Keep training hard and keep us updated! I'm rooting for you.
Sub-1:50 is in your future, and we all know what sub-1:50 means.
If you have any interest in the mile, train hard for sub-4.
With higher mileage and improved tempos and longer workouts, I'm sure you can do it eventually.
Running Twin wrote:
Hey thanks for the quick update, you at least have one person left rooting for you. About how I race I was usually a kicker. Ran 62 last lap for 15 pr and 59 last lap in a 4:33 1600 race. For 800 I'm usually about even splits or slightly positive. I'm actually really out of shape right like 2:15 800 shape but I'm only 19 so I still think I have some prs left in me
59 last lap for a 4:33 means you are capable of going much lower.
Even out those laps and you will go sub 4:25 on current fitness.
ThatAverageRunner wrote:
I've been averaging 50-60 miles a week in mostly singles. Currently forcing myself to take a week in the 30's to recover, then once my achilles starts to improve I'll build up higher. I've been working 40-50 hours a week (which is new to me) and I've been finding difficulty waking up extra early to double.
Awesome PRs!!!
Job 1: STAY HEALTHY. That can be very difficult when you get so excited about your progress. I think it's a good idea to take an easier week.
Think about starting your runs a little more slowly to make sure the achilles is ready to go. Walk the first couple of blocks if you've come from sitting in the car or other inactivity.
Still keeping tabs on you. Keep us updated. Cheers.
do exercises like you are playing a bass drum pedal to fix the shin splints. they work when you sit but are even better on a step so you can go down below the step and up above it, with your heel resting on the step. congratulations on the two pr's this summer. the 15k pr indicates that you are really improving your aerobic strength because your drop-offs were pretty steep before as you went up the distances.
Thank you guys for the support! I haven't been doing any speed sicne my achilles has been hurting. I got a new pair of 'uptempo shoes', the Kinvara 6's, because my Boston Boosts were pretty worn out. My achilles has very slowly been improving. Doing a lot of those eccentric heel raises (heel drops). Trying to be better about rolling out and all that.
I was caught off guard with that 15k time as I haven't done a whole lot of longer stuff so far this summer. Some long tempos and like 2 long runs, but even then my mileage hasn't been very high. The main goal is getting healthy. Part of me is upset that I can't run too fast or too much right now but I guess a week or two of slow easy mileage won't hurt my progress. Especially since I won't be on the XC team in the fall, I have no deadlines for when I hit peak mileage and fitness, etc.
Thanks again for following along. It means a lot to have some people to give me feedback, advice and support!
PR's:
400m: 49.9r
500m: 1:06.4
800m: 1:52.7
1500m: 4:08
Mile: 4:31
3000m: 9:20
5000m: 16:10 (road)
15k road: 52:40
Week Ending on 7/16:
Sunday AM 15k race in 52:40 (5:39 pace)
PM 2 mile shakeout run
Monday Off
Tuesday 5 miles easy on treadmill (7:24) + Lifting
Wednesday Evening 5k race in 17:20. Didn't try very hard and it was extremely hot. Was happy with how I placed.
Thursday 6.5 miles easy (7:23)
Friday 5 miles easy (7:24)
Saturday 3.4 miles easy (7:38)
39 miles on the week. Took a rest week. As I'm writing this I feel pretty good. Achilles has been getting better, Still sore but I have more range of movement without pain. The 5k is in the high 80's and very humid. I placed better than I did when I ran against the same people in my 16:10 5k. I'm feeling better. Just ran a 4 mile tempo yesterday in 5:28 pace and I'm feeling good at a higher mileage. Will post details about this week at the end of the week.
PR's:
400m: 49.9r
500m: 1:06.4
800m: 1:52.7
1500m: 4:08
Mile: 4:31
3000m: 9:20
5000m: 16:10 (road)
15k road: 52:40
Week ending in 7/23:
Sunday AM 13 miles @ 6:35 pace
PM 2 miles @ 7:35
Monday Ran 3 miles after work at the gym and lifted
Few hours later ran 8.9 with the last three miles @ 6:30, 5:55, 5:48
Tuesday8 miles @ 7:36 + some strides
Wednesday Lifted and ran 2.5 miles before work in the AM.
PM 4 mile tempo @ 5:29 pace. Splits of (5:36, 5:45, 5:28, 5:11)
Thursday 5.5 mile recovery @ 7:55 pace
Friday AM 2 miles @ 7:30
PM Cutdown workout. 1600, 1200, 1000, 800 (5min rest) 400, 300, 200. 2-2.5 min between reps. 5:22, 3:56, 3:14, 2:26.....61, 45, 26.
Saturday AM 4.1 miles @ 7:33
PM 5 miles @ 7:50
70 miles total for the week.
I'm decently happy with this week. My achilles is slowly starting to feel better. Still a little painful though. I've been able to incorporate strides a little more consistently though which is nice. The 4 mile tempo felt good, no real complaints the whole time. Did an our and back and out was a little uphill and back was a little down hill on the tempo. The cutdown workout didn't go well. It was really humid and I was just having an off day breathing wise. I tried to stay within myself for the workout. The fast reps did feel good, though and overall the workout wasn't very difficult.
PR's:
400m: 49.9r
500m: 1:06.4
800m: 1:52.7
1500m: 4:08
Mile: 4:31
3000m: 9:20
5000m: 16:10 (road)
15k road: 52:40
Week Ending in 7/30
Sunday PM 3.5 miles @ 7:10
Monday 12.6 miles @ 7:37 + 2 strides
Tuesday 8.2 miles @ 7:38 + 4 strides
Wednesday 5k in 16:48 (will provide details below)
Thursday 8.7 miles @ 7:17 + 4 strides
Friday 9.5 miles @ 6:08 + 3 strides
Saturday 4x50m sprints and 400m solo TT in 53.9
Week total: 57 miles
Mileage was a little low this week but it was all in singles so I can't complain. Wasn't even going to run at all Sunday so I'm glad I got in the 3.5 miler. Monday was an unplanned long run. Felt sluggish but at mile 7 I was really enjoying myself out there and had the desire to run far (doesn't happen often), so I took advantage of it. Felt really sluggish on Tuesday as well.
Ran a 5k that I run every year on the same course. The course has a huge hill the you run up and down at the beginning, and consequently, the end. It was another hot one, about 85 degrees and pretty damn humid. Ran with a guy for most of the race but he broke me a little after 2 miles. I was happy with how I raced considering the heat (I am terrible in the heat) and with how much I DIslike this course. I ran about a full minute faster this year than I did the last two years.
Felt achey on thursdays run.
On Friday I was in the mood to go fast so I put on my Kinvaras and went at a decent clip. The goal was to be under 6:30 at least but I ended up going out in 6:06. My legs hurt a little but that went away as I kept clicking off 6:10ish splits. Only the last 2 miles were remotely tough.
On Saturday I went to the track with my girlfriend. She ran a short tempo and some 200's so I just ran around the track for 3.5 miles then slipped on my bostons (I like to sprint in them because they are narrow and fit really tightly to my feet) and ran 4x50m all out after doing drills and strides. I felt really fast and strong which I was surprised by considering I haven't sprinted in over a month because of my achilles. I was feeling good and I wanted a bench mark so I ran a 400m TT by myself in 53.9. My first 100 was pretty conservative and I went through 200 in 25 mid. My last 100 was into the wind and it was a very rough last 100 haha. I've never run a solo 400 before so I was happy with how I performed considering its only July.
PR's:
400m: 49.9r
500m: 1:06.4
800m: 1:52.7
1500m: 4:08
Mile: 4:31
3000m: 9:20
5000m: 16:10 (road)
15k road: 52:40
Week Ending in 8/6:
Sunday 8.2 miles @ 7:26 pace + 3 strides
Monday Afternoon: went to the gym and ran 2.7 @ 7:30 pace then lifted.
Few hours later ran a light 7 mile progression, last 2.5 miles @ 6:00. 1.3 mile cooldown. + 4 strides
Tuesday 9.3 miles on my treadmill starting at low 7 pace and cutting down to low 6 pace.
Wednesday 8 miles @ 7:26 + 4 strides
Thursday 7x1k with 200m jog rest (about 60s).
3:33, 3:30, 3:31, 3:30, 3:32, 3:33, 3:15
Then 4x200m relaxed fast. 34, 35, 31, 28
Friday 4.8 miles @ 7:30 on the treadmill at the gym then lifted
Saturday AM 2 miles @ 7:30
PM 8x200m hills.
38, 39, 35, 35, 34, 30, 32, 29.
Week total: 59 miles
Unhappy with my mileage lately. I've just been bad about getting out there.
The 1k's arent by any means fast but I'm happy with the workout. Pushed the last one a bit. The 200's after felt good as did the hills. Specifically my form felt really smooth and strong.
I'm currently having a dilemma in what I should do for my training. My mileage is okay, and will increase as soon as I can start adding doubles (since I don't want to run much more than 9-10 miles for a single easy run and i'm already just about there). This upcoming week will be my last week of working my 7:30-4 job, so I will be able to easily double after this.
My main question is: should I start adding in some 3k-8k pace work? Like some 1k's at 3:00-3:20 and stuff like that? I've found that I seem to really suffer at events like 3k and 5k yet I seem to be decent at longer stuff, like my 15k PR and obviously shorter stuff like my 400/800.
I'm currently having a dilemma in what I should do for my training. My mileage is okay, and will increase as soon as I can start adding doubles (since I don't want to run much more than 9-10 miles for a single easy run and i'm already just about there). This upcoming week will be my last week of working my 7:30-4 job, so I will be able to easily double after this.
My main question is: should I start adding in some 3k-8k pace work? Like some 1k's at 3:00-3:20 and stuff like that? I've found that I seem to really suffer at events like 3k and 5k yet I seem to be decent at longer stuff, like my 15k PR and obviously shorter stuff like my 400/800.
I'm the same way, not as fast in the 800, but pretty much a true 1k-mile guy and I really under perform in the 3k/5k. Interestingly I can sustain 5:45-6min pace for a long time pretty easily, up to 18mi and probably more if I wanted too.
I think stuff like 1k's would definitely benefit you, but I wouldn't put too much stock into the times, especially with so much time left before indoor.
A workout I've done a few times is 10x1k @3:15-3:20 r/1min. Treat it like a controlled tempo. Another one is 3x1k@3:10 r/1min (5min rest) 1x5k@17min. I did both of these in the weeks leading up to a 3:54 1500.
Do you have a beach nearby? With soft sand?
George Ilie wrote:
Do you have a beach nearby? With soft sand?
About an hour away or so. Why?
letsbang wrote:
I'm currently having a dilemma in what I should do for my training. My mileage is okay, and will increase as soon as I can start adding doubles (since I don't want to run much more than 9-10 miles for a single easy run and i'm already just about there). This upcoming week will be my last week of working my 7:30-4 job, so I will be able to easily double after this.My main question is: should I start adding in some 3k-8k pace work? Like some 1k's at 3:00-3:20 and stuff like that? I've found that I seem to really suffer at events like 3k and 5k yet I seem to be decent at longer stuff, like my 15k PR and obviously shorter stuff like my 400/800.
I'm the same way, not as fast in the 800, but pretty much a true 1k-mile guy and I really under perform in the 3k/5k. Interestingly I can sustain 5:45-6min pace for a long time pretty easily, up to 18mi and probably more if I wanted too.
I think stuff like 1k's would definitely benefit you, but I wouldn't put too much stock into the times, especially with so much time left before indoor.
A workout I've done a few times is 10x1k @3:15-3:20 r/1min. Treat it like a controlled tempo. Another one is 3x1k@3:10 r/1min (5min rest) 1x5k@17min. I did both of these in the weeks leading up to a 3:54 1500.
That 3x1k then 5k 'tempo' looks pretty tough. May try something like that eventually but I don't think I could manage that right now
ThatAverageRunner wrote:
George Ilie wrote:Do you have a beach nearby? With soft sand?
About an hour away or so. Why?
Soft sand is excellent for general strength development. Compared with hills, it improves the core strength uniformly.
I think that soft sand is underestimated, mostly because it isn't very accessible to runners and doesn't have proven (at elite level) efficiency either.
I bet that if Kenyans had soft sand, everyone would train on it.
Maybe people don't know what to do on soft sand.
This is what I found useful:
Belona Fartlek
The loop.
The length of the loop was 1450-1600 meters and included a shorter steep hill, a longer downhill, a flat road, a soft sand area, and ended with flat road.
The exercise:
60-80m sprint on the hill
200-400m slow run downhill
60-80m sprint on flat road
200m slow run on flat road
60-80m sprint on soft sand
100-200m slow run on soft sand
complete the loop on flat road
The number of loops depends on the race aimed, of course.
The exercise includes speed variations, elevation variations, surface type variations, both aerobic and anaerobic training, strength work and endurance.
George Ilie wrote:
ThatAverageRunner wrote:About an hour away or so. Why?
Soft sand is excellent for general strength development. Compared with hills, it improves the core strength uniformly.
I think that soft sand is underestimated, mostly because it isn't very accessible to runners and doesn't have proven (at elite level) efficiency either.
I bet that if Kenyans had soft sand, everyone would train on it.
Maybe people don't know what to do on soft sand.
This is what I found useful:
Belona Fartlek
The loop.
The length of the loop was 1450-1600 meters and included a shorter steep hill, a longer downhill, a flat road, a soft sand area, and ended with flat road.
The exercise:
60-80m sprint on the hill
200-400m slow run downhill
60-80m sprint on flat road
200m slow run on flat road
60-80m sprint on soft sand
100-200m slow run on soft sand
complete the loop on flat road
The number of loops depends on the race aimed, of course.
The exercise includes speed variations, elevation variations, surface type variations, both aerobic and anaerobic training, strength work and endurance.
Its a pretty busy area and theres no hills anywhere nearby.
Whats the purpose of running in soft sand? Would doing some bare foot strides in it work? Not saying it'll happen much, just curious.
ThatAverageRunner wrote:
Whats the purpose of running in soft sand? Would doing some bare foot strides in it work? Not saying it'll happen much, just curious.
Not barefoot, with shoes.
I would say that running on soft sand can be compared with plyometrics.
For example, jumping on a box could be:
- 60% strength
- 20% speed
- 10% anaerobic
Running on soft sand may be:
- 30% strength
- 10% speed
- 60% aerobic
On soft sand, your body performs a strength exercise without incline, which requires to use more muscle groups, including the upper body.
On hills, the legs are more challenged.
The strides on soft sand probably aren't helpful. Try slow run for 25 minutes, then go on a road to see the difference.
PR's:
400m: 49.9r
500m: 1:06.4
800m: 1:52.7
1500m: 4:08
Mile: 4:31
3000m: 9:20
5000m: 16:10 (road)
15k road: 52:40
Week ending in 8/13
Sunday AM 3 miles @ 7:30 on the treadmill
PM 8 miles easy @ 7:45
Monday 9.7 miles @ 7:10 pace. Failed progression run
Tuesday 2 miles and a lift after work.
7.5 miles a few hours later @ 7:25
Wednesday 1 mile @ 5:34 with splits of 86, 86, 86, 76. (paced my buddy). Took a 6 minute break then did 4x800m with equal rests.
2:30, 2:27, 2:24, 2:15 followed by 2x200m in 30, 29
Thursday 5.5 miles @ 8:00 pace
Friday OFF
Saturday 3 miles @ 5:40 pace on the treadmill
Week Total: 45 miles
Decided to take a down week about halfway through this week, so mileage is a little lower than usual for this week and next. The workout was pretty low volume but I'm happy with the quality since I hadn't been feeling too great that week.
PR's:
400m: 49.9r
500m: 1:06.4
800m: 1:52.7
1500m: 4:08
Mile: 4:31
3000m: 9:20
5000m: 16:10 (road)
15k road: 52:40
Week ending in 8/20
Sunday 7.4 miles easy @ 6:45
Monday 6 miles with some quarter mile pick ups @ 5:40 pace and some 200m strides at the end in around 29
Tuesday 4.5 miles @ 7:30 pace + 4 strides
Wednesday AM 2 mile shakeout @ 7:30
PM 5k in 16:54.
Thursday AM 2 mile warmup with some hills sprints with Plyos between (lunges, skips for height, skips for length, burpees, mountain climbers, etc)
PM 5.5 miles easy @ 7:10
Friday AM 5.5 miles easy @ 7:24
PM 4 miles easy @ 7:16
Saturday AM Cutdown Ladder Workout.
10 minute tempo, 1200, 800, 800, 600, 600, 200, 200. (2:30 rest)
5:27 pace, 3:54, 2;30, 2:31, 1:51, 1:45, 26.5, 25.6
PM 2 miles easy @ 7:30
Week total: 54 miles.
First part of the week was the tail end of my down week I took. 5k I ran went terribly. Went out way too hard and the first mile which was pretty uphill was 5:03. and that was that. Got back to school to finish up my last (9th) semester. I run with the team still on most days. The plyos made me insanely sore. Need to start doing those more.
I didn't feel good during that cutdown workout but I was also making sure not to press too hard. It was really hot out for that.
Hows training going?
PR's:
400m: 49.9r
500m: 1:06.4
800m: 1:52.7
1500m: 4:08
Mile: 4:31
3000m: 9:20
5000m: 16:10 (road)
15k road: 52:40
Sorry about the lack of posting. Hard to find the time sometimes
Week ending in 8/27:
Sunday AM 3.2 miles easy (7:30) + Plyos
PM 8 miles easy (7:30)
Monday 10 miles @ (6:45). Hilly loop
Tuesday AM 4.7 miles @ (7:50)
PM 7.3 miles @ (7:25) + 4 strides
Wednesday 11.5 miles @ (6:46)
Thursday AM 2.2 miles @ (7:30) + Lift
PM 6 miles @ (7:31) + 4 strides
Friday 7x1minute on, 2 minutes off. Slow jogged the off segments. ~4:10ish pace for the on segments
Saturday Recovery 4.5 miles (7:55)
Week total: 65 miles
Long run was supposed to be longer but my stomach cramped bad randomly towards the end so I had to cut it short. Otherwise no real complaints. Fridays workout was done on a large, flat, grass loop.