19:38 5K to 16:30 5K: One year only

Yeah dude, let's hear the update.

His last update was 11/6/05. My guess is things didn't go as planned and he is/was in a state of depression and doesn't want to discuss it. I think he should though. Many runners want to know how things turn out on these attempts whether they're successful or not.

i say we keep it on the front page until he comes back with an update

Back to the front!

i went from running 17:30 off 40m a week to 15:20 off 75m a week in 7 months.

i dunno, but i was doing a lot more interval work

for example,

40x300s

10x1k

5x2k

Ryan Hall wrote:

Back to the front!

Sorry for not updating this thread. I did post some updates in another thread about training in flats and just plain forgot this thing was here.

I was doing OK for a while, got my weekly miles up to about 70 per week. I started rotating in flats during training, especially tempo and interval. I popped a 17:40 5K and felt pretty good. Then, I went gung ho and did the 100% flats thing after many discussions and feedback in the other threads. My calfs were pretty sore at one point but with encouraging words from trackhead about eventually adjusting I stuck with it. I am sad to report that the calf problem never went away. I am not not running.

I had to go to a doctor and they were able to find micro tears in my calf and worst yet, the tendons. You can actually feel bumps on the tendons if you push down into the outside part of the calf muscle. The doctor says these are scar tissue and might never go away AND they may even cause neuromas in the future.

Thanks trackhead.

Why do I think this last message was a troll? Have I gotten too cynical reading these boards so much?

cynical wrote:

Why do I think this last message was a troll? Have I gotten too cynical reading these boards so much?

No trolling here. Just trackhead hating.

I-33 Callmaster wrote:

I was doing OK for a while, got my weekly miles up to about 70 per week. I started rotating in flats during training, especially tempo and interval. I popped a 17:40 5K and felt pretty good. Then, I went gung ho and did the 100% flats thing after many discussions and feedback in the other threads. My calfs were pretty sore at one point but with encouraging words from trackhead about eventually adjusting I stuck with it. I am sad to report that the calf problem never went away. I am not not running.

So you got up to 70mpw in trainers, then phased in flats to 100% of runs. How quickly did you do this? Did you reduce your volume or pace when doing this?

Running same pace and volume in flats rather than trainers is gonna put much more stress on your body. I'm not against it, but i do think you have to be careful in the transition. I generally think at time when you're in a rush to see big performance improvements is not a good time to make this transition.

Regardless of footwear, if something is getting very sore (i think a little is ok if it isn't perpetual), its because its not coping with the level of stress you're putting on it. Telling someone to carry on regardless of lots of soreness is plain bad advice.

Best of luck in your recovery and be patient in your return.

I-33 Callmaster wrote:

I was doing OK for a while, got my weekly miles up to about 70 per week. I started rotating in flats during training, especially tempo and interval. I popped a 17:40 5K and felt pretty good. Then, I went gung ho and did the 100% flats thing after many discussions and feedback in the other threads. My calfs were pretty sore at one point but with encouraging words from trackhead about eventually adjusting I stuck with it. I am sad to report that the calf problem never went away. I am not not running.

Well I'm glad you were able to give us an update but am sorry to hear of your injury and that you're no longer running. You did however go from a 19:38 to a 17:40, almost a 2 minute improvement! Even though I am a proponent of training in flats, I feel like this type of change was definitely not appropriate while you were right in the middle of training towards your goal of 16:30, especially while at 70 miles/week! A proper transition to flats would mean that you'd have to abandon your original goal and esentially start over from scratch at very low mileage. Had you stuck with the plan I believe you would have gotten your 16:30 by the end of the year. Well, good luck with your injury, hopefully you'll be back out on the roads in the future.

Sorry to hear about your injury. I have never been a proponent of training in flats myself, but to each his own. Best of luck in your recovery.

I went from 26+ to 17:00 in one season back in highschool. Too bad it was my first cross season. I cut nearly 1-2 mins of my time each race... This should be pretty simple for you as long as you make sure and log the miles, tell us how it goes for '06!

nope, the last update was a troll

signed

not I-33 Callmaster

Whoever posted that under my name is not very truthful. I'm the real deal.

Anyway, my update is going to be a lot less interesting than the fake guy who got injured.

-----------------------------------

Week #16 was about 35 miles

Week #17 was about 45 miles

Week #18 was about 9 miles

Week #19 was 0 miles

Then it has been very on and off since then. The most being about 20 miles in a week.

The reason?

I lost motivation. I started lifting a lot, saw some gains in that, and switched focus. So I'm more into lifting, eating, and running 4 times a week. I'm up to about 170lbs.

So my focus was completely lost. I'm not making excuses as to why. I lost my motivation and lost focus. Some can fight through that and move on. I didn't, my goals shifted.

For those that were using this as inspiration or hope. I'm sorry I let anyone down. To each his own. Just because I couldn't reach my running goals doesn't mean you can't. I just didn't want it when push came to shove.

Later guys.

Callmaster: TO MUCH, TOO SOON!

You said: "My legs have hated me ever since that 17 miles this past Sunday.

Going from:

60 to 45 to 62 to 70

ended up being a little rough on my legs.

Couple things: I run primarily on cement (bad news). Also I didn't really hang out in the 50 mile week range that long.

So this is a good thing, I'm learning about my body, and what it can or can't handle. I don't want to feel worn down all of the time, so I think I'm going to hang in the 55-65 range a bit before I bump to the 70s again."

CALLMASTER: You ran your last PR on 35 or 40 per week... Do not progress past 50 for at least 6 months... Run faster averages.... (8:00 pace for the weekly ave.... to 7:15 in 6 months or so...)... "Improve the Steady State" -- Lydiard...

Get into some GT2100's, something with cushioning.. Pitch the flats! Forget the 17 mile runs! Too far, too soon!

You're injured? Can you walk? Then walk 5 miles per day. Can you jog? When you can, start with 2 miles, every other day, walking on alt. days. Slowly increase the jogging to 5 miles over a 2 week period. If the calves begin to hurt, skip jogging and walk that day & try it again on the next alt. day.... The bumps may go away. They may not. How does one "see microtears"? Did you see them? Easy exercising is the fastest way to recover, always.

I-33 Callmaster, I feel your pain bro. I can usually only handle a few months of focused training. Then after that, I just get bored. It's the same old thing over and over again. You worry about your training, your race schedule. It's easy to get burned out.

I just started up again and I'm only about 10 weeks into my latest comeback but I'm psyched. I'm thinking about joining a running club so that 3 months from now when I'd rather hang out in the sunshine with friends that go for a long run, I'll have some motivation to stick to the schedule.

You'll be back. Can't ever escape the running bug.

Yeah, you definitely can't escape running. Once you get into it, you'll always have that on/off relationship. For the good ones, it's always an ON relationship. For me though it is very on and off again.

I'm sure someday I'll try to get back into good running shape, but for now I just want to gain some muscle, some weight and be fit.

I-33 Callmaster wrote:

Yeah, you definitely can't escape running. Once you get into it, you'll always have that on/off relationship. For the good ones, it's always an ON relationship. For me though it is very on and off again.

I'm sure someday I'll try to get back into good running shape, but for now I just want to gain some muscle, some weight and be fit.

WTF!!!! This weightlifting guy is a troll. I bet it is trackhead. That MOFO!!!!!

Anyway. I am not running because I am injured from running in flats not because I decided to lift weights. How focking ridiculous is that.

WTF, why there are 2 faked I-33 Callmaster fighting each other. I am the real one and I am not injured - No!!!!

Here is the update of my last weeks training:

Overall mileage: 62

Mon 8 easy

Tue 8 AM, 5 PM

Wed 9 easy

Thr 9 easy

Fri 8 AM, 5 PM

Sat rest

Sun 10 easy

Friday afternoon I did a track workout and feel great - it is a 5x1200 averaging 4'3" with 3 min. rest. I am thinking now I should be in 17'10" shape. So, by June I should be able to get close to 16:30, right?