Road Racing and Training Thread - Week Ending 10/14

Edgemont Dave - Congratulations! I'm really pleased that all the training has paid off.

numbersguy - thanks. Will do!

marmite - hope you feel better this week. I run in Asics DS trainers but don't like the new ones as much as their predecessors so I've just ordered a pair of Asics Sky Speeds for general training. I wear Brooks Green Silence for road races, track sessions and tempo runs. My XC and my track spikes are both Asics. I was there too in 2009 (in fact they combined it with the mass race so I got to see those guys running back in the opposite direction). That was the race where Ritz ran 60:00 for 3rd. Tadese is a legend.

NJ Truth - two great sessions. You're peaking now. Looking forward to seeing how you do at NYC.

NP1112 - echoing what others have said, that long run does sound a bit too hard. I've done things like that before and found myself running it fine but not recovering. I often peak too early for races and tha is one of the things that causes me to.

VF - some good runs there. You're getting in a decent amount of steady/quick continuous running at the moment.

themack - great week, nice session.

kr - loving the stats! I wouldn't expect anything less from a runner/mathematician!

tiger - some good sessions there; you're running a lot of quality at the moment.

pablo - great race, well done. It's a good sign of fitness if you can surge early in the race and still run strong at the end. Make sure you get plenty of sleep this week, even if it means missing a morning run or two.

cyhawk - a very strong long run there. Getting in good shape at the right time.

Young Guy - I'm aiming for a half a couple of weeks after you so if you don't mind I will just copy your winter training. It seems to work for you!

des - thanks for the write up.

running girl - good luck.

I'm a little late to the party, but achieved my 2012 goal yesterday. I ran 1:39:07 in the Maidstone Half, taking 3 mins off my PB and finally getting that sub-1:40. Other than that I didn't do a lot of running.

I'm learning a huge amount not just from then runs you are all posting but how you discuss and debate the merits of various workouts. Keep it up!

*First time* Sorry you didn't hit your goal, but 2:58 for your first marathon ever is pretty sick, particularly given the wind.

*muebele* and everyone else, the Hartford course was really nice. A fair number of turns in the first 8 miles, but net flat with small, manageable hills throughout and an inspiring finish. Plus, no overcrowding at all and decent pockets of crowd support and entertainment. A good option if you live in the northeast and want a good city marathon without any of the hassle.

P.S. FWIW, my html stopped working a few weeks back. I swear I know how to bold people's names, but it just hasn't been working lately! Glad my marathon training was more effective.

Thanks, KR. This list of marathon specific runs is helpful. One more question though: how are you calculating percentages of marathon pace? You obviously mean that, say, “90% of MP” is slower, not faster, than race pace. I’ve seen this articles on Canova’s methods and always been puzzled as to how the math is done here.

des: was the pacer you saw walking wearing a yellow singlet and have long hair? If so a local guy (from indy) paced the elite women.

I thought the 21 total @ GP was a lot and intimidating when I found out about it. the week before was 18 broke up 9-6-3. Coach is a USATF nationally ranked masters runner in his age group, 11x USATF masters runner of the year, 64 min half PR, hell he ran 78 min half at 62 years old.

I trust what he has me doing. I have only been running 3 years and this past year under him. We are still learning what works for me. Hopefully it does!

Des- Just reply as I came across your full race report and not reading the rest yet, so sorry if this has been said already! It was a good effort, man, and you're certainly allowed to be frustrated by the fact the effort you put into the cycle didn't have the output you desired. However, square that away with the fact that it's a (shitty) fact of running that X training cycle sometimes doesn't pay off on X race, but instead waits for Y race to dump it--and that's where big jumps happen.

I think you're in that type of territory, honestly. You put in a huuuuge cycle leading up to Chicago and, yes, you did PR (though frustratingly slightly), but not by as much as the training itself may have predicted. Usually, with myself and friends and teammates, when this sort of situation arises one finds that their next race out or next cycle produces an EXTREME change in results. This usually happens when one is racing new levels of performance and verging on breakthroughs. Get back on that bitch ass horse after you've rested up and ride hard again--I'm pretty sure that it will result in a massive PR (as it, you're going to not only crack 2:30, but likely give 2:25 a scare).

But...then again, I've never been around or known anyone remotely fast, so what do I know?

Good luck, mayne!

Hans E. - Canova calculates his %-ages as follows: 90% is 10% slower than 100%, so you calculate 10% of your race pace and add it to 100%. Or to do it another way (e.g. spreadsheet) the target pace = Race Pace * ( 2 - target % ) (e.g. RP * (2-90%) will give you the 90% pace).

Feather - I know somebody who always swore by something similar, and I've typically found it to be the case as well.

Nice debut firsttimemarathoner.

Edgemont Dave - [.b.] and [/.b.] without the .

----Final Report---- # of runners (Down 4%)

----Honor Roll 90+----

1. cyhawk- 104

2. NP1112- 101.5

3. NJ truth- 93

4. themack- 93

5. Another- 92.2

6. Young Guy- 90

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

7. Hans E.- 88

8. brumrunner- 81 National 6 Stage, team 39th. 16:04 for 9. 23rd on leg 2

10. CTA- 76

11. cyhawk- 76

12. muebele- 79

13. Tiger_runner- 68

14. Ghola- 67.5

15. VF Runner- 60.5

16. LM- 60

17. has been who never was- 33

18. Numbersguy- 26

19. running girl 79- 26

20. marmite- 16

21. printer- 13.2 Congrats, gotta start somewhere, my first week back was around 18 in January

22. Edgemont Dave- Hartford Marathon 2nd in age group 2:58

23. firsttimemarathoner- Amica Newport Marathon 6th 2:58

24. des- resting

Edgemont Dave wrote:

Hartford Marathon, yesterday 10/13, Goal: sub-3

Goal: Accomplished! 2:58:34, 54th place (of 2515), 2nd in my age group (of 219). Great race. Well organized, cold at the start but no winds at all, felt great throughout despite a cough I'd developed earlier in the week. Ran pretty even splits and knew pretty early on that I had it. Broke into full sprint in the final stretch, passing two guys in the last 30 seconds and doing the last .2 at 5:30 pace. What a rush!

Thanks everyone for all the inspiration. It was really great to post weekly runs here and talk about everyone's weeks. See you guys again come Christmastime, when Boston training begins. For now, time to relax!

Hey, I was one of those guys you sprinted past at the end!

Ha! Hey, you still cracked 3, right? Nothing personal, dude!

Oh don't worry, I got you on chip time :)

Congrats to both of us, it was a great day.

PEC Marathon

Goal Sub 2:40

Result - 2:40:00.00000.0000.000000000.0000000.00!!!!!!!!!!

For the love of god!

Actually I'm not too bummed. I ran this on 3.5 weeks notice after getting last minute entry comped and a year long battle with PF. But damn that shit break cost me!

Garmin Splits

1 6:04.7 1.00 6:05

2 5:46.6 1.00 5:47

3 5:57.6 1.00 5:58

4 5:59.5 1.00 6:00

5 6:08.2 1.00 6:08

6 6:04.2 1.00 6:04

7 6:08.5 1.00 6:09

8 6:03.7 1.00 6:04

9 6:27.8 1.00 6:28 - piss break

10 6:01.0 1.00 6:01

11 6:05.2 1.00 6:05

12 6:08.2 1.00 6:08

13 6:05.8 1.00 6:06

14 7:02.5 1.00 7:03 - shit break

15 5:55.1 1.00 5:55

16 6:00.2 1.00 6:00

17 5:53.2 1.00 5:53

18 5:54.1 1.00 5:54

19 6:02.7 1.00 6:03

20 6:09.5 1.00 6:09

21 6:04.5 1.00 6:05

22 6:11.0 1.00 6:11

23 6:09.9 1.00 6:10

24 6:16.5 1.00 6:17

25 6:04.2 1.00 6:04

26 6:00.5 1.00 6:01

27 1:16.3 0.24 5:24

Dang 240 with two bathroom stops, impressive!!!

Current Goal: Dust off the rust

MAR2013 Goal: 1:13

DEC2013 Goal: 1:08/2:25

Base through FEB2013, speedwork (5K/10K) MAR-JUL2013, race specific (Half/Full) AUG-DEC2013, maintain mod-higher mileage throughout.

M- 6M easy

T- 6M easy + 20mins 30/30 fartlek

W- 4M easy

R- 6M easy

F- 8M easy

S- x

S- 11M mod (avg 6:15p)

WK2 Total- 41M

smr, TOUCHE! Nicely done on the chip time. I just checked your record on athlinks.com and am humbled that I finished within a second of you. 17:12 5K? You're fast, man! I doubt I could crack 18. But then, I'm the guy who actually looks forward to long runs and dreads speedwork.

I guess I should have broken out into a sprint a little earlier. Maybe we'll clash again at Boston.

busboy Nice marathon! Having to take a bathroom break during a race is a huge fear of mine. Hasn't happened yet. Impressed that even though it happened twice for you, you still managed your goal, I guess, unless you were really really pushing for 2:39:59. Either way, great effort.

Trying to catch up with as many people as possible finally tonight before the week turns to 10/21.....

Edgemont Dave: Congratulations on hitting your goal! Awesome Job! and it sounds like you had perfect pacing given the late hills on the course.

Pablo: Congrats on the 5 mile pr! Unbelievable time too!

firsttimemarathoner: Sounds like a great job in tough conditions. Way to grit it out all alone those last 11+. If you pick a flatter course with more people to run with next time, I predict a huge pr when you become a secondtimemarathoner.

undocumented busboy: Typically they round up official times to the next second.. soo maybe you really were under! Congrats either way! Great run considering the stomach distress.

NP1112: I can't recall what kind of singlet he was wearing, but he had short hair and was east african... so I'm guessing it wasn't the local indy guy but maybe!... On an unrelated note, I am looking at the Carmel Marathon in Indiana as a possibility for the spring. It is relatively new, but do you have any knowledge of the course or organization of it?

Feather: Thanks a lot for the comment. I am starting to feel that way as well. I know the work I put in wasn't for nothing, and it will still be paying dividends for me in the spring. From past experience, I actually put in a big summer 2 years ago, only to have a disappointing Fall marathon. Then I trained pretty inconsistently all winter and busted out over a minute half marathon PR out of nowhere haha. So I am hoping for a similar result this spring. I can't see myself hitting the same mileage I was able to in the Summer, but I trust that if get in some consistent miles and workouts, I'll still be setting myself up for something big in the spring.

des: I ran their 8k this past year. It was pretty well organized for having a full, half, and 8k at the same event. The organization at least that I experienced for the race (8k and start) was on par with any other race.

Carmel is a very nice area and they do things right, so I expect things to be the same for next year. It looked to be a rhythm breaker with lots of turns. Friend that won this past year was around 2:22. He was the one I thought you might have saw at chicago. But he is not african haha.

course map:

http://assets.21fingers.net/s/MU7R5t4w/uploads/822/2012%20Carmel%20Marathon%20Course.pdf