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Race plans - 10k, 5k then HM (Read 2160 times)

npaden


    I did it!!  22:39!!

     

    It was a very small race, less than 100 total runners with most of those in the 1 mile Run/Walk.  The 5K had about 30 and the 10K had about 15.  Got in a good warmup, but the race started almost 10 minutes late so was getting a little anxious by the time it finally started.  Race time temp was 38 degrees with a 7mph breeze, pretty good conditions for me anyway.

     

    We finally got lined up and I was right on the front line.  They gave us some last minute instructions and blew a whistle and we were off.  Had a nice litte group of about 5 of us that settled in right at the start with a couple 10K runners pulling out in front of everyone.  My friend was running with me and I had my phone set to give me audio cues every minute so I was NOT going to go out too fast and blow up this time. 

     

    One minute in and my phone tells me I'm running a 7:03 pace, I didn't feel that at all so I just kept the same pace and tried to run smooth.  Two minutes in and my phone again tells me I'm running a 7:03 pace and this time I believe it and slow down just a little.  Next minute clicks off and I'm down to a 7:15 pace, another minute and I'm down to a 7:20 pace and that's where I wanted to keep it for the rest of the race.

     

    Kept it real steady and my buddy just hung with me and the pack just kind of stuck around.  At one point we were actually leading the 5K!  At about 2 miles in a couple of high school cross country girls went ahead of us and another guy a little younger than me pulled ahead.  I was staying really consistent and was afraid to blow up like last time so I just let them go.  At 2.25 miles I could tell my buddy wanted to go win the 5K and if we waited much longer the 3 ahead of us might pull away so I told him to go.  It was getting harder, but I still felt WAY better than I did two weeks ago when I blew up.  What little breeze there was was behind us so I felt like I had 24:00 in the bag for sure.  He took off and left everyone so it was the two girls and the 35ish guy in front of me.  They ended up about 50 yards ahead of me and then either they slowed down or I picked it up slightly or probably a little of both because it stayed that way to about 2.75 miles.  The way the course was laid out you couldn't actually see the finish line until you made one last turn, and I was still worried about blowing up like last time so I didn't start picking up the pace until about 200 yards to go.  In retrospect I should have picked it up at least 400 yards out and I really think I might could have caught up with the 2 girls and the guy in front of me as I felt great going across the finish line.  Still, I was VERY happy with my time as I smoked my original 24:00 goal and beat my 23:00 fairly well.

     

    Here's my splits with HR info.

     

    Splits (GPS Interval)
     TypeDistance Split settingsDurationTotal DurationPaceAvg HRMax HRNotes
    1 Manual 1 mi 7:20.59 7:20.59 7:21 164 181  
    2 Manual 1 mi 7:18.88 14:39.47 7:19 177 182  
    3 Manual 1 mi 7:12.52 21:51.99 7:13 180 183  
    4 Manual 0.12 mi 0:48 22:39.99 6:40 181 183

     

    I don't know how to really analyze these numbers, I didn't even get close to my Max HR of 194 at the end of the run so I think that means that I should have kicked much earlier.  I thinik my avg HR being at 177 (91%) for the 2nd mile and 180 (93%) for the 3rd mile means I was not going to be able to keep that pace much longer though.  Also not sure if the low temperature helped keep my HR low also.

     

    I feel MUCH better than I did at the end of my 5K two weeks ago that I ran a 24:06 on.  A little sore in my quads, but not just beat down like I did after the last one. 

     

    Pacing was just about perfect when it is all said and done I think.  Should have kicked a little earlier, but I was so worried about blowing up after the last race I was too conservative at the end.

     

    Overall a great race for me though!

    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 did it!!  22:39!!

        

      I don't know how to really analyze these numbers, 

       

      Nice work, my man.

       

      Sometimes, the numbers don't need to be analyzed. Enjoy the result. Remember how it felt. Remember that feeling, and the feeling that you can start to kick a little sooner. And build from there.

       

      Good stuff.

      Come all you no-hopers, you jokers and rogues
      We're on the road to nowhere, let's find out where it goes


      Feeling the growl again

        Nice work, my man.

         

        Sometimes, the numbers don't need to be analyzed. Enjoy the result. Remember how it felt. Remember that feeling, and the feeling that you can start to kick a little sooner. And build from there.

         

         

        This.  Nice work!

         

        That said, it is hard to find any fault with those splits.  Textbook negative split but not too severe.  

         

        Now that you know how that feels, you can work on challenging yourself a little more the next time.  Smile

        "If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does.  There's your pep talk for today.  Go Run." -- Slo_Hand

         

        I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills

         

          Sometimes, the numbers don't need to be analyzed. Enjoy the result. Remember how it felt. Remember that feeling, and the feeling that you can start to kick a little sooner. And build from there.

           

          This.

           

          Nice job!

          Runners run

            I didn't even (consciously anyway) see spaniel's post. Too funny.

            Runners run


            SMART Approach

              Great job, Great race! With 1/2 mile left, it is all guts. You can't really say you will blow up because at this point it should really really start hurting as you push to finish strong and probably not feel too great as you cross the finish line. It is a race-a max effort! The more you race, the more you will get a sense on "how to race".  Not holding that 7 min pace early was wise and allowed you to finish strong which is much better that slowing that last mile for you! AWESOME!

              Run Coach. Recovery Coach. Founder of SMART Approach Training, Coaching & Recovery

              Structured Marathon Adaptive Recovery Training

              Safe Muscle Activation Recovery Technique

              www.smartapproachtraining.com

              npaden


                Thanks for the input guys.  I'm still on cloud 9 with my time.  Really felt good the entire way, such a drastic difference from the 5K two weeks before it is amazing.

                 

                Last big race of the season for me coming up in two weeks.  My 2nd half marathon ever. 

                 

                If I plug my newest 5K time into the calculators they say I should be able to run a 1:44:52 half marathon which is a 8:00 pace on the dot, but I'm not sure if I want to work that hard to find out if I can make that time or not. Especially with a pretty tough course and who knows what the weather will be like. To go sub 1:50 I will need to avg a 8:24 pace and I'm thinking I might try for that. Go out at 8:25 for the first 6 or 7 miles and if I'm still feeling goood and the conditions are right, then try to slowly pick it up as I go the last 5 or 6 miles.

                 

                I've been pretty focused on my 5K training the last month and a half or so, but I've still been getting some decent mileage in. I'm already at my record monthly mileage ever for October and I think I'll still get in another 15 or so miles before the end of the month. If I put in 15.8 miles I'll end up with 150 for the month which would beat my previous mileage record by 18 miles.

                 

                I'm going to be hunting this weekend, so I'm going to try to get in a long run before work (or more accurately I will get to work a couple hours late) sometime this week.  Right now my plan is to get in 6 easy miles today, maybe throw in some strides or attack a hill or something in there but overall keep it easy but not one of my 70% easy runs.  6 easy miles on Tuesday, a 6 mile Tempo run on Wednesday with the middle 4 miles at 8:30, 8:15, 8:00 and 7:45.  Thursday 5 or 6 easy miles and then Friday a long run of 12 miles.

                 

                Saturday and Sunday for sure I will be hunting and I don't think I will be able to get a run in on either day.  This will be Texas hunting of sitting in a blind all day, not Western mountain hunting where I would be getting in some good hiking.  If I get lucky and connect on my #1 target buck I might be able to sneak a run in but I'm not counting on it.  I'm not sure how the rest of the week before the half will go, but I think it will mostly be lower volume easy running with maybe some strides worked in or maybe a slower Tempo run early in the week.

                 

                After this half marathon I may or may not run the Turkey Trot race and I then there is a 4 mile cross country race in December that I might run, but won't be stressing over any particular time.

                 

                The next big goal race will be my Marathon coming up in May of 2013 and I'm still not sure if I'm going to set a time goal for it or just try to enjoy it and run it with my wife.

                 

                Pretty excited with the progress I've made over the last year, pretty amazing that just 1 year ago my goal was to run 6 miles in under an hour and now I can do that in under an 8:00 pace.  Thankfully I've been pretty much injury free and that has helped a lot. 

                 

                Oh well, if anyone has any thoughts on my next couple weeks of training planned for my half marathon I'd welcome any input.

                 

                Thanks, Nathan

                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)

                npaden


                  Had a pretty ugly tempo run today.

                   

                  Forgot my HR strap and my arm pocket for my phone so I had to hold it in my hand and then forgot to set it to tell me the pace of the current split that I was running so I was pretty much running blind.  All it told me was my avg pace and distance for the entire run so I couldn't tell what my pace on the splits were at all.  I also wasn't prepared for the warm sunny day after the nice cool weather that we've been having.

                   

                  Supposed to do a 1 mile warmup, then 4 miles at 8:15, 8:05, 7:55 and 7:45 then a 1 mile cool down.

                   

                  Ended up running the first mile just a little fast for me at 9:21, then blew the first mile of the tempo at a 7:53 pace, then picked up the next mile to a 7:49, and then picked it up again (I was struggling with math on the intervals and thought I was running 8:00+ miles) and about half way through that mile decided that I was struggling to much to continue to pick them up and just wasn't feeling it so I slowed back down to an easy pace.  Ran easy for the rest of that mile (that mile ended up with a split of 8:58) and by then was feeling good again so I decided to pick it back up and run as fast as I felt that I could hold for that last mile and then ran an easy mile cool down.  Turned out that 4th mile was a 7:26.

                   

                  Was 78 degrees when I finished, really not that warm, but after the cool weather it felt like it.  Overall pace for the 6 miles ended up being 8:33.

                   

                  Oh well.  Not the workout I had planned, but I feel like I got something out of it anyway.  I'm way too dependent on my phone to give me my pace information, maybe at some point I'll get better at being able to run at a pace without it but right now there is no way.

                  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)

                  npaden


                    Found this article on hills. http://runningtimes.com/Print.aspx?articleID=10507

                    It says the average person slows 3.3% for every 1% increase in the slope. So my hills with 12% incline would slow me 40% from an 8:30 pace to almost a 12:00 pace.

                    It also says you don't get the same recovery on a downhill but only 55% of that. That would give me a 22% increase in speed going down the hills from an 8:30 pace to a 6:40 pace. That's pretty smoking on the downhill though.

                    My course going down at 6:40 then up at 12:00 then down at 6:40 again I would come out of that section pretty even on my pace. Going up that middle hill at mile 6.5 it is an 8% incline so that would say I should take that hill at about a 10:45 pace.

                    Trouble is the "instant" pace on my GPS is about worthless and I am not really going to have a good guage for if I'm running the hill at a 12:00 pace or a 10:00 pace. I guess I will just have to try to go on even effort based on what my body is telling me! That will be interesting since I rely so much on my HRM and my GPS to tell me what to do!

                    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'm way too dependent on my phone to give me my pace information, maybe at some point I'll get better at being able to run at a pace without it but right now there is no way.

                       

                      How will you accomplish this without ditching it? It feels like you're asking for permission to get rid of the crutches. If I were your running partner I would have ripped it off your arm and smashed it to bits already.

                      Come all you no-hopers, you jokers and rogues
                      We're on the road to nowhere, let's find out where it goes

                        How will you accomplish this without ditching it? It feels like you're asking for permission to get rid of the crutches. If I were your running partner I would have ripped it off your arm and smashed it to bits already.

                         

                        +1.  If you want to learn how to run without your phone...run without your phone.  Learn to be honest with yourself about the effort you're running at.  Practice.  Run slow.  Run fast.  Ask yourself "Was that easy?"  Then ask yourself if you could have done the whole run again, same speed.  

                         

                        Run with the phone, no alerts, screen off, just recording.  Before you check it, ask yourself how fast and what effort you used.  Use it as a feedback tool, a record keeper--not a slave-driver.  Try to run a progression with no feedback until it's all over.

                         

                        I, myself, used to get REALLY hung up on HR-based training, among other things.   It took a lot of "naked runs" to break that, then eventually I set my watch to show nothing but time elapsed and percent grade on all the screens.

                         

                        Heart rate is useful, but running by feel puts you in touch with the ultimate biofeedback tool: your own body.

                        "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


                          Got in a 12 miler this morning capping off a 21 day running streak for me that ended up at 118.6 miles. I won't be running tomorrow for sure and probably not Sunday as tomorrow is opening day of deer season here in Texas and I'll be sitting in a hunting blind pretty much the entire day. Kind of fits in with my taper for my HM coming up next Saturday anyway.

                          Got 3 big hills in the run this morning and ran them steady and am thinking that's the angle I'll be taking during my race next week.

                          Here's my workout on runkeeper if anyone wants to check it out - http://runkeeper.com/user/npaden/activity/128748132

                          It shows only 846' of elevation gain, but that was pretty much on 3 hills. The first one was 140' gain in 1/2 mile, the next one is long and not as steep, but gains about 220' in just over a mile and the last one is 177' in just over 1/2 mile.

                          I had to restart after the first mile to get my HRM working, but on the last 11 miles I averaged a 9:40 pace at a 151 avg HR which is 78% of my Max. I was running based on perceived effort and wanting to stay steady on the hills so that's why my HR is a little higher than normal for me on my long runs.

                          It was a beautiful morning and I saw some deer along the way. 52 degrees and 5mph winds, just about perfect.

                           

                          I'm still thinking about my phone and whether to ditch it or not.  It sure is helpful when it's working, I just rely on it so much that when it isn't working I struggle.  As I get more experienced I'm hoping to not need to rely on it so much though.

                          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)

                          npaden


                            I may have another race on the horizon. A Thanksgiving day Turket Trot. It's a 12K and a 2 miler and the course record for the 2 miler for the Clydesdale division is a soft 13:56. It's got a couple hills but that is right at what McMillan's calculator shows for me for 2 miles based on my last 5k. I'm thinking about shooting for sub 14:00 and who knows, maybe get the 19 year old course record for the fat boy division!

                            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)

                            npaden


                              Finishing my taper the next couple days and my half marathon is Saturday at 9:00 am.  Ran 2 easy miles this morning and planning on 2 easy miles with strides tomorrow morning.

                               

                              I'm probably overly optimistic here, but I'm really thinking 1:50 should be in the bag even on a tough course (1,000' of elevation gain with 3 real tough hills) and weather is looking iffy (60 degrees at the start warming to 67 by the finish with winds starting at 18mph and increasing to 22mph by the finish).

                               

                              Ran 2 easy miles this morning at a 9:09 pace which is what my goal pace for my last half marathon was and my avg HR was under 75%.  It was an easy run!  Of course even at that pace if I ran 11 more miles it would be beyond an easy run at the finish, but it would still be more like a moderate effort than hard.

                               

                              Ran a very short Tempo last night to try to get a feel for my HM pace and ran one mile at 8:19 and one at 8:14 and although my HR was climbing it was at 85% and 87% and climbing very slowly on the graph.  At that pace it was staying under what I think my Lactic Threshold number is.

                               

                              Only negative is that I went and did something very stupid running with no socks on the tempo run yesterday.  Ended up with blisters on my arches from rubbing with no socks and now I'm not sure if I need to switch shoes for the race or just tape myself up or what I need to do.  Did some quick reading on it and sounds like poping the blisters and letting them dry out tonight and tomorrow and then duct taping them before the race might be the way to go.  I just need to decide if I should wear the same shoes (which are very comfortable when I actually wear socks) or if I need to switch them out since they are still rubbing the same area even with socks.

                               

                              I normally run my races in my pair of Inov8 F-lites, but I've never run in them more than 6 or 7 miles before even though I have 160 miles logged on them in total.  Not sure that would be a good idea.  My other option is a pair of Asics Cumulus 13s that I've worn on some long runs before, but worried they might rub the same spot as the pair that I got the blisters in are Asics as well although they are Blur33s.  I would probably be okay with duct tape and just wearing the shoes I planned on, that's where I'm leaning anyway.

                               

                              Have some big hills on this course and the wind will be straight into us on the worst one so I really need to try to go based on effort instead of pace there at the start.  The hills start after mile 2 so hopefully I'll be able to get a rhythm and pace going early and try to maintain that effort level with the turn into the wind and through the hills.  Shooting for an 8:20ish pace starting out, that should be a pace I can maintain pretty easily based on my training.  Hopefully I'll end up with a nice negative split because I'm feeling really good at the end!

                              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)


                              SMART Approach

                                Only negative is that I went and did something very stupid running with no socks on the tempo run yesterday.  Ended up with blisters on my arches from rubbing with no socks and now I'm not sure if I need to switch shoes for the race or just tape myself up or what I need to do.  Did some quick reading on it and sounds like poping the blisters and letting them dry out tonight and tomorrow and then duct taping them before the race might be the way to go.  I just need to decide if I should wear the same shoes (which are very comfortable when I actually wear socks) or if I need to switch them out since they are still rubbing the same area even with socks.

                                 

                                Wear two super thin pair of running socks in your race. You will get more friction between the two pair of socks rather than your skin and sock. Either way, you may deal with some discomfort. If you put duck tape on, put a little gauze underneath or you will rip your skin apart.

                                Run Coach. Recovery Coach. Founder of SMART Approach Training, Coaching & Recovery

                                Structured Marathon Adaptive Recovery Training

                                Safe Muscle Activation Recovery Technique

                                www.smartapproachtraining.com

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