under a rock
I hope everyone had a good weekend! I got back on board with running this morning after taking a week to rest my achilles. I did a 3 mile easy run this morning and I heard not a peep from it! Hopefully I'll be back in my regular routine asap.
mtwarder, how was Uwharrie? I saw that you finished but I need some more details. Hope you had a good time visiting the Carolinas!
Wandering Wally
Starting my first full week of heart rate based training this week. Feeling really good so far. It should make me a better runner eventually.
Run! Just Run!
Trail Runner Nation Podcast
flashlight and sidewalk
Fraggle, hope your achilles is still holding up
Mjsmith, what are your initial impressions on the heart rate training? Are you following a plan?
+1 Uwharrie RR is needed
I have a nice easy week of resting up my legs for a 5k on saturday...hoping to break 19:00 (its a road race so I actually have a good idea of what my pace will be each mile ). I have some plans that will require some shuffling, but I hope to get some trail miles in on sunday...if not theres always next week.
**Ask me about streaking**
running under the BigSky
Hello all. I survived Uwharrie wonderful event, beautiful country, friendly people and very well organized. It was quite nippy at the start of the race- 17F- made the classic error of wearing too much clothing, which had to be shed and packed at the first aid station
I have to mention that I led the race (for about 2 minutes! )- I was about a third back in the pack and we were headed up the first very grueling hill when I saw 40 or so guys come to a stop, I looked to my right and saw the trail marking paint on a tree and took off on the right trail- my lead lasted all of 2 minutes
I was hoping for close to a 4 hour finish, but the effects of the flu were still hanging on (lots of congestion in my head/lungs) and really conspired against me- ended up w/ a 4:43 finish which was fine as it was a very enjoyable race. My brother finished in around 5.5 hours and was really tickled to finish as this was the first time he's ran more than 12 miles, and almost exclusively on roads.
the course was very technical- lots of rocks and roots (that are often hidden under leaf litter), several stream crossings and they had a lot of high winds prior to the race which made for a lot of jumping up and over, the constant elevation changes also added to the complexity- not complaining a bit, it's what makes the race challenging (and fun!)
I'm definitely planning on running this event again, it was really fun. Had a lot of fun in SC as well, got a lot of sight seeing in, a ton of great seafood, some running, some mtn biking and lots of soak time in my brothers hot tub-a very nice vacation!
fraggle- glad your achilles is on the mend
mjsmith- I'd also like to hear a few details on the heart monitor training as my Dad sent me a monitor and I've yet to use it
jamezilla- good luck w/ the 5 k, after three 5-ish mile runs on the road in SC I'm looking forward to trails again, the road seems like it beats me up pretty bad (I'm sure Uwharrie didn't have anything to do w/ it )
2023 goal 2023 miles √
2022 goal- 2022 miles √
2021 goal- 2021 miles √
I started heart rate training using Maffetone's method. I am in what many call the "patience" phase. So called because you run so slow it tests your patience. This phase lasts 3-6 months depending on how fit you were going in and how clean your diet already was. If you are not familiar with Maffetone, he has you calculate an aerobic heart rate and then you train in a 10 beat range maxing at the calculated heart rate.
Here's an article describing the calculation: http://www.philmaffetone.com/180formula.cfm
So far my experience has been exactly what Dr. Maffetone said it would be. My patience has been tested. However I've also seen some niggling aches and pains go away, I am sleeping better, my mechanics are improving and I recover quicker. It's too early to measure any improvements but I do feel better. It is hard to "run" so slow though. Mentally it's challenging and maybe that's a good thing? Part of preparing for an endurance event is developing mental toughness.
One adjustment I've made is to train only by time and not worry about distance. If I keep at it, the distance and speed will come. Besides, I'm fighting through snowbanks right now anyway. That's enough work in and of itself :-)
thanks for the run down, I'm going to take my heart monitor for the next several runs and see where my heart rate is- I can't even fathom a guess at this point
Good job on Uwharrie! Sounds like you really enjoyed yourself.
I'm impressed that your brother did Uwharrie off of just 12 miles on roads for his longest run!
Uwharrie is very typical for our trails in this region, I'm a bit less than 2 hrs west of Uwharrie. I love my trails but there are days that I wish I could find something a little more gentle that isn't a mountain bike trail.
This week i'm in full blown taper mode, getting ready for the Moab Red Hot next weekend (Feb 16th).
Between now and the race I'll be lucky to get in 20 miles, which I think is a great thing. Hoping that some little nagging pains go away (stupid right knee).
mjsmith: keep us posted on the heart rate training. I'm really considering going through the base phase after my race (thinking maybe 10-12 weeks). In fact, I'm about 90% sure I'm going to try it out.
Trail and Ultra Running User Group
Birdwell - Good luck at Red Hot!
+1!
I'm going to do a little more digging on the heart rate training, it definitely looks like there is pretty good science behind it
I've got three short runs in thus far (5.4, 6, 6.2) and will get in a 10-12 miler on Sunday- I think I'll stick w/ four days and a 25-30-ish mile week for a couple of weeks just to fully recoup and there is nothing on my calendar in the near future
If you haven't found it already, there is a group here dedicated to discussing heart rate training: http://www.runningahead.com/groups/LOWHRTR/
Lots of good info in the sticky posts.
danke
If you haven't found it already, there is a group here dedicated to discussing heart rate training: http://www.runningahead.com/groups/LOWHRTR/ Lots of good info in the sticky posts.
I've been lurking there for a number of weeks now. Thanks!
finished the week out w/ a 11 mile run today, 29 for the week
I think this will be my new normal for awhile, cut my runs to four days a week and cut my mileage back to 25-30/week
I'm going to cut squats w/ weights out of my strength training, seems like every time I do them w/ weight I get a terrible pain that feels likes it's in the bone (femur)
Finished off the week yesterday with a 140 minute run. Freezing rain made the whole thing kind of dicey. Lots of slipping and sliding going on. In the last 100 yards I went down. Still a little sore today from meeting the street with my left side, but otherwise I'm fine.
Running by heart rate has been teaching me what recovery and easy paces really are. I was running the LSD runs way too fast.