Forums >Racing>2024 Advanced Training and Racing Thread (still competitive jerks)
RIP Milkman
I was shocked by the reports earlier in the day of it being a "great" weather day. I'm someone who thinks people complain way too much about weather, but 60 and sunny in April with zero heat acclimation is not great weather. It's not even good weather. Boston has had 2 good weather days in the last decade and that's it.
Fishy - you've earned your competitive jerk label with your performance in marathons. Continue to be impressed with how well you do!
DW - good work and the trophy proves it. Really hope I get to see you running this year at NYC.
5K: 16:37 (11/20) | 10K: 34:49 (10/19) | HM: 1:14:57 (5/22) | FM: 2:36:31 (12/19)
Are we there, yet?
DW - congrats on the win and the great photo.
fishy - saw the slowdown on the hills, then noticed the temperature climbing. That's still a good effort for the conditions. And the media announcers still don't seem to know what ideal marathon weather is.
RP - hope you've got something lined up after turning in your notice
Dorothea - The library had Goucher's and Désir's books on the shelf, so I checked them out. I've finished The Longest Race and agree it was very disturbing, and included some aspects that I hadn't known before. Had to take a break and read something light before I get into Running While Black.
flavio - I'm not a bad downhill runner on the roads, but trails are a whole different setting, especially if the trail is very rocky or has a lot of sharp turns. I can remember literally bouncing off trees to slow myself and make a turn.
Mark - after your HM and Boston yesterday, I'm beginning to dread what weather I might face on my next race on May 11. Seems like you were able to make the best of it even if the time wasn't as fast as you hoped.
Summary of the last few weeks:
I've been struggling with recovery and back to about 20-22 mpw, mostly due to my impatience. Just when I think I'm ready to return to normal training, I put in a really hard day and it sets me back again. Stupid beginner mistake. Finally back to 30 mpw just as warm weather sets in. Definitely need some heat acclimation. My next race has a history of either a monsoon or brutal heat and sun. This year I expect heat.
2024 Races:
03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles
05/11 - D3 50K 05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour
06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.
I was shocked by the reports earlier in the day of it being a "great" weather day. I'm someone who thinks people complain way too much about weather, but 60 and sunny in April with zero heat acclimation is not great weather. It's not even good weather. Boston has had 2 good weather days in the last decade and that's it. Fishy - you've earned your competitive jerk label with your performance in marathons. Continue to be impressed with how well you do! DW - good work and the trophy proves it. Really hope I get to see you running this year at NYC.
Hi Jmac great to hear from you! There's no doubt about the competitive part and the other depends on who you ask I was in your neck of the woods for the big east tournament last month and ran the central park loop. It is a really nice run once you get to the park running there and back with all the cross streets and pedestrians it tough however. I still like my Charles river runs better but I could handle NYC if forced
WC- you are spot on with the announcers! I can't tell you how many times I heard "a perfect day for a Marathon." Even the tailwind wasn't great. I preferred when the wind shifted and I was at least able to get some cooling from the breeze. I think that everyone has different heat tolerances (and cold). For the majority of runners yesterday was not even close to ideal. A lot of it has to do with age, body type and acclimation. DKT would have absolutely crushed it out there having trained in the FL heat all winter. I felt MUCH better 2 years ago in Philly with a 20 degree starting temp and winds gusting to 30MPH while others would have been sunk.....
Question for the group...Would the winning time have been better with cooler temps? 2:06 is solid but would it have been 2:02 on a "perfect day?"
5K 18:36 (2023), 10K 39:40 (2022), 1/2 1:24:37 (2023), full 2:58:36 (2015)
Hard it imagine it wouldn't be faster. I had to look up the CR, it was Geoffrey Mutai with 2:03 way back in 2011. Times overall have dropped so much since then that 2:02 seems reasonable. But I don't know much about the runners who actually showed up and what they're capable of.
Dave
Cobra Commander Keen
DWave, Fishy, Hash - Well done on a less-than-ideal weather day in Botswana.
Steve - Nice week there, I'm looking forward to seeing your race result.
Flavio - Trails will certainly point out all the weakness in supporting muscles, won't they?200m intervals? What?? It takes me 200m just to get up to interval pace!
Dave - Altitude will certainly take it out of you, won't it? I dealt with that for a bit last year thanks to a work trip, too.
Still nothing worth posting last week. I'm looking forward to trying out some super light racing flats (Saucony Sinister) during a workout tomorrow. What I'm not looking forward to is adjusting my running schedule around DD1s soccer tournament this weekend. With her team playing the earliest games there are, I'll have to finish my LR this weekend before 6am.
5k: 17:58 11/22 │ 10k: 37:55 9/21 │ HM: 1:23:22 4/22 │ M: 2:56:05 12/22
Upcoming Races:
OKC Memorial 5k - April 27
Bun Run 5k - May 4
Beijing Half Marathon finish was kinda amusing: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2024/apr/16/beijing-half-marathon-controversy-investigation-china-he-jie-allowed-to-win
3,000m: 9:07.7 (Nov-21) | 5,000m: 15:39 (Dec-19) | 10,000m: 32:34 (Mar-20)
10km: 33:15 (Sep-19) | HM: 1:09:41 (May-21)* | FM: 2:41:41 (Oct-20)
* Net downhill course
Last race: Waterfront HM, 7 Apr, 1:15:48
Up next: Runway5, 4 May
"CONSISTENCY IS KING"
Mmmm Bop
Mikkey - It's nice to see you dropping by. How's it going with your running? Are you still a runner or turned into a full time golfer by now ?You are god damn right I did it! I've followed yours and Cal's advice. The more impressive achievement though was that I had a 6-pack for the first time since I was 19yo.I've been doing my best to make inappropriate jokes and to sneak memes into this thread to spice it up a bit. Also, where's Calbears? We need him back!
Mikkey - It's nice to see you dropping by. How's it going with your running? Are you still a runner or turned into a full time golfer by now ?You are god damn right I did it! I've followed yours and Cal's advice. The more impressive achievement though was that I had a 6-pack for the first time since I was 19yo.I've been doing my best to make inappropriate jokes and to sneak memes into this thread to spice it up a bit.
Also, where's Calbears? We need him back!
You running a sub-3 has got to be the biggest shock I’ve ever experienced since joining the online running threads back in 2007…after reading your Valencia marathon report I thought that there’s no way this guy is getting even close.
But I’m happy for you as you have accomplished the longer races as well and it’s always been out of your comfort zone. Huge respect. 👍
Me - Yes, I’m golfing and scoring a lot better now…simply because I’ve calmed down and can control myself better if I hit a bad shot. 😁I’m still hitting the gym 5/6 times per week and currently weighing in at 10st 7Ibs which I think is my golden weight…but if I can lose a bit more fat and gain a bit more muscle then it’s a 6 pack! I will post a photo if that happens! 😎
Running - I’ve had 4 short runs this year because that’s all I felt like doing. But I’m already feeling the urge to return …my ankle is totally pain free since I stopped running….but I miss all those niggles!
darkwave - That’s a great pic and congrats. 👍
5k - 17:53 (4/19) 10k - 37:53 (11/18) Half - 1:23:18 (4/19) Full - 2:50:43 (4/19)
I saw that clip this morning and you have to either laugh or cry at it. 🤦🏻
I'll bet the other 3 came out better off than if they'd actually won. Also normally pacers have bibs that say "pacer"
Honestly, it's just luck. I had an insane run in 2019, PB'ed 4 times in the HM, and all but one of those were on perfect or near-perfect weather days (the other one was Christchurch which Steve might remember). Had a couple shorter distance races with perfect weather also that year. It was kinda the story of my year when the last race of the year, a 5000m in mid-Dec, had some horrendous rain earlier in the day, which cleared mid-afternoon to perfect weather come race time at around 8pm (little bit of residual moisture on the track, but it wasn't an issue) and I ran my current 5k PB.
Since then I'd say half of my road races have been on what I'd consider good weather days, maybe less. Some have been very challenging. Just the luck of the draw, really.
You can't control the weather so you've just gotta train as best you can, and deal with whatever arrives on race day. Much as I like running workouts on good weather days, there's a lot to be said for hitting them on tough days. Never know what race day might bring.
Here's a look at what it was like 2 years ago when I was crewing insted of racing.
Intl. correspondent
WC - yeah I was grabbing on anything that was grab-able on the way down 😂, sadly not too many trees as that would have made my life easier.Damn that picture is misery in a picture!I giggled at your "stupid beginner mistake" comment.
Keen - It's easier to run the 200s when you haven't run 100 miles earlier that day 😁Also LOL at the name of that shoe, the Sinister. Does it catch fire? Or is it that you only get the left foot (in Italian sinistra means left).
Mark - It looks like the organisers didn't give them pacer bibs.Rubens Barrichello did that exactly for Michael Schumacher in a F-1 final and nothing came of it (except that Rubens is now persona non grata in Brazil forever).
Mikkey - To be honest not even I was believing it would happen. Some sort of bug hit me 3 weeks before the Valencia race and as late as January 11th I still couldn't break 11:30 for 3K. Leading theories are some form of long covid or plain old over training.Either way, around late January I hit 10:40 for a 3000m time trial on the track, that's when I knew it was going to happen bar a disaster. But I kept my mouth shut and told nobody for fear of jinxing it.I must sadly report that my 6-pack is quickly vanishing now that my mileage is lower.I'm impressed by your discipline going to the gym. Also happy that you have Golfing to keep your mind busy.I wonder what sport I'd pick up if I get fed up with running, I'm guessing boxing. It's good cardio and low impact to my old joints.
PRs: 1500 4:54.1 2019 - 5K 17:53 2023 - 10K 37:55 2023 - HM 1:21:59 2021
Up next: some 800m race (or time trials) / Also place in the top 20% in a trail race
Tool to generate Strava weekly
Flavio - You got a six pack? That's something I've never done, though I'd like to do before I turn 40 (the countdown is on!). The Sinisters do not catch fire, and there is one for both the left and right foot. These are definitely going to be my go to for 5k or even 10k races. They fit closely (as expected of a more old school racing flat), have a decent cushion to them (super foam, just not a ton of it and no plate). Pretty low stack, insanely light, and handle corners much better than any of the fancy marathon racers.
It's amazing how much the mental game matters in golf. My goal for 2024 is "course management" when it comes to approach shots. I have to learn to stop firing at pins .
I just can't get into the gym. I used to work out a good amount before I got back into running at 25, but there's something about the gym that lacks a "goal" for me: it's just workout and hope you gain muscle and you can do more weight/reps. I need hobbies where there are real tangible things to chase: for golf, it's a handicap. For running, it's clearly a PR.
I'm not someone that can just go to the gym because I'm supposed to. Need to figure out how to make it work though because I've put on 20 pounds since quitting running!
Hot Weather Complainer
Mikkey/JMac - How is everything going? Any progress?
Another shout out to all the Boston runners, great results in those conditions. 21C and calm, making it feel hotter, is what I had at my last half that was supposed to be a progression training type run but turned into even splits as I held on for dear life while everyone around me fell to pieces. That weather for a full marathon on a tough course sounds really challenging. Perfect conditions...for spectators and commentators maybe.
Christchurch marathon on Sunday, however, has actual perfect conditions forecasted. 9C - 11C with light winds. I tested my calf with some tempo last night and all was good. Actually had more pain in my glute which has been an issue since Covid. Hopefully everything feels normal and I wonder if it was all in my head by Sunday (like most race weeks). If I have a good day I should be able to set an event PR (previously 1:29:25). My coach has been training the house down and will be going at 2:18:30 pace, and his generous mate Oska who has won every different distance at ChCh will be pacing him for 32km so he's a decent shot. My physio, Caden Shields, is running a rare race on NZ soil. In those conditions sub 2:13 is definitely possible which would be an event record, with the caveat that he'll be doing it solo in the second half - in the first half there will be some half runners in the 1:06 range to help.
5km: 18:34 11/23 │ 10km: 39:10 8/23 │ HM: 1:26:48 9/23 │ M: 3:34:49 6/23
Motorway Half Marathon February 25, 2024 1:29:55
Christchurch Half-Marathon April 21, 2024 1:27:34
Selwyn Marathon June 2, 2024
Dunedin Half Marathon September 15, 2024