July 2017 Running Challenge

7/1 - Rest Day
7/2 -Rest Day
7/3 - Rest Day
7/4 - 2.98 (Based on Garmin distance) for local 5K… time was 26:22; not a PR at all, but I haven't run at all since 6/24 and won't be fat adapted for awhile yet.
7/5 - 5.03 miles - not as fast as I planned
7/6 - 3.01 miles treadmill. Plan was for easy miles, and these were scary slow.
7/7 - Rest day
7/8 - 7.37 miles. New trail running shoes! Went out on a trail I haven't visited for awhile, was hot and very slow. Very tall grass in areas made this very difficult as well.
7/9 - Rest
7/10 - Rest
7/11 - 3.0 easy miles treadmill, very slow, before weight lifting. It's hot outside and it is just easy to run on the treadmill at the gym before lifting. I knew I was going to lose some speed when changing nutrition again, but this is really starting to scare me.
7/12 - 5.02 miles, still slower than I wanted.
7/13 - 3.0 miles treadmill before lifting weights. Still slow, but plan was for easy miles.



Upcoming Races:
7/4/17 - Miner 5K
7/29/17 - Dr. Dash 10K
10/21/17 - Oregon Trail Run HM

July Running Totals (miles)
7/1 – 14.00 paced run
7/2 – 14.03 easy
7/3 – 6.21 easy + 4 strides
7/4 – 8.07 warm up + 4 mile race
7/5 – 7.40 group run
7/6 – 12.06 warm up + MP intervals
7/7 – rest day
7/8 – 15.01 paced 10 + ad hoc 5
7/9 – 11.83 easy 90 minutes
7/10 – 6.95 easy + 4 strides
7/11 – 11.37 warm up, speed work, cool down
7/12 – 6.04 group run
7/13 – 11.62 warm up, speed work, cool down

July total to date – 124.59

Nominal Challenge Goal – 260 miles
Real Goals: Stay healthy. Train toward Rochester Marathon. Pace Shoreline Half as close as possible to a 1:40 finish with even splits. Run Karknocker 5K in under 20 minutes.

Today's notes – It was 66º F (19º C) and overcast with 83% relative humidity for the workout this evening. The temperature felt nice and cool compared to what I have been running in; but the humidity caught up to me in the form of clothes drenched with sweat.

Today's assignment was 2 miles easy; 2-4 x 1600 at T pace w/1 minute recovery; 8 x 200 at I pace w/200 recovery; 3 miles easy. When there is a range of reps given, doctrine is that you should run no more than 10% of your weekly mileage at T and no more than 8% of your weekly mileage at I. But you don't get to run 18% of your mileage fast; you have to adjust for workouts that have multiple paces. So, to support 4 miles atT I need 40 miles per week; to support a mile at I, I need 12.5 miles per week. Maxing out at 4x1600 requires me to run 52.5 miles this week. I ran 62 last week, and the target this week is 68; so 4 is the answer. That's what I get for having a degree in math.

I took the 2 miles easy to be the traditional 2 mile warm up, and ran a longer than usual cool down for the 3 miles easy at the end.

I find timed recovery in conjunction with track distance intervals a nuisance, so I substituted 200 recovery for the 1 minute the workout called for. Close enough; those 200s of recovery came in at 1:03, 1:01, 1:04, and 1:05.

Target for T pace was 48 to 49 seconds per 200m, or 6:24 to 6:32 for 1600. I ran the first 200m of the first 3 intervals too fast, and the 4 1600s came in at 6:22.5, 6:22.4, 6:22.5, and 6:28.7. Target for 200 at I was 45 to 46 seconds; the 8 200s came in at 45.3, 45.8, 44.1, 43.8, 45.5, 44.3, 45.1, and 44.4. This is the best workout I've had in some time for running the target pace accurately.

After everything is in the books, look at the HR data from an 80-20 perspective. Warm up was mostly in Zone 0, with all of 23% in Zone 1 and 7% in Zone 2. That's kind of expected, as I was running with a couple of slightly slower guys and enjoying the conversation. Cool down was solo, without much Zone 0 - 27% Zone 1, 69% Zone 2. The interval workout reports 1% Zone 1, 24% Zone 2, 68% Zone X, 4% Zone 3. Zone X is what I'm supposed to stay out of, and it's pretty much where my HR stabilized running 1600m intervals at a known T pace. Hmm.

Either 1600m isn't long enough for my HR to stabilize in Zone 3, or my estimate of lactic threshold heart rate is too high. If the LT HR estimate is too high, the proper number would shove all the zones down lower, and maybe indicate that I'm running some of my easy runs too hard. I'll have to think about that. I'm not really training by the 80-20 method, but I would expect the results of training by the Jack Daniels paces to be not too far off the 80-20 heart rates.

I think I'll leave the zones alone until I see what my HR does next Tuesday, when the workout calls for 2 x 2 miles at T pace. I would think that 2 miles should be long enough for my heart rate to go wherever it's going to go while running at lactic threshold. Or if not 2 miles, maybe look at the 2 x 3 miles at T a week from next Tuesday.

2017 races:
January 1, 2017 Freezeroo #2 (Resolution Run 7.5 mile) (Mendon, NY) Finished in 50:45
January 7, 2017 Winter Warrior Half Marathon (Gates, NY) Finished in 1:32:40
January 14, 2017 Freezeroo #3 (Pineway Ponds Park 5 mile) (Spencerport, NY) Finished in 33:42
January 28, 2017 Freezeroo #4 (Hearnish 5 mile) (Victor, NY) short course, finished 4.88 miles in 32:50
February 4, 2017 USATF Cross Country National Championship Masters 8K (Bend, OR) Finished in 35:39, team won the 60+ Men's cross country championship
February 11, 2017 Freezeroo #5 (Valentines Run "In Memory of Tom Brannon" 8 Mile) (Greece, NY) sat out due to training schedule
February 25, 2017 Freezeroo #6 (White House Challenge 4.4 mile) (Webster, NY) short course, finished 4.34 miles in 27:51
March 11, 2017 Johnny's Runnin' of the Green 5 mile (Rochester, NY) finished in 33:25
March 18, 2017 USATF Masters 8K Championship (Shamrock 8K, Virginia Beach, VA) finished in 30:59, PR for 8K
April 17, 2017 Boston Marathon (Hopkinton, MA) finished in 3:49:42
April 30, 2017 USATF Masters 10K Championship (James Joyce Ramble, Dedham, MA) finished in 39:54, PR for 10K
May 21, 2017 Lilac Run 10K (Rochester, NY) finished in 40:04
May 27, 2017 Canandaigua Classic Half Marathon (Canandaigua, NY) finished in 1:33:06
June 9, 2017 Charlie McMullen Mile (Fairport, NY) finished in 5:44.90, PR for mile
June 18, 2017 Medved 5K to Cure ALS (Rochester, NY) finished in 19:32
July 4, 2017 Firecracker Four Mile (Fairport, NY) finished in 25:42
July 15, 2017 Shoreline Half Marathon [1:40 pacer] (Hamlin, NY)
July 28, 2017 Karknocker 5K (East Rochester, NY)
September 3, 2017 Oak Tree Half Marathon (Geneseo, NY)
September 17, 2017 MVP Rochester Marathon (Rochester, NY)
November 23, 2017 Race with Grace 10K (Hilton, NY)

So Excited I got it done. I am actually doing 80 miles this month. Not sure if I will do 80 or 100 in August yet, but will see how this month finishes out.

July goal: 55 miles

7/2: 4.3 miles
7/3: 3.7 miles
7/4: 3.8 miles
7/5: 2.3 miles
7/9: 4.5 miles
7/11: 2.5 miles
7/12: 2.8 miles
7/13: 3.1 miles

27/55 miles


I didn't think I would get to run today and I was so glad I was able to. I took my mom to Dallas today and she had a good report. But it is a 2.5 hour drive each way. Sometimes long drives like that give me sciatic pain. I'm not 100% sure that I should run when I have it. But honestly walking or running feels a lot better than sitting. My run was really good too. There was actually shade and even though it was hot, it was pretty pleasant for July. I still haven't decided if I like running after dinner, but I sure enjoyed it tonight. I really prefer to run before I eat. My favorite time to run is right after work, but right now it is just too hot at that time.

July Goal: 85 mile (yeah, a REAL goal!)

7/1 3.75
7/2 3.52
7/3 rest
7/4 3.26
7/5 5.18
7/6 snorkel 3.5 hours
7/7 3.40
7/8 6.00
7/9 anniversary wine and dine
7/10 4.23
7/11 3.25
7/12 rest
7/13 4.88

Total 37.47

@shanaber Happy (belated) anniversary!

Ticker is my goal for 2017 and progress to date:

upcoming races:
Fun in the Sun Virtual 10k 6/28/17
Race to Cure Sarcoma Month of July
Volcano Rainforest Runs 10k 8/19
BlockThe Sun Run 5k Oct 14 (https://walk.aimatmelanoma.org/Hilo2017) (physical and virtual options available)


Steve says: "Wear your sunblock and join our virtual run!"

PastorVincent wrote: »

Orphia wrote: »

Happy anniversary, @shanaber !!

PastorVincent wrote: »

Somewhat useful article on midrun fueling for beginners...

http://www.runnersworld.com/for-beginners-only/why-is-on-the-run-fuel-so-important

Thanks!

For some reason I never actually realised that glycogen is stored carbohydrate. I knew we need both (and fat) for energy, but didn't realise they were so similar.

I still don't quite understand how running slow training runs trains the body to burn fat instead of glycogen.

That article gave me a hint by stating: "The lower the intensity and the longer the run, the higher the percentage of fat is used for fuel, and the lower the percentage of glycogen. The higher the intensity and the shorter the run (like a track workout or other interval training), the higher the percentage of glycogen is used for fuel."

But I don't understand *how* the body learns to burn fat and not let you hit the wall when you're in your race.

Well, I do not KNOW, but what I would SUSPECT is it has to do with power draw.

So think of it this way, if you live in an area where there are power outages, you probably have heard generators running. When you just have a hand full of lights and maybe cell phone chargers plugged in, the generator ticks along at a constant level. Now, say you have a large appliance plugged in. When that thing cycles on, you hear the generator kick it up to a higher level of output. That fast hard hit made it work harder to keep up with power draw.

I suspect your body works the same way. When you are drawing energy into your muscles at a slow steady rate, the fat burning system ticks along happily but when you crank it up a notch your muscles start demanding MORE POWER NOW and your body increases its use of glycogen to match demand.

Or, in short, I would think it is based on level and rate of demand. Higher and faster demand can only be fulfilled by glycogen. Lower and slower can tap fat stores.

Thank you! I like your approach to it.

I also asked elsewhere, and this was one reply:

"Hitting the wall is an over abundance of Hydrogen ions in your muscle cells, they're produced as a by product of your mitochondria metabolising glycogen to produce ATP. Your cells become acidic from the H ions as you're not in taking enough O2 to flush it out. This acid is then converted to pyruvate by an 8 stage process and is a secondary energy source, although not as efficient as glycogen. I understand it but find it hard to explain. Although energy is created by breaking molecular bonds. Bonds that are broken between triglyceride fatty acids produce twice as much energy as those from carbohydrates, that is probably why."

Sciencey!

And another reply:

"The body is 'clever', that's why it uses fat and sugars as energy supplies. Both fat burning and glycogen useage go on all the time, but the mix varies according to what is available to the body at the time, and according to the energy demands being placed on the body. We burn fat more at night. During exercise I think glycogen is always the 'first choice', as it is easier to metabolise. Then blood sugars, then fat last. To really improve fat burning efficiency, you would need to run until glycogen is depleted, 1.5 to 2 hours, and not top up with sugars, or by running without having eaten beforehand. A more extreme method is a low carb high fat diet. Running (partially) glycogen depleted forces fat burning, and this could be achieved by running two long runs on consecutive days, eg. as in training for the marathon................."

And another:

"The body starts the mix off as best it can judge what is likely to be needed. If you are doing lots of fast stuff then it will put less fat in the mix and more glycogen. If you are doing plenty of slow runs it predicts another slow run and puts more fat in the mix. You then say, aha, tricked you! And run fast. Instead of burning all the glycogen store away, you burn more fat this time and so the glycogen store lasts longer."

Between all the range these replies cover, I think I'm starting to understand!

Orphia wrote: »

Between all the range these replies cover, I think I'm starting to understand!

Good!

This comment is interesting:

Orphia wrote: »

To really improve fat burning efficiency, you would need to run until glycogen is depleted, 1.5 to 2 hours, and not top up with sugars, or by running without having eaten beforehand.

Only cause I would say I do not worry about fuel when "only" running around an hour and a half or so. It is when I plan to push into longer times that I start to plan for fuel. Never really thought about how I came up with that measure, it is just how it worked itself out naturally.

2.5 miles treadmill walk 15% incline 3 mph zone 2 for 50 minutes. What I like about the treadmill is it was easy to adjust and stay in the zone because I can monitor my heart well and the machine is in charge of pace.
@PastorVincent and @Orphia looking at training suggestions for marathons. They suggest on early training runs to run long runs fasted, no fuel regardless of time. This will cause you to go into glycogen depletion and your body will be forced to burn fat. On long runs within 3-4 weeks of your race run fueled which will teach your body to accept and process fuel while running. Getting the combination right is extremely difficult , that's why even Stan and Moby will tell you they are still figuring it out. The one thing most will agree on is that this fuel burning element is a key component to a good marathon.

@garygse - Congrats on the new job!