I Will Go the Distance… just not very fast (Comments welcome!)

[marty3d]

You make your own maple syrup??

I’ll enter the raffle but if I win I might have to donate it - rather than smuggling over the border

 

[The Expert]

You make your own maple syrup??

I’ll enter the raffle but if I win I might have to donate it - rather than smuggling over the border

I do! When we moved here a few years ago and bought a property with a few acres of mostly sugar maples, I looked up how to make it. It isn't complicated, just time-consuming and VERY weather dependent, but it's kind of fun. I only tap two or three trees and boil the water out in a turkey fryer, which only yields maybe a gallon of syrup total each season (if I'm lucky). I usually make candy out of the first batch (DH loves it with his scotch in the evening), and if I get enough I'll send little bottles to friends and family and keep a bit to use here at home.

Thanks for your entry! The beauty is that it keeps for a long time unopened, so I can deliver it to a coming race weekend if need be.

 

[marty3d]

I do! When we moved here a few years ago and bought a property with a few acres of mostly sugar maples, I looked up how to make it. It isn't complicated, just time-consuming and VERY weather dependent, but it's kind of fun. I only tap two or three trees and boil the water out in a turkey fryer, which only yields maybe a gallon of syrup total each season (if I'm lucky). I usually make candy out of the first batch (DH loves it with his scotch in the evening), and if I get enough I'll send little bottles to friends and family and keep a bit to use here at home.

Thanks for your entry! The beauty is that it keeps for a long time unopened, so I can deliver it to a coming race weekend if need be.

That is very cool - I’ve never known anyone who made their own before and I used to live in Quebec the world capital of maple syrup.

And you’re welcome! I have to try to buy good marathon lottery god karma. I got in via lottery - you’re doing all the hard work raising funds for a charity (for a great cause )!

 

[The Expert]

I have to try to buy good marathon lottery god karma. I got in via lottery - you’re doing all the hard work raising funds for a charity (for a great cause )!

Hoping this bodes well for my eventual run at NYC!

 

[jmasgat]

Very creative idea! Too bad I have some home tapped syrup waiting for me when I come to MA next week on our month-long house hunting expedition.

 

[The Expert]

Very creative idea! Too bad I have some home tapped syrup waiting for me when I come to MA next week on our month-long house hunting expedition.

Sounds to me like a great way to discover how much better Vermont syrup is than Mass syrup, right?

 

[The Expert]

I'm starting my 8-week speed-focused training block and did my one-mile time trial today. Last time I did one was in mid-November just before I started training with my coach and the Badass Lady Gang crew. I amazed myself with a 9:03 minute mile, which I still kinda can't believe I did.

I really wanted to set myself up well for today, so I paid attention to my fueling and hydration.
Dinner last night: Chicken breast and asparagus, half a glass of white wine, lots of water before bed.
Breakfast: Oatmeal with maple syrup and blueberries. Two cups of coffee, then switched to sipping water.
Lunch: Tuna sandwich with mustard instead of mayo, handful of salty chips.
Snack about 45 minutes before: Applesauce packet. Last sips of water.

I also re-read the instructions from my coach about a hundred times before I started. I'd done my first time trial on the treadmill, so I did this one there too (plus it is a torrential downpour outside so my road is a giant mud bog).

I queued up my running playlist and did my pre-run warmups to wake up the glutes and hamstrings.
10 minute warm up conversational pace, check.

First 400m – Start at a controlled, conversational pace. Don't go out like a bat outta hell.
I started slightly faster than I'd do a regular training run, paying attention to my form and getting into the groove. I did tap the speed up about .5 during this segment.

Second 400m – Pick it up to a strong, steady effort. Think: I can hold this.
Added another .5 and eventually went up a full number. Still felt relaxed, a good song came on the playlist and I was able to just groove. I started to worry I'd set it a little easy.

Third 400m – “Comfortably uncomfortable” — working hard, but still in control.
I added another .5 and started to really feel the spice. I added another few taps up as I approached the last segment.

Final 400m (or last 200m if that’s all you’ve got) – Let it rip. Go full send. Leave nothing behind.
I hit a number I honestly wasn't sure I could do without flying off the treadmill, and I panicked for just a second. I told myself OUT LOUD "you're okay" and started rhythmically saying "pull, pull, pull" with every step to remind my body to pull my foot up and push through my back side, and it worked! I settled in and even dared myself to tap the speed up .1 more right at the end. I definitely left nothing behind!

I didn't even try to do the math yet, just jumped on the rails and caught my breath for about 30 seconds, then slowed the tread down to a walk. Once I felt steady, I did 2/1 run/walk intervals through the 10-minute cooldown.

So, what did I do?
8:00.3

HOLY FREAKING SHIRTBALLS! WHO EVEN AM I?!?!

 

[accm]

Awesome job!! I hate the one mile time trial with everything in me, and always tank it. Good job absolutely crushing it!

 

[garneska]

Great job!!! That is freaking amazing. Good for you! Very proud.

Now you can look and see what those new paces are

 

[The Expert]

Now you can look and see what those new paces are

Yeah, this is the scary part!

 

[WillRunForPizza]

That is a fantastic improvement! Congrats!!

 

[nancipants]

That is amazing! Way to go!

Although I don’t think you can hang with Team Not-so-fast anymore.

 

[The Expert]

That is amazing! Way to go!

Although I don’t think you can hang with Team Not-so-fast anymore.

A time trial mile and a Disney race mile are VERRRRYYYYY different things!

 

[marty3d]

A time trial mile and a Disney race mile are VERRRRYYYYY different things!

Congratulations - and you know, depending on what calculator you use an 8min mile time trial translates to about a 4:32 marathon time .. just saying..

 

[GollyGadget]

Woo! Your dedication is paying off. I'm excited to see where you'll be in 8 weeks at the end of this block.

 

[The Expert]

a 4:32 marathon time

I can't help but keep second-guessing the accuracy of these time trials on the treadmill. I train enough on it to know what my usual speeds feel like and have calibrated Garmin/treadmill accordingly. I know what number on my machine feels the same as my 12-13mm conversational pace, so I'm pretty sure this isn't crazy far off.

Whether accurate or not, the relative improvement IS true, and I'm super proud of that. Thank you all for the encouragement!

 

[The Expert]

I'm a few weeks into my 8-week "Fastest way to get Faster" training plan and it is going well. I'm running three days a week: one speed work day, one short (30 minute) conversational pace run with strides at the end, and one long (60 minute) conversational pace run. I also have two days of strength, some optional cross-training and one rest day.

So far, that's looked like this:

March 30 - April 5:
Monday 3/30: Strength train. Went to Pilates class.
Tuesday 4/1: One mile time trial. Crushed it! (See post above.)
Wednesday 4/2: Strength train.
Thursday 4/3: 30 minutes conversational pace + 4 x 30 second strides. It SNOWED on this day, so treadmill.
Friday 4/4: REST.
Saturday 4/5: 60 minutes conversational pace. Treadmill, check.
Sunday 4/6 (Easter): Optional cross-training.

April 6 - 12:
Monday 4/6: Strength train. Pilates class.
Tuesday 4/7: 8x200m repeats Here's where crushing my mile comes back to haunt me -- repetition pace is SCARY on paper, but thankfully it felt good while doing it. Sticking to the treadmill for now, so I did some math to figure out speed settings and time. About three repeats in, I started to feel in control and tried to pay attention to what this pace feels like. I was happy to be done at the end of that 8th repeat, though!
Wednesday 4/8: Strength train. Weights workout in my home gym.
Thursday 4/9: 30 minutes conversational pace + 4 x 30 second strides. I'm not sure if it was stress or fueling or what, but this felt unnecessarily hard.
Friday 4/10: REST.
Saturday 4/11: 60 minutes conversational pace. We leave for MCO but our flight isn't until late afternoon. My guess is the packing and prepping will take over, but if I have time to fit this in, I will.
Sunday 4/12: Optional cross-training. I'll be counting hotel check-in, unpacking and park walking as cross-training.

Plan April 13 - 19: LIVE from Orlando!
I spoke to my coach today and she said if I can get in one strength session and one run while I'm gone, great. If not, don't worry about it and we'll readjust when I'm back. So I'm going to do just that -- try to fit it in but not worry about it if it doesn't. I am doing the SS 5K on Friday, so I guess I can be pretty assured of the run at least. But here's what's on paper.

Monday 4/13: Strength train.
Tuesday 4/14: 10x200m repeats
Wednesday 4/15: Strength train.
Thursday 4/16: 30 minutes conversational pace + 4 x 30 second strides. EXPO DAY
Friday 4/17: REST. SS 5K and we fly back home late afternoon.
Saturday 4/18: 60 minutes conversational pace.
Sunday 4/19: Optional cross-training.

 

[Herding_Cats]

So it looks like (from my not-slow-and-careful reading) that your speed plan mostly operates on an increasing amount of 200m repeats. This is at an assigned pace, based on your mile TT? Something like threshold pace? Faster than that, but not all-out?

 

[The Expert]

So it looks like (from my not-slow-and-careful reading) that your speed plan mostly operates on an increasing amount of 200m repeats. This is at an assigned pace, based on your mile TT? Something like threshold pace? Faster than that, but not all-out?

I have 200s for the first few weeks, then it starts to vary. The next two weeks are 400 repeats, then 600s. I also do another TT midway through the training. The paces are based on my mile TT. There's a site where I plug in my time and it spits out training paces: https://vdoto2.com/calculator/

I pop my mile time in here and screenshot the chart. My plan tells me which pace and for what distances:

 

[The Expert]

I guess I owe an update, since I haven't been in here since before Springtime Surprise!

As expected, that trip was busy as we had family joining and lots going on. I did a lot of walking in the parks and the SS 5K went well. I ran straight through rather than doing intervals as I knew I would be stopping in long character lines. I did stop my watch for said lines, so while I was averaging 11:30mm and my moving time was 35 minutes, my total time was almost 90! The only stops I did were for Clawhauser and Mickey/Minnie.

When I got home, my coach made some plan adjustments:
Plan April 20 - 26

Monday 4/20: Strength train. Pilates class.
Tuesday 4/21: 10x200m repeats. I had a BONKERS day at work and just could not fit this in, so I bumped it a day.
Wednesday 4/22: Strength train. 10x200m repeats. Did this on the treadmill to squeeze between calls. Not as scary as I thought it might be after skipping last week's speed work.
Thursday 4/23: 40 minutes conversational pace + 4 x 30 second strides. Did this on the treadmill during a big division call with like 200+ people and no participation is expected.
Friday 4/24: REST.
Saturday 4/25: 60 minutes conversational pace. The weather was beautiful -- dry, slight breeze, sunny and in the 50s -- so I decided to try this one outside. My roads are unpaved, so I tried out my Ghost Trail shoes (love). I also live in a very hilly area, so I just went out a bit slow and took the hills as they came. I ran up toward a local ski/mountain biking/trail area that I use in the summer and the turnaround point ended up being right at their driveway. It was a very Vermont workout as I listened to the new Noah Kahan album as I ran (love). It's been dry so I knew I'd want water but I made the mistake of putting my things in a "light winter weight" vest. Not only was it warm, it BOUNCED like crazy! But the run went well and all my Garmin metrics went up, so that was a nice surprise. I ended up with 360 feet of elevation gain/loss on mostly rolling, curvy roads. I'll be doing this again as it wasn't nearly as tough as I anticipated. And it was so pretty!



Sunday 4/26: Optional cross-training. We ended up doing yard work, so I'll call this done.

After Saturday's debacle with the vest, I did a deep dive into options for carrying hydration without overheating. I picked up a lightweight Nathan vest at REI today to try out (it comes with one 14oz flask). I may also go for a handheld, but we'll see.

Coming up this week:
Monday 4/27: Strength train. Went to Pilates this morning.
Tuesday 4/28: 4 x 400 m @ Interval Pace with 1 min (walk) Recovery, 4 x 200 m @ Repetition Pace with 200 m (walk) Recovery
Wednesday 4/29: Strength train.
Thursday 4/30: 40 minutes conversational pace + 4 x 30 second strides. I am driving down to Boston (and back) for an event, so I'll probably have to push this to another day.
Friday 5/1: REST.
Saturday 5/2: 60 minutes conversational pace.
Sunday 5/3: Optional cross-training.