Screw It. Going for Sub-4

RunningChef wrote:

Training Week 5/6-5/11

M: 7.5 easy

T: 6.5 am; 3.5 pm

W: 3.5

Th: 6.1 am; 9 pm

F: 6.1 easy w/ 9 strides

S: Rest

Su: Rest

Kept it easy to make sure I’m fully recovered, especially since I worked a ton over the weekend. Looking to get back into 5k stuff this week!

When and where do you plan on racing? The season is well underway

I will get some push back here from some but any fast miler I have ever trained got in shape by running their regular runs at fairly good pace. They did not jog around much and take two days in a row off.

This is not happening unless you game up. Get fit first and then start training.

Definitely a worthy goal but it’ll be very hard indeed as every second closer to going sub 4:00 becomes much harder.

How are you eating? Are you trying to get your weight down?

+ 1 I`m with you hear Otter. It`s better to do the regular runs at individual fairly good pace that still is aerobic and gives best aerob effect. The best 1500 runner I coached ( 3.39 PB ) ran most of his regular runs at 6 min mile pace.

I'll start the thread in September and update it with a weekly training log.

Take a lesson from a tough mzungu.

40 x 400 in 62.

Every day.

Do this in KS in winter to ensure full focus and commitment.

Then:

~3.24

I’m aware that even 4:03 is damn near an eternity from sub-4, but I’m still going to try.

Look, the way I see it is this: I LOVE middle distance. Missing out on the college experience was hard, and pissing away my time at a tech school didn’t help either. I spent a lot of years post-dropping out of school, doing road 5ks and HMs until I stumbled upon a way to run open track meets in 2013 (Thursday Night @ The Races at the Armory). Later that year, I ran the 5th Ave Mile in NYC and was absolutely hooked, especially after watching some very exciting races and meeting some elites. To me, 5th Ave is the “USA Championships” of Mile races, with the Armory being “World’s/Olympics” regardless of how others treat it. Sure, I could run 80-100 mpw and go for a BQ, USAHM, or OTQ but it doesn’t appeal to me the way the 800/mile does. I’m aware of how difficult and impossible this seems, and that’s okay.

To put it more bluntly, I’ve mostly been a f*c!up since college and can’t seem to dedicate myself to anything other than work and running. So I’m going to lace TF up and see what these 31 year old legs have left. Enjoy the sh!tshow, y’all :)

Your motivation is to be admired!

I’m asking about your nutrition as I have seen that most chefs, although able to produce mouth watering meals, are mostly in terrible shape due to eating crap.

What are you eating? Do you have a goal weight? What % body fat are you currently?

Of course haha. I weigh about 148, but it fluctuates a bit. And yeah, I have phases where I tend to eat like absolute crap. As far as body fat, I’m not sure, but I’m very skinny and toned. I am open to suggestions though!

Breakfast is usually eggs with some veggies (kale, peppers, etc) and soy chorizo with some kind of pancake/crepe/French toast.

Pretty much everything after that is up in the air. It can be anything from large portions of pasta to multiple (yes, multiple) pizzas. I guess I haven’t paid much attention to eating better. Time to get back on the health wagon. Thanks for the reminder!

Have you raced at all yet?

Just seems like you like talking about it....but haven't done anything at all to move toward doing it.

Training Week 5/13-5/19

M: 2 miles easy

T: am 3.4, pm 9.2

W: 4x800 @ 5k effort w/ 400m jog (2:31, 2:30, 2:28, 2:28)

Th: 6.1 easy

F: 3.4 easy

Sa: rest (13 hour shift)

Su: 12.1 @ 6:35

Total: 45

The last couple of weeks have been a bit challenging due to personal issues, but I'm feeling recharged and ready to up the intensity in the coming weeks. I'll be shooting for a couple of 5ks in the next month+ before I begin more mile-specific training.

I am older than you with a similar story. Also intent on training for the mile with big goals. Just chiming in to say you're not alone, not crazy. I dont think age will be that much of an issue. There are just very few people who give a proper effort at 30+ who didnt already do so when they were younger. But I'm confident that someone 30+ with the genetic potential and the right training and lifestyle can make the same improvements that college kids do and get in that low 4 or sub 4 neighborhood.

Training Week 5/20-5/26

M: am 4, pm 8.76 mi hilly fartlek + 6 accelerations

T: 3.6 easy

W: am 7.3 easy; pm 5k progression (5:45, 5:33, 5:29) + 4 accelerations

Th: 3.4 easy

F: 13.2 easy

Sa: Rest (17.5 hour shift)

Su: 6.5 mi progression starting at 7:18, cutting down to 5:39

55 miles total. Felt pretty good most of the week. Definitely itching to do some faster stuff, but I need to build a bit more in the mileage department. Strides and short sprints will have to do for now. Stress levels have been much lower than the last couple of weeks. Ready for another increase next week.

*Update*

I'm sure it's no surprise that I've decided to walk it back. Life has been incredibly hectic as I've been dealing with a lot of personal, health, and family issues, making it very difficult to maintain sanity, let alone training. Sure, even with a perfect schedule and circumstances, it would be damn near impossible. Things will slowly get better though, and shooting for sub-4:10 seems a bit more doable. I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel silly with all the hyping in previous posts, but oh well. Life comes at ya fast. Hopefully I can run at the same speed soon ;-)

Week of 6/24-6/30

M: Rest

T: am 3.5 easy; pm 10x400 cutdown from 3k-mile effort w/ 200m jog

W: 6.6 easy

Th: 10.2 @ 6:40 w/ 6 strides

F: 8.2 easy (12 hour shift)

Sa: Rest (14 hour shift)

Su: 4:57 mile, 3 min jog, 4x400 @ 2k effort w/ 200 jog, 2x200 @ 800 effort

Week of 7/1-7/6

M: Rest

T: 7.2 Easy

W: 5 easy w/ 6 strides

Th: Road 5k (15:49, 4th OA) rolling hills, very hot and humid

F: 8.3 easy

Sa: 4 easy

Su: 11 mi progression starting at 7 min, cutting down to 5:35 + 5 strides

Total: 45 miles

Pretty solid week, with the 5k being the highlight. Will be starting mile paced stuff next week, so times should drop considerably.

At this rate, you'll be lucky to break 4:20, much less 4:10. Too much talk, too little action.

I appreciate the doubt :-)

I worked harder in HS, and didn't run under 4:10. But, go for it.