Forums >Racing>Competitive Jerks Racing and Training - 2023
Mikkey/Cal- I'm glad to see both of you back to training and it makes me feel better to know that you both ARE, in fact , human.
5K 18:36 (2023), 10K 39:40 (2022), 1/2 1:24:37 (2023), full 2:58:36 (2015)
Kinda thinking about racing a 10k next weekend (9/2), which would be 2 weeks prior to my marathon. I just think I could run a good time with my current fitness, and would basically build it in as a good workout. A 10k doesn't usually require a ton of recovery, plus I'd be heading right into taper anyway. Not sure how dumb an idea it is. I'll at least hold off deciding till I see how the weather's going to look; if it's going to be very warm, probably no point.
Dave
Mmmm Bop
Rehab update: Still working with the PT and a the gym to improve the range of motion for my knee. I'm walking normally, but still can't get to a running stride. Some of my walks of 2-3 miles are on hilly trails; that helps exercise the knee. There's actually a quad muscle visible on the injured side now; it doesn't quite pop up lke the other side if I contract it, but from completely detached, that's progress. But damn, it's slow!
It sounds like you’re making good progress and doing everything you can to speed up recovery! That’s great to hear that cinnamongirl is still winning…she was one of the true original Competitive Jerks. 👍
Dave - If it’s good weather for the 10k and a PR is there for the taking then go for it…like I said yesterday, ride the wave when you’re on a roll. You should easily recover before the marathon with your mileage.
5k - 17:53 (4/19) 10k - 37:53 (11/18) Half - 1:23:18 (4/19) Full - 2:50:43 (4/19)
I'd say that could be a great workout for the race since 14 days is enough time to see the benefits, and it will also give you a chance to exploit your fitness gains before the marathon. Not a dumb idea at all IMO. If something isn't clicking that day, then just turn it into a tempo run.
Fishy Thanks for the big compliment.
Fishy/dw/Flavio/Dave I think my fitness is at least on par with what it was leading up to Salisbury, and probably a little better. My mileage is higher and I had some nice results, and training sessions, in the summer race series. I'd also like to think that consistency itself is going to pay dividends.
The only thing throwing me off mentally is that my long runs leading up to Salisbury were arguably (?) "better" looking, but I'm 99% sure it's due to the fact that the temps were anywhere from 20-40 degrees F cooler. On the plus side, I'm recovering from LRs better than ever before. They used to wreck me. In the spring recovery was decent, but now they just leave me a little fatigued the next day, like I didn't sleep enough. Also on the plus side, 6:00/mile pace, which is my favorite fitness barometer for myself, is starting to feel more comfortable
Mikkey Thanks for the vote of confidence and compliment. Good to see you and Cal getting back at it.
Commander Thanks for chiming in. Let me know how that double threshold session goes. I've been tempted to try one. Didn't it become popular due to the Ingebrigstens?
On the plus side, I'm recovering from LRs better than ever before. They used to wreck me. In the spring recovery was decent, but now they just leave me a little fatigued the next day, like I didn't sleep enough.
This is good news. How quickly you bounce back from a hard workout or LR (which is basically a type of hard workout) is a somewhat underrated indicator of fitness level.
Keen - I'm building a robot to like your runs on Strava, it turns out there are so many I'll soon catch a tendinitis if I keep doing it manually 😂I think if you develop a beard you might end up picking up a following...
Mikkey - Holey crappey 70 miles already. I do not believe you're out of shape. I also do not believe in Cal. You always say the same thing then run something ridiculous like a 2h50 marathon on race day, with a broken rib and stuff like that.Tyson is looking very well, do you reckon he can run at 50 miles per hour ? He looks like he can.What if you equipped him with some wings, I wonder if he's fast enough to take little flights.
Longboat - Thanks for the update, as usual kudos for your discipline. You probably have a hard time explaining all that discipline to non runners.
MMerkle - I think it's consensus by now that you're on the up. I guess don't lock yourself in into a time constraint as any PR on race day would be welcome since it'd still be sub 3h. But like others have said, you will likely run much faster once your endurance catches up.
From what I can remember you have been extremely consistent over the past year or so.
me - Unfortunately my wife and my parents have caught my bug as well. They seem to be doing better than me though. Either that or they're not a whiny baby like myself 😂 I basically slept about 14h per day over the weekend.
I seem to be doing better, I only have some residual cough and some yuck still left to spit out, it seems all in all it was a very quick event 🙏
We have a very long flight back on Saturday overnight to Sunday, this will make the 2h30 long run on Sunday evening quite interesting....
Apart from that, it's been lovely to catch up with family, mom and dad are obviously very happy to have all their 4 kids around.
The day we arrived mom made her famous polenta on the iron pan, I could eat just that the rest of my life. The nice part is that later there's some crust left on the pan, which tastes a bit like nachos/totopos. The chicken, fish, salad, fruits, and vegetables are sourced from their backyard, so of course of very high quality, very fresh, picked up the same day they're cooked.
On a side note, this region of Brazil has a very high percentage (> 80%) of people with German descent. I reckon about 90% of the streets have German names, Oktoberfest is a big deal, there are many signs around with with the traditional "Ich ❤️ name-of-the-place" sign.
In the smaller towns nearby it's common for most people to be raised speaking a German dialect, they only learn Portuguese by the time they go to school at age 6. I'm not sure a German national would completely understand them though, as their "creole German" has evolved separately from Germany for over 150 years now and they're speaking a peasant dialect from the place they immigrated.
Here's a quick video by Deutsche Welle
Overweight per CDC BMI
Flavio - Even in the 21st century, Europeans are still bringing sickness to the innocent people of South America.... Kidding. That sucks you traveled all that way to get sick and then get your family sick. That food sounds tasty and Oktoberfest in Brazil sounds like fun. Maybe like Carnival with beer steins in your hands?
Has anyone heard of Dave Wottle, the 1972 Olympic 800m champion from the US? That was a bit before my time so I had not heard of him or his story before. We had a cross country camp for the kids on our team over the weekend and Dave came to speak to them all. He was a great guy who talked to the kids for over an hour, answering many questions and signing autographs on the kids shoes and shirts. One of the kids asked him "if that hat was so special to you, why did you let the running hall of fame take it?" He told us that the first thing his mother said to him after he won was "I cannot believe you left your hat on during the national anthem".
He also briefly held the 800m world record and ran the 3rd fastest mile time ever (3:53.3) winning a head-to-head race against Steve Prefontaine. I felt a little silly that I was in the presence of a running legend while being clueless to his story and accomplishments. Has anyone held an Olympic gold medal in their hands? I still haven't but my son and his friends can now say they have.
Dave Wottle - Wikipedia
Memphis / 38 male
5k - 20:39 / 10k - 43:48 / Half - 1:34:47 / Full - 3:38:10
On a side note, this region of Brazil has a very high percentage (> 80%) of people with German descent. I reckon about 90% of the streets have German names, Oktoberfest is a big deal, there are many signs around with with the traditional "Ich ❤️ name-of-the-place" sign. In the smaller towns nearby it's common for most people to be raised speaking a German dialect, they only learn Portuguese by the time they go to school at age 6. I'm not sure a German national would completely understand them though, as their "creole German" has evolved separately from Germany for over 150 years now and they're speaking a peasant dialect from the place they immigrated. Here's a quick video by Deutsche Welle
Brazil is pretty famous for being a haven for Germans! Mostly since WWII...
Are we there, yet?
Has anyone heard of Dave Wottle, the 1972 Olympic 800m champion from the US? That was a bit before my time so I had not heard of him or his story before. We had a cross country camp for the kids on our team over the weekend and Dave came to speak to them all. He was a great guy who talked to the kids for over an hour, answering many questions and signing autographs on the kids shoes and shirts. One of the kids asked him "if that hat was so special to you, why did you let the running hall of fame take it?" He told us that the first thing his mother said to him after he won was "I cannot believe you left your hat on during the national anthem". He also briefly held the 800m world record and ran the 3rd fastest mile time ever (3:53.3) winning a head-to-head race against Steve Prefontaine. I felt a little silly that I was in the presence of a running legend while being clueless to his story and accomplishments. Has anyone held an Olympic gold medal in their hands? I still haven't but my son and his friends can now say they have. Dave Wottle - Wikipedia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYUsy3PjkoQ
2024 Races:
03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles
05/11 - D3 50K, 9:11:09 06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour, 35.82 miles 10/12 - Hainesport 12-Hour
Has anyone held an Olympic gold medal in their hands? I still haven't but my son and his friends can now say they have.
No—closest I’ve come to anything like that is touching the Stanley Cup!
That's very cool!! I love the tradition around that and the way the winning team basically take it on an extended tour.
My daughter got to wear the bronze model that one of our pole vaulters, Imogen Ayris, won at the Commonwealth Games. Not even close to Olympic gold though lol.
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: Runway5 / National 5k Champs, 16:22, National Masters AG Champ!
Up next: Still working on that...
"CONSISTENCY IS KING"
Cobra Commander Keen
Dave - Here's another vote for the 10k, for the reasons Merkle stated. I thought of making that joke, but you beat me to it.
Merkle - The double threshold session was... interesting. 400m at HM effort, which was about 3 hour marathon pace with my weather adjustment. Aerobically speaking, it was very doable. I just didn't adjust enough for the heat, though, so the last few reps suffered a bit as my HR wouldn't come down. I should have either slowed down another 5-10 seconds per mile or maybe walked the recoveries. Either would have been enough.
Doing workouts like this should be absolutely HUGE for adding extra volume at intensity without a ton of stress on the body. Very doable, especially in cooler temps (even 80F/26.6C would have been nice) or especially with a treadmill. It does require a certain amount of restraint in not overdoing it in the morning session, in particular.
I'd love to do this over an entire cycle ahead of a marathon or even a half.
The Ingebrigstens absolutely use it, though it's very popular in Norway overall. Those fancy people over there tend to use actual lactate tests during workouts to help guide it, though. Jealous.
Flavio - Ha! I promise I'm not running doubles to farm kudos. I actually do have a beard (of rather antiquated style), but keep it rather short. Several years ago I did let it grow out for 6 months or so. Maybe I should look into that again.
Too bad about the family catching your bug, but good that they seem to have an easier time of it.
The mixed-culture of that area of Brazil seems really interesting.
5k: 17:58 11/22 │ 10k: 37:55 9/21 │ HM: 1:23:22 4/22 │ M: 2:56:05 12/22
Upcoming Races:
July 4 - Firecracker 5k
I actually have two Stanley Cup stories, from when I was living in Detroit during the Red Wings glory years.
2002: I went to a movie, and the restaurant right next to the theater had a big crowd in front of it and brown paper covering the windows. I asked the people gathered, and turns out it was the Wings' post-Cup team party. I hung out for a little bit, and watched a few limos pull up. Then at one point the door opens and out comes Luc Robitaille hoisting the Cup. That was his first year with the Wings; he had been a star player for many years, but this was his first time winning it all. He looked like he could not be happier, and he walked through the crowd letting everyone (including me) put their hand on it.
2008: The day after the Wings won the Cup (on the road), my daughter in middle school texted me to say the Stanley Cup was at school. She knew nothing about hockey; I assumed she just meant they were having some kind of celebration. She said no, this kid in her class's dad was the captain, and he brought the Cup to school. Turns out she was in school with Nik Lidstrom's son all year long and we had no idea. Nik being the captain got to take it home first, and brought it to his kid's school the day after winning it. Apparently they put it in the auditorium and each of the classes got a chance to see and touch it.
That's very cool. Lidstrom always seemed like such a down to earth guy... it totally makes sense he'd take it to his kids' school first.
I'm a Red Wings fan as well... I can remember the 2008 win pretty clearly as the series was on while I was trying to study for CFA exams. Thankfully I did pass those despite watching a lot of hockey when I should've been studying lol.
Been a lean few years since then though. I think we're improving but boy did Ken Holland ever put us in a hole.
How’d you become a Wings fan? In 2008 I had only been living in that area a couple years. But I started asking neighbors and of course they all knew Lidstrom lived nearby. He was the first of the wave of Swedes to join the team, and all the ones that followed ended up moving to the same part of town. People whose kids played hockey said sometimes Nik or the other Swedes would show up at practice and give the kids some pointers.
I moved from Detroit to Seattle in 2015, escaping just in time to avoid the Wings’ steep downhill slide.