Road Racing & Training Thread - Week Ending 6/13/2021

Pretty solid week for me. Got in some later runs which was nice. Aerobic stuff is way ahead of previous cycles.

M - 5 @ 7:39. Avg HR 149

T - 9 @ 7:49. Avg HR 146

W - 2 up + 1 aerobic tempo (5:32). 25x200 w/ 1’ off. Avg. 33.8. Goal was 35.xx and muscular vs. anaerobic but didn’t feel like I crossed the line so I think I got away with it. 1.5 down.

Th - 9 @ 7:33. Avg HR 146

Fr - 6 @ 7:03. Avg HR 147. 9x100 on the minute. 13.high to 14.low on the fly. 2 down.

Sa - 9 @ 7:17. Avg HR 143

Su 2 up. 7 @ aerobic tempo avg. 5:36. Avg HR 178. 2 down. Good progression 5:44/5:42/5:39/5:39/5:35/5:32/5:24. Strava had a 34:48 10k PR in there.

Total - 61 miles

M52, 5’6”, 125

M: 7.65 at 7:12 overall…full progression…7:38, 7:27, 7:22, 7:17, 7:13, 7:02, 6:48.7, 4:19.8

T: 6.5 at 7:08 overall…full progression…7:34, 7:30, 7:25, 7:07, 7:04, 6:36.6, 3:08.5

W: 10.5 at 7:16 overall…hot/humid…in the hills

T: 7.13 at 6:56 overall…7:32, 7:17, 7:07, 6:53, 6:57.5, 6:29.3, 6:22.8, :50.1…humid/dripping

F: 11.13 at 7:01 overall…in the hills, in the rain…finished 6:59, 6:51, 6:46, 6:41, 6:35, 6:20.9, :50.7

Sat.: 10.5 at 6:47 overall…in the hills…cooler morning/took full advantage of it…felt great…7:26, 7:15, 7:01, 6:54, 7:02, 6:34, 6:36, 6:31, 6:30, 6:20.1, 3:04.2

Sun.: 5.75 at 7:03 overall…humidity came back…full progression…7:28, 7:19, 7:07, 7:00, 6:44.8, 4:58.1…dripping…tiring little run

59 miles

Happy running!

M37, 5’10”, about 160

Upcoming: Cherry Blossom (9/12), Half (9/19).

Mo: 8 @ 7:32 (80 + 71, few clouds) Busted 400s*

Tu: 10 @ 7:21 (78 + 69, mostly cloudy)

We: 10 @ 6:48 (81 + 69, overcast)

Th: 10 @ 7:21 (76 + 68, too many clouds to see the eclipse)

Fr: 10 @ 7:11 (70, rain)

Sa: 10 @ 6:35 (68 + 60, overcast) Arboretum hills

Su: 12 @ 6:12 (74 + 62, mostly cloudy) Finish 6:03, 5:58, 5:24

Total: 70 miles

*Failed attempt at 10 x 400, only did 4: 72.4, 71.2, 73.9, 73.5. 400 jog rest after each.

Feeling the heat and maybe a little overtrained at the start of the week. Backed off to try to get my legs back under me, feeling better by the weekend.

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From last week’s thread...

Fatsos et al. - The day after my 2nd Pfizer I felt pretty rough, did a slow 5 miles and wished I’d kept it to 3. I wouldn’t have wanted to race that day. But definitely glad to have gotten my shots.

darkwave - Got into Cherry Blossom on the seeded entry. The 2 times I’ve run it I entered with a group of co-workers, but I did the seeded entry for last year’s cancelled race.

Allen - Sorry to hear about your brother. Hoping for the best.

BHViking - Good running in Deadwood!

M: 2.5

W: 2.5

Th: PT gait analysis

F: 2.5

Total: ~8 miles

Gait analysis wasn't super helpful, but oh well. Basically just said to keep doing what regular PT has me doing.

Female, 47, 5'4", 105

PRs 5:25/18:51/38:56/1:02:28/1:24:08/2:57:42

Goal races: Grandma's Marathon (June 19 - goal sub-3:05).

Eventual goal times: 18:30 for 5K, 1:23:xx for half, sub-2:55 for full

47 miles running, 1500 yards swimming, and 2 hours pool-running

M: 1 hour pool-running and streaming yoga.

T: 9 miles, including a track workout of 4x800, 2x400, 2x200 in 3:04, 3:03, 3:01, 3:03, 90, 86, 41, and 41. Recoveries of 2:35-2:43 between 800s; full recovery for all else. Followed with leg strengthwork and 500 yards recovery swimming.

W: 8 miles very easy (9:20), upper body weights/core, and 2 miles very easy (9:05).

Th: 1 hour pool-running and DIY yoga.

Fr: 10 miles, including a 3 mile tempo on the roads in 19:51 (6:36/6:36/6:39). Followed with injury prevention work and 500 yards recovery swimming.

Sa: 8 miles very easy (9:21) plus drills and 6 hill sprints, and then upper body weights/core.

Su: 10 miles progressive, split as first 3 at 8:40 and next 7 at 7:44. Followed with leg injury prevention work and 500 yards recovery swimming.

Tuesday morning's workout was supposed to be five 800s and then some 400s, but I dropped out of the fifth because the heat was getting to me. Took full recovery and then did some 400s and 200s.

Friday morning's tempo was just completely waterlogged. At the start of the tempo, it was warm but lightly raining (refreshing). By the third mile, the rain was an utter downpour and the road was starting to flood (I did this on Hains Point, which floods occasionally). Got it done, and hoped that ugly weather in training makes for good weather on race day.

Pewow - I'm sorry the gait analysis wasn't more helpful. I find those things can be hit or miss.

Sub-6:00 - thanks for writing that you were feeling the heat - makes me feel a bit better. The last two weeks have not been confidence-building, though I know you can't read much into paces in hot/humid weather, or into how one feels during taper.

Glad you felt better this weekend!

Outside Runner - I see you're back to 7 days a week?

HHW - some speedy stuff in there.

Good luck next weekend DW. The heat is a real mind fu$$ but it’s incredible how much easier everything feels the second the temps drop. Think of it like being at altitude or running with weight vest. Obviously you know this but it’s easy to forget when you are in the thick of it.

-a guy who was running in 80+ degree weather who suddenly had it drop into the 50s this week.

Target Race: HM on Oct 10

M: 14.5k steady around 8:30 minutes per mile pace

T: 13.5 k steady around 8:30 mile w/ 6X8 second hill sprints

w: rest

T: 12k steady closer to 8 minute pace

F:rest

S: 9k at easy 10-10:30 pace

S: 10k w/ 5k at temp pace of 6:20

Total just shy of 60k - highest its been for months.

Plan for next week keep mileage at 60, 8X8 sec hill sprints during the week and a track vo2 max workout on weekend.

Slowly building up mileage and intensity in preparation of a 12 week specific half program.

dw - Yes, back to 7 days a week. Will probably take a day off here and there. Perhaps it is best for a body in motion to stay in motion? Basically am working off of that theory…

Male, 31, 5’8”, 148 lbs.

PRs: 2:15, 4:51 mile, 17:17 , 36:50.

Upcoming races: Gorges Ithaca Half Marathon (9/4).

M - 6.3 (8:46)

T - 5.2 with 6 strides (8:54)

W - 2.1 up, 3 x 1 mile (5:59, 5:56, 5:55) with 2:00 rest, 2.2 down

Th - 6.5 (8:58)

F - 5.0 (8:28)

Sa - 4.1 (8:49)

Su - 2.2 up, 4 strides, 5K in 18:17, 2.4 down

Weekly Total: 42 miles

YTD Total: 1196 miles

The race - 10th overall, 2nd M30-39. 68 degrees, 90% humidity. 176ft of elevation gain according to Strava. Not my best performance, but okay given the conditions. I ran the first half too conservatively and it may have cost me a couple of spots (I finished within 2 seconds of 8th and 9th place). I had competition the whole way, so this was a very fun race.

So ends my 5K cycle. I'm very happy with how it went. It produced two PRs (4:58-> 4:51 and 18:17->17:17, although realistically I was closer to 17:45 shape at the start of this cycle if you convert my 10K) and an overall win in a close race. My one disappointment is that I didn't get to run a fast 5K course in good weather, but that's just how it goes with Covid limiting races and summer heat.

Some general thoughts on my training (Jack Daniels' 5K/10K 40-50 mpw plan with some minimal changes and additional mileage):

- I like Daniels' training plans. They're straightforward and effective, and his book explains everything well enough that I feel like I can tweak things without missing the purpose of a workout or a mesocycle.

- Next time I'd add some 200s or 300s to the end of workouts that precede races. For example, I'd do something like 4-6 x 200 after Wednesday's workout. They're fun and I think my body responds well to doing some fast stuff throughout the year.

- Next 5K cycle I might try reducing my long from 12 miles to 10 miles and adding volume to workouts, or maybe alternating long runs with a third workout. Thoughts?

- I really like racing every weekend. I think it helped me out mentally: I experienced much less pre-race dread at my last few races than I used to.

I'm not going to run much for the next week or two, although I will probably race a 10K in my hometown this weekend just for fun with no expectations. After that, I'm going to start training for my half marathon debut.

hhw - Nice progression.

OR - Pretty impressive to finish every run the way you do!

Sub 6:00 - Workouts in heat are no fun. I'm glad you're feeling better now.

pewow - Sorry the gait analysis wasn't helpful. At least you got some confirmation that what you're already doing is good.

darkwave - Good luck this weekend. I'll cross my fingers and hope you get good weather.

Free_the_thigh - Solid week. Looks you'll have a good foundation when your start your half training.

Male, 53 yo, 5’7”, 142 lbs

Goals:

Short term: Stay consistent, come up with an optimal way to manage my heel pain

Longer Term: Year-end marathon PR

Strava Relative Effort Past 4 Weeks

266 | 302 | 309 | 288

HRV rMSSD

30 Day Avg: 46.7

This Week: 37.7

About 50 km running

About 0 km biking

Mon: Off

Tu: 20 min easy + 20 min T effort (4:37/km) + 20 min E

Wed: 10km recovery effort

Thu: Easy + 5(90 sec Hard/60 sec jog) + Easy

Fri: 10km easy

Sat: 10km easy

Sunday: I overdid some of my heel exercises and swelled up. 0km. I’ll run on Monday.

The good: Two workouts this week. Really going by feel for now. I often don’t know how the heel is gonna feel so when I do feel good, I break out whatever workout is next on the menu. I felt good on two days this week, so two very basic workouts. I felt crappy on both Friday and Saturday, but went out on both days and once I got started I just kept going. A mental victory.

The bad: Heat, humidity, and mandatory masking. (Of course, if a tree falls along those back roads that I often run, and no one is there to hear it...)

The ugly: My swollen heel is fugly.

Happy Dragon Boat Festival!

M43 / 6’2” / 186lbs

M: Rest

T: 7.9Km easy (6:00/Km)

W: 17.5Km (avg 6:20/Km), w/ 3' on 3' off, 3 by 800 (400m R), 3 by 400 (400m R)

Th: Rest

Fr: 6.2Km easy + strides (6:20/km)

Sa: 4Km WU/CD, 5000 race: 17:53.88

Su: 24.8Km lsr (4:50/Km),

Weekly Total: 65.7Km (41 miles)

W: Workout did not go exactly as planned. Ended up tagging along w/ my usual group. They typically run slow and tiny volume, had intended for their workout to be a glorified warmup. The guy I was running repetitions with turned workout warrior out of nowhere, running those 3' much harder than I had anticipated. Almost dropped out 1min into the first rep but just rolled with it. In the end, it was on the spectrum of things suggested more or less, 2 X (3 by 8), more distance than 2m or 2 by mile, but plenty of rest. I ran the intervals a touch below target 5k pace. I threw in a few 400's at the end to get the legs spinning (200 relaxed / 200 faster). Took Thursday off (though I walked to and back from the office, which felt nice), light shakeout + drills + strides on Friday. Felt fine on Saturday, which is pretty good for me!

Sa: Temperature was pretty great (19 allegedly, felt more like 16-17), cloud cover, little bit of wind but nothing dramatic. Only 3 people in the race, a 15:30 dude clearly way too cool for any of this sh*t (god's gift to running, also to women and the world) and a young girl w/ a 19:40PR.

Ran a little too fast on the first 200 (38), then settled in at target pace. I focused on relaxing, keeping stride rate up, keeping form. Managed 1:24's without too much trouble, very uncomfortable but manageable. For the first 6 laps, then things started going south. Could not keep it up, tried to find the right balance between giving in a cple of secs while not completely dying. Ran a cple of 1:26's, 27, 29. Things got pretty dark in laps 10 to 12, could feel I had my pain-face on. Finished the last lap in 1:25. Lapped my watch but did not think of stopping it, moved over to the grass on the inside of the track and laid there for 4-5min trying to recover. God's gift to running bailed right after he was done. I stuck around to congratulate the girl. Ran the entire thing alone, dude dropped me about 150 in, lapped me once. I lapped the girl twice.

I'm OK with sub 18. I've gained some weight in last few weeks. I probably was close to overtraining about a month ago, since then I reduced mileage but also started eating a little bad. I'll quietly build mileage back up and clean the diet a bit, also being more mindful of recovery. I'll probably stick to my running tourist friends' wednesday workout. Maybe a month from now, hopefully a little lighter and feeling good, I'll worry about putting together a marathon plan to prepare for Amsterdam (October 17th).

A big week ending a hard block and starting an easy block.

M:

AM 27x35/30s @3k->1k pace

PM 9+8+9 bike thresholds

Tu:

AM 9x2.30<->2.50/60s @5k/10k pace

PM 9+8+9 bike thresholds

W: (recovery between blocks and felt quite fine so starting easy block tomorrow)

30+30 Easy bike+run

Th:

AM 50 Easy/Mod bike w/4x20s sprints

PM 50 Easy/Mod run

Fri:

AM 50 Easy ->Mod bike

PM 50 Easy ->Mod run

Sat:

AM Leg strength

PM 50 Easy w/8x44s hills

Sun:

40 easy bike w/5x20s sprints + 50 easy run trail/terrain

61km running (5.30h) + 105km bike (4h)

Next week starts with recovery day + strength for legs, and then 2 days more of the easy week. Soon vacation and then I will train less, but more speedy

Recovery week after half marathon race.

36.9 miles

4:44 total duration

2017 ft total vertical gain

I can't believe how effing sore I was after that half marathon race. You'd swear a ran a full marathon at max effort. My legs were still sore on Friday. I took 2 days off of running after the race and then eased back into it.

I had stepped on the side of my foot half way through the race and my foot was extremely swollen and bruised all week but I could run on it fine. The bruise appears to be gone and there is just some puffyness around the ankle so there is nothing to be concerned about there.

Running schedule will be turned upside down through July because my son who is going to be a freshman in high school has summer group runs with the XC team. I have to drive him down to the meeting spot early in the morning for a 45 minute run. Shorter than I'm used to but maybe it will be a nice reset for me. Perhaps I'll do more afternoon doubles (schedule permitting).

Male, 27, 6’4”, 152 lbs

PRs: 4:54 mi, 16:56 5k, 1:18:00 HM, 2:47:14 M (all 2018)

Races: 6/17/21 1mi, 6/19/21 Biathlon

Mn - AM: 6 @ 8:00s, PM: 5 @ 7:35s

Tu - 3T, 4x300 + WU/WD = 11

Wd - 10 @ 7:50s

Th - AM: 5.25 @ 8:15s, PM: 7.25 @ 7:45s

Fr - 4 @ 8:10s

Sa - 8 @ 7:10s

Su - 6.5 @ 7:50s

Total - 63.5

Tu - Tempo in 6:15s on a road loop, 300s in lane 2 on the track in 60s. Rain and puddles so I figure the effort was there if the times weren't.

Higher mileage to start the week and a lazy weekend, will continue to at least set myself up for higher (desired) mileage. Two races this week so it'll be hard to hit much past 60 again. This week also started my focus on morning runs and doubles to help with high mileage when I get there.

BHV - Resets are good.

RunnerSam, nice to see you steadily building back up. Looks like you are doing it very methodically.

Hope everyone else’s week is going well. I am back to the office for the first time in over a year. I have actually never met any of my coworkers so should be an interesting day.

ramping back up a bit...

43 miles last week, roughly 2k elevation gain - nothing of note beside the longest run since my injury (8 miles) and a few <7min miles thrown into a run on Thursday.

Focus is to get to 55-60mpw consistently and start mixing in some workouts over the next 3-4 weeks. Target is Boston with a sub 2:45 goal.