That suspiciously looks like me behind Mark! (Edit: Yeah, nah not me. Mark lapped me at another corner that looked a bit similar! This is the finish line)

Well done on the Team Auckland gold medal, Marky Mark. Classic that your watch measured 9.99km. I had a friend ask me if the course was long because all the runs she saw on Strava were way over 10km. Must've been cloudy for all but you!

Update: We’ve been to Vigo and Santiago de Compostela in Spain over the weekend and the food was very good. War with Spain has been averted.

Mark - Awesome job in tough conditions. I have only raced once in those conditions and I was 30 seconds slower on a 5k race. At some point the wind nearly tore my bib apart.

Take a moment to celebrate the fact you’re competing head to head with the top runners of the country.

Steve - Now you see why whenever I see a big dog off the leash I’ll turn around and go back the way I was coming from.

And if they are on the leash I cross the street.

Also, less alcohol is always good for your health.

DW - Some very good news from you lately, I hope you’re catching break from your wave of issues.

Your running is looking very good lately.

Cinnamon - Way to finish fast on that Monday workout.

me - My week is below. I'm feeling average since Saturday but managed a nice tempo yesterday. I'm hoping this funk goes away.

Weekly for period: From: 08/29/2022 To 09/04/2022

Total distance: 37.27mi

JMac - you can add me as a runner for 2022 London marathon on October 2nd. There is no way back now - non-refundable flight tickets are bought. And registration is paid off. Now, only if something out of my hands happens, only then I might not run. Just not to be accused of sandbagging, I would set a goal as sub 2:57 (Moose Mug?) and B goal probably would be sub 3? I've never run London, so, not sure - I usually do better when I run a familiar course.

Thoughts about my unexpectedly good marathon I ran last week. Nothing analytical, just wanted to share my personal (anecdotal) experience - just maybe it will add to somebody's perception of training and racing relationship.

Santa Rosa has never been my goal marathon. I ran it last year and learned that it's not super fast course. Considering that it's an end of August, the weather also could be a crapshoot. My so called cycle basically was not existent, I ran very decent mileage consistently, nothing crazy, but not bad - July and August were 301 and 334 accordingly. I didn't follow any specific training plan. The only thing I kind of followed is a track workout on Tuesday - running 6x1, 3x2 or 2x3 sometimes and sometimes something else - I was deciding on it at the last moment. When I felt OK, I would run relatively long run on Saturdays - in total I ran only two 20+ milers and few 16-18 miles runs. I also ran few MP effort runs on Thursdays - when I felt I am ready for such intensity. The couple of them were relatively successful , but during 11 miles at MP effort I only was able to hit two miles at 6:50 pace, the rest was 7-12 seconds slower. But the effort was there. That's for you mmerkle If effort is there, HR wise and feeling wise, that's ok to consider it successful workout, imho. But, I think, another major important requirement - mileage... My approach would not hold water probably, if I run 50 miles (or less) a week.

Two more interesting things that I think helped me during the race. I know you guys will laugh at me, but I ran with music again (for the 3rd time). Who doesn't remember - I collected about 60 songs at a beat rate of 192-193. I discovered that it could be very beneficial to me before running Napa marathon in March - at least I thought about collecting that playlist. So... It was crucial, imho, for my race this time - every time I was kind slowing down, the new song would come in and I would get into the beat and got additional prop to my pace - I think guys who were running with me for the last 10 miles, probably were thinking - what the heck? why this guy suddenly goes faster? Ha-ha... The rhythm and the beat  was so helpful for me, I cannot over-emphasize it. Seriously. Plus, not hearing other guys talking and totally been focused on a race, that helped too, I believe.

Btw, if you check my the average cadence number for the marathon, guess what number it is? Ha-ha - 192!

And another thing. Last two month were extremely stressful for me. And I lost at least 4-5 kgs. If I say it didn't help, I would probably be lying

This week was all about running. At any pace. Totally based on how I feel. Time on my legs without injuries - that's all I cared. I hope I will be able to recover by London race.

Weekly for period: From: 08/29/2022 To 09/04/2022

Total distance: 66.88mi

Thanks CAL- This is really good information and I appreciated reading it. So great to read that you hit sub-3 again!  Gives hope to this OLD guy.

Sorry I've been absent but the summer has been brutal!  Mostly 50 or so miles a week but had a week off with COVID and all slow miles.  I've reinforced that I'm not a hot weather runner August has picked up with 60,60,80,80 so I feel I'm ready to start some "real" training for Philadelphia on 11/20. I'm reading back a few pages and am really impressed with the training on the board!

Once again covering things not addressed in the Walton's thread.

Steve - Excellent week! Why feel bad because of how someone else reacted to their dog doing something it shouldn't? Pepper spray isn't really a thing in NZ, is it? I feel like we've covered this before, but I don't recall the answer.

Merkle - Your notes for that LR say it was hot and that you were tired and felt like crap. Surely you didn't feel that way last year on those runs in which you were loggin faster miles. Seems likely to be a one-off to me.

Dave - Congrats on bumping up the high-mileage mark for this cycle. 14M is pretty darn massive in my book. I don't know that I've ever hit paces for one of those that equaled what I did in an actual race (assuming I didn't get sick in said race).

Cinnamon - Nice week.

Flavio - Feeling "average" for you is likely still pretty good for the general populace. Nice tempo.

Cal - Interesting observation with the F5X+. Is the guy using a footpod or anything? I used one of those for years without such issues.
Congrats on jumping off that cliff towards London, and best of luck there.

Question for the hive mind - How much non-running time do you typically get in a LR (say, 16-20 or 22 miles)? Run it all continuously? Stop once to refill water? Small water stops every 3-5 miles?

I had a pretty solid week, bumping up my mileage just a tad. My workout didn't go so well - I had 7 @ HMe planned and pulled the plug after mile 6 because the difficulty was a good deal beyond what it should have been. Hopefully tomorrow's workout goes better despite similar weather to last week, if only because it's broken up into 1 mile repeats instead of a continuous block. 
It's still way out there, but the forecast for my race in a couple weekends looks like it could hold promise for some pretty decent racing temps.

Weekly for period: From: 08/29/2022 To 09/04/2022

Total distance: 90.53mi

CommanderKeen what the fuck is ‘non-running time’ in a long run? It’s a long run, not a ‘run, stop and chat before doing laundry and making a grocery list then napping until I wake up and finish running.’ If there is a red light and I have to actually stop I will. Otherwise I just run. Rarely do I do what JMac questioned earlier about doing a wa up, race, then continuing on. I will take 32 ounce of water with me, and if this isn’t enough I can have an additional 1.5L to take with me. 
If I’m doing trails with lots of vert I will walk.

Cal - Legendary performance!  Wow, either you did some sandbagging, or you're supremely talented at marathons...I'm going with some of both.  You make it look easy.

Keen - I'm not sure how easy it is to get pepper spray in NZ but I don't think I'd ever use it on a dog unless I was in serious danger.  I guess I felt bad because I felt like maybe I over-reacted given this particular dog was not really a danger to me.  It was past experiences that led to my reaction.

I only stop on a long run for pee stops, although I'm trying to simulate race conditions and hydration as much as possible now so I don't drink much within 2.5 - 3 hours of starting so I can avoid it (except my 350ml electrolyte dose within 30 mins of starting).  I also leave drinks at my front door if I'm running from home, or in my car boot (trunk) if I'm at the park so at most I need to slow down slightly to get them.  I think in the conditions you're running in, it makes more sense to stop and spend more time hydrating and cooling as required.  Great week.

Question for the hive mind - How much non-running time do you typically get in a LR (say, 16-20 or 22 miles)? Run it all continuously? Stop once to refill water? Small water stops every 3-5 miles?

 

As little as possible.  Ideally I'd run it all continuously and my normal LR routes mean I don't have to worry about stopping for road crossings much, if at all.  My LR's are typically in the 16-20 mile range and I don't carry water with me.  So, maybe 1 or 2 water fountain stops (probably 3 in summer).  I did a quick skim on Strava and it looks like total non-running time is typically 4-5 minutes across a 2 hour run.  Sometimes a little more if I needed a bathroom stop.