Competitive Jerks Racing and Training - 2023 (Read 572 times)

darkwave


Mother of Cats

     

    I really don’t think Garmin is going that way. If anything, their revenue has done very well in the past few years in the fitness segment, even as so many other competitors have entered the market.

     

    Also - don’t forget Garmin has a big space in both aviation and marine. Nobody is flying their plane with Apple equipment.

    Good points.   Though dominance in the fitness sector can shift quickly (Peloton).  And success in aviation and marine certainly is good for the overall company, but there's nothing to stop them from deciding to sell off the fitness watch section if it starts to struggle and they decide it's no longer a core business.

     

    Personally, I want Garmin to be in the sportwatch business for a very long time because I love their products, and all the bells and whistles that come with the more mainstream watches have no appeal to me.

    Everyone's gotta running blog; I'm the only one with a POOL-RUNNING blog.

     

    And...if you want a running Instagram where all the pictures are of cats, I've got you covered.

    Running Problem


    Problem Child

       

      I really don’t think Garmin is going that way. If anything, their revenue has done very well in the past few years in the fitness segment, even as so many other competitors have entered the market.

       

      Also - don’t forget Garmin has a big space in both aviation and marine. Nobody is flying their plane with Apple equipment.

       

      ‘Hey Siri how do I fly a Cessna 172?’

      here is what I found…

      Many of us aren't sure what the hell point you are trying to make and no matter how we guess, it always seems to be something else. Which usually means a person is doing it on purpose.

      VDOT 53.37 

      5k18:xx | Marathon 2:55:22

      mmerkle


        RP Nice PR. I knew you had it in you.

         

        Steve Sick LR. That's a lot of work.

         

        My Week:                                              Time:                      Miles:     Kilos:       Pace/mi:     Pace/kilo:

         

        3/6: Easy. Upper body

        work later.                                            1:04:16                         8             5             8:02             5:03

         

        3/7: JD T1 from Plan A

        (by accident), 2 X 20 min

        easy + 15 min tempo

        on treadmill. Legs

        didn't feel great anyway.

         

        Leg strength + rowing after                  1:17:15                        10          16.1           7:44            4:49

         

        3/8: Double. 8 miles AM

        5 miles PM                                           1:41:48                        13          20.9           7:50            4:53

         

        3/9: Shortened JD Ti-2

        3 X 10 min tempo with

        2 min rests. Lots of fatigue.                  1:05:28                         9           14.5           7:17            4:32

         

        3/10: Easy                                               42:17                         5             8              8:28            5:16

         

        3/11: LR. Lots of wind.

        Some steady / MP miles

        thrown in. Another LR that

        felt great.                                               2:23:41                        20          32.2           7:12           4:29

         

        3/12: Easy run on the mill,

        easy rowing after                                     53:15                          6            9.6            8:53           5:31

         

        Totals: Miles: 71, kilometers: 114.3, 9:08:00. Rowing: 7 kilometers.

         

        Once again, the LR didn't make me feel crappy afterwards. I didn't hit any sort of wall during. Legs the next day are mostly fine, just a little stiff. Tacos and margaritas and some beer the night before this one lol. Definitely over ate a little. But then before my marathons I still get all paranoid about every little thing I eat and drink.

        Running Problem


        Problem Child

          18:21 5k gives me a VDOT of 55.1 and puts me at a 2:56:00 marathon according to the Daniels Tables spreadsheet.   

          Many of us aren't sure what the hell point you are trying to make and no matter how we guess, it always seems to be something else. Which usually means a person is doing it on purpose.

          VDOT 53.37 

          5k18:xx | Marathon 2:55:22

          dktrotter


          Dorothea

            Darkwave, awesome half marathon race. Thanks for sharing the report!  While I don’t have to deal with the things you do at this point in your life, I can imagine needing to plan my running around some kind of medication in the future, and your notes about race morning planning and pacing also gave me a few ideas. It’s really cool you won the female Master’s and I’m glad you see it as an encouraging sign. It is! The course support sounds great, too. I also lol’ed at the “quitters chair.” Also nice recovery week following your race. Great that you were feeling up to that workout already on Friday. Toe-spacers sound uncomfortable, but if you can run well with them, I guess it’s good! Just make sure you put some kind of lube on, I’d imagine. 

             

            Wcrunner, I couldn’t figure out if by analog timex you still meant one of those old stop watches you could wear on your wrist, or whether it was literally a watch with 2 hands. I ran my first marathons with a digital timex as well, and actually I was focussed on much different things during the race as a result, which was maybe better. 

             

            (Re watches) In fact, I was kinda late to the GPS watches game (just like to the cheater shoes game, mmerkle. As this forum saw, I just bought my first pair, but haven’t raced in them yet). I got my first GPS watch, a TomTom, Christmas 2013. It was awesome. My favorite part was being able to spontaneously leave the planned route and still know how much/how fast I ran without having to go home and map it out first. That and the ability to program workouts are still my two favorite features. I liked the TomTom, because the GPS was really quick and accurate. Unfortunately, they discontinued it, probably for the same reason Flavio mentioned; the running market is not that big, and it’s been dominated by Garmin for serious runners and Apple for the average runner. I got a Garmin Forerunner 45 as my first Garmin, realized I couldn’t design workouts with it, cycle, or swim, so switched to a Vivoactive (with an annoying touch screen), and just recently got a used Forerunner 935 with the hopes that it has more accurate elevation recording and will last me for at least 7 hours. The “achievements” after each run are new to me, and I don’t care for the advice about recovery, since I am pretty in-tune with my body and its limits and can’t understand what the Garmin bases its suggestion on. I’ve mentioned this before, but I do like the ability to see how much my HR drops in the minute after a workout. 

            I haven’t figured out how to see the map track on my new-to-me watch… I had it on my TomTom and miss it, since that helped me get unlost a few times by retracing my steps. (Ha ha Flavio, yes, forget about street names in DE). 

             

            (again wcrunner) Those certificates are really cool. Races in Germany still do that, too. But not knowing as you cross the finish line what your time is can be a bit of a bummer. A running buddy of mine just ran a half PR last weekend, but she didn’t know until after they posted the results, because she’d missed stopping her watch and the timer showed gun time, obviously. Now she’s happy, but there is that feeling of uncertainty, even unhappiness, immediately after when it should be happiness/relief. Hope you have lots of good PR memories to make up for that. 

             

            Also very cool photo! 

             

            CK, sorry to read about the piriformis spasm and the challenges in running since getting back. Hope that's gone away.

             

            RP, oh, I know about "beware the chair." I do plan to have a change of shoes in case I need them, which is the only time I plan to sit down. Maybe some massage gun if needed as well. But I appreciate the tip to walk through and away from the aid stations. 

             

            Re women’s day, I was going to be really snarky and post on my Strava thanks to women of the past for debunking all the stupid reasons women weren’t allowed to run the marathon for so long, but then I went the more measured route. I still feel for Kathrine Switzer and having the RD try to grab her to get off course in the middle of running. The question of women’s vs. men’s sports and achievements continues to be an interesting one. The fastest woman in a track or road distance will never beat a man, but there are some interesting statistics from trail and ultra races about the average overall wins for women. Also everyone knows the name of the fastest men the world, but how many can name the fastest women off the top of their heads? (I can’t) Also ha ha RP, they’ll use anything these days to have an excuse for a sale. 

             

            Andy, congrats on the half PB and a successful race! I hope you’ve typed up a race report, if anything for yourself but also FYI/FYE. As Flavio wrote, getting those PBs along the way was a good sign. And I bet if you signed up for a 5k or 10 in two weeks, you’d  probably snag a new PR in that, too. 

             

            Steve, I had a similar experience with a tough workout on Tuesday, and it was also due to the weather. I think you can chalk it up to weather and a bit of dehydration and not worry about it too much. Especially since your workout Sat. went really well. It also sounds like you’re paying a lot of attention to HR, but I don’t know how productive that is unless you’re absolutely sure of your VO2 max and max HR tested under lab conditions? Either way though, good week overall. 

             

            Fishy, strong workout! Good luck in your race next weekend!

             

            Re walk breaks (Krash and RP), I have seen people incorporate walking into their ultra training, but never for less than 50 miles. I imagine that during that length one just brings in walking when running gets too hard, and tries to get back to running as often as one can. I was planning on trying a .9 run, .1 walk after mile 20, but I haven’t really been practicing it, so I honestly have no clue if that’s useful, a good idea, or not. 

             

            RP, stinks that you had another weather-induced lower week. But maybe being forced to not ram into it is better for your speed! Which showed in that fast 5k!! Congrats!! Stinks about the award, but don’t you still have bragging rights?  

             

            Mmmerkle, 255 is a watch I haven’t looked into much, but good if it gives you some decent stats (note HRV is most decent if you also wear the watch while sleeping). I use HRV to keep an eye on my health. I know I’m getting sick if both HRV and RHR change, and so it’s been quite useful to know when to back down in training, even when I’m not feeling the effects in running yet. I saw the rowing after JD intervals too and was like. Oh, wow. Yeah, that sounds unnecessarily tough. Re: shoes, you saw on the forum I was also late to buy them. And even now they’re just sitting around my closet. I couldn’t afford them either, but I did get an “authenticated pair” off Ebay. $115. So it’s like $1 per miles as opposed to 0.50 :-) 

            Also re: tracks, you’re right. I think there are technical distinctions between dirt and synthetic track records. Some of those pre-1950s records… who knows what kinds of times may have been dropped in the days of old by people with today’s shoes on today’s tracks. 

            Great week! Sounds like you have an iron stomach, but it's not surprising that you still obsess over pre-marathon fueling. You don't want to find out during a race that there's just one thing that doesn't agree with you. Great that the long runs are getting more comfortable. As darkwave wrote, you want to be more worried about going fast, not being able to feel good in the distance. 

             

            Flavio, I also wanted to get into minimalist shoes! But after messing up my feet, I have decided that’s not high on my list of priorities. Also I do believe having a trainer who will be able to correct your form is excellent, as you’ll be able to learn how to do those exercises properly and learn better how to add in new ones. Awesome elevation this past week! I guess those stairs won’t know what hit them come your trail race. 

             

            Mark, great week. Nice to see the sluggish start wasn't a trend and it picked up by the end. Also I use a lot of multi-use paths. Most of the time people play nicely. Sometimes cyclists get a bit weird and think that the crowded segment is exactly when they have to get 25mph. 

             

            Also, I know it’s not running, but, CK, this is a pretty great line: “You don't have to fabricobble anything together, it just works auto-magically.”

             

            My week, sans a 5 miler I will still get in today somehow:

             

            Date

            Name

            mi

            km

            Duration

            Avg/mi

            Avg/km

            Elevation Gain 

            in ft

            03/06

            Ride and swim

             

             

             

             

             

             

            03/07

            9 Miles Tempo-ish

            10.62

            17.08

            01:26:10

            08:07

            05:03

            36

            03/08

            Recovery Run

            6.47

            10.42

            01:00:42

            09:23

            05:50

            131

            03/10

            Ocean swim + walk + Afternoon Run

            6.23

            10.03

            00:58:12

            09:21

            05:48

            154

            03/11

            Easy 8, Progression 6

            14.25

            22.92

            02:02:43

            08:37

            05:21

            141

            Total distance: 37.5 miles running (likely add 5), 7 miles cycling, some swimming

             

            This was spring break for me and there's been a cut-back in miles and workouts, so I didn’t have to go to uni and thus had no incentive to get on the bike and ride 20 miles on Monday. Instead I went for a swim in my complex’s pool… which would have been more enjoyable if I didn’t have to turn so much. Tuesday’s workout was tough, because I went out closer to 9am (and the 80sF) than was wise and was burning up before I got into mile 2. I wanted to do a tempo but had to take lots of walk and drink breaks. Still, it was a pretty good run, even if I think I was overcooked for the remainder of the week. Took it easy, switched around Thursday and Friday’s rest day/run and on Saturday had a nice workout long run with my run club crew. My friend’s progression was a lot smoother than mine, but I was happy to keep up for the most part, as I actually didn’t decide until during the run if I would do her workout with her or an 18-mile easy. Either way, properly into the taper now, which thank god because after training for something since basically August of last year, I’m looking forward to a bit of a break. My knee has been talking to me again, though less yapping and more deeper barking, which is more manageable but indicates something possibly more serious. 

            Qualifications: I like to run. In Florida. In the summer. At noon.  

            Last race: Community 5K, March 2nd. Speed test run with 2 walk breaks. Went pretty well.  

            Fishyone


              RP- Awesome race and a PR!  Everything's lining up perfectly for Boston.

               

              DK-  I just changed out my weekend shoes.  For me the little "twinge" in the knee is a sure sign I've reached the end of useful life on one of the pairs of shoes I've got running.  The Endorphin pro 2's have been holding up amazingly well and they don't look anywhere near toast but I know it's time when it's time 

              5K 18:36 (2023), 10K 39:40 (2022), 1/2 1:24:37 (2023), full 2:58:36 (2015) 

              Mikkey


              Mmmm Bop

                18:21

                3.10mi

                5:55.3, 5:56.8, 5:56.1, 33.3 (5:20/mi pace kick). 

                not enough room at the finish to get a full 5k.

                 

                First place REGISTERED Male 30-39 and since I left my bib at home I don’t get the age group award which is sad since I may never have another opportunity to have a first place at this race again, and showing off the age group award would feel cooler than a Boston jacket at the Sunday Runday group. 

                 

                Wow, I’m genuinely impressed with that run regardless of whether the course was short as you’ve never been a speedster. 

                Boston is obviously a bit unpredictable with weather/wind direction etc, but you must be confident with that performance and feel in marathon PR shape.

                5k - 17:53 (4/19)   10k - 37:53 (11/18)   Half - 1:23:18 (4/19)   Full - 2:50:43 (4/19)

                dktrotter


                Dorothea

                   

                  DK-  I just changed out my weekend shoes.  For me the little "twinge" in the knee is a sure sign I've reached the end of useful life on one of the pairs of shoes I've got running.  The Endorphin pro 2's have been holding up amazingly well and they don't look anywhere near toast but I know it's time when it's time 

                   

                  Fishy, here's the thing, the shoes only have about 150-250 miles. But the tailored inserts I wear to prevent plantar fasciitis are about 2 years old now with way too many miles... they should probably be switched out but I don't know what's the lesser of the two evils. Maybe making an appointment with a podiatrist is the route to go. Good point.

                  Qualifications: I like to run. In Florida. In the summer. At noon.  

                  Last race: Community 5K, March 2nd. Speed test run with 2 walk breaks. Went pretty well.  

                  SteveChCh


                  Hot Weather Complainer

                    RP - Great race and PR.  I think you could be a sub 18 guy with a few more attempts.  Your 5km PR now lines up nicely with your marathon, something I need to rectify too (I'm MILES away and don't expect to match the calculator but it would be nice to reduce the gap).  My 5km course was long, dammit, I should have stopped at 5km.

                     

                    Mikkey, impressive restraint on the short course.

                     

                    Dorothea - I did a 5km and a very steep hill run early on with my new coach to get the thresholds more accurate.  Even if it's not perfect, it works relatively.  On Saturday my HR showed 175 in my first km which was 5:20 and it seemed odd for a while so I changed my screen to not show it and went with RPE.  I didn't want it getting in my head too much.

                     

                    Good solid week for you.  Me saying 20C is warm for a long run workout must make you chuckle...but it's depends what you're used to I guess.

                     

                    International Women's Day is a weird one these days...I see people I know who have lived very privileged lives talking about how oppressed they are on IWD.  Then there's the bizarre new trend of handing out awards to people who are not women and clearly don't understand what it is like to be a woman on IWD.  Absolutely no argument that trailblazers and those still truly oppressed like those in the middle east should be honoured.

                     

                    dw - That sounds like a weird feeling to have in your shoe.  Great that it sounds like it's helping.

                    5km: 18:34 11/23 │ 10km: 39:10 8/23 │ HM: 1:26:48 9/23 │ M: 3:34:49 6/23

                     

                    2024 Races:

                    Motorway Half Marathon February 25, 2024 1:29:55

                    Christchurch Half-Marathon April 21, 2024

                    Selwyn Marathon June 2, 2024

                    Dunedin Half Marathon September 15, 2024

                    Marky_Mark_17


                      Steve - running 100km in a week doesn't magically make you a better runner than if you run 97km.  Totally not the same thing as scoring 97 in a cricket match vs. scoring 100!

                       

                      Garmin - others have correctly pointed out that they're far more diversified than Nokia ever was, plus there's still clearly enough interest in the sports-watch specific market to attract new competitors like Coros.  I think the other critical difference is that there are much clearer niches in the watch market than there ever were in the mobile phone market.  Most of the people buying Garmin watches are athletes.  Most of the people buying Apple watches or similar are buying them for general use and maybe some casual fitness tracking.  That doesn't mean that won't change, but it simply may not be worth the effort for Apple to try and unseat a well-established competitor in a specific market niche, when the wider general market is actually still growing relatively quickly.

                       

                      Flavio - hills to pay the bills.

                       

                      RP - take those Daniels tables with a heavy dose of salt (they're maths, not running), as I think you've always demonstrated that the longer distances work better for you, which makes your 5k effort even more impressive.  I'd be taking that as a very big confidence booster if I were you.

                       

                      Mmerkle - you really nailed that LR, well done.

                       

                      Fishy - I definitely find the Endorphin Pro's have a better useful life than the VF (although, I personally find the VF quicker).

                       

                      Dorothea - I'm definitely not trying to start a war with cyclists... just had a couple of bad experiences last week.  I'm sure it'll be nice to get that race happening after training for that long... I remember how I felt after the slog just to get to a start line with covid lockdowns in 2020!

                      3,000m: 9:07.7 (Nov-21) | 5,000m: 15:39 (Dec-19) | 10,000m: 32:34 (Mar-20)  

                      10km: 33:15 (Sep-19) | HM: 1:09:41 (May-21)* | FM: 2:41:41 (Oct-20)

                      * Net downhill course

                      Last race: Maraetai HM, 10 Mar, DNF

                      Up next: Waterfront HM, 7 Apr

                      "CONSISTENCY IS KING"

                      Mikkey


                      Mmmm Bop

                         

                        Mikkey, impressive restraint on the short course.

                         

                         

                         

                         

                        Because he acknowledged that the course was short which I respect. 👍

                        5k - 17:53 (4/19)   10k - 37:53 (11/18)   Half - 1:23:18 (4/19)   Full - 2:50:43 (4/19)

                        JMac11


                        RIP Milkman

                           

                          Because he acknowledged that the course was short which I respect. 👍

                           

                          Yeah that's the difference. He immediately recognized it and pointed it out. Respect here too for RP.

                          5K: 16:37 (11/20)  |  10K: 34:49 (10/19)  |  HM: 1:14:57 (5/22)  |  FM: 2:36:31 (12/19) 

                           

                           

                          Fishyone


                            Mmerkle - you really nailed that LR, well done.

                             

                            Fishy - I definitely find the Endorphin Pro's have a better useful life than the VF (although, I personally find the VF quicker).

                             

                            Mark. I agree completely and race in the VF I’ve found the 2s for $80-90 per pair and have gone to them almost exclusively.  Still have a pair of recovery Hokas I roll out every so often.🦍  Question:  Have you (or anyone here) tried the pro 3s?  They do look like an upgrade from the 2s and still are over $200 here.  Before I make the jump I’d love some real feedback.

                            5K 18:36 (2023), 10K 39:40 (2022), 1/2 1:24:37 (2023), full 2:58:36 (2015) 

                              Have not gotten a chance to post my weekly or catch up on everyone else’s, but wanted to be sure to drop in to congratulate RP on a blazing fast, perfectly executed 5k PR. Beast.

                              Dave

                              SteveChCh


                              Hot Weather Complainer

                                 

                                Mark. I agree completely and race in the VF I’ve found the 2s for $80-90 per pair and have gone to them almost exclusively.  Still have a pair of recovery Hokas I roll out every so often.🦍  Question:  Have you (or anyone here) tried the pro 3s?  They do look like an upgrade from the 2s and still are over $200 here.  Before I make the jump I’d love some real feedback.

                                 

                                My coach told me this too so I bought a pair of 3s at Christmas.  I was going to try them out in the half but got sick.  I'll try them in a workout in the next few weeks, then use them in the race so I'll let you know.

                                5km: 18:34 11/23 │ 10km: 39:10 8/23 │ HM: 1:26:48 9/23 │ M: 3:34:49 6/23

                                 

                                2024 Races:

                                Motorway Half Marathon February 25, 2024 1:29:55

                                Christchurch Half-Marathon April 21, 2024

                                Selwyn Marathon June 2, 2024

                                Dunedin Half Marathon September 15, 2024