Forums >Racing>2018 3:20 (and beyond)
Ilana: So good to hear from you. I was thinking about you on my run the other day, wondering what you'd been up to. Sorry to hear about your parents. That's difficult. I hope you don't stay away from 3:20 too long.
Keen: if there's one thing I enjoy talking about with imaginary friends other than running, it's coffee! I've had an aeropress for a few years and it was my go to brew method until about a year ago I switched to a pour over (Hario V60). Intelligentsia isn't local to me, but their Black Cat Espresso is delicious for the aeropress. My favorite local roaster is Honeybee. Counter Culture out of NC is great too. Long story short, I converted my wife to drinking black coffee if I make it with the Hario. She was previously a peppermint mocha only kind of person (not that there's anything wrong with that). If you would've asked me what would come first, my wife enjoying black coffee or me running in the olympics, I would've told you it'd be close.
Roz: welcome! Enjoy the 5k! How will you be approaching it?
Dwave: did you at least get to run in some good weather in Tampa?
VO2: I liked the idea of having it on my Garmin, but have not found a great use for it so far.
Max, Pesto: you guys around? how are things?
I kept moving in this training cycle after the HM. We were essentially treating the race like a tough workout, with just one day off, then a normal training week. I'm definitely feeling the fatigue this week, although today's workout went well, just felt harder than I thought it would.
2 easy, 4 x mile, 2 easy (5:49, 5:43, 5:48, 5:47) (easy miles around 8:00).
I'm being summoned to watch a show (Manhunt) with DW who just made me some hot chocolate! Greetings to rest of you all. Have a great weekend! Anyone else racing this weekend?
Road Mile: 5:19 (2017), 5k: 17:09 (2021), 10k: 35:54 (2021), HM: 1:21:55 (2020), M: 2:53:18 (2021)
FB: I have little doubt you will be running a decent marathon before too long. That's awesome that you've responded so well to cutting out gluten. My sister-in-law has Celiac's and struggled for years with a number of issues before getting a proper diagnosis, and the diet change helped her as well.
Katia: Thanks...I think it's going to be a while longer...
Dwave: So when you update the list this weekend, I think you can remove me, as I don't think I'll be running anything in a month.
Brew: I've been wondering about max as well.
Tried running today. Let's just say it didn't go well.
Duke Of Bad Judgment
I still exist, at least in a one-step-above-imaginary-friend kind of way. A bit mopey still, but mostly just adapting to being really busy. Lots o' posts here for less than 3 weeks - nice to see. I'll come by next week and do an actual catch up.
hearty congrats E78, Dwave and Ace on your PRs.
I have started to add base miles for my marathon training later this year. This week was low due to snow and wintry weather. Hope to pick up next week
FB - I'd watch the watch, see how it correlates with your perceived exertion and race / workout results.For me, the readings on the Garmin don't seem to correlate very well with my fitness. Also, some pals from the running club have done lab testing to determine VO2 Max and Lactate Threshold (a few hundred bucks) and many had results quite different from the figures estimated from HR and pace, which is how the watch does it.
Roz - A GI nurse? That's a great background for this sport! Do you apply your expertise to fueling issues for racing & training? It's a piece of the puzzle I've never quite made fit ...
Recovery Phenom
Houston Damage: I wasn't really looking as I ran, but on the way from the airport to downtown I noticed that a lot of houses had junk in their front lawns. They are still going through their houses and getting rid of damaged stuff.
Ilana: I hope you do participate. It's great news that your stress fracture is now completely healed and you can start to run again. I am really sorry about your parents though. I imagine that was a really tough time and still is.
OMR: Hi there! Sorry to hear that your run didn't go well.
Rozzie: Welcome. I will go read the intro thread to lean more about you. Thanks for following me on Instagram and I know what you mean about the girl runner thing. Lots of women trying to out-do each other by over training, running paces that are way too fast for their fitness level, and then crashing in races as a result. But, I have met many inspirational women on there too. Wishing you a smooth journey post-injury!
Climber: Cool about the 5K. My husband is going to run it!
FB: My knowledge of that V02 Max number is that it's valuable if you have it actually tested on a treadmill with a max, and note the corresponding heart rates. This type of test will tell you your actual zones, as the heart rate zones based on age/gender are just guesses based on the average population. Once you are training in the correct zone based on that V02 max test, you know you are doing things correctly. That said, I haven't run by HR in over 2 years.
Commander: Cool that you are reading Daniels. I have that book and I read it in 2008ish. I remember that it got too technical for me and I lost patience. Part of me likes not really knowing technical stuff and just doing what my coach says. Makes it less stressful. But the other part of me is interested in the physiology of it.
Darkwave: Nice job running in Tampa. Aren't we glad we missed another crappy week of DC weather? How is everything feeling post race at this point?
Brewing, Arvind, Seattle and Duke: Hello! Arvind, small world that we both know Sam. He's a great guy.
Katia: So cool that you are doing that race in New England!
Ace: What a killer workout- especially after that half marathon!
- - - - - -
I spent the week in Vegas and I'm flying home right now. Love In-flight WiFi. I just ran easy all week with some strides. I ran out to the UNLV campus where there was a track and places to run where you didn't constantly have to stop for traffic. It was annoying the first 1.5 and last 1.5 miles because I kept having to stop every few minutes for lights and cars. I went slower than my normal easy pace and everything felt really great post half marathon. Makes me think I could have run it harder. Although- my legs were never the limiting factor in that race. It was more overall fatigue "this is as hard as I can push" type thing.
My coach said that based on this race he is going to start prescribing paces for some of my runs. Up until now, I have been doing everything based on effort. But he wants to experiment with being really precise. We'll see how it goes!
26.2 x 31 (3:15:34 PR)
13.1 x 35 (1:30:58 PR)
Author of the book Boston Bound
Will Run for Donuts!
6 easy this am at 9:27 pace (so ~3 minutes slowed than HM race pace), and I don't think I could have run any faster if I needed to.
Having such a broad 'range' of speeds is something I can't seem to manage. If I try to run slower than ~8:30 pace or so, my stride really begins to feel unnatural. If I'm going for easy pace on a run, I'll just run at what feels like relatively low intensity, and incorporate walk breaks sometimes. I'm wondering if anyone else experiences the same.
Problem Child
I just feel slow when I’m running below 8:30 pace. At times I imagine myself driving past a runner who looks like they’re doing 12:30 pace.
Hope PE you’re doing better MAX. I’m glad you’re at least running during the week.
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
Ace--my only approach is to be faster than the one in October. Oh and no major cardiac events. :-) Like you mentioned just treating these as workouts, but at a much slower pace than yours!
Duke--I wish I could say I had all the answers. I do have a pretty good gasp of how the body works and metabolizes food--except my body. Last marathon I did found me in the medical tent with 2 IVs hanging. (but still made my A goal!) To say the least I won't be starting a lecture series. There is a lot of research right now pointing toward peppermint extract for "GI" issues. My last conference had a speaker talking about the benefits with runner's colitis. Fueling is a whole other world. I think if someone had the perfect formula that worked for everyone they would hit a gold mine. I am just glad to see a swing toward more holistic approaches.
Eliz-I am looking forward to see how the prescribed paces do for you. I bet you will rock it out of the park!
OMR--the struggle I know so well. Wishing you a fast road to recovery.
pie man
Rozzie - do you have hounds? I have had three retired racers. My third, Kali, actually ran the 'marathon'at Sanford-Orlando (754 yards). She took her retirement very seriously, though. Unless there was an alley cat around. Or a squirrel, she would always chase those.
Y'all need slow friends. I just ran into a friend out on the run and ran with her for a bit at super 9's. Felt great and I was able to add on at the end to get to ten miles. I need to add in super 9s more often. Might 'race' tomorrow at a local 8 miler and add on to get a long run out of the deal.
11:11 3,000 (recent)
Mother of Cats
Having people at that pace to run with definitely helps. And it also takes practice. As for the "losing form when slow" thing - I see that as a feature, not a bug. Practicing holding good form at a pace where it's difficult to do so carries over into holding good form when things are falling apart.
For my part, I'm always a bit surprised by people who have a narrow range. There's one person I follow who will write stuff like "Monday:cruise intervals at 7:40 pace - challenging"; and then "Tuesday: recovery run: 8:20 pace." I can't figure out how that works.
Yesterday was 12 "miles" in the pool. Today was 10 miles very easy (8:34) plus drills, strides, and then upper body weights/core. Saw somebody doing kettlebell swings while balanced on a bosu - it's still January at the gym, apparently. E78 - in answer to your question I was trashed this week. I'm finally starting to feel a bit better. It may have been part the race and part my neglect of traditional recovery modalities in favor of alcoholic beverages and poor nutritional choices. Plus no foam roller handy.
Someone asked about Tampa weather. Amusingly, it hit 29 degrees for my run on Thursday morning. The local population was in shock. I ran to and from a yoga studio there, and they offered to call me a cab so that I didn't have to run back to my hotel....
Smax - thanks for checking in.
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.
Pepperjack: Yes I do! We have been blessed with 7 retired racers over the past 13 years. We are sadly down to our last big girl. We also have an Iggy (who thinks he is a greyhound) We worked real close with our adoption group back where we used to live. Gosh are they not the best breed? So easy, and yes---take their retirement very seriously LOL. I need to get involved with the hound group here in Orlando. When our big girl goes to the final sprint in the sky I know we will get another. **Raises hand**I can be a slow friend! Super 9's are my go to spot right now.
As for my silly 5K this morning. I probably took the first mile way too conservative. Yet, for confidence sakes my only goal was to run the last mile hard effort with no blow ups. I struggle after these things to look at how much time I have lost. Yet I can't except too much with not a lot of miles in the engine. Sooooo the train at least is moving in right direction. 7:36, 7:31, 7:05, 6:32 (.1)
As a side note I am throwing out the whole HR thing. I believe in the theory but how accurate are they? I never had a Garmin with one before until now. Today avg HR 138 in the race--yet on my easy peasy runs at snail pace HR is 178? I mean, WTF?
Have a great weekend everyone!
Pace Prophet
I'm with Darkwave rather than Jones on the pace range issue. I mean, right now I'm running 10:45s because that's the appropriate easy pace for me right now (as my HR agrees) but I have always run my easy runs much easier than my MP. I also agree that it's useful to cultivate a wide range in which you can run with good form.
Rozzie - thanks for that. I have issues both with fueling for races and with, uh, urgency on training runs. GI Love Running!
Cat Fans - here’s Waffles, my big Maine Coon, helping me into my tights for this morning’s long trail run. With supervision by the little Muffin, his lady friend.
I also have no problem going slow. I routinely start at 10:00 when I'm on the TM and spend lots of time in high 9s. Being older helps! As does more stuff (higher mileage; more and/or harder workouts; strength and mobility work, etc.) However, I do believe it is a learned skill: being able to relax your attitude, breathing, hips, etc. and as you do it more, it gets easier.
DkW ~ LOL. I meant the city, but certainly understand body being wrecked! HMs are tough.
Ilana ~ Glad to see you posting. And your sfx is healed. Sorry about your parents; tough stuff.
Rozzie ~ Welcome. I sympathize w/ your back problems. I had a rupture same place (pretty much same age too). I had two surgeries. I've said before (on RWOL), my first 'run' back -- after four months -- was one of the most special in my life. Ten minutes.
Ace ~ Really strong workout. You're improving rapidly.
OMR ~ Bummer. Hang in there.
SMax and Katia ~ Waving hand emoji.
Hey to everyone else.
Today:
3.5 w/u (9:15ish), 800m tempo (6:35), 4x800m (~5:45 pace/avg) w/ 2' rec, then 4x400m (~5:25 pace) w/ 400m jog, barefoot c/d (10.5 total)
PS Katelyn Tuohy is insanely fast.