Ezzo Posted January 30, 2016 Report Share Posted January 30, 2016 Hi, So I started the 10k program about 2.5 months ago. I did start at week 4 as I had been exercising regularly before that. At week 7 I started to hit a brick wall and I found I couldn't complete the run. I attempted it over and over. Then I got ill, so after I recovered I went back to week 6 and worked my way though again. Again, I was attempting the runs over and over. If I "failed" I would have a short walk and then continue running for the rest of the time period. Now, I have finally finished week 7 day 3, (after a magical run where I actually ran 6km at a faster pace than normal as I was feeling so good). But, if you do the calculations (2.5 months ago I started on week 4, and have only finished week 7 now), it is obvious that I am not progressing well. I recently got a fitbit and after looking at the results it seems that my heart rate indicates it is in peak zone during the entire run. So for the last two weeks I have put the program to the side and have been doing interval runs for one hour in the cardio zone, as I figured my cardiovascular fitness wasn't increasing with me working at peak all the time. I've found that it takes about 2 minutes for my heart rate to go from the bottom of cardio zone to the top. Then a couple more for it to come down again. I haven't tried a long continuous run yet, but honestly I'm not sure anything has changed. Would this be the best course of action do you think? Should I basically keep going and hope my heart starts working more efficiently? Start the program over? Do the program over, except for "double it" .. ie do it twice on any given day as I am now run/walking for an hour with no problems. thanks JRaz3116 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ezzo Posted January 30, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2016 And interestingly enough, when I looked at my heart rate for that magic run, I found it was mostly in the cardio zone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob129 Posted January 30, 2016 Report Share Posted January 30, 2016 I'd follow the program to make sure you have a good base. Does your Fitbit display pace? I had similar experience where my HR would step up quickly; this was due to a faster pace at the beginning of a run. My Garmin has a pace and distance feature which helps with keeping an even pace. If your Fitbit tracks intervals/pace that's a great feature; my pace has improved by 20-30% over the last four months. I still want to reduce my all out 5K time by 3 to 4 minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torus_ot Posted January 30, 2016 Report Share Posted January 30, 2016 Rob, what Garmin do you have? I am using Vivofit (first version) and it gives me a problem, time to upgrade.... Rob129 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ezzo Posted January 30, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2016 I'd follow the program to make sure you have a good base. Does your Fitbit display pace? I had similar experience where my HR would step up quickly; this was due to a faster pace at the beginning of a run. My Garmin has a pace and distance feature which helps with keeping an even pace. If your Fitbit tracks intervals/pace that's a great feature; my pace has improved by 20-30% over the last four months. I still want to reduce my all out 5K time by 3 to 4 minutes. I don't have pace on the fitbit, but I run on a treadmill so it is even. I'm not sure how I can follow the program at the moment, unless I went back to week 5 or 6 again and try to progress again. My body seems to have hit it's limit on how long it will run continuously on a high heart rate without a break. That is why I mentioned maybe going back and starting over except doing two sessions in a row. I am doing the hour of cardio pretty easily (I let myself dip into peak for a minute before slowing down), and so it would certainly be doable to do the early weeks twice. And hopefully when I get back to week 8 this time, I may again fit a brick wall, but maybe I would have improved enough to run the 28 mins straight once? Rob129 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ezzo Posted January 30, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2016 Just looked over the early weeks. It looks like I am already basically doing the program twice. Maybe officially just do that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ezzo Posted January 30, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2016 Maybe I am having such trouble because I skipped the early weeks. I figured I could already do the later weeks, which is true, but I didn't bring up my fitness before doing those weeks, and now I am stuck. . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob129 Posted January 31, 2016 Report Share Posted January 31, 2016 Rob, what Garmin do you have? I am using Vivofit (first version) and it gives me a problem, time to upgrade.... I have a 920 XT. I really like it. I think prices have dropped quite a bit recently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob129 Posted January 31, 2016 Report Share Posted January 31, 2016 Maybe I am having such trouble because I skipped the early weeks. I figured I could already do the later weeks, which is true, but I didn't bring up my fitness before doing those weeks, and now I am stuck. . It couldn't hurt to repeat a few weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ezzo Posted February 11, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2016 Just posting an update on this. As planned, since the post I have started back at the beginning. I go through the program until cooldown, where I press end workout and restart the same day again. This effectively doubles my workout. I have been doing an extra run during the second "warm up". I also slowed down to 8km/hr (5mph) Anyway, I just completed week 3 day 2 today. I am getting really fit! It felt really easy. My heart rate was only in the peak zone for 4 minutes today. 32 minutes in cardio and 18 in fat burn! I'm thinking I might up the speed very slightly for my next run. I'm actually feeling confident about next week, but a bit worried about the later longer runs coming up. But I'm sure by the time I reach it, I will be ready. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob129 Posted February 11, 2016 Report Share Posted February 11, 2016 Good deal. I target for about 70% of my distance to be in the endurance zone. This has helped me keep my muscles and joints from getting wiped out on longer runs. It takes discipline to keep the pace down at the start of an endurance run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ezzo Posted February 14, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2016 Just went to week 4. The extra time running kicked my heart rate up high again. I'm wiped, and my chest and legs still hurt. I'm going to keep going through the week and see how I go. May repeat this week at a slower speed if it doesn't settle. Although I can't physically run much slower, so hopefully my fitness just needs another run or two at this level to catch up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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