4/2: Run the Bluegrass Half Marathon (Lexington, KY)
4/30: Capital City Half Marathon (Columbus, OH)
Another solid week. Highest volume of the year so far and got a couple good workouts in. Saturday put me 4 weeks out from RTB and 8 weeks from Cap City. Need to keep putting the work in but if I keep stringing together weeks like this I know I will be in a good place fitness-wise.
M: 10 EZ
T: 10 EZ
W: 8 EZ
Th: 10 total, 8 x .5 on, .5 recovery. Averaged 5:46 pace for the on sections.
Slow Miles/Slower Bests- I am intrigued by that Friday workout - what were the target efforts for those intervals (i.e. how do they relate to your race paces)? It looks like the 400s and 600s were at mile pace?
I am not entirely sure but based on the run down he gave us pre workout this is my best estimate.
2k was easy tempo work, mainly a warmup. 1k was also to get the legs spinning, maybe more towards 3k/5k pace. 600s were based where he believes our 3k pace is around. 400s were closer to mile pace (were supposed to hit 65s but got rolling). Last mile he wanted to feel like the last mile of the 5k.
BeersandMiles - that's a hard week. Is the glute OK now?
Glute feels alright. This happened right before Boston and it completely derailed me. When that was happening I would have twitches when I was just sitting down. Thankfully not having that right now. Gonna be cautious with this week's workouts.
Last week had some ups and downs, but ended on a high and I feel like I'm going to nail the final 6 weeks going into Boston. @HHW let's do a long run next time I'm out here (if schedules line up!). This time I've been sneaking in runs during the workday and haven't had much access to a car.
M33, 5'10/160 Goal Race: Boston, Q for '23
M: OFF, due to things out of my control couldn't run this day TU: 6M @ 7:40 on the Central Park Loop, with a 6AM flight West Coast --> East Coast, was happy I got this in W: OFF, got derailed by some work/personal stuff but still should've run, this one had me questioning my seriousness/motivation/momentum for Boston, fortunately got a pep talk from my Fiancee TH: 6.5 ft 2x8', 1x 6'40 with 90 seconds rest on lower res (rolling, not-so-fast surface) ~ solid workout, first was run comfortably at 6:22 pace, then 6:12 and 6:11 pace for the next two, it was not the fastest surface and I cut the last one short because it felt I was going to the well too much. I suspect I would've cut down 5-10 seconds on a flat road, so these were probably pushing the pace a bit for my fitness FR: 6.1R @ 9:11, first part with fiancee, easy run on Comm Ave. SAT: 5.7 @ 9:21, most of it run with fiancee, keeping it easy again SUN: 20.2 @ 7:12 with Tracksmith group, felt good with great weather and a rather flat route. I thought there would be gels/more water stops. So honestly that was the biggest struggle besides a hot, early pace (7:30 group running 7:00 of course). Fortunately the duo I was running with graciously gave me some water/a Gatorade energy thing so I wasn't completely barren. Encouraging effort overall.
Bigger picture, knee is having less and less impact. I feel like I should be able to put in normal weeks through the race. Not ideal buildup but will pack in more quality LRs and workouts coming up.
Stone: Heckuva 20-mile effort! You ran with Mrs Stone for thar? Was it a group run/workout? I noticed your paces were almost identical, but not quite.
OR: The week before last, I thought perhaps scheduling issues caused the every-other-day runs. But I see the same pattern last week. A planned training tactic?! You know I've utilized this approach in the past, and again at present. For me, it's for ultra-low-mileage marathon training (long runs + rest = marathon success). In any case, it seems to be working for you. Improvements happen during recovery time, right? I'm looking forward to your marathon results.
Darkwave: After years of following your impressive training, I'm assuming you write your own schedule? If so, how far in advance have you typically planned each week or month or training block (realizing that in recent months that's probably a bit different than historically)?
Just looking at HHW's week made me pass out from exhaustion.
lol. Not going to lie. I am a bit less peppy than I have been. If I hit the monster planned for tomorrow my 7 day rolling volume will be 100 miles which is WAY more than I have ever run before. Definitely going to need a slightly smaller week next week to regroup.
Would love to man. Shoot me a note on some random old run on strava and I'll respond with my e-mail for future use. That is my version of the letsrun secure messaging platform.
Hello all, I haven't been posting much, but I have followed the post, and everybody is training well and racing well. Last week: Monday- 13.29 miles 1'25"15 (6:25 avg) Tuesday- 14.30 miles 1'31"00 (6:22 avg) Wednesday- 14.11 miles 1'30"00 (6:23 avg) Thursday- 14.40 miles 1'33"26 (6:29 avg) Friday- 7.02 miles 43:02 (6:08 avg) Saturday- 3.62 miles 23:20 (6:27 avg), 5k 15:20 (I believe it was a little short), 7.70 miles 48:32 (6:17 avg) Sunday- 14.01 miles 1'35"21 (6:48 avg) cold and snowy. 91.4 miles last week. 98.6 week before that, 93.7, and 92.6. 3540 ft gained, felt that was a bit on the low side. YTD: 885.5 miles and 39,855 ft gained.
Just looking at HHW's week made me pass out from exhaustion.
lol. Not going to lie. I am a bit less peppy than I have been. If I hit the monster planned for tomorrow my 7 day rolling volume will be 100 miles which is WAY more than I have ever run before. Definitely going to need a slightly smaller week next week to regroup.
Haha, I hear you man. I've had the occasional 7 day rolling 100 miles (rarely seems to line up with the calendar week!). I'm not used to that volume either and I was not myself as a result. Constantly hungry and irritable. Was not fun and did not like who I became.
Granted, I realize that is only because I'm not used to that volume. But holy time commitment! :)
What do you mean irritable? I'm not irritable. Who do you think you are? Why would you say such a stupid thing you big idiot. Someone get me a cheeseburger!
Darkwave: After years of following your impressive training, I'm assuming you write your own schedule? If so, how far in advance have you typically planned each week or month or training block (realizing that in recent months that's probably a bit different than historically)?
So.. I run with a coached team, though I do not strictly follow the team workouts any more, but rather show up as I feel like it.
When I have a marathon on the horizon, I follow a 11 week schedule that's done me fairly well. With the exception of the long runs during that cycle, I don't have specific workouts written in, but rather a focus - i.e. a tempo workout might be either 4 or 5 miles straight, depending on how I feel. For interval workouts on the track, I'll generally show up to the team track workout and do whatever they are doing.
When I'm focusing on shorter stuff, I'll follow a general schedule of intervals on Tuesday (whatever the team is doing), a tempo on Friday, and a 14 mile progressive long run on Sunday - if I have a half-marathon in the next two months, I'll probably stretch at least one of those long runs to 16 miles. But I've found that for any goal longer than a mile and shorter than a marathon, the tempo workout is the most important workout of the week for me.
Right now, since my focus is just on rebuilding my stride, I'm shifting around stuff a bit more, and trying to include more of a focus on shorter faster stuff to hopefully fix my gait. Honestly, I've also been (not surprisingly) a bit depressed about my running, and so I've tried to adjust by doing workouts that sound fun and interesting, just to keep some joy in my fast running.
Allen - Thanks very much. The week three weeks ago with only three runs was a scheduling/work thing, but since then I have been doing four days per week and have been liking it A LOT. So, a bit more than every other day (I run M, W, F, Sun.), and I must admit that I got the basic concept from you and have been wanting to try this for a good while now. I have not felt this good and this fresh in a very long time, and this routine has done wonders for me both physically and mentally. I am feeling better and better and now I am seeing progress in regard to paces…I dropped another five seconds of overall pace from my Monday night tempo-ish neighborhood 6.65-miler…6:39.5 overall last night…pushed a little, but not too hard. I like keeping the distance and route the same from week to week so as to be able to compare the results…6:46, 6:50, 6:45, 6:39.5 and the last one was done with less effort than the first. So, this training regimen has been a happy work-in-progress, and I have no reason to diverge from it. Originally, I had been thinking of making every run a double-digit, but the Monday night 6.65 seems to adding a nice change of pace to the mix.
Looking for 20 tomorrow…in a cold rain…in the hills…
OR: Recovery days are key! I know you're not one to jog an easy 7 or 8 miles at 8:30 pace, so taking a day off is a good alternative. Even at your talent level, it's not sustainable to hammer day after day.
I don't envy you your upcoming LR in cold rain. In fact, I revamped my planned week to schedule my long run on a "0% precipitation" day. Thursday instead of Friday. Might try for 18 miles. I'll probably fast beforehand, and hope to get to 16 before hitting the wall.
Allen - I should also note that last night’s tempo was performed in strong, gusty, swirling winds and so I am extra happy about the result. I agree that improvements happen during rest. Back many moons ago when I was a young gym rat pumping iron, that is what all of the hard core weightlifters would say…rest and build. No doubt, running every day does bring along the progress more quickly. It got me into great shape over the summer…but then the foot injury, two months off…and then covid.
Allen - I could not say it better myself…why jog 7 or 8 when I can rest my knees, hams, glutes, etc? I am not looking forward to tomorrow’s LR in the cold rain. I am trying to convince myself that it will be good mental training…
Stone: Heckuva 20-mile effort! You ran with Mrs Stone for thar? Was it a group run/workout? I noticed your paces were almost identical, but not quite.
Keen observation. Yes, this was a group long run for four of us. Mrs. Stone hung tough and was pushing the pace for the most part up until the last fast mile, which was still very strong for her.
We are pretty confident that she is in sub-3:10:00 shape but probably not quite in 3:05:00 shape. So details to be worked out on game day, but she’ll probably start around 3:10:00ish pace and try to work it down the second half.
General - Decided on Wednesday to bail on my Friday 5k race. None of my efforts have been going well the last few weeks, wife thinks I'm suffering from overtraining. Bailed part way into my tuesday workout and rallied thursday to get it done (albiet the effort to hit the splits was harder than desired). Have a 4M race this Saturday and am going to see where I am at. Have been working in more strides after easy runs and am averaging about 70min of strength work a week which is good. Onwards
General - Decided on Wednesday to bail on my Friday 5k race. None of my efforts have been going well the last few weeks, wife thinks I'm suffering from overtraining. Bailed part way into my tuesday workout and rallied thursday to get it done (albiet the effort to hit the splits was harder than desired). Have a 4M race this Saturday and am going to see where I am at. Have been working in more strides after easy runs and am averaging about 70min of strength work a week which is good. Onwards
Hey Sam,
Seems like you have been going pretty hard for awhile. Moreover looking at your goals they seem like they might not be tough to pull off at the same time. If you are feeling run down maybe just take a week or two if easy running, take some pressure off and don't race and ditch structured workouts. I bet things come back quickly.
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