Road Racing & Training Thread - Week Ending 5/22/2022

First week of taper and feeling good. Busy week with new job, mortgage stuff, kids doctors appointments etc. so slightly less volume than I would have liked but intensity is up and both workouts went well. Just have to hang on for one more week!

M - 10 @ 7:43
T - 10 @ 6:40

W - 10 @ 6:13 w/ 8x400 on/200 off + 4x200 on/100 off. 400s in 73-74, 200s in 43, 200s in 35 and 100s in 21. Very even pacing. A 16:10 5k in there somewhere. Felt surprisingly efficient at faster paces.

Th - 10 @ 7:03
Fr - 10 @ 7:08

Sa - 15 @ 6:20 w/ 5x2k/1k. 2ks @ M pace and 2nd and 4th 1k as surges while others were 90% M pace. 7:18/3:51/7:20/3:26/7:16/3:56/7:17/3:24/7:10/3:49. Nailed paces. Pretty humid so HR was a bit up but overall a good run.

Su - 10 @ 7:58

Total - 75

M62, 5'11", 172 lbs
Age 23: 16:05, 2:40:30
Age 43: 17:10, 2:56:03
Age 58: 18:58, 3:07:23

Weeks to Marathon: 1

MAY 17-23, 2022
M - Off
Tu- Off
W - 5.0 miles (8:55 avg out, 8:46 back)
Th- Off
Fr - 4.0 miles (10:02, 8:38, 8:23, 7:22)
Sa- Off
Su- 4.0 miles (9:08, 8:27, 7:49, 6:50)
TOTAL: 13.0 MILES

Marathon is one week from today. Wednesday, even after two days completely off, I was sluggish and sore from the 18-miler five days prior. It's crazy how long recovery takes these days.

Wednesday was similar, but I felt better as the run progressed. And this morning I was definitely much peppier.

My son still says he's aiming for only sub-4. It's his first marathon, so perhaps wise, but shuffling along at 9-minute miles can be darn arduous, too.

Weather permitting, I'm looking for about 3:45. As usual, I will trust my intuition on race day. My HM would predict sub 3:35 if my volume was more reasonable. Not on 20 mpw, though!

Looking forward to this week's race results. MVM wasn't posted yet when I checked last night.

Run well.

More of a detailed race report to come but it was a tough one for me sadly. Gutted it out and picked up no injuries though. 3:10:34 with a bit of walking (11:34 mile) to take down a bottle of electrolytes at mile 21 and stave off disaster. Shuffled way home from there with some close calls with muscle spasms, and I’d take a spell to drink Gatorade/water at the aid stations from there.

I really did try my best to hydrate early and often, but running in the heat (it was 62-64 dew point, with 99% humidity) has always been a struggle for me. Mile 17-18 the cramping/spasming began. I actually had quite a good run up to then. It was daunting to have that much left with my legs giving out but my family and some good crowd support/HMers kept me going.

Not the outcome I wanted, but after all the ups and downs of this with injuries, freak accidents and then COVID before Boston just taking some satisfaction in the journey. Better days are ahead!

Good luck to Allen and HHW.

I am so sorry. You were dealt a rough hand this spring and it sucks. Those conditions, though doable for shorter races, are just so tough for marathons - especially when you're not acclimated. (I know you know this, but I'm guessing it's still nice to have others confirm when you're trying to process).

It sounds like your head is in the right place here - hopefully you'll get some kismet in the future with a perfect weather marathon.

Allen - it sounds like you are perking up just in time for next week's marathon. Good luck, and I would trust your intuition too. You know your body better than anyone, especially at this point.

HHW - looking very good! I think a bit low on the mileage two weeks out is not a bad thing.

Female, 48, 5'4", 108
PRs 5:25/18:51/38:56/1:02:28/1:24:08/2:57:42
Recent times: 5K in 21:08, 10 Miles in 1:11:40
Upcoming race entries: Garry Bjorklund Half (6/18)

40 miles running, 4 hours pool-running, and 1000 yards swimming.
M: 90 minutes pool-running and streaming yoga.
T: 2 miles (9:52)
W: 10 miles, including a track workout of 5x800, 2x400, 2x200 in 3:29, 3:23, 3:23, 3:22, 3:21, 98, 1:42, 49, and 49. Recoveries of 2:3x-2:4x after the 800s, full recovery for all else. Followed with leg strengthwork and 500 yards recovery swimming`
Th: 90 minutes pool-running and upper body weights/core.
F: 3.5 miles (9:41), time team track workout (coach was out sick), 5.5 miles (9:39) plus hill sprints and drills, and then streaming yoga.
Sa: 14 miles, including a set of 6x4 minutes on/3 minutes off, with the "ons" at between marathon and half-marathon effort. Paces for the 6 "ons" were 7:51, 7:42, 7:33, 7:17, 7:17, and 7:09. Followed with leg strengthwork and 500 yards recovery swimming.
Su: 5 miles very easy (9:51) and then 60 minutes pool-running.

Kinda of a chaotic week. I was supposed to get an IUD on Tuesday, and so I took a medication called misoprostol on Monday night to "soften up" that portion of my anatomy. I woke up on Tuesday morning and felt very dull. I started my warm-up and decided the workout was not a good use of my time, so I pushed it back to Wednesday and went back home.

Of course, then the IUD didn't happen because apparently my uterus is small and not shaped like the average woman's, so I need to try again this coming week with a smaller IUD and a sonographer. This will be try 3 (my first try was two weeks ago). I am seriously debating whether this is really all that necessary, given that I'm 48. But I guess I'll give it one more try.

Pushing the Tuesday workout to Wednesday meant that had to rework the rest of the week. I ended up doing a long run on Saturday, which was the first hot day of the year. I had planned to do 3x2 miles at half-marathon effort, but revamped that to sets of 4 minutes on/3 minutes off - do as many as you feel like at between marathon and half-marathon effort. As it turned out - 6 was the right number - each repeat would start at the right effort and then my heart rate would skyrocket. Then I just jogged a few miles to get to 14 and called it my long run for the week.

Interestingly, I stopped taking the Slynd (drospirenone birth control pill) this week because I felt like it was negatively affecting my performance and especially my heat tolerance. I note that my body handled Saturday's 14 miles in 80 degrees with a dew point of 70 MUCH better than last Sunday's 12.5 miles in 65 degrees with a dew point of 64. Both runs were tough, but last weekend was MUCH worse. I think stopping the Slynd is the difference.

M 24 6'0" 165lbs
PBs - Mile: 5:05 (1/22); 5k: 18:06 (1/22); Half Marathon: 1:24:42 (3/22)
Race Calendar: 5/29 5k race; 6/11 10k race; 6/24 Mile race; 7/24 5k race

M - 6.1 @ 7:53

T - 7.5 with 6 x 1k (3:00 rest) 3:25, 3:24, 3:23, 3:23, 3:28, 3:23*

W - 5.1 @ 8:11

R - 5 @ 8:38

F - 7 with 3 x 8 min T (2:30 jogs around 8:45 pace) in 6:14, 6:01, 6:16**

Sa - 6 @ 8:26

Su - 12.2 @ 7:25 with some trails and lots of hills

*felt very controlled, lost focus on the 5th rep and ran an 87 for 400-800

** wasn't feeling super recovered, so decided to run a little slower--forgot about that on the second 8 min

good week of training overall, feeling decently confident for next weekend! will be the second 5k I've ever raced, so focus is on feeling out the effort rather than going in with a time in mind.

best of luck to HHW & Allen for your races this weekend--looking like both of you are benefitting from the taper & getting ready to roll!

Sorry to hear about the tough result thoughtsleader, hopefully better opportunities and conditions to come

Training looking great darkwave!

M38, 5’10”, low 160s

Road bests | 2022
5k - 15:20 (2006) | 16:14 (CB split)
10k - 31:15 (2008) | 32:51 (CB split)
10M - 51:52 (2009) | 53:41 (C Blossom)
Half - 1:09:01 (2009) | 1:12:07 (RnR DC)
Full - 2:25:14 (2019) | ∅

Mo: 5 @ 7:51
Tu: 8 @ 7:37
We: 8 @ 8:22
Th: 8 @ 7:57
Fr: 8 @ 7:48
Sa: 8 @ 7:57 trails
Su: 5 @ 7:13

Total: 50 miles

Recovering from last week’s 10k.
Next week might be a bit light as I’ll be driving back and forth to a conference in Maryland. TBD if I will get up early enough to run.

Allen and HHW - Good luck next weekend!

TL - Sorry to hear about the race.

darkwave - Has to be the medication change since this weekend’s felt way more brutal to me.

M, 36, 5,8”, 130lbs

Mile 4:51 summer 2021, HM 1:20:46 Fall 2021.

Aiming for a 16 low 5K at the end of June and a 34 low 10K mid July. Also hoping to sub 1:17 in the fall for the HM and to run my first Marathon next year at some point.

This week I decided to increase the mileage and intensity but pretty incrementally.

Most WO’s were 5K focused as the race in June is getting closer.

M - Rest

T - 17K, 4x1000,500,200,100 [90”,60”30”] active recovery, 2:00 between sets. I felt comfortable and controlled and seemed like I paced things well considering.

3:20, 1:36, .36, .17/ 3:18, 1:34, .34, .16/ 3:15, 1:36, .36, .15/ 3:16, 1:35, .34, .16

W - 13K @4:49K

T - 17.40K @4:20K with some LT thrown in 10-12 in 7:33, 15 in 3:40

F - 12K @4:32

S - 14.30K, 3x1200,600,300 [90”60”] active recovery, 2:00 between sets. Again this felt controlled but as it’s become a bit warmer it was definitely a harder effort. Was nice to have a friend join me which made it a lot more manageable.

4:07, 1:56, .54/ 4:00, 1:57, .53/ 4:05, 1:59, .50

S - 17K @4:30K

Total - 90K for the week:)

Feel like i’ll try and sustain this for the next 2-3 weeks and perhaps slightly decrease my mileage a week before and the week of the race.

If anyone has any insight on what I could be doing differently etc, pls don’t hesitate to let me know. I’m pretty new to running (2 years) and not really sure if I’m exceeding my capabilities or not. Though, for clarity, everything is feeling balanced and within my limits, in terms of effort, recovery, fatigue, etc. I do have the tendency to push myself so it’s always good to step back and ask what others think. Most importantly, i’m feeling well adjusted and comfortable where i’m at and my fitness is seemingly progressing.

Hope you all have a good week next week as the weather gets warmer.

Hi everyone!

Male, 28, 6'2", 192
PRs: 800m: 1:56 (2011), mile: 4:21 (2011), 3k: 8:49 (2012), 5k: 16:45 (XC, 2013)
Short term goals: Lose weight, strengthen the joints, avoid injury, build up mileage
Long term goals: sub-3:00 marathon
Upcoming races: Luv 2 Run Portland 5k (6/12), On The Run Half Marathon (9/24)

Week of 5/16/22-5/22/22

Monday: 2.2 (8:18)
Tuesday: 9 miles total, workout: 2.4 up, 2 x T 2-miles w/ 60 sec rest (13:40, 13:16), 2.3 down
Wednesday: off
Thursday: 7.7 (8:02)
Friday: 3.1 (8:29)
Saturday: 1.5 (8:29)
Sunday: 13.2 total, Wells2Kennebunk 10 miler. 2 up, 1 down.
Weekly mileage: 36.7 miles

Brief race recap: A 10 miler was too long for me to be able to do anything impressive, so my goals were pretty modest. I came in 6th overall and 2nd in my 20-29 age group. Happy with that! My time was 1:10:54. The course was far hillier than I thought it would be, so I'm pretty happy with the time actually. I didn't have any extra gears to pick things up in the later parts of the race, so it was kind of just a grind from the start. It felt so good to race again.

Have a good week everyone!

F45
2022 results: Cherry Blossom 10mi 1:17 / Boston Marathon 3:47
Upcoming: something in the fall

Another week of running and feeling all right.

Mo: 6mi, 8th day in a row running and legs were OK
Tu: 0mi, traveling first 2/3 of day then a work thing later (including bowling, which made my legs sore in a weird way the next couple days)
We: 3.3mi, only 1hr time zone change but seemed to make a huge difference in the early a.m.; poor sleep translated to very tired run that I cut short.
Th: 5.2mi, much better after some rest; light rain, picked up pace 10-15sec each mile
Fr: 6.2mi, easy stuff
Sa: 8mi, fartlek on route half paved, half crushed gravel. Though early, still pretty steamy out. Ugh. Summer preview.
Su: 0mi running; ~35mi cycling.

Total mi run: ~29

This upcoming week, I think I'll mix in a little interval stuff to get my legs moving a bit again.

Male, 28, 6’4”, 150 lbs
PRs: 4:54 Mile, 16:56 5k, 17:39 1650yd swim
Races - 5/24 5k TT, 5/29 Open Water 1mi swim, 6/4 5M, 9/17 IM Maryland

Mn - AM: 3650 yd swim, PM: 8 @ 7:25s
Tu - 1600 8x300 1600 + WU/WD = 10.25
Wd - 9 @ 7:40s into, 21mi @ 19.5mph on the stationary, did some virtual route with hills which was kinda fun as the trainer varied the resistance based on slope
Th - AM: 4000 yd swim, PM: 5k in 17:47 + WU/WD = 8.5
Fr - 9 @ 7:15s
Sa - 10 @ 7:55s, short swim to test wetsuit, 20 min of strength work then 15min ride
Su - 16.25 @ 7:25s (via 14 @ 7:15s and 2.25 @ 8:05s, heat)

Run - 71 mi
Swim - 7650 yd
Cycle - 25 mi
Total Time - 12:11:19

Tu - 5:39 54 55 54 54 53 53 54 53 5:32, 500 jog recovery between the 3s
Th - 17:47 on my monthly race. Second fastest time here which was nice for feeling pretty tired from the 3.5hrs of activity in the 24hrs prior. Outkicked my training partner who I've been doing a lot of workouts with over the last ~6 months. Not much to say other than I just tried to keep the gas on.
General - Really happy with both Tu and Th efforts. Will have start adding in more cycling and maybe only run 6 days a week (eventually 5). My Thursday swim was a solid improvement after some stagnation, Looking forward to the TT and the mile swim race this week. Bunch of guys trying to go sub 16, debating trying to hang as long as I can or just run solo a few seconds behind. If I did a 3k instead I would be running the same pace as them, that way I could bail at 3k or keep going to 5k if I feel up for it. There is enough people that somebody could blow up so if I go out at my 5k goal pace I could pass whoever blows up, but in a TT they could just fall off pace and DNF rather than let me use them. decisions decisions.

Male, 26, 5’9", 127 lbs
PRs: Half Marathon: 1:17:53 (2021), Marathon: 2:45:23 (2021)
Next Races: June 5k
Future Goals: Sub 1:16 HM, Sub 2:40 Marathon, Sub 17:30 5k

More speed. Went and did a few spin classes for fun on peleton and local gyms with some coworkers. Feeling good, but feeling a little dehydrated and drained with weather changes. Hoping to TT a mile or something soon since I heard and learned my upcoming 5k isn't very fast. . . also not sure if I'll have a car so who knows how I'll get there now.

Monday PM Run: 3 Miles - 8:18
Tuesday PM Run: 12 Miles - 7:12
Wednesday AM Run: 5 Miles - 7:40, PM Workout: 8.2 Mile Workout = 3 Miles Up -7:31, 3 x [2 Min on (5:47, 5:28, 5:29)/1 Min off (7:15, 7:53, 6:57) -> 30 sec HARD (5:05, 4:57, 4:59)/ 1 Min off (7:31, 7:34, 6:55)], 3 Miles Down - 7:28
Thursday AM Run: 12 Miles - 7:24
Friday PM Run: 8.06 Miles - 7:56
Saturday AM Workout: 13 Miles - 6:55 = 3 Up - 22:24 -->25 min - 4 miles (5:33s/8s)
5 x 3 min on / 2 min off --> 1 mile 7:30 -> 6 x 1 min on / 1 min off
(5:16/8-7:30) --> 3 Down - 22:05
Sunday AM Long Run: 16 Miles - 7:16 = Progressing from 8:00 - 6:50

Thx Darkwave, Sub 6:00, the british and really everyone here. It's a supportive and inspiring group and I really learn a ton about training and resilience from the group every week!

For my next steps: I'm going to race a heckuva lot more at shorter distances. It's been kind of crazy, but despite training plenty hard from summer 2019 on, I've raced/time-trialed too few times:

-Bay State Marathon 2019 (PB at Marathon)
-Turkey Trot 2019 (in retrospect, pushed hard too quickly after a marathon and this one I was managing some knee issues)
-Pandemic spring/summer- ran a mile time trial (went great) after COVID spoiled my planned, ran a 3k time trial as well (didn't go well)
-Summer 2021 (two 1000m time trials for fun ~ both went pretty well considering light training)
-Turkey Trot 2021 (wasn't in great shape, but ran strongly for where I was at)
-This Marathon

So, I think with a spring marathon next year as my target to hit a BQ, I'm thinking 5th Avenue Mile, a Turkey Trot and then hopefully 3-5 more races in the 5K-10K range. I've plenty of potential at these distances, though might be getting old for the mile.

Male, 32, 6'1", 166
Good progress last week coming off my minor hamstring setback. I suppose I'm tapering now for my "A" 5K race on Memorial Day. When I first started this cycle I envisioned myself gunning for the 16:00 barrier at this one. The way things have gone, especially with this injury scare, I'll be happy to scrape a season PR (<16:45). After that, I'll be looking to just build the volume back up for some longer stuff this fall. Looking forward to some long runs on trails, threshold work (need a break from hard intervals lol), and stuff like that.
mon - 6.5 easy
tues - 8 easy + strides
weds - track workout. 4 sets of 1200/1:00 rest/400 with 3:00 rest between sets. This was my first race pace running in 12 days because of the hamstring, but it went very well. Didn't feel the injury at all and hit my paces. The 1200s were all 4:00 or a little under, and the 400s were 76 or faster.
thurs - ~60 minute easy bike ride
fri - 7 easy
sat - 9 easy "long" run.
sun - off
total - 38.8
YTD - 962

Heck yeah! What's the point of training without racing? (well, I suppose some folks actually enjoy the process, but what's more fun than toeing the line with all the other fools!)

During 49 years of training, I've only had a few periods where I was doing it seriously, but, dang, during those times I RACED. At least twice a month. Sometimes twice a week. At a club "Tuesday Night Track Meet," twice in a single evening.

I figure a 5K race equals a VO2max workout. And which brings greater joy? The race allows another easy day during tbe week, plus the beer flows liberally at local road races, ha!

BTW, I was bummed about MVM (as you were, too, no doubt!), but you're sittin' pretty now for a great summer and autumn. Also, as I prep for my marathon this weekend, your experience is a good reminder to take warm conditions very seriously. Thanks for that. Especially as a warm May 10K once put me in the hospital for a week (heat stroke).

Carry on!

Absolutely Allen! High dewpoints are no joke.

I feel like at some point I got too nervous/worried about races, but at the best/most enjoyable points of my running career I was racing a lot (not always 100% all-out of course). Whether in high school when I navigated dual meets and invites or early in college when I doubled semi-frequently at meets and would hop into BU open meets for rust-busters to run mile/3k doubles in trainers. Of course, NYC is a little tricky for doing this affordably, but I can think of the money I'm saving by not getting multiple cocktails out on the Friday or Saturday night before ha.

As I am thinking through my race plan for next weekend I ask seriously considering approaching this as 2km up + 3x(10k on/1k off) + 7k. I know this is a bit unorthodox but all of my M pace training has pretty much been off 1k segments @ 90% M pace. I know from practice I am way more effective at taking nutrition at that pace and that I can recover a bit. Last but not least seems like a good way to break up the race mentally without giving up too much time.

Downside is that obviously I'll be there Ning alone and it isn't the most physiologically efficient way to do things.

Curious if anyone has taken this sort of approach or if there are any thoughts?

Allen1959 - Looking forward to the race, if there is tracking and you are willing to share let us know!
Thoughtsleader - Not a lot you can do about those conditions
darkwave - That is quite a lot of pool running time, not sure if I could entertain myself for that long.
thebritisharerunning - Good luck at your 5k
hhw - Sounds like an interesting but bad idea. Committing 5k to running slow. You might not be able to speed back up after that last 1k off. Tried and True method of slight negative split is probably the best way to go, I doubt it would be leaving you with many questions as compared to feeling good at the end of the method you gave.

Male, 29, 6'0", 130
PRs: 3K: 8:40 (2022), 8K: 25:16 (2021), 13.1: 69:22 (2022), Marathon: 2:28:23 (2022)
Goal Races: Pittsburgh Track Club Lake Loop 8K, Hood 2 Coast, Chicago Marathon
Goals: 5K: Sub 15, 8K: Sub 25, Chicago: Sub 2:25 at least, chip away closer to 2:20

Monday: 7 miles @ 6:49 pace
Tuesday: 6 miles @ 7:16 pace
Wednesday: 5K @ 7:06 pace, Treadmill beer mile
Thursday: Off
Friday: 5.69 miles @ 7:01 pace
Saturday: Off
Sunday: 8.09 miles @ 6:43 pace
Weekly mileage: 30.92 miles

First real week back to running. Got sick for the last two weeks post buck fifty relay. Running didn't feel great all week until Sunday. Hoping to get back into the swing of things ahead of the Columbus 10K in two weeks. It won't be pretty but I may be able to PR still.