Another week, another 5k personal best

Someone told me that personal bests are like buses - you wait for one, and then three come along simultaneously.

That gave me some comfort when I hadn't had a PB in over two years of running... But a bit of weight loss and a bit more training has helped me to get EIGHT PB's in a row!!

My previous 5k PB before the summer was 29:14, set way back in March 2008.

After the summer, I started losing weight and getting fitter, and within 7 weeks of getting back from vacation, I got my first PB in over a year - 28:30. Wow I was chuffed with myself!

The next week I took another 17 seconds off, then 14, then 24, then 12, then 8, then 0 (we'll come back to that...), then 11, and last week I took another 25 seconds off the Fat Runner's 5k PB time to get to 26:56 - quite a drop in only eight weeks!

So, should I count the 'same time' result from 17 October as a PB? The reason I am doing so is as follows. The batteries in my Garmin Forerunner died within a few minutes so I had no idea how fast I was running. If I'd known that I was destined for the exact same time as I'd run the week before, then I'd definitely have pushed just a little more to get another second off... Is that fair?

We'll see how next week goes. Another PB may be tricky for two reasons.

Firstly, I took 25 seconds off last week, so I think that I was right at the limit of what I was capable of.

Secondly, I've got a sore achilles tendon 3 days after the run which might not fix in time, and I'm certainly not running on it this week so I'll be relying on gym work, swimming and cycling for any fitness gains this week.

Other news - as well as the half marathon I'll be doing in March next year (by the way - I'm still very eager for sponsorship - please support me!), I'm also signed up for a triathlon in May. Am I mad? Possibly...

Ups and downs...

In this post, read:

1. How I got on at last weekend's Wimbledon Common Time Trial


2. Current success at asking people to sponsor me for the Silverstone Half Marathon


3. Recent weight loss progress

Wimbledon Common Time Trial
Another personal best! Admittedly, this time by only 8 seconds, but it's still a PB! And not bad given I'd had far too many glasses of wine the night before and I was very close to decided to have a lie-in on Saturday morning. So that's five personal bests in five weeks!

Sponsorship for Silverstone Half Marathon
So far, two fellow bloggers have been kind enough to sponsor me. Very kind, in fact, as they've never met me. And in fact, the first email I have ever received from the Virtual Runner was to say that he had sponsored me - what a star!
I'm still hoping for a lot more sponsorship, however. And any amount is helpful. Remember it's going to help children around the world. Give up your Starbucks for a day and sponsor me instead! The world's children and your waistline will thank you!

Recent weight loss progress
Not such a good story here unfortunately... I think I might have hit a weight loss plateau and I'm losing minimal amounts of weight per week at the moment.
I think, however, I know the reasons:

1. Looking back at my exercise diary, I have not been working out as regularly as I was when I started this weight loss push a few months ago - time to get back to 5 sessions a week!


2. I've also let myself start drinking again - not a lot, but I think it's still having an effect. And not just with the calories in the drink - I think it also has had an effect on the amount I've been working out, as well as the amount/type of food I've been eating


3. Finally, I'm not eating as well as I used to. I'm still following Intermittent Fasting, but when I do eat, I'm not eating anywhere near as healthily as I was. Not helped by the fact that my wife had two birthday parties in the last week, both with three different cakes...

So, I'm going to have a good week this week - working out Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, not drinking and getting back to the good way of eating I used to. I even made a large ratatouille last night which will be my vegetables for the next week or so.
Let's see if I can break this plateau!!

Fat Runner gets another 5k personal best

Personal bests are always a great feeling for a runner - knowing that you've never run faster than before gives you a great sense of achievement, knowing that your hard training is paying off in better performance.

Personal bests also might make you think that you've started a trend, and that your time might continue to drop.

I'm feeling great for both of these reasons, because in the last four weeks of the 5k Wimbledon Common time trial, I've achieved FOUR personal best times!!

• Previous PB (set on 8th March 2008): 29:14


• 12th September 2009: 28:30


• 19th September 2009: 28:16


• 26th September 2009: 27:52


• 3rd October 2009: 27:40

As I mentioned in this post about my first 5k personal best, I think that there are five things which are making a difference.

• I'm lighter - now down to around 93kg - read my Intermittent Fasting story here


• I'm stronger - from using Turbulence Training


• I'm getting more mid-week runs in


• I'm doing more speed work/intervals in my training


• I'm concentrating a lot on technique

Just as a bit of fun, I've drawn a correlation between my weight and my time - here it is...



And running through Excel's statistical tools lets me know that, if weight is a good predictor of time, then the following equation holds true:

T=-7.8 + 0.38 x W

Where:
T = time in minutes
W = weight in kilograms

Therefore, at my target weight of 85 kg (which I think I should hit by the end of November), my 5k time should be around 24:45, which I think will be very respectable...

That would put me at just around half way up (or down) the field at the 5k time trial, and would give me an age-graded performance of 53%.

Apparently, "local class" athletes should have age-graded performances of around 60%, which would mean a 22:06 5k time. Right now, that feels very much out of my grasp, but who knows?

Anyway, while all of this talk of personal best times is very exciting, and the "predictions" are fun, there is a downside... What if I don't achieve another PB next Saturday? It will be the first Saturday in a while that I haven't been able to come back and tell my wife that I've achieved a personal best... She's already said that I should text her on the way back if I don't get a PB so that she can get out of the house...