road racing and training thread. week ending 1/26/14

I'm probably going to have a huge post on more specific thoughts on my goals for the season, but I'm going to think about that a bit more before posting it up. Anyways, this week was:

M - 7 miles, upper body lift. It was warm. Seems so long ago.

T - 9.25 miles treadmill progression from 8-10 mph, increasing pace every quarter mile.

W - 6 miles outside. Cold enough I wore a facemask thingy. It fogged up my glasses if it covered both my nose and my mouth, so I just covered my mouth. Haven't had any problems with my nose getting cold, anyway.

Th- AM - 3, 27 min elliptical, leg lift / PM - 9.5 miles with 8 x 200 with 400 jog recovery. First speedwork of any kind, so took it somewhat relaxed. Splits something like 33, 35, 33, 33, 32, 33, 32, 32.

F - 8 miles, 30 min elliptical. Glutes and hams really sore from the lift/speedwork combo.

Sa- 14.75 miles, naturally progressed from 7:30s to 6:30s.

Su- 8 miles, 30 min elliptical.

Total: 65.5

YTD: 160.5

Very happy with the week, especially given how the weather was Tuesday onward. Hoping for more of the same training wise next week, and maybe some respite from the weather for a few days. Maybe I'll be able to wear shorts for a run outside sometime soon?

Onto the comments:

renewed marathoner: Nice week. How was the dance marathon?

pewow: Nice 1k workout. Also, good job keeping up with the core workouts.

VF Runner: Welcome back! Seems like we've had several returnees (myself included) over the past couple of weeks. Good luck with the Hanson's plan!

King hobbyjogger: Speaking of returnees, welcome back as well! 15 on an unplowed path doesn't sound very fun, especially with the wind. Good job toughing it out!

xenonscreams: Good week despite the day off. I hope the bone spur isn't anything serious!

printer: Have "fun" with the ToS!

Muebele: I feel your pain, especially if you're in a neighborhood that doesn't get good plow service. This week was pretty rough. Hard to remember that it was warm on Monday!

Slartzio: Sorry to hear you were sick last week. Hope you're feeling better, and I hope your long run went well!

reed: Nice tempo on Tuesday, and congrats on the win! Sounds like you had to work hard for it.

cmm268: Looks like you're getting the miles in! Good job closing the Tuesday workout strong, and the Sunday run looks pretty solid as well!

RunnersFix: Good luck going forward: I'll definitely be keeping an eye on your races in Philly and Houston when they roll around!

runnersfix - regarding weight, I would love to drop 4-5 lbs. I know it sounds trivial but I hover between 152-160 and have for 3 years and would love to run Boston at 147-148 range. I had a bodpod test down last March at 151 and was 6% so hopefully there is room to go lower, I just need the willpower and to stop awful food binges 2-3 per /wk. Nobody to blame but myself. I figure the weight loss will have to come in late Feb and through March since I know there is no way I'm staying that low for more than 2-3 weeks:) How was your week post half?

I had 3 unplanned days off this week, so maybe I'll call it a recovery week. Oops. Anyone else have issues with sore knees in the cold?

M: rest/8x5s sprints (straightaways on a 1/11 mile track)

T: easy (blizzard)

W: rest (sore knee)

Th: 6.5 total (2 lap JP tempo ~5:49 pace). Aborted tempo due to numb feet.

F: 6.5 total; treadmill workout. 3x880 w/440 jog (2:31,2:31,2:27); 440 jog, 2 miles hard (9:38).

Sa: skiing/no run

Su: 12.5 easy

Total: 31.5

Friday's workout was pretty funny. I was going to do some fast 800s on the treadmillm but then found out it topped out at 12.5 mph on the 3rd rep. Instead, I basically ran an all out 2 mile in the middle of a bunch of sorority girls in my college gym. I'm kind of surprised to be that fit assuming the treadmill's accurate, since that's worth about 9:45 despite not having done much distance work.

Great weeks everyone! I'll have time to get some comments in tomorrow.

M - AM: 10 miles @ 6:15 avg. Pretty much an impromptu progression from 6:40 to 5:50s. PM: 4 miles.

T - 4.5/6

W - 10/5 double. Frozen eyelashes on the morning run.

R - 8.5/4.5. AM run was 3 degrees with -24 windchill, pretty cold haha.

F - AM: 45 minutes on the spinner bike. PM: 6.5 miles on an indoor track.

S - 9/6 double.

S - 4.5/6 double.

Total: 84

No workouts this week, although I tried to run moderate paces and throw in some surges when I could. I'm gonna do a mile this upcoming Saturday (Feb 1) and looking to run under 4:20. Lots of cold and snow makes for some unmotivated training.

Aim: 2:47 in late May.

Mon.—4mi.

Tues.—10mi.

Wed.—am. 8mi./ pm. 6mi.

Thurs.—10mi.

Fri.—7mi.

Sat.—am. 5mi./ pm. 10mi.

Sun.—20mi. in hills.

Week: 80 miles (ytd 289mi.). 3x strength exercises. No tempo run this week, as planned for Friday. It was unusually hectic at work all week. Other than that, I was happy to hit the target for weekly miles.

pewow and cmm: excellent interval workouts. Reading about them makes me wish I had a track at my disposal.

Forcerunner: a solid week of mileage under tough conditions. I find that sunglasses really help keep the face warm in bitter cold.

Goals

Sub 3:20 London Marathon

M: 5-aside football

T: 13.25 with 2[4x3mins@6:06)

W: 5 Recovery @ 8:44

T: 12 with 9 mins @6:35 and 9x1 min @5:23

F: Rest

S: Northern XC Champs - 12k in 59:01 with 0.5 cooldown

S: 20 @ 8:26

Total - 58

Felt ill all of last week with a cold which went to my chest so I dropped pretty much all of the weights and core to get a bit more rest. Felt the week went pretty well considering. Highest mileage week ever and the 20 miles felt easy despite wind and rain, feel like I could run a marathon right nonw if I had to.

The race on Saturday was a write off, really heavy rain and wind meant it was a mud bath, with mud up over your feet for most of it. Wasn't really a race and you certainly couldn't run! On the plus side I got the race against Johnnie Brownlee although he came 21st and I came 393rd out of 613 so not really racing him! Our A team came 16th, which is pretty decent for the whole of the North of England.

Time for some commenting before heady out to run in a balmy 30 degrees!

Renewed - I'd say how you feel today and tomorrow will be telling. If you feel back to normal fairly quickly after that 19 I think it shows sub 3 is a lock.

Pewow - that's normal for me. The first 200 is like the legs are saying "wait, what are we doing? ... oh, ok."

King Hobby - you'll get it.

Xenon - All things considered, a very solid week.

Printer - does that mean on some days you'll end up with 2 Sufferlandia rides? If so, holy crap!

Muebele - Nah, just a normal loop from home in the morning. And I do miss those meets, but it just don't think I'll make one this year.

Reed - so your 6 mile Tuesday tempo was faster than your 5k win? Nice.

cmm268 - I hate the treadmill more than any weather.

Ghola - pretty often I'll feel more like a general stiffness in the cold. Sometimes at the end of a long run in the real cold my knees will feel a little more sore than usual.

Forcerunner - Bring on the spring!

Hans - Solid mileage for the week. Looks like we have similar goals and time frames.

Once & future -It may not have been fast, but it does sound like that was probably fun.

Renewed marathoner- Very solid sessions this week. 19 @ very close to goal marathon pace? Nice work!

Pewow- Nice 1000s. Good luck this weekend!

VF Runner- Thanks and welcome back. Good to see someone else trying out the Hansons plan too. Sounds like you got some brutal weather to start off the cycle though. Hopefully you get better conditions in the coming weeks.

King Hobbyjogger- Welcome back and way to get back into it with a strong week, on only 6 days of running no less! I've been hearing about the brutal Chicago weather too, stay safe man.

Xenonscreams- Nice week and very solid long run! Glad you came out of your doctor visit okay.

Printer- Looks like while your schedule sacrifices some running, it lets you get in a lot of long tempo/threshold efforts. (and overall aerobic activity volume is pretty high too)! Solid week and keep up the good work.

Goal: Not sure anymore. I have nixed the Mid March Half marathon. I am now thinking about a local 8km on the last weekend in March. (been so long since I ran a race, I just want to aim for something.)

I got in a full week of running (Actually have run 9 days in a row).

Had to take 3wks completely off for a gimpy calf. I had 3 dry needling sessions in that time to try and help me along.

Not very exciting running thi spast week, or for the next 2 weeks. Just trying to get out there.

M 24min

T 25min

W 25min

T 29min

F 28mi

S 28min

S 32min

Weekly Total 25mi

Greetings! Been lurking here for a while, but I started up Pfitz's 18-week/85-max MPW plan this past week and figured I'd post my progress. Long story short, I ran a 3:11 last October and want to shave another few minutes off by May for the BQ (35-male, need 3:10 plus a few buffer minutes).

Goal race: Edinburgh Marathon

Goals: A - sub-3:00, B - 3:02, C - 3:07

* Monday: Off. Plan called for 5M recovery, but I'm coming off an Achilles injury and am not quite ready for 7-day running yet.

* Tuesday: 9M w/ 4M at LT pace; splits of 7:24, 7:00, 6:54, 7:14. Would ideally like to bring these times down to 6:30-6:45, but snow and ice on the paths make speed work tricky.

* Wednesday: Medium-long - 12M @ 9:10.

* Thursday: Recovery - 6M @ 9:08.

* Friday: General aerobic - 10M @ 8:52.

* Saturday: Recovery - 6M @ 8:52.

* Sunday: Long run - 17M @ 9:17.

60M total. Paces are pretty far off from where I was training last year, let alone where I'm aiming to be this year, but I feel like it's the best I can manage at the prescribed effort level while running on snow. That being said, I'm happy to be back at this mileage level again; everything feels good and no major aches or pains.

For this week, I'll be looking to make gradual pace reductions to bring things in line with previous training levels. This probably means limiting my routes to those that are more clear of snow and ice.

pewow- gl with the 3k!

VF-welcome back! Where are you? How cold?

King- yet again we both attack sub 3...good luck to you :)

xenon- solid week!

printer- what an interesting concept! sounds hard.

Mueble- haha Gosh I know that feeling. I want to jump in a 5k outdoors but am afraid ill get crushed. 18 flat just won't cut it haha.

slartizo- is your goal the sub 3:20? I can't remember. Solid weeks anyways considering sickness.

reed- what are your goals again?

cmm- its interesting how you can carry any extra weight at all with 100mpw under your belt. Maybe cut back refined sugars a bit? Honestly though, 6% bf is very good... Thats one hell of a week. Ballpark goal? 2:30?

runfx- so wait, are they both in the same day?

SJ- great week for you.. Dancing was fun! just rocked out at a club with some friends till 2 am. hence some fatigue on my run :).

ghola- check out this treadmill conversion chart, it's helpful

http://www.hillrunner.com/training/tmillchart.php

force- HOLY CRAP that's cold. way to tough it out!

hans E- also a great week. good job

once and future- I'd be shocked if you can't hit sub 3:20.

qrkd- smart move to nix a race. I did a half marathon a month before my full on a sore calf. it turned out being okay but still wasn't a smart move.

kieran- good luck with the plan!

Muebele- Sounds like you made the most of a week that's filled with pretty terrible weather conditions. Just out of curiosity, what McMillan training plan would you use? Is it an online schedule?

Slartzio- Thanks man, and it looks like you're bouncing back from being sick 2 weeks ago to lay down a pretty solid week this past week.

Reed- Nice quality sessions this week and congrats on the win. So I saw you asking about a half in a few weeks on another thread, are you thinking of pulling the trigger on that soon?

CMM268- Looks like you're really getting into the swing of things with 3 very solid sessions in the middle of a pretty high volume week. Looking good!

Runnersfix- Good to see you take an easy week after a long buildup cycle, I'll be looking forward to doing the same next week. Also, I'm hearing rumors of a lot of 65-67 guys (not to mention probably at least a dozen or two after guys given past year results) showing up for the Garry Bjorkland Half in June. Any interest in splitting your Philadelphia buildup into two cycles and getting an extra shot at the standard in?

StevenJ- Nice week building back into it. Looks like you handled your first speed session well. Also looks like you got in quite a bit of cross-training / supplement work that should hopefully pay off in the coming months.

Ghola- Sometimes a down week is just what you need to re-charge the batteries a bit and get going again. Nice impromptu 2-mile on the TM!

Forcerunner- Looks like you're in the same boat as a lot of the other posters on the thread with poor weather conditions this past week. Nice job on keeping up the volume and good luck on the mile this weekend.

Hans E- Nice weekly mileage for the week. Looks like you're laying down a pretty solid base for May.

Once and Future- Your training is really coming together well and to come back from a tough race on Saturday to do 20 on Sunday is really showing something.

Qrkid- Really good to see you over your injury and back at it. Stay healthy man.

Kierran- welcome! I wouldn't worry too much about hitting paces with the conditions you're getting on the roads now and also this early in your plan. Looks like you're getting in the volume and effort which is what counts.

Goal Races:

Houston Half Marathon (1/19) - Sub-69 - Result 68:12

RnR New Orleans Marathon (2/2) - 2:25:59.

Week 21 of 22 - 81 (1725 for cycle)

Monday - 7.5 easy AM

Tuesday - 10 easy AM / 5 easy PM

Wednesday - 9 easy AM

Thursday - 6 easy AM / 8.5 PM with 3 tempo (16:58)

Friday - 9 easy AM / 5 easy PM

Saturday - 10 recovery

Sunday - 11 medium long run with 6 @ MP (33:18 / 5:33 avg)

The goal this week was to recover from Houston and maybe get in a short quality session without pushing it too much and I accomplished both. Yesterday's run was only supposed to be at 5:40-5:50 pace (+10-15s/mi for altitude) but I started rolling the last half while keeping it fairly controlled so it was a nice confidence booster.

Renewed - Philly burbs. There have been quite a few runs that were in the 5-12 degree range.

ugh. awful. did you run the Philly marathon?

Twice. 2001 and 2009. Both PR's at the time. I do have a fondness for my hometown race.

Printer - I like the sufferfest videos, I would use those and the couple spinervals DVD to keep my sanity inside. Good luck, no doping!

GarbageDisposal- I bought the McMillian book "you only faster". The marathon program I am thinking of following seems like a typical plan. It has some progression runs, some fast finish runs, speed work. Speed work is based on the McMillan calculator so it is pretty hard. Most runs are given by minutes rather than miles. Looks for my pace to top out around 70-75. It does the traditional long run of 16 to 20 miles on the weekend. Highest week has a 22 to 26 mile run scheduled. Some of the long runs are progression runs or have a couple fast miles scheduled. Not sure what is meant by fast, guess I got to read the rest of the book. I think the difference between McMillan and some of others is the focus on speed. At least it looks that way. I you want I can send you a copy of the schedule and you can take a look for yourself.

I think I am favoring the Hansons plan but it is an 18 week plan so I would be jumping into it late. Also I have had some success in plans like McMillan and Pfitz so I am left with a decision which to start next week.

Even though I'm going a different direction this time, I've had multiple PR's with Pfitz and a fan of the 12 week version.

renewed: thanks for starting the thread. great long run! especially when tired.

pewow: nice week. good luck in the 3k!

VF: welcome back! where is that race at?

king: welcome back. sounds like a tough long run with the conditions. but you made it work!

xenon: take care of that foot. and good luck with the 75 this week.

printer: awesome week. that program sounds cool. good way to keep motivated. how was the double the other day?

muebele: i am with you on being done with winter. heard from a friend the expected highs in indiana for the next week isnt above 30...with more snow...

slartzio: glad you got to feeling better. what are you training for again?

reed: great consistency. looks like the other weeks and you keep rolling them out.

cmm: way to close those workouts and with 100+ miles on the week! Are you staying around 100 for a max? diet is the hardest thing to work on

runfix: looks like youve recovered well. anything different or crazy to train for that double?

stevenJ: looks like you still got the speed with those 200s. idk about shorts anytime soon haha. if you do spread the heat up here!

ghola: dang nice treadmill workout! my knees are on/off with sore. could be running on the snow/ice/uneven that makes them sore (if you have those conditions like we do here)

force: solid week. is the mile indoor? good luck!

hans: hilly 20 miler sounds fun right about now!

once: dang that sounds like a rough XC "race" haha. and a great long run to back it up.

qr: what are the dry needling sessions? slowly getting back into things is the smart way like you did this week. hopefully you find a good race to get back into it

garbage: looks like you recovered pretty quick. 533 pace marathon! haha. glad things are going smooth and the pace feels good.