Finally got around to doing the Wed run today. A bit chilly here in upstate NY at the folks house (20 degrees), but it's a much more comfy than the bone chilling Boston cold. Intervals are much harder when your feet are slipping from underneath you on snowy roads, but I got them done. I'm worried about tomorrow as I'm doing the Sunday run---back to back threshold runs won't be fun, but it's time to man up.
So I'm hacking the OS now for a little bit of run focus ... meaning 3x1mi on Wednesday and 4x1 today. First interval was pretty hard but after that everything worked just perfectly. Felt strong until the end and outperformed all 4 repeats by a few seconds.
Great run along the Paint Creek Trail in Rochester, Michigan. 2x1.5 at 6:50 and 6:45 pace (vs 6:51 target) after the standard EN warm-up with strides. Finished off with 1 mile and 0.75 mile at Z2-3 pace. Wasn't able to fuel this wko and felt a difference in mood (runners high came later than previous) but not really in performance. Turkey shuffle complete, so back to the schedule tomorrow. Hope everyone had a great holiday!
Just realized I posted this in Week 4. Oooopps. Would help to know what week I'm in....
Manchester road race today. Nice little jaunt in the 20's with 15k of my closest friends. Obviously not ideal conditions for running your best but I did the best I could and had fun. Last time I did the race was in '09 so I was able to beat that time by about 8mins for the 4.7 mi course.
My Z4 target pace is 9:47. Here are the splits from the "race":
Howdy all, I have been able to stick to the game plan this week and did my run hack run today (Wed run of 4x1). Things went much smoother than on Wednesday as the temp had climbed all the way to 23 with no wind to speak of. I hit the paces and then some despite a good case of soreness from the annual football game where the family continues to prove that we are only getting older and older. Except me of course, I stay the same age. Have a great black Friday all.
@Kim - you improved "8mins for the 4.7 mi course'? That is about 1min 42 sec per mile faster! That is awesome - talk about work works!
Glad to see there are others out there getting this work in! Still doing my run focus, but haven't built up to a point where I can do Wednesday's killer workout on Friday yet like Scott or Stefan. So, I am still doing the run part of the Saturday brick on Friday. It is working as I am getting faster and not injured - so until I plateau, this will be my plan.
Got in a 5.25mi run in at a 8:28/mi pace and now it is time to kick back!
Crap. My wife just informed me that she works sunday and we dont have a babysitter, so that means my run has to be finished before she leaves for work at 6am. NOT looking forward to a 4AM wakeup.
Crap. My wife just informed me that she works sunday and we dont have a babysitter, so that means my run has to be finished before she leaves for work at 6am. NOT looking forward to a 4AM wakeup.
Hey Steve - just as long as you don't spend any SAUs! We are supposed to come out of this on the plus side and one workout won't break an OS!
My Wednesday run was also transformed into a Turkey Trot. 39:03 for a 8k. Still not where I want to be, but going in the right direction! Then I ate about 3x the calories burned!
I really have to question the EN approach to running! I did a turkey half marathon here in Atlanta on Thursday. Vdot said to I could run a 1:50:59. I never have been able to equate the longer vdots to the short vdots and just scoffed at the thought of running a 1:50. Due to a bunch of surgeries caused by being hit by a motorcycle while on my bicycle in 2010 the start of OS was really my first running with any type of consistency in years. I could not remember running a half in over three years. I have not run outside in over a year. Even all the OS has been on the treadmill.
I read the RNP advice for running the half. I started out dead on at 15 seconds slower the first three miles then 5 seconds faster the next 7 and then ran the last 5k as best I could. I ran the race darn near EXACTLY AS RNP prescribed and ended up with a gun time of 1:50:59 and a chip time of 1:50:53 Gun time dead on to my vdot and chip time 6 seconds under. It was a rolling course and the time placed me 2nd in the 55-59 ag loosing first by 1:44. I have never ever had a long vdot equal a long run before in my life. Which includes 18 marathons and lord knows how many half marathons.
4 weeks of OS training and I negative split every mile from 6 on! So I really have to question HOW GOOD this OS stuff is. It is awesome that's how good it is! I have to question HOW GOOD I can get if I just follow the EN Plan!!!! I did the work but RNP are the brains. I cant wait for next season!! Thanks Patrick and Rich and you.... BTW it was 18 degrees for the entire race!
@ Ray ... The cool thing is, in 2 months, you can go even faster, and grab that first place. The combination of focused training and effective race strategy/pacing is almost like cheating, compared to what most people do.
Completed Sunday's run this morning. It was a balmy 16F when I started, but the sun was shining. One thing was learned today (as if I already didn't know), the eating and drinking that continued into last night MUST come to end. My run finally suffered.
63' / 8 miles total 2 x 1.5 (1st one was a bit quick and the 2nd, well not so much but I hung in there) Remainder of time was a punishing Z2 followed by an outright sprint @ Z999 to the bathroom!
Now that my debauchery is officially over, time to get serious again!
Did Sunday run today and legs were not great, but manageable given that I did Wednesday run yesterday. As I write this, my legs are definitely hurting now, so the FTP bike tomorrow should be interesting.
@Ray - Congrats! An inspiring story and great effort!
@Brad - the "spring' is only made by all the layers needed for this winter running
I was very surprised that I had anything left after the bike, but I was very pleased with the results.
Another cold NH day. Started at a pace slightly faster than Z2 and negative split the remaining miles until the end and had a mile and half faster than my Z4. I may have pushed it too much, but it felt "right". Hopefully it feels this good tomorrow.
Did the same thing as Keith in doubling up on the Wed+Sunday scheduled runs the past 2 days. Got in 2x1.5miles at ~6:45 pace and tacked on 2 miles @ Z2 and 2.7 miles @ Z2 + 0:30. Total just shy of 11 miles in ~80 minutes. Looking forward to getting back on the bike tomorrow
I'll add to what Joe posted below about pace planning using EN's plan - it works! I wrote down my race paces/plan and brought it with me today for my first half-marathon run. Missed the +15 for the first mile, thanks to nerves and feeling like my legs weren't really loosened up until mile 3. I've run portions of the course in 5K's, and rode other sections during sprint-distance tris the past two summers; running the bike course is nowhere near as easy as riding it, at least for me - the hills are thanks to the bluffs along the Mississippi River.
Walked 30 steps through the water stations, and popped a Honey Stinger Lemon/Lime just before I got to each one. Went to the farthest away volunteer for water. Stayed in my box, and didn't make any friends, just like Rich and Patrick say - I saw a few people who were, and noticed how the faster runner's pace would slow down to meet the other person's pace.
The Suck stayed away until I was about 10.5 miles into the race, and when it showed up, it embraced me and really sunk it's claws into my hammies and hips. I will admit to walking up the last two hills, and my pace reflects that - I wanted to run the last two miles, but made it through the last mile. The irony is that on the last hill, I had Placebo's version of Running Up That Hill on my Shuffle. After that I pushed myself past the Guthrie Theater, and onto the Old Stone Bridge. When I got to the end, our oldest daughter, her boyfriend and a friend of theirs were waiting for me, and ran the last bit with me across the finish line. EVERYTHING hurts, but it's a good hurt - I'm so happy I did this, and proved to myself that I can, even if I missed my goal of 2:30. Work works is truly that!
Splits:
Mile 1 11:47
Mile 2 11:43
Mile 3 11:34
Mile 4 11:35
Mile 5 11:52
Mile 6 11:35
Mile 7 11:37
Mile 8 11:52
Mile 9 12:09
Mile 10 11:59
Mile 11 11:56
Mile 12 12:38
Mile 13 12:54
On the couch now, ice pack on my right knee, which is swollen a bit. I think there's a glass or two of wine in my future tonight, and a good night's sleep!
Saturday run in the books: 3 miles in 27:17. Surprising how much easier it is mentally to sit in at the Zone 2/3 paces than it was a few weeks ago. Work works!
Continued the turkey week hack and went for a hike with my family in the Siskiyou mountains. It was like summer in the mountains and shortly into the hike up I was down to my T-shirt and jeans. 2.5 mile hike up with 1400 ft of elevation gain and then my daughter, dog and I made the downhill leg a trail run in vibram boots and a backpack. It was great. Tomorrow we'll drive home and I'll have to see how that goes to see if I'll be able to get a bike in.
Sunday run done. 1:28:03, 10:32 min/mi. Hit/beat all my intervals @ 10:02, and the rest of the time at an easy Z2 pace. Feels good to have another week in the bag, although this run was my least favorite. Not because it was the hardest, but being out for your morning run at closing time on a holiday weekend, running past a bar while its closing and everybody gets into their car, is a nerve racking experience. Needless to say, I was quite a bit more alert on my run than I normally am.
Sunday run done. Yuck...little trip to bonkland. Achilles was hurting on the first interval, and the mental cost of holding pace was high, so I straight up bagged it. Dropped to zone 2, and then zone 1, as I caught a turkey-and-stuffing-shaped brick around mile 3.
Trusting RnP that a boogered outseason workout 340 days from my A race won't ruin my season. But that one was a stinker.
Comments
So I'm hacking the OS now for a little bit of run focus ... meaning 3x1mi on Wednesday and 4x1 today. First interval was pretty hard but after that everything worked just perfectly. Felt strong until the end and outperformed all 4 repeats by a few seconds.
Here are the mile splits (my TP is 3:52):
1 - 6:01 / NGP 3:45 / IF 1.03
2 - 6:06 / NGP 3:48 / IF 1.02
3 - 6:04 / NGP 3:42 / IF 1.04
4 - 6:07 / NGP 3:49 / IF 1.01
http://tpks.ws/KwJC
Manchester road race today. Nice little jaunt in the 20's with 15k of my closest friends. Obviously not ideal conditions for running your best but I did the best I could and had fun. Last time I did the race was in '09 so I was able to beat that time by about 8mins for the 4.7 mi course.
My Z4 target pace is 9:47. Here are the splits from the "race":
Mile 1- 11:27
Mile 2- 12:03
Mile 3- 10:15
Mile 4- 9:14
Mile 5- 9:01
Followed by Z2 cleaning and Z3 cooking. Hope everyone had a great thanksgiving!
I have been able to stick to the game plan this week and did my run hack run today (Wed run of 4x1). Things went much smoother than on Wednesday as the temp had climbed all the way to 23 with no wind to speak of. I hit the paces and then some despite a good case of soreness from the annual football game where the family continues to prove that we are only getting older and older. Except me of course, I stay the same age. Have a great black Friday all.
Glad to see there are others out there getting this work in! Still doing my run focus, but haven't built up to a point where I can do Wednesday's killer workout on Friday yet like Scott or Stefan. So, I am still doing the run part of the Saturday brick on Friday. It is working as I am getting faster and not injured - so until I plateau, this will be my plan.
Got in a 5.25mi run in at a 8:28/mi pace and now it is time to kick back!
Paces got 0:19 faster for Z1-2 and 0:15 faster for Z4-5
This run was 4.3 miles in 34 mins, hitting the 3 20 sec strides
Looking forward to tomorrow to get back in track with everyone else
Saturdays workout done early. I went too fast though it was also 18 out so I liked being warm. 40 minutes done. .89 IF
Hey Joe!
I really have to question the EN approach to running! I did a turkey half marathon here in Atlanta on Thursday. Vdot said to I could run a 1:50:59. I never have been able to equate the longer vdots to the short vdots and just scoffed at the thought of running a 1:50. Due to a bunch of surgeries caused by being hit by a motorcycle while on my bicycle in 2010 the start of OS was really my first running with any type of consistency in years. I could not remember running a half in over three years. I have not run outside in over a year. Even all the OS has been on the treadmill.
I read the RNP advice for running the half. I started out dead on at 15 seconds slower the first three miles then 5 seconds faster the next 7 and then ran the last 5k as best I could. I ran the race darn near EXACTLY AS RNP prescribed and ended up with a gun time of 1:50:59 and a chip time of 1:50:53 Gun time dead on to my vdot and chip time 6 seconds under. It was a rolling course and the time placed me 2nd in the 55-59 ag loosing first by 1:44. I have never ever had a long vdot equal a long run before in my life. Which includes 18 marathons and lord knows how many half marathons.
4 weeks of OS training and I negative split every mile from 6 on! So I really have to question HOW GOOD this OS stuff is. It is awesome that's how good it is! I have to question HOW GOOD I can get if I just follow the EN Plan!!!! I did the work but RNP are the brains. I cant wait for next season!! Thanks Patrick and Rich and you.... BTW it was 18 degrees for the entire race!
63' / 8 miles total
2 x 1.5 (1st one was a bit quick and the 2nd, well not so much
Remainder of time was a punishing Z2 followed by an outright sprint @ Z999 to the bathroom!
Now that my debauchery is officially over, time to get serious again!
Woohoo, way to go Ray!
Nice work everyone!!!
Love reading this thread!!!!
@ Elizabeth and Brenda- THANK YOU!!!
@Ray - Congrats! An inspiring story and great effort!
@Brad - the "spring' is only made by all the layers needed for this winter running
I was very surprised that I had anything left after the bike, but I was very pleased with the results.
Another cold NH day. Started at a pace slightly faster than Z2 and negative split the remaining miles until the end and had a mile and half faster than my Z4. I may have pushed it too much, but it felt "right". Hopefully it feels this good tomorrow.
BOOOM (sorry it just deserves this too!!)
I'll add to what Joe posted below about pace planning using EN's plan - it works! I wrote down my race paces/plan and brought it with me today for my first half-marathon run. Missed the +15 for the first mile, thanks to nerves and feeling like my legs weren't really loosened up until mile 3. I've run portions of the course in 5K's, and rode other sections during sprint-distance tris the past two summers; running the bike course is nowhere near as easy as riding it, at least for me - the hills are thanks to the bluffs along the Mississippi River.
Walked 30 steps through the water stations, and popped a Honey Stinger Lemon/Lime just before I got to each one. Went to the farthest away volunteer for water. Stayed in my box, and didn't make any friends, just like Rich and Patrick say - I saw a few people who were, and noticed how the faster runner's pace would slow down to meet the other person's pace.
The Suck stayed away until I was about 10.5 miles into the race, and when it showed up, it embraced me and really sunk it's claws into my hammies and hips. I will admit to walking up the last two hills, and my pace reflects that - I wanted to run the last two miles, but made it through the last mile. The irony is that on the last hill, I had Placebo's version of Running Up That Hill on my Shuffle. After that I pushed myself past the Guthrie Theater, and onto the Old Stone Bridge. When I got to the end, our oldest daughter, her boyfriend and a friend of theirs were waiting for me, and ran the last bit with me across the finish line. EVERYTHING hurts, but it's a good hurt - I'm so happy I did this, and proved to myself that I can, even if I missed my goal of 2:30. Work works is truly that!
Splits:
Mile 1 11:47
Mile 2 11:43
Mile 3 11:34
Mile 4 11:35
Mile 5 11:52
Mile 6 11:35
Mile 7 11:37
Mile 8 11:52
Mile 9 12:09
Mile 10 11:59
Mile 11 11:56
Mile 12 12:38
Mile 13 12:54
On the couch now, ice pack on my right knee, which is swollen a bit. I think there's a glass or two of wine in my future tonight, and a good night's sleep!
http://app.strava.com/activities/97949147/laps
Pumped about tomorrow's slugfest.
Dawn- way to go. Very consistent splits!
I did a 5-ish mile hike with some friends today. 2 1/2 hrs at sleeping giant in Hamden. Not sure how run will go tomorrow...
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/410741617
Trusting RnP that a boogered outseason workout 340 days from my A race won't ruin my season. But that one was a stinker.
http://app.strava.com/activities/98066140
Week 5 finished pretty strong with a nice 15k run at 0°C. Did 3x1mi at IFs of 1.01/1.00/0.99 plus additional 20' at IF of 0.92
Total workout can be found here -> http://tpks.ws/0DHq
Run summary this week:
# of workouts: 5
Total duration: 4:13h
Total distance: 56,7km
Run CTL increased from 42,1 (Monday) to 44,1 (Sunday)
Kind of a raw, crappy day here, although not super cold (34F) First week doing 2 x 1.5mi. Target pace 9:47
1.5 mile @ 9:49 pace
1.5 mile @ 9:33 pace for 1 mile, then 9:16 pace for last .5mi
I deem that a huge success after hiking for 2 1/2 hrs. yesterday!