Forums >Racing>3:20 Marathoners ... New and Improved for (the rest of) 2017
... since it's October 2018 it would be good for April 2020, correct? ...
Can't answer other aspects, but this is correct.
Is OMR lurking? Or rovatti? How fast (effort-wise) are the long (3 minutes?) hill repeats you do? How many and what's recovery?
I did 15 min tempo plus 6x90" hill repeats (~5K effort) yesterday, which is a nice combo, but need to get in some longer work.
Hi Jim, Pesto, Brew! I'm the one that needs to get out more, it would seem.
Good luck to all of you getting ready for new arrivals, how exciting!
Dad--That's a good question. I'm in better shape than either of my summer 10Ks would suggest (43:35 and 40:47). Though I didn't put in nearly as much mileage this cycle, the last 4-5 weeks of training were much stronger than I expected. I think I'll start with the 3:05 pacer and see how I feel; it's what I tried to do in 2014 on my way to setting my all-time (pre-asthma era) PR of 3:00:55.
Post Asthma Era PRs: 5K--18:39 (Mar 2016), 10K--39:40 (Feb 2018), HM--1:28:04 (Jan 2017), MAR--2:59:12 (November 2017)
Recovery Phenom
McBen: Nice week, even if it was shorter than planned.
Commander: Wow- congratulations on the half marathon! I think that fitness lasts longer than we think it does.
NeedAClever: Ooooh, thank you. Are you running the half or the full? I guess we don't know our corrals until we get our physical bibs. Last year there was no enforcement (I ran the half as a pacer) and the start was really crowded. Granted, I was pacing a 2:00 half marathon, but we still did more weaving than we should have.
Katia: Oooh- that is very scary. My hands are always the limiting factor for running in the cold. 15 is about as low as I'll go (well, 10 if it's sunny out) and I wear light gloves, one pair of hand warmers for each hand (back and front) and then mittens over those.
Arvind: Maybe I will see you at Richmond!
Jim: Great job on the 75 mile week. Thanks for the re-asurance on the phantom pains. Considering it could be raining, then the temperatures are actually ideal- or even a tad too chilly if it rains hard: 47-52. The models are currently in disagreement on when the wind and rain will come. It could potentially be rainy and windy for the entire race, or it could wait until afterwards.
Brewing: Thank you. Hope you figure out the scheduling with the baby.
Ace: My birthday is 11/11 and it's such a cool date. Hope she delivers right on schedule. Many gyms offer a VO2 max test, not sure if you have a membership. Guessing you don't if you are looking for a treadmill. Maybe Google it? Mine was about $175 but I based all my training off of those zones for about 3 years. It turns out that I am still in my aerobic zone at a higher percentage of my max than most people. So if my max is 195, I am still aerobic at 155, whereas most people would not be. I haven't done HR training in about a year, though. I did it for so long I can feel my zones without needing the feedback.
Pesto: Oooooh- Paris. That's exciting.
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This taper is not nearly as bad as most all other tapers. I don't feel anxious or nervous or anything. I'm more just looking forward to the weekend at large and getting two days off work! I'm kind of playing this mind game with myself where my goal pace is 7:27, but my goal time is 3:18. So that way if I end up falling short of my goal pace, I still get my goal time! In any event, I'll plan to start out in the low 7:30's for at least the first six miles, and then gradually speed up. If it's windy, the headwind will be from mile 21-23.5. So I am getting mentally prepared for that 2.5-mile stretch.
26.2 x 31 (3:15:34 PR)
13.1 x 35 (1:30:58 PR)
Author of the book Boston Bound
Problem Child
Ace re: baby name. My wife's family did all the same first letter for their girls and boys. Her aunt did a V in all of her kids names. My sister in law just named her daughter with the same first initial as her and her mom. Possibly roll with that? Favorite alcohol is also an option. Brand name not type (i.e. Casadors not tequila or Patty instead of Patron. Skyy works as a unisex name).
re: due date. I thought you were up first. My SIL said "even birthdays" don't work for her. I told her if the kid is born 11/17 or 11/19 (due 11/27) I'd call him Optimus Prime and probably get a tattoo of him (prime not the kid) on my leg. It applies to 11/11 but I don't think I'll get that lucky for kiddo #1.
re:treadmill I picked mine up free. I wish it had a spot to hold a water bottle and my phone. Mostly for my wife since she wanted those. Other than that take the McBen approach and spend more on a treadmill than a car. For me I run outside a lot so a treadmill doesn't get used often. I assembled a table to hold stuff for my wife. I might contact this guy and see what he has. The Ironman might be the ticket.
re:labor. My SIL had her third. I think everything went pretty quickly. Mom said she didn't think she was going to deliver that day and just wasn't feeling well or something. Mom told my DW the story. I'm remembering what she told me, which isn't much.
re: heart strap. I thought the same thing when I had mine. People, not runners, made it sound like it would be the most annoying thing. I slept with it to see what my resting heart rate was. I thought the optical one would be more annoying but you don't really notice it's there after a while.
Keen Good to hear DW is going strong. I'm thinking of picking up a used BOB stroller for $200 or less when DS is old enough. Since my wife plans on carrying him we won't need a stroller for a while. As for a treadmill in your area I'd probably grab this and be done with it. I may splurge and go for this one. Thankfully the middle seat doesn't have the latch points so I can't do that. I also read the instruction book a few times to make sure I was doing it correctly. Again, single parents have been doing this for....ever.
Dad Thanks. I thought it was 2 years after the race I qualify in. I know there is only a few that can "double dip" and get qualified right before registration opens each year.
arvind good luck with the race. The drop at 6 probably isn't as steep as they're making it look. I don't know how I'd feel about the "party stops" since I've only run a Rock and Roll half so for a full marathon it might annoy me. Then again, spectators at CIM make plenty of noise.
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
Brew - Thanks for the memory-jog on Chicago. I used the original results from my qualifying race. Athlinks is just a scrape of those anyway, and not so authoritative. I was a little bummed out by new age-graded standards, as I have a time that qualifies under the old hard-for-old-guys standard. The new times are fairer though. The do call it "Guaranteed Entry" so I guess it's um, guaranteed. It probably does not matter when you do it provided you are in the window.
Don't fall flat on your face during the last half mile. That is a very, very steep downhill finish.
"OMR"s (as I call them) are 1/2mile at (5Kish effort, 6% incline) followed by 1/2mile recovery (unspecified). 5 or 6 repeats.
It's a bit like traditional VO2 workout, but longer recoveries. The leg muscle stress is similar to the cardio stress (for me).
My 2 best efforts (this past Sept) were:
5 x (8.2mph,6%) with (6.5mph,0%) recovery.... and
6 x (8mph,6%) with (6.5mph,0%) recovery
(I couldn't do that now though...)
Also, "Hey" to NACN!!
Brew - labor is the worst.
Elizabeth - that sounds like a good strategy, and what I did for my last marathon (3:18). It freaked me out because I didn't feel effortless in the 7:35/7:40 miles but it ended up going really well, obviously.
Treadmills - we're getting the ball rolling on a serious remodel of our house and one of the things I'm insisting on is a place to put a treadmill, even though I hate them.
Hi everyone else!
PRs: HM: 1:32:59 (2015); FM: 3:18:36 (2017)
Cobra Commander Keen
Brew - Prime numbers: I had never thought of that before. DD1 was born on 2/1/11, so that's a prime in all three places!A BOB for that price would be sweet, hopefully you can pick one up.
Ace - I like Alice and Daisy for a girl, but DW nixed those. I don't if I'll get to use our chosen girl name this time around, though.
Treadmills - Still no idea what I'll get, but craigslist makes me a little nervous. Nervous about (relatively) higher-end ones being pricier and nearly broken somehow, and nervous about cheap ones breaking after my first 50 mile week. I may have to get over that, though.
Pesto - Our kiddos could be within a week or so of eachother. Nifty.
E11 - I'm glad the taper is going well for you. 2.5 miles into the wind in a marathon isn't too much of a stretch, I'm sure you'd do fine with that from reading some of your RRs.
Freezing hands - Thankfully this hasn't been an issue for me, though I've known people for who it is. One of which can't even get his hands wet at 60* or they start to turn blue. I hate being cold, but seem to run pretty well in it. Heat just sucks, though!
5k: 17:58 11/22 │ 10k: 37:55 9/21 │ HM: 1:23:22 4/22 │ M: 2:56:05 12/22
Upcoming Races:
OKC Memorial 5k - April 27
Bun Run 5k - May 4
Potentially interesting tidbit: I just looked over my Strava entries for the HM I ran this past weekend (as well as the same one from last year), mostly looking to see if anyone else who ran it was on Strava (nope)and noticed my HR numbers.
Last year I averaged 166 bpm, 6:50/mi, and I felt like I was going to die at the finish. This year HR average was 167, 7:40/mi avg, and it felt nearly easy until the end (the very end felt tough but sustainable). As a data-minded person, what could (should?) I make of this? Maybe my fitness was higher and my lactate threshold was lower last year, and my fitness was worse and lactate threshold was higher this year? Relatively speaking, of course.
I know my fitness was quite different between the two races, but I find it interesting that nearly the same HR avg gave two very different perceived efforts.
what a messed up world. (bike lane terrorist near me)
I just saw an article about that, but haven't been able to find any real specifics yet.
Keen - I woudn't overthink it. Your heart's stroke volume will have increased as you got fitter, so it's pumping more blood for the same HR.
Mother of Cats
Potentially interesting tidbit: I just looked over my Strava entries for the HM I ran this past weekend (as well as the same one from last year), mostly looking to see if anyone else who ran it was on Strava (nope)and noticed my HR numbers. Last year I averaged 166 bpm, 6:50/mi, and I felt like I was going to die at the finish. This year HR average was 167, 7:40/mi avg, and it felt nearly easy until the end (the very end felt tough but sustainable). As a data-minded person, what could (should?) I make of this? Maybe my fitness was higher and my lactate threshold was lower last year, and my fitness was worse and lactate threshold was higher this year? Relatively speaking, of course. I know my fitness was quite different between the two races, but I find it interesting that nearly the same HR avg gave two very different perceived efforts.
Was there a vast difference in temperatures? HR is not perfectly tied to effort - it can be affected by temperature and hydration. For example, my marathon HR is usually in the mid to high 160s. But when I'm running hard in very cold temperatures, I can be doing hard 800s and my HR will stay in the low 160s - I can't get it any higher.
Rovatti - thanks for checking in.
Hopefully be back later with a fuller catch-up - life is very busy.
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.
Rovatti ~ Thanks. Sounds tough. How cool do you need to be to get a workout named for you? And, yes.
NACN & E78 ~Good luck!