Running Renaissance: One Skip Ahead of my Doom

[GollyGadget]

Run to Exile 10K Training - Week 19/20
Last week!! I'm ready for this training block to come to an end. I didn't do near as well as I had hoped at executing the plan and it will be nice to have a fresh start.

On the bright side, regardless of how the race goes, I accomplished the goal of being ready for marathon training. I logged 28 miles this week and 25 the week before so my base should be sufficient. It's not as much as I was doing in July (30 mpw) but it's pretty close and more than what I would be doing if I was following the intro portion of the marathon plan (15 & 21).

Speaking of miles, I've ran 794 miles so far this year! Last year, I didn't cross that threshold until 19 October so I'm a full month ahead. I'm expecting to put in about 600 more miles for the marathon block which will put me WAY ahead of last year (1083) and even ahead of my 2017 mileage (1163) which I believe to be the most miles I ever ran in a calendar year.

Scheduled
Monday - off
Tuesday - T 3mi
Wednesday - Easy 5
Thursday - off
Friday - I 3x1k
Saturday - Easy 5
Sunday - Easy 8

Completed
Monday - off - despite not hurting at all during the race, my quads were a bit sore on Monday and I was glad for the day off
Tuesday - T 3mi - quads were still a bit sore but doing much better. I had trouble finding T pace which I'm telling myself is because of the race effort two days before. My last mile was only one measly second slower than prescribed so I'm taking this one as a victory
Wednesday - Easy 5 - my only notes from this run say "I don't remember so it must have been fine" . Guess that's what we're going with then...
Thursday - off
Friday - I 3x1k - we were in Chicago for the weekend so I got to run on my favorite hidden gem of a trail. The intervals were fine.
Here's a photo of my dogs on the trail later in the day:

I just love that there's this 2.5 mile escape in the middle of a concrete jungle.
Saturday - Easy 5 - literally everything hurt when I woke up. Mostly my feet and my back so I was a bit nervous about this run. Turns out I may be getting too old for spending all weekend at a music festival. Surprisingly, the run was fine and I totally forgot about all my old lady aches and pains.
Took this photo of some weird Mickey graffiti. I have no idea what the words say so I apologize if it's something offensive.


Sunday - Easy 8 - I really didn't know if this run would happen. I was exhausted but in much less pain than the day before. I decided I should at least try so out the door I went. I nearly stopped after 6 miles and again at 7 miles but I kept at it. Should be good practice for all the running while tired I'll do when marathon training

Happy running my friends!

 

[GollyGadget]

Run to Exile 10K Training - Week 20/20
The short version: I did not run very much this week and was a bit nervous if I’d run my goal race. Its currently 17 hours away and I’m planning to run.

The long version:
Scheduled
Monday - off
Tuesday - T 2x1 mi
Wednesday - Easy 5
Thursday - off
Friday - Easy 4
Saturday - Race Day!!
Sunday - off

Completed
Monday - off - we made the 6 hour drive back home on Monday which was mostly uneventful and I wouldn’t even mention it except my husband drove me past Walt & Roy’s birthplace .


Tuesday - T 2x1 mi Off - I planned to go into the office and it was going to be over 90 in the afternoon so I was going to run in the am. However, when i woke up, there was a noticeable pain in my chest. I’d guess at 4/10 on a scale…maybe 3. If it weren’t in my chest, it’s the sort of thing I’d completely ignore. Instead, I spent most of the day on the couch using the Internet to diagnose myself.
Wednesday - Easy 5 off - the pain was no longer lingering but was noticeable pretty much anytime I tried to do anything at all so I took another rest day.
Thursday - off - I was feeling much better and thought about running but still had slight discomfort on my dog walks so I decided to err on the side of caution.
Friday - Easy 4 - I wanted to go for a run just to see how things went and they were remarkably unremarkable. I ran the back half of the race course on my way to packet pickup and then took the short route home. So as of now, I’m in for the race tomorrow.
Saturday - Race Day!!
Sunday - off

Happy running!

 

[Herding_Cats]

Good luck tomorrow!

 

[DopeyBadger]

Have fun!

 

[GollyGadget]

I’m nervous. I’m trying really hard not to be but it’s not working.

 

[azrivest]

As a very wise person said...

 

[GollyGadget]

Run to Exile Race Recap
This was my goal race for the summer. After meeting my goal of a new half pr in April, I decided it was time for a new 10K PR. There really aren't many 10Ks around and this one starts about a mile from my house, making it super convenient and also pretty much my only choice unless I wanted to travel (which I did not).

I modified the Daniels' 10k plan for 30 mpw instead of the 40-50 that are in the book. Besides a PR, the other motivation was to have a solid base heading into marathon training. I'm not the best at running just for the sake of it so it's better if I have some sort of goal and plan.

Race Morning
The temperature was in the 50s and it was overcast. There was a slight chill in the air during my morning dog walk and I was pretty excited that I had lucked into such good weather. As mentioned, I was also incredibly nervous. I did my best to distract myself until I needed to head out the door. My goal of a sub 50 min 10K was looming large. While my training was really great in July, I had a few wheels fall off in August and I just wasn't sure if it would happen. My 5k from two weeks prior was a good indication that it was possible but it was going to be especially close. The other factor going against me was the course. Due to construction it was a modified course and mapmyrun listed it as 6.41 miles I really hoped that the map was just sloppy and it'd be closer to 6.21.



Race Start
The race didn't start until 9am which is later than most other races, especially those that aren't in the winter. This gave me plenty of time to be nervous . Around 8:50 the race announcer told everyone it was time to line up. This very basic task always causes me a bit of anxiety. I'm kinda sorta fast but not really really fast so I don't want to be in the back but I also don't want to be in the very front. I found a spot that I thought was appropriate but then some guy in cargo shorts lined up in front of me. I was pretty sure I was faster than him, at least with all that cargo he was carrying, so I moved to just in front of him. I never saw him pass me, so I think this was the right move.

The race starts slightly uphill and I have a strong history of going out too fast so I knew it was important to keep an eye on my pace. My goal was 8 min/mi and to slow down if I saw anything faster than 7:50. I tried my best to slow down, but somehow that first mile was still 7:29. Whoops. The pace felt easy, much better compared to my first mile of my 5k where I was already huffing and puffing.

The second mile was an out and back across a bridge which meant that near the 1.5 mi mark was a turn around and my first chance to see who was in front of me. Some of them were extremely fast, I was a bit awestruck. Based on my somewhat questionable runner math, I was the 7th overall female. 7 is a lucky number in our house so I was happy for the extra luck. I finished mile 2 with a 7:49 pace and was ready to settle in. Everything felt rather effortless at this point.

I kept moving along as the clouds started to clear and made way for full sun. I was really grateful I had decided to wear a hat even though it seemed completely unnecessary when I left my house. There was a water stop at mile 2.5 where I grabbed a cup, took a sip, and dumped the rest down my front to cool off. I also somehow managed to pass another woman during these shenanigans so I was now 6 +/- overall female. Shortly after, the 5K split from the 10K course but we were all so spread out that I could not tell if any of the faster women had taken a right to the finish line. My husband was spectating just ahead and I seriously debated texting him to so he could count. However, I didn't want that to slow me down and I knew it wasn't going to change my race tactics so I just kept chugging along. My race, my pace. Mile 3 was 7:56.

Back Half
This is when things started getting hard. The sun was relentless and the morning fog had changed to straight humidity. Seriously, barely a cloud in the sky and this is only half an hour later from the earlier photo.

The next 2 miles were going to be on my regular running route and I took comfort in the familiarity of it. I even managed to pass a couple of people who likely went out too fast but also were not good at running the tangents. Miles 4 & 5 were 8:02 & 7:56.

I knew at this point that a PR was possible if I could just hold it together but it was going to require me to keep pushing. I thought back to when I ran this race last year. I had totally and completely fallen apart in the back half. I was a stronger runner now and that brought a boost of confidence and conviction. But there was still a big hill looming. Just under half the course elevation was in the last mile. Cruel. I kept going and mile 6 was 8:09 for a total time of 47:24.

The Big Finish
I was running on fumes at this point. Which I'm guessing is how it should be? Unfortunately, I knew the finish was more than a quarter mile away and that darn map must have been accurate. I didn't know my total elapsed time but I figured that official PR was out of reach. Regardless, I left everything I had out on the course. My finishing speed was only 7:30 so obviously "everything I had" was not very much. Hopefully that's a sign of a well run race? Anyway, official time was 51:28, far from that sub 50 goal.

Post Race Analysis
While I'm disappointed, this was a good lesson for me. Not every race can be perfect. Maybe I would have hit my goal if the course wasn't long, but maybe not. It also reinforced the importance of training. Sure, I managed to string together a couple of good weeks at the end, but had I been consistent the entire block, I would have had a better shot. I can't control the course or the weather but I can control my training and better manage my schedule. Turns out traveling for the entire month of August can have an impact.

Time to turn the page and focus on the marathon!

 

[Naomeri]

You did a great job, even if you missed your PR goal!

 

[HangWithMerida]

Solid time and lessons learned for the next time around. A big hill at the end of a 10k is so mean!

 

[striker1064]

Great job on your race! The sun and heat are relentless during a race.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Sounds like if the course was measured at 6.22 miles instead of measured at 6.41 miles you'd have that sub-50 PR. Hard to say though. Anywhere else mention the overdistanced race (and not from a GPS watch source)? Congrats on the 1st place in your AG!

 

[GollyGadget]

You did a great job, even if you missed your PR goal!

Thank you! I'm really pleased with my race day effort. I don't think my PR days are behind me, so I'm sure I'll get another opportunity.

Solid time and lessons learned for the next time around. A big hill at the end of a 10k is so mean!

Big hill is relative . It was big for this flatlander, but it was only 37 ft elevation change. It was definitely bad timing though! Aside from having the correct distance on the course, the other change I'd like to see is running the course backwards. The only other mentionable hill (25 ft) is at the 3.5 mile mark. It'd be nice to be done with both of those in the first half.

Great job on your race! The sun and heat are relentless during a race.

Thank you! The most annoying part was had the race started at 8am it would have been no sun at all! Waiting until 9am in September is just silly, but I suppose that's what you get when the local brewery puts on the race.

Sounds like if the course was measured at 6.22 miles instead of measured at 6.41 miles you'd have that sub-50 PR. Hard to say though. Anywhere else mention the overdistanced race (and not from a GPS watch source)? Congrats on the 1st place in your AG!

Does this count? https://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/5013652774 That's where I got the 6.41. My Garmin actually says 6.52 which if the course was 6.41, the extra 0.11 seems like a feasible difference for weaving/tangents/water stops.

I also found a few people on strava that ran and it looks like some of them ended the activity early somehow? I stopped uploading to strava because it was creeping me out, but the start and end points use the same timing mat and it's very evident that this activity ends early. Upon further inspection, it also started late... how weird. https://www.strava.com/activities/7859838015
Here's another (second place overall, so waaaaay faster than me) but this one actually has the correct start/end points. Obviously these are gps based, but it's at least more in line with the 6.4/6.5 than 6.2: https://www.strava.com/activities/7859787114

Thanks for the congrats on the age group! I decided not to mention it because there's a bit of controversy in my finishing place. I won't get into all of the details because it really doesn't matter but I realize my race recap might be a bit confusing since I did mention how I thought I was 6th female overall early on in the race but never mentioned it at the finish even though I never got passed by anyone after that. The short version is that the race uses the same mats for the 5 & 10K so it's difficult to know who only ran the 5K when they were registered for the 10K. It's up to that runner to talk to someone to correct the results. When I finished, my overall gender place was 9th but by the time the awards ceremony started it had been updated to 6th. My best guess is that I was actually 4th...but anyway, doesn't really matter.

However, I do wish races would put in check points because this also happened at my 5K a couple of weeks ago. The overall male winner went to a small child (I'm bad at ages, maybe 8?) who had very clearly not won the 5K but walked the 1 mile with his family. Obviously these are just small local races and there aren't big stakes, but it makes for a lesser experience. Okay, off my soapbox. Sorry for the detour folks!

 

[DopeyBadger]

Does this count? https://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/5013652774 That's where I got the 6.41. My Garmin actually says 6.52 which if the course was 6.41, the extra 0.11 seems like a feasible difference for weaving/tangents/water stops.

I also found a few people on strava that ran and it looks like some of them ended the activity early somehow? I stopped uploading to strava because it was creeping me out, but the start and end points use the same timing mat and it's very evident that this activity ends early. Upon further inspection, it also started late... how weird. https://www.strava.com/activities/7859838015
Here's another (second place overall, so waaaaay faster than me) but this one actually has the correct start/end points. Obviously these are gps based, but it's at least more in line with the 6.4/6.5 than 6.2: https://www.strava.com/activities/7859787114

If it were me, I'd feel reasonably confident in saying that course was 6.4/6.5 measured and not 6.22 miles. Mapmyrun isn't perfect, but it's not going to be off by that much.

 

[GollyGadget]

If it were me, I'd feel reasonably confident in saying that course was 6.4/6.5 measured and not 6.22 miles. Mapmyrun isn't perfect, but it's not going to be off by that much.

Agree. I feel very strongly that the course was long so my 10K time would have been less than 51:28. It's just difficult to pinpoint how much less.

Garmin thinks I PRed

But I have a hard time taking it too seriously because it also told me I had a mile PR two weeks ago which was very very wrong.

 

[DopeyBadger]

I'd say something like 6.25-6.28 is a reasonable 10k GPS distance. So let's use 6.27 miles. You ran at 7:54 pace (6.52 GPS miles in 51:28). So 7:54 * 6.27 miles = 49:30. I'd say it's reasonable to assume you did crack sub-50.

 

[GollyGadget]

I'd say something like 6.25-6.28 is a reasonable 10k GPS distance. So let's use 6.27 miles. You ran at 7:54 pace (6.52 GPS miles in 51:28). So 7:54 * 6.27 miles = 49:30. I'd say it's reasonable to assume you did crack sub-50.

Reasonable but not without doubt. Would definitely have an asterisk if I decided to count it. It’s going to make that eventual non-asterisked pr that much sweeter!

I am using the unofficial result for pacing purposes, which brings me to a question: how does one decide between 5k or 10k paces for the speed sessions in Hanson's? I couldn't find anything in the book that really spelled out how to decide. My current plan is to try 5k paces and if those are too hard then switch to 10k (but how do I know what is too hard?). I'm doing speed on Tuesday and tempo on Friday so I have an extra day of recovery than the book which is part of the reason I was leaning 5k.

 

[Blue Caterpillar]

Great job! 9 is such a late start.

 

[DopeyBadger]

I am using the unofficial result for pacing purposes, which brings me to a question: how does one decide between 5k or 10k paces for the speed sessions in Hanson's? I couldn't find anything in the book that really spelled out how to decide. My current plan is to try 5k paces and if those are too hard then switch to 10k (but how do I know what is too hard?). I'm doing speed on Tuesday and tempo on Friday so I have an extra day of recovery than the book which is part of the reason I was leaning 5k.

I have the 2012 Hansons Marathon Method book and it lays it out in pages 55-65. It looks like based on a 49:50 10k, it gives the following pace goals:

400m = 1:55
600m = 2:51
800m = 3:50
1000m = 4:42
1200m = 5:42
1600m = 7:40

I'd be wary of moving the Tempo to Fridays unless you have to because of your schedule. If you are a Friday night/Sunday morning runner, it means you'll now only have about 36 hrs between those two tough workouts. The Tuesday speed day is far easier than the Thursday or Sunday runs. So having more time between Thursday and Sunday is probably more important than Tuesday and Thursday. Just something to chew on.

 

[GollyGadget]

I have the 2012 Hansons Marathon Method book and it lays it out in pages 55-65. It looks like based on a 49:50 10k, it gives the following pace goals:

400m = 1:55
600m = 2:51
800m = 3:50
1000m = 4:42
1200m = 5:42
1600m = 7:40

I'd be wary of moving the Tempo to Fridays unless you have to because of your schedule. If you are a Friday night/Sunday morning runner, it means you'll now only have about 36 hrs between those two tough workouts. The Tuesday speed day is far easier than the Thursday or Sunday runs. So having more time between Thursday and Sunday is probably more important than Tuesday and Thursday. Just something to chew on.

I have to move the tempos because of work . I won't have the time on Thursday but my Friday is more flexible. I also moved the Friday easy run to Wednesday to keep Thursday totally open.

Regarding my question, I can find/calculate the paces. What I couldn't find was any advice on if they should be 5k or 10k paces, it kind of seemed like it was up to the runner. The pace difference is pretty negligible for the shorter repeats, so maybe I'm making a bigger deal out of it than necessary.

 

[DopeyBadger]

I have to move the tempos because of work . I won't have the time on Thursday but my Friday is more flexible. I also moved the Friday easy run to Wednesday to keep Thursday totally open.

What's the time limit on Mondays? Could you do the majority of the long runs on Mondays, speed days on Wed, off on Thurs, Tempo on Friday?

Regarding my question, I can find/calculate the paces. What I couldn't find was any advice on if they should be 5k or 10k paces, it kind of seemed like it was up to the runner. The pace difference is pretty negligible for the shorter repeats, so maybe I'm making a bigger deal out of it than necessary.

In your case, the speed paces suggested seem to be between 5k and 10k pace. According to the chart:

23:30 5k fitness = 7:33 min/mile
49:50 10k fitness = 8:01 min/mile
Speed pace suggestion = 7:40 min/mile

So at least according to the chart, they're not suggesting running them at 5k or 10k pace, but rather a pace between them. With that being said, the times I've done the Hansons plan, I tend to run them closer to 5k pace than 10k pace. Just don't do them faster than 5k pace, because as it says in the book, then you're venturing too close to VO2max for the intent/duration of these workouts.