Low HR Training

"Race Report & Upcoming Races" Thread (Read 7775 times)


run-easy-race-hard

    Ok, I've finally gotten around to putting together some recent race reports. Here's the first: RR: Clyde's 10k Time: 42:22 Place: 65/1325 Given my beating last week at the Bull Run Run 50 miler, I had taken most of 4 days off from running just to recover and I had just piddled around after that. However, on Saturday, I did a nice brick (first ride of the Columbia Tri course of the year) with a 12 mile run and I felt quite good, but I also felt like I needed a peppier run, so right afterwards I went to sign up for Clyde's 10k. It was so late they were out of shirts, which I was quite thankful for - who needs another? The best thing about it is that I can sleep in, run to the race, race it, run home, and still have plenty of time to catch my flight to Boston. Sunday morning it was raining lightly when I left my house, but generally pleasant. I jogged the 2.5 miles to the start, chatted with various folks, then lined up. The last thing I wanted to do was have a 10k race throw off my Boston marathon tomorrow, but I already knew that the 50 miler the previous weekend took care of that anyway. I decided to go out at marathon heart rate for most of the race, but let the heart rate climb a little bit higher than I would in the marathon, then if feeling good, I would kick it in a bit at the end. I had the goal of reminding myself what a sub-7 pace felt like and I never can do that at all in a training run. So I did just that, basically enjoying the race, but pushing things just a touch. Took the first couple of miles in 6:46 and 6:43, respectively, cut it back as some of bigger hills came up with 7:03 for both the next two miles. Late in the 5th mile, I felt a bit too energetic, so I decided to pick up the pace a bit, back to 6:55. By the last mile, I started to wonder if I could hit a true 10k PR (I've actually hit just under 42 for the first 10k of a couple of marathons, but my best 10k was 42:24, I believe), so I really started to kick it in at the end. I did the last full mile in 6;24 and then another 1:26 for the last 0.22 mile, to make a PR by I guess a couple of seconds. I was pushing hard at the end as I brought my heart rate over 190 for the first time in quite a while. I then jogged home and got ready to fly out for Boston. And of course, here's the motionbased output: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/5444713


    run-easy-race-hard

      And the Boston report: Boston Marathon 08 Time: 3:18:34 Place: 3967/~22000 After last weekend's fiasco at Bull Run Run, I knew I had blown my chances for a good Boston this year, unfortunately. Had I had a good race at BRR, it would have been worth it, but I didn't so it wasn't! In either case, Boston is always fun and I would make the best of it, see how I would feel, and run with whatever I had in me. This year I had the great fortune of riding to the race with some great accommodations provide by ace8 (you're not gonna find a nicer guy and family!) This not only gave me the comfort of a super-smooth ride, but also enabled me to sleep an extra hour! At the time everyone else was barreling out of the Cambridge Marriott to catch the subway to the bus line to Hopkinton, I was picking out my breakfast at Starbucks - a beautiful looking cheese danish and a large blueberry muffin - then a large glass of milk. With over 3 hours till race time, this should do perfectly! So after breakfast, I packed up my stuff in my backpack (all that I brought on the trip), checked out and went to catch my ride. Couldn't have been more pleasant. I hooked up with a few more friends around the athlete's park, then hoofed it back down to the corrals. John Kerry walked by moments later as he was the grand marshall of the race. The weather was supposed to be cool and cloudy for the whole race with a light breeze and temps in the low 50s. I moved to the front of the 5th corral and chatted with a few folks for a while. Probably 5 minutes before the start, all of the clouds broke away and the sky became crystal clear and suddenly the temperature was perfectly comfortable ... for standing there. Actually not too bad for running either, but definitely much warmer than I would prefer for the beginning of a marathon. The big question would be whether I would have any ability to take advantage of the early downhills as I like to do, or would I simply be trapped in the crowd. After the race started, I found it would be the latter. Just like last year, I found myself wasting energy just trying to hold even a flat course pace and it became very frustrating. However, by about mile 4, when I started to get a little bit of space, I realized it. My legs just did not want to move at a 7/mile pace. It just wasn't in me today. I really didn't even want to run. Heart rate was low, breathing was fine, but no great desire to run. At this point, I just decided I would take in the race atmosphere, throw in some occasional surges, but overall, just enjoy the Boston Marathon. As last year, I focused a lot on high-fiving the kids who were spectating in all of the towns along the way. It really is a blast. Running the slightly slower pace this year than last year had me in a much more crowded zone. There were many wrecks happening around, mostly at the water stops due to the crowds, and a lot of blood! As usual, coming upon mile 12 or so I hear the distinctive roar about a mile ahead -- the Wellesley girls. At various points of such crowds, I would throw in a surge for a couple of minutes and then I would back off to a very comfortable pace. Come mile 21, I shuffled my way up heartbreak hill, with lots of people walking and puttering all around me. I did what I needed to from the halfway point on to keep my pace under 3:20. I trotted the last several miles in to finish smoothly at 3:18, far slower than what I wanted to do a couple of weeks ago, but really glad to be done with it this year. Here's the MB track: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/5463902
        My 5-year old son keeps telling people about "his new friend Jesse who can run 100 miles" Good luck May 4th-ers
          If any of you are bored Sunday morning, sipping coffee in front of your computer, and you want to check up on me or see if I finish... www.flyingpigmarathon.com Bib#: 5539 Race starts at 6:30 Again- best of luck to those racing this weekend.


          run-easy-race-hard

            If any of you are bored Sunday morning, sipping coffee in front of your computer, and you want to check up on me or see if I finish... www.flyingpigmarathon.com Bib#: 5539 Race starts at 6:30 Again- best of luck to those racing this weekend.
            Looking forward to it! And just remember - it's only a marathon.
              If any of you are bored Sunday morning, sipping coffee in front of your computer, and you want to check up on me or see if I finish... www.flyingpigmarathon.com Bib#: 5539 Race starts at 6:30 Again- best of luck to those racing this weekend.
              Same here, but bib 650. Good luck to everyone this weekend.
              BeeRunB


                Ran 5k tune-up race today in Warren, RI. The Warren Substance Abuse 5k Made a new 5k PR by ten seconds. 6:48 6:42 6:42 :37 (6:10) 20:49 (6:43) Felt good. I ran an all-out 5k in February in 21:36, so I've come a long way in three months. Have a great weekend, marathoners! --Jimmy


                run-easy-race-hard

                  Ran 5k tune-up race today in Warren, RI. The Warren Substance Abuse 5k Made a new 5k PR by ten seconds. 6:48 6:42 6:42 :37 (6:10) 20:49 (6:43) Felt good. I ran an all-out 5k in February in 21:36, so I've come a long way in three months. Have a great weekend, marathoners! --Jimmy
                  Spectacular, Jimmy! That's an enormous 5k improvement.
                    Ran 5k tune-up race today in Warren, RI. The Warren Substance Abuse 5k Made a new 5k PR by ten seconds. 6:48 6:42 6:42 :37 (6:10) 20:49 (6:43) Felt good. I ran an all-out 5k in February in 21:36, so I've come a long way in three months. Have a great weekend, marathoners! --Jimmy
                    Wow....very impressive Jimmy. Outstanding, in fact. Hoooah!
                    C-R


                      Here is my report for the Indianapolis Mini. MAF is 138 but I decided to push it to 143 just to let out the reigns. I don't think it hurt my base build but you guys can comment on that. I plan to base build through all of June ayway as I really enjoy my LHR training. Race conditions today were perfect. At the start it was 52 and slightly overcast. If anyone has run this, you are packed in very close. There were 35000 entrants as usual and it looked like all of the showed for the run. We started down Washington and it was a challenge to control my tempo as I wanted to just take off. But restraint was the phrase of the day. The mini was really adamant about the Ipod thing so they increased the number of bands and we hit the first band before we even hit the half mile point. Hearing Stepenwolf's Magic Carpet Ride was an interesting start. The first miles went well and I managed to control my heart rate well. It was much more challenging than I thought since being in a race was willing me to run faster. I skipped the first three water stops. Probably not a great idea, but since this was a training run and I didn't really think it would matter. The bands and volunteers were great and made the first miles move quick. There were many spots where congestion made keeping pace a challenge at least through the turns. It also massively rained the night before the run and lots of puddles were crimping the corners. Not a big irritant but something of note. Passing mile five reminds you that the Indy Motor Speedway looms ahead. We pass through an initial gate and down a tunnel wth a nice little uphill and you are inside the Brickyard. Ironically, this year I hit the entry at about 1:03 and we see the two Kenyans battling for the win on a big jumbotron. We haven't even hit 6 mile mark and they are looking for a water bottle and a couple of cookies. Ugh. Mile 6 breaks you onto the track. Pace is good and sun is starting to peak out. There are signs everywhere that no Gu or cups on the track but I could stack a ten foot high pile of the discards. Its a silly rule which no one seems to heed. ANyway, mile 7 and 8 are on the track. its crowded and the inclines are not that much fun on the legs, but it is great to cross the bricks at the speedway finish. As we depart the speedway we have a little over four miles remaining. This is the boring part of the run but there are more bands and lots of people with cow bells cheering the runners. My pace is starting to pick up a little. I wanted to see if I could maintain the speed without pushin too hard. So far so good. We hit the 12 mile mark and there is the beer table. Yippee. Its probably Keystone but who cares. Its free and tastes good going down. The last part of the run follows the White River and with the sun wide awake now, downtown Indy looks great. One last turn onto New York and the last mile is in sight. It has a small downhill that gets my going and I decide to kick a little to test the engine. I ran my HR up to 150 and finished strong. I hope I managed to keep my 143 target. After crossing the finish line with a wave to the camera, I take a look at the Polar to see the results. 143 on the button and I feel like I still have another 10 miles in me. My review is that the LHR seems to be working. I passed lots of people n the last five mles and had lots of people pass me. Once I'm ready to really race, I should be able to hit my goals. Lots of base left to build but I like the results so far. Overall more than 30000 fiished the race and the winner finished in 1:02. Wow! This is a great race and well managed. They had more than 20 bands on the roads. Water stations everywhere and lots of cheering viewers. If you haven't run this one, you should at least do it once. Running the track is a geat experience and usually the weather is very good for a run. Its flat and is a good chance to PR if you can navigate the crowds. Most runners stick with their assigned corrals and that helps. Thats it and I'm ready for Geist HM which runs on May17th. My results are: Mile Time Avg Peak 1.10:02 141 144 2. 9:25 146 150 3. 9:34 142 144 4. 9:32 142 146 5. 9:35 142 144 6. 9:43 143 145 7. 9:54 142 144 8. 9:15 143 146 9. 9:28 144 147 10. 9:24 143 146 11. 9:03 145 149 12. 9:06 144 150 13. 8:37 148 155 13.1 8:10 150 150 Overall 2:03:37- avg pace 9:26/mi and I feel great.


                      "He conquers who endures" - Persius
                      "Every workout should have a purpose. Every purpose should link back to achieving a training objective." - Spaniel

                      http://ncstake.blogspot.com/


                      run-easy-race-hard

                        Excellent job, CarmelRunner! Great results. I thought I should throw in a little teaser here. The Frederick Marathon today was a real killer, both in the course and various aspects of the conditions. This race had the biggest hills in a road marathon I've encountered, second only to Lake Tahoe. But, I just wanted to mention that gregw passed me with about 1.5 miles to go or so and finish with a nice PR in a very tough situation. I'm sure we'll have a report coming - congrats to Greg. Then he told me he felt bad that he didn't hang with me!?? What's with that - the ball's in my court in that situation and I let it bounce out of bounds. The first half of the course was great. Not only did the sun get strong in the second half, but the hills starting at mile 18 were monstrous, then a strong headwind for a good bit of the rest of the way starting at mile 22 or so.
                        BeeRunB


                          Wow....very impressive Jimmy. Outstanding, in fact. Hoooah!
                          Thank you, Doc and Jesse. Norm, Nice training run. You are doing awesome. 9:26 pace. The extra beats won't hurt you--don't worry about that. If you plan to keep going with the MAF training, and make your weight goals, you'll be flying. Nice work. --Jimmy


                          run-easy-race-hard

                            Here's my GPS from Frederick Marathon - take a look at the elevation profile, especially for the second half. It felt like a very cruel joke. This race included my worst marathon splits in 3 years: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/5569015
                            BeeRunB


                              Here's my GPS from Frederick Marathon - take a look at the elevation profile, especially for the second half. It felt like a very cruel joke. This race included my worst marathon splits in 3 years: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/5569015
                              Did they change the course? I thought that you've done this one before. Then, again, I assume you've done every Baltimore area marathon about ten times! Cool --Jimmy
                              BeeRunB


                                P.S. Looks like Mark had a good first marathon (CFkid), as well as Ace. You can go to The Flying Pig and pop in 650 (Mark) and 5539 for Ace. They gave them out in the Anaerobic thread.