4-12-2011 Fitness?

<p>QOD: I just wing it wrt taper.  If I'm feeling great I keep running decent mileage.  If I'm feeling wiped out by the mileage build up I cut way back.  I want to feel like I have springs in my legs when I toe the line.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Maples</strong> - I'd worry about consistent healthy mileage first (combined with gradual weight loss).  If you have always been the last guy down the court in basketball or slow to first base in softball, you just might be slow, no big deal.  Speed starts with powerful leg muscles (squats, stair running, bounding, box jumps, etc), but be careful to not overwork your tendons.  If you still have access to the stadium, you could run up some short flights of stairs to develop power and down the ramps to work on leg turnover.  A little bit goes a long ways, so don't overdo it!</p>

<p>Hey <strong>Duck</strong>.  Thankfully I have not been plagued with eternal slowness.  (heh)   Back when I played basketball or softball regularly I considered myself as either normal or a somewhat quick runner.  It is only with this sustained, distance running that I feel like Mr. slow poke. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>I think you and <strong>Brandy</strong> probably both right in that I just need to gradually increase the weekly mileage and hopefully lose weight as I go.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>heck my pace may simply be substantially influenced by my weight (as you said).  Perhaps if I weighed 190 pounds instead of 230 it might make a slight difference?  <span id="user_yui_3_3_0_8_130263787389621"><img alt="tard.gif" id="user_yui_3_3_0_8_130263787389620" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/tard.gif">     But yet I know there are people heavier than me who are faster than me but you catch my drift.</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p>I just wanna be better. <span id="user_yui_3_3_0_8_130263787389633"><img alt="surprised.gif" id="user_yui_3_3_0_8_130263787389632" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/surprised.gif"></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span>Does anyone have a suggestion as to a followup program to the 10k?  I still have my old HM training outline as an option. I know as long as I am active it's all good.  Just bear in mind I am one of those structured personality types.  I function better with a battle plan mapped out in front of me. </span></p>

<p> </p>
<div class="quote-container"><span>Quote:</span>
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by <strong>Maples</strong> <a href="/forum/thread/73428/4-12-2011-fitness#post_1993982"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border-right:0px solid;border-top:0px solid;border-left:0px solid;border-bottom:0px solid;"></a><br><p> </p>
<p>  I am not trying for say to <strong>Tim</strong> or <strong>Bob's </strong> speed or anything, but I feel like I run too slow. </p>
</div>
</div>
<p> </p>
<p>Gee, I'm honored that you'd even put me and <strong>Tim</strong> in the same sentence when it comes to speed.  I look at folks like <strong>Tim</strong> and <strong>Duck</strong> and <strong>Jen</strong> and <strong>Baggs</strong> and <strong>Coach</strong> (when he's in fighting shape) etc, and it almost makes me feel a little bummed about my pace.  Maybe that's not quite an accurate way of putting it... I mean, I'm happy with where I am, but I wish I could have a crappy day and still BQ like those guys can.  I can't speak for any of them, but I bet they look at guys like <strong>Pacer</strong> or <strong>PTom</strong> with a wee bit of envy about sub-3 marathons.  And I bet <strong>Pacer</strong> and <strong>PTom</strong> look at 2:30 marathoners the same way, etc.  In other words, unless you're the fastest guy in the world, there's always somebody you can look at who's faster than you. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>But you also gotta remember that there are plenty of people slower than you.  In fact, there are <strong>many</strong> more people slower than you than there are faster than you.  Even if you come in last place in your Age Group in a race, you still did better than all the millions of people who were still asleep in bed or were watching TV on their couch.  Somebody once said, DFL (Dead Effin' Last) is better than DNF (Did Not Finish), and DNF is better than DNS (Did Not Start).  So you should be happy and damn proud of yourself just for the fact that you are out there.  If you keep at it and train smart, you will keep improving.  It may not seem like you're improving as fast as you want to.  But just remember, you could keep running for 30 or 40 more years, if you want.  You've got plenty of time.  And most importantly, <strong>have fun</strong>!</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>

<br><br><div class="quote-container"><span>Quote:</span>
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by <strong>GatorBob</strong> <a href="/forum/thread/73428/4-12-2011-fitness#post_1994009"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a>n fact, there are <strong>many</strong> more people slower than you than there are faster than you.  Even if you come in last place in your Age Group in a race, you still did better than all the millions of people who were still asleep in bed or were watching TV on their couch.  Somebody once said, DFL (Dead Effin' Last) is better than DNF (Did Not Finish), and DNF is better than DNS (Did Not Start).  So you should be happy and damn proud of yourself just for the fact that you are out there.  If you keep at it and train smart, you will keep improving.  It may not seem like you're improving as fast as you want to.  But just remember, you could keep running for 30 or 40 more years, if you want.  You've got plenty of time.  And most importantly, <strong>have fun</strong>!</div>
</div>
<p><br>
Yep.  What he said.  And others, too.  From another of the slower-end-range club, at some point it is important to accept some limitations, but also to be realistic about things that you very well might can change.<br><br>
For example:  I will NEVER be a BQ'er.  Ever ever ever.  Not only do I think my legs can't take the pounding of a full marathon, I don't have the mechanics / genes / whatever to produce the kind of speed needed for a BQ.  Ya know what? That's okay. It would be SWEET, no doubt, but I'm perfectly content without that.  However, I can look back at my running over the past two years - even the past year, and see where there has been improvement.  Jeesh, last year in the most emotionally challenging year of my life, I ended up PR'ing in every distance I attempted.  Not PR'ing every time of course, but enough to know that something was going right enough - that it wasn't a fluke.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Keep positive.  Move forward.  Change may come slowly, but it can come. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Also reinforcing something said above:  Theia has been after me to really get more speedwork in.  I HATE speedwork.  It's hard.  it HURTS.  Like my core stuff, I tend to forget about it, but I know the more I do, the more chances I'll see improvement. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Remember, it's not like we all have one goal and that's the end of the story.  This is a lifelong journey.  Be patient.  Take your time.  Enjoy the scenery along the way.  </p>
<p> </p>

<p><strong>Maples</strong>, if you watch the pros/collegiates, they usually try to compete at the shorter distances and only move up when they don't have the foot speed to be competitive.  So person "A" might be a good HS miler, but not competitive in college so they move up to the 5k.  When they go post-collegiate they might have to move up to the 10K.  When they try to compete internationally they have to move up to the half or marathon.  We're seeing that progression with Galen Rupp currently. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Myself, I rate higher in the age-graded tables as a miler than as a marathoner by significant margin.  This despite mostly training for the marathon!  So if you feel you have good foot speed you might want to try timing yourself at some shorter distances (100M, 200M, 400M, 800M) and work on improving those times this summer through a combination of slower mileage and shorter sprint workouts. If you can improve your 400M time I bet you get a much faster 5k time as a result.  It definitely worked for me the summer I trained for the mile and ran 200/400/600/800M repeats at goal mile pace.  My half marathon PR was lowered significantly a short time later without changing what I was doing on my distance runs.  There's something really powerful in knowing that you're running at 1:20/mi slower than your absolute best effort.  Mentally I could more easily run 6:50 pace for 13 miles knowing that I had an 80 second per mile buffer from my 5:30 redline speed. </p>

<p> </p>
<div class="quote-container"><span>Quote:</span>
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by <strong>duckgeek</strong> <a href="/forum/thread/73428/4-12-2011-fitness/25#post_1994042"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border-bottom:0px solid;border-left:0px solid;border-top:0px solid;border-right:0px solid;"></a><br><p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Myself, I rate higher in the age-graded tables as a miler than as a marathoner by significant margin.  This despite mostly training for the marathon! </p>
</div>
</div>
<p> </p>
<p>I think I'm the same way.  This is very un-scientific, since most of my running is done half-assedly.  I haven't looked at "age-graded tables" but I always seem to place better in my Age Group (i.e., in a higher percentile) in 5ks than I do in marathons.  And like you, this is despite mostly training for marathons. </p>