Forums >Racing>Competitive Jerks Racing and Training - 2023
Hi all! My Philly cheesesteak (second of the trip) and cheese fries are almost here! Thanks for tracking and being there as my supporters. Finished with a shiny new PR 2:56:42 and the shocker of it all 2nd place in my AG. It was an awesome day mad MUCH better for meeting the famous Dwave and DKTrotter just reinforced how great this group of "imaginary friends" are. More to come after FOOD!!
5K 18:36 (2023), 10K 39:40 (2022), 1/2 1:24:37 (2023), full 2:58:36 (2015)
Hot Weather Complainer
Well done Fishy and Dorothea! And mmerkle and anyone else I may have missed?
Great results all round.
Keen - That direct descendant of yours is pushing her luck...
Mark - What's your medium term plan? Are you returning to blitz road races in 2024?
Longboat - Are you coming through Christchurch?
me - Solid week, although Wednesday was a bust. I was a bit concerned when I saw the workout, pretty big for my return to speed, and I was right to be concerned. I was sensible during the AeT part, but the prescribed pace for the LT was 3:30-3:50/km. I knew I wasn't getting near 3:30 pace and snuck in under 3:50 pace for the first interval, then it got worse from there, dropping to almost half marathon pace by the last interval.
We decided to change the 6x1km @ 5km pace on Saturday because my legs were still very flat for Friday strides. The 5km this Saturday will be interesting, hopefully it isn't quite as miserable...
A guy in our training group decided to do 30 laps of South Hagley Park for his 30th birthday, and to raise money for Men's mental health. I jumped in for a couple of laps after my workout. It was about the halfway point for him (112km total) and he finished about 10pm Saturday night.
5km: 18:34 11/23 │ 10km: 39:10 8/23 │ HM: 1:26:48 9/23 │ M: 3:29:54 6/24
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
Wellington Marathon June 23, 2024 3:29:54
Foster Park Run July 20, 2024 19:02
Dunedin Half Marathon September 15, 2024
Timaru Ten October 26, 2024
Flavio - Just noticed your post. Rest! A 40km week will not hurt you at this stage.
Fishy - congrats!! Enjoy all of the food!!
Dk - congrats also.
mmerkle - awesome stuff on that 50 miler. Nuts.
Steve - funny you ask, I was just considering this myself. I have the Goat in Jan and then the last three races of the Auckland Half Marathon Series through till April. I won't be racing Xterra next winter as I'm doing the short course series with my daughter who was very envious of the amount of mud I brought home this year but I do need to find a race to do. National road relays has just been announced as being at the Taupo Motorsport Park next year which could be great fun if I can find the right team. There's a couple other fun looking trail races around including one in Tongariro National Park and that one in Tekapo in Sept, and Gold Coast Half would be a fun race to do at some point as well. Anyways sorry that workout bombed a bit for you but it's just one workout.
Flavio - I agree with Steve! Don't overcook it!
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: Runway5 / National 5k Champs, 16:22, National Masters AG Champ!
Up next: Still working on that...
"CONSISTENCY IS KING"
we should all take a look at Fishy how it is done - no complaints, just pure training and an outstanding result !
Fishy - congrats! It is long awaited result of you doing right things! You just ran a time I would love to run at CIM - ha-ha! Great job man!
flavio - yes, just two weeks left! Take a breath and stop worrying about things that are not actually important! Look at Fishy. Stop worrying about gear, gels or drink mixes, arm sleeves and all that crap! Start believing in your training - just see your logs and believe in the job you have done. That's all you need! It's just makes you weak when you believe some of that supplemental stuff can make a lot of difference - it won't!
My Garmin says I am running too much currently - but it also says my VO2 Max is 58 - like my Age - I guess, when I am 60, it will be showing 60 - so, it's such a big lie. It is my last week of very high mileage - will do steep taper for the next two weeks.
paces PRs - 5K - 5:48 / 10K - 6:05 / HM - 6:14 / FM - 6:26 per mile
LOL- Cal you're gonna give me a big head!. I think all of the training and dedication is paying off for you. I can't wait for the CIM results. You're starting to sound like your old RW self again(a comliment)!
Gotta admit I was a little surprised by the result. I left the sub-3 pace group after mile 3 and did have some second thoughts about increasing the pace and running "alone." The crowd and congestion of the group was just annoying and I couldn't take it any more. When someone cut if front of me and almost tripped me for no reason I knew I had to either fall back or get ahead of the clown show amazing how one or two runner can get into your head a bit.
I really did feel under control and for the first time since 2015 (also my last negative split). The first 10 felt "easy" The fatigue didn't really set in until 23 or 24 but that point it's just a mental battle. It helped to know I had sub-3 in the bank which made going for a PR a risk I decided to take.
WTG Fishy and Dorothea—PRs all around!! AG placing at a race that size is huge! And there better be FE pics!
mmerkle—crazy impressive on the 50 miler. That sounded just brutal. It’d be a big nope for me.
Dave
My week was goo. Last big week of the cycle - steep taper is probably in order. Last LR was ok, I faded at the end a little but it was ok after HM last Sunday and two workouts at MP effort. Feel pretty good going into a taper mode.
Mark - Sounds good - I especially like the reason your daughter is keen.
Cal - 100 miles with only 7 runs??? Wow. No wonder mikkey is crying injured.
WCRunner - Excellent news! Fartleks are excellent to get started with some speed.
MMerkle - Sorry I also stalked you on that finish line video. Holy hell if you don't look super strong while crossing that finish line.
Piwi - LOL same happened when we met them. Such a lovely couple. It was weird talking about our imaginary internet forum friends cause at this point I know people for so many years and I consider most to be my long time friends.
Fishy - Once again superb execution. We knew a sub 3 was coming from your Boston results where you got stonewalled to a low 3 hour result even though you had the legs. You no doubt has excellent endurance talent. I'm happy to hear that another forum encounter was possible.That said, this is the internet, pics or it didn't happen 😂
MickJogger - I wonder if you had a forum encounter would you have to report it to the agency 😂
DK - I've also stalked your profile here on RA and it seems like despite not being one of your original goals you still ran a PR ?I suppose you're still happy about it considering the week you had before the race? Anyway kudos for hanging on 👏👏👏
Steve -Your 5k PR is a formality at this point.Also, thanks for the message, taper is starting now and I'll even have a day off this week.
Cal - You misunderstand me. I trust that I have better training and I'm stronger this time than the last time in October 2021.I believe I should do better than 3h05 provided race day is not too warm and I don't fall sick.That does not mean I don't need to take care of the basics.Glycogen depletion has ruined ALL of my previous attempts at a marathon or a 50k. Of course a product that provides a lot of carbs without being overly sweet can help. I plan on taking that drink mix before the race to top up my energy levels.I can see from trial and error that if I don't take anything I'll absolutely bonk, in fact I bonked at my long run yesterday.I need to keep my glycogen levels as high as possible for as long as possible. If I start suffering badly around 23 miles then I've got this. If however I start suffering badly at 30k like the last time, then it will be another defeat.The UPF 50 cap and top are absolutely necessary. I got sunburned while running a 10k in February 5th that started at 10am.I had to DNF a 20k race in April due to a heat stroke, that race also started at 10:30am on a day with temps around 15-18c (Don't lie to me that you don't understand what that temperature means, you've lived long enough in Mother Russia to understand it 😁).Of course any hotel is fine so long as you can get a good night of sleep, but I got a hotel literally in front of the starting corrals, and by doing so I've immediately removed dozens of things that could go wrong from my sight.This is about maximising my chances.
Resident Historian
Great training translates to outstanding running last weekend -- well done MMerkle, Dorothea and Fishy! . I managed some short runs, 2-3k, while in Tauranga. Needed to stop several times as perceived effort seems so high for a slow pace, barely enough to retain running form. But gotta (re)start somewhere... so posting these about these short shuffles motivates me to keep going.Thanks, Flavio! We too enjoyed our meeting last year!Piwi said running talk was minimal, but I think he and I covered a fair bit or running, while our wives had a different and lively conversation going!Steve -- Good chance we will come to Christchurch; I'm trying to plan the route for South Island now. We have the ferry booked for Friday afternoon (Nov. 24), and accommodation booked in Queenstown from Dec. 2. In between, not sure yet. I'll message you when I figure it out.
Neil
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------“Some people will tell you that slow is good – but I'm here to tell you that fast is better. I've always believed this, in spite of the trouble it's caused me. - Hunter S. Thompson
MMerkle, DK and Fishy - awesome weekend, everyone set a PR!!
mmerkle - Burke is a nice area. I have never run there, but I have fished in Burke Lake. Or I should say I’ve gone beer drinking there with a fishing pole. 🎣 I’m at your latitude this week out in Woodstock, VA.
DK - You really hung in there with the cold, that’s great effort!
fishy - Looks like you went for it from the start, picture perfect split.
Looking forward to some race reports! Sorry for the belated congrats, was driving nearly 15 hours yesterday.
Wow!!! Are we all these different?
Sorry flavio, I didn't realize how fragile your system is - without sarcasm, seriously...
I always thought the race is actually the easiest part of the equation. I would go on a long run almost always without gels and maybe just drinking water from fountains (sometimes I even tried to avoid drinking water too) - my thinking was - you get your body used to harder conditions during training when if you bonk or not it doesn't matter, but you train your system for a toughest situations. Sometimes it would be really tough to finish, sometimes I felt awful, but it worked - I can run my long ruins without gels and water. I run with gels from time to time just to make sure gels are compatible with me.
But I guess I am really selfish and self absorbed - people's bodies are obviously different and sometimes - just drastically different. I admire you for continuing marathon training - I am not sure if I had this kind of obstacles, I would train for marathons. Honestly, no sarcasm.
Yeah, I think that was part of the reason he gave up so easily. The funny part - if I continue my training the same way I do it now until March, Mikkey has negative chance to even think about competition at LA
Cal - no, I meant if I don't take the gels I'll bonk on race day.
I don't usually take anything on my long runs except for 3 or 4 times where I tried eating gels to see how the stomach would react.
I can see why you would understand that due to the way I followed that by saying I bonked on Sundays long run .
And yeah, I hate the sun. I'm a real life vampire, I dislike the sun, I have a lot of photophobia and I cannot tolerate garlic 🧛♂️😂
MT - so the handheld bottle is annoying and it forces you to clench your fingers causing unnecessary tension. The slushing is also annoying.
The hydration vest is superior because the flask is at the center of mass and a flask does not slush.
But it's also a hindrance to use at marathon pace.
It's perfectly fine for a long run during summer though .
Longboat - Sounds good, looks like you'll experience some cold spring weather unfortunately, hopefully you get across the strait before the next southerly hits! It can get a bit rough. Sounds like you've got plenty of time to make your way down the South Island. Lake Tekapo and Mt Cook are great places to break up the journey to Queenstown.
Flavio - I think getting all the things you can control perfect is a good idea to give yourself every chance, especially for a distance that gives you trouble. It's getting exciting! I feel like you can go out at 3 hour pace then maybe even bring it home for a big negative split.
I don't feel like I'm in shape for a 5km PR but then again, I hadn't done much speed when I first did the Foster Park Run in 18:53, and the 18:40 was a week before my main goal half marathon and basically felt awful all the way. So you never know. Foster measures about 80 metres long so I'll need to average 3:40/km to PR. I'll try and lock in 3:45 for the first one and then push as hard as I can from there.