Road Racing and Training Thread - Week Ending 3/1

Hereford thanks for the great reply!

I am a 50 year old early spring chicken! I'm currently doing 42 miles per week, just did my 17 mile long rung and felt good. I did 7 weeks at 140 bpm for a base then was advised to kick it up to the high 150 this is about 80% of max heartrate if I use resting heart rate reserve calculations. I do run a high heart rate, my HM averages were in the 178 bpm.

For this first marathon, if I can come in around 3:50:00 I will be happy. I have a HM race in two weeks so we will see how that one goes.

Goal Race: Bristol 10k

Daniels 5k-10k Plan (3rd Edition)

Week 13 of 26

Mon - rest (unplanned)

Tue - 4 miles - easy (7:58)

Wed - 9 miles - easy (7:55)

Thu - 8 miles (3 very easy with girlfriend) - easy + strides (8:39)

Fri - 9 miles - 5x (200R + 200jg + 200R + 200jg + 400R + 400jg) + warm/cool (R-pace 5:31)

Sat - 15 miles - easy (8:04)

Sun - 8 miles - easy (7:52)

Total: 53 miles

Reasonably happy with this week in the end. Felt awful (cold) on Monday after the 10k race the previous Sunday; took the day off work and generally felt crap all day. Thought I was pretty much recovered Tuesday, but the morning run really knocked me back again, and I ended up with another day off work spent feeling pretty awful.

Picked it up throughout the week after that. Wednesday was a nice relaxing easy run, a bit further than normal, with some pretty steep hills thrown in. The first 3 miles on Thursday were very easy (circa 10:00 per mile), but it was a nice change to get out for a run with my girlfriend - she really enjoys running, but just cant seem to motivate herself to 'get out the door' sometimes, especially when it's cold and dark in the winter. Speeding up to regular easy pace (high 7's) felt very odd after 3 miles at that pace!

Friday's workout went very well; 2.5 miles at R pace in total. Target pace was 5:46 which is around 43s per 200m and 86s per 400m - I was slightly faster than that on pretty much every repetition, but the big positive is that they continue to get noticeably easier. Compared to 3/4 weeks ago, the pace feels a lot smoother and more controlled, and I'm able to stay quite relaxed throughout.

Saturday's long run was hard - no other word for it unfortunately! I felt pretty weak and low on energy from about 3 miles in, and I'm surprised that I managed to get round the whole distance. I don't normally have any problem with long runs, so all I can think is that I may have been a bit dehydrated, or that the cold from Monday/Tuesday was still hanging around to some extent. I know it's not ideal to do a long run the day after a workout; but I really didn't feel that the reps session had taken much out of me (while the reps themselves are fast, the recovery jogs are literally as-slow-as-you-like, which normally ends up between 9:00 and 10:00 pace for me). Maybe it was just a bad day!

Sunday felt better; I was a bit tired for the first 4 miles, but the final 4 felt back to normal again.

Trying to plan the coming week as sensibly as possible, leaving an easy day between each of the quality sessions (reps, intervals and marathon pace this week). Hoping to total around 60 miles and stay around that level for the next month or so. Next big race is the Reading Half on 22nd March; main goal is anything under 1:30, which should be well within my sights as long as there are no setbacks over the next 3 weeks.

Hello all,

looks like almost everyone had a great week.

myself:

Next Race: maybe a 10k on 2015-04-24

Mon: 20k - 5x (1k ~ 3:30, 1k ~ 3:50)

Tue: 12k/9k easy

Wed: 16k fartlek 8x (1 min on, 2 min off)

Thu: 8k/8k easy

Fri: 10k easy

Sat: 6k easy

Sun: 5k road race in 16:10

Total: 100k

YTD: 820k (MAT: 4250k)

Monday I planned to do 6 reps initially, but after the 5th I had to take a bathroom break (~2min) and decided to stop the session. Not certain that this was the right choice.

Wednesday's fartlek was much tougher than expected/planned. Mainly felt that I did not recover well in those 2 minutes. Recently, time based fartleks are always seem to be like that and leave me in a bad mood.

Sunday's race went unexpectedly great. Went out in about 3:10 for the first k and somehow managed to not slow down too much, albeit the last k was probably not faster than 3:20. 16:10 is about half a minute faster than I would have thought possible on a good day. I am wondering whether the course may have been short. The organizers claim that it is correctly measured, but who knows.

If you want to try to measure the course, try

I've found it to be very accurate.

Mathias- Looks like you did have a very good week. Got a lot speed work in on Tuesday and Thursday. I like on Tuesday how you threw in the shorter intervals in the middle of the longer reps. I'll be incorporated something very similar in the future. It really helps with the speed endurance aspect of racing.

Southporter- Nice week. Your week is structured very nicely. By looking at your Saturday workout I think sub 31 is definitely possible, probably faster if you continue to progress in training. In my opinion sub 18 this spring is a definite if training continues the way it is going.

pewow- You're right, it seems like everyone is having good weeks this week even though Monday's workout didn't go as planned. You did the smart thing by calling it early. No need to make the calf worse. By the looks of it it worked out very good as your Thursday workout ended up very good in negative split fashion. Keep it up.

Tortoise- Very solid week. You definitely got your quality work in. I bet it sucks though with the weather and having to deal with the dreadmill. I have the opposite probably here in Florida as the temps are already into the high 80s. But solid 22 miler. That really shows your fitness. You're going to rock Boston.

Oedipus Rexing- Great week. By the looks of this week you should do very well in your 5k. With the speed session on Tuesday and the solid long run with the tempo in the middle you're going to be ready. But man, that long run looks great. It's not easy running 5 @ 5:24 pace in the middle like that. Good luck next weekend.

Forcerunner- Very good week. You're so fit. Monday and Wednesday's session stand out most to me. What races do you have planned next? I'm really looking forward to your progression. 14:30 is so possible.

Distance Fan- Great 10 miler! You destroyed your PR by about 4 minutes. Not many runners can do that. You ran very consistent too. You should be really happy with it. Hope you recovery well so you can come back and possibly get another chance at sub 1:10.

Hereford- It's always nice knowing that things are going good. There's always a purpose. Very solid sessions Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. I see good things coming your way for Boston. Keep it up.

Slartzio- Just rolling through this week. Mixing the biking sessions in with some quality running. Makes the legs strong and most of the time better for recovery. Hope it's working for you. Very nice workout on Wednesday. Pretty much negative splitting the whole thing except that last rep. No big deal though.

I'll comment more when I get some more time.

This is a two week update as I was on vacation.

I ran Gasparilla the weekend before last. I did all 4 races. Seemed like a great idea when I signed up 6 months ago...

Long story short, day 1 went ok (15k, 5k), plan was to just run easy so I could really try on day 2 in the half marathon. However it was not to be, as the 20k running from day one still left my fairly tired during the half, and once the sun came up, I was just not used to the "heat" and humidity after coming from -10F.

But still, I did negative split the 15k, and that's the first time I've ever negative split a race (50 to 60 races).

I ended up with 75k the week before last.

Last week, I only had 17k. I was supposed to go on a cruise after the races, however after waiting for two days on the ship (stuck in the gulf of Mexico due to fog!), they cancelled the cruise, so my wife and I rented a car and drove 15 hours back home. By time I got home, it was snowing again and no where to run, so I only got two runs in.

I think I'm going to do cross fit three times a week (never done it), mainly to help me lose weight and to get some strength in my body. I'll still try to run 50k, and hopefully by mid July I can get a little more serious about trying to run a half decent marathon.

Goal: Boston low 230s

M: 4.5 easy /5.5 easy : 10

T: 10 miles / 5 miles : 15

W: Sick--stomach bug, thankfully one day only

T: 12 miles easy / 3 miles: 15

F: 9 miles / 6 miles: 15

S: 22 miles (below zero)

S: 10 miles

Can almost taste spring.

Total 87

Comments:

Matthias - Solid week, especially thursday's session. Keep it up!

southporter - Good 800's, and tempo good as well.

tortoise - All those treadmill runs make me feel spoiled with great weather. The last three days of your week were stellar!

forcerunner - interesting workout on Monday, killer volume as always.

Distance Fan - Too bad about the PF, but nice job on the race especially after a week of injury.

Hereford - Nice week, three solid sessions. I would agree, it definitely looks like you are training with purpose.

Slartzio - Don't let that biking get the best of you! Another good week it looks like.

pikachu - Too bad about that race, but you're in great shape.

Runnersfix - Solid long run progression

kritek - Great efforts for a down week, especially the long run and threshold

NiceGuy542007 - good workouts on tuesday and thursday, now hope you get the work thing worked out so you can work out (trying to be clever)

JSrun - good week. By late march I would think your iron would be back up to a reasonable level, and definitely by the later part of the season.

reed - from your feelings on the race you look good to hit your goal in two weeks.

Odysseus - 22 miles in the negatives - wow. Nice work this week

Goal: Have some fun w/ racing. Get stronger, then work on speed.

Next Race: TBD

Goal for Race: TBD

M - 1:04:12 through the woods and some on road. Very slow going through 3-4ft of snow. Almost fell in a stream haha. Had a great time getting out in the woods for the first time in a while.

T - We got a new high school and moved into it today. It has an indoor track (~120 meters, unbanked rubber surface) and two treadmills, which were aren't supposed to use, but did anyway. 1m WU. 27:00 on the indoor track with the last mile around 6:20 pace (not comfortable with the tight turns). 3m on the treadmill, with some up at ~6min pace. Then 2 miles on the roads mod effort.

W - AM: 1.56 miles w/ four 8 sec hill sprints all out. PM: 1m WU. 21:11 on the track. Strides. 3m on the treadmill with some up at 6min pace. .75m CD on mill, .8m CD on track.

T - AM: 4.04m mod. PM: 1m WU. 1m on track sprinting one straight. On the mill: 1.5 easy, .5 at 12% grade 10min pace (goal pace for Mt. Washington this June), .5 easy, .5 in 3:00, .5 CD. .5 CD on track.

F - AM: 1.53 miles w/ four 8 sec hill sprints all out. 1m WU. 2 easy on track. 4 easy on mill. .5 CD.

S - 4 easy on the roads

S - 1.5m WU w/ strides. Nice 4.5 mile race in 26:15. Was supposed to be five, but had to be shortened due to ice. Pleased with how this felt. My legs felt bouncy and strong throughout the majority of the race. The cold air certainly hurt my lungs, but what are you gonna do? My fastest mile was my fourth which was surprising (5:43 - 5:50 avg). Could have dug deeper if I needed to. The race was well run and the course was pretty fast/nice. I placed fourth overall and first under 30, got a nice little trophy and some gloves. I chose to wear a pair of lighter gloves during the race... I touched my ring and pinkie fingers about 3 miles in and could not feel them... The thawing process was excruciating as usual. Very happy that I could run this well after a weekly mileage PR, and gives me a nice confidence boost heading into spring.

Total: ~ 54. Will be trying to build up to 60 and maintain in the next few weeks given how good I feel. I feel like right now I could easily run 70+ without issue... won't take that risk though. Occasional laziness should keep me in check.

Runs were very segmented as I find it difficult to run for more than 3-4 miles at a time on the indoor track or the mill (little to no rest in between). Although I had to do 7 on the track today because the treadmill room was locked.

Can't wait until it warms up a bit... It's hard to get out the door at 5:30am when it's single digit weather. It will probably be 80 in a couple weeks here lol

Still on vacation so posting from my phone so unfortunately won't be able to comment much this week.

Pikachu - sorry to hear about the race, seems like no one ran fast. I do hate it when I try to race the clock, never ends up as well for me.

Paul - I'll spend some more time next week commenting on my marathon training philosophy, although you'll get a bunch of good advice from others here and can probably get a good sense just by looking through the training logs.

Runnersfix - looking forward to your next few races.

As for me, I'm hanging out in a nice warm weather area and enjoying a very light week with no running.

This week was:

5 days of lifting. 3 days of light biking (30 mins) and 2 days of rowing machine (20 mins).

This week will be equally light but I'm itching to get back to the running.

Just a quick post: RunFix/back into it - Splits were 3:00ish for the first couple Ks. But even the other guys that placed in front of me said it never felt really comfortable and much faster. It was just too bad weather to go 4 a time. In hindsight I'm pleased with the effort and how I ran against the others. I wasn't too smart but didn't crash too horribly. I just wasn't the day to do some crazy times. Next time is another game and I'll try more to compete than to time trial :)

Will comment in the next days :)

Hi,

2 week update from me as last week i only ran twice due to a cold that took me out Th-Su.

This week:

M- off (planned)

T- am 9k / pm 5.5k + strength (benchpress, row amd deadlift)

W- 16k w/ 3x2k in 7.30 (3' rest)

Th- 1h swim

Fr- off

Sa- am 5h alpine skiing / pm 3.2k uphill race with 900m vertical

Su- 5h alpone skiing

Bit of a down week with little running and more skiing. The race on Saturday was a blast. The venue is the downhill skiing slope in Kitzbuhel, Austria. It is called the Streif and is very very steep averaging 28% and topping out at 87%. I put on 2cm spikes on my Salomon trail shoes and used hiking poles. The track was extremly icy in some parts and deep snow in other parts. I cant remember doing anything harder in my life. I was completely spent at the end of the race.

Matthias - I'm still liking the tempo/speed/tempo. Very solid week.

Southporter - Nice middle miles in the tempo.

Pewow - Looks like you bounced back nicely on Thursday.

Tortoise - Quite an incline on those treadmill hills! Nice volume on the LR.

Oedipus - Nice average on the 400s. As well as the pickup in the middle of the LR.

DistanceFan - Congrats on the PR!

Hereford - Nice cutdown on the tempo as well as the middle miles in the LR.

Slartzio - Nice week. Now that your base is finished what are you planning for the next phase?

Pikachu - Very nice LR on Monday. Still a vert solid race coming off some good quality earlier in the week.

RunnersFix - Nice job on the 1ks, and nice cutdown during the LR! I'm going to do the Shamrock Shuffle 8k on March 29 as the next thing planned. Our club has a chance at money so I'm pretty excited.

KrikeK - Solid 10k on Saturday! Nice close to the Monday progression run as well.

Niceguy - Solid volume on the LR. I like the title of your week haha. Nice job getting the sessions in.

JSrun - I'm a big fan of the 1k+400s afterwards. What sort of agility drills do you do?

Paul061 - I can't really offer too much marathon advice since I haven't run one yet, but the other response seem to be very smart.

Reed - Unfortunate about the sandpit. Still a very nice 5k!

Kendo - Nice volume on the LR. The slow run on Thursday is important! Sometimes you just need to get a nice slow and easy run with someone else to switch things up.

Lest - I like the alternating 1ks and fartleks. Very nice 5k to close out the week as well.

Molasses - Life threw everything it had at you these past couple weeks! One thing I'd caution about cross fit is jumping into weightlifting and other exercises you might not be used to too quick. That's just asking for injury if you don't have any sort of history with strength training. I think the best "strength training" you can do for your running is to simply run more.

Odysseus - Way to get out there for the LR in the sub zero temps. Hopefully we won't have to deal with it too much longer!

Nop200 - I agree with only being able to tolerate indoor running for so long. It helps having some sort of media device to distract you.

BackIntoIt - Recovery is just as important as the hard weeks! You deserve some down time.

Hantph96 - That Saturday race sounds tough. Lots of climbing.