Road Racing and Training Thread - Week Ending 5/19

VF Runner- Great job on the race today! I look forward to reading your race report. Congrats on the AG placing and on keeping the sub 3 hr streak alive.

Slartzio - Thanks for the info. I am hoping mine isn't related to stride mechanics but just a function of increasing my mileage in the form of too many consecutive longer run days.

reed- good luck with the hip flexor. A few days of downtime right now will be helpful anyway for your HM.

NP112 - Great job on your 5k today, that time is fantastic although it's frustrating that the times were off. Given that the marathon is already less than a month away, you are basically tapering to Grandmas? The shin feels ok in the elliptical and the bike so that's what I'll do for now. I managed to convince my wife and parents to bike from Pittsburgh to DC and we're starting that next weekend for a few days so maybe the downtime will be good and then I can really get after Chicago and my summer of running come June 3rd.

john berryman- we pretty much drink everyday in our house, usually a bottle or so for dinner with me having 2/3 of it. When I was training for Boston, I went a few weeks of not drinking during the week (Mon-Thurs or Mon-Weds) and really trying to limit myself to a few drinks on weekend nights. Personally, my diet is the biggest thing I plan to focus on for Chicago as I know it's detrimental to my performance. I want to limit the amount of processed grains I eat (not go all in paleo but focus on lean meats, fish, fruit and veggies) and then really try to dial back the booze. I know all this wine is horrible for weight loss and is the biggest reason why I'm stuck at 153 and cant get to 148, which I think would be my ideal weight. Sorry for the long winded answer:)

@john berryman I'm not quite sure. It is a manipulation/massage technique suggested me from my podiatrist. There is some stuff on youtube.

Hi all!

Week two in my triumphant comeback (haha) from almost complete de-training. Looking to return to the form I was in close to a decade ago (17:0x, 35:2x, 1:19:0x). So far, so good. Initial goal is to build a base, obviously. I'd like to be running at least 100km - 120km weekly for a month or two before getting into anything other than easy jogs and occasional moderately hard runs.

13 - off (busy)

14 - off (absolutely no excuse)

15 - 22km easy trails

16 - 23km easy trails

17 - 20km very easy w/ friend (recov pace)

18 - 10km moderate

19 - 10km very easy w/ friend (recov pace)

TOTAL - 85km

Wishing continued success to all. Thanks so much for the warm welcome to the thread last week. Much appreciated.

M-Sa - 17 total, easy, 2 off days

Su - Shires of Vermont Marathon, 3:12:00. What can I tell you, guys? Did the very hilly first half in 1:31:40, exactly as planned, doing the uphills mid to high 7s and letting gravity take me on the downhills, and then did a few 6:40 or so miles after the half and actually felt optimistic but around mile 16 exhaustion got the better of me. Tried to fight it but couldn't. Just wasn't prepared to sub-3 on this challenging of a course. Did some low 7s, then some high 7s, then some mid 8s, before finally picking up the pace for the last 3/4 mile. Somehow finished 8th overall, 3rd in my age group which earned me half a pint of pure Vermont maple syrup, which was cool. Though having done the Master Cleanse a few years back (Google it) I don't see myself ever consuming it.

Cyhawk, I got in touch with your friend Patrick who was also running. Very cool guy and we ran together for the first several miles before he pulled ahead, but I never had him out of my sight. Which sucked for him, since he was shooting for sub-3 too, only to do a 3:10 something.

It was a great race, though. Very challenging and well run. Lots of respect for the organizers and volunteers. And lots of food and a single beer at the finish were nice indeed.

Grazing the comments before posting, someone asked about drinking. Yes, I drink. Probably more than most of you, though I've cut back at times before big races. Didn't do it enough before Boston (or this race) and that couldn't have helped me any, but in the end you live your life. I'll always have Hartford! Someday my kids will be amazed that their old man ran a sub-3.

All that said, I still think I have one more sub-3 in me and I plan to try for it again in Chicago. Disciplined training, no "training marathons", and I'll take it easy on the food and drink. And the course is flat.

Best of luck to everyone, monsters and mortals alike, on your running exploits. It's been great having this community here for support. I'll still lurk around here but probably won't post again until I start training for Chicago at the end of June. But first, I'm running the Hatfield and McCoy Marathon in Williamson, West Virginia. Why? God knows.

Hey guys- I got hurt again this week doing a track session. I'm not particularly pleased, obviously. Things were just starting to go my way. I'm especially annoyed because I didn't have any warning signs I ignored or any tightness and wasn't doing anything I should have, pace-wise. I saw my ART guy on Thursday and have another appointment scheduled for tomorrow. I'm confident this will be a blip, but it's still annoying.

M- Lunch- 4mi easy PM- 8mi easy

T- PM- 14mi easy/moderate

W- 2mi up, strides, 1600 in 4:44.2, 400 jog, 800 in 2:21.5, 400 jog, 800 in 2:19, hamstring went in the last straightaway or so of this one. Same spot as before, same type of pain.

Th, F, Sat- off, though things felt pretty good by yesterday.

Tonight- maybe 4mi, maybe not. Depends more on if I feel like it than anything. Total- at least 31

Looks like there's a lot of good training weeks around here as usual!

Goal: Get healthy.

Not a great week on paper. (4 miles + 95 minutes cross-training)

Monday - off (planned)

Tuesday - off (planned)

Wednesday - 4 miles (felt better than last week's test run)

Thursday - off (woke up and had trouble walking)

Friday - 35 minutes on elliptigo bike.

Saturday - 10 minutes AM on elliptigo. (30 degrees out + 15 mph wind). 50 minute elliptical PM.

Sunday - off.

IT band feels like it's 1 step forward 2 steps back with every run. I am just going to get back to cross-training until I see a sports medicine guy this coming Friday. I have also been doing a bit of core as well as strengthening for my IT band so hopefully it all pays off once I am healthy and back to running again.

Will respond to everyone tomorrow when I have time. About to run out an appointment right now. This was my week:

Sunday: 17.5k easy

Monday: AM 13.5k easy PM 14.7k easy with a few hills

Tuesday: 10x400 on a trail run. Felt much stronger and consistent in this workout than the last time I did it (two weeks ago, I think?). Went 1:20, 1:20, 1:19, 1:19, 1:20, 1:15, 1:18, 1:18, 1:18, 1:10.

Wednesday: Lunch 17k real easy, PM 12.5k. Discovered a new route on lunch with my training partner, which is always nice.

Thursday: 13.5k easy.

Friday: Mile repeats! Did this on a slightly uneven trail. Felt not quite as masterful as my Tuesday workout, but still pretty good. Still getting stronger, which I guess is the point. Went 5:15, 5:11, 5:12, 5:11 w/800 recovery in between. With wu/wd 14.6k total.

Saturday: 25.8k easy. Still felt like a slog towards the end, but much better than the same route last week. Recovered much quicker too – had a bunch of work and work-travel to do later in the day, and I stayed pepped up throughout, which would not have happened after last Saturday's debacle.

Came in at 142.6k total. Fairly pleased overall. This week will be basically the same again with no long run on Saturday, since I run a 10k race a week from today.

Hope everyone had a great week. The weather here has been really nice – sun and blue sky and no bugs and not too much wind. We'll see how long that lasts.

Goal: 32:00 10k

Goal race: 2nd week of August

Monday: 10

Tuesday: AM - 6 + PM - 11 = 17

Wednesday: rest

Thursday: 6

Friday: AM - 6 + PM - 6 = 12

Saturday: 7

Sunday: 16 w/6 in 36 min

Total: 68

Uhh not a great week for me. I only ran 38 miles last week (I was traveling) and I think that low mileage messed with my legs. I didn't feel good until my run on Sunday. Saturday was supposed to be 8 @ 5:45 but I ended up stopping after 3, my legs just felt dead. Today I felt good though, started around 7:30 / mile and just kept working my way down. I did the last 6 at 6:00 / mile. I'm hoping that my legs will rebound next week.

Goal Race – 10k last weekend of June

M – 10.5

T – 10.5

W – 13

T – Off (planned)

F – 400/200 Repetition workout (11)

S – 9.5 very easy – was extremely tight and fatigued from Friday

S – 16

Total – 70.5 miles

Friday’s Repetition workout :

3 mile warm-up/3 mile cool down

6 x 400m with 400 active recovery (~2:08) – 65, 65, 64, 66, 65, 65

8 x 200m with 200m active recovery (~1:14) – 31, 32, 31, 31, 31, 31, 31, 30

The weird part of this workout is that my chest hurt more than my legs did. Having not run a true interval workout at mile pace (or repetition workout for other Daniels’ subscribers) in sometime, I was dreading how my legs would feel. Not the wheezing that I would encounter during the recovery jogs! Overall though, I’m very pleased with the workout. I assumed I’d be hitting 67s/33s, not 65s/31s. My easy run on Saturday would drag on however. That’s when I felt the fatigue and stiffness of my legs. Talk about some serious D.O.S.

Pikachu – To pick up from where our conversation left off; I appreciate all the advice. It was just coincidence that this week was a had a short and fast workout built into it. After my goal race at the end of June, I plan on starting my “summer base”. As you recommended, I will definitely be incorporating some short fast stuff to stay in touch with my speed. PS, that was a ridiculous week you posted. Excellent job!

Pablo. The splits 2/3 were auto GPS. I hit the first on my own and it was right at 1.00mi anyways. I think the 3rd mi was correct. I had a guy make a great move on me and I tried to go with him. Another kid tried to also but he didnt get past me. But ya never know.

berryman: no drinking here. Good luck with the long run. stay relaxed and finish strong.

cmm: you can still get great cardio on the bike and elliptical. Hopefully the less stress helps you out. I will be getting a schedule from my coach very soon. I think I will be 90s for the next 3 weeks with marathon specific workouts and then taper for 2.

easy: week 2 congrats. hope things keep going smooth with the mileage build up.

Dave: sounds like a very tough course. Glad you stuck with it and still managed a great placing and neat award.

grizz: sucks to hear about the hamstring. especially with no warning signs. good luck getting rehab'd back to normal. does the ART usually help pretty quick?

Steve: sucks that you dont seem to be getting anywhere. but like you said. stick with thing and you will get stronger. Nothing is ever a simple fix, especially injuries. did you buy an elliptigo? thoughts on them?

bonham: good looking week and workouts. Why are you doing mile repeats on trails? are you a trail runner/racer? I would think a smooth surface with no chance of bad footing would be ideal, at least with my luck haha.

rushed: i think you will rebound. I know what you mean with running less gets to you. feel like you are a lot tighter in general and it takes a while to get back to normal. great sunday run still

NJ: great friday workout i am tired just reading that. very consistent!

Goals:

June 2- Covered Bridges Half

October 13- Green Mountain Marathon

Mon- 11- 8 mile progression with 2nd half 5 1/2 minutes faster than the first 4. Followed by 8 x 100 as in/outs to practice running fast while tired

Tues- 2.5

Wed- 2.5

Thursday- 12 with 5k race in 21:08. Then 3 cool down then 2 x 1 mile @5k pace with 1/2 mile at regular pace in between.

Friday- 5 mile @ 7:40 pace- just tried to keep it slow but went at a nice clip for me. Legs felt pretty good after yesterday.

Saturday- 14 with 13.1 in 1:47:45. I went and ran the course I will be racing in two weeks. My legs were pretty tired to start and were thrashed by the end. Warm by local standards too. Felt okay and kept the pace easy.

Sunday- Legs tired, mowed the lawn for 3 hours. It was the first cut of the season and bow had it gotten wild in spots. Also had to cut up a tree which came down in the past week.

Total: 47 miles (my highest since Gorbachev was in power).

The race on Thursday went well. I had no idea how I would fare but I was 25 seconds faster this year than last. I was concerned as I have not been able to do much speed work yet. Last year I had little running in February and March but had a good base. This year I have been building up after missing virtually all of the last 7 months of last year because of my achilles. I had mixed feelings about the time vs last year until I went back to my logs from last year and saw that I did have more of a base than I thought. I think the splits were off this year. 6:28/ 13:30/ 21:08. I think the first mile was short as I definitely did not slow that much for the 2nd and the first mile reader was in a different spot from where I remember him the last two years. The last mile + was tough mentally. Having a young woman start puking next to me about a quarter mile from the end helped me get going again. I was proud that I got over to the local track and did a couple of mile repeats. Best part about the race is that afterwards if you hit them at the right time they are just giving away extra shirts. I got 5 shirts total.

Yesterday's long run was fine. I like to do the half marathon course a couple of weeks beforehand so it is familiar. Plus it is relatively flat so it gives me a way to log miles without hitting my legs with hills. There is not a ton of shade and it got hot yesterday (Well 74 feels hot here this time of year). I'll take it.

Numbersguy: hey, Cooper River! I probably ran a few thousand miles around that loop back in high school. That summer racing series is supposed to be pretty fun.

My high quality/low volume training continues. I think my foot is slowly healing, but it's going to be a while before it's 100%.

M: Rest

T: 4 easy

W: 3.5 - 6 min w/u. 2x4x400, 1st set w/400 jog, 2nd w/90s walk.72, 73,74,71, 72, 68, 70, 68; 2 min c/d

Th: 4 easy

F: 3 - 5 min w/u. 3x800 w/45s walk: 2:55,2:42,2:32. 8 min rest. 2x200: 34,35. 1600m TT: 4:54. 2 min c/d

Sa: Rest - hiking

Su: 4 - 5 min w/u. 6x800 @LT w/60s walk: 2:48,2:46,2:46,2:43,2:41,2:39. 5 min c/d. Weights. Dropped the bar on the last rep of bench press. Lesson learned: don't bench.

Total: 18.5

The time trial was kind of dumb. I felt like sh-t on the warmup and on the easy 800s, but went for it anyway. Probably still tired from Wednesday. Splits: 69,72,77,74.

Haddonfield '07 here.

Hey everyone,

Nice weeks all around. And some nice races! Keep it up everyone.

I've been having some pain on the ball of my right foot (on the big toe side). So i took it easy this week.

5 8:20

3.85 8:17

0

0

0

5 8:11

6.35 8:05

Still some pain today. not as bad. I'll have to be mindful of it. I think I'm flexing my toes up a bit when I run, which might be putting added pressure on the ball of my foot. Why just the right one? Eh who knows. I've been getting lots of aches and pains during this marathon training. They seem to go away as long as I'm careful.

Today was a weird run. Legs felt very good. But I felt like I was on the moon. My cadence was low about 165. I wasn't overstriding though. Just felt like I was loping along. weird feeling but I'm sure it won't last.

I have a drink or two every week. Varies of course. Wouldn't feel bad if I had more. Usually drink screwdrivers.

Cheers

Goal: Lehigh Valley Marathon, 9/8, 3:05 to 3:00

Next Race: Dub C 4 miler on 6/7

Mon: 8

Tues: 0

Wed: 9 total w 4 mile progression run

Thurs: 8

Fri: 10 w 8x400 on track

Sat: 6

Sun: 13

Total: 54

OK week, starting to get in the groove back running, but still with a long way to go. Both Wed and Thursday were ad-hoc workouts, I just wanted to do something. Wednesday was such great weather that I had to try and pick up the pace, went from current marathon pace to current 10 mile pace. Friday was going to 12 x 400, but had to run in the middle of the day and the heat was throwing me way off. I know it is not really hot in PA, but it sure felt like it. Sunday was a rainy slog, my shoes may never dry out.

Numbersguy – who do you see for your massage treatments, I was thinking of trying to see one for my IT band, but am not sure if I should look for just a sports massage or something more specific, you seem to have success with yours

VF runner – sorry that the marathon didn’t work out for you and that you were almost killed by a golf ball, isn’t this the marathon that you were misdirected in last year? This may be an omen!

Edgemont Dave – sorry for you too that the marathon didn’t work out the way you planned. But that is still a good place in what really sounds like a tough marathon. If you don’t want the syrup, send it my way, we just ran out of supply of Maine maple syrup and won’t get more until we are back in NH in August, once you’ve had the good stuff, store bought just isn’t the same.

All – everybody stay healthy, we seem to be getting back to being the walking wounded, so I hope all the injuries heal quickly.

20.2 total 8:12 pace.

Goal- Break 1:18 at the Philly RNR Half Marathon

Mon- Ran 9.5 miles (7:00/mile)

Tues- Ran 9 miles (7:00/mile)

Wed- Off

Thur- Ran 2.5 mile warmup, 4 x 400m 80,79,80,80 (might be a bit faster, I can find my exact splits), short rest in between each no exact time, 2 x800m 2:42, 2:46, ditto on the splits rest 1 x 1600m 5:38, jogged about .5 mile total in between each. 2.5 mile cool down 8.5 total

Fri- Ran 9.25 miles (6:53/mile)

Sat- Ran 13.1 miles (7:01/mile)

Sun- Ran 9.5 miles (7:10/mile)

58.85 miles total

Keep up the good work everyone!!

Incidentally I did just that. Went out in 25:20 came back in 23:03. Started raining towards the end and it was just one of those good runs.

Day has just been good all around, arsenal beat newcastle to maintain fourth, scum of the earth tottenham are still playing in the europa league, I'm setting up my new apartment drinking ipa's and listening to some vinyls.