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

[dis_or_dat]

In old age we hope to be wiser. I am trying to be smart. I just know too many things have been going on to make me ready to commi to training.

fFor those following along, Mallory, the dog, has not been doing well. It might be time and it will crush me.

I'm so sorry

 

[DopeyBadger]

20 Weeks to go - Return to running leading into Hansons Intermediate

6/21/21 - M - OFF
6/22/21 - T - 1 mile @ run/walk with G + 24 min @ Easy
6/23/21 - W - 45 min Run @ Easy w/ strides
6/24/21 - R - 30 min @ Easy
6/25/21 - F - 30 min @ Easy
6/26/21 - Sa - 30 min @ LR
6/27/21 - Su - 45 min @ Easy w/ strides

Total Run Miles - 24.4 miles
Total Run Time - 3:40 hours
Total Run TSS - x TSS

Total Biking Time - 0:00 hours
Total Biking TSS - 0 TSS

Total Strength Time - 0:00 hours
Total Strength TSS - x TSS

Total Training Time - 3:40 hours
Total TSS - x TSS

Tuesday

Conditions - Partly Cloudy, Wind 7mph to 13mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 72°F + 50°F; FL - 72°F
End: Temp+Dew = 72°F + 50°F; FL - 72°F

Did 30/30 with G again. She was a little quick on the running portions and was struggling a bit more towards the end. All in all though she did 1.1 miles in 12:41. She was doing many of the run portions in the mid-8s.

Conditions - Partly Cloudy, Wind 5mph to 11mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 73°F + 51°F; FL - 73°F
End: Temp+Dew = 73°F + 51°F; FL - 73°F

Afterwards I did my own easy run. Nothing remarkable about it. I was still a little sore from the HM on Saturday. My ankle was a little sore and my calf was a little sore, but nothing terribly worrisome. In all it was 2.5 miles, 24 min, 9:26 pace and HR of 138.


Wednesday

Conditions - 🌧 Drizzle, Wind 14mph to 24mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 77°F + 62°F; FL - 77°F
End: Temp+Dew = 77°F + 62°F; FL - 77°F

45 min run day. I don't remember anything specific about the run. I did some strides at the end and was ending up in the mid-5s. Starting to feel more normal again. In all it was 5.2 miles, 45 min, 8:38 pace, and HR of 145.


Thursday

Conditions - Overcast, Wind 16mph to 27mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 77°F + 71°F; FL - 78°F
End: Temp+Dew = 77°F + 71°F; FL - 78°F

G was busy so she couldn't join me this evening. Nothing to note. It was 3.28 miles, 30 min, 9:15 pace, and HR of 140.


Friday

Conditions - 🌧 Rain, Wind 5mph to 8mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 79°F + 70°F; FL - 81°F
End: Temp+Dew = 78°F + 70°F; FL - 81°F

G was all set to join me on the run, but it was raining pretty good. There was also some rumbles of thunder as well. Although lightningmaps didn't show any actual strikes in the area. I felt reasonably confident that I was safe. So I went out in a rain jacket. Other than the rain, everything seemed fine. It was 3.2 miles, 30 min, 9:08 min/mile and HR of 142.


Saturday

Weigh-in and down 0.4 pounds from last week to 185.2. I wasn't expecting a full pound this week because of my dietary choices. So I'm right around where I thought I'd be.

Another rain day.

Conditions - 🌧 Light Rain, Wind 9mph to 18mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 71°F + 71°F; FL - 72°F
End: Temp+Dew = 72°F + 71°F; FL - 72°F

Legs were feeling decent so I allowed myself to do LR effort today. Felt good throughout. Finished in 32 min, 3.8 miles, 8:15 pace, and HR of 150.


Sunday

Conditions - Overcast, Wind 10mph to 13mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 64°F + 62°F; FL - 65°F
End: Temp+Dew = 65°F + 63°F; FL - 65°F

Decided to pull back into easy effort since I did LR effort yesterday. But I would do 45 min and strides. As I was getting close to stride time I saw my neighbor kid and asked him if he wanted to race (he is G's age). He hesitated, and then I said I'd let him wear his rollerblades. Then he lit up and said challenge accepted. So I did one more lap and then we lined up. I offered uphill vs downhill and rolling start vs standing start. He chose downhill and rolling start because he felt those were to his advantage. So off we went for the strides. The first one was fairly close but he definitely pulled ahead late. We did it at 4:47 pace. The second one I got a good start and felt strong. He pulled up before the finish line because he knew he was going to lose. We did it in 4:45. He was ready to end on a tie (1-1) because he was a little tired. But I was like, oh c'mon we got to do one more to break the tie. So we lined up for a 3rd and final one for all the marbles. We were so neck and neck on the last one. But he won. Not by much, but he definitely beat me. It was funny because he was talking the whole time with self talk to get him across the line. We ended up running 4:05 pace, which I believe is a personal record for recorded pace on my Garmin. Not sure I've ever gone sub-4. So that was kind of fun. He was stoked that he beat me, grinning ear to ear. Thankfully, I felt pretty good afterwards and no worse for wear. In all it was 5.1 miles, 8:47 pace, and HR of 146.

Feeling like I'm in a good place one week after the HM. Still got a few more weeks before real training begins. So I've got some time to continue to shake out the cob webs.

 

[DopeyBadger]

We ended up running 4:05 pace, which I believe is a personal record for recorded pace on my Garmin. Not sure I've ever gone sub-4.

Finally got around to checking Garmin. The fastest official (non-erroneous spike) pace that my Garmin has clocked me at was a 4:15 min/mile on 5/19/20 and 9/2/20. According to my Garmin, on Sunday I hit 3:45 pace during that last stride rep.

 

[DopeyBadger]

19 Weeks to go - Return to running leading into Hansons Intermediate

6/28/21 - M - OFF
6/29/21 - T - 45 min @ Easy w/ strides
6/30/21 - W - 1 mile @ run/walk with G + 24 min @ Easy
7/1/21 - R - 45 min @ Easy w/ strides
7/2/21 - F - 1 mile @ run/walk with G + 24 min @ Easy
7/3/21 - Sa - 45 min @ Easy
7/4/21 - Su - 45 min @ LR + Easy

Total Run Miles - 27.5 miles
Total Run Time - 4:16 hours
Total Run TSS - x TSS

Total Biking Time - 0:00 hours
Total Biking TSS - 0 TSS

Total Strength Time - 0:00 hours
Total Strength TSS - x TSS

Total Training Time - 4:16 hours
Total TSS - x TSS


Tuesday

Conditions - Humid and Overcast, Wind 11mph to 18mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 76°F + 74°F; FL - 78°F
End: Temp+Dew = 77°F + 74°F; FL - 78°F

Hot day, but the clouds kept it manageable. I don't really remember anything specific about the run. It was 45 min, 5 miles, 9:03 pace and HR of 140.


Wednesday

With the official announcement of the return of runDisney Princess Weekend, G and I had a 5k to get ready for. So we did our 1 mile run together.

Conditions - Partly Cloudy, Wind 5mph to 7mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 82°F + 66°F; FL - 84°F
End: Temp+Dew = 82°F + 66°F; FL - 84°F

We did our 30/30 again. It was warmer so we slowed down more. Did 1 mile in 14:18 min/mile.

Afterwards, I headed out on my easy run.

Conditions - Partly Cloudy, Wind 5mph to 7mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 82°F + 66°F; FL - 84°F
End: Temp+Dew = 82°F + 67°F; FL - 84°F

Don't really remember anything specific. 24 min is so short it's over before it begins. 2.5 miles, 9:27 pace, and 142 HR.


Thursday

Conditions - Clear, Wind 10mph to 14mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 78°F + 59°F; FL - 78°F
End: Temp+Dew = 77°F + 59°F; FL - 78°F

A little more comfortable out there. Legs starting to feel more normal again. The ankle is feeling better and no residual soreness in the left calf. I took the strides a little more aggressively. Mid-to-low 5s. In total, 5 miles, 45 min, 9:04 pace, and HR of 142.


Friday

More comfortable for our run together.

Conditions - Clear, Wind 6mph to 10mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 77°F + 55°F; FL - 77°F
End: Temp+Dew = 77°F + 55°F; FL - 77°F

We did 1 mile in 13:30 pace. She was a little more all over the place on her running intervals. In the mid-7s and the high-11s.

Afterwards, I did my 24 min easy run.

Conditions - Clear, Wind 6mph to 11mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 77°F + 55°F; FL - 77°F
End: Temp+Dew = 77°F + 55°F; FL - 77°F

Nothing specific. It was 2.5 miles, 9:28 pace, and HR of 138.


Saturday

Weigh-in in the morning. Felt like I did a better job balancing nutrition and running this week. So I had fingers crossed on the weigh-in. It was 183.4, which was a loss of 2 pounds from last week. Honestly, that's more than I want to lose in a week. A total of 6 pounds down in 4 weeks.

Conditions - Clear, Wind 10mph to 18mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 74°F + 63°F; FL - 74°F
End: Temp+Dew = 76°F + 64°F; FL - 74°F

I didn't have anything to drink or eat pre-run, and I think it cost me this run. That and the overly aggressive weight loss. In total it was 5.1 miles, 8:51 pace, and HR of 146.


Sunday

I had water and some PB pre-run, so I felt better prepared.

Conditions - Clear, Wind 8mph to 13mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 80°F + 70°F; FL - 83°F
End: Temp+Dew = 81°F + 71°F; FL - 83°F

This run went poorly. I felt good at the start. I was in the low-8s, but I didn't check the weather in advance and really overshot my mark. So before I realized it, I was really overheating. I ended up adjusting down the effort and took a number of walking breaks.

So still got some kinks and balance to work out in the last few weeks of recovery. This is my last of five weeks before the Hansons Intermediate training begins. And the first week of Hansons Intermediate is easy as well, so still got time before any real pace work begins.

 

[DopeyBadger]

18 Weeks to go - Return to running leading into Hansons Intermediate

7/5/21 - M - OFF
7/6/21 - T - 5 miles @ Easy w/ strides
7/7/21 - W - 4 miles @ Easy
7/8/21 - R - 1 mile @ run/walk with G + 3x400m @ 5k effort (testing effort levels)
7/9/21 - F - 1 mile @ run/walk with G + 4 miles @ Easy
7/10/21 - Sa - 5 min @ Easy w/ strides
7/11/21 - Su - 6 miles @ LR

Total Run Miles - 30.3 miles
Total Run Time - 4:37 hours
Total Run TSS - x TSS

Total Biking Time - 0:00 hours
Total Biking TSS - 0 TSS

Total Strength Time - 0:00 hours
Total Strength TSS - x TSS

Total Training Time - 4:37 hours
Total TSS - x TSS


Tuesday

If memory serves me correctly, my right knee popped again on Tuesday. So it caused some soreness when walking around, but didn't linger for all day. But this has happened more than once now so it's something to keep tabs on.

Conditions - Humid and Mostly Cloudy, Wind 10mph to 16mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 86°F + 72°F; FL - 93°F
End: Temp+Dew = 84°F + 73°F; FL - 93°F

Toasty! I don't remember much about the run itself. Now that I'm moving into Hansons next week I'm switching over to miles instead of minutes. I decided to add in some strides at the end. Instead of uphill or downhill strides I found a nice stretch of flat road. I did four of them in 5:27, 4:41, 4:48, and 4:33. I felt strong throughout, although after the last one my right hamstring pulled a tiny tiny bit. In total, 5 miles, 46 min, 9:11 pace, and HR of 138.


Wednesday

All was good with the hamstring. It was raining so G opted out.

Conditions - 🌧 Light Rain, Wind 9mph to 13mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 66°F + 65°F; FL - 67°F
End: Temp+Dew = 65°F + 64°F; FL - 67°F

Despite the rain, the cooler weather was a nice reprieve. Other than that it was pretty uneventful. In total it was 4 miles, 38 min, 9:26 pace, and HR of 131. That was a nice low HR. Been a while since I've seen a HR that low.


Thursday

While I was taking a shower in the morning, Steph's body wash fell off the shelf and hit my left ankle right in my injury location. So I had been feeling pretty good for a little over a week, and now I was feeling the injury again. Ugh, just can't catch a break sometimes.

G decided she wanted to run today.

Conditions - Mostly Cloudy, Wind 8mph to 10mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 67°F + 58°F; FL - 67°F
End: Temp+Dew = 67°F + 58°F; FL - 67°F

She's really been enjoying our runs together. We did a mile in 30/30 again at 13:39 pace. A woman neighbor stopped us and praised G for her running. Said her daughters both started running with their dad when they were the same age as G. Now they're heading off to college and were preparing to compete in a National Tri-athlon race of some sort. Seemed to give G a boost of motivation.

Afterwards it was my turn.

Conditions - Mostly Cloudy, Wind 7mph to 10mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 67°F + 58°F; FL - 67°F
End: Temp+Dew = 68°F + 58°F; FL - 67°F

Decided to do a little test run just to see where my 5k effort level was. It's been years since I've done a 5k or 5k effort in training. So I needed a little refresher on what it should feel like. So I decided to do 3x400m on my circle route.



I had lap distance and lap pace on two different screens. So it was more work than it was worth to try and watch both. So I went with distance and ran the pace by pure effort. I think under ideal circumstances my 5k fitness level is somewhere around a 19:18 (6:14 pace) despite that being faster than my actual PR. But with the T+D I was aiming for around 6:21 pace. So the first one in 6:35 was good. I felt really strong and maybe a touch too easy. The second one felt better. Ended up at 6:23 pace. The last one felt maybe a touch too fast at 6:07 pace.

All in all, I'm happy with these reps. Although towards the time I got home, my ankle was a little sore and noticeable. My VO2max finally moved off of 50 to 51.


Friday

G wanted to do two days in a row.

Conditions - Mostly Cloudy, Wind 5mph to 5mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 76°F + 60°F; FL - 76°F
End: Temp+Dew = 76°F + 60°F; FL - 76°F

Great fun to run with G and chat about her day.

Conditions - Partly Cloudy, Wind 5mph to 5mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 76°F + 60°F; FL - 76°F
End: Temp+Dew = 75°F + 60°F; FL - 76°F

I did 4 miles in 37 min at 9:19 pace with HR of 140.


Saturday

Weighed in at 182.6 pounds. Down 0.8 pounds from last week and down 6.8 pounds in five weeks.

Early morning to take advantage of the beautiful temps.

Conditions - Overcast, Wind 6mph to 12mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 59°F + 53°F; FL - 59°F
End: Temp+Dew = 61°F + 54°F; FL - 59°F

It felt so nice to be running at a T+D of 115. Felt like the days of old. The ankle was still sore, but overall felt good. Did some easy strides at the end in 5:23-6:47 pace. It was 5.1 miles, 43 min, 8:29 pace, and HR of 141.


Sunday

Not as early as yesterday, but still taking advantage of some good weather.

Conditions - Mostly Cloudy, Wind 10mph to 18mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 64°F + 56°F; FL - 64°F
End: Temp+Dew = 67°F + 58°F; FL - 64°F

Felt really good other than the ankle. The effort felt good. In all it was 6.1 miles, 49 min, 8:09 pace, and HR of 142. So my HR was nearly the same in the last three days, but was 9:19, 8:29, and 8:09 pace. My VO2max was up to 53 now.

With that the recovery period of the training is over. Now it's time to start the Hansons Intermediate plan for 18 weeks. I got good news that the Madison Marathon is planning on being in-person in November. I'm feeling pretty good about where my overall speed is. My endurance is lacking, but I have only run one run over 60 min in the last 10 weeks. So I feel like that'll return in due time. Just got to keep the ankle healthy and then see what I can do in 18 weeks.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Officially G and I have settled on WandaVision costumes for Halloween and the Princess 5k. Steph will be Agatha and Dizzy will be Sparky for Halloween.



Here is G's Old School Wanda/Scarlet Witch Dress (link)



But she wanted to jazz it up a bit. So I'm working on designing her a headpiece that can light up with LEDs. Definitely outside my area of expertise, but KamuiCosplay made an easy to follow video tutorial.

And a pair of red LED gloves to make her look like she has powers.



Depending on how things go, I might also attempt to make her a skirt with LEDs as well so she glows from underneath.

For me, I tried to tie together a bunch of things that would be otherwise useful.


I'm going to try and make my cape glow/light up yellow, but I'll use a string of LED Christmas lights instead.


ETA - Still working on finding yellow running shoes. I'd strongly prefer something I'd actually use for running. So Saucony Ride or similar as the actual running will be at G's pace during the Princess 5k.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Made some initial progress with the LED foam.

 

[avondale]

Made some initial progress with the LED foam.

View attachment 590373

View attachment 590374

Cool! At first I was looking at these images, and I was having trouble visualizing the correct relief. My eyes wanted to see the orange "M" shapes as holes in the flowered surface. So weird! This happens a lot when looking at images of cratered surfaces taken by spacecraft.

 

[DopeyBadger]

17 Weeks to go - Hansons Intermediate Week 1/18

7/12/21 - M - OFF
7/13/21 - T - 5 miles @ Easy w/ strides
7/14/21 - W - 4 miles @ Easy
7/15/21 - R - 1 mile @ run/walk with G + 5 miles @ Easy w/ strides
7/16/21 - F - 4 miles @ Easy + 1 mile @ run/walk with G
7/17/21 - Sa - 5 min @ Easy w/ strides
7/18/21 - Su - 8 miles @ LR

Total Run Miles - 34.2 miles
Total Run Time - 5:04 hours
Total Run TSS - x TSS

Total Biking Time - 0:00 hours
Total Biking TSS - 0 TSS

Total Strength Time - 0:00 hours
Total Strength TSS - x TSS

Total Training Time - 5:04 hours
Total TSS - x TSS

Recap of five week lead-in training

Overall I feel like the five week lead-in training went well. I was able to drop 6.8 pounds.





My HRvPace relationship just reinforces to be kind to yourself when returning to run. Things take time to normalize after time off.



As you can see, even when adjusting for T+D the relationship has dropped quite a bit in five weeks time. A HR of 148 went from 9:18 pace down to 8:04 pace. A pace of 9:18 went from a HR of 148 down to 131. So just another reminder to give yourself time to return to normal fitness levels after a period of time off (or lesser training). I'm definitely not where I was endurance wise at the beginning of May, but there's still plenty of time for that. My Garmin VO2max went from a 49 to 53 despite the current T+D.

Lastly, and most importantly, my shin issues are non-existent. So the five weeks off and five weeks return has worked well. The sad part is the ankle injury to my left ankle still comes and goes even though the injury occurred back in November 2020. Some weeks I'm good, and other weeks not as much.

So now, it's time to get down to business. Like I outlined earlier, I'm following my Hansons Intermediate plan from Fall 2015. The hope is to go back to six days of week running, gain a moderate level of fitness, but be able to race the Madison Marathon in mid-November healthy. Then from there, I'll transition into Princess Weekend, and then mile time trial training. So let's get started!


Tuesday

Another Tuesday, another knee pop. That's three weeks in a row based on memory of my right knee popping on Tuesday. It hasn't been an issue for running at this point.

Conditions - Partly Cloudy, Wind 9mph to 14mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 82°F + 66°F; FL - 84°F
End: Temp+Dew = 81°F + 65°F; FL - 84°F

I decided to do a 6x400m 5k effort run leading into the actual beginning of paced work next week (12x400m). The T+D was 142 when I looked at my phone, so I was aiming for 96-97.9 seconds. But it looks like DarkSky thought the temps were just a touch higher. So the goal was 97.0-98.9 seconds.





Split wise I was at 95.2, 96.2, 95.3, 97.9, 96, and 93.6 seconds. The first interval was easy. The second and third interval were a bit of catch up when I realized I was little slow on pace. The fourth interval was a cruiser where I was a touch too fast out the gate. The fifth interval was good, but it left me gassed. So I took a short walking break, and then attacked the sixth interval. Closed out in 93 seconds and feeling good. The average was 95.7 seconds. So slightly faster than I had originally intended 96.0-97.9 seconds and a touch faster than T+D adjusted pacing (97.0-98.9 seconds). But overall, I'm happy with it. In all it was 6 miles, 50 min, 8:26 pace and HR of 147. No issues with ankle either.


Wednesday

Just an easy day.

Conditions - Overcast, Wind 10mph to 12mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 75°F + 71°F; FL - 76°F
End: Temp+Dew = 75°F + 71°F; FL - 76°F

Don't remember anything specific. Ankle wasn't an issue. Ended up at 4 miles, 38 min, 9:24 pace, and HR of 131. Super happy about the HR because I'm finally getting back down towards my easy zone. G had already eaten dinner when I got home so no co-run today.


Thursday

G was ready and raring to go.

Conditions - Overcast, Wind 5mph to 6mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 77°F + 64°F; FL - 78°F
End: Temp+Dew = 77°F + 64°F; FL - 78°F

Good times as we were in the 13:30s again with our 30/30.

Afterwards, I did a 5 mile Easy run with strides.

Conditions - Mostly Cloudy, Wind 5mph to 7mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 77°F + 64°F; FL - 78°F
End: Temp+Dew = 77°F + 64°F; FL - 78°F

I don't remember anything specific. The ankle was still feeling normal. Ended up at 5 miles, 45 min, 8:56 pace, and HR of 140. I did strides in the low 5s.


Friday

G was playing with a friend, so I did my portion of the run first.

Conditions - Partly Cloudy, Wind 9mph to 10mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 78°F + 60°F; FL - 78°F
End: Temp+Dew = 77°F + 61°F; FL - 78°F

Ankle was still feeling good. Nothing else really stuck out. Ended up at 4 miles, 38 min, 9:26 pace, and HR of 135. The HR was a tad higher today than earlier in the week on a similar run. Afterwards, G and I did our run.

Conditions - Partly Cloudy, Wind 8mph to 10mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 77°F + 61°F; FL - 77°F
End: Temp+Dew = 77°F + 61°F; FL - 77°F

G learned the importance of removing your mind from the task at hand. She said this run was the easiest and shortest thus far. And it's literally because she didn't stop talking about how much fun she had with her friend. She literally told me how fun it was like eighteen times. So by the time she actually noticed we had started running, we were done. I told her it's a useful skill to take your mind off running and make the perception of running easier. We did the mile in 13:09 pace using 30/30s.


Saturday

An earlier morning because Steph had to work. Additionally we had a Fall like respite from the summer temps, so I wasn't going to lose that advantage to get a good idea of where I'm at. I weighed myself at 183 pounds. So up 0.4 pounds from last week. I'm not surprised. This is my classic 6 week bump/plateau that I see every time I'm trying to lose weight. Add in Steph's heavy work week with pizza three times in the last eight days and if anything I'm patting myself on the back for a job well done. With that being said, I've got to get back on the horse and focus if I'm going to get where I want to be.

Conditions - Clear, Wind 5mph to 11mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 58°F + 56°F; FL - 58°F
End: Temp+Dew = 60°F + 57°F; FL - 58°F

Only a T+D of 117. Nice! The run felt nice and smooth. Maybe a touch faster than I should have done. Looks like my adjusted EB should have been around an 8:25 and I did 8:12. All in all, it felt good. Expect for the ankle. It was a little bothersome today for not much of a good reason. Oh well. In all it was 5 miles, 42 min, 8:12 pace and HR of 140. The strides at the end were in the low 6s because I wasn't looking to push it in advance of my first >60 min run in 11 weeks (other than Hot2Trot HM).


Sunday

Another early morning, but not quite as early, because Steph had to work again. But good temps made it worth it.

Conditions - Clear, Wind 4mph to 6mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 58°F + 57°F; FL - 58°F
End: Temp+Dew = 64°F + 59°F; FL - 58°F

Started at 115 and worked up to 123. Not bad for mid-July. I really felt like my old self during this run. I mean not completely back to normal, but good. The ankle felt better today. Did my nice two lap course and finished it off. In total, 8 miles, 64 min, 8:01 pace, and HR of 143. Goal pace was 8:07 based on the T+D, so not terribly far off.

Also, got a bump up to a Garmin VO2max of 54. Partially due to the weather, but also some good conversions even on the adjusted T+D level as well. Here's a comparison of the last four years worth of Garmin VO2max data during the same time period as this training plan.



I'm in a good place overall comparatively with eyes on fitness in November. So just got to continue to stay smart in training. Next week is the 12x400m at 5k effort. This will be a good challenge. Per McMillan, this is a typical workout to struggle with early in training and will be a good indicator of fitness. I'd like to be able to easy run during the RI, but if I've got to walk some I'll do so. The key is maintaining good form and a good consistent pace on the intervals. M Tempo doesn't start until the following week, so still some time to prepare mentally and physically for that challenge. Onwards and upwards!

 

[dobball23]

I'm asking this here as I hope your answer may be helpful to others who experience something similar...

As you know, my current speed plan includes a lot more time running at my WU/CD/RI speed. Unfortunately, the slower speed and shorter strides seems to have bothered my IT band. I managed it for a week or two, but then it was lingering enough that I decided to just take a week off. When my race dates at the end of the plan are not flexible, what is your suggestion to get back on (or close to) plan?

Should I revert to the week I missed? Should I pick up on the current date? Should I do a hybrid?

 

[DopeyBadger]

As you know, my current speed plan includes a lot more time running at my WU/CD/RI speed. Unfortunately, the slower speed and shorter strides seems to have bothered my IT band. I managed it for a week or two, but then it was lingering enough that I decided to just take a week off.

Alright, so that means the injury occurred during the Week of 6/21-6/27? And you took off the Week of 7/12-7/18?

I find it more likely to be an issue with the faster pacing than with the slower pacing. It's possible the injury occurred during the faster stuff but is manifesting more during the easier stuff. It's a lot less likely to be because of the slow stuff itself. This speed plan is rather intense. With that being said, you can always straight walk resting intervals or can do WU/CD/RI at EA pace instead of the WU/CD pace. Really it's just a matter of making sure that your WU/CD don't bleed into being part of the workout itself and rather a light preparation, and that the RI allows you to be prepared for the next interval.

Should I revert to the week I missed? Should I pick up on the current date? Should I do a hybrid?

If you miss 4 days or less in a row, then you can usually just jump back in. But only if that's a one-off occurrence. Once you get past 5 days, then you need to start making more robust adjustments to the plan. So if you missed the week of 7/12-7/18, then my advice would be to take the next complete week as only easy. The volume can stay roughly the same, but nothing faster than EB pace. Then the week after (which would be the week of 7/26) you would drop back to the week you just did but the with intensity added back in (so do the week of 7/19 during 7/26). Then you'd have to look at downstream effects towards volume increases in future weeks as to how much to pull back and make sure that you stay on schedule for the taper. Any more than say 10 days or so, and you'd probably want to make major changes to the remaining plan.

 

[dobball23]

Alright, so that means the injury occurred during the Week of 6/21-6/27? And you took off the Week of 7/12-7/18?

I find it more likely to be an issue with the faster pacing than with the slower pacing. It's possible the injury occurred during the faster stuff but is manifesting more during the easier stuff. It's a lot less likely to be because of the slow stuff itself. This speed plan is rather intense. With that being said, you can always straight walk resting intervals or can do WU/CD/RI at EA pace instead of the WU/CD pace. Really it's just a matter of making sure that your WU/CD don't bleed into being part of the workout itself and rather a light preparation, and that the RI allows you to be prepared for the next interval.

I think I first noticed my IT band (well, actually my knee, but I've had enough IT band issues to know that was what was causing it) the week you indicated. I did manage it by taking a couple of random days off and by doing my WU/CD/RI closer to EA speed, as you suggested. I then took off July 11-16, resuming running on July 17 with a 5-mile EB run to test it out. I then did another test run (7 miles at LR) on July 18. On July 20 I did my July 13 workout, but shortened my WU (3 miles --> 1) and CD (2 miles --> 1). Everything seems to be operating as I would expect now. Yeah!

If you miss 4 days or less in a row, then you can usually just jump back in. But only if that's a one-off occurrence. Once you get past 5 days, then you need to start making more robust adjustments to the plan. So if you missed the week of 7/12-7/18, then my advice would be to take the next complete week as only easy. The volume can stay roughly the same, but nothing faster than EB pace. Then the week after (which would be the week of 7/26) you would drop back to the week you just did but the with intensity added back in (so do the week of 7/19 during 7/26). Then you'd have to look at downstream effects towards volume increases in future weeks as to how much to pull back and make sure that you stay on schedule for the taper. Any more than say 10 days or so, and you'd probably want to make major changes to the remaining plan.

Thanks for the advice! This is helpful, and I hope others find it helpful to them, too.

 

[DopeyBadger]

I think I first noticed my IT band (well, actually my knee, but I've had enough IT band issues to know that was what was causing it) the week you indicated.

Yep that's the week I had scheduled as to an indicator to whether this would be too much. So with that in mind, don't do the M Tempo runs on the schedule for 8/1, 8/15, and 8/29. Just do them as equal duration LRs instead. You've gotten your first warning from your body that the % hard was too much.

 

[DopeyBadger]

16 Weeks to go - Hansons Intermediate Week 2/18

7/19/21 - M - OFF
7/20/21 - T - 12 x 400m @ 5k pace
7/21/21 - W - 1 mile @ run/walk with G + 3 miles @ Easy
7/22/21 - R - 6 miles @ Easy w/ strides
7/23/21 - F - 4 miles @ Easy + 1 mile @ run/walk with G
7/24/21 - Sa - 5 min @ Easy w/ strides
7/25/21 - Su - 8 miles @ LR

Total Run Miles - 36.5 miles
Total Run Time - 5:29 hours
Total Run TSS - x TSS

Total Biking Time - 0:00 hours
Total Biking TSS - 0 TSS

Total Strength Time - 0:00 hours
Total Strength TSS - x TSS

Total Training Time - 5:29 hours
Total TSS - x TSS

Tuesday

The first official speed day of the training plan. The 3x400 and 6x400m efforts were more just be preparing myself from an effort standpoint for the correct 5k pace.

Conditions - Humid, Wind 9mph to 12mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 83°F + 73°F; FL - 89°F
End: Temp+Dew = 82°F + 73°F; FL - 89°F

Sure didn't get lucky from a T+D standpoint. Third hottest run since I started back up in June. The weather before I left gave me a T+D of 148-151. But it was a bit hotter at a T+D of 156. Which meant my adjustments were a bit off in the moment. So I should have been aiming for 99.0-100.9 seconds per rep.



The splits ranged from 94.8-99.4 with an average of 97.2 seconds. I was able to do the first seven reps without a walking break during the RI. I think #7 was where I took a quick walking break to drink some water. But after that, I ended up taking a short walking break after each rep. So my RI went from 2:11-2:19 to 2:27-2:40. All in all, I'm pleased with the effort. Despite the hot conditions, I still did pretty well. Definitely more work still to do, but I'm in a good place.

In all the workout was 8 miles, 67 min, 8:25 pace and HR of 146.


Wednesday

G was super excited for our run. She seems to genuinely look forward to it every day. Today she came with three topics of discussion to help keep her mind off the running since that worked so well. She wanted to talk about limestone, colors dogs can see, and the solar system. Apparently the Blopians are a now extinct group of beings that used to live on Blopia now known as present day Pluto. Apparently Blopia became Pluto have an extinction level event that occurred between the Blopians and the Unicorns with rainbow hair.

Conditions - Mostly Cloudy, Wind 4mph to 5mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 76°F + 66°F; FL - 76°F
End: Temp+Dew = 76°F + 66°F; FL - 76°F

I was able to trick her into running 1.2 miles instead of 1.0 miles and she was none the wiser. We used 30/30 and did it at 13:10 pace.

Afterwards, I did 3.3 miles of my own.

Conditions - Mostly Cloudy, Wind 4mph to 5mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 76°F + 66°F; FL - 77°F
End: Temp+Dew = 76°F + 66°F; FL - 77°F

I don't remember anything of particular interest during the run. I believe the ankle wasn't an issue today or during yesterday's speed run. I think the right hamstring was a little tight, but legs felt pretty good despite the hot speed run the day prior. In all, 3.3 miles, 30 min, 9:17 pace, and HR of 137.


Thursday

Conditions - Humid and Partly Cloudy, Wind 8mph to 12mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 84°F + 73°F; FL - 90°F
End: Temp+Dew = 83°F + 72°F; FL - 90°F

Another hot one. I believe the right hamstring was a little tight so I didn't do any strides. Minimal gain off increased risk. I think the ankle was still good. It was 6 miles, 54 min, 9:02 pace, and HR of 139.


Friday

Reverse order for running today. I went first and then G's run because Steph was heading to a baseball game.

Conditions - Humid and Partly Cloudy, Wind 11mph to 17mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 86°F + 73°F; FL - 94°F
End: Temp+Dew = 86°F + 73°F; FL - 94°F

Hottest run thus far this year. Oof! I think I definitely handled the heat a lot better than June though so clearly some points in the heat acclimated column. Other than the heat, I'm not remembering anything specific. It was 4 miles, 37 min, 9:15 pace, and HR of 141. Definitely a harder effort than intended based on HR.

Conditions - Humid and Partly Cloudy, Wind 11mph to 18mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 86°F + 73°F; FL - 93°F
End: Temp+Dew = 86°F + 73°F; FL - 93°F

G and I took it nice and easy during the run. Still with 30/30, but a tad slower at 13:58 min/mile pace. Today's topic was erosion.


Saturday

Woke up at 5am and out the door by 6:12am. It was going to be another brutal day and just trying to take advantage of the "cooler" temps.

Weighed in this morning at 179.4 pounds. That's down 3.6 pounds from last week's Week 6 lull, and down 10 pounds overall in 7 weeks (189.4 to 179.4).

Conditions - Partly Cloudy, Wind 12mph to 25mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 72°F + 71°F; FL - 74°F
End: Temp+Dew = 73°F + 72°F; FL - 74°F

The ankle was a little more noticeable, but the hamstring felt better. All in all the "cooler" temps felt nice. I had strides on the plan, but I decided just to take them nice and easy. Just a tiny pickup in pace. In all the run was 5 miles, 45 min, 9:04 pace and HR of 138.


Sunday

Not as hot today as yesterday, so I opted for a little more sleep.

Conditions - Clear, Wind 5mph to 9mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 67°F + 63°F; FL - 68°F
End: Temp+Dew = 73°F + 64°F; FL - 68°F

Goal non-adjusted LR is 8:00. So the goal based on temps was 8:14 min/mile.



GAP wise the pace was consistent. Consistent, but the wrong pace. A bit too fast though. The pace felt comfortable though. Ended up at 8 miles, 65 min, 8:06 pace, and HR of 146. So too fast by 6 seconds which isn't a ton off. The ankle was a little stiff, but the hamstring felt good. Mile 4 really felt good. VO2max went down to 52 from 54, but that's not surprising given the change in temps between the weeks.

Next week is 8x600m on Tuesday and projected T+D of 155. The cooler temps come in time for the first 6 mile M Tempo run of the training plan (141). Lastly, the long run bumps up to 10 miles (80 min).

 

[pixarmom]

Wishing you well with the training plan and love the addition of G's run! @mateojr always has topics of discussion ready during our runs together and it's such a great time. Since the marathon weekend 10K in 2020, he's been running an average of two miles M-F (some on the treadmill, 3-milers with me and circles around the block with his new emerging safety awareness skills!) We've run a bunch of virtual 5Ks and one 10K, but we'll be so excited to get back to in person races! Hope to see G out there when she's ready!

 

[DopeyBadger]

Wishing you well with the training plan and love the addition of G's run! @mateojr always has topics of discussion ready during our runs together and it's such a great time. Since the marathon weekend 10K in 2020, he's been running an average of two miles M-F (some on the treadmill, 3-milers with me and circles around the block with his new emerging safety awareness skills!) We've run a bunch of virtual 5Ks and one 10K, but we'll be so excited to get back to in person races! Hope to see G out there when she's ready!

Treasured times indeed and truly what dreams in 2012 were made of. I cherish the time. Here's hoping @mateojr and G's race schedules cross paths someday.

 

[disneygpa]

Wednesday

G was super excited for our run. She seems to genuinely look forward to it every day. Today she came with three topics of discussion to help keep her mind off the running since that worked so well. She wanted to talk about limestone, colors dogs can see, and the solar system. Apparently the Blopians are a now extinct group of beings that used to live on Blopia now known as present day Pluto. Apparently Blopia became Pluto have an extinction level event that occurred between the Blopians and the Unicorns with rainbow hair.

Reading this may be the highlight of my week!!! With everything, we have going on right now my stress level is pretty high. But this really brought a smile to my face and now I know more about Blopians and Unicorns with rainbow hair!!

Oh, and sounds like training is going pretty well!

 

[DopeyBadger]

Reading this may be the highlight of my week!!! With everything, we have going on right now my stress level is pretty high. But this really brought a smile to my face and now I know more about Blopians and Unicorns with rainbow hair!!

Well last I saw she was in the process of writing a picture book about it. And she said, not so fast Dad, cliffhanger the Blopians might still exist elsewhere...

Oh, and sounds like training is going pretty well!

So far so good. The running hasn't been all that challenging up to now. Things ratchet up a little more this week, but by comparison to the last few years it's still fairly easy. Just aiming to stay healthy as best I can.

 

[DopeyBadger]

15 Weeks to go - Hansons Intermediate Week 3/18

7/19/21 - M - OFF
7/20/21 - T - 8 x 600m @ 5k pace
7/21/21 - W - 1 mile @ run/walk with G + 3.3 miles @ Easy
7/22/21 - R - 1.5 mile WU + 6 miles @ M Tempo + 1.5 mile CD
7/23/21 - F - 1.6 mile @ run/walk with G + 3.3 miles @ Easy
7/24/21 - Sa - 5.25 min @ Easy w/ strides
7/25/21 - Su - 10 miles @ LR

Total Run Miles - 40.7 miles
Total Run Time - 5:56 hours
Total Run TSS - x TSS

Total Biking Time - 0:00 hours
Total Biking TSS - 0 TSS

Total Strength Time - 0:00 hours
Total Strength TSS - x TSS

Total Training Time - 5:56 hours
Total TSS - x TSS


Tuesday

Not much luck when it came to the weather on this one.

Conditions - Clear, Wind 9mph to 14mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 87°F + 72°F; FL - 94°F
End: Temp+Dew = 87°F + 73°F; FL - 94°F

At a T+D of 160, it was the hottest run this year thus far. I was aiming for a 8 x 600m at 5k pace. With the T+D that adjusted my goal splits from 2:19-2:20 to 2:29-2:30.



Splits were 2:29, 2:24, 2:25, 2:26, 2:27, 2:26, 2:28, 2:24. This run ended up feeling easier than the 12 x 400m run the week prior despite the longer interval distance and despite the warmer T+D this week. I felt relatively strong throughout the workout and never really felt all that pressed. The breathing was comfortable and controlled. Confidence was running high after this workout. I only took a short rest break after the 5th and 7th intervals for some water. In total it was 60 min, 7.25 miles, 8:19 pace, and HR of 144. I don't remember anything feeling particularly sore/injured afterwards.


Wednesday

Conditions - Humid and Mostly Cloudy, Wind 7mph to 9mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 84°F + 76°F; FL - 93°F
End: Temp+Dew = 84°F + 76°F; FL - 93°F

Another hot one. So G and I took it nice and easy. We did 1 mile at 30/30 in 14:12.

Afterwards I did a nice and easy 3.3 mile loop at 9:14 pace in 30 min and HR of 136.


Thursday

First M Tempo day of the training plan. The T+D didn't drop as much as had been predicted earlier in the week. But based on the 600m 5k intervals, confidence was running high that I could handle this.

Conditions - Partly Cloudy, Wind 12mph to 16mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 82°F + 70°F; FL - 85°F
End: Temp+Dew = 80°F + 70°F; FL - 85°F

T+D of 152, so the adjusted goal was 7:26 min/mile pace. I had a 1.5 mile WU/CD which messed with my known GAP splits on a per mile basis. So I was partially running blind to hill adjustments on this one and really tried to hone in my effort based on feel.



From a GAP perspective, the first five miles of the M Tempo were really solid. At 7:27, 7:30, 7:22, 7:26, and 7:25. So a difference of only 8 sec/mile. That's despite seeing a 32 sec/mile difference in real time splits. Just goes to show again that GAP is the way to go. That last mile though was a struggle. I was pushing it, but my body wasn't having it. I think the temp finally caught up to me on that last one. So I faded to 7:37 GAP and about 10 sec/mile off pace. In all I averaged 7:33 real pace for the 6 miles. The total run was 9 miles, 73 min, 8:06 pace, and HR of 145. So this was a little bit of a hit to the confidence, but it's so early it doesn't matter. It's all building blocks towards the finished home.


Friday

Conditions - Overcast, Wind 3mph to 5mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 72°F + 59°F; FL - 72°F
End: Temp+Dew = 71°F + 59°F; FL - 72°F

Temps were nicer so I took G on a new route. She handled it like a champ. She told me all about Jesse Owens. We ended up doing 1.6 miles, 21 min, 13:23 pace using 30/30 splits.

Afterwards, I did a 3.3 mile loop of my own at 9:22 pace in 31 min and HR of 130. Nice and easy, and it felt it.


Saturday

Weighed in at 181 pounds. So up some from last week, but I think the truth is somewhere in the middle. Had noodles for dinner and that always seems to make me a bit heavier for morning weigh in. Although after 8 weeks, I'm still on track for my goals.

Missed prime running weather early in the morning because I opted to watch some Olympic TF finals.

Conditions - Clear, Wind 5mph to 10mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 61°F + 57°F; FL - 61°F
End: Temp+Dew = 64°F + 58°F; FL - 61°F

The hamstring felt a little tight, and just wasn't in a good easy groove to start. But towards the middle portion things felt better. I ended up deciding to go ahead with the strides. Did them at a GAP of 7:09, 6:13, 5:34, 5:19, and 4:54 pace. Things continuously felt better as I sped up. In all it was 5.25 miles, 45 min, 8:44 pace, and HR of 136.


Sunday

Missed prime weather by a little less but still not the time I had originally planned due to the Olympics.

Conditions - Clear, Wind 7mph to 11mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 61°F + 59°F; FL - 61°F
End: Temp+Dew = 65°F + 60°F; FL - 61°F

First time into the double digits in the training plan. With the T+D I was aiming towards 8:07 pace.



Unfortunately, my left hamstring got caught up on my first three steps. Knew I had a slight "bundle" formation on the hamstring after that. It didn't cause much of an issue moving forward, but something to keep an eye on over the next week or so. The run itself felt relatively smooth. Never pressing all that much and very controlled. The GAP in miles 3-8 were really nice and tight. Only a 2 sec/mile difference. Then towards the end I picked up the effort a touch into the finish. The weather made this one feel nice and easy. Not quite where I was fitness wise in the past, but still making good progress. In all it was 10 miles, 80 min, 8:01 pace, and HR of 142. Garmin VO2max at 54 which is still a good place given the time of year and 15 weeks to go.

After building 30 min of volume every week for the last several weeks, I finally have a slight step back. Other than the M Tempo run, nothing has been overly challenging yet. The weather looks good for the upcoming week. Mostly in the T+D 135-142 range during the times I plan to run. I'll take that for early August. Although it does look like it's building again into next week into some more challenging conditions.

 

[TheHamm]

She told me all about Jesse Owens.

Solid topic! I regularly run past a plaque dedicated to J. O. I think it is probably the only nicety toward a Buckeye you can find in Ann Arbor.