Competitive Jerks Racing and Training - 2023 (Read 572 times)

darkwave


Mother of Cats

    Darkwave - female and 48 years old. I live in Arlington, Virginia, which is the part of Northern Virginia that is essentially Washington DC without the negatives of living in DC proper. About 50% of my weekly mileage is run in DC or Maryland, not Virginia.

     

    I started running 16 years ago, at the age of 33, so I'm an adult onset runner. My previous sport was horses - hunter-jumper to be exact.

     

    My PRs as of January 1, 2023: Mile: 5:25 (2017); 5K: 18:51 (2017); 10K: 38:56 (20:17); 10M: 1:02:28 (2019); Half: 1:24:08 (2019); Full: 2:57:42 (2018).

     

    I'm injury prone and overtrain easily so a fair amount of my training is cross training (pool-running, swimming, yoga, weights), and I run my easy runs very slowly relative to my race paces.

     

    Currently I'm working through some neurological issues that appear to be due to a lack of neurotransmitters in my brain.  I'm on medication to try to replace/restore those neurotransmitters (don't have an official diagnosis yet). Sometimes my legs listen to me, and sometimes they don't, which is why in my training you will see workouts that start really slow and speed up at the end, or inconsistencies in paces between workouts. Hopefully this year I'll get this fixed and return to where I was two years ago - it does seem like I'm on the right path.

     

    Besides the above, I also have asthma and ulcerative colitis (mild), so I manage both of those. I have not yet been diagnosed with hypochondria.

     

    I eat a lot of Chipotle before races.

     

    I'm a lawyer with the federal government, specializing in all the ways that law and IT interact (think information governance, policy, privacy, ediscovery, electronic legal research, cybersecurity response). I mostly telecommute (go in one day a week) and live very close to a track and an indoor pool - very convenient for training. If you're wondering how I fit stuff in - that's how.

     

    I live with my boyfriend/partner of a decade plus and three defective cats (one has severe allergies, the other two are visually impaired). I also have a treadmill called Fluffy.

    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.

      I haven’t been posting weekly summaries for a while. It’s just been a lot of easy running since the Chicago Marathon, so pretty boring stuff. Not much more exciting this week, but might as well start the year off right. The only thing worth mentioning is strides added to the end of one run; it’s the first of any kind of speed since Chicago. I don’t think they ended up very fast, but I’m feeling pretty good overall. It’s about a month before I need to star a 12 week plan for Eugene, so I’ll start easing back into a little more speed work between now and then.

      Weekly for period: From: 12/26/2022 To 01/01/2023

      <caption>Weekly Grid</caption>
      Date Name mi km Duration Avg/mi Avg/km Elevation Gain
      in ft
      12/26 Morning Run 7.04 11.33 01:02:24 08:52 05:30 331
      12/27 Morning Run 8.02 12.90 01:12:17 09:01 05:36 325
      12/28 Morning Run w/strides 9.01 14.50 01:19:13 08:48 05:28 446
      12/29 Afternoon Run 7.01 11.28 00:59:45 08:31 05:18 335
      12/30 Lunch Run 6.01 9.67 00:51:56 08:38 05:22 262
      12/31 Morning Run 15.02 24.16 02:11:06 08:44 05:26 151
      01/01 Morning Run 8.02 12.91 01:09:51 08:43 05:25 302

      Total distance: 60.13mi

      Dave

      Fishyone


        Chilly Willy 5K race report:

         

        Pre-race: Perfect weather 53 degrees and sunny.  10 AM start so it was nice to have time for coffee and a relaxed morning.  Got to the race early and had a nice 2 mile warm-up with strides. All 3 races started together so I knew I had to get near the front (learned form my last 5K). Roads are open so I remembered that passing is challenging for the first mile. Its hard to tell which race people are running so I err on the side of getting front.

         

        Race: Gun goes off and I'm about 15-20 back and the pace seems slow.  I spend the first half mile getting up to a spot where I'm clear of the group. At this point I'm about a 5:55 pace which is a little fast but it's nice to not have people in front.  About 3/4 mile a younger runner flies past and keeps going. I know my pace is about right so there's no way I'm chasing him.  The 5K turns off at 1.2 miles and there's no one on the road in front of me at all.

         

        It's at this point that I'm really hoping I made the correct turn.  There was a sign but there is literally no one ahead of me.  I'm starting to feel the pace slip at bit so I concentrate on breathing which has become a little more challenging.  I make the turn back and with a mile to go I'm still running alone.  The slower runners and walkers are coming towards me as I run back to the finish/start.  I get a lot of "way to go's" but I'm hurting quite a bit. As I neared the final turn and finish I didn't dare to look at my watch or behind me at the risk of faceplanting.

         

        As I cross the finish the volunteer hands me a small plaque and printout.  Apparently the 4-5 people ahead of me were running the 10K and half so I finished first  overall 

         

        Chip time 18:36. A shiny new PR to start 2023.

        5K 18:36 (2023), 10K 39:40 (2022), 1/2 1:24:37 (2023), full 2:58:36 (2015) 

          Fishy - WOW, awesome!! That’s huge! Gotta be one of the biggest highlights of the thread for the year, and it’s only day 1.

          Dave

          Marky_Mark_17


            Flavio - ugh, sickness is super frustrating. I wouldn't rule anything in or out on the race front just yet though.

             

            Fishy - congrats... Steve finished the year in style and you've started it in style.  Those sounds like dream conditions for a 5k.

             

            Dave - nice work regardless.  I've never quite understood how folks can just run easy for extended periods but patience was never my strong suit.

            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: Maraetai HM, 10 Mar, DNF

            Up next: Waterfront HM, 7 Apr

            "CONSISTENCY IS KING"

            dktrotter


            Dorothea

               

              Chilly Willy 5K on 1/1/22.  Hopefully you all will track me sub 19:18 goal........

               

              Fishy, way to blow that one out of the water! Congrats on the first PB of the new year!

              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.  

              darkwave


              Mother of Cats

                I have to admit - I'm really liking the way this thread is going this year so far.  Great jobs to both Steve and Fishy.  May we all follow in your footsteps.

                 

                Dave - 60 miles is a solid week.

                 

                MarkyMark - glad you are on your way up.

                 

                Flavio - I am sorry - this really sucks.  I hope you feel better soon.

                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.

                dktrotter


                Dorothea

                  Flavio, sorry to read you got sick. There's that "anything above the next thing" rule, but if your issue is in the neck, you probably are smart to take it easy (and if you have the medication, I'd say take it!)

                   

                  Steve, great job on the PRs in all those distances in 2022. The marathon thing stinks, and I know it hurts, since practice makes perfect and the marathon is one of those things you can't practice but so often, but if you can keep up the consistency, 2023 seems like it will be a good year for it. I agree that 3:20 is probably too soft a goal given your other race performances in the not too distant past, but it may not make sense to veer too far away from the previous PR. Once you get closer to April you'll be able to have a better estimate too based off your training.

                   

                  Nice imperial quadriplegic hobgoblins Dave, Mark and Steve.

                   

                  darkwave, I lol'ed at your "don't think I've been diagnosed as hypochondriac yet." You're dealing with a lot! It's extra motivating to see your training because of that.

                   

                  Happy new year everyone! Here's my training from the past week:

                   

                  Weekly for period: From: 12/26/2022 To 01/01/2023

                  Date

                  Name

                  mi

                  km

                  Duration

                  Avg/mi

                  Avg/km

                  Elevation Gain 

                  in ft

                  12/26

                  2. Weihnachtsfeiertag Lauf

                  6.37

                  10.25

                  55:06

                  08:39

                  05:23

                  161

                  12/27

                  8 x 8 and 2 x 4

                  7.81

                  12.56

                  01:08:09

                  08:44

                  05:26

                  0

                  12/28

                  Morning Trailish Run 

                  7.01

                  11.28

                  01:06:16

                  09:27

                  05:52

                  7

                  12/29

                  To the park

                  1.14

                  1.84

                  10:43

                  09:24

                  05:49

                  7

                  12/29

                  From the park 

                  4.98

                  8.02

                  44:18

                  08:54

                  05:31

                  20

                  12/30

                  Lunch Run 

                  1.01

                  1.63

                  09:12

                  09:07

                  05:39

                  0

                  12/31

                  🎆 Hogmanay Run 

                  8.54

                  13.75

                  01:15:56

                  08:53

                  05:31

                  279

                  01/01

                  Lunch Run 

                  5.19

                  8.35

                  46:01

                  08:52

                  05:31

                  43

                  Total distance: 42 miles (the answer to life, the universe, and everything. Also it's rare that my mileage is exact. Just coincidence. I'm not one of those runners). Cycling miles: 7.8

                   

                  I've made my speed workout visible, in case anyone would like to check it out and maybe we follow each other. It's also one of the more stupid things I've done in recent memory, as I don't think my legs were ready for that yet (coach said I should try though). The workout itself went well, but the run the next day ended up with shooting nerve pains in my foot (I think the tendon near the ankle got enflamed-partially maybe also due to new shoes), and as I took things easy to make sure they didn't come back, my knee started talking at me yesterday. One can see I backed things off after Tuesday, and I was never in any pain during the runs, but the knee thing would happen right at the end of the runs and while walking around home and the town. Not self-diagnosing quite yet, and have one more short easy run before scheduled workout Tuesday, but I am starting to doubt the spring race line up (not willing to admit I was wrong quite yet).

                  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.  

                  darkwave


                  Mother of Cats

                    62 miles running, 4 hours pool-running, and 1000 yards swimming.

                    M: streaming yoga and 2 hours pool-running
                    T: 12 miles, with a track workout of 2x1200, 3x800, 2x200 in 5:25, 5:14, 3:21, 3:16, 3:12, 47, and 47. recoveries of 2:3x-3:0x after the 1200s and 800s; full recovery for the 200s. Followed with leg strengthwork and 500 yards recovery swimming.
                    W: 9 miles very easy on treadmill (9:31), upper body weights/core, 3 miles very easy on treadmill (9:27).
                    Th: 2 hours pool-running.
                    F: 14 miles, including 2x4 miles in 29:31 (7:23 pace) and 29:09 (7:17 pace) with 1 mile float in 8:15 between. Followed with leg strengthwork and 500 yards recovery swimming.
                    Sa: 12 miles very easy (9:35) plus drills and two strides, followed by streaming yoga.
                    Su: 12 miles with 8 Iwo Jima hill repeats (2:00 up a 2% slope, 90-100 second jog, 40 second downhill stride, 60 second jog). Followed with injury prevention work.

                    I continued to shuffle things around due to the holidays. Friday's long run would have been 2x5 miles at marathon effort, but since Houston is in less than 3 weeks I shortened it to 2x4. And since I wanted to go out on Saturday night, I did the run on Friday and planned a "maybe" workout on Sunday to work on form - if I woke up feeling lousy on Sunday, I'd just skip it. But I woke up (later than normal) and actually felt pretty good, so I did it.

                    I was really happy with Friday's long run - those paces felt natural and my heart rate was right where it should have been for a marathon pace workout.

                    I saw my neurologist again this week - he told me that the meds I'm on can take weeks or even months to be fully effective, so hopefully I'll continue to see improvement with each week.

                    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.

                    darkwave


                    Mother of Cats

                       

                       

                       

                      I've made my speed workout visible, in case anyone would like to check it out and maybe we follow each other. It's also one of the more stupid things I've done in recent memory, as I don't think my legs were ready for that yet (coach said I should try though). The workout itself went well, but the run the next day ended up with shooting nerve pains in my foot (I think the tendon near the ankle got enflamed-partially maybe also due to new shoes), and as I took things easy to make sure they didn't come back, my knee started talking at me yesterday. One can see I backed things off after Tuesday, and I was never in any pain during the runs, but the knee thing would happen right at the end of the runs and while walking around home and the town. Not self-diagnosing quite yet, and have one more short easy run before scheduled workout Tuesday, but I am starting to doubt the spring race line up (not willing to admit I was wrong quite yet).

                       

                       

                      So I am confused - was the 8x800 with 200 recovery supposed to be at 5K pace?  If so, that is a brutal workout.  At 10K pace it's a bit more reasonable.

                       

                      Not being in pain during runs is a good thing, and would make me hope that the knee issue can clear up quickly.  Is the ankle still hurting?

                      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.

                        darkwave - have your cats been diagnosed as hypochondriacs? 
                        Good to hear about your LR workout. Those can be real confidence-builders in the weeks before a marathon; for me it’s often an indicator of how things will go on race day. 

                        Dorothea - how you get any appreciable elevation gain in South Florida? I’ve run in Boca Raton visiting my parents; the humidity is oppressive but I enjoy the pancake-flatness. Good luck with your knee; sometimes these things come & go quickly, so hopefully that’s the case.

                        Dave

                        Fishyone


                          DK- I like the 800M workout. I agree with DW 8x800 at 5K is serious work. What was the weather like?  If it was warm that's even more impressive (crazy?)

                           

                          DW another steady/consistent week.  3 weeks out that long run must make you feel confident. I have to ask does this mean we have to avoid lawyer jokes?

                           

                          Dave- The week may not have been exciting but 60 with a 15 mile long run is nothing to sneeze at!

                           

                          Mark- Thanks for the kudos!

                           

                          My week- Last "speed" week.  Back to boring marathon training.  This short speed block did give me some ideas for for the spring summer.

                           

                          Date Title Distance Time Avg Pace Notes
                          12/26/2022 Medfield Running 15.4 2:02:40 7:58 4 @ MP
                          12/28/2022 Boston - 3 X 1Mile @5K 8.8 1:07:09 7:38 5:51, 5:51, 5:58 with 4 min jog between
                          12/29/2022 Boston Running 5.84 0:47:34 8:09 recovery
                          12/30/2022 Medfield Running 7.67 1:00:24 7:52 GA
                          1/1/2023 Warm up 2.01 0:15:58 7:57 warm-up
                          1/1/2023 Chilly Willy 5K 3.1 0:18:36 6:00 Race
                              42.82      
                                     

                          5K 18:36 (2023), 10K 39:40 (2022), 1/2 1:24:37 (2023), full 2:58:36 (2015) 

                             

                            DW I have to ask does this mean we have to avoid lawyer jokes?

                             

                            I would bet she knows the best ones.

                            Dave

                            dktrotter


                            Dorothea

                              Looks like a great week, darkwave. 38 miles in three days is also pretty impressive. Re: 800s. Yeah, the target was 5k pace for the 800s, but I was told that if that felt too hard, slower would be okay. So it was actually more at my regular 10k pace. Temps were about 60 F, Fishy. We had a cold front come in (that arctic chill made it all the way to South Florida!) and the dew point was also at 56, so it wasn't too warm. Today however it's back to 75F with 70 dew, so that's fun. As for hills Dave, I live west of I-95 and the intercostal, and both entail overpasses to get tot he beach. New Year's Eve I also ran to the beach park, which has a bit of an incline to get in and out too. Otherwise, as you see, most of my runs end up with like 5 feet of elevation, if that much.

                               

                              Thanks for the positive thoughts! The foot thing seems to be mostly gone, though I still feel it occasionally when I turn my foot up... not a pain, but enough to remind me it's there. No pain so far in my knee today, but I've only been up an hour and haven't tried to do much yet. I'm hoping you're all right and it's one of those quick fade things. I am seeing a sports massage therapist today or later this week, and I am trying to shake off those stubbornly gripping vines of old delusional thinking to pick a course of action that will keep me injury free, even if I have to give up some other goals in the process. I've been here before... hopefully I can prove that I can learn from my mistakes.

                              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.  

                              flavio80


                              Intl. correspondent

                                Wait what, you won the race and ran a PR? Sounds fishy 😂

                                Kudos my man, it sounds like you found the pain cave, pity there was nobody else there to push you sub 18:30.

                                 

                                Mark - I've mistaken this for letsrun.com 😎

                                 

                                Steve - a 3h20 marathon is still, IMHO, a valid target for you.

                                 

                                Mikkey - Don't be afraid to join, we still left a seat at the table for you 👍

                                PRs: 1500 4:54.1 2019 - 5K 17:53 2023 - 10K 37:55 2023 - HM 1:21:59 2021

                                Up next: no idea

                                Tool to generate Strava weekly