We're all out there chasing our better selves (FredtheDuck chases on)

So, that's about 11 min/mile? Just target 10 min/mile for the first mile and see how you feel. Crank it to 9:30 if you feel good for the second, etc.
 
Ok. So Suds & Soles. First off, this finish line for this race was awesome. I would 100% do it again. Same group that organized the Pike's Peek 10K I did back in May and the organizers of the half I'm signed up for in September. Good beer, good food, good amenities. If there were mile markers, I missed them. Water station was well stocked. Neighborhood kids happily spraying water on whoever asked to be sprayed. All nice for a night race.

In terms of my race: I started out fast. Faster than @MoanasPapa even. He eventually caught up and warned me that I was going too fast. Noted. I was under 9:30/mi at that point. Whoops. I did my best to run my own race. There was a group I was vaguely trying to stick with, but I lost them in the third mile. I did PacMan my two PacMan sights, and I did convince a struggling kid that if I could do it, he could do it. And we did. So those were nice victories.

According to Runkeeper, my first mile was 9:37. Second was 9:48. Third was 11:01. Yikes. A lot of uphill, but clearly terrible because I had overrun the first two. Last .2: 8:55. Wow. So the fast start and the uphills got me in that last full mile, and that's something I need to be mindful of when I do the half, because it does have a big hill at the end. I need to strategize better.

That said, I'm happy with the race. I tried to be smart about telling myself that I could do it, could sustain, could potentially beat my long shot goal of a sub 10:30 (a broader goal, not what I had targeted for this race). Smarter pacing might have yielded an even better time, but I told myself to race at the best level I could comfortably sustain and I did. So that's fine with me. It's progress from the casual attempts of before. Plus, who doesn't want to be handed an ice cold beer at the end of a night race?

PS - I hope @MoanasPapa will chime in with a race report! He did an amazing job, a strong PR for him!
 


Ok. So Suds & Soles. First off, this finish line for this race was awesome. I would 100% do it again. Same group that organized the Pike's Peek 10K I did back in May and the organizers of the half I'm signed up for in September. Good beer, good food, good amenities. If there were mile markers, I missed them. Water station was well stocked. Neighborhood kids happily spraying water on whoever asked to be sprayed. All nice for a night race.

In terms of my race: I started out fast. Faster than @MoanasPapa even. He eventually caught up and warned me that I was going too fast. Noted. I was under 9:30/mi at that point. Whoops. I did my best to run my own race. There was a group I was vaguely trying to stick with, but I lost them in the third mile. I did PacMan my two PacMan sights, and I did convince a struggling kid that if I could do it, he could do it. And we did. So those were nice victories.

According to Runkeeper, my first mile was 9:37. Second was 9:48. Third was 11:01. Yikes. A lot of uphill, but clearly terrible because I had overrun the first two. Last .2: 8:55. Wow. So the fast start and the uphills got me in that last full mile, and that's something I need to be mindful of when I do the half, because it does have a big hill at the end. I need to strategize better.

That said, I'm happy with the race. I tried to be smart about telling myself that I could do it, could sustain, could potentially beat my long shot goal of a sub 10:30 (a broader goal, not what I had targeted for this race). Smarter pacing might have yielded an even better time, but I told myself to race at the best level I could comfortably sustain and I did. So that's fine with me. It's progress from the casual attempts of before. Plus, who doesn't want to be handed an ice cold beer at the end of a night race?

PS - I hope @MoanasPapa will chime in with a race report! He did an amazing job, a strong PR for him!

Congratulations! Sounds like you had a solid race experience. Those uphills can be a beast! So, what gave up on you- legs or breathing?

So, if my math is right, your timing device had you at a 32:13 5k time (10:04 min/mile)? And your 2 mile split was a 19:25?

If so, these are the newly calculated training paces:

Screen Shot 2017-06-25 at 5.42.02 AM.png

Still a tad slower than what you have been doing the last couple weeks (not scheduled paces but actual paces). But I'd venture these paces are closer to your current fitness, than your older pacing scheme (mostly since your 5k time dropped from 34 min to 31 min). Thoughts? Would you like me to rework the schedule to incorporate these new paces?
 


Official results are out. Net time 32:04, 10:20 average pace. That beats not only my sub-11:00/mi goal, but a longer term goal I had of a sub-10:30/mi 5k, so I'm happy with that.

@DopeyBadger to answer your questions: Probably my breathing. I started to feel a little nauseous and figured it meant I was going too hard. I knew I was ahead of my goal so I dialed it back a little - but apparently more than I intended to in conjunction with the hills.

Also, the new paces look good! If you have time, I would really appreciate a reworked plan - it's clearly already paying dividends (so thank you!).
 
Official results are out. Net time 32:04, 10:20 average pace. That beats not only my sub-11:00/mi goal, but a longer term goal I had of a sub-10:30/mi 5k, so I'm happy with that.

@DopeyBadger to answer your questions: Probably my breathing. I started to feel a little nauseous and figured it meant I was going too hard. I knew I was ahead of my goal so I dialed it back a little - but apparently more than I intended to in conjunction with the hills.

Also, the new paces look good! If you have time, I would really appreciate a reworked plan - it's clearly already paying dividends (so thank you!).

Congrats on nailing both of those goals!

Sounds like you were racing a 5k to me! Hate that feeling of breathlessness and nausea. I'm reading a book about breathing right now to see if I can learn any new techniques.

Attached is the same plan, but with the new pacing scheme. I'd say from this point forward you should do your best to stick very close to these paces. They may not be perfect, but I think they're likely very close. Which means training faster than them will not yield the desired effect.
 

Attachments

  • FredtheDuck HM 2017_06_26.pdf
    57.8 KB · Views: 4
Thanks, @DopeyBadger! New paces look good, and I'm excited to get out there and see how they feel. (Hey can I confirm that for this week's ladder, I am skipping the 600 on the way "down"? Plan shows 2, 4, 6, 8, 4, 2.)

I think the breathing/nausea is all the more reason to get to the trail that the Parks HM is going to be held on. @MoanasPapa and I had looked at the 5k course map before Saturday's race and neither of us expected the bigger hill at the end... nor did the friend who ran with us and has run this one before. Because I didn't expect it, I didn't leave enough in the tank to deal with it. It wasn't even that monster of a hill, I just didn't expect it. If I know the terrain for Parks, I can probably strategize a little better.

They may not be perfect, but I think they're likely very close. Which means training faster than them will not yield the desired effect.

I'll do my very best! : )

tumblr_nmiikrOU3D1s2wio8o1_500.gif
 
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Hey can I confirm that for this week's ladder, I am skipping the 600 on the way "down"? Plan shows 2, 4, 6, 8, 4, 2.)

Confirmed. I had to cut the last 600m to A) get the CV % within range and B) to ensure we stayed under your 60 min limit

I think the breathing/nausea is all the more reason to get to the trail that the Parks HM is going to be held on. @MoanasPapa and I had looked at the 5k course map before Saturday's race and neither of us expected the bigger hill at the end... neither did the friend who ran with us and has run this one before. Because I didn't expect it, I didn't leave enough in the tank to deal with it. It wasn't even that monster of a hill, I just didn't expect it. If I know the terrain for Parks, I can probably strategize a little better.

That's a great idea. I'd also suggest using this - https://www.gmap-pedometer.com - which does very well showing an accurate portrayal of elevation.
 
Congrats on the 5k!!! Wooo!!! :-)

What is this "ladder" of which you speak? Just wanted to learn! I don't think I've done any of those yet. o_O
 
Congrats on the 5k!!! Wooo!!! :-)

What is this "ladder" of which you speak? Just wanted to learn! I don't think I've done any of those yet. o_O

Thank you! It was a lot of fun! My upcoming ladder workout: 1.5 miles @ warm up, 200 meters (m) at CV, 400m at CV, 600m at CV, 800m at CV, 400m at CV, 200 at CV, 1 mile at cool down. Each CV interval has 60 seconds of rest between it and the next (I walk mine to fully catch my breath). A full ladder would have the 600m on the way down, but mine doesn't for the reasons @DopeyBadger cited. Should be a tough, interesting workout.
 
My upcoming ladder workout: 1.5 miles @ warm up, 200 meters (m) at CV, 400m at CV, 600m at CV, 800m at CV, 400m at CV, 200 at CV, 1 mile at cool down. Each CV interval has 60 seconds of rest between it and the next (I walk mine to fully catch my breath). A full ladder would have the 600m on the way down, but mine doesn't for the reasons @DopeyBadger cited. Should be a tough, interesting workout.

AHA! Thanks! Have fun with it, and please report back!!
 
Thank you! It was a lot of fun! My upcoming ladder workout: 1.5 miles @ warm up, 200 meters (m) at CV, 400m at CV, 600m at CV, 800m at CV, 400m at CV, 200 at CV, 1 mile at cool down. Each CV interval has 60 seconds of rest between it and the next (I walk mine to fully catch my breath). A full ladder would have the 600m on the way down, but mine doesn't for the reasons @DopeyBadger cited. Should be a tough, interesting workout.

Not to scare you, but the ladder tend to be one of the most difficult workouts because it pushes the cumulative distance more than most CV workouts. But it can be very rewarding.
 
Hi all, hijaking @FredtheDuck's thread to give my race report! (Sorry not sorry?)

I wanted to try for a 9:00 per mile pace, but I knew it was warm and a bit humid, and the course had a couple of decent hills to worry about, so I tried to be steady the first mile and see how I felt.

- First mile, 9:10 pace: Felt great! Hit the first hill -- not bad!
- Water stop at 1.5 miles: "one big hill done, I think there's like one more, feeling thirsty but pretty good."
- 1.5 - 2.5 miles: two more hills! I felt good going up them, but I had to increase my breathing speed from 2 steps breathe in/3 out to 1 step breathe in/2 out. Had to work for them! Was not expecting that, but then again I'm really happy with my pace. Second mile 8:42, third 8:57.
- Last .6 miles: knew I was getting close, felt good, finished on a sprint!

All said, I finished in 27:57, good for exactly a 9:00 pace! Woo!
 
Not to scare you, but the ladder tend to be one of the most difficult workouts because it pushes the cumulative distance more than most CV workouts. But it can be very rewarding.

I expect that it'll feel tough. My mantra for things like that: "I will get it done, and I will learn something from it."

Maybe not the cheeriest of mantras, but it's realistic and a good one for someone like me who is still pushing to find out what she's capable of.
 
Hi all, hijaking @FredtheDuck's thread to give my race report! (Sorry not sorry?)

I wanted to try for a 9:00 per mile pace, but I knew it was warm and a bit humid, and the course had a couple of decent hills to worry about, so I tried to be steady the first mile and see how I felt.

- First mile, 9:10 pace: Felt great! Hit the first hill -- not bad!
- Water stop at 1.5 miles: "one big hill done, I think there's like one more, feeling thirsty but pretty good."
- 1.5 - 2.5 miles: two more hills! I felt good going up them, but I had to increase my breathing speed from 2 steps breathe in/3 out to 1 step breathe in/2 out. Had to work for them! Was not expecting that, but then again I'm really happy with my pace. Second mile 8:42, third 8:57.
- Last .6 miles: knew I was getting close, felt good, finished on a sprint!

All said, I finished in 27:57, good for exactly a 9:00 pace! Woo!

Well done! Looks like we nailed your pacing exactly with my prediction of a 27:54. Thus we'll keep your paces the same and try to hit them as best as possible from here on out. Congrats again!
 

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