11/26/2015
Tamarac Turkey Trot 5k
My goal was sub-20. I got 20:06. I laughed when I saw it, but I deserve it; I should have at least sprint to the finish like I normally do. So i'm happy with it. So in basketball terms, I still can't knick the rim in competition.
The good news is I won my age group (30-34). I got a gift basketball full of food and a trophy.
Legs felt amazing. Felt strong and bouncy. Lungs were hurting. More acidic than normal.
Warmed up really good. Started at the front. Kept pace with some fast runners for a while. I should have tried harder to keep up with them. I'd like to see if I can find my split times for the run, because I imagine the first mile was good.
Overall time: 20:06
Pace: 6:29
I can't explain why I didn't sprint to the finish. It's that "quitter in me" which seems to manifest more when it matters. It's okay though, i'm slowly killing that.
I don't know if it was the wind or what, but no one cracked 16. One guy got 16:00. Normally this race has people in the 15's. The wind was definitely very strong on the first half up, but at your back on the second half. I didn't even notice it when I was actually running though. I didn't notice much of anything though other than keeping up with a few people, I just zoned out.
Running events are nice.. everyone seems so happy/upbeat.
Finally, so many fine chix it was ridiculous. Makes me look forward to 5k races even more. There was 2k+ people at this event.
December focus:
- weight loss: ~155 lb. (-~10 lb)
- lifting: 20+ rep squats, light
- more volume running
- more interval sprinting (with jog/run recovery) AND longer intervals
- still running morning and night
- keep waking up at 6, or even earlier, i like it.
When i'm hitting some good numbers in competition (official races) several months from now, i'll look back at my log and smile. I'll also be like ~150 lb rippt & squatting, with a much stronger mind. It'll come together. Need to bleed alot more though..
word!
Wow. Congrats on the turkey trot. Transitioning from dunking to 5ks... amazing to have talent across such a wide range.
Thanks alot! It was more fun than I thought it would be. Slight correction though, here's my zig-zag transition:
basketball -> boxing + running -> dunking -> sedentary computer nerd -> running + tennis (current).
;f
I love tennis, it's REALLY fun. It's a game after all. But I love running even more, not so much for the fun (it is fun), but the self-competition, the torture, and how I feel afterwards.. So i'll probably continue dedicating most of my effort on improving these running stats.
I have a lot of respect for people who can do this even though they dont get a lot of accolades, but the Matt Sherers of the world are amazing to me, because I cant even break 15 minutes for a two mile...
Never heard of Matt Scherer until now:
http://www.runnersworld.com/elite-runners/rabbit-runpretty crazy: (wth, I couldn't copy/paste from that site, had to go into inspect)
"that I do, I'll practice actually trying to hit certain paces. So when I'm doing 200 repeats I might try to hit a 25.5 or a 26.5, and then I'll just keep doing that over and over and over again."
Is your goal 5ks or are you going to go up to halfs or marathons?
I may do some 10k/half marathons/marathons eventually but "just to do them". My goal so far is definitely 5k's (and maybe even shorter) because of the speed component. I want to be able to run as fast as physiologically possible (for me) in these 5k runs. So really being able to hold 12+ mph (~15min 5k) would make me content (as a second milestone). First milestone is probably being able to hold 10.x mph for the entire 3.1 (~17min 5k).
I still plan on getting back into jumping (SLRVJ), but with less emphasis. I can intersect my training for 5k's with jumping much easier than trying to intersect marathon training with jumping. So that's definitely a big plus. I miss getting vertical. 5k (or less) + running VJ/dunking sounds like a great combo for me.
I checked out your log and it seems mostly to be made up of 4 mi runs...
Ya and some hour runs. I've been trying to run shorter/faster runs in the morning and longer runs at night, ever since I started this 2x/day training.
do you do any "speed" work?
I was starting to incorporate speed work via Fartlek runs. I had lots of sessions labeled "jog and sprint". But I havn't done them since I wrecked my calves going entirely forefoot for ~4 mi, which was over 2 weeks ago. That's something I need to slowly adapt to. I need to be able to hold a more bouncy/powerful form without my calves dying for weeks.
I want to do more structured speed work like you mentioned below, such as the 4x400 with X minute jog rest etc. I may be a bit more liberal with the distances for now, since i'm using the streets, but regardless I need to get in some more structured speed sessions. This should also help my calves adapt. I've tested it out: if I run 400's midfoot/forefoot, i'm fine. If I run a few miles midfoot/forefoot, I can get severe calf soreness.
It's something I need to figure out because I think my strength in running will be my reactive abilities.. another plus will be my lactic acid toleration once I get that back up to par: high rep squatting, 400's etc.. will be fun.
The best distance guys I know did crazy "speed" work and would use it as a way to stay honest... the craziest workout was rested miles... 4x400m with a rest between each one of 1-3 minutes... when your time goes up on the first one you know your getting too slow... when it goes up for the last you need more volume... kinda a cool test.
nice! ya exactly.. I need to focus much more on speed work but I need to do it in a way that won't wreck my calves. I predict I can perform sessions like that without much of a problem. The problem comes when I hold mid/forefoot for "too long". So I need to be smart about it and maybe save that for race day etc.
Lots of stuff to figure out. I feel I have so much room for improvement that it gets me excited.
pc man!