re: Official Running Log/Marathon Training Thread

Gsadle5,

Thanks for the advice and I'll take it ....

Here is the official impression from Physician's paperwork --> displaced fracture of the base of the left metatarsal

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Damn RS - that’s pretty shite-tastic luck. Hate to see it; looks like a few of us on the bench right when prime running season rolls around. Good luck on the rehab!

On a different note, think I’m buying a used bike this week to mix up my training. I know absolutely nothing about riding a road bike. I’m watching YouTube vids on how to shift the damn things! Haha

That has to be the worst luck I’ve heard during a race. Sorry to hear that man, I’ll run the marathon in remembrance of your foot. I’ll get a print for the back of my shirt that says “Running for Rick’s foot”.

Escalated quickly is an understatement haha..I sort of knew , as I was not gracefully starting my fall & roll, that she did some instant damage to my foot.

You are right about the Next %..this odd incident ripped a hole in them ..lucky I'm well within the return window. Getting money back , not a replacement pair.

I'm going to ask ortho about rowing & cardio options and at worst, my first run in September 2018 I was , honestly, a lazy fat slob. 6-8 weeks has to be better than 13 years of jackass inactivity and soda.

This will give the board a couple days of making fun of me to take the edge off of running haha.

Course director has to mail me my drop bag and said he will be happy to comp me for next year's race. I'll be looking for her haha.

So the shoes went Zion Williamson?

Any chance anyone has this on video? Lol, laughing with you, man!

Did she have a carbon plated shoe? The plate might have did you in when she straight marched on your foot. How much did this soldier weigh? Heifer?

Lulz! You in any pain?

Sorry to hear about the foot, man. Damn.

I decided to sign up for a race a week earlier than I had planned. I already knew that my training cycle had been too long, but when the little tendinitis issues (heels, left ankle, then right knee) started cropping up, I decided it would be best to race ASAP so I could start a brief recovery period.

I was satisfied with my 21:49 time considering that this was my first full training cycle in almost 4 years and the course was hillier than I had expected. I ended up 33rd out of 917 and 7th in the old dude category. I was a bit surprised at how competitive my age group was. I looked at last years' results for that race, and I would have placed first in the 40-44 category.

I didn't stick to my race strategy which probably cost me at least 30 seconds. I had planned on a negative split (~ 7:00 pace for the first half and ~6:55 pace for the second half), but I went out at a 5:30 pace with the lead group and didn't really realize how far ahead of pace I was until about 3/4 mile in. I ended up finishing mile one at 6:15 and had to drop back to 7:30 for most of mile two. I got passed by several runners during that part of the race which sucked. I was able to get back up to that 6:55 target for the last mile, however, and passed a few of those runners (thankfully, the run/walk guy and the 10 year-old) during the final quarter mile.

Anyhow, I learned a lot about myself during this training cycle. I need to limit future 5K training to 16 weeks (ideally 12 weeks), which shouldn't be a problem as long as a maintain a solid base going forward. It will also help to be able to bring in some lactate threshold training earlier in the next cycle. I had to spend most of my foundation phase building my aerobic base this time. My body handled the volume and intensity very well. I think peak mileage of about 50 miles is perfect for me for 5K training as long as I limit the length of the cycle to 16 weeks. I feel like I could easily do 70-80 for HM or marathon training in the future.

My plan going forward is to drop back to 25-30 miles for the next couple of weeks (mostly easy running) and sign up for a March 5K. If I start training for that at the end of this month, I will have 12-14 weeks to train. Depending on how that goes, I may race a half marathon in late May or early June.

What is your current weekly mileage? What was your peak mileage during your last training cycle?

If you want to improve your time, you will make the most gains by increasing your weekly volume. 25 miles pretty really low for a half marathon. If you ran 4-5 days per week instead of three and aimed for peak mileage of 40 (longest run of 13-15 miles) miles per week, you could realistically drop your time by 10-20 minutes.

You have an opportunity to build on your previous training. I don't recommend stopping running altogether. Rather, just stick to mostly easy running for a week or so with your longest run being no more about 6 miles. If you can work more days into your weekly schedule, try something like 4 six-mile runs or 5 five-mile runs for a week or two, then start building from there.

Sometimes taking a week or two completely off might be beneficial, but that is only for people who have been training 60, 70, 80 miles a week for months or years. There is no need to take time completely off after a few months of 25-mile weeks unless you are injured or burned out. In fact, you should take advantage of your prior training right now if you are healthy and motivated.