Low HR Training

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

Docket_Rocket


    Pleasantly surprised to have run a 26:10 at a 174HR.  I've done a 24:57 post asthma (a PR) but this is the fastest without albuterol ever and I felt strongly throughout.  It was hot and humid too, so who knows what I could've done if I had not run a 50K last week.

    Damaris

     

    As part of the 2024 London Marathon, I am fundraising for VICTA, a charity that helps blind and visually impaired children. My mentor while in law school, Jim K (a blind attorney), has been a huge inspiration and an example of courage and perseverance. Please consider donating.

    Fundraising Page

      Congrats Damaris!  You are gettin' it done!

       

      Well, my first 13.1 is DONE!!!  The KY Derby Festival MiniMarathon/Marathon was yesterday and it couldn't have been a better day for it.  Low 50s and overcast and no wind, so no reason not to go for it.  Two good buddies from high school, Rob and Bryan (also my cousin), met at my house to ride up together.  This was also Bryan's first HM and it was number 5 for Rob.  The pre-race routine is kinda down pat and we arrived in plenty of time, so no added stress there.  A moment of silence for the Boston bombing victims added some perspective to the day.

       

      My pre-race concerns about early traffic in the crowd of 14,000 was unfounded.  It seemed that the corral system they used had worked.  So my goal was 1:35:00 or 7:15 pace on a flat course, basically the same pace I ran a hilly 10 miler 3 weeks before.  Seemed reasonable to try.  So I started clicking miles off in the 7:10 range because it reduced stress knowing that I would have a little wiggle room on the back end.  At about mile 5, I noticed the first change in effort level required to maintain pace.  Uh oh, I thought...a little early for that.  AHR in my previous races was 179 (5K), 176 (10K) and 174 (10 mi), so my expectation for HM was about 172.  So by mile 5, AHR was already 171 and HR was in the upper 170s which was a little concerning, but I didn't let it slow me down.  I had gotten feedback here on RA that I probably had a little more to give in my other races, so I just kept charging ahead.  I have to say that the crowd support was pretty great, even the group of drunken fraternity/sorority kids at about mile 7.  They must have stayed up all night!  In mile 8, I noticed that one guy was hanging very close behind my right shoulder for the whole mile, so as we entered the horse stables (oh the SMELL!!!) and infield at Churchill Downs at the start of mile 9, I struck up a conversation with him.  I said "Hey, whatcha shootin' for?" and he said "Under 2 hours."  I laughed and said I think we're gonna blow that away!  He was not using a watch or anything, so apparently didn't have an idea of how fast he was going.  Said he was using me for motivation, so I said that's cool, let's motivate each other.  Mile 9 was a little off pace at 7:25 while conversating, but no biggie, I needed a momentary distraction from the building pain.  Smile

       

      By mile 10, it was getting pretty uncomfortable as HR was now firmly in the 180s and was obviously not going anywhere but up.  I didn't run hard and long enough in training to practice fueling and didn't think I would need much anyway, but I had been alternating between water and Powerade that handed out on the course.  Powerade didn't seem to cause stomach problems like I thought it might.  During mile 11, I turned my head and the guy that was tracking me had dropped off.  Hope he was OK.  Mile 12, now starting to have delusional thoughts about stopping to walk, lol.  I wanted to SO bad!!!!  Poured a couple of cups of water over my head and chest and grabbed an orange slice that some dear soul handed me.  That was at least a distraction whether they helped or not!  I know I am not doing a very good job at painting an emotional word picture for you here, but I am PRAYING for help to finish the race at this point!!!  Start of mile 13, I can see the first of two remaining turns ahead and it seems so far away.  Made the turn with something like 2/3 mile to go, then the crowd support started to pick up.  Thank you, kind people, you really do make a difference!  Last turn with about 1/4 mile downhill to the finish and the crowd is even thicker and louder!  Miraculously picked up the pace a little to the line...YES, THANK GOD, IT'S OVER!!!  1:34:38, 7:14 pace and 177 AHR.  I know I didn't leave much on the table this time...no fewer than 3 race volunteers stopped me to ask if I was OK or needed help.  Cool

       

      Here's the best part of the story.  My buddy Rob was the one who encouraged me to start getting healthy and fit about a year ago.  Then I got him into low HR training when I did in January.  Well, his old PR after 4 previous HMs and 3 years of consistent training was 1:57.  After 3 months of low HR training, he blistered his PR by 9 minutes for a 1:48!!!  Also, my cousin Bryan, in his first HM and with no recent race experience, ran a 1:45 at a 171 AHR!!!  He left a little on the table, but it was the right thing for him to do on this day.  They both looked like spring chickens after the race and I looked like death warmed over and started shivering  Dead  I'll have to figure out why that happened and how to possibly prevent it for next time.  But for now, we're celebrating everyone hitting their goals!!!  WOOHOO!!!!

       

      L to R: Me, Rob, Bryan.  At my favorite running store picking me up some compression sleeves for my trashed calves right after the race.

       

      http://i441.photobucket.com/albums/qq133/wheater13/IMG_0281.jpg

       

      TypeDistance              Split settingsDurationTotal DurationPaceAvg HRMax HRNotes
      1 Manual 1 mi 7:08.77 7:08.77 7:09 164 168  
      2 Manual 1 mi 7:12.12 14:20.89 7:13 168 174  
      3 Manual 1 mi 7:08.56 21:29.45 7:09 172 175  
      4 Manual 1 mi 7:10.37 28:39.82 7:11 175 177  
      5 Manual 1 mi 7:06.4 35:46.22 7:07 176 179  
      6 Manual 1 mi 7:17.14 43:03.36 7:18 178 181  
      7 Manual 1 mi 7:07.77 50:11.13 7:08 178 181  
      8 Manual 1 mi 7:11.77 57:22.9 7:12 178 181  
      9 Manual 1 mi 7:25.56 1:04:48.46 7:26 181 184  
      10 Manual 1 mi 7:15.68 1:12:04.14 7:16 182 184  
      11 Manual 1 mi 7:14.63 1:19:18.77 7:15 184 186  
      12 Manual 1 mi 7:19.23 1:26:38 7:20 185 191  
      13 Manual 1 mi 7:15.09 1:33:53.09 7:16 185 186  
      14 Manual 0.11 mi 0:42.91 1:34:36 6:31 186 187

      Eric

       

      PRs:  5k - (20:42) 3/9/2013 18:55 (9/28/13)

                 10k - (42:42) 3/23/2013 39:11 (10/26/13) course was short @ 6.0 mi :)

                 10 mi - (1:12:10) 4/6/2013

                 HM - (1:34:38) 4/27/2013

      runnerclay


      Consistently Slow

        Damaris congrats. Great job on a recovery week!

         

        Eric WTG! Glad to know you left it all on the course. Race experience paid off  big. Now you are aware of the degree of unpleasantness it takes to hit your mark.  Looks like you had a good kick left at the finish.

        Run until the trail runs out.

         SCHEDULE 2016--

         The pain that hurts the worse is the imagined pain. One of the most difficult arts of racing is learning to ignore the imagined pain and just live with the present pain (which is always bearable.) - Jeff

        unsolicited chatter

        http://bkclay.blogspot.com/

        Docket_Rocket


          Great job, Eric!  Congrats.

          Damaris

           

          As part of the 2024 London Marathon, I am fundraising for VICTA, a charity that helps blind and visually impaired children. My mentor while in law school, Jim K (a blind attorney), has been a huge inspiration and an example of courage and perseverance. Please consider donating.

          Fundraising Page

            Thanks guys!  runnerclay, that was the shortest kick ever, lol, but at least I had one.

             

            I tried to post a pic, but can't get it to work.  Tried every option Photobucket had and best I can do is a link.  Anybody know what I'm doing wrong?

            Eric

             

            PRs:  5k - (20:42) 3/9/2013 18:55 (9/28/13)

                       10k - (42:42) 3/23/2013 39:11 (10/26/13) course was short @ 6.0 mi :)

                       10 mi - (1:12:10) 4/6/2013

                       HM - (1:34:38) 4/27/2013

              Ran the hardest (trail conditions-wise) race of my life yesterday.  Mohican's Forget the PR 50K.  The name fits--the race director is a wonderful sadist who does his best to make the course as hard as possible, putting some of the worst parts near the end (e.g., the North Rim climb).  ~5500ish feet of climbing. Rained the night before.  A lot.  Some of the course had to be rerouted (concerns of drowning if a certain river crossing was done).  Started raining before the start, kept up the whole time.

               

              I've never had so much trouble with downhills!  The mud was deep, thick, and slippery.  I kind of lost the battle in miles 23 - 26 while the course wound up, back and forth, and through a stream inside a gorge where I fell once.  Climbing out of that (literally--think root ladder), I had second thoughts about the race.

               

              After the loop was over, though, things were good again.  It may have been the cookies I downed at the aid station that lifted my spirits.  Did have trouble pushing as hard as I wanted to as I kept fighting against almost falling on steeper downhills.  Really happy with my finish time (5:29:34).  14th OA.  UltraSignUp had me 5:38 predicted time, and to beat it in those conditions was awesome.

              "When a person trains once, nothing happens. When a person forces himself to do a thing a hundred or a thousand times, then he certainly has developed in more ways than physical. Is it raining? That doesn't matter. Am I tired? That doesn't matter, either. Then willpower will be no problem." 
              Emil Zatopek

              labhiker


                WTG Damaris.  Great job and post.

                labhiker

                npaden


                  Pretty impressive results everyone!

                   

                  wheatfeet - the Kentucky Derby Festival was my first ever half marathon last year.  The crowd support on that last mile was very helpful for me last year.

                   

                  rgilbert - sounds like a really long tough mudder or something.  5500' of climbing as in a straight up climb or a lot of ups and downs?  Anything over about a 500' sustained climb has me ready to take a break with my hands on my knees.

                  Age: 50 Weight: 224 Height: 6'3" (Goal weight 195)

                  Current PR's:  Mara 3:14:36* (2017); HM 1:36:13 (2017); 10K 43:59 (2014); 5K 21:12 (2016)

                    I don't think there was anything longer than 500' at once--lots of abrupt, sharp uphills, some long sustained ones.  Map of the course here.  Many of them, for me, were quicker to "power hike" up than run, so I did a lot of that.

                     

                    Pretty impressive results everyone!

                     

                    wheatfeet - the Kentucky Derby Festival was my first ever half marathon last year.  The crowd support on that last mile was very helpful for me last year.

                     

                    rgilbert - sounds like a really long tough mudder or something.  5500' of climbing as in a straight up climb or a lot of ups and downs?  Anything over about a 500' sustained climb has me ready to take a break with my hands on my knees.

                    "When a person trains once, nothing happens. When a person forces himself to do a thing a hundred or a thousand times, then he certainly has developed in more ways than physical. Is it raining? That doesn't matter. Am I tired? That doesn't matter, either. Then willpower will be no problem." 
                    Emil Zatopek

                    npaden


                      Oh yeah, just so everyone has plenty of advance notice so they can wait on pins and needles for my astounding results and race report, my first ever marathon is coming up on Sunday.  The Flying Pig in Cincinnati, Ohio.  I've been following the Hansons Plan pretty closely and am getting pretty pumped.  Ultimate goal is just sub 4 hours, but I would really like to break the 3:50 mark and that's what I've been training toward.

                       

                      Their taper has a little more running that I've seen in most other plans, but I'm going to stick with the plan as it has gotten me where I'm at.  This week has me running 6 today, 5 tomorrow, 6 on Thursday, 6 on Friday and 3 on Saturday, all easy miles.  I'll probably throw in 2 or 3 easy miles on Wednesday to keep my streak going and I'm debating cutting the 6 on Friday down to 4.

                       

                      Going to be a long week, that's for sure.

                      Age: 50 Weight: 224 Height: 6'3" (Goal weight 195)

                      Current PR's:  Mara 3:14:36* (2017); HM 1:36:13 (2017); 10K 43:59 (2014); 5K 21:12 (2016)

                        I've been following/lurking on your training--I think you're in a great place to hit your goal.  The Flying Pig is a fantastic race.  Fun course.  The "bad hill" is at 6-8 ish.  As long as you don't try to keep up with all the people around you who try to push through that, you'll be fine.  I was probably passed by a hundred or more people up that hill.

                         

                        ....then I passed several hundred after it :-P.  Giving up speed to the hill is worth it--so you can take from it later.  After that point, there are some rollers, but the course is pretty much downhill from there.  Check mine here if you want.

                         

                        The volunteers and spectators at the Pig are AWESOME.  There was an aid station all dressed up like Blues Brothers last year.

                         

                        Oh yeah, just so everyone has plenty of advance notice so they can wait on pins and needles for my astounding results and race report, my first ever marathon is coming up on Sunday.  The Flying Pig in Cincinnati, Ohio.  I've been following the Hansons Plan pretty closely and am getting pretty pumped.  Ultimate goal is just sub 4 hours, but I would really like to break the 3:50 mark and that's what I've been training toward.

                         

                        Their taper has a little more running that I've seen in most other plans, but I'm going to stick with the plan as it has gotten me where I'm at.  This week has me running 6 today, 5 tomorrow, 6 on Thursday, 6 on Friday and 3 on Saturday, all easy miles.  I'll probably throw in 2 or 3 easy miles on Wednesday to keep my streak going and I'm debating cutting the 6 on Friday down to 4.

                         

                        Going to be a long week, that's for sure.

                        "When a person trains once, nothing happens. When a person forces himself to do a thing a hundred or a thousand times, then he certainly has developed in more ways than physical. Is it raining? That doesn't matter. Am I tired? That doesn't matter, either. Then willpower will be no problem." 
                        Emil Zatopek

                        npaden


                          I've been following/lurking on your training--I think you're in a great place to hit your goal.  The Flying Pig is a fantastic race.  Fun course.  The "bad hill" is at 6-8 ish.  As long as you don't try to keep up with all the people around you who try to push through that, you'll be fine.  I was probably passed by a hundred or more people up that hill.

                           

                          ....then I passed several hundred after it :-P.  Giving up speed to the hill is worth it--so you can take from it later.  After that point, there are some rollers, but the course is pretty much downhill from there.  Check mine here if you want.

                           

                          The volunteers and spectators at the Pig are AWESOME.  There was an aid station all dressed up like Blues Brothers last year.

                           

                           

                          Thanks for the comments.  I have probably looked over your race report and splits 4 or 5 times over the last few months.  You are faster than me so I can't compare apples to apples, but I for sure am aware of "the hill" and have been running some similar hills in my training.  I tend to want to push it up the hills, but I'm going to try to hold back and plan on running mile 6 at a 9:15 pace and mile 7 at a 9:10 pace using the elevation paced pace band that I worked up.  I'm planning on trying to stick to an overall 8:45 avg pace through at least mile 20.  Mile 20 shows another 9:10 mile based on the elevation based pace band and   Mile 21 has a big downhill and shows 8:20 on the pace.  You were smoking along on your race by the time you got there though and looks like you barely slowed down for the hill on mile 20.

                           

                          I'm hoping to have something left and be able to push it in the last 6 miles, but since I've only run 18.7 miles for my longest run so far everything from there in is a big unknown.

                           

                          The volunteers and spectators are the reason why I picked the Pig for my first marathon.  Running the Kentucky Derby Festival for my first half marathon last year the spectators made a big difference I think.  Around here most of the marathons are under 200 participants and the spectators are even less than that, so you end up out there on an island after the first few miles.

                           

                          Just hoping I don't need a wheel chair assist going through the airport flying home that evening after the race!

                           

                          Trying to trust my training and just hoping that the weather turns out good.

                          Age: 50 Weight: 224 Height: 6'3" (Goal weight 195)

                          Current PR's:  Mara 3:14:36* (2017); HM 1:36:13 (2017); 10K 43:59 (2014); 5K 21:12 (2016)

                          runnerclay


                          Consistently Slow

                             

                             

                            Their taper has a little more running that I've seen in most other plans, but I'm going to stick with the plan as it has gotten me where I'm at.  This week has me running 6 today, 5 tomorrow, 6 on Thursday, 6 on Friday and 3 on Saturday, all easy miles.  I'll probably throw in 2 or 3 easy miles on Wednesday to keep my streak going and I'm debating cutting the 6 on Friday down to 4.

                             

                            Going to be a long week, that's for sure.

                             

                            The plan has no taper. My  high mileage for my BQ was 55 a week. I reached it twice. Your mileage is higher and you are 10 years younger. Cut  this weeks mileage in half. You do not need it. If nothing else cut  the last 3 days in half and do a 5-6 60 meter sprints 2 days before the race. I am 40 lbs lighter. Do not pass the passer before mile 23.The course looks to be a decline. The down hills will kill your calves late in the race. Your training has been impressive. 1:51 /1:49.

                             

                            PS: Temp race day 67 - 71F. Hopefully the rain will come Sunday instead of Saturday. Just checked your monthly mileage. Over 200 miles in the past 3 months. WOW! On matter how the race comes out. You put in the work. I think < 3:50 is in the bag. Temps being the only other factor.

                            Run until the trail runs out.

                             SCHEDULE 2016--

                             The pain that hurts the worse is the imagined pain. One of the most difficult arts of racing is learning to ignore the imagined pain and just live with the present pain (which is always bearable.) - Jeff

                            unsolicited chatter

                            http://bkclay.blogspot.com/

                              I agree the plan doesn't really taper.  How much you should or should not taper is somewhat personal.  My two recent races (HM, 50K), I did no serious taper--cut out the long run the week before, cut mileage a little the week of, but not substantially.  I don't really do much speedwork.

                               

                              However, I only did this because I am at a mileage level I am very "used to."  That is, I've averaged 50-60 for the whole last year.  I don't feel the fatigue that comes when I peak, so no taper.  If I was at new mileage levels, as the plan has you at, I would be cutting back more.

                               

                              I think this is part of the Hanson philosophy--moderate mileage, moderate long run, less need to taper as there's more progression than peak.

                               

                              That said, if you feel the cumulative fatigue, there's no real risk in cutting back more than prescribed this week.

                              "When a person trains once, nothing happens. When a person forces himself to do a thing a hundred or a thousand times, then he certainly has developed in more ways than physical. Is it raining? That doesn't matter. Am I tired? That doesn't matter, either. Then willpower will be no problem." 
                              Emil Zatopek

                              runnerclay


                              Consistently Slow

                                Ran the hardest (trail conditions-wise) race of my life yesterday.  Mohican's Forget the PR 50K.  The name fits--the race director is a wonderful sadist who does his best to make the course as hard as possible, putting some of the worst parts near the end (e.g., the North Rim climb).  ~5500ish feet of climbing. Rained the night before.  A lot.  Some of the course had to be rerouted (concerns of drowning if a certain river crossing was done).  Started raining before the start, kept up the whole time.

                                 

                                I've never had so much trouble with downhills!  The mud was deep, thick, and slippery.  I kind of lost the battle in miles 23 - 26 while the course wound up, back and forth, and through a stream inside a gorge where I fell once.  Climbing out of that (literally--think root ladder), I had second thoughts about the race.

                                 

                                After the loop was over, though, things were good again.  It may have been the cookies I downed at the aid station that lifted my spirits.  Did have trouble pushing as hard as I wanted to as I kept fighting against almost falling on steeper downhills.  Really happy with my finish time (5:29:34).  14th OA.  UltraSignUp had me 5:38 predicted time, and to beat it in those conditions was awesome.

                                WTG! Are you looking to BQ in your next marathon? 1:27: x x at the HM.

                                Run until the trail runs out.

                                 SCHEDULE 2016--

                                 The pain that hurts the worse is the imagined pain. One of the most difficult arts of racing is learning to ignore the imagined pain and just live with the present pain (which is always bearable.) - Jeff

                                unsolicited chatter

                                http://bkclay.blogspot.com/