To Infinity and Beyond - Becoming a Better DopeyBadger (Comments Welcome)

[bovie]

LOL, why does it make your heart happy? My Garmin 235 measures HR using an optical wrist monitor. Back before my Garmin 235 I used to measure my RHR via my neck each morning. It is a nice thing to track over time because you can tend to see some things coming in advance (like sickness or overtraining). Like in my graph above the second red bar is the peak of my sinus infection and temp of 103(?). I like the weekly average better than the daily because it eliminates the noise of the day to day. Also not surprising to me is that my peak in performance and VO2max came when my RHR was the lowest (43.9) and interestingly started shifted from there, as did my performance, as did my Stravistix. So it can serve as interesting data.

I just like data I guess. I have a Garmin 220, and I really like it, but I know I don't use it to its full potential. I wind up running by feel 95% of the time. Seeing progress in black and white is really motivating for me.

 

[DopeyBadger]

I just like data I guess. I have a Garmin 220, and I really like it, but I know I don't use it to its full potential. I wind up running by feel 95% of the time. Seeing progress in black and white is really motivating for me.

If you like running data, then you've certainly come to the right place! Also, BTW... Congrats on 10 posts! You can now send PMs!

 

[roxymama]

@bovie I have a Garmin 220 as well and I saved this article on my computer way back in November. I reference it often. If you ever want to dive into using your watch more. I like this because it physically shows the watch face in it's different modes.

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2013/11...html#treadmill-running-internal-accelerometer

 

[Dis5150]

I just wanted to say that my DD27 sent me the training plan you made her and I am very excited that we are scheduled for the exact same runs while I am visiting her on vacation!

 

[DopeyBadger]

I just wanted to say that my DD27 sent me the training plan you made her and I am very excited that we are scheduled for the exact same runs while I am visiting her on vacation!

You guys made it super easy for me. Same current fitness, same days per week, same time available, same current training to bridge from, etc. Outside of a few tweaks to her plan, it's exactly the same. So in your cases I guess custom equaled the same.

 

[Dis5150]

You guys made it super easy for me. Same current fitness, same days per week, same time available, same current training to bridge from, etc. Outside of a few tweaks to her plan, it's exactly the same. So in your cases I guess custom equaled the same.

I don't think she liked hearing that we were the same, you know, since she is 20 years younger and has always been faster than me.

 

[sourire]

My mom's brisk walk pace is my easy run pace hehe. She is tickled at this, and the paces worked out great for the last 10k we did together in DL! She just turned 70, but no one would ever know!

 

[DopeyBadger]

I don't think she liked hearing that we were the same, you know, since she is 20 years younger and has always been faster than me.

People keep telling me I should stop being so honest... Given her PRs, she might be selling her current fitness short at the moment.

My mom's brisk walk pace is my easy run pace hehe. She is tickled at this, and the paces worked out great for the last 10k we did together in DL! She just turned 70, but no one would ever know!

That's so nice it worked out that way.

 

[bovie]

@bovie I have a Garmin 220 as well and I saved this article on my computer way back in November. I reference it often. If you ever want to dive into using your watch more. I like this because it physically shows the watch face in it's different modes.

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2013/11...html#treadmill-running-internal-accelerometer

Thanks! That's handy.

 

[DopeyBadger]

How long does it take for me to recover from a marathon?

It's time I write this post because I always seem to forget post-marathon. I tend to get hard on myself because pre-marathon "easy" pace don't feel so easy. I feel sore. I feel stiff. My HRvPace data seems all out of whack. Just in general, it feels like when I return to running after a marathon I'm just not the runner I used to be. So the beauty of having a journal and keeping detailed data is that I can look to the past to see what's up. This way I can tell future DopeyBadger to just calm down and things will eventually return to normal.



So, I evaluated the last four marathons. The date of the marathon, the date I started running again, the date I started training again (defined by a hard workout), the date I noted in my journal that I felt normal again, the date my HRvPace was back to marathon level and the date my Stravistix data returned to pre-race levels.

As you can tell, prior to this marathon, I had always taken 14 days off. I would restart training about 25-28 days after the race. I first started feeling normal around 21-24 days and 35 days for 2016 Lakefront. My HR data would come back to normal at Day 42 and my Stravistix at Day 49.

So what's this tell me - calm down....

I should start feeling normal again between 10/25/17 to 11/5/17. My HR data won't normalize until around 11/12/17. And my Stravisitx "Fitness" score won't rebound until 11/19/17.

Nice to have the previous data staring back at me in the face to tell me that I've just got to give it time before I feel normal again. Man oh man, does it really emphasize how hard a marathon is on me that it takes 42 days from the race and ~28 days from restarting running before my HR comes back into normal pre-race levels.

Glad I looked into this one as it puts my mind at ease. So next time future DopeyBadger freaks out about recovering from a marathon, just point him to this post.

 

[roxymama]

Might as well set up an alert in your phone calendar for late next October to remind yourself.

 

[GollyGadget]

Next time I get stir crazy from a recovery period, you'll have to point me to this post.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Might as well set up an alert in your phone calendar for late next October to remind yourself.

LOL, sounds like a plan!

Next time I get stir crazy from a recovery period, you'll have to point me to this post.

Deal!

 

[Sailormoon2]

That was a fantastically insightful post!!

 

[Anisum]

Good to know! I feel like I'll need to be reminded of this post Marathon weekend.

 

[DopeyBadger]

73 Days to Go (Don't make me focused. You won't like me when I'm focused.)



Date - Day - Scheduled Workout (Intervals within desired pace)

10/8/17 - Sun - 4 miles @ 7:54-8:28 min/mile
10/9/17 - M - OFF
10/10/17 - T - 4 miles @ 7:54-8:28 min/mile
10/11/17 - W - 4 miles @ 7:54-8:28 min/mile
10/12/17 - R - 6 miles @ 7:54-8:28 min/mile
10/13/17 - F - 6 miles @ 7:54-8:28 min/mile
10/14/17 - Sat - 5.1 miles @ 7:54-8:28 min/mile
10/15/17 - Sun - Milwaukee Marathon 10k
10/16/17 - M - OFF
10/17/17 - T - 7 miles @ 7:54-8:28 min/mile
10/18/17 - W - 7 miles @ 7:54-8:28 min/mile + MBW
10/19/17 - R - 7 miles @ 7:54-8:28 min/mile
10/20/17 - F - 6 miles @ 7:54-8:28 min/mile
10/21/17 - Sat - 6 miles @ 7:54-8:28 min/mile + MBW
10/22/17 - Sun - 12 miles @ 7:35 min/mile (9/11)
10/23/17 - M - OFF

Total (training) mileage = 34.1 + 45.1 miles
Number of SOS intervals within pace = 9/11 (82%)

Three weeks post-marathon. I took one week off, then two weeks of only easy running. Now it's time to get down to business. I have still been feeling sore and stiff post-marathon. Not during normal life so much, but during the runs. So I took some time the other day to analyze other post-marathon periods to assess when I should start to feel normal again and when my HRvsPace should come back into pre-marathon levels.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/t...mments-welcome.3475601/page-143#post-58361829

The short of it is-
-Normally, take 14 days off, took 7 this time.
-Normally, restart training at 25-28 days
-Normally, start feeling normal (based on journal entries) about 21-35 days post marathon.
-Normally, my HR data comes back into pre-marathon levels after 42 days
-My Stravistix data takes about 49 days to hit pre-marathon levels.

I added back in the medicine ball workout (MBW). I decided to go with the 4 pound ball for now since I haven't done the workout in months and since my groin has been sore (and the reason for picking it back up). Boy, did my muscles let me know Thursday morning about how long it had been...

I started feeling normal again on Friday/Saturday and for sure on Sunday. So somewhere around 19-21 days post-marathon this time. The HR is still off at the moment, but know I now it'll come with time. My Stravistix Fitness is 90.1 (pre-LR) compared to my peak of 114.1.





As for the training, I'm re-focused now. I think I got a bit complacent. I was very confident I could hit a sub-3 in October all the way back in March/April based on some of the data then. I settled on trying to maintain fitness and just be prepared on race day. I knew it was going to happen. And then it didn't. It was a slap to the face after all the work I had put in. And it produced another low point in my running journey. Yes, I'm aware I PR'd. Yes, I'm aware I still have made great improvements. But I also know I was capable of more. I shed my tears and was ready to move on. Then some people not on Strava or the DIS shared their opinions on what I was capable of.

"Maybe it was time for me to change my focus and be content with not hitting my goals."
"Boston is not that cool of a city anyway."
"What's so important about it, it's not like you're qualifying for the Olympics."
"I was pretty confident you wouldn't hit your time goal."

Suffice to say, since the beginning of this journey 5.5 years ago and weighing 100 pounds more once in my life, I don't like people telling me they don't think I can do something. If I want it, I'll PROVE it, and will do whatever is necessary to get it. So not hitting my goal this past marathon knocked me down for a little bit, but now, I'm running with a higher focus and hunger then I've had in a long time. I want this and I will achieve it.

T+D of 110, rain, some wind.

Long Run = 7:35 min/mile
Long Run Window = +/- 10 seconds (7:25-7:45)

Happy to get back out there at a different pace then easy. It wasn't completely easy, but it was just about right.

Long Run = 7:25, 7:35, 7:17, 7:34, 7:35, 7:34, 7:30, 7:38, 7:31, 7:30, 7:23

Average HR = 145 (Historical 138-142), but HR was lower in last few intervals then beginning

As my daughter's favorite super hero says, "Don't make me angry. You won't like me when I'm angry." Except maybe it's more like a statement of re-focusing then it is a statement of me being angry. I'm generally not an angry person. Pretty even keel. But there's definitely something boiling underneath the surface.

 

[ZellyB]

Refocusing is good. It's like we were saying somewhere on here recently, sometimes it's when we fail to hit a goal that we learn the most and grow from it. I absolutely have faith that you will achieve your goal of a BQ and a sub-3 marathon because I know you are willing to do whatever it takes to get there and one of these times all the stars will align and the conditions and your body will be right where they need to be and you'll do it.

I think sometimes when people diminish your goals they mean it in a good way (sometimes ). I think they are trying to make you think it's not that bad that you didn't hit your goal, and maybe not a reflection of whether or not you CAN do it. You set really high standards and goals for yourself which is awesome. But, it also means sometimes you will miss those goals. It's part of stretching yourself and pushing. And, it's totally normal to be down and feel low when you don't hit them. The important thing is that you pick back up and reassess and start all over again and there was never any doubt you would do that. I'm excited to read how the next steps in your journey go.

 

[Ariel484]

"Maybe it was time for me to change my focus and be content with not hitting my goals."
"Boston is not that cool of a city anyway."
"What's so important about it, it's not like you're qualifying for the Olympics."
"I was pretty confident you wouldn't hit your time goal."

The coffee hasn't kicked in for me yet, and I'm pretty gullible in general...did people really say this?

There are definitely ups and down to sharing your running journey so publicly - with the encouragement/fun GIFs comes the other stuff. For all of us that have complete confidence in what you're doing, there are the armchair running coaches that think they know better. It's great that you're able to take comments like this and turn them into motivation - that's not something I was ever very good at (my method would be to get angry and make myself feel better by stuffing apple fritters into my face, if I had access to apple fritters), so I admire that you can do that. People are lame sometimes.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Refocusing is good. It's like we were saying somewhere on here recently, sometimes it's when we fail to hit a goal that we learn the most and grow from it. I absolutely have faith that you will achieve your goal of a BQ and a sub-3 marathon because I know you are willing to do whatever it takes to get there and one of these times all the stars will align and the conditions and your body will be right where they need to be and you'll do it.

Just a matter of time, in more ways than one. And maybe that's exactly what this race will serve as - another galvanization of the hunger inside me to go out there and crush it.

I think sometimes when people diminish your goals they mean it in a good way (sometimes ). I think they are trying to make you think it's not that bad that you didn't hit your goal, and maybe not a reflection of whether or not you CAN do it.

I certainly can understand this. And from others, this was apparently the intent of the comments from other people. Although, I certainly didn't take it that way and still don't because the delivery said otherwise.

You set really high standards and goals for yourself which is awesome. But, it also means sometimes you will miss those goals. It's part of stretching yourself and pushing. And, it's totally normal to be down and feel low when you don't hit them. The important thing is that you pick back up and reassess and start all over again and there was never any doubt you would do that.

Agreed. I set lofty goals, but ones that I feel I can attain. There's still more to go, but when I reach the apex, I'll know.

I'm excited to read how the next steps in your journey go.

Thanks!

The coffee hasn't kicked in for me yet, and I'm pretty gullible in general...did people really say this?

It would certainly be easier to say no, but yea these were said to me.

There are definitely ups and down to sharing your running journey so publicly - with the encouragement/fun GIFs comes the other stuff. For all of us that have complete confidence in what you're doing, there are the armchair running coaches that think they know better. It's great that you're able to take comments like this and turn them into motivation - that's not something I was ever very good at (my method would be to get angry and make myself feel better by stuffing apple fritters into my face, if I had access to apple fritters), so I admire that you can do that. People are lame sometimes.

I can certainly understand. In fact, in the past that's exactly how I would have responded (not that apple fritters are a bad thing... yum yum!). But I let the voices of others sometimes be louder then the ones inside me. Now, I don't let that happen anymore. The loudest voice will be my own (inside my head of course cause I'm not shouting anywhere). But I'll let myself set my own limits and see where I can take myself.

 

[run.minnie.miles]

"Maybe it was time for me to change my focus and be content with not hitting my goals."
"Boston is not that cool of a city anyway."
"What's so important about it, it's not like you're qualifying for the Olympics."
"I was pretty confident you wouldn't hit your time goal."

I usually read, but not always comment on your journal, but these comments make my heart hurt.

I know someone who prides herself on not having a "filter" and being "real" with what she says. I think there is value in speaking honestly, but there is never room for comments that hurt or belittle others. Sometimes when people think they are "just being real", what is "really" uncovers that they have a sad, mean reality.