Road Racing and Training Thread - Week Ending 1/13

Boston sub-3

M: 6 (8:56) treadmill recovery

T: 13 (8:00) treadmill progression 8:30 to 7:30

W: 6 (8:57) treadmill recovery

R: 13 (7:50) treadmill progression to 7:10

F: 10 (8:06) hilly

S: 6 (8:01) hilly

S: 18 (7:35) with 10 (6:56)

Week: 72

Not the best week. Was going to run 12 miles at MP with a group but it didn't work out due to weather. So i ran alone today: 4 miles easy (8:50) (very cold, took a long time to warm up), then 6 at 7:00, then 4 at 6:51, then 4 cooldown at 8:00. An ok run but was annoyed that i couldn't run 10 at 6:50.

Which brings me to a question for the group. How much of your running do you do alone? I do 99% of all my running solo. And i am wondering if my reluctance to join a running group has hurt my progress.

brum - the XC looks solid to me, were you disappointed with the time/pace or placing? Take care of that foot.

CTA - nice week. I find training with a group to be hugely helpful if I'm doing some sort of hard session. Obviously there are occasions when it's not possible and these can be helpful for training your mind to be able to handle difficult stretches of the marathon when you might not be running in a group.

M - 5 easy / 10 easy

T - 13 (incl. 4-5-6-6-5-4 mins, half duration rest; 5:48-5:22m/m, 5:35m/m avg., undulating route)

W - 13 (incl. 11M progression on lumpy (750ft climb) road route; 7:34-5:40m/m, 6:34m/m avg; 6:46m/m avg for the 13)

T - 5 easy / 10 easy

F - 8 easy (incl. 6 strides)

S - 8 (incl. North Mids XC League Race #4 - Cranwell; 16th, 2nd V40, 31:59, 5:40m/m avg.)

S - 21 (3 easy then 18 progression on hilly (1200ft climb), mainly off-road route; 7:45-5:55m/m, 6:42m/m avg; 6:50m/m for the 21)

Total: 93

Sessions on Tues and Weds went well. Pleasantly suprised by XC race on Sat, finished 3 places ahead of a team mate who was beating me easily pre-Christmas and took another scalp of a vet runnerwhom I very rarely finish in front of. Today's long run was significantly quicker than we thought/felt it was going to be. Fingers-crossed I can hold this sort of training together.

Goal Race: Bristol 10K (5th May) - 33:xx

Next Race: Northern XC Championships (26th Jan)

started to log my runs in minutes rather than distances...

mon: 43mins easy

tues: warm-up, club time trial (5.44mi), cool-down.

wed: warm-up, 5*200m hill reps, cool-down.

thurs: 63mins easy

fri: AM 29mins easy PM 29mins easy

sat: 42mins easy

sun: warm-up, Booth Decorators League XC Race 4 (5th Place - 4.5mi) cool-down.

Week Total: 54mi

Tues:- Our club has a time trial on the 1st tuesday of every month around a loop near the club meeting point. the route is ran in opposite directions each month... this months route was the hard version where it is flat for the first 2 miles then mostly uphill for the remainder. treated it as a tempo instead of racing round. my splits were 6:08 - 6:05 - 6:34 - 6:24 - 6:15 - 2:33 (5:48).

Wed:- Felt pretty fresh from the time trial so i decided to throw in some hill repeats. ran them in 42 - 41 - 42 - 45 - 42 seconds.

Sun:- First race since november so i was questioning whether or not i would be able to keep up with the lead group i normally chase for most of these races. started the race just sitting into a group in around 10th/11th place then felt good enough to go play chase and gain 5/6 places. proper XC race this one, plenty of mud and plenty of hills! (and a little bit of snow too). my splits were 6:03 - 6:13 - 5:54 - 6:28 - 2:29 (4:58).

brum- sounds like it was a proper XC race too! you shouldnt be disappointed, hopefully the foot injury doesnt cause too much bother.

CTA- i do most of my running alone, but when it comes to faster stuff like intervals, i like to do it in a group. i hate doing intervals on my own. i feel as though i lose that extra push when doing them and not chasing somebody.

marmite- excellent XC race at RAF Cranwell! and well done on the 2nd Vet 40 spot too! what race are you training for, i'm guessing London Marathon?

Feb 24 7mi relay leg

May 4 delaware half (maybe)

Oct 13 chicago marathon

65 this week. Same as last week but i had to take a day off. A lot of doubles right now as i try to get some strength back- and to help me thru the poor road running in my area

brum - thanks for getting us started this week. Good luck with the uninterrupted training - I look forward to those long stretches where you go in one type of runner and hopefully come out the other side a better type of runner.

CTA - I can't say enough about group training. See my comments below for more details.

marmite - that is a ridiculously solid week! I don't think you need to "hold this sort of training together" on a weekly basis, but when you can spit out an occasional week or two like that, it sure makes you want more.

Goal: stay healthy

Goal race: Gettysburg Marathon (4/28)

Goal time: 2:55

Next race: either a 5k (2/9) or 10k (3/3) on roads

Week 3 of 18

M - off (planned)

T - 9 total (7:26): 2.4mi warmup, 5x1000m (3:31-:33) w/400m recovery jogs (2:05-:10), 2.2mi cooldown

W - 7 easy (8:03)

Th - 8 easy (7:56)

F - 9 easy w/hills (7:45)

Sa - 10 total (7:18): 2mi warmup, 6mi@MP (6:40 40 39 36 37 38), 2mi cooldown

Su - 8 recovery (8:32)

Weekly Total: 51 miles

Solid week for me. Tuesday's track session was my fourth one of this cycle and felt the easiest so far, which is a great sign. I got to do Saturday's MP session with different members of my running group: had one of my mates with me from .25mi to 2.5mi, and then three other mates just a hair in front of me from 3mi to the end. Having them with me took all of the mental burden off of the workout. I ran today's recovery run with another group of team members targeting a 3:30 marathon, so I got to help pace them and they helped keep me in check for the morning.

Having that symbiotic relationship with other runners on the weekends really helps keep me motivated, rejuvenated, and mentally fresh for the weekdays when I run 99% of my runs solo either late at night or early AM. Also, it's nice to share your progress and watch the progress of others - kind of a snowball effect of positive energy. My two cents on group training anyway.

Hope everyone else had a great week.

BRUM- cool fartlek, get some good training in now

CTA- still got some nice volume in

MARMITE- you killed it this week, awesome sessions along with heavy volume

DCRUNNER- nice race

THE MACK- good luck with training!

NUMBERSGUY- awesome workouts this week

Goal Race: Chicago 2013

Next Race: 1m Indoor (1/26)

Mon: AM-8 easy

Tues: AM-5easy...PM-8x1k Cut Down w/ 60 seconds rest/2x300 + 2WU/CD

Wed: AM- 10 easy w/ 120m strides

Thurs: AM- 8 easy

Fri: AM-5 easy...PM- 3k "Pace Effort" and 6x300 after + 3WU/CD

Sat: AM-8 easy

Sun: AM-18 moderate/progressive

Total: 80

8x1k CUT DOWN: 3:10, 3:07, 3:05, 3:02, 2:00, 2:57, 2:55, 2:53 then 2x300 in 46, 45

3K/6X300: I paced a buddy of mine who was going for an indoor 3k pr. It ended up being basically 3k @95% of race effort then some 300s at mile pace with 1 min rest.......8:41 for the 3k felt very smooth and relaxed, then 6x300 avg 46.5

Already a busy thread, that's what I like to see!

Goal Race: Boston Marathon

Goal Time: 2:25

Next Race: Season 52 5.2k (yes, a 5.2k) - 1/26

M: 8 easy (7:50)

Tu: am - 10 easy w/ random fartlek (6:38) / pm - 4 easy (7:50)

W: 12 easy (7:26)

Th: am - 11 total w/ 5 x mile w/ 3:00 jog rec (5:49, 5:32, 5:32, 5:23, 5:24) / pm - 4 easy (8:01)

F: 6 easy (7:57)

Sa: 8 total w/ 4 mile tempo (21:54 - 5:28 avg)

Su: 15 easy over hills (7:17)

Weekly Total - 78 miles

YTD - 128 miles

Workouts this week went pretty well. I intentionally held back (for the most part) on the paces, just because going from zero workouts to 3 in a week is a pretty big jump. The good news is that I felt decent aerobically and physically, but definitely a little awkward when getting into the faster paces. The long run this week is something that only a flatlander can relate with. I want to try to get in more hillwork this cycle than previously. However, because Florida is flat as a pancake, this makes hills difficult to find, except for manmade hills. I ran up and down parking garages (9 of them to be exact) within my 15 miler this morning. I've never really tried this before, so we'll see how it pans out.

brumrunner - Take care of the foot first, then you can worry about getting in solid training.

CTA - The difference between 10 @ 6:50 and 10 @ 6:56, during training is almost negligible, as there's plenty of factors that make up for those 6 seconds that are unlikely to play a part during the race. To answer you're question, I probably do 99.9% of my running alone. If I'm lucky enough to have company, it's only for an easy 6 miler or so. Personally I like training alone. It prevents me from going too hard on easy days, I can dictate my own paces for workouts, run on my schedule, and not feel bad if I need to skip a day. Plus, I don't know about you, but I always manage to find those gaps in races and inevitably end up racing solo as well. So in that respect, training solo has a huge benefit. That said, there are plenty of runs (mostly workouts) where having a group or at least one other person would help.

marmite - Looks like a busy week, and yeah, if you can string together more of the same, you'll be golden. Although, you've already strung together some fine work over the last couple months, so I'd say you have some breathing room.

dcrunner - Great looking race...and jeez, you closed pretty quick with that 2:29 last half mile!

themack - Same amount of miles in less days, good stuff! I can't say I envy those who have to worry about poor road conditions this time of year. Even this time of year, I have to worry about heat exhaustion long before I'll worry about hypothermia.

Numbersguy - Good workouts this week! I totally agree with you about sharing your progress with others...that's why I participate in this thread :)

Young Guy - Ho hum, just another week with an 8:41 3k. Kidding of course, but it looks like you've still got plenty of strength left over from your Vegas training cycle. Throw in some speed and you'll be ready for anything!

Goal: stay healthy, run 50 mpw easy

Goal race: TBD

Good week up til today when I experienced a recurrence of patellar tendonitis. Got the HRM working in the cold dry climate of Flagstaff by applying warm soapy water to the contacts before each run, so I was able to run most of the week based on HR.I've gotten really used to running back and forth over two different routes where I have the mileage marked. My HR here in Flagstaff (7000'/2100m elevation) is a bit higher than in Tucson where I started my HR training, so I'm adjusting to slower running.

M - 8 @140 HR (7:49) with 2.5 @160 (7:10)

T - 6 easy (7:37)

W - 7 @130-135 (8:33)

R - 5 progression (135-170 HR) (7:42)

F - 9 @145 (8:16)

S - 11 progression (125/135/140/145/155/160/145 changing every 1.4) (8:08)

S - 2 miles walk/jog

week total: 47

YTD: 84

I should have just taken Sunday off. I'm pretty sore from Saturday night and about 200m into the run I had a sharp recurrence of PT I have been fighting. I wanted to bag a very easy 6 miler to break 50 miles this week but scrapped it.

A new baby is coming tomorrow (!) and with the PT recurrence will probably take some rest days and possibly disappear for a week or more but will do my best to read this. I love reading this thread. Great stories, good positive energy, and general enthusiasm for running.

Also, I'm moving to St. Louis in February. Anybody on this board live there?

brumrunner - sucks to hear about your foot. good luck!

CTA - I do 100% of my running alone. I enjoy a good running group for long runs or track workouts but don't have one now.

marmite - another killer week.

dcrunner - nice race!

themack - Nice week on crappy roads. It's not easy to do, I know. Good work.

Numbersguy - How often per week do you run with a group?

pablo - What a week. I'm glad you were able to get into the speed work without much trouble. I haven't done speed work in so long I can only hope that I can ease into just one or two workouts a week that easily.

Young guy - 8:41 for 3k in a workout? Not bad! Great week. Chicago isn't going to know what hit them.

Goal: sub-1:14 Half (March).

M- x

T- 9M; intervals (road)

W- x

R- x

F- 8M

S- 14M

S- 10M

Total- 40

Disappointing. Work killed my mid-week schedule. Kept it low key again. Need a mileage boost BAD!

Tuesday - 3x2M @ HM 60secs jog (11:25,11:25,11:24).

brumrunner: Wish the conditions were better, sounds like you still ran well. That's the fun of XC races, always a toss up (some are great, some not so much).

CTA: Not a bad week. I'm solo most of the time, typically meet a few friends during my Sunday runs.

marmite: Damn, nice week and race, keep it up!

dcrunner0910: Nice time trial, and race! Did I miss the XC memo last week??

Themack: Keep on truckin!

Numbersguy: I concur, solid week!

Young Guy: Damn, nice intervals! Pretty solid 3k uptempo too.

pablo: Nice week! Don't worry, that workout rust will knock itself off pretty quick.

aaryno: Solid week, now for some rest. Congrats on the new baby!

35 miles for me this week.

West for a medium/hard 6 miler (40 minutes) yesterday with a couple of 1 mile pickups (6:18 and 5:43). Both of the pickups felt pretty good. The 5:43 was as fast as I've run since October. A lot of rust there but felt good to go a touch.

Will check in with everyone later this week. Cheers.

Goal Race: sub 3 hour Marathon on 5/19

Next Race: sub 1:24 Half Marathon one 4/7

Monday: 2 miles and 20 mile bike ride

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday: off - planned to rest up and get my hammy ready for Marathon training, it feels pretty much back to normal

Friday: 3 miles with a few strides to shake out for 5k on Saturday

Saturday: 11th place in 17:53 5k PR (5:33, 5:50, 5:57, 0:33)

Sunday: Rest

Total: 11 miles

The race went much better than I thought it would especially considering I have only done one speed session in the past 2 months or so. I went out a little fast because of the group I went with, but I was able to stick with them for the first two miles. Then I just tried to hang on.

Now I'm going to take a couple days off and start focusing solely on Marathon training. And I have a solid 3 months until my next planned race to get some great training in.

brumrunner: looks like some time to get some great training in if your foot gets better

CTA: I usually go on a couple runs with my girlfriend a week, but I am on my own for everything else

marmite: Seems like you are making some good improvements

dcrunner: I used to run by time all the time and ever since I got my garmin I don't run by feel anymore. which probably isn't a great thing for the easy days.

aaryno: Good luck with the injury. Hope it heals quick. Congrats on the baby!

Race: Boston (4/15)

Next Race: Sayville Running Company Run To The Brewery 10 mile (1/19)

OK week. I hit the paces I wanted, still waiting for the HR to get a little bit lower versus pace at some of the slower paces. Still can't get my HR high on tempo pace runs.

M: 7.98 @ 8:33 AHR 134

T: 8.19 @ 8:19 AHR 139 (TM). 5x~200m @ 11.1mph with rest down to HR < 130. And also 2 x 10min @ 8% incline with ~1mile -3% easy in between. Did 1.23mi (8:08/mi, AHR 155.6), and 1.27mi (7:54/mi, AHR 156.6)

W: 8.02 @ 8:27 AHR 134 + 6x10s hill sprints

R: 10 @ 7:32 (2x2.5mile T w 2min jog rest: 6:23.9/mile, AHR 161.7, 6:32.9/mile, AHR 161.9)

F: 7.97 @ 8:29 AHR 133

S: 8.02 @ 8:17 AHR 136

S: 17.32 @ 7:47 (1st 8.5 in 8:09.2/mi AHR 139.1, Last 8.32 in 7:27.1/mi AHR 153.1)

Tot: 67.5

Lot's of 8 mile runs this week (5). Coach switched my Thursday run which was supposed to be 2MP/3Tempo to 2x2.5Tempo. I think the original workout would have been easier. The 10min hill repeat were interesting. The goal was to get the HR in between MP-LT range. Today's long run went well but would still like to see lower HRs (and faster paces of course).

I have a 10-mile race next Saturday which is supposed to be flat and fast. I guess it will be weather dependent. I have no idea what I should shoot for.

marmite - that is a sick week.

I never run with a group. I think I've run with other people in a training run like 2-3 times over 7 years.

Brumrunner: you and your k denominations haha. nice race and have fun just putting in miles for a month with no worries!

CTA: nice solid week. I do 99% of my running solo myself too. With my work schedule I cant make many group runs. Plus I have got used to my running schedule and dont vary from it much.

marmite: nice long run after the race and miles for the week.

dcrunner: i cant do time instead of distance, it just bothers me haha. nice finish in the race.

Themack: good mileage. do you plan to break down your week later?

Numbersguy: consistent MP run!

Young guy: nice day friday! wish i had people to pace me haha

pablo: I know what you mean trying to find hills. we have a nice park in indy that has plenty of road courses and trails. nice to get there a couple times a week if you can.

aaryno: youre moving all over the place. i would have a hard time trying to get used to running in flagstaff.

GNR1: Hate it when work gets in the way of running, but what are ya gonna do.

Has been: nice pickups!

runner FC: congrats on the PR.

another: maybe try and run a little faster than half pace? I dont know your recent times or what kind of shape you are in. maybe high 6s ?

Another - I'm so curious about your HR training because it sounds like you've been doing it awhile and our pace/HR are very similar. How long have you been doing HR training? Has your pace/HR changed significantly since you've been doing this? Does it go up and down between "seasons" or have you seen some general improvement overall. As far as your current condition, do you expect to be near your PR or do you think you will be in PR shape for Boston? Did you run when you were younger or did you start more recently? I noticed your PRs are all from the last year or two...

P.S. Good luck in the 10-miler next week. I'm looking forward to hearing how that goes.

well heres my week

week 2 of 6 goal race nick beer 10k

mon 8:04 miles steady

tues 12:03 miles cruise intervals = @ 80-92%

6:42/5:57/6:54/5:59/6:56/6:00/7:01/5:57/6:53. (9miles)

80% /87%/ 82%/ 89%/82% /89% /82% /89% /82% /

weds 9 miles steady

thurs 8:40 miles hills 7x3mins @ 85-95% max out 157

fri 10:04 miles steady 71 min

sat 10:04 miles Tempo 5 miles @89% = 32:10/4x70sec hill

sun 13 mile hilly steady @ 77% 1hr 34 min

70:55 mile weeks total (TTD = 134:34 miles )

Highest milage for years,

Next race: 1/20/13 Louisiana half marathon in Baton Rouge

Goal: 2;40 "equivelant effort" 1:16 range

Goal race: Boston 4/15/13

Goal time: 2:40 or better

Taper week 1

Mon: 9 easy (9)

Tues: 7.25+4.25 easy/accels (11.5)

Wed: 7 (3mi building) + 4.25 + XT (11.25)

Thurs: 7.25+4 easy (11.25)

Fri: 6.25 easy

Sat: 9mi building (11.25)

Sun: 6.25+4.25 easy (10.5)

Total: 71

Wed: 3mi building in 16:28. 552.5, 533, 502. Didnt feel too bad until about 1/4 mile into the last mile. Then I had to tell myself to pick it up and move my legs faster or else I was going to slow. Mile PR in a 3mi workout.

Sat: 9mi building in 53:40. 616, 619, 608, 559, 558, 558, 544, 541, 539. More controlled the first 6 than I normally would do. Goals were 615x3, 600x3, and 548x3. Felt crappy at the start but doing the first 2/3 easier than I normall would helped in the end. Hamstrings were still sore from Wed.

Goal: 2:4x

Race: Boston/Pocono

Mon - 6.5 (7:30 Easy)

Tues - 9.5 (7:45 Finally got off the track for our first group hill run. Worked the hills pretty hard for the first time out.)

Wed - 7.5 (7:34 Fairly easy)

Thurs - 10 (7:11)

Fri - 6 (7:23 Warm enough that I still ran at 7pm in the rain fairly comfortably)

Sat - 9.25 (7:21 First run in a while with a friend who had been injured. Fairly easy then gradual pick up ending with 7:09/7:00 which is about her goal MP)

Sun - 15 (7:11 First 5 about 7:20 then hammered out the next 6 or so. Back to comfortable for the next 3 then finished up a really big hill.)

63.75

Good week. Picked the mileage up a bit, but still daunting to think that in a couple of weeks when training starts I'll pretty quickly need to be at 85-90.

On the running group issue - I still do a majority of my running alone, but there are times when it is great to have company. Track days in particular. Even if I'm doing my workout kind of separate from my group, just knowing they are there and you've talked about what you are doing makes you more accountable. I can actually go either way on long runs, but during marathon specific training (even for 20+ milers) I almost prefer to be alone so I can focus.

brum Enjoy the solid training block.

CTA At least you got off the hampster wheel by the end of the week.

marmite VERY nice week and race.

dcrunner Sounds like a fun race.

Numbersguy Solid MP run.

Young Guy That's a heck of a "pace effort".

Pablo I've thought of using parking garages around here even with the hills, but I'd be doing it to get off snow and ice (if we ever get any). Nice week and workouts. Will be interesting to see how your legs feel this coming week. Even with "held back pacing" 0 to 3 workout days is a big jump.

aaryno I'm going to have to try the warm soapy water. What kind of HRM do you use (and anyone else)? My Timex was a bit wonky this week even without it being super cold.

RunnerFC PR! Nice work. Rest up and good luck getting into marathon prep.

another Pretty solid week heading the right direction. Are you training through the race? Maybe start just under (faster than) MP and try to pick it 5 sec. per mile for the first half and then reassess at the halfway point.

RunnerFC - Congrats on the PR, especially considering you haven't been doing speed work. Does that mean your PRs at longer distances are going to be coming down soon as well?

alf tupper - Good week. That rust is coming off.

np11112 - You look in great shape. I love the progressions and in-workout mile PR. stellar!

VF Runner - Garmin FR70. HRMG1 monitor. Soap does make it kind of a little more itchy later in a run, but no chafing (yet).