Competitive Jerks Racing and Training - 2023 (Read 573 times)

DW the Adios 8 is lighter and I think they have another version of light lightstrike pro in it. Check out the reviews on YouTube although it's early days.

Fishy very nice mileage week. How hot is it where you live ?

Cal you probably are more slow twitch muscle type. I can get biceps, calves etc no problem but that doesn't help me beat the slow twitch guy with no definition legs

Look at Nikola Jokic his arms are so skinny but he's the best in the NBA.

I notice that my training shoe which I wore in my 5k TT is banned in racing due to over 40mm stack, I feel so dirty 

 

 

Mikkey cheers. I went out the door not knowing what run I was doing but got motivated as I bailed on Parkrun with my mate who got his 1st sub 20. I wore nike tempo next % which I bought by accident as they were about 30 quid. They are real bouncy but a plastic plate. How is your running going ?

 

 

 

 

 

Sometimes that’s the best way!  If you had some competition in the Parkrun with the proper cheater shoes then you’d have been more like 18:15. (no pressure).  I’m being very cautious and sensible and building my mileage up slowly with all easy runs. I managed 40 miles last week ranging from 8:51 to 10:11 pace (not including around 15 run/walk miles with Tyson).  My pencilled in plan (written on the back of a fag packet) is to build up to 60mpw by August and stay at that….then start to introduce structured workouts and hopefully the overall pace each week will naturally get faster. Realistically I don’t think I could get away with more mileage than that without aggravating my heel again. But I’m much more concerned about another PF flare up as that would be game over as it’s impossible to run and takes months to clear (from my experience)….so I hope you understand my snowflake approach!  I want to get to the start line with Cal in good working order and I’ll have to say that I’m really looking forward to CIM!  Talking of weight, I’m down to my marathon race weight of 10st 6Ibs (7Ibs lighter since Xmas) But I’m planning to run CIM at 10st or just under.

Steve - Sorry to hear the race didn’t go to plan again and it’s baffling as I’ve never seen you do anything risky in training. But I admire your attitude with not giving up on the distance.  If you enjoy marathon cycles then keep racing them and you’ll eventually crack it. 

Cal Carbohydrates are a quick fuel supply. They are broken down with less effort than fats but don't provide fuel for very long. Fats provide more energy per unit weight (gram/lb/ounce/etc.) than Carbohydrates HOWEVER; they require more energy to break down. Both are fuel sources for metabolism and "other biological processes" occurring in your body. Carbs are just easier to break down than fats. Fats will keep you "satiated" (feeling less hungry) LONGER than carbs. So eat some avocados instead of sugar for breakfast. gram per gram carbs will not provide energy as long as fats will.

Protein provides the most energy BUT the body really doesn't want to break down protein since it takes even more energy and protein = muscles = catabolism...kind of.

 

EDIT: I won't go into the differences of "whey" and "Casin" protein other than "casin burns slower than weigh so take it before bed."

RP - It's kind of hurts you think I don't know the stuff you provided above . I am running since 2011 and anybody who was curious enough to learn about "the wall" in the marathon and why it's happening knows this basic info. I guess I was not clear enough - I was interested in role of carbs when strength training. Protein is clear, you cannot maintain or grow muscles without providing enough protein. But I hear from time to time from quite good people that you shouldn't underestimate the role of carbs in muscle synthesis. And that's I do not completely understand. I know you cannot "overeat" protein - protein which your body will not consume, will go to poop. It's not the story with carbs, carbs are processed by the body much faster than protein and usually converted to glycogen, and the surplus of carbs is stored as fat, it doesn't go to poop - it goes to your fast storage. That's the main reason for obesity and overweight problem as I understand - too much carbs in a form of processed food consumed by general population (not to go into details about corn syrup and similar which is everywhere in processed food). So, I want to understand if I can safely consume some "good" carbs (what is good carbs - I guess - brown rice one of them?) due to its accessibility and calories value for muscle support and development.

Cal - your post brings joy to me. Another convert to the church of the strength training 💪
One common trick to improve on pull ups and chin ups is to use a chair to elevate yourself to the top position, then slowly lower yourself.
You are essentially only performing the descending part of the exercise, but still building strength.
RP gave an excellent description of carbs/fats and protein.
Good carbs take longer to process, you're much safer with good carbs than bad carbs (pastries, white bread, etc).

RP - I see your immense endurance ability was compensated by your inability to convert units 😂 . If you're using Kg you have to use 2 grams of protein per kilogram, which works out to about the same quantity as 1 gram per pound.

Mikkey - that's a smart plan and you meeting Cal at the start line will be glorious. Since the marathon is so easy for you guys, I think you both should carry your wives on your backs to make things more interesting 🏋️

Fishy - To be fair that's a very complain-able weather, I'm definitely not judging you 😁

a smith - based on your races, looks like you live in the Seattle area. Which part? I'm in Mill Creek, but we might never cross paths because I'm a 100% road runner. Although a number of folks in my running group (Green Lake) are trail/ultra crazies, so you may know them from races.

Welcome a smith!

Mikkey - Thanks, I appreciate it.  That is a good point - I've been setting what I thought were pretty conservative goals.  Maybe I just need to go faster.  Running with the brakes on doesn't seem to be working...

RP - I guess we can rule out the shoes now.

piwi - I did a 5 minute slow jog, then a 3 minute jog in the shoes I raced in.  I actually did plan to use the first km as a warm up too but it seems I jumped straight into race pace.  It's been quite a journey especially with all the cancellations which it turns out weren't as bad as races going ahead...I hope there's a triumph in the future but it's starting to feel a bit like the marathon is a beast I just can't tame.  Thankfully there are plenty of examples in this forum that it can be tamed and even mastered.

Flavio - That sounds plausible.  I wonder if it's possible there's something about marathon pace that in my case uses more energy.  I've never cramped in a half.  If I had this would be more explainable.  And yes, next time I'm definitely going to carry something that might help.  My plan of stopping them happening to begin with clearly hasn't worked.

darkwave - No I never trained where I jumped straight into marathon pace.  That gives me 2 things to try - do the first 5km or more at 5:00min/km or even slower before easing into marathon pace.  That would only "cost" 2 minutes early in the race which is nothing compared to what cramp costs me later on.  Or I could do that 35km workout all at marathon pace in training and see what happens.  Option 1 seems far more sensible.

JMac - Thanks for the kind words, much appreciated.  Yep, last time I felt the first signs of cramp at 20km although it didn't come on strong until 27km.  That downhill half marathon only had one really serious downhill, the rest was undulating up and down (overall averaging down) so it wasn't a course that really beats up your legs on the downhills.

You're right that it's probably time for a radical approach, and I also have no doubt I could run a 10 minute PR if I set out at 3:30 pace.  Yes, it would mean I didn't hit my "potential" but the current approach isn't getting me there either.  My taper this time round wasn't all that steep but your plan to not do one at all is also worth thinking about.

I had a good chat with a woman who lives close by at the pub after prizegiving.  This was her last race in her 40s and after plateauing around 3:16-20, she had a breakthrough race and smashed her PR for a 3:10.  She said she struggles to break 20 in a 5km so she's clearly built for the marathon and maybe I'm built for speed.  She also ran Southern Lakes last year, I went flying past her with 3-4km to go and ended up finishing a minute ahead.  But she does higher mileage, around 120-140km weeks.  She suggested we train together.  I've always been a solo runner but I think I'd like to have at least some company on the long runs next time.

Anyway, my coach is in Austria for the World Mountain Running Champs so I won't get to see him until next week.  I know he talks to his coach and other elites about my situation so it will be interesting to hear his ideas.

RP - that's not true about which provides the most energy. Protein and carbs are around 4 calories per gram.  Fat is 9 calories per gram.  You can convert that to freedom units if you like but the answer is the same.  That is why fats leave you feeling fuller (and unsaturated fats are the one fuel group that many runners neglect).

Within carbs, there is a big difference between simple carbs and more complex carbs, which ultimately is to do with the speed at which the body processes them.  Highly refined carbs (e.g. white bread) are high in simple sugars and the body processes them very quickly, hence the "sugar high" you get off candy etc.  Generally bad except in those situations where you need immediate energy (e.g. energy gels / flat coke during a race).

To Cal's question, in terms of what's best to support strength training, it'll be something after a workout which is high in protein to support muscle-building, plus probably some complex carbs.

Powerlifters and bodybuilders take all sorts of stuff - energy drinks, amino acids etc to pump themselves up for big workouts but I doubt that's necessary for running-type strength workouts.  Probably a protein shake and a tuna sandwich on whole-wheat bread, or some yogurt and fruit would do the trick.  There's some quite good protein-added yogurts around this days.  Brown rice is a good complex carb option too, but any unprocessed grains will do the trick.

Steve - company on long runs is great. Really helps the time go quicker. Can be good for workouts too but it helps if it's someone just a bit quicker than you for the extra motivation!

 

 

I had a good chat with a woman who lives close by at the pub after prizegiving.  This was her last race in her 40s and after plateauing around 3:16-20, she had a breakthrough race and smashed her PR for a 3:10.  She said she struggles to break 20 in a 5km so she's clearly built for the marathon and maybe I'm built for speed.  She also ran Southern Lakes last year, I went flying past her with 3-4km to go and ended up finishing a minute ahead.  But she does higher mileage, around 120-140km weeks.  She suggested we train together.  I've always been a solo runner but I think I'd like to have at least some company on the long runs next time.

 

Steve - I had always been a solo runner. But since discovering my running group a couple years ago, I'm never going back if I can avoid it - for long runs anyway. I run solo 6 days a week, then I do my LR with a Saturday 7 AM group run. It's a big enough group that you can always find someone running your pace & distance, often even if doing a workout. LRs are so much nicer with company - I look forward to it all week long. Now when I do need to run one on my own, it's SUCH drudgery. And I've met a ton of great people; it's fun to be part of the community. As a rule, runners are just good folks in general.

And I think it's pretty typical for men to be faster at short distance and women to be faster at the marathon.