Road Racing and Training Week Ending 1-6-2019

M39

Houston half

M 8

T 4 x 2k at CV w ~2:30 jog rest (6:45, 6:51, 6:52, 6:51) (5:30 per mile avg) - 10 total

W 6

Th 8 w strides

F off / travel

S 14 mile progression from 6:45 to ~6:00, 6:22 avg - 18 total

S 10 w strides / 10

70 miles total

Tuesday workout was good. Saturday was okay. Had hoped to get down to 5:45ish but that wasn’t happening thanks to the redeye Friday night. Achilles issue (I actually think it’s more likely posterior tib) is improving. It really felt good Saturday after I had to take Friday off for travel. I really don’t understand why airports have smoking rooms but no treadmills.

TDR - Glad your year is off to a good start.

Slo - Looking good for Houston.

RRR - Best wishes on your return. Be smart.

Jeff - Glad your 2Q HR plan is going well, and always interesting reading your thoughts on it. I’m glad I looked up the closure in advance. Most of my running is on NPS land, which is accessible (bathrooms are closed), but almost forgot the Arboretum is USDA.

SC - Curious what your thoughts are behind the Saturday workout, since I did something similar (more like 5k effort) on Tuesday, and it’s not something that fits in well with the popular frameworks, but isn’t an uncommon workout. (I usually use 400s as a way to transition into longer intervals.)

Bdubs - Killer 5k. I think your teammate reset your central governor.

JCPP2020 - Nothing trivial about that tempo, approaching from the mid-distance side of things.

JQ - Hope the rib thing turns out to be a short thing. A down week here and there helps the rest of your body rebuild from the stress of the mileage anyway.

Coyote - Congrats on the accolades.

Jewbacca - The fitness is baked in. Interesting to read on last week’s thread that you can do hills by F & M’s. I only knew that place for the cheese fries and occasional kitchen fire.

RF - Always appreciate your posts, never mind the absence. The “drive to Florida” was a horrible thing I always heard about growing up in Michigan, but never experienced myself.

Kid B - Impressive New Year’s Day morning run.

Pewow - Have fun with the ski race. One thing on the negative column about going to college in the South and moving to the Mid-Atlantic not long after graduating was that XC skiing wasn’t going to happen.

Bambino - Welcome to the thread, and good luck this indoor season.

SI - No worries about the 5k. You’re on the right track.

Cjhi - Welcome on board. Don’t think we have many (any?) others following a Pftiz plan at the moment.

Jeremy - Good looking week. I know days where 7:30 is a struggle, and others where 6:30 is a breeze, and the struggle is to hold back.

PM - Hope you’re feeling better soon.

DarkWave - Glad the sickness didn’t linger, and it looks like you strung together an all right week despite that. The Arboretum has longer hills than the Custis, but the main reason the Arboretum run would’ve been hillier was that there was a lot of flat running to get to the Custis. Both are great, but definitely recommend checking out the Arboretum sometime. And the track workout was [20]19 reps just for the year.

HHH - Tbh, I’m not sure how I even started Tuesday morning’s run either. And that 3x3k legitimately looks good.

DietBacon - I almost never run anything under 5 miles, even as a double, a tic I got in college. I read somewhere that runs under 30 minutes had negligible aerobic benefits, and I figured 4 miles was just under that, so I should always do 5. Of course, so many of my runs are too slow for any real aerobic benefit anyway, but the tic remains.

UD - Another good, well-rounded week.

ODOT - If you’ve run 1:06, I’m sure you can get to 2:25 by June. Not necessarily intentionally, but I think most of my training can be put together using MPR’s key workouts thread and E.L. Doctorow’s aphorism about driving a car at night: you never see further than your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.

OR - Good week and long run. Glad to see your plan is coming along.

Cocoon - Why strides at the end of a long run? I’ve always tried to do them when loose by not too tired.

M48, 5'8", 134ish

Goal: Houston marathon, sub 2:40(?)

So-so week for me. I continue to struggle with a sore achilles. Some days I think it's getting better, but I don't know. A friend did share some leftover Rx topical anti-inflammatory cream, so I will try that and maybe get my own Rx (as he didn't have much left). I'm also icing a ton and doing eccentric heel drops. Things improve on days when I cross train, and then get worse on days that I run. But I don't feel that I can just stop running this far out (now 14 days) from the marathon. I took 8 days off before pacing the Chicago Marathon a few months ago (hamstring), and I felt really beat up the last 8 miles.

Total: 58ish, plus 2.5 hours of elliptical

Monday: off. Ate way too much at a NYE party. Then went back for seconds and thirds. D'oh!

Tuesday: did my final extra long run on the treadmill. 22 miles with miles 9-21 at 6 minute pace. I felt surprisingly comfortable, even at the end (and even after eating all that food the night before). But treadmill runs always feels easier to me, even at 1% incline, due to no wind resistance.

Wed: elliptical 60 minutes

Thurs: 8 miles. Cut the run short when my achilles started to hurt.

Friday: 10 miles. Same as Thursday.

Saturday: elliptical 90 minutes.

Sunday: 18 miles at 6:55. Achilles felt pretty good, but is hurting a bit Sunday night.

I'm now in full blown taper mode, so I hope that helps the achilles. I would like to do some workouts of lower volume, and cross train on easy days. But I'll skip the workouts if the achilles still hurts.

So, will the Tide roll? It seems to me they will. Enjoy the game, my friend.

Male- 46, 160cm, current weight is about 57kg

Current PRs- 10km: 33:19, Half: 72:46, Full: 2:43:34

2019 Goals: PRs at 10km ( sub 33 would be nice), Half ( sub 72), and marathon ( 2:37:17)

That is the first time I have stated those goals outside my head. A quick review of 2018 is just under 2000km run, with the bulk coming in July through October. 12 races with 1 full, 2 halfs, and 9 10kms. Each race, with the exception of the marathon, was an improvement, and the last 10km was the best I have run in close to 4 years. Prize money for the year was 1,200,00 won, which is about $1,200, and a 20kg bag of rice.

Yesterday was the opening race of the year. It is billed as a naked marathon, thought the distances are 5 and 10kms. Basically the guys are shirtless and the women are in sports bras. It is somewhat of a cultural taboo to be shirtless in public, so a lot of participants really focus on this race as a way to show off. The course is two laps around a park. It is a fairly hilly and part of the route is on a bus line, so it is a little sketchy in terms of safety. However there are a lot of volunteers along the course. It even had 2 water stations this year. I ran the 10 in 36:55, with an 18:20/18:35 split, good for 4th in the 45+ age group.

It was a decent showing since I really haven't been running the last 6 weeks. I have been going to the gym 3-4 times a week. Cardio work has been the elliptical machine for the most part, and in the last week I started doing the incline treadmill at a 17% grade going 8kph. The problem has been my left achilles and life. December was really busy and stressful and the achilles never felt good after the few runs I did try. I do feel good today and hopefully the achilles thing can be managed.

One thing I realized about my training is that it was very underwhelming. Those 4 months of averaging 80km a week got me a decent 10km showing. So that is where I will be starting for this year. I am hoping to make a progression throughout the year in terms of mileage and workouts. To be honest, I have the Daniels and Pfitz books, and have read them, but I really don't know enough to have an approach. At this point I am thinking an interval, tempo, and long run per week, with the other days being easy to moderate paced runs of various lengths will be the way to go. Part of the reason I started posting on this thread was to gain an insight into my training based on the training of the people here. It has been a very successful endeavor. Sorry to ramble on. Hope everyone has a good new year.

I misspoke when I said "Strides at the end of a long run". The correct statement would be "strides towards the second half of long run". I have been doing these strides at around mile 10 of the long run - so about 80-85 minutes in.

Last week there was a post here about speed endurance. I did not know what the term meant and landed on

.

I know - Runner's World and all that :(

I am slowly incorporating all these three types of strides in my training. Tuesday was stride type #2 from the above article, Friday was type #3 (also from Hudson) and Sunday was type #1.

outsiderunner wrote:

So, will the Tide roll? It seems to me they will. Enjoy the game, my friend.

I think the Tide won a close one. That DL of Clemson is pretty nasty.

I'm in the Strava group, yeah, Jack Brotchie.

Highgate are a higher achieving club than Serpentine in general and I would hazard a guess and say that they have much better training groups too. Serpentine have great runners but that's because they turn up first on Google searches and have a connection with Imperial College so get a lot of their guys. Plus the central location. I don't think the sense of community is very strong at all, from what I've heard. I also know quite a few good runners who originally signed up for Serpies then left after a year or so for other clubs, which I think says a lot.

Soho's a great spot, you can everywhere really easily. If you're doing a coach's sessions then it might be hard to mix in with track stuff but I can set you up with groups who just do social long runs on Sundays (6:40-7 min pace) if you find solo ones boring. Let me know. Likewise if you hate working out on an empty track, the one at Battersea Park always has groups using it on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

outsiderunner wrote:

So, will the Tide roll? It seems to me they will. Enjoy the game, my friend.

Thanks Or. Clemson’s weak secondary will be exposed. Tide rolls by 17.

Coach Jeff ROC wrote:

Still Improving: Was it a mistake to run it, though, or just a mistake to expect (hope for) a PR every time you lace 'em up? ;) I vowed to race regularly back in 2017 and I had to remind myself that some races are just for racing... or practicing stuff... or hanging out with the guys. Boston's creeping up, though. Maybe a few weeks of easy base?

It was a mistake from a post marathon recovery perspective and therefore delaying my ability to train for Boston. While I am disappointed with the race result, I am not surprised at the results. I may take a day or two off this week to give my legs break and hopefully recover better. My legs are in pretty rough shape. They have been telling me this, but I have not been listening.

Male, 25, 6’4”, 147

PRs: 4:54 (mile), 16:56, 1:18:00, 28:01 (8k), 2:47:14 (all 2018 but 8k 2015)

Goal: Ramp up for outdoor track season (& maybe one indoor race). specific races TBD (5k/10k)

Mn - OFF (Foot)

Tu - 4 @ 7:45s (w/ gf)

Wd - 5.5 @ 7:30s (half w/ gf)

Th - 6.25 @ 8:15s (w/ gf)

Fr - OFF (Foot)

Sa - 3.5 @ 9:35s (w/ gf + father), 15min drive then 4.5 @ 7:20s

Su - AM: 3 @ 8:20s (w/ gf), PM: 6.25 @ 7:05s

Total ~33mi

Not quite what I wanted but close, will shoot for 45-50 next week. Some foot pain into monday, felt better until friday but came back and has remained since. I believe the work shoes were the issue, and after wearing them friday into sunday AM I threw them out and bought two new pair (much needed even if they are not the issue). Hopefully there is no more pain, don't plan on taking more days off because of it.

Have yet to look at everybody's year in review posts from last week, still planning on it

-RS

M/35/145

This week was a bit of a tough one, ending in some pretty rough knee pain. Think it's just a Runner's Knee flare up and I need to focus more on my strengthening again. I've been slacking. Got rid of the cold just in time for a stomach bug, but that only lasted 12 hours and helped me lose weight... like I needed that.

Anyway, here is the week in summary

M: 7 easy - 7:37

Tu: 7 easy - 7:19

W: 2 WU, 6x1k; 90sec rest, 4x200 60 sec rest (1k - 329, 329, 324, 330, 328, 328; 200s - 36, 36, 36, 36), 2.8 mile CD

Th: 8 at 7:21

F: Off (unexpected with stomach bug)

Sa: 8 at 7:23, felt weak, but got through it

Su: 11 at 7:16 - hammered miles 4 and 8 to keep it interesting at 6:03, 5:58. However, knee was sore from mile 1 though not debilitating. After run, really tightened up and has been sore since. It's the normal pain, behind the kneecap, hurts more down stairs etc. Really need to focus on preventing this. This is how I derail my winter base building.

Total: 51.6 miles

Probably going to take today off, and hope the knee feels better tomorrow. I hate when this happens.

Comments on the weeks thus far...

TDR - looks like a strong week of running, excited to hear how the HM at the end of the month goes.

Slo - that Monday AM workout looks strong... Houston half here you come.

RRR - May be joining you a bit in the cross training bucket. I got the bike on the mag trainer... might need a week of low impact to get this knee in better shape.

Coach Jeff - Love the positivity and the HR comments vs. pace make a lot of sense. I tend to dread workouts when i'm going for a certain pace. Never thought of it that way, but yea, it happens. Sounds like you're in a good place mentally, which is a big part of the battle.

Bdubs - that's a fast 5k... phew all sub 5 miles. That's a serious time. Congrats.

Jeremy - it's funny, days I feel terrible like your Saturday... I tend to follow up with days that feel amazing. It's funny how that works.

For all those that are sick... feel better!

For all those that are hurting... feel stronger!

For all those going to Houston... it's coming... excited to see how everyone's training comes to fruition on race day!

Happy New Year everybody!

M, 43, 5'8, 130s

Old PRs: 16:30s/34:20s/2:44

Current goals: Get fit, have fun, get back into racing

This past week was entirely unimpressive and yet very positive for me, in that my achilles improved enough for me to progress from nothing more than extremely easy jogging to more or less ordinary running and finally a light fartlek on Sunday evening. As follows:

M shuffle

T shuffle

W 48 easy - 2 x park loop

Th 46 easy - 2 x park loop

F 48 easy - 2 x park loop

Sat just a short jog - family obligations

Sun 43 with 2 x park loop fartlek (180 steps quick/180 steps easy).

Total of a little over four hours.

Like I said, not much in terms of training, but a big positive step in terms of recovery. The fartlek was particularly encouraging - felt nice and smooth. So, time to start working my way back into things.

Looking forward to catching up with what other people have been up to. Welcome to the newcomers!

DietBacon,

How are your strides constructed on days when you have them? 10 seconds on/20 seconds off?

darkwave wrote:

jot quill - makes sense that the rest would help the rib strain - I imagine that every time your bounced while running, it aggravated it. I assume you have to carry a cell/blackberry with you when on call?

Bingo on the bounce! Was able to fight it a bit by trying to force an overly cushioned stride, but that became way too tedious. And yeah will be carrying my cell if running outside this week and will have to stay on loops close-by enough to return home quickly if needed. This morning was cold AF so maybe I'll just use oncall as an excuse to have a treadmill heavy week and dodge the cold :P.

First, thanks for the congratulations. I forgot how good a PR feels as it has been a while.

Slo: Daniels equates my recent 5k to 1:11:00 half. I'll probalby try to run 5:25s on the nose from the gun. Which corral are you in?

Coach Jeff: I don't speak your training language, but it is clear your running is improving. With regards to fear of workouts ( I have it too) try giving yourself a "warmup" rep. Say I want to do repeat Ks, I'll start with 2 200s or a 400. This usually gets me in the mood.

Stonecutter: Do you suppose the taper doesn't matter when you're racing down in distance? I've set my 5k PR twice during half training. Once one week before the goal race and once one week later.

Kid B: I"m jealous of your sleep! Let's cross our fingers for nice weather in two weeks

Pewow: What is your current 5k PR? 1559 was my goal for two entire years

Urban Diesel: How old are you? How did ages 38 and 39 go ? (asking for a friend)

AJ: With that cutdown AND CV workout, I think I might hear Giraffe footsteps even if I run fast.

41 male, 5'10 145ish

Next Race: Net Downhill Vegas Party (Mt Charleston 4/27/19)

M - Easy 90 min

T - Easy 90 min

W - 3 x 2 miles with 1 mile jog in between. Splits: 6:12, 6:14, 6:13, 6:13, 6:12, 6:12

Th - Easy 60 min

F - Easy 75 min

Sat - 14.5 mile long run. Very slippery in spots and ran through some snow. Was at about 7:30 pace on the way out and averaged 6:41 on the way back. This was the tightest and most tense my legs have felt in an extremely long time. I tried to focus on running comfortably but just kept feeling my legs slip out from under me. It was almost like a mini fartlek that I was trying to run steady (came almost to a complete stop several times and even slid down a short, steep downhill next to a spillway in the park.) Regardless, it was one helluva workout! Whew.

Sun - Moderate 75 min @ 7:17 avg pace

Total miles for the week: 73.0

Someone had suggested getting some downhill tempos in. I will probably incorporate that into a few long runs starting next month sometime. I live in a very hilly area and there is a long 15ish mile stretch that is fairly downhill that I can hit.

Bdubs, great race young man. Congratulations. I’m trying to track down some mini-binocs that I can run with in Houston, so I can keep track of you hammering 800 meters up the road ahead of me.

I’m in the ADP corral.

SLO - Watch out for empty 5 Hour energy bottles getting winged from the A corral. I am sure he will miss you tho as your head is a much smaller target than Smooves