The January 2016 Running Challenge

michable wrote: »

Nature out in force this morning. A cyclist stopped me to warn about a snake on the path (I didn't see it when I went through, but I was looking out for it), and a mob of kangaroos behind the golf club.

THAT is not something ever said in the states lol

Another 5 miles tonight, thats 8 miles over two runs so far this month. So another 72 miles to go

Got to make up a ticker.

6 more km today. It was a pretty tough and slow run. My legs felt like lead. I feel like I ran a half marathon yesterday, not 5k.
I ran in my regular shoes and did lots of stretching after.

1/1/16-3.0miles
1/2/16-4.33miles
1/3/16-Rest
1/4/16-3.0miles
1/5/16-4.27miles
Total-14.6miles

Wanted to share this with you.. This made me cry and sent shivers up my spine.. This is a little boy with Cerebral Palsy, running 100 metres with his classmates... I was cheering for him out loud, watching this from my computer! What a champion!! And his smile says it all!! So beautiful!!

https://www.facebook.com/7newssc/videos/1006524272738340/?fref=nf

January 2016
02/1 – 13.02 – 8’28 pace
04/1 – 05.06 – 8’40 pace – pushing pram
06/1 – 05.01 – 7’24 pace – speed
TOT: 23.09 km

First (intentional) interval run

Cut 6:22 mins off my usual 5k run time!! I am impressed! Took the first 3k at a comfortable, easy pace (my legs always take 2-3km to warm up! Grr) Then ran 500 mtrs hard, 500 mtrs slow.. Did this 2 more times.

Really surprised to see that my 5th km was run at a 6’19 pace! Stoked!!!!

My question is this.. Do you think a run like this will beneficial? I feel like it might not be enough for me (would ideally like to work on getting a little faster) just doing the 5k as the first few km are always hard while my legs and feet are clumsy and waking up… Should I maybe run a few km first, then do 5k of intervals? Hmm…I would love to finish the HM in march in under 3 hrs… 2:30 would be a dream but won’t hold my breath.



January Races
9/1 – New Year Virtual 10K

Oops
My Update Need to get going

Somebody_Loved wrote: »

Awesome job on all the miles so far! I was part of the challenge a couple months late last year but I haven't been able to log on MFP as much as I'd like so I haven't joined back in. I'm still at it, though, and in the midst of training for my first HM on March 5th. I also finished my first 12k a few weeks back and had a great experience with that.

Just wanted to stop by and wish everyone well this month - happy running!

ahh Was wondering where you had got to! Good to know you're still at it!

WhatMeRunning wrote: »

MorningGhost14 wrote: »

Elise4270 wrote: »

Observed Max is 219. ;-)

Holy crap! I had my HR that high once, but I think it involved hookers and cocaine...

Day = made.

I laughed out loud.

Seriously though, is 219 accurate? I know max HR's can vary from person to person, but the generic formula people use to approximate a max HR is 220 - age in years. So since I just turned 44 that would mean mine should be around 176. I know that is low however as I can get near 170 for periods that are too long to really be that near my max HR. I can not fathom ever hitting 219 though. Doesn't mean you're wrong, maybe you do go that high.

Based on my experience, I'm inclined to believe the observed maximum.

I'm 60 years old. The generic formula says my max heart rate should be 220 - 60 = 160.,

WIth over a year of running data, Garmin says my max heart rate should be 185.

I've observed my heart rate up at 191 or 192 on warmups. I'm not sure how to interpret that, as it isn't really the effort that the heart rate sounds like; if I just keep running, the heart rate comes back down to a sustainable level for whatever pace I'm running.

Today's speed work called for intervals at T pace. I dutifully ran at what Jack Daniels says my T pace should be based on some recent races, and my heart rate hung in the low 150s for the T intervals. By the canned formula, that would be over 90% of my max; but it's not a terribly uncomfortable place to be. I can maintain that for an hour or so, just like you're supposed to be able to at threshold.

Bottom line is, I suspect there are a lot of people out there whose real max heart rate and training zones are somewhat different from what the standard formula would produce.

January Running Totals (miles)
1/1 - 10.17 warm up + 7.5 mile race
1/2 - 12.29 long slow run
1/3 - 5.16 easy with fast finish
1/4 - 6.01 easy
1/5 - 11.09 warmup, speed work, cool down

January to date total - 44.72
Goal - 51 to 62 miles per week, per training plan
expected January total - 245 to 251 miles

Today's notes: First club meeting at the indoor track. Today's plan called for 2 miles at MP, 1 x 800 m at T, 1 x 1600 m at T, 1 x 800 m at T, 2 miles at MP. Convention is a 2 mile warm up before and a 2 mile cool down after. The plan didn't say what recovery; coach advised 2 minutes recovery.

It went okay. The last interval at MP was harder than I thought it would be. I was thinking my Garmin was overestimating the distance from cadence (in the absence of GPS signal); then later coach told me that it's just lane 1 that is a true 200 m. If you run it lane 6, it's 7 laps to the mile. I was doing most of my speed work in lanes 2 and 3, to allow the inside lane for runners doing faster work; and I was further out for my warm up. Add in about 0.6 miles on the recovery periods, where I was walking or doing a very slow jog, and the distance is a reasonable estimate.

You know you're in marathon training when warm up, speed work, and cool down add up to more than 10 miles and it doesn't count as a long run.

Upcoming races:
Jan. 9, 2016 Winter Warrior Half Marathon (Rochester, NY)
April 18, 2016 Boston Marathon (Hopkinton, MA)