2024 Advanced Training and Racing Thread (still competitive jerks) (Read 282 times)

Vanilla week for me.  Little more miles and long run distance.  Only got in 1 moderate day.  No plyometrics, only 1 day lifting and it was light.  Signed up for (goal sub-20) 5k Mar 23, didn't look at the race course.  It's a repeat of the 2 mile I ran with my dad and my son, but just a different causeway.  So it's going to be out and back over a bridge, roughly 50% of the race will be climbing or descending the bridge.  I'd wager I probably won't be breaking 20.  Kind of annoying, should have checked it out first.  If it is a calm day, I'll still give it a try, but if it's windy, there is not much hope.

My plan is to go very hard this week and hard next week.  Will stick to it and hope for good luck.  The PF in my foot is still pretty bad, but not any worse.

Weekly for period: From: 02/26/2024 To 03/03/2024

Totals: Time: 07:48:40 - 🦅Imperial: 54.16 mi - Metric: 87.16 km

A bit of a mileage increase this week and got rolling (relatively) on the long run which was flat and in ideal conditions.

Not sure anyone was following the World Indoor Champs, but NZ's Geordie Beamish won gold in the 1500m with an insane kick over the last 150m (went from 6th to 1st over the last 200m or so).  I actually hope he runs the steeplechase at the Olympics as the 1500m field will be crazy deep but he's a great shot at a medal in the steeple on current form.

Dave - as long as they're DIFFERENT aches and pains and not the same ones, that's OK!

Steve - super annoying you've picked up another cold already. That's rough.

mt79 - didn't pick up that you'd done a race with your dad and your son, that's awesome! 3 generations! I've done parkrun a couple times with my daughter and my father in law.  My dad was actually a runner back in the day but he's got a lung condition these days so not likely to get him out.

mmerkle - it's not coffee that's causing the pee stops is it? I never have coffee before running for exactly that reason.  That's a beast of a "recovery" week.

Marby - nice work. Also it's March so it's now winter sport season and we're not talking about cricket any more.

Fishy - it is weird how that happens with workouts sometimes. Like the first effort is kind of a warm up and then you feel good for the second one.  My coach always used to trick me into running 400m/800m repeats faster by chucking some 200s in the middle.

Couldn’t see a video from yesterday, but did find a cool video of last year’s Penn Relays… Beamish seems to imagine, live and breathe that kick for every race: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35pc1HA7OsM 

CK, I get distracted from a lot of things by work, but I knew something was wrong about that formulation, ha ha. Also, seems like you’re building the fitness for something, but you’re right… it may not be a 5k (though at this point, probably a few weeks of focussed training could sharpen from where you’re feeling now?) Also, sorry to read about the tweak! But what makes you say it’s not running or weight training related? Hope it didn't stick around. 

Darkwave, thanks for the “metabolic concepts” article. That was quite enlightening. I think I knew bits and pieces of why it hurt more to run/walk with too-fast intensity, but putting those pieces together, it makes a lot of sense. It didn’t stop me from run/walking during the race on Saturday, but I have been more steady in my other runs. And I agree with mmerkle that the arm-to-leg following is a revelation all runners can benefit from. My high school cross country coach showed us form videos, and that was a major takeaway from that for me at the time. Unfortunately, I have defaulted to “whatever feels natural” must work. But when I find my form sagging, I go back to a focussed positioning of my arms to get my legs to do the right thing. 

Do you get a designated support runner, or do you get to name someone? 

Mark, I’m always amazed at how it’s possible to do well in a workout that seemed impossible on paper. I guess something kicks in at the right time, and it just supports the “trust the training.” I forgot, but do you have a coach? 

Also, you’re going to get the race weekend started next weekend. Good luck! 

Steve, your sub-1:30 half training run is super impressive. And holding onto pace like you did, despite the heat, is the equivalent of a negative split on a cool day. If only you didn’t get sick before your big races!! But I think it’s far enough away to not have a major impact on your race. 

And re salt… well, I guess yeah, you do need to make sure you replace it!

Mmerkle, that was an awesome 10 miles. I’d think the improvement from last year should be encouraging, especially since you are also dealing with some injuries (which one cannot underestimate the mental weight of). Hope the IT band has been feeling better. 

Re: Weather, yeah. It’s back in the 70s in the AM here and I have my air con on again. I hate it. 

Lol prematurely getting excited for spring/fall.

Mt, thanks for sharing about your PF… yeah, okay, then it does sound like that’s the injury. I hope you can get to your 5K race without too much pain! I agree with the plan of taking off to let it recover… time off from running doesn’t mean time off from getting to be a better runner (I tell myself this as the opposite mentality is what got me into my mess in the first place). My doctor seems to be in the 75% who want you to just rest and recover… and then when I told her how proud I was of taking a full 10 days off, no running, she realized who she was dealing with and changed her tune. But not pumping anything into my system—I’m smart enough to know when it’s a lost cause. Great average pace progression! 

And hey, don’t fall into the comparison trap. There’s no point in comparing yourself to your 9-year-old or 9-years-younger self. That was a different person. Evaluate yourself on who you are now (or, as Fishy said, a year ago), and you can be pretty pleased with those 6:0x paces. As long as you don’t wake up one morning with a sac of fluid in the sole of your foot (yep, that happened to me after running through PF 10 months), then you’ll get to that starting line. I think you should plan to run the race, since it’s probably mentally better for going sub-20 than in a solo time trial. 

Fishy, nice pyramid workout! And god mental boost, but you know the treadmill kind of screws your times, right  And running fasted (especially if you’re also lifting afterwards), it makes sense you’re always thinking about food.  Sorry you have to interrupt your great training with your race in a few weeks, but at least you’ll get to see what you’re capable of again! 

Matt, I agree about sunshine. Our bodies are programmed to appreciate the sun. Heat? Not so much. But give me a sunshiney run any day (as long as I can have a hat and some sunglasses… and sunblock). But, as Marby wrote, it is also a recipe for disaster for overheating. 

Wcrunner, the article comes out on the 8th! I’ll post a link then :-) Just a heads up, though… it’s about their memoirs, not objectively about them. I also had a lot more to say than I had room for. All the best for your race this weekend! I think even with a lot of walking, the 20 miles seems more than doable. Hope you get a cold spell… it’s been unpredictable indeed this winter. 

Andy, I don’t know about fiber and protein, but I know fiber helps offset fat, and you definitely want to get good amounts if you’re eating meat. The vitamins and minerals in those greens will help with inflammation post workouts as well. Great story of your son. True grit! 

Krash, Badwater was the first ultra I ever heard of! Probably because people come to Florida to train for that (and then rue the lack of hills). Enjoy (ha!) the taper!

Also re ultra meetup… if we’re opening up to more racers, I’d be willing to travel for a 50K +!  Just give me a year; I think someone ( Flavio) gently is dropping hints about lining up any more races before I’m healed. Also, Flavio, congrats to your and your wife on your squat PRs. Really impressive what she can do! Though a shame she can’t open jars…(kidding!) That post is a math problem waiting to be written: If F weighs x pounds and can lift 1.36 his body weight, and DW can lift F’s weight, which is 1.5 her weight, how much does DW weigh? 🤓

Great to see you again, Dave! Good luck at your tuneup half. And great optimism about Eugene. That’s the kind of energy I’m going to try and emulate. 

Also, sounds like NYC may be a fun forum encounter possibility, especially if you do get in, Steve. 

Mmerkle, and everyone, thanks for the nice notes. Yeah, I’m less bouncing back and more steadily pushing limits to allow for adaptation before moving to the next level. It seems really slow, but I’m moving in the right direction, I think. I complete run/walk intervals as often as feels wise, slowly increasing the run intervals, and I meet the rest of the prescribed marathon training plan workouts with a combination of elliptical, cross trainer, pool running or swimming. I’ve stayed off the bike since I did my last longer ride. I think it would probably be fine, but the mind plays powerful tricks when it comes to injury… I am struggling with knowing the difference between pain and discomfort. I saw the doctor again last week, and she said that at this point, I might as well just prepare and run the marathon, and then be prepared to take time off afterwards. She doesn’t think a rupture is a threat, but she did say to listen to my body. So I’m trying. After a sore calf and achilles 8 days ago, I found that just pedaling backwards on the elliptical seems to have undone a knot in there. So now I do that on top of the heel raises, other PT exercises, stretches, and regular icing. 

Progression: run/walk miles: 

Time spent (in hours) on all exercises last 3 weeks: 9:37, 11:28, 9:35. I’m putting in the same amount of time as I do in normal marathon training. As stated last time, I can only hope that it’s good for something (though I know there are formulas out there about needing more time to equate the running. Whatever. There’s only so much time in the day). 

Also as mentioned, I ran the Community 5K with the plan to run 6 minutes, walk 1. I dropped that plan after 2 sets as it became annoying to let the same people pass me and pass them again each interval. I also felt like I could handle the last stretch (about 1.2 miles) without stopping. It felt good to push hard again, even if I did almost throw up 50m from the finish. 

Couldn’t see a video from yesterday, but did find a cool video of last year’s Penn Relays… Beamish seems to imagine, live and breathe that kick for every race: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35pc1HA7OsM 

 

This shows the entire race
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOl93HzwzzU

Finished my last hard week before my race including
Monday: 3 x 900m at LT effort
Friday: 9 miles hard effort
Those workouts took more out of me than expected, so I took an extra rest day and then started my taper.

Totals for the week 29.8 miles / 48 km

Weather forecast is not to my liking, high of 46F / 8C with a 50% chance of rain.  Unlike many, I prefer slightly warmer temperatures and I could do without the rain.

Not much to report from last week. Took a back off week. I planed to run more miles but work was way to busy. Finished up with 53 miles. 8 days till race day. Legs feel more tired than I did running 80+ miles a week. Not a fan of tapering. Don't get me wrong. I love to get more sleep but fell more tired. Don't get me started on phantom pains.