Forums >Racing>2024 The Waltons: Racing & Training Thread
Darkwave - I admire the fact that you chose to share it with us. It takes courage and I am certain that the future will see a lot of discoveries in the medical field that you will be benefitting from. As RP said, if you are allowed a pacer at the Olympics let me know - I would be 30+ minutes slower but Paris is just around the corner from where I live
Hi all - I am 43 years old, male, started running some 8 years ago, but really only started training properly last year. I am interested in a variety of sports (a bit of everything but I usually play tennis, lift weights, run, and bike). I live in Switzerland and this is a great country for outdoors activities except during winter which lasts for like 6 months....I take things easy and my goal for 2024 is to run 1 half and 1 full. But I haven't made up my mind yet regarding which races to enter. My projected annual mileage is somewhere around 2500km. That's right, I abide to the metric system.
Dan - good to see you here and congrats on CIM. Bummer with the pothole though.
Good luck to everyone this year!
HM: 1:47 (9/20) I FM: 3:53:11 (9/23)
2024 Goals: run a FM & HM + stay healthy!
3 months til Masters
I will never understand the kiwi obsession with 180 turns and tight courses. I know it is a small country conpared to say Australia...but it cracks me up everytime i see your super tight race courses.
Yeah it looks like the runway is around 2km long. The turns look like they've been graduated as it looks like the course goes around the outside of the runway, and there's a little extra loop around the taxiway about halfway along on the way back to get it up to 5km. It should be a pretty quick course, unless it's windy.
2023 Goals
Marathon Sub 2:37 (CIM) 2:41:18
10k Sub 35:00 (Victory 10k 34:19)
5k Sub 16:00 (Hot Dash 5k in March (16:48), Brian Kraft in May (16:20), Twilight 5000 in July and August (16:20/16:25 Both heat index 102-103F)
Sub 1:16 Half Marathon City of Lakes Half Marathon 1:15:47)
Sub 56:30 in 10 mile (Twin Cities 10 mile, Canceled due to weather, 56:35 as a workout)
2024 Goals
Sub 2:37 Marathon
Sub 1:15 Half
Sub 34 10k
Sub 16 5k
Just saw the DW post. I missed it firat time through the thread on my phone. Early onset happed to my aunt and my wife's aunt. Glad to see you taking it head on. Always enjoy seeing you on forums, strava...and once...in person!
The big problem is the cost of traffic management, relative to the size (and therefore potential revenue) of the event. This is particularly true for most of the Athletics NZ Championship events since they attract from a relatively small pool of club-registered athletes rather than the general public.
It means organisers either need to:
a) Find an area with private roads (which typically results in multi-lap courses, sometimes with silly turns), or
b) Set up a course within the limits of whatever traffic management they can afford (generally resulting in a few silly turns)
There was also one particularly annoying Athletics NZ official who insisted on championship road courses generally having some sort of technical aspect to them (silly turns), but I think he is thankfully out of the picture now. The last couple of 10km road champs courses have been big improvements (multi-lappers, but no tight turns).
The Runway5 course is almost certainly the fastest 5km course in the country, even with a couple of little turns in there.
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"
DW, no official choice yet. .I am leaning towards B&A on 3/24. There is also a monthly series about 30 minutes away with a 5k, 10k and HM option that could be a back up, although the idea of a 6 out and back HM sounds really boring.
What monthly series is this? I'm looking for some races in that range and as you know I live in the same region. Sometimes I like the idea of an out and back because on the way back you know what to expect.
Mother of Cats
The big problem is the cost of traffic management, relative to the size (and therefore potential revenue) of the event. This is particularly true for most of the Athletics NZ Championship events since they attract from a relatively small pool of club-registered athletes rather than the general public. It means organisers either need to: a) Find an area with private roads (which typically results in multi-lap courses, sometimes with silly turns), or b) Set up a course within the limits of whatever traffic management they can afford (generally resulting in a few silly turns)
That makes sense. In the US, I believe that's one reason why our Olympic marathon trials are generally held on a multi-loop course.
Mick- thanks for the offer. I actually did look into the Paralympics just to see what was offered and if there were any possibilities. But...the only races they offer for my division (which would be women's T35, T36, T37, or T38 depending on classification) are the sprints. Nothing longer than 400m. They offer the marathon, but only for wheelchair and blind athletes.
I would not be at all competitive in the sprints. For example, here's the results for the womens T35 (lower # means most impaired) 200m. Last place in the final was 35 seconds; I think the fastest 200m I've been able to run in the past year is 43 seconds...
DPS - I am entered in the Bjorklund half-marathon this year - perhaps we can meet up again?
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.
US Road Running Pirate 5k, 10k and HM. Pre-pandemic this group had scheduled a bunch of 5k and 10k pretty close to me that of course all got cancelled.
JamesD
This is a 1.1 mile path around playing fields.
Got it - I thought you meant 6 miles out and 6 back. I guess there could be a couple of positives to that course - easier for spectators to cheer you on, and if ;you have to drop out, the walk back wouldn't be too difficult - but yeah, that doesn't sound too appealing. Seems like after a while it would be confusing for the organizers to tell who is on lap 4, who on lap 5, and who on lap 6, as the leaders are probably twice as fat as the slowest people.
I assume road closure & traffic control reasons are why all four of the main past & present HMs in my area use bike paths after starting on streets (I assume because they're wider).
Post-1987 PRs: Half 1:30:14 (2019); 10K 39:35 (2019); 5K 19:12 (2017); Mile 5:37.3 (2020)
'24 Goals: consistency, age-graded PRs, half < 1:32
YESSSSSS! Also my wife will be there so you can actually meet someone who is cool and awesome instead of just me!
This make sense. One difference is most USA road champs include a mass participation race as well so closing the roads make financial sense. If you look at the course I just set my 10k PR during my CIM build. It is basically that. 5k out and 5k back with a turn around about 5 road lanes across so easy to hold pace. It was L shaped but the turn in the middle is super wide.
I am all for XC courses being highly technical, but with road stack height shoes....just asking for someone to wipe out on a turn and blow a knee or ankle.
The big problem is the cost of traffic management, relative to the size (and therefore potential revenue) of the event. This is particularly true for most of the Athletics NZ Championship events since they attract from a relatively small pool of club-registered athletes rather than the general public. It means organisers either need to: a) Find an area with private roads (which typically results in multi-lap courses, sometimes with silly turns), or b) Set up a course within the limits of whatever traffic management they can afford (generally resulting in a few silly turns) There was also one particularly annoying Athletics NZ official who insisted on championship road courses generally having some sort of technical aspect to them (silly turns), but I think he is thankfully out of the picture now. The last couple of 10km road champs courses have been big improvements (multi-lappers, but no tight turns). The Runway5 course is almost certainly the fastest 5km course in the country, even with a couple of little turns in there.
So, Athletics NZ sent out a consultation document by accident a few months ago that suggested they were looking at doing exactly this, at least for 10km champs. The national HM and FM champs are already hosted within existing mass participation events. It makes a lot of sense, not just from the point of view of having better courses or a wider range of courses, but also in terms of getting a bit more of an atmosphere around it.
This year 10km champs are going to be at the Timaru racetrack, pain of a place to get to but should be the quickest course they've had for 10km road champs in years.
Yeah I totally agree. Very few of the top runners here want technical stuff on a road course - everyone wants nice quick courses that attract a good field. XC is a different story, you expect a decent XC course to have some technical challenges.
Got it - I thought you meant 6 miles out and 6 back. I guess there could be a couple of positives to that course - easier for spectators to cheer you on, and if ;you have to drop out, the walk back wouldn't be too difficult - but yeah, that doesn't sound too appealing. Seems like after a while it would be confusing for the organizers to tell who is on lap 4, who on lap 5, and who on lap 6, as the leaders are probably twice as fat as the slowest people. I assume road closure & traffic control reasons are why all four of the main past & present HMs in my area use bike paths after starting on streets (I assume because they're wider).
It's appeal is it's close, probably flattest course in the local area and with the monthly schedule, it gives options to pick the best weather.
I'm pretty sure locally permits & road closures are an issue. I think some of the races here start off the rail trails due to parking. Typically there are very limited parking spots at the various trailheads, so the start tends to be at a nearby school to accomodate parking.
Since all are welcome ... Hi Waltons. For those who don't know me I'm from the Jerks thread, but I'll do my best to leave most of the jerkiness over there. I lurked here last year but I figured this year maybe I'd invade. Here's my intro:
You can call me Mike or Michael (or mmerkle, merkle, there are many spinoffs). I am 29 years old and from Baltimore County Maryland, currently residing in Fairfax County Virginia, except when I’m back in Baltimore eating my parents’ food. I am in my fourth year pursuing a math PhD. No wife or kids yet, but living with a girlfriend who I’ve been with for 6 years. Started running my junior year of high school. My HS PR's were 4:53 mile, 10:35 2 mile, and 17:44 XC 5k.
I graduated HS in 2012 and ran the Baltimore marathon that Fall in 3:21:33 (major bonkage).
I spent the next two years self-coached. My peak year regarding speed was 2014. Here are some stats from that year:
Mileage ~ 2,400, 4:45 mile PR (indoor), 10k PR 34:58, 5k PR 17:15 at the halfway point of the 10k PR, Half Marathon PR 1:18:04.
I didn't run a marathon or 5k that year. All the above are still my PRs for those distances.
Then I entered 6 years of “dark ages”. I kept running occasionally, but did not compete, and did not track my data. Then right as the pandemic kicked in, although not for that reason at all (I think getting into grad school had a lot to do with it), I decided to get back into competitive running again.
2020 and 2021 were uneventful. Had a couple good stabs at a sub 3-hour marathon during 2022 with 3:06:45 at Salisbury, 3:03:21 at NCR. The year 2023 went much better, with 2:59:27 Salisbury, 2:56:47 Erie. Also tried a couple ultras, had a solid 10 miler (61:37), and came 3d in a 6 part Summer race series including a 10:55 2 mile and a 17:41 (hilly) 5k. Ended up logging 2,614 miles for the year, a new PR.
Current Goals for 2024: (for those who don’t know, I set aggressive goals)
Mile: sub 4:45 (PR), 5k: sub 17 (PR), 10k: Mid 35’s (?), 10 mile: under 1 hour, Half marathon: sub 1:19, Marathon: sub 2:50 (PR), River’s Edge Endurance Challenge (6 hours on 5 mile loops): 8 laps for 40 miles (PR and CR), Miles: 3,000 or more would be nice but this is of secondary importance.
My 2014 shape is getting very close. I think in 2025 I will comfortably pass my 2014 self.
Big week. Lots of mileage, so the legs were a bit heavy for the couple of workouts I did do. Big trail run on Sunday, mostly gravel road but a couple more technical sections, and amusingly I took a wrong turn when trying a new route but was able to use the map and compass on my Garmin to sort things out without doubling back (albeit I ran about 4-5km further!). Good time on feet practice for the Goat in a couple weeks and it was nice to get out in the forest.
If I include the two parkruns I jog-walked with my 6-year old daughter it was actually my biggest week ever (otherwise, 2nd biggest).
Hi guys I would like to join the Waltons thread this year.
I know quite a few of you already.
I'm Andrew 55 from NZ. Running 14 years now. I don't race much anymore but mostly run for general fitness.
Last year I only averaged 30 mpw. I did about 4 parkruns last year but only one was a solid effort in 19 mins flat. This year will probably be similar with perhaps a 10k or 2.
I usually have a strong motivation period of a few months at 50 mpw but then drop back to jog mode
Darkwave I'm glad you got a diagnosis for the issues you have been suffering over the last few years.
My week
55+ PBs 5k 18:36 June 3rd TT
" If you don't use it you lose it, but if you use it, it wears out.
Somewhere in between is about right "