Forums >Racing>2018 Sub-3. No rules. Run.
RIP Milkman
Weather - great base mileage week. I couldn’t handle even 50 miles at easy pace, I got too bored. Great work and good luck with your semi-phase II. It’s R pace time!
JT/Dood - My lord, you are dealing with those on all your runs??? I’ve only been bitten by horseflies a handful of times in my life, and just the thought of it makes me cringe. Those things put mosquitos to shame. It’s like they’re ripping your skin out while biting you.
5K: 16:37 (11/20) | 10K: 34:49 (10/19) | HM: 1:14:57 (5/22) | FM: 2:36:31 (12/19)
In my case, not all my runs. I can choose to run boring routes that avoid the horseflies completely, and I probably will do this until the weather cools down and the fly problem dies down. But my favorite running routes (scenic, hilly paths that go through wooded parks, etc.) are just dreadful for about a 2-month stretch each summer.
My Tempo run this morning (11 mi w/ 5 at HMP) had no biting flies, but I might have given a stronger effort had I been chased by horseflies during the 5-mile Tempo portion!
Mmmm Bop
Mikkey - Where the hell are you? Get back on this thread and add some more life with rude comments and general snark
Mikkey - Where the hell are you? Get back on this thread and add some more life with rude comments and general snark
I haven’t been posting my weeklies because it would look like I’m following the Hal Higdon Beginners plan! We’re into the 6th week of a heatwave in the UK which has been great, but not so great for running. My garden lawn has turned orange even with me watering it every other day...and I’ve just heard that there’s going to be a hose ban from the beginning of August. Aaarrggh!!!!!! Anyway, I’m going to run the Goodwood Grand Prix Marathon on 16th September which is now less than 9 weeks out and goal is Sub 3 for now. I’m running a half Sunday week which will give me an idea of my current fitness.
djs - Soooo close to Sub 3! With your marathon progression I wouldn’t be surprised if you do go 2:55 next time with that amount of volume. Never worry about your Strava buddies training faster than you....it’s all about the race times. 👍
SubDood - Belated congrats on the 25k trail AG win. I checked out the course profile and that looked tough with those hills!
JT - Still a good week even with the slower tempo run.....have you ever thought about splitting it into intervals? I know some people say that a continuous tempo makes you mentally stronger, but for me I just want to get X amount of minutes at threshold pace in the easiest way possible, and that is intervals for me. 🙂
JMac - You’ve already PR’d 5k and 10k this year on less than 1000ytd. And you’ve got loads of time to increase mileage for NYC. If you don’t get injured then I can see you running a massive PR there. I’d love to run it again, but the overall trip is so expensive!
Weather - Congrats on the 5k race previous week! Your training has been so consistent and impressive!
Calbears - The Putin/Trump meeting in Helsinki seemed to go very well, don’t you think? 😜. #gottoreelcalbearsin
5k - 17:53 (4/19) 10k - 37:53 (11/18) Half - 1:23:18 (4/19) Full - 2:50:43 (4/19)
My garden lawn has turned orange even with me watering it every other day...and I’ve just heard that there’s going to be a hose ban from the beginning of August. Aaarrggh!!!!!!
For some reason, I read that as there will be a horse ban and thought "Wow those people across the pond really are strange if they use horses to water their lawn"
Mikkey: The broken up T intervals are actually what I prefer, and usually what I do as opposed to a solid block at T. I guess after just reading the Pfitzinger book I was in a block-tempo mindset. I'm planning to do some 2 mile reps tomorrow.
BTW, nice to have you back here and I like the bait you threw out for Calbears, I hope it works!
The temperature and humidity are supposed to be exquisite tomorrow morning here: 54 deg F and a dew point of 47!! I'll probably be shivering! Finally a break from the heat and humidity, though I think it will be short-lived.
2:52:16 (2018)
Hi all, sorry I've been slacking on posting, will try harder. Bunch of personal business and motivation issues, Berlin may not happen.
Andres - good to hear you've potentially got a lead on fixing long term body issues
Mikkey - So much UK heat. Although my NYC family are visiting at the moment and find it all totally laughable, thankfully I don't speak Fahrenheit so their jokes mean nothing to me.
Upcoming; 14th Sep Scottish veterans XC trials, 289th Sep Great Scottish Run 1/2, 12th October TAMA half marathon, 27th October Leeds Abbey dash 10k
Finbad - Good to see you. I saw you were missing from Strava too. I hope all is okay.
JT - I saw you did a nice 3x2 workout this morning. I may have asked this before and forgotten the answer, but do you eat before your quality runs? I can't imagine doing something like 3x2T on no food. Then again, I can't imagine waking up at 5 am to eat so that it has time to digest.
JMac: I just have a cup of black coffee and some water + gatorade before quality workouts. For all the others it's just the coffee and water. Then I eat breakfast right after the run is done. I want to get going as soon as I can, and I'm used to running first and eating afterwards. For me the key is coffee as soon as I wake up! But I do think a bit of gatorade helps for the Q runs.
Hi everyone, I'd like to join the group. I'm just beginning a training cycle for my first sub 3 attempt in November. My training has been pretty spotty lately so I'm hoping that participating here will make me a bit more accountable.
As background I am a 45 year old male in Georgia. I've run 6 marathons over the last few years with my fastest being my most recent - 3:04 in November, 2017. I was feeling a little burned out on marathons after that so tried a 50k in the spring. At this point my focus is on sub 3 but the summer heat and humidity in the deep south is really making me question whether it is in the cards for me. I do most of my runs very early in the morning to try to beat the heat and not interfere too much with family & job obligations. I am following a modified Pfitz plan that is sort of a mix between the 18-70 and 18-85 plans. I am also planning to add some strength training and more consistent yoga and stretching.
I'm looking forward to learning more from you all in the hopes I can improve before age has my times going the opposite direction. Also, my name is a nickname my daughter gave me because I'm "big, a guy, and skinny".
JT - That sounds good. I've never done anything except a recovery run that early in the morning as I have a lot of trouble waking up even at 7:30 for work.
BGS - Welcome! We always love having new people. Regarding your heat and humidity comment, your conclusion should be the opposite! Although we bitch and moan about the weather all the time on these forums, I secretly love training in it. There's a lot of evidence that doing your workouts in that type of weather is more beneficial than someone who trains in temperate climates, even if your paces suffer during workouts because of it. That's why they call heat a poor man's altitude. Weatherboy, who is on this thread, trains in Florida all summer long! Me and JT are in the northeast and have been dealing with these dew points over 70 for most of July.
BGS: Welcome! If you ran a 3:04 last November, you have a good chance to break 3 this fall. I was in a similar situation; I ran a 3:06 PR in Oct 2015, then my next race in Oct 2016 I broke 3. What race are you doing? Is it the same one you ran the 3:04 on? Will the weather likely be cool for it? I agree with JMac about the heat training being good if you eventually run your goal race in cooler temps. It must be really rough down in Georgia. You will be able to commiserate with Weatherboy about the southern climate.
Finbad - Sorry to hear about the issues and hope you can still make Berlin. 👍
BGS - Welcome to the thread, you’re very close to Sub3 and have plenty of time if your race is in Nov and it’ll be cooler!
My week..
Mon - 18 @ 7:39
Tue - 8.5 @ 8:36 (trail)
Wed - 12 @ 6:57 (treadmill w/4x2 miles at 15km/h - 1 mile easy rec at 12km/h)
Fri - 11 @ 6:52 (treadmill progression from 12 to 16km/h)
Sun - 7.5 @ 8:28
Total - 57
Another hot week forecast for South England with temps hitting 26c. My half on Sunday will probably be 20c at the start but I’m not too bothered about a goal time and hoping to even or negative split for once. And my new running style will be a speeded up version of a super model strutting down the catwalk. Can’t wait!
Mikkey: Thanks for the comments about my 5K! Agree with the mindset of the T intervals. Think these are some of my favorites as well. Nice looking week and progression run. Good luck in your upcoming race.
Fin: Hope things come around soon.
JT: Pretty similar to my thoughts before a quality run (or most runs for that matter). It's simple black coffee and then some water. Some days I'll do a kind bar or something similar which is pretty light anyways.
BGS: Welcome! JT and JMAC are spot on - sounds like you are running in very similar conditions to what I deal with all summer long Don't worry too much about the pace right now, even on your quality days. Not sure I can say I love training in it all the time, but you get somewhat used to it. There will be some benefit come the cooler months! Just need to time that race just right!
Me: Another pretty solid base week with 81 miles in 6 days with only quality tempo day in there. Even broke the tempo into a light 4 X 1 session of cruise intervals with about 90s of rest in between due to the heat. Last one was definitely a bit fast, but that's okay Took my first true rest day in about 90 days (since Boston) on Sunday so the daily streak comes to an end. Will do me a bit of good anyways.
Weekly Summary Monday, Jul 16, 2018 thru Sunday, Jul 22, 2018
1mile: 4:46 (12/20) | 5K: 15:57 (3/21) | 10K: 33:40 (4/20) | 15K 51:43 (4/21) | HM: 1:15:03 (12/20) | FM: 2:40:30 (1/20)
BGS -- Welcome! I am also new to this thread. Like you, I have not yet gone sub-3, but hoping to do so this fall. I'm also following a Pfitz plan that is somewhere between the 18/70 and 18/85 plans, and my PR is pretty close to yours. Happy to share notes along the way.
Mikkey -- " ... my new running style will be a speeded up version of a super model strutting down the catwalk." Please post a link to the video of this!
JT/JMac -- No fuel for me before or during a run, even on workout days. Weekday runs start around 5:00 am, so it would be hard to eat much of anything before that anyways. I'm also of the belief that by not fueling, I'm training my body to burn fat more efficiently, or something like that. I bring gels on long runs, in case I really need something to keep me going, but I didn't need it on a 20-miler yesterday morning.
Me -- After complaining about heat, humidity, and horse flies last week, things got real nice here. Which is too bad, in a way, since I think training in the heat and humidity really do provide training benefits that are reaped once the weather cools off. I believe the hot humid weather will return in another week or so, as will the horse flies. On a somewhat related note, I found a large wood tick crawling on the back of my neck this morning. It looked well fed. I will be itching and scratching and generally creeped out the rest of the day.
Thanks for the welcomes and feedback on weather. I'm encouraged to hear there is hope yet as I've been feeling pretty discouraged about my chances of sub 3 lately. Yesterday was supposed to be 17 with 8 at MP and it was a massive fail. I know weather plays a role but there is obviously more than that so hopefully a few months of solid training will help. I"m also making an effort to slow down my easy days since I have a tendency to want to run everything in the mid to high 7s.
As to the questions on my race, it is the Chickamauga Battlefield marathon and it is the same one I ran the 3:04 on. Weather should be good for it but then again you never know in Georgia.
Not sure where you get the format for your weekly totals (would be easier to cut and paste) but here is my last week:
M: 16.06 @ 8:05
T: 6.32 @ 8:06
W: 12.02 @ 7:39
T: 5.11 @ 8:17
F: 9.05 @ 7:30
S: 5.13 @ 8:19
S: 17.08 @ 7:27
Total: 70.77