2021 Training Cycle 1
Well the first training cycle for 2021 has concluded — and I’m happy that things have gone off to a pretty great start, with me claiming Personal Bests (PBs) in all distances (2.4, 5, 10, 21). This is especially encouraging after the forced break of almost 2 months (Oct/Nov 2020) that made me miss out on the first 10k/21k Time Trial opportunities in my club (Singapore Shufflers).
Having gotten both of my calves strained (on separate occasions) in 2020, I came to realize that to effectively build up my mileage, I had to load myself with predominantly easier efforts throughout the week. This was already on top of me electing to only go for 1 track sessions (unlike many others who go for 2 sessions a week). I decided to try the MAF method (maximum aerobic function) whereby I would keep the efforts controlled to be within the Aerobic HR Zone (Z3) — which was around 154bpm based on my Garmin. Admittedly, the MAF took a lot of patience to build. I recall when I first started in Dec, I could barely hold a <6min pace in this aerobic HR, but nowadays, I can comfortably hit ~5.10min/pace in this HR Zone ,although of course on days I would still go a slower pace. Because of the lesser exertions, I have been able to recover a bit better and that has allowed me to feel a bit more energetic and prepared to go for more runs. Consequently, I hit the highest monthly mileage ever attained so far at 254km in Feb! (Not too bad amidst the CNY festivities :p )
So, it’s definitely some time for me to take a break to rest and recover properly (a minor scare with potential Plantar Fasciitis last weekend when I felt some soreness under the ball of my left feet), as I regroup and think about how to look at the next training block. Certainly some of the missed targets (sub-19 5km, sub-40 10km, sub-90 Half M) would have to be re-attempted, which I do feel quite confident of being able to achieve provided I keep up the momentum in training.
Some areas to be worked on in the next training block:
1. More consistent strength training/conditioning. Hopefully made easier by the slightly more frequent viits back to office now
2. Ensuring higher quality LRs — admittedly this training block some LRs were sacrifised. Garmin is telling me my aerobic training isn’t sufficient with my almost daily 10k MAF runs :/
Of course, with the Air-Travel Bubble potentially opening, I am hopefully setting my sights on being able to race a Marathon end of the year, perhaps in Aussie if things work out well. But until then, have got to put in the work to get myself closer to the #sub3 goal ;)
