DopeyBadger
Imagathoner
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2015
- Messages
- 10,345
76 Days to Go (I will run a sub-3 hour marathon and qualify for Boston!)
Date - Day - Scheduled Workout (Intervals within desired pace)
7/4/17 - T - 2 mile WU + 8x800 @ CV w/ 45 sec RI @ WU + 4 x 200m @ R w/ 200m RI + 2 mile CD (11/12)
7/5/17 - W - 7 miles @ 8:04-9:01 min/mile
7/6/17 - R - 2 mi WU + 10 mile Progression (8:08, 7:58, 7:48, 7:38, 7:28, 7:18, 7:08, 6:58, 6:41, 6:23) + 2 mile CD (8/10)
7/7/17 - F - 7 miles @ 8:04-9:01 min/mile
7/8/17 - Sat - 7 miles @ 8:04-9:01 min/mile
7/9/17 - Sun - 4 mile easy + 8 miles @ Tempo + 4 mile easy (2/8)
7/10/17 - M - OFF
Total (training) mileage = 60.4 miles
Number of SOS intervals within pace = 21/30 (70%)
Monday was another tee ball day. Unfortunately, as I described last week, things didn't go nearly as well. She was too focused on trying to play with other kids then actually paying attention to the coach. She'll figure it out eventually. She's also regressed a bit in swimming. She used to jump in the pool without holding hands and her head would go under. Now she won't anymore. So they dropped her back to her original class. She did draw a pretty sweet picture of me though.
She did it without any prompts at all. She just sat down and drew it. Hands, feet, hair, concerned mouth, some sort of chest hair, and "coloring in". Proud dad!
Tuesday was time for another fast day! The weather was a little rougher today than usual. A T+D of 149, a little wind, clouds and rain. Thank goodness for the rain and clouds otherwise this might have been much tougher.
2 mile WU + 8x800 @ CV w/ 45 sec RI @ WU + 4 x 200m @ R w/ 200m RI + 2 mile CD
CV Pace = 6:23 min/mile (2% less than Lactate Threshold)
CV Window = +/- 3 seconds (3:08.5-3:14.5)
Mile Pace = 5:28 min/mile (41 sec 200m)
Mile Window = +/- 1 sec (40-42 sec)
I was wondering whether the weather would effect the pacing of the run. If it needed a T+D adjustment, then so be it. But I was rather confident given the clouds/rain and the recent results with HRvPace in certain T+Ds that I might finally be acclimating to the heat.
CV = 3:12, 3:12, 3:10, 3:08, 3:11, 3:12, 3:12, 3:13
Nailed it! 8/8 paces within the window. I felt rather comfortable throughout this run. The 45 sec RI definitely felt better than last week's 30 sec RI. I chose to walk the RI rather than run at WU pace because of the T+D. At points, the pace felt too easy. And at other moments, I was holding on to try and get under the pace goal.
Then came the Mile pace (goal 41 sec per 200m).
Mile = 39, 42, 41, 41
I double checked the 200m online mapping tool to ensure the distance. A little too fast on the first one, and then the rest were right on target. In total 3/4 of the 200m sprints were in the window.
All in all, 11/12 intervals were within their respective windows. A very solid workout! Unfortunately, the rain caused my knee to feel a bit wonky. Not a major issue at the moment, but something I need to pay attention to.
Wednesday was an easy day. A T+D of 155 with some gusty wind. The average pace was an 8:57 min/mile with a HR of 130. Started a little later than normal because I was in a car accident that morning. No worries, just a fender bender and everyone was ok. The lady didn't seem to be paying attention and nailed me in the back at a light. Thankfully at the moment, it seems like everything will be taken care of. But just an extra layer of stress and things to take care of in life. Poor Toyota Camry...
Thursday was a new type of run for me. A progression run with the scheduled intent of running each mile successively faster. This is pretty common amongst most of my runs (trying to finish faster than starting), but this was a more dramatic attempt at that. And the pace ends with MP, HMP, and 10k. Steph got home late from work so this pushed this run later than normal. That put me in for a late night for a 14 mile workout, then eating, then sleep.
Progression Pace = 8:08, 7:58, 7:48, 7:38, 7:28, 7:18, 7:08, 6:58, 6:41, 6:23
Progression Window = +/- 5 seconds
When this run was originally scheduled I viewed it as an "easier" hard run. The first 4 miles are all at LR pace or slower. The pace doesn't even hit MP until mile 7. I was in for a rude awakening. The T+D was 141, partly sunny, and a little wind.
Progression = 8:09, 8:00, 7:50, 7:37, 7:27, 7:17, 7:07, 6:56, 6:48, 6:46
The first three miles were actually surprisingly difficult. I'm used to locking in on a pace and just holding it. But this progression at paces I've never practiced before became a constant pace checking venture. Once I hit the 7:38 pace things started to feel more normal. I was for sure sweating bullets throughout. I switched up the route a bit on miles 6 and 7 because I knew if I continued on the normal route that the 10k mile would end up with the big hill climb. I wanted no part of that. I was actually feeling pretty good through the MP and had to back off a touch to get it right, but as soon as the HMP came up it was a struggle to get the pace down. Unfortunately, I could tell I was hitting the fatigue wall because my calfs were on fire and I was really struggling to keep pushing the pace down. I ended up missing on the HMP window, but not by much. Then during the 10k paced mile I got a well timed motivation boost. Streamer bike girl (although she was on a scooter). She literally locked eyes with me and just busted out as fast as she could scoot. The impromptu race only lasted 50-100m because she couldn't keep up (granted on her scooter and not the bike). Looks like that moment pushed me into the 6:20s, but alas I couldn't hold to it anymore and coasted to the finish line. All in all 8/10 intervals, so I can't complain too much. A solid workout. I also got my highest recovery advisor of 44 hours I've ever gotten other than a race performance. So much for an "easy" hard day.
From memory, this was the first "hard" run that actually had a recovery advisor value of greater than 24 hours the day prior. It meant that I carried over some fatigue from Tuesday's run. The knee was noticeable, but didn't hold me back.
Friday was another easy day. A T+D of 129 and mostly cloudy. The average pace was a 9:15 min/mile with a HR of 122.
Saturday was another easy day. Steph had to leave to go to work at 6:30am, so I needed to be home before that. So up at 4:45am, out the door by 5:15am and started the run. The T+D was 112, little sun, no wind. Why can't every day in the summer be 112 in the morning. That crisp cool morning weather reminded me what Fall in October will feel like. Really would have liked Saturday and Sunday morning's weather to switch. The average pace was an 8:47 min/mile with a HR of 123.
Sunday was a weekend M Tempo run after Thursday's (easier???) Progression run. I knew this would be slightly tougher than a normal M Tempo run because of the increased WU/CD, but boy was I in for it. I slept in an extra 45 min to try and catch some extra Zs. The last couple days have been some minimal sleep for me (relatively speaking).
4 mi WU + 8 mile M Tempo + 4 mi CD
M Tempo pace = 6:58 min/mile
Window = +/- 10 seconds (6:48-7:08 min/mile)
The T+D was 139, with a 10 mph wind, and partly cloudy skies. I was beat up from the Progression run on Thursday so I took the next two runs (Fri/Sat) super easy. My recovery advisor after Saturday was 12 hours so I felt like I was back to where I needed to be to attack this run. I altered the route a touch so that when I started the M Tempo it would be at the same location as other weeks even though there was an additional 2 miles of WU.
M Tempo - 7:17, 6:57, 7:11, 7:11, 7:04, 7:19, 7:25, 7:12
The first mile was a bit concerning. The past three weeks that mile has been at 7:07-7:10, so this was a bit of a deviation from those. I just tried to settle down and keep it calm. Hit the next one. And then about halfway through the third mile, it just hit me. Today's not going to be my day. This mile had been a 7:00-7:04 and instead this one ended up at 7:11. I decided just to buckle in because I knew the rest of this run was going to be a tough one. Finished out with 2/8 miles within pace. With the last three M Tempo runs having averages of 7:02, 7:02, and 7:03 with interval hit rates of 80%, 100%, and 88% this run definitely sticks out. The final average pace was a 7:12 min/mile with a 25% hit rate. The HR was a bit down from the other runs (150 vs 152-153), but honestly it wasn't the cardiovascular system holding me back. I felt the effort was right on, and in the end that's what matters.
But anytime I've got a run like this it's always a good idea to evaluate why this happened. Any clues?
1) I haven't been sleeping as much lately. Normally I get 8.5-9 hrs of sleep a night. But life has dictated this be more like 7-7.5. I've got to prioritize time better and find places to add in more sleep.
2) This was the first time I've done a Progression on Thursday and M Tempo on the weekend. I thought this would be easier than the normal routine, but in reality these last two runs were pretty tough. So maybe this additional difficultly just caught up with me today.
3) The T+D was a 139. In the past three runs I haven't had to make a pace adjustment. But maybe today needed it? The adjusted pace would be a 7:11 min/mile so then the run is pretty squarely on pace. But I haven't had to adjust previously, so why today?
4) I wore my Zealot Iso instead of my Kinvaras. During the past three runs I had run in the Kinvaras. But today's distance was a bit further. So I was concerned that the Kinvaras (my race shoe) would eat me alive as they tend to do. So I went with the Zealots instead. Normally they don't cause me to many issues with LR pace, but maybe they just didn't have the umph I was looking for. Although in past training cycles I never used the Kinvaras for training tempo and instead used Rides (which I currently don't have in rotation). So hard to say how much this mattered.
5) I just ran back to back weeks with a 120 minute long run. The last time I did that was in December 2016 when training for Dopey. Then it was a M Tempo and LR.
6) This was back to back weeks of greater than 8 hours of training. I haven't done that since September 2016 when training for the last Lakefront Marathon (although there have been a few close weeks at 7:50s and 8:00s).
7) I've been building mileage for the last 4 weeks (51, 53, 59, and 60). I think the body is sending me a sign it's time for a break.
Conveniently, I had preplanned for this to occur. Next week is scheduled to be a step back week to allow for bone remodeling recovery. It was originally scheduled at 51.5 miles (a 15% reduction). But after today's run I may pull back on next week Tuesdays HM 2x2 and make it easy instead. I'll see how I'm feeling. On it's own the HM 2x2 is a relatively easy hard run, but I need to be mindful of not falling into the same trap as last year's Lakefront training. I'd venture to guess all of these reasons listed previously are all partially contributing to today's run. It's always a good idea to step back and learn why something happened. Put the pieces of the puzzle together and learn from it. On to the next one!
Here is the comparison chart of today's Tempo run to the others thus far:
And here is the current projections based on previous Lakefront experiences:
Prediction has fallen to 3:00:51-3:06:28. Slipping a bit and need to recapture the pacing.
Date - Day - Scheduled Workout (Intervals within desired pace)
7/4/17 - T - 2 mile WU + 8x800 @ CV w/ 45 sec RI @ WU + 4 x 200m @ R w/ 200m RI + 2 mile CD (11/12)
7/5/17 - W - 7 miles @ 8:04-9:01 min/mile
7/6/17 - R - 2 mi WU + 10 mile Progression (8:08, 7:58, 7:48, 7:38, 7:28, 7:18, 7:08, 6:58, 6:41, 6:23) + 2 mile CD (8/10)
7/7/17 - F - 7 miles @ 8:04-9:01 min/mile
7/8/17 - Sat - 7 miles @ 8:04-9:01 min/mile
7/9/17 - Sun - 4 mile easy + 8 miles @ Tempo + 4 mile easy (2/8)
7/10/17 - M - OFF
Total (training) mileage = 60.4 miles
Number of SOS intervals within pace = 21/30 (70%)
Monday was another tee ball day. Unfortunately, as I described last week, things didn't go nearly as well. She was too focused on trying to play with other kids then actually paying attention to the coach. She'll figure it out eventually. She's also regressed a bit in swimming. She used to jump in the pool without holding hands and her head would go under. Now she won't anymore. So they dropped her back to her original class. She did draw a pretty sweet picture of me though.
She did it without any prompts at all. She just sat down and drew it. Hands, feet, hair, concerned mouth, some sort of chest hair, and "coloring in". Proud dad!
Tuesday was time for another fast day! The weather was a little rougher today than usual. A T+D of 149, a little wind, clouds and rain. Thank goodness for the rain and clouds otherwise this might have been much tougher.
2 mile WU + 8x800 @ CV w/ 45 sec RI @ WU + 4 x 200m @ R w/ 200m RI + 2 mile CD
CV Pace = 6:23 min/mile (2% less than Lactate Threshold)
CV Window = +/- 3 seconds (3:08.5-3:14.5)
Mile Pace = 5:28 min/mile (41 sec 200m)
Mile Window = +/- 1 sec (40-42 sec)
I was wondering whether the weather would effect the pacing of the run. If it needed a T+D adjustment, then so be it. But I was rather confident given the clouds/rain and the recent results with HRvPace in certain T+Ds that I might finally be acclimating to the heat.
CV = 3:12, 3:12, 3:10, 3:08, 3:11, 3:12, 3:12, 3:13
Nailed it! 8/8 paces within the window. I felt rather comfortable throughout this run. The 45 sec RI definitely felt better than last week's 30 sec RI. I chose to walk the RI rather than run at WU pace because of the T+D. At points, the pace felt too easy. And at other moments, I was holding on to try and get under the pace goal.
Then came the Mile pace (goal 41 sec per 200m).
Mile = 39, 42, 41, 41
I double checked the 200m online mapping tool to ensure the distance. A little too fast on the first one, and then the rest were right on target. In total 3/4 of the 200m sprints were in the window.
All in all, 11/12 intervals were within their respective windows. A very solid workout! Unfortunately, the rain caused my knee to feel a bit wonky. Not a major issue at the moment, but something I need to pay attention to.
Wednesday was an easy day. A T+D of 155 with some gusty wind. The average pace was an 8:57 min/mile with a HR of 130. Started a little later than normal because I was in a car accident that morning. No worries, just a fender bender and everyone was ok. The lady didn't seem to be paying attention and nailed me in the back at a light. Thankfully at the moment, it seems like everything will be taken care of. But just an extra layer of stress and things to take care of in life. Poor Toyota Camry...
Thursday was a new type of run for me. A progression run with the scheduled intent of running each mile successively faster. This is pretty common amongst most of my runs (trying to finish faster than starting), but this was a more dramatic attempt at that. And the pace ends with MP, HMP, and 10k. Steph got home late from work so this pushed this run later than normal. That put me in for a late night for a 14 mile workout, then eating, then sleep.
Progression Pace = 8:08, 7:58, 7:48, 7:38, 7:28, 7:18, 7:08, 6:58, 6:41, 6:23
Progression Window = +/- 5 seconds
When this run was originally scheduled I viewed it as an "easier" hard run. The first 4 miles are all at LR pace or slower. The pace doesn't even hit MP until mile 7. I was in for a rude awakening. The T+D was 141, partly sunny, and a little wind.
Progression = 8:09, 8:00, 7:50, 7:37, 7:27, 7:17, 7:07, 6:56, 6:48, 6:46
The first three miles were actually surprisingly difficult. I'm used to locking in on a pace and just holding it. But this progression at paces I've never practiced before became a constant pace checking venture. Once I hit the 7:38 pace things started to feel more normal. I was for sure sweating bullets throughout. I switched up the route a bit on miles 6 and 7 because I knew if I continued on the normal route that the 10k mile would end up with the big hill climb. I wanted no part of that. I was actually feeling pretty good through the MP and had to back off a touch to get it right, but as soon as the HMP came up it was a struggle to get the pace down. Unfortunately, I could tell I was hitting the fatigue wall because my calfs were on fire and I was really struggling to keep pushing the pace down. I ended up missing on the HMP window, but not by much. Then during the 10k paced mile I got a well timed motivation boost. Streamer bike girl (although she was on a scooter). She literally locked eyes with me and just busted out as fast as she could scoot. The impromptu race only lasted 50-100m because she couldn't keep up (granted on her scooter and not the bike). Looks like that moment pushed me into the 6:20s, but alas I couldn't hold to it anymore and coasted to the finish line. All in all 8/10 intervals, so I can't complain too much. A solid workout. I also got my highest recovery advisor of 44 hours I've ever gotten other than a race performance. So much for an "easy" hard day.
From memory, this was the first "hard" run that actually had a recovery advisor value of greater than 24 hours the day prior. It meant that I carried over some fatigue from Tuesday's run. The knee was noticeable, but didn't hold me back.Friday was another easy day. A T+D of 129 and mostly cloudy. The average pace was a 9:15 min/mile with a HR of 122.
Saturday was another easy day. Steph had to leave to go to work at 6:30am, so I needed to be home before that. So up at 4:45am, out the door by 5:15am and started the run. The T+D was 112, little sun, no wind. Why can't every day in the summer be 112 in the morning. That crisp cool morning weather reminded me what Fall in October will feel like. Really would have liked Saturday and Sunday morning's weather to switch. The average pace was an 8:47 min/mile with a HR of 123.
Sunday was a weekend M Tempo run after Thursday's (easier???) Progression run. I knew this would be slightly tougher than a normal M Tempo run because of the increased WU/CD, but boy was I in for it. I slept in an extra 45 min to try and catch some extra Zs. The last couple days have been some minimal sleep for me (relatively speaking).
4 mi WU + 8 mile M Tempo + 4 mi CD
M Tempo pace = 6:58 min/mile
Window = +/- 10 seconds (6:48-7:08 min/mile)
The T+D was 139, with a 10 mph wind, and partly cloudy skies. I was beat up from the Progression run on Thursday so I took the next two runs (Fri/Sat) super easy. My recovery advisor after Saturday was 12 hours so I felt like I was back to where I needed to be to attack this run. I altered the route a touch so that when I started the M Tempo it would be at the same location as other weeks even though there was an additional 2 miles of WU.
M Tempo - 7:17, 6:57, 7:11, 7:11, 7:04, 7:19, 7:25, 7:12
The first mile was a bit concerning. The past three weeks that mile has been at 7:07-7:10, so this was a bit of a deviation from those. I just tried to settle down and keep it calm. Hit the next one. And then about halfway through the third mile, it just hit me. Today's not going to be my day. This mile had been a 7:00-7:04 and instead this one ended up at 7:11. I decided just to buckle in because I knew the rest of this run was going to be a tough one. Finished out with 2/8 miles within pace. With the last three M Tempo runs having averages of 7:02, 7:02, and 7:03 with interval hit rates of 80%, 100%, and 88% this run definitely sticks out. The final average pace was a 7:12 min/mile with a 25% hit rate. The HR was a bit down from the other runs (150 vs 152-153), but honestly it wasn't the cardiovascular system holding me back. I felt the effort was right on, and in the end that's what matters.
But anytime I've got a run like this it's always a good idea to evaluate why this happened. Any clues?
1) I haven't been sleeping as much lately. Normally I get 8.5-9 hrs of sleep a night. But life has dictated this be more like 7-7.5. I've got to prioritize time better and find places to add in more sleep.
2) This was the first time I've done a Progression on Thursday and M Tempo on the weekend. I thought this would be easier than the normal routine, but in reality these last two runs were pretty tough. So maybe this additional difficultly just caught up with me today.
3) The T+D was a 139. In the past three runs I haven't had to make a pace adjustment. But maybe today needed it? The adjusted pace would be a 7:11 min/mile so then the run is pretty squarely on pace. But I haven't had to adjust previously, so why today?
4) I wore my Zealot Iso instead of my Kinvaras. During the past three runs I had run in the Kinvaras. But today's distance was a bit further. So I was concerned that the Kinvaras (my race shoe) would eat me alive as they tend to do. So I went with the Zealots instead. Normally they don't cause me to many issues with LR pace, but maybe they just didn't have the umph I was looking for. Although in past training cycles I never used the Kinvaras for training tempo and instead used Rides (which I currently don't have in rotation). So hard to say how much this mattered.
5) I just ran back to back weeks with a 120 minute long run. The last time I did that was in December 2016 when training for Dopey. Then it was a M Tempo and LR.
6) This was back to back weeks of greater than 8 hours of training. I haven't done that since September 2016 when training for the last Lakefront Marathon (although there have been a few close weeks at 7:50s and 8:00s).
7) I've been building mileage for the last 4 weeks (51, 53, 59, and 60). I think the body is sending me a sign it's time for a break.
Conveniently, I had preplanned for this to occur. Next week is scheduled to be a step back week to allow for bone remodeling recovery. It was originally scheduled at 51.5 miles (a 15% reduction). But after today's run I may pull back on next week Tuesdays HM 2x2 and make it easy instead. I'll see how I'm feeling. On it's own the HM 2x2 is a relatively easy hard run, but I need to be mindful of not falling into the same trap as last year's Lakefront training. I'd venture to guess all of these reasons listed previously are all partially contributing to today's run. It's always a good idea to step back and learn why something happened. Put the pieces of the puzzle together and learn from it. On to the next one!
Here is the comparison chart of today's Tempo run to the others thus far:
And here is the current projections based on previous Lakefront experiences:
Prediction has fallen to 3:00:51-3:06:28. Slipping a bit and need to recapture the pacing.
(Gigi chose this one)
(G added this one)
(another G addition)
(another G addition, noticing a theme of who is sitting with me right now...)
Just depends on if you ask me or my wife.
