Tiki tiki tiki tiki tiki run (comments welcome)

[Cabius]

I'm not going to recap the last 6 weeks of training in detail, but I thought I'd share a few highlights here.

As I mentioned in my last post, I got to do a bucket list item and run through London along the Thames. I was there for a work trip, and had planned to run in and around Hyde Park, only to discover that there was a half-marathon scheduled that would block off most of those roads. Alas - if I'd known, I might've tried to enroll in the race myself!

Instead, I mapped out a route from my hotel in Westminster (literally across the street from the Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace!) up and down both sides of the Thames, Vauxhall Bridge (home of James Bond's MI-6) to Tower Bridge and back.



It was a crisp, clear fall morning, absolute perfect running weather, and it was sincerely magical to see so much of my favorite city. I even veered off course into the City when I was running past St. Paul's Cathedral and heard the Sunday morning church bells chime, so I could snap a short video and enjoy - however briefly - the sound of the bells.


Perfect weather for enjoying the London Eye


Approaching Tower Bridge and the Tower of London for which it is named from the south bank


Running across the iconic Tower Bridge (after first climbing the double flight of stairs from the riverfront level, of course)


These 'dolphin' statues adorn lamposts on the embankment, and reminded me of Walt Disney World's Dolphin hotel motif

It was a good run - I made pretty good time, even with occasional photo stops - and it was an amazing experience. 10/10 would recommend.


Closer to home, the pond along my primary running route has become home to a family of nutriae, or Rodents Of Unusual Size (ROUSes). The largest is some two feet long, and even the baby is about the size of the population of ducks that also call the pond, home. I tried to convince my wife that we should capture them and keep them as pets, but nothing doing.


The dad, looking for all the world like a small capybara, or the lovechild of a rat and a beaver


Mommy and baby, huddled close together


The baby, roughly the same size as the ducks in background

 

[WillRunForPizza]

 

[Baloo in MI]

Jumping in and joining! How could I not with the awesome reference to The Princess Bride!!!

 

[Cabius]

2022-08-13 End-of-week Summary
Last week I completed 46.2 miles against my plan of 44.0 across six runs.

(NOTE: For Interval and Tempo runs, HR/Pace information is based solely on the specific portion of the run, whereas Distance/Duration includes WU/CD mileage.)

I've been ramping up the mileage as I run down the home : 40mi -> 46mi -> 47mi -> 50mi, followed by a 3-week taper. This is a bit more aggressive than I originally planned -- not so much the ramp-up, but the fact that the preceding month had major gaps due to illness -- but so far my body has been holding up well. Two weeks left!

I've been fairly disciplined about maintaining my HR targets, and gratified that those runs have mostly stayed within my estimated pace targets.

A couple of specific call-outs:

11/30 Intervals
I started to do distance-based intervals as opposed to time-based intervals I'd been doing previously. As my running trail has 1/4 mile markers, I've been doing 400-meter sprints. This run involved 6 sets, between 7:03-7:41/mile. HR during sprint sessions averaged 175bpm, but peaked around 188.



This was a hard workout. I was spent afterwards, and as this was an afternoon run, could still feel it the next morning during my 8-mile easy run (higher HR and slower pace than my other two easy runs that week).

12/4 Long Run
This was intended as a 10-mile easy run with a finish at marathon tempo pace. I'm training against 10:40/mile, but unless it's a perfect day, expect to actually target 11:00-11:10/mile on race day.



Unfortunately my Apple Watch stopped tracking my heart rate around mile 5 and didn't come back until mile 9. My HR had been running high, so I slowed down for several miles in order to be conservative. I had the energy to go faster, but wanted to err on the side of a lower HR.

When my HR came back online, I was solidly in the mid-140s. When I pushed the pace to marathon tempo, I only averaged 161 bpm. I think that's largely the result of caffeinating -- I didn't have any caffeine before the run, but took Gu/Caffeine Bullets at miles 6 and 9.

Overall, this felt like a good test run. I can comfortably run 10:40 on tired legs, though whether I could do for a whole other half remains to be seen.

Main takeaways this week

• I may switch to my chest strap HR monitor. This isn't the first time my Apple Watch has dropped my HR, though normally I can get it to come back by taking my watch back off and on again. I know I need to stick with one or the other, but I'm just about fed up enough with my Apple Watch to strap in every day.
  
  
• I may rethink my caffeination strategy. I seem to react very well to caffeine, and I have a good tolerance as I normally drink 4-6 cups/day. I'd read that it was best to hold caffeine until late in the race, because the positive effects wear off and are more beneficial late in the race. But I may want to start with a small dose, then a larger dose late in the race. I'll do some more reading.
  
  
• Other than those intervals, I really haven't experienced too much soreness or exhaustion despite a steady ramp-up in mileage. I was worried about my lost mileage in Oct/Nov, but I feel like I'm in good shape as I head down the home stretch.

Overall Progress
It's been a bit of a rough fall health-wise, which puts me about 130 miles behind where I'd wanted to be. But I've run well when healthy, have accumulated quite a bit of mileage, and am happy with my overall conditioning.


My last 6 weeks before taper (excluding the week with the stomach bug) should average 42 miles/week, with a 50-mile peak week.

My longest run will only be 16 miles, three weeks before race day. I'm capping it for time at <3 hours, to limit risk of re-flaming my tendonitis, and because I understand that there are diminishing returns to longer (by time) runs. If I ever get below 10 min/mile, I can get those 20-milers in, but I'm not there yet.

This will be my last week with a hard interval workout; I'll swap that run out for Tempo next week (my peak week), and ease up through my taper. My body responds well to short strides; I'm still not sure if the longer 400-meter distances are as helpful. Regardless, as I get closer to race day the benefits of the speed work decline, the cost of injury risk climbs, and I want to be more conservative and specific.

I'll also shift my (shorter) tempo runs to marathon pace of 10:40. I currently run those at 10:00, about 106% of marathon pace, but want to get a better feeling for what a marathon pace feels like.

 

[Naomeri]

My Apple Watch seems to lose my HR when it’s cold and my watch band isn’t tight enough

 

[Baloo in MI]

Great job! You are really putting in the miles!

 

[Cabius]

My Apple Watch seems to lose my HR when it’s cold and my watch band isn’t tight enough

I think that's my problem as well. It feels like one notch is a bit too loose, and the next notch is too tight and almost cuts off circulation. Very annoying; I clearly need to lose or gain a few more pounds!

 

[Blue Caterpillar]

I think that's my problem as well. It feels like one notch is a bit too loose, and the next notch is too tight and almost cuts off circulation. Very annoying; I clearly need to lose or gain a few more pounds!

I have a garmin, but I switched the band to an elastic/slide belt like one, due to this very thing.

 

[Cabius]

Weight Loss Update

Since I started tracking in May, I've had 5 months of remarkably consistent and successful weight loss, defined by careful attention to calories in and out, and a steady shedding of pounds.

Unfortunately, sandwiched between some of those successful months were two months of remarkably consistent and successful weight gain, defined by consuming far too many calories whilst reducing mileage due to travel and illness.

Through September and October, I travelled for four out of seven weeks, whilst also contracting Covid. I stopped tracking calories or weighing in entirely during that time, but I gained roughly 7 pounds in 7 weeks, effectively losing 2 months of progress.



In the end, I'll likely end the year 10-15 pounds lighter than my starting weight. It's a bit of a disappointment compared to my prior trendline of 25-30 pounds, but still a good accomplishment. I've definitely felt the benefits on the trail, and I know that I'll be glad in January if I only have to drag 185 pounds across the finish line, versus last year's 200.

(It is a little terrifying how quickly I put the weight back on if I stray from my obsessive calorie tracking, but that's a problem I'll deal with when I hit my goal weight. At this rate, it'll still take a few years!)

 

[kps7795]

I think that's my problem as well. It feels like one notch is a bit too loose, and the next notch is too tight and almost cuts off circulation. Very annoying; I clearly need to lose or gain a few more pounds!

Have you considered trying the trail loop band? The good thing about these bands is that you can adjust it to fit your wrist as tight or loose as you want it to be. Apple sells them for $100, but I got two for $15.99 on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BKSQ6N16/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Cabius]

Have you considered trying the trail loop band? The good thing about these bands is that you can adjust it to fit your wrist as tight or loose as you want it to be. Apple sells them for $100, but I got two for $15.99 on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BKSQ6N16/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thanks for the tip! I may give that a look. I have the Nike sport band, which is reasonably configurable, but at this point I feel like I lose my HR for at least a few minutes on virtually every run. This seems like a cheap enough thing to try, and if it doesn't work then hey, my wife would be glad to see my investment in a chest strap actually seeing some use.

 

[Cabius]

2022-12-08 Mid-Week Update
I'm shuffling things around a bit, but it's a good week so far. (Note that for Tempo runs, HR and Pace data reflects only the tempo portion, while distance and duration include WU/CD runs at easy pace.)


I missed my Tuesday morning interval run, as I didn't wake up in time for me to be back home and ready for 8AM work meetings. But I think I was also just dreading the workout, which is probably a sign that I've been pushing too hard with my 400-meter intervals lately. At this point I'm more concerned about endurance and injury avoidance than speed, so I take that as a sign to adjust.

I substituted that for a 5-mile easy run in the evening, and am juggling my schedule to do a second Marathon Tempo run this week instead of that Interval run. I should still end with about my planned total mileage, and two speed workouts. I'll hit 50 miles next week before I start to taper.

One call-out: I've switched to taking caffeine pre-run the past two days, and the results have been great. It's a small sample size, and maybe I'm just coincidentally hitting a stretch of improved conditioning, but my HR has been 5-10bpm lower than comparable decaffeinated efforts in the past few weeks.

My splits for this morning's run were right on target and super consistent, with a HR ranging from 136 to 145. I've been used to a 148-154 range at this pace, and having to slow down to bring my HR back down repeatedly. This was a really good run!



I've seen my HR drop sharply when taking caffeine mid-race, so I assume that's the reason. Although, my HR has stayed low even 60+ minutes into my run, after the point at which the benefits should have worn off, so maybe it's just a coincidence, or maybe I'm just so addicted to coffee that I need caffeine as a fish needs water, especially for those sluggish early-morning runs.

I'll keep this up for the next few weeks, and for my long runs will experiment with one pre-race chew and then a larger dose late in the race. If I can swing it, I'd love to get the benefits at mile zero and mile twenty, so that I can start and finish strong.

 

[Cabius]

2022-12-11 End-of-week Summary
This week I completed 47.3 miles against my plan of 47.0 across five runs.


As I said in my mid-week update, I shuffled things around a bit when I didn't make my Tuesday Interval run, swapping it out for a M Tempo run instead and switching my schedule around a bit. But, I kept my overall mileage, and finished the week strong.

My two M Tempo runs both went very well. For each, I did a 1-mile warm-up at easy pace before accelerating to my 10:40/mile M Tempo pace. My HR was consistently much lower than it ideally would be for a tempo workout; I feel very confident that with good weather and appropriate fuel, I could maintain that pace ~forever.

My two 8-mile Easy runs were at the low end of my target HR zone, as my conditioning continues to round into form. These runs would have been 10bpm higher just a month or two ago. (That said, I'm pretty tired of these 90-minute mornings runs, and am excited to be starting my taper soon!)

My one long run also went very well, coming in right on target in terms of both pace and HR. Coming after 5 consecutive days and 34 cumulative miles, my legs were far from fresh. Nevertheless, I kept on my pace targets and kept my HR in range.


Every time I've run 13 miles over the past few months, I've had the same reaction: I don't think I could do that again right now. That's not how I feel anymore. I came away from yesterday's run feeling fresh and energized, and pretty sure I could've finished another 13.1 at that pace. It's a good place to be with 4 weeks left!

Nutrition Plan
I'm starting to pay more attention to race-day practices in terms of fuel, etc. I've been experimenting with fuel, caffeine, and liquids, and am starting to finalize a plan:

• Maurten 320 ~1hr before start (even if it costs me a bathroom break)
• 1 caffeine bullet @ start
• 1 non-caffeinated Gu or Stroopwaffle every 3-4 miles
• SaltStick tabs every TBD miles
• 2 caffeine bullets @ TBD miles

I'm still trying to figure out my electrolyte needs, which I know will vary wildly based on temp. I'm a pretty heavy/salty sweater and have been really susceptible to dehydration (esp. electrolyte depletion) in the past. On my most recent long run, I took about 500mL water and 100-120mg sodium per hour. I felt great, but it was fairly cool, and I know I would need quite a bit more in hotter temps.

I'm planning to have caffeine at start, then a second higher dosage of caffeine late in the race. I'm thinking that should be around mile 18, so that by the time it wears off around mile 22 I'll be in the home stretch anyway. But I want to evaluate how I do with next week's 16-miler.

If anybody has advice on sodium and caffeine intake, I'd be glad to hear it!

The Week Ahead
Next week is basically the mirror image of this one, albeit with a 16-mile long run. Alternating 8-mile easy runs and 6-mile runs w/ 4 miles at M Tempo, then a Sunday long run. 50 miles total will be my peak.

After next week, I'll taper back to 36, then 25. I'll do a few 2-4 mile easy runs the week leading up to the marathon, and altogether too much walking around WDW. It's getting close...

 

[DopeyBadger]

If anybody has advice on sodium and caffeine intake, I'd be glad to hear it!

Recommendations I've read is that you shouldn't exceed 400mg caffeine in a day. As for the half-life:

Blood plasma levels peak at about 60 min with a half-life of about 4-6 hours.

Graham, T.E. Caffeine and Exercise. Sports Med 31, 785–807 (2001). https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.wisc.edu/10.2165/00007256-200131110-00002

"When caffeine is consumed it appears in the blood within minutes, with peak caffeine plasma concentrations after oral administration reported to occur at times (Tmax) ranging from 30 to 120 min [43, 120,121,122]. The absolute bioavailability of caffeine is very high and reaches near 100% as seen in studies reporting areas under the plasma concentration-time curves (AUC) [120]"

"While the average half-life (t1/2) of caffeine is generally reported to be between 4 and 6 h, it varies between individuals and even may range from 1.5 to 10 h in adults [120]. The wide range of variability in caffeine metabolism is due to several factors. The rate of caffeine metabolism may be inhibited or decreased with pregnancy or use of hormonal contraceptives [125], increased or induced by heavy caffeine use [131] cigarette smoking [132] or modified in either direction by certain dietary factors [133] and/or variation in the CYP1A2 gene, which will be discussed later [125, 132,133,134]."

Guest, N.S., VanDusseldorp, T.A., Nelson, M.T. et al. International society of sports nutrition position stand: caffeine and exercise performance. J Int Soc Sports Nutr 18, 1 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12970-020-00383-4

****
Personally, I feel the effects after about 15-30 min. and feel like the effect wanes after 60-90 min.


*********

For sodium, I take in 646 mg/hr or 1937mg total in a 3 hour race. I also typically drink about 40oz/hr of water or 120 oz in a 3 hour race.

 

[Cabius]

Recommendations I've read is that you shouldn't exceed 400mg caffeine in a day. As for the half-life:

Blood plasma levels peak at about 60 min with a half-life of about 4-6 hours.

This is helpful, and I will read those resources (assuming I can access them). It seems like there's a pretty wide range of experience, though, so I may be best served by understanding the safety guardrails, then doing what seems to work best for me. (I think I exceed 400mg/day on typical day as it is. )

For sodium, I take in 646 mg/hr or 1937mg total in a 3 hour race. I also typically drink about 40oz/hr of water or 120 oz in a 3 hour race.

That seems astonishingly high, as the SaltStick chews and Gu seem to have ~50mg each. Do you pop those every 5 minutes? Or do you use something else for such high quantities?

 

[DopeyBadger]

That seems astonishingly high, as the SaltStick chews and Gu seem to have ~50mg each. Do you pop those every 5 minutes? Or do you use something else for such high quantities?

2 Egels = 460 total mg
1 Maurten 320 = 500 total mg
2 Maurten gels = 68 total mg
3 scoops Tailwind (concentrated into 5 oz water) = 909 total mg

The Egels and Maurten have a much higher concentration of sodium than do GUs. Additionally, Egels and Tailwind also have a high concentration of Potassium (85-90mg per packet/scoop), but Maurten gel/320 has none.

 

[Cabius]

2 Egels = 460 total mg
1 Maurten 320 = 500 total mg
2 Maurten gels = 68 total mg
3 scoops Tailwind (concentrated into 5 oz water) = 909 total mg

The Egels and Maurten have a much higher concentration of sodium than do GUs. Additionally, Egels and Tailwind also have a high concentration of Potassium (85-90mg per packet/scoop), but Maurten gel/320 has none.

Ah, I hadn't considered Maurten 320 mid-race. Do you pre-mix and carry a bottle for that? (And wow - I knew you liked egels, but didn't realize they were that loaded.) Thanks for the insight!

I have settled on bringing my own water rather than (or in addition to) relying on Disney. It's extra weight, and I'll forego a costuming since I'll be wearing a vest over it anyway, but I want to stay in control of my hydration.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Ah, I hadn't considered Maurten 320 mid-race. Do you pre-mix and carry a bottle for that? (And wow - I knew you liked egels, but didn't realize they were that loaded.) Thanks for the insight!

I have settled on bringing my own water rather than (or in addition to) relying on Disney. It's extra weight, and I'll forego a costuming since I'll be wearing a vest over it anyway, but I want to stay in control of my hydration.

I take the Maurten 320 fifteen minutes before the start of the race. Research indicates that it still counts as "in-race nutrition" when taking it that close to race start. That's not to say that the 60 min from start that you're doing doesn't also count, just that they may not have studied it directly.

Egels are great for electrolyte replacement.

Honestly, with a Disney race you're unlikely to need your own water. Historically they have 19 aid stations, and they're really long. I can run at pace (7:00-7:30) and still get three cups (9 oz) at almost every station. You'd have access to 171 oz of water at 3 cups per station and 19 stations. Based on your paces, you're unlikely to be towards the back of the race pack. So it's highly unlikely they'd run out of water before you get there. So I think you'd be fine without the vest, but that's your choice.

 

[Cabius]

I take the Maurten 320 fifteen minutes before the start of the race. Research indicates that it still counts as "in-race nutrition" when taking it that close to race start. That's not to say that the 60 min from start that you're doing doesn't also count, just that they may not have studied it directly.

Egels are great for electrolyte replacement.

Honestly, with a Disney race you're unlikely to need your own water. Historically they have 19 aid stations, and they're really long. I can run at pace (7:00-7:30) and still get three cups (9 oz) at almost every station. You'd have access to 171 oz of water at 3 cups per station and 19 stations. Based on your paces, you're unlikely to be towards the back of the race pack. So it's highly unlikely they'd run out of water before you get there. So I think you'd be fine without the vest, but that's your choice.

Thanks. I think I'm just nervous because my half-marathon performance was so far below my expectations (admittedly with 150+ T&D effects). I think that was more about sodium than water, though, so I'm working on planning for that. I ordered some Egels, though I will want to test those out before race day.

 

[Cabius]

I'm starting to get enough of a sample size for December to look at how my power has been progressing in the last few months. I'm excluding Oct/Nov due to illness and lack of consistently, and focusing on July/August as a baseline, September when I reached peak form for my half-marathon, and then December as I hit my absolute peak.

I was nervous for a while as I seemed to have lost ground vs September's fitness. But, my recent performance has been significantly better than July/August, and even a bit better than September, especially at faster paces.

No T&D adjustments, excluding indoor


With T&D adjustments, excluding indoor


NOT reflected in these charts: my mileage in December is roughly double the earlier months. And I feel like I could actually complete 26.2 miles now, whereas I don't think I had the endurance to do so in September. Just maintaining that conditioning, with greater endurance, would be a big win for me.