Train Me

Weekly Report:

Sunday: 9.1 miles @ 5 mph

Monday: 10x400m @ 8.1 mph + .5 warmup/cooldown

Tuesday: Lifting then

3.85 miles @ 6 mph

Wednesday: 5x800m @ 8.1 mph + .5 warmup/cooldown

Thursday: lifting then

3.85 miles @ 5 mph

Friday: 5.5 miles @ 5 -6 mph

Saturday: .75 warmup then 2 miles @ 6.9 mph and the last quarter @ 8 mph, .5 cooldown

I was really not feeling speed work this week. Early in the week it felt like something settled in my lungs and I was struggling to breath but managed to get through it all and am feeling good again.

Not that it matters to anyone but I'm still surprised when I pull off some of these runs. All day Saturday I was dreading doing the 2 miles faster. It's like, even though I know I pulled over 2 mins off that last race I'm still not sure I can really run faster than 18 mins. So, the whole time I was trying to figure out what pace I wanted to try and hoping to pick a pace that is harder but not HARD. I didn't want to fail at whatever pace I picked. I probably could have done it faster. I never felt out of breath or struggled physically.

Just for sh!ts and giggles I looked up each of the age group records for next month's race:

Me: 15:00

17 yo: 13:50

15 yo; 13:47

13 yo: 13:47

10 yo: 13:55

Not sure why these course records are so slow... but I guess my goal is to beat that 15. Do you think I could take another 40+ seconds off or will I kill myself trying?

SlowAFRunnrMom wrote:

...

Just for sh!ts and giggles I looked up each of the age group records for next month's race:

Me: 15:00

17 yo: 13:50

15 yo; 13:47

13 yo: 13:47

10 yo: 13:55

Not sure why these course records are so slow... but I guess my goal is to beat that 15. Do you think I could take another 40+ seconds off or will I kill myself trying?

Do you have access to a track? If so, you might get on it. Warm up as you would for a race, then head off at 15:00 pace (3k or 2 miles?) for as long as you can go. No worries about blowing up; when you've had enough, hang on for another 100m, then stop and call it a success. You might surprise yourself with how hard you can run.

It might work better if you can find someone who can run that pace without working too hard, and enlist that person to be your rabbit.

another impressive week - obviously this time of year you are going to battle cold/flu/virus blah blah blah - take care of yourself with food and sleep

agree w/others you'll be happier when you can get off treadmill and into the outside

not crazy to shoot for 15 - try and make a deal with your 9 year old to go for 15 as a team - then you'll have your buddy and can both go for PR.

keep at it!

I know it seems weird but I think I PREFER the treadmill. There's no dogs chasing (or biting) me. No 40 mph winds. No dirt in my contacts. No leaving my kids to go out for a run. No boredom because I'm too scared to run with earbuds. I may never go back outside! I really love the outside but I don't live in a pretty place. There's no grass or trees here. Just dirt, blowing dirt.

I assume your monthly races with the kids are out in that apocalyptic dustbowl, though?

deal or no deal wrote:

I assume your monthly races with the kids are out in that apocalyptic dustbowl, though?

Kind of? They're an hour away in a big city that has buildings, grass, and trees to block the wind and dirt. That's not to say that they don't ever have haboobs there but it's MUCH better.

I live in a tiny rural town surround by farmland that is harvested all winter. They won't plant crops until April or May and it'll be late summer before the crops really keep the dirt down. There's no animal control here so we've had 4 dog bites in the last 5 years in my family alone. The main road in town is a 55 mph hwy. so it can be quite dangerous.

All of this is why I bought the treadmill and why my running was so inconsistent before.

a little like grapes of wrath meets chariots of fire - stay on that treadmill til the nuclear fallout blows over - you get even more points for having to drive the kids to the family fun run!

My 17 yo asked me a question that I feel members of this board are better suited to answer. Has a 5 foot even woman ever made it far as a distance runner? Maybe it would be easier to say who was the most successful 5 ft tall female runner?

Mizuki Noguchi of Japan is 4'11" (Olympic gold in the marathon in Athens 2004)

Those Ferritin levels are very low. I have two high school runners and the entire team has dealt with iron deficiency anemia. Here are two products (available on Amazon) that have helped us tremendously, tho raising your levels is a 2-3 month process.

Nova Ferrum 125 (liquid) - the best we have used. No stomach issues and consistently effective. And if you need help, call the company. I spoke with the owner who was extremely helpful. We drink it with a straw, mixed with OJ.

HemaPlex (pills) - not as effective for us, but YMMV. More convenient since they are pills than can easily be carried around. No stomach issues. Supposedly used by Syracuse Univ XC. Make sure you are taking enough - for us it is 2-3 pills a day.

Do not take iron at the same time as calcium since calcium inhibits the absorption of iron. The pediatrician's that we have seen don't understand that the normal iron/ferritin levels don't apply to distance runners. They need to be higher.

Anemia is very common among female HS runners, and many don't know they have it. When we see a good runner crashing in the last 1/3 of a race, when that has not been happening before, the first thing we think of is anemia.

Good luck.

BTW, I love your bet with your daughter. Whether or not you hit 6:30, you have already won simply by trying and being with your girls. Hats off to you!

SlowAFRunnrMom wrote:

My 17 yo asked me a question that I feel members of this board are better suited to answer. Has a 5 foot even woman ever made it far as a distance runner? Maybe it would be easier to say who was the most successful 5 ft tall female runner?

Joan Benoit is 5'2"". She won the first olympic marathon in 1984. Also a master gardener.

There are plenty of other examples. Tell your daughter it's the size of her bal^H^H^H heart that matters.

Allie Ostrander at Boise State - 5 1", Emily Lipari Villanova grad 5 0", not very tall also Jordan Hasay and Katelyn Tuohy both listed at generous 5 4" - former and current high school legends.

Thanks for all the info guys!

I can't help but think whoever said, "Another great week" jinxed me this one. LOL That being said here goes:

Sunday: 9 miles @ 5 mph. (breathing was hard)

Monday: .5 warmup/8x400 @ 8.2 mph

I couldn't finish the 9th one and the breaks between 400s was more like 5 mins instead of 2 like I've been doing. I

really don't know why my legs felt so heavy and sore and my breathing was very labored.

Tuesday: lift then

3.4 miles @ 6 mph. Was supposed to be closer to 4. I couldn't finish.

Wednesday: .5 warmup, 2 x 800 @ 8 mph. Failure on 2nd. Waited several hours tried a 3rd one at 7.8 mph. Failed.

Thursday: lift then

3.8 @ 6 mph. Finished but barely.

Friday: 5 @ 5.5 mph. Finished but still hard.

Saturday: .75 warmup, 1.5 @ 7.2 mph, was shooting for 2 miles but couldn't.

Sunday: decided to see if a day off would help. Jogged 1 easy easy mile.

Either my body just wasn't having it last week OR switching shoes screwed me. I did wear an old pair of Glycerins all week because I pulled them out to match an outfit and just decided I would run in them and ended up with blisters and sore feet starting Tuesday or Wednesday but I was also having trouble BEFORE that with breathing.

Anyway, I didn't want to report all that failure so I skipped reporting on Sunday. I'm happy to report I ran my 9 mile on Monday and it was easy breezy again! Lifted this morning and that went well again too. Hopefully whatever was going on last week is over! I really don't know if my repeated attempts to complete workouts by taking longer breaks or HOURS off then trying again were making it worse or if the week would have been pretty much all failure no matter what.

Current weight is 144.2

Going too hard and nkt being able to finish is no good! Slow down!! 12-15 x 400m at 7mph sounds like it would be a good workout for you

When I use a treadmill, 80-90% of my running is 4.5-5.8 mph, with the rest as tempo or intervals mostly below 8.5 mph. I can break 6:00 for mile any day of the week.

Slow down, chill out, let the fitness come to you.

My favorite 'mill workout is 5-8 x 1:00 with 1:00 rest (off the mill while it keeps running). I build each rep from 6>9mph. 15 min. warmup/15 cooldown with a few minutes of tempo or incline work worked in for variety. Good solid work without busting my balls.

Are you doing any lifting or cross-training?

YMMV wrote:

Are you doing any lifting or cross-training?

Yes, I lift every Tues and Thurs for 30-45 mins.

Normally I feel fairly relaxed running that stuff. It isn't like I'm straining. Except last week. It was effing brutal.

Maybe it's the calorie deficit, low carbs, low iron, sore feet, blisters, wrong shoes. Idk. Today I ran 10x400 @ 8.2. It wasn't bad.

I just now found this thread.

You're making great progress with your running, and also with your weight. Good for you.

I don't know why you're doing 9x400, since your end goal is 1 mile. I would stick with 4x400, with 3 minute rests (or start every 5 minutes) Also, 2x is enough for 800s and take 6 minute rests (or start every 10 minutes) because they're longer and slower. A third session you can do, which I used to do quite a bit on the treadmill, is 6x 1' with 2 minute rests. This would give you 3 sessions a week, and when you're doing a race, then skip the 800's. The rest of the time do as much easy running as you can.

A good 5k session is 4x1200 with equal recoveries (just walking around).

If you do this the week of a race, then skip the other three sessions.

Bear spray can be helpful for dogs, and the 5 of you forming a uniform front.

These are just some ideas. Just keep doing what you feel is works the best for you.

It's been a little over two months since I saw this thread and I'm super impressed and excited by your progress! It's always great to watch someone improve.

I feel like the weight has definitely played a big role in you feeling so good! Congrats on that mile in 7:40. I'd say that if you had it at 0 incline it's probably roughly a 7:45/50, just because running on a treadmill is slightly easier than running outside or on a track. Regardless, you hit your goal of 7:50.

I agree with what the other people said on the anaerobic bit. If you can crank up the treadmill to 9/10mph and jump on and off effectively, I think doing something like 2 x 30s or 3 x 20s or even 4 x 15s with 60-90s rest would do amazing things for your leg speed and general feeling good. Ideally, I would say do this outside to avoid risking some kind of weird injury on the treadmill because you couldn't jump off on time.

You'll also notice that running races is going to feel way better. Your 0.5 training is great and progressing nicely but when you work on being able to move your legs quickly they're going to feel easier much faster.

Separately, you should definitely keep taking the iron as everyone else has said. Also, forget your daughter's coach, she's doing great. If I was a coach I would love such a committed runner outside of practice, and simply ask about training so that it would work well with practice! From what you've said, she's definitely not being overtrained and if anything is doing the perfect amount of training for her age / ability.

Also, I saw earlier that you said you were sore after lifting. Maybe for 2 weeks you should reduce the reps or reduce the weight for your lifting sessions, just to reset your legs. Everyone needs a rest week. Alternatively, make sure you stretch appropriately after lift sessions too.

Loving this thread and your updates, keep it up!!!!

Just FYI next mile time trial is March 26th with a goal of 7:40 or better. These 8 week periods are flying by and I'm starting to get worried I'm barely making these and they'll get more difficult as this progresses..

My 8th grader will have a track meet on Thursday but the high school track meet was canceled for the 2nd week in a row because basketball made it to the next round of playoffs.

I somewhat wonder if the 1200 calorie diet with less than 20 carbs per day is having any affect on all this as well. I don't want to change what I'm doing right now though because it's working.