Road Racing and Training Thread - Week Ending 1/12/20

It’s honestly the only thing I have used. I also have one in my basement. I find that I am able to get my heart rate up and sweat pretty effectively. It also seems to really work my hamstrings and glutes, presumably because I have to crank up the resistance to get my cadence to a place that won’t explode the machine. Coming off of it I feel like a baby giraffe stumbling around... just uncoordinated... so would love to find something more biomechanically similar.

I’ve not read the third edition, but I agree with you that those workouts at 5k pace are a better fit for me than trying to do it somewhere around 2 mile pace.

Interestingly, for people in that 15-17 minute 5k range, when you plug in your time to his BDOT calculator, it spits out paces that are pretty close to your 5k pace.

So I’d stick with his more classical 5k paces approach.

mike mike, the work I will be doing will generally be the same in that it will be the acquisition of complicated pieces of real estate, but I will be working directly for a large resort company rather than at a private firm, and I’ll go from doing senior housing and medical office building purchases (which has my primary focus the last few years after doing hotel deals and then ski resort deals at earlier points in my career) to resort/hotel properties.

jot quill wrote:

Guy Broman wrote:

...once again, that is. Same thing happened last year. Easy winter miles causing me to drop a few pounds after comprable fall totals did not. Odd.

JQ: Pending the appearance of this post, it looks like bold will show up if applied right before posting. If I format something bold and then type more, it un-bolds.

Huh I guess that's the case... great find!

I have also found typing the code manually (instead of using the buttons) doesn't disappear.

Male, 30, 6’01”, 185.8 lbs

PRs: 18:32 (2019 - fall) 1:33:40 (2019 - spring)

Goal race: Carlsbad 5000

M - 6.9 miles

T - 8.7 miles (total)

Warmup: 2 miles

Workout:

7x400m (79, 80, 80, 80, 80, 80, 79) 400m jogging rest

3200m (12:44)

Cooldown: 1.6 miles

W - 7.1 (am), 3.1 (pm)

Th - 7 (am), 2.4(pm)

F - 8.5 miles (total)

Warmup: 2 miles

Workout:

7x1200m (4:37, 4:35, 4:37, 4:37, 4:34, 4:34, 4:34) 60s standing rest.

Cooldown: 1 miles

Sa - 7 miles

Su - 13 miles (hilly, but easy pace)

Happy with the week. I probably went a little hard on the 1200s. 4:39 - 4:45 (about 10k pace) was the plan, but I felt good and was feeling recovered between reps.

Weekly Total: 63.7 miles

Bruin: take your easy runs at whatever pace feels easy! That depends on any number of things, e.g. mileage, workouts, natural tendencies, etc... Also, I run higher volume at slower paces than anybody else I know who is at around my level (just personal preference - I don't have a fiber of fast-twitch muscle in me so far as I know...), so probably best not to use my training as too serious a reference. Anyhow, as long as what you're doing feels good and doesn't impact your workouts too much, then you are probably just fine!

The Zero Runner is the closest thing I’ve found to low impact running that I’ve used. It definitely takes a few times on it until it feels more normal. Better than the elliptical because it allows free range of movement for the legs. I just try to get my cadence right and then adjust the difficulty so that I’m going about the right pace. I also only use it for easy stuff to add some more ‘miles’ in. It would be too hard to do harder work on smoothly.

Oh @bruin it’s tempting. Of course it was 66 yesterday unbelievably. Ive been much better about running if it’s 35 or up this winter so far. To the point where I was hurting due to the heat yesterday.

Thx AJ and mikemike for great advice. I’m going to start with a tempo as you guys have prescribed. Either something like 2x2 miles or 20 min continuous. (Two loops of reservoir should work). Tomorrow looks like as good as day as any with 45 degree temps. I’ve always sucked at tempo runs (I think I ran them too hard of psyched myself out so I will ease into them).

I posted this in another thread about the performance of Lawi Lalang at the race Saturday, but I wanted to share it here as it’s a great tale of running grit and determination.

Let me offer a different perspective on what was surely a disappointment for Lalang and Bor.

I’m 40 years old. Before Saturday I’d never run on an indoor track or competed in any official track race. I entered the UAB invitational with the hopes of breaking my unofficial PR in an official setting while not getting lapped by the college kids.

I warmed up with my buddies in the parking lot. We saw the Army studs - Lalang, Bor, and Rotich - doing their warm-up. I jokingly wished them luck, as if they would need it. They were gracious and wished me luck as well. When my buddies finished their warm-up, I caught up with some runners from Southern Indiana University who had been running just ahead of us.

One of my favorite things about running is the camaraderie that exists among fellow runners. Whether it’s a major marathon, a local 5k, or even just a training run, I can always find a kindred spirit. When I approached the Southern Indiana kids, I asked them if they were in the slow heat with me. I was hoping they would say yes and were shooting for a similar time so that I’d have someone to share the embarrassment of getting smoked. Unfortunately for me they said no, pointed to the Army guys, and said they had the pleasure of getting drilled by those studs in the fast heat.

One of the kids, who I later learned was Titus Wanders, said he just hoped to be able to see the Army guys finish. Even if he had to look across the track, if he could just see them finish then his day would be complete. I laughed and told him if I were in that heat my goal would be to only get lapped once. We chatted some more as we finished our warmup. I learned he’d been to Birmingham to race before, that his team arrived late the night before because their bus driver got lost, that after the meet they had to sit around for hours before driving home 6 hours into the wee hours of the morning, and that after all that he had a 2 hour drive home. A lot of effort I thought for roughly 4 minutes of running. Little did I know it would all be worth it for Young Titus. After finishing our warmup we wished each other good luck in typical runner fashion.

The women’s heats went first, followed by the fast men’s heat headlined by the Army guys. I got a spot trackside by the finish line. I didn’t want to miss this. As expected, Lalang, Bor, and Rotich go straight to the front, clicking off 30 second laps like it was nothing. Watching a Kenyan in full flight is truly a thing of beauty and these guys were no exception. They ran stride for stride in a single file line, taking turns in the lead like a well-oiled machine. By the 800m marked they had what appeared to be an insurmountable gap over the rest of the field and we’re cruising towards a 1-2-3 finish around the 4:00 mark.

Then something weird happened. From the chase pack emerged a sole runner. He had not the smooth stride and compact arm carriage of the leaders but appeared to be laboring with every stride. His arms lurched forward in a motion that did not seem sustainable. Who is this guy? Is he crazy? Turns out it was Titus Wanders and he was not crazy. He was going for it.

At first the crowd took notice, but beyond a few teammates, there was not much commotion. As the laps go by it’s clear that Titus is closing the gap. With 2 laps to go he’s within striking distance. The cheers are getting louder. The Kenyans appear to be slowing. Titus Wanders labors on.

As they reach the bell lap, Titus finally reaches the Kenyans. He’s done it. He closed an impossible gap. But Young Titus does not hesitate for a second. He goes straight around them and takes the lead heading into the first turn of the last lap. The Kenyans never saw him coming. Titus carries the lead down the back stretch. The crowd is in full frenzy. I can hardly contain myself.

As they enter the home stretch, one of the Kenyans - Rotich - is able to nose back into the lead. They battle all the way to the line, with Rotich outleaning young Titus by two-tenths of a second. But Titus claims a couple big scalps in Lalang and Bor, who congratulate him as he grabs his knees and gasps for air. When he stands, his face tells a story of disbelief and exhilaration. His fellow competitors, including yours truly, rush to give him high fives. The crowd - mostly runners with similar dreams of glory - cheers in worthy admiration of his gritty effort.

So here’s to you Titus Wanders. You may not have gotten to see all the Army guys finish, but that’s because two of them were behind you. Well done my friend. Keep up the good work.

I've seen Titus race a few times and that guy is a ballsy stud.

AJ - Congrats on the solid mile race and PR.

OR - Take care of the hammy. Given your description you could also have ischial bursitis. It is a bit of a pain in the @ss. I that for about 18 months and I don't recall when or why it finally went away. Hard to say if that part of your problem though.

Smoove - I can totally identify with the stress that can come with deciding to change jobs. I made a change in careers about 20 years ago with an eye on a better future career path. My current employer at the time countered with a 17% pay increase which the new job was not going to match. I left money on the table to pursue a new career which I really think paid off in the long term. It was definitely a tough choice to make, especially considering the counter offer. It can be tough to start over, but the long term payoff can certainly be worth it.

LancRunner - Good job getting in the mileage with the coast to coast travel.

Guy Broman - I agree, you really want to get in some longer long runs in before your goal HM.

GT - Hopefully mother nature will be kind and make it easier to keep the mileage up. I'm probably preaching to the choir, but safety before mileage.

Coach Jeff - Enjoy the taper and Good luck with the upcoming race. Looks like you are ready for it.

Jot Quill - Yeah, anything you do on the keyboard clears the bold markup, including just using the arrow keys. Annoying.

Signed up for Chicago today! Hope some of you will be there :)

I plan to run Chicago. It will be my first flat marathon so I a bit excited about that, but not excited about training hard in the summer heat leading up to the race. I think there are at least two others planning to be there, but I don't recall who off the top of my head.

DietBacon wrote:

Signed up for Chicago today! Hope some of you will be there :)

You will see RRR .... as will a lot of people as my list of races (for the expos for work) is the whos who

Houston, Gasparilla, Gate River, Monument ave, Cherry Blossom... boston..bloomsday..bay to breakers ..bolder boulder ... grandmas ..chicago..NYC etc etc... also Peachtree..

So hope to see some of you fools

statfanatic wrote:

I've seen Titus race a few times and that guy is a ballsy stud.

Ballsy stud is an apt description

Nice workaround for the bolding Coach Jeff thanks!!

And @Bruin, thanks for the info, good to hear confirmation that it's fast and flat. A race to consider for sure!

jot quill wrote:

Great weeks everyone!

Any folks have thoughts on the Modesto marathon?

I'm thinking about the possibility of running that as my Spring marathon as opposed to NJ. A close family member happens to be running it as well so that's one extra incentive. It does seem advertised as flat a fast. Depending on how the next few months go, I figure I'll be aiming for anything around 2:30-2:35.

I actually looked at the Modesto Marathon when I was deciding about whether or not to switch from Boston. It does promise to be relatively flat with an overpass or two to go over. Nothing else too serious about it. Might get kind of boring and with it being an out and back, I wonder if it would be crowded at all. Just my two cents.

@Bruin1996 - I would like to see something sub-2:30 on the clock when I cross the finish line in Boston, but I have a lot of work to get done between now and then.

angryjohnny wrote:

So here’s to you Titus Wanders. You may not have gotten to see all the Army guys finish, but that’s because two of them were behind you. Well done my friend. Keep up the good work.

This was AWESOME. Fantastic story in the true spirit of this thread.

AJ, awesome story.

My favorite indoor story in college was probably when we ran at George Mason my Junior Year. There's a bit of a murmur ahead of the 800 and who rolls up in heat 1 but one Alan Webb (notable tat and all). This is in 2009. My teammate a 1:55 type starts right next to him and actually gets a step on him with a great start in the first 20 meters, but quite courteously does not cut in past him and instead lets him power a 1:52 on a flat track or so. Webb was minding his own business afterwards, but I recall him chatting with people who approached and signing some autographs before getting back to it. He also ran the mile, I was the second heat and ran 4:32. He ran 4:04 so I would not have gotten lapped!