Spring Trainers - week of April 11

Runninlaw · Apr 18, 2011

It is Marathon Monday! GOGOGOGOGOGO bhearn, jenruns, loopy and ileneforward! It looks like ideal weather there too, which is obviously always a huge factor. I hope we see some great races!
 
 
January 2011 - 50K
gobi
 
February 2011 - 64K
gobi
 
February 27 - Last Chance for Boston marathon
Mailbox Head - training run
 
March 3, 2011 - Little Rock Marathon
Runnin-from-the-law: 3:45
 
March 9, 2011 - Canyonlands Half
nadra24
 
March 12 - the Tom King Half Marathon. 
Jebba: sub 1:44:30. 
 
March 2011 - 50K
floridaboiler
 
March 2011 - 100K?
gobi
 
April 3, 2011 - Cherry Blossom 10 miler
CMJHawk86: sub-65
gregw - sub-65:55
 
Talladega Half Mary
Timr1: ?
 
April 9, 2011 American Cancer Society 10K
Runninlaw: sub 44:10
 
April 10, 2011 - St. Louis Marathon
SeaPig
 
April 17, 2011 - Pike's Peek 10K
gregw - sub-40
 
April 18, 2011 - Boston
bhearn: sub-3
loopy
jenruns
Ileneforward
 
May 1, 2011 - Eugene Marathon
Runninlaw: 3:25
 
May 1, 2011 - Broad Street Run 10 miler
CMJHawk86: sub 65
 
May 1 Flying Pig Marathon
Mailbox Head - pacing brother
swallen1 - 3:40
Timr1 - 3:10-3:15
 
May 7, 2011 - Manassas Runway 10K
gregw- sub-40
 
May 21, 2011 - Ogden Marathon
nadra24
 
June 4 Another Dam 50k
Mailbox Head - sub-5
 
June 5 North Face Challenge DC Half Marathon
CMJHawk86 - no idea on goal time --> 2:00?
 
June 8, 2011 - Grandma's
Runnin-from-the-law: 3:45

Runninlaw · Apr 18, 2011

Week #1 of taper for me. Lots of taper twinges already -but I take that as a good sign. Plenty of time to recovery and get strong. Focus for the next 2 weeks is rest. Hopefully work will cooperate with that endeavor!
 
M: rest/abs
T: 4.8 easy
W: 6.7 easy
R: 8.1 easy / arms & abs
F: rest
Sa: 8 and change with a 5K (21:35)
Sun: 16
 
Total: 44 and change
 
I was happy with my 5K effort. For some reason, I am usually slow in 5Ks just before goal marathons. 21 anything is pretty solid for me, so I'll take it!

CMJHawk86 · Apr 18, 2011

RIL - nice taper week. You're right on target it seems...55 or so the previous week, 44 last week, i.e., 80% of normal mileage. So...33 this week? <img alt="wink.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/wink.gif"> As for the 5k, yeah all that slow twitch work doesn't necessarily help the 5k time, think of it as a key tempo workout though. And once you recover from the marathon, you should nail some hot 5k times.
 
Mixed bag week for me last week. Didn't hit the mileage target I wanted as some other things got in the way. Key workout of the week was mile repeats midweek and they went reasonably well considering it was ridiculously windy that day; as splits below show, #4 was straight into a 30 mph wind, #2 was with that same wind at my back. I will be looking to really step it up this week, capping things off with a train-through 8k race in downtown DC on Saturday. Then the following week I will dial it back in preparation for Broad Street Run.
 
M 4/11 - 6 easy
Tu 4/12 - 11 road cycling in evening after work, 25 minutes core
W 4/13 - unplanned rest
Th 4/14 - 4 x mile repeats (6:38, 6:20, 6:26, 6:40), 7 miles total
F 4/15 - 9 easy (7:42/mile)
S 4/16 - 5 very easy (8:42/mile)
Su 4/17 - soccer in AM (52 minutes), 5 recovery jog in late afternoon (8:48/mile)
 
32 miles total. As I said not what I had hoped for after missing a day and also cutting out a weekend long run.
 
Boston's going on as I type. Excited for all my friends running today, wish I was there.

Runninlaw · Apr 18, 2011

Bob and Jen both hit the half way point at 1:29:53! Woot! Hang in there for those sub-3s!!

gregw · Apr 20, 2011

Congrats on the 5k, RIL. Way to back it up with a long run on Sunday as well. Pfitz has those in his schedules and I did it a couple of times in 2006. I must be getting older because I can't do that anymore.
 
For me:
 
Mo - 7.92 @ 8:44 
Tu - 6.2 @ 9:20 
We - treadmill 8.0 @ 9:30 
Th - treadmill 8.0 @ 9:30 including 6x1' at 9mph (6:40) with 2:40 rest at 6mph (10:00) 
Fr - 6.15 0:55:05 8:57 138 (69%) 
Sa - rest 
Su - wup 0.23 miles (porta john outprioritized my warmup), Pike's Peek 10k in 39:35!
 
Week - 42.8
 
My faster-than-normal easy pace running the previous week, combined with residual fatigue from Cherry Blossom, and running a bit too fast hard on my friday workout left me pretty sore early in the week, so I took it easy.
 
Warning: long race report.
 
I was pretty excited with the forecast for the race on Sunday. 47 degrees and winds 15 mph from the west for a point-to-point race (190 ft net downhill) that heads SSE turning to SE. It materialized almost exactly except looking at wunderground, it was actually from the WNW -- even better.
 
The race starts next to a Metro station parking lot, heads out about 0.25 mile and turns left. That's it. You run 6 net downhill miles down two lanes of Route 355 parelleling the metro tracks. Take metro back to your car.
 
Race logistics were ideal. Got there earIy and parked about a hundred yards from the start. I planned to pop out of the car at 7:35 am, jog for 10 minutes, and get in the corral for the 7:50 start. After a couple of minutes of warming up, I decided to make one last pit stop and that was all the warmup I got. I got in the corral and then of course, they held us for 10 minutes, ensuring the course was clear, so I was very cold at the start.
 
I did this race last year and didn't go out hard enough. The downhill bottoms out just after 5k and then there are some pretty significant hills in the second half, followed by a screaming downhill the last 0.4 miles. Last year, I thought it just flattened out, so I was going to shorten the race by running just under pace the first half and then running at 40-minute 10k pace until the end. I hit 5k at 19:50, but couldn't up the effort to deal with the hills. I basically gave up at the 5th mile as I had given up my cushion and was headed in the wrong direction. I gave it my all in the ending downhill (5:45 pace) and almost made up the lost time but finished in 40:04. I've been kicking myself for a year for not gutting it out better in the 5th mile.
 
This year, the plan was to be <19:40 (6:20) and probably closer to 19:30 (6:17 pace) at 5k (even pace is 6:26). My legs were numb the first mile and felt strange underneath me. I was worried my lack of a warmup would be my undoing but then decided I was already rationalizing during the first mile. I thought I'd run with a group of guys I started with who said they were shooting to break 40. I followed one guy but after a few hundred meters and thought it was too fast. Garmin said 6:01 pace and I backed off. The first mile was 6:19 (avg HR 162 bpm). I guess I was on schedule, but I felt it wasn't quite fast enough given the downhill and that HR is pretty low although I didn't look at HR at all at this point.
 
At around the first mile marker I pulled along side a woman and ran with her. Young guys go out like idiots. Always better to pace off a woman or an older guy. We ran side-by-side had a really good groove, splitting apart to pass folks and then rejoining. The middle miles are always tough and it's tempting to slow down with the folks who went out too fast. The next 2 miles went easily in 6:17/178 bpm and 6:19/183 bpm. I passed the 5k marker at 19:32.
 
I was checking flags on the tops of buildings and the wind was about at our 4 o'clock but at times it was in our faces for a short time (gusts? buildings?) but most of the time you didn't notice it, which meant it was at our backs.
 
You hit the bottom of the hills shortly after 5k and start some long climbs that you can see from a long way out. They're pretty gradual, but with a few short steep sections. I'm not sure if any of the miles are net uphill, but there are definitely some hills. I decide to stick with my running partner even though it meant upping the effort. We ran another 6:20 for the fourth mile even though the precipitous downhill had stopped. My heart rate averaged 185 and was 187 at the end of the mile. This was the first time I think I checked my HRM. At the top of a hill early in the 5th mile, I felt my heart in my throat a bit and paused to catch my breath while she accelerated on the downhill and created a little gap. I started to try and go with her, but worried about redlining. She paused a little and looked back, kinda waiting for me, but I figured I had sub-40 in the bag unless I blew up and thought going with her might mean blowing up, so I played it "safe" and let her go. The next mile was 6:32/184. At this point, I knew I had it. I figured I still had 25 seconds on the bank and mile 5 was faster than I expected -- basically as good as the (more) downhill 6:20s. Mile 6 was another 6:32/184 and I ran the last (seriously downhill) 0.2 at 5:43/186 and came in at 39:35. I saw my escort at the finish and she finished in 39-low, so she basically even split the race. I saw the early speed demon at the finish and he said he went out in 6:04, but held on to finish in front of me. Great race. Even effort. Hardly got passed that I recall and finished <40.
 
Giving it another shot on a flat loop course on 7 May.

Runninlaw · Apr 20, 2011

Congrats again, Greg! Sounds like you ran a very smart race. I still don't know how you wear an HRM in races. I guess you'd get used to it, but I know it would freak me out. <img alt="rolleyes.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/rolleyes.gif" style="width:16px;height:16px;">
 
Sub-40 is pretty amazing and I know you've been working for it for a long time. Nice to see you smash it by 25 seconds!
 
Bob and Jen both did great in Boston. I believe Bob pulled off a negative split, which is pretty darn impressive on that course. I haven't heard how Loopy or Ileneforward did. Sounds like awesome conditions out there!
 
Greg - also thanks for the kudos on the 5K/long run combo. I have done that 3 times this season (the first 2 being 10K then 20 or 18). It isn't easy and it has meant my long runs have been a little slower, but I am hoping it translates into something positive. We shall see.

CMJHawk86 · Apr 20, 2011

<div class="quote-container">Quote:
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by Runninlaw <a href="/forum/thread/73514/spring-trainers-week-of-april-11#post_1995658"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a> 
Bob and Jen both did great in Boston. I believe Bob pulled off a negative split, which is pretty darn impressive on that course. I haven't heard how Loopy or Ileneforward did. Sounds like awesome conditions out there!
 
 
</div>
</div>
 
Loopy ran a 2:54.
 
Nice racing, Greg! I've been chasing a sub-40 10k for a while...haven't really raced enough of them to call it a vigorous chase however. I did MCM 10k last fall in 40:45 as a final NYC Marathon tuneup. Seems every time I run a 10k it's part of training for something else.

gregw · Apr 21, 2011

<div class="quote-container">Quote:
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by CMJHawk86 <a href="/forum/thread/73514/spring-trainers-week-of-april-11#post_1995719"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a> 
Seems every time I run a 10k it's part of training for something else. 
 
</div>
</div>
 
There aren't a lot of 10ks period. Lots of them were shortened to 8ks. I really had to look around. Before all these recent sub-40 attempts, I'd run more marathons than 10ks. (Actually, it might still be the case.)

Mailbox Head · Apr 21, 2011

I hate to tell you this Greg- but don't you know that net downhill- point to point courses don't count in the record books?
 
Just kidding- that was an awesome effort, and you blew that sub 40 barrier away by a ton. 
 
Nice weeks for everyone else too this week. I'm not shocked that Bob negative split Boston- I think I remember him saying that was his general strategy for the course a few years back when he sub 3'd the first time there. Loopy's awesome run was no surprise either- he's robot-like in his training consistency. Jen's training is very impressive too, so I was expecting a great race from her.
 
 
Last week was ok for me, but a little short on miles. Only got 48 in, but it did include a few double digit runs and a quasi "speed" workout to get a little life back in my legs. (I can't really classify anything I do these days as speed.)

gregw · Apr 21, 2011

<div class="quote-container">Quote:
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by Mailbox Head <a href="/forum/thread/73514/spring-trainers-week-of-april-11#post_1995896"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a> I hate to tell you this Greg- but don't you know that net downhill- point to point courses don't count in the record books?
</div>
</div>
 
Does this mean the IAAF won't ratify my sub-40? <img alt="smile.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/smile.gif">

bhearn · Apr 25, 2011

Nice racing, Mindi and Greg! Greg, big congrats on the sub-40. Is that a PR? (My first attempt at sub-40, I ran 40:00.00. Took another couple of years to actually go under!)
 
I had a blast at Boston -- ran 2:58:41, with about a minute negative split. I think I've got this course down cold now. This is my 5th consecutive negative split there.
 
I'm considering trying for another sub-3 at Vancouver next weekend. I'll have to see how my recovery goes. Alas, we won't have that net-downhill course, with a constant tailwind!

gregw · Apr 25, 2011

<div class="quote-container">Quote:
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by bhearn <a href="/forum/thread/73514/spring-trainers-week-of-april-11#post_1996349"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a> Nice racing, Mindi and Greg! Greg, big congrats on the sub-40. Is that a PR? (My first attempt at sub-40, I ran 40:00.00. Took another couple of years to actually go under!)
 
</div>
</div>
 
Yes, that was a PR and my first sub-40. I remember your 40:00.00 from the coolrunning goal thread. I actually started a sub-40 in 2010 goal thread on Runningahead, but failed to make it (which is a faux pas, I think). Congrats on yet another sub-3 at Boston, oh master of the negative split! I have only one marathon negative split on my resume and it's my PR, so maybe that should tell me something.

Spring Trainers - week of April 11

Top Contributors this Month