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

COACH. I don't know if you're racing Saturday or Sunday so just in case I want to say good luck now.

You are fit. You are peaking. You are ready to kill it.

Gordon Tremeshko wrote:

COACH. I don't know if you're racing Saturday or Sunday so just in case I want to say good luck now.

You are fit. You are peaking. You are ready to kill it.

+1. Good luck to the Houston crew as well.

DietBacon - It's basically every second Thursday (weeks without a major club XC/road event) from yesterday (which was the first one), 7pm by the entrance to the track at Battersea.

So yesterday was 10 x 1k @ 103% MP/930m at 95% MP recovery. Obviously every splits into different pace groups fairly quickly but the absolute slowest guys are running, 2:35 or so? Going all the way up to 2:18 or so.

Next big session will be on the 30th - 8 x 1km @ 95% MP, 1.8km @ MP. Get on the email group though, any of the Serpie guys should be able to invite you, because often there will be sessions during the off weeks too, if certain people aren't racing that weekend

I actually think I have your email so I'll send over the full schedule. But it is as simple as turning up. The track has a changing and lockers for like £3 entrance or so, and a bike rack outside.

Just saw on run ix’s Instagram that apparently Kipchoge’s appearance fee for London is 300k. Can’t really release how much mine was, but it was substantially less than that.

Ah cool! I’m gonna send the schedule to my coach and see what he thinks and if we can incorporate it into my training every once in a while at least.

I’m gonna ask one of the serpies to add me to the email group, thanks!

DietBacon wrote:

Just saw on run ix’s Instagram that apparently Kipchoge’s appearance fee for London is 300k. Can’t really release how much mine was, but it was substantially less than that.

Mine was closer to 250k than to 300k.

angryjohnny wrote:

Gordon Tremeshko wrote:

COACH. I don't know if you're racing Saturday or Sunday so just in case I want to say good luck now.

You are fit. You are peaking. You are ready to kill it.

+1. Good luck to the Houston crew as well.

Much appreciated, y'all.

My start time is Sunday 6am local, and that's Saturday 5pm on the east coast of North America. So take an extra sip of that Saturday evening beer for me. Nope, doesn't seem to be a tracking app available...

Today was the best marathoning weather we've had all season. Tomorrow looks to be the second best. I'm excited. I'm never excited before a race... just nervous. We'll see how it all shakes out soon enough.

Let's get it done, Houston crew!

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.

My PR is from Modesto marathon. I have run it a couple of times. It can get hot, so be aware of that. It is a great small race that is drivable from the Bay Area on race day morning. They have packet pickup on race day also. The only very short overpass is at around mile 4 and mile 24 (when coming back). You will probably lose like 5-10 seconds on each side. At 2:30 - 2:35 pace, you will be very lonely and be contending for a top-3 finish. Heck, even running 3:06, I was quite lonely in the second half of the race. You will also smell a lot of cows between miles 10 - 18 :).

Good luck coach and everyone running Houston!

DW - don’t be afraid to go out a little fast the first 5k. It’s downhill and usually downwind.

To me the toughest part of the course is that long gradual uphill from 8.5 to 9.5. Just keep grinding there and know that you’ll get a little downhill before turning for home.

Once you turn right for home it’s just a 3 mile tempo to the finish. Find a rabbit and hammer over the top of those rollers coming into downtown. When you get to the last long straightaway you’ll see the crosswalk/bridge at the far end. I like to tell myself that’s the finish line. It’s not, but it’s pretty close (maybe another .25 miles).

Good luck.

angryjohnny wrote:

DW - don’t be afraid to go out a little fast the first 5k. It’s downhill and usually downwind.

To me the toughest part of the course is that long gradual uphill from 8.5 to 9.5. Just keep grinding there and know that you’ll get a little downhill before turning for home.

Once you turn right for home it’s just a 3 mile tempo to the finish. Find a rabbit and hammer over the top of those rollers coming into downtown. When you get to the last long straightaway you’ll see the crosswalk/bridge at the far end. I like to tell myself that’s the finish line. It’s not, but it’s pretty close (maybe another .25 miles).

Good luck.

Thanks! I've run it before, but didn't catch that 8.5 to 9.5 was up (I just thought I was fading :) )

We're forecast to have a decent (12 mph+) wind from the NNE, which means a solid headwind for 8.5-11. So, I'll need to find some windblocks before turning north (and make sure that they're half-marathoners, not full)

And...Good luck Coach Jeff!

Thanks cocoon for the tips on Modesto! Heat could definitely throw me for a loop. Yeah I was thinking about the field as well... could be a good mental test of running alone :p. Still have a lot to think about!

Wishing all the racers this weekend good luck! Jeff you're up soon! CRUSH IT

jot quill wrote:

Wishing all the racers this weekend good luck! Jeff you're up soon! CRUSH IT

+!

Good luck Coach and Good luck Houston crew!

That's some course for the Standard Chartered Marathon. Three hairpin turns. It looks like you will spend a lot of time seeing the people in leading or the people following you in that race with all the two way traffic from the 12.5k mark till about 38k.

Very busy week. Sorry for the dearth of comments lately. But saw this and had to chime in. As it turns out, my high school cross country and track career began at Grace Davis High School in Modesto, CA.

I know the area well.

Like cocoon said, it can be hot that time of year, especially for a guy training through winter in NYC. I would think the course is mostly flat but I wouldn’t exactly describe it as scenic - unless you like a mix of suburban outskirts and farm orchards (and cow smells). Not saying don’t race it - just saying there may be better choices (with the NJ marathon probably being one of them).

Go Coach Jeff!

And good luck to ALL the Houston racers tomorrow!

The Stone Cutter wrote:

Very busy week. Sorry for the dearth of comments lately. But saw this and had to chime in. As it turns out, my high school cross country and track career began at Grace Davis High School in Modesto, CA.

I know the area well.

Like cocoon said, it can be hot that time of year, especially for a guy training through winter in NYC. I would think the course is mostly flat but I wouldn’t exactly describe it as scenic - unless you like a mix of suburban outskirts and farm orchards (and cow smells). Not saying don’t race it - just saying there may be better choices (with the NJ marathon probably being one of them).

Go Coach Jeff!

And good luck to ALL the Houston racers tomorrow!

Thanks for the info Stone! Ha that's true, coming off of the winters here it would be quite a difference... I guess I'll keep my eyes peeled on the weather leading up. As of now I do have my entry to NJ. It'll be good to have two choices to vary depending on how my fitness and schedule goes coming into Spring.

If the Houston racers have as much success in H town as RRR did this weekend. Then it’s gonna be a banner day!

Good luck all. If I see you out there expect a loud scream of “DBAP”

I'll try to hide the buzzkill here on the a$$ end of the old thread where this kind of sh!t belongs! ?

Everything was great. Weather was perfect. Pace was perfect. Felt just about exactly right. And then suddenly it wasn't.

Coming down a steep pedestrian ramp off of a bridge at 20+ km, there's a very sharp180-degree turnaround to the left (my bad knee to the outside of the turn). That one weird step and the knee was "wrong" again." But not debilitating. At almost exactly the HM mark, it felt like a nerve suddenly pinched and shot a burning sensation down my leg and into my foot. WTF. But it was just pain, and not affecting my ability to run. It passed. Then somewhere between 22km and 23km, the knee just folded on one step--decided not to hold my weight-- almost sending me to the ground. I caught myself, but the knee started swelling up and tightening after that. And it was over.

I probably should not have hobble-jogged to the 30k bridge crossing to cut to the finish, but I kinda felt like punishing myself. I felt bad. Really really bad. It was "not my fault," but was it? Wasn't it? Everything flying through my brain...so much training... and then the scary "What if I can't get this knee thing straightened out" thought popped into my head... Damn, that really started an emotional spiral... I was looking forward to a "break" after this race, and now even that seems spoiled... I promise I won't stay here for long, but, right now, I'm not in a good place.

I'm not actually feeling this despondent, but this is a good line and I can't waste it:

"In lieu of flowers, please commemorate the life of my running career with a donation to your favorite local physical therapist."

Yeah yeah yeah I know. I'll be OK.