Forums >Racing>2023 The Waltons: Racing & Training Thread
Steve - I haven't been following you much, but looking at Strava it looks like you've had good weeks post Melbourne, except the last two weeks. So you'll loose almost no fitness over such a short period of time. If you can get yourself well in time, then do the full. My first two marathons I got sick (moderate colds) in the week leading up which was far from ideal.
PRs: 5km 18:43 (Dec 2015), 10km 39:59 (Sep 2020), half 1:26:16 (Sep 2016), full 3:09:28 (Jun 2015)
40+ PRs: 5km 19:31 (Oct 2020), 10km 39:59 (Sep 2020), half 1:29:39 (Jun 2018), full 3:13:55 (Sep 2022)
2023 PRs (hope to beat in 2024): 5km 20:34, 10km 41:37, half 1:32:32, full 3:21:05
2024 PRs: 5km 20:25
Like Steve I have not been posting much due to sulking about being sick.
Anyway, I think I'm finally on the improve again... felt reasonable out there this morning.
I didn't mention that, despite my DNS on Sunday, my 6 year old daughter salvaged the day by running a PB by almost 1 minute in the 2k kids dash. She has not trained a lot due to having the same cold as me (a bit earlier), but paced it very well and ran a big negative split. Also, as I was not racing, she got to choose the outfit for her pacer (me) so I ended up in the full pink kit again. The things we do for our kids lol.
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"
Hot Weather Complainer
Watson - Thanks, you are right. My coach is going to give me a take down of the Training Peaks fitness number this afternoon - it's dropped from 78 to 71 in the last week. I got a workout in this morning that went really well. I think I'm back, and leaning towards the full again.
Mark - So your daughter could be to blame for your cold? I will use her as inspiration for a good race soon after being sick though.
5km: 18:34 11/23 │ 10km: 39:10 8/23 │ HM: 1:26:48 9/23 │ 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
Oh, she's 100% to blame. She was getting better just as I was starting to get sick! Straight out of the Keen playbook.
Hash - That time looks like a breeze for you based on what you've been doing. Although maybe your mileage is a bit light so being conservative for your debut is very sensible.
Steve - Yep, definitely a bit light. Would have liked to have a few more 80-110km weeks, but for a number of reasons couldn't quite get there.
However, I think I'll also run Dunedin in Sept, so I'll take what I've learnt from Chch and apply it there. Sounds like you're on the mend, so may see you at the start/finish line!
50+ age-group PBs: Half Perish 1:24:24 (June '23 Road Race) - 10km 37:52 (2022 Local Road Champs) - Track 5km 18:49 (Aug '22) - Perish Run 3:17:42
2024 Goals: Boston Perish Run Sub 3:15 - Road/Track 10km Sub 37:30 - 5km Sub 18:20
Waltons ThreadLord
Hi all - I've been lurking/reading, but as I've been away for a few days and I prefer posting from the keyboard rather than the phone, you haven't heard from me. Not that I've had a lot to say. I'm just doing easy runs in this week of recovery from my half. I had a really, really nice 6½ mile run early in the morning in Gettysburg, with a near-full moon providing enough light to run by. It's nice getting out of the noise and crowd of NJ and running in a rural setting - running past some swampy area the frogs were quite loud.
5k 23:48.45 (3/22); 4M 31:26 (2/22); 5M 38:55 (11/23); 10k 49:24 (10/22); 10M 1:29:33 (2/24); Half 1:48:32 (10/22); Marathon 4:29:58 (11/23)Upcoming races: Clinton Country Run 15k, 4/27; Running is Back 10k, 5/12
JamesD
A decent week for me despite a few hamstring issues. Temperatures rose, helping me hold better paces. It may not be a coincidence that my niggles were the least troublesome on the warmest day.
Our grocery store has started selling pickle juice. I know pickle juice helps once you have a cramp, but can it help prevent cramping if taken before exercise?
Sun - 8.3 miles PM in park @ 8:25, L glute sore early
Mon - 7.5 miles very slow TM (90 minutes) + 0:40 walk breaks/6:00, R hamstring sore at end
Tues - 43 minutes swimming, tweaked R hamstring afterwards
Weds - 8.8 miles PM in park @ 8:26, warm - temp 88/31, TDP 150
Thurs - 7.5 miles very slow TM (90:40 minutes) + 0:40 walk breaks/6:00, L Achilles sore
Fri - 8.6 miles PM in park @ 8:47, stopped w/R hamstring twinge, muggy
Sat - 50 minutes swimming
Total - 40.7 miles
YTD Average - 33.2 mpw
Post-1987 PRs: Half 1:30:14 (2019); 10K 39:35 (2019); 5K 19:12 (2017); Mile 5:37.3 (2020)
'24 Goals: consistency, age-graded PRs, half < 1:32
James - I'm assuming that pickle juice isn't the same as the stuff that pickles are in when they come in jars. My daughter dared me to drink some of that once so of course I did, and promptly spat it back out.
Fred - I'm the same - prefer posting when I can type on a proper keyboard rather than a phone.
Hashiritai - Dunedin is a neat event. Ran the half there in 2018 and 2019 and loved it. Of course it helped that it was perfect running weather and I had excellent runs both times haha.
Me - still felt a bit average Mon/Tues but kinda recovered over the rest of the week. Still not quite back to 100% but getting there. I miss the days where colds lasted for 3 days and not almost 2 weeks. It didn't help that my daughter now has the annoying cough she gets after a cold that makes for some pretty rough nights for the family. Now my nephew has Covid so hopefully we haven't all copped that too. Kid germs huh? Anyways, 4 weeks to go, so hopefully I can get back to 100%, dodge any further germs, and get some decent training in before Southern Lakes.
That's it. Water, vinegar, salt, & a little flavoring & coloring. I found some shot bottles at a sports store several years ago when I was cramping after prolonged pool running (injured at the time), and it seemed to end the cramps quicker. The taste was fine when I knew what to expect, but I can imagine it would be an unpleasant surprise if you didn't. Even your older daughter is pretty young, isn't she? Not sure I would have taken a drink-this dare from our son when he was in that age range.
Hash - your Marathon is not even on the main page! Good luck with the final weeks of prep.
James - nice week!
All - enjoy the Easter break, or what is left of it.
Mark - great comeback. I am with you on the 2 week cold recovery front - which used to be 3 days before.
Fred: stop the excuses and keep us updated on your running/racing
Me - finally got injured. The left calf is causing problems and some sharp pain in the shin area post running. So I have basically given up on running, assuming its shin splints. My knee was also acting up. I guess this first marathon cycle was just a bit too intense for the bones and tendons. I am still indoor cycling while strengthening and foam rolling the affected leg. But I doubt I will be able to run a marathon in 4 weeks time. Let's see, still early days and maybe I am recovered in 1-2 weeks.
One cool side effect is that I am able to continue Saul Goodman - a show I never finished. The downside is that my bum hurts a lot, as I am not used to sitting on a tiny saddle this long.
HM: 1:47 (9/20) I FM: 3:53:11 (9/23)
2024 Goals: run a FM & HM + stay healthy!
Mick - Ok, ok, I'll give details. Sorry to hear you got hurt.
James - Nice week of running. I have no idea on whether pickle juice has prophylactic benefits.
Mark - I hope it's just a minor bug and you'll be fine soon. Congratulations to your daughter, and yes, the things we do for our kids indeed.
Just easy runs for me this week, coming off last Sunday's half, and yet my highest weekly mileage so far this year at 45.8 miles / 73.7km. I spent part of the week out in central Pennsylvania. It's so much nicer to run on rural roads rather than the suburban roads I'm limited to at home; at least it is early in the morning when traffic is light. There's something to running a road for long stretches without worrying about intersections or driveways posing hazards that makes the run more enjoyable.
Mother of Cats
Fred - congratulations on the weekly mileage peak for the year. Interesting on the country roads - you don't get nervous about a speeding car? I've always felt that at least in suburbia a lot of drivers expect runners.
Mick- I'm really sorry to read about the injury - I hope it clears soon. I would not rule out the marathon just yet. BTW, in response to your question from last week, 1973 was the first year the race was run. This was the 50th anniversary.
James- I thought pickle juice was primarily a preventative, not a cure for cramps once they appear.
Marky_Mark - congratulations to your daughter. A 60 second PB in a 2K is quite something. Is this an indication that you will now be required to wear pink at every future race?
Watson - regarding the Edge+ versus the Sky+ - I think the Sky+ is more for forefoot-striking "power runners" while the Edge+ works better for runners who roll through their foot and have a lower knee lift. Basically, the more bounce your stride is, the more likely that you will prefer the Sky+.
Hash- best wishes for your marathon, if I don't get a chance to wish you well before. And thanks for the shoutout on the Hot Chocolate race report. We still laugh about that race around here. The race organizers were literally banned from the area - never allowed to get permits for races again.
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.
55 miles running, 500 yards swimming and 3.5 hours pool-running.
M: 90 minutes pool-running T: 90 minutes pool-running and upper body weights/coreW: Streaming yoga and 10.5 miles very easy (9:14) plus drills and 2 strides Th: 6 miles easy (9:30), 30 minutes pool-running, and upper body weights/core. F: 11 miles, including 8 Iwo Jima hill repeats (~2:00 uphill, 90 second jog, 40 second downhill stride, 60 second jog). Followed with leg strength work and 500 yards recovery swimming.Sa: 11 miles very easy (9:01), drills and 4 strides, and streaming yogaSu: 16 miles progressive, split as the first 9 miles averaging 9:07 pace; the next 3 miles averaging 7:57 pace; and the next 4 miles averaging 7:18 pace, plus a half mile cooldown jog. Followed with injury prevention work.
Much of this week was devoted to recovery from the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler. I was pretty sore on Monday and Tuesday (windy races always seem to beat me up) so I spent both days in the pool.
Friday would normally be a tempo workout of some sort, but I thought I'd get a lot more out of doing some hill work to focus on my running gait, so I skipped the track and returned to Iwo Jima (aka the Marine Corps War Memorial).
Saturday and Sunday I returned to the normal program, except that I kept most of my long run easy before speeding up in the final miles (usually I split it by thirds). The change in the long run wasn't a deliberate training choice - rather, I ran with a friend for the first part of his 20 miler, so I stuck to easy pace until we split off.
My paces seem to have been speeding up, which is a very good sign. My last two miles of today's run were at 7:11 pace - nothing spectacular, but it's been a while since I could hold that pace at true marathon effort. My engine has always been solid; it's just that my running software has been royally screwed up the last two years. But my software continues to improve.
This week a PT watched me run on a treadmill for 10 minutes, so that they could see how my gait changed over time. Her observation was that my entire torso is locked, especially my back. This means that my torso doesn't rotate at all when I first run, which is part of why my stride length is so limited. So I thought about really keeping my back loose and letting my body rotate with each stride on Friday and over the weekend, and I got a much longer stride as a result.
Thanks, MJ. Will remedy that now!
Zeb - If you're around this week mate, can you add my name under Steve's for the Chch marathon? Same goal as him as well - sub 3:20 (maybe I'll even tuck in behind him the whole way and make it to his RR...lol)
Mick - nice week. Four weeks is still a while, so I wouldn't be ditching the marathon at this stage.
Hash and Steve - good luck for the marathon. I think you both should go sub 3:20, I wonder if you both should be aiming 3:15?
James and Fred - nice weeks.
Mark - nice week. It might be worth getting the booster, in case you've missed it from 1 April, if you're 30+ you can get an annual booster. I cannot for 6 months now due to having had Covid-19.
Darkwave - I have hardly any knee lift, so I'm definitely Edge+.
My week was just the one run as I recovered from Covid-19. This week should be better.
I'm probably running the Honest 10k on Sunday 16 April. Aim TBD, given the last four weeks "training" it is likely to be not a great time.