Forums >Racing>2023 The Waltons: Racing & Training Thread
Problem Child
Anyone tracking? I thought there was a race today.
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
Watson, nice race report. I think that the transition between road & trial would be tough in a race.
Steve, how frustrating for your coach. I had a period where it seemed like even certified course had some sort of screw up. I did 2 in 2020 and course marking/course maps/anythign was non existent. Kinda turned me off of races for a while since it was so annoying. In one, there were cones across the road (with no street sign). That was actually where you wanted to go.
Fred, arouobnd here it's fairly common to have a local rescue squad at races. Pre-pandemic, that was my go-to for hand sanitizer aftrer using the POP.
Waltons ThreadLord
Fred, arouobnd here it's fairly common to have a local rescue squad at races.
Same here. It may even be a requirement for insurance. Either that or they just figure it's a good place to be.
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: Scotch Plains 5k, 6/12; Firecracker 4-miler, 7/4
Mother of Cats
I suspect it may be a requirement to get a permit.
(From last week
Half-Crazy - I am trying to visualize 26 pounds of grapes. I don't think I can do it.
MJ- for streaming yoga I have a subscription to Yogaworks.com. I also believe that an Ikea cabinet translates to 5K (and yes, humidity sucks)
Watson - well fought in difficult conditions. I would not do that race again either - the short course and the nature of the course sound quite frustrating.
James - I second your advice to your wife - I would be very frustrated as a runner to see a water table and learn that it was not for me.
Steve- how incredibly frustrating for your coach. He certainly had a better attitude then I would have had.
Marky_Mark - congrats on last weekend's race. Glad the sick kid did not manifest.
Fred - smart thinking to modify for the conditions.
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.
My two weeks:
63 miles running, 2 hours pool-running, and 1000 yards swimming.M: 6 miles trail-running (11:04) and streaming yogaT: 10 miles, with a track workout of 2x(1600, 800)+2x400 - splits were 7:07, 3:25, 6:53, 3:21, 1:39, and 1:38 (recoveries of 5:43 and 6:01 after the 1600s and 3:0x after the 800s, with 74 second recovery between the 400s). Followed with leg strengthwork and 500 yards recovery swimming.W: 10 miles easy (9:25) plus drills and strides, and then upper body weights/coreTh: 2 hours pool-running and streaming yogaF: 17 miles, with 2x5 miles at marathon effort in 37:47 and 37:44 (7:33 pace each) with 1 mile float in 8:27 between. Followed with injury prevention work and 500 yards recovery swimmingSa: 8 miles trail-running (10:27) and streaming pilatesSu: 12 miles easy to aerobic (8:58) plus upper body weights/core
69 miles running, 90 minutes pool-running, and 1000 yards swimming.M: 90 minutes pool-running and streaming yogaT: 10 miles, including a track workout of 5x1000, 400, 2x200 in 4:23, 4:15, 4:08, 4:07, 4:07 and then 95, 46, and 46. 2:4x-3:0x recovery after the 1000s, 90 seconds recovery between the 400 and 200s. Followed with leg strengthworkW: 11 miles very easy (9:28) with drills and uphill/downhill strides. Streaming yoga in afternoonTh: 7 miles trail-running (10:19) and upper body weights/coreF: 10 miles, including a 6400m track tempo in 28:02 (7:14/6:58/6:56/6:54). Followed with leg strengthwork and 500 yards recovery swimming.Sa: 12.5 miles very easy (9:10) plus drills and uphill/downhill strides, and then streaming pilates.Su: 18 miles progressive, split as the first 6 miles averaging 9:48 pace, the next 5 miles averaging 8:23, and then the next 7 miles averaging 7:39 pace, plus a half-mile cooldown jog. Followed with injury prevention work and 500 yards recovery swimming.
Last two weeks of marathon training. A few quick notes:
-I'm modifying my default schedule to have one day of pool-running instead of two, with the second day converted to a trail run. This is because both feel the same on my body in terms of stress, and I don't want to yield my easy days on pavement, as I feel there's a lot of benefit from them in terms of keeping my body used to the harder surfaces.
-I ran some bloodwork the week before this one and noted that my iron was really low again. I'm not anemic, just iron deficient. Not totally surprising, because I had gotten lax about the iron supplements. So I started those up again, and my interval paces improved nicely.
darkwave, this is what 6.6 lbs of grapes lookks like. I learned a few years ago to pick in batches. That year, I picked over 30 lbs at once and it was a lot to handle. The total is up to 45lbs now with some more to go.
Last two weeks, which were post the marathon, for what it's worth:
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
Half - at my previous house, I had grapes. The red were very similar to what you posted. Plus a smaller green vine. I once made jam but it was too much work, so I never made jam again.
Yea, jam with these grapes is a lot of work and why I have a lot of grapes stored in ziploc bags in the freezer.
Darkwave - Sometimes I feel sympathy fatigue just from reading about all you do. I'm curious: what is injury prevention work? Good luck at your marathon.
Watson - Your recovery seems to be coming along nicely.
A few weeks back, I got some good feedback here about easy pace and running by perceived effort vs. heart rate. This came to mind today when I finally got to run in some cooler weather. 7 miles in 56º (13C). Four weeks ago I ran the same route in 72º (22C). Back then my average HR was about 140-145. Today, running a bit faster even, my average HR was around 120. What a difference running in hot weather makes.
Hot Weather Complainer
Hagley Park Run 5km
Quick report on this as it's not a goal race, but more a chance to fire up the Vo2 Max system a week out from the half in Melbourne. I came in a little fatigued at the start of my taper but not too bad. My coach said I could probably still PR but probably not hit my potential.
Hagley Park has reverted to the summer course which includes an awkward start and finish across grass which is pretty dry but still has mud patches and tree roots. It does create a nice big area to congregate before and after the race but I wish they'd use the winter course all year round.
20 minute warm up then some strides and off to the start. I wanted to go out at 3:45/km, which is PR pace and hold it perhaps with a kick. Mindful of the grass I made a fast start and when we reached the nice smooth path I glanced at my watch which said 3:20 pace. I thought that was probably not accurate but the amount I was feeling it after 500 metres told me to calm it down. I eased back and let a few people go - there were about 15 in front of me in a field of 500. I was mindful that I needed a good start - last time out my first km was 3:56 in the cold and I never got that time back. It was cold for Spring (my car was iced over) but by 8am was a nice running temperature.
First km flashes up in 3:47 which was actually slower than I expected given how I was feeling and the fast start. Lots of negative thoughts entered about why this wasn't a good day but I tried to get rid of them. The second km is into a slight breeze and I end up sitting in behind a guy who had had a very fast start. As with my previous Hagley Park Run, I passed a few who went out hard in the second km. The next km flashes up in 3:45 so I'm thinking I'm on PR pace but the negative thoughts about how I felt continued. I reminded myself I'd felt gassed at 3km last time and finished very strong. Round the first 45 degree turn and across the park and I'm passing a few now, but not really lifting my pace. I feel like I'm pushing hard, I don't feel like I have a good rhythm at all. Through 3km in 3:42 but my first thought is not that I'm happy I've lifted the pace, but that I may blow out and might need to slow down. By now I know the feeling off being slightly off is real but I tell myself there's less than 8 minutes of hard work left.
Down the Harper Ave side with the cherry blossoms in full bloom, and I'm not passing so much as exchanging places now. I just want to get to the second 45 degree turn which means 1.2km to go. I look at my watch, 1.35km to go. Counting it down all the way now. Through 4km in 3:52 and I'm wondering if I can keep it under 4 minutes for the last km. I remind myself that the pain is very short term and try to open up the legs. 600 metres to go, my watch says I'm at 3:40 pace so I know if I hold it together I'll PR. 300 metres to go and I'm approaching the grass. I follow the others close to the lake where there is mud and bumps before the grass gets longer in the last 50 metres. I push all the way and into the chute just behind another guy the race director on the microphone yells "Who wants it more???" and I think to myself I just want to stop. Check the watch and see the finish is at 4.97 so I run through to 5km, and get yelled at by 2 ladies trying to hand me a barcode. Last km is 3:40 watch says 18:44 and I later get the official time of 18:40. That will be the time I take - I didn't take the GPS time at Foster Park when the distance was 5.08km so I will trust the measuring wheel.
Strange feeling to PR and feel so off which may just be an indication that my PR was soft. Still, really happy with a gritty performance and a good sharpener for the big one next week.
Stats: 11th overall, first in age group, age graded score of 76.52%. The Hagley Course record was broken by the winner in 14:27, which is one second off the NZ Park Run record.
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 1:27:34
Selwyn Marathon June 2, 2024
Dunedin Half Marathon September 15, 2024
Steve amazing time - congrats and finally confirmation - this will hopefully give you a boost for next week! You where able to beat your negative thoughts this is even bigger! Let’s see if Mikkey shows up to point at the missing 30m although your Strava is complete?
HM: 1:47 (9/20) I FM: 3:53:11 (9/23)
2024 Goals: run a FM & HM + stay healthy!
Haha, thanks Mick. Hagley is notorious for dodgy GPS, but I ran through anyway. It’s wheel measured so I’m fine taking 18:40. I’d like to blow it away over summer though
JamesD
Congratulations, Steve. Must be a great feeling to push through on a tough day, to PR, and still to feel confident that you can lower the PR. Checked out the park on Google Maps, and the pictures look beautiful. I can see how the grass start/finish area wasn't ideal, but the lack of turns seems like a positive. Nearly all the 5Ks here have a dozen or more turns. It looks like your "nice running temperature" at the start was 6/43, which still seems quite cold to be running anything short & fast.
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 guess I considered it nice because I've just come out of winter. Hagley Park is such a nice place to run.
My week - Coach had it down as "sharpening" and I think that goal was achieved. Heading into taper/race week now. The forecast for next Sunday has improved a lot, down to 19C now.