Forums >Racing>2022 Advanced Racing Thread
34:13 official. Very windy out there and unfortunately the main straight on the course was all upwind, so it was a hard day and meant the wind was a big net negative.
4th overall in the M40-45, and we (Auckland) won the gold in the M35-49 teams which was pretty solid considering the depth of Wellington running and on their home turf too, so that was cool.
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: Waterfront HM, 7 Apr, 1:15:48
Up next: Runway5, 4 May
"CONSISTENCY IS KING"
Congrats, Marky!!
Dave
Hot Weather Complainer
Mark - Nice race and very nice placing individually and cool to get the gold for the team. As piwi noted, interesting to see the difference in distance between you and Hash on the same course.
me - Another pretty big week, although a slight dip from last week. Wednesday went really well, with some paces 15-20secs per km quicker than marathon pace. The long run yesterday had far fewer effort kms than last week, but looked to build the fatigue in my legs then do some small climbs at race pace. I went really well until the very last climb when a strong wind suddenly arrived so it was a headwind and a small climb. Luckily I was down to 2-3km left so I battled to finish. A woman ran past me the other way with her dog during my second effort block so I had a quick direction change to dodge it when it lunged at me and I felt the beginning of cramp in my hamstring. When I got back to my normal cadence I had no issues but it shows that even when it's going well, after 20 miles the cramp is hiding close to the surface but just out of sight (hopefully). It was significantly warmer than all my previous long runs over winter; 14C (57F) at the start and 20C (68F) at the end with a high sun and very little wind. Obviously not crazy hot but enough of a change to make it a challenge. I had more to drink and also poured the last half bottle of water over my head (a few drops at a time over a couple of km) which helped. I hope it's cooler than that for the race but it's possible it could be similar or warmer so I'm glad I got one long run in that weather, and got through it well.
Also got chased and nipped by a dog for the 100th time on my recovery run today. I avoid parks on all runs now, except this one, for this reason. I might have to change the route for the Sunday trot now too. I yelled at the owner who got very upset but didn't apologise "he's only chasing you because he's scared" (what??). 1km later I started feeling bad about how upset she was but I'm really sick of it.
One last big week before the taper, and even though I've been going well I am definitely ready to race and over the 3ish hour runs on Saturday. This week has a med-long with Yasso 800s and a long run with some long MP blocks.
5km: 18:34 11/23 â 10km: 39:10 8/23 â HM: 1:26:48 9/23 â 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
Hilariously I had it at 9.99km on my watch. But most seemed to be 10.1-10.4km so it was fine. I also met the guy who measured it and… you know how some people seem suited to their job? Yeah.
Mmmm Bop
Yep, the legend Mr Short. ð
5k - 17:53 (4/19) 10k - 37:53 (11/18) Half - 1:23:18 (4/19) Full - 2:50:43 (4/19)
Mother of Cats
Steve - you are having awful luck with dogs. I'm assuming that the owner did not have the dog on a leash? Around here, we have leash laws requiring dogs to be on leashes - not sure if you have that. Of course then the owner puts the dog on an extendable leash while ignoring the dog completely in favor of their cell phone, and that creates all sorts of new issues. Nice work this week, BTW.
Marky_Mark - congratulations on a good placing on a tough day.
*waves hello to Krash*
***
My week:
72 miles running, 2 hours pool-running, and ~1500 yards swimming.
M: 6 miles very easy (10:16), plus drills/stridesT: 11.5 miles, including a track workout of 400/800/1200/1200/800/400. Splits were 1:43, 3:25, 5:07, 5:01, 3:16, 94. Recoveries were 75 seconds after the first 400, and 2:0x-2:4x after the 800s and 1200s. Followed with leg strengthwork and 500 yards recovery swimming.W: Streaming yoga and 10.5 miles very easy (9:36).Th: 2 hours pool-running and upper body weights/core.F: 12.5 miles, including an 8K track tempo in 34:55 (7:10/7:05/6:58/6:55/6:47), followed by six 1:00 hills (two cycles of easy, moderate, hard). Followed with leg strengthwork and 500 yards recovery swimming.Sa: 11 miles very easy (9:39) plus drills and upper body weights/core. Su: 20 miles progressive, split as first 7.5 miles averaging 9:45 pace; next 6.5 miles averaging 8:23 pace, and next 6 miles averaging 7:30 pace. Followed with injury prevention work and 500 meters recovery swimming.
Yes, it looks like a big bump in mileage this week, but that's really only because I did my long run on Sunday, rather than Saturday, and so my pool-running recovery day will fall on Monday instead of Sunday.
I was pretty happy with this week - we got a break in the humidity on Friday, and so I took advantage and did a longer track tempo which went really well for my current fitness.
I haven't been doing progression long runs during this cycle - instead I've been doing a Friday track workout and then a long run Saturday morning (mostly easy, but with surges in the second hour). This has been partially to mix things up and get a different stimulus, and partially because it's hard to do long progression runs effectively in July and August. I was thinking that this weekend would be a bit better weather-wise, so I decided to try a progression 20. Of course, it ended up heating up anyway, but despite that the progression went pretty well. So things are definitely on the right track.
This was my last 20 of my will she/won't she Chicago training cycle. I have a marathon pace workout next week, and then a half-marathon the week after. (so yes, my last 20 is 5 weeks before the race, but I don't think that's an issue - I've done that before). And then I think I'll take a shot at Chicago, since it seems like I should be able to get the work vacation issues worked out.
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.
Mark: Nice race!
My Week (Marathon Training Week 4):
Time: Miles: Kilos: Pace/mi: Pace/kilo:
8/29: Easy 7, upper body
+ core later 58:41 7 11.2 8:23 5:13
8/30: Easy 5 40:49 5 8 8:10 5:05
8/31: 2 miles WU and CD,
3 X 2 mile w/ 5 min rests (track)
12:42,12:26,11:56 70:40 10 16.1 7:04 4:24
Leg strength work later
9/1: Easy 7.5 59:11 7.5 12 7:54 4:55
9/2: Off
9/3: Easy 7 53:51 7 11.2 7:42 4:48
9/4: Long run. Planned for
15-16, got hot and tired and felt
like crap, stopped at 14. Not happy
with this run at all, and even worried. 1:44:21 14 22.5 7:28 4:39
Total: 50.5 miles, 81.3 kilos, 6:27:33
Remark: I'm a bit concerned with how that LR went. When I tried to pick it up some, the result was low 7s per mile
when it FELT like I should have been seeing 6:30s-6:40s. I can't tell what the issue is here, but it seems like somehow
I am either plateauing or getting worse. Last training cycle I had long runs where I was doing 6:30s and 6:40s after mile 10.
Darkwave - oh yeah I've seen the leash tripwire scenario a few times. Almost got caught by that one this morning actually. Good work on that progression run.
Steve - congrats on the doggo encounter century lol. That weather for your LR would definitely have been good practice in case you cop that on race day. I hear you on the long run boredom, I don't know what I'd do without music on those.
mmerkle - honestly all of us have rough days and botched workouts from time to time. They can be frustrating when you know you have done or are capable of doing better, but one bad day is just that - one bad day. Chin up and on to next week. I wouldn't worry about it unless it drags on for a week or more or you start to see a pattern.
Me - weekly below, it's back to the grind now before October races. In hindsight I may have jinxed the race day weather with my first run of the week.
My highest mileage week of the cycle so far. Although low by my usual standards; I’d usually be 70+ by now, but I’ve been doing too much other stupid shit to get my mileage up to its normal marathon training level.
Midweek, I wanted to do some kind of workout, but didn’t feel like too much speed after last weekend’s relay, so I did hills. Perfect training for Chicago, right? ðĪŠ I figure it’s always good for you.
Saturday I was trying to decide between a steady-paced 20-22 or 18 w/10 MP. Decided on the latter because I haven’t really done any MP workouts and was anxious to see how it felt. It did not go exactly as planned, because (1) I was with two others in my running group, and not as focused on pace as I would be on my own, (2) there was a bit of hilliness, and (3) mainly, it was hard. My goal is 3:20 which is 7:38; I ranged roughly from 7:40-8:00 with about a 7:50 average. I tried to sort of make up for it by extending it—ended up at 21 miles with 14 “MP.” I was somewhat disappointed with the slower pace, but oh well. The important thing is I have some excuses. It was certainly a tough day that I felt in a big way in Sunday’s run. Oof.
No rest for the wicked though. I plan to race a half next Sunday, 4 weeks out from Chicago. The course is flat and the long term forecast gives reasonable weather, so I’m hopeful for a good day. We’ll see!
Steve - we are twins on distance & average pace of our LR workouts!
mmerkle - I feel you on the disappointing LR. There are always bad days, I wouldn’t worry too much about it unless it becomes a pattern; when they’re all like that, it’s time to back off the goal. But it’s a marathon not a sprint, right?
darkwave - looking forward to seeing you in Chicago, along with 50,000 of our closest friends!
darkwave - We have specific parks where dogs are allowed off leash, as long as they're under "effective control". I get that you can't always predict whether a dog will behave but there doesn't seem to be a lot of effective control going on. I generally avoid these parks but they are a very nice place to run so I risk it for recovery runs. You're right though, extendable leads are a pain too, and the worst bite I got on my calf was from a dog on a lead with an oblivious owner.
Still a seriously good week even with the re-shuffle. Good to hear Chicago looks like a go - I'll be interested to hear about your experience there. If I get a Chicago qualifier in Melbourne (sub 3:20) I may look at it for 2023.
mmerkle - I agree with Mark, don't get too concerned about one run. There's always a bad one here and there and sometimes there's no obvious reason.
Mark - Bad luck on the weather conditions and the impact on a fast time (or PR anyway, still a scorching time) but it is Wellington so could always have been worse! I tend to listen to a podcast in the early easy kms of my long run, then switch to music at the business end. I generally go with naked ears for the rest of the week which I'll do for the race so I don't think I'm setting myself up to miss the distraction. It's such a big race on an interesting course that I'm sure I'll have plenty of distractions.
Dave - Amazing how much our training is mirroring each other at the moment. I thought I should check that you have a race coming up around the same time, and indeed I see it is Chicago, a week after Melbourne. You're looking like you're setting up for that nicely. EDIT: I see you said essentially the same thing while I was typing! Hopefully it points to good races for both of us.
I've come into the new week and last big week feeling good - I made a decision 3 weeks ago to forego my Sunday afternoon bourbon or 2 (sometimes 3) and it definitely helps me come into Monday feeling better. I wouldn't be drunk, but it was enough to impact the quality of sleep and my hydration. I've also reduced how much I allow myself on Saturday. I'm sure I'll relax these rules for the few weeks after the race but it does seem like a good long term strategy, and not just for running.
National Road Race Champs (10k), 4/9/22
National 10k Champs are back in Wellington for the first time in a few years and fittingly, for Wellington, it is a typically blustery day.
The course is just over 8 and a half laps around the new NZ Campus of Innovation and Sport. Amongst other things this campus has a full size indoor football field on artificial grass, which was quite good for some strides to warm up. The Masters (35+) mens race is at 12pm, and unfortunately it seems like the wind got progressively stronger through the morning.
It is probably the strongest Masters field at this event in a few years. Always a bit of luck as to who shows up, but Wellington has the deepest club running scene in the country by a long shot and have won the National Masters title at road relays every year since the Jurassic period so not a surprise that there is a good field.
The race starts partway around the lap and runners are organised into lanes based on regions, with club runners on the outside. Interestingly the layout of the course makes it pretty much all right turns (I think 4 per lap?), this messed with me for a bit as of course I'm far more used to left turns from track sessions.
Anyway from the start there is a lead group of around 10-12 or so. I sit in the middle and the wind is immediately apparent as we turn into the back straight of the course which is around 500m long. Sitting in the group definitely helped with this, but the pace is fairly hot from the outset... around 3:15/km which would be perfect if it was a good day. However, we were instead enjoying 45km/h winds gusting 70km/h (25 miles gusting 45 or thereabouts).
There is some good support around the start / finish area, by the time we got here it was probably down to around 8 in the lead group. I managed to hang on for another lap or so but I had dropped off by around lap 3.
Honestly from there it was a pretty long and lonely day. Paul Crowhurst (also Auckland) had also dropped off the lead group but he was probably 10-15 seconds ahead of me at that point and it just didn't feel like there was a good point on the course to try and make that up. After the long upwind straight, it's briefly into the crosswind before turning past some buildings which effectively sheltered the course from the tailwind for the most part. They at least provided a bit of respite from the wind but it felt like I needed that just to mentally regroup for the next upwind slog rather than burning some extra matches.
Amusingly, I get some cheers around the start / finish area from people I don't know, "go Mark!" and I realise it's actually not for me (unless Wellington folks are that friendly?) but for Mark Moore who is a local runner that was just behind me at that point. However our team manager Bruce can be relied upon to cheer for the correct Mark.
Around laps 7 and 8 the wind got worse, probably more like sustained gusts. I was lapping slower masters runners at this point and it was pretty energy sapping having to weave around them into the wind. Along with the realisation I was gonna be unsurprisingly well off PB time given the conditions, the splits suffered and I really had to dig it in. Coming past the start/finish area for the final lap I hear some cheers behind me "go Stephen" and I realise that Stephen Day (a former national marathon champ and NZ mountain running rep) must not be far behind me. I'm pretty sure there's only 2 Wellington runners in front of me and there's definitely 3 Auckland runners, so we are looking good for the teams gold but I really don't want to get passed this late in the race. However, I also operate by the rule of "don't look back" because you just don't want to give the other guy the feeling he's got a chance.
That final upwind stretch sucked particularly bad, even if the wind had perhaps dropped off a fraction. I snuck a look over my shoulder rounding the second to last turn and can see Stephen is probably 10 seconds back, so with 300m to go I figure if I power it home I should be OK.
And OK I was. 34:13 (official) was good enough for 8th masters overall, 4th M40-45, and as it turned out a pretty comfortable gold medal for the Auckland M35-49 team too (22 points to Wellington's 30).
Kinda mixed feelings about that one. I really would've liked to take down my 10k road PB this year and that was probably my last shot at it for 2022 - on a good day that would definitely have been a reasonable course for it (and I definitely had some good training behind me). But everyone was slower than their regional champs performances, in some cases by up to 2 minutes, so I guess I just have to accept it was a tough day and move on. 8th overall in a strong field and a national champs gold medal for the team is a pretty good return.
Remark: I'm a bit concerned with how that LR went. When I tried to pick it up some, the result was low 7s per mile when it FELT like I should have been seeing 6:30s-6:40s. I can't tell what the issue is here, but it seems like somehow I am either plateauing or getting worse. Last training cycle I had long runs where I was doing 6:30s and 6:40s after mile 10.
Make sure you compare apples to apples. Wasn't your last training cycle in February?
I know that a lot of people had difficulty with their long runs today in the DC area. We had that nice drop in dew point for a few days and then the humidity rolled back in, and some people suffered.
If you have other evidence that you are plateauing or going in reverse, then that's something to consider. But I would not come to any conclusions based off of one single long run.
Mark: Thanks for the exciting race report, well told (I love race reports!), those are some serious winds, so obviously you would have been much closer to PR, or better than PR perhaps, if it weren't for that.
Dave/DW/Mark/Steve: Good points, maybe I'm overreacting, I do tend to run better in the cold, but today just kinda took the wind out of my sails. DW in particular, thanks for that info on the DC area, I guess today was not ideal. I felt great yesterday on my easy run and wanted today to be the same lol.
Congrats on 4th in age group Mark. Well done! I don't think I saw in your report were you close to the top 3?
Merkle: I would be bummed but not worried in week 4. It happens. Your 3 x 2 was nice!
Steve: good work on cutting back on the bourbon. Yassos will be fun!
M: 1 mi (7:40), 5 mi (7:00, 6:50, 6:42, 6:30, 6:22), 6 mi (7:40) T: 6 mi (8:21) W: off + hot tub T: 13 mi +420 ft (8:05) + massage F: 6 mi (8:20) S: 9 mi +strides (8:10) S: 18 mi +800 ft (7:53) Monday was unplanned but when I felt good the first mile and saw the pace, I figured I was ready for some quality and it worked into a progression. Sunday was about building strength endurance.