July 24th, 2011
I’ve been on the fence about what to do in prep for September’s Half but the clock is ticking down – with 7 weeks before raceweek, it’s time to get my ass moving. I’m getting excited about it, too; the timeframe is just enough to do some damage without getting sick of it.
First off was a mileage question. Should I plan to cut back while I get into the workouts or do I keep it status quo? A lot of the high-mileage threads on Letsrun involved kids running high base mileage during summer but then cutting back for Fall but I wasn’t sure if that was due to school responsibilities or a purposeful decision for better training. I posed the question to some higher-mileage runners on MRT and those who responded don’t cut back on volume. In fact, they hardly even taper – it seems the more mileage you do, the less you need to cut back before a race…what an interesting factoid! So anyway, I won’t be messing with my volume, there’s no need.
As for intervals, I’m in old-lady-nothing-fancy runner mode, I don’t want to do ladders or mixed pace sessions and I’m not thirsting for variety, I just want something super simple to fulfill 3-5 miles of speedwork. So here’s my totally old skool idea:
Weeks 1 & 2: 6 x 800 – the first week 2min recoveries, the 2nd week 90 sec recoveries
Weeks 3 & 4: 5 x1000 – same recovery pattern
Weeks 5 & 6: 5 x 1200 – same recovery pattern
Week 7: 5 x mile – recovery tbd
Weather allowing, the 800s and 1000s will be 5K-ish pace, the 1200s and miles around 10k pace, though considering it’s July and August, I’m expecting some adjustments.
Tempo runs will be the standard single-paced straight-through variety on cooler days (if we have such a thing) or split into sections with short recoveries when it’s hot. Lastly, there’ll be some extra credit in the form of strides and hill reps.
Nothing fancy but should do the job admirably.
Hot Weather Bitchfest: The Lows & A High
It’s extremely rare that I have a miserable run but this week, there was one. Friday brought record-breaking weather to a number of cities and Philly had a double, one for the highest low (82) and highest high (103, heat index 114) so when I left the house at 5:50am it was already “feels like” 98 with the dewpoint at 76. The park was eerily quiet with only a fraction of the usual runners (the whole weekend was like that, actually). My first 3 miles were super slow, all I could muster were 9:20s. My pace did its usual drop as the miles ticked by but even so, when all was said and done, I averaged a blistering 9:00/mi.
Saturday was way better, 88 degrees when I started but the heat index was only 91 thanks to a dewpoint of 64. Still gross, but in comparison to Friday, quite lovely. OK, that’s a stretch, but at least I didn’t want to die. 13@8:35.
Today was Saturday’s twin as far as conditions, but I had a surprisingly great run. It wasn’t that it was fast or easy, it was that I found a new hill for doing reps that I’m in love with. The deal was, I left the house determined to do something with hills but there was no way I was going to do hard reps up Lemon Hill – it’s really steep and turny and last week’s paltry 4 reps were super hard though it was 15 degrees cooler. So I got it in my head to do 6 reps but just normal running, not pushing the pace at all, make it like a regular hilly run.
As I was nearing my turnaround on the quiet side of the park, a vision loomed before me…the perfect hill. It’s not nearly as steep as Lemon Hill, but it’s a straight shot with nary a curve and practically screamed “run up me! run up me!”. Seeing that hill, I wanted to run reps at effort! So I did. The reps were 1:15 to the top and at first I thought, “I’ll do 4, that’s enough” but I didn’t want to stop (I swear, this was like Twilight Zone to my lazy ass). So I did 6, or so I thought – when I got home, it turns out I did 7.
This was an important lesson for me. When I decided that running a few times normally up Lemon Hill would be my answer to hillwork on a friggin’ hot day, I had a total guilt feeling, like I was wimping out. Then I had another moment of guilt when I saw the other hill and weighed it against Lemon Hill, thinking I was somehow cheating because it wasn’t as steep. But that is such bullshit! I hate Lemon Hill and don’t find it fun in any way, shape or form. And here I find this other hill that I want to run up, so much so that I end up doing more reps with more effort than I would have done on Lemon Hill.
Goes to show, it’s not all about textbook numbers and the perfect hill grade and the best possible thing you can do to improve. It’s about finding ways to love training and being drawn towards it instead of being repelled yet forcing yourself anyway. Not that that’s never supposed to happen, pushing yourself and fighting through difficulty is of course necessary at times, especially in a race, but there shouldn’t be anything wrong or guilt-inducing about finding more pleasant ways to get the work in. In fact, you might just end up accomplishing more in the end.
Lemon Hill (evil hill)
Strawberry Mansion Hill (good hill)
Heat Wave Week in Review
Monday: 9@8:24
Tuesday: 15@8:16 (8x2min on, 1min off)
Wednesday: 12@8:30
Thursday: 17@8:36
Friday: 12@9:00
Saturday: 13@8:35
Sunday: 12@8:33 (seven 75-sec hill reps)
Total: 91.5 mi (avg pace 8:33)
Between Thurs, Sat and Sun (which were all similar, weather-wise), I can say that Daniels’ temperature comparison calculations are off for me. For 90 degrees, he says I’d slow by 19 seconds but I think it’s closer to 30 seconds in my case. Not that any of it is exact science (and maybe it’s because humidity is not taken into account), but I thought it worth noting.
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A few things here.
1. You are a ROCKSTAR! Seriously, your training is awesome! You deserve to be soooo excited about this half b/c you are going to KILL it!
2. I agree with the others about not needing to cut volume. What will need to be cut, however, is the pace on your recovery runs. In my opinion (which may mean a hill of beans), having a too-quick recovery run sets you up for failure in the next workout, or worse, even injury. I also think too many runners get “garmin obsessed” when it comes to recovery runs and go by some silly textbook pace that may be too quick for what their body needs. I’m not saying this in a know-it-all way. I learned this lesson the HARD WAY!
3. I LOVE your thoughts about running ways that you love. This is why I think I gave up on the idea of having a coach. It seemed every coach was wanting me to train in ways I didn’t love. Some days you feel like running hills, some days you feel like a progressive tempo. All of us are quirky in our own ways and there is no cookie-cutter training plan that is BEST for all of us.
4. I’m going to quote you here, “How can you even use the term “time goals” in that kind of soupy mess?” (That’s in regards to your last paragraph, if you are even considering that you are running too slow.)
Great comment, Rebecca, thank you!! Yes, I wholeheartedly am prepared to have slower recovery runs (or rather, recovery runs period, lol). I’ve been able to skip them entirely having nothing to recover from but I can tell that’ll change.
LOVE what you say about #3 and that you’re the same.
About #4, that’s not what I meant, I’m totally happy about my paces (they’re way faster than last year when it didn’t get this hot). I just brought it up as a point of comparison that when we use those calculators and think it’s too generous, that for me, at least in the upper heat stratosphere, it’s actually too conservative.
Thanks for posting the Daniels’ temperature comparison calculations. I used his altitude chart to figure out much slower I would be running at 7,000ft. I already knew how much slower I am and the chart confirmed it. Adding the heat element to altitude puts me almost 60 seconds slower per mile. This makes long running impossible. After my 13 mile disaster the first weekend here I have not run over 6 since June 1. I don’t know what to do about the NYC marathon training since I lost any volume I had, 50-55 miles a week. I run a 6 mile tempo run once a week, a full minute slower per mile than my NYC tempo runs, a mixed interval track workout and a few 4-6 milers. I have 16 weeks and am starting to get concerned. Any idea how to expand my aerobic fitness. Aside from running, I am fit as an ox from mountain hiking and rock hauling, in fact I have muscles that I didn’t even know existed, hopefully they will help.
I do not envy your quandary (though I envy the photos you’ve been posting on FB!). Seems to me, though I know nothing, that you shouldn’t worry about your paces since that’s due to the air and once you come down, you should notice a big difference. Legspeed, however, is not going to magically come about.
You might do some 200s or miler workouts, which have the benefit of being short but also will get your legs moving faster. That, and some downhill running. I think you should ignore pace information though to get long runs in (meaning, go as slow as it takes to do it). Think of it as a time workout, completely divorced from pace. You really need some longer runs, any way you can get ‘em.
Thing is, the heat really does affect everyone differently. I’ve long noted that the people who are beating me in summer races are the people I beat in the winter. And, now that I’m doing workouts with a team that breaks into “groups” for workouts, I’ve noted that the group that I run with for hot workouts is very different from the group I run with in cool conditions.
So, I don’t let it worry me too much if I’m beaten in the summer by people I think I should be beating, or if I can’t hang during very humid workouts with people with slower PRs than myself. It’s not a lack of fitness, but just an indication that the heat affects me differently from others. I do what I can, and don’t let it shake my confidence.
True dat. The funny thing is, last year I would have said I suck in the heat thanks to those collapses. But this year, I actually feel quite strong in it. Aside from Friday’s being near 100 degrees (prior to this year, my hottest run was heat index of 87) I don’t feel as though my paces have dropped too much considering the conditions.
I also think we can put negative labels on ourselves that might not even be true or that might change from one year to the next. In fact, you’re running a lot better in the heat this year as well, it seems.
I get what you say about negative labels limiting us. It’s a hard question – what is being realistic, and what is being defeatist?
In my case, I don’t think I’m being defeatist, just realistic. The other alternative is to get depressed and frustrated when I get dropped by my normal crew on the hottest/most humid days — instead, I just relax and back off to run within my means on that day, and don’t let it faze me.
And I guess I’m taking the fact that I’m running much better this summer than last not as an indication that I handle heat better, but as an indication that I’ve improved a lot — meaning that I’m psyched for this winter.
As you should (take it as you’ve improved boatloads). You’re anything but defeatist and show substantial evidence that it’s a real thing since you need an inhaler. It’s just something I’ve been thinking about for myself, when comparing last year to this. I want it to be an incorrect label because I really disliked feeling fragile and needing special parameters, I’m too laid back for that shit.
with respect to cutting back on miles, I think one reason is because of racing frequency… a guy on a college team could easily end up running six 8-10K races between labor day and thanksgiving. and if you don’t bring your A game to all of them, you risk getting bumped out of the varsity seven. I know for me this fall, it will be a challenge to race 2-3 Saturdays a month and then turn around and do a Sunday long run… which brings me to a related point: slow running.
Today I ran 11 on a day when I really just felt terrible. 8:48 avg (and it was up to 9:30 or so uphill at the end). If I hadn’t really needed the time-on-feet, I would have probably cut it short, because > 9 minute pace feels AWFUL and not like normal running. Sooo, how do you get through double-digit runs when you feel bad or are fatigued from a workout? Was there a point while upping your mileage that it got easier to kind of just trudge through? (p.s. nice work! it sounds ROUGH there.)
Kristin, great point about racing/college/mileage and one that Pablo, a zoomy fast high mileage guy on MRT also brought up.
Sorry you had a cruddy run today, those paces for you are equal to twice that for me, so you must have been really bad.
Yes, I think the mileage definitely helps since a 12-miler is to 90 like a 6-miler is to 45, which makes double-digits a lot less open to drama. But I’ve been running so easy all this time that I may have a totally different tune once I start workouts.
Anyway, if you feel like crap from a previous workout, then a recovery run is needed and generally that means it shouldn’t be a double-digit run anyway. But if it’s due to hangover or pre-period, etc. there’s not much you can do except cut it short or suffer through. On those days, I wish there was some type of chariot to get me home, but in lieu of that, my mind is going “4 miles, just 4 miles to go, 3 miles, just 3 miles to go…” Lol. It’s not pretty.
You’ve got a lot going on, you’re in the lab on weekends, running, swimming and cycling and kicking ass in everything you do, so it’s understandable you get pooped on occasion. I’ll bet you good money that your next run is way better.
Volume depends on what you are doing. When adding intervals AND tempo, I cut back a bit. You don’t have to taper to see benefit- I think even 10% is plenty. The point of intervals and tempos isn’t simply to “do” them. You have to do them well and , fact is, more rest allows that. Hence, I believe, the need. ( I would ask the MTR folks if they do tempo or intervals typically)
As you may know (or not) I am a firm believer in tempo runs for half marathons. I consider them THE most important half-marathon workout. I do them at my goal race pace- starting at around 4 miles and building to 6. Treadmills are great for those because they also teach you pace and you can easily compare efforts on different days.
Thanks Matt, I’ve always done both intervals and tempo (and more when doing Hudson) so I’m prepared for the weeks ahead. I’m going to play it by ear and trust that my body will let me know if it needs to pull back. Agreed on tempo runs being the main run, though I’m really looking forward to intervals because I need some speed injected back to these legs!
Yeah, I wasn’t sure if it was a new stimulus or not.
Kudos to you for getting out super early. I know you aren’t much of a morning person, but this really shows your dedication. Sounds like you have a solid plan for the half!
Thanks to my BFF Melatonin, I’ve been getting to sleep early and getting up between 4:45-5:30 for weeks now without any problem. Wish I’d used it last summer.
Amen to your last paragraph and to what Rebecca wrote! I know numbers are important in some cases, but seriously, where did all these arbitrary rules come from?
And Lemon Hill-the name just sounds unpleasant!
Keep up that crazy training, girl-but especially the 1200′s, as those are my faves:)
I’ll be channeling you when I get to those 1200′s.
May the force be with you!!
Interesting workouts Flo. Speed early, then going longer and a bit slower. But no actual tempos? No likee? That’s a nice looking hill, by the way.
You must have missed this “Tempo runs will be the standard single-paced straight-through variety on cooler days (if we have such a thing) or split into sections with short recoveries when it’s hot.”
Tempos are the most important workout, you can be sure I’m doing them.
D’oh!
Hah! No worries, that post had a shitload of words. Easy to miss.