@ Betsy I am not yet the expert that Chris is, but I couldn't agree more with his advice to chose the Oly over the Half Mary. I don't have much of a chance of competing within my AG in a running event unless I have had the chance to fatigue them with a pre-run swim and bike session!
Got today's run done this morning. It helped my motivation that my lovely wife was just about to start the Shamrock 1/2 in Virginia Beach.
My run was nothing fancy -- just a normal w/u, and then the run as outlined. I did have to cut the 'extra' work short in order to get home for the kids. The RPE for today's run was lower than I expected after yesterday's bike. So that is a good thing.
So I did a belated 5k test today. Not any improvement (actually slower) but that's mostly because as I was running I realized, I just don't care. I know, that's not good but I just couldn't suffer enough. Avg HR was 165, max 173 vs. test in Dec. avg 171 w/ max of 177. (Strava suffer score was 57 today vs. 100 in Dec.) So I'll spin this as a positive and say I am getting fitter. Def haven't gotten much mileage in this year aside from MS for the runs. Just keep waiting to be able to get outside. Guess those extra miles aren't just "junk"...
Not sure why I don't care. Maybe it is cuz it is an IM year and although 5k speed is the fast before the far, it is less important to me. Maybe I just gave up because I knew I wasn't going to beat my PR from last year but it is what it is.
@Chris and Robert-thanks for the advice. Makes my life easy as I'm already signed up for the tri, it's in my roadmap, and the half Mary has the potential to be a hot road race with minimal shade. I also don't care too much about maintaining my current HMP as I do durability for the run after bike, so better to practice that!
So, after saying the above, I did get a 10k in a few weeks ago and a 5k today. The 10k was on a Saturday after a rest day, felt like a PR as I averaged z4 pace. Today's race was only a few seconds slower than last 5k test, and was after the full training day yesterday. I paced differently today, trying to increase the overall pace: last test, neg split each mile by 15s. Today, neg split each by 3-4s, but started out faster. Good enough for 3rd overall but you have to understand this really was a Susan G Komen 'Tri for the Cure' and the majority of women (some local elites) did the mini tri (like I was the only 5k runner in my age group-LOL!).
Betsy - just to be clear from my standpoint, the taper and half mary have a big picture purpose. Not sure if you caught the podcast from last week. [Yep, Week 10 podcast] P is looking for a half mary so we can see how close or far off our longer race zones are compared to what we've been training with. This half mary is, IMO, the start of the long distance application after the 14 weeks of shorter/harder wko's.
So, corporate would have me say that the half mary should have priority.
But,
1. You've already paid for the oly.
2. Don't know about you, but, tri's are super fun. And, I'm kindof in this thing for fun. And, I would do the oly, too.
@Betsy sorry if I gave you bad advice, I'd listen to @Chris over myself anyday. I was just trying to be social and throw my 2 cents in. I have a favorite half marry of mine, very flat out and back course that I have a hard time turning down, but on any given day I'd rather do an Oly instead. Some day soon as my knee finally wears out I will probably become an aqua biker, so don't listen to me about avoiding a run.
Finally had a good run. Since the spring break ski trip, I have just had no mojo and dead legs and blah blah blah....
Tonight felt great. Had planned on 9-10 miles, but did 11 (my favorite running song came on right as I was at 10.5 miles so I just kept running!)
11miles in 1:30 (which I don't think I've ever done before, as I don't do many run only races), with 2miles Z3, 2x1 Z4, and then a couple at Z2. Wish I could've bottled it for next time....
Nice Jeff. That is moving. I got the main set of the run in but then had to call it off. I've been fighting with some sort of bug all week and I was suffering so at 8mi I just shut it down.
Like Jimmy, I had planned on 9/10 mile run. However SAU came in to play after my ride yesterday. Hubs went to the tournament to see VA get knocked out, and I was on the TM. Got 6.5 in before having to hop off and cook for supper club. Per Coach P, I'm going to try and get 2x90' runs in a week for the next couple of weeks to get my legs ready for a 13.1 on April 11.
I still think my treadmill is off by a minute but at least the runs are consistent.
So, heres my lame run update....Thursday brick didn't happen because someone got serious gut trouble post lunch. Yeah, so no run.
I had a great run after a swim with EN'rs Yvette and Terese at my local LTF with another couple threshold miles on Friday. With the 5k on Sunday, that put me at 9 miles of TH for the week!
Saturday I bricked at a fast pace with my EN sister Cathleen after 2 hours in the saddle.
Sunday I was up at 4:30am (for no stinking reason!) and planned to run in early afternoon when it had warmed up a bit, but I got another bad round of stomach cramps. I actually got completely dressed thinking I'd run at the local metro park where I know all the potty spots, laid down "for just a minute" and woke up about an hour later and pulled the plug on running. Ate bland and drank lots of water the rest of the day and did some stuff for the move here at home.
I usually take today off from running, but will run with the group after run mechanics tonight if my stomach is more accommodating. Nice work on the long stuff everyone. I'm jealous!
Finished off the week with a sprint tri. I hit the bike hard and which may have taken a chunk out of my run pacing.
2.91 mi in 23:12, with :31 in transition time. Moving time was 22:41 or 7:47 pacing overall.
I was shooting for under 21:00, but it just wasn't happening. I managed to get the pace down to 7:00 for the last 3', though it wasn't easy. Great exercise in mental toughness on pushing harder when it hurts and to keep going when my body wanted to stop. One minute faster than last year's time.
Went shoe shopping for the wife and daughter afterwards. Managed to score a pair of Clifton's for myself in the process.
Week 11 wrap-up. No time for daily posting and even my uploading has been delayed and batched in some cases. The week didn't go as planned although less for physiological reasons and more due to my absurd work schedule.
Monday-Wednesday were half-marathon recovery, running-wise. I will admit that the DOMS was more than expected or desired, especially given the result of the race. But as they say "it is what it is" and I played the recovery period more conservatively than usual due to not wanting to risk more injuries. In total I ended up with only 30 miles and 3 runs, but there was only one missed 10-miler and I exited the week feeing good. The next 2 weeks upcoming will be the real test as I have 2x 50-mile weeks and long runs of 18 miles each. I really need to nail these two weeks!!
On Thursday I did my first run. Overall 9 mi averaging 6:40/mi. I was planning 10 mi with hard LT intervals but within a minute of starting the first interval I could tell there was some tightness in my right hamstring that I was immediately worried about injuring with a too-hard push. So I cut the interval after a half-mile at 6:02/mi pace and instead did the rest of the run at between MP and HMP, essentially 6:35-6:45/mi over varied terrain. My hamstring was tight but not too bad. Same with adductor that has been bothering me for several weeks now. Overall I was pleased with the run. https://connect.garmin.com/activity/724150862
Saturday was my first "long run" in 6 weeks. Overall 16 mi averaging 7:07/mi. I was a bit apprehensive heading into this one since I know that nailing 3-4 weeks of volume and long runs is critical if I am to show up at the start line in Boston. I met up with a buddy with whom I hadn't run in about a year and a half and who is undergoing his own injury (surgery) recovery. This was intentional since I wanted my pace to be kept in-check. We ran around 7:00/mi pace with a nice tailwind to start, then about 7:30 into the teeth of the headwind on the return. Then we went our separate ways and I did the last ~4.5 miles on my own about 30 sec/mi faster. At the end I wasn't sore and no injuries…EXCELLENT! https://connect.garmin.com/activity/725401752
Sunday I did a 5 mi recovery run in the morning averaging 6:48/mi. I was not feeling any residual impact from the long run which was super-encouraging. On the other hand, with half a mile to go I felt a strange left Achilles tweak, uggh. That was sore the rest of the day and I iced it twice. Writing this on Tuesday as I get ready for my first run since Sunday (and a hard workout) I am a bit nervous about that one…….. https://connect.garmin.com/activity/726264963
Finally on Sunday afternoon I knocked out another ABP ride on the bike. This one was 75' with MS of 2x29'(3') @ 0.89 and 0.93. A nice and hard effort. https://connect.garmin.com/activity/726821143
Comments
My run was nothing fancy -- just a normal w/u, and then the run as outlined. I did have to cut the 'extra' work short in order to get home for the kids. The RPE for today's run was lower than I expected after yesterday's bike. So that is a good thing.
Not sure why I don't care. Maybe it is cuz it is an IM year and although 5k speed is the fast before the far, it is less important to me. Maybe I just gave up because I knew I wasn't going to beat my PR from last year but it is what it is.
So, after saying the above, I did get a 10k in a few weeks ago and a 5k today. The 10k was on a Saturday after a rest day, felt like a PR as I averaged z4 pace. Today's race was only a few seconds slower than last 5k test, and was after the full training day yesterday. I paced differently today, trying to increase the overall pace: last test, neg split each mile by 15s. Today, neg split each by 3-4s, but started out faster. Good enough for 3rd overall but you have to understand this really was a Susan G Komen 'Tri for the Cure' and the majority of women (some local elites) did the mini tri (like I was the only 5k runner in my age group-LOL!).
So, corporate would have me say that the half mary should have priority.
But,
1. You've already paid for the oly.
2. Don't know about you, but, tri's are super fun. And, I'm kindof in this thing for fun. And, I would do the oly, too.
Does this make sense?
Finally had a good run. Since the spring break ski trip, I have just had no mojo and dead legs and blah blah blah....
Tonight felt great. Had planned on 9-10 miles, but did 11 (my favorite running song came on right as I was at 10.5 miles so I just kept running!)
11miles in 1:30 (which I don't think I've ever done before, as I don't do many run only races), with 2miles Z3, 2x1 Z4, and then a couple at Z2. Wish I could've bottled it for next time....
http://home.trainingpeaks.com/athlete/workout/FV32VGDEL6YRFY4IISQXWGNOWI
I got the main set of the run in but then had to call it off. I've been fighting with some sort of bug all week and I was suffering so at 8mi I just shut it down.
Like Jimmy, I had planned on 9/10 mile run. However SAU came in to play after my ride yesterday. Hubs went to the tournament to see VA get knocked out, and I was on the TM. Got 6.5 in before having to hop off and cook for supper club. Per Coach P, I'm going to try and get 2x90' runs in a week for the next couple of weeks to get my legs ready for a 13.1 on April 11.
I still think my treadmill is off by a minute but at least the runs are consistent.
Onward!
I had a great run after a swim with EN'rs Yvette and Terese at my local LTF with another couple threshold miles on Friday. With the 5k on Sunday, that put me at 9 miles of TH for the week!
Saturday I bricked at a fast pace with my EN sister Cathleen after 2 hours in the saddle.
Sunday I was up at 4:30am (for no stinking reason!) and planned to run in early afternoon when it had warmed up a bit, but I got another bad round of stomach cramps. I actually got completely dressed thinking I'd run at the local metro park where I know all the potty spots, laid down "for just a minute" and woke up about an hour later and pulled the plug on running. Ate bland and drank lots of water the rest of the day and did some stuff for the move here at home.
I usually take today off from running, but will run with the group after run mechanics tonight if my stomach is more accommodating. Nice work on the long stuff everyone. I'm jealous!
2.91 mi in 23:12, with :31 in transition time. Moving time was 22:41 or 7:47 pacing overall.
I was shooting for under 21:00, but it just wasn't happening. I managed to get the pace down to 7:00 for the last 3', though it wasn't easy. Great exercise in mental toughness on pushing harder when it hurts and to keep going when my body wanted to stop. One minute faster than last year's time.
Went shoe shopping for the wife and daughter afterwards. Managed to score a pair of Clifton's for myself in the process.
Monday-Wednesday were half-marathon recovery, running-wise. I will admit that the DOMS was more than expected or desired, especially given the result of the race. But as they say "it is what it is" and I played the recovery period more conservatively than usual due to not wanting to risk more injuries. In total I ended up with only 30 miles and 3 runs, but there was only one missed 10-miler and I exited the week feeing good. The next 2 weeks upcoming will be the real test as I have 2x 50-mile weeks and long runs of 18 miles each. I really need to nail these two weeks!!
I did do a hard 75' FTP session on the bike on Tuesday including 3x12'(4') @ 1.02, 1.02 and 1.03. https://connect.garmin.com/activity/723114677
On Thursday I did my first run. Overall 9 mi averaging 6:40/mi. I was planning 10 mi with hard LT intervals but within a minute of starting the first interval I could tell there was some tightness in my right hamstring that I was immediately worried about injuring with a too-hard push. So I cut the interval after a half-mile at 6:02/mi pace and instead did the rest of the run at between MP and HMP, essentially 6:35-6:45/mi over varied terrain. My hamstring was tight but not too bad. Same with adductor that has been bothering me for several weeks now. Overall I was pleased with the run. https://connect.garmin.com/activity/724150862
Friday I knocked out another trainer ride, 60' ABP with 22'(2'), 22' @ .086 and 0.90. https://connect.garmin.com/activity/725406434
Saturday was my first "long run" in 6 weeks. Overall 16 mi averaging 7:07/mi. I was a bit apprehensive heading into this one since I know that nailing 3-4 weeks of volume and long runs is critical if I am to show up at the start line in Boston. I met up with a buddy with whom I hadn't run in about a year and a half and who is undergoing his own injury (surgery) recovery. This was intentional since I wanted my pace to be kept in-check. We ran around 7:00/mi pace with a nice tailwind to start, then about 7:30 into the teeth of the headwind on the return. Then we went our separate ways and I did the last ~4.5 miles on my own about 30 sec/mi faster. At the end I wasn't sore and no injuries…EXCELLENT! https://connect.garmin.com/activity/725401752
Sunday I did a 5 mi recovery run in the morning averaging 6:48/mi. I was not feeling any residual impact from the long run which was super-encouraging. On the other hand, with half a mile to go I felt a strange left Achilles tweak, uggh. That was sore the rest of the day and I iced it twice. Writing this on Tuesday as I get ready for my first run since Sunday (and a hard workout) I am a bit nervous about that one…….. https://connect.garmin.com/activity/726264963
Finally on Sunday afternoon I knocked out another ABP ride on the bike. This one was 75' with MS of 2x29'(3') @ 0.89 and 0.93. A nice and hard effort. https://connect.garmin.com/activity/726821143