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

[SheHulk]

Are you gonna costume as SheHulk, @SheHulk ? That would also be another inception level cosplay.

Im very nervous to see if I like the show. I have a lot riding on it emotionally. NOT body painting all green for a race ever so I’ll need to come up with a different strategy!

 

[DopeyBadger]

Im very nervous to see if I like the show. I have a lot riding on it emotionally. NOT body painting all green for a race ever so I’ll need to come up with a different strategy!

Problem solved (link). Just wear this under the she-hulk outfit.

 

[SheHulk]

Problem solved (link). Just wear this under the she-hulk outfit.

I can't tell if you're kidding, but yeah one idea would be very lightweight green tights and a very lightweight green long-sleeve under the outfit. The whole thing over the face is a bridge too far for me! If Springtime Surprise somehow turns out to be a Marvel race it will be hard to resist signing up and trying at least.
I did wear a green tech shirt with a She-Hulk iron-on, and a purple running skirt in my first WDW Marathon. Heard a few spectators yell "Go Mrs. Hulk!!!!" so I'm not sure anybody really knew who she was at the time. Would be fun to try for real.

 

[DopeyBadger]

I can't tell if you're kidding, but yeah one idea would be very lightweight green tights and a very lightweight green long-sleeve under the outfit. The whole thing over the face is a bridge too far for me! If Springtime Surprise somehow turns out to be a Marvel race it will be hard to resist signing up and trying at least.
I did wear a green tech shirt with a She-Hulk iron-on, and a purple running skirt in my first WDW Marathon. Heard a few spectators yell "Go Mrs. Hulk!!!!" so I'm not sure anybody really knew who she was at the time. Would be fun to try for real.

Yea I’d probably cut a face opening or just cut the whole head portion off since she-hulk has long hair (plus no masks in runDisney race). But other than that it’s a simple way to get green skin. Might be a little warm though since it wouldn’t vent very well.

 

[HangWithMerida]

Your bangle looks AMAZING! Can’t wait to see what you do with the light effects. I also appreciate that your daughter is helping with the painting. It’s cool that she’s so invested in her costume!

 

[dobball23]

@DopeyBadger When you run on the treadmill as you were this spring, were your Garmin numbers accurate? Or do you need to edit your workouts after the fact? I haven't run on a treadmill in a few years, but I remember my Garmin didn't always match up with the treadmill. In fact, it was often a decent amount off.

I may need to run on a treadmill on an upcoming cruise and am trying to figure out how best to capture the data as accurately as possible.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Your bangle looks AMAZING! Can’t wait to see what you do with the light effects. I also appreciate that your daughter is helping with the painting. It’s cool that she’s so invested in her costume!

Thanks! The painting was one of the first fun things she could truly participate in. The cutting, measuring, geometry isn’t as exciting. So she’s been looking forward to the painting phase.

@DopeyBadger When you run on the treadmill as you were this spring, were your Garmin numbers accurate? Or do you need to edit your workouts after the fact? I haven't run on a treadmill in a few years, but I remember my Garmin didn't always match up with the treadmill. In fact, it was often a decent amount off.

I may need to run on a treadmill on an upcoming cruise and am trying to figure out how best to capture the data as accurately as possible.

Sometimes they were close, and sometimes they were off. Effort and time matters more than the output on your watch or treadmill. Although because I use training load data it was important to allow the watch to collect HR data.

 

[DopeyBadger]

15 Weeks to go - Canova Fundamental Phase - Week 1/6




7/25/22-7/31/22
Tues (7/16): 6.5 miles @ 60-70% M Tempo (9:28 min/mile, 127 bpm)
Wed (7/27): 6.5 miles @ 60-70% M Tempo (9:25 min/mile, 126 bpm)
Thurs (7/28): Canova 3 x 2.5 miles at 105% M Tempo
Fri (7/29): 6.5 miles @ 60-70% M Tempo (9:25 min/mile, 128 bpm)
Sat (7/30): 10.3 miles @ 85% M Tempo (8:05 min/mile, 135 bpm) + LIIFT4-Chest/Tri (No HIIT)
Sun (7/31): 18 miles @ 80% M Tempo on Jack/Jill Route (8:19 min/mile, 130 bpm) + LIIFT4-Back/Biceps

Total Run Miles - 59.2 miles
Total Run Time - 8:26 hours
Total Strength Time - 1:03 hours
Total Training Time - 9:30 hours


Tuesday

Conditions - Partly Cloudy, Wind 7mph to 9mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 79°F + 65°F; FL - 79°F
End: Temp+Dew = 78°F + 65°F; FL - 79°F

After the off day, the legs were feeling reasonably good coming out of the hilly Mona. The left glute is still off and on. I think it's really getting beat up on these downhills. So the extra easy days is helping put me in a good position at the moment.



Wednesday

Conditions - Clear, Wind 11mph to 18mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 80°F + 64°F; FL - 81°F
End: Temp+Dew = 79°F + 64°F; FL - 81°F

It's a good thing I didn't have a hard run today. The legs really were saying to go slow and enjoy it today. I'm sure I could have rallied if needed, but the body was thankful for another easy day.


Thursday

Conditions - Clear, Wind 12mph to 18mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 74°F + 59°F; FL - 74°F
End: Temp+Dew = 72°F + 58°F; FL - 74°F

The legs were really achy and buzzy all throughout the work day. They were sending signals that they were ready to run and I was starting to lose my edge. So the hard run lined up well with today. I wasn't quite sure where I pulled this workout from. It's not in my Excel notes from the Canova presentations, but it must have come from one of them and then I just wrote it in. But it also didn't seem like a Fundamental workout, because on paper it looked hella scary. I'd say this is a Top 10 level workout and I pause to think of things much scarier than this on paper. Three sets of 2.5 miles at HM Tempo with a short 3 min break between sets. That's probably most akin to the 2 x 20 min LT workouts, which typically happens in late stage training and had 5 min rest between. Regardless, 7.5 miles of HM Tempo is beefy, and this workout scared me a little. But for some reason I wrote it down, so here I was preparing myself to take it down.

Thankfully the temps dropped a little which made the workout a touch more tolerable. Normally I would have taken this type of workout to the flat loop to give myself an advantage. But not today. The Madison M is rolling hills and I've done a HM on that course. So HM intervals on a rolling hill route as well today.

105% M Tempo Goal Pace = 6:41 min/mile
T+D Adj Goal Pace = 6:51 min/mile

The first rep started with flat, then uphill, then finished just as I was heading downhill. I did the 2.5 miles in 6:58/6:57/6:38 or using GAP 6:50/6:50/6:39. So I was pretty much on target throughout.

The second rep was flat and then finished as the full uphill climb. I was hoping to put in a good effort during the flat portion, but my body was really fighting me on this one. Mostly it was the breathing. But I managed. But man oh man that uphill finish was an absolute battle. While I was able to run at a pretty good clip during the first 3 min RI, the RI after this one was mostly walking. I was beat. I've done 5 miles at HM Tempo, that's enough right? Do I really think I can pull out one more rep? The second rep was 6:45/6:56/7:32 or GAP of 6:39/6:54/7:07. Definitely fading towards the end there.

The last rep was going to be downhill, flat, and end just as the uphill was starting. I actually felt better during the third rep than I did during the second. So my body felt like it was responding and I could manage to pull this out. Definitely didn't feel like I had to go to the well for the finish. The third rep was 6:54/6:58/7:00 or GAP of 6:59/7:02/6:51.

Actual Pace = 6:56 min/mile
Actual Grade Adj Pace = 6:52 min/mile

So the goal was a 6:51 and I did 6:56/6:52. So about what I needed to do under the conditions. I was proud of myself for pulling that one out.





Still, it felt like this workout wasn't well timed. I've still got 15 weeks to go and this definitely felt like a near maximum level workout. Man oh man, what does Canova have in store for me to the finish if that's what we're doing with so much time until race day. The HR stats were very good. Definitely indicative of late stage training fitness compared to most prior training plans. So more evidence I'm in a good place. Even the total workout at 11.2 miles and 7:46 pace, Strava pulled up some similar workouts and the HR here was 142 bpm compared to some similar workouts with similar conditions with HRs more in the 145ish area. Three bpm may not seem like much, but with my condensed HRR it's not necessarily a small difference either.

My body felt pretty sore and beat up that night. I didn't get a great night's rest because my legs were buzzing pretty good.


Friday

Conditions - Partly Cloudy, Wind 9mph to 13mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 77°F + 59°F; FL - 77°F
End: Temp+Dew = 76°F + 59°F; FL - 77°F

Body actually felt not so bad. The left glute was a bit upset, but all things considered not too bad. Not much time to recover from the HM Tempo workout though because I've got a big weekend ahead. So I just let the legs do easy and roll with it. It took a little bit of convincing, but eventually things settled in.


Saturday

Conditions - Clear, Wind 3mph to 4mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 55°F + 54°F; FL - 55°F
End: Temp+Dew = 60°F + 57°F; FL - 55°F

Nice cool morning. Steph had to work at 8am, so it was an early one for me. But given the weather, I wasn't complaining. Although some sleeping in would have been nice too. I had 10.3 miles at 85% M Tempo (7:55-8:05) on tap. I wasn't expecting the legs to respond to well at the start, and as expected they didn't. They felt really sluggish and it was a grind for the first 1-2 miles. But then I hit the uphill and the legs started to open up a little more. Finally things smoothed out and I coasted the remainder of the workout.



Legs were a little sore post-workout, but not too bad. I did some stretching, changed into non-sweat filled clothes and then headed to the basement for some LIIFT4 chest and triceps. I amped the weights up and the body responded well. Continuing to make progress.


Sunday

Conditions - Partly Cloudy, Wind 4mph to 6mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 59°F + 57°F; FL - 59°F
End: Temp+Dew = 69°F + 62°F; FL - 59°F



Now we're talking. Down to the cap for the week and the month. A total of 150 min of running. What was once my cap, but because of the much slower pace, this is occurring months before race day. Remember, during my 2nd best marathon time ever (Madison M 2021) training plan, I peaked at 129 min. So we're in a totally different mindset this time around with 150 min at 15 weeks to go. Albeit, one was at 7:30-7:45 pace and this one should be around 8:26 pace.

80% M Tempo goal pace = 8:26 min/mile
T+D adj pace = 8:39 min/mile

I got up early to maximize that morning sun and temps. I went full race day on this one. Took the Liquid IV upon waking. Took Maurten 320 before heading out the door. Had two servings of Tailwind, two Maurten gels, and one Egel during the training run. I wore the Next% shoes (as I have been for the long runs and hard runs). Legs were tight during the WU and I had the gait of a wounded gazelle at the start, but things settled in eventually. I saw some other runners, and then I saw them again, and then I saw them again again, and then I saw one of them finish his run, and then I saw the others again again again. Of course, that'll happen when I'm running the same one mile stretch over and over and over again. Down the hill. Up the hill. Down the hill. Up the hill. Repeat, repeat, repeat. It actually doesn't bother me in the least. It's rhythmic to me. This run felt like I was going too fast on the uphills and too slow on the downhills based on my goal GAP splits. Which I guess in a way is why I'm doing this. Originally it was to better my uphill running, but in reality I think it's really trying to help my downhill. Either way, I kept clicking the miles away. For the last long run (15.5 miles) I think it was around 10 miles or so when I "noticed" the run and the effort level increased a bit. But this time around, I was in a good groove for most of it. I'd say I didn't really notice any leg fatigue until 13-14 miles maybe, but honestly the run itself didn't become "noticeable" until maybe 16.5 miles. And even then I probably started to lean into the workout a bit too much and picked up the pace. It's something I tend to do on these long runs. When things get tough, I speed up and lean into the workout. I had originally planned on 17.5 miles, but then I did some quick math around mile 15-16 and saw that I needed to go to 18 miles to hit 150-ish min. So since I was feeling alright, I just extended the run a bit more and climbed the hill one last time.

Actual Pace = 8:19 min/mile
Actual Grade Adj Pace = 8:14 min/mile

Ultimately I ran this one a touch too fast based on the pace. Maybe about 20 sec/mile too quick based on the T+D, but it was a fairly long run and the T+D did change to a reasonable degree. I can live with it.



Like I said before, the downhills were maybe a touch too slow and the uphills were a touch too fast. So you can see the GAP bounce around a bit. But like I felt in the moment, I felt like these discrepancies were cancelling each other out. And funny enough, you can see that in the raw splits when I don't account for hitting the lap button at the start of the first downhill.




Miles 2 through 14 lived in a tight GAP window of 8:11-8:18. Just rhythmic. And then you can see me leaning into the workout there at the end and slowly picking the pace up as things just started to get tougher.

So unadjusted this was 8:19 pace, and T+D adj. something like 8:07 pace. The HR was 130 bpm. Now compare that to some of the runs earlier in the week at 9:20s and 126-128 bpm. This run's pace vs HR was epically good. Like setting records good. My Garmin's marathon projection jumped from 3:23:30 to 3:17:00. It was like, alright, alright, alright. Now we're showing what we're capable of.

Best part I came inside to start the stretch, get cleaned up, and go do LIIFT4-Back/Biceps. I felt really good. Like almost better than when I started even though I just finished an 150 min workout. Eventually the fatigue did set in a few hours later, but all things considered, the body is feeling good and responding. I wrapped up the week with LIIFT4 and amped the weights up even more.

So another good week in the books. Maybe the 3x2.5 mile HMT was a bit too much, but by the end the body is feeling better than when I started. The left glute is still off and on, and seems to be a by product of the extra hill work I've been doing. I took a peek at the next few weeks, and made some alterations. I had two workouts that repeated from the general phase, but I took them out and substituted them for more Fundamental focused workouts. The general workouts seemed a touch too easy. So this week I've got another extra easy day on Wed, the next hard workout is on Thursday and it's a Canova Valley (sets of intervals where the pace progressively slows but the length increases, and then you speed up and shorten again), and then 9 miles at the new other LR pace (90% M Tempo, or 7:44). Of course after doing 7:46 for 11.2 miles during the HMT rep workout, that 9 miles workout is probably going to feel like a walk in the park. It's also going to be a good run to try out the Alphafly for a single workout pre-race day. It's short, but still has a bit of pace to it.

G and I continue to make good progress on her Ms. Marvel costume. She's also had a bevy of audition requests so we've been busy submitting audition tapes. There's one I've got my fingers crossed for, but I can't say anything about it at the moment (confidentiality agreement).

 

[DopeyBadger]

@SharonRunsDisney2023 you'll need 10 posts, and then we can PM to talk about making up a training plan for you. Feel free to post in here 10 times, or you can post here (link) where you can burn through the 10 posts needed.

 

[SharonRunsDisney2023]

Excited to start my 1/2 marathon journey!

 

[SharonRunsDisney2023]

So many sites with Disney race outfit - very exciting!

 

[DopeyBadger]

She's also had a bevy of audition requests so we've been busy submitting audition tapes. There's one I've got my fingers crossed for, but I can't say anything about it at the moment (confidentiality agreement).

The verbiage the entertainment business uses always confuses me, BUT.... I think she got the role after a series of two auditions. A national TV ad for a professional sports broadcast. I can't really share much else until after it happens (if it happens).

 

[FFigawi]

How cool for her!

 

[DopeyBadger]

How cool for her!

I'm proud of her. This business isn't easy. You have to keep putting yourself out there, and not get beat down my rejection. It used to be when she was younger she'd audition, and then forget about it and not ask whether she got it or not. So the rejection was easy, because she never realized. These days she knows whether she did or didn't, but we've taken the approach that other kids/people are out there in the world too trying to do the same thing she is. So sometimes you get the role and sometimes you don't. Just move on and keep putting yourself out there. Gotta try.

 

[FFigawi]

Good life lessons to learn

 

[DopeyBadger]

14 Weeks to go - Canova Fundamental Phase - Week 2/6





8/1/22-8/7/22
Tues (8/2): 6.5 miles @ 60-70% M Tempo (9:25 min/mile, 127 bpm)
Wed (8/3): 10.75 miles @ 85% M Tempo (8:22 min/mile, 137 bpm)
Thurs (8/4): Canova Valley
Fri (8/5): 6.5 miles @ 60-70% M Tempo (9:35 min/mile, 127 bpm)
Sat (8/6): 10.25 miles @ 85% M Tempo (8:35 min/mile, 134 bpm) + LIIFT4-Chest/Tri (No HIIT)
Sun (8/7): 9.5 miles @ 90% M Tempo on Jack/Jill Route (7:45 min/mile, 138 bpm) + LIIFT4-Back/Biceps

Total Run Miles - 55.0 miles
Total Run Time - 7:47 hours
Total Strength Time - 1:01 hours
Total Training Time - 8:49 hours


Tuesday

Conditions - Humid, Wind 14mph to 22mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 84°F + 75°F; FL - 92°F
End: Temp+Dew = 84°F + 75°F; FL - 92°F


Toasty! Don't remember much from the run. I believe the left glute was still a little bothersome. All in all though it was meant to be an easy run, and it was easy.



Wednesday

Conditions - Humid and Mostly Cloudy, Wind 12mph to 23mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 79°F + 75°F; FL - 83°F
End: Temp+Dew = 79°F + 74°F; FL - 83°F

The beginning of the mid-week 90 min 85% M Tempo fatigue inducer runs. So now these will start popping up not only on Saturdays, but also anytime I have at least two consecutive easy days.

Goal Pace = 7:55-8:05 min/mile
T+D Adj Goal Pace = 8:30 min/mile

Actual Pace = 8:22 min/mile
Grade Adj. Pace = 8:18 min/mile

I don't remember being particularly challenged on this run. Pretty sure I came back completely drenched in sweat, but that was true for most of the week. But nothing was hurt or sore to any meaningful degree.



Thursday

Conditions - Partly Cloudy, Wind 8mph to 8mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 80°F + 67°F; FL - 82°F
End: Temp+Dew = 77°F + 67°F; FL - 82°F

A workout I've dubbed the Canova Valley. I wasn't particularly scared of it, but maybe I should have been. I added an extra challenge of not doing this on my flat loop. Instead I did this on my normal route with a mix of uphills and downhills. So sometimes that worked in my favor, and other times not so much.

1.5 mi WU + (3 min @ 108% MT + 6 min @ 106% MT + 9 min 104% MT + 12 min 100% MT + 9 min 104% MT + 6 min @ 106% MT + 3 min @ 108% MT) + 1.5 mi CD

108% M Tempo Pace = 6:28; T+D Adj. = 6:44
106% M Tempo Pace = 6:37; T+D Adj. = 6:53
104% M Tempo Pace = 6:45; T+D Adj. = 7:01
100% M Tempo Pace = 7:02; T+D Adj. = 7:19

Definitely an interesting and brutal workout since it touches a few different sub-marathon paces. I'm still in the Fundamental phase where Canova allows T+D adjustments. But I've only got 4 weeks before entering the Specific phase which doesn't allow T+D adjustments. So I wanted to see how long I could do the workout for the assigned paces before adjusting. The first 3 min were a bit of a slog, but ended up only +4s from unadjusted. The 6 min segment felt much cleaner and I overran it by -5s. That was particularly brutal since it was straight uphill too. The 9 min reps were easily the hardest. Once I got done with the first one, I knew I needed to adjust for T+D for the remainder of the workout. The 12 min rep felt smooth (which is a good thing to make M Tempo feel so easy comparatively), and then it got tough as the time dropped and pace picked up. I was +7, +9, and +0 with the T+D adj for the final few reps. So the back-half definitely caught up to me. It really does drive home how easy something can feel at the start of the run/race, and how brutally difficult the same thing can be at the end if you pushed too hard early on. This workout comes back once more in 4 weeks at the end of the Fundamental phase. So it'll be a nice measure of progress and hopefully the T+D will be less by then. It was a more difficult workout than I anticipated on paper.

Actual Paces: 6:39, 6:48, 6:47, 7:22, 7:18, 6:52, 6:47
Actual Grade Adj Paces: 6:32, 6:32, 6:53, 7:19, 7:08, 7:02, 6:44



I had planned on this run to be the one where I would take the crown for the "Barking Dogs" strava segment, but I knew it wasn't going to be a good effort as I was dragging late. I'm currently holding 2nd overall after the up/downhill M Tempo workout I did a week ago.



Friday


Conditions - Humid, Wind 7mph to 10mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 84°F + 72°F; FL - 90°F
End: Temp+Dew = 83°F + 72°F; FL - 90°F

My RHR, sleep, and body score responded well to the workout on Thursday. The run on the other hand really felt like I was hit by a ton of bricks. Just so sore and stiff all over. I didn't press the issue and just let the run come to me. As time passed, the legs opened up more and things felt a little better. I probably felt better after the run, than I did prior to it. Which is a good thing because I went from a Fri night run to a Sat morning run.




Saturday


Conditions - Mostly Cloudy, Wind 8mph to 16mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 72°F + 72°F; FL - 74°F
End: Temp+Dew = 77°F + 75°F; FL - 74°F

The weather was going to be pretty terrible Saturday morning. So it was a choice between terrible and even more terrible. I opted for some extra sleep and went with "even more terrible". Maybe not the best decision.... but honestly the weather wasn't much better 1-2 hrs earlier.

Goal Pace = 7:55-8:05 min/mile
T+D Adj Goal Pace = 8:30 min/mile

It was just stifling out. Like the air was made of liquid, and the sun was just melting me. It was brutal before I even started moving. Combine that with my body still feeling beat up from Thursday, and I didn't really pay attention to the pace as much. This was all about keeping a moderate effort level, and survive/advance. The first half mile was rough. By about 2.5 miles is when the legs opened up a bit more and loosened. From there I cruised. But the run felt pretty rough towards the tail end as the weather conditions just felt unrelenting. I was scheduled for 11 miles in 90 min. I stopped at 10.25 miles and 88 min. My body didn't want anymore of this workout and I was perfectly happy to be done with it.

Actual Pace = 8:35 min/mile
Grade Adj. Pace = 8:31 min/mile

Ultimately, the paces weren't far off from the T+D adj. goal. The HR was pretty spot on for the desired effort level. So no harm/foul in either direction really.

I did the LIIFT4 chest/tri workout afterwards.

My body was dragging for the vast majority of the day. It just simply did not respond well to the workout.


Sunday

Conditions - 🌧 Rain and Humid, Wind 10mph to 21mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 73°F + 73°F; FL - 74°F
End: Temp+Dew = 73°F + 73°F; FL - 74°F

Alright, we're starting the beginning of the transition into the faster long run pace. I've been doing 80% M Tempo and we're up to 150 min there. Now during the off week, I'm adding in 90% M Tempo, but we're starting off light at about 70-ish min. This 90% pace (7:44) is about where I would normally be on long runs during my previous training plans. So I know this pace well.

We were scheduled for rain/thunderstorms for most of the day. So I didn't even set an alarm. I just woke up when I did, rolled over and looked at the radar. I saw decent rain, but no lightning until 10am. So I got up and ready to go. I can run in rain. I don't mind running in rain that much, and much prefer it to running in full sun. I was supposed to try out my Alphafly today, but because of the rain, I passed. So I wore the newer Next% instead.

90% M Tempo Goal Pace = 7:44 min/mile
T+D Adj. Goal Pace = 8:03 min/mile

I took the same mental approach as Thursday's workout. Use the T+D adjustment if I need to, and ignore it if the effort feels alright. The cloud cover and rain made it feel like it wasn't a T+D 146. So for the most part, I just ran the assigned paces and ignored adjustments. I also did this run on my Jack/Jill route with the extra elevation boost.

The rain wasn't terrible, but it was coming down at a decent clip. So I was wet within the first minute, and soaked completely through by about 2-3 miles. The pace felt like old hat to me, and really comfortable. I tried to stick with my GAP adjustments for the down and up. For the most part it was much the same as last week. I ran the downs a little slower and the ups a little faster. The workout never really pushed me that hard, and because it was so short (73 min) it felt like it was over before it even started. In addition, I completely missed the mark on the mileage. I was just in a groove, and knew that I wanted to end at 9 miles, that before I realized it, I was past 9 miles and still a little aways from home. So I instead wrapped the workout at 9.5 miles. Not a monumental difference.

Actual Pace = 7:45 min/mile
Grade Adj. Pace = 7:40 min/mile



Overall I ended up sticking with not needing the adjustment. The rain and cloud cover pretty much negated the T+D of 146 conditions to how it felt to me. The HR ended up being 138 bpm. That's in the upper echelon if I ignore the T+D adjustment. But if I convert that value to 7:26 min/mile and compare that to other adjusted long runs, there are only a handful better during 2017 (there was a 12/10/17 run at 7:22 and 138bpm, and 7/30/17 run at 7:20 and 139 bpm). Other than that, this run is right up there in the Top 3-5 long run conversions of all time with T+D adj. I continue to be in a good place.

Next week (14 weeks to go) is the second highest duration volume week of the plan. But because of how the plan is structured (build slow volume, then maintain volume with faster pace) it means that it's only the 5th most mileage week. On tap is a 4x2mile at 93% M Tempo (7:32) w/ 6 min at 80% M Tempo RI, then 11 mile fatigue inducer Fri night before a Sat morning 2:45hr run. Still not sold that I'll do the long run Sat morning with a fatigue inducer Fri night. We'll see about that. I think based on how I'm feeling, I'm alright with keeping the 4x2 mile on Tuesday. But we'll see how I'm feeling about the LR on Sat or if it shifts to Sunday. Although that'll switch up the following week which I had a Tues hard but may need more time between if the LR shifts to Sun. So it's up in the air, and this is what Canova wants. Shift the days around based on how you're feeling.

Based on the last three weeks of data, if I can convert HR v T+D adj Pace like Dopey 2017/Lakefront 2017, then I'm in about 3:05 shape. Convert like Madison 2021, then I'm in 3:12 shape. Convert like Dopey 2018/Non-Cancelled 2021, then I'm in 3:22 shape. My Garmin watch says 3:17:15 shape.

 

[azrivest]

Friday
Conditions - Humid, Wind 7mph to 10mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 84°F + 72°F; FL - 90°F
End: Temp+Dew = 83°F + 72°F; FL - 90°F

Saturday
Conditions - Mostly Cloudy, Wind 8mph to 16mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 72°F + 72°F; FL - 74°F
End: Temp+Dew = 77°F + 75°F; FL - 74°F

Even with the 10F difference in T+D, it still felt better on Friday than on Saturday?

 

[striker1064]

Even with the 10F difference in T+D, it still felt better on Friday than on Saturday?

I don't want to speak for @DopeyBadger here, but that makes sense to me. Remember that the dew point represents the temperature to which the air must cool to reach saturation. That means on Saturday at the beginning of the run, the air was completely saturated (because temp = dew point), and it wasn't much better by the end. T+D is one thing, but when the saturation is that high, it can almost feel like you're swimming in the air. It also makes your sweat less efficient - the act of sweating is a heating effect, but the phase change of water from liquid to gas (evaporation) is what cools your body. When the air is totally saturated, it's much more difficult for sweat to evaporate from your body (because the air does not have the capacity for any more water vapor). Cloudiness can be a factor too. The run was in the morning, and generally speaking overnight and morning cloudiness keeps the air warmer than daytime cloudiness. Because Earth sheds longwave radiation from the surface at night, nighttime and morning cloudiness trap the heat and keep it at the surface (working much in the same way as a blanket). During the day, Earth heats from shortwave radiation from the Sun, hence why daytime cloudiness will keep things relatively cooler.

So yeah. Total air saturation + drenched from sweat + inescapable heat can make it rough.

 

[azrivest]

Very eloquently explained, thanks. Which explains a bit why even with a high T+D this morning in my neck of the woods, the air saturation level meant I felt pretty okay for most of my run.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Even with the 10F difference in T+D, it still felt better on Friday than on Saturday?

In addition to what @striker1064 said, pace plays a role as well. Friday didn't feel as bad because I wasn't pressing all that hard in terms of pace. So my core body temp probably didn't rise nearly as high. My body also just doesn't have to work as hard at a truly easy pace. A better comparison would be Wednesday's fatigue inducer and Saturday's fatigue inducer:

Conditions - Humid and Mostly Cloudy, Wind 12mph to 23mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 79°F + 75°F; FL - 83°F
End: Temp+Dew = 79°F + 74°F; FL - 83°F

VS

Conditions - Mostly Cloudy, Wind 8mph to 16mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 72°F + 72°F; FL - 74°F
End: Temp+Dew = 77°F + 75°F; FL - 74°F

Similar T+D, but on Wed I could do 8:22 pace and Sat 8:35 pace. Wednesday I felt mostly fine, but Saturday was more of a struggle. I think wind helped play a factor here because it helped it feel cooler and allowed some evaporative cooling. Secondly, while the pace goal was the same, on Wednesday it had been about 84 hrs since my last hard run (the 2.5 hr run which didn't feel all that bad). On Saturday it was only 36 hours or so (with what was a pretty tough training run). So a similar pace isn't going to feel as easy when my bodies still recovering. So that probably exacerbated how the conditions of the run felt.

***

This discussion does bring to mind something I was going to mention though. I was going to revisit the intervals vs continuous.

7/7/22 - 20 sets of (1 min @ 8:24 + 1 min @ 7:02); Average pace = 7:48 min/mile for the 40 minutes at 147 bpm HR. Adjusted for T+D that's more like 7:22 pace. T+D was 156

7/12/22 - 40 min Progression from 8:24 to 7:02; Average pace = 7:43 min/mile for the 40 min at 144 bpm HR. Adjusted for T+D that's more like 7:27 pace. T+D was 143

7/20/22 - 20 sets of (2 min @ 8:24 + 2 min @ 7:02); Average pace = 7:46 min/mile for the 40 minutes at 145 bpm HR. Adjusted for T+D that's more like 7:26 pace. T+D was 150

8/7/22 - 73 min @ 7:45 min/mile; Average pace = 7:45 min/mile at 138 bpm. Adjusted for T+D that's more like 7:27 pace. T+D was 146.


Cloud cover certainly played a role in today's continuous workout, but the two interval workouts were 147 and 145 bpm at 7:22/7:26 pace. The progression was 144 bpm at 7:27 pace. And the continuous run was 138 bpm at 7:27 pace. All adjusted for their respective T+Ds. All within a month's timeframe and under similar conditions (T+D 143-156). Based on how my HR forms a power or logarithmic line of best fit rather than linear, this makes sense. The workout which accomplished the average pace by holding that single pace has the lowest HR. The workouts that go slow/finish fast (progression) or using a run/walk style (1:1 interval or 2:2 interval) have a higher HR. The continuous workout felt by far the easiest. The progression had the hardest moments. The overall intervals workout were harder than the continuous, but easier than the progression. This isn't the first time I've seen this in the data, but it was a nice series of workouts in a short period of time that lines up with other things I've seen in my data before.