Forums >Racing>Competitive Jerks Racing and Training - 2023
Gene Dykes is in my AG and is local on top of it.
Did not know you lived in the same area! I met him at the Hood to Coast Relay last summer.
Dave
Mother of Cats
Re: 5 days a week running - just hopping in to note that I ran all of my PRs off of 4-5 days a week of running. I have run 6 or even 7 times a week at other times, but I didn't run as well on that schedule.
Of course, the obvious caveats here are that a) I ran a lot on my running days - generally 12 miles a day or more during a marathon training cycle back then and b) my non-running days usually include 1-2 hours of pool-running. So during a marathon training cycle I'd still be running between 60-80 miles on land allocated over those 5 days, plus a few hours of pool-running on top of that.
At a much higher level, Gwen Jorgenson is another example of someone who raced much better off of fewer running days combined with a high volume of crosstraining. Once she swapped to a pure running focus, her performances went backwards.
Running 5 days a week is more likely to be limiting if you are doing the standard 8 miles or so on your running days (excepting the long run) and do nothing on your non-running days.
I also agree with Flavio that no major changes should be made to your training close to a goal race.
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.
DW, Flavio & Dave - thank you for the additional info. I will probably cross train the 6th day, or do some very light jogging. I am putting my body through a lot of stress as I am using an easy Jack Daniels plan (as compared to my normal lazy self). So will try and take it easy rather than going for the show.
HM: 1:47 (9/20) I FM: 3:53:11 (9/23)
2024 Goals: run a FM & HM + stay healthy!
RIP Milkman
JMac Why is 100 miles per week unhealthy ? I'm not doubting it entirely I'm just wondering specifically why. Isn't there a difference between only doing it a few weeks out of the year during peak training, and doing it for several months of the year?
It's not one hundred percent clear in either direction, but I've posted something similar before. This article does a pretty good job summarizing everything found:
https://www.outsideonline.com/health/training-performance/endurance-athletes-heart-health-research-2021/
5K: 16:37 (11/20) | 10K: 34:49 (10/19) | HM: 1:14:57 (5/22) | FM: 2:36:31 (12/19)
Pro tip: when copy/pasting a URL, hit enter and it turns into a hyperlink.
Flavio But can you do one legged deadlifts on a bosu ball?
oh man those are seriously hard. 1 leg deadlifts are super weird because weighting them actually makes them easier for me (the balance is the hard part). In fact most of the issue with weighting them is grip strength is a huge limiter, morso than actual strength.
1600 - 5:23 (2018), 5k - 19:33 (2018), 10k - 41:20 (2021), half - 1:38:57 (2018), Marathon - 3:37:17 (2018)
Are you doing single leg one with your non working le/toe lightly on the ground or the type where you lift the non working leg so it's almost a straight line head to non working toe? Those are really tough, especially on my left leg.
Those are punishing. Absolutely punishing.
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"
Wow thank you! I always use that hyperlink thing on the computer but I was on my phone and I couldn't find it. Didn't know about this tip!
Problem Child
*using CTRL + V*
I guess hitting enter is easier.
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
Dorothea
Wow, this thread does move along quickly. I’ve budgeted myself 30 minutes to catch-up, so let’s see if I can :-)
Posting my weekly today instead of tomorrow, because I have a lot of grading to catch up on and tend to let myself get distracted too easily if there's something else (more fun) I could be doing. I do plan to run an easy recovery run tomorrow, though, which will bring my overall mileage closer to 57/58 miles.
Weekly for period: From: 01/23/2023 To 01/29/2023
Date
Name
mi
km
Duration
Avg/mi
Avg/km
Elevation Gain
in ft
01/23
AM and PM bike commute + strength training
01/24
6 x 100s + 6 x 1000s
6.13
9.87
00:53:16
08:41
05:24
26
Cool-down (x 2 for the warm-up)
2.00
3.22
00:18:16
09:08
05:40
66
01/25
Afternoon Run
11.02
17.73
01:42:54
09:20
05:48
102
01/26
Evening Run
3.07
4.94
00:29:26
09:35
05:57
20
01/27
Mid-long w/ about 3 miles on the beach
15.88
01:26:01
08:43
05:25
230
01/28
Confidence Booster
20.03
32.23
02:49:38
08:28
05:16
213
Total distance: 54.12 mi running, 21.8 mi cycling
Highlights of this week were the 1k repeats on Tuesday, the early-morning mid-long run Friday, and the 20-miler today. I had expressed that I was a bit nervous about the 15k + 20 miler, but I am glad I followed the plan and listened to everyone’s advice (thank you again! Also zebano, CK, and RP) and did this sequence. It went much better than expected, probably because I am finally getting over whatever this “cold” was. I swear, sore throat, high resting heart rate, tanked HRV, fatigue… I was sure I was going to get a proper cold any day now, but this morning my RHR dropped 2 beats and the HRV rose a bit. Hopefully it doesn’t tank again tomorrow, ha ha.
The feedback about the 9 miles @hme is interesting. I was just doing what my coach told me to do, but it sounds like you’re telling me I shouldn’t beat myself up too much for not doing well in that workout and that it’s probably a good thing I didn’t manage it, as it may have worn me down too much for this week.
Dave, that looked like a great long-run workout last week. 14 weeks out does seem a bit early for this kind of thing, but as long as you’re not doing the full workout-sequence of 1-2 workouts a week plus the long run, then you’re giving yourself a solid base to build off for the actual training cycle.
Fishy, oh don’t go bragging about not needing to worry about water on a run :-) It’s been a while since I was able to go out for more than 8 miles without thinking of water… though yesterday I got lucky with the temps in the low 60s and low humidity. And re: lost contacts, I had that happen once too. I have -3.5 in one eye and -5.7 in the other, so you can imagine how challenging that was. I had to keep the eye closed for the rest of that run.
As for your question about short recoveries, I say it’s probably useful to see what happens for you in the spring, but for me, I tend to do okay with 8 weeks. 4 weeks seems too short for me, unless you were not planning on taking the first race seriously.
mmerkle, ew about rest being advised. I know what you mean about that being challenging. I guess if it doesn’t hurt enough, it’s hard to be motivated to take that break. In the meantime though, i.c.e. could be effective, especially ice, it seems like.
Steve, if you’re training by heart rate, keep an eye on that last minute recovery rate (my Garmin usually tells me without my asking). It can be useful to predict whether the recovery overall will be okay.
Flavio, I’m late to the appreciation party, but I LOVE that meme.
Also thanks to you and JMac for recommending Oakberry. I will have to try it. And yes, south Florida has a thriving Brazilian migrant community. I do think it should be easy to find a joint if I ventured out a little more. Like I said, I can barely make it 5 minutes from my house for Chipotle XD. And re: open tabs. I am one of those people. Hope you don’t judge me too hard. It’s just how I work. I do make a point of closing them all once a week or so, though.
Andy, thanks for sharing your experiences with the parachute! That does sound amusing trying to do that with an excited pup. But what you’re describing about the wind is what I imagined too… you’d have to be able to do it with a perfect head wind (or no wind at all).
BTW barefoot strides on grass (gold course grass or a football field, ideally) is one of my favorite things in life.
CK, DD2 is 8, right? Sounds like you have a future ultra runner in your footsteps. Hopefully you can help her find a way to get to reach that distance (and more!) safely.
And if you do have a hobby of writing reviews of gadgets, there is a market for well-written runner gadget reviews, but I also agree abut them often being TL; DR. Dave, that “compare” feature seems pretty cool. I have a thing about not buying new tech until the old one dies out. The problem is, sometimes the straps wear out before the tech does… and I just got my Vivoactive (though kind of hate it), but am stuck with it now.
RP, great week (I guess 2 weeks ago, at this point). That workout sounds beast. You’re signed up for Boston, right? Sounds like you’re where you want to be for a solid performance there. And amen re: “marathon training normal.” One basically has enough extra energy to go grocery shopping and mild gardening, and give 0 effs about things. Re: M-paced miles, I agree. I did the Hanson’s training for two marathon cycles (so I know which book you’re talking about, flavio) and while I was trying to do too much else at the same time, I really liked the Thursday MP runs. I did have a much better feel for MP that way.
Hi wcrunner2! You’re one of the first people I met elsewhere than on this thread. Nice to see you here :-) Also Gene Dykes is some competition alright! Kind of cool to have him to push you fairly regularly.
MickJogger, given your overall lower mileage, I would say the additional run over the weekend is the best bet, but I like Flavio’s suggestion as well, though I don’t consider 13 weeks being close to race day.
RE: pre-race meals, I’ll be the controversial person to put sushi on the list. Wile it’s not ideal if your body hasn’t gotten used to the preservatives yet, and I would’t try a new place the day before a race, there’s a lot of protein and a lot of carbs… honestly, I could not do a double-portion of meat! That sounds like a recipe for disaster for my gut!
Re: rolling totals, they’re interesting to me, but I won’t change what I’m doing because of them. I like the monthly rolling stat sometimes after a race, because I can see better that way how many miles I did since the race.
Re book recs, I took a few notes as well. I’m getting the one you suggested, wcruner2. Zebano, would you recommend the Training Essentials by Koop?
Alright, so that took like 75 minutes, but I'm back in the loop!
Qualifications: I like to run. In Florida. In the summer. At noon.
Last race: Community 5K, March 2nd. Speed test run with 2 walk breaks. Went pretty well.
DKT - think I missed the original post, but yeah 9 miles @HM effort is fairly nuts. I'm doing well if I can squeak 3 x 12-15 mins.
Me - fun week right up until the flooding hit on Friday with 3 months worth of rain in a 2-3 hour window on Friday evening. Saturday was a splashfest at the track (started OK but got worse when the rain came back). Sunday was super humid, and it looks like it'll be like that for the next week. But when people have had to abandon their homes it kiiiiiinda puts weather complaining in perspective. Some very serious flooding only around 5k from my house where a couple of people died. Not sure whether my race will go ahead next Sunday, but seems more likely than not as most of the water seems to have receded pretty quickly and the state of emergency expires next Friday unless revoked sooner. Either way, it's gonna be a slow one if the humidity stays at current levels. And at this point, we've all had plenty of practice dealing with uncertainty in race week as to whether the race is even gonna happen. Good times.
Dorothea - I know another runner who swears by sushi as her pre-race dinner. I’ve never tried it, but I freaking love sushi and it sounds good to me.
Intl. correspondent
Mmerkle - LOL, no way I could do that. Like Zebano, weighting the single leg deadlift makes it easier for me, especially if I've got dumbbells on both hands.The challenge is the balancing and why I think it's an excellent exercise for running.
Zebano - Interestingly, grip strength is something that limits my ability to do pull ups.How are you doing these days with strength training? Are you still lifting beastly weights with the dead lift ?
Half Crazy - I do something in between. My body is still a line from head to heel, but I do not lift my leg as high as my hips.
DK - I was joking, I have some sort of OCD that I must close stuff (doors, windows, drawers), but also browser tabs.
My tabs are usually StackOverflow tabs though, most of which I can quick discard as not being the solution I need.Kudos for getting both the 6x1K and the 20 miler on the same week, that's a great week.
Mark - It's interesting to read about that flooding. People in Brazil swear this kind of problem only exists in Brazil and that 1st world countries are perfect without any issues at all.Then they go live abroad and get a harsh reality check.That's a huge week by the way!
me - Interesting week. Some confidence booster workouts, but I still have no idea what kind of shape I'm at.
My hope is that I somehow kept the same fitness I had for the last 10k race in early November, we'll see. Taper starts today, though the coach is experimenting with a shorter taper.
I have signed up for a 5k in early March near Barcelona. My target will probably be defined according to what I run next weekend for the 10k plus how my recovery goes plus if I manage to get there on race day without any interruptions.
PRs: 1500 4:54.1 2019 - 5K 17:53 2023 - 10K 37:55 2023 - HM 1:21:59 2021
Up next: some 800m race (or time trials) / Also place in the top 20% in a trail race
Tool to generate Strava weekly
It went much better than expected, probably because I am finally getting over whatever this “cold” was. I swear, sore throat, high resting heart rate, tanked HRV, fatigue… I was sure I was going to get a proper cold any day now, but this morning my RHR dropped 2 beats and the HRV rose a bit. Hopefully it doesn’t tank again tomorrow, ha ha.
I have this too. It happens from time to time and I'm pissed off that I can't figure out why it happens. My best guess is that it's either or a combination of allergies acting up + some day where I exert myself too much during strength training, problem being this "too much" is not actually too much. So I have to train at a lower level than I could (lifting lower weights etc) cause I'm afraid I'll get this "cold-or-whatever-this-is" again which will make training suboptimal for a week to 10 days.