Adarq.org

21 October

HALF MARATHON RACE 1:50:20 electronic 

God damn it, missed the perfect accomplishment ( 1:49:xx ) by just 20 seconds. Something went wrong with the gps , i was at 1:43:30 at 20K , having 6:30 minutes for the last 1.1K ( easy, i was at around 5:20 pace at the end ). But it turned out that the watch GPS was off and i had  1.4 km instead of 1.1 and those extra 300m took me above 1:50, even barely. FUUUUUU.
Still very happy, destroyed my previous PR by 4 whole minutes, while it was a bad weather day for a race ( 20+ Celsium / 85% huidity , T+DI almost 150 which is crazy for end of October ).
2 days later now, still wrecked. 2 hours of full effort is no joke.

17 October

"Training pace" run

5K @ 26:25 ( 5:17 pace )

Wow very encouraging last training session. Was supposed to keep it at 5:30-5:40 but just couldn't, went 4:50 in the first 2K, still super easy, then actively slowed down.
On top of that, run was done under mild rain, on wet surface ofc.
8 weeks ago when i started i had to struggle to do a 5:10 race pace 5K, now i had to slow down to keep training pace to an easy 5:17 in the rain. Crazy progress.
Its 4 days of rest now, race on Saturday night, will only do a super easy 3-4K the previous day.
Feeling ready for a big PR race, i am feeling and performing the fittest ive ever been, by far .
Watch agrees, my race predictions are insane, 22:06 5K , 47:16 10K, 1:48 HM and 4:06 marathon. Sick!!!

^^^^
Actually i was lighter and leaner than ever during than period, down to 77-78kg while i was at around 85 pre-covid. Probably because i ate much more at home during that period so i had bigger control of what i eat, plus i signifiicanlty upped my mileage (so much more kcals burned ).
According to my watch, i burn about 700-800Kcals for every hour of running. Down to 600 when very easy, up to 900+ in races. Analogy is pretty linear too, so it is the same kcals/hour for a 25 minutes 5K or a 2hours half marathon. Similar effort = similar kcals/h

^^^^
Well, the passion for / joy of training vert and practicing dunks will never compare to anything else. I was still interested until early 2020 that i was still playing basketball, although it was obvious that the prime days would never come back. Then came covid, no squat, basket or jumping for 2 years, plus 2 years even older, also got into running in between, so bye bye vert.
I do have a 2-month strength block in mind right after the marathon in 2 weeks so maybe i'll go check where i am, just for fun.

---

10 October

"Race pace" run

Run 5K @ 24:40 ( 4:56 pace )

Legs felt tired/stressed, because normally i have rest Sunday between sprints and tempos, but not i did sprints on Sunday so it was 3-in-a-row.
Still, got my easiest sub-25 5K ever. Even by a little, i got the lowest average HR, lowest max HR, lowest training impact and highest max speed for that "race-pace run". Very happy!

6 October

Low aerobic HR zone run

18K @ 2:10:15 ( 7:14 pace ) 

Wow, 2K more than last week but 20'' per km faster.
Obviously improved my last week's all time PR for longest duration run ever

---

8 October

2K Warmup
Sprint 4x800m / 3-4 minutes walking rest.
2K Cool down

Again sprints pace was around 4:10 (+-5'' ). Love it.

4 October

ATG SQUAT:
10@20kg
10@40kg
8@50kg
5@60kg ( -3 reps )
2@70kg ( -1 rep )
1@80kg ( +5 kg ) , ( -2 reps )
-Approaching the race (16 days left) i decided to cut down on squats volume.

SS1a : HORIZONTAL BENCH PRESS MACHINE: 5x10 @ 60 kg , 5 @  65kg
SS1b : WIDE GRIP LAT PULL DOWN: 5x10 @ 59 kg , 5 @ 65 kg
SS1 info :  rounds ,  ( +1 round )
-Felt strong here.  Added another round, heavier for less reps.

2 October

"Training pace" run

8K @ 44:57 ( 5:37 pace )

Probably easiest 5:30-ish 8K of my life. Had to actively slow down all the time. No fatigue at all accumulated, barely broke a sweat.
I love this. Hard work is paying off.
Watch agrees, my race estimations are dropping fast. They are also dropping targeted, they reflect the type of work :
Last time i saw my current 5K estimation (22:30), my HM was at 1:55:30, now it is at 1:52:30.
Ive seen faster 5K than that only one period ever (late 2021),  but while my 5K was 22:08, my HM was still slower than now, 1:53:30.
I am very optimistic now about breaking 1:50, if all go well i might even be able to challenge 1:45.