July (2016) Running Challenge

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  • greenolivetree
    greenolivetree Posts: 1,282 Member
    @ddmom0811 I've eaten watermelon a few mornings after my run as well :-D

    @lporter229 That plan IS intense! I can't imagine only taking a rest day every 3 weeks!

    @TattooedDolphinGirl78 Keep working on the hills and you'll get it :) They are tough.

    @MNLittleFinn You put in a lot of miles during your last training cycle. You are surely reaping the rewards!

    @WhatMeRunning Good choice not running in that weather :-p

    @Orphia That sounds like something I'd do to hurt myself! Hope your back feels better soon!

    @shanaber Nice job hitting 50 of 100 miles already for July :)

    July 1 - 5 mile run with 3 miles of hills....10 min pilates
    July 2 - 2 mi "trail running fail".....4 miles real running :-p
    July 3 - 2.5 mi hard run
    July 4 - Rest day
    July 5 - 3 mi easy run....1.5 mi walk with sprinting intervals....25 min strength/pilates/stretching
    July 6 - 4 mi run
    July 7 - 30 min indoor cardio, 30 min strength/pilates
    July 8 - 6 mile run with 2 miles of hill repeats
    July 9 - 5 mi run
    July 10 - Sick day
    July 11 - 2 mi awful run......40 min cardio/strength circuit type workout
    July 12 - 4 mi easy run followed by 1 mi of strides and .5 jog home = 5.5 miles

    38.5 miles of 60 (all bonus miles go to our invalids) ***I'm starting to think I may actually hit 100 miles this month***
  • _nikkiwolf_
    _nikkiwolf_ Posts: 1,376 Member
    Races:

    9/7: Tropicolour 5K
    23/7: Zombies Run! App Ultra-Violet 5K
    6/8: Colour Vibe 5K
    20/8: Zombies Run! App Visiting Van Ark 10K
    3/9: Zombies Run! App Jeffro Complex 20K
    24/9: Obstacle Course “Coureur des bois”
    20/10-01/11 : Zombies Run! App 2016 Fall Virtual Run (seriously thinking about it) :smile:
    @TattooedDolphinGirl78 The color run looks fun! I've heard about them, but there aren't any near me. But I am signed up for the Zombies Run! 2016 Fall Virtual Race - I already did the spring race, and it was really well done, with special training missions leading up to the race story, and some very nice bling:smile:
  • AdrianChr92
    AdrianChr92 Posts: 567 Member
    Went to track today. I had an easy run of 9 km but I did 8 then decided to see if I have any speed in me and tried the 100 and 400 meters dash. I planned to do the 1000 m also but after the 400 I wanted to just die. Did 14-15s on 100 meters and 72s on 400 m. According to the internet it's not great :)) but not bad either.

    And my strava feed just got taken over by people playing Pokemon GO latelty

    Date.....Distance..Avg hr/Pace/km
    July 1 - 7.7 km - 148/6:09
    July 2 - 5.8 km - 147/6:56
    July 3 - 11.6km - 151/6:22
    July 4 - rest
    July 5 - 7.0 km - 149/6:34
    July 6 - 6.5 km - 147/6:32
    July 7 - 4.4 km - 139/7:00
    July 8 - 5.7 km - ???/7:00
    July 9 - 6.0 km - 130/8:30
    July 10- 7.0 km - 146/5:54
    July 11- rest
    July 12- 9.0 km - 146/6:30

    exercise.png

    03/04: Bucharest 10k and Family run 48:28
    16/04: Color Run Bucharest
    17/04: Forest Run 5k 22:05
    04/06: Happy Run 5k 21:57
    22/07: Bucharest After9Cross 9.5k
    28/08: Fox Trail Half Marathon (10k)
    18/09: Baneasa Trail Run (10k)
    09/10: Bucharest International Marathon (Half)
  • TattooedDolphinGirl78
    TattooedDolphinGirl78 Posts: 5,214 Member
    edited July 2016
    @greenolivetree Thanks. One workout at a time right? :wink: All I know is that as a new runner (since January this year), I'm amazed at my progress to date. I will conquer those hills someday!

    @_nikkiwolf_ Cool! Nice to know someone who's done one in the past. It's making my decision a little easier to make I think. :smiley: As for the Colour Runs, my best friend got me into them. You just have to make sure to close your mouth when you pass through the colour stations... lol It's too bad that there aren't any near you though. I live in the Ottawa/Gatineau area in Canada, which is the National Capital Region of the country, you can throw a rock in any direction and land on a race of some sort.
  • 5512bf
    5512bf Posts: 389 Member
    edited July 2016
    7/1 - 11.5 - Easy
    7/2 - 5.86 - Recovery
    7/3 - 18.11 - Long Run
    7/4 - 2.0 - Strength Training Warmup
    7/5 - 9.0 - Tempo
    7/6 - 14.07 - Easy
    7/7 - 5.14 - Recovery
    7/8 - 12.1 - Easy W/ Strides
    7/9 - 5.1 - Recovery
    7/10 - 20.0 - Long Run
    7-11 - Rest
    7/12 - 8.01 - Tempo

    Total 110.88 of 289

    Today started week 6 of my marathon training and after last weeks build to over 65 miles it's a step back week for a bit of recovery. Today's run called for 8 miles easy with 10x100 strides. When I woke up and saw the temp at 68 w/ a 8MPH NE breeze I decided this was an opportunity to get in a good marathon pace run. Warmed up for 2 miles then did 3 miles at MP pace. HR after 5 miles was still bumping between Z2 & Z3 so I decided to let the legs go with it and did the last 3 miles at HMP. Average HR on mile 8 was only 156, which is still 10 from the start of my threshold zone. Total average HR was still only 142 which is right at my transition from Z2 to Z3. Sometimes you just have to take what mother nature gives you and this morning was certainly a gift and a welcomed break from the brutal temps and humidity I ran in the past 3 weeks.

    @Stoshew71 - I notice you do a lot of double runs. Do you find any meaningful training stimulus or adaptations from these? or any cumulative fatigue issues that result in reduced performance on your more meaningful workouts? I've done several training plans and generally speaking they don't start doing doubles until your average run is over 10 miles. My plan will starting having 1 day with a double run (both easy/recovery in nature) in a few weeks when the mileage gets to about 67-68 miles. The author of my plan specifically discourages doubles until that point. The reason I ask is I typically skip the local fun runs in the evenings since I run in the mornings. I hate to add miles to an already difficult training plan but looking at the pictures from some of these beer runs or ice cream runs the local running stores host, they look like a lot of fun.

    @lporter229 - Is this the L3 plan from his 80/20 book? If so I've got that one circled for this winter for my spring half. I'd be interested in you're thoughts when your finished with it.
  • karllundy
    karllundy Posts: 1,490 Member
    7/1 - Baseball tournament...no chance to run.
    7/2 - More baseball!
    7/3 - Family day. Not starting the month so well.
    7/4 - 3.82 miles on a beautiful, cool morning.
    7/5 - Bodypump class, followed by 1.5 miles on indoor track.
    7/6 - 4.01 miles through the soupy air...HOLY HUMIDITY!
    7/7 - Bodypump class, then 1.5 miles on indoor track.
    7/8 - Spin Class. Not sure of mileage. ~50 minutes.
    7/9 - Rest Day. Moved a lot of furniture.
    7/10 - Bodypump class, then 2.0 miles on treadmill
    7/11 - Unplanned rest day.
    7/12 - Bodypump class, then 30 minute abs/core class (ouch)
  • lporter229
    lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
    @5512bf - Yes, it's the plan from the 80/20 book. I will keep you updated, assuming I stick with it. Like I said, it might bit a bit more than I want to chew off at the moment. I want to have a strong HM, but I also don't want to get injured or burned out in the process. From what I have noticed so far, there is a significant jump in training time between each level of his plans. I think level 3 is for the serious runner. He likes the two a days as well. I am not sure if there is an added benefit to doing two separate runs, but often I combine the total time into one run just because it is more convenient for me to do that. But I know that later in the plan I will have to split them up a bit more because mid week runs over 10 miles also present a challenge in scheduling. I guess it all comes down to how you are able to find the time and energy to fit all of the training in. It sounds to me like your current marathon plan is pretty intense as well, so maybe it won't be that much of a challenge to you.
  • shanaber
    shanaber Posts: 6,373 Member
    @lporter229 - that is a tough HM training plan. I am pretty sure I would be exhausted from the training by the time the race came around even with a taper!
    @ddmom0811 - Our Costco here sells cold pressed watermelon juice with nothing else added. I love to have it after a run when it is hot!
    @greenolivetree - thanks! I will be doing less as the month goes on - I have a HM (San Francisco) the last weekend of the month.
  • 5512bf
    5512bf Posts: 389 Member
    @lporter229 - The double runs of 4 or 5 miles never really made a lot of sense to me as far as a marathon plan is concerned. I see some benefit from a morning hard session and a recovery run in the evening for half marathon plans. I'm not sure why he does 2 foundation/recovery runs however. I don't remember his philosophy in the book specific to two a days but it's been a while since I read the book. I've never did any of his plans, but use the 80/20 principles loosely. I typically like to push the paces/HR in the 20% more than he prescribes and do my 80% on that borderline z2/z3 shooting for an average HR a few BPM +/- that line. Pete Pfitzinger plan I'm doing now is a butt kicker and i'm finding the 2 weekly middle distance runs of 13-15 & 11-13 pretty brutal. He doesn't even consider it a long run until you get 16 miles. Trying to finish a middle distance run of 13-15 miles or a long run of 20+ in this heat is nearly impossible to do exclusively in Z2 with cardiac drift.
  • Stoshew71
    Stoshew71 Posts: 6,553 Member
    edited July 2016
    Here's some interesting data reports on my progress so far.
    Data is from RunningAHEAD (top 2 graphs) and Garmin Connect imported into Excel (bottom 2) from Jan 2015-June 2016.
    I wanted to compare my training from last year to this year.

    13613402_2070434396516088_5805695429942337405_o.jpg
  • lporter229
    lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
    edited July 2016
    @5512bf -I am the same as you as far as really pushing my pace on the 20% (I often do longer times in that zone than prescribed) and I also ride the line of z2/z3 a lot. And I also know what you are saying about the cardiac drift, especially in the heat. I don't think he really talks much about the reasoning behind the two a days in the book, but I suspect that it might have something to do with the cardiac drift and cumulative fatigue kind of thing. Like you said, it's harder to stay out of zone 3 on some of the longer runs, so it helps to break them in half. However, in my mind, this almost makes me feel like some of those runs amount to "junk miles". I understand the whole idea of time on ones feet, but if I jog down the street for 5 minutes every hour for 12 hours, is that really the same as going for an hour long run?

    ETA: I have looked at the Peter Pfitzinger plans in the past. They are no joke! But if you are able to make it through that training, I am quite sure your race will be a breeze! Train hard, race easy, right?
  • Somebody_Loved
    Somebody_Loved Posts: 498 Member
    07/01 - 3 miles
    07/02 - Hiking w/ family
    07/03 - 6 miles
    07/04 - 1 mile
    07/06 - 5 miles
    07/07 - 3 miles
    07/09 - 8 miles
    07/11 - 4 lunch miles + 2.5 evening miles

    I went out last night for a couple extra miles and my knees were not happy about it. I don't know what's going on, but the past couple months my knees have really been bothering me. I was hoping they'd calm down since the marathon but so far, no such luck.

    I've been taking barre classes a few times a week to cross train and I'm hoping to get some benefit from that as the time goes on. I'll be taking that class tonight and resting/icing my knees today.

    exercise.png

    Upcoming races:
    08/13: Magnuson Park 10k
    08/20: Reykjavik 10k (what better way to explore a new city than by running it?)
    09/10: Lake Chelan HM
    09/17: Destination Woodinville HM
  • Stoshew71
    Stoshew71 Posts: 6,553 Member
    5512bf wrote: »

    @Stoshew71 - I notice you do a lot of double runs. Do you find any meaningful training stimulus or adaptations from these? or any cumulative fatigue issues that result in reduced performance on your more meaningful workouts? I've done several training plans and generally speaking they don't start doing doubles until your average run is over 10 miles. My plan will starting having 1 day with a double run (both easy/recovery in nature) in a few weeks when the mileage gets to about 67-68 miles. The author of my plan specifically discourages doubles until that point. The reason I ask is I typically skip the local fun runs in the evenings since I run in the mornings. I hate to add miles to an already difficult training plan but looking at the pictures from some of these beer runs or ice cream runs the local running stores host, they look like a lot of fun.


    @5512bf The idea was for me to continue to raise my total weekly distance. It was getting harder to do that doing only 1 run a day due to both my schedule (I wasn't getting up any earlier to fit my runs in) as well as seeing the quality of a longer run go down in the last couple of miles when I was doing only a single run a day.

    So I decided to break some of my longer quality runs during the week into 2. Each run for the day I felt I got more quality out of it, I wasn't as rushed in the morning to get my run in before work, and I started the second run for the day better refreshed to get those extra miles in.

    I started with just 1 or 2 doubles a week. I was doing M-10 T-10 W-6.2 R-10 F-6.2 Sa-16ish Su REST

    So Then M1-7 M2-4 T-10 W-6.2 R1-7 R2-4 F 6.2 Sa-16ish Su REST

    What it turned into is 2 or 3 doubles a week now.


    Usually the morning session is a medium-long midweek week. Then during my lunch hour I will get in an extra 4 or 5 (sometimes a 10K) at an easy pace. So my morning session is intended to be more intense pace or workload, while the afternoon is just more extra easy or recovery pace miles.

    And yes, I am a sucker for the pub runs our local Fleet Feet puts on. Apparently I am also a sucker for Friday evening swamp runs that my running group did as well. But they promised me beer and Waffle House afterwards. lol

    I make up my own plan, so it's pretty flexible. My main focus is to get in the miles for the week and to be increasing slowly. Then I will add in elevation or more tempo paced workouts based upon how I am feeling. If there is something during the week like a pub run or something that I am interested, I work it in. I am also able to dial it back when I feel like I am burning myself out.

    This morning I was able to add 4 pickups (strides) into my run. It's been a while since I had the energy to do that.
  • greenolivetree
    greenolivetree Posts: 1,282 Member
    Day 1 of my diet (yesterday): Great!
    Day 2 (today): I ate lunch at 9:30am. LOL True story....

    After eating less yesterday, I was staaaarving after my run this morning.

    @Somebody_Loved Sorry about the knees. If mine were really bothering me, I'd probably go low impact for awhile but I know that's hard to do.....



  • Somebody_Loved
    Somebody_Loved Posts: 498 Member
    @greenolivetree - Thanks. They felt really good the couple weeks after the marathon since I wasn't running much, but the second I started to increase my mileage they started acting up again. When I got into my 16-20 mile long runs, my plantar fasciitis got really bad so my podiatrist put me in orthotics and that's when my knees started bothering me. I've since ditched the insoles but the knee pain stuck around.
  • greenolivetree
    greenolivetree Posts: 1,282 Member
    @greenolivetree - Thanks. They felt really good the couple weeks after the marathon since I wasn't running much, but the second I started to increase my mileage they started acting up again. When I got into my 16-20 mile long runs, my plantar fasciitis got really bad so my podiatrist put me in orthotics and that's when my knees started bothering me. I've since ditched the insoles but the knee pain stuck around.

    Oh bummer, sounds like one thing lead to another....
  • 5512bf
    5512bf Posts: 389 Member
    @Stoshew71 - I hear you on the time issue. Getting out of bed at 4:45 to hit the street at 5:15 and run in the dark almost an hour really sucks. I've however read that a good 10-12 miler trumps (2) 6-7 milers every time as far as adaptations goes, concerning marathons at least. I've used similar double structures in half training's as you describe, early hard/late recovery. I typically only train for half's in the winter/early spring when daylight is at a premium so that structure works well since 5-8 mile runs are typically a good distance for training. I've always struggled with the 21-25 mile mark of marathons, mostly because I like to eat and carry 10 lbs extra with me. This training I've really focused on the middle distance & long runs as the key workouts and don't think breaking them up will provide the adaptations and training stimulus I'm looking for. I might try to do my Thur recovery run Wed evening and use Thur morning as a bonus XC Day next week as see how it goes, assuming I only have one adult beverage after the beer run.
  • mustb60
    mustb60 Posts: 1,090 Member
    12/7/16 run 7.5 km

    11/7/16 run 6.28 km

    9/7/16 run 4 km

    Target 17.78/50 km
  • MNLittleFinn
    MNLittleFinn Posts: 4,271 Member
    @Stoshew71 your explanation of your daily doubles runs right into the conundrum I have. Being a slower running, my Morning 9 milers required a start time of 0400-0415 to get it in so OI could shower and get the rest of the family up in time to go to work. I want to extend my Tuesday runs out to maybe 10 miles....but therein lies the problem, I'm getting up at 0345 to do 9 miles, and it might not seem like much, but getting up an extra 10-15 minutes early to fit in that extra mile just does not seem right.

    Because of that, I'm thinking of either, doing a DD on Thursday, with my speedwork in the morning, and an easy like 4-5 miles in the evening, or adding a Friday run. Alternatively, I could make my Wednesday into another longer run, but with a 8-9 mile run on Tuesday, and speedwork on Thursday, part of me thinks I should leave that one shorter....

    Or I could sandwich the tempo intervals/cruise intervals in the middle of a longer run on Thursday. I'm working toward doing 3x2 miles at TI pace for those, so a 1-2 mile warm up and cool down would stretch those runs longer That would push me out to 8 miles, plus whatever during recoveryjogs between intervals for those runs. ultimate goal is to get my long runs out to 14-16 miles so when I run HMs I'll have more endurance/stamina so I can run them stronger....