Official Strava/Runkeeper Thread

[HerRealName]

ABC, that 5k was really hilly. That's a good job on a tough course.

Congratulations Alan. The marathon is a great accomplishment even if it was a difficult finish. It's even more impressive considering you had to train during this winter.

[AnalBumCover]

Is anyone having trouble with the new Garmin connect and tapiriik syncing with it?

[Alan T]

I've now had a week to try to figure out what I want to do next.

Obviously I am a little disappointed with my performance in the marathon, but it is very easy to understand how I blew up and I've been reassured that it is a very common rookie mistake.. so I think it is time to put it behind me and learn from it and figure out what my next goals are.

Talking with my wife, I think we're going to aim for Hartford in the fall (October). I'd do the Hartford marathon and she's going to do the half. My goal this time will not necessarily be a specific time, but instead a goal of negative splits with the intent of not blowing myself up.

Between now and then, I'm going to take the next 3-4 weeks to just recover and take it easy, slowly building my base back up. Like 13 miles total this week, and not doing any speed work for a little while. Most things I have read recommend one day for each mile raced, which would put recovery from a marathon at close to 4 weeks of easy.

So that will put me around the beginning of April and I'm going to tackle some 5k and 5 mile races for fun in the area. I would like to see if I can improve my PR there since I have not raced that distance since the fall.

I have in mind two half-marathons as well.. perhaps Worcester Half-marathon in June and Surftown in August. I ran surftown last year, and think it would be great to do it again, plus it would be right before taper time for my Hartford marathon in the schedule.

Now, if the weather would actually get above freezing any time soon, I would absolutely love it.

[Kodos]

It's understandable that you're disappointed, but running a marathon is difficult. Just the fact that you completed the run is an accomplishment in itself. It has to be one of the most difficult physical feats that a person can accomplish. You're one of the people that I look at on Strava and find myself hoping I can get to where you are some day. I think maybe this is a good time to be like a cornerback who just got burned - sometimes you need to have a short memory.

[Icy]

With today's outside slow 5k (6:10 per k) I'm officially back to running.

For the last 3 months I barely did anything, just ran on a treadmill at the gym or did indoor biking once per week or less and i didn't know how to register them in Strava. Now i know, so i'll add the gym workouts and treadmill runs.

Between getting more and more responsibilities as I got promoted in my company, lots of travels for work around Europe, USA and Canada, the very long and unusual rainy winter in Spain, a vasectomy surgery and some family issues, I always found an excuse to not to run outside or at all.

I have re-gained the 3kg I had lost already by the end of the year and I wanted to lose 10 by June, so now 10 to go again in only 3 months. Will start today to control the amount I eat. I have always ate healthy (enjoy salads, vegetables, do not ever eat snacks or sugar drinks), but too much amount for being then sitting in front of a computer for 10 hours a day.

As start, I have told my wife that from today i want in my plate exactly the same amount of food she eats, instead of double. It should work at least until I learn to leave food in the plate when i feel full, as I always eat whatever is on my plate not matter how much it is.

I need also to control what I eat when outside home, as there I find it harder to control myself both on the amount and on what I order. It's like hey, I'm in a restaurant, party time! and the problem is that I eat outside three times per week, either for work or with family as wife loves to go outside on weekends and kids want to go to eat pizza or burgers.

Another goal i had was to run a half marathon on 27th April, but of course i'm far from ready. Instead i have signed for the event but for the 10k race instead, that will be my first race ever. I have a month and a half to get ready, and I have ran up to 15k in October, so it won't be an issue to at least run it fully.

Hope you will see me active in Strava again at least 4 per week!

[Alan T]

Welcome back Icy!

[Alan T]

I was so excited about the temperature being above 40F, that I went out for a bike ride during lunch. I forgot to charge my new garmin edge for my bike and it died like 4 miles in. Woops.

Back to snow tomorrow though, so was nice being above freezing while it lasted

[Alan T]

Ok, I think I have my race schedule for the spring/summer/fall worked out for the most part.

I might throw in some additional races along the way just to run as a training run, but for now I think this is what my target is:

March:
March 22 - Malden Rotary 10k (training run - not racing)

April:
April 5 - CMS Weekly 5k
Apr 13 - Millbury Parents Club 5k

May:
May 3 - Grafton Gazebo Race (5 mile)

June:
June 15 - Worcester Half Marathon

July:
Wife's Plans for racing? (First week of July)

August:
Aug 24 - Old Wethersfield 10k

September:
Sep 14 - Surftown Half Marathon

October:
October 11 - Hartford Marathon

The only hole there that I am not sure of is July. That month is super busy for me, I have our family yearly trip to Quebec that month, and at the end of the month we have a trip to Chile. The first weekend of the month is my yearly anniversary trip with my wife and she may or may not plan something running related wherever we are going.

[FrogMan]

looks like a pretty solid racing schedule Alan, lots of variety

FM

[Icy]

Shit, just when i was starting to get back into running and registered for a 10k race by the end of April, i started feel dizzy and have double vision when looking at the sides.

I have gone through some tests this week including a brain MRI and it looks that might be the start of Multiple Sclerosis. I have been prescribed corticoids to fix fast the problem with my view as next week i'm travelling to USA (Phoenix) for work. Once i get back i'll go through some more exhaustive and specific tests to see if it's finally MS or not.

I'm of course shocked, as if it finally is MS, in 10 years i can be on a wheel chair and I'm just 38yo (in the worst case, there are a lot of different types and severity grades of MS, sadly i'm reading and learning a lot about it now).

Anyway once i stop to feel dizzy hopefully in a few days, i'm going to start running again, as being healthy is now even a higher priority.

[Alan T]

Oh my gosh Icy, I hope that it ends up being something far more trivial than MS.

[Kodos]

Good luck, Icy. I hope it turns out to be nothing.

[Fidatelo]

Jeez, sorry to hear about this Icy! I'm with the others in wishing and hoping this is something less serious.

[FrogMan]

dang, that's rough Icy, hope it's nothing and you'll be all right. Keeping you in my thoughts!

FM

[AnalBumCover]

Sorry to hear Icy! Crossing my fingers here.

[Chief Rum]

Praying for you, Icy. Keep strong!

[AlexB]

Really hoping this turns out to be something else for you. Stay strong.

[HerRealName]

I really hope this turns out well, Icy. Take care.

[Kodos]

Are the RunKeeper training progams any good. Thinking of doing the half-marathon training program.

[Icy]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Are the RunKeeper training progams any good. Thinking of doing the half-marathon training program.

I did the 10k under 60 mins one pasty year and was good. 3/4 running days per week, good distances and paces, and a good way to motivate yourself. This summer I'll try the half marathon one too.

Overall it's a good alternative to keeping your own excel sheet, less detailed but easier to follow up and to update it.

Whish you could enter your own programs.

[Icy]

And btw guys, thanks for your words, I don't want this thread to go Off topic, I might create a new one just for my health in the future depending on how things end going.

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Are the RunKeeper training progams any good. Thinking of doing the half-marathon training program.

I haven't used any before. Just looking over the Runkeeper plans, they seem to look ok. The only thing that I don't like is that they have you pick how fast you want to run the half marathon and then base your training paces on that, rather than basing it on your current fitness level.

From my understanding, pacing yourself based on a goal is more dangerous than pacing yourself based on your current fitness level. Otherwise, they seem to have a mix of various types of runs (tempo runs, intervals, strides, long runs, etc) and they also have a decent number of weekly miles which is pretty important. As far as I can tell, the long runs are not too much of the weekly miles either which is good.

I guess the only other thing that seems to be missing is in general an explanation of why you are doing the various exercises to understand what the goal of each different type of workout is, but I suppose that is easy enough to look up on the internet for the most part. (Runkeeper doesn't seem to call the workouts tempo runs or intervals or such though by name which might make it a little difficult)

[Alan T]

Dola... I sure hope that when you get up to the 10+ mile runs in the training that you aren't doing those all on that track!

I did I think 15-16 miles on an indoor track during the winter and it was one of the least fun running experiences that I have had!

[HerRealName]

Alan, did you do some experimenting with a zero drop shoe recently? How did that go for you?

I picked up a pair recently and tried it out today. I was concentrating on cadence at first and ended up starting way too fast. I never got totally comfortable but I'll try it out again next week. I've been trying to land mid-foot with my regular shoes but I fall back to heel strike if I'm not concentrating.

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by Alan T

Dola... I sure hope that when you get up to the 10+ mile runs in the training that you aren't doing those all on that track!

Probably not! Although I do feel like it is easier on my legs than pavement.

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by HerRealName

Alan, did you do some experimenting with a zero drop shoe recently? How did that go for you?

I picked up a pair recently and tried it out today. I was concentrating on cadence at first and ended up starting way too fast. I never got totally comfortable but I'll try it out again next week. I've been trying to land mid-foot with my regular shoes but I fall back to heel strike if I'm not concentrating.

I am still trying them out. I am a mid-foot striker even with 8mm drop shoes that I normally wear, but everything that I have read when switching to a zero drop shoe, you want to take it slowly so you don't end up with an achilles injury.

Since I was recovering from my marathon last month anyways, I took it super slowly so only ran a mile at a time with them thus far. I'll likely start increasing it a little more the next month or two and see if I can keep introducing them without any extra strain.

My goal likely will be at least short term to run one shorter run a week in them, and then the other shoes for longer runs. I've been thinking about getting a second pair of zero drop shoes with more cushioning at some point to wear for longer runs, but just not sure yet.

I do feel when I wear them though that they feel easier to run in efficiently, they are lighter weight and scuffling my feet when I run.

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Probably not! Although I do feel like it is easier on my legs than pavement.

Generally tracks are softer material so are definitely easier on the legs. Another option for softer course to run on is trail running, if you have any nice trails around you. (Even though for me, my effort on trails for the same pace as roads is much higher and is a harder workout).

The one thing that I would be worried about though, is if your race is going to be a road race, you eventually want to increase your running on asphalt to let your skeletal system get used to it. Otherwise it may end up being pretty shocking on the day of the race.

[Alan T]

Hey cool.. wife and I got selected in the lottery for this year's Peachtree Road Race. Guess I'll add that to my race schedule this year. Pretty excited about doing that one

[AnalBumCover]

Over the past couple of weeks I've been too concerned about my metrics that I've forgotten how to enjoy running. Cadence, form, foot strike, easy pace, long run pace, race pace. I've read articles and watched videos. It's changed how I run, and I'm not liking it.

I just need to go out and run free. It starts today.

[AnalBumCover]

Originally Posted by Alan T

Hey cool.. wife and I got selected in the lottery for this year's Peachtree Road Race. Guess I'll add that to my race schedule this year. Pretty excited about doing that one

Congrats Alan! How many runners to they limit at this race?

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by AnalBumCover

Congrats Alan! How many runners to they limit at this race?

Not sure about this year, but I believe the number is 60,000

It is the largest 10k race in the country, and also the United States Men/Women 10k championships so plenty of elite runners there too.

For me though, this was a tradition growing up, watching this every year in Atlanta. Perhaps nationally not the same level as a Boston marathon, but locally it has been a big deal my entire life.

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by AnalBumCover

Over the past couple of weeks I've been too concerned about my metrics that I've forgotten how to enjoy running. Cadence, form, foot strike, easy pace, long run pace, race pace. I've read articles and watched videos. It's changed how I run, and I'm not liking it.

I just need to go out and run free. It starts today.

What I found that helped was to make sure on your easy pace days, that you just run it by feel. Most of my easy pace days I don't even look at my watch or worry about pace. My wife sometimes doesn't even wear her watch on easy pace days.

Easy pace days are a great day to run with a friend or whatever. You should be able to have a conversation while running easy pace without getting winded. If you arent able to, then you are running it too fast. On easy pace days, pick somewhere fun to run, nice scenery or run with a friend or whatever. Those days are important to just enjoy the running.

[HerRealName]

Originally Posted by AnalBumCover

Over the past couple of weeks I've been too concerned about my metrics that I've forgotten how to enjoy running. Cadence, form, foot strike, easy pace, long run pace, race pace. I've read articles and watched videos. It's changed how I run, and I'm not liking it.

I just need to go out and run free. It starts today.

Go for it.

Running, relaxing, and zoning out is a great way to spend some time.

[AnalBumCover]

Sorry for the last minute announcement, but I realize I hadn't posted this. I'm on my way to another race this morning. This one is the Run Seal Beach 10K, the first of a series of three called the OC California Race Series.

[Kodos]

Good luck! Have fun.

[FrogMan]

Hey hey! Hope it went well!

FM

[HerRealName]

I had a half marathon today. There was a Clydesdale division that I was hoping to be able to place top 3. Last year the winner for that division was around 1:48 but it is a hilly course so I though 1:48 would be a decent time for me.

The temperature this morning was perfect, probably between 50 - 55 after some warmer days last week. I was able to climb the hills pretty well and finished with a 1:42:34. I checked the results when they were posted and the top three in my division all finished in the 1:37 range so I ended up with 4th place in the division.

It's no huge loss but my son placed in his age division in the 5K and won a mug so now I have to deal with him talking trash to me all weekend. It was a fun morning.

[Alan T]

Nice job in your half! Sorry that you are not quite the athlete that your son is, but it is good at least that he can carry the family honor!

Seriously though, very nice time, especially for a hilly course!

and good luck ABC in your race!

I did a 15k race this morning, but didn't race it. I had a 9 mile tempo run scheduled, so just decided to do it during the race, keeping at the scheduled pace.

Best kind of training runs with 400-500 others!

[AnalBumCover]

Well, I finished! Not as well as I had hoped, but I don't mind. The first two miles were tough as I started the first too strong, with the second a big struggle which pretty much set the tone for the rest of my run. Once I settled down my established pace was slower than I planned, and I knew early on I wouldn't PR.

Anyways, after about 5.5 miles I was supposed to turn in to the main streets, but I continued on and discovered my error and had to backtrack. I went about 0.3 miles further than I was supposed to run.

My run is posted on Strava. I'll post the official results when I get them. I'm guessing I finished last in my division again.

[HerRealName]

Originally Posted by Alan T

Nice job in your half! Sorry that you are not quite the athlete that your son is, but it is good at least that he can carry the family honor!

Et tu Alan Tay?

Good job ABC. Even if you end up last in your division you probably finished first for running the most miles at the race.

[FrogMan]

Good job ABC, those last 2 km were some very nice negative splits!

Todd, that was a rough HM course, good job as well!

FM

[digamma]

As some of you may have seen on Strava, this weekend I did the Ragnar Relay in Southern California. It's one of the continuous overnight relay races, and this one went from Huntington Beach down to San Diego. We did the 195 miles in about 29 and a half hours. We were a 12 person team (you can also do a 6 person Ultra team), so we each ran three legs of the relay. I was assigned the longest segments and ran about 25.5 miles for my three assigned legs. I was our first runner at 11 AM Friday morning (5.5 miles), then my second leg (12 miles) was at about 10:30 Friday night and then my final leg (8.1 miles) was at around 7:15 Saturday morning. My team "made" me run another mile alongside one of our other runners to go over 26.2 for the race.

Overall, it was a lot of fun. Great experience with some friends. Not a lot of sleep, but you can make that up later. If you have the chance to do something similar with any of your running friends, I'd recommend it.

[hoopsguy]

Great to see a bunch of folks getting after it this week.

I'll be joining the list next weekend, have a 5k over near Wrigley Field to start off my season. Just hoping to get my legs a little more under me after a lousy winter. No PRs coming up in April, but expect to be challenging last years times again by mid/late May.

Also, signed up for Strava Premium ... got that as a Christmas present from brother, but just now cashing it in as I'm running outdoors again. Didn't seem like there was a lot of value to be had with the Premium for my treadmill runs.

[AnalBumCover]

I love seeing all these race reports. They seem to come almost every week. Great job this weekend, Alan, HRM, and digamma!

And good luck on your 5k next week hoopsguy.

That Ragnar SoCal is on my bucket list. But I definitely need to get more miles under me before I can tackle such a beast.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by digamma

As some of you may have seen on Strava, this weekend I did the Ragnar Relay in Southern California. It's one of the continuous overnight relay races, and this one went from Huntington Beach down to San Diego. We did the 195 miles in about 29 and a half hours. We were a 12 person team (you can also do a 6 person Ultra team), so we each ran three legs of the relay. I was assigned the longest segments and ran about 25.5 miles for my three assigned legs. I was our first runner at 11 AM Friday morning (5.5 miles), then my second leg (12 miles) was at about 10:30 Friday night and then my final leg (8.1 miles) was at around 7:15 Saturday morning. My team "made" me run another mile alongside one of our other runners to go over 26.2 for the race.

Overall, it was a lot of fun. Great experience with some friends. Not a lot of sleep, but you can make that up later. If you have the chance to do something similar with any of your running friends, I'd recommend it.

digamma, I ran the Ragnar SoCal two years ago, and have been looking to get back (my team from that time isn't from SoCal and hasn't come back out for it). It's great fun. It sounds like you did very well. Way to go! That 12 mile must have been brutal, especially as that would have been in the central-northeast San Diego hilly area, if they followed a similar course to the one we ran, although at least it was at night and was decent weather.

My most difficult leg (and again, don't know if your race included this part) was a 9.5 mile stretch from Imperial Highway in Yorba Linda to Green River Road in Corona, which takes you on a run along the Santa Ana River. It was a sweltering heat (90+) at high noon when I ran it, and it ended with a ridiculous uphill. I made decent time (around 9 minute miles, I think), but that was just tough. My four mile midnighter, even all uphill, was a breeze after that. My Saturday run was through the foggy old town La Jolla area right along the beach, and that was really pleasant. I did one last short stretch of a run just before we crossed over to Coronado, but we split that one up a bit (we only had 10 runners).

It's quite the experience, not just for the running and the endless nature of it, but also just being around your team for all that time. It was great! Hope you had a great time.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by AnalBumCover

I love seeing all these race reports. They seem to come almost every week. Great job this weekend, Alan, HRM, and digamma!

And good luck on your 5k next week hoopsguy.

That Ragnar SoCal is on my bucket list. But I definitely need to get more miles under me before I can tackle such a beast.

ABC, just do it! Trust me, I went in with very little expectations or much running history, and it was still completely worth it.

Maybe if digamma isn't locked into his squad for next year, we can all run it together next year, and recruit some other Angeleno FOFCers to join us.

[Alan T]

That Ragnar does look awesome. I've been wanting to do something like that, but unfortunately my group of running friends here locally is roughly 6-7 and definitely not the ultra-running type. I am so very un-social to try it with people I don't know most likely

[digamma]

Alan, I was the same way. Our team just kind of came together when a friend of ours and her father needed four to complete their van. I have one friend who is a triathlete and two other guys who have just started running. We all happened to be at the same 40th birthday party one afternoon and she asked one of us--we all said we'd do it if everyone there agreed. So that was our six person van and she was the only person who knew the folks in the other van. We ended up getting to know them a bit, but it was definitely more about our six.

It does take a lot of logistics and planning.

[Alan T]

There are a couple of ultra marathoners that have run various segments in my area over the years that have dominated most of them. Yesterday I managed to snag one of the weaker ones from them on a run that evidently they did as a warmup for a longer hillier run

I don't care the circumstances, I still am ahead of both of them in a segment! I sent my wife a text yesterday about it too

[Alan T]

Millbury Parents Club 5k Race Report:

Copying this over from my Running log that I keep:

So today was race day. The race was basically a out and back from Millbury Highschool to Elmwood Street School and then back to the highschool. I checked out the course before hand and it was quite a few up and downs. The first mile was more downhill than up (by quite a bit) and that made the third mile almost all up hill. The second mile ended up roughly even but it had a nice big hill in the middle. I don't necessarily mind hills, but two of the ones in this race had a steeper grade which was going to make both running up and running down tougher.

My strategy ended up being to try to take advantage of the first mile and the downhills to pick up time. Since some of the downhills were fairly steep, I picked up cadence to try to keep my feet under me and not overextend my legs. I then was hoping to just hold on for dear life the last 2 miles. My previous best 5ks had been 7:42 pace and 7:50 pace. So my goal in this one was to try to average a 7:30 pace to see if I could do it. With the drastic change in elevation though, it was going to be tough to have it balance that out for the race.

Prior to the race, I did almost a mile warmup, nice and easy then made a quick bathroom break. One of the nice thing about local charity races at schools.. not too large a crowd and easy access to bathrooms! After the quick break, I ran a little more warmup and then finished with a few strides just before the start of the race. I timed it pretty well where I finished the strides with only a few minutes of announcements/national anthem and then the start of the race.

Warmup:
.87 mile: 10:03 pace / Elevation +2 ft / Avg HR: 139 / Avg Cadence: 177 / V. Osc: 7.2

Warmup plus Strides:
.22 mile: 14:27 pace / Elevation -13 ft / Avg HR: 137 / Avg Cadence: 126 / V. Osc: 4.9


Race:

The first mile, being almost all down hill was going to be my fast mile. I didn't really know how fast I would run it, but this isn't a marathon so blowing up from running too fast in a 5k is not as disastrous so I just let my adrenaline run with things. We started off with a steep decline almost immediately and for the first 2 minutes I was actually running at about a 6:45 pace. Once I hit a little rolling hills, I steadied that pace out a little closer to 7:30 and just tried to bank time without killing my Heart:

Mile 1: 7:10 pace / Elevation: (+29/-75ft) / Avg HR: 167 / Avg Cadence: 190 / V. Osc: 7.6


The second mile was almost exactly a neutral gain in elevation, but that does not tell the full story. There was as much climbing in this mile as the third mile and as much down hill as the first mile. This mile was really the toughest mile in my opinion and I really disliked the turnaround point where there was a single cone on a hill to turn around and come back. The hill started doing a number on me, but I just tried to keep my legs moving quickly and chug up the hill and keep my breathing going as best I could.

Mile 2: 7:45 pace / Elevation (+61/-69ft) / Avg HR: 181 / Avg Cadence: 187 / V. Osc: 8.3


And mile 3 was almost mile 1 in complete inverse. A few very minor downhill or flat stretches, but for the most part all climbing. At this point I was just hoping to keep my pace below 8min/mile and keep reminding myself that this was the final mile. I did not have to keep anything back and just keep pushing as best I could.


Mile 3: 7:58 pace / Elevation (+65/-29ft) / Avg HR: 185 / Avg Cadence: 185 / V. Osc: 8.5


After the third mile, you can literally see the finish line. I was pretty much gassed, but at this point you just run anaerobic and I tried to move my legs as quick as I could. The Garmin watch measured the course at only 3.04, so not sure if the difference in distance error was on my watch or the measurement.

Last 0.04: 7:53 pace / Elevation (+1/-1 ft) / Avg HR: 192 / Avg Cadence: 187 / V. Osc: 8.8


I ended up with my fastest Chip time for a 5k at 23:11. According to my watch, I had my fastest 1k/1.5k/1 mile/2 mile / 3k and 3 mile splits as well ever. My logs tell me this was my fastest overall pace for a run ever. I didn't get my 7:30 pace, but came close at 7:38. Was my highest average HR ever at 178, and highest max HR also at 192.

I finished 20th overall out of I think somewhere in the 200 range maybe? Not sure how I did in the age group as I had to take off to get home for the kids, but I'll find that out when it gets posted later. So overall very happy with my performance. I know if I find a flat 5k somewhere I feel pretty good at my chances to break 23 minutes. I still want to try to find a time to run the weekly CMS 5k as well to compare to my previous efforts there too.

For cooldown, it started pouring rain right after I finished, but I wanted to get a good cool down in. I ended up getting a pair of Altra Instinct 2.0 last week and gave them their first try during my cooldown on the Millbury High school track. A nice soft/flat surface to run them on, and I immediately like them better than the Brooks Puredrift. The cushioning is heavier on the front, where I land than the Brooks and it felt very comfortable. I didn't want to push myself too much in the shoes just yet so only ran 2/3rd of a mile to cool down.

Cooldown:
.62 mile: 10:17 pace / Elevation: 0 / Avg HR: 155 / Avg Cadence: 182 / V. Osc: 7.6


Overall very happy with how today went. As long as I can keep seeing small improvements along the way it helps me know I am doing well sticking to the plan.