and 14 miles on Sunday and I really need a rest day today. Not sure how I'm going to feel when they get up to 32 miles on the Saturday :)

But it certainly helps when the trails look like this :)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v363/piccoleon/image.jpg2_zps3lxila3u.jpg

Is that Wales? Stunning and impressive as always, Jones and Leon.
Need to get my arse in gear. Too lazy at the moment.

I use FTHR much like FTP for cycling. Just use the same percentages for the same time periods.

So in theory you cant run a half at threshold unless you can run it in 60mins.

I think pace is a better guide while running, at least when its flattish. My HR is all over the Place depending on how horribly fatigued I aim (bastard tri training).

This is a fairly recent run where I was running at what I'd consider to be threshold: https://www.strava.com/activities/264087468/overview

Which roughly agrees with your forecast of say 165bpm for a half I think.

Now, the next question is whether running a half on a 10% average gradient will only add 45 minutes to the time I ran yesterday, that's just over an additional 2 minutes per KM.

@_Leon

one week, til 10k.
worried, less beer, moar run needed
app.strava.com/activities/3152907­76

Nice pace, similar to me at the moment. Hence why I'm also worried.
Currently copying Steve Way (follow him on Strava if you want to be demoralised/motivated) and doing some carb depletion before the race. #Pro

carb depletion? moar running less cake you mean
sounds shit

It shouldn't add that much time, if you are strong, but you haven't mentioned that you're doing it after riding your bike hard for a period of time as well or are you just doing the run this year?

After riding at 78% of FTP for 3 hours in Rimini my half marathon time (on a flat course) was 17 minutes slower than my best time this year - although some of that was due to cramping rather than just fitness....

@_Leon

carb depletion? moar running less cake you mean
sounds shit

I've been alcohol-free in May. Now that is shit.

@Pifko true. shamed Helz reckons you were smashing it last 5 k you two both did,

Absolutely. I sometimes miss the long super steady runs... I think I might look at doing a few more ultras again next year.

I found did a couple of 30/22 weekends but found them pretty tough. Looks lovely though.

Yes, still doing the ride - at I would think 92% of FTP for an hour and a half, as much less than that won't get me up the slope!

Pretty confident that my HM pace is around 1.35-1.40 if I were to give it the beans a bit.

So the question is how much the ride will have taken, and then how much the gradient takes on top of that.

I'm not really expecting anything from the ride this year, it's all about the run, but I'd like to get as close to 4 hours as possible.

We really should have just made one entry, Dam-furry. I'd ride up, and you can run. Feck running up a steep hill for 4 hours.

Last year, after making love to the road to stretch my horribly strained grion. I walked for a bit. But realised I had to jog just to hold pace With the Walkers I was chatting to. Bloody stumpy legs. Blah.

I think its really hard to gauge pace though. So definitely one for HR. I think I tried to hold 95% FTHR last year. It was bloody tough . But ultimately it was my bloody fallying apart that stopped me running. Not my heart or Fitness.

This year my left achilles will likely flare up. I really dont want to tear it again. So I'll just push 95% again untill it says walk.

My secret weapon will be prescription medication.

The Tri I'm doing a couple weeks after, ends With a 2km 20% gradient run. Wish I'd looked at it before signing up.

It would be awesome if it started with a 20% gradient swim.

That looks great. I ran on a bit of the SW coastal path yesterday (until I got sent on a detour inland as part of the path had fallen into the sea). I fell over twice on wet rocks but I couldn't stop grinning. Tomorrow I have a 20km run along a disused railway into a forecast 48mph headwind. That will be less fun.

Feck. Knowing this Place. I should check it doesnt.

Railway lines should be pretty sheltered down there, I reckon - Unless you're running around the clay mine railways on higher ground. In which case - fuck that.

I'm not down there anymore, I'm back out east where there's no shelter whatsoever :(

From back at the end of March:-

Current plan (which goes well until it all falls apart and I find various excuses for not doing some of the runs):-

Apr: 123km
May: 137km (inc first HM commute in, once a month from then onwards)
Jun: 145km

Reality:-

Apr: 121.31km - not bad
May: 60.39km - worse is that more than a 1/3 of this was a single run, but at least I did my first HM commute.

June plan now 164km although 5km of that will go as I need to do a volunteering stint at Parkrun.

Also looking at the Circuit 6L hydro running backpack from Mountain Warehouse. Cheap (<£20) and just big enough to hold wallet/keys/phone/forgotten-work-items and contains a 1.5L bladder (could have done with some liquid on last HM commute).

personally i think backpacks are a crap idea, they put you off balance and look naff, but then i saw a woman wearing one doing Brigthon who was well below 3 hours, so what do i know.

Obviously carrying nothing is best, however if you need to carry something I'm sure I read that backpacks cause the least disruption to your gait. IIRC other options tested were hand held bottles and belts.

I used a pack for all my ultra stuff (because I needed it) and now would probably take the pack for any training over half marathon distance.

I need it for my run-commute for keys, wallet, 'phones and anything else that's an emergency (underwear, socks, etc).

For a non-extended commute in (~11.5km) I won't bother with any water. For a run home I might since it's a lot warmer at 6pm than 7am. For a 21km commute in I'll definitely carry some water in it, possibly even electrolyte drink.

Local Mountain Warehouse didn't have any of the ones I wanted to look at so I might nip up to the Covent Garden branch on Thursday. They've always got a sale on so it's cheap...