TT Running Club

“Did a tempo run last night for the first time since... October 12, 2001 (yeah, I looked it up). Then, it was 35 minutes of running at a heart rate of a little over 160, which happened to be at about 7:00 pace. Last night I did 15 minutes at that HR - no telling what my pace was, but wasn't that fast. Felt pretty good - next time I'll do 20 minutes, although I need to remember how to set my monitor to beep at me when I go over or under my set range (so I don't have to keep looking at the watch). Now, if I can just find some time to get to a track for some speed work....”

“Bowlderman, I have added some speedwork lately. Its fun when I am done, not while doing it though. I only like my speed days cause they are shorter in duration then the others. I do alternating 1/2 miles. 1/2m at 6.6mph then 1/2m at 8mph for 4 miles. My HR in the speed sections is in the high 160's to low 170's. I will increase the length of the speed portion as I get stronger.

Thanks for posting your updates! Its encouraging to read everyones progress.”

“Hey, you guys remind me of me when I was training for a marathon. The gut-wrenching progression sprints on Tuesdays and Thursdays were never as fun as the thirteen mile runs.
Nowdays, I just do LSD, long-slow-distance. That is the fun part.
Go for the glory, you warriors!”

“That sounds good, birch. I finally remembered how I came up with the target HR for the tempo runs - I had read somewhere that you want to do them at 85% of your max HR. I should probably recalibrate my heart, since my 194 max was from a few years ago.

An acquaintance of mine related a story that a friend of his ran a really good race once, but got ticked off because he reached a new max at the end of the race. He asked his friend why he was so upset after having run a terrific race, and the guy explained that he was going to have to recalculate all of his HR ranges for his various workouts! Probably a little more anal than he had to be....”

“You guys are so, so, scientific.”

“Yes, dun, but come race day, we will run right over your unscientific carcass on the way to the finish line - mooohahahahahah!!!”

“Sass, that is great!!! It only gets easier.

Cool deal with the heart monitors. I don't know much of them, but might look into them soon.

I'm also going to begin integrating interval training into my runs. I'm going to do alternating quarter milers going high speed at about 1:10-1:20, and the other a slow jog. Plan is to start off doing a mile and a half, then working my way up from there. I'd like to do this twice a week, along with my usual 5-12 mile runs three times a week.”

“That's pretty quick for the quarters, Artex. I would recommend warming up with some 100's at about the pace you plan to do the quarters. My typical warmup before doing a workout like that is about a mile or two of jogging, then a mile (on a track) of faster straights and jogging the curves. Then some stretching, then the workout itself.

I have used the HR monitor extensively on the track. I would run whatever distance (a quarter, say), then jog around until my HR got down to some predetermined rate before starting the next one. Of course, that rest time gradually increases as you get deeper into the workout....

I'd be amazed if I could break 80 seconds in a quarter today. Hard to believe I once did a workout doing 8 of them in like 64 or something - man, am I getting old....”

“Artex - those quarters might be a bit quick considering what I think your race pace might be. Just my opinion, but you may be better off doing 90 second quarters and more of them rather than quicker and fewer.

When you pick me up tomorrow, remind me to bore the hell out of you with my old training schedules. In fact, I'll dig up some old log books and really put you to sleep.”

“Yeah, maybe. I'm just judging the quarter time on one recent performance. I had ran 6 miles at about an 8-minute mile pace, and right afterwards my dad had challenged me to see how fast I could run a quarter mile on a track. I did it in 1:14. I bet with a fresh pair of legs I could that same pace for the first two quick-quarter miles. Won't know until I try!”

“I just skimmed through my log books from 1985-89. I feel old and need a nap. See ya tomorrow in Tampa dude!”

“Dunadan, I agree with you 100% on the long runs. MUCH more fun, especially on trails. I just want to cut some time.

Bowlderman, my 85% HR is 161bpm. So I am holding just above for my speed intervals. I have been following my recovery HR after two minutes of walking. Its improving quickly.

Artex, your track workout sounds rough,I feel slightly nauseaus reading about it,LOL. BTW could you possibly send any info you might have from your dad about running in an ultra? I have been toying with the idea...Thanks.”

“Checkout this story from trailrunnermag.com”

“Nyaaa, that doesn't look so tough. Hey, the author's time was only a little over 46 - how tough could it be?




Huh? It was hours? Sheesh!”

“Yeah, that's no big deal- we've hiked with Snow Nymph!”

“Well... "hiked after" Snow Nymph.....”

“which is actually not a bad thing.”

“Hey, the heart monitors and the scientific training is great. Were I in my twenties again, and training to get faster, I would be doing the same thing. At this stage in my running carreer, it's more about the enjoyment of a good long run.”

“Had a wonderful 9.2m trail run today. In summer conditions it usually takes me 76-84min today with the fresh ice and snowpack turning mushy towards the end it was 104 minutes. I took a friend of mine along...it whooped us both good. My hamstrings are smoked.”

“Speaking of hamstrings...my piriformis (butt) feels much better these days. I think I've gotten ahead of the inflamation and I don't embarrass myself at work rubbing my butt all day.

I've been running with the college XC guys and we got a 7 mile tempo run and a hill workout in this week! I'm working on a 70-75 mile week at this point and the weather is cooperating, 35 degrees and clear. If I keep my head and heed the injury-warning signs, I should be able to get in some good races this spring.”

“Aero, glad to hear you are feeling better. I am sure your co-workers are happy that the butt rubbing is over LOL. Very impressive mileage, sounds like you are back in business.”

“getting there birch! Recovery is a longer process at my advanced age!

The mileage isn't a big deal. I get about 3-4 miles real, slow jogging and stretching at noon across from my office at some soccer fields. It only takes ~30-40 mins. and it's a great work break. Later in the afternoon I get in 6-10 with the college guys and I'm already loosened up.”

“Sounds like a nice run, birch. I'm hoping to hit the trails Sunday AM, family responsibilities permitting....

Excellent news, aero!

I'm feeling good now. Ran my "Hills of Severe Pain" last night in something like 7:10-7:20 pace and felt good. Today I'm not running, but did my hardest upper body workout to date. As a side note, I finally got around to putting all of my upper body workouts in a spreadsheet for more organized record-keeping, and it turns out that in about a week, I'll reach a million pounds lifted. Man, am I strong!”

“LONGEST RUN EVER again, lol. The good thing about training for a long run, constantly one uping....
Sped up a bit for the long run yesterday. I managed to get my pace up to 12 min miles and went 6 and a quarter. The last 15 minutes were awful, complete with split pea soup verps. Next week will be better.”

“Good job, Sass. I've never had the split pea soup verps on a run before! I've had the Monkey on my Back, tho.”

“Hey, they could have been hot chili verps.”

“I don't know what they are, but I don't want 'em!”

“Great run, Sass. I'm looking to do some runs of over 6 this summer. Should be interesting.”

“Aero- vomit burps! You know, a burp with a little something extra!”

“Ohhhhh, those! Yep, had 'em.

Now, how about the sharts? Anyone had those?”

“Ran another 5K Sat. Hadn't had enough running practice to try the 10K. Lowered my best time by 1/2 minute.”

“"verps," LMAO! i love it!”

“This thread is getting gross.

Ran a little over 9 miles on Saturday - felt pretty good. That gave me over 30 miles for the current 7-day stretch: that may be the most miles in a 7-day period since before I wrecked my ankle (11/01).

On another note, a friend of mine (who is an avid backpacker/winter camper) came in 58th in the marathon trials on Saturday. He's been injured and had barely run in the past 2 or 3 months, but still managed to run under 2:30. Now we're trying to convince him to come along on our next winter adventure in a couple weeks....”

“Congrats, Le Subtil. I'm gonna wait for the weather to warm up before entering any races.”

“Craig, good job on cutting 30 seconds. You've got a great pattern of getting faster goin, keep it up!”

“The training guide I'm using (Hal Higdon's half-marathon; novice) has me doing long runs on weekends too.
Sunday was my first.
The Bay Area Runner's Club, whom I've just recently been introduced to, was supposed to start group long runs at our local rail trail this weekend. I dutifully got up and at the trailhead by 8 am but no one else showed up to enjoy the beautiful crispy -8 degree weather.
Their loss; it was great!

I ran 70 minutes, just short of 7 miles, my longest run since I was a kid... It felt great, the cold wasn't a problem except for when I'd blink and my eyelashes would freeze together.

Had a great week last week.
Ran 15 miles
Snowshoed 8 with a pack
Skied 6.7
Swam 2

I do wish the ice would melt off of the asphalt.
Another 5K next Saturday to look forward to.”

“That's awesome! Keep it up, le Subtil!

Nothing new for me to report running wise, other than my running schedule is more or less on track and I'm still planning on running a 15 mile trail race in early April. :-)”

“That sounds great, Le Subtil.
I ran Fri, Sat, and Sun. First time I've done that in a many months. I went just over six on Saturday, and it felt pretty good. Sunday's much shorter and hillier run was tough, though.
Here's to the SPRING!”

“LeSubtil, sounds like a great week. You are a stud for running in those temps. I did 4 outside yesterday (single digits to low doubles ?) and froze...

I too long for spring and getting off the treadmill of death!”

“My treadmill is in my basement. It's like going to the dungeon to be tortured.”

“That's what Rob Zombie & Godsmack music is for. Plus it gives the dungeon the proper feel. It helps me on the trainer.”

“Thanks for the tip, Arky. I depend on my Zep and Zappa. That is, when I can crank it up.
Ever try to train to the sounds of Barry Manilow?”

“Running to Manilow...thats terrifying!

I prefer TV. It passes the time faster,for my long runs I rent movies.”

“Um, I ran 9.5 on Saturday - it was about 62 and sunny outside. (Now don't hate me...)”

“62 and sunny...you bastard. :)

I haven't run since Friday - had relatives in town over the weekend. I am feeling like a sloth. When confined to the treadmill I usually watch sportscenter in the morning and maybe a basketball game on the weekends or in the evening. It passes the time nicely. Snow is off the roads now, but most of the sidewalks and paths are still ice/slush covered.”

“Hey, it's supposed to be about 55 here today. Not bad for February in Montana.

On the injury front; last week I tweaked my knee while running with the college guys. They were hammering an 8 mile run and I was hanging on, but my knee rebelled a couple days later. So, I got in to the an orthopedic surgeon I know who was a runner to check it out and also see if there were any other knee problems on the horizon. I just have a strained tendon, it turns out and the other knee pain is a little patellar tendonitis. He looked at the x-rays and said the joints look good, no tears and cartillage looks OK. He told me to back off some and resist the temptation to take off with the college guys. He said,"You're not 18 anymore, or 28, or 38 or..." He quit before he got to 48...”

“Think of it this way, aero - not too many guys in their 40's can hang with college runners for any distance, let alone 8 miles. Maybe keep the "hanging with the college guys" down to 3-4 miles, unless they promise to go slow....

When I hurt my ankle (just before birthday #40), the doc was commenting on the xrays and pointed out that I have some arthritis in one of the joints for my big toe on that side. "But it's not too bad for a 50-year-old." That made me feel really good....”

“Yeah, I've got to kick back a little. I think I was lulled into a false sense of security when we were slowly slogging through miles in the ice, snow cold weather this winter. When it got nice, the pace quickened up considerably and I was OK for the first few times, but went one run too far...doh!--still learning!

My knees and my brain have to come to an agreement sometime soon!”

“Aero, just don't let it get to a point where your brain doesn't have a say in the matter. It seems to be one of the hallmarks of a distance runner to endure pain, so I can't say I haven't been there, also. I guess you just have to get hip to what kind of pain to take seriously.”

“You're right- there's "normal" pain you just run through and accept and then there's the kind that can do some damage.”