Forums >Racing>2024 Advanced Training and Racing Thread (still competitive jerks)
Mother of Cats
My races (also sending DM to Fishy)
February 10 By George 5K - ideally 21:30 or fasterMarch 2 One City Half-Marathon - sub 1:33:20 and/or top masters placingMarch 30 Easter Classic 10K Goal TBDApril 15 Boston Marathon - win women's T35-38 divisionJune 22 Garry Bjorklund (Grandmas) Half-Marathon - top age group placing
Everyone's gotta running blog; I'm the only one with a POOL-RUNNING blog.
And...if you want a running Instagram where all the pictures are of cats, I've got you covered.
MT79- are you using your phone for splits instead of a watch? I would think that you would lose time just from having to pause your armswing to look at the phone.
Yup. I carry the phone in my hand. I've gone back to wearing wired headphones, and I hold the excess wire in my other hand twirled around my fingers. I find it to be a handy setup.
For races, I tape it to my wrist for maximum grip. Obviously.
Hot Weather Complainer
mt - Nice work on the time trial. I know some people training for February races as A goal races (I have one but it's just a tune up) and I was thinking over the holiday break how hard it would be to be at that stage of the cycle during a time for eating and drinking.
mmerkle - Slow and steady wins the race - don't get distracted by what others are doing rather than listening to your body. You are definitely capable of those numbers but not if you injure yourself.
darkwave - The prescribed workout was based on HR and I was bang on for the first 2 blocks but was getting HR alerts galore on the last one. I suspect I'll get some harsh feedback from the coach when he sees that data...it is good to know I can hit what we think my marathon pace is when I'm suffering like that though. I was visualising the last 6-7km of the marathon during that period.
5km: 18:34 11/23 │ 10km: 39:10 8/23 │ HM: 1:26:48 9/23 │ M: 3:34:49 6/23
2024 Races:
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
Are we there, yet?
WCRunner - do you not have access to a treadmill? Or just ethically opposed?
No access to one. I do not belong to a gym. I've tried it a few times but found it very difficult to to feel comfortable on one and ended up holding on to the handles all the time.
03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles
05/11 - D3 50K, 9:11:09 05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour
06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.
Problem Child
Sub-29 10 km. anyone know how we can get her to post here and give us some good training information?
https://www.espn.com/olympics/trackandfield/story/_/id/39309827/kenya-agnes-ngetich-smashes-10-kilometer-road-world-record
Many of us aren't sure what the hell point you are trying to make and no matter how we guess, it always seems to be something else. Which usually means a person is doing it on purpose.
VDOT 53.37
5k18:xx | Marathon 2:55:22
Nice weeks, everyone!
Basically another maintenance week for me, nothing too noteworthy. Except for the fact that it got very cold at the end of the week, and my LR was my first “more miles than degrees” run since moving here nearly 9 years ago. I ran 17 miles at 15F (-9.4C), also the coldest run overall I‘ve had here—previous low was 20F. We only get a handful of days every winter where it even drops below freezing. It was really not too bad though; I’d say there was more discomfort from just being a 17 mile run with 800 feet of gain than anything to do with the weather. Fortunately the ground was clear; we had a little snow, but nothing accumulating on the pavement.
Dave
Dorothea
Hi all. Thanks for the good wishes re: Covid. It finally seems to be out, but it took a while for my impatient self (generally realizing that I'm too impatient in many things when it comes to my running). Had I known about Paxlovid or other treatments, I may have looked into them, but at the point I first heard about them, it seemed moot. I think my biggest mistake (I seem to make a lot of those lately) was starting a marathon training cycle in the aftermath of being sick, and the mental games of getting back to fitness (darkwave’s sine/cosine graph description has always been true, in my experience) definitely hit me on most of the runs last week. I nearly doubled my weekly mileage after a month of 20 miles or less, and no wonder running was hard, haha. But I think the worst is over.
Weekly for period: From: 01/08/2024 To 01/14/2024
Date
Name
mi
km
Duration
Avg/mi
Avg/km
Elevation Gain
in ft
01/08
Afternoon Run
6.78
10.90
1:02:26
9:13
5:44
197
01/09
6.01
9.67
58:51
9:48
6:05
66
01/10
Night and Day
6.04
9.72
48:36
8:03
5:00
43
Cool-Down
1.05
1.69
9:25
8:58
5:34
10
01/12
6.48
10.42
1:09:06
10:40
6:38
01/13
Enh
11.86
19.09
1:49:39
9:15
5:45
171
01/14
1.08
1.73
9:36
8:53
5:33
0
Totals: Time: 6:09:12 - 🦅Imperial: 39.2 mi - Metric: 63.09 km
Catching up a bit:
Seeing great weeklies this and last week during tough winter/summer conditions. Respect.
Mmerkle, the first workout of a training cycle always feels tough for me. Those 400s looked great.
Darkwave, I can imagine that decision to DNS Houston stung a bit through yesterday, but looks like a good call, especially since, as you say, you have some big goals for this spring. Hope the sciatica issue continues to get less and less! And great to see that run with CK this week.
Re strength training: I have speed work planned for Wednesdays when I’m at my uni track, and the gym is a 2-minute jog away, so I’ll definitely try combining the two this training cycle.
I’m still waiting to hear back about PT appointments (almost ready to request the referral and just find my own therapist), but my new training plan (McMillan, seems alright) includes prehab exercises, so that’s going to make a difference as well, I hope.
Flavio, I have the same experience re: pull ups. They help in a lot more than just biceps. It’s also key for me for stretching my back.
Your glasses issue is an interesting one to have. I also have transition glasses, and also struggle with them when it’s cloudy or in the car. It does sound like multiple pairs with different darkness are the answer.
Also, the 3000m PR, was that in similar training conditions as you’re doing now? Because you’re definitely putting in major miles and didn’t taper for it!
Dave, re: slower easy runs… maybe you’re just using those runs to recover more than you usually were? As long as your fast runs are staying/getting faster, I wouldn't worry about them.
Josh, Doro is fine :-) And I had the same thought at some point last year about a certain German chancellor’s name. Glad to see you’re back running and posting! Bet that run on the track felt good. Congrats to all your kids, but especially DS1, even if it’s always about who shows up.
Mt79 things look like they are shaping up nicely for a 5K showdown with your kid. And I had the same thing last week running 1 extra mile on my off day to get in the green for my team.
Nice job on that time trial! Definitely encouraging.
SomethingClever, congrats on the milestone you reached last week!
Mark, when did the streak become “do I continue this, or do I quit it”? Nice streak and week!
Mmerkle, same question, same comment… but I can see the allure of keeping it going. Ultimately, I think patience is the virtue to continue practicing. The 10-miler may not be what you wanted, but you also had a less than ideal Dec, and you may still surprise yourself.
Steve, that long run sounds like excellent marathon training practicing some of the toughest conditions—and that kind of visualizing work, imagining those last miles of the marathon, will likely be helpful.
Qualifications: I like to run. In Florida. In the summer. At noon.
Last race: April 28, Glass City Marathon, 3:29:53. Saw deer; cried; didn't melt in rain or heat.
Intl. correspondent
Steve - So, theoretically you should never stay too long near the red line during training.You could come close to it (maybe 95% of the way) but back off in time.Regardless of that, if it worked, it worked
MMerkle - Yup, it's meant to be a fitness gauge, nothing more.Warning: Hot take ahead!
I'm fairly sure you're having these issues due to that 50 miler race. Not due to the distance, rather due to pushing your limits so much during it.There's a reason our body puts limits, they're sort of safety limits and they exist for a reason. Crossing them has a price.Finding the right spot in between too little and crossing the red line is the key that almost nobody can find.
MT - You should reach your 5K goal comfortable assuming you can remain healthy till race day.Also how the hell doesn't your phone drop from your hand? I know I would get distracted and drop the phone after 5 minutes.LOL at the phone tapped to your wrist.
DW - I'm happy the commander had the privilege of having you as a guide.
Dave - you're telling us all about that chilly week but you failed to take the classic "frosty beard" picture, so I'll give you a B+.
Doro - At least in my few experiences with Covid that Paxlovid would not have made any difference. The immune system was winning the race early on enough that I wouldn't consider taking the medication. I also was never able to consult a doctor, because it's impossible to find a consultation less than 5-7 days away, even if I'm paying the full price, by which time I figure I'd be good already.
Re: sun glasses, I'd really like to avoid having to carry multiple glasses because especially when I'm traveling I only travel with a 25L backpack and have very limited space. Ideally I'd have a pair of sunglasses that I can manually adjust how dar they are, now that would be perfect. I'd keep it at max darkness (think walking in a tunnel) most of the time when outside, and then keep it clear when running in the early morning.Re: the 3000m time trial, it's just a fitness gauge and I can see I'm quite out of shape at the moment. Something around sub 10:45 would indicate I'm in top shape (untapered).
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
LOL. Ironically I am sporting a beard right now, which is not typical for me. But I've been keeping it trimmed pretty short, and it seems you need some length to get good ice buildup. So sadly, I haven't had any. Also I keep a buff over my face, so maybe it absorbs all the condensation that would otherwise be freezing on my beard. That thing does get pretty stiff and icy.
Flavio I wear Oakley Flak 2.0 glasses. They block out sunlight from all directions, except the bottom a little, and I have them in a prescription due to my astigmatism. They are available in many lens tints and you can change them RELATIVELY easy once you figure out how much you can bend plastic. I've worn Oakleys for a long time, including the Oil Rig (i.e. cyclops clone) when I first started running. I've found the Flak to be comfortable for all my running and daily use.
MT in order to get the benefits of plyo and other exercises one must do them. Avoiding them is easier.
mmerkle if the hip flexors were sore maybe it was partially terrain. Flexibility (something I don't work on) might help in addition to leg strength. IF it's anything like my 50k two years ago I could NOT hike. It was the worst groin pain I've experienced. I think it was my Psoas. honestly, I don't know what I did to make it better because I don't recall them hurting in the 50 miler. Perhaps fear, strength training, and more hills helped.
When does the IT band start to act up and have you been doing the stretch I sent?
dave I was in the same "bleh' about running last week. Weather sort of ruined everything for me.
Marky_Mark I saw a guy (well known athlete) with a prosthetic leg at Forresthill (Miles 64 of Western States) on pace to do a sub-24. He later dropped because his leg hurt so much. It was David Mackey. Sometimes I forget others have it harder than I do and I make myself maybe feel grateful or less "this sucks" about life.
Chipotle I'd do repeats for a free burrito. I'm not sure I'd do 376 in a month for a free burrito. Mark Macguire (not the baseball one) did 417. Oh, it was only 52 burritos. Meh. 2 a week would be good. One per workout. At least Strava is keeping it interesting, and I appreciate the guys not doing abundant back and forths.
steve 27C seems hot for marathon pace. Not impossible. Was this a spontaneous heat wave, or just an extra hard workout because of the heat? I can't say I've done M pace in 27C. Was the weather for the rest of the week as bad/comparable? Tired legs plus heat and general exhaustion might have combined to bring the suck factor up higher.
my week:
Fat goose egg. Started with bailing on a run on Monday because it was going to be much colder than I wanted, plus wind. Tuesday was more nonsense. Wednesday again the same. At this point I was upset I'd missed a workout because it was either attitude or too cold. I bailed on the entire week when snow/ice came to town. I'm not about to do speed work on ice/snow roads around people who seem to think "I'll just drive slower" is the solution to winter driving conditions. They'd be better off putting chains on and tearing up the thawed portions of the road. The weekend...I either over slept, didn't feel like it or spent too much time with my kids.
I did 7 miles yesterday (metric 15 kilometers probably) and 10x400m today. The 400s felt nice, and also hard towards the end. Same out an back as always. 1:24 (84 seconds) seemed to be the time it took each rep and recovery was a light jog for 90 seconds. As I started to jog back to work the programmed workout (12x400m) beeped for number 11 and I knew I'd done what I could. "Train for where you're at not where you want to be" came to mind as I kind of admitted I didn't have an 11th or 12th rep in me unless it would have been all out war.
Somehow I do this nonsense as a 12x400 early on in marathon training. how...I don't know. Maybe I'm more pissed off about training then. Should be fun to see how things go for New York...and maybe reflect back on 5km training in August (i.e. be pissed off at 5k RP going so fast) when I'm dealing with heat. At least it felt kind of good to see I didn't lose too much for this PR attempt. Apparently I'm running a little faster than 5km goal pace which seems ridiculous fast.
I don't blame you for not doing speed in ice/snow. When it gets icy here I wait until later in the day - it's rare for it to be there 24/7 in our moderate climate.
It just got hard because of the heat I think - in cooler weather it would have been much more manageable. It was similarly warm all week, especially Thursday when I did my second run in 32C but for short easy paced runs it's not an issue. But I may have been less hydrated than I needed, even though I've upped my intake a lot.
Ash
Steve – Coming off a 4000km+ 2023 and hilly base phase, I’m excited to see what you do this year.
Flavio – Did I really say that? I trust your memory more than mine. You’re on. There’s one at my regular Wed club meet in a couple of weeks so might even do that and set an early year baseline. I figure you just go out at mile pace, hold mile pace and finish off at mile pace… whatever that feels like? Your training seems to be going great, looks like you’ve been up for ages without down time, feeling fresh still?
Mark – Love those 2024 goals.
RP – We never had a chance in that garmin challenge, Keen should have to run 2 for every 1 of mine.
Dave – Those are good looking maintenance weeks you are stringing together. Bodes well for those PR’s and age grade results this year.
Mike – Hope the IT band eases, I’ve not been able to get on top of that without rest and low intensity for a while.
Darkwave – The improved stability and power just prove what a good choice it was to bail on Houston. Great that you got to run with Keen.
Dorothea – Oops on forgetting you had covid and doubling your mileage, glad to hear that your better and seem to have gotten away with it.
MT – Great that you could run 21:35 after feeling off. I saw your 5k goal progression when lurking the 2023 thread and had the thought that it was similar to mine. I went and did a parkrun on December 30 to see where I was at and ran 21:31. I also have some weight to shed. LOL at the phone watch, front page gear that is.
The comeback crew – there are quite a few coming off interrupted 2023: Josh, George, Matt, Matt, Dan and myself. Let’s be patient, consistent and successful together!
The first two weeks of 2024 were interrupted due to a family vacation, camping road trip. We covered 2300 km/1400 us in 10 days with 4 stops along the way. Three of the four stops we had no power or water, mobile coverage sketchy at best. Keeping up with this thread and running was a challenge, but did squeeze a few very enjoyable runs in. There aim was to just do enough to not go backwards. Some incidental activity hopefully helped in that respect – setup and packing up camp, swims & hikes.
Week 1: We set off on the Saturday, so compressed and ran long on Friday.
Weekly for period: From: 01/01/2024 To 01/07/2024
2/01/2024
Morning Run
6.45
10.4
0:59:25
3/01/2024
6.52
10.5
1:00:54
9:20
5:48
4/01/2024
6.88
11.1
1:05:25
9:30
5:55
5/01/2024
14.2
22.9
2:14:28
9:27
5:52
34.1
54.9
Week 2:
9/01/2024
Moana
9.03
14.5
1:21:18
9:00
5:36
10/01/2024
Onkaparinga
11.2
18
1:43:16
9:14
14/01/2024
Drumborg
8.62
13.9
1:29:48
10:25
6:28
28.8
46.4
Next: Ballarat, April 28, Pacing 3:50
Best: 5k 19:46 (Parkrun, 2016), 10k 40:37 (Track, 2022), Half 1:26:41 (2016), Full 3:00:23 (2021)
RP - thanks for the sunglasses recommendation. I'd be looking at something that is quicker to go from clear lenses to very dark lenses, I might have to go with 2 glasses after all.PS: Can we call you RP-COP yet?
Marby - Mile time would be roughly 3K pace - 10 seconds per K. Just go out very fast and hold it for dear life. It's just 4 laps.I did have a down time after the marathon on December till I got back to the previous mileage.
I'm actually feeling much fresher now than at the last few weeks before the marathon. It helps that the worst season (in terms of sickness and allergies) seems to be coming to an end.
Question to the group, especially Mikkey and PiwiKiwi - It's said that a man is supposed to squat at least his wife's weight.
What if the man can squat twice her weight though, can the man take a second wife?
Question to the group, especially Mikkey and PiwiKiwi - It's said that a man is supposed to squat at least his wife's weight. What if the man can squat twice her weight though, can the man take a second wife?
What if his wife weighs more than he does, maybe considerably more? Get a new wife?
Found the Brazilian.