ILX running running thread

The thing that is killing me here in Brussels is the long hills. Like a good incline for at least a mile. Not steep at all but it wears on you.

Normally my runs are pancake flat.

yeah, I encounter that biking places here in Austin and it wears you down real fast.

I've been hiking in the Rocky Mountains at around 2mi/3km and didn't suffer from any ill effects (I usually go running at basically sea level... maybe 500ft above).
― erry red flag (f. hazel), Monday, July 29, 2013 Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I want to go to the American side next!

The places I run in Los Angeles are pretty flat, for the most part.

In San Francisco, I once cycled from Embarcadero to Sausalito via the Golden Gate Bridge. Boy, was that a workout. Though I don't think I was that in shape back then.

Can't imagine how one trains for that Himalayan thing. I guess if you've got ultra-racing experience, then hang out in that area for a few wks prior to the race?

so I am scheduled for a 15-moole training run tmrw and the charger for my garmin watch has been packed up and put in a storage unit for moving purposes. Can bring my iPhone on the run but is there a reliable GPS app that anyone recommends? Really just need something to track the distance, timing the run isn't a big deal.

15-mile, that is

I use the garmin app as my backup. It's not great but it tracks mileage and then you can upload straight to garmin connect. Then you can export the tcx file and do what you want with it.

Runkeeper is very accurate and very good. Basic version is free.

I use the free Endomondo -- works really well on an Android at least. Have had a couple of times where the gps has gone haywire and claimed a 3-second mile, but those are rare and I assume more the phone's fault than the app.

Crushed my 20 miler today. Feeling pretty good less than two months before Grand Rapids. I'm still going to be nervous as hell for this race.

Had 58 miles last week, my highest ever. Should be close to 60 this week. 46 more days until my marathon.

how do you break out your runs during the week? three or four shorter runs and one long?

I signed up for a half-marathon in early December, so I'm ramping up my own mileage, although not that high... right now I'm doing 4mi/3mi/long run, with the long run starting at 5 miles and increasing a mile per week. mixing in some speedwork every couple of weeks too.

1 long/2 speed/2-3 short is my generic schedule, if I'm not fit/recovering well I just tone down the speed/distance.

I run 6 days a week and it usually breaks down like this:

Monday: almost always easy running. Usually 60 mins or 6 to 7 miles.
Tuesday: Speed work of some kind. Workouts can vary greatly, but these days it leans towards longer intervals of various race paces. Tough one I had the other night was 4 x 3K with 3 min jogging rests. Start the 1st 3k at MP and progress down to 10K pace for the last one. Speed is sandwiched by easy miles, usually ends up being 10 to 12 miles.
Wednesday: more easy miles, usually 6 to 8.
Thursday: second speed session. Every few weeks there will be a hill workout or long progression here but most of the time it is similar to Tuesday. 10 to 12 miles total
Friday: OFF. And it is a glorious day. Always look forward to it.
Saturday: long run, usually 16 to 20 miles. Sometimes some quality is thrown in such as a fast finish or running the first few mins of each later mile at a quicker pace.
Sunday: recovery run 50 to 70 mins, usually 5 to 8 miles. Slow and easy.

i illegally downloaded jack daniels' running formula and it's pretty helpful to look at, f. hazel

Workout tonight was fun. 2 easy, 2 at MP + 20 seconds, 4 @ MP, 2 at HMP, 2 easy. Actually, it was hard, but not too hard. One of those workouts that you feel like wow, I did something tonight.

62.2 mile week! Feeling fantastic.

Thanks for the lowdown, Jeff. Only one day off a week! As noted, I'm doing three days of running, one day of some other activity like biking or swimming. And I will have a look at that, harbl! When I worked at a bookstore I spent my breaks reading all the running books they had, and used that knowledge to develop a 12-week training program for myself.

So happy I'm back up to doing five-mile/hour-plus runs now... and last night it was actually less than 90 degrees out!

261.8 miles for September, most ever. I have peaked and now begins the taper. 3 more weeks.

what event are you tapering for?

got the first cold front of fall, so I delayed my long run until tonight in order to enjoy it... eight miles in deliciously cool air. dry, cool air makes such a massive difference... 70 degrees instead of 90... my pace was about 30 seconds/mile faster but my heart rate was 15bpm lower than normal!

wow jeff, that's a hell of a solid month!

Grand Rapids Marathon.

I'm so nervous about it. I've definitely put in the training. However I fear weather and potential GI issues.

i love this, can't stop watching it http://www.nbcchicago.com/video/#!/news/local/Dennis-Kimetto-Talks-to-Stefan-Holt/227580531

Ha, he has no idea what he is saying.

Still amazed every year that I spectate how amazing it is to watch the elites fly by.

2:55 per km for 42.195 km is beyond amazing

I could hold that pace for... maybe 100 meters?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5o55R06vr8

Did you guys see the end of the Berlin marathon where Kipsang set the world record? 10 metres before the line, some dickhead advertising a porn site or something like that jumps out of the crowd and takes the tape ahead of him. What a hateful thing to do, really boiled my piss watching that.

Yeah kind of shocked he was able to do that. Seems like security should have been better at a world major marathon.

So had a call with my coach last night to come up with my race plan for Grand Rapids on Sunday:

-Line up with the Billy Baldwin racers pace group (http://grandrapidsmarathon.com/information/pace-teams/)
-Stick with them for 5 or 6 miles. They'll be running right in the middle of my pace range and this will help me not start out too fast.
-If I'm feeling good, then gradually speed up to the lower end of my pace range, around 7:50 mile/min. Stick with it until mile 20/21.
-Go for it the last 5 or 6 miles. Ideal scenario will have me finishing around 3:25.
-Beer.

good luck! hope you get good weather.

Race start temp should be in the 40s. May be some light rain to contend with but I can handle that.

For a moment I thought that was celsius.

40s F is pretty nice.

i found an insane new place to run near my new house. it's the back way into a park i used to run to at my old house. first it has a longish steepish hill that i thought i'd puke on. then yesterday i ran all the way up it and a little beyond. then today i ran up it and kept going, which leads to a loooooooooooong downhill. i could not run back up so i just did 1 min walk/run intervals all the way home. it's like a new project. running is fun again. i need to learn to run downhill though.

my local trail has been closed due to weekend flooding... I was gonna take the week off anyway!

Running downhill is hard! Tough on the quads.

I've been running terribly since I started again after the heat died down. Slow pace, and even then having to stop every 4 miles or so. I'm running a 10K in a few weeks, which would have been no problem back in May but now I'm a little nervous!

Are you going for a specific time?

solution: run slower

earlier this year i was going to try to aim for 50 minutes (about 8 per mile). at the time, i was able to run a 8:30 pace for 6-7 miles and thought i should be able to bump it up to 8:00 by october. but then i accidentally forgot to run for the entire summer.

when i started back up i went at a 9:15 pace (which feels really, really slow to me - i'm not good at slowing down on purpose and it almost hurts), and even then i'm just worn out.

anyway, no big deal, the solution is just to keep running regularly until the 10K, but man oh man it feels awful right now!

3:36:23. I bonked hard on this one and ended up walking about 10 minutes. Marathons are hard to do. Very happy with the results though. 55 minutes faster than my PR.

Good work!

Marathons are hard to do.

This is never false.

Massive PB!! Well done Jeff! (full report when you've recuperated plz)

Z S, you'll be fine in a few weeks. I started running regularly again in September and only felt my legs getting used to longer distances again after a couple of weeks of regular running.

Jeff, congrats!
Don't think I'll ever do a marathon. Running >3 hours doesn't appeal to me at all. I'd love to do half a marathon though. Somewhere in the next year I think I'll give it a go.

They're kind of crazy things to do. You just get to this dark place where everything in your body is like STOP RUNNING YOU FOOL. You've got to put yourself way outside your comfort zone.

I think more than running a marathon, I just like the routine of marathon training. Day after day after day of getting out there and running and getting your workouts in. I can honestly say that the last 10 months of training have been kind of amazing.

I'll probably do another, but not in 2014. My marathon progression has been 5:40, 4:31, DNF, 3:36. My BQ time would be a 3:10. That seems like an insurmountable 26 minutes, but I think if I spend next year getting faster at halfs and keeping my base mileage up, then I can try again in 2015.

Thought about this race A LOT.

I won't go into a mile by mile recap, but my downfall seemed to have been caused by me running above my ability in miles 6 through 16. I came to my senses in miles 17-20, but the damage was already done. Miles 20-24 were a complete slough, with a lot of walking. For the last two miles I was able to pick it up some and run it in, but not very fast. Everything else went almost perfectly for me. Weather was ideal, I stuck to a strict nutrition plan, no GI issues, no injuries or other acute pains to deal with.

So a 3:30 was probably good time to go for. However when you're running a marathon, you breeze through those early miles, it's easy to make the wrong decision in regards to your pace. After 16 miles I was on a 3:22 pace. At 20 miles I was still in a position to finish in 3:25 to 3:28, but I was almost completely depleted. Anyway, what's done is done, learn from your mistakes and race again.

You're not the first person to go out too fast and you won't be the last. I usually have a conservative-ish goal for the 10 mile point and I do my best to stick to it but I always come in 30-60 seconds under. As you say, it all seems so easy...until it doesn't.

If you were walking at 20, then you were losing minutes per mile - with better planning there's definitely scope for a faster time next time.

I am going for a run now! My single goal at the moment is to string together a few three-to-four day weeks and get my mind into a place where running is part of my routine. I've basically forgotten how to train - making an hour for it every day does not come naturally to me.

Good thing is that pace is an easy thing to do something about and it won't be haunting your next attempt like the experience of some other physical problem might. How is the recovery going?