2022 Advanced Racing Thread (Read 497 times)

flavio80


Intl. correspondent

    What I'm really asking is, what should I do with my dirty clothes lol? I'm not sure if I'll be able to wash them or not.

    Just wash them on the sink. They dry quickly.

    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

    JMac11


    RIP Milkman

      I've never thought about what to do with my clothes on a trip, I just throw them in a plastic bag like Ian said and then wash them when I get home. If it's hot, hang them in the bathroom to dry the sweat out of them for 24 hours.

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

       

       

      darkwave


      Mother of Cats

        The goals thing is interesting.  As I've mentioned, though I'll have times in mind for a race (what I think I can achieve) they're not really goals - my goal is simply to do my best and leave it all out there.  I find that this gives me a much more relaxed and confident mindset for racing.  When I do the standard "have a time goal and check my watch regularly" thing, I end up in a bad mental place where I spend the whole race worrying about whether I'm going to make my goal.  I don't run very well when I do that.  And..like JMac, I find it very easy to throw in the towel completely if I've set a time goal and it's out of reach.

         

        (I'm often reminded of a friend of mine a few years ago who was chasing a sub-2:43 to qualify for the Olympic marathon trials.  At about mile 22, it was obvious to her and a few others that she was running with that 2:43 was just not happening.  Some of the women in the pack just let off the gas at that point and jogged it in; my friend decided to keep pushing and see if she could at least get a PR, which she did - she ran 2:44Tight lippedx.  Of course, a few weeks later, the qualifying standard was retroactively changed from 2:43 to 2:45, and my friend ended up qualifying after all.  The women who gave up after seeing 2:43 was out of reach? They were extremely unhappy.)

         

        With hard number/time goals, it's so dependent on external factors also - weather, for example.  And I find that people who get focused too much on hard number goals also tend to get too focused on the external factors that may limit them.  And that can result in a situation where people essentially talk themselves out of a good race before it's even started.

         

         

        ***

         

        Traveling - like everyone else, I let the clothes hang to try overnight, and then tuck them into a separate bag for the trip home.  Pro-tip - if you have a pair of shoes that are getting close to retirement, consider bring them as your running shoes for the trip.  Then, at the end of the trip, you can retire the shoes and throw them away, and it's one less thing to pack.

        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

           

          Should we get a short course discussion going again? 

           

          Dude, the half I pace a week ago was short.  SOME runners kept going for their PR to measure a full 13.1.  Others obviously stopped and claimed a 12.89 mile half marathon PR.

          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

          Running Problem


          Problem Child

            Hey I don't wanna derail the current discussion, just wondering real quick if anyone has any advice for running while traveling. I'm going to Canada next week and it's been a while since I had to worry about running while being away for a week. What I'm really asking is, what should I do with my dirty clothes lol? I'm not sure if I'll be able to wash them or not.

             

            Drawstring backpack is what I’ve used. 
            Gallon sized, or metric equivalent, zip lock bags work too. Make sure to take all the air out so packing them to go home doesn’t pop them open. I do this on a relay I run. Works well to keep smell down. Yeah the environment does more every time I do it too.

            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

            Fishyone


              Had to bail on the jim thorpe.  Family emergency with my aging parents.....funny i thought how much freedom I'd have when the kids were independent, could drive etc but now I've got more issues with my 80 year old father that I aver had with them.

               

              Oh well....I guess Ill just run for a while and do some local 5k, 10K and halfs.

               

              Looking for a good fall run.......Maybe I'll take a trip out to run CIM

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

              Ian5


                OK I'm going to give this thread another try and hope I don't get injured and bail again.

                PB is 3:07,current fitness is 3:14 at Boston,aiming for sub 3 at Chicago.

                I've never managed enough miles to convert well so that's the biggest change I want to do,and I've never done any strength training so I've got a 15 min workout off youtube to try twice a week and see how that goes.

                I did Barcelona last week so took this week off and starting the new plan tomorrow.

                I'm a brit,same as Mikkey,but run in kms,but can easily convert both.

                Current planned races are a 10k in June i always do,then maybe Antwerp marathon in Septemeber to try and qualify for Lomdon next year,will try and fit in a half or 2.

                5k 17:35,10k 36:43,10m 61:55,HM 1:24:03,Full 3:07:39

                Mikkey


                Mmmm Bop

                   

                  (I'm often reminded of a friend of mine a few years ago who was chasing a sub-2:43 to qualify for the Olympic marathon trials.  At about mile 22, it was obvious to her and a few others that she was running with that 2:43 was just not happening.  Some of the women in the pack just let off the gas at that point and jogged it in; my friend decided to keep pushing and see if she could at least get a PR, which she did - she ran 2:44Tight lippedx.  Of course, a few weeks later, the qualifying standard was retroactively changed from 2:43 to 2:45, and my friend ended up qualifying after all.  The women who gave up after seeing 2:43 was out of reach? They were extremely unhappy.)

                   

                   

                   

                  That is beautiful…well done your friend!

                   

                  Fishy - Sorry to hear that, but I heard that CIM is a fast course…so I’d say go for it and stick with Keen

                  Ian - Good to see you back, what’s the qualifying time you need for London and when’s the deadline?  I’ll be registering for London 2023 just incase there’s some beef with me travelling to Boston.

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

                  darkwave


                  Mother of Cats

                     

                    That is beautiful…well done your friend!

                     

                    Yeah - it was a real lesson to me - never give up, no matter how your race is going, because you just never know.

                     

                    The background for that was that in the US we have a law (the Ted Stevens Act) that says that the standards to qualify for the US Olympic trials can be no stricter than the standards set by the IOC to compete in the Olympics.    And apparently in 2016 our standards were slightly tighter than they were allowed to be.  So USATF ended up changing the standards to what was allowed about 9 weeks before the Olympic Marathon Trials, and quite a few people who had just missed the old standard by a minute ended up qualifying.

                     

                    Of course, this all doesn't apply to you guys in the UK because a) you obviously don't have a Ted Stevens Act and b) you don't have an official Olympic marathon trials.

                    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.

                    darkwave


                    Mother of Cats

                      Fishy - very sorry to hear of the family emergency.  I hope all ends well.

                       

                      Ian -welcome back!

                       

                      ****

                       

                      My weeks (last week and this week):

                       

                      51 miles running, 3:30 hours pool-running, and 500 yards swimming.

                      M: 90 minutes pool-running and streaming yoga.
                      T: 4 miles very easy (10:13), upper body weights/core, 30 minutes pool-running.
                      W: Streaming yoga and 10 miles very easy (9:56) plus drills.
                      Th: 90 minutes pool-running and upper body weights/core.
                      F: 10 miles, including a track workout of 3200, 1600 in 14:10 (7:09/7:01) and 6:47 with 5:30 recovery in between. Followed with leg strengthwork and 500 yards recovery swimming.
                      Sa: 8 miles easy (10:12) on treadmill, streaming yoga, and 3 miles easy (9:42) plus drills/strides.
                      Su: 14.5 miles progressive, split as the first 5 miles averaging 9:46, next 5 averaging 8:26, and next 4.5 averaging 7:30 (and then a mile cooldown). Followed with leg strength work. No recovery swimming because I forgot my bathing suit.

                       

                      Week 2:
                      56 miles running, 3 hours pool-running, and 1000 yards swimming.

                      M: 90 minutes pool-running and streaming yoga.
                      T: 11.5 miles, including a track workout of 2x1600, 2x800, 4x200 in 6:45, 6:38, 3:15, 3:14, 48, 46, 46, 48. 4:3x-4:5x recovery after the 1600s; 3:00 recovery between the 800s. Full recovery for the 200s. Followed with leg strengthwork and recovery swimming.
                      W: 7.5 miles (9:49), upper body weights/core, and 3.5 miles (9:31) plus drills/strides
                      Th: 90 minutes pool-running, drills, and streaming yoga.
                      F: 11 miles, including an 8K tempo on the track in 36:11 (7:25/7:18/7:16/7:11/7:01). Followed with leg strengthwork and 500 yards recovery swimming.
                      Sa: 10 miles easy (10:08), drills, and upper body weights/core.
                      Su: 12.5 miles, including 8 Iwo Jima Hills (between 2:00 and 2:30 powerful uphill; 90 second jog, 45 second downhill stride, 60 seconds jog to bottom). Followed with some injury prevention work. No recovery swimming because my feet, legs, and lats were all cramping.

                       

                      The (arguably TMI) training story of the past two weeks is that I changed my birth control pill last week. (I'm guessing most of the guys here may not want to read this, but the women may, and any female lurkers may find this helpful to read).

                       

                      I've been on a combination pill (contains both an estrogen - estradiol and a progestin - levonorgestrol) for a LONG time - longer than I've been a runner.  But last fall I was told that I had to come off of it as soon as I was willing - I'm apparently too old now to be on this pill, since the risk of stroke increases both with age and estrogen intake.

                       

                      [the good news is that apparently the birth control pill I was on is horrible for many female runners - I knew this, but I figured I was running well on it, so why mess with success.]

                       

                      My choices were either a progestin only pill or getting an IUD.  So I decided to try a progestin only pill - Slynd (uses a different progestin - drospirenone).  I've been on the Slynd for two weeks.  At first it seemed OK - I was sleeping better.  But as time has progressed, I feel worse on it - it is definitely very dehydrating, which is not a good thing given that the summer humidity is starting to seep in.  I also feel like I have significantly less power and strength on it, and my heart rate is jacked up.  So now I'm trying option 3 - a IUD (which will use levonorgestol - the same progestin I was on before).  Hopefully I'll get the IUD on Tuesday, and we'll see how my training goes from there.

                       

                      (If you're wondering why I did hills instead of a long run on Sunday - there's a few reasons.  1) I struggled with my gait/coordination pretty badly in Tuesday's track workout, so I wanted to do some hills to refresh my gait mechanics, 2) I did an 8K track tempo on Friday, and I thought a long run two days later was a bit too soon after that, 3) this morning was one of our first warm/humid days, and hills with long recoveries and lots of chances to drink water are easier on the body when you're struggling with dehydration; 4) since I'm not marathon training right now, I don't need a long run every weekend.)

                      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.

                      Ian5


                        Darkwave-We actually had an Olympic trials race this time,it seemed to go down well so I'm wondering if they will do it again for 2024.

                        Mikkey-I turn 50 in August so it moves to 3:15,and the deadline is London marathon day,so I have an 8 week window to get it,I've done plenty of races 3-4 weeks apart and usually do well so I'm happy racing 4 weeks before Chicago.

                        5k 17:35,10k 36:43,10m 61:55,HM 1:24:03,Full 3:07:39

                        darkwave


                        Mother of Cats

                          Darkwave-We actually had an Olympic trials race this time,it seemed to go down well so I'm wondering if they will do it again for 2024.

                           

                          Interesting - that's the way to do it.

                           

                          Back in 2012 for London, it was simply the three best marathon performances went to the Olympics.  Which sounds great in theory, but in practice didn't work that well.

                           

                          In 2012, the UK had three spots for the women's marathon, with two of the three already given to Paula Radcliffe and Mara Yamauchi.  My friend Claire Hallissey was one of the contenders for the third spot.  In 2011 at Chicago, Claire ran 2:29, and thought that got her onto the team.  However, then Jo Pavey ran essentially the same time in New York that same fall - arguably a better performance.

                           

                          So Claire had to turn around and run London 2012, which she did, along with many other women hoping for that third slot.  Claire was the fastest of those contenders, running 2:27 and earning back the third spot.

                           

                          Problem was, she now had a quick turn-around to the London Olympic games - the cost of having to repeatedly race to chase her spot.  I can tell you based on my (amateur) observations that, if you are clean (as Claire was), it is extremely hard to run three marathons at that level in less than 12 months.

                           

                          Much better to have one race, lock in the selection, and then those on the team can relax and recover before focusing on the Olympics.

                          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.

                          Ian5


                            Darkwave-The only issue with that I guess,is what happens if the best is injured for trials day.

                            Jonny Mellor has probably been our second best marathoner for a few years now,he had the qualifying time comfortably but got injured just before the race so missed out despite having the best time in the qualifying window by over a minute.

                            5k 17:35,10k 36:43,10m 61:55,HM 1:24:03,Full 3:07:39

                            darkwave


                            Mother of Cats

                              Darkwave-The only issue with that I guess,is what happens if the best is injured for trials day.

                              Jonny Mellor has probably been our second best marathoner for a few years now,he had the qualifying time comfortably but got injured just before the race so missed out despite having the best time in the qualifying window by over a minute.

                               

                              Yup - really no perfect way to do it.

                               

                              If you have trials, then you run the risk of the best getting injured or sick.

                               

                              If you go with the best time in a specified time period, then you can end up with people frying themselves chasing a spot.  Which you can try to mitigate by closing the selection window 8-10 months before the Olympics.  But in that case, you may end up with people who were in really great shape 18 months ago, but are no longer the best selection.

                               

                              If you just have some designated official pick the three that he or she thinks is the best, then you open yourself up to charges of bias.

                               

                              In the US, in Equestrian, we used to have a selection official just pick the team.  And we did VERY well at the Olympics.  Then some people brought lawsuits after being excluded from the team.  As a result, the US Equestrian Federation switched to a trials system - very open and numerical and "fair".  And we started NOT doing well at all at the Olympics and world championships.

                               

                              So now we have a hybrid system - you qualify for a short list based on performances, and then the team is arbitrarily picked from that short list.  So far so good with that method.

                               

                              For running, in the US Nike is incredibly influential and powerful.  I have no doubt that if we went with a "USATF picks the top 3" then they'd all be Nike Athletes.

                              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

                                 

                                Yeah - it was a real lesson to me - never give up, no matter how your race is going, because you just never know.

                                 

                                The background for that was that in the US we have a law (the Ted Stevens Act) that says that the standards to qualify for the US Olympic trials can be no stricter than the standards set by the IOC to compete in the Olympics.    And apparently in 2016 our standards were slightly tighter than they were allowed to be.  So USATF ended up changing the standards to what was allowed about 9 weeks before the Olympic Marathon Trials, and quite a few people who had just missed the old standard by a minute ended up qualifying.

                                 

                                Of course, this all doesn't apply to you guys in the UK because a) you obviously don't have a Ted Stevens Act and b) you don't have an official Olympic marathon trials.

                                 

                                Checkers or wreckers. I’ll never be an Olympian, or even a qualifier, but I sure can run like I think they would.

                                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