Road Racing and Training Thread - Week Ending 5/11

np - probably will do a bit of interval work this week. In my last cycle leading up to (and blowing up at) Boston I did zero speed work and exactly 1 tempo run. Everything else was easy or MP. I experimented during that cycle and did a bunch of 20 milers @ MP but virtually nothing faster. Translated horribly in the race. Had stomach issues too, but that was unrelated though. Anyway, will get back to some faster stuff this cycle. Looking forward to getting some sharpness back in the legs.

Super quick comments!

Slartzio: good luck in the race. Let us know how it goes – I think you're poised for success.!

Kierran: Stay true to the taper, and stay sane. You're almost there!

Lakerunner: What a sweet think to do on mother's day! If your mom is clocking 7:23s, she must be pretty athletic.

xenon: That's encouraging, I guess? I feel like knowing what is wrong with you is always super-nice, but having something wrong with you is always a bummer.

VF: I recall you mentioning this lawnmowing in previous posts. Just how big is your yard? Mightbe worth investing in a riding mower.

Garbage: 96 with a day off, holy moly. You are an inspiration, my friend.

KBXC: Sorry the race didn't break your way, but you're young. Keep in the game!

Hereford: Thanks for the sentiment, and welcome to the thread! Best part of LR, in my opinion.

NP112: Bummer about the Achilles. What do you do to treat it? Also, I know what you mean about PT, though I'd rather take one of the electro machines home. Know that episode of Futurama where Bender gets addicted to electricity? That's basically me when I get PT.

reed: Have fun with the hurdles? Must say, their appeal somewhat eludes me.

Piano: Good luck with the new mileage. Listen to your body and have fun!

cmm268: Thanks very much! I did a bit of running in Mexico over December and quite liked it. Also, I admire your dedication to double while on vacation.

Stone Cutter- First off, very very solid race at Broad Street. In fact, I think most calculators/charts would convert that performance to about within a minute or so of your HM PR. That's definitely not a bad place to be as you start up your next training cycle. Nice show of discipline in taking at least a week or so of down time as well.

Slartzio- You have been one of the most consistent posters on the boards over the last couple of months with your training. Good luck this weekend!

Kierran- You have been ridiculously consistent as well, in fact, I only recall 2-3 workouts where you haven't been happy with in this past cycle. You should be ready to roll in less than 2 weeks.

Lakerunner- Looking good, I have been talking about the SF10 with some friends lately and I am jealous.

Xenonscreams- First off, way to tough it out when you're having a bad day. Second, if I am not mistaken, you still ended up running within 2 minutes of your PR right? I think that really shows the fitness gains you have made and it's only a matter of time until you get to show it in a race. Enjoy the well deserved down time and take care of all the nagging issues that you have lingering, then you should be ready to roll for the next cycle.

Bonham- Awesome to see you back at it. Glad it (the down time) wasn't anywhere nearly as long as I thought it might have been. Now you still have 4-5 months to train for Portland!

VF Runner- It looks like you are ready to roll for the race (physically), so I would try to ignore the logistics/distractions as much as you can outside of just planning for them. I always tell myself that it's useless to think about things like that which I can't do anything about (although I also know it's easier said than done). Rest up this week, and I would still fake an injury to get out of the BBQ if you can :) (jk, sort of)

CMM268- Nice weeks building back up yourself, and you're getting in some decent quality work in there as well. I expect you'll be smashing your 5K/10k PRs in the upcoming weeks.

As for my adventure on the track last Friday, the 1500 actually came out to be within 7-8s of my PR from college after the ~10s altitude adjustment so I was really pleased with that considering where I am in my training. I might actually do a track cycle next spring and do this race again.

Ghola- Not the race you wanted to end the season but it seems like you did the best you could with the conditions and circumstances. You've had a really solid cycle, so I wouldn't think to much about the anti-climatic ending. Enjoy your well deserved break and I imagine we'll be seeing big things out of you this fall.

Nop200- Good luck in your race today and you are much closer to sub-11 shape than you might think. If you don't get it today I am sure you will next week.

KBXC- First race in a long time is usually a little rough for most of us. I am sure your next one will go a bit better. If nothing else, your 1600 got your body a little bit more used to "race mode" again and should pay off for your upcoming 5K.

Hereford- I echo the same sentiments on this thread. Also nice job on ramping up the mileage patiently.

NP1112- Looking good dude. Should be ready to tear it up in a 5k soon.

Reed- OOooh, interesting turn of events. Best of luck on the choice to convert, it might be fun to run the 6/1 race for experience if nothing else to see if it's something you think you'll enjoy training for before deciding to dedicate a season to it next year.

Bajada Master- Solid past couple of weeks and workouts. Hope you get another race or two to take a shot at your goals soon.

Piano_man87- Nice week and quality tempo + long run in addition to the mileage. A few miles increase this week should be no problem.

Runner of Colfax- Good luck this weekend. I thought about running the half there but ultimately decided against it. Hope you get good conditions (or at least better than the snowstorm we just had this past weekend)

Hello everybody, lots of good training and racing from the looks of things.

Sunday 5/4 Race, talked about that last week. 10.6 miles total.

Monday 5/5 12 miles 70:18, should have slowed down, but did not.

Tuesday 5/6 12.5 miles, no time. Not a great run, tired and a bit sore.

Wednesday 5/7 13 miles 73:41, good run, felt pretty good.

Thursday 5/8 12.5 No time.

Friday 5/9 10.0 Started out good, then I had stomach problems which ended up with me running 7 min pace. 70 minutes.

Saturday 5/10 10 miles 66 minutes. Good run, nothing crazy.

Overall an OK week. Things seemed off, but that's OK. 80 for the week.

The Stone Cutter: Love watch-less runs on breaks! I also personally prefer doubles, although they leave less time for chores because of overhead time.

Slartzio: Good luck with your race!

Kierran: I never feel great during a taper :). Hope the rest goes well!

Lakerunner: Nice week! Also cool that you ran with your mom. My mom hates running...

Bonham: Oh wow, surprised you feel good after donating. It impacts me for weeks so I don't do it anymore, but then maybe that's because I'm pretty prone to iron deficiency.

VF Runner: Way to bounce back late in the week. I'd recommend getting a hotel. It'd save a lot of stress before the race.

cmm268: I agree running is the best for getting faster, but I find that consistent strength training does wonders for keeping me healthy so I can train well. I am a very big fan of the little things. Plyos also really helped my speed. Even just box jumps/tall step ups once a week after a workout. I just started doing drills, some stuff out of Running Times, I'll see how that goes.

Ghola: What is your PR? Heat can really make it tough. Sorry if it didn't go as planned though.

Nop200: It makes a huge difference not being in no man's land. Have faith in yourself.

TheGarbageDisposal: Very nice two weeks. And yes, I was a little under 2 minutes off. I guess when you put it that way it's encouraging. I'm kind of annoyed that my season had to end that way, but I feel like once I take care of all of this and go into summer track, I'll be flying.

My training right now definitely has a Summer of Malmo feel to it. My basic plan is to use the next 10 weeks to get myself "ready" for the 18 week marathon plan I will start in July. Hence, you won't see any real formal workouts over the next several weeks. More like in and out 200s or 400s, random fartleks, progressive pace runs, fast finish longer runs, strides a couple times a week, etc. And practically all of it with no watch. I'll save the timed workouts for when the "real" training starts in July. :)

Slartzio - you are more than ready to crack 1:22:00. You should have tons of confidence going into the race. I also like your race strategy of progressively picking up the pace. Just don't panic if you go out a little faster than you plan or if it feels too easy. You are monster fit right now and I have little doubt that you could scare/crack 1:21:00 if you were so inclined to red-line it. You have made tons of progress this cycle - best of luck this weekend. :)

cmm: Yes feeling much better. I am sure you will here soon once you start fast workouts.

Hereford: I dont think you can blame lots of miles at MP for the outcome. That is what you needed to train your body to run for 26 miles. Prob just a bad day.

Bonham: haha ive actually seen that episode! I took a day off (rare for me), iced, and tried not to stretch it too much. Figured it was already very pissed off at me. I just starting using my Saucony A5s again and add on the speed work. I should have known this was coming. Strength training is being added for general body to help the future.

Garbage: Just hope to find some good ones with decent weather for once!

Swift: Nothing like a training run at altitude faster than my half PR! hahaha

thanks xenonscreams. I will probably do strength 2x per week, core as much as possible and some form drills.

Garbagedisposal so a track cycle next spring would mean no marathon?

bonham my wife likes to sleep in and I am up early so it was easy to sneak the runs in on vacation and kind of nice to start the day and stay in a routine.