Train Me

This week:

Sunday: 5 miles

Monday: 3 miles

Tuesday: 2 miles

Wednesday: 1.5 miles

Thursday-sick

Friday-sick

Saturday-about a mile or so running the middle of the course lol

The girls ran a 3 mile relay (1.5 miles per runner):

17 yo: 8:40

15 yo: 9:08

AJ:9:22

14 yo: 9:28

AR:9:42

JP:9:59

NU:10:07

KG:10:16

KG:10:25

KR:10:27

RQ:10:47

10 yo:10:50

AR:11:19

These other girls are the high school team, I just threw my 10 yo's time in the middle.

UPDATED PRs:

17 yo:

10k-46:47

5k-21:28

3200-11:55

3000-11:23

2400 XC-8:40

1600-5:26.00 (77/81/85/83)

800-2:30.46 (73/77)

400-66?

15 yo:

2k steeple-9:27

10k-51:12

5k-23:58

3200:13:14 (93/96/95/99/101/108/106/97)

3000:12:52

2400 XC-9:08

1600-6:04

800-2:44?

400-69/70?

14 yo:

10k-58:??

5k-25:41

3200-13:45

3000-12:53

2400 XC-9:28

1600-6:03

1500-6:01

800-2:43

400-69/70?

10 yo:

10k-1:01:51

5k-26:17

2 mile-15:12?

2400- (time trial) 11:16

2400 XC-10:40

1600-6:34.32 (92/102/102/98)

1500-6:44

1500RW: 10:33

800-3:02

400-86

Me

10k-53:45

5k-25:16

2 mile-15:24?

1 mile-7:00

400-87

Sept. 1-7

Tues-5 miles

Wed-5 miles

Thurs-5 miles

Fri- 5 miles

Sat- 3 miles running the center of a cross country course

I'm still sick. Runny nose, sore throat, slight fever, general malaise. Except now everyone except the 17 yo has it too. My little didn't run because of it, the teenagers had no choice.

Side note for myself: AJ and NU are also sick. Temperature-85+ degrees and very sunny.

1st-17 yo-12:46

2nd-15 yo-13:26

3rd- AR-13:27

7th-AJ-13:53

8th-14 yo-14:03

14th-JP-14:18

22nd-KG-14:59

23rd-KG-15:07

26th-NU-15:10

30th-KR-15:15

JV Race-

6th-RQ-15:56

8th-AR-16:03

Week of Sept 8-14

Sunday-rest

Monday-5 miles @ 5 mph

Tuesday-5 miles @ 5 mph

Wednesday-5 miles @ 5 mph

Thursday-5 miles @ 5 mph

Friday-5 miles @ 5 mph

Saturday-3 miles running the center of xc courses + jog HS course 2 miles @ 9:16 pace (this was actually pretty hard because of the softness of the ground and the fact I'd been sprinting around the course for a few hours)

so 30 miles this week. Now that I finally got my mileage back up I'm starting back on my plan. So far I haven't lost any weight, but i haven't gained any either. Sort of at a hard stall I guess.

Kiddos:

71F, 90% humidity. The course wasn't as muddy as previous years but the entire course was SOFT. They bulldozed the entire course to smooth it out and then replanted over the last few weeks so it was almost like running in sand. On top of that it was caking onto everyone's shoes for this reason.

1st place-17 yo- 13:06 (-3 from last year)

4th place-15 yo- 13:34 (-46)

12th-AJ-14:03 (+45)

13th-AR-14:14 (+23)

18th-KG-14:36 (+26)

24th-JP-14:40 (+19)

28th-14 yo-14:51 (+49)

44th-KG-15:13 (+90)

48th-NU-15:18 (+67)

47th JH race-10 yo-15:30

84th-RQ-16:07 (+71)

101st-AR-16:26 (+52)

So this race was a hot mess. The cart misdirected the JH race and a lot of the tail end of the runners ended up cutting off a about a quarter of a mile because of it (not my kiddo though). She probably would have been in the 30s for place if those other kids hadn't cut the course to get back in front of her. Then the computer timing system crashed and JH got no official times or places. I only know my kids time and place because I was recording and had timed her myself.

My 15 yo clearly is determined to make the team this year. Can't say as much for the 14 yo. Something about freshman year is rough on my kiddos. I think it's all the extra miles as compared to JH. (8 mpw vs 20ish plus 5 am workouts). Plus a ton more homework/studying, and other extra curricular activities.

My plan this week is

Sunday-long run (20% of 35 mpw)-done 7 @ 5 mph

Monday-5 miles @ 5.5 mph

Tuesday-5 miles @ 5.5 mph

Wednesday-12x400 @ 100 seconds plus 1 mile wu/cd-5 miles

Thursday-5 miles @ 5.5 mph

Friday-5 miles @ 5.5 mph

Saturday- jog 2 mile course plus whatever I do around the course

My plan is to get 2 weeks done like this then add swimming on Mondays.

SlowAFRunnrMom wrote:

My plan this week is

Sunday-long run (20% of 35 mpw)-done 7 @ 5 mph

Monday-5 miles @ 5.5 mph

Tuesday-5 miles @ 5.5 mph

Wednesday-12x400 @ 100 seconds plus 1 mile wu/cd-5 miles

Thursday-5 miles @ 5.5 mph

Friday-5 miles @ 5.5 mph

Saturday- jog 2 mile course plus whatever I do around the course

My plan is to get 2 weeks done like this then add swimming on Mondays.

If your mile PR is 7:00, 1:40 seems way too fast for 400m repeats.

mom coach wrote:

If your mile PR is 7:00, 1:40 seems way too fast for 400m repeats.

Isn't 7:00/4=1:45? In my mind it was just slightly faster... Or do you mean because I'm doing 12 of them that I should run them slower?

10x400 at mile pace with 1-2 min recovery is standard. If you can do 12 in 1:40, especially without strain, then you are probably in better than 7:00 shape. Of course this assumes the rest of your training is well-balanced.

Also, this session is preparatory to racing the mile; don't do for long-term, i.e. more than an eight-week window.

SlowAFRunnrMom wrote:

mom coach wrote:

If your mile PR is 7:00, 1:40 seems way too fast for 400m repeats.

Isn't 7:00/4=1:45? In my mind it was just slightly faster... Or do you mean because I'm doing 12 of them that I should run them slower?

You didn't say how much recovery, but 8-10 x 400 with 400 jog is a solid workout. You might rry it at 1:45 average before getting more ambitious.

SlowAFRunnrMom wrote:

Isn't 7:00/4=1:45? In my mind it was just slightly faster.

Good session. Well done.

The reason I planned 12 even though my ultimate goal is a a faster mile is because my next few months of races are almost all a 5k or longer. I guess I figured my mile time might naturally come down as I train for the longer distance.

Week of Sept 15-21

Sunday-8 miles @ 5 mph

Monday-5 miles @ 5.5 mph

Tuesday-walked 3.4 with the neighbor

Wednesday- 3x400 @ 9 mph - 1 mile warmup

Thursday-rest

Friday-rest

Saturday-4 miles of running around xc courses

My week was unbelievably hectic and everything kept interrupting my schedule. Hopefully this week will be better.

Still no weight change.

Kids:

XC Meet- upper 60s to lower 70s. Sunny and a decent wind as well. This course measured a little short for the kid's watches (1.96 miles) so times were pretty fast. Although, there were almost 300 runners in the varsity race and 500 in the JH race. Since my kids tend to start off slower and build/pace this was a pretty rough course. There were some very narrow spots where they were almost walking behind other runners that were piled up on each other. Kids were getting shoved down (my littlest) but plenty of others too. You would think they'd do a 8th/7th split or A/B race for schools so the races weren't so full. The JH kids were all pretty upset as they didn't tell them times or places after 20. You'd think they could just give them bibs with chips and let them get an official time? It would be very difficult if you were hand timing but chip timing should be rather simple I'd think.

1st-17 yo- 12:07

6th-15 yo-12:32 (she got shoved into a tree!)

9th-AJ- 12:43

12th-AR - 12:47

27th-14 yo-13:13

40th-JP - 13:40

65th-NU - 14:08 (she's been sick and is finally on the mend)

81st-KG - 14:16

108th-RQ -14:35

112th-KG -14:38(this one got shoved down in the mud)

14th JV-AR-15:02

171st(ish)JH-10 yo-15:55 (she got pushed into the mud too)

Varsity girls placed first as a team again.

I am starting over again this week trying to get 2 weeks in of good work before adding anything else.

Week of Sep 22-28

Monday- 5 miles @ 11:00 pace

Tuesday-5 miles @ 11:00 pace

Wednesday- 1 mile warmup then 2x800 @ 110 seconds

Thursday-rest

Friday-4.86 miles @ 10:00

Saturday- approximately 3 miles around the xc course with lots of hill sprints

Still trying to get the scale to move. No gain/no loss.

Kids:

Regional preview race. Varsity girls won with 45 pts. 2nd place was 104.

17 yo: 12:32 (2nd place) last year's state champ beat her by 22 seconds!

AJ-13:07 (6th)

AR-13:11(9th)

15 yo-13:18 (10th)

14 yo-13:38 (18th)

JP-14:02

NU-14:05

KG-14:39

RQ-15:39

AR-15:58

KG-17:10

For my notes. It rained all night. The grass was very wet and there were very muddy areas. Rained again right before the varsity race. The course was slightly changed to make it longer. The average time back for every runner from last year was 30-40 seconds.

Starting to worry the 17 yo peaked too early. She's still running extra though so maybe she'll have a breakout race once she drops those miles.

Also, this upcoming race on Saturday will decide who runs varsity at district. It's our last practice meet.

Then:

Oct 14-district

Oct 28-regionals

Nov 9-state

Week of Sep 29-Oct 5

Sunday-8 miles @ 12:00

Monday-3.5 @ 10:30

Tuesday-Started to run and hurt my knee when I misstepped.

Saturday-2.5 around the xc course. Knee very tender

I at least finally lost 1 of those lbs I gained over the summer ffs

Kids: home course. Was supposed to be nice weather but ended up being pretty hot (80) and full sun. Plus it had rained the night before so the course was wet. The course measured 2.15 for my daughters watch.

17 yo-1st 13:11 (previous 13:15)

AR-4th 13:59

15 yo-7th 14:21(14:26)

AJ-9th 14:27

14 yo-12th 14:42 (14:57)

KG-14th 14:45

JP-15th 14:48

NU-17th 14:58

RQ-46th 16:06

KG-59th 16:31

AR-64th 16:37

Both our guys and girls got 1st as teams.

All that's left is district, regional, state if they advance to each.

The 10 yo and I are running a 5k Saturday. I dont have a good feeling about my time. But the weather looks to be better and I'm hoping it helps me to find some dang motivation.

I guess the biggest things I'm seeing are the the volume is really low, and I don't see much consistency or intent behind the intervals you're doing. Looks like you're racing fairly often, which decreases the need for them, but they seem a little random and I can't tell exactly what you're looking for out of them.

Your easy runs seem to be genuinely easy for the most part, which I really like. The two things above are probably the big areas with obvious room to grow. Is it reasonable for you to run between 7-10 hours per week? That's an ideal range to start getting really fit.

I wouldn't stress about the weight IF your consistently eating well. It will come off. I will often stay the same weight for 2-3 weeks, and then suddenly wake up 2-4lbs lighter.

Have you gotten the kiddo to learn how to back off for recovery and easy runs? That's huge.

Yes, I've been really struggling to find motivation and energy. My children have joined some extra stuff and it feels like I have to choose between sleep and running every free minute.

I'm really making a push mentally to be consistent this week. Hoping if I just fake it til I make it that the drive will come back.

The weight thing is only bugging me because I gained over the summer. Probably part of what is making me feel unmotivated as well.

The kiddo had no choice but to back off. Now that we are back home her team only does 22 mpw. She has been doing a long run on Sundays with her sisters of 8 miles. So 30 total. And there's no one here to push her at all. In mile repeats she did 5:54, 5:56. The next closest person was her sister at 6:06/6:15. She just really wanted to take advantage of running with faster girls this summer.

While I'm on the topic. The coach dropped the easy 2.5 they do on wednesday. And she won't get to do her long run on Sunday because district is Monday. I'm not convinced district matters. The team will win it no matter what. Is 1 month out from state the right time to drop down to 20 mpw? (The 2.5 easy plus the 8 long run) She cant ask her coach because she's not even supposed to be doing that long run.

Ps. I'm taking her to a big xc 5k Nov 23rd after the season is over. She really wants to perform well there so she'll have a 5k time that's worth reporting to colleges. That's another reason she was worried about dropping mileage so early.

One month is a little soon to slash mileage by 30%...but it sounds like she is doing an awful lot of intensity as a percentage of her weekly mileage.

If she's holding up from an injury perspective it's not the end of the world...just less efficient way to improve.

Not now, but for future she should look towards a little more mileage. Just easy stuff at like 9' pace is good. Move towards 50-60mpw over winter, then drop towards 40-45 during track as the hard work and racing gets added. She'd have a big track season like that.

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Feel ya on the weight thing. That can de motivate me quick to. I find just getting on the horse and getting a week of consistency with training + eating well usually brings my head back into the game.

What all would you consider to be intensity?

Sunday-long

Monday-AM either 3.3 or 4.5 for time

PM 2 easy

Tuesday-AM intervals + .5 warmup

PM 2 easy

Wednesday-AM 30 minutes super slow and easy

PM 2 easy

Thursday-AM 2 miles of intervals + .5 warmup OR 2.5 miles of tempo

Friday-swim

Saturday-race + .5 warmup