Road Racing and Training Thread - Week Ending 4/26

Best of luck to everyone racing this week. Looking forward to some good race reports! I'll have comments later this week, as finals are wrapping up. Only 6 days out from my half-marathon and feeling pretty decent. Here's my week:

M - 8 /4

T - 2 x 2mi @ Threshold effort with 2:00 jog in 10:25, 10:10. 4 x 500m with equal jog in 86, 86, 86, 86. 4 x ~200m hill in 31, 33, 33, 32.

W - 9.5 / 4

R - 9 / 4

F - AM: 3mi warm up, 5 x 1k with 30-40s jog in 3:12 avg + 9 x 250m hill 47-49s. 2mi cool down. PM: 4mi.

S - 8 / 3.5

S - 11 / 4

Total: 102

Last few workouts just focusing on hitting half marathon/threshold effort with some quicker stuff afterwards. Hoping for under 68:00 next Saturday! I hope everyone has a great week.

Mon-12 miles at 7:09. Weights.

Tue- 10 miles at 7:15. Strides.

Wed- 12 miles. 5k race for fun. 15:42.

Thur- 10 miles at 7:11 / 4 miles at 7:13. Weights.

Fri- 12 miles at 7:11. Strides.

Sat- 12 miles. 8 mile progression. 5:33 avg.

Sun- 10 miles at 7:12 / 4 miles at 7:15. Weights.

Total- 86 miles

This week was a small step in the right direction, even though things still aren't up to par. The 5k on Wednesday was nothing serious. I just did it because I was invited to run for this corporate team. It was on a xc course in about 85 degrees so I just went into it wanting the win and nothing else really. There were two decent runners in the race (sub 15 and 15:10 guys). They must've had a bad day though as my winning time wasn't anything near all of our PR's. For Saturday's progression run I went into it just wanting a good effort. Starting at 5:38 and dropped down to 5:30 for the last few miles. I just couldn't go any faster for some reason. I'll take it though because at least I finished the planned workout. Let's just hope next week gets better.

Goal: Lose weight and be healthy

Next race: July mile

Mon 185.4 lbs ran 28:23 3.31 miles 8:34 pace

Tue 184.0 lbs ran 26:43 3.53 miles 7:34 pace (out in 7:50 back in 7:17 pace)

Wed 183.6 lbs ran 29:09 3.31 miles 8:48 pace

Thu 183.0 lbs ran 29:24 3.31 miles 8:52 pace

Fri 183.2 lbs ran 22:32 2.41 miles 9:20 pace

Sat 183.6 lbs ran 1.31 mile WU 1600m in 6:11, 4 min rest, 800m in 2:58, 2 min rest 400m in 89, 2 min rest 400m in 80, 1.31 mile CD

Sun 181.8 lbs ran 57:57 7.45 miles 7:46 pace (out in 8:05, back in 7:27)

Total Weight loss 3.6 lbs!!!!! Weekly mileage 27.94

After Tuesday's faster run I was really sore, so I changed my planned faster run on Thursday to an easy run and I was still a little sore so I took Friday as a recovery run. I think I may change my planned Tuesday/Thursday harder runs to just a Wednesday harder run.

Last week, I did the same workout in 6:32, 3:22, 97, 86. So significant improvement! 6:11, 2:58 and 80 are now all PBs (I'm calling every record before my 4 year hiatus a PR and everything after a PB)

Hello everyone!

M 0

T 5.9 8x200 (32, 33, 32, 33, 32, 32, 31, 32) 3:00+ recoveries

W 7.7

T 7.3

F 7.7

S 3.7

S 5.4 Race 4 Miles (23:49)

T 37.7

Another 4 mile race this Sunday. Felt a bit stiff in my right leg but it was a good effort. The course was Central park, so slightly hilly. Tuesday did my second sprint workout witch felt much better and I was able to do it faster than last week. I'm having lots of fun running shorter races and I think it is the n1 thing for me to improve to get better at longer distances as well. I'm VERY tempted to toss the HM and register to a another couple of short races. The half was pretty expensive so I might go for it anyway. I'll decide in the next 2 weeks..

Hope everyone had a great week!

Goal: TBD

Stats: 45 y.o., 6'0", 155 lbs

PRs over 40 y.o.: 5:00, 17:38, 37:12, 1:21, 2:56

Very light week for me, with Boston on Monday and nothing but rest and over-eating since then. I've gained 7lbs in 6 days. Will start running again tomorrow and keep things easy for a week or two.

Most likely, from there I will focus on mile speed and aim for a faster 5k in the summer. No fall marathons for me. I did CIM in Dec and then rolled straight into Boston training with minimal downtime. The fatigue caught up to me and I was mentally not that interested in the process from Jan-Mar. It showed in my Boston result.

M - 26.2m in 2:62 :)

Tue - Sun: 0m, lots of donuts and beer

Stone Cutter - nice week with some volume and strong hill reps. Your training has been very consistent and it's good to see you progressing well.

Forcerunner - good luck with the half. Sub 68 would be awesome - I'll be pulling for you.

Very cool to see True run so fast last week at Boston in the 5km.

Goal: 20-25 miles without hip pain.

M = 1 mile w wife and dogs (10:50)

Tu= 6 total (8:01). 1 mile w wife then another 5 including 8x400m.

W= 4.3 total (8:59). 1 mile w wife then 3+ with my dog.

Th= 5.3 total (7:33). Included 1 mile hard + 1 mile moderate.

F= Off. Sore hip.

Sa= Hike 1:30 (4.5 miles) with lots of snow and 2300' vertical.

Su= 8.1 total (9:20). 1 mile w wife then 7 very easy. Sore throat.

Total= 24.7 + hike

Tuesday 8x400m with 400m jog, mostly around the neighborhood but finished with final 2 reps on cinder track. Average ~1:25 with final two ~1:18.

Thursday 1 mile hard on gradual incline was ~5:50 pace then immediately into 1 mile moderate maybe 6:40 pace.

I was very worried after running Thursday when my hip started hurting me quite a bit. I forced myself to take Friday off to let it rest which seemed to help a lot. By Saturday it felt okay to hike and today I barely noticed it. 8 miles is the longest I've run since June 2014.

Great weeks everyone and good luck in future training!

Mon: 8mi easy + strides

Tue: 7mi tot, had meet focusing on speed. 800 in 2:00 400 in 51 & 200 in 24:X

Wed: 14mi total, AM: 5 easy PM: 9 easy + core & extra hip stuff

Thu: 6 easy + strides

Fri: 6 total, 1mi race in 4:11 with warmup and cool down

Sat: 5 total: 800m race in 1:53

Sun: 13 total, AM 5 PM 8

Week was busy but I got two PRs!! Trimmed my mile by about 3 secs and almost beat Elijah Armstrong in the homestretch but I didn't quite catch him.

Saturday was tough, there was a lot of wind and I got caught in the last 10m to settle for 2nd place in the 800m, oh well.

Goal: Grandma's Marathon (mid-June)

Monday: 8.75 miles at 8:15 pace. Strength.

Tuesday: 6.6 at 8:09 pace, some strides, exhausted. Core. Massage later.

Wednesday: Practice, 10 total. Tried to do 1200s but only ran one at 4:45 and my legs were shaking so I bailed and did a light tempo. My coach and I agreed it was because I got deep tissue work the day before a workout, so never doing that again.

Thursday: 6 at 8:20, feeling awful.

Friday: 6.5 at 8:25 pace, still feeling awful.

Saturday: 10 total. I gave the 1200s another shot, but this time slowly and without massage-legs. At least I got through all of them this time (4:45 / 4:43 / 4:44 / 4:42 / 4:44) and there were no red flags. I guess it's just nice to do something a little under AT pace even though my legs are still so tired from building mileage back. Light strength.

Sunday: 14.5 at 8:06 pace, very hilly. Not amazing, but I feel like I'm over the hump at least.

Total: 62.35 (I know, weird distance). Very fatigued from trying to build back, but started to feel like myself again over the weekend at least.

Josiah - Way to go on the back-to-back PRs!

really looking forward to Pikachu's race report! well done to anyone else who raced today :)

stone cutter - awesome week with the slightly intenser workouts and big mileage

forcerunner - looking good man! best of luck next week. hope you make the most of some brilliant training.

runnersfix - nice 5k 'just for fun' haha

running again - you look to be improving quickly!

hereford - donuts and beer well earned!

My week:

Goal: build up mileage and keep injury free

M - 2.58 (7:25)

T - 2.58 (7:24)

W - 3.1 (7:18)

Th - 3.1 (8:00)

F - 3.5 (7:25)

Sa - 0

Su - 3.68 (7:00)

Week Total: 18.54

Again, nothing much to report apart from every run being pain free. May add in some strides/hill sprints next week but keep the speed at a minimum.

Happy training all!

Goal Race: TBD Next Race: 8k (5/30)

Stats: 40/m, 6’2,~173!

I’ve been slacking because of work and being lazy, so here are the last two weeks.

Week ending 4/19:

~27.6 miles including a difficult 11 mile trail race in 1:44:14.

Week ending 4/26

M: off

T: ~ 6.0 kind of a progression to tempo (~7:46 total, with about 10 minutes or so sub-7:00)

W: ~7.0 easy (8:01) PM

T: ~6.3 super easy (9:17) AM

F: Off

S: ~3.8 mile trail run in 31:22, total for the day ~6.3

S: ~ 12.0 (8:06)

Total for week: ~37.6

Still feeling sluggish, but I think I know why. I’m now +13 pounds from when I was racing my best! I’m going to start trying to lose some weight over the next month and see if that gets me feeling more normal. The foot is still feeling mostly ok (still something in there is not right, but it really doesn’t impact my running or everyday life much).

The trail race on 4/18 was terrible. 5.5 miles up, 5.5 miles down. All rocky, rooty, muddy, and had 2 shin deep creek crossings (it was at 0.6 miles and 10.4 miles). I bit the dust at about 6.5 miles, but landed well, rolled and popped up and kept going like nothing ever happened. Very lucky. Finished 8th overall. If I hadn’t been so sluggish, realistically I should be up around 3rd.

The race yesterday was a blast. 3.8 miles, part road, part trail, part stone steps, part paved switchbacks, back into the woods, and then back to the road. Lots of climbing. I finished 5th overall, 1st Masters. Based on the field, I probably should have finished 4th if I had been up to par, but there was no way I could run with the top 3 on a great day. I was in 6th after about 0.25 miles and moved in to 5th at about the 1/2 way mark. Held my own through a pretty challenging (but fun!) race. Short enough to not feel like it was killing me.

So at least I have a plan to see if I can get back to feeling normal. I also had my physical and the doctor ordered an iron deficiency, ferritin, and total iron binding capacity test. Hopefully I’m not iron deficient, but if so, at least we’ll get me headed the right way.

@BlazinBison won the Country Music Marathon yesterday and @TheGarbageDisposal had a strong showing in the half. Neither are big surprises, but since they both used to post here I thought I’d give them a shout out.

Looking forward to hearing about @Pickachu this week as well.

What a race in London this morning!

Mon- 7 at 6:46 w/8x 200 on a 1:00 cycle (33-32)+ swimming

Tue- 2 at 6:58 + swimming

Wed- 2 up, 3x 800m (2:13, 2:13, 2:14) w/4 minutes rest (800 jog), 2 down + 4x :08 hill sprints

Thur- 8 at 6:51

Fri- 7 at 6:54

Sat- 7 at 6:30 w/some 1,2, or 3 minute surges to get the systems going

Sun- 7 at 6:28 w/6x 200 on a 1:30 cycle between 31-33 (last one in 28.2)

Total: 45 miles

I have a 1600 race coming up on Tuesday, so this week was about getting sharp and running some faster paces. Monday was a super easy workout. I just wanted to get some running at mile pace without it being too taxing. I didn't eat enough on Tuesday, and felt really crappy after swimming, so I cut the run short.

Wednesday's workout went very well despite the torrential downpour/cold temps. I ran the 800s solo on a measured out road (wheel) that is slightly uphill the last 400, and ran back to the start for my recovery. The first 800 was surprisingly easy, and I caught my breath quickly. The second 800 was tougher the last 200, but it was manageable. The third 800 was where I tested myself, as it was pretty uncomfortable for the last 500 meters (but I stayed fairly smooth). I felt really smooth throughout and didn't really tie up, although I felt a little more tightness in my arms on the last one. I ran the rest at a good clip (6:50-7:30 pace) and was able to stay tough during the workout. This workout gives me confidence that I can go 4:30.

Sunday's run was meant to be another easy workout, since the 1600 is on Tuesday. I gave myself a bit more rest and ran on the grass so that I could feel fresher. I ran the last 200 on the asphalt so that I could go fast, and ran a 28.2 feeling pretty relaxed. I was running fast, but I definitely had couple more gears.

Overall, this was another solid week, and I feel confident for Tuesday. I can't wait to finally race! I hope everyone else had a good week!

hope pikachu had a good race, looking forward to his report.

Josiah - great races, solid PR's there.

My week was OK, no time for doubling due to work, but still got solid mileage.

M: 5

Tu: 12

W: 13 including 4 mi tempo (5:28 pace) 5 min jog and 20 min fartlek.

Th: 12

Fr: 12

Sa: 12 w/ 4 mile in and out tempo, 5:30, 5:15, 5:30, 5:14

Su: 18

Total: 84

Wednesday was my first real tempo, was just looking to run 5:45 pace, but didn't have mile splits (just knew the route is 4 miles, so went faster than expected, but felt good. Saturday was just fine again, not doing anything crazy. Looking forward to ramping up the workouts soon.

A decent week for me

M - 8 hilly, weights and circuits

T - 4xmile w/ 3:30 jog. 4:48,4:48,4:52,4:52

W - 8/4 with circuits

Tr - 10

F - 8x600 w/ 2:00 rest. Averaged 1:45

Sa - 14

Su - 0

Total - 63/64

A bit on the upswing, but I still don't feel quite "back" yet. Tuesday's session was good, in control the entire time and pretty relaxed. Friday was the opposite though, hit the paces that I wanted and it wasn't super hard, but I just felt choppy and like I couldn't get my legs moving much faster than 70s pace. Part of it was that I drank bad cup of coffee a few hours prior which messed me up a bit mentally and physically. Racing a 5k on Friday night which should be quite fun, hoping to put up a PR and then some.

Can't wait to hear from Pikachu

Stone Cutter - Big mileage and great workouts, especially the hill repeats!

forcerunner - Great workouts, now rest up for the HM. Good luck.

runnersfix - nice win, by the transitive property you are faster than all those guys now.

Running again - Really nice tuesday run and even better workout, way to improve

Hereford - Nice job at Boston, conditions were tough but you managed to run well. Rest up

perkunas - good luck with the hip. Pretty intense sounding hike.

Josiah - busy sounding week. Nice job on the PRs and way to go at it with Elijah Armstrong.

xenonscreams - good luck on the build up, you'll be back soon enough

Matthias - good luck with the injury.

Distance fan - Hopefully everything gets figured out. Fun sounding race on saturday.

KBXC - really solid 800s, 4:30 will be there for you. Good luck on Tuesday

back into it - solid tempo work and week.

GOAL RACE: 5000m May 9th, 15:20 is the goal. (PR 15:28)

next race: 1500m next saturday

my week

M 3mi, bailed due to ankle pain

T 9.3 moderate effort over hilly trails

W 7mi easy

Th 8 easy

F 12 w/ 5x1600m in 5:03s

Sa 5 easy

Su 17+ w/ half marathon pacing gig

total 62

monday: went for my morning recovery run of ~5mi but my ankle hurt unexpectedly. bailed on the 2nd run so just a 3 mile day.

friday: mile repeat session, all in the 4:58-5:06 range notching it down each rep. felt good, not amazing though. 3min rests, in flats.

sunday: got into the elite field of a local half, but i didnt want to race. i ran with my buddy who wanted to run 5:40s or get top 3. ran with him for 4+ miles, left him in 3rd place alone. dropped back until another friend caught me who was trying to run 1:23:00 i think. blocked the wind for him and tried to do my best as a pacer. we did pretty well and he was able to run 81:38 after a killer last couple miles. solid long run for me and a 5 minute PR for him (on a slow course, maybe 1.5min slower than flat half).

so solid week for me. i'm pretty wiped out now after 17+ miles at a pretty solid effort.

Hi,

feeling better and better. Lower leg is feeling fine.

Ran 4 times this week with a max. of 30min on Sunday. After watching the London Marathon I had to go out for my LONGEST run in six weeks :)

Upping the mileage slightly this week and trying to get up to 45min of running.

Maybe a little history for those interested: My lower left leg first acted up in December, took 6 weeks off, started again and increased the mileage to previous levels. Afer 2 months the lower left leg was hurting again. Took 5 weeks off and went to massage, physio and doctors. Last week I went to a podologist, who said my shoes were too small causing my toes to cramp and thus irritating the muscle which starts right behind the large toe (forgot the name). I am getting custom insoles this week and bought a new pair of shoes, two sizes larger than my previous ones.

I have now two runs in with the new shoes (no insoles yet) and it feels fantastic. Maybe its psychological but I hope this was/is the root cause for my problems. Seems like an easy fix, just buy 8 new pair of shoes ;)

Philip

Goal: To find Xanadu, where Kubla Khan a stately pleasure dome decreed…

Mid-Term Goal: 65:00 half

Next Race: 10k May 16th??

A very low mileage week leading into a solid B+ 10miler yesterday. I'm posting from work (shameful, grizz!) but will try to get some comments done in little snippets throughout the day. Already seeing some exciting stuff from everyone.

M- (Marathon Monday): OFF. My roommates and I did the traditional hedonistic celebration. I ended up at the Tracksmith pop-up store on Newbury, where we witnessed rojo bloviate in person during Letsrun's podcast. If anyone listened, one of my roommates drops his beer on the floor to cheers and applause and you can hear me do a mean James Stewart impression in the background.

T- 7mi easy, no watch

W- 8mi easy, another long day at work (~13 hrs). Got in an hour once I had gotten home.

Th- AM 11mi moderate to work PM- 4mi home easy

F- AM 5 easy to work PM- 10mi easy home

Sat- AM 3mi easy to work PM 4mi easy home

Sun- 2 up, 10mi road race in 54:07 for 3rd, 1mi down. Splits-

5:40 (only serious hill on the course)

5:15 (back down the other side of the hill)

5:24

5:24

5:26 (27:11 at 5mi)

5:23

5:26

5:25

5:25

5:16- 54:07

Tot- 65

Race report: I've been jogging ~90ish miles a week for about two months, very little in the way of measured runs. I've had a few "moderate" sort of efforts in the 6:30ish range and have run exactly two miles under 6:00 pace in that time, toward the end of a 16miler. This is all to say that I had little idea what to expect here. I figured 5:20/mi would be an A+ day and 5:35/mi would be the lowest passing grade, so to speak. To avg 5:25s was a good effort and gives me some direction for setting some more specific paces in training. It was great to be in a competitive situation again, feeling hungry and mean with 3mi to go. Unfortunately, I was a minute back from 2nd and 2min up on 4th, so I was just competing against myself from 5mi on. The course was great- other than the first two miles, it had just enough rolling terrain to be interesting and give you something to run against, but not so tough as to tear up your legs.

This race marks the end of the first half of my "base" or "general" or "fundamental" or whatever you want to call it phase. The next six weeks or so will involve a lot of 12-14mi runs with 8-10mi segments between 5:45-6:15 type miling and a few races in the 10k range before I begin my "specific" training for a pair of 10-milers in late July. From there, I'll do another cycle, using the 10mi performances as a baseline, and hope to be within spitting distance of a 65:00 half in the late fall. More likely I'll end up in the 67:00 range, but that's the whole point of big, ambitious goals.

I promise promise promise to get in some comments! This work week is looking to be a little slower.

Like everyone else, looking forward to Pikachu's report.

Goal - 50 mile in July, Sub-2:40 Chicago in Oct

M- 8 miles trail in Pisgah Forest, rolling hills

T - 5 miles with some hard hill efforts, nothing structured

W - 7 miles AM easy, 5 miles PM easy w/ strides

T - 5 miles easy

F - 8 miles easy

S - 15 miles with 6 miles at current MP

S - 5 miles easy

Total - 58 miles

Had hoped to be closer to 60-65 miles for the week but not fretting it. Had family come into town this weekend so it cost me a couple easy PM doubles. I was over in Western NC at the start of the week so it was nice to get some trail work in with some new scenery. Attacked the hills fairly hard so took it really easy through the middle of the week. Saturday's long run really surprised me considering I'm only 4 weeks back from my 6 week hiatus. I just went with what was comfortable and was shocked to see the MP miles just effortlessly float by.

More easy doubles being added this week and still bringing the volume back up to post break levels, ~80mpw. Should be close after this week and then I can start adding a little more quality in and really start stretching out the long run. Planning on at least 2 - 32 milers before the 50 in July. Also decided I want to head back to Boston next year so I need to slot in a BQ race after the July ultra and before Chicago in October. Pretty sure it will Bozeman on Sept 13. Hoping I can BQ it with a training run by taking 10-12 easy-ish and 14-16 at Chicago MP or close to.

Stony- Nice varied week. That treadmill workout looks interesting, and you have my sympathy starting a specific marathon block in July/August. I've only done marathons somewhat ad hoc (10-12 weeks warning) but it seems like rather a long time to be specific work. Maybe we have different ideas what "specific" work constitutes? Would love to hear your thoughts.

Forcerunner- I would think you have 67:00 in the bag if those 2-milers were honest and unforced. I'm curious, though, about only doing 5xK at HMP pace, but using such short rest. How does that compare, say, to something like 8-10xk at the same pace, with maybe 2min of normal training pace running in between?

RunnersFix- Hey, a win's a win. My sympathies for living somewhere where's already 86 degrees!

Running again- Love the username and the enthusiasm, but I'd be remiss if I didn't question the wisdom of measuring your weight every day. There are always those little fluctuations and variations, especially once the "easy weight" is gone and those last 5 lbs cling as they tend to do.

Hereford- There are no better donuts and beer than post-marathon donuts and beer. Hope your enjoyed the break and are ready to get back to work! Monday was ugly weather, congrats again on toughing it out.

Josiah- Great week of racing! I think you have a lot more in the tank in the mile, given the 1:53 800. Will you have an opportunity to get pulled through 1000m in ~2:34 this season? If so, I think you're ready to roll a 4:07-4:08. You've got good wheels and are keeping your in-season mileage solid.