Road Racing & Training Thread - Week Ending June 25, 2017

Team1 - No backpacks are allowed although a shopping bag is okay. It must be carried in hand. I am thinking sixer of Bud cans.

I also did not realize how much fitness I lost. I think the base is still there I just cant get any turnover.. I am going to have to get on the track for repeats.

My build up to 60 miles a week is slow but without injury thankfully.

M-4 miles @ 7:00-7:15 per mile

T-5 miles @ 6:30-6:45 per mile

W-4 miles @ 7:30-7:45 per mile (legs felt tired after aqua jogging the past 2 days)

Th-5 miles @ 6:45-7:15 per mile

Fri- 4 miles (didn't time)

Sat- 8 miles @ 7:15 per mile

Sun-OFF

Total: 30 miles per week

Hopefully I can get up to 40 by the end of July and build up to 50 by August and ride that to the end of the year. I have a 5k in two weeks planned, hopefully I can at least go 17:45. The goal is to get back under 15:45 by December.

As is typical, I'm most likely way over-thinking this. I live in the uptown area so North Mountain and Dreamy Draw would be closest options. South Mountain (Summit Road) would be perfect but it's way too far a commute for a week day workout. I usually hit Ord once or twice a month but that's more a sustained effort to the summit and again, too far a drive for something during the week.

Right now I'm mixing up tempo and VO2 work weekly along with a trail long run with climbing. In a few more weeks I plan to move off the VO2 and start putting in some serious hill work through the week along with the weekly tempo. Part of me is now wondering if I'd be better off moving the VO2 stuff off the track and doing those efforts on hills, then transition to longer hills in a few weeks as planned. This "race" doesn't have much climbing at all so trying to keep more in touch with speed than I would if it were something like Mogollon.

I've forgotten what your upcoming race is. Another idea is hill reps on a shorter, steeper hill to complement flat tempo work or offload your climbing workouts to combine with long runs, even adding tempo work to your long run as sustained efforts or 8-10 minute cruise intervals. It seems like a rolling hills workout might be optimal because you could push flats and climbs and float downhills.

Stagecoach 100 Sept 23

Uninteresting week for me. Brutally hot here (115 for a couple days there midweek)

M, 41, goal race is Sep 15 10K and an Oct 1 8K or a 10-mile trail race if it pops up on the schedule.

M - 6 in the heat

T - 8 - 4x2k, 10K pace: 7:05, 7:06, 7:06, 7:01

W - 4

T - 6 - 3 mile tempo in the heat @6:12, 6:09, 6:07

F - 9

S - off

S - 8

Total 40

That Tuesday workout was one of the hardest I've had in a long time. Afterwards I realized my track work has been 3 miles at a time but that was closer to 5, plus it was pretty warm and smokey from a nearby fire. Thursday was a scorcher, 105 already at 9am. Daniels tempo pace is 5:59 so I figured I could give 20 seconds. 6:10 even felt a bit fast as I wilted out there. Just trying to survive this heat. 108 today and it feels "cooler". Achilles is perpetually tight these days and I hobble in the morning to coffee. Wondering if this spring running was a bad idea and whether they are going to revert to feeling normal again when I wake up.

Working Harder wrote:

Stagecoach 100 Sept 23

Oh, yes. Now I remember. There's that familiar feeling of jealousy creeping in...

Ha. Yeah, I'm not sure if you should feel jealous. We will see how it goes. May be scrapping Boston plans for next year and eyeing Black Canyon or Sean O'Brien instead.

Thanks, Orion.

Just got back from a mostly sunny, but low humidity, 10.25-miler. This arthritis is weird stuff. The pain increased today, and I felt it through the first five miles, and then it dissipated. It had been taking more like three miles to dissipate.

In any case, I do not know if I can generate the type of leg speed/turnover (from the get-go) that I will need for a 5k (next Tuesday). With the decent weather today, I wanted to push it some, and I had a hard time getting under 7:00 pace. It took five miles. Once there, I was okay, but still somewhat "off"...splits were...7:38, 7:31, 7:18, 7:00, 7:06, 6:41, 6:43, 6:42, 6:34, 6:27, 1:39.

All the best...

Nice week.. take it easy on the achilles! I have a 5k lined up first Saturday in August to use as a baseline .. also going to run a 10k Sept 23rd and some 5ks this fall i reckon..

runrincerepeat wrote:

Team1 - No backpacks are allowed although a shopping bag is okay. It must be carried in hand. I am thinking sixer of Bud cans.

I also did not realize how much fitness I lost. I think the base is still there I just cant get any turnover.. I am going to have to get on the track for repeats.

runrincerepeat,

I'm slow, so I never post here, just lurk, but I do know my way around a tavern.

I agree with the 6-pack, though I would go with Bud Light because I find it is easier to drink when warm, and I'd carry it like a running back carries a football. Not sure how much of the beers you will drink with the beer opening explosion after the first mile, but I hope you post video. I'll predict 43 flat, just like the last beer. Good luck, sounds like a memorable experience!!

Thanks for the luck! That time seems aggressive as I am overcoming injury and slow ( I do have some experience running home from the liqour store lugging a 12 pack) but, I am also kind of regretting the rules as they seem hardcore. and bud light will not work (4.2 abv) also my fave pabst will not as well (4.7 abv).. I will look up lowest gravity 5% beers. Bud seems okay, and it has a wide mouth on the can for chugging.

Orion Parker wrote:

I've been off or just running for so long that I don't know where I'm at. I thought about doing an occasional 5k TT but I don't know how that would work with the Pfitz plan I'm starting. I've also toyed with doing a 3k TT on a semi-regular basis as a fitness gauge but is that too short to be a real indicator. Sorry I'm rambling but any input or convo would be appreciated. Thanks.

Can you run a four-mile tempo run at perceived Lactate Threshold pace? You can extrapolate half-marathon and marathon pace from that. And vO2max pace, too, although the Pfitzinger schedules don't include vO2max workouts until "8 weeks to go."

I am a few weeks into the Pfitzinger 18-week plan (marathon is Oct 1st), so last week was a 4-mile threshold run, and today was a 5-mile threshold run. I ran both workouts strictly by feel (didn't check my splits), and both times were 6:40 pace. Which is pretty much spot-on, based on my half marathon eight weeks ago.

What about Beck's or Heineken? Both 5% ABV and I think at least Heineken comes in 12oz cans instead of bottles.

Interesting discussion here, Allen. Do the prescribed 4- and 5-mile threshold runs have a 1-2 mile warm-up and cool down? I am wondering what the specific workout is.

With my knee soreness, I have been running mostly by feel, and so today's run was something of an ease-into-it progression/tempo...five miles at 7:00 or slower, and then I averaged 6:37.4 in the second half (five miles). That seemed to work, as I cannot get going normally with my knee being sore.

All the best to you...

OR- I have been doing the same thing while overcoming injury. Today I wanted a "workout" so went out 3 at 820-802-854 (dirt trail) and finished with a 30 sec cutdown progression 7-630-600. My legs and feet rarely feel good before 3-4 miles..

outsiderunner wrote:

Do the prescribed 4- and 5-mile threshold runs have a 1-2 mile warm-up and cool down? I am wondering what the specific workout is.

On the Pfitzinger schedule, today was "9 mi w/ 5 mi @ 15K to half marathon race pace." For slow guys like me, that should be closer to 15K race pace (one-hour race pace).

So, it was 2 mi warmup, 5-mile threshold, 2 mi cooldown. Don't laugh, but it looked like this: 9:22, 9:10, 5 miles @ 6:40 avg (purposely didn't get splits), 9:24, 8:26. My warm-ups, cooldowns and easy days are run very slowly! Cool weather, but windy.

Have fun in your upcoming race! BTW, on the 50-plus thread I officially upgraded my marathon goal from 3:15 to 3:05. Age-graded, that's like a 2:35 or so ... with a lifetime PR of only 2:40, I may be overreaching ...

I hope to have fun in the race. Right now, I do not think I could get down to 5k race pace with this sore knee. I hope it improves. I am taking turmeric (after reading your post--thanks).

No laughs with the 9:00-type miles. You did five at 6:40, and that is pretty spiffy for a 57 year old man. In the second half of my ten today (five mile tempo), I was not that much faster than you. I hope you get your 3:05.

Yes--cool weather this morning, but windy. The wind surprised me a little, but I will take it over the oven-like conditions any day.

All the best...

runrincerepeat wrote:

OR- I have been doing the same thing while overcoming injury. Today I wanted a "workout" so went out 3 at 820-802-854 (dirt trail) and finished with a 30 sec cutdown progression 7-630-600. My legs and feet rarely feel good before 3-4 miles..

Thanks for the input, RRR. I understand how you feel. Even uninjured, I tend to not feel good until I have run several miles. Have you been taking any NSAIDs? I have not yet. I try to avoid them.

Good health and happy running to you.