Low HR Training

"Expose Your Slow Twitchers" Daily Maffetone and/or Low-HR Training Reports (Read 23291 times)

MarkS2


    I ran the St. George Marathon on Saturday with what I was told was over 7000 runners.  Beautiful course for those of you who haven't ran it.  It was very well organized.  Bon fires at the start.  17 aid stations perfectly laid out and manned.  Scenery was unbelievable.  Volunteers were super on the ball and friendly.

     

    Official Time:  2:52:44

    Pace:  6:35 per mile

     

    I finished very strong.  Here was my last 10K mile splits:

     

    Mile 20 - 6:32

    Mile 21 - 6:13

    Mile 22 - 6:35

    Mile 23 - 6:26

    Mile 24 - 6:17

    Mile 25 - 6:24

    Mile 26 - 6:27

    Mile 26.2 (pace) - 6:11

     

    Yay!!!!

     

    Congratulations!  Great run!!  Speedy recovery...

    Docket_Rocket


      RR:

      I ran the Chicago Marathon this weekend (once again!) and had a lot of fun.  It was a hot race, as Chicago has been famous lately for, but I was still able to improve on my post knee surgery times and inching closer to my old times little by little.  Managed 4:58:51, an 11 minute post surgery "PR" and closer to my best times of 4:34, which I have not been even able to see in 2+ years.  I really didn't expect to see a 4 until later this year, if at all, so I was really happy to have managed to break 5 hours once again.

       

      As every year in the last five (5) years, I ran one of my favorite races in my favorite city.  The Chicago Marathon is an amazing race and I noticed that from the first time I ran the course (I DNFd that year) and every year since.  I am going for legacy status so that I can get guaranteed entry and I am one year short of it, so I hope to complete it next year (hoping they don't change the rules, ha).

       

      For those that don't know this, an asshole hit my car in late December which resulted in a meniscus tear on my knee and arthroscopic knee surgery on January 31, 2017.  I was running 20 days after that and finished PT in due course.  Ran two marathons after surgery (Ottawa and RnR Seattle) and then managed to get my patella out of place at Orange Theory doing a 12 minute distance "challenge" Smile  Serves me right for thinking "I got this!", LOL.  I started PT right after that and, with 3 weeks until Iceland, I had basically the deepest taper in known existence.  Finished the marathon well and managed a 21 minute improvement post surgery, so hey, it worked!

       

      Since then, between PT, Orange Theory, and training, the knee has been feeling good and I felt in my heart that I had a sub-5 hour in me already, but didn't know if I could pull it off at Chicago, the race I always do badly at.  It's always a race where I put a lot of goals into it and fail each and every one. So, this time, I decided to just not care about the result.  After all, I have another marathon next week, so worrying about a goal for Chicago would be stupid, right?  Went into the race not really caring about the time, so long as I finish.

       

      We arrived in Chicago on Saturday around noon and had lunch at our favorite brunch place, Yolk, followed by the expo.  It was raining and super windy, not good weather to run a marathon, so glad the marathon wasn't that day.  Sunday would be warm but sunny and hopefully, not windy.  We got to the hotel after 6pm and managed dinner at Carmine's, one of our favorite spots in Chicago at 8:30pm and was in bed by 11pm, my normal bedtime.

       

      Carbo Loading:

       

       

       

      We were staying at the Congress, a hotel I love with the exception that at 5:22am on the dot, the loud speakers for the race started (last year they were loud and wouldn't let me sleep) but this year they were low.  Managed to sleep on and off until 6:30am and got ready.

       

      I had brought my normal pre-marathon breakfast of two Krispy Kreme donuts and a Mtn Dew from Miami.  For someone that barely eats any carbs, the sugar rush is always nice!  Met with my friend and fellow INKnBURN Alumni, Andrea, got our picture taken,

       

       

       

      and headed into the corrals at around 7:30am.  I was in the second wave, starting at 8am.

       

       

       

      The pics are not all in but based on the ones I've gotten so far, I think I'm going to purchase them.  Here is one of mine from the corrals:

       

       

       

      I normally hear the first wave go out but this year, they had a lot more security and different corral placings (the extra security was added after the Las Vegas mass shooting), so I heard only music unrelated to the first wave.  Talked to some people in my corral for a bit and finished my breakfast.  We started on time and I started around 8:13am or so.

       

      Miles 1-13.1

      Since I have the Detroit Marathon next week, my plan was to run/walk this race at an easy pace.  And of course, I did the opposite, ha.  The pace felt really easy and my knee felt amazing, so I continued.  I knew the race was getting warm quickly and I wanted to run as much distance as possible before the sun started to kill me.  I had a successful first half (haha, famous last words) and maintained a pace around 10:30mm crossing the HM point in 2:19 or thereabouts.  Texted my husband on a walk break that I was past the halfway point (last year I texted him at 10-11 and told him I felt like shit and wanted to quit, so I thought telling him I was doing fine was helpful Smile ) and he texted back, thought you were taking it slow?  Oops.

       

      Miles 13.2 - 18

      The second half takes us out of downtown and where there is no shade.  I was doing fine until Mile 15 or 16 where I got my first calf cramp.  I had been dealing with some calf cramps and calf tightness ever since Iceland and I had not been able to find out why.  I got some cramps during the Reykjavik Marathon but not as bad as today.  I had kept with my gels (every 4.5 miles) and took Gatorade and water at every water station, so it wasn't an issue with nutrition. It was also not an issue with pacing, since I ran Iceland super easy and still got them.  It's just something I need to figure out why it's happening in some runs of 5, 10, 15, and 26.2 miles without reason.

       

      Here is the view of the amount of shade we had during this part of the course.

       

       

      Man, I'm not short but this woman makes me feel like I am. Smile

       

       

      Miles 19-26.2

      I fixed my shoe hoping it would help the cramping/tightness and continued on.  The second time I got the calf cramp on the other leg was at Mile 21 in front of Chinatown and in front of the photographer.  I bet you that picture opportunity will turn out amazing. LOL.

       

      I had to stop to stretch right there and then figured running would loosen it up faster and it did.  Continued on until Mile 23 where the guy in front of me was running while asleep (best way to describe it).  The guy probably had heat exhaustion, if not worse.  He kept tripping on the sidewalk, his head was to the side, and he was running like a drunk.  I asked if he was OK and forced him to stop and sit down where there was some shade.  Crossed to the aid station and requested medical to find him.  I didn't wait for them to get there but the guy told me he would not move from there, so I continued on.  I hope he didn't because he was close to passing out when I grabbed him.

       

      It was hot!  I texted my husband on another walk break and told him about the cramps and he said, it's hot AF.  We're from Miami, so this is not considered hot where we come from but it was hot for running a marathon for sure.  I wouldn't even run a marathon in this crap; wait, I just did, ha.  It was sunny, it was hot, people were dropping like flies.  Above my music, I could hear the constant wailing of the ambulances driving near us all through the race.  Every time I saw a medical car they had someone on it.  People were laying on the side of the road like crazy.  I felt fine, but I was so slow in the last 5 miles, I thought I would never get to the Willis Tower, LOL.  It looked so far at Mile 24!

       

      Somewhere around here, I look to the left and I looked at my friend and former coach Walter, on the side.  Managed to whisper his name and he saw me.  Gave me the biggest hug in the world and asked me how I was doing. Told him that I was fine, even though I started out too fast and had calf cramps and rambled some more until I continued running and left him talking by himself, LOL.  Marathon brain at its finest!  Sorry!

       

      Anyway, I continued with the run/walk ratio I started with but, of course, the walks got slower, and the runs too, so the drop in pace was brutal.  I lost close to 20 minutes on the second half. I am sure I started out too fast, but I felt fine other than it was hot and I felt the sun was draining my chi.

       

      The water stations got harder to manage.  People were there taking 3-4 cups, throwing water over their heads, walking in tandem. It took a while to get a cup and continue. You could see it was hot for sure.  I was taking two cups myself, one for drinking, one for throwing over my head.

       

      As I got to Mile 25, I texted my husband I had one mile to go and when I passed the sign that says One mile to go, I dropped the walks. I ran straight through. I knew I had to run the last hill or I would lose the sub-5.  I was so tired at this point and wanted to walk the last two walk breaks but pushed on.  Didn't want to run the hill but I did.  How much do you want the sub-5 again, eh?  Lots!  Then run, bitch, run!  LOL.

       

      As I am heading through the chute and listening to everybody's name (missed mine or mine was not mentioned), at Mile 26.18, I got a calf cramp from hell.  The finish line was right there, damn it!  I couldn't even move my knee so I ran the last 0.02 with a straight leg. I bet the finish line pictures will be awesome too. LOL.

       

      I finished in 4:58:51, I had done it!  It's been two years since I was able to break 5 hours, between my blood pressure scare and meds and my knee surgery, so it was awesome to see that time especially on a hot day.  As I stopped at the finish line, I couldn't move an inch.  Two medics came to me and asked if I needed help.  Told them no, just a cramp, and started moving slowly.  Two more volunteers asked me the same as I headed down the medals.  Apparently, I looked beat, ha.

       

      And when I got to the medals, the first person handing them was none other than Deena Kastor.  OMG!  She was so complementary to the finishers, so happy to be there and witnessing people achieving goals!  She truly is very nice. And of course, I gushed and got a picture. Smile

       

       

      What a way to end a great day!

      Damaris

       

      As part of the 2024 London Marathon, I am fundraising for VICTA, a charity that helps blind and visually impaired children. My mentor while in law school, Jim K (a blind attorney), has been a huge inspiration and an example of courage and perseverance. Please consider donating.

      Fundraising Page

      SD_BlackHills


        Awesome, great job Docket!!!  

         

        That's an unbelievable story.  Thanks for all the detail, it felt like I was there and experiencing it for myself.  This is why we do it!  I love your carbo loading method and pre-race nutrition by the way.  Very similar to mine!

         

        You are truly a very strong runner and I'm really happy to hear about your recovery.  Two marathons in two weekends.  That's awesome!!!  Not many people can claim that achievement.

         

        I really wish more people would do post-race posts like this.

        Docket_Rocket


          Thanks!!

          Damaris

           

          As part of the 2024 London Marathon, I am fundraising for VICTA, a charity that helps blind and visually impaired children. My mentor while in law school, Jim K (a blind attorney), has been a huge inspiration and an example of courage and perseverance. Please consider donating.

          Fundraising Page

          runnerclay


          Consistently Slow

            Damaris Congratulations on a great race.

            Run until the trail runs out.

             SCHEDULE 2016--

             The pain that hurts the worse is the imagined pain. One of the most difficult arts of racing is learning to ignore the imagined pain and just live with the present pain (which is always bearable.) - Jeff

            unsolicited chatter

            http://bkclay.blogspot.com/

            Docket_Rocket


              Morning!  Ran the Detroit Marathon this weekend!  They almost canceled due to lightning and thunderstorms but it was a nice day, albeit windy AF.  I ran the first half with hubby and the second one a bit faster, so very happy.  I'll post the RR later. Smile

              Damaris

               

              As part of the 2024 London Marathon, I am fundraising for VICTA, a charity that helps blind and visually impaired children. My mentor while in law school, Jim K (a blind attorney), has been a huge inspiration and an example of courage and perseverance. Please consider donating.

              Fundraising Page

              Bert-o


              I lost my rama

                Docket - Awesome Job... and you truly are a bad ass for that back-to-back performance in Chicago and Detroit! 

                3/17 - NYC Half

                4/28 - Big Sur Marathon  DNS

                6/29 - Forbidden Forest 30 Hour

                8/29 - A Race for the Ages - will be given 47 hours

                SD_BlackHills


                  Morning!  Ran the Detroit Marathon this weekend!  They almost canceled due to lightning and thunderstorms but it was a nice day, albeit windy AF.  I ran the first half with hubby and the second one a bit faster, so very happy.  I'll post the RR later. Smile

                   

                  Running machine!!!!

                  BeeRunB


                    SD, congrats on the 2:52 at St. George. Awesome performance. You finished strongly. 

                     

                    Damaris, excellent report as usual. Congrats on breaking 5 hours! Even though the weather is warm for a marathon, I'm sure your Miami body has an extra edge in tolerating it. You were saving the heat casualties!  Keep going! 

                     

                     

                     

                    MAF test last night. Making some progress.

                    Docket_Rocket


                      Haha.  That's me!!!

                       

                      Will write an RR at some point this week.  So busy at work it's not funny.  My dad arrives here from PR on a one way ticket and I'm happy for him.  4 miles for me tonight.

                      Damaris

                       

                      As part of the 2024 London Marathon, I am fundraising for VICTA, a charity that helps blind and visually impaired children. My mentor while in law school, Jim K (a blind attorney), has been a huge inspiration and an example of courage and perseverance. Please consider donating.

                      Fundraising Page

                      SD_BlackHills


                        Thanks, jimmyb.  As for your picture, that was literally my breakfast this morning.  2 glazed donuts!  Although, I substituted the Mt. Dew with chocolate milk. Mmmmmmm.

                        Docket_Rocket


                          On Sunday, I ran the Detroit Free Press International Marathon and boy what an experience.  It was frankly one of my favorite marathons.  What else can you say when a race takes you to Canada and back?  I really loved the race and would like to do the race again (the US Half Marathon course looks like fun, especially with all the beer on the course, as detailed below). Smile

                           

                          As I had just run the Chicago Marathon and at a time I wasn't even expecting, I knew going into this race that I had to race it easy.  It's been a few years since I've done two marathons in two weeks, and it won't be the last time I do this, but I'm not getting any younger, ha.

                           

                          Chicago left my calves VERY sore, especially since I had three calf cramps during the race.  Although I was given the chance to run on Tuesday, I was like hell no, and rested.  By Wednesday, the 6 miles I ran felt awesome.  I had to take a rest day on Thursday for other reasons, and I had to cut my run on Friday short due to time, but it was all good since the plan was to loosen the legs before Detroit, not tire them, right???

                           

                          We left super early on Saturday and were in Detroit by noon.  We had lunch, checked into our hotel, and headed to the expo.  We were staying across the river from Windsor, Canada, at the Marriott in the Renaissance Center, which is a nice complex by the riverwalk.  It was windy and rainy but we walked to the expo, which was less than 1/2 mile from the hotel.  Met a couple of friends and ladies from Sparkle Skirts, got our bibs, and headed back to the hotel.  But before we did, we notice our PR flag among the ones at the expo, so of course, picture time!

                           

                           

                           

                          By then it was almost 5pm and we were tired.  I had forgotten how hard it is to do back to back weekends, since you lose the weekend, head back to the office, work all week and away you go again.  I tried to nap but was not successful. Instead, I read an email from the race warning that it MIGHT be canceled due to the 70% chance of thunderstorms from 7am to 11am, which were the first 4 hours of the race.  Lovely.  A part of me was hoping they would cancel since I was tired, ha, but was hoping they would cancel before I wake up at 5:30am so I could sleep in. Priorities!

                           

                          Hubby and I met Lisa and her BF for dinner at a bar.  The food, the company, and the beers were great.

                           

                           

                           

                          We headed back to the hotel and tried to go to bed by 11pm, our normal.  I really didn't sleep much.  We woke up at 5:30am and got ready.  Grabbed my Krispy Kreme donuts, Mtn Dew and stuff and we headed out.

                           

                          My plan was to run the first half of the race with hubby, who was running the Detroit International Half Marathon, and that worked well.  I needed to take it easy especially at the start and hubby didn't go out at PR pace so he kept me centered until we parted ways at Mile 13.  Here is a picture of us near the start:

                           

                           

                          We headed to Corral G, and met my friend Nick there.  We chatted a bit until it was time to start.  For some reason, we ended up in the front of the G corral, sheesh!  We weren't when we stood there but I guess people kept moving and we ended up feeling like elite marathoners, lol.  I am sure everybody around us was faster than us...

                           

                           

                          And we were off!  We started heading towards the bridge to Canada in the dark.  The temp was 67F, 65 dewpoint and cloudy.  It really never rained during the race and it never thundered so we got lucky in that front.  I didn't bring my sunglasses because it was supposed to rain, but of course, the sun peeked out at Mile 11 for a while, grrrr.

                           

                          The sun was out when we headed to Canada through the bridge:

                           

                           

                          And Windsor was very pretty:

                           

                           

                          I was looking for my friend Lori that was spectating this year before the tunnel back into the states, and miraculously I managed to see her (I am famous for missing people spectating and looking for me, LOL).  She took a picture of me and we headed off to the US!

                           

                          The tunnel was a bit warm but nothing bad airwise.  Halfway through the tunnel, the two flags are there side by side and I tried to get a picture of them as we ran by:

                           

                           

                           

                           

                           

                          Good thing I don't make my money taking pictures because I suck at it...

                           

                          We came out into the US by our hotel, which was around Mile 8 and headed back towards the bridge again before heading to Mexican and Greektown and hubby's finish.  This is when the sun peeked out and I was regretting my lack of sunglasses but by the time I headed solo to run the second half, the sun had hid again, luckily.

                           

                          We parted ways at Mile 12.90 or so and I headed towards the second half, which is the same route as the Detroit US Half Marathon.  We both cross his finish and my 13.1 split around the same time, in around 2:35:XX.  I wanted to be at 2:30 or thereabouts, but 2:35 would do.  Then and there, I decided to speed up and see if I could negative split the race.  I did.

                           

                          The next few miles take us through some residential areas that were shady and had a Fall look. I love that since I don't see any Fall anything where I live. Smile

                           

                          When I got to Mile 17, I saw the first beer booth, so of course I took one. Then another booth, so I took another, then another booth, and another booth, etc.  SIX beer booths through the one mile stretch.  This is how all marathons should be like!  I didn't abuse my stomach so I only took three but the residents there were awesome.  I also heard they had Fireball shots somewhere in this mile but fortunately for me I didn't see them.

                           

                          Pretty soon, I was at Mile 19 and heading to Belle Isle.  It was here that I noticed how much the residential area had protected us from the brutal winds.  Wind forecasts were in the 20-30mph with gusts in the 40s.  This area was easily unprotected by anything and very windy.  But I pushed on.  The Belle Isle segment is around 2-3 miles around the island and this is where the winners of the US Half Marathon (who started 2.5 hours after us) passed me.  I felt slow, ha.

                           

                          By the time we left Belle Isle, it was Mile 23 or so.  I felt really good by then, although I had some 12mm miles when I fixed my sock or when I took too long of a walk break at the water stations. But I continued on and had no muscle cramps or anything like in Chicago.  I couldn't do the math well, but it looked like I had a 1-2 minute negative split already so long as I didn't dilly dally, so I pushed on.  I knew Iceland had been at around 5:09 and I really wanted to run faster than that.  But the wind was brutal, so every step I took felt like I was moving inches!

                           

                          Mile 25 had us almost there so I pushed on.  I see the sign where we have to turn to finish and my GPS had 26.65 already and the finish line looked like it was a mile away (only .30 from there, though).  I was 0.10 from the finish line when a gust of around 40mph hit us as a headwind.  We stopped, all of us.  We couldn't even move.  Some people moved sideways.  It was like WTF.  Debris falling over us, etc.  We tried to continue on and finish but we could only move a few inches and felt like we were outside during Hurricane Irma trying to run.  Finally, the gust went away and we were able to finish, but not before the wind wrecked my beautifully prepared ponytail, LOL.

                           

                          Before:

                           

                           

                           

                          After:

                           

                           

                          I definitely felt better than I looked at the finish line, LOL

                           

                          Final time was 5:08:44, and I felt like I could've run faster or even some more.  The race was super fun, the beer was excellent, and it's always a good day when you can run and feel strong the whole distance.

                           

                          Next up, Indy Monumental HM and Space Coast Marathon to finish the year!

                          Damaris

                           

                          As part of the 2024 London Marathon, I am fundraising for VICTA, a charity that helps blind and visually impaired children. My mentor while in law school, Jim K (a blind attorney), has been a huge inspiration and an example of courage and perseverance. Please consider donating.

                          Fundraising Page

                          BeeRunB


                            On Sunday, I ran the Detroit Free Press International Marathon and boy what an experience.  It was frankly one of my favorite marathons.  What else can you say when a race takes you to Canada and back?  I really loved the race and would like to do the race again (the US Half Marathon course looks like fun, especially with all the beer on the course, as detailed below). Smile

                             

                            As I had just run the Chicago Marathon and at a time I wasn't even expecting, I knew going into this race that I had to race it easy.  It's been a few years since I've done two marathons in two weeks, and it won't be the last time I do this, but I'm not getting any younger, ha.............................................................................

                             

                            Back-to-back. Nice job, Damaris. When I read that the race went into Canada and back, my first thought was "did they get hassled by US Customs coming back in?"  I imagined people getting stopped, their phones inspected, passports stamped, strip searches, and just plain old nastiness (which I experience 50% of the time coming back into the US from Canada, but never going into Canada (makes me feel ashamed of our country). Seems like someone could enter the US by pretending to be a runner on the way back in. Was there a border security presence at all?

                            Docket_Rocket


                               

                              Back-to-back. Nice job, Damaris. When I read that the race went into Canada and back, my first thought was "did they get hassled by US Customs coming back in?"  I imagined people getting stopped, their phones inspected, passports stamped, strip searches, and just plain old nastiness (which I experience 50% of the time coming back into the US from Canada, but never going into Canada (makes me feel ashamed of our country). Seems like someone could enter the US by pretending to be a runner on the way back in. Was there a border security presence at all?

                               

                              They run our names into both systems prior to the race and we are instructed to have the bibs out and visible and the passports with us.  Border security is present in both cases but watching.  They are also at the beginning of the crossing making sure only valid runners go through.

                               

                              And PS, I agree with your paragraph.  Sigh.

                              Damaris

                               

                              As part of the 2024 London Marathon, I am fundraising for VICTA, a charity that helps blind and visually impaired children. My mentor while in law school, Jim K (a blind attorney), has been a huge inspiration and an example of courage and perseverance. Please consider donating.

                              Fundraising Page

                              runnerclay


                              Consistently Slow

                                Congrats

                                 

                                They run our names into both systems prior to the race and we are instructed to have the bibs out and visible and the passports with us.  Border security is present in both cases but watching.  They are also at the beginning of the crossing making sure only valid runners go through.

                                 

                                And PS, I agree with your paragraph.  Sigh.

                                Run until the trail runs out.

                                 SCHEDULE 2016--

                                 The pain that hurts the worse is the imagined pain. One of the most difficult arts of racing is learning to ignore the imagined pain and just live with the present pain (which is always bearable.) - Jeff

                                unsolicited chatter

                                http://bkclay.blogspot.com/