Road racing and training thread - week ending 4.28

cmm268: I forget my exact height (I should probably check that out sometime), but I'm about 5'11, and currently 148 pounds plus or minus. Pretty sure I was at 138 or so my freshman year of college, so I'm not sure if I've grown taller since then or just filled out more. I probably have a little more belly fat than I used to, but I feel like I'm more defined and veiny than I was so I'm not exactly sure what the situation is.

Anyway, in the treadmill 4 mile I ended up hitting 20:17. This is from the treadmill initialization, so probably 8-10 seconds slower than it could have been with a normal starting acceleration. Started at 11.7 mph or 5:07 pace, felt unfathomably hot from 2 minutes in, so I started drinking regularly and squirting water in my hair even more regularly. This soothed the parts of my head that it hit, but made the heat going through the rest even more palpable. Increased the pace a tick at the mile, then again at 1.5, 1.75, and 2. Held it there (now 12.1 mph or 4:57 or so?), but started hurting/overheating bigtime, so compromised and tried to hold it through 5k before backing off somewhat. Hit 5k in 15:46 I think, then backed off to 5:18 in a few pieces before rallying for the kick. Treadmill "only" goes up to 14 mph so I held that for the last 200 to finish in 20:17.

Kind of shocked by the time, to be honest. I figured if everything went well I might be able to hit 20:30, and given the overheating didn't really think I'd feel good enough to hit that. It was at 0% grade, which I know is a relative net benefit, but I didn't think it would be that big, especially given the mental drawbacks of running on a treadmill. One of the other guys in the club hit 19:4x, which served as motivation in the early going but may have contributed to my going a little too hard in the second and third miles. I guess the best way to conclude is that while I'm glad I did this, I'm also glad I won't have to do it again for another year.

StevenJ-thanks, sounds like I am not too far off. Like I said I know I have a few lbs to lose but every time I've gotten into the 140s, if only for a few days I tend to get sick. So maybe 150-153 is my "ideal racing weight" although I'm not convinced it is. I went to the bod pod a few months back and was 6.X% at 151 so think I could shed some upper body muscle and some flab:)

Out of curiosity, how does a treadmill race work? Does everyone start from a complete standstill? Do you call out when you hit 4 miles to a judge?

cmm268 wrote:Out of curiosity, how does a treadmill race work? Does everyone start from a complete standstill? Do you call out when you hit 4 miles to a judge?

Yeah, we started from a complete standstill, so the first 10 seconds or so are pretty comical as we're basically just walking while frantically pressing buttons to get it to speed up as quickly as possible. Then for the finish it's just a matter of pushing stop after you've reached 4 miles and recording the time displayed. It's basically on the honor code, but we did it as a group (although we didn't have to) so we had people on hand to make sure everything was on the up and up.

I posted the Gettysburg race report on my blog for those that are interested in reading it:

http://caseysrunningdiary.blogspot.com/

For those that were interested in my training, you will see exactly what I did every day of the cycle, or even further back if you are so inclined. And yes, I followed a very strict Hanson's plan (complete with all recommended SPEED and STRENGTH sessions), slightly modified by my coach to fit my personal needs.

As far as awards, I didn't win any cash or anything, but I did get a cool miniature cannon memento in honor of the Gettysburg battle. Aside from being 4th overall, I was the first male in the 35-39 division. The cannon was a huge hit with my 8 year old - probably even better than cash to be honest with you. It's my version of a "Major Award" (for those familiar with Ralphie's old man from A Christmas Story).

As far as height/weight, I am 5'11" and weighed 164 lbs on race day.

I'll try to get to my comments for everyone later in the week - as you can imagine, the last few days have been a whirlwind. Quick shout-outs to xenonscreams, slartzio, and especially Reg Fields (Damn!) for their outstanding performances last week.

Angel of Death- I haven't done any of the 3 you talked about, but from what I heard of those courses I would go with CIM if you are shooting for a fast time. I know the weather sucked last year, but most year it's a fast competitive field with a slight elevation loss. I was going to run it this year, but my wife and a bunch of our friends want to run Tucson (same weekend).

Cyhawk- [b/]Good to see you easing back into it. Nice article on the plyometrics, I was thinking lately about other non-running activities that I could be doing to help with my training and plyometrics seem like a good addition.

Bonham- Welcome!

StevenJ- Nice week and very impressive treadmill 4-miler!

NJ Truth- Thanks for the FB message again. I am a big believe in the theory that a lot of one's injuries/nagging pains are caused by weaknesses in another part of the body, so your situation made a lot of sense to me. I am just hoping that I backed off in time before I made it much worse. I have taken 3 days off and plan on taking another one tomorrow and my knee already feels like it's 95-98%. I also started doing a bunch of strengthening exercises for my hips/quads/hamstrings so hopefully that'll take care of the problem before I even go back for my followup appointment next week.

As for the weight question, I am 5-9 and around 155 +/- 5 lbs. When I ran my PRs for 5K/10K/Half last summer I was around 152-155, but I think I was in the 155-158 range going into Boston. I was 140-145 in college and even lighter in HS, so maybe it's time I watch my diet just a little bit more.

5'10". 150lbs. I drink a ton of beer and eat like crap, although I have done better with the diet the last year or so. I was easily 160 before I started back running a couple years ago.

5'3", 117-120. Female. I think I'm fat, but probably most women do, especially competitive runners. I eat pretty well.

6' 4" and around 170 i would say. I dont weight myself much because its just another excuse lol

Might weight myseld before and after my long run tomorrow. If i remember that early in the morning.

Suppose I should weigh in on this topic ... (Sorry, that was bad.)

5' 9" and change and usually around 135-6. Right before Boston I was down to 132/3.

I eat a reasonably mixed diet but then surround it with a lot of junk and the frequent beer or two. I did have a previous girlfriend who was convinced I had a thyroid issue (unfortunately not the one that makes you world class -haha) because no matter what I do my weight has been in about a 10 lb range my entire life. Really more like a 5 lb range if you take away the few of years of serious rock climbing - I did briefly have a tiny bit of upper body strength.

I'll throw in that I'm 5'11" and 160 lbs. I need to lose a few pounds. I was 148 lbs two years ago when I set my 5K PR.

5-9 and 165. I'm a little chunky right now, hoping to get down to 155 by my goal race (3 months).

I like food.

5'11' 154

Rats, I had hoped this wouldn't come up. I'm a shade under 5ft 10 and am currently up around 144. This is about 8lbs up over what my weight has been since I was 16-17. I was up to 148 last summer at one point and got back down to 135-36 through consistent mileage. I expect to get back down below 140 once my mileage is back up in the 90s for a couple weeks.

I eat whatever I want, whenever I want. Fortunately for me, I like fruit and vegetables as snacks, so I still eat fairly healthy. A good chunk of my "extra" calories come from beer, and I have no intention of changing that.

Thanks, and I'm thinking about trying to get down to around 185 but it would be very hard and almost leave me with no margin for error of eating sweets. I really need to think about whether its even worth it, you have to also enjoy life.

Everyone keeps posting their height and weight and its making me realize more and more that I just chose the wrong sport for my build, but hey I'm enjoying it.

No guarantees on the 6K this weekend, my legs are still not that happy with me even with the speed session cancelled.

5'9", 160 at present. Was 162-3 at Boston, 157 when I ran my 2:58 PR in October, 170-180 before I started running a few years ago. Eat and drink more or less what I want, though I try to cut back during training sometimes, like right now and before Hartford and NJ last year.

NP1112 - Dang, I didn't realize you were 6'4"!

I'm a touch under 5'11"...all I ever wanted was to get to 6'...no dice. I typically hang around the 132-135 range. I rarely get over 135, and I've only been over 140 once.

That sounds skinny, but I've gotten a little soft in the midsection. It's probably due to my beer intake, but God knows I'm not willing to give that up. I try to eat healthy, but anytime I have a craving I give in pretty quick.

5'10" around 145 lbs. I lost 10-15 pounds from last summer from when I started running again. I didn't think I had the weight to lose, but I feel great under 150.

Pablo: I know, no drafting for me in races haha.

I started my run this morning at 167.5 and after a shower was 160.0 22mi run in 2:50, only 24oz. fluid, gel, and gel bites. Mid 70s I think.