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

[striker1064]

May 8 - May 14

Total mileage: 38.6mi
Total time: 6h 9min

Monday: 7 Miles Easy (9:31-10:28) (run club)
Tuesday: 6 Miles Easy (9:31-10:28); T+D 64+54=118
Wednesday: 7 Miles Easy (9:31-10:28); T+D 55+42=97
Thursday: 5 Miles Easy (9:31-10:28); T+D 54+51=105
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 7.75 Miles Easy (9:31-10:28) (run club)
Sunday: Bear Triathlon Relay 6 Miles (48:43 time, 8:07/mile pace)

A whirlwind week! Work was really busy so my running times were all over the place. I also ran on Tuesday - a usual rest day - just to see what it felt like to get in 6 running days in a week. For the most part it was fine, but I did cut my Thursday run a bit short due to fatigue. No idea if I'll keep it up but it was kinda fun to mess around with things a bit.

After run club on Saturday, I packed my bag and headed to a friend's house, who drove us to Newark, Delaware for a triathlon Sunday at Lums Pond State Park. This was very much on a whim; my friend had signed up with another friend. This was an olympic triathlon, so a 1500 meter swim, 23 mile bike, and 6 mile run. She was responsible for the bike and run but wasn't sure if she could handle both as the event approached and asked me if I'd be interested. I'm always up for an adventure!

We arrived on Saturday at the park to check-in, pick up gear, and check out the course. There was a practice swim, but it was raining and a tad miserable. I scoped the running course a bit and noticed it was almost entirely trail, a new experience for me. We then headed for dinner and got to our hotels around 9 PM, where I promptly stared at the ceiling until about midnight. My alarm went off at 4:30 AM.

Yep, 4.5 hours of sleep. Totally normal race day for me.

I got up, got ready, had awful hotel coffee in the dark under the bed sheets like an addict getting his fix, checked out, and we were on our way to the park. Arrived about 6:00 and the place was bustling. I had some time to wait.

Our friend started her swim around 7:05 and took about 40 minutes. The transition to bike was smooth, and the bike was underway. I tried to track her, but Garmin livetrack wasn't working for some reason. She told me she thought she'd be about 1 hour 30 minutes, so we hung out at the park for a bit. At around the 1 hour 15 minute mark, we walked to the transition area to watch the bikers coming back, and spotted my friend coming much sooner than I expected. As soon as I saw her, I started gulping my Tailwind mix and sprinted into the transition area. I finished my Tailwind, took the timing chip from her ankle, and went off. According to the results, the transition took about 40 seconds - I'll take that for a first timer!

The run was very simple - it was an out-and-back, twice. The sprint triathlon was an out-and-back once, whereas olympic distance runners simply made a u-turn at the starting point and did it again. No problem. It was a narrow trail, not too technical but hillier than I expected. Also, randomly, there was a dude playing a bagpipe in the woods on the trail.

I tried to lock in on a good cruising speed, but with the changes in the trail that wasn't really possible. I definitely took the first out too hot, as the changes in the trail were getting to me a bit, so I pulled back a little and was totally fine for the remainder of it. It all went by very quickly and I don't remember much, but my friends were waiting for me as I darted to the finish line for a sub-50 finish.

We collected our medals, took a picture, and headed to Cracker Barrel to celebrate. Then drove back home. I crashed hard last night. Yay for new experiences!

This week, with a race on the docket, I'll omit the Tuesday run (because my week again will be nutso) and return to regularly scheduled programming. Interestingly, V.O2 asked me if the 10k this Sunday was an A race or secondary goal. I picked secondary but it still has me pacing it at 7:47, or my max effort VDOT equivalent of 48:19. I don't see that happening, but we'll see how the week goes.

 

[striker1064]

GUYS @WillRunForPizza AND I FINALLY MET

She's a pretty amazing runner and cool person to boot!

May 15 - May 21

Total mileage: 34.7mi
Total time: 5h 17min

Monday: 7 Miles Easy (9:31-10:28); T+D 72+45=117 (run club)
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: 8.5 Miles Easy (9:31-10:28); T+D 64+52=116
Thursday: 5 8 Miles Easy (9:31-10:28) + Strides; T+D 52+32=84
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Shakeout: 3.21 Miles Easy (9:31-10:28) + Strides (run club)

Sunday: Capitol Hill Classic 10k

It's another race! For some reason! I remarked leading up to today that despite what the name "Capitol Hill Classic" implies, this is very much a neighborhood race. And, well, not anymore, turns out! It was packed, but still organized very much like a neighborhood race.

I did not train specifically for a 10k; I registered after Broad Street when I was confident my body was mostly intact. With only 3 weeks following Broad Street, I knew I wasn't going to run my best race. My body was feeling pretty tapped out. I felt like I still had a reasonably good day in me, but V.O2 pegged me at my usual all-out race effort, which would have been a 48:19 conversion (7:47/mile) based on the Broad Street Run. I let fly some choice words at the app, but it was unfazed. Oh well.

After a very restless night of sleep - race days, amirite? - I finally crawled out of bed around 5:30 AM and did my usual pre-race morning routine. Coffee, plain bagel, banana, water, stretches, music.

The race begins and ends at a small school near Stanton Park in NE DC, which is sort of oddly-placed. My plan was to metro to Union Station and walk the 15ish minutes, which worked out fine. I got to the race area about 7:50 AM for an 8:30 AM (theoretically) race start. Several friends were running today as well, so I texted them a meetup spot and just hung out, taking everything in. I do love races.

I also texted @WillRunForPizza. I was determined for us to meet today. But in a totally normal way. Not a weird way.

Success!

Like I said, this is a fast-growing race that's still organized like a small neighborhood race, so even though people were everywhere, everyone and everything is contained to a very small area. I spotted her and jogged up for a quick chat. We exchanged goal times, and it turns out we were both gunning for the same time - 48 minutes. Before we departed, I said "If I see you at the end I'm going to try to pass you. Don't let me."

At about 8:20 AM I guzzled my Maurten 320 drink mix. Awful. Then I worked my way to near the front of the race start, getting as close as possible. When 8:35 rolled around and we still hadn't started the race, I got concerned. Luckily, according to my Garmin anyway, we started at 8:36, so that's not too bad with timing the Maurten.

Weather-wise, it wasn't a bad race morning. Around 60F with a 52F dew point and full sun. Not ideal conditions for a race, but a decent breeze helped keep things cool.

My plan was to go for broke and see what happened. This spring season has already turned out so much better than I could have possibly imagined - today was icing on the cake no matter what.

Although I was gonna be pretty annoyed if I had to walk any of it.

Mile 1: 7:41

A pretty decent start. Little fast, but that was because of the crush of people at the start. According to the results, there were 1,515 finishers, and everyone went off at the same time - no corrals or waves or anything like that. I did a lot of weaving and eventually settled into a slightly uncomfortable pace. Mile 1 was otherwise pretty dull because it was mostly a box around the Capitol, onto East Capitol Street.

Mile 2: 7:30

Ok, err... still doing fine? I guess? 7:30 is pretty fast for mile 2 of a 10k for me. Overall mile 2 was an ever-so-slight descent, but not enough to justify that pace. We were straight down East Capitol Street and around Lincoln Park (named for the President with the top hat and beard, not the totally awesome emo band, but you probably knew that).

Mile 3: 7:28

Yeah no I was gonna crash and burn if I kept this up, and I could feel it. Mile 3 was a bigger descent, but still not terribly significant. This is also the point where I began to see the race leaders coming back out from the portion around RFK stadium. Those guys are fast, yo. The leader had a significant gain on second place, and he looked like he was on the easiest run of his life.

The winner finished the race in 31:17.

Second place was a full minute behind at 32:29.

Nonsense.

I also started to look for @WillRunForPizza again, because I figured she started ahead of me and there were some wide turns so it was easy to see several spots in front. Didn't see her! I figured she was flying. If she was that fast, there was no way I was catching her. All fine!

Mile 4: 7:53

I intentionally slowed down during mile 4, and I was more or less fine with how this turned out. My bigger concern was I set a new 5k PR at 23:30, and I felt like I was probably in trouble at that point if I kept it up. I didn't feel too terrible but I was in a concerning range. 10ks are so hard to pace properly.

Mile 5: 8:16

UUUUUGH I COMPLETELY forgot about the uphill-turn-uphill when exiting RKF back onto East Capitol Street. It's tricky because the incline is slight enough that you barely notice it until you're halfway up the hill, and if you've maintained your pace, you're gonna be struggling. I was still going my normal speed, so by the time I made it to the top between that and the heat, I was toast. Bleh. I felt pretty bad.

ALSO!

Right around the 4.7ish mile point according to my Garmin, I heard huff "HEY" huff "Bri-" huff "an" over my right shoulder.

IT WAS @WillRunForPizza! She was behind me this whole time! I started to laugh. She did to me exactly what I said I was gonna do to her. I was so proud of her! I told her "I don't have 48 today. You look awesome. GET IT!"

She moved ahead of me. I kept her in my sights.

Mile 6: 8:03

At this point I was just trying to hold things together. I tried to speed up but I didn't have much left. I started off too fast, hit the hill too hard, and now it was hot. I actually thought I still had a shot at 48 minutes after mile 4, but the uphill erased any chance of that happening. My focus was now sub-50, if at all possible. I also kept an eye on @WillRunForPizza, but my nefarious plan was not happening. Even though I could see her, she kept widening the gap. I wasn't going to catch her.

When I passed the final marker, I ran as fast as I possibly could with everything I had left. I was SO CLOSE to 50 minutes and had no idea if it was happening for me today. It was entirely on adrenaline, because aerobically I was done. My legs were running on muscle-memory, which I guess is how these things are supposed to go.

Mile 0.39: 7:22

Final time: 49:47

Overall place: 319
Gender: 260/785
Age Group M30-39: 115

Even though I didn't hit my VDOT equivalent of 48:19, I am very proud of my race today. I took almost 5 minutes off my 10k PR despite doing zero 10k-specific training, which again is a testament to how much I've improved recently.

And I met another cool person!

I caught up with @WillRunForPizza one last time after the race and we exchanged congratulations and chatted for a bit. I was super proud of her for boozing all week then running a very hard race (spoken as someone with experience). We grabbed an assortment of wonderful treats (oranges, bananas, granola bars, and bagels! Up your game, other races!) and chatted a bit longer, then parted ways. I won't spoil her time - that's her story to tell - but obviously she beat me!

After my friends finished, we walked to brunch at one of my favorite DC institutions, Tune Inn on Capitol Hill. They make their own mozzarella sticks! Then my friends decided they wanted to walk home (only 30 minutes) because they're jerks.

Such a wonderful day!

Anyway, I'm tired.

Thanks for reading!

 

[azrivest]

Reading this I wasn't sure how you were going to conclude with being proud or disappointed with your time. Congrats on your 5min 10k PR

 

[striker1064]

Reading this I wasn't sure how you were going to conclude with being proud or disappointed with your time. Congrats on your 5min 10k PR

Haha yeah, I guess as I'm scanning what I wrote I can see how it could go either way, so I should reiterate - I'm very happy! I only signed up for this race 3 weeks ago and I was going for broke no matter what, and I knew the chances of me hitting my VDOT were very low. That's okay!

And thank you!

 

[WillRunForPizza]

Woohoo great job again!

 

[GollyGadget]

Great job breaking 50! Pacing is very difficult if you haven’t been practicing it.

Also, linkin park is most definitely not emo

 

[striker1064]

Also, linkin park is most definitely not emo

Listen, if you're going to bring facts and logic into this... you got me. I was trying to be witty but I was super tired and all I could think of at the time is emo. And the bar is low, cause it made me laugh.

 

[GollyGadget]

Listen, if you're going to bring facts and logic into this... you got me. I was trying to be witty but I was super tired and all I could think of at the time is emo. And the bar is low, cause it made me laugh.

I’ll forgive you this time…I take my emo music very seriously

 

[DopeyBadger]

Awesome stuff! Way to crush it!

 

[NYC_MW]

Nice work!

 

[striker1064]

May 22 - May 28

Total time: 5h 49min
Total mileage: 36mi

Monday: 6 Miles Easy + Strides; T+D 77+50=127 (run club)
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: Track night: 12x 400m @ 5k (7:30) w/ 1:00 RI (run club)
Thursday: 7.5 Miles Easy + Strides; T+D 58+41=99
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 7.5 Miles Easy; T+D 65+40=105 (run club)
Sunday: 10 Miles Easy; T+D 65+51=116

I'm in that weird period between training cycles. I'm planning to tone back my weekly mileage a little and run easy only; Marine Corps Marathon training begins in July (which seemed like a much better idea a few weeks ago when I registered than it does now) so I do want to heat adapt as much as possible between now and then. But I also don't want to burn out in the heat. 35ish miles seems like a decent baseline.

My run club does track nights every other Wednesday night and the track is very close to my apartment. I usually don't go because I stick to my training plans, but I figured I could do this week. Some of the workouts aren't bad, and some are really tough. When I saw 12x 400m at 5k pace with only a minute rest, I said "Ok are you trying to kill us? I mean, I am game." I made it through the first 9 repeats. On interval #10 I felt like I was fading, and I slowed way down on #11 so I stopped. Still a great time to run awful repeats with others!

I'm also getting back into biking! I haven't biked regularly since I was a literal teenager but there's a Capital Bikeshare right outside my building and lots of things are much more easily accessible biking vs walking or metro. I figure it's good to also introduce some cross-training now before I begin MCM training. I spent about 2 total hours biking 20 total miles around this week; mostly short rides to get used to it again.

I also ordered a bike from REI, but they're super backed up thanks to the sales. It'll be a couple weeks before it's ready. The CaBi bikes are nice to have, but after an ~8 mile ride along some very hilly NE DC roads Saturday evening my back was killing me so I'm excited to have my own. Also I guess this is what 40 will feel like next year, what with the back pain and all that.

It has been super beautiful weather here in DC; one of the nicest consistent stretches of spring I can remember in the 6 years I've lived here. We usually get this kind of weather for 2-3 weeks at most. Dew points have been consistently in the 40s and 50s with only a few short periods in the 60s. That of course is all ending as upper 80s and low 90s are coming at the end of the week. Am I heat adapted yet?

 

[WillRunForPizza]

The CaBi bikes are nice to have, but after an ~8 mile ride along some very hilly NE DC roads Saturday evening my back was killing me so I'm excited to have my own.

Yeah, anything more than like 20 minutes on those things makes my butt sore. However I am unwilling to invest in my own bike because with my luck it will inevitably break down or get stolen. Or both.

 

[striker1064]

Yeah, anything more than like 20 minutes on those things makes my butt sore. However I am unwilling to invest in my own bike because with my luck it will inevitably break down or get stolen. Or both.

I have already been researching maintenance and care and starting to pick up a few tools that I'll need to fix common issues. I'm looking forward to trying it once, messing it up, and never riding it again. It'll be a memorial to that time I thought buying a bike was a good idea.

 

[striker1064]

May 29 - June 4

Total time: 5h 9min
Total mileage: 31.9mi

Monday: 4.9 Miles Easy; damp (run club)
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: 7 Miles Easy; T+D 61+56=117, humid
Thursday: 6 Miles Easy + Strides; T+D 67+59=126; gross and offensive
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 6 Miles Easy; T+D 76+61=137 uuuuuuuuuuuuugh (run club)
Sunday: 8 Miles Easy; T+D 62+50=112

Is it winter yet? It's too hot to sleep.

So yeah, cutting back on the weekly mileage as I get used to the heat. We've still had some pleasant days but a TD approaching 140 in the morning is superfluous and the weather should be ashamed of itself. I'm also planning to integrate cross-training while I'm doing this base fitness phase. I'll get right on that. I am eating a ton - just cultivating mass, bro, while I get ready for marathon training. As long as it makes sense in my head, that's what counts, right?

My bike hasn't come from REI yet. I know they're super backed up because of the sale and people getting maintenance on their bikes from the nice weather, but I hope it's done soon. I've kinda stopped riding the bikeshares recreationally because they're juts so uncomfortable (still good for getting around though).

 

[nancipants]

May 29 - June 4

Total time: 5h 9min
Total mileage: 31.9mi

Monday: 4.9 Miles Easy; damp (run club)
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: 7 Miles Easy; T+D 61+56=117, humid
Thursday: 6 Miles Easy + Strides; T+D 67+59=126; gross and offensive
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 6 Miles Easy; T+D 76+61=137 uuuuuuuuuuuuugh (run club)
Sunday: 8 Miles Easy; T+D 62+50=112

Is it winter yet? It's too hot to sleep.

So yeah, cutting back on the weekly mileage as I get used to the heat. We've still had some pleasant days but a TD approaching 140 in the morning is superfluous and the weather should be ashamed of itself. I'm also planning to integrate cross-training while I'm doing this base fitness phase. I'll get right on that. I am eating a ton - just cultivating mass, bro, while I get ready for marathon training. As long as it makes sense in my head, that's what counts, right?

My bike hasn't come from REI yet. I know they're super backed up because of the sale and people getting maintenance on their bikes from the nice weather, but I hope it's done soon. I've kinda stopped riding the bikeshares recreationally because they're juts so uncomfortable (still good for getting around though).

I'm not happy other people are suffering in the heat, but I'm glad to know it's miserable to run everywhere lately, not just Florida. (Although I follow someone on YouTube/Instagram who lives on Svalbard and ran the half-marathon there in just above freezing temps, and for the first time was very jealous of where she lives, LOL.)

 

[azrivest]

Is it winter yet? It's too hot to sleep.

I'll pin this post for when we're in the last weeks of Dopey training in December

But yeah, same here. Mother nature has been having mood swings.

 

[striker1064]

Question for y'all - do you always run a tune-up race during a marathon plan?

Last year, I ran a HM about 9 weeks prior to my full. Given the structure of the training plan, I was able to run it pretty much as an all-out half rather than using it as an M Tempo workout or anything like that.

I'm debating if I want to do a tune-up race this time around. MCM is about 3 weeks before my full was last year, so following the same 8-10 week timeline before MCM, that would have me racing a HM in mid to late August - which I really do not want to do. I'm pretty comfortable with my fitness coming out of the spring and focusing solely on the full. I could run the same HM again, but it's only 6 weeks before MCM. That seems too close. But again, moving any earlier in the year would be a very hot half.

 

[RuntheMouse]

I did not run a tune up race during marathon training last year but my goal was only to finish! This year I am running a tune up half but it is 9 weeks out from the marathon like your was. 6 seems tight.

On my current HM plan, my tune up 10k was 4 weeks out.

 

[GollyGadget]

Question for y'all - do you always run a tune-up race during a marathon plan?

Last year, I ran a HM about 9 weeks prior to my full. Given the structure of the training plan, I was able to run it pretty much as an all-out half rather than using it as an M Tempo workout or anything like that.

I'm debating if I want to do a tune-up race this time around. MCM is about 3 weeks before my full was last year, so following the same 8-10 week timeline before MCM, that would have me racing a HM in mid to late August - which I really do not want to do. I'm pretty comfortable with my fitness coming out of the spring and focusing solely on the full. I could run the same HM again, but it's only 6 weeks before MCM. That seems too close. But again, moving any earlier in the year would be a very hot half.

I usually have some sort of other race but I wouldn’t necessarily call it a tune up. It’s just because I enjoy racing and it helps break up the training. If you don’t want to race, it’s certainly not required.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Certainly not required to run a tune-up. I’ve done it both ways. Many times I’ve preferred not to have a HM prior to the “A” marathon race because I haven’t recovered well from the HM mid-training. Add in the weather not being ideal, you’ll certainly not glean a ton about your capabilities for marathon race day. Six weeks is about as close as you’d want it for a HM leading into a M.