Ran a 10k in June (5 Viewers)

[sho nuff]

Day 4, week 2 of Pfitz 18/55...13 miles with 8 at marathon pace.

75/70 to start, 82/71 when I finished...yeah...pretty much suckage weather wise today. Full sun, no breeze.

Still figuring out what pace I will really run for this as anything over 16 miles is completely uncharted territory for me.

My best half, I averaged 8:43/mile. I set my pace for now at 9:20-9:30/mile.

Ended up getting through 12.5 of this with the 8 pace miles. In that last half mile my stomach was giving me issues and I was pretty close to the house...it got nasty once I got to the bathroom.

First 3 miles at 10:25 avg.

Next 8 at:

9:35

9:20

9:19

9:19

9:22

9:32

9:16

9:28

Those miles really felt pretty good til the last half of the last one with a decent hill got to me a bit and I think the stomach urge really started there...

Overall Im pretty happy with it...had to get that last .5 miles in there to get to 34.5 which is a new distance PR for a week for me.

 

[sho nuff]

Total time 2:01:45, 11:06 aver pace, new distance PR for a run and for the week (27.5). I'm going to bed

Nice run and congrats on those distance PRs.Bed though? Sissy...or lucky...can't figure out which.I get to tidy up the house for both of my sisters in law to come to go to see Barry Manilow with my wife tonight. Oh, and 2 of my nieces who are coming to watch my kids tonight so I can go see the Dark Knight Rises.

 

[beer 302]

Total time 2:01:45, 11:06 aver pace, new distance PR for a run and for the week (27.5). I'm going to bed

Nice run and congrats on those distance PRs.Bed though? Sissy...or lucky...can't figure out which.I get to tidy up the house for both of my sisters in law to come to go to see Barry Manilow with my wife tonight. Oh, and 2 of my nieces who are coming to watch my kids tonight so I can go see the Dark Knight Rises.

The family sleeps in on Saturday as I used to do before this stupid running thing took hold. So I decompress, get rehydrated, eat a little bit and then grab some quality nap time until one of them gets up (which was 10 am). I cleaned up the kitchen, had some coffee and now I'm off to start my day. Don't be a hater Nice run btw, that's about where I would like to be at some point. Those times look a lot like some of mine, just not 8 of them in a row. . .yet

 

[sho nuff]

Total time 2:01:45, 11:06 aver pace, new distance PR for a run and for the week (27.5). I'm going to bed

Nice run and congrats on those distance PRs.Bed though? Sissy...or lucky...can't figure out which.I get to tidy up the house for both of my sisters in law to come to go to see Barry Manilow with my wife tonight. Oh, and 2 of my nieces who are coming to watch my kids tonight so I can go see the Dark Knight Rises.

The family sleeps in on Saturday as I used to do before this stupid running thing took hold. So I decompress, get rehydrated, eat a little bit and then grab some quality nap time until one of them gets up (which was 10 am). I cleaned up the kitchen, had some coffee and now I'm off to start my day. Don't be a hater Nice run btw, that's about where I would like to be at some point. Those times look a lot like some of mine, just not 8 of them in a row. . .yet

Again...lucky. My son was up before I left the house to tell me bye...then climbed into bed with my wife. They are up no later than 7. During the week its been 6-6:30.Id lay 1000-1 odds that come Wednesday when I have to start getting him up for school again...he will be dead asleep at 6:30 when I go in there to wake him up and he will complain about it. To which my reply will be "you had all Summer to sleep in...suck it up buttercup" or just a plain "HTFU"

 

[tri-man 47]

Good runs, guys. I finished my 14 miles with Squishy, aka gruecd, who sweats a lot and ends up with sweaty shoes that "squish." It was a very comfortable 14 miles along a paved trail, 8:06 pace, 153 HR for me. We had a nice chance to talk and catch up on things during the run.

 

[Ned]

This is a habit you need to break. You should be doing almost no regular running at half-marathon pace, but that's WAY closer to "tempo" pace than it is to "long run" pace. I know it's counterintuitive, but over time you will gain more speed by doing your long runs slow than by doing them fast.

Ok coach(s) just finished up the 11 miles scheduled for today. Suck factor remained a constant balmy 144 throughout which is typically what I run in so it wasn't too bad. In an effort to follow everyone's advice I turned the #####-in-the-box off this morning and just listened to music the whole way. I checked time, distance and pace a few time throughout but pretty much just settled into a comfortable pace and ran. Felt good the whole way, beautiful morning sunrise, got all my prayers done HR was pretty steady at 148 which is around 86% of max. Need to go back and see if that's too high or wher I need to be. Splits below:1-10:102-10:383-10:364-11:105-11:326-11:397-11:298-11:129-11:3210-11:2011-10:49Total time 2:01:45, 11:06 aver pace, new distance PR for a run and for the week (27.5). I'm going to bed

Nice job on the distance PR! 86% of max HR is Lactate Threshold range (LT). Being that it was a comfortable pace, your max HR is a lot higher than 172. For long runs, you want to be <75% max HR.

 

[Ned]

Day 4, week 2 of Pfitz 18/55...13 miles with 8 at marathon pace.75/70 to start, 82/71 when I finished...yeah...pretty much suckage weather wise today. Full sun, no breeze.Still figuring out what pace I will really run for this as anything over 16 miles is completely uncharted territory for me.My best half, I averaged 8:43/mile. I set my pace for now at 9:20-9:30/mile.Ended up getting through 12.5 of this with the 8 pace miles. In that last half mile my stomach was giving me issues and I was pretty close to the house...it got nasty once I got to the bathroom. First 3 miles at 10:25 avg.Next 8 at:9:359:209:199:199:229:329:169:28Those miles really felt pretty good til the last half of the last one with a decent hill got to me a bit and I think the stomach urge really started there...Overall Im pretty happy with it...had to get that last .5 miles in there to get to 34.5 which is a new distance PR for a week for me.

Dang, look at you go. That's a fast MP run in that heat. That's right on target for a 4:05-4:10.And you were whining about being one of the slow guys?

 

[Ned]

Day 5, week 2 Pfitz 18/70 - 5mi Recovery

One word - miserable. 84/74 made for a terrible recovery run. Being squishy (I feel your pain, grue) after just 5 mi is ridiculous. Walked twice to keep the HR down as best as I could, but still managed to go a little over recovery range (<137). 10:48/140

 

[prosopis]

This is a habit you need to break. You should be doing almost no regular running at half-marathon pace, but that's WAY closer to "tempo" pace than it is to "long run" pace. I know it's counterintuitive, but over time you will gain more speed by doing your long runs slow than by doing them fast.

Ok coach(s) just finished up the 11 miles scheduled for today. Suck factor remained a constant balmy 144 throughout which is typically what I run in so it wasn't too bad. In an effort to follow everyone's advice I turned the #####-in-the-box off this morning and just listened to music the whole way. I checked time, distance and pace a few time throughout but pretty much just settled into a comfortable pace and ran. Felt good the whole way, beautiful morning sunrise, got all my prayers done HR was pretty steady at 148 which is around 86% of max. Need to go back and see if that's too high or wher I need to be. Splits below:1-10:102-10:383-10:364-11:105-11:326-11:397-11:298-11:129-11:3210-11:2011-10:49Total time 2:01:45, 11:06 aver pace, new distance PR for a run and for the week (27.5). I'm going to bed

congrats on the new PR. Nice run

 

[Ned]

Where's PSL?

 

[prosopis]

Good runs, guys. I finished my 14 miles with Squishy, aka gruecd, who sweats a lot and ends up with sweaty shoes that "squish." It was a very comfortable 14 miles along a paved trail, 8:06 pace, 153 HR for me. We had a nice chance to talk and catch up on things during the run.

WTF, You guys are to good.

 

[prosopis]

Nice runs for shonuff and ned.

Shonuff that is getting pretty fast.

Ned- have you done the Pfitz plan before? I tried it last year and I was unsuccessful. It about killed me mentally

 

[prosopis]

I got 10 sweaty miles in this am. This 10 miles was very special to me. I had some really good friends who moved from AZ 20 years ago. When they left they had a four year old daughter with them. Today I ran ten miles with her. Unbelievable that last I saw her she was four and now she is a three time marathoner and has run several halfs. It was a FANTASTIC run. We got to talk and I heard all about her life. I am actually feeling emotional now. I am a sissy

Any way we did 10 miles at 10:38 pace. It was 80 out with about 80% humidity so we were soaked by the end.

 

[sho nuff]

Good runs, guys. I finished my 14 miles with Squishy, aka gruecd, who sweats a lot and ends up with sweaty shoes that "squish." It was a very comfortable 14 miles along a paved trail, 8:06 pace, 153 HR for me. We had a nice chance to talk and catch up on things during the run.

Hah...I know that sound from sweaty shoes.Mine were more sloshy than squishy after today's run.

 

[sho nuff]

Day 4, week 2 of Pfitz 18/55...13 miles with 8 at marathon pace.75/70 to start, 82/71 when I finished...yeah...pretty much suckage weather wise today. Full sun, no breeze.Still figuring out what pace I will really run for this as anything over 16 miles is completely uncharted territory for me.My best half, I averaged 8:43/mile. I set my pace for now at 9:20-9:30/mile.Ended up getting through 12.5 of this with the 8 pace miles. In that last half mile my stomach was giving me issues and I was pretty close to the house...it got nasty once I got to the bathroom. First 3 miles at 10:25 avg.Next 8 at:9:359:209:199:199:229:329:169:28Those miles really felt pretty good til the last half of the last one with a decent hill got to me a bit and I think the stomach urge really started there...Overall Im pretty happy with it...had to get that last .5 miles in there to get to 34.5 which is a new distance PR for a week for me.

Dang, look at you go. That's a fast MP run in that heat. That's right on target for a 4:05-4:10.And you were whining about being one of the slow guys?

Well, doing 8 miles in that...and 26.2 is a different story right now. And Im sure if I had my new HR monitor (which came today after the run) I probably should have slowed it down. But it was feeling pretty good at the time. Til the stomach of course...and bad, all I could think of was the words "rocket poop" while finishing the run.Still finding my true pace for 26.2. Hopefully this heat training does pay off...and the hills I run as Memphis is much flatter and by December, much cooler.

 

[sho nuff]

Yeah...seriously going to invest in a shoe dryer.

Helps that I pull the liners out of them after every run and almost unlace them to let them dry out.

I rotate 3-4 pairs of shoes during the week anyway so they have time to air out as much as possible before the next run.

 

[tri-man 47]

I got 10 sweaty miles in this am. This 10 miles was very special to me. I had some really good friends who moved from AZ 20 years ago. When they left they had a four year old daughter with them. Today I ran ten miles with her. Unbelievable that last I saw her she was four and now she is a three time marathoner and has run several halfs. It was a FANTASTIC run. We got to talk and I heard all about her life. I am actually feeling emotional now. I am a sissy

Any way we did 10 miles at 10:38 pace. It was 80 out with about 80% humidity so we were soaked by the end.

Different pacing, but listen to you! You're not just running 10 miles, but doing so while catching up on things with a new/old friend. I won't even spoil the mood by asking if she looked good all sweated up.

 

[Sand]

Different pacing, but listen to you! You're not just running 10 miles, but doing so while catching up on things with a new/old friend. I won't even spoil the mood by asking if she looked good all sweated up.

You know that's someone's daughter, guy.

Yeah...seriously going to invest in a shoe dryer.

Helps that I pull the liners out of them after every run and almost unlace them to let them dry out.

I rotate 3-4 pairs of shoes during the week anyway so they have time to air out as much as possible before the next run.

This is what I have. Works in a couple hours to dry shoes and really helps with any odor, as well. I put my cycling gloves and kid's shoes on there all the time, just to drive out funk.

----

Took the new bike out on a long ride today. Pretty good ride. Set a new 10 minute power record at 295 watts. A pittance compared to the good bikers in here, but I'll take it!

 

[beer 302]

Nice job on the distance PR! 86% of max HR is Lactate Threshold range (LT). Being that it was a comfortable pace, your max HR is a lot higher than 172. For long runs, you want to be <75% max HR.

I was kind of afraid of that. I need to go back and read through that chapter in Advanced Marathoning and come up with some good numbers. Thanks

I got 10 sweaty miles in this am. This 10 miles was very special to me. I had some really good friends who moved from AZ 20 years ago. When they left they had a four year old daughter with them. Today I ran ten miles with her. Unbelievable that last I saw her she was four and now she is a three time marathoner and has run several halfs. It was a FANTASTIC run. We got to talk and I heard all about her life. I am actually feeling emotional now. I am a sissy Any way we did 10 miles at 10:38 pace. It was 80 out with about 80% humidity so we were soaked by the end.

Saw that on FB, pretty cool moment

 

[Prince Myshkin]

6 miles this morning...a new personal best. it's amazing the difference that a slight drop in temperature/humidity/dew point can make.

 

[IvanKaramazov]

6 miles this morning...a new personal best. it's amazing the difference that a slight drop in temperature/humidity/dew point can make.

Nice!

 

[Ned]

Nice job on the distance PR! 86% of max HR is Lactate Threshold range (LT). Being that it was a comfortable pace, your max HR is a lot higher than 172. For long runs, you want to be <75% max HR.

I was kind of afraid of that. I need to go back and read through that chapter in Advanced Marathoning and come up with some good numbers. Thanks

I got 10 sweaty miles in this am. This 10 miles was very special to me. I had some really good friends who moved from AZ 20 years ago. When they left they had a four year old daughter with them. Today I ran ten miles with her. Unbelievable that last I saw her she was four and now she is a three time marathoner and has run several halfs. It was a FANTASTIC run. We got to talk and I heard all about her life. I am actually feeling emotional now. I am a sissy Any way we did 10 miles at 10:38 pace. It was 80 out with about 80% humidity so we were soaked by the end.

Saw that on FB, pretty cool moment

on the pic, prosopis. I also echo tri's comments. You've come a long way!On the HR.... If you don't know your real max, I wouldn't worry about the training ranges right now. Just keep doin' what you're doin' (slow comfortable pace) and collect the data. You'll start to see some trends where the HR starts to correlate to your pacing and how you feel. When you're ready, jump in a few 5Ks and hammer the snot out of them. Odds are you'll get your max in one of those races.

 

[Ned]

6 miles this morning...a new personal best. it's amazing the difference that a slight drop in temperature/humidity/dew point can make.

Nice!

We like to whine about it a lot, but a few degrees here or there in both temp and dew will make you feel like a completely different runner.

 

[Ned]

Day 6, week 2 of Pfitz 18/70 - 16mi w/ 8MP

Woke up at 4:30 to beat the heat. It was a decent morning, but started warming up when the sun broke through around mile 12. 70/67 at the start, 75/70 at the finish. We're running out of friggin' towels. :X

I've had this run on my mind all week and stuck to the plan mentioned below. The first 8 were at regular long run effort - 9:28/143. Legs were kind of bleh. Not tired, but not sharp either which I guess is what I should be expecting after running 109mi in the past 2 weeks.

Then it came time for the MP miles. I wanted to start off conservatively since I didn't feel all that into it and it was pretty humid. Albeit much nicer than yesterday. It's been a long time since I've done one of these runs, and it showed. It took me quite a while to break out of the earlier 'feel' and get used to the quicker pace. I just felt discombobulated. Speed up, slow down x 10. At mile 13 I passed 2 fine college chicks which put me into peacock mode and blew right through my pacing (8:13 split). All in all, this was a good confidence run. It was harder than the usual long run, but I'm nowhere near exhausted. Ended up at 8:38/163. My HRM started going nuts just after the college chicks. I had to keep snapping it off my chest to fix it (I've had more issues with this 'premium' Garmin strap vs. the standard Garmin). So the HR data is a little screwy (it had me at 198 a few times which is obviously way off).

Week 2 in the books at 55 miles. Considering the mileage and running 12 out of the last 13 days, I'm feeling really good.

I say: Don't focus on the windy HM or crappy marathon. Keep doin' what you're doin'. Like you say, the speed is there. Use the HR data to guide your long runs based on where you're at now!

The other reason this has really been on the forefront of my mind is I have my first MP run this Sunday - 16/8. The Pfitz MP HR range for me is 154-171, which is another broad range. So I was going to let HR be my guide and run the 8 at around 160s and see what I got. Had I run that today I probably would've been squarely in the 8:15-8:30. That's super exciting, but that also scares the hell outta me.

 

[MAC_32]

Pretty jacked about yesterday's 1st jogging stroller 5k. Suck index was a friendly 131 (67/64) and we just got a violent storm pre race so other than a lot of puddles race conditions were good for this time of year. I made a bad choice at the start by being too far back. Thankfully I realized it before crossing the start line and waited 45 seconds to start, otherwise I'd have been jammed up with the 30 minute runners for the first 1/2 mile - more than 1k runners on a rather tight course. The start was a little tight so even when I did get going I had to screech to a hault 3 times in the first 1/2 mile but there were enough gaps to get around people that it didn't slow me up much. Got the first mile done in 7 flat chip time (7:40 from gun shot) with the hold-up's so that was encouraging. The next 1/2 mile is mostly uphill and tight but things had cleared out by then so I had room to pace myself how I wanted. Obviously this is harder when your pushing a 30 lb. tank, but I knew most of the last half of the race was back downhill so I attacked as hard as I could.

What I didn't realize was how much easier the last half would be in the jogging stroller. I have modest hills in my neighbroohd, but nothing too severe. Racing in the river valley the hills are much steeper. We reached a big one towards the end of mile 2 and realized just how much energy I retained pushing a jogging stroller because I can't extend my stride too much. Really harnessed in the energy and it showed over the last 1.1. Crossed mile 2 in just over 14 (I think she said 14:55, so 14:15) and flew for the last stretch. I almsot had too much left at the end and I think a lot of it had to do with the steep downhill as I finished in 21:23, 27th overall and 5th in age group, while pushing a little tank. Very happy with the time and look forward to doing it again sometime in the next couple of months. Want to shoot for sub 21 before I shift focus back to PR'ing solo in the fall.

Today was supposed to be a long, slow run but legs have been stiff all morning and my wife leaves for a McGraw/Chesney concert soon so I'll be doing a long, slow run with the little tank this afternoon sometime. Probably increase my max of 4 to 5 or 6 but at a slow pace. We'll see.

 

[Juxtatarot]

Nice runs everyone!

I had 15 on the schedule for today, but a friend who is Ironman training asked me to run 20 with him. I agreed. I was slightly hesitant to run that far just a week after my half marathon but we decided to aim for a 8:30 pace which is slower than I usually do my long runs. Started at 6:15 in cool weather (60/60) and by the end it was only 75/45. We stopped at 19 miles since my friend was having some knee pain and was out of gas but we managed a little faster pace than planned -- about 8:20.

I felt perfectly fine throughout. I wasn't even that fatigued at the end. I could have easily run for much longer. It's nice to know that my endurance is still there, it's just been hiding occasionally in the hot temperatures we've been seeing.

 

[SFBayDuck]

As always, great to come in here on a Sunday and read about all of the great runs!

Doing a mini-taper going into the 30K next weekend, so dialed it down a bit yesterday to a nice easy 8 miler on fire roads and single track. July has been my best month in years, due mostly to finally finding a little consistency, along with getting my long run distance up with 15 and 16 milers this month. Still a long way to go in terms of ramping up my volume, but July will end up being my highest mileage month since before I originally got hurt back in August of 2009!

In analyzing my runs this month it looks like so far I've run a whopping 4% of my mileage on paved surfaces! Gotta work to get that down......

 

[Sand]

Gents - for anyone looking for a sprint tri to run this one looks good: Trollvegen

 

[tri-man 47]

Gents - for anyone looking for a sprint tri to run this one looks good: Trollvegen

 

[prosopis]

6 miles this morning...a new personal best. it's amazing the difference that a slight drop in temperature/humidity/dew point can make.

Excellent and yes it is amazing the difference temps make.

 

[sho nuff]

Had some cross training today...chasing a little white ball around a hot and steamy golf course.

For not having played but 9 holes in the last year+...I played pretty well. Though, tweaked my knee a bit on one awkward hilly lie.

 

[beer 302]

6 miles this morning...a new personal best. it's amazing the difference that a slight drop in temperature/humidity/dew point can make.

Nice job! Can't wait for the Africa heat to leave here and see what all this humidity training does for me Thanks for the advice Ned, after last weeks 10 it took me a good two days to feel right again. I was sore & lethargic. This week, complete opposite. Legs are a little sore today but nothing like last week. Taking today off to adjust my schedule, going to be a messed up week for me so just going to try to get in what I can, when I can.

 

[Raider Nation]

Can anyone recommend a good way to carry water when running in the middle of nowhere and there are no water stops? I'd rather not use the Camelbak thing you wear on your back. It seems cumbersome. On the other hand, I don't really want to have to carry a big bottle in 95 degree weather for 2-3 hours, so I'm not sure what choice that leaves.

 

[Sand]

Can anyone recommend a good way to carry water when running in the middle of nowhere and there are no water stops? I'd rather not use the Camelbak thing you wear on your back. It seems cumbersome. On the other hand, I don't really want to have to carry a big bottle in 95 degree weather for 2-3 hours, so I'm not sure what choice that leaves.

An amphipod belt or something similar. Personally if it is that hot I will carry a 24oz bottle (handheld). It really isn't a an annoyance.

 

[SFBayDuck]

Can anyone recommend a good way to carry water when running in the middle of nowhere and there are no water stops? I'd rather not use the Camelbak thing you wear on your back. It seems cumbersome. On the other hand, I don't really want to have to carry a big bottle in 95 degree weather for 2-3 hours, so I'm not sure what choice that leaves.

I use a Nathan hydration vest on long trail runs now, and love it - it allows me to carry my keys, some gels, a wind/rain shell, even my phone in one of the front pouches. But prior to getting that I used a handheld and then I had both 1 and 2 bottle waist belts so I could swap out the handheld. The 2 bottle one was from REI, and I didn't love it because I was constantly having to tighten and adjust it. But the 1 bottle pack is from Nathan, and it stayed in place pretty well.

 

[Raider Nation]

Thanks guys.

 

[MAC_32]

Did another 5 with the boy today, very chatty as we went very leisurely. Took about 50 mins. Left calf and both ham's have been kinda tight tonight though, so my planned solo long run tomorrow may be delayed til Wednesday. Probably from doing suicides with the boy and a leg workout afterwards. We'll see how they feel tomorrow. Happy with the week - only 24 miles but half of them were pushing the stroller and 3 of which were racing, blazed on a 4 miler on my own too, just wish the heat hadn't have gotten to me on Monday's 8 miler or I'd call it a great week.

 

[beer 302]

Was debating on what to do today, was going to take it off as I change up my schedule but sitting around was driving me nuts and my legs were tight so I decided to go for a ride. 10 easy miles, got nice & loose and then stretched out good. Felt good to get out and do something and it was a good cross train. I like riding, just don't have a good bike or the time.

 

[IvanKaramazov]

Ned -- That's a great run. You've sped up quite a bit since last year. I have to be honest and say the MP runs are my least favorite of Pfitz's plans. I have 16/12 coming up later this week, and I'm not looking forward to it at all. These are a lot harder than what a person who's never done them might think. Congrats on turning this one in with a really strong pace.

MAC -- You beat my 5K PR with a stroller. That earns you a :finger:

Jux -- I wish I had a friend like that. "Surprise" long runs are awesome. Glad you took advantage of it.

SFBayDuck -- I'm a little envious of you guys who live around high-quality trails. I don't see myself ever getting off the roads much, but it would be nice to have the option :(

Raider Nation -- I usually just leave water in my truck and run little loops that bring me back to it every 2-4 miles. Is that an option?

____________

6 recovery miles today. Another 6 on tap for tomorrow. This particular week of 18/55 isn't technically a rest week, but next week is, and the combination is the calm before the storm of 5 consecutive hard weeks.

 

[beer 302]

Can anyone recommend a good way to carry water when running in the middle of nowhere and there are no water stops? I'd rather not use the Camelbak thing you wear on your back. It seems cumbersome. On the other hand, I don't really want to have to carry a big bottle in 95 degree weather for 2-3 hours, so I'm not sure what choice that leaves.

Nathan 22oz is what I just picked up and I love it. Thought it would be a pain in the ### but you get used to it, been the perfect size for half distance. Got it on sale for $13.Couple of questions regarding gu. Is it necessary for a half or recommended I guess? Whats the benefit to it? What's been your experience with caffeinated vs non-caffeinated?

 

[sho nuff]

Can anyone recommend a good way to carry water when running in the middle of nowhere and there are no water stops? I'd rather not use the Camelbak thing you wear on your back. It seems cumbersome. On the other hand, I don't really want to have to carry a big bottle in 95 degree weather for 2-3 hours, so I'm not sure what choice that leaves.

Have been running with a Fuel Belt...not sure which one...pretty lightweight, stays snug with the elastic waist with velcro. Though, as I have dropped weight...its getting to where its about too big for me.2 10oz bottles that I end up looping past the house or other water source to refill for longer runs in this heat.Upon a rec. from tri-man (I think it was him) I have ordered the Salomon XT Twin belt that holds 2 20oz bottles. Should be here tomorrow or Tuesday.Need it in the heat and with my long runs increasing so much in this training vs. my HM training I have done in the past.

 

[sho nuff]

10 on tap for me in the morning...best morning for it temp wise to get this one out of the way too.

After that, this week may be a bit off for me. Supposed to be week 3 of Pfitz...though, I did start 2 weeks early to be able to ease into it and account for a fall break trip to Disney in October and some other things too.

This week its school starting on Wednesday for my son, and my daughter's preschool starting Friday. By next week I will be back on my normal schedule that I was used to.

But this week may screw things up...and one of the first weeks of 5 days of running vs. the 4 days of the first two weeks of the plan.

 

[SFBayDuck]

Can anyone recommend a good way to carry water when running in the middle of nowhere and there are no water stops? I'd rather not use the Camelbak thing you wear on your back. It seems cumbersome. On the other hand, I don't really want to have to carry a big bottle in 95 degree weather for 2-3 hours, so I'm not sure what choice that leaves.

Nathan 22oz is what I just picked up and I love it. Thought it would be a pain in the ### but you get used to it, been the perfect size for half distance. Got it on sale for $13.Couple of questions regarding gu. Is it necessary for a half or recommended I guess? Whats the benefit to it? What's been your experience with caffeinated vs non-caffeinated?

That Nathan handheld is my standby, I have three of them floating around and take one on most runs.As for gels, my take is that I don't worry about them at all unless the run is going to be 2 hours or more, as we all carry enough glycogen in our muscles and liver for at least that long (nevermind the fat that is still being utilized at half marathon or longer pace). But if you use them in your longer training runs and feel it helps, then by all means bring 1-2 for a half. Even if the effect is purely psychological, that's still a real impact. As for caffeine, kind of the same thing but I'll wait until I'm past the 3 hour mark to use that for the mental boost it can give. A couple of years ago I probably was more aggressive with carbs, taking gels as soon as 30 minutes in on any run that was going to be 90 minutes or more, but I've backed off on that a bit to the point that for most morning runs of up to 90 minutes now I won't even have anything but coffee beforehand, let alone any gels during. But that's at fairly low (largely aerobic) intensities.

As always - don't do something in a race you haven't done in training, so on your longer training runs try with gels, try without. Try caffeine, try without. Find out what works for you.

 

[Hugh One]

As always - don't do something in a race you haven't done in training, so on your longer training runs try with gels, try without. Try caffeine, try without. Find out what works for you.

 

[Ned]

Ned -- That's a great run. You've sped up quite a bit since last year. I have to be honest and say the MP runs are my least favorite of Pfitz's plans. I have 16/12 coming up later this week, and I'm not looking forward to it at all. These are a lot harder than what a person who's never done them might think. Congrats on turning this one in with a really strong pace.

____________

6 recovery miles today. Another 6 on tap for tomorrow. This particular week of 18/55 isn't technically a rest week, but next week is, and the combination is the calm before the storm of 5 consecutive hard weeks.

Thanks. It felt good to put in that run. I agree with you on the MP runs. It's an awkward run for so many reasons. The effort level, for me anyway, is a weird one. Stuck right between LR and LT pacing which I'm much more accustomed to doing. Then it messes with my mind when I think about running that 8:38 for 26.2. It seems like a daunting task, but we're only at the beginning stages of training, so you have to expect that it'll get easier as we get stronger thru the cycle. Plus we're on tired legs right now vs running after a 3 week taper. It all comes back to the Trust the training... /tri

 

[beer 302]

As for gels, my take is that I don't worry about them at all unless the run is going to be 2 hours or more, as we all carry enough glycogen in our muscles and liver for at least that long (nevermind the fat that is still being utilized at half marathon or longer pace). But if you use them in your longer training runs and feel it helps, then by all means bring 1-2 for a half. Even if the effect is purely psychological, that's still a real impact. As for caffeine, kind of the same thing but I'll wait until I'm past the 3 hour mark to use that for the mental boost it can give. A couple of years ago I probably was more aggressive with carbs, taking gels as soon as 30 minutes in on any run that was going to be 90 minutes or more, but I've backed off on that a bit to the point that for most morning runs of up to 90 minutes now I won't even have anything but coffee beforehand, let alone any gels during. But that's at fairly low (largely aerobic) intensities. As always - don't do something in a race you haven't done in training, so on your longer training runs try with gels, try without. Try caffeine, try without. Find out what works for you.

Thanks Duck, good advice as always. I was picking up some Body Glide this weekend and grabbed two gu packs on the way out, one happens to be with caffeine, the other without hence the question. I haven't felt that I've needed anything more than a sports drink but I thought I would give them a try just to see what happens on the LR's I have coming up. As you said, I suspect it would be more psychological than anything.Got in my scheduled 5 this morning. This schedule is going to be challenging as I still would like to maintain my lifting schedule of three days a week so I was up at 3:30 and out the door before 4. Ran what I would consider around my 10k pace and ended up at 9:43 pace. The first run of the week always feels good. Got home, changed out of the soaked clothes and rode the bike down to the gym for a quick hour workout and then rode home to start the day. I wonder if our families ever appreciate what goes on before 6 am?

 

[sho nuff]

Day 1 Week 3 of Pfitz 18/55

10 mile GA run

What a crazy awesome run after a bad start to the day.

Stomach gave me issues down the stretch of Saturday's MP run...today, I woke up feeling like I might throw up. Some explosive intestinal fun after a cup of coffee had me close to bagging the run til later. But I did not want to waste a nice morning. 69/68 to start this run...which felt so much better than what I had been running in lately.

First mile was a struggle as far as my stomach, but kept feeling better. That feeling kept getting better and better during this run. For the first time in a while, I felt I could control everything and the miles went by easily today.

10:20/mi average and got the new HR monitor...averaged 148.

Stomach still not feeling the best...but legs feel great and I was very happy with that run.

Next a question...supposed to have two 4 mile recovery runs this week. Scheduling is going to make me not be able to get one of them in...would it be better to just stick with 4 for the other...or up it to a 6 mile recovery run and only fall 2 miles short of the weekly mileage?

 

[sho nuff]

I wonder if our families ever appreciate what goes on before 6 am?

Can't speak for everyone...but my wife gave me a big hug the other day and said she admired my dedication to running. While she did not want to say it last year...she thought I would fight through one half and then back way off. Never thought I would be training for a marathon.I will say, I don't know how some of you do it and am in awe of the miles you guys put in and still work. The best decision I have ever made was to quit my job to become a stay at home dad. It is allowing me to put the miles in I feel I need to prepare myself...and still spend so much time with my kids. And relieving a lot of other stress from my wife.

 

[Juxtatarot]

Jux -- I wish I had a friend like that. "Surprise" long runs are awesome. Glad you took advantage of it.

This also crossed my mind: "Well, Ivan has already ran his first 20 in the program so I should catch up!"

 

[Ned]

Day 1 Week 3 of Pfitz 18/5510 mile GA runWhat a crazy awesome run after a bad start to the day.Stomach gave me issues down the stretch of Saturday's MP run...today, I woke up feeling like I might throw up. Some explosive intestinal fun after a cup of coffee had me close to bagging the run til later. But I did not want to waste a nice morning. 69/68 to start this run...which felt so much better than what I had been running in lately.First mile was a struggle as far as my stomach, but kept feeling better. That feeling kept getting better and better during this run. For the first time in a while, I felt I could control everything and the miles went by easily today.10:20/mi average and got the new HR monitor...averaged 148.Stomach still not feeling the best...but legs feel great and I was very happy with that run.Next a question...supposed to have two 4 mile recovery runs this week. Scheduling is going to make me not be able to get one of them in...would it be better to just stick with 4 for the other...or up it to a 6 mile recovery run and only fall 2 miles short of the weekly mileage?

Just bag the run.