Forums >Racing>2022 Advanced Racing Thread
Mark - Looks like you have a relatively full slate of races too (like Watson and me).
Lots of spring races here. The two HM's were deferrals from last year due to COVID lockdown-enforced cancellations, but the timing worked out OK. Means I have a good block of training now, then another 4-5 weeks worth after the 10k races and before the HMs.
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"
Problem Child
Hey, this a respectable thread now and the word bitch shouldn’t be tolerated. And I don’t identify as a female.
Did you just assume the gender of being a bitch? can you assume the gender of a ‘Sandbagger’ or is this word no longer tolerated with the rebranding of my home away from the bridge?
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
My week ok but had 2 sick days. Luckily was a very minor bug.
55+ PBs 5k 18:36 June 3rd TT
" If you don't use it you lose it, but if you use it, it wears out.
Somewhere in between is about right "
RP - If you want to have a combined thread, then going around throwing names at people is not a great way to start.
Piwi - good to hear that bug was nothing too serious.
Me - another decent week of training in the bag. Pretty much perfect winter running weather here apart from some rain on Friday night making for a splash around the track on Saturday. Sunday's long run was about as good as it gets for winter conditions and I half-wished I'd had my phone to take a picture as I've never seen the water so glassy calm at Christmas Beach, it was pretty beautiful with the sunrise coming up to the east.
Still kind of counting down until races but that's two months off so there's a fair bit of counting to do.
Hot Weather Complainer
piwi - still a nice week given you were sick, and glad to hear it wasn't serious.
Mark - Another great week, it will be interesting to see how you go in the spring races. This sort of consistency should give you some great results.
me - Pretty solid week, with no real fatigue left over from the biggish MP training run last Sunday. It's been pretty cold, down around -5C (23F) most mornings which is a pretty sharp drop after a mild autumn so I've been feeling it a bit and on Thursday and Friday I came close to spills quite a few times on the ice patches. Yesterday was suddenly much warmer at 17C (63F) which was very nice. After 18km I felt quite light headed and fatigued so I had serious doubts about my ability to finish it off, especially as I was about to lift the pace above MP and turn into a head wind for the last 9km. I considered jogging it in but kept at it and in the last 2km block of work I realised that bad period had passed a while back, yet I still had the mindset that I was barely holding on. So I changed the mindset and was fine. Stupid brain.
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
+1
Piwi, Mark and Steve - nice weeks.
My week was OK. Tuesday's workout went pretty good. I raced a very hard trail race on Sunday. Originally this was March, but got delayed to Covid restrictions. Very, very steep hils and quite a bit of mud at certain places. Was 15 minutes slower than I hoped. I ended up skipping Saturday's easy run as the legs were tired, the very-mini taper was a good thing given how hard today was.
PRs: 5km 18:43 (Dec 2015), 10km 39:59 (Sep 2020), half 1:26:16 (Sep 2016), full 3:09:28 (Jun 2015)
40+ PRs: 5km 19:31 (Oct 2020), 10km 39:59 (Sep 2020), half 1:29:39 (Jun 2018), full 3:13:55 (Sep 2022)
2023 PRs (hope to beat in 2024): 5km 20:34, 10km 41:37, half 1:32:32, full 3:21:05
2024 PRs: 5km 20:25
Intl. correspondent
Jmac - Great news on the 2nd baby coming.
RP/Mark - First born kids are born when the parents are relatively poorer and less experienced so have to tough it out more.
Mmerkle - that’s a nice 5k
RP/Mikkey - LOL I love that interaction!
me - My recovery week went well.
Friday's strength training session was a new routine so I got quite sore yesterday and still today, but hoping I'll be better for tomorrow.
This was the first week with the new coach and he somehow read my mind, it was exactly what I needed.
He also gave me a nice short core routine that packs a punch, lots of core work in only 10 minutes.
I'll post it below in case anybody is interested:
4 Rounds 30 seconds each movement with 30 seconds rest between rounds
1. Mt. Climbers with Pause
2. V-Sit with Leg Lift
3. Weighted Russian Twist
4. Bear Plank with Donkey Kicks
Finisher – Hollow Hold for time
Total Time – 10 minutes + Finisher
PRs: 1500 4:54.1 2019 - 5K 17:53 2023 - 10K 37:55 2023 - HM 1:21:59 2021
Up next: no idea
Tool to generate Strava weekly
Waltons ThreadLord
Flavio - Glad to hear the recovery week went well. Nice core workout. Someday I'll make other, non-running exercise part of my routine, but so far I haven't been able to get anything to "stick." I'm just glad I keep finding/making the time to keep running.
Jmac - Congrats on the news about child #2.
Watson- Nice job on the trail run, even if the time wasn't what you were looking for. I remember my first trail run included a section so steep that everyone was walking/climbing it - single file too.
Steve - Nice job getting through the period of doubt. I've had those more than once and find if I can latch on to something else to think about, even for half a mile, it can get me through it.
Mark - I take it your track doesn't have good drainage? With "just" two months to go until racing, are you looking at the long term forecast yet? Sadly, I've been known to do that during idle moments.
Piwi - Good news that it was just a minor bug that got you.
Zebano, Mikkey, Ian - I often go for a 1-mile warmup before races, just to loosen up my legs, even if it's 15 - 20 minutes before the start. Maybe it makes sense, then, that I hit HM pace more easily after a little break rather than going right into it from a slower pace.
36.6 miles for me in what will be my normal pattern for the next few months (except when interrupted by a race). Track work on Tuesdays, HM pace work on Thursdays, longer run Sunday, rest day Wednesday.
5k 23:48.45 (3/22); 4M 31:26 (2/22); 5M 38:55 (11/23); 10k 49:24 (10/22); 10M 1:29:33 (2/24); Half 1:48:32 (10/22); Marathon 4:29:58 (11/23)Upcoming races: RunAPalooza (Asbury Park) HM, 4/6; Clinton Country Run 15k, 4/27
Good to see all the half forum folks here!
Piwi: Nice finish to the week after having a bug; glad it was short-lived.
Mark: Seeing your week laid out like that, I am amazed at your paces! Looking forward to all your races and what times you put down. I need to get used to it being winter now for you guys... here we are just entering the hot and humid part of summer and winter seems so far away.
Steve: Nice work on the long run and staying mentally tough!
Watson: Wow, that race did indeed have brutally steep hills! Nice job.
Flavio: I wish I had your motivation and dedication for the strength work. I've fallen off the wagon with that the last 6 weeks or so due to a bit of a low back strain. The back issue resolved several weeks ago but I've still not restarted the strength work.
Fred: Sounds like a good goal for the HM this fall.
My week was ok; I took a day off Friday as I had a really early start for work and couldn't get out of bed early enough to get in a run. Then I thought I'd try to run after work but that was a no go. I'm baffled how I used to run after work in the early years of my adult running; now it seems impossibly hard and inconvenient.
2:52:16 (2018)
Mmmm Bop
I keep forgetting that NZ seasons are opposite to UK, but a jump from -5C to 17C is ridiculous! It’s been very high pollen count here for the last couple of weeks which is not ideal for me. Well done for battling through the doubt - I think that if you can get into a more positive mindset then it’ll make a big difference on marathon day. 👍
RP - Btw, no offence taken. If I do make it to the April Parade then I’m hoping there’ll be a few of us with similar goals! - Yourself, Cal, JT, Cinnamon, Andres, Ace?
5k - 17:53 (4/19) 10k - 37:53 (11/18) Half - 1:23:18 (4/19) Full - 2:50:43 (4/19)
Hey all, gonna start posting here and see how it goes. Brief bio: Dave, age 57, Seattle area. Late onset runner—did not get into it till well into my 40s. First marathon at age 47 in 2012, have now run 16 total. I like racing everything from 5k to marathon, but marathons generally end up being my major goal races. I know that a decline due to age will likely come sooner rather than later, but I still feel like I have some PRs left in me. Current PR is 3:22:16 at Seattle Marathon 2019. Almost matched that with 3:22:34 at CIM 2021, which included a >1 min restroom stop. My goal has been sub-3:20 for a while now, but as you all know, everything has to go right to run your best marathon, and only one thing needs to go wrong to have an epic fail.
First half of this year has been a shitshow for me—a crippling bout of lower back pain, recovery from that was followed by a mysterious knee injury, and recovery from that was followed by a case of COVID. However finally, in the last several weeks I’ve been feeling good. Last weekend I ran a half within 21 seconds of PR; a sizable negative split, so if I’d been more aggressive, who knows. My goal race this fall is Chicago; if health and weather cooperate (two big ifs), I think that course should give me a shot at that sub-3:20.
That half I paced yesterday was a legit 13.1 miles, but it goes through a tunnel for 2.5 miles and screws up the GPS. Targeted 30 sec under, and finished right on the dot. Actual average pace was 8:22; I was so dialed in, that this morning’s easy run finished at the exact same pace, lol.
My next race is a 5k on 7/23. With mostly marathon-focused training I don’t do a ton of short/fast interval work. I ran the Mona Fartlek this week to start getting the feel for it. Not much time to get ready, but if anyone has any favorite 5k workouts to recommend, bring ‘em on.
Dave
Mother of Cats
55 miles running, 3 hours pool-running, and 1500 ~yards swimming.
M: 90 minutes pool-running and upperbody weights/core.T: 10 miles, including 2x1600, 2x800 in 6:59, 6:51, 3:21, and 3:23. Recoveries were 5:00 after the first 1600, 3:00 after the second 1600, and then 2:30 between the 800s. Followed with four hill sprints, leg strengthwork, and 500 yards recovery swimming.W: 8.5 miles (10:09) and drills/strides.Th: 90 minutes pool-running and upper body weights/core.F: 11.5 miles, including a mixed workout of 3x10 seconds hard on a 6% hill, then 2K, 1200m on the track with 2:42 jog (splits 8:59, 5:16), jogged back to hill for 6 hill repeats, each lasting 60 seconds, with two sets of easy effort, moderate effort, hard effort, before returning to track for 2x1200m in 5:17 and 5:08, with 2:49 jog between the two. Followed with leg strengthwork and 500 meters recovery swimming.Sa: 9 miles (9:55), drills/strides, and streaming yoga.Su: 15 miles progressive, split as the first 5 miles averaging 9:30 page, next 5 miles averaging 8:18 pace, and next 5 miles averaging 7:34 pace, before a mile cooldown jog. Followed with leg strengthwork and 500 yards recovery swimming.
Things are slowly improving with each additional week, so that's good. On Wednesday, I finally managed to see another neurologist for a second opinion (I scheduled this one three months ago). It ended up being worth the wait - the doctor spent a full hour with me, including watching me run back and forth in the hallway for about 5 minutes. (apparently I am tilting my head to the right and swinging my right arm weirdly when I run).
He suspects a mild version of dystonia and prescribed two medications - trihexyphenidyl and baclofen. He told me to start off with a small dose of the trihexyphenidyl (half a tab - 1mg) taken 2 hours before running and see how that worked. From there, I was allowed to try any mix of the two up to a maximum of one trihexyphenidyl tablet combined with two baclofen tablets.
So I tested out the half-tab of trihexyphenidyl on both Saturday and Sunday, and it's helped quite a bit. Basically it feels like I've been running in tight pants the whole time, and now I'm running in shorts - my legs just move so much more fluidly. And my toes aren't curling under me any more when I run.
My legs are still stiffening at times (generally when I hear loud sudden noises), so I think I'll try bumping up to a full tablet of trihexyphenidyl next weekend and see how that works. In the meantime, I'm curious to see how my track workout on Tuesday goes.
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.
Honestly, I like the classics - 6-8x800m, 4-5x1200m, 2-3x(1200, 800, 400). For all of these, the duration of the recovery should be a bit less than the interval duration (stretch out the recovery, and you work the wrong system and become one of those people with impressive workouts who doesn't perform on race day). For the 1200s and 800s, pace can be 5K pace or slightly quicker - the 400s can be at that pace or faster if you are feeling good.
Piwi - glad the bug was mild.
Marky_Mark - I appreciate your hat tip to the deadzone of training. FWIW, when I've had a phone on me, it's never managed to quite capture the beauty of what I'm observing, so perhaps you didn't miss out after all (of course, maybe it's just that my phone is old).
Steve - FWIW, I think being able to change your mindset like that in the middle of the run is impressive and a good skill to have in your back pocket for race day.
Watson - congrats on the race. 857 meters over 17K strikes me as a lot of elevation gain (as you noted).
Flavio - thanks for posting the strength training - I really enjoying scanning it and looking for ideas to incorporate into my own training.
Jmac- I missed the news before - best wishes for #2!
Fred - nice week!
JTReeves - "I'm baffled how I used to run after work in the early years of my adult running; now it seems impossibly hard and inconvenient." Yup - I get it. And I don't even have kids to balance with work and running.
Thanks! These are exactly what I fall back on when left to my own devices. People get more complex with them; I like trying new workouts and maybe there’s additional benefit to be had, but maybe negligible at my level. The nice thing about the simple ones is the ability to just run them at the track while counting laps and using the manual lap button, rather than programming your watch.