Hello,
I have a threshold pace question once again. Sorry, this topic was discussed a number of times, but there is one thing still not clear to me.
I am on 100M L1 plan now. Right before it I went through 50M L1 plan and raced my first 50M. So I am new to these distances yet.
Even before I tried ultrarunning, I noticed that after getting my TP by running 30 mins test it was little tough for me to keep to it on the latest intense workouts like progression runs. Though I thought there should be some tough workouts by design.
Then on 50M L1 plan I noticed the same again. Latest hill reps and progression runs are difficult for me to sustain as prescribed if I stick to the received TP result.
I intentionally do TP tests with some fatigue as I think this condition is closer to everyday training than well rested and refreshed. I do full protocol 30 mins test intentionally – I should be able to suffer extra 10 mins. And still I get TP results that are difficult to keep to in some workouts.
When doing a workout I usually I start in a middle of a zone and then drop or raise my pace depending on how I feel today. If I feel fine I run endurance runs up to 4 hours in the middle of the zone 2. But even feeling good I cannot do the longest one of 5 hours as prescribed.
That what I felt while on 50M L1 plan. My longest run was in July on Long Island on a 95 degree humid day and I thought well this weather is not the best to run so my pace is ok to drop. Now I am on 100M L1 plan and last weekend I run the longest ER in a beautiful weather 43 degree and not much wind. I felt excellent this day from start to finish, nice weather, flat course, but did 10 seconds pace below Zone 2. I feel if I ran faster even 10-15 seconds, my pace would start to drop after 4 hours if not earlier. I aimed correctly to the pace that I can sustain for 5 hours. I did not have same experience while training on marathon plans as endurance runs are not that long in them, but did feel I cannot sustain the most intense workouts.
My questions are:
1. Is my experience normal? Is this just my body adapting to the new type of running? My total running experience is about 4 years and I am only 9 months into ultra running. I understand that failing on few workouts is not a problem yet, but I see the same pattern across training for different distances, not just some days I felt not good and did a bad workout.
2. I calculated and would feel comfortable if dropped my TP by 10 seconds or so. Is that ok or I am going to spoil the whole science behind the training plan?
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