Road Racing and Training Thread. Week Ending May 13 2018

Still Improving - Thank you. You have been quite helpful throughout this discussion. So, I gather you think I will like the 235? Does the GLONASS capability seem to improve things (link-up time, accuracy)?

All the best to you..

I did not see your post--we must have posted at the same time.

outsiderunner wrote:

Still Improving - Thank you. You have been quite helpful throughout this discussion. So, I gather you think I will like the 235? Does the GLONASS capability seem to improve things (link-up time, accuracy)?

All the best to you..

My watch takes a bit longer to connect with glonass on, I'd imagine that it's because it has to search for the GLONASS satellites as well as the GPS satellites.

As for accuracy, it doesn't make a huge difference to me when I'm running in the city, where it's mostly open here in Paris, but I feel like the accuracy is better if I have GLONASS on when I'm running in trails with tall trees.

It does consume battery faster though, so I'll usually only turn GLONASS on when I'm doing trails.

Perhaps I should just stick with my FR 35?...or might the 235 be worth it?

runrincerepeat wrote:

To me they are fine on wet roads.. not on ICY roads. Thats what got me.

Thanks. Yeah, I remember it was a rainy icy mix for your half-marathon.

OR -- Are you still considering that local, hilly 5K? This Saturday? There is something to be said for low-key races. Low-pressure, so just good racing experience. And with the hills, there is no time goal, so that particular stress is reduced.

For me, this morning was the first of three mini-taper days leading to Saturday's 5K. Just 4 easy miles with 3 x 1-minute at race pace. I'm feeling some anxiety -- a symptom of racing so infrequently. It's been more than a year since my last 5K. I'm 10 pounds heavier now, so that's certainly not helping.

Wow, you guys are busy beavers in the morning... why aren't y'all out running?

I have the Forerunner 920XT; it has everything. I use a lot of the features it has. Even monitors my sleep. Ghosts appear and fade away. (80's allusion warning.)

If you follow me on Strava, I have a fetish about NON-out-and-back course. I'm a loop guy. Ill cross a mountain rather than out-and-back. I'm blessed with great geography and cursed with bad weather. From my home, I can either run 30 km over a mountain to the Pacific Ocean, or run in the other direction and run 33 km flat along a river to the same ocean. Climate is subtropical, though. Think Florida, with smog. But I really am lucky to have my choice of terrain.

OK, today's question of the day:

Coach Jeff ROC ran a double today because:

A. He wanted to maximize mitochondrial genesis in slow twitch muscle fibers.

B. He's a Canova wannabe fixated on a special block.

C. He wants to sleep late tomorrow after drinking beer tonight.

You don't need a hint, do you?

Allen1959 wrote:

runrincerepeat wrote:

To me they are fine on wet roads.. not on ICY roads. Thats what got me.

Thanks. Yeah, I remember it was a rainy icy mix for your half-marathon.

OR -- Are you still considering that local, hilly 5K? This Saturday? There is something to be said for low-key races. Low-pressure, so just good racing experience. And with the hills, there is no time goal, so that particular stress is reduced.

For me, this morning was the first of three mini-taper days leading to Saturday's 5K. Just 4 easy miles with 3 x 1-minute at race pace. I'm feeling some anxiety -- a symptom of racing so infrequently. It's been more than a year since my last 5K. I'm 10 pounds heavier now, so that's certainly not helping.

Allen - Yes, I am still considering Saturday's hilly 5k. Have not decided. You are right about low-key races.

I think you will do fine Saturday. I have been very impressed by your training in the last 3-4 weeks. Go get 'em.

Coach Jeff - Why am I not out running?...because work gets in the way.

I'll chime in and add my two cents.

Watch - I use a Fenix 3 that I've had for a few years now and have absolutely zero complaints. I've heard people complain about the weight of the watch but it's really not noticeable at all after a day or two. Bonus in that it's nice enough looking that I can wear it for casual wear and not look like a triathlete.

Running routes - I run the same canal path for a lot of my runs, especially since I've been dealing with the foot issue. When the foot is healthy I'll take some of my easy runs off the canal and hit the trails through the mountain parks in the area. Usually after a few weeks of the same stuff, especially in the summer, I'll make the drive up to Flagstaff and trot along Lake Mary Rd or go run the trails up there. Canal runs are almost always out and backs but once in a while on long runs I can make a bigger loop to add some hill (or what constitutes hills around here) work. Unfortunately, there' s just not much option for staying off the concrete unless I do an out and back on the canal or hop onto the trails. And for anyone unfamiliar with Phoenix area trails, they are rocky and super technical. You're not getting any speed work in on these.

outsiderunner wrote:

I think you will do fine Saturday. I have been very impressed by your training in the last 3-4 weeks. Go get 'em.

Thanks. OR. I'm confident of breaking 20, but really need 19-flat to be on target for the August goal. My workouts don't indicate anywhere near that. Hoping for a heaping helping of race-day magic.

outsiderunner wrote:

Perhaps I should just stick with my FR 35?...or might the 235 be worth it?

I have the 230 which is a 235 without the HR (thus without VO2 and zone training) and I'm pretty satisfied with it! I don't know if you can add some watch faces to the FR35 but I discovered some in the garmin store for the 230 and they are nice!

Coach Jeff ROC wrote:

OK, today's question of the day:

Coach Jeff ROC ran a double today because:

A. He wanted to maximize mitochondrial genesis in slow twitch muscle fibers.

B. He's a Canova wannabe fixated on a special block.

C. He wants to sleep late tomorrow after drinking beer tonight.

You don't need a hint, do you?

Uhhh A or B for sure. Not C...

What is your strava CJ?

(Burp)

On strava, I'd be Coach Jeff ROC.

As for your answer to the question of the day...

(Burp)

More than 3 data fields may be something to look for next time around. The recovery stuff and vo2 max numbers are just noise to me.

Rupp's going back to Chicago this year. Going to be another AngryJohnny/Rupp showdown.

Coach Jeff ROC wrote:

(Burp)

On strava, I'd be Coach Jeff ROC.

As for your answer to the question of the day...

(Burp)

I thought it was a mix of A and C. Like, the mitochondria build-up will somehow improve beer consumption, right? It has to.

Just followed on Strava. My real life name is Brian.

Contributing to the census:

My current watch is an old Timex Ironman that I have to carry in my hand because the strap broke and I am too lazy/disorganized to do anything about it until I actually lose the darn thing. At which point I will probably just get a new battery put in the other old Ironman with a broken strap that I found under the seat in my car the other day...

Running routes: I've been doing most of my workouts on a 2k loop in a nearby park. (I don't normally use the metric system, but it just so happens that the loop is almost exactly 2k). It's convenient and pleasant and the park road is in good shape and doesn't have much traffic, so it works well for me. I'm also lucky enough to have some good trails to run nearby. Other than that it's mostly down the bike path and around town or up the bike path and along the river. Have plans to explore further afield when I get the chance.

When I was in college, we had a repertoire of regular routes that we did, mostly either six, eight, or ten miles (anything longer was generally a combo of the above). Occasionally people would try to come up with new ones, but mostly it was the old reliables season after season. After four years, we had probably done each of them a hundred times.

So, you can imagine how astounded we were when one of the guys managed to get lost doing "Pig Farm Eight" during the spring of our senior year. Brilliant dude - a physics/philosophy double major - but somewhat lacking in the navigation department.

Pig Farm Eight sounds like a Kurt Vonnegut novel.

going faster miles an hour wrote:

So, you can imagine how astounded we were when one of the guys managed to get lost doing "Pig Farm Eight" during the spring of our senior year. Brilliant dude - a physics/philosophy double major - but somewhat lacking in the navigation department.

That's hilarious. How far did he end up running that day?

Coach Jeff ROC wrote:

Pig Farm Eight sounds like a Kurt Vonnegut novel.

Speaking of which, I need to reread Fahrenheit 451 in anticipation of the upcoming HBO movie.

And Coach Jeff's other hobby reminded me of RRR's other hobby, which reminded me that I am going to build a cornhole set this weekend so that I can practice some and redeem myself against veggieboy at the post-party come Houston in January.

Coach Jeff ROC wrote:

Pig Farm Eight sounds like a Kurt Vonnegut novel.

Lol you're right. It's right next door to Slaughterhouse Five.