Low HR Training

"Race Report & Upcoming Races" Thread (Read 7775 times)


Master of Inconsistency

    Jimmy , Congrats on your award and a very intelligently run race. Thanks for sharing your experience with us, Greg

    Ain't  Wastin' Time No More !

      Nice races Jesse, Jimmy & streeetch. Jesse- hope you have a great trail marathon Sunday. My wife has her first test race coming up soon as well- her first race since last October and first since becoming an aerobic machine.


      run-easy-race-hard

        Nice races Jesse, Jimmy & streeetch. Jesse- hope you have a great trail marathon Sunday. My wife has her first test race coming up soon as well- her first race since last October and first since becoming an aerobic machine.
        Unfortunately I went to sign for the B&A trail marathon (which is not really a trail marathon - it's just a marathon on the B&A trail, which is a mostly-flat asphalt bike path) a week or so ago and it was full, which has never happened before. I am considering a local trail 50k on Saturday, though, if I can fit the family constraints.
        Pammie


          5km - Hyde Park (London) Conditions cold and Windy Finished in 25:39 avg HR 162 Max 174 splits 5:03 149HR 5:10 165 5:14 166 5:13 167 4:58 167 Average Heart rate a little lower than normal but quicker Not run this quick for 5km since 2006 About 81% HRR I have a few questions about that but will start another thread


          run-easy-race-hard

            Race report: Seneca Greenway Trail 50k (sorry, this a bit random and discombobulated) Highly regretting my missing the boat on signing up for the B&A trail marathon, I decided yesterday to sprinkle this race in. Can't really beat it for $20 and the ability to sign up on race morning! Ultras are almost always a good deal, but this one really takes the cake. There is a "marathon" option and a "50k" option, both of which are known to be approximate distances, the marathon being more like 27.5 miles and the 50k being probably around 31.5 miles (not too far off). I thought of this race as just a bit beyond a fatass race, so I planned to push it just a touch, but try to stay far enough below the pain bar. The race being 95% dirt trail, I had expected lots of mud with some of the recent rain storms. I thought considering all, the course was in great shape with muddy areas, but pretty much all runnable. It was quite cool at the start with temps not too bad, but a very cold, brisk wind. I rode down with Melissa, who was doing the "marathon" option because she's doing B&A trail marathon tomorrow - her first double! Hence, she was taking things very conservatively. This is a point to point race, so you park near the finish at Seneca Creek and you take a bus to the start in Damascus, about a 20 minute ride. We ran into my friend Martin at the start, who is clearly now fully infected with the ultra bug. You must be prepared for this race - there are no mile markers and no cups at aid stations. I carried one 20 oz bottle, which was sufficient, filling up with ultima generally, until the 2nd to last aid station, which had gatorade endurance. I'm fine with either, but ultima has almost no calories so you need to factor that in. I didn't eat much during the race, but I did snack on a PB&J quarter, a few handfuls of cheez-its and potato chips, and some other crackers. One aid station had Coke which is my favorite ultra drink, so that was probably the bulk of my calorie intake! The race started at 8, with a good downhill segment covering 95% of the asphalt that makes up the course. After that we jumped on the trails, which were your typical trails with ups, downs, roots, rocks, and a few stream crossings. Frequently, you were running along the river, which made for some nice views. I felt fairly well through the race, taking things very conservatively, just wanting to make sure I felt good at the end. At roughly mile 14 or 15, you come to an aid station where for 50k, you add a roughly 4 mile loop, or for the marathon, you continue on. So I started the loop, which had some pleasant new scenery and more riverside running. However, it also had many roots, bringing back memories of Rocky Raccoon a few weeks ago! About 1/2 mile into the loop, I missed one of the guiding streamers and headed onto the wrong path. After 1/4 - 1/2 mile, I was dumped out onto a parking lot, wondering where to go. I finally saw a streamer onto one of the trails and headed in that direction. About 10 minutes later I found myself on a path that looked very familiar, like the one I had come out on at the beginning of the loop. Shortly thereafter, I came upon a pair of runners going in the other direction. Not having seen anyone coming in the opposite direction on my way out, I came to the conclusion that I had added a loop by missing a turn. I turned around and followed the two runners, this time noting the streamer I had missed the first time through and heading on the proper trail. Ok, I'm back on track now and I slowly but surely pick off the 10 or so runners that I was ahead of before the loop. Well, for me it ain't an ultra if I don't get lost or add distance somewhere. At least it's only a 50k! I finished the loop coming back upon the aid station, thankful not to have been thrown off too much. At this point, I came upon Martin, who was doing very well, moving along, apparently with plenty of time in the bank to choose the 50k option. After this point, you begin to approach the marathoners, so from here on, it was just a matter of passing folks on the single track. Around mile 26 or so, I came upon the "peepmania" aid station, where the main course was peeps (the little marshmallow kind). You knew this was coming because for the 2 or 3 miles before, there were a number of signs with a peep theme. At this aid station, I avoided the peeps, but loaded up with Coke and some chips. The aid station crew told me it was about 10k to go. I was happy to know a distance and I then started to watch my GPS and count the miles down. With about 4 miles to go, I came across Melissa, who was doing just fine and I ran with her a bit. She wasn't happy with her race, but, really she had to be conservative for tomorrow. I went on my merry way because it was now time to have this race end. I've had enough. I had picked up the pace a bit to minimize the rest of the time I would have to spend out there. With about 3 miles to go, I came upon the 3rd place woman, who was doing quite well, but not interested in pushing the pace. She stayed close behind because she finished not too long behind me. I counted down the miles from the aid station and just longed for that one mile to go point. It happens to be where you leave the trail and head out on a dirt road where everyone was parked. This road lasts forever. You just keep going with no sign of the finish, just wondering if you're going in the right direction. My only solace was my GPS which was still within the 10k "promised" to me. Sure enough, the finish line appeared, 6.23 miles from that aid station! I was none too disappointed to be done with the race! 5:11 - certainly not my best 50k time, but nonetheless a decent day. Lots of good food afterwards, and even a hat! Then to follow that, they drove us the mile back to the car! Never had so much for $20. I would certainly do this one again. Oh yeah, for those desiring the GPS/HR data, here it is (GPS crapped out for about 40 minutes so the total distance is short, but it's mostly there): http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/5073945
            BeeRunB


              great report, Jesse. Enjoyed it. What you got against Peeps? Keep going, man. You're doing awesome things as usual. --Jimmy


              run-easy-race-hard

                great report, Jesse. Enjoyed it. What you got against Peeps? Keep going, man. You're doing awesome things as usual. --Jimmy
                Nuthin' against peeps at all. But now that my stomach works in ultras, I don't want to mess with it! Just like I love peanut butter cups (I eat them in 1000 calorie batches). But I'll never touch 'em during the race even though they're out at a lot of ultras!


                Half Fanatic #846

                  Snickers HM - Mar. 1, Albany, GA I did 12 weeks of LHR training, and the Tallahassee HM (my first) at week 8 back on Feb. 3 as sort of a slow progression run in 2:35, which set my LHR training back 2 weeks. So, I decided to go for time and to "test the waters" at the Snickers HM after about 12 weeks (I was afraid to go all out for fear of either " bonking", or injury - especially since I've done no speed work in the last few months). My goal time was a very conservative 2:24 - I figured 11 min. faster than Tallahassee should be doable enough. Chip time was 2:14:06, (21 min. faster) which gives me hope for a sub-2 hrs. in Oct. I was very pleased at this percieved 80-85% effort - I still have to learn how to push it to the max without overdoing it - pacing myself properly. I was a little stiff & sore for 48 hrs. but OK now, after walking 1 mile and running a 2 mile recovery this morning. My Timex GPS was broken, so all I had was the lap timer and a HRM. AsI recall, HR was 140s the first 5 miles, 150s for about 4 miles, then 160s for 3 miles, and 170s at the end - from MAF+16 to MAF+51 (MHR=180). Mile 4-9 splits were all within 17 seconds of one another, and miles 12-13 were faster than I realized. I've never even done an 8:55 mile in any race before (yeah, I'm slow), but to do it after "racing" for 12 miles kinda shocked me. Must've been that aerobic endurance I've been working on! Well, I'm going back to LHR training for a few more weeks or months. I don't have another scheduled race till fall - another HM. I think LHR training will pay even bigger dividends later! (More race details in my log). My splits were: 1-10:32 2-10:21 3-09:52 4-10:13 5-10:12 6-10:21 7-10:21 8-10:01 9-10:18 10-10:31 11-10:26 12-09:59 13-08:55 .1-00:50 2:14:06 Bill

                  "I don't always roll a joint, but when I do, it's usually my ankle" - unk.         "Frankly autocorrect, I'm getting a bit tired of your shirt".                  I ran half my last race on my left foot!                                  

                    Hey Bill, Nice job. Just take your time. If you have the patience, you will improve gradually without really trying. I have found lots of runners who run PR's after 8-10 years of running. I won't tell you what happens after over 3 decades of running. Wink Are you going to run Springtime Tallahassee 10K? I plan on "fun running" it. I am still basking in my BQ effort from 2/3/08. Again, super job. Nick


                    Half Fanatic #846

                      Thanks Nick! I had planned to run that 10K before LHR training, but I'll probably stay strictly at MAF for awhile now - I'm really undecided Undecided. It's supposed to be a fairly tough course (for Florida) with some major hills. One of these days we'll meet up at a local race! Cool Bill

                      "I don't always roll a joint, but when I do, it's usually my ankle" - unk.         "Frankly autocorrect, I'm getting a bit tired of your shirt".                  I ran half my last race on my left foot!                                  


                      run-easy-race-hard

                        nice job, havanrnr! Great to see such good results. After some trial and error, you'll learn how to pace yourself.


                        run-easy-race-hard

                          New marathon PR today! RR: Lower Potomac River Marathon - 2008 This would be my third year doing this marathon, it's down in Piney Point at the same time my son is doing the St. Mary's MD junior all-star swim meet (or whatever it's called), so I can make a double whammy out of it. Fortunately, the marathon is in the morning and his events are in the afternoon. I did more of a taper than usual this time - last week, I took it easy in the 50k on Saturday, then did 18 miles on Sunday and I did my usual mileage for the week. However, I did keep it short yesterday and only ran 12 1/2 miles, so for me this was a taper. (Including the marathon, I did end up with 77 mile for the week). My runs have been going well for the last week, but this year, I still haven't really felt like I had regained my fitness since my time off last December. I was thinking that I was fading a bit. Nonetheless, I had hoped to at least better my time from last year in this race (3:15:59), which appeared to be a tall order based on my other recent races. As many know, while I might have times I'd like to hit, I don't run by pace, I run by effort and whatever's there is there, no more, no less. With all of the miserable rain and wind yesterday, it was looking like we might be in for kind of a messy race. The day before, I made the two hour drive in miserable weather down to St Mary's, straight to my son's swim meet. After the drive, it's time to sit around in the boiling hot, muggy pool area for about 5 hours. Not very relaxing. Had two bacon cheeseburgers for lunch for the ultimate pre-marathon food. After the meet, it was pizza buffet, which I over-indulged in. With the time change in the morning, it would be an early start to get to the race enough before the 7:15 start time. It was about 33 at the start, but very windy. I decided I would go out at a conservative effort today, targeting lower than my "prime" marathon heart rate and see if I can settle in nicely. Hence it would be somewhere in the 150s for the first mile and low 160s for a while. First three miles were, 6:51, 6;54, and 6:49, consistent with the heart rate target. I continued as such in the 6s through about 7:05 through mile 7. Mile 8 was a painful experience as it was the most direct headwind in the race. Not only did it take a lot out of me, but I had slow down a good bit to keep my HR down and it broke down my gait so that it was difficult to regain my step. I thought it lasted forever, but I still finished this mile in 7:24. More winds in mile 9, but not as bad, but I decided to adjust to a higher HR at this point, between 168 and 170. Miles 9-12 were 7:16, 6:49, 6:51, and 6:55, keeping me just off of a 7 min/mile pace. It occurred to me at this point that the course sports drink was ultima, which has almost no calories and I don't take gels, so it would be interesting to see if I had enough fat burning efficiency to make it through a marathon at this pace without taking in carbs. I crossed the halfway point at 1:32-something, which I was quite happy with, still able to keep my pace in the very low 7s. Other things I was considering at this point was that I recall that this course is a bit long, I'd guess by over a 1/4 mile and that my GPS always craps out late in this race (nowadays, I think it craps out sometime in every race!) I did not want the same thing to happen to me again where it craps out and I basically quit, without the feedback from the hard running. Around mile 15, one guy passed me who was looking very strong. No concern because I was still happy with my pace. At mile 16, I started slowly passing a few folks here and there. At mile 18, I was passed by one of my fellow ultrarunners who is way faster than I am, so it was no discouragement for me. I continued to pick off the other folks, many of which had burned out by trying to maintain their pace through the earlier nasty headwinds. They were dropping like flies. When I passed my friend Melissa going in the opposite direction, she yelled at me "you're eight" (which took me a few minutes to figure out what she meant). At mile 23, I overcame one of the guys that had passed me earlier - he said he was having big stomach problems and he had moved into a slow walk. This is where my GPS died. I told myself, "don't slow down - keep your heart rate up" and just kept pushing. While it was tough holding this pace, I still felt good and at mile 23 if you're feeling good, you can expect to stay good until the end. I kept one fact in mind which I've noted the past couple of years of doing this race - the last 1.2 miles is really over 1.3 miles, probably even 1.4, so that needs to be factored into any goals. With about 1.5 to go, I decided to take on a bit more pain because I know I was well ahead of my previous time and on path for a solid PR. I came in at 3:08:34 in some pretty crappy conditions, so I was quite happy about that - over a minute PR, sealing away my Boston qual for next year. 7th place overall (my best yet) and 1st in age group (first time for that). Here's the GPS/heart rate map (while GPS was alive) for the geeks: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/5130941
                          BeeRunB


                            Jesse, That was a great read. Great race. Congratulations on the 1st place. Thanks for posting. You always make me laugh in a Karno-eating-a-whole-cheesecake-at-mile-165-sort of way. I think you could have gone faster if you would have tapered for 12.25 miles the day before, instead of 12.5. You have to learn to do it right! Thanks for leading the way in the no-carb during a marathon experiment. Keep going! --Jimmy
                            Shiksa


                              Great race report Jesse! You are a great example (except for your junkfood eating. Clowning around)

                              Stacy
                              I make no apologies for my liberal use of smiley icons. http://www.BlakeHillHouse.com

                                Nice RR's Havanarnr and FF! Jesse, you are still using your 305....is the battery dying prematurely, or just losing signal and getting "bad" data?