Road Racing and Training Thread - Week Ending 12/8

Nice week Stone Cutter and great to see you back over 70 and feeling good! I'll have to try those icy hot patches. I dont think 4 seconds is that erratic for an interval. I noticed you put in week 1 of ? Are you following any plan or waiting to pick a race distance? Going back to last week's thread, yes the Ravennas appear to be a solid trainer (for me they felt too heavy to race in though)

Next A goal race: Boston

B goal race: DC Rock n Roll Half

YTD: 2,982

Weekly: 72.8

Mon: 8 E @ 6:56

Tues: AM with random 9 mile Fartlek. 2mi wu, 1mi 5:22, jog 400 (2:33), 950m 3:02, jog 200 (2:38), 1mi 5:35, jog 400 (3:30), 400m 73s, jog 200, 200m 33. 4 E/R @ 7:23 in PM

Weds: 6 E @ 7:24 AM, 4 E @ 7:10 PM

Thurs: 6 Recovery with 6 striders @7:19

Fri: 3.5 E @ 7:17 with 4 striders

Sat: 26.46 Rehoboth Marathon-3rd place (2:42). 6:08 pace

Sun: 5 recovery 8:15 pace. First run in the snow/sleet this year--felt soothing!

I signed up for the Rehoboth Marathon last Thursday (Thanksgiving) when I knew I would be relatively healthy. I didn't plan on racing the marathon but running it at a pretty good pace and more or less checking off the state. I ended up running a 2:42:22 (took horrible tangents obviously adding almost .25 miles) for 3rd place. I was driving back home afterwards but stuck around for the award ceremony. This by far was the best post race party I've seen. Buffett tables of food (mac & cheese, pulled pork, pancakes, etc) and all you can drink 16 mile brewery beer. If you are close to Delware, would definitely run the half or full next year.

I hope everyone had a nice week of training!

I am going to continue putting in my 4 week blocks (3 hard weeks, 1 recovery week) and then pick a race as I get closer. Right now, the earliest marathon (Plan A) I would consider is Ocean Drive Marathon on 3/31/14. I am also considering Garden Spot Village Marathon on 4/12/14, Gettysburg Marathon on 4/27/14, NJ Marathon on 4/27/14, and Pocono Marathon on 5/18/14.

I will probably wait to pick a race until I see how I am progressing in training and how the forecast is looking for each race. None of these choices should sell out, so I could even sign up a week before the race when I have a good idea how weather will play out.

Again, if I can't maintain consistent volume for marathon training I will switch gears and focus on 5ks, 10ks, and maybe Broad Street. But the plan for now is a marathon.

As far as the Ravennas, you're right - they would probably be too much shoe as a racer for most marathoners, but being a little bigger (5'11" 165lbs.) I would consider them for myself since they offer that mild stability and extra cushioning. I also like the Saucony Cortana 3 as a racing choice - little bit less of a shoe but some great support features (although they are pricey at $150 - got mine for $85 with a gift card, haha).

cmm268 wrote:

Sat: 26.46 Rehoboth Marathon-3rd place (2:42). 6:08 pace

I signed up for the Rehoboth Marathon last Thursday (Thanksgiving) when I knew I would be relatively healthy. I didn't plan on racing the marathon but running it at a pretty good pace and more or less checking off the state.

Holy Moses on your 3rd recent fast marathon! You are officially the Michael Wardian of our group. :)

LOL except he runs much faster than I do! I guess if anything at least I am consistent. I ran 3 Marathons this fall all within a minute of each other time wise (2:41:15,2:41:57 and 2:42:22)

Goal Race: USA Half Marathon Champs. / January 19th.

Monday- 10 miles at 7:23 pace / 4 miles at 7:26 pace. Weights.

Tuesday- 10 miles at 7:17 pace / 4 miles at 7:34 pace. Strides.

Wednesday- 15 miles total. 5 x mile with 3 minutes active rest. 4:45 avg. (4:55, 4:50, 4:43, 4:40, 4:38).

Thursday- 10 miles at 7:25 pace / 4 miles at 7:32 pace. Weights.

Friday- 10 miles at 7:43 pace / 4 miles at 8:03 pace. Strides.

Saturday- 15 miles total. 3 mile tempo at 5:07 (5:09, 5:05, 5:06), 4 minute active rest then 1 mile at 4:49.

Sunday- 10 miles at 7:40 pace / 4 miles at 7:32 pace. Weights.

Total- 100 miles

Not a bad week overall. Could have been better but I'll take it. Wednesday workout went very well. The paces felt pretty good and didn't take to much out of me. But my Saturday tempo didn't go as planned. Suppose to be 4 miles at 4:55 pace but that wasn't happening. Just felt like crap all day so that's why I'm thinking it didn't workout. I ran that extra mile afterwards just for some more work in cause 3 miles isn't much of anything. Next week mileage will go up and just going to do my best on recovering. Hope everyone had a good week of training!

didn't get to commenting last week, super busy with finals coming up. as soon as more people post in the thread, i will comment later today!

goal: 15:59 5000m

goal: 4:10 1500m

m: no am run, 3 mi wu/cd, 6x800m with 1:15 rest

t: 4 am

w: 6 am, 4 pm

th: 4 mi am, 3 mi wu/cd, 800m on/offs

fri: 4 am

sat: 10 am

sun: 6 am

total: 51 miles

tuesday: this workout was a doozy. it was nice to kind of get into that system, but the workout was tough. the rest felt shorter than 1:15! i went, 2:44, 2:41, 2:40, 2:42, 2:44, 2:40. average/mile was 5:27.

thursday: i did this workout some time ago, about as fast as i did it this time. i just didn't eat lunch and i felt out of it. legs were still a little heavy. averaged 3:05 for the half marathon pace part, and 2:50 for the 5k race pace part.

Stonecutter- Starting to get up in mileage i see. It can be hard sometimes to recover but if you do what you're supposed to do then you'll be fine. Sleep, eat, stretch, etc. That Tuesday workout will put you right in track for the speed you'll need to PR at the shorter distances. Keep it up!

cmm268- Nice marathon! Especially if it was a last minute thing. There's no way I could have ran a full with that little of time. Do you plan on taking some time off? I usually stick with the normal two weeks of no running but everyone's different.

Ramanujan- Nice Tuesday workout. Such short rest, at least to me. Kept it consistent but still negative split at the same time. Do you usually do short rest like that on longer intervals? For Thursday workout, being depleted of nutrition can easily hamper your running. Lucky for me I can eat 30 minutes before a workout and be good to go. You still got it done, though.

Goal Races - Houston Half Marathon (1/19)

RnR New Orleans Marathon (2/2)

Week 14 of 22 - 63 (1031 for cycle)

Monday - 8 easy AM, 5 easy PM

Tuesday - 8.5 easy AM, 5 easy PM

Wednesday - 8 easy

Thursday - 7.5 easy

Friday - 4 shakeout on treadmill (2E,1 mile @ 5:26, 1E)

Saturday - 2.5 easy

Sunday - 1.5 warmup. Tucson HM (13.1) in 70:45

The chase for the 2014 USA HM champ standard ended this morning for me. I guess downhill races are good if you can actually take advantage of the downhills, unfortunately I apparently didn't train as well for them as I thought I did. A pretty bad side stitch shortly after 5K also didn't help. My quads were really beat up after 9 miles and with no chance at the qualifier but a sizeable lead as well as significant chance of a quad cramp I backed off and held onto the win, as well as goofed off with all the race photographers.

In a way it was disappointing to blow a good opportunity like this, but taking a step back and looking at the situation I am happy to have worked myself into PR shape in the last 4 months even though I didn't get a time to show it. Aerobically that was the most comfortable sub-71 min HM I have ever run, I just need to train my legs to be able to handle the pounding, which will probably come with some more long runs and 100+ mile weeks on the roads.

Looks like we're getting some really good training weeks around here already. I'll try to comment when I get home tonight.

RunnersFix: I usually take a lap jog on repeats longer than 600m. Tuesday I just wanted to see how I felt with some short rest- basically to see what a 5K on the track feels like.

Stone: Great base week and mileage. Good to know that those patches really work.

cmm: you are a machine! dont know what else to say haha

RunFix: Great consistency like always. I am amazed at your patience to build and progress slowly and smart. Hard to do, but you are doing it right. And it shows.

Raman: thats some short rest and pretty consistent 800s. finishing fast too!

Garbage: Nothing to be disappointed about. Like you said you ran so close to a PR twice after coming back from an injury. Just wait till you keep adding to your fitness for next year. Another 4 months and you will be smashing us at Boston!

Goal: Lookout Mountain 50 miler 12/14/13

Mon: OFF

Tues: 6 + 4.5 (10.5)

Wed: 10(5BP) + 3 (13)

Thurs: 6.5 + 4 (10.5)

Fri: 6

Sat: 9(3BP + 4x400 hills) + 6 (15)

Sun: 5

Total: 60

Wed: 5mi BP (building pace) in 28:53

Sat: 3mi BP in 16:05 + 4x400 hills. Really wanted to do a 5k race but the roads downtown indy were too sketchy to mess with.

What does everything think of this last week? I have just been doing marathon stuff + long runs and back to back long runs. Trying to taper somewhat the same, maybe a little less this last week? I dont have my logs on me but I think i was 60-70 2nd week out and high 20s - low 30s week of.

Mon: 6 + 4

Tues: 8

Wed: 5-6

Thurs: 3-4

Fri: 2-3

Sat: Race

Too much on Mon/Tues?? Not like there is anything to gain, just mess up this week.

Goals

Healthy - 1 unplanned off day per month or less

800 - 1:59

1500 - 4:09

5000 - 15:59

This week was just more easy jogging.

M: 4.5 w/ core and upper body

T: 7 w/ core

W: 5.5 w/ 4 short Canova style hill sprints. Core and upper body after.

Th: planned off

F: 4 w/ core and lower body

S: took the day off with sub-zero temps

S: 4 planned to take today off instead of Saturday

25 Total

One more week of jogging then finals will be done and I will start to slowly add in more volume and intensity.

NP1112 - Good luck next weekend! I don't see a problem with the week especially give your mileage week over week. I guess I would see how the legs feel each day and run that distance. Nice week with some quality workouts.

The Stone Cutter- I did NJ Marathon last year. Low key, flat race that was well organized (although if you have a headwind you are screwed:)).

RunnersFix-Awesome week man. all 7 days had double digit runs which is impressive. When I've gone over a hundred I usually have 1-2 days were I pull the 8/6 or 7/7 double. I'm actually in my offseason right now building my mileage back up. I had 4 weeks of 50s, then 60 and now 70. I'll pull back this week a bit but my goal is to get into the 80s before I start my Boston program in mid Jan.

Ramanujan-Nice week with two solid workouts. That is some short rest between 800s

TheGarbageDisposal-Sorry you didnt hit your goal but congrats on the win. Perhaps if you were in competition you may have dipped a little lower but must feel great to pick up the W regardless. I echo np's comments that you have some incredible fitness and you will be dominating us in Boston after 4 more months.

Goal: Mid March HM

Time: TBD

Mon 6.75mi @ 7:11 (Inclu 12 x 15sec with 45 sec easy)

Tue: 10.25mi @ 6:28 (5 x 1mi)

Wed: 6.4mi @ 7:16

Thu: off

Fri: 7.5mi Workout on track

Sat: 6.4mi @ 7:17

Sun: 10.65mi @ 7:06

Total: 48mi

Tue: 5 x 1mi with 60sec easy between during middle of run (5:55, 5:47, 5:44, 5:35, 5:37)

Fri: 2.5mi starting slow and building so the last 0.5mi @ AT Tempo pace (3:00min half mile)

1km at little quicker than Threshold (3:25) (200 walk/jog)

2 x 200 @ 3k pace (200 walk/jog between)

7 x 300 with 100 walk/jog rest

Averaged 52.4 for 300's with 50sec rest

2.5mi easy c/down

Stone CutterRock solid week with the volume getting up there.

CMM Man consistant is most def the word. Very nice. Wish I could just go out and run that.

Runnersfix Love how you seem to run very easy on non workout days, but def get moving on workout days. If someone as fast as you can run at 7:25+, not sure why I am running bulk of my runs quicker.

RamanujanVery solid 800's. That workout with some of your previous stuff suggests to me that you gotta be in 16:30 -40 shape. Maybe even better.

Like that off/on or what I call a wave tempo. Maybe see if yo can start pushing it up to alternating miles at those paces for 6mi.

Garbage sorry you did not quite get to your goal. Still some pretty impressive running these past few weeks.

NP1112dude you must be going stir crazy "only" doing 60mi in a week. Taper looks decent. Good luck next weekend.

pewow Love those Canova short hill sprints. I would love to get them back into my program, but I am always scared b/c I have what seem to be gimpy calves.

qrkid- You know it's funny that you say that. I get a lot of crap from others saying I go to slow on those recovery runs but it's only because I want to have good workouts. That old saying, at least for me, that you should be embarrassed if your friends saw you running on a recovery run lol. You might not have to take it that far but I've heard that some of the top Kenyans start their runs close to 9 minute pace then pick it up by feel.

I never had a chance to comment last week since I was being lazy/staying off the internet for a little. This week I'll try.

Goal race: XC Club Nationals ON SATURDAY

Goals: Run with the 3-4 other girls on the B team who are around my speed, beat as many A teams as we possibly can :)

This was my last week of hard training.

Monday: 8.5 miles at 8:03 pace in Providence before flying back. Slow, very easy, inside left quad hurt a little.

Tuesday: 6.5 at 7:54 with some strides. Easy again, but inner quad still sore.

Wednesday AM: 5 at 7:58 pace. Cold, dark, hilly, had the park to myself which made it awesome. Strength after.

Wednesday PM: Practice, 9 total with 1000 fast, 2.5 mile tempo on hills, 1000 fast with 2:00 rest. 1000s were supposed to be 3:44-3:46 and tempo was supposed to be 6:15ish. We were fast for the 1000s, 3:40 and 3:37 for me. This was my first workout with 3A. It was harder than 4 for sure but honestly not too bad, I wasn't straining or anything.

Thursday: 8.5 at 8:05. Very easy. Super cold all day after this. Corework later.

Friday: 8 at 7:57 with strides. Also very easy and very cold.

Saturday: XC practice, 9.75 total. 20 degrees in Seattle somehow (never happens). With 2 x 12 minutes with 3:00 rest, hilly, dirt/grass. More uphill than downhill. Ran strong. Our group got in about 1.8-1.85 miles each time. Again I was with the 3A people. Strength and massage after.

Sunday: 16 at 7:52. Moderately hilly. I was alone for this but I enjoyed it.

Total was 71-72. I know I didn't plan on changing anything until nationals, but when I saw Wednesday's workout something just took over me and I couldn't help but try group 3A instead of group 4. I think right now my biggest barrier is confidence; I'll run with those girls for a while and then at some point I'll have a thought like "I'm not as fast as they are," let them go, and suddenly I'll be alone in a race or workout which makes everything harder.

So I caught those thoughts Wednesday and had a good workout. Saturday I had them a few times and said "that's bullsh*t, you know you can run with them, be the runner you know you are, not the runner you think you are" and kept up again. I want to do this reliably, so I might head back to my sports psychologist at some point.

Our B team is going to be strong. Our A team is incredible. But our B team has one lady that's usually faster than me but a mid-distance runner, the two ladies who I've been running with in 3A, and one lady who's usually slower in workouts and races but can DESTROY hills in a way I've never seen before, so I think she will do well on a Max King course.

I'm excited. Also nervous. I had a nightmare that I was racing the course and it was hilly and muddy and I got to the top of a hill and was like "SCREW YOU MAX KING!"