running by feel...what did I do wrong? (Read 1495 times)

ooooh yeah that is a tough spot. Good luck with the massage. I've also had luck with swimming - kind of massages and loosens it without working too hard. But swimming is a PITA X-training --cant just hop out for a quick 30 minutes.

I'm actually headed back to the pool this fall. Of all the endurance sports, swimming used to be my favorite. I had back-to-back season ending ankle injuries in college (playing pickup basketball) and just kind of let it fall by the wayside. I tried picking it up again post college but couldn't find a place to do good open water swims and didn't like the hassle of sharing lanes with 15 other people (I'm spoiled I guess). You're right, it is a PITA and takes a lot more planning/effort than running or biking.

In 2006 I ran about 25 mpw and thought I would be fast but could not beat 20:41 in a 5k. IN 2007 I went crazy and ran 34 mpw average... This summer I was at 40 mpw for about 3 months...I used to think 40 mpw was crazy and I would never be able to do that...an hour a day of running??? 20 miles seems easy now. I feel like a bum when I run 20 mile weeks. You have to take it slowly from season to season. INcrease maybe 10 miles from season to season in my case it was less. You can take a month off if you want...no harm if your body needs the rest. I dont know what kind of mileage you run now...but 25 is a good number....35 is great....45 super. I believe 70 miles is about the top range for many runners...sure you can run 100 miles a week but it won't make you much faster than 70. Will I do 50 mile weeks next year? That would be nice....I think I could do it for 3 months or so and see if I can crack 19 minute for a 5k.

My best weeks (back before we moved and got our puppy) were in the low 30's. Since the move (3.5 weeks ago) I don't think I've managed much over 20 mpw. I'm really hoping that the stars will align and I'll start having more free time once the weather gets a bit cooler. If I'm smart about my distances and pace then I think I can manage 35 mpw right now. My goal is 50 mpw next year as well. If I can average that number then I will let myself run a marathon next year.

Answering several posts in one... Berner, I think we're talking semantics. In practice we train similar, and I agree the gadgets "can" be more useful to new runners, I just fear the hook and affect on development of "feel" ability. I also think that the need to follow a strict schedule must be tempered with reading your body. When running my stretches of 100+ mpw, it was not at all unusual to go into a hard workout tired. I can remember whole days I could not concentrate in my classes because I was fearing what I was going to put myself through in the workout that night. I'd feel sluggish in the warmup and kicking off the first interval/mile, yet in the end I'd have a great workout and move on. I also distinctly remember times I ignored this tiredness one too many times and threw myself into overtraining, which in my case led (twice) to losing more than a year of good running to iron-deficiency anemia. So the happy medium in between is foggy indeed. Did I have problems getting 4000 miles in a year? Well to be sure it was a strain on time and I often ran at odd times, and scheduled everything around running. I was in grad school when I did this. When I started working full time, 80 mpw got tough. Since my daughter was born, 70 mpw is a dream that rarely happens, I have problems getting much over 50 mpw between being daddy and work/travel. Honestly I would run more if I hadn't been so fast in the past; while the fire is still there I owe my wife a lot of time back that she gave me years ago to try and qualify for the olympic trials, and I have a difficult time going out for a run if it means not spending time with my daughter. If I travels less it would be less of an issue so maybe next year when I am not I will train more again. Injuries were not often a problem. What I lack in raw talent for running fast (remember I started out as nothing remarkable, never scored a point on my not-good college track team) I make up for in tolerance for volume and lack of injuries (iron-deficiency anemia aside). Many times as I transitioned from down time to high volume I would get moderately severe piriformis syndrome, but I gritted my teeth and ran through it and eventually figured out how to get rid of it faster (pound so FAST miles to tear it loose, OUCH but effective for me don't try that at home). I never lost more than 2-3 days of training to any injury in my running career (anemia aside). Remember that 4000 miles per year is 77 miles per week, but I did not run 77 miles per week year-round. That included a couple weeks of almost nothing after two marathons per year, approximately 40-50 days per year of no running. So during the 3-4 months before each marathon, I was averaging 90+ mpw. What do I think would happen to my 5K time if I spent 1-2 years running 1000 miles per year? It would TANK. Different adaptations have different shelf lives. In my prime I could step back for a couple months, and be back at my prime within 3 months or so. Now, my last 100-mile week was the last week in 2006. I ran well under 3000 miles (maybe 2600?) in 2007 and it shows. My last 5K was a 16:50 3 weeks ago. In May I ran a 1:16 half marathon. After nearly two years without training to my previous level, I am starting from scratch on many adaptations. My speed ability is completely eroded. Things are looking up now, I did a 10-miler in wind and 80+ degree heat yesterday with a 6-mile tempo at 5:43 avg. I was hoping just to get sub-6 so I surprised myself. I would like to run a sub-2:35 marathon in October and am hopeful. But I have not broken 60 mpw in some time and need to run a few 70+ weeks to do it.

I'd guess 30 to 40. Thousand. Miles. I'm curious, though, too.

Called that one.

You are dead to me.

how about hawt?

how about hawt?

Only if you use a Paris Hilton voice: "That's hot!"

School just started so I need to be back from running earlier to help with the kiddos. During the summer with the kids out of school and not having as many appointments for work etc with people on vacation, my morning runs were drifting to 6:00 and 6:15 start times. Now it's back to 5:15 - 5:45 depending on how long I'm running. A big difference, especially as the days get shorter and shorter. But you do adjust to it and it becomes normal.

Morning runs for me start at 7 (at the earliest) and that's hard enough. I've set the alarm in the 6:00 hour before and failed to get up. I've never even considered a time with a 5 on the front of it. I've never slept later than 6am for a morning race and I've often wondered how much better I'd run if I'd adjust my body to that schedule. I hate morning people but I so want to be one.