Tracks: ZR (None, app still playing up on me), Endomondo
Today is a rest day. But I still ran. I decided to try Endomondo’s fitness scoring. The scoring is a 2 mile or 3 km run, and you are scored based on the time it takes you to complete the run. I scored 35.9, which for me classifies as “Fair” :-/
Back to training tomorrow. Day 3 target: 8 km @ 7:12 - 6:38 min/km
Endomondo have started rolling out training plans for runners. These training plans are dynamic in that they update and change based on your progress and fitness.
You must churn out a certain mileage per week in order to qualify for a training plan. For example, I do around 15K a week, and therefore, Endomondo offers me a 5-15km training plan, but doesn't offer me a Half Marathon or Marathon training plan.
Here's an example of a training plan Endomondo offered me for a 10K. I'm not using this plan for two reasons. First, I'm already in the middle of a training plan with MyAsics, and second, this plan finishes in JANUARY and the earliest I can end the plan is October 25th, which is way beyond the date of October 6th when my first 10K race is.
This run was supposed to have been done yesterday, but I missed it due to the rain. Target today was 8km @ 7:46 min/km. I did 8.30km @ 5:49. The first 5k was fine - a nice, steady pace, but the last 3k I had trouble keeping the pace up. Next run is tomorrow - 5km @ 7:46 min/km
[caption id="" align=“alignright” width=“240”] Mo Farah bids for gold in the 10,000 metres at London 2012 (Photo credit: TerryGeorge.)[/caption]
I’m now starting to prepare for my 10K run in October, planning a set of structured runs with the aid of the MyASICS website. My target is 54 minutes, but I’ll be happy as long as I can get under 1 hour.
MyASICS only allows a maximum of 4 runs a week. I’d prefer 6 max, but I’ll make do with what I have. Unlike miCoach, MyASICS uses pace training. The app is appallingly bad, so I haven’t used it for a while, but I will keep an eye out on it in the unlikely event that asics update it.
My first week’s training is a 5K Jog on Monday, 8K Jog on Tuesday, 5K Jog on Wednesday, and 8K Comfortable Run on Saturday. As with all my training to date, I’ll keep blogging on my progress.
As with most structured plans, there’s 5 phases:
Preconditioning
Getting Faster
Race Simulation
Race Preparation
Recovery
Next week, it's Week 1 of 1 of Preconditioning. I need to stick with this plan because it doesn't look like there's much room for slippage in terms of time.
No ZR tracks today, and probably no more going forward, as the app is proving to be VERY frustrating lately.
First decent run in over a week. Have definitely lost my edge. :-(
Heck, what am I saying? I just took 30 seconds off my 1 km PB. I might have lost my edge, but I’m definitely getting faster. Must be this new wireless headset I’m using. I’m not having to be over-conscious about where the wire is.
Summary:
Cooper (12 min): 2.76 km (Prev PB: 2.52 km)
1 km: 3m:43s (Prev PB: 4m:11s)
1 mile: 6m:22s (Prev PB: 7m:07s)
Note to self: Don’t drink lots of water before running, even if it is a hot day. I did half a lap then had to make an emergency sprint home with a full bladder! >_<
2 new PBs according to Endomondo of 1 km in 4:11 mins, and 1 mile in 7:07 mins. My Half Marathon training plan has finished, so I was originally going to go for a Half Marathon distance run today, but the heat was too much so I ended up running a lap through the park. Even though the run was in the evening, when it was cooler, it was still difficult going….
This is a Free Run, which means no target zones to worry about. On the plus side, miCoach also scores me. I scored 442. World Record, or top fitness is 1000, so I’m slightly below half ranked. Not too bad for my first run score ranking.
So, it would appear that unlike storyline missions, Race Missions are NOT considered storyline missions, even though they have information that connects the two seasons. As such, no materials are given during the missions. That’s a real bummer :(
Today’s run was meant to be a long run but with the weather being really hot, I decided against doing a long run today and went for the 30 minute run I missed from yesterday instead.
I tried the race mode on the ZR2 app today, and it clocked it relatively accurately at the 5K mark. But strangely, even though I finished the mission, I got no additional material to put on my base. Surely that’s wrong, since the missions are story-related?
We’re celebrating the sunny British weather (as short-lived as it no doubt will be) with a Zombies, Run! Season Pass Summer Sale! All three Season Passes are available for half-price until Monday, July 15. Yes, even if the weather takes another turn for the rainy.
If you’re new to the game, this is the perfect opportunity to gain access to 30 already-released missions, plus another 30+ which we’ll be releasing on a weekly basis starting from Wednesday, July 30.
Season Pass: Now $1.99 (usually $3.99): Includes 40+ Season 2 Story Missions
Season Pass Plus: Now $3.99 (usually $7.99): Includes 60+ S2 Story Missions and Sidequests
Sidequest Pass: Now $2.99 (usually $5.99): Includes 20+ S2 Sidequests
So far, Season 2 has been packed full of great missions. From the profoundly epic, to the intimately daft. We’ve even had Margaret Atwood make a special guest appearance. As you need more incentive, completing certain missions will unlock new buildings and amenities for your Township. This will continue as we enter the second half of Season 2 in late July.
I’ve just been contacted by Jim Cowan, Event Director of the Poppy Run. I was originally hoping to run the Poppy Run through Trent Park, now it looks like it’s not going to happen.
Further to your recent enquiry, unfortunately, despite our best efforts, the London Barnet Poppy Run at Trent Park will not be taking place this year. We are looking for alternative venues nearby but it is unlikely we will do this for this year's event.
Depending on where you live, other options are at the Isle of Dogs (London) or Welwyn Garden City. We are also awaiting confirmation on new Poppy Runs in Rickmansworth and SW London but won’t open them for entry until they are confirmed.
An interesting article. Might become heated, but well worth a read, here’s some excerpts:
Women, it now seems, might have been better equipped all along than men! At least that may be true as far as fuel is concerned when female endurance reserves are compared to those of the stronger men who were protecting the “weaker sex” as too delicate for such a grueling distance.
Whatever advantage women may possess probably doesn’t kick in until a running event gets at least as long as the marathon—anything 26.2 miles or over, or its equivalent in another sport. And if our theories are correct, the longer the event is, the greater the possible advantage is.
It may be a simple matter of fat stores—the increased body fat so many women athletes resent in themselves as some kind of deadweight, wishing it were muscle instead. We know that after about 18 miles of steady running, the body begins to get low on glycogen— hitting the famous “wall”—and turns increasingly to other energy stores to keep going. But only recently, thanks in part to increasing numbers of women ultra-athletes and the times they’re turning in, have we begun to suspect women may be more efficient at using that body fat early in a race and saving the glycogen for the long haul. A bigger tank and a more efficient fuel injection system? That could be.
Until now we’ve had only two major studies on the subject, and they conflict. But a recent one suggested that women may in fact have some way, not yet understood, of preferentially burning fatty acids better than men do. If that’s the case, and we factor in that ability with women’s greater body fat reserves, the implications are obvious. Assuming there is some glycogen sparing going on along the way, women might be able to get more out of that premium fuel than men do.
Even bottomless energy reserves wouldn’t do much good for the athlete who is too pooped to access them, however. Muscles get tired as they run out of fuel, but the brain also has a mechanism by which it tells our body that we are weary. And if some recent studies are correct, estrogen attaches to a neurotransmitter in the brain, and the combination may delay the fatigue message. The result: The body doesn’t feel as tired, so it doesn’t race as tired.
…
So, a word of warning to marathoning men: Even postmenopausal women have more estrogen than you do! Remember that the next time you’re planning a really long workout and wonder whom to ask along to make you look good. Your female running friend may be slower, but she’s probably a bundle of potential energy. When it’s all over, you might be surprised to find that the “weaker sex” is you.
Here’s a few details about the race missions part of the latest ZR2 update if you haven’t read the blog entry references in this post.
The race missions as the name suggests are different to the normal Season 1 and Season 2 missions in that they are not time-based. They are distance based so you must travel a certain distance to trigger the next audio clip.
Race missions are in an entire section of their own, and fill in gaps between Season 1 and Season 2.
There are different race lengths - 5K, 10K, 20K (near half marathon distance)
There are two main types of tracking in this mode -- GPS and Accelerometer. Gyro will also be an option if your device supports (newer devices). Accelerometer is for people running on treadmills.
If you have GPS enabled, then the app will use that to track your distance. If you don't (e.g. you're on a treadmill), then you will have to tell the app how to guesstimate the distance you have travelled, and it uses pace time for that. For example, for me, a walk is 10 min/km, a light jog is 7 min/km, moderate jog is 6 min/km a light run is 5 min/km and fast run 4:30-5:00 min/km.
I haven't tried the race missions yet, but I'll be giving them a go when I've finished all Season 2 missions. I've caught up on the main story missions, and have just started on the side missions.
My body is aching, my legs are hurting, but I feel GREAT! 17.22 km (10.70 miles), 2 hours. Another few km and I’ll hit Half Marathon distance. And I broke several records on today’s run:
Calories burned in one session (1338 calories) - ironically, my calorie target is 1500 calories per day, so this run almost burned my entire calorie allowance.
