This is my training journal. I'm bad at titles. (Comments welcome!)

[striker1064]

May 16 - May 22

Monday - 7 Miles Easy (10:20 - 11:05) - Actually ran 4 Miles

• T/D: 68/66 = 134. On a scale from meh to gross, I give this humidity a ugh!
• I woke up feeling a bit sore and tired from the race yesterday, and a quick glance at the weather told me I probably wasn’t getting the full 7 miles in today. But it was worth a shot.
  • 7 Miles Easy (10:20 - 11:05)
    • 10:52, 10:56, 13:31, 11:12
• And, yup… it was a tough run the first couple miles, but after mile 2 I had to stop and walk a bit. Drenched and tired. This was probably too ambitious after a hard-run race yesterday, especially with this humidity. I was able to slowly jog most of the fourth mile, so I called it at that point.
• Tomorrow I rest, and Wednesday I’m back at it with another Easy run. I’m comfortable that today just wasn’t my day, all things considered.

Tuesday - Rest

Wednesday - Easy - 6 Miles Easy (10:20 - 11:05)

• T/D is a very pleasant 60/40 = 100! Not a bad morning at all for a run.
  • 6 Miles Easy (10:20 - 11:05): 10:34, 10:22, 10:24, 10:29, 10:31, 10:20
• I felt well-rested and recovered from the race Sunday. I'm guessing the pleasant temperatures helped a lot too, but not that I'm complaining about that.

Thursday - Daniels R - 1.5 Mile Warm Up (11:48), 3 x 200 Meter reps at Daniels R (7:20) with 200 Meter recovery, 2 x 400 Meter reps at Daniels R with 400 Meter recovery, 3 x 200 Meter reps at Daniels R with 200 Meter recovery, 2 x 400 Meter reps at Daniels R with 400 Meter recovery, 1.5 Mile Cool Down (11:48)

• Lol
• But also yikes. From the outset, this feels like a pretty substantial jump from the previous R workouts. It's longer with more reps, and I'm betting those 2 400 meters at the tail end are going to be tough.
• T/D: 62/58 = 120. Quite muggy. This isn't going to help.
  • Warm Up, 1.5 Miles: 11:39, 11:38
  • 3 x 200 Meters @ R (7:20)
    • 6:50, 7:15, 7:15
  • 2 x 400 Meters @ R (7:20)
    • 7:10, 7:15
  • 3 x 200 Meters @ R (7:20)
    • 7:23, 7:06, 7:23
  • 2 x 400 Meters @ R (7:20)
    • 7:15, 7:10
  • Cool Down, 1.5 Miles: 11:24, 10:42
• As expected, those final two 400 meter reps were rough.
• Aside from the very first 200 meter rep where I was clearly way too fast, it's hard to put these paces into context. 6:50 to 7:15 is ordinarily a very wide change, but in this case we're talking about seconds. My 200 meter reps took 51, 54, 54, 55, 53, and 55 seconds, respectively. The 400 meter reps took 1:47, 1:48, 1:48, and 1:47. When I look at it through that lens, that's pretty consistent - each 400 meter rep was within a second of each other, and aside from the way-too-fast first rep (which was still only 3 seconds faster), everything on the 200 looks good as well.

Friday - Rest

Saturday - Easy - 7 Miles Easy (10:20 - 11:05)

• Starting T/D: 77/63 = 140
• Ending T/D: 79/66 = 145
• It's sooooooooo hoooooooooot. Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugh
• So yeah, I knew even with an easy day, with these temps I had to get straight out of bed and go. The 140 T/D was at 6:30 AM! This is also the first time since last fall I've run uncaffeinated.
  • 7 Miles Easy (10:20 - 11:05)
    • 10:40, 10:41, 10:45, 10:38, 10:29, 10:28, 10:32
• I really can't complain about those splits. It was a hot, humid, muggy run in full sunshine, but that's pretty close to normal to me. I was tired throughout, but I'm guessing that's more because I jumped out of bed and went for it. This did leave me feeling pretty tired the rest of the day though.

Sunday - Long Run - 9 Miles @ LR (10:00 - 10:45) - Actually ran 7.63 Miles

• Starting T/D: 74/66 = 140
• Ending T/D: I forgot to look
• uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugh
  • 7.63 Miles @ LR (10:00 - 10:45)
    • 10:35, 10:09, 10:20, 11:11, 10:25, 9:52, 9:43, 10:26
• So I didn't run 9 miles because the GPS in my Garmin died on me mid-run. I rebooted the watch and it worked again, but navigation wouldn't work anymore. Very strange. I had to get myself back to a familiar place and just headed home from there. I should have gotten the last 1.37 miles, but by that point I was out of water, hot, and frustrated with the whole thing.
• I also tried a Maurten gel for the first time today. That texture is... something. Like eating sugar-flavored jello. I don't think I could do multiple of those things during a race. I have a packet of the drink mix to test as well, although it needs to be mixed with 17oz of water and I don't have a bottle that large. Logistics!
• The 11:11 split aside (which was uphill + stoplight), those aren't bad paces. Despite the high T/D of 140, today felt better than yesterday because it was overcast with a slight breeze. Now, just a couple hours later, the Sun is pounding, so I'm glad I got this done early.

Tomorrow, it's back to my favorite workout (and yours!) - the R! I'm also noticing V.O2 is finally mixing in some variation, as the second quality workout this week (Thursday) is a Threshold workout instead of R, followed by a Marathon workout on Sunday instead of a Long Run (although the Sunday run does total 10 miles).

 

[striker1064]

Mid-week update! This week's training is very different than weeks past, featuring 2 distinct workouts - Lactate Threshold (Thursday) and Marathon Tempo (Sunday). Thursday felt like a natural spot to post a bit - lots of interesting data to extract from that workout. I also increased my pacing in V.O2 this week to be more in-line with the Princess training paces I was running, as a lot of these workouts haven't been causing me too much trouble.

May 23 - May 26

Monday - Daniels R - 1.5 Mile Warm Up (11:48), 6 x 200 meter reps at R (7:20) with 200 meter recovery, 3 x 400 meter reps at R with 400 meter recovery, 1 Mile Cool Down (11:48)

• T/D: 65/53 = 118. Felt actually refreshing thanks to that low dew point!
  • Warm Up, 1.5 Mile - 11:20, 11:52
  • 6 x 200 Meters @ R (7:20)
    • 7:23 (0:55), 7:39 (0:57), 7:23 (0:55), 7:15 (0:54), 7:31 (0:56), 7:23 (0:55)
  • 3 x 400 Meters @ R (7:20)
    • 7:19 (1:49), 7:19 (1:49), 7:19 (1:49)
  • Cool Down, 1 Mile - 11:27
• Despite the more comfortable temps, my legs felt like lead today. In fact, I felt heavy all over. I slept pretty well last night, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s residual effects from the heat over the weekend.
• Saying all that, today’s workout was hard despite being a step down from last week’s R workout, and I thought I might not have hit my paces too well. The only real problem rep was rep 2 in the 200 meter intervals, and it was only 2 seconds slower.
• Look at those 400 meter reps! The picture of consistency. These were notably harder thanks to my fatigue, so I’m pretty surprised how well that went. My suspicion is I've simply done so many of these workouts that I'm naturally getting used to the pace.

Tuesday - Rest

• I wear my Garmin while I sleep and although I don’t put a ton of stock into the sleep data (because Garmin’s is typically only okay), I DO find the Body Battery to be pretty interesting.
• Why, do you ask? Even though I had no workout Tuesday, it’s my in-office day. My Body Battery drained more throughout the day than it does when I have a workout, and it recharged less overnight Tuesday. Most days I start somewhere between 95 and 100; on Wednesday I woke up at 74.
• Even Garmin’s so-so sleep tracking can tell how much in-office days do a number on my body. I find that fascinating. I wonder if I could use this as a proxy for a remote work request? Probably not.

Wednesday - 5 Miles Easy (10:20 - 11:05)

• T/D: 61/54 = 115. Despite nearing 120, low dew points, overcast, and a light breeze made for a very pleasant and cool run.
  • 5 Miles Easy (10:20 - 11:05)
    • 10:24, 10:21, 10:35, 10:29, 10:12
• So most of these workouts have been pretty easy for me. I’ve been training slower than my paces for my Princess training plan. I’m used to going a little faster on interval workouts, so I decided to manually update my VDOT in the V.O2 app to push my paces a little closer to what I was doing for Princess training. We’ll see how this goes - if it wears me out too much, it’s a simple matter of editing it back down.
• The real test will be my 5k re-do on June 18. The higher VDOT score suggests I should be able to do that in 25:00. Considering the last 5k was on a whim and I cruised at the end to 25:27, I think this is doable if it’s not too hot (always a wildcard).

Thursday - LT Workout - 1.5 Mile Warm Up (11:48), 6 x 800 meter reps at Lactate Threshold (8:28) with 1 minute recovery, 3 minute rest/recovery, 5 x 20 second Strides with 1 minute recovery, 1 Mile Cool Down (11:48)

• T/D: 61/53 = 114. Holding on to these decent mornings for dear life as temps in the 90s are back on the horizon next week.
• So, lactate threshold. These workouts gave me the most trouble during my Princess training cycle. I finally got the hang of them, but I still never quite got into a groove like I did other paces.
• I’m also curious about the Strides coming post-workout. I’ve always done these prior to races and on easy days prior to a hard/long workout, so I’m interested to see how these feel during the workout and if my body feels any different following the conclusion.
  • 1.5 Mile Warm Up (11:48) - 11:45, 11:48
  • 6 x 800 Meters @ LT (8:28)
    • 8:19, 8:29, 8:13, 8:29, 8:15, 7:57
  • 3 Minute Recovery - 14:09
  • 5 x 20 second Strides
    • 7:10, 7:39, 7:58, 7:51, 7:50
  • Cool Down, 1 Mile - 11:07
• Those LT splits are… fine. I can’t be too upset. They weren’t hard (and they aren’t supposed to be hard), but they weren’t easy either. However, I know the best way to improve LT is to train at LT, and I overran 4 of the 6 intervals. Unless I’m way off in my LT estimate and I’m much faster than I think, I’ll need to work on slowing down a bit on these in the future. I could tell as I started each interval I was subconsciously speeding up to R and I had to make sure I was running slower at LT. I didn’t fade at the end though - that’s good.
• I was tired when I finished those intervals, hence the slower 3 minute recovery. I walked the first half, then jogged the second half.
• 20 seconds is not nearly enough time to register a good, accurate pace, but I thought it would be interesting to see nonetheless. I’m used to 10 second strides. These at 20 seconds felt much more like anaerobic workouts, and the splits would confirm that. No real issue with these.
• Fun workout overall! I’ve of course mentioned how much V.O2 loves R workouts, but at some point they get boring - they’re some combination of 200 and 400 meter reps at the same pace. This was at least more mentally interesting and challenging with the variety.

 

[striker1064]

May 27 - May 29

Friday - Rest

Saturday - 6 Miles Easy (10:20 - 11:05) + Strides

• Starting T/D: 65/60 = 125
• Ending T/D: 67/60 = 127
• Some wild thunderstorms last night helped push the humidity down, but over 120 is pretty uncomfortable for me no matter how you slice it.
• I’m also testing some new running shoes, Topo Ultrafly 3. I’ve never worn a Topo or even heard of them until very recently, but I have wide feet and I’m very intrigued by the wide toe boxes. Altra shoes have the same wide toe box, but the midfoot is too narrow. The Topo Ultrafly 3 felt just right with a 0.5 size up.
  • 6 Miles Easy (10:20 - 11:05) + Strides
    • 10:22, 10:21, 10:20, 10:22, 10:14, 10:06
• Strides weren’t part of the V.O2 workout, but I wanted to add them in for old time’s sake partially to prepare for the M Tempo workout tomorrow, and partially to test the Ultraflys at faster speeds. It was fine, they were fine, everything was fine.
• The shoes worked well! They’re a little less stable and less cushioned than the New Balance 860v12, but they’re lighter in weight and felt more like a speed shoe for me. I’m interested to see how they work on a longer, more difficult run.

Sunday - M Tempo - 2 Mile Warm Up (11:48), 8 Miles at M Tempo (9:04)

• Just eyeballing it and I can tell this will be a tough workout. M Tempo should still feel pretty steady (because in a race you have to hold on for 26.2 miles), so this is a good test. Also, interestingly, V.O2 ends the workout after the 8 M Tempo miles. I manually added a 1 mile cool down.
• I’m kind of nervous to do this. Haven’t done an M Tempo workout since around the mid-point of my Princess plan, and I never did 8 miles. I’m hoping I can use this as a barometer for my fitness to see if I can manage improvement to a sub-4 pace over the next few months.
• I’m preparing for this like it’s a race. Pre-workout was a banana with a bit of peanut butter (my usual) plus a Maurten 160 drink mix right before I stepped out the door (first time using, side note: barf). I also picked up a Salomon Adv Skin 8 hydration vest because I hate hydration belts and I know I’ll need a way to carry water during the summer months. There’s no water reservoir (I didn’t want one), but it does include 2 collapsible 500ml water bottles. One is just water, and the other has 2 scoops of Tailwind Mandarin Orange, my first time using it. That’s 50g of carbs so I know it’s a little overkill for this workout, but I want to see how this works for me.
• I also carried my phone and metro card, which I never do, just in case things go south. It’s a hot morning.
• Starting T/D: 64/58 = 122
• Ending T/D: 74/58 = 132
• Total Time Elapsed: 01:48:56
  • Warm Up, 2 Miles - 12:00, 12:35
  • 8 Miles M Tempo (9:04)
    • 9:09, 9:11, 9:02, 9:16, 9:05, 9:16, 9:02, 9:11
  • Cool Down, 1 Mile - 11:48
• First things first - that vest felt heavy and cumbersome, especially once the two 500mL collapsible bottles were full. I guess I’ll need to go back to the belt, because that didn’t do it for me. Using the bottles was convenient, though.
• This was a tough workout. I haven't spent this much time on a single running workout since my Princess days. My splits were all within 14 seconds of each other - that’s encouraging. I ran an out-and back on a familiar trail.
• That first 9:16 split represents my turnaround point, which also happened to be littered with elevation changes, some steep. I’m not too surprised to see it slower.
• The second 9:16 was a steep grade path over a railroad crossing (represented the first time around by the first 9:11 split). Again, I was tired on the way back and it was steep, so not surprising to see the slowdown.
• Once I was through 6 miles, I was getting pretty fatigued, but I felt I had enough left to finish. Not an especially strong finish, but not bad.
• Is it hard to read these bullets? It makes it easy to organize my thoughts, but now that I see just how many I have, I'm not so sure.
• I sipped on the Tailwind throughout the first half, and tried to finish as much as I could shortly after I turned around at the halfway point. It tasted pretty good! …Until it got hot. Then it wasn’t so great. I think I’m going to explore taking a super-concentrated mix in a much smaller amount of fluid just to ensure I can get it all in. I wasn’t quite able to finish it, not so much because of the taste, but simply because it was a lot of liquid.
• All in all, I’m encouraged. This was a hard workout in adverse conditions (temperature) and although it was tough and I was fatigued, I was able to handle it and it didn’t feel like too much for me. This tells me I’m on the right track.

Looking to the week ahead, and every single day is in the 90s. Tomorrow I have an Interval workout, and more LT training on Wednesday. I'm already regretting being a runner. Plus a slight schedule shift - in the office on Thursday instead of Tuesday, so I'll be reorganizing a couple workouts.

 

[Naomeri]

I think the bullet points are fine, and it’s your journal, so write it however works best for your brain

btw, I think you meant to write “May” instead of “April” in your heading

 

[striker1064]

I think the bullet points are fine, and it’s your journal, so write it however works best for your brain

btw, I think you meant to write “May” instead of “April” in your heading

Thanks!

Brain is mush.

 

[HangWithMerida]

Re: hydration vest. Have you tried a vest with a reservoir? Was there a specific reason you were looking to avoid them? I ask because I use an Osprey vest for a lot of my runs. One of my locations is very rural so no place to refill small bottles. My home base is suburban so I only use it on my longer runs just because it’s convenient and I don’t have to plan around water refill spots. Does it feel different than running without a vest? Absolutely. But I wouldn’t call it cumbersome. Mostly I notice the lack of wind on my back. Mine has a 1.5L bladder and I fill it based on the length of run I am doing. I have filled it completely a few times. Is it possible that the placement of the bottles is what makes it feel heavy? Even completely full I don’t really notice the weight of 1.5L on my back. Or maybe that particular vest just doesn’t fit you well.

 

[striker1064]

Re: hydration vest. Have you tried a vest with a reservoir? Was there a specific reason you were looking to avoid them?

Mainly, a lot of big races don't allow them anymore. Philadelphia doesn't allow anything that holds more than 1L of water. I want to replicate and practice race day conditions as much as possible. I hadn't got as far yet as deciding if I would use a vest during the race, but at the very least I want to practice with something I could use if I wanted rather than getting to race day with something I can't use.

It's definitely possible the bottle placement is the culprit, though. They bounced a bit when I ran, but then again by the second half of the run I could feel the weight of the vest all over and not just at the front.

The real problem is I don't want to keep cycling through vests trying to find one that works, if any will. But I don't love belts either.

 

[HangWithMerida]

I see. It makes sense not wanting to train with something you can’t race with. I’ve never actually raced with mine but I haven’t seen any in this area not allowing them. But it has become a necessity for training runs.

 

[striker1064]

May 30 - June 5

Monday - Interval Workout - 1.5 Mile Warm Up (11:48), 4x 1000 Meters at Interval (7:47, 4:50 rep) with 4 minutes recovery, 1.5 Mile Cool Down (11:48)

• Starting T/D: 68/60 = 128
• Ending T/D: 71/63 = 134. A very hot, full-sun run. Not a cloud in the sky.
• Interval is a pace I’ve never run. I had an approximation of my Interval pace from my Princess training plan, but it was not a part of any workout.
• Jack Daniels defines Interval as a hard workout near max heart rate, designed to improve VO2 Max. The V.O2 app says “Imagine a pace you could maintain for up to 10 minutes if you had to. There is no talking at this effort.”
• Sounds like a real treat.
  • Warm Up, 1.5 Mile - 11:40, 12:08
  • 4 x 1000 Meters at I (7:47)
    • 8:01 (4:59), 7:58 (4:57), 7:53 (4:54), 7:53 (4:54)
  • 3 x Recovery for 4 minutes
    • 13:59, 18:04, 16:42
  • Cool Down, 0.66 Mile - 12:07
• V.O2 was right, I was certainly not partaking in talking of any sort at this pace.
• I included the 3 recovery intervals for curiosity’s sake - I walked most of the last 2 because the Intervals were so hard, but did pick up a slow jog during the last minute.
• I did not think I hit the pacing at any of these reps, and sure enough none of these were at pace. I didn’t fade - I sure thought I faded - and in fact I got faster as the workout wore on, even though it was only a difference of a few seconds.
• The rep itself at my Interval pace should take 4:50, so my actual reps were only 9 seconds, 7 seconds, and 4 seconds off. That’s not too bad for a first attempt in hot weather.
• I cut off the cool down at 0.66 because I was drenched and struggling with the heat. Just didn’t want to push it.
• I would very much like to never do this again.

Tuesday - Rest

• My in-office work days got switched around and I considered adding a run today, but after 2 quality sessions in a row my body needs a break, so I’m taking it.
• It helps that the forecast is calling for 95F today, although Wednesday isn’t much better at 94F.

Wednesday - LT Workout - 1.5 Mile Warm Up (11:48), 6 x 800 meter reps at Lactate Threshold (8:28) with 1 minute recovery, 3 minute rest/recovery, 5 x 20 second Strides with 1 minute recovery, 1 Mile Cool Down (11:48)

• Starting T/D: 77/67 = 144
• Ending T/D: 79/67 = 146. Brutal. My hottest run of the year so far.
  • 1.5 Mile Warm Up (11:48) - 11:22, 11:26
  • 7 x 800 Meters @ LT (8:28)
    • 8:23, 8:29, 8:19, 8:21, 8:23, 8:17, 8:23
  • 3 Minute Recovery - 17:28
  • 5 x 20 second Strides
    • 7:53, 7:46, 8:01, 7:54, 8:04
  • Cool Down, 1 Mile - 11:22
• I came into this workout knowing I needed to slow down relative to my LT workout last week (because I overran 4 of 6 intervals). I made a legitimate, conscious effort to go slower, and I… overran 6 of the 7 intervals. Cool.
• I’m genuinely confused by this. I didn’t get that many fast pace alerts during my workout. I also made a real effort to try not to overrun the paces. Weird.
• I am encouraged that even though I overran these, my paces overall were much tighter and closer to my goal. Everything was +/- 11 seconds off my target, at worst. Also, no fade in the heat.
• My 1 minute and 3 minute recoveries were almost all taken as walks. It was too hot to keep jogging.
• Not much else to say here except I need to keep practicing LT. It’s getting better.

Thursday - Rest

• Rough day in the office, plus it was hot outside. A most unpleasant combination.
• When I got home I treated myself to an espresso martini. I then spent the entire night staring at the ceiling wondering why I couldn’t sleep. Perhaps it was related?

At least it looks pretty.

Friday - 5.5 Miles Easy (10:20 - 11:05)

• T/D: 69/57 = 126
  • 5.5 Miles Easy
    • 10:39, 10:28, 10:28, 10:18, 10:17, 10:12

Saturday - 7 Miles Easy (10:20 - 11:05)

• T/D: 73/54 = 127
  • 7 Miles Easy
    • 10:26, 10:23, 10:29, 10:36, 10:20, 10:31, 10:41

I still don’t know if I’m taking these easy days too fast, but I’m still within my range. I did feel pretty fatigued on Saturday, but I think that was more because of the full Sun.

DW and I went out for Ethiopian - first time in a while - as a lunch time treat, and I’m continuing to experiment with the espresso martini. This time I substituted Biscotti Liqueur for the simple syrup. Not bad!


Pictured, starting with the yellow peas in the upper left and going clockwise - Ye'ater Kik Alicha we't (Split Peas in Yellow Pea Sauce), Derek Tibs (cubed sirlion with onion, jalapenos, butter sauce, and hot chili powder), Gomen We't (collard greens), Tikil Gomen (cabbage), more Derk Tibs, salad, and the middle is Bozena Shero We't (ground split peas simmered in berbere and mixed with beef tibs and butter)

Sunday - Long Run - Rest

• Last night I suddenly started feeling very under the weather. A bit better today after sleeping 9 hours (which I never do), but still feeling lethargic, so I'm skipping the 9 miles today. Unless I feel much better tonight. We'll see.

 

[DopeyBadger]

I would very much like to never do this again.

According to the 3rd edition book guidance, that would be considered a max level interval pace run. Daniels sets the limit at 5 min of interval pace before you get diminishing returns. So it sounds like you did it right because 5 minutes of "I" is absolutely brutal. He describes it in the book as THE hardest endurance pace possible. So it's close to one of the hardest runs you can do (max duration at the hardest possible pace). You should feel like the difficulty gets exponentially more difficult after 2 min. Two minutes is way harder than one minute. But the comparison between 3 and 2 minutes is NOTHING like the comparison between 2 and 1 minute. But I've also found that Daniels I pace is the stone that best sharpens the sword. Just sucks to do it.

• Not much else to say here except I need to keep practicing LT. It’s getting better.

It is VERY easy to overrun LT pace because it's a pace that you're capable of holding for a much longer duration (approximately 60 min). So doing reps at 4 min (800m) is putting it in a place that makes it very accomplishable from a workout standpoint. That's 1/15th of the race distance. That's like doing 1.5 mile M Tempo reps. It'll be "easier" to maintain the correct LT pace when the rep length gets in the 15-20 min range.

But if the goal was 8:28, then at 800m that's 4:14. You did them in 4:12, 4:14, 4:09, 4:10, 4:12, 4:09, and 4:12. Honestly, those are all practically on target to me. Maybe the 4:09 is a tad aggressive, but the 4:12-4:14 paces are completely reasonable.

 

[striker1064]

You should feel like the difficulty gets exponentially more difficult after 2 min.

Oh yes. I alluded to this in what I wrote, but I thought for sure based on the way I felt in the last couple reps that I faded. That's why I was so surprised to see I got a little faster. I get to do this again on Thursday - a single 1000m rep at I, a 4 minute recovery interval, then 7x 400m reps at I. Extrapolating a bit, those 400m reps should be about 2 minutes. The real challenge is going to be not running at R, because I've done that so many times. Not to mention that I'm running 5 minutes at I first. I'm glad that I is such a huge help though, cause otherwise I'm not sure what I'm doing!

It'll be "easier" to maintain the correct LT pace when the rep length gets in the 15-20 min range.

I definitely remember these getting a lot better during Princess training when I moved up to a mile and beyond. Tomorrow (health willing) I have 4x 1000m LT reps. That's not tremendously longer than 800m but I'm hoping the extra distance will help me normalize these a bit.

 

[striker1064]

June 6 - June12

Monday - LT Workout - 1.5 Mile Warm Up (11:48), 4 x 1000 meter reps at Lactate Threshold (8:28) with 1 minute recovery, 3 minute rest/recovery, 5 x 20 second Strides with 1 minute recovery, 1.5 Mile Cool Down (11:48)

• T/D: 68/54 = 122
• Finally found a belt I’m happy using! The Nathan Peak hydration belt worked pretty well for me. Having it on my back was less annoying than the old Nathan Trail Mix I currently have.
  • 1.5 Mile Warm Up (11:48) - 11:39, 11:42
  • 4 x 1000 Meters @ LT (8:28)
    • 8:33 (5:19), 8:27 (5:15), 8:30 (5:17), 8:24 (5:13)
  • 3 Minute Recovery - 12:13
  • 5 x 20 second Strides
    • 7:51, 7:45, 7:49, 7:41, 7:57
  • Cool Down, 1.5 Mile - 11:52, 10:30
• A significantly better LT effort today. Probably the ~20 T/D drop from last week’s LT workout helped, but also it’s much easier to get the pacing right on LT as distance increases.
• 5 minutes is not a particularly difficult LT effort, but that extra 200 meters over last week really helps get the pacing right.
• I’m counting all these as on target. My target segment time was 5:16, and I’m +/- 3 seconds on all 4 reps. Very happy with this.
• These workouts as a whole are getting better. I’m jogging the recoveries instead of walking, and the strides were a little faster and more consistent.

Tuesday - Easy Run - 4 Miles Easy (10:20 - 11:05)

• T/D: 65/60 = 125
  • 4 Miles Easy
    • 10:33, 10:20, 10:22, 10:24
• Another shuffling of days this week, as my in-office day will be Thursday.
• Last week’s heat is making these 120 T/D days feel actually comfortable! Not that I’m complaining.

Wednesday - Interval Workout - 1.5 Mile Warm Up (11:48), 5 x 20 second Strides with 1 minute recovery, 3 minute recovery, 1 x 1000 meters at Interval (7:47), 4 minute recovery, 7 x 400 meters at Interval w/ 1 minute recovery, 0.75 Mile Cool Down (11:48)

• Starting T/D: 70/68 = 138
• Ending T/D: 73/68 = 141
• Goody.
• Interesting that this workout starts with the strides. I’m guessing this is V.O2’s version of “This is gonna suck.”
  • 1.5 Mile Warm Up (11:48) - 10:42, 11:32
  • 5 x 20 second Strides
    • 8:27, 8:22, 8:40, 9:18, 9:32
  • 3 minute recovery - 13:45
  • 1 x 1000 Meters @ I (7:47)
    • 7:53 (4:54)
  • 4 minute recovery - 17:29
  • 7 x 400 Meters @ I (7:47)
    • 7:35 (1:53), 7:43 (1:55), 7:39 (1:54), 7:47 (1:56), 7:43 (1:55), 7:43 (1:55), 7:43 (1:55)
  • 0.75 Cool Down (11:48) - 10:38
• I walked pretty much all of the recoveries, either mostly or all, because of the heat + a poor night’s sleep causing more fatigue than usual.
• For these Interval paces, I kept repeating @DopeyBadger “I pace is the stone that best sharpens the sword.” Not sure how else I would get through it! These paces are not fun, especially starting at max 5-minute followed by seven more of these stupid things.
• These paces are all pretty much on target, I think. The first 400 meter rep was a little fast and that doesn’t surprise me because of how many R workouts I’ve done. The rest rebounded nicely.
• As mentioned, I walked almost all of the recoveries, even at the beginning when I didn’t necessarily need it. It was hot with full sun, and I knew hard reps were coming, so I didn’t chance it.

Thursday - Rest

Friday - Rest

Saturday - Easy Run - 5 Miles Easy (10:20 - 11:05)

• T/D: 68/61 = 129. Muggy and rainy
  • 5 Miles Easy
    • 10:29, 10:44, 10:45, 10:35, 10:20

Sunday - Long Run - 9 Miles LR (10:03)

• T/D: 70/64 = 134. Very muggy with occasional sprinkles.
• This was scheduled in V.O2 as 7 miles, but I was in the mood to go a bit more distance.
  • 9 Miles LR (10:03)
    • 9:55, 10:00, 10:06, 9:54, 9:59, 9:50, 9:55, 10:01, 9:50
• I really enjoy these long runs because I can settle into the pace and zone out.
• Definitely overran these and I am a bit sore following, but it’s not too bad.

Next Saturday is my 5k re-do! I've got a short LT workout tomorrow (Monday), and some simple short, easy runs the rest of the week.

I also have always been curious about the speed/racing shoes, but I've never picked any up because I have a wide foot. The Nike Alphafly and Saucony Endorphin Pro 2 both went on sale for pretty deep discounts and both have good return policies, so I ordered a pair of each. They seem to have the widest toe-box of all the speed shoes. Excited to finally try them out!... assuming I can actually get them on my feet.

 

[striker1064]

Pre-5k update

June 13 - June 17

Monday - LT Workout - 1 Mile Warm Up (11:48), 5 x 800 meter reps at Lactate Threshold (8:28) with 1 minute recovery, 3 minute rest/recovery, 5 x 20 second Strides with 1 minute recovery, 1 Mile Cool Down (11:48)

• Starting T/D: 72/68 = 140
• Ending T/D: 76/68 = 144. Big ugh.
  • 1 Mile Warm Up (11:48) - 12:04
  • 5 x 800 Meters @ LT (8:28)
    • 8:23 (4:10), 8:23 (4:10), 8:15 (4:06), 8:23 (4:10), 8:17 (4:07)
  • 3 minute recovery - 16:07
  • 5 x 20 second Strides
    • 8:00, 8:25, 7:59, 8:26, 8:29
  • 1 Mile Cool Down (11:48) - 11:28
• Surprisingly, these LT reps weren’t a huge problem despite the heat and humidity. I was able to jog the first 3 recovery intervals, although I had to walk the fourth plus the 3 minute recovery because the Sun was all the way out and things got brutal.
• Last week I did much better nailing my LT targets. This week, a bit too aggressive. I’m a little surprised to see that, as things felt pretty easy all things considered.
• Also a bit of a taper now for the upcoming 5k, as V.O2 recommended fewer shorter LT intervals, plus simple, easy running the rest of the week. With highs at or over 90, I’ll take that.
• Coming back to it, I’m still a tad confused about how easy those LT reps were despite the aggressiveness. I’m guessing the shorter intervals are partly to blame. I’m also very curious to know if I’ve improved. I’m going to find out very soon.

Tuesday - Rest

Wednesday - 5k Tuneup - 1 Mile Warm Up (11:48), 3 x 1000 meter reps at 5k - 10sec (8:11) with 90 second recovery, 1 Mile Cool Down (11:48)

• T/D: 75/68 = 143
• This was scheduled as a 4 mile easy run by V.O2, but a conundrum arose - my Nike Alphaflys were delivered, and I could not help myself. They’re meant to go fast, not easy, so I tried to pick a workout that wouldn’t result in too much fatigue.
  • 1 Mile Warm Up (11:48) - 11:46
  • 3 x 1000 Meters @ 5k - 10 sec (8:11)
    • 8:03, 8:08, 7:56
  • 1 Mile Cool Down (11:48) - 11:30
• These shoes are no joke. Not comfortable at all when walking or running slowly, but those intervals were effortless.
• I way overran my goal pace on these and I could barely tell despite a T/D of over 140, brutal conditions.
• I’m not sure that I’ll keep them because of my stupid flat wide overpronating feet, but I’m going to wear them for the 5k Saturday because wow. It's also kind of weird to me that my foot fits in them at all because of the width, but the material on the Alphaflys is very light and stretches easily.

Thursday - Easy Run - 4.5 Miles Easy (10:20 - 11:05)

• T/D: 74/61 = 135
  • 4.5 Miles Easy (10:20 - 11:05)
    • 10:31, 10:14, 10:22, 10:23, 10:05
• The Endorphin Pro 2s were delivered today. I put my foot in them and my toes immediately bunched into a mini-pyramid. Oh well! Back they go.

Friday - Rest

The 5k is tomorrow morning at 9 AM. I've been pretty nervous about the weather especially because today (Friday) is a high of 97 (!!). It looks like I'm going to luck out because of a weirdly big cooldown coming tonight; tomorrow's high is projected at 76, so with any luck I'll be running in a T/D of around 120.

Pacing: 5k race paces confound me a bit. I like to start races conservatively, but a 5k is so short there's not a lot of time to make it up at the end. My goal is sub-25:00, which is a calculated pace of 8:02. I could start around 8:12 and speed up in mile 3 if I feel like I have it, but that means I'd have to run the final mile in 7:42 - that's a big ask. Starting slow in longer races is helpful; starting slow in a 5k mentally feels a lot like I'm only hurting myself. The most likely scenario is I'm going out and holding on to 8:02-8:07 for as long as possible.

 

[GollyGadget]

Good luck on your race tomorrow! Glad the weather is cooperating a bit for you.

I like your plan of holding on to 8:02 as long as possible. It's still possible to go out too fast in a 5k but it's not as detrimental as it is at longer distances. 5k is probably my least favorite race distance. It always deceives me because it's only 3 miles, but boy does that last mile suck. Anyway, embrace the suck and remember that you can do hard things!

 

[WillRunForPizza]

Good luck tomorrow! Hopefully the cooler weather will sneak in a little early - at least it will be better than today! (8:52 a.m. and it's already 81º )

 

[striker1064]

Good luck tomorrow! Hopefully the cooler weather will sneak in a little early - at least it will be better than today! (8:52 a.m. and it's already 81º )

Thankfully today is a rest day, but I'm running errands and dying.

 

[garneska]

My tip for 5k race, and you probably know this but does not hurt to repeat, make sure you do a warm up. A 5k is a short race and you really need to run al 3.1 miles hard. You need a warm up before hand. As far as pacing, i usually go with if you throw up at the end the race then you ran it hard

 

[striker1064]

Anyway, embrace the suck and remember that you can do hard things!

Oh yes, I always think of Hank Green's old video about NASA where he discusses his grandfather's mantra: "Decrease the suck, increase the awesome!"

My tip for 5k race, and you probably know this but does not hurt to repeat, make sure you do a warm up.

For sure! I actually live about a 20 minute jog from the course and I run it regularly. It's the perfect distance for a warm up with some strides. Last time I left home a little late and finished my warm up literally one minute before the start. That was perfect!

 

[striker1064]

Currently 98° with a dew point of 63°. We have officially broken the 160 T/D threshold.

There's also a 16 mph wind, because who wouldn't want to be slapped with a brimstone gust?

 

[DopeyBadger]