May 2017 Running Challenge

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  • MobyCarp
    MobyCarp Posts: 2,927 Member
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    ctlaws44 wrote: »
    @WhatMeRunning I always like reading yours and @MobyCarp run analysis. I may not understand half of it but I always come away learning a little something and thinking about it during my runs. Like the whole thing about HR I don’t get. Is it to optimize your workout so that you don’t feel bad the next day or an early warning you’re going to start fatiguing? In my uneducated opinion, I think it would be good to push your heart like you do any other muscle to make it stronger. Sorry for my ignorance. I guess I should really read some theories on running.

    @ctlaws44 - From a cardio development perspective, it's not good to push to the maximum all the time. Training in different heart rate zones had different cardio benefits, and you want to get some of all of those benefits. The best non-technical description I've found for that is in an article I've linked before, Train Slower to Race Faster.

    From a personal perspective, I don't think about the cardio implications much. On a day to day basis, I'm more concerned with injury prevention. But the answer for injury prevention is also not to always be pushing hard, and any well designed training plan has both injury prevention and the cardio training built into the plan. I'm typically following a plan that requires quality workouts to be done at target paces for endurance and cardio benefits, but the majority of the miles to be run easy for injury prevention and different cardio benefits. For me, watching to be sure that the heart rate stays in the lower zones is mostly a surrogate for being sure I'm not beating too hard on my legs and feet all the time.

    That having been said, I get a cardio benefit even when I'm thinking of the training in terms of injury prevention. In 2016, I went through my first marathon training cycle with a well developed, structured plan. At the end of that training cycle, my easy pace was 15 seconds faster per mile than it was at the beginning. In 2017, there wasn't as much benefit to gain; but I still finished the Boston training cycle with an easy pace perhaps 5 seconds per mile faster than a year earlier.
  • Stoshew71
    Stoshew71 Posts: 6,553 Member
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    RespectTheKitty wrote: »
    @Orphia I sent you a FB request :smile:

    I think we should make a Facebook page for this group! @Stoshew71 what do you think?

    If someone wants to start a FB group, send me the link to join. I don't feel motivated enough to start it myself.

  • skippygirlsmom
    skippygirlsmom Posts: 4,433 Member
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    5/1 - 5 miles
    5/2 - 5 miles
    5/3 - 3 miles
    5/4 - rest day
    5/5 - 2 miles
    5/6 - 5 miles - Steeple Chase 8K
    5/7 - rest day
    5/8 - 5 miles
    5/9 - 3 miles
    5/10 - rest day
    5/11 - 5 miles
    5/12 - 3 miles
    5/13 - 4 miles - Technicolor 5K and cool down
    5/14 - Mother's day and this Mother didn't run :wink:
    5/15 - 2 miles now this Mother was sorry she didn't run yesterday because this run was *kitten*
    5/16 - 6 miles

    48 of 60 miles

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    Races:

    5/6 - Steeple Chase 8K - 3 in AG
    5/13 - Technicolor 5K - 1 in AG
    5/29 - Cotton Row 10K
  • Elise4270
    Elise4270 Posts: 8,375 Member
    edited May 2017
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    @ddmom0811 I get the same emails. Don't they understand most of us are running to improve our appearance and never want to see those photos again? I always look like a dude with @WhatMeRunning 's moobs. Maybe it's because my brother and I look alike and that's what I'm seeing.... But I hate it.

    The scale says ​I didn't gain but didn't lose on the trip. Of course, the 2 giant cinnabon's I ate once home, haven't gotten to thier final destinations yet. Total win.

    What I learned on this last trip:
    1. If you let housekeeping in each day your trash never overflows and you don't think they are coffee Nazis.
    2. I'm allergic to Oklahoma. Must move to GA. Thier food is better too.
    3. I don't get creeped out by ghost stories or even if​ I catch a photo of one. Eh...
    4. Someone is a terrible travel companion
    5. McDonough GA has the best coffee in the world.
    6. Use your sun block beach running. Preferably the kind with color so you don't miss the back of one arm.
    7. I need more stairs in my life. Gah! Was sore for 3 days after climbing the light house with wobbly legs.
    8. And Because this is a running thread- run out of state, it's awesome.
    9. It's a bad idea to get running shoes wet. PU.
    ETA and everybody's water is better than ours. No gator skin in Georgia.
  • juliet3455
    juliet3455 Posts: 3,015 Member
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    @Bakins929 AWW the smell of new shoes, now go get them Dirty and trash them >:)

    @WhatMeRunning and @MobyCarp Great Heart rate discussion, I will have to have a better look at my settings. Thanks for the reminder that we all should take the time on our LSD runs to stop and take in the scenery we are surrounded by.

    @RespectTheKitty You definitely can do a HM, like others have suggested a training plan from a sponsoring store, a little Physiotherapy and strength training will break through the 10 mile wall. Maybe leave the GPS Device at home and wear a plain old Digital Watch and run for time ie avg 10 mile time + 5>10 minutes.

    @kristinegift Glad your Spine is feeling better and survived your HM run. Take care girl - we like you and hate to see you hurtin

    @ctlaws44 I agree that hills are one of the best workouts for runners. Especially if you can pass a biker.
    When I hit my pace plateau a local BQ runner dragged me out to the local track and introduced me to 400m/800m speed sessions. Like you I shortened my stride and increased my cadence. Really had to concentrate on my cadence which seemed to naturally shorten my stride.

    @ddmom0811 That would be called Ransom Ware photography
  • RespectTheKitty
    RespectTheKitty Posts: 1,667 Member
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    5/1 - 4.6 run + 4.8 walk
    5/2 - 1.0 run + 7.1 walk
    5/3 - 5.1 run + 3.9 walk
    5/4 - 0.0 run + 5.1 walk
    5/5 - 5.2 run + 4.8 walk
    5/6 - 5.1 run + 1.8 walk
    5/7 - 0.5 run + 5.6 walk
    5/8 - 5.1 run + 3.8 walk
    5/9 - 0.0 run + 5.8 walk
    5/10 - 4.6 run + 5.9 walk
    5/11 - 5.0 run + 5.5 walk
    5/12 - 0.0 run + 5.5 walk
    5/13 - 6.2 run + 0.0 walk
    5/14 - Rest
    5/15 - 4.5 run + 5.0 walk
    5/16 - 5.3 run + TBD

    Totals so far - 52.2 run + 64.6 walk = 116.8 miles

    Thank you everyone for the words of encouragement about the HM! I do think I can do it if I really train well for it. I just don't want to re-injure my hip, or give myself some different kind of injury. I think my best bet at this stage of my running career is to concentrate on slow, easy miles for the long runs. I don't need to be trying to break any speed records this time out. My goal will be to just finish the race.

    Today's run was a bit easier than yesterday's. I tried eating a Clif bar ahead of the run for a little bit of energy, and it seemed to help, and no stomach issues (except for a little breaking of the wind). I was still disappointed in my overall pace, however, but on the last mile I was able to sustain a 9:50 pace for at least 3/4 of that mile and finished out the mile with a 10:08. So it isn't impossible to run tempo early in the morning, just takes some extra effort. And 9:50 seems to be a really good tempo pace for me to work on, when I'm not concentrating on long, slow miles.

    Good god I'm tired.
  • RespectTheKitty
    RespectTheKitty Posts: 1,667 Member
    edited May 2017
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    Stoshew71 wrote: »
    RespectTheKitty wrote: »
    @Orphia I sent you a FB request :smile:

    I think we should make a Facebook page for this group! @Stoshew71 what do you think?

    If someone wants to start a FB group, send me the link to join. I don't feel motivated enough to start it myself.

    I'd be willing to start a group. But let's first see how many people would join. Show of hands, how many people here would like to see a Facebook group for the MRC? I'll post this in the MRC Group too.
  • WhatMeRunning
    WhatMeRunning Posts: 3,538 Member
    edited May 2017
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    @ctlaws44 - That is quite a large subject about using target HR's for specific training runs, made even bigger by incorporating into a structured training plan. Part of it is what you suspect about avoiding fatigue, another part exactly matches your opinion about improving your cardio fitness. The key is doing it right, and not doing too much at any time, or slouching into a routine that winds up yielding diminishing returns.

    For example, I am pretty much getting my maximum returns possible as far as limiting myself to only endurance workouts. If I keep adding mileage the only thing I am doing is increasing risk of injury, and not gaining any more physiological benefits than if I stayed at the same mileage. There is a saying I heard once, "If things aren't working, change what you're doing". So, since continuing at my current capabilities at more and more mileage is not giving me any real benefit other than higher risk of injury, I should change what I'm doing. What I decided to do is maintain my current mileage and instead of adding the stress of more miles, I add the stress of higher effort during some of my miles. Thus the tempo intervals and tempo runs during my mid-week long(ish) runs.

    Another link to go along with what @MobyCarp provided that I found helpful was this article on the McMillan Running site. You have to take in the whole 6 steps, and for me I had to reread it again afterwards (probably read 3 times) before things started coming together in seeing how these things can work together. There are many different types of training guides out there, this is just one of many. But the info here is pure gold in my opinion.
    https://www.mcmillanrunning.com/mcmillans-six-step-training-system/

    For the most part, I never do the Speed or Sprint workouts. I did a session with Speed workouts last year during a low mileage cycle when starting a new training period, and I think it was magic. But if you are trying to run long distances, I think it is pretty risky to try and add Speed workouts unless you have really built up some endurance, strength and stamina first, as in maybe a year or more of that sort of training (totally unprofessional and uneducated opinion there).

    The Stamina workouts are key though one you built up a solid base of endurance and mileage. They will help to make you faster, but a surprising thing they provide is endurance. One way to look at it is...if you wish to go faster, do endurance runs. If You wish to run farther, do some stamina runs. That is not speaking in absolutes, stamina runs will also help make you faster, and endurance runs also help you run further. But the change in routine is what triggers your body to respond and adapt.

    Crap, this is way too long. Sorry!
  • springtimez
    springtimez Posts: 51 Member
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    05/03-- 2, 05/05--2, 05/07--3, 05/08--3, 05/09--4, 05/10--4, 05/11-- Rest
    05/12--4.5 miles
    05/13--2 miles
    05/14--4 miles
    Total 28.5 miles!

    Before I went running last night, I had to poop and I was laughing just thinking of the poop discussion in this thread! I am a morning person too! But then there are days when you go more than once!!
  • RespectTheKitty
    RespectTheKitty Posts: 1,667 Member
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    Oh! I forgot to mention... I'm going to be starting up bowling again. I was a pretty serious bowler for a long time, but I took last year off for various reasons (I just needed a break, basically). Well now it's time to get back to it. I'm starting a summer league tonight. Bowling is actually pretty good exercise for me. It has a lot of strength elements to it (albeit only on one side of the body).

    The only trouble is, I will be out late tonight, and therefore getting to bed late, which means getting up at 5:30 might be extremely difficult tomorrow. Therefore, I have decided to designate Wednesdays as a cross training day, so I can wake up a little later and do yoga or strength training before work. And of course all the walking I do during the work day.

    If I use the Hal Higdon HM plan, I will have to adjust the schedule to account for various life aspects such as the aforementioned bowling. The program has the LR on Sunday, but I would much prefer to do it on Saturday and take Sunday as a rest day. I don't know, maybe Hal Higdon isn't the right program for me. I may have to research other plans.
  • WhatMeRunning
    WhatMeRunning Posts: 3,538 Member
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    Today's 4 easy effort miles were great! I had a really nice pace and felt good throughout. Which is interesting because I suspected the tempo intervals I did yesterday would have made today's run challenging. So either I didn't challenge myself enough yesterday (likely), or I got immediate results (love that idea).

    After a lot of digging in, and comparing, I think I'm going to stick with the planned HR effort zones for tomorrow's tempo run during the actual tempo part, but I am going to shift the planned tempo distance and where it falls in the run. Instead of trying 4 miles at tempo effort smack in the middle of the run, I'm going to drop it to 2 miles at tempo effort at the end of the run. Like a 2 mile tempo pickup on my 8 mile medium-long run basically. I suspect I will want to die.

    5/1 - 8 miles
    5/2 - 4 miles
    5/3 - 8 miles
    5/4 - 4 miles
    5/5 - rest
    5/6 - 9 miles
    5/7 - 4 miles
    5/8 - 6 miles
    5/9 - 4 miles
    5/10 - 6 miles
    5/11 - rest
    5/12 - more rest
    5/13 - 13 miles (plus 0.1)
    5/14 - 4 miles
    5/15 - 8 miles
    5/16 - 4 miles

    82 of 180 miles completed


    exercise.png
  • cburke8909
    cburke8909 Posts: 990 Member
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    5/14 rest day
    5/15 7 miles
    5/16 4.28
    month total 95.23 goal 170
  • zdyb23456
    zdyb23456 Posts: 1,706 Member
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    5/1 5.5mi 53:51min (interval run)
    5/2 5mi 44:35min
    5/3 rest
    5/4 5mi 44:20min
    5/5 4mi 37:27min
    5/6 11mi 1:43:14min
    5/7 rest <- but I spent 7 hours painting!!!
    5/8 7mi 1:06:29min
    5/9 5mi 45:31min
    5/10 rest
    5/11 5mi 43:55min
    5/12 4mi 36:09min
    5/13 12mi 1:54:33min
    5/14 rest
    5/15 5mi 43:03min
    5/16 5mi 45:31min

    Ugh today's 5 miles felt like I had lead weights on my legs :neutral: Over 2 minutes slower than yesterday. Thank goodness I had the motivation of having to get back to the gym by 9am to prevent me from walking! Oh well, I'm just glad I got it done. Rest day tomorrow.



  • AmyOutOfControl
    AmyOutOfControl Posts: 1,425 Member
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    5/1= 3 mile run + 1 hour kettlebell workout
    5/2 = rest day
    5/3 = 6 mile run
    5/4 = 6 mile run
    5/5 = forced rest day due to work schedule :(
    5/6 = 7.5 miles
    5/7 = 11 miles
    5/8 = 5.5 miles & strength training
    5/9 = Vinyasa yoga class
    5/10 = 6 miles
    5/11 = 6.5 miles & strength training
    5/12 = 7 miles
    5/13 = vinyasa yoga class
    5/14 = 10 miles
    5/15 = 5.5 miles & strength training
    5/16 = Vinyasa yoga class & 6 miles

    I normally don't run on Tuesday's but thunderstorms are predicted for the next 5 days. I squeezed in 6 miles after my yoga class, however, I am still going to miss a run or two this week due to storms. Stupid weather ruining my running plans.

    Rest day tomorrow.

    May Goal 80/125 miles
  • swingsnatchlift
    swingsnatchlift Posts: 194 Member
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    Goal = 25 miles
    5/1/17: 1.00
    5/3/17: 1.71
    5/4/17: KB swings (one-handed, 16kg)
    5/7/17: 1.16
    5/13/17: 2.33
    5/14/17: 1.56
    5/15/17: 1.52

    Total for May = 9.28/25 miles
  • angmarie28
    angmarie28 Posts: 2,817 Member
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    5/2-3 miles
    5/5-2 miles
    5/7-3 miles
    5/8-4 miles
    5/10-3 miles
    5/11-2.5 miles
    5/13-5 miles
    5/15- 3 miles

    Total-25.5/65miles

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  • ctlaws44
    ctlaws44 Posts: 182 Member
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    Thank you @MobyCarp and @WhatMeRunning for the articles and explanation. I've saved them and I'm going to read them later.

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