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The end of the road (are we there yet?)
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Catching up as I've been away... fair play on your racing. I love reading your New York race reports, they are a window into a different world! How do you find the demands of a 5k/10k race in the middle of marathon training?
Well I'm currently in a break between marathon cycles (though I do have a eye on the next one!). I'm racing more than I want to (or is good for me) as I have been 'guilted' into racing to be a 'good' club member, to support a local inaugural race, because Mrs P wanted to run ..... I'm really trying to focus on the 10k distance (using Daniel's - if it works I might use some of his sessions in the next marathon cycle - nothing against P&D - just not sure I am getting the returns from my mileage and want to mix it up a bit) right now to get some zip back in the legs. The two 5k have been a bit of a kick in the pants !
In the back of my mind is the idea slipping back to Ireland at some point to do a few of the races I hear about on here.
Wednesday: 6 miles recovery, grass 8.45
Nice morning. Finally had to exit the playing field as some jerk had decided to practice his golf swing. I'm not entirely comfortable with with practice this when they are using short irons but this guy was out there swinging away with a bloody driver :eek:. He wins - need to find a new place to do my recovery runs.
Thursday: 10 miles w6@tempo. Pace: 7.30
Legs were surprisingly stiff this morning. The target was a 40 minute tempo run at about 6.40 pace.
Miles|1|2|3|4|5|6|
Pace (Target 6.40) | 6.44 | 6.50 | 6.39 | 6.35 | 6.49 | 6.39
Hummmm .... average is 6.43. Not too good. By the end of mile 2 I was thinking about packing the session in. In mile 3 a check of the watch suggested that I was back on track so I was encouraged to keep going but ...all in all an uneven effort. There was a breeze out that might have had an impact on some of the miles but only briefly was I heading directly into the wind. Conclusion: I have lots of work to do.
The news about Sarsfieldrock is tragic. I only met him very briefly in Barcelona - once at the Olympic stadium after the international run and after the race during a brief stop in the GP. Not really sure what to say here but it seems important to not let this go unnoticed. Condolences to his friends and family.0 -
Friday: 6 miles, reovery, grass, Pace: 8.38
Very nice morning nothing like ....
Saturday: 15 miles, Pace: 7.45
Got up to a wet, windy and cold morning. Mrs P tokk one look and returned to bed. Being a manly man, I threw on a jacket, and old pair of shoes and set off to get in a few warmup miles before the club run. At mile 2 the rain and wind picked up and it all got very wet and ugly. Having badly misjudged two puddles and I am running in saturated shoes. Join up with the four(!) people who've shown up we headed out for the ten mile club run. After mile one we are down to four total. It begins to dawn on me that these are three of our faster members. Looks like this will be a tough morning. I tucked on the back and settled in. The first four miles are a long climb and a steep descent to the water front. Turning onto the water front meant hitting a long flat stretch but it also meant turning into a head wind. The three other guys dropped the pace below 7m/m and took off. I quickly realized I was not going to be able to hang on and was soon scorched by the after burn as they vanished off in the distance. Now this was depressing. I caught up with them as a scheduled regrouping point and told them to ahead - don't worry about me. B**ds took me at my word and disappeared in the mist ! Finally made it back to the starting point soggy, cold and chafed. Never has a hot bath felt so good - apart from the chaffed bits ! Suprised at the average pace - felt like it had been much faster. Ugggh forgotten how much I dislike running in cold, wind and rain ...
Sunday 15 miles, Pace 7.40
Ok someone is taking the p*. Today the sun is out - it is 75f (26c) and humid :eek:. What did I say about cold. Ground out 15 miles - had to stop and buy Gatorade at mile 13 to be able to complete the trip home.
Both weekend runs were more difficult than they should have been. A stepback week might be on the cards.
Monday: 6 miles, recovery, pace 8.46,
Easy, easy was the order of the day.
My HRM is missing. Tried borrowing Mrs P HRM but it did not seem to work. I guess this makes sense - otherwise other HRMs could register reading on your watch in a race. Annying as I would be very interested in seeing HR readings right now. I will make a decision on the schedule of speed work this week (10*400m) based on how I am feeling. Right now I am finding sessions more difficult than I should so there is little ot be gained by forcing it.0 -
Tuesday: 9 miles 2wu + 10*400m + 1.5wd
Foggy morning. The opposite side of the river was obscured at during my warmup. By the time I began the track session people on the far end of the track had become slowly bobbing gray blobs.
10*400m with 400m reovery jog. Target time of 1.25 seconds
400m /400m recovery|1l2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|10
Time | 1.28 | 1.23 | 1.24 | 1.24 | 1.24 | 1.25 | 1.26 | 1.27 | 1.27 | 1.27
Pace | 5.22 | 4.57 | 4.54 | 4.53 | 5.12 | 4.54 | 5.20 | 5.04 | 5.12 | 5.25
HR Avg | 139 | 149 | 153 | 156 | 158 | 158 | 158 | 159 | 159 | 159
HR Max | 151 | 162 | 165 | 167 | 167 | 168 | 168 | 168 | 169 | 167
Well there is some drift towards the end but a satisfactory session. Better than my last effort at this workout - but conditions were much better this time (no wind). The HR readings (found my HRM) are curious. For working this hard they seem very low. On one hand I might think " great maybe I'm fitter" but I am not going any faster so there's not much comfort in that. Could it be that the legs are just tired ?
It seems I am about to loose the same nail for the the third time in the last 18 months. I rotate shoes religiously so I don't think the shoes are an issue .... but the consistency of this is beginning to concern me.0 -
Falling behind here,
Wednesday: Eliptical and swim. Running a bit of a sleep deficit this week so turned off the alarm and went back to bed. Was then struck by a guilt and did a short eliptical run and finally nipped out of work and tried out the pool in my new gym. Amazing how tough I found a breastrok length was .... and I think I'm fit ?? My swiming is laughable but I do enjoy it.
I slipped on wet grass and feel on Monday. Didn't think much of it at the time but there is a niggle there.
Thursday: 9 miles. 3 * 2miles tempo.
Well this really was tough. In fact I quit on this session after two of the three intervals and had to give myself a good talking to. I had managed to stop the watch instead of hit the lap button on start up and when I saw this motivation just flooded away, and I actually came to a stop for a few seconds until I came to my senses.
Strange - a few weeks ago I ran a decent 10k at about 6.27 pace. Now I am suffering on tempo intervals about the same pace ?
Looking at the HR data I think I may be sabotaging my hard sessions by being too leg-tired to get the HR up into at least the 170s.
Plan was 3 * 2miles at 6:32 mile pace with 120 seconds recovery
Intervals-> | | 1|2|3
Mile1 | Pace (6.32) | 6.24 | 6.24 | 6.32
| HR Avg | 152 | 159 | 159
| HR Max | 160 | 165 | 164
Mile2 | Pace (6.32) | 6.27 | 6.27 | 6.31
| HR Avg | 161 | 164 | 163
| HR Max | 163 | 167 | 168
Recovery | Time (120s) | 127 | 184|
Friday: 6 miles recovery, grass/wood. Pace: 8.44
Saturday: 17 miles (5+10+2), Pace: 7.56
Five miles solo with a few hills, the 10 mile club run, and back to a hill loop to round off. There were three lenghty breaks waiting for the oup to take off and regroup, and at the end where the local running store was having a shoe sale. Still a decent session.
Mrs P did not get into the NY marathon and has signed up for Philly two weeks later .... I am considering .... since I will go down anyway ..... just how stupid is this .... two weeks ?0 -
Sunday: 14 miles, Pace: 7.48
Wonderful day for a run. Spirit was willing ... legs were not so sure... so it became ( channeling Mrs Doyle ) "one more mile .... gawon .....just a little mile .... ah ...gowannnnn". Finally coaxed them into 14 miles.
Monday: 5 miles, Pace 8.48
Planned a nice relaxed short run as I had to hit a tailor to get my tuxedo taken in- Mrs P instructions. No problem ... eh ? Well I managed to go over on an ankle - the same one suffering the ill effects of my fall last Monday. Was able to continue on it after a short period of hopping around and some bad language. Iced it up for a while - fingers crossed. I'd cross the toes but the way things are going I'm likely to fall over again.
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"Hi, my name is pgmcpq and I'm a raceaholic"
So .... maybe this is not the time to mention that I have a 10k and 5m in the next two weekends? In fairness I am substituting the races in place of tempo sessions ... there is no tapering. It's tough to say no because right now we have ideal race conditions and it will soon be a lot tougher.
Philly two weeks after NY is a bit nuts but I fancy the idea of running (not racing) a marathon relatively easy with a loose time goal to see how it feels ... and like I said I will be travelling down anyway ...... Yes, I know I am rationalizing.
Wow ... did not realise I had let this log fall so far behind ....
Monday: 5 miles, recovery, Pace: 8.49
Took this one very very easy. Legs felt in need of some TLC. Unfortunately after about 4 very pleasent miles I went over on an ankle and while I was able to resume running after a few minutes I cut this session short.
Tuesday: 10 miles, w 4 *(200m+400m+800m)
Ok .. if it is Tuesday it must be track day.
Rep w/recovery | | Target| 1|2|3|4
200m w/200m | Time | 42 | 44 | 43 | 44 | 41
| Pace | | 5.06 | 5.30 | 5.17 | 5.25
400m w/400m | Time |1.25 | 1.26 | 1.24 | 1.27 | 1.26
| Pace | | 5.18 | 5.15 | 5.22 | 5.18
800m w/400m | Time |2.50 | 2.59 | 3.03 | 3.01 | 3.06
| Pace | | 5.27 | 5.32 | 5.32 | 5.23
Finally found the 800m target. 2.50 :eek: . Quite beyond me so I am not going to stress it. For some reason my last 800m went long so the 3.06 is not as bad as it looks. Still this is at least not better and probably worse than my last session. Daniels has me running longer distance reps on Phase 3 so I am going to focus on the 800m time.
Wednesday: 6 miles, recovery, Pace: 8.27
Ankle is still bothering me a little. Began on the grass of the playing fields. After mile 1 the heavens opened so I took the excuse to leave the grass to avoid any new mishaps picked the pace up !
Thursday: 9 miles, Pace 7.31
Was undecided what to do today. With a 10k Saturday I was not going to do a tempo session. I considered a track session but decided in the end for some MP paced miles ... but that did not quite come off either. Confirmed for me that rest day was required. I did get distracted by the return of the hawk - I spotted him soaring over a part of the park and coming into land. Impressive - my guess is it is a young adult as it seems to have grown substantially since I last saw him/her. It is amazing that the bird seems to live here - it is a decent size park with a recently restored wetlands area but it sandwiched between a river with a deep sea port on the opposite side and an elevated high way on another. Not really a "friendly" area for animals that don't usually coexist with humans.
Have started to slip out of work for a afternoon swim ( well by "swim" I mean use my feeble breststoke up and down the pool) a few days a week. Finding this really hard ! Certainly a new perspective on my fitness.0 -
I think you should forget about training and just run races all the time!
I think you'd manage the two just fine, just make sure you get some good recovery in after the first one - massage, swims whatever needed to avoid the legs turning into lead!0 -
Saturday: Newport 10k 40.16/40.10 Pace 6.28
Ideal conditions, and a pretty flat course after a bump early in mile 2. After a rest day Friday, I though this race would see the sub40 barrier fall and planned to keep a steady 6.25 pace and see what I had left at the finish. In fact by the end of mile 2 I was struggling and to be honest kinda mentally quit on the race for a while. I found a "rabbit" in the form of a woman ahead who seemed to be keeping to my proposed pace. Unfortunately she faded (or got fed up with my tailing her?) and dropped off only to roar back in mile 5 and finish about 7 seconds ahead of me. She turned and congratulated me and I thanked her for dragging me along. She replied "Well that's what we are here for" and headed off. I think it was meant well ... but not sure.
So what went wrong: Well let us look at the splits:
6.00, 6.16, 6.22, 6.28, 6.29, 6.33, 2.02 (6.16pace) giving 40.13 for a total length of 6.33miles.
I don't think I need offer any prizes for spotting the problem ! Funnily enough I was pretty happy with my starting position - normally I am not aggressive enough but this time I staked my claim early. In the first mile it seems to have gone to my head a bit!
One other issue which I have to solve became obvious during the race. I had to take on water at all 3 aid stations. Although it was warm I could not understand why I was so dehydrated. Mrs P suggested the answer. I have been struggling with allergies all week. Pollen is very high after the wet winter so I have been congested, sneezy, itchy and the all the other dwarfs as well - especially grumpy as per Mrs P. So I have took an over the counter allergy medication (legal - I did check!). This has has the side effect of "drying you out" apparently.
Interesting aside: There was a $14k pot with $2k for the winners. This was enough to attract a set of Kenyan and Ethiopian runners. While warming up I noticed some suspiciously impressive looking guys very absorbed in their pre race rituals. Not the "elite" elite (winning time was 28.44) - but a very impressive lineup for a what is not a "big" race.
Followed up the race with a 10 mile run @ 8.13 pace.
17 miles total for the day.
Sunday: 10 miles easy 8.04
Easy ? Well - the last mile or two was a slog. But a beautiful day could not be ignored.
Tuesday: 7 miles w/4*1200m
Took Monday off completely and did nothing. So I was hoping for great things as I move on to Daniels phase 3. But when the alarm went off I lay there thinking about how another few hours of sleep would be very nice. It's not usual for me to struggle for motivation. Finally I got vertical.
2 miles warmup and then to the track. Launching into the first 1200m I was just not right and I pulled up after what felt like a crushingly slow 400m and was on the verge on packing the session in. I took off my sunglasses to wipe my forehead and the glass disintergrated in my hand.
After a regroup and a good HTFU talk to myself I was able to grind out the 1200m reps. Strange thing is they were not too bad. In fact the initial 400m was not terrible either (1.27)
1200m|1|2|3|4
Time (Target: 4.32) | 4.28 | 4,26 | 4.34 | 4.29
Pace | 5.37 | 5.34 | 5.44 | 5.38
HR Avg | 157 | 164 | 165 | 167
HR Max | 161 | 170 | 170 | 171
Recovery| 2.12 | 2.08 | 2.09 |
Pretty happy with this -especially given that I almost quit the session. It seems that I have to go through this crisis on track sessions pretty regularly.0 -
"Hi, my name is pgmcpq and I'm a raceaholic"I think you should forget about training and just run races all the time!
Yes, point taken. Some of these races are club events and I need to club to nominate me for a lot in the local competitive runners corral for the NY marathon so there is an ulterior motive. I know I am over doing it right now and I suspect training is suffering. Once this month and my target race is over the pace will fall off. Dunno about Philly .... it might not be wise but it is mighty tempting. Another week out from NY and I would do it without reservation...0 -
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Wednesday: 7 miles ? at unknow but easy pace.
Garmin died almost immediately and my backup was not to hand. Ran for a little over an hour at a gentle pace so I am guessing about 7 miles down a scenic (but concrete) riverside walkway.
Thursday: 7 miles with 2*2 tempo intervals. Pace: 7.10
Late night on Wednesday and I am feeling my age. Turned the alarm off and rolled over. There is a definite loss of motivation right now. When I finally got up there was not enough time to get my proposed 3*2 tempo miles in.
So I decided to do what I could at my P10KP (Proposed 10k Pace!). My aim was to hit ~ 6.20 per mile. Last time I tried this I over cooked the first mile and was hanging on for dear life on the last two miles. This time I wanted to finish strong :
Splits: Miles 1,2: 6.25, 6.21 recovery: 2m27 Miles 3,4 6.21, 6.20
I felt like another two miles were there (not that they would be easy) so I am pretty pleased with this session.
Friday: 6.5 miles, recovery, grass/wood w(4*100m) Pace 8.26
Another late night at work and I am really dragging. This run was a nice revival. Threw in some strides at the end. I feel that my stride has become rather sloppy recently. I was stopped leaving the track by someone who wanted to know how many miles I ran "a day" - tough question to answer truthfully.
A difficult week. Too many late nights (another one coming), and the effects of a particularly bad allergy season on my breathing have combined to sap some of my enthusiasm. Tomorrow I man a table for bag pickup for a local race, and Sunday is the race itself. In truth I'd rather watch the FA Cup final and stay in bed !
Will try to fit in a few gentle miles early tomorrow
Interesting conversation this week. Met a guy who ran a marathon in Chile. Not a fun experience. Turns out they started packing up the aid stations once the elite runners had passed :eek:. So he had nothing other than the small bottle he had with him for the duration. Now that is grim.0 -
"Hi, my name is pgmcpq and I'm a raceaholic"
Am not .... so onto .....:D
Sunday: The HoHa Classic
Ran this last year and as it is local and I am now a member of the club that puts the race on I could hardly skip run it. It is a distance I don't get to race often so the PB was soft.
However I was a bit intimidated when I picked up my bib: I think someone on the club was having some fun at my (the newbie's) expense.
Thunder storms and heavy rain overnight were a bit ominous but I think did me a favor - it seems the rain may have cleared the pollen in the air so even though the morning was humid my breathing throughout the race was much improved. And the rain did let up for the duration of the race.
In summary - they moved the start this year to a larger road so congestion was much improved on last year where they had been some falls in the opening half mile ( there's were 400+ finishers this year somewhat down due to the weather ). Again looking at the splits it seems I took off too fast (Mile 6.00) but I was not struggling. The end of mile 2 features a tough climb that caught me by surprise last year. This time I rode the hill rather than fought it (Mile 2 6.30) and lost a few places. From here on it was smooth sailing. In the last mile I saw a club mate (V) ahead. I was pretty pleased to be within range of him and while I slowly closed the gap on him I was really pacing off him. (Mile 3,4 6.12, 6.07) Around 4.5 miles There was an awkward loop around a newly opened island park exiting across a narrow windy wooden bridge. I had to grab a hand rail to stay up upright. Back on solid ground V and I were now alone and headed for home. I briefly though about risking trying to take him but there was not enough road left and I was pretty happy with the way the race had gone (Mile 5 6.11) so I cross trailing by 5 seconds. 17th overall and naturally 4th in my AG ... behind V who took the 3rd place award. Damn these 10 years age groups:D.
Pleased with this. I had considered a 30.xx target but realistically this feels like a bit of a breakthrough run. The 6.13 pace is as good as I managed in my last 5k. So the sub 10k attempt in two weeks looks on if I can reproduce this effort.
Meanwhile Mrs P who ran a 10+ mile LSR the day before, and was treating the race as a social event, also managed a large and very unexpected PB.
Monday: 6 miles, Pace probably arond 8.30
Well back to earth. And I do mean back to earth - literally. On an easy run in the rain I took a turn to avoid a dog in the distance and my leg slipped and went from under me. I managed to break my fall but managed to skin both knees, my hands and more worryingly hit my head. Seemed to be ok and cleaned up and finished the run. I was puzzled as there seemed to be more blood than I could account for. When I got to work people gave me funny looks - nothing unusual there - until someone finally told me I had a large swollen gash over one eye. Now I have to avoid Mrs P before she sees it tonight and makes me wear a helmet on future runs.0 -
Ouch. Doesn't sound good. Hope there's no lasting issues.0
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Well done on the PB...note the thanks is for the PB and not the fall - just in case you wondered0
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Krusty_Clown wrote: »Ouch. Doesn't sound good. Hope there's no lasting issues.
Other than a black eye and skinned knees I seem to be ok.Well done on the PB...note the thanks is for the PB and not the fall - just in case you wondered
Thanks. Yup .... all content with myself and then *splat*. I'm not sure anyone really believes that my black eye came from a fall running:D.
Tuesday AM: 1 hour stationary bike
After a late night at the office I Woke up to thunder storms and pouring rain. Reset the alarm and pulled the covers over my head. When I did get up I spent an hour on the stationary bike. The track session was not realistic.
Tuesday PM: 5.8 miles w/4*1200m
After work I managed to squeeze in my track session while it was not raining and the lights on the track were still on.
It must have been high tide because on my warmup I found the river had come over the banks into the park.
The session was not ideal. I was in a hurry to get out before it got too late. I could not find my HRM; my warmup and warm down were short (1 mile and .5 mile), and I was battling a stitch in the 3rd 1200m and stomach cramps in the 3rd and 4th. Times were a little off too .... but I tell myself it is consistency that counts - not the individual session ... right ? Happy just to get the session in and get my week back on schedule.
1200m|1|2|3|4
Time | 4.21 | 4,27 | 4.33 | 4.34
Pace | 5.20 | 5.26 | 5.38 | 5.42
Recovery| 2.13 | 2.12 | 2.33 |
Pretty uneven ... the first was too fast and the final was .... well a gamble on finishing the session v. risking a paula(hence the longer recovery). Not ideal but better than the "nothing" that looked likely for the day. At least I kept the training momentum going.
Wednesday: 5.5 miles, recovery Pace: 9.15(ish)
Given then I finished on the track close to 10pm last night this was a very easy session. More storms overnight had left a lot of my usual route under water Went for a recovery run with Mrs P. Last night was very much still in the legs. Tomorrows tempo intervals may be struggle ... but we'll deal withat tomorrow.0 -
... have let this slide a bit ...
Thursday: 9 miles w/3*2 mile tempo
The dreaded tempo intervals. The training plan suggests 6.32 but I decided to try for 6.20 to see where I stood on my 10k ambitions. Actually not too ... until the final mile where I seem to have faded badly. I was trying to focus on form during this last mile but I was a bit shocked by how far off pace I went.
Intervals| | Target| 1|2|3|
Mile1 | Pace (6.20-6.32) | 6.18 | 6.18 | 6.25
Mile2 | Pace (6.20-6.32) | 6.10 | 6.17 | 6.33
Recovery | Time (180s) | 197 | 176 |
Friday: 6 miles easy, Pace: 8.05
Saturday: 18 miles, Pace 7.58
6 miles solo with 3 * my favorite 1/4 mile hill. 9 miles club run ... only one person ran the 10 mile run. The rest was solo and a return to 2 reps of the the hill. Trying to get accustomed to running hills at the end of my long runs as this is one of my weaknesses. Good run but was fairly wiped out at the end.
Sunday: 10 miles, Pace 7.40
I always tried to be understanding of other peoples use of the running track in the local park. But this takes the cake : as I ran past the runing track in the local park. I saw a couple walking slowly around the inside lanes. They stopped and he unfolded a chair. She sat down and they stayed there - her seated and him standing. I wanted to see what happened next but had to carry on ....
Monday: 6 miles, recovery. Pace 8.23
With endless rain recently all the grass fields are suitable only for planting rice. So recovery runs are confined to the road currently.
Tuesday: 8 miles with 10*400m
Tough morning. Humidity rolled in thjis moring. When I looked out the window at 6.30 I could see nothing for the consensation on the outside.
Down to the track ( mercifully free of people sitting on it !).
400m /400m recovery|1l2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|10
Time | 1.27 | 1.27 | 1.27 | 1.26 | 1.27 | 1.26 | 1.26 | 1.27 | 1.28 | 1.27
Pace | 5.13 | 5.16 | 5.21 | 5.12 | 5.19 | 5.19 | 5.26 | 5.10 | 5.27 | 5.19
HR Avg | 146 | 152 | 154 | 157 | 158 | 160 | 162 | 163 | 161 | 164
HR Max | 156 | 161 | 162 | 165 | 166 | 167 | 169 | 170 | 170 | 172
When I was done with this session I was pretty content with it. While not hitting the 84 seconds that Daniels prescribes it was consistent. However comparing it to the last time I tried this session it actually is not as good by pace or HR.
Next Monday is my target 10k. For better or worse we are there in terms of training and the results above suggest that I should take it relatively easy the rest of the week.0 -
Wednesday: 6 miles recovery, Pace 8.33
Thursday: 10 miles, Pace 8.05
Normally my tempo day. With the race Monday I decided to skip the temp in favor of a MLR with some short hills. Very social run as I joined up with Mrs P and later another local runner for stretches of the run. 12 hill climb and descents (each about 1/4 mile total).
Woke up with a serious pain in my leg. I think I did this to myself stetching on muscles not properly warmed up last night. Seems to be getting better - I was reduced to a limp this moring. A scheduled rest day anyway. Tomorrow (leg allowing) a 10 mile club run and rest Sunday and 10k Monday. Looks likely to be a hot and humid day 88f (30c - second year running that this race would have tough weather) ....so I may have to be realistic about what is achievable. Still hope ..... and all that good stuff.0 -
Saturday: 10 miles, Pace : 7.24
Warm and humid - summer has arrived a little early here. Skipped running Friday as part of my mini taper and planned to keep this to an easy run. But as ever this was the week the club run congealed into one group and the pace was set by the faster guys. Tough run in the conditions and by the end I was glad that this was not a week where I was extending the run any further. Leg was still a little bothersome.
Sunday was a rest day for a total of 40 miles for the week. Lowest milage week in some time.0 -
Monday: Ridgewood 10k
So finally my target race for the 2Q of the year. This race is named for the husband of a friend of ours - a amazing woman and the only running celebrity I know http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toshiko_D'Elia . It was also a favorite event my late FIL. The target was to break 40 minutes.
At 5.30am it was 77F and 72% humdity - basically hot and sticky - with an air quality warning was going into effect at 10am. Not really PB condiitons - not unexpected but I had been hoping for a late break in the weather. On the drive over a storm broke out which made the drive a bit hairy but cleared up some of clamminess. So this was a good break. Having had problems last year, I lined up 10 minutes early to get a better position this year. So I was a bit disappointed to hear the guys immediately in front of me talk about how they are was aiming to break 50 minutes. I can never seem to get the judgement right.
So there was a slow start with some initial bobbing and weaving. First mile was 6.31 which was well off the 6.20 average I had figured I needed to have a realistic shot at sub 40, but better than the half mile pace had looked. A bit of a breeze had picked up that was very welcome. Mile 2 was too fast and I dialed it back a little; mile 3 was uneventful. The race is a bit even in the suburban neighborhood so there was pretty good crowd support. It's also a holiday here so many people had dragged their barbeques and beach chairs to the road to watch. Mile 4 ... the breeze died down, the relief from the storm was pretty much gone and now there were these small rolling hills I did not remember sucking the life from my lungs .... damn and double damn ...mile pace on the Garmin has dropped to 6.3x (6.39 on the hills) and I am beginning to think this is not my day ... where the hell is that mile marker ? Mile 5 ... pace is a little better but still in the high 6.2x range - not really good enough but I am beginning to think that complete a crash and burn might be on the cards. At the 5 marker the clock is showing 32.xx and I am trying to do the maths to work out what I have left to do. By now along the route people are using their garden hoses to create wonderful sprays the runners can run through to cool off. I am trying to hit the sprays while not losing too much to a decent race line. And things start to come around ... the pace is now back in the high 6.1x range. Better but I don't know how much damage has been done and I am labouring. The mile 6 marker finally came into sight ... 38.02 is the first time I can make out but time seems to have sped up and the seconds are tripping over at blazing speed as I get closer to the clock. Past the clock ... round the corner for home ... there are the ballons, where's the clock and mat ... oh %@#%! that's not the finish line - still another 200+ yards to go. Once I can make out the finish line clock ...39.38..39..40.. I resist the urge to stop long enough to strangle the announcer who I can hear cheerily calling "If you try you can get under 40 minutes". In the last few yards I know I have it. 39.45. Cross the line and for several minutes wonder if I am going to have to lie down. Worst I have ever felt after crossing a finish line.
41st overall and suprisingly good enough for 3rd in my AG on a day when times were quite a bit slower than last year. I missed 2nd in AG by 3 seconds - losing I found out later to a club mate. I did not see him which probably speaks to the shape I was in crossing the line.
Splits: 6.31, 6.06, 6.16, 6.27, 6.27, 6.16, 5.57
Not a well run race - but pretty happy with the result. I really felt for the 5k runners lining up to start their race at 10.15 .... by then conditions were simply brutal... with the invitational mile race to come later.0 -
Tuesday: 6 mile recovery, Pace: 9.25
Took this glacially slow and easy. I have started to look at training by heart rate (more on this later) and so was trying to keep the HR below 133 bpm.
Wednesday: 8 miles, easy, Pace 8.09
Skipping tempo this week as I reover from Monday.
Thursday: 8 miles w 4*200m, 3*1k, 2*400m
Back to the track. Not spectaular results and a little slower than normal but solid enough after Mondays efforts.
Rep w/recovery | |1|2|3|4
200m w/200m | Time | 44 | 43 | 43 | 43
| Pace | 5.20| 5.16 | 5.19 | 5.18
|HR Avg | 124 | 139 | 141 | 143
|HR Max | 141 | 149 | 151 | 152
1000m w/120s| Time |3.20 | 3.20 | 3.20 | |
| Pace | 5.25| 5.34 | 5.41 | |
|HR Avg | 155 | 159 | 161 | |
| HR Max | 161 | 167 | 167 | |
| Recovery | 1.41 | 2.38| 2.33 | |
400m w/400m | Time | 1.29 | 1.28 | | |
| Pace | 5.36 | 5.26 | | |
|HR Avg | 158 | 158 | | |
|HR Max | 165 | 166 | | |
Friday: 6 miles recovery, Pace 8.36
A gentle run before an eight hour trip to Cape Cod for the weekend.
Saturday: 13 miles, Pace 7.49
Ran my usual route when in this part of a world - a route that takes me out of town along a couple of miles of the single lane "highway" that leads to the tip of the peninsula, down along the beach the then to a narrow bike path that leads out to a small airport. Despite having run this so often I had forgotton how hilly it was and combined with stiff legs from the trip up, a late-ish night and a headwind on the outbound way this made for a much tougher run than I had planned. Back into the town at mile 12 I had to stop and buy a gatorade. I had intended to do 16 miles but I ran out of time ( and tbh I was happy to have the excuse to call it at a little over 13).
Later a trip to see one really fast guy. Whale watching - this guy can reach about 25mph ... which proves that weight is not an obstacle
Sunday: 11 miles, Pace 7.49
Early morning repeat run to the airport. A better run than Saturday - either my mindset had adjusted to the hills and/or the stiffness from travel was out of the legs. Great run - no one else up, very peaceful through the dunes and scrub with no one about ... really communing with nature until ....three miles in I almost lept out of my skin as a rabbit raced across the path less than three feet in front of me. Had I had the hrm the reading would have been off the scale. Damn bunny - shattering the early morning peace !
Ran into a small 10k race just as I was finishing. If I had known I might have take part .. maybe just as well !0 -
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Tuesday: 8 miles w 4*1200m + 2*1000m
Plan was 3*1200 + 3*1000. I was struggling so made the 4th interval 1200 so that I could at least feel that I had a complete earlier session done before the last two intervals.
Rep w/recovery | | Target| 1|2|3|4
1200m w/240s|Time | 4.29| 4.20| 4.24 | 4.30 | ?
|Pace | | 5.19| 5.28 | 5.36 | ?
|HR Avg | | 162 | 164 | 164 | ?
|HR Max | | 172 | 171 | 173 | ?
|Recovery| 4.00 |2.40| 2.48 | 2.07 | 2.28
1000m w/120s|Time | 3.44 |3.50 | 3.51 | |
|Pace | | 5.52 | 5.47 | |
|HR Avg | | 165 | 165 | |
|HR Max | | 172 | 171 | |
|Recovery|2.00 | 3.24 | | |
Messed up the watch on the 4th 1200m
Yikes ....bloody hell - those figures make grim reading. Looking at it I seem to have badly judged the recovery periods. I knew it had been a tough session but not until I looked at the figures did I realise how badly I had missed the targets and how much of a fade there had been by the end.
Wednesday: 6.5 miles, recovery, Pace: 8.53
Hottest day of the year so far. Not sure how warm it was but we hit 99F later the day.
Thursday AM: 1 hour bike:
Warm and muggy again - no way was a tempo session likely to be good in those conditions. So settled for a hard stationary bike session. As an experiment I wore a HRM. Very interesting - despite working hard I could not drive the HR above 100. Cannot really explain this. Comments ?
Thursday PM: 7 miles, w/4 @ tempo. Threadmill.
A cancelled evening meeting allowed me nip over to the new gym and get my tempo session in. I had only used the pool here before - the pool incidently was close due to the lightening storms that were passing at the time. Curious about this - is this standard practice for an indoor pool ?
Anyway I found the gym unbearably warm - so I stuggled through 4 tempo miles ( mph 9.1 ro 9.3 at 1% incline) and called it a day.
Friday: 6.5 recovery run, Pace 8.55
Woke feeling out of sorts. A shoulder strain and a quad strain combined to persude me to keep this really easy. The quad I put down to the bike - the shoulder I was unsure about but it was no big deal.
Satuday: 16 miles, Pace 7:50
Mrs P had a women only 10k and was due to get up at 5am. Just as well because 4.50am saw me awake and in more pain than I have had in a long time. My shoulder had now morphed from niggle to serious pain. Took asprin and waited it out. When I got up again I applied the magic biofreeze, took some more asprin and then gingerly tried out a few miles. Not great but it was ok, so I joined up with my club run. Found it tougher than it should have been - even though it was humid. At the end I was attacting attention as I was dripping wet - I was able to take my short off and ring it out. Added another three miles to get to 16 for the run. My first 16+ in a while.
Sunday: 10 miles, Pace 8.07
After a mile the shoulder was so painful I returned home and applied biofreeze again. I stuggled to a double digit run. Any kind of deep breathing is painful so I had to keep to a pace that did not require it. Not a fun run.
Monday: 0.25 miles
The shoulder is not having it. I was able to run over the weekend as I had time to allow asprin to kick in. This morning it just did not work.
We think I have a muscle virus ( I know, I know - self diagnosis and all that). This would explain the pain, the problems in the gym and the run Saturday ( I may have been running a temperature), and some breathing problems I had over the weekend. Very frustrated with this - but it seems I am out of action until it is gone. I'm not sure who I should see about this - or if it worth seeing anyone - I may just have to wait it out. I suppose I have had a decent run without injury but a good honest muscle pull would be easier to deal with.0 -
Tough about the shoulder problem. It must be an unusual injury for a runner, but presumably it's only a matter of diagnosing and treating it right.
Do you have an Autumn marathon plan this year?0 -
Tough about the shoulder problem. It must be an unusual injury for a runner, but presumably it's only a matter of diagnosing and treating it right.
Well for the moment I am following my usual foolproof plan of ignoring it and hoping for the best ... (there's a reason Mrs P is considered the smart one of us)Do you have an Autumn marathon plan this year?
This year I'm staying home and doing NY... while Mrs P goes to Philly two weeks later. Might follow you to Berlin next year ... so I'll be following your progress closely. Must be nearly time to get down to serious work for you ?0 -
Still a bit unsure about Berlin myself. I'm into week 3 of the P&D schedule. Not really doing any better than last year and I'm on holiday in Spain first two weeks of July. If I can keep some shape with the plan then maybe I'll stick with Berlin. Otherwise it'd be Dublin again, I think.0
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Tuesday: 60 mins bike
Wednesday: 65 mins bike
Well three days of frustration - the stationary bike is the only exercise I can do. Epson Salts/asprin/biofreeze are all ongoing. Ironically I was hit by a trojan at work which cost me almost two days before I was able to finally kill it off - bloody windows - it has more "loopholes" that swiss cheese. As a result there were late nights etc, etc and a lot of waiting around as I could not drive with the shoulder.
Thursday: 10 miles, Pace 7.40, HR Avg/Max 147/175
Was considering resuming the track work in an attempt to get the plan back on track but I am still getting stabbing pains in the shoulder when I take a deep breath so I had to scrap that idea in favor of a general run. I did gingerly throw in some hill repeats after mile 5 when it seems the endorphins had finally kicked in ... but the whole run was a struggle.
Last year around this time I also had a virus but never knew it at the time. My race times were pretty poor - I was working in races but to little effect. This feels much the same - and I don't think three days of no running is enough to erode my running to this extent.
Have a race on Sunday - part of the NY clubs competitions - right now this is looking dicey and my enthusiasm is low (which is not like me).
All in all - glad to be back out there - but not feeling comfortable at all.0 -
Friday: 8.5 miles w4*1200m
Ugly, ugly track session. Was unsure about the wisdom of doing this but decided to give it a shot. Storms overnight meant that the track was relatively free and calling to me. Basically confirmed that the recent problems have sapped me and I am not recovered yet. Not sure if I am doing Sunday's race - if I do it will simply be as a tempo session.
Rep w/recovery | | 1|2|3|4
1200m w/240s|Time | 4.28| 4.34 | 4.35 | 4.41
|Pace | 5.31| 5.39 | 5.44 | 5.58
|HR Avg | 156 | 162 | 163 | 165
|HR Max | 165 | 169 | 171 | 171
|Recovery| 196 | 324:( | 320|
I delayed recovery to allow my HR to return to the 130s range. I cannot believe how long this took ! Meanwhile my average/max HR suggest I was not pushing as hard as I should. Anyway you slice it - not a great day. Run out of annoyed icons. However ..... at least I was able to do it - the shoulder is improving.0 -
Saturday: 12 miles.
Mislaid the Garmin for this run. 10 miles with the club and about 20 minutes of running before so I am estimating at 12 miles. Found it tough - it was warm but still tougher than it should be. I ended up as the designated run leader so disguised my discomfort as concern for a runner trailing off the end.
One old time club member returned - with the daughter he used to bring to runs in a stroller back years ago. She's now running 61s for the 400m in college track.:eek:. I don't really know how fast this is in the global scheme of things but as I struggle to keep my 400 reps below 90s - I was impressed. Of course Dad claims credit for planting the seed early !0 -
Sunday: 11 miles, 3w/u +5race +3w/d
Was not taking this one too seriously. I had written it off after the virus and focused on rescuing the week as a training week. A good time would be a bonus ... but was still hoping for 31.xx. Probably unrealistic after the few days before it, but still one hopes ....
It was also a club points run so I wanted to push our 40+ team (the one were we stand a chance of scoring). The course avoided the worst of the Central Park hills but still the remaining rolling hills make it tricky to pace properly - especially over the shorter distances. I actually thought I was doing pretty ok - keeping the pace at or below 6.20 and running a decent race line (ended at 5.08 miles) and so was pretty disappointed to see the time at mile4 and on the finish clock.
Splits: 6.26, 6.12, 6.31:(, 6.20, 6.20, 0.29.
Not sure what happened in mile 3. Seemed to be going ok - there was a climb but nothing drastic.
Our 40s+ team missed out on 10th place by 7 seconds.:(
Ce la vie.
Next week I get to run this course again - this time hopefully I can do some damage (to my time that is!). I am coming to the end of my 10k training and will have to begin training for the NY marathon. I'd like to go out on a high.
Did 3 miles prior to the race and 3 miles after including a loop of the reservoir - one of my favorite runs. While running a long I saw a guy with a pair of Vibrams - hanging from his waist while he ran in bare feet. I wanted to ask him "too much shoe?" but decided against it in the interests of getting my miles in.0 -
After last week I am really keen to get back to my usual routine.
Monday: 6 miles recovery, grass, Pace 9.03, HR 120/131
Nice run - despite the start of summer heat. Successfully focused on keeping HR <= 125.
Tuesday: 9 miles. 5*1200m
Back to the track to redeem myself.
Rep w/recovery | |1|2|3|4|5
1200m w/200s|Time | 4.33| 4.34 | 4.35 | 4.36 | 4.37
|Pace | 5.41| 5.52 | 5.55 | 5.57 | 5.53
|HR Avg | 155 | 158 | 161 | 163 | 164
|HR Max | 167 | 166 | 170 | 171 | 171
|Recovery| 162 | 177 | 160 | 163 |
Target is 4.32 (based on vdot 52), but I am cutting myself some slack for having to dodge around people and the weather. A much improved session over the last track session - more consistent times off shorter recovery. Two days after a race I am happy enough with this. Would like to get back to hitting 4.2x.0 -
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Wednesday: 6.5 recovery, 50% grass, Pace: 8.49 HR: 126/142
Thursday: 10 miles, hills, Pace 7.56 HR: 135/155
Was undecided as to what to do. With a race on Sunday I decided to skip the tempo session in favor of hill repeats. As it turned out this was probably not a great decision. So at mile 4-5 I launched into 10 short hill reps. I was actually quite pleased with how they went. At mile 8 I did 4 longer hill repeats. Tough but not terribly so - I was pretty happy with the way the session went.
Friday: 6 miles, recovery, Pace 8.38
I am trying to get used to training by heart rate. One of the problems is that I am unable to hear the tones off the Garmin so I end up having to check. On this run I was trying to keep the HR in the 120s. So I was a bit surprised to look down and see 160+ recorded. Later there was another spike reported at 150+. This was several miles in so it was not the spike that can often occur in the first mile when the HR is dry and the readings erratic. New battery needed in the HRM maybe ?
Saturday: 10 miles, Pace: 7.52 HR: 136/154
And now I found out that the Thursday hill had taken more out of me that I expected. Found the Saturday club run tougher than I should have especially as I was trying to take it reasonably easy. Thankfully the fast guys took the morning off.
Funny conversation with a guy after the run (he's from Romania originally so there was a bit of an accent mismatch) - we were talking about how much wildlife we see around here (in an urban environment) and I mentioned that I regularly see hawks where I run on weekday mornings. He looked at me very surprised. "Haaaks ?". "Oh, yaeah," I assured him "I see them soaring over the park - very impressive". Now he's completely amazed. Finally we figure out he that he thought I had said "hogs" and was contemplating the amazing fact the here in America the pigs really do fly.0
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