Weekly Training Rundown Jan 16-22

by Denny Mayo on Jan 23, 2012 5:00 AM PST in Training

Let's hear everyone's training for last week in the comments. Here's what the SN editors ran.

Mayo: 17 miles total; not a particularly good week for me due to general malaise. After planning 25, I skipped two runs and cut my long run short on Sunday.

5 mi: 8:32 pace, approached as a recovery run after last Sunday's ten-miler. Nice and early, fairly nondescript.
5 mi: 8:43 pace, with two walk breaks. Spent most of the run dealing with the sort of early morning sugar-low that somehow manages to manifest itself in both the stomach and lungs. Not bad, but could have been better.
7 mi: 8:54 pace, slow due to a lot of ice on the ground. Had planned 10, but the combination of ice on the ground and my right foot falling asleep after 5 miles cut this one short.

Next week's plan: 3/5/3/5/8

Hudson: Covered roughly 26 miles this week (1900m swim, ~8 on the bike and then 17.1 running) -- It felt good to finally get into a groove and start following the schedule I put together for the Nation's Half Marathon in March. If curious, I took a basic Hal Higdon plan and modified it, replacing some runs with swims and bike rides to keep in shape for tri season when that rolls around.

Monday: 3.14 miles along the water in Charleston
Tuesday: 4 miles back at home in DC (a 35-minute tempo run: 5 min warm-up, 10 mins at ~ 7:45 pace, 10 min easy; 8:45 pace overall)
Wednesday: 1900m for muscular endurance swim in the pool
Friday: 3-mile pace run
Saturday: 7-mile run (8:49 pace), which is the longest I have run since, I think, September. And it felt great (once I warmed up -- forgot how cold 30 degrees really is).
Sunday: Did 30 minutes on my bike indoors (which is around eight miles, but I don't have a fancy bike computer, so, not 100 percent on that), followed by some light strength training and stretching

Overall, pleased with my week. Going forward, though, I think I will swap out one more run for a swim.

Ziller: 22 miles this week, 13 of which came on the trails. I ran Monday then not until Saturday and Sunday. Lot of inertia midweek due to the daily grind.

Monday: A 10K with 1,200 feet of ascent, about half on a gravel fire road and paved paths and half on dirt single-track.
Saturday: Seven miles with about 800 feet of ascent. Skipped the single-track due to late week rain, but still rambled up the hill and did some extra work in the flats.
Sunday: 9 flat miles in the steady rain.

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just eight miles in two runs this week.

mostly because of a pretty unpleasant health scare. i’m gonna try and get my routine back this week but keep it extremely slow and easy.

Monday: 4 miles, 8:27 pace

Saturday: 4 miles, 10:27 pace

SB Nation's The Historical: Because all those games way back when matter.

by kleph on Jan 23, 2012 6:18 AM PST reply actions

Twenty one miles, but my ankle is complaining

Hi! Nice to meet you all. I am excited that there’s a running blog on SBN now! I’m training to run my first half marathon in late February (I’ve walked/run two officially and have walked/run the distance a few other times), and am slow as molasses, but I get to the finish line eventually. I live and run in intown Atlanta, and most of my runs take place in the evening after my kid goes to bed, so I’ve been focusing on doing more frequent shorter runs over the past couple of months in preparation for running the entire 13.1.

Sunday: 3.08 miles, 12:08 pace, but I was running with my husband and he was pushing the jogging stroller; it’s a BOB, so it rolls well, but it’s still like sledge running on the intown Atlanta hills.
Tuesday: 4.04 mile, 10:32 pace, dusk-ish, around the neighborhood on sidewalks
Thursday: 3.02 miles, 10:10 pace, after dark, on asphalt along well-lit roads.
Saturday: 11.08 miles, 11:10 pace, but it was in the gym (thunderstorm and tornado warning outside, I’m not that dedicated), so I’m not 100% confident about the distance or the pace. I alternated 2 5ks on the treadmill with 2.4 miles on the indoor track.

I’m kind of worried about this week, because I tend to get Achilles tendonitis and after Saturday it’s been bothering me a bit. I’m training for a half marathon in later February though and I really would prefer to get in a few quality miles today.

I’d like to do 3 today, 4 on Wednesday and Thursday and then 12 on Saturday, but I don’t want to aggravate the ankle any more. If it keeps raining and staying nasty outside I may take it as a sign and spend another evening icing and watching Downton Abbey.

The artist formerly known as TCOAN

by Lady Commenter on Jan 23, 2012 6:46 AM PST reply actions

if you've had a history of a specific injury

then it is almost certain to recur if you do more workouts.

by far, the best predictor of injuries is… previous injuries. that’s bad in the sense you’re likely to have to deal with this but good in that you have the foreknowledge in what you are dealing with.

so giving yourself time to recover is probably more important than hitting some mileage goal. one option you could have is to keep your limited number of shorter workouts, but increase the intensity. keep that 3 to four mile distance but try and hit that 10 minute mark. and give yourself a full day to recover each time.

no matter what you do, be very attentive to what your body is telling you. take any hint of re-aggravating the injury seriously. make sure your shoes aren’t worn out and accomidate your running gait. and take proactive steps like regular icing.

SB Nation's The Historical: Because all those games way back when matter.

by kleph on Jan 23, 2012 7:52 AM PST up reply actions

Hmm... my shoes are getting kind of old

Time for a trip to the shoe store! I overpronate so badly I look like a galleon in heavy seas when I run. I have custom orthotics, which make me feel about 1000 years old but help a lot. My shoes are definitely not as firm as they were though.

I do kind of struggle with the ankle. It doesn’t hurt much at all, but swells, and I always think of a former coworker who overdid it and (takes deep breath) OUCH rupturedherfuckingachillestendon OW. I feel like shorter, more frequent distances help my running economy and gait issues, but then it’s hard to dial it back and take extra rest days.

by Lady Commenter on Jan 23, 2012 8:12 AM PST up reply actions

if you cross that finish line...

hell, if you make it to the starting line, you’ll look like a winner. so don’t worry about what anyone else thinks.

for regular runners, your shoes will last 400 miles or about six months. usually you’ll start to get a bunch of nagging little aches when the support is starting to go.

you have to follow whatever you think works best in terms of what you do run but the most common mistake we make is undervaluing what we don’t run. i’m just suggesting you consider it due to your history of injury.

SB Nation's The Historical: Because all those games way back when matter.

by kleph on Jan 23, 2012 8:30 AM PST up reply actions

Welcome to the site!

by Tom Ziller on Jan 23, 2012 11:05 AM PST up reply actions

Thanks! I fully intend to be the awkward commenter who posts way too often for anyone's comfort

by Lady Commenter on Jan 23, 2012 11:12 AM PST up reply actions

Yay!

Trust me, we won’t mind.

Community Manager at SB Nation
support@sbnation.com
House Of Sparky

by Cory Williams on Jan 23, 2012 7:30 PM PST up reply actions

43 and change

Ramping back up after a 50k trail race two weeks ago and taking the week before last easy.

Monday: 10 miles. Intervals. 1 mile active recovery, 1 mile medium-high effort. AR pace: 9:15, MHE pace: 7:10. Flat, running path (250 ft elevation gain). Probably pushed it but after only running 3 days out of the last 8, I was ready to run.

Tuesday: 6.5 miles. Stairway to Hell. 11:10 pace. 1050 ft elevation gain on non-technical trail staircases. One of my better paces out there. Hard to get a rhythm on the irregular stair spacing.

Wednesday: Off with a light core workout. Listened to my legs and they said take the day off.

Thursday: 5 miles. Dexterity speed drills. 10:23 pace. Mostly flat (350 ft gain), extremely technical trail. Ankle breaker workout. Only fell twice.

Friday: off.

Saturday: 16.75 miles. 2,100 ft elevation gain, technical trail. 10:06 pace. Very good run. Pushed the uphills. Nagging groin pain cropped up about half way, need to get that sorted out.

Sunday: 5 mile. Recovery run with the dogs. Trail.

This week: 6/q/8/q/off/18/10. q days are quality workouts with my group. mileage varies but averages around 6.

Goal for this week: start a sustainable core routine.

Next race: Gorge Waterfalls 50k

by dancing.with.rocks on Jan 23, 2012 7:53 AM PST reply actions

"This race is crazy full of waterfalls!"

Easily my favorite race description ever.

Can’t wait to hear about your training for the race … looks like a helluva run.

by Tom Ziller on Jan 23, 2012 11:08 AM PST up reply actions

Looking very forward to that race.

The pictures for Gorge Waterfalls look amazing. It definitely will test the balance of paying attention to your footing and looking at all the beauty around you.

Rainshadow Running does great races up in the northwest. I did their Angels Staircase 25k last year and going to return for the 50 miler this year. I’ve not done a 50 miler yet but I want to spend as much time as possible on that course so if that means training up to 50 miler, so be it.

I mostly run in Texas and our trails are rocks, rocks, and more rocks. Sometimes sotol and other funs things that bite or sting. The northwest offers a nice change of terrain and seasonal compliment to our trails here.

by dancing.with.rocks on Jan 23, 2012 11:56 AM PST up reply actions

A tad over 9 miles last week

Monday: 2.6 on trails @ 12’/mi. (it’s entirely possible it was more than this as the Garmin doesn’t do well in the woods – and yes, Kleph, I know you hate the contraption! – so perhaps it was a bit faster too.)
Wednesday: 2 on track @ 9:19/mi (I meant to make this a 1 mile TT just to test fitness, but I didn’t have the heart)
Saturday: 1.7 quickie from my front door @ 9:46/mi
Sunday: 2.9 on trails @ 9:53/mi (again, likely a bit longer). This was the best trot I’ve had in a while.

I also threw in 10 miles on the stationary bike Friday.

I’m wading in slowly with the hopes that I’ll be doing 6 miles without too much strain by mid-February, then 8 by mid-March.

I like trucks.

by Gen. Stoopnagle on Jan 23, 2012 7:59 AM PST reply actions

i don't hate garmins

mine is an integral part of my training. i just try to warn people from focusing on them so much they neglect important aspects of their training.

SB Nation's The Historical: Because all those games way back when matter.

by kleph on Jan 23, 2012 11:24 AM PST up reply actions

Did you see the NYT piece on GPS watches?

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/20/health/nutrition/gps-watches-may-not-track-runs-accurately.html?pagewanted=all

I’ve been quite surprised by the inaccuracy of GPS on my cell phone, which is what I use to (loosely) track mileage. So far, the inaccuracies seem equally distributed on the positive and negative side, so I figure it all eventually evens out.

by Lady Commenter on Jan 23, 2012 11:32 AM PST up reply actions