Charlotte, NC area runners

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Week of 16-22JUL2012 (Read 191 times)

    Last week:

     

    nanxin 61.3 mi
    CarolinaBlue 35 mi
    Happyfeet 34.1 mi
    old-runner 33.3 mi
    amlinz 33.2 mi
    CliveF 32.8 mi
    ChakaKahn 30.2 mi
    theyapper66 18.2 mi
    Lpadg 18 mi
    fraggle 10.3 mi
    alholley 8.1 mi
    rossruns 7.4 mi
    Pete.Hu 6.3 mi

     

    Last week, only somewhat faster:

    RUNNER DATE RACE LOCATION DIST GOAL RESULT
    Last week:            
    old-runner 14JUL2012 The Scream Jonas Ridge NC HM < 1:35 1:36:22
    Happyfeet 04JUL2012 The Scream Jonas Ridge NC HM <8:00/mi pace 1:48:22 (8:17/mi)
                 
    This week:            
    old-runner 21JUL2012 Run/Walk For The Greenway Salisbury NC 5k <22:00  

    "I want you to pray as if everything depends on it, but I want you to prepare yourself as if everything depends on you."

    -- Dick LeBeau

    rossruns


      Nice racing, guys.  I think the humidity probably did you in.  I know it did for me in the 5k I ran Friday night - the Streetlight 5k in Concord.  If they had started the race about 1 hour earlier, it would have been nice and cool and much less humid, given that a severe rainstorm had just dropped the temp and moisture from the air.  Unfortunately by 7:30pm it jumped back to a steamy, muggy, warm atmosphere that was more something you'd swim through than run through.

       

      I should say it was the humidity and the course that pulled a double-whammy on me: they re-did the course for the Streetlight 5k this year - last year it started at a park and was an out-and-back arrangement along the Concord greenway [see map here: http://www.runningahead.com/logs/33b4ba3054824d2d807094bd681b09a2/workouts/46406bdd2ebb4a2f89682a8d705242fe/map ] but this year they started in downtown Concord, ran out along Corban Avenue for an almost 100% downhill first mile (jumping onto the greenway at about .75 miles into the race).  There was a turn-around about 1.3 miles out and the ENTIRE REST OF THE RACE was UPHILL.  I have run that greenway before and knew it was coming, but I still wasn't prepared for it.  Most of the runners around me didn't seem to be prepared, either - quite a few stopped to walk on the "switchback" section of the greenway and although a couple of folks passed me around the 2 mile marker, I got them right back through sheer stubbornness and an unwillingness to walk for more than about 8 seconds at the 2.5 mile mark while I downed a cup of water.  I did manage to find a few last ounces of reserve to pick up the pace on the last half mile or so and recover some of my lost time, and even with my last-ditch sprint to stay ahead of my competition, it was nowhere near where I was expecting to finish the race.  

      I ended up coming in at 22:01, which, while about a minute slower than I was hoping for, was still 32 seconds faster than my 2011 Streetlight 5k time, on a MUCH more challenging course.  I've got a trip to India for work here for a couple of weeks (ugh, treadmill time), but I'm hoping that when I get back, and especially when it starts to cool off, I can pound out a couple of 5k times that will really show my true level of fitness that a summer-evening race just doesn't reflect.  

       

      Of course, this race is now officially my nemesis, so I'm going to keep competing in it each year until I finally conquer it, heat, humidity, and all.

       

      Course map from this year's Streetlight 5k: http://www.runningahead.com/logs/33b4ba3054824d2d807094bd681b09a2/workouts/2b12ce43f0164fc1a843b00314c66ede/map

       

      And my pace/elevation chart from the race:

      Powered by RunningAHEAD.com

      old-runner


        Ross... That's a good time for being in all of that heat though! I had heard they changed the course but didn't realize how. I hate the big climb in the last half of the race. I'd much rather go uphill early then come downhill at the finish. I decided after my disastrous run at the Firecracker 5k that I'm going to avoid nighttime races for the most part. 

         

        I'm still hobbling around 3 days after The Scream half marathon. Not sure why I'm so sore after that but I'll be lucky if I'm able to race this coming weekend.

          Ross, nice run in the humidity, especially the kick looks like you finished at a 4:40 pace. Not sure if you looked at your HR readings, but you were at 200 + for the final mile, so I think you were pretty much redlining, way to be strong for that whole mile.

            Not sure if you looked at your HR readings, but you were at 200 + for the final mile, so I think you were pretty much redlining, way to be strong for that whole mile.

            Ross was at/above 200bpm from about the first mile marker onward. Surprised

             

            +1 to the strong finish, too!

            "I want you to pray as if everything depends on it, but I want you to prepare yourself as if everything depends on you."

            -- Dick LeBeau

            rossruns


              Ross, nice run in the humidity, especially the kick looks like you finished at a 4:40 pace. Not sure if you looked at your HR readings, but you were at 200 + for the final mile, so I think you were pretty much redlining, way to be strong for that whole mile.

               

              Thanks guys.  Redlining is correct - it wasn't until well after the fact that I even considered where my HR was at.  Definitely felt it.

               

              On a positive note, I played flag football with a recreation league this afternoon after work in the heat/humidity, and it felt like a cakewalk compared to the race.  So I may have to continue doing a couple of these hot summer races just so everything else I do outside (playing football, mowing the lawn, etc.) pales in comparison.  Maybe.

              old-runner


                Wow Ross... I see that your average heart rate for the whole race was 198 and you got up to 214 at the end. You must be part hummingbird!

                 

                Do you know what your maximum heart rate is? I've heard that about 20% of people fall outside the "normal" range that you figure out with a formula and that's it's neither good nor bad -- just different -- and doesn't really have an effect on whether you're a good runner or not. 

                 

                My own maximum heart rate is a bit higher than normal for my age and doesn't fit the formula. I'm not sure what it would have been back when I was younger but still not nearly as high as yours I don't think. The highest I've seen for myself is 186.

                  When I was running less I used to be able to routinely hit 185-190 HR (max recorded on a treadmill - 196).  On our Tuesday workout, I just could not run any harder yet the max HR recorded was 171 with an average of 169 for the second mile.  I suspect tired/sore legs from the HM were a part of not being able to run any harder, but I think fitness plays a role in how high we can push that Max HR, the more fit I am the more difficult it is to run hard enough to get close to my Max.

                  rossruns


                    Yeah, we had a discussion about my heart rate last fall - it's still high, but has come down a bit from when I started to get back into running last year. ( http://www.runningahead.com/groups/CNC/forum/15ea8710586e41cb9f51d0452f5fa619/2 was the previous discussion on the issue.)  I still have some fitness to gain which will eventually drop my HR down some, but I am seeing it trend downward a bit.  (See geeky charts below).

                     

                    Richard - how would I calculate my max heart rate?  My Garmin 610 gives me a max HR per workout, but I don't know if I need to do something specific to get what you'd consider a "maximum" maximum.

                     

                     

                    [Begin geeky charts & semi-annual self-evaluation of my heart rate] 

                     

                    Since I did my evaluation last fall, my max heart rate looks to have dropped from a mean/median 190 (on the previous charts) down to about 177-180. (I'm throwing out outliers as I get a spike sometimes that I'm not quite sure is true, e.g. the stuff over 210 below.)  Compare to the charts I posted in the forum link above:

                     

                    My graph

                     

                    Similarly, eyeballing my average HR it looks like it has dropped from ~170 to ~165.

                     

                    My graph

                     

                     

                    However, you'll see the jump in June back up the charts - I've recently changed my running form based on some "good form running" classes I took through Run For Your Life.  Shortening my stride, increasing my cadence, more midfoot striking, better arm swings, etc. to alleviate some calf/knee pain I started to experience after my last half marathon.  The pain has gone away, which is a good thing, but the change in my running form has also resulted in my HR jumping about 10% up above what I was doing before.  It was explained to me that in addition to the heat/humidity, I'm now using much more of my big muscles in my quads/hamstrings/glutes (and I certainly can attest to this with the initial soreness in these muscles!) and part of my increased HR could be due to my continued conditioning of these muscles.  Supposedly my heart rate should come back down to where it was before, and hopefully drop some more as I start to add some weight training and possibly other cross-training into my plan in the coming months.

                     

                    [/End geeky charts & semi-annual self-evaluation of my heart rate] 

                      A walk down hummingbird-heart-rate memory lane. Cool

                       

                       

                      It was explained to me that in addition to the heat/humidity, I'm now using much more of my big muscles in my quads/hamstrings/glutes (and I certainly can attest to this with the initial soreness in these muscles!) and part of my increased HR could be due to my continued conditioning of these muscles.

                      Yup and yup.

                       

                      I've been getting some stupid-high HR readings from the soft strap that came with my Garmin 310XT (acquired DEC2011).  It's supposedly less susceptible to static interference, but I'm not seeing that in real-world use.  As if the two adjustment buckles scratching my back weren't bad enough ...

                      "I want you to pray as if everything depends on it, but I want you to prepare yourself as if everything depends on you."

                      -- Dick LeBeau

                        So, is no one racing this weekend?  Come on, Richard, post up already -- we all know it's not a matter of if, but only of where.

                        "I want you to pray as if everything depends on it, but I want you to prepare yourself as if everything depends on you."

                        -- Dick LeBeau

                        old-runner


                          So, is no one racing this weekend?  Come on, Richard, post up already -- we all know it's not a matter of if, but only of where.

                           

                          Oh, are you waiting for me to make an announcement?? Okay...

                           

                          Run/Walk the Greenway 5k in Salisbury on Saturday. Goal is sub 22:00.

                           

                          Ta-Da!

                           

                          Ross... There's no need for you to calculate you heart rate. You're one of those 20% of people who doesn't fit the formula. For you, your maximum heart rate is whatever you've seen. Your max in the last race 217. If you haven't seen a higher number than that then your max is 217. If at a later time you see a number that's higher it would change to that number.

                            Cliff/Clive,

                            I assume your running in a shirt w/your HRT strapped on your shirt.  Why not run w/out your shirt so that you could eliminate your shirt as a source for static interference??

                            Rob

                              Strapped under the shirt, yes. Smile

                               

                              I have gone topless, but I get tired of the wolf whistles and constant pick-up attempts.  The stupid HRM doesn't act up all the time, which is what's frustrating about it.

                              "I want you to pray as if everything depends on it, but I want you to prepare yourself as if everything depends on you."

                              -- Dick LeBeau

                              theyapper


                              On the road again...

                                Longest run distance and time-wise in 4 months for me this morning.  Wasn't sure I'd pull it off after a week away at church camp with a bunch of crazy kids, so I went out early planning on running at least 6 miles and convincing myself that this could be a cutback week.  Really went slow and easy and ay 6 miles I felt fine so I went ahead and pushed for the full 90 minute run.  Got just shy of 9.5 miles in and felt fantastic at the end.

                                 

                                I've tried to take a slow, steady approach to getting back in the runner's groove, and I think it's paying off.

                                I write. I read. I run. One time, I ran a lot on my 50th birthday.

                                Paul

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