Ran a 10k - Official Thread (4 Viewers)

[Hang 10]

I agree with Jux for the most part. I'd prefer a half a month out or more but if it's 3 weeks before, you have plenty of time to recover because you'll be tapering anyway. I would NOT run a half all out if it's 85 degrees. (actually I probably would if I was signed up ) I think the point of the half in a marathon training plan is to get a good idea of your fitness and perhaps build your confidence. Running a race in horrible conditions will do neither.

 

[Ned]

I agree with Jux for the most part. I'd prefer a half a month out or more but if it's 3 weeks before, you have plenty of time to recover because you'll be tapering anyway. I would NOT run a half all out if it's 85 degrees. (actually I probably would if I was signed up ) I think the point of the half in a marathon training plan is to get a good idea of your fitness and perhaps build your confidence. Running a race in horrible conditions will do neither.

That's my take on the tune-up HM's also. We need to remember this is Chief's first full, so I think things are a little different.

I don't think it's as critical to get the tune-up race in since the main goal for his first is to cover 26.2. Would it be nice to get that race in? Sure, but I don't think it's as critical as someone who's running their 10th marathon and trying to shave 2 minutes off their time.

As far as timing goes - whatever works best for you is fine. The difference between 4 weeks out and 3 weeks out is meaningless. Both give you plenty of time to recover before the big dance.

 

[pbm107]

I did a half this year four weeks out and I don't think I will do that again. I didn't taper for it since the marathon was my goal race. I didn't want to taper for a week, run the last real training week, then start the marathon taper. Racing the half really made the last week of training really difficult, I was tired.

This year I am running a half 10 weeks out, this is something that has worked out well for me in the past. I feel like it breaks up the long training plan and I don't mind tapering for a week that far out. I will race a 10K this year, 3 weeks out.

 

[Juxtatarot]

Another advantage of tune-up races to a marathon is to get the most out of this incredible commitment in time and effort that you've undertaken. Who knows what will happen on marathon day. Bad weather, injuries, cramping, GI issues....there are a lot of things that can go wrong. If you've trained right you should be in excellent shape for not only the marathon but some of the shorter distances as well. Having some great PR-setting tune-ups can lessen the sting out of a bad marathon. But, of course, hopefully you'll race well during all of them.

 

[Hang 10]

My half is 6 weeks before my marathon. I'm gonna treat it like it's my 1b goal race. I sorta feel the need for a big half PR to make a BQ seem more realistic.

 

[worrierking]

I prefer a half 5-7 weeks before a marathon. This never actually works out, but it's what I prefer.

I pretty much concur with Ned, that you really don't need the race as a measuring stick for your Marathon goal. It's your first, so you're going to PR. Your pace for the race should be slightly on the safe side rather than the aggressive side. Running a half won't necessarily get you much more precision. I think I would bag the race and run another 20 miler.

 

[ChiefD]

Thanks all for the discussion. Not sure which way I'm going at this point, but I'm leaning toward not doing a half. There is a 10k right around that time, however, so maybe that's a good compromise.

 

[FUBAR]

I'd do the race if you want to do that race. But not if it's only because it's "on the plan".

 

[tri-man 47]

The risk with 3-4 four weeks out is that if it doesn't go well (particularly the earlier, and likely hot, one), then it'll mess with your mind. Run a HM 10 weeks out and you can still make adjustments to your final training plan. Do poorly 3-4 weeks out, and you'll spend the next 3-4 weeks fussing and fretting. Given the newness of these events, I'd suggest attempting your own HM per the schedule ...a very hard run at a planned pace (or ..HR). I.e., test where you're at. The race environment is ideal for putting you in a race context, but you would have the above risks. If you can do an earlier 10K race, that'd be good. Another option: Pick up the pace for the last miles of one of the long training runs so you know that you can handle the pace late in a run.

 

[TheWalkmen]

Thanks for all of the replies regarding the 5k, and good luck Nigel!

 

[Juxtatarot]

I prefer a half 5-7 weeks before a marathon. This never actually works out, but it's what I prefer.

Yes, I agree that's probably ideal. It's late enough that you should be able to reap the rewards of your marathon training but early enough not to mess with your taper.

 

[Juxtatarot]

Good luck to Walkmen, Nigel and anybody else racing this weekend.

I ended the month with 304.81 Garmin miles. I was planning to do a long run with some marathon pace miles tomorrow but during the last mile of my run this morning a black cat crossed about 5 feet in front of me. This before a full moon (and a blue one at that).

 

[worrierking]

My strava stuff still isn't showing up on my feed. I have been wearing my HR strap just in case Ned wanted to see my stats, but it's still not up. Strava said everything was fine and my garmin results would show up in 3-5 minutes but that was overly optimistic.

Anyway, I feel like a runner again. I should end up with about 28 miles for the week. I ran everyday for the last six days and will take today off. Group run for tomorrow and I will attempt 7-8. My hamstring is still getting sore with longer runs (more than 4 miles). PT says it is compensating for my weak calf.

 

[Ned]

Good luck to Walkmen, Nigel and anybody else racing this weekend.

I ended the month with 304.81 Garmin miles. I was planning to do a long run with some marathon pace miles tomorrow but during the last mile of my run this morning a black cat crossed about 5 feet in front of me. This before a full moon (and a blue one at that).

Is that a monthly PR for you? Either way, congrats an a huge month!

You got me by 8mi; 296 for me, which is a PR. Thrilled to do that, especially with a vacation in there. Also doing a MP run tomorrow. Looking forward to it.

 

[pbm107]

Great month Juxt, how are you holding up running the extra mileage. What kind of monthly mileage did you run in previous cycles?

Worrierking good week, be careful with the hamstring and calf.

Ned, great month. 296 would be a PR for me too, I am going on vacation starting tomorrow. Not sure how close I will follow the plan for week.

I ended up with with 260 myself. I am really happy with my fitness level, my pace/HR for the month of July is as good as it has ever been. Below is the monthly data from my previous marathon cycles, if I survive this training plan I will have a good Fall.

Month Miles HR Pace
Jul-15 27 260.92 141 8:08
Jun-15 25 240.8 141 8:15

Mar-15 31 270.96 137 8:18 April Boston Marathon 3:07:23
Feb-15 28 263.78 140 8:25
Jan-15 30 267.04 136 8:42 Tried to protect my hamstring by running slow
Dec-14 14 101.32 144 8:20 Tweaked my hamstring
Nov-14 22 187.41 139 8:18

Oct-13 29 290.64 141 8:14 Nov Philly 3:08:11, BQ
Sep-13 23 202.64 143 8:25
Aug-13 23 246.45 141 8:40
Jul-13 19 196.28 141 8:48 Moved this month, took a week off
Jun-13 25 243.03 137 8:38

Oct-12 25 256.33 143 8:31 Nov Philly 3:14:06
Sep-12 22 211.25 146 8:33
Aug-12 19 172.28 146 8:35
Jul-12 24 211.19 145 8:33
Jun-12 23 191.03 147 8:16

 

[Brony]

My strava stuff still isn't showing up on my feed. I have been wearing my HR strap just in case Ned wanted to see my stats, but it's still not up. Strava said everything was fine and my garmin results would show up in 3-5 minutes but that was overly optimistic.

Anyway, I feel like a runner again. I should end up with about 28 miles for the week. I ran everyday for the last six days and will take today off. Group run for tomorrow and I will attempt 7-8. My hamstring is still getting sore with longer runs (more than 4 miles). PT says it is compensating for my weak calf.

Awesome.

 

[Ned]

pbm - you're not just having a good summer... you're having an INSANE summer. The fact that your paces are faster, with a low HR, with heavy mileage.... in this heat? I am thoroughly impressed!

 

[pbm107]

pbm - you're not just having a good summer... you're having an INSANE summer. The fact that your paces are faster, with a low HR, with heavy mileage.... in this heat? I am thoroughly impressed!

Thanks, I think a large part of it due to the overall mileage I am running this year. Training for Boston over the winter wasn't much fun, but I am seeing the benefits this summer.

 

[Hang 10]

Great training, month around here! I myself just finished up a nice 10 mile run (in a 158 SI ) to conclude a month of 243 miles. A new PR! Feels pretty good knowing I can run that kinda distance in hot ### July. It can only get better, right?

 

[Juxtatarot]

Ned - Yes, that's a monthly PR for me. I'm not sure what my old PR was but it would have been January 2013 when I was following Pfitz 18/70 for Boston. Probably 270ish? I would have thought you broke 300 last year. I assume you will break it soon unless archery interferes.

pmb - Congrats on a great month! I've noticed you running faster too. I thought you were copying me! Last summer I was running in the high 40s/low 50s on 5 days a week. Besides the 18/70 for Boston I ran the Pfitz up to 55 a few times. I think I'm holding up OK. It's helped that I've spread the mileage over 7 days and that I'm running in the early morning when it's been cooler. Nagging injuries are there like usual but they mainly go away after a mile or two so I'm not going to worry about them too much. I'm going to try for high mileage again in August although I'll probably be a little less than 300 (I'm starting off with a recovery week). I don't really feel improvement yet but maybe that's just my body being fatigued.

 

[ChiefD]

pbm - you're not just having a good summer... you're having an INSANE summer. The fact that your paces are faster, with a low HR, with heavy mileage.... in this heat? I am thoroughly impressed!

Yeah, no kidding. Impressive.

 

[Ned]

Ned - Yes, that's a monthly PR for me. I'm not sure what my old PR was but it would have been January 2013 when I was following Pfitz 18/70 for Boston. Probably 270ish? I would have thought you broke 300 last year. I assume you will break it soon unless archery interferes.

pmb - Congrats on a great month! I've noticed you running faster too. I thought you were copying me! Last summer I was running in the high 40s/low 50s on 5 days a week. Besides the 18/70 for Boston I ran the Pfitz up to 55 a few times. I think I'm holding up OK. It's helped that I've spread the mileage over 7 days and that I'm running in the early morning when it's been cooler. Nagging injuries are there like usual but they mainly go away after a mile or two so I'm not going to worry about them too much. I'm going to try for high mileage again in August although I'll probably be a little less than 300 (I'm starting off with a recovery week). I don't really feel improvement yet but maybe that's just my body being fatigued.

I would've broke 300 last fall, but I had to take a week off with a hamstring issue. August should be 320ish, but I'm probably going to be tweaking that down. I am not confident I can break into the 90s, which I have planned..... Seems like 75-80 is my sweet spot for weekly mileage.

This fall is going to be an exciting time here in the FFA...

 

[ChiefD]

Wow on the monthly mileages. Wish I had the time to run that much.

As for me, had a nice 4.11 mile pace run yesterday. 8:45 pace with a HR of 166. So I'm right on track right now. Have a 7 miler scheduled for tomorrow and 15 on Sunday. Both easy runs. Plus I'll be at the lake, so some new scenery.

 

[pbm107]

Juxt, I have no intention of trying to copy you. I have never averaged sub 8 for any month, never mind averaging approximately 7:45 for 300 miles like you just did.

Did anyone else notice that Steve is at 555.3 for the month?

 

[Ned]

Did anyone else notice that Steve is at 555.3 for the month?

Yeah, and the quality he's putting in....

My brother entered a challenge that his local bike shop was putting on. Log at least 1hr of cycling a day for every day in July and get a $100 gift card. He's going to be at around 550mi after he gets his ride in today. Crazy to think Steve is running more than that....

 

[SteveC702]

Juxt, I have no intention of trying to copy you. I have never averaged sub 8 for any month, never mind averaging approximately 7:45 for 300 miles like you just did.

Did anyone else notice that Steve is at 555.3 for the month?

I might have messed up the math, but I just checked and I thought I was a little over 540, might be close to 550 after my afternoon run. It doesn't matter though, I don't think I am going to touch my PR (December 2014, 602-604 depending on if you count the .01-.1 here and there)

 

[SayWhat?]

Sheesh, you guys/gals on here are seriously inspiring. From those entering their first 5K's to those putting in 300+ miles per month. This thread remains awesome.

I've got a couple questions:

1) Boston qualifying crowd...I have a friend that's hoping to qualify this October for the 2017 race. Does he realistically need to run at least 5 minutes faster than the minimum standard to get entered before that final wave of registration opens? 10 minutes faster? Of has the minimum qualifying time been getting people registered during the last wave?

2) We found out days before my Superior 50 last fall that my wife was pregnant with child #2. I took some time off from running late winter and into the spring as life got busy and then our daughter was born the end of April. Now that she's 3 months old and sleeping a bit better, I've been getting out on runs a bit more and literally can't get the thought of a Superior 100 attempt out of my head (Sept of 2016). My issue is the time commitment, especially being gone for 4-6 hours on the long weekend runs, with what will be a 4 year old and 1 year old. I'd love to know if anyone has any experience with training for a 100 mile race on relatively low mileage say in the 45-65 miles per week range.

Thanks in advance to anyone with any insight on either of the above, and good luck to everyone racing this weekend!

 

[FUBAR]

Did anyone else notice that Steve is at 555.3 for the month?

Yeah, and the quality he's putting in....

My brother entered a challenge that his local bike shop was putting on. Log at least 1hr of cycling a day for every day in July and get a $100 gift card. He's going to be at around 550mi after he gets his ride in today. Crazy to think Steve is running more than that....

I'd be all in on that. Assuming you can do some on the trainer and it's honor system.

and yeah, Steve's a beast.

All of you really are inspiring, even Chief

 

[pbm107]

Sheesh, you guys/gals on here are seriously inspiring. From those entering their first 5K's to those putting in 300+ miles per month. This thread remains awesome.

I've got a couple questions:

1) Boston qualifying crowd...I have a friend that's hoping to qualify this October for the 2017 race. Does he realistically need to run at least 5 minutes faster than the minimum standard to get entered before that final wave of registration opens? 10 minutes faster? Of has the minimum qualifying time been getting people registered during the last wave?

2) We found out days before my Superior 50 last fall that my wife was pregnant with child #2. I took some time off from running late winter and into the spring as life got busy and then our daughter was born the end of April. Now that she's 3 months old and sleeping a bit better, I've been getting out on runs a bit more and literally can't get the thought of a Superior 100 attempt out of my head (Sept of 2016). My issue is the time commitment, especially being gone for 4-6 hours on the long weekend runs, with what will be a 4 year old and 1 year old. I'd love to know if anyone has any experience with training for a 100 mile race on relatively low mileage say in the 45-65 miles per week range.

Thanks in advance to anyone with any insight on either of the above, and good luck to everyone racing this weekend!

For Boston I think beating the qualifying time by 2 min should make the cutoff. Training for 100 miles, BassNBrew and SFBayDuck should have some good advice for you. Good luck.

 

[SayWhat?]

Thanks pbm, I'll let him know about the qualifying time insight.

 

[Ned]

Did anyone else notice that Steve is at 555.3 for the month?

Yeah, and the quality he's putting in....

My brother entered a challenge that his local bike shop was putting on. Log at least 1hr of cycling a day for every day in July and get a $100 gift card. He's going to be at around 550mi after he gets his ride in today. Crazy to think Steve is running more than that....

I'd be all in on that. Assuming you can do some on the trainer and it's honor system.

and yeah, Steve's a beast.

All of you really are inspiring, even Chief

It has to be logged on Strava and can't be a trainer. He struggled on stormy days, but got it in by riding his mtn bike.

Big accomplishment for him. He's turned into a couch potato. He's already talking about looking forward to the weekend so he doesn't have to ride. I hope he doesn't piss all this away.

 

[ChiefD]

Did anyone else notice that Steve is at 555.3 for the month?

Yeah, and the quality he's putting in....

My brother entered a challenge that his local bike shop was putting on. Log at least 1hr of cycling a day for every day in July and get a $100 gift card. He's going to be at around 550mi after he gets his ride in today. Crazy to think Steve is running more than that....

All of you really are inspiring, even Chief

Thanks?

 

[Nigel]

5K is done, not sure on official time yet but it was a hair over 21:00. Splits were:

1M: 6:40

2M: 6:37

3M: 6:35

last .1: 6:28

6:37 pace, 3rd overall, Strava has my new 5K PR at 20:34 as my GPS had the course at 3.19M. Was dry heaving down the stretch so I feel like I squeezed most of what I had out of it.

More details later but pretty damn happy with the result.

 

[Juxtatarot]

Great job, Nigel!

But you know what this means.....sub 20 is next.

 

[SFBayDuck]

5K is done, not sure on official time yet but it was a hair over 21:00. Splits were:

1M: 6:40

2M: 6:37

3M: 6:35

last .1: 6:28

6:37 pace, 3rd overall, Strava has my new 5K PR at 20:34 as my GPS had the course at 3.19M. Was dry heaving down the stretch so I feel like I squeezed most of what I had out of it.

More details later but pretty damn happy with the result.

Awesome, big congrats!

 

[SFBayDuck]

Sheesh, you guys/gals on here are seriously inspiring. From those entering their first 5K's to those putting in 300+ miles per month. This thread remains awesome.

I've got a couple questions:

1) Boston qualifying crowd...I have a friend that's hoping to qualify this October for the 2017 race. Does he realistically need to run at least 5 minutes faster than the minimum standard to get entered before that final wave of registration opens? 10 minutes faster? Of has the minimum qualifying time been getting people registered during the last wave?

2) We found out days before my Superior 50 last fall that my wife was pregnant with child #2. I took some time off from running late winter and into the spring as life got busy and then our daughter was born the end of April. Now that she's 3 months old and sleeping a bit better, I've been getting out on runs a bit more and literally can't get the thought of a Superior 100 attempt out of my head (Sept of 2016). My issue is the time commitment, especially being gone for 4-6 hours on the long weekend runs, with what will be a 4 year old and 1 year old. I'd love to know if anyone has any experience with training for a 100 mile race on relatively low mileage say in the 45-65 miles per week range.

Thanks in advance to anyone with any insight on either of the above, and good luck to everyone racing this weekend!

For Boston I think beating the qualifying time by 2 min should make the cutoff. Training for 100 miles, BassNBrew and SFBayDuck should have some good advice for you. Good luck.

I'll chime in on his when I have more time (on vacation in Oregon right now), but short answer is yes - 45-60 miles is plenty of volume if your goal is to finish (not race) a 100 miler, as long as you have plenty of specificity in that training.

 

[tri-man 47]

SayWhat, I was also going to say 2 minutes for Boston buffer. Two years ago the cutoff was about 1:40 ...last year was about :35-:40, as I recall.

Nigel - fantastic race!!!!!

 

[Ned]

Just saw you on Strava, Nigel. CONGRATS!!!!

I agree with Juxt. I'm not surprised in the least. You've been running well for the entire year.

 

[TheWalkmen]

Finished in 21:24, but I think I lost a few seconds at the start. 6th overall, 5th best male. I am satisfied but didn't leave it all out there. Can do better.

 

[TheWalkmen]

Nice time and nice effort Nigel!

I think I am going to get addicted to this stuff. I'm already anxious to get another race scheduled, whether it's a 5k or maybe a half.

I got a slow start today in the first minute or two. I set my run keeper app to tell me time and pace every minute. After 1 minute I was over 8:00/ mi then as the crowd thinned I was running a 6:30 pace for a while. Run keeper says mile 1 was 7:00 mile 2 7:01 and mile 3 7:00. In the last 1/2 mile I had a slight puke feeling, but after the finish I felt pretty good, so I just don't think I pushed hard enough. My 3 mi run Thursday morning was much more painful... Oh well.

ETA I think my first real mile was better than 7:00, I hit start on runkeeper as soon at ppl started and it was probably a good 10-20 seconds before I started moving.

 

[Hang 10]

Look at these guys splits in their first 5ks!? Nigel with a negative split and walkmen almost dead even. Guys look like pros!

 

[tri-man 47]

Look at these guys splits in their first 5ks!? Nigel with a negative split and walkmen almost dead even. Guys look like pros!

Absolutely! Doing our "team" proud!!

 

[ChiefD]

Great races Nigel and Walkmen! Awesome.

 

[Brony]

Great job Niger and Walker. Love seeing these results after Nibel's heart thing stuff. Very cool story and we know that you earned every minute out ther.

 

[worrierking]

Great races Walkmen and Nigel. As Brony mentioned, we are all thrilled to see Nigel doing what he is doing. Great story and great race!

Walkmen, if you finished sixth overall, your biggest mistake was lining up too far back! Wow! I think you'll beat that chick next time!

 

[ChiefD]

Time to make the donuts...

 

[Ned]

I think I am going to get addicted to this stuff. I'm already anxious to get another race scheduled, whether it's a 5k or maybe a half.

This is like catnip to this group. Be careful....

Great job!

 

[Juxtatarot]

Weekly report:

Mon 10.53/7:47/130

Tues 7.43 with 5 tempo miles: 6:24/153, 6:19/160, 6:18/163, 6:17/165, 6:18/167. I'm pleased with the time and heart rate but perceived effort was high. I was going to quit after 4 but altered my route so I'd get a downhill stretch the last mile.

Wed 7.95/8:23/126

Thurs 14.02/7:49/132 A chore to get through. I was feeling a little sick and I think I was still fatigued from Tuesday's tempo.

Fri 6.09/7:31/133

Sat 18.23 with 10 at marathon pace: 6:51/144, 6:46/147, 6:42/150, 6:51/151, 6:47/152, 6:43/153, 6:41/156, 6:42/155, 6:45/155, 6:40/158. Marathon pace is supposed to be 6:52 so I ran these a little too fast. I'd like to be in the mid 150s with HR so that wasn't bad. I was certainly laboring at the end. No way that I could have kept that up for 8 more miles.

Sun 5.92/7:41/129

That's 70.16 for the week. Next week is a recovery week. I know my body needs it. I'm not sure what exactly I'll do but I'm going to fall back to maybe about 50 miles.

 

[ChiefD]

Nice week juxt!

Week 8 in the books:

Monday: Rest.

Tuesday:4.61 Miles. 11:10 Pace. 147HR. SI169

Wednesday:7.11 Miles. 10:43 Pace. 151HR. SI144.

Thursday:4.11 Pace Run. 8:45 Pace. 166HR. SI141.

Friday: Rest

Saturday:7.01 Miles. 10:43 Pace. 143HR. 135SI. 2.5 Mile Hike.

Sunday:15.07 Miles. 10:38 Pace. 149HR. 115SI. Glorious. Really happy with this run, but felt it at the end.

40.41 miles for the week. Definitely my high water mark in my career. As is the 15-miler. This was a really good week. My paces are starting to drop regularly now, so I know the training in this heat is starting to pay off. Not huge drops - slowly but surely. Weight is also down - been weighing in around 152, which is down about 5 pounds since my last half.

 

[FUBAR]

Time to make the donuts...

Time to eat the donuts.