Forums >Racing>2024 The Waltons: Racing & Training Thread
Waltons ThreadLord
Mick - I like your attitude towards weight. BMI says I'm overweight, and to be honest, so do my belt and my mirror, but not by as much as before I started running. I seem to have reached an equilibrium that even my doctor can live with.
Piwi, HCK - Have to agree that you both cited poor running weather. Fortunately, I can often run mid-day when it's really cold out, unless I have a longer workout scheduled, usually with my RP who doesn't have the same flexibility.
Steve - Good down week. Nice job on the December running.
Watson - Good week, indeed.
DW - Funny how fixing one thing can, temporarily even, affect another. Good decision on Houston.
Mark - Nice job on the big week (I'm even more appreciative now that you're on my team. )
My week started disappointingly when I only got halfway through the 5k race before fading, despite good conditions and a flat course. Happily, the week ended well with a good result on a 10k cross country race where I got my 2nd fastest time on the course (I've done it 4 times), which I didn't expect this early in the season. Sunday's long run became "go just far enough to get to green" since 39º and raining is among my least favorite weather conditions and add the occasional slush on the streets and I had no interest in going 10 miles. 35 miles / 56.3km / 5:44:55 for the week.
Hangover 5k
10k XC Race
No races happening this week, per the 2024 race list, though 3 next week.
5k 23:48.45 (3/22); 4M 31:26 (2/22); 5M 38:55 (11/23); 10k 49:24 (10/22); 10M 1:29:33 (2/24); Half 1:48:32 (10/22); Marathon 4:29:58 (11/23)Upcoming races: Running is Back 10k, 5/12; Greta's Run 5k, 5/19
JamesD
Mick- I worked in U.S. embassies overseas, mostly in economic positions. Retired after not making ambassador level (though I was acting ambassador in Mozambique for most of a year when we didn't have one, but that didn't require the higher rank or Senate confirmation). Retired at 51 with 28 years in.
Piwi, HCK- For me, 20C, especially in summertime when I'm acclimated to the heat, is, "if it's windy, maybe I need to wear long sleeves" weather. 20F on the other hand is ridiculously cold. For me, 20F cold is about like 40C(104F) heat - I could run in it, but it would seem kinda dumb to try.
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
Merkle - you still have pretty decent weather. Why do you go on the treadmill?
Fair question. I'll give you 2 good reasons.
1. The "While I'm here" principle. I don't own a treadmill, I have to go to the gym to use one. So after I finish with the treadmill, "while I'm here" might as well do some strength training and/or cross training.
2. Complete control over the incline. I can run up a 6% grade for a mile straight if I want. Plus you avoid running downhill, which I understand is important for some people like trail runners, but I am not one of them.
After saying I was 5'6" my entire adult life, I measured 5'7" in 2021. Not the normal height progression, but I'll take that extra inch cause it keeps my BMI in the normal range with some leeway.
Unfortunately Halfcrazy I went the other way 5'8 to 5'7 as life beat me down
James yeah 20c probably is a dream for some. That's a cool career you have had.
Fred thanks for running the thread. Good to see you and your boy are racing alot.
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 "
Unfortunately Halfcrazy I went the other way 5'8 to 5'7 as life beat me down James yeah 20c probably is a dream for some. That's a cool career you have had. Fred thanks for running the thread. Good to see you and your boy are racing alot.
You're welcome. Thanks for the comment. My son also had a tough day at the New Year's 5k, but he felt much better after the XC race (he did the 5k). He said Saturday was the first time in a couple months he's felt good while running. We suspect he finally got over a cold he came down with in late November (his lungs have always been susceptible to chest colds - as a kid he needed medicine to avoid getting pneumonia, but he seems to have outgrown that).
My driver's license says I'm 6'2" but I think it's been a long time since that was true.
Watson - nice week. Same question as Steve lol - what is 30k pace? I feel like I would end up either running it at MP or HMP depending on how bad or good I felt lol.
Kathi - there was a debate over on Twitter because some Auckland city planning "expert" said that the only reason people would have home treadmills because of was bad city planning that didn't encourage people to get outdoors, and that really treadmills are a very bad reflection on society. He kinda shut up when a number of people pointed out that (a) Auckland is runnable year round, but many places are not due to weather, (b) some people have kids and may not be able to go out if it meant leaving little kids unsupervised, and (c) some people may not feel safe out running by themselves at certain times. IDK if I lived in somewhere where it was consistently icy in winter, or had poor air quality in summer, I would think a treadmill would be pretty much essential.
Fred, Mick - I honestly don't even really think about weight now. When I started running, I thought it might help to drop a bit, but that was never something I consciously tried to do. When you are running decent mileage, the body just kind of adapts, and to be honest there are risks around energy deficiency if you end up trying to lose weight while also running a lot. I've been pretty stable around 70kg (154lb) for a few years now so I guess that's just my equilibrium.
Fred - 3 races is a lot! (glad you are on my team for the race miles!)
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"
Fred, Mick - I honestly don't even really think about weight now. When I started running, I thought it might help to drop a bit, but that was never something I consciously tried to do. When you are running decent mileage, the body just kind of adapts, and to be honest there are risks around energy deficiency if you end up trying to lose weight while also running a lot. I've been pretty stable around 70kg (154lb) for a few years now so I guess that's just my equilibrium. Fred - 3 races is a lot! (glad you are on my team for the race miles!)
Just two races for me last week, not three - Monday and Saturday. Didn't mean to cause confusion. Even two is a lot for me, so this week is an exception.
I try not to obsess about weight, but I have to keep an eye on it. I have a big sweet tooth and if I'm not careful, I gain weight quickly. I also am still capable of eating far more at a meal than I need to, so when my wife prepares a particularly tasty dinner, I have to watch out or else I'm having seconds and thirds. Running got me down from 230 (105kg) to a range of 201 - 207 (91-94), generally higher in winter. I'd like to be under 200, but that's only happened once in the past 8 years. At 57, I'm glad just to keep the weight off and have stopped worrying about losing more.
Part of TLC
Plus you avoid running downhill, which I understand is important for some people like trail runners, but I am not one of them.
Until you enter a marathon with substantial downhill stretches, #quads.
Steve - It's not really been a crash. Actually the second 2K was 5 seconds faster than the first (9:38/9:33), but breathing became laboured at the end (which shouldn't be the case, especially with an 800m recovery) and my thighs felt dead like lead. Probably residual fatigue from the stress test one hour earlier.
Mick - 14.
Weight - I do think about weight when injured or ill, but when I can run without problems, I don't really have to care. It goes up a few pounds from October to February and comes down again during summer no problem.
Don't hurry - next AG will start 2026
Mark, for me, the treadmill is mostly for convenience. Here it's also very possible to run outside year round. If you have a general schedule you like to keep, the treadmill makes it so much easier to not skip runs if the weather doesn't cooperate. Plus, there is the winter laundry factor-so much less laundry from the treadmill.
Weight, I am unfortunately at the age where it is really hard to lose weight. We had a wellness challenge in November and December and I really was conscious of eating after dinner and stopped that. At most, I lost 1.5 lbs. We switched to casual dress when returning from the pandemic in 2021. In 2022, when we had our first on-site meeting with some state reps, I discovered almost all of my business casual pants were very snug. I'd love to say it was from the increase in strength training during the pandemic (which I really did bump up quite a bit), but it's not.
Sounds like some sensible weight talk. We don't have scales in the house. I usually sneak onto them when I visit my elderly neighbor .
Mick I agree 5km=1 beer credit. You will be horrified that I still drink Heineken.
Of course I wouldn't suggest that after a 30km run you should have 6 beers
Some friends in college did a challenge at the local bar where if you drank ever beer they carried, you got a free mug. Heineken always tastes skunked to me. I remember it being one passed around "ew, this us terrible, try it".
And really, it was my friends. I have an unfortunate December birthday and no fake id in college, so they had 11 and 9 months more than me to work towards this goal.
Re my 30k paced intervals.
I've been following a Norwegian Singles. The 30k pace is just one of the paces that can be done. I've had a left calf niggle and a right glute niggle (both from last year), the 30k pace doesn't aggravate the niggles, as opposed to some of the quicker paces.
Norwegian Singles if interested:
- 2 to 3 workouts a week, which are moderate intensity.
- 0 to 1 hard workouts a week
- the rest easy.
https://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=12130781
https://www.strava.com/clubs/1175805
c) is something that is so often missed by guys.
PRs: 5km 18:43 (Dec 2015), 10km 39:59 (Sep 2020), half 1:26:16 (Sep 2016), full 3:09:28 (Jun 2015)
40+ PRs: 5km 19:31 (Oct 2020), 10km 39:59 (Sep 2020), half 1:29:39 (Jun 2018), full 3:13:55 (Sep 2022)
2023 PRs (hope to beat in 2024): 5km 20:34, 10km 41:37, half 1:32:32, full 3:21:05
2024 PRs: 5km 20:25
Hot Weather Complainer
piwi - No plans this summer unfortunately, had too much going on to get away. I'd have loved to go somewhere with a beach though.
Heineken - This may be sacrilege, but the first Heineken I had after landing in Amsterdam was possibly the best beer I've ever tasted. I really felt like a beer though.
watson - that's still a lot of workouts per week, even at lower intensity.
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
I've been following a Norwegian Singles.
When I skimmed over this while eating breakfast, my first thought was that it was a dating site. Now I expect I'll start getting ads inviting me to "Meet Norwegian Singles in your area!"
That may just be the way my mind works - I remember being disappointed when, after I started a job following European politics, I realized that the Swedish Model everyone was talking about was actually a certain combination of economic and social policies.