Forums >Racing>Competitive Jerks Racing and Training - 2023
KEEN- Massive race!! Enjoy the recovery and bask a bit
5K 18:36 (2023), 10K 39:40 (2022), 1/2 1:24:37 (2023), full 2:58:36 (2015)
Mother of Cats
FIshy - solid performance. I agree - if you're not comfortable with the shoes in a half, you won't be in a full.
CK- I am stunned and ridiculously impressed, though I also expected no less (if that makes sense). I do think you should have done a stride after. Just because.
Flavio- solid long run for you. Things are looking good.
DKTrotter - you asked about running in glasses. Yup, I always do now. I have a pair of prescription Oakley glasses with the lenses that darken/lighten as needed - so sometimes they are sunglasses, and sometimes not. I used to run with just nothing (since I didn't care if I could read my watch while running). However, my vision got to the point where I really needed glasses, so I bit the bullet. I don't wear contacts because my eyes tend to be pretty dry. I also just hate messing with contacts. I'd rather have a pair of glasses and a spare.
Piwi- love the picture!
Philadelphia - my current plan (subject to change) is to race the 8K on Saturday and then cheer on the marathon on Sunday. So there are good odds of a forum encounter.
My week was boring:
16 miles and 6 hours pool-running.M: 90 minutes pool-runningT: streaming yoga and sports massageW: 90 minutes pool-running and coreTh: 90 minutes pool-running and streaming yogaF: 90 minutes pool-running and weights/core.Sa: 7 miles easy (9:39) and streaming PilatesSu: 9 miles very easy (9:52) and leg strengthwork.
Only thing of note is that I'm bumping up my focus on lower body lifting for the next few weeks. I deemphasized it a bit during marathon training in favor of mileage + rest + PT for my running gait. However, I think that what I now need to improve most right is my stride length, and in order to do that I need to improve the power my legs can generate.
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.
Hot Weather Complainer
Fishy - Yep, I tried the 2 and 3 then the Tempus. Cramp each time.
Another quick drop for me, hoping things get a bit more normal soon, although probably unlikely until my last exam is done. Slowly building back up, really in a maintenance phase at the moment.
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 DNF
Dunedin Half Marathon September 15, 2024
Fishy Sorry to hear it wasn't your day, but a 1:25 is a good time for a bad day.
RP Thanks for the detailed tracking.
Commander Very impressive going under 20 hours like that. I'm excited for the race report.
My Week:
I ran the 6 hour endurance challenge yesterday. The GPS was thrown off a bit, I did 7 five mile loops for 35 miles, and the total time was 5:31:48 because of the pit stops, not the 5:22:54 moving time. I was fortunate enough to win that race. But without the help of the second place runner, I seriously doubt I would have done a 7th lap. The teamwork was a new and interesting thing for me to experience during a race. Will give more details during the race report. Also the soreness isn't nearly as bad as after a marathon, as a few of you said is usually the case.
CK - gigantic effort. Awesome build up, great execution. Now it's time to get to real ultras - 15K elevation and 90oF temps WSER is waiting for you
DK - yeah, you missed the most bizarre time in USSR history - the last few years of that country and beginning of 90s - that was really something else Btw, I ran in glasses all the time - without any problem - just find a good fitted sports prescription glasses. I can run with lenses too, but I have difficulties of putting them on and off .
Piwi - I think you are the most serious runner I have ever known
Fishy - I would be so happy if I ran 1:25 - honestly. Not sure why you are upset. For me 1:25 half would mean guaranteed 2:58-2:59 marathon . So, run appropriate mileage and you will get it too.
Marky, Steve, mmerkle - good mileage weeks
DW - great first post marathon week
flavio - what an awesome LR!
Good week for me - I didn't run Tuesday workout this week and concentrated on mileage instead - felt some good endurance gain, especially during the LR on Saturday. Let's hope things progress nicely.
paces PRs - 5K - 5:48 / 10K - 6:05 / HM - 6:14 / FM - 6:26 per mile
Keen had to go and spoil Merkles 34 mile run and Cals 100 mile week with his 100 mile race
55+ PBs 5k 18:36 June 3rd TT
" If you don't use it you lose it, but if you use it, it wears out.
Somewhere in between is about right "
Fishy - Solid effort. It sounds like the super shoes were working against you this time?
Piwi - Since the course was long you will be partially forgiven. You will have to draw hearts with your Strava runs for a week to pay for your crime ❤️
DW - More strength training, I approve of that message! 💪
MMerkle - Good stuff, now go back to the real races 😎
Cal - back to dropping casual 100 miler weeks with fast long runs like a boss! When I see the absurd levels of endurance that people like you, Krash, Dorothea and CommanderKeen possess, and just how different we all are, I start to believe those action movies where one person goes into a room and beats the crap out of the 10 people that were there.
Keen - Man you have your priorities all wrong. You finished the race and decided to rest and be with your family, instead of posting the run to Strava and post your race report here, smh 😂
JoshWolf - The prosecutors dropped the case against Till Lindemann due to lack of evidence after only 3 months.
I'm getting ready to buy tickets for their next tour in 2024.
Overweight per CDC BMI
A few good races over the weekend. I can't imagine being on my feet for 24 hours, let alone running the whole time.
I got in 14 miles yesterday with several miles at MP. I felt fine but cut it off as to not overdo it. I am going to plan to get in a 13-14 mile run each of the next two weekends but may cut back the last weekend in Oct if I am feeling tired. This week, I will shoot for my first week with +50 miles in a MON-SUN calendar week.
XC Update - on to the better runner in my family. My son had his regionals XC meet Saturday and his team killed it. He ran a PR of 6:47 and his team won 2nd place out of 24 teams. In fact, they were only 3 points away from 1st place. His team got 10th in this race last year and he was heartbroken when he failed to make the state meet. It was a great life lesson in responding to failure and worked his butt off this past year to produce great results. Tennessee State Meet is in 2 weeks and is on our home course so we are optimistic they can get top 4.
Oh and our girls team dominated their race. We had 6 runners finish in the top 20 and the 2nd place team's score was double ours. They look likely to win the state meet for a second year in a row.
Memphis / 38 male
5k - 20:39 / 10k - 43:48 / Half - 1:34:47 / Full - 3:38:10
CK: Congrats! That's a really impressive performance. Trying to manage your energy/food/hydration/gear/night running seems very daunting.
Fishy: Super solid "bad" performance.
DW: Is there a Strava for pool running? If not, you should petition!
Cal: Nice volume week! For you fast long run guys, how beat up does that leave you? I looked back at my 2015 long runs and I only had 1 that was right at 8/mile, looks like other faster long runs were closer to 8:30.
mmerkle: Sweet 35 mile long run! Be careful, it's a gateway drug to a 100 miler in the mid-west.
flavio1980: It's crazy how consistent your pace is across a solid 65 mile week.
AndyTN: Congrats to the little guy! You could be a force to be reckoned with in one of those father son combined fathers day races.
RP: Good race reporting!
My couch to athlete update. I just finished my 6th week of exercise. Mostly I've been using a HR monitor and staying below a low HR limit. Last week I ran 1 faster day and this week a couple since I was on a trip without the monitor. The weather finally broke this morning (I'm in Florida), but all all runs so far were usually in the 79-86 degrees and 70-90% humidity. I struggle to keep my HR down on those 81 degree 88-90% humidity mornings/evenings. If I run during the day, it's been mid 80s full sun, but somewhat lower humidity.
My paces so far have been pretty ugly, but I'm not feeling any injury type pains. I felt pretty fatigued around week 3 and the beginning of week 6, but it passed both times. I don't know if you guys get that sort of cumulative fatigue sometimes, where you just haven't taken a break and your whole system is mildly run down for a few days.
Plan for the next 6 weeks:
(1)Build up from current 43 miles/week to like 46ish?
(2)Lose 10-15 lbs - So far I've lost ~0 lbs in 6 weeks since I've been eating like crazy, but it's probably time to work on my manatee physique. I have definitely built up some leg strength and some core strength carrying all this weight around, so I've probably lost a couple lbs of fat. I am concerned that if I don't lose weight and my pace gets faster with the cooler weather, that I will hurt myself.
(3)Start doing body weight and light dumbbell workouts to get the body ready for the heavier stuff down the road.
(4)Lose the HR monitor 2 days a week and just enjoy running naturally. Those can be my "hard" days.
(5)Try to get back to running on softer surfaces a couple days a week - I have to drive to such places or run alongside roads which tends to get me banged up when I step in holes hidden in the grasses in the dark. I've also had some run ins with rattlesnakes and cotton mouths when running on trails here in the past so I prefer to run in day light.
Week 1 (Sep 3-Sep 9) - 31.59 miles - 12:33 pace
Week 2 (Sep 10-Sep 16) - 41.31 miles - 13:22 pace
Week 3 (Sep 17-Sep 23) - 41.90 miles - 13:14 pace
Week 4 (Sep 24-Sep 30) - 42.32 miles - 12:31 pace
Week 5 (Oct 1-Oct 7) - 42.76 miles - 11:55 pace
Week 6 (Oct 8-Oct 14) - 43.04 miles - 11:03 pace
Dwave- 100% on the shoes. I really should have tried them out in a LR with quality or a long Tempo workout. I knew they changed between the 2s and 3s but I guess I assumed they couldn't be that different than the 2's. Shows you're never too old to learn a lesson
Cal- I know it sounded that way but I'm really not upset. I agree I'm on track for a sub 3 attempt at Philly. At this point I'm not assuming anything!! The marathon can be a brutal and there are many variables as you all know.
I knew going into the race that I was going to need everything to happen correctly AND run a great race in order to get my "A" goal which would have been a PR (or damn close). I was hoping that I was there and on Sunday I wasn't able to pull it off. I learned a lot about myself (like I do in every race). I did run a great race and am happy with the time. Prior to March a 1:25, would have been the "A" goal but the bar has been raised.
I don't regret going for it. Being on these forums has taught me that to run my best I need to challenge myself and set very aggressive goals. One of the main reason I went from "lurker" to participant on this thread is because I love the accountability YOU ALL provide. I race my best when I set an aggressive goal and sometimes I'll come up short.
Great to see these killer weeks being posted. Luckily DK and I will be battling Philly before the CIM showdown. I met a guy in the finish area who was pumped that he got his 1:27x he said the he's shooting for his first sub-3 at CIM!
In 2019 I ran half marathon at 1:29:47 5 weeks before I ran sub 3 at CIM - that's what decent mileage helps you with. That half marathon was ran at 100% effort - you can check the HR (https://www.strava.com/activities/2839132002/laps) - it was real HM effort - most of miles were ran at 170+ bpm and I ran marathons at about 164-166 bpm. Every month before the 2019 marathon I ran about 300 miles per month - still pretty awesome - as I ran pathetic miles all year before that . I know, everybody is different, but big mileage were always good to me
I actually do not feel completely destroyed after long relatively fast runs - I would call LRs at around 7:30 pace are fast runs. I feel soreness and tiredness by the end of the LR, but that's the goal - this is how you will be feeling by the end your marathon. Next day I also feel OK, not destroyed, but when I run, I feel how sore I am - and I try to run totally based on feel, trying to apply as much effort as necessary not to feel too bad. Surprisingly enough, I do not feel much more tired comparing to the way I felt 8-10 years ago after LRs.
Problem Child
I think I still have the photo from the finish line somewhere.
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
Mt79 - Long runs over 2h leave me very beat up regardless of pace. Anything beyond that is a suffer fest.
Kudos for planning to start some strength training. Start easy, the first strength workout will feel too easy, that's how it's supposed to feel.
Very controlled.
The weight loss will happen so long as you're not doing something really crazy like drinking sodas, a pint of ice cream, or alcohol every single day.
From my experience I'd say do not try to force it, lots of people think you need to starve yourself, then what happens is you eat too little and it crashes your immune system.
Also no drastic changes. Small, subtle diet replacements over time. Like eating baked potatoes sometimes instead of fried potatoes.
Eating sourdough bread instead of white bread sometimes.
Eating some fruits instead of a bowl of ice cream.
me - I'm happy to report that my voice is back to normal after 15 days. Now I guess the cough will be gone over the next week or so.
I'm now obsessing with reading race reports about the Valencia Marathon. Next I'll likely memorize the race course, then go over the entire course in google street view about 3x.
RIP Milkman
If I were ever to venture into ultra worlds (which I won't, we all know that's where runners go to die, just like Florida), this is what I would do.
CK - congrats on the big ultra, now return to the real world of running
Cal - that build up for 2019 CIM was so fascinating to watch. I don't know that many people could run the half you did and then still come in sub 3. You must be in the 1% (maybe even 0.1%)
Fishy - good race as well!
Mikkey - this thread doesn't seem very jerky lately. What's going on? Are you now too happy because you're back to running normally?
Flavio - one thing I've realized running NYCM over and over is that there is a lot of good advice out there on how to run a course, but until you run it yourself, no amount of prep will help. Luckily Valencia is a fast one so shouldn't be too much to prep for hopefully.
Mentally I'm ready to get back into the swing of things, but physically I am not. Somehow, with running once every 10 days, I just got really bad plantar fasciitis in my other foot. Way worse than my right foot, but clearly brand new so I'm trying to tackle it right away to prevent it from becoming chronic like my right foot which lasted 3 years. It can't possibly be from the running. I now understand that getting older, sometimes stupid shit just pops up out of nowhere. Luckily I still have my PT program from 3 months back, so I'm just doing that heavily to see if I can knock it out quickly.
Assuming I can, I'd like to get back into more running in the dead of winter, and then take it from there. I think signing up for the NYCM will motivate me to get moving again.
My first goal would be to break 23 in a 5K, which I'm not sure I could do right this minute
5K: 16:37 (11/20) | 10K: 34:49 (10/19) | HM: 1:14:57 (5/22) | FM: 2:36:31 (12/19)