This morning I hauled the old carcass out of bed at 5:15 and got out for an upper aerobic run following exactly the same format as this time last week. The only difference was that I changed the program on the watch to correctly get me back closer to home before it would switch from upper aerobic heart rate zone to cool down zone.
Comparing the four laps in Komazawa park yields a very interesting result. Today was 3 or 4 degrees warmer than last week. The four laps last week had an average time of 9:18 per lap. Today the average was again exactly 9:18 per lap. The big difference though is that last week's average heart rate was 153, while today's was 148. Seems almost too big a difference, but that is what the monitor tells me, so it must be true. I guess this can only mean that I have had a boost from the last three weeks of training since getting back on the straight and narrow.
Here is a dilemma. I have the ekiden on Saturday. Tomorrow night (Wednesday) at the track is the monthly 5-km time trial. I don't intend to train on Thursday or Friday. What should I do on Wednesday night? I feel that an all-out 5-k might be over-doing things that close to the 5k race. But I'd like to do something with a bit of final top-up value. I'm thinking of jumping into the time trial with the faster group and going out at harder pace than my 5-k time but pulling up at 3 km. I probably won't make it an all-out 3-k time trial, but it would be at slightly faster than 5-k pace.
Any comemnts on this option? Is it still too close to the race to do something like that? Can it do any harm? Can it do any good?
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If it were me - I wouldn't be running any faster than your 5k race pace except maybe for up to the last km (but for preference I'd keep to the last 200m - 300m) or so on Wedesday night.
I'd suggest finding someone who wants to be paced to a time that is 25 to 20 seconds per k slower than your projected weekend race time and in that way the run feels useful but doesn't do you any harm.
It should leave you feeling confident and fresh as you pass a number of runners in the last little bit but don't feel wasted at the end.
Even a 3k TT can put some fatigue in your legs - my view is nothing is better prep that hitting the start line on the weekend fresh.
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