avondale training journal, starting Dec. 2018 (comments welcome)

[avondale]

Week of Sep. 23 - 29, 2019

This is the seventh week of my DopeyBadger training plan for the Space Coast Marathon on Dec. 1.

Monday, Sep. 23

• Morning: prehab routine (like previous) and foam rolling and stretching
• After work:
  • 5EA
    • T+D 142, 3.5% correction
    • target pace 11:56; with correction 12:20
    • splits: 12:19, 12:16, 12:11, 12:14, 12:14
    • route: Sligo Creek Trail, going north
    • comments: I hit my pace target for all miles!

Tuesday, Sep. 24

• Morning: Workout 2 (like previous) and foam rolling and stretching
• After work:
  • 1WU + 5min@EA + 5min@EB + 5min@LR + 5min@M-tempo + 5min@HM-tempo + 5min@T + 1CD
    • T+D 123, 1.5% correction
    • target paces: 11:56, 11:08, 10:50, 9:56, 9:32, 9:11; with correction: 12:06, 11:18, 11:00, 10:05, 9:40, 9:18
    • splits: 12:00, 11:16, 10:55, 10:02, 9:37, 9:11
    • route: HS track
    • comments: I hit my pace target for everything except the last split, and it was a little fast! Very happy with this run, especially since it was crowded up after Sunday's LR and Monday's EA. It was supposed to get much hotter later in the week, so I wanted the cooler T+D.

Wednesday, Sep. 25

• Morning: prehab routine (like previous) and foam rolling and stretching
• After work:
  • 1-hr tennis lesson

Thursday, Sep. 26

• Morning: Workout 3 (like previous) and foam rolling and stretching
• After work:
  • 5EA
    • T+D 135, 2.5% correction
    • target pace 11:56; with correction 12:13
    • splits: 12:12, 12:11, 12:06, 12:11, 12:09
    • route: Sligo Creek Trail, going north
    • comments: I hit my pace target for all miles!

Friday, Sep. 27:

• Morning: foam rolling and stretching
• Evening: tennis doubles match - my partner and I lost 6-3, 7-6 in about 5 minutes less than 2 hours. Fortunately our team won overall

Saturday, Sep. 28:

• Morning: 2-hr tennis practice
• Late afternoon:
  • 7.5EB
    • T+D 145, 4% correction
    • target pace 11:08; with correction 11:34
    • splits: 11:21, 11:26, 11:33, 11:24, 11:26, 11:27, 11:25, 11:38
    • route: Rock Creek Trail, going north
    • comments: I hit my pace target for all miles except the first. This run was HOT and harder than it should have been. My average HR was 151 BPM for the run, which is toward the top of my LR range. I took about 1.5 L of water, but didn't end up drinking it all.

Sunday, Sep. 29:

• 11.5LR
  • T+D 145, 4% correction
  • target pace 10:50; with correction 11:18
  • splits: 11:08, 11:10, 11:14, 11:22, 11:27, 11:16, 11:19, 12:07, 12:23, 12:25, 12:22
  • route: Rock Creek Trail, going north
  • comments:
    • I hit my splits for the first 8 miles.
    • Then I started feeling dizzy, as in I couldn't run in a straight line - but no tunnel vision or sparkles. I took a break for a few minutes and started slower, with the intent of keeping my HR at about 160 BPM. This ended up falling to about EA pace.
    • My average HR for the run was 158 BPM; it had gotten up to almost 170 BPM before I slowed down. 158 BPM is at the bottom of my marathon range and definitely above my LR range.
    • The heat really dragged on me, and I think even though I got almost 9 hours of sleep, I was worn out from the day before.
    • I took 300 cal of Tailwind in 1.5L of water, but didn't quite drink it all - I had run out in my 10-miler a couple of weeks before, so I think I paced it a bit too much on this run.
    • Also, oddly for this run and the run the day before, when I start getting more tired, I get a tingling on the under side of my skull (not the neck, but skull). No idea what is causing it, but a good guess it's related to my neck muscles and headache. I don't feel like I'm holding my head funny, but who knows.
    • This was disappointing to have my first missed training run, especially since the 10-miler two weeks ago was so easy. But that run was much cooler and I wasn't as worn out.

 

[avondale]

Week of Sep. 30 - Oct. 6, 2019

This is the eigth week of my DopeyBadger training plan for the Space Coast Marathon on Dec. 1.

Monday, Sep. 30

• After work: walked on the treadmill for about 40 minutes

Tuesday, Oct. 1

• Morning: prehab routine (like previous) and foam rolling and stretching
• After work:
  • 5EA
    • T+D 145, 4% correction
    • target pace 11:56; with correction 12:24
    • splits: 12:31, 12:23, 12:22, 12:16, 12:18
    • route: Sligo Creek Trail, going north
    • comments: I hit my pace target for all miles!

Wednesday, Oct. 2

• Morning: foam rolling and stretching
• In evening: 2-hr tennis doubles match - my partner and I lost 6-3, 6-3, but our team won overall!

Thursday, Oct. 3

• In morning: foam rolling and stretching
• After work:
  • 0.75WU + 4 x (7min@CV + 2.5min RI) + 4 x (200m@R + 200m RI) + 0.5CD
    • T+D 135, 2.5% correction
    • target pace for CV 9:14
    • CV splits: 9:09, 9:11, 9:07, 9:12
    • CV comments: one split 2 sec too fast!
    • R-pace target: should be 60 sec or less per interval
    • R-pace splits: 49.2s, 53.1s, 54.3s, 53.7s
    • R-pace comments: the first interval should be ~0.5s longer because it took extra time to start the lap; similarly the last interval should be almost 1s shorter because the lap really didn't want to end. These splits were a bit slower than the ones from two weeks ago, but still well within what I should be doing.
    • I did this as two workouts. Total mileage: 6.0 mi. Total time: 68:13.
    • HS track

Friday, Oct. 4

• Morning: foam rolling and stretching

Saturday, Oct. 5

• Morning: 2-hr tennis practice - it was in the 50s F and felt wonderful!
• Late afternoon:
  • 8EB, blind
    • T+D 103, 0.5% correction
    • target pace 11:08; with correction 11:11
    • splits: 10:56, 11:05, 11:03, 11:14, 11:00, 11:08, 11:09, 11:10
    • comments: I was happy getting these splits on a blind run. The first one was too fast, but all the others were pretty good - mile 5 was 1s outside of my pace window.
    • Route: Rock Creek Trail, going north

Sunday, Oct. 6

• Afternoon:
  • 1.5WU + 5 x (1M-tempo + 0.2WU) + 1CD
  • T+D 123, 1.5% correction
  • target M-tempo pace 9:56; with correction 10:05
  • M-tempo splits: 9:59, 9:59, 10:00, 10:04, 10:02
  • comments: my first two splits were 1s fast, but overall I was very happy with this.
  • Route: Rock Creek Trail, going north

Health:

• Headache continues. Sigh.
• Since last Sunday, I've had a sore hip muscle (?). It doesn't really seem to be stopping me from doing anything, and usually those sorts of things go away for me.
• I was tired this week, so took things a little easy with the weight-lifting. Trying to make sure I get at least 7 hrs of sleep per night.

 

[avondale]

Week of Oct. 7 - 13, 2019

This is the ninth week of my DopeyBadger training plan for the Space Coast Marathon on Dec. 1.

Monday, Oct. 7

• Morning: prehab routine (like previous) and foam rolling and stretching
• Evening: subbed in to a 2-hr tennis doubles match. My partner and I won 6-4, 6-1, and our team won the match overall, too!

Tuesday, Oct. 8

• After work:
  • Progression run: 1WU + 7min@EA + 7min@EB + 7min@LR + 7min@M-tempo + 7min@HM-tempo + 7min@T
    • T+D 107, 0.5% correction
    • target paces 11:56, 11:08, 10:50, 9:56, 9:32, 9:11; with correction 12:00, 11:11, 10:53, 9:59, 9:35, 9:14
    • splits: 11:58, 11:13, 10:48, 10:01, 9:32, 9:15
    • comments: I hit my target paces for all segments! Still loving the cool weather.
    • Route: HS track

Wednesday, Oct. 9

• Morning: Workout 1 (like previous) and foam rolling and stretching
• After work:
  • 5EA
    • T+D 109, 0.5% correction
    • target pace 11:56; with correction 12:00
    • splits: 11:53, 12:00, 11:44, 11:57, 11:59
    • comments: I hit my target paces for all miles except one - this was because of the hills.
    • Route: around the neighborhood

Thursday, Oct. 10

• Morning: prehab routine (like previous) and foam rolling and stretching
• Evening: 2-hr tennis doubles match. My partner and I lost 6-1, 6-4, and our team lost overall, as well.

Friday, Oct. 11

• After work:
  • 8EB
    • T+D 113, 1% correction
    • target pace 11:08; with correction 11:15
    • splits: 11:06, 11:14, 11:21, 11:14, 11:07, 11:09, 11:16, 11:13
    • comments: I hit my target paces for all miles.
    • Route: Sligo Creek Trail, going north

Saturday Oct. 12

• Morning: 2-hr tennis practice
• Late afternoon:
  • 13LR
    • T+D 118, 1% correction
    • target pace 10:50; with correction 10:57
    • splits: 10:44, 10:53, 10:49, 10:54, 11:03, 10:50, 10:49, 11:01, 10:52, 11:00, 10:50, 10:57, 10:56.
    • comments: I hit my target pace for all miles except the first! I was very happy to complete this run relatively easily after having so many problems with the 11.5LR two weeks ago. But this day was so much cooler!
    • Route: Rock Creek Trail, going north

Sunday, Oct. 13

• Morning: walked on treadmill for about 40 min
• Evening: 2-hr tennis match. I'm writing this in the afternoon, so I don't know the outcome yet.

Changes to running plan this week:

• Since I had to sub in to the tennis match on Monday night, I had to drop one of the mid-week 5EA runs.
• Because of the match tonight (Sunday), I pushed my usual Saturday and Sunday runs ahead by one day each. Luckily I was able to leave work a little early on Friday.

Question for @DopeyBadger : my mid-week runs are transitioning to my "around the neighborhood" route because it's getting dark so early. This is closer to home and more populated, for safety. (This is more my husband's concern, but...) This route is all small roller-coaster hills. There are literally very few flat lengths.

I run a loop that's about 1.62 miles and do it 3 times, plus a little extra to get to 5.0 mi. When I enable the elevation corrections on Garmin, this run had a total elevation gain of 337 ft. Max elevation was 394 ft and minimum elevation was 323 ft. Clearly I'm doing a whole lot of up and down in this. So, to hit an EA target pace of 11:56 per mile, I'm usually doing ~10:30 on the downhills and ~13:30 on the uphills. Is this OK, or am I negating the point of the EA run?

I don't have a lot of alternatives, but wondering if I should be approaching it differently. My average HR was 137 BPM for this run, which is toward the high end of my easy run range, and of course it was higher on the uphills, although I slowed down.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Remember that Easy isn't easy if it doesn't feel easy. So effort is your guide. With that being said, I would not average a faster pace than EA. So effort can say go slower but not faster. I'd venture to guess the pace descrepancy between your downhill and uphill is too much. Your downhill might be EA-20 sec and uphill EA+40 sec.

 

[avondale]

Well, that is what I was worried about - that the pace differences were too extreme. I don't have a lot of better alternative courses to run (flatter, that is). While none of the uphills are more than about 1/4-mile, they are still steep enough that if I try to stay within 40 s over pace, I'm going to be way above my HR zone. That's why I've been slowing them down so much - to try not to make it too hard.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Well, that is what I was worried about - that the pace differences were too extreme. I don't have a lot of better alternative courses to run (flatter, that is). While none of the uphills are more than about 1/4-mile, they are still steep enough that if I try to stay within 40 s over pace, I'm going to be way above my HR zone. That's why I've been slowing them down so much - to try not to make it too hard.

And that's what you should do. I was only giving an example, not saying that's what it should be necessarily. This is where Strava GAP (grade adjusted pace) is handy for post-run analysis. Because then you can see what it calculates as an "even" pace. But at the end of the day, easy is only easy if it feels easy.

 

[avondale]

Well, after trying to run my neighborhood route making sure to always keep my HR in the easy range, I can say that I'm not going to hit many of my target paces. It's extremely frustrating to have to go even slower than what seems like a slow speed already to do this.

Can I calculate my own GAP? If I at least had a target, I might feel better about it.

I've included an image of the elevation vs distance for this run. I've marked off the main sections.

• A: big downhill
• B: long, but more gradual uphill
• C: shorter downhill
• D: short, but steep uphill

My loop is a lollipop loop, but the handle of the lollipop is very short, so that's the extra bit before A and after D before the pattern starts repeating.

Uphill B: this goes from 308 ft to 359 ft in 0.43 miles, which is a rate of 119 ft/mi.

Uphill D: this goes from 308 ft to 372 ft in 0.27 miles, which is a rate of 237 ft/mi.

For completeness, downhill A goes from 369 ft to 308 ft in 0.36 miles, which is a rate of 169 ft/mi. Downhill C goes from 359 ft to 308 ft in 0.28 miles, which is a rate of 182 ft/mi.

The only information I've found about calculating the GAP is this on reddit. (Actually, a comment on this mentions a newer article that Strava is supposedly using. Here's the link to the original article: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...etti2002.pdf&usg=AOvVaw26VprjTcnCY-hk0NAR71H- This article is measuring the effect in units of energy per mass per distance, which I haven't quite digested yet.) At any rate, the reddit page mentions that "for every 44 feet in elevation change", the GAP will change by 10 sec.

What's unclear to me is whether it's literally 44 ft of gain, no matter how much linear distance it takes to achieve this, or if it's a standardized feet of gain per mile. If it's the former, then my Uphill D would have a GAP of about 10 sec + 5 sec for the gain of 64 ft. But if it's going by the rate of 237 ft/mi, then the GAP would be about 54 sec.

Honestly, the second interpretation seems more reasonable given the effort level involved, but I'm not sure.

But I suppose that even if I could calculate my GAP, the uphills and downhills don't match up with the mile laps, so it would be hard to apply that anyway. So this is mostly just venting with numbers.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Can I calculate my own GAP? If I at least had a target, I might feel better about it.

You can, or you can let Strava do the work and just download your workouts into their interface.

A different option is looking into a "power meter" for your shoe like Stryd. From a person on Strava that I trust, he believes the GAP and power meter match relatively well. So if you want an "in the moment" measurement for the hills then it might be a consideration. Otherwise, you can use Strava post workout a few times and get an idea what the lollipop is like. You could even do your own personal "laps" for the uphill/downhill instead of miles if it makes it easier.

What's unclear to me is whether it's literally 44 ft of gain, no matter how much linear distance it takes to achieve this, or if it's a standardized feet of gain per mile. If it's the former, then my Uphill D would have a GAP of about 10 sec + 5 sec for the gain of 64 ft. But if it's going by the rate of 237 ft/mi, then the GAP would be about 54 sec.

Sounds like it is based on %grade. Which then takes both the linear distance and rise both into account. Maintain a 5% grade and you get a certain adjustment. Whether that's for 100 feet or 100 miles, the 5% grade would yield the same adjustment.

 

[avondale]

You can, or you can let Strava do the work and just download your workouts into their interface.

A different option is looking into a "power meter" for your shoe like Stryd. From a person on Strava that I trust, he believes the GAP and power meter match relatively well. So if you want an "in the moment" measurement for the hills then it might be a consideration. Otherwise, you can use Strava post workout a few times and get an idea what the lollipop is like. You could even do your own personal "laps" for the uphill/downhill instead of miles if it makes it easier.



Sounds like it is based on %grade. Which then takes both the linear distance and rise both into account. Maintain a 5% grade and you get a certain adjustment. Whether that's for 100 feet or 100 miles, the 5% grade would yield the same adjustment.

Thanks for the ideas. I'm avoiding Strava just because I don't want yet another account to have to put everything into...

 

[DopeyBadger]

Thanks for the ideas. I'm avoiding Strava just because I don't want yet another account to have to put everything into...

I get that. I guess just use fake information then. I'd guess it would take maybe 10-15 min to do the whole process. Set the account to private. Run 2-3 of your lollipop runs, and then evaluate the data. Break the link between Strava and Garmin. Then the Strava account sits dormant as private with fake information until a new route comes along that you want to evaluate. I think at most Strava only uploads the last 30 days of Garmin activity after the first run is loaded. You have to use something like Tapriik to get everything from Garmin to Strava (which then takes hours). But that's not really a worry here since the use of Strava is really only to evaluate the GAP of your lollipop.

 

[avondale]

GAPs for My Common Running Routes

So I broke down and made a Strava account so that I could look at the GAPs for my common running routes. Fortunately Strava will upload old runs, and I can even tell it to correct the elevation values, since my Garmin Vivoactive 3 has issues with that.

1. Sligo Creek Trail.I typically run 5 miles or fewer on this trail as an out-and-back run. I can't really do more than 5 miles in the northern direction because the trail ends shortly after that. Each row in the table below is a mile on the run. I tabulated three different runs on this trail in the table and give the average time differences between the pace and the GAP. The GAPs are quite consistent for the same miles. (I can't make a table with more than 10 columns.)
   

   Pace	GAP	diff	Pace	GAP	diff	Pace	GAP	diff	Ave Diff
   11:42	11:42	1 s	12:31	12:30	1 s	12:11	12:11	0 s	1 s (mile 1)
   11:15	11:01	14 s	12:23	12:08	15 s	12:11	11:56	15 s	15 s (mile 2)
   11:09	10:59	10 s	12:23	12:10	13 s	12:05	11:52	13 s	12 s (mile 3)
   11:09	11:18	-9 s	12:15	12:26	-10 s	12:11	12:22	-11 s	-10 s (mile 4)
   11:23	11:14	9 s	12:25	12:15	10 s	12:09	12:01	8 s	9 s (mile 5)

   
   
2. Old loop around the neighborhood. This is a lollipop loop of 1.62 mi that I run around my neighborhood in the winter when it is dark. I generally do this for 5 miles (3 loops + a smidgen more), as that is a typical distance in my training plan. I tabulated two different runs on this trail in the table and give the average time differences between the pace and the GAP. This is a very hilly route.
   

   Mile	Pace	GAP	diff	Pace	GAP	diff	Ave Diff
   1	11:56	11:47	9 s	11:52	11:44	8 s	9 s
   2	12:04	11:51	13 s	12:00	11:47	13 s	13 s
   3	12:20	11:56	26 s	11:44	11:21	23 s	25 s
   4	12:10	11:55	15 s	11:57	11:42	13 s	14 s
   5	12:13	11:49	24 s	11:59	11:33	26 s	25 s

3. New loop around the neighborhood. I have developed a new loop around the neighborhood to try to keep from getting bored doing only the previous loop. One loop is about 1.05 mi, so I do this 4 times, then an out-and-back on one side of the leg to finish it. I've only done this loop once. Unfortunately it's not really less hilly than the other loop.
   

   Mile	Pace	GAP	diff
   1	11:37	11:15	22 s
   2	11:36	11:24	12 s
   3	11:38	11:25	13 s
   4	11:48	11:27	21 s
   5	11:59	11:39	20 s

4. Rock Creek Trail. I do my Saturday and Sunday runs here, because going northbound from my usual starting point, there is some 14 miles of trail, so an out-and-back can be pretty long. For my calculations, I'm including a 13-mile run (6.5 mi out-and-back) and an 11-mile run (5.5 mi out-and-back). I've put the 11-miler miles in the rows where they match with the 13-miler miles.
   

   Mile	Pace	GAP	diff	Pace	GAP	diff	Ave Diff
   1	10:44	10:39	5 s	11:08	11:02	6 s	6 s
   2	10:53	10:48	5 s	11:10	11:05	5 s	5 s
   3	10:50	10:43	7 s	11:13	11:07	6 s	7 s
   4	10:54	10:46	8 s	11:14	11:07	7 s	8 s
   5	11:03	10:49	14 s	11:23	11:15	8 s	11 s
   6	10:50	10:37	13 s				13 s
   7	10:49	10:46	3 s				3 s
   8 (-6)	11:01	10:49	12 s				12 s
   9 (-5)	10:52	10:51	1 s	11:17	11:14	3 s	2 s
   10 (-4)	10:59	10:58	1 s	11:19	11:17	2 s	2 s
   11 (-3)	10:51	10:51	0 s	12:08	12:07	1 s	1 s
   12 (-2)	10:49	10:50	-1 s	12:23	12:21	2 s	1 s
   13 (-1)	10:55	10:47	8 s	12:25	12:20	5 s	7 s

Some thoughts about this...

• The first run in the table for "old route around the neighborhood" was the first one that I did with the express intent of keeping my HR below 140 BPM, which would keep me in my easy zone. It's nice to see that the GAPs were all within a 10-sec range, right on my target pace for EA (11:56, target for this run), even though my actual paces were more widely spread. This is how things should work out, but it's nice confirmation.
• On the other hand, the run in the table for "new loop around neighborhood" was my first time doing this route. I also made a point of keeping my HR below 140 BPM, but this was supposed to be an EB run with a target pace of 11:08. Only the first mile has a GAP that fell in my target pace window. The next three GAPs were pretty self-consistent, but much slower, and the last was really slow. I don't know how that's going to go in the future.

So I suppose that going forward, I will try to have customized pace targets for each mile. Hopefully if I'm training at truly the correct pace, then I will adapt more quickly and be able to run faster in those conditions. (And I can't figure out how to get rid of this empty table!)

 

[DopeyBadger]

Very nice!

The first run in the table for "old route around the neighborhood" was the first one that I did with the express intent of keeping my HR below 140 BPM, which would keep me in my easy zone. It's nice to see that the GAPs were all within a 10-sec range, right on my target pace for EA (11:56, target for this run), even though my actual paces were more widely spread. This is how things should work out, but it's nice confirmation.

On the other hand, the run in the table for "new loop around neighborhood" was my first time doing this route. I also made a point of keeping my HR below 140 BPM, but this was supposed to be an EB run with a target pace of 11:08. Only the first mile has a GAP that fell in my target pace window. The next three GAPs were pretty self-consistent, but much slower, and the last was really slow. I don't know how that's going to go in the future.

So you have the same HR target/cap for EA and EB? While the target EB pace didn't equal the GAP, the GAP pace itself was very consistent. And as long as the run actually felt easy, then pace goal accomplished.

So I suppose that going forward, I will try to have customized pace targets for each mile. Hopefully if I'm training at truly the correct pace, then I will adapt more quickly and be able to run faster in those conditions. (And I can't figure out how to get rid of this empty table!)

For me, in training I don't take it nearly that far. Just look at the GAPs ebb and flow. For instance,

Sligo Creek Trail - Other than the 4th split, I'd say to be normally 10-15 seconds slower than goal pace.
Old loop around the neighborhood - I'd say to be normally 15-25 seconds slower than goal pace.
New loop around the neighborhood - I'd say to be normally 15-25 seconds slower than goal pace.
Rock Creek Trail. - I'd say to be normally 5-10 seconds slower than goal pace.

So not nearly as specific as per mile GAP splits, but it gives you a general idea of what to expect on each route. The moral of the story though is that your route is fairly hilly and being 10-20 seconds slower than scheduled is expected.

 

[avondale]

So you have the same HR target/cap for EA and EB? While the target EB pace didn't equal the GAP, the GAP pace itself was very consistent. And as long as the run actually felt easy, then pace goal accomplished.

Well, just looking to keep it easy. I haven't really been keeping track of it that carefully. When the summer was so hot and the T+D correction was so high, it just seemed like the T+D was just making everything extra hard.

For me, in training I don't take it nearly that far. Just look at the GAPs ebb and flow. For instance,

Sligo Creek Trail - Other than the 4th split, I'd say to be normally 10-15 seconds slower than goal pace.
Old loop around the neighborhood - I'd say to be normally 15-25 seconds slower than goal pace.
New loop around the neighborhood - I'd say to be normally 15-25 seconds slower than goal pace.
Rock Creek Trail. - I'd say to be normally 5-10 seconds slower than goal pace.

So not nearly as specific as per mile GAP splits, but it gives you a general idea of what to expect on each route. The moral of the story though is that your route is fairly hilly and being 10-20 seconds slower than scheduled is expected.

I did my 5LR today with specific splits taking into account both the T+D and the GAP. Not too big of a deal, really. It kind of gave me small goals to meet to keep things moving mentally. We'll see if I get annoyed with it or not.

 

[avondale]

Week of Oct. 14 - 20, 2019

This is the tenth week of my DopeyBadger training plan for the Space Coast Marathon on Dec. 1.

Monday, Oct. 14

• After work
  • 5EA
    • T+D 107, 0.5% correction
    • target pace 11:56; with correction 12:00
    • splits: 11:57, 12:04, 12:20, 12:10, 12:14
    • comments: Tried to keep my HR in my easy zone (below 140 BPM) even if it meant that I couldn't hit my target pace.
    • Route: old route around the neighborhood

Tuesday, Oct. 15

• Morning: Workout 2 (like previous) and foam rolling and stretching
• Evening: 2-hr tennis doubles match - my partner and I lost 6-1, 6-2, and our team lost overall, too.

Wednesday, Oct. 16

• After work: walk on treadmill, about 40 min

Thursday, Oct. 17

• Morning: Workout 3 (like previous) and foam rolling and stretching
• After work:
  • 5EB
    • T+D 85
    • target pace 11:08
    • splits: 11:37, 11:36, 11:38, 11:48, 11:58
    • comments: again, tried to keep my HR in my easy zone (below 140 BPM), so I missed the pace targets.
    • Route: new route around the neighborhood

Friday, Oct. 18

• Morning: prehab routine (like previous)
• After work:
  • 5EB
    • T+D 94
    • target pace: 11:08
    • splits: 11:43, 11:16, 11:10, 11:09, 11:24
    • comments: again, tried to keep my HR in my easy zone (below 140 BPM), so I missed my pace target for miles 1 and 5.
    • Route: Sligo Creek Trail, going north

Saturday, Oct. 19

• Morning: 2-hr tennis practice
• Evening: 2-hr tennis doubles match - my partner and I lost 6-0, 6-4, and our team lost overall, too.

Sunday, Oct. 20

• Morning: walk on treadmill, about 40 min
• Before dinner:
  • 5LR
    • T+D 105, 0.5% correction
    • target pace 10:50; with correction 10:53
    • adding GAP adjustment for the planned route gives these split targets: 10:59, 10:58, 10:57, 10:54, 11:00
    • splits: 10:58, 10:58, 10:47, 10:54, 10:57
    • comments: steady rain throughout the run. My average HR was 142 BPM, which is a few BPM below the low end of my long run HR range of 145 - 153 BPM. So the run felt easy from that point of view; however, my legs themselves felt tired and a little sore.

Health

• My headache continues. I feel like it's been a bit worse this week. I have another round of Botox injections coming in a few weeks.
• Got my flu shot last Sunday.

 

[avondale]

Week of Oct. 21 - 27, 2019

This is the eleventh week of my DopeyBadger training plan for the Space Coast Marathon on Dec. 1.

Monday, Oct. 21

• Morning: foam rolling and stretching
• After work:
  • 5EA
    • T+D 114, 1% correction
    • target pace 11:56; 12:04 with correction
    • target splits with GAP adjustment: 12:13, 12:17, 12:29, 12:18, 12:29
    • splits: 12:09, 12:20, 12:29, 12:28, 12:26
    • comments: I hit all of my target splits, and my HR stayed below 140 BPM.
    • Route: old route around the neighborhood

Tuesday, Oct. 22

• Morning: Workout 1 (like previous)
• After work:
  • 0.5 WU + 3 x (1.5 M-tempo + 0.25 RI) + 0.5 CD
    • T+D 114, 1% correction
    • target M-tempo pace 9:56; 10:02 with correction
    • splits: 9:58, 9:59, 10:00
    • comments: I hit all of my target splits.
    • comments: This run started in light rain, then as the rain stopped, I got a rainbow just before sunset!
    • HS track

Wednesday, Oct. 23

• Morning: prehab routine (like previous)
• Evening: tennis doubles match - my partner and I won 6-2, 6-3! Unfortunately our team lost overall.

Thursday, Oct. 24

• Evening: tennis doubles match - my partner and I lost 6-3, 6-2, and our team lost overall, too.

Friday, Oct. 25

• After work:
  • 5EA
    • T+D 105, 0.5% correction
    • target pace 11:56; 12:00 with correction
    • target splits with GAP adjustment: 12:22, 12:12, 12:13, 12:22, 12:20
    • splits: 11:55, 12:04, 12:15, 12:23, 12:19
    • comments: I did the first mile a little too fast, because I'm still trying to get this route figured out. But I hit all of the rest, and I kept my HR below 140 BPM!
    • Route: new route around the neighborhood

Saturday, Oct. 26

• Late afternoon:
  • 8EB
    • T+D105, 0.5% correction
    • target pace 11:08; 11:12 with correction
    • target splits with GAP adjustment: 11:18, 11:17, 11:19, 11:20, 11:14, 11:13, 11:13, 11:19
    • splits: 11:12, 11:17, 11:17, 11:16, 11:11, 11:11, 11:09, 11:14
    • comments: I hit my splits for all miles! My HR was definitely higher than the easy range for this - average 144 BPM. In the gray zone between easy and LR.
    • comments: carried 1.5L of water and drank about 1L
    • Route: Sligo Creek Trail, going north

Sunday, Oct. 27

• Late afternoon:
  • 14.5LR
    • T+D 135 (!!! - wth, it's the last Sunday of October!), 2.5% correction
    • target pace 10:50; 11:06 with correction
    • target splits with GAP adjustment: 11:12, 11:11, 11:13, 11:14, 11:17, 11:19, 11:09, 11:09, 11:18, 11:08, 11:08, 11:07, 11:07, 11:13, 11:13
    • splits: 11:23, 11:08, 11:16, 11:14, 11:23, 11:11, 11:06, 10:57, 11:20, 11:02, 11:02, 11:04, 11:06, 11:14, 11:09
    • comments: the first mile had GPS problems - I am confident that I hit this. I hit all my other splits. This was not easy, especially for as relatively hot and humid as it was the T+D did drop during the run, but I didn't track it.
    • comments: Carried 2L of liquid with 500 cal Tailwind; didn't drink all of it. Ate 1 Sports Bean packet at mile 4.
    • Route: Sligo Creek Trail, going north.

Health

• I talked to my neurologist about going off my meds, since they don't seem to do anything for my headaches and I am getting wary of the side effects. From my admittedly non-professional self-diagnosis, I feel like I am showing a lot of signs of depression, so I'd like to see if getting rid of the meds help before I pursue it more.
• The hip thing that I got after my 11.5LR on Sep. 29 came back earlier this week. After Sep. 29, it went away over about two weeks. It started this week with the EA runs because of the hills, I think. It's been coming an going all this week. Clearly it's not keeping me from doing anything, as today I completed the longest run that I've done since my marathon in March. But it's annoying. I've been taking some ibuprofen to try to get it to heal faster.

 

[avondale]

Week of Oct. 28 - Nov. 3, 2019

This is the twelfth week of my DopeyBadger training plan for the Space Coast Marathon on Dec. 1.

I had to adapt the 8 EB run scheduled for Saturday this week. This was due to the fact that I had "tennis camp" this weekend, and I'd be leaving Friday morning and returning Sunday afternoon. The tennis camp is in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and there's no way I was going to run there (I've tried it before!). So I planned to move the run to Friday morning. However, with our departure time, if I did the full 8 EB, I would have had to get up at 4 - 4:30am, which didn't seem wise with a full weekend ahead. So I did 6 EB instead, and it was a bit of an adventure, as I will describe below.

Monday

• Morning: foam rolling and stretching
• After work:
  • 5EA
    • T+D107, 0.5% correction
    • target pace 11:56; 12:00 with correction
    • target splits with GAP adjustment: 12:09, 12:14, 12:25, 12:14, 12:25
    • splits: 12:10, 12:13, 12:29, 12:07, 12:23
    • comments: I hit my splits for all miles! My HR was noticeably lower than usual for EA runs, so maybe the GAP is helping me stay more in my aerobic range.
    • Route: old route around the neighborhood

Tuesday

• Morning: Workout 2 (like previous)

Wednesday

• After work:
  • 10min @ EA, EB, LR, M-tempo, HM-tempo, T; blind
    • T+D117, 1% correction
    • target paces 11:56, 11:08, 10:50, 9:56, 9:32, 9:11; with correction 12:03, 11:14, 10:56, 10:02, 9:38, 9:15
    • splits: 11:58, 11:15, 10:56, 10:01, 9:33, 9:18
    • comments: I did not do this run blind, as I had the tennis match afterward that I was worried about being late to, and I was afraid I'd go too fast and die (figuratively). I finished the run at about 6:50pm and my match started at 8:30pm. I couldn't push the run back because of other scheduling issues.
    • comments: I forgot that the HM-tempo and T-pace segments would go over 1 mile, so when my watch buzzed for a lap at 1 mile in the HM-tempo segment, I sped up to T-pace - I realized what I did a few seconds later. But then I forgot again in the T-pace segment, and when I hit 1 mile and my watch buzzed, I thought the run was over and stopped. When I realized, I didn't bother to get the extra 40 seconds.
    • comments: It began to rain about halfway through the run, and so I was soaked by the end.
    • Route: old route around the neighborhood
  • Tennis doubles match - 2 hrs
    • I was scheduled for this the morning of the match (fun).
    • My partner and I lost 6-1, 6-3, and our team lost overall, too.

Friday

• In morning:
  • 6EB
    • T+D 72
    • target pace 11:08
    • splits with GAP adjustment: 11:14, 11:14, 11:15, 11:09, 11:09, 11:15
    • splits: 11:10, 11:14, 11:13, 11:04, 11:07, 11:18
    • comments: The afternoon before, the temperature was in the 70s F. We had big thunderstorms with high wind and rain come through in the evening an overnight. By the time I did my run at 6am, the temperature was in the low 40s F and windy.
    • comments: The paved multi-use trail runs through wooded areas along a creek, and so there were lots of branches and debris everywhere, as well as puddles. The more unique challenge to this trail is the sections that get thin mudslides over them as the water and mud washes down to the creek. Since it was dark, I was navigating all of this at short notice with the limited range of my knuckle lights. It was a bit of an adventure, and I got a lot dirtier than usual for this route.
    • Route: Rock Creek Trail, going north
• In afternoon: 3-hr tennis clinic at Wintergreen Resort! We had a group of 10 ladies from our tennis teams that went together for the weekend.

Saturday

• In morning: Some of our group did an easy hike in the mountains of Wintergreen Resort. The fall foliage was pretty much at the peak, and so it was beautiful.
• In afternoon: 3-hr tennis clinic

Sunday

• In morning: 2-hr tennis clinic
• In afternoon:
  • 1WU + 2 x (3@M-tempo + 0.25RI) + 1CD
    • T+D 74
    • target pace 9:56
    • splits: 9:56, 9:54, 9:57, 9:56, 9:52, 9:55
    • comments: I didn't get back from tennis camp in time to do this run on my usual trail before it got dark, so I did it on the HS track. I did not think that I was going to keep up the tempo miles at first, but in the end it wasn't too hard. However, the backs of my legs from top to bottom are pretty sore from all of the running and tennis this weekend. I need to get on the foam rolling and stretching.
    • Route: HS track

Health

• My headache was horrible this weekend, but not too surprising with all the activity and driving. I'm not sure yet if going off of the first medicine is helping my mood.

 

[avondale]

Week of Nov. 4 - Nov. 10, 2019

This is the thirteenth week of my DopeyBadger training plan for the Space Coast Marathon on Dec. 1.

This is the peak week of training, culminating in a 16-mile LR. I nailed all of my runs this week. I can't emphasize enough how much better I am running now that the temperatures are 50s F and below. Everything just feels so much better. Doing the GAP adjustments by mile has been a nice mental trick, too, even though in most cases they don't change that much from mile to mile.

It was good that my running training was going so well this week, because otherwise the week was really stressful at work. My birthday on Wednesday was especially busy and had a lot of unexpected things to deal with with students, so it was nice to hit the tempo run that evening. Fortunately next week should be less stressful.

Monday

• Morning: foam rolling and stretching
• After work:
  • 5EA
    • T+D 84, no correction
    • target pace 11:56
    • target splits with GAP adjustment: 12:05, 12:09, 12:21, 12:10, 12:21
    • splits: 12:05, 12:14, 12:30, 12:29, 12:22
    • comments: I hit my splits for all except mile 4 - this mile always seems a lot harder than the GAP suggests.
    • comments: there was a buck wandering around the neighborhood - I saw him all three times I went around my loop.
    • Route: old loop around the neighborhood

Tuesday

• After work:
  • 5EA
    • T+D 84, no correction
    • target pace: 11:56
    • target splits with GAP adjustment: 12:18, 12:08, 12:08, 12:17, 12:16
    • splits: 12:20, 12:03, 12:04, 12:28, 12:14
    • comments: I hit my splits for all except mile 4 - like for the other loop, this mile always seems a lot harder than the GAP suggests.
    • Route: new loop around the neighborhood

Wednesday

• Morning: Workout 3 (like previous)
• After work:
  • 0.5WU + 4.5M-tempo + 1T
    • T+D 84, no correction
    • Target M-tempo pace 9:56, target T-pace 9:11
    • M-tempo splits: 9:52, 9:55, 9:56, 9:53, 9:54
    • T-pace split: 9:08
    • comments: I nailed this! This was an intimidating run for me, but I did it much better than I thought I would.
    • Route: HS track

Thursday

• Evening: tennis doubles match - my partner and I lost 6-4, 6-3, and our team lost overall, too. I wasn't expecting to play in this match and was at work until 7:00pm. I was needed to sub in for the 8:30pm match.

Friday

• Off!!!

Saturday

• Before lunch:
  • 8EB
    • Temp 39 F, windchill 34 F
    • Target pace: 11:08
    • Target splits with GAP adjustment: 11?14, 11:13, 11:14, 11:16, 11:10, 11:08, 11:09, 11:14
    • Splits: 11:14, 11:14, 11:10, 11:16, 11:05, 11:03, 11:07, 11:08
    • comments: I hit my targets for all miles!
    • comments: I took 1.5L of water and drank about 3/4 of it.
    • Route: Sligo Creek Trail, going north
• Evening: tennis doubles match - my partner and I lost 6-7, 6-1, 1-0, and the team lost overall, too.

Sunday

• Afternoon:
  • 16LR
    • T+D 80, no correction
    • Target pace: 10:50
    • Target splits with GAP adjustment: 10:56, 10:55, 10:56, 10:58, 11:03, 11:03, 10:58, 10:58, 10:59, 10:59, 11:03, 10:51, 10:52, 10:50, 10:51, 10:56
    • Splits: 10:52, 10:54, 10:53, 11:04, 10:56, 10:53, 10:54, 11:03, 10:53, 10:56, 11:01, 10:42, 10:46, 10:47, 10:56, 10:52, 11:14.
    • comments: I hit my targets for all miles! Also, I've always know that the "back" part of the "out and back" is overall downhill, but it's amazing what a difference it makes. Even though I was much more tired returning, I was at the low end of my target ranges for some of the returning miles.
    • comments: I took 500 cal of Tailwind in 2L of water, and I had about 0.25L remaining. I drank 4 sips every 0.5 mi.
    • comments: I was very happy to hit this run perfectly! It was hard but do-able. Great weather for it, too.
    • Route: Sligo Creek Trail, going north

Health

• I am continuing to decrease my previous headache meds. This past week, I had a few days where the headache was absolutely screaming (helping to make my birthday even more fun), but it has eased back to a more normal level of pain. I think the bad days were from the shoulder weight training Wednesday morning.
• I have another series of Botox injections scheduled for Wednesday morning. I'm not all that optimistic that this is going to do anything, but supposedly it can take multiple rounds.

 

[michigandergirl]

Happy belated Birthday!!!

 

[avondale]

Happy belated Birthday!!!

Thanks!

 

[avondale]

Week of Nov. 11 - 17, 2019

This is the fourteenth week of my DopeyBadger training plan for the Space Coast Marathon on Dec. 1. Two weeks until my marathon on Dec. 1!

My morning HR has been going down this week, and my VO2 max went up by a point to 44. This is pretty much the highest it's ever been.

Monday

• Morning: foam rolling and stretching
• After work: walked on treadmill for about 40 min

Tuesday

• Morning: prehab routine, like previous
• After work: walked on treadmill for about 40 min

Wednesday

• After work:
  • 0.5WU + 4.5M-tempo + 1T, blind
    • T 34 F
    • Target M-tempo pace 9:56, target T-pace 9:11
    • M-tempo splits: 10:08, 9:34, 9:56, 10:00, 9:48
    • T-pace split: 9:03
    • comments: Well, my paces were all over. I don't have as good of a feel for the faster paces.
    • Route: HS track

Thursday

• After work:
  • 5EA
    • T 33 F
    • Target pace 11:56; with GAP adjustments, my splits should have been 12:05, 12:10, 12:23, 12:10, 12:20
    • Splits: 11:53, 12:16, 11:46, 11:48, 12:14
    • comments: I ran three of these miles significantly too fast. This is a hilly route, so I always have to go faster on the downhills and slower on the uphills, but apparently I really zipped downhill.
    • Route: old loop around the neighborhood

Friday

• Morning: Workout 1 (like previous)

Saturday

• Before lunch:
  • 8EB
    • T 41 F
    • Target pace: 11:08; with GAP adjustments, my splits should have been 11:14, 11:13, 11:14, 11:16, 11:10, 11:08, 11:09, 11:14.
    • Splits: 11:04, 11:07, 11:13, 11:09, 11:05, 10:57, 11:05, 11:13.
    • comments: I hit my spits for 7 of 8 miles - one mile was 1 sec out of the window!
    • Route: Rock Creek Trail, going north

Sunday

• Before lunch:
  • 8LR
    • T 39 F
    • Target pace: 10:50; with GAP adjustments, my splits should have been 10:56, 10:55, 10:56, 10:58, 10:52, 10:50, 10:51, 10:56.
    • Splits: 10:51, 10:53, 10:50, 10:59, 10:47, 10:41, 10:48, 10:50.
    • comments: I hit my splits for all miles!
    • comments: my average HR for this run was 139 BPM, which is at the top end of my easy range. My 8EB the day before averaged 135 BPM.
• Evening: 2-hr doubles match - as I write this, I haven't played it yet!

Health

• Got the next round of Botox injections in my head and neck on Wednesday. They still hurt like heck. Sadly, no miracle occurred, and I am still having my headache as bad as usual. I'm told that sometimes it takes three rounds - my next appointment is Feb. 5.