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Ran a 10k - Official Thread (4 Viewers)

So I've got my last hard pre-marathon workout this afternoon:  3 miles at 6:44, 4-min recovery, 2.5 miles at 6:27, 4-min recovery, 2 miles at 6:15, 4-min recovery, and then 6 x 1/4-mile at 5:56 pace with 1-minute recovery.

Anyway, I'm going straight from work, and I've got appointments out of the office all day, so I've got a cooler in my car with 2 shots of concentrated beet juice on ice...

 
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@Zasada

Are you adjusting your MP after your 10K?
Debating.  

On one hand, I feel like by following the plan I managed to PR my 10K, so why mess with success?

On the other hand, if I am "only" 5 weeks into my plan and approaching my pre-Houston fitness, should I expect to improve even more over the next 10 weeks and thus adjust my marathon goal?

I put my new 10K time (46:43) into the LHR Race Equivalency Calculator.  It gives me a HM time of 1:43:05.  And given that my prior HM was 1:47:36, I think that's totally doable/reasonable.  But the same calculator gives me 3:34:54 for the full, which is 100% fantasy.  

So, for now, no adjustments to those paces.  Using @SteelCurtain's approach, my MP for training is 5:19/km (8:33/mi).  My actual MP goal/plan for race day is 5:37/km (9:01/mi).  I still plan to run the first 30-35km with the 4-hour pace group and then try to finish faster to beat my Houston time (3:57:18).  There is a 3:45 pace group I am not really considering because I absolutely, positively, do not want to risk having to walk any portion of the race.  While I beat my time goal in Houston, having to walk some of it has left a bad taste in my mouth.  I want to run the whole thing this time and then put that on the shelf and worry about pushing time at some point in the distant future.

So that's the long way of saying that I'm sticking with the plan.  My Strength run this morning was good and felt like real work.  We've had very warm days (highs of 15C/60F) for the last week which is causing a ton of thaw/freeze overnight, so long sections of sidewalk are essentially impassable.  Thankfully I was up early enough (0400) this morning so that I could get off the sidewalk and run on the streets (which were free of ice) to keep my paces up.  I went a bit faster than MP-10 for the intervals but that was to compensate for having to slow down for some icy sections earlier and a poop break after 10K.

 
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Currently at 10 days in a row and getting into a groove.  Everything feels pretty good and I'm enjoying being back on a plan.  Legs feel fresh and I wish the easy days were longer than 3 miles but I'm going to stick with and trust the plan.  I know it's still early and fatigue will start to set in but 3 miles feels like just a warmup to me now (cue laughter). 

Oh, and I still hate hill training but I know it's good for me. 

Temps have been glorious.  Upper 40's to mid 50's and some sun.  Should stay this way for at least a week with a little rain mixed in.  Please, please stick around.....
Awesome to see you back on Strava with higher frequency and feeling good.  

Which HM are you targeting?

 
  My actual MP goal/plan for race day is 5:37/km (9:01/mi). 
Man, I haven't totally dug into your workouts, but based on what you write here and the couple of your workouts I looked at this sounds really conservative to me.

Reason being is my marathon goal is sub-4 hours, which puts me at a 9:06 pace. This is a really aggressive goal for me. I just have this sense that you are quite a bit faster than me, and you still have a long way til race day. 

 
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Man, I haven't totally dug into your workouts, but based on what you write here and the couple of your workouts I looked at this sounds really conservative to me.

Reason being is my marathon goal is sub-4 hours, which puts me at a 9:06 pace. This is a really aggressive goal for me. I just have this sense that you are quite a bit faster than me, and you still have a long way til race day. 
If I were planning a 32-35K race I'd totally crank the pace up.  Beyond that distance things are really murky for me.  So I'm being intentionally conservative.  I'm sacrificing activities that I really enjoy (trails/mountains) so that I can get the bittersweet Houston taste out of my mouth.  So I can't afford a repeat of that race.  I need to slay this dragon so that I can move on and slay a different dragon this summer.

If there was a 3:55 or even a 3:50 pace group for my marathon I would consider them.  But if I ran with the 3:45 pace group, that pace (5:20/km, 8:34/mi) is dangerously close to the pace I ran the first 32K at in Houston (5:17/km, 8:29/mi) which caused me to flame out and walk about 30% of the last 10K.  

And history has told me (even with my recent 10K) that I need a pace group until I learn to control my enthusiasm at the beginning of races better.  

I do appreciate all the faith and support from you guys, encouraging me to push harder.  It makes me feel even better about hitting my (perhaps modest) goals for this race.

 
Last speed workout last night. 1.5 Mile WM, then 6x1 Mile at MP-10, 1.5 Mile CD. So the segments should be at 8:56.

Segment 1: 8:34 pace. HR 161

Segment 2: 8:42 pace. HR 162

Segment 3: 8:53 pace. HR 164

Segment 4: 8:26 pace. HR 162

Segment 5: 8:20 pace. HR 162

Segment 6: 8:33 pace. HR 165

Ran these totally by feel, and the heart rates are about where my previous marathon heart rate's were. So feeling pretty good right now. So on race day that if I back this down to my marathon pace goal, there is a chance my heart rate stays in the upper 150's. If that's the case, there is a chance I could meet my sub 4:00 goal. 

Just gotta do it for 26.2. Gonna be tight I think. 

 
Oh and just because this thread needs to be "all beet juice all the time", I asked my dad (who is vacationing in Palm Springs) to bring me back six shots.  Not available here in Canada (and it is actually available retail in California) and there's no way I'm chugging a pint of that crap again.

 
Awesome to see you back on Strava with higher frequency and feeling good.  

Which HM are you targeting?
Thanks, GB.

Same early October HM that I ran for my 1st one a few months ago and bombed.  That date is heavily circled on the calendar. 

Last year, the relay race was my A race and the HM was behind it. This year, that's reversed. 

It's a long ways out, but if training and weather cooperates, my goal is to not only run it well, but to get in at a sub 8 pace. So I'm not just looking at a little bit of redemption there.  We shall see.  @MAC_32's advice of getting in quality consistent training as well as some 14+ mile runs will be heeded.  

 
While I beat my time goal in Houston, having to walk some of it has left a bad taste in my mouth.  I want to run the whole thing this time and then put that on the shelf and worry about pushing time at some point in the distant future.
Wise approach!

Oh and just because this thread needs to be "all beet juice all the time", I asked my dad (who is vacationing in Palm Springs) to bring me back six shots.  Not available here in Canada (and it is actually available retail in California) and there's no way I'm chugging a pint of that crap again.
I thought about you after having a glass of beet juice this morning.  Is the brand you bought 99% beet/1% lemon?  The Beet-IT that I drink is 90% beet/10% apple.  I realized this morning that I could taste the undertone of apple.  It probably makes it much more palatable.

 
I thought about you after having a glass of beet juice this morning.  Is the brand you bought 99% beet/1% lemon?  The Beet-IT that I drink is 90% beet/10% apple.  I realized this morning that I could taste the undertone of apple.  It probably makes it much more palatable.
Yup, 99% beet / 1% lemon.  While I complain about the bad taste and aftertaste, the real problem was having a pint of anything (+ the Coke) sloshing-around my stomach while I was running.  So the shots will be much less volume, and rather than a Coke, I have a new plan for pre-race caffeine/sugar in the future.  Already have the latter in my pantry.

 
  @MAC_32's advice of getting in quality consistent training as well as some 14+ mile runs will be heeded.  
This. 

I got four 20K runs in for the 4 weeks pre-taper before my HM and I think that was the most important part.  My body got used to the distance.  So did my mind.  Running 21.1km didn't seem like as big a deal after I'd already done it four times in training.

 
Yeah, apparently you need 500mL of beet juice to get the equivalent of those shots. No way.

I like the taste of beets so I'm not worried about that part. I just haven't pulled the trigger on the two different brands. I'm leaning towards trying the powder to mix in 4oz of water since no one has. I also don't have any races immediately coming up to worry about this with.

 
This. 

I got four 20K runs in for the 4 weeks pre-taper before my HM and I think that was the most important part.  My body got used to the distance.  So did my mind.  Running 21.1km didn't seem like as big a deal after I'd already done it four times in training.
My max distance was 11.5 miles before running that race. I didn't think an extra couple miles would matter. It did.

I'll be going over that distance more than once prior to October.

 
Anybody else notice that (10 days out) weather forecast for Carmel is looking perfect?  30s/40s during the race?
Been watching closely... 1 for the race and 2 cause I live here. Looks good so far but this is Indiana so I'm not holding my breath yet!

 
Thanks, GB.

Same early October HM that I ran for my 1st one a few months ago and bombed.  That date is heavily circled on the calendar. 

Last year, the relay race was my A race and the HM was behind it. This year, that's reversed. 

It's a long ways out, but if training and weather cooperates, my goal is to not only run it well, but to get in at a sub 8 pace. So I'm not just looking at a little bit of redemption there.  We shall see.  @MAC_32's advice of getting in quality consistent training as well as some 14+ mile runs will be heeded.  
If the schedule is conducive just get a November plan B teed up.  As you experienced in September last year it's still balls hot in St Louis.  As @pbm107 has said before - October may be the best training month for us in the middle half/upper third.

 
If the schedule is conducive just get a November plan B teed up.  As you experienced in September last year it's still balls hot in St Louis.  As @pbm107 has said before - October may be the best training month for us in the middle half/upper third.
Interesting, didn't really think of that only because my wife has always done this HM and just figured I'd do it again.

Go! St. Louis is the major race group here in town.  They are the ones putting on our relay race and they also do the marathon here in St. Louis that is next month.  They have a HM called the Great Go! Halloween race that runs downtown (so it's a big race) but it's on 10/20 (2 weeks after my current one). 

But, there's also a smaller HM  I just found that is right next to my house (about 1 mile away) and the route is where I normally run from around here and to Forest Park.  It's on 11/3.  Looks like 600 people ran it last year.  I mean, I would run to the start from my house for a warmup.  Total of about 460 feet of elevation which isn't great but isn't awful (although last couple miles are uphill). 

Hmmm......

 
Interesting, didn't really think of that only because my wife has always done this HM and just figured I'd do it again.

Go! St. Louis is the major race group here in town.  They are the ones putting on our relay race and they also do the marathon here in St. Louis that is next month.  They have a HM called the Great Go! Halloween race that runs downtown (so it's a big race) but it's on 10/20 (2 weeks after my current one). 

But, there's also a smaller HM  I just found that is right next to my house (about 1 mile away) and the route is where I normally run from around here and to Forest Park.  It's on 11/3.  Looks like 600 people ran it last year.  I mean, I would run to the start from my house for a warmup.  Total of about 460 feet of elevation which isn't great but isn't awful (although last couple miles are uphill). 

Hmmm......
You should do the Monumental in Indy in November... I might be doing the full there. You know you want to!

 
Interesting, didn't really think of that only because my wife has always done this HM and just figured I'd do it again.

Go! St. Louis is the major race group here in town.  They are the ones putting on our relay race and they also do the marathon here in St. Louis that is next month.  They have a HM called the Great Go! Halloween race that runs downtown (so it's a big race) but it's on 10/20 (2 weeks after my current one). 

But, there's also a smaller HM  I just found that is right next to my house (about 1 mile away) and the route is where I normally run from around here and to Forest Park.  It's on 11/3.  Looks like 600 people ran it last year.  I mean, I would run to the start from my house for a warmup.  Total of about 460 feet of elevation which isn't great but isn't awful (although last couple miles are uphill). 

Hmmm......
Toggling over the titles of your runs over the last year this is a sampling from May 27-Sep 1

Long run -- Had to cut short with the heat. Not feeling well at the end (SI 158), Race, 1st run post-race. Felt good despite 89 degrees and 159 SI, Morning Run -- So nice to run in cooler weather (73/64), 30 min tempo run (160 SI with 91/69). Brutally hot. And hit every traffic light too, Attempted cool down in stifling humidity. Felt awful. SI of 155 (82/73), 3 slow miles in sweat fest (80/74), 90 minute run -- struggled mightily (SI 147 - 76/71), 90+ minute run in the swamp. SI 157 (81/76), Failed 4 mile pace run (only got 2 in before not feeling well) SI 160 -- 86/74

 
You should do the Monumental in Indy in November... I might be doing the full there. You know you want to!
If I'm making another BQ attempt this year this is probably it, but I'm not making any decisions until the dust has settled from this summer.  If my volume's not there then I'll just find something local in November to target.

 
Toggling over the titles of your runs over the last year this is a sampling from May 27-Sep 1

Long run -- Had to cut short with the heat. Not feeling well at the end (SI 158), Race, 1st run post-race. Felt good despite 89 degrees and 159 SI, Morning Run -- So nice to run in cooler weather (73/64), 30 min tempo run (160 SI with 91/69). Brutally hot. And hit every traffic light too, Attempted cool down in stifling humidity. Felt awful. SI of 155 (82/73), 3 slow miles in sweat fest (80/74), 90 minute run -- struggled mightily (SI 147 - 76/71), 90+ minute run in the swamp. SI 157 (81/76), Failed 4 mile pace run (only got 2 in before not feeling well) SI 160 -- 86/74
Man, that was awful.  I remember all those traffic lights.....

 
Anybody else notice that (10 days out) weather forecast for Carmel is looking perfect?  30s/40s during the race?
Weatherunderground now has it mid 40s, drizzling and a bit windy (12 - 14 mph).  I don't mind the 40s or the drizzle but I don't like wind.

 
Weatherunderground now has it mid 40s, drizzling and a bit windy (12 - 14 mph).  I don't mind the 40s or the drizzle but I don't like wind.
Well, the good news is it looks like the wind would come from the S/SW. The course actually lays out pretty favorable for that wind pattern, in that from miles 17 to 24 would be with the wind at our backs. The first 6 miles are basically downhill, but heading south and then east.

If we are going to have wind, thats the direction I would want.

 
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This is Indiana, people. Weather report will change AT LEAST 29 times in the next 9 days. Could be anything from 15 and snow to 90 and humid! And only a mild exaggeration there...

 
Given that everyone is always looking for an edge, I realized tonight that I have been unintentionally holding out on you guys. A couple months ago I found the most amazing snack food at the grocery. I was eating a couple of them after running tonight and realized they may be the secret of me losing 30 pounds and likely cutting 25 minutes off my 1/2 marathon time. 

So, what's my secret? The Greatful Gourmet Pickled Asparagus Fire Sticks! I am sure of it. Forget that beet juice and your red poops. Spicy pickled asparagus is the key and the fun smelling asparagus pee that goes with it!

You can thank me later. 

 
Final SOS Marathon Pace workout today. Wife is out of town, and two kids had soccer practice. Had 90 minutes to squeeze this run in. Eliminated the warm up and cool down, so ran 10.19 miles. Ran this one trying to keep HR below 160. This run was good:

10.19 miles. 8:51 Pace. HR 159.

Now a week of easy runs. I'm as ready as I'm gonna be.

 
Just a couple of easy peasy 4-milers last night and this morning.  :yawn:

Last pre-race "long" run tomorrow morning.  I've got 12 miles total...first 5 at 7:45, next 4 at 7:20-7:30, and the last 3 at 7:00-7:10.  Important for confidence's sake to nail this one, so I'll do it on my little out-and-back route that's a slight uphill on the way out and (obviously) slight downhill on the way back.

 
Just a couple of easy peasy 4-milers last night and this morning.  :yawn:

Last pre-race "long" run tomorrow morning.  I've got 12 miles total...first 5 at 7:45, next 4 at 7:20-7:30, and the last 3 at 7:00-7:10.  Important for confidence's sake to nail this one, so I'll do it on my little out-and-back route that's a slight uphill on the way out and (obviously) slight downhill on the way back.
Check the wind too!

 
First a disclaimer... I am more than ecstatic about the progress I have made and over-the-moon excited to run Carmel in 8 days and see what I can do.

Now the humbling realization... Logging into strava this morning, seeing taper runs by juxtatrot and grue, and then realizing that their taper/easy runs are at or faster than my expected race pace. 

:lmao:

 
Just a couple of easy peasy 4-milers last night and this morning.  :yawn:

Last pre-race "long" run tomorrow morning.  I've got 12 miles total...first 5 at 7:45, next 4 at 7:20-7:30, and the last 3 at 7:00-7:10.  Important for confidence's sake to nail this one, so I'll do it on my little out-and-back route that's a slight uphill on the way out and (obviously) slight downhill on the way back.
What timing to post this as I was working on typing!

 
First a disclaimer... I am more than ecstatic about the progress I have made and over-the-moon excited to run Carmel in 8 days and see what I can do.

Now the humbling realization... Logging into strava this morning, seeing taper runs by juxtatrot and grue, and then realizing that their taper/easy runs are at or faster than my expected race pace. 

:lmao:
I've had countless runs where I'm thinking about that kind of stuff.  I'm struggling to keep a pace with a 7 in front of it and these guys are out for a stroll.  Truth be told, those thoughts occupy a lot of my runs (for good and bad).  I was just looking at my fartlek run yesterday and seeing my "bursts of incredible speed" that I can hold for maybe 30 seconds don't touch what they've run a 5 miler race.

But, someone wrote to me here early on:  "There's always someone faster and there's always someone slower".

And it's true.  A guy on my Strava that is a running coach here has run a HM faster than these guys can run a 5K.  And he's not even the fastest runner in this city.  At the same time, there are plenty of runners that can't hit our "easy" paces. 

But most importantly -- none of that matters.  Because that person that can barely hit a 10 or 11 min mile is at least out there running.  As are you and all of us.  Challenge yourself but there's no benefit to comparing yourself to others unless you're trying to improve by doing the things they do.  And THAT's the motivation these guys on here give. 

You know how I know they don't give a #### how slow I am?  Because there's a few of them traveling here to race WITH me despite knowing I don't give them any chance of winning anything.  And that's why I love this thread and this group. 

I know I'll never run at the paces these guys here run.  But I'll keep trying and put the work in as if I can. 

 
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First a disclaimer... I am more than ecstatic about the progress I have made and over-the-moon excited to run Carmel in 8 days and see what I can do.

Now the humbling realization... Logging into strava this morning, seeing taper runs by juxtatrot and grue, and then realizing that their taper/easy runs are at or faster than my expected race pace. 

:lmao:
But also to be clear, @Juxtatarot is still judging you

 
I love having their runs in my list as I scroll through. It's pretty much the same as when I started doing cross fit a few years ago. Plenty of people that I couldn't imagine doing the workouts they were doing, plenty of people that I was way ahead of, and plenty of people in the same spot I was. Both sports make for great opportunities to test yourself and compete against people of various abilities. 

Along those lines, I actually have spent some time looking at the results from the last couple of years to see how my goal time matches up to some combination of all people, people in my age group, and a number of other groupings. Totally pumped and motivated by the opportunities I have. I won't be winning my age group, but I should be a lot closer to the top than the bottom.

 
Nice memory!  (And it's still true.)
Like @MAC_32, there are LOTS of posts in here that are burned into the memory (your comment with my gorilla suit video).  The one I linked was easy to find because it's another one of those, mostly for comedic reasons.  But, and this is the funny part, I'm sometimes running along a lot of cars and want to speed up so I don't look so slow and just remind myself that I'm on a recovery run and forget them and that no one is judging me....unless it's Juxt  :)

 
2)  I don't know if this will be a long term thing although it's something I'm getting used to now.  This mostly just started with wanting to get into better shape as I haven't been athletically active in years.  I had started lifting weights a couple months earlier and combined with this I just feel so much better overall so I do plan on continuing for that reason, not to become a serious runner or racer.  I'd like to do well in this 5k in October but after that, doing 2-3 miles a few times a week will probably be ok even though you guys are telling me that won't be the case.  I'm just happy that I'm actually starting to enjoy it some because I know it's getting me into better shape and it's getting easier to do
:lmao:

 
I actually realized last night as I was running on the indoor track that I have an extra problem to worry about as the race nears. It's one I have read several people here post about and struggle with that I thought I would never struggle with when I started this... "What problem?", you ask? Well, thanks for asking... That problem is making sure I don't go out too fast and that I follow the plan for the race that I have set out on. 

Last night was one of the busier nights on the indoor track that I had seen. And for the first time, there were several people there doing workouts that had them doing laps faster than I was - one guy running laps a little faster than me and passing me every now and then, several people doing some kind of fartlek type of run and we would pass back and forth and one guy running sprints and doing "stations" of different stretching/aerobic movements. For the first couple of miles, every time someone passed me, I had to consciously remind myself to not try to run with them. 

Made me aware that I will have to make sure I'm not trying to run some crazy pace to start if I want to make sure I hit my goals. 

 
I actually realized last night as I was running on the indoor track that I have an extra problem to worry about as the race nears. It's one I have read several people here post about and struggle with that I thought I would never struggle with when I started this... "What problem?", you ask? Well, thanks for asking... That problem is making sure I don't go out too fast and that I follow the plan for the race that I have set out on. 

Last night was one of the busier nights on the indoor track that I had seen. And for the first time, there were several people there doing workouts that had them doing laps faster than I was - one guy running laps a little faster than me and passing me every now and then, several people doing some kind of fartlek type of run and we would pass back and forth and one guy running sprints and doing "stations" of different stretching/aerobic movements. For the first couple of miles, every time someone passed me, I had to consciously remind myself to not try to run with them. 

Made me aware that I will have to make sure I'm not trying to run some crazy pace to start if I want to make sure I hit my goals. 
From my year end report:

A)  Run every race as a negative split.  Reading @SteelCurtain's thoughts above just emphasized this even more.  Most of you, of course having done this for a while, are disciplined and do this the right way.  I need to get on board.  Don't get me wrong, I've had intentions of doing so but I now see how easy it is to go out the window.  And not just for me, apparently.  I think it's crazy that less than 15% of racers run negative splits when it's known to be a superior approach.  I'm going to join that 15% in 2019

 
Also, witnessed something mega inspiring last night. I have no idea what his story was, but the guy that was there doing the sprints and "stations" was awesome. When doing the stations and when he was walking at times, it was obvious  he had some kind of physical impairment. I suspect he has cerebral palsy but not sure and it doesn't really matter. When he was doing his sprints, that dude was flying and any evidence of the limp and other issues he faced were totally gone. He definitely had a passion for the work he was doing and he was fun to see churning along. 

 
I actually realized last night as I was running on the indoor track that I have an extra problem to worry about as the race nears. It's one I have read several people here post about and struggle with that I thought I would never struggle with when I started this... "What problem?", you ask? Well, thanks for asking... That problem is making sure I don't go out too fast and that I follow the plan for the race that I have set out on. 

Last night was one of the busier nights on the indoor track that I had seen. And for the first time, there were several people there doing workouts that had them doing laps faster than I was - one guy running laps a little faster than me and passing me every now and then, several people doing some kind of fartlek type of run and we would pass back and forth and one guy running sprints and doing "stations" of different stretching/aerobic movements. For the first couple of miles, every time someone passed me, I had to consciously remind myself to not try to run with them. 

Made me aware that I will have to make sure I'm not trying to run some crazy pace to start if I want to make sure I hit my goals. 
I'll never forget that time I did a 5:38 first mile of a half marathon.

 

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