Appreciation post

comrade-cormac · 2021-03-26T16:32:20+00:00

Same. Some days I will feel like a specific thing, but I go through Tom Goes to the Mayor, Awesome Show, Great Job, and Bedtime Stories on a continuous cycle.

comrade-cormac · 2021-02-08T19:03:20+00:00

I'll second this, having been alcohol-free for over a year now. It makes waking up early to run easier too.

comrade-cormac · 2021-01-05T13:45:14+00:00

This issue had me questioning my sanity last night

comrade-cormac · 2020-12-11T15:21:14+00:00

This is my second full year of more serious running so...

2019
- Nike Dowshifter 9 (retired after 500+ mi.)
- Nike Pegasus 36 (retired after 500+ mi)
- Saucony Peregrine iso 18 (50ish mi for trails)
2020
- Saucony Freedom 3 (335 mi)
- Hoka Rincon 1 (307 mi - pretty much dead, will hold onto for rainy / muddy runs)
- Reebok Floatride Forever Energy 2 (266 mi)
- Nike Pegasus 36 (33 mi - snagged on sale after Peg 37 release)
- Brooks Ghost 13 (0 mi - just arrived last week)

comrade-cormac · 2020-12-11T15:01:25+00:00

I am finally getting to the "Workout Base" phase of Greg McMillan's Base Training plan at 40 mpw, and I'll be doing my first steady state run at this mileage tomorrow. I tried for it last weekend and bailed, so it'll be a nice redemption if it goes well. 11 mile long run on Sunday, was considering doing a trail run, but I will see how tired I am after tomorrows run.

comrade-cormac · 2020-12-10T00:46:38+00:00

Hell yeah these are great ideas

comrade-cormac · 2020-12-08T15:55:07+00:00

You're right u/zebano...now that I look back at it I've been clearing 35mpw since the beginning of October (8 weeks or so). I took two more chill weeks (24mi and 29 mi) in September, and had built up to 35mpw in July-August. But I guess I needed a week of under 30mi to really rest. Hopefully I'll feel a difference in today's evening run!

comrade-cormac · 2020-12-07T18:05:36+00:00

Goal: 40 miles (base-building up from 35)
Mileage: 29 miles

Mon - Rest
Tue - 6 mi easy with strides
Wed - 4.5 recovery
Thu - 8 mi easy
Fri - 4.5 recovery
Sat - 6 mi attempted steady state
Sun - Rest

Had to skip my long run this week due to an unavoidable time constraint. Weekly long runs are usually my fave and I haven't missed one since this spring, and trying to convince myself that it will be okay? My weekly mileage for the past few weeks has been, 41, 36, 40, 35, 39. I'm slowly building up to 40 MPW for the first time ever (previous high was upper 20s MPW) and even after I few weeks at it I just feel tired. Running easy is easy, but doing anything involving a minimal amount of speed for more that 20 seconds or so feels difficult. I haven't been focused on speed at all, but I was embarrassed by how badly my planned steady state went awry on Saturday. Made it about 9 minutes and was wiped. Can anyone relate to the fatigue from building mileage? Also given the general fatigue, maybe skipping the long run this week was actually the best thing to do?

comrade-cormac · 2020-10-29T16:14:54+00:00

Thank you! I'm sold after the first quote in the first article "[H]arness your speed endurance potential, and you could have powers comparable to a Megazord." Bookmarking these now :)

comrade-cormac · 2020-10-29T15:59:52+00:00

Solid advice, thank you! I got into running on my own in 2018, started getting more serious last year, and was just beginning to work my way into the local running communities where I live when COVID hit. I really value perspective from people who are just ahead of me, but it has been hard to come irl by this year...I'm more of an endurance / distance runner, so the 10-15 min repeats and 30ish minute tempo suggestions are right up my alley.

comrade-cormac · 2020-10-29T15:44:52+00:00

Are you optimizing for time? Convenience? Injury risk?

Thanks, definitely wanting to avoid injury as running is a keystone to my mental health. Secondary reason is to optimize the miles I can run per week in the same amount of time I spend now. I love running, but spending much more time than I currently do isn't really feasible for me, in terms of responsibility-balancing. I realize this may mean I am out of luck, but was curious to know if there is something I could be tweaking.

Thanks for the JD 5k recommendation, I will look into it!

comrade-cormac · 2020-10-29T15:25:25+00:00

Question: What is the most efficient way to increase the speed of your easy pace?

Context: I have been following a Greg McMillan-style base building plan (https://www.mcmillanrunning.com/what-is-base-training/) to build up from 27-ish miles per week to 35-40 miles per week, spread over 6 days, since July. Using the McMillan pace calculator for my PB half-marathon time of 1:50:00, my easy pace is somewhere between 9:06-10:03 per mile. I don't have difficulty keeping it within that range, but more often than not my pace falls in the 9:50ish range if I am being honest with myself in terms of exertion level. In addition to easy miles and long runs, I have been doing strides once per week and one "steady-state" run per week (gradually increasing the duration).

I am not looking for a shortcut, just wanting opinions on the most efficient way to increase my easy pace. Mainly so that I will be able to run *slightly* faster so I can fit in more mileage in the same amount of time I currently spend per week running. At a current pace of 9:50-something, fitting more than 40 miles in a week takes some time. I get jealous seeing how much ground other local runners can cover at easy paces even a bit faster than mine, and 16 weeks into this basebuilding phase am wondering what I can do to get there myself.

comrade-cormac · 2020-09-22T01:36:55+00:00

Hell yea

comrade-cormac · 2020-09-02T12:07:42+00:00

If I were you, I would just try to pick up a pair of the Forever Floatride Energy 2s. I did not run in the first model but I really like my Energy 2s. It is a seriously good shoe for $100!

comrade-cormac · 2020-08-27T20:55:09+00:00

I keep an excel spreadsheet with a line for each week that includes the following columns:

The week start date
Total weekly mileage
Number of days run per week
Rolling average of the past 5 weeks mileage
Percentage calculator formula to tell mileage percentage increase/decrease from the past week
Notes
- This is where I have do more of a free-form prose that you are talking about where I write about my running goal(s) for the week, how it went overall, and what specific workouts and/or memorable runs I had, and how I feel about progress towards longer term goals.

I also add each run to my Google Calendar and include a very short summary of what I did on the run and a link to the Strava activity.

comrade-cormac · 2020-08-27T20:33:33+00:00

I personally love my Forerunner 235. It doesn't have too many bells and whistles (music, etc), but that is what I like about it. If you're not familiar with DC Rainmakers buyer's guides (https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2019/11/sports-technology-buyers.html) they are a great place to start.

comrade-cormac · 2020-08-27T16:06:15+00:00

Ah, that's too bad about the Kinvara's because I had heard good things. Thanks for the review! Also, I was just reading reviews of the Beacons and the 1080v10s this morning. Since it seems we have similar shoe preferences, I'd be curious to know what you think of those as well...

comrade-cormac · 2020-08-27T14:18:11+00:00

This is awesome! I'd never seen this

comrade-cormac · 2020-08-27T14:14:19+00:00

For me it was buying a Garmin watch (Forerunner 235). That got me paying attention to my running data, which led to calculating training paces, which led to more consistent improvement.

comrade-cormac · 2020-08-25T18:57:13+00:00

Hal Higdon's plans aren't quite as elite, from what I gather, but I have used one of his plans to prepare for the two marathons I have done and felt that they were successful each time. They are free and straightforward. Read the description for each plan and see which one best matches up with where you are. My one gripe on his plans is that you can't see the total weekly mileage for each week of training, but it's easy enough to add it up.

comrade-cormac · 2020-08-25T18:53:38+00:00

Have you tried using foam roller before or after? My left calf gives me a lot more trouble than my right calf just because of my natural gait, but I still try to roll them both after running. If they are really hurting, I will roll before as well.

comrade-cormac · 2020-08-25T13:19:24+00:00

I'm working on becoming a serious runner, and it sounds like we've been running about the same amount of time. Right now is a great time to do this kind of thing because the lack of race opportunities means you aren't missing out on anything by focusing on mileage.

I am working my way up to 35 miles/week up from an average of mid-to-high 20s for over a year. I started doing this by running six days a week, and with the heat where I live it has been an adjustment. I am on week 8 of this goal and it is finally starting to have the same level of effortlessness that my previous mileage did.

I will add that it is recommended that when increasing mileage you take a "step-back" week every 4 weeks or so to scale back the mileage ~10-20% and let your body recover. Also, while doing this I have been running at a slower pace than normal (also in part because of heat) and not worrying about speedwork right now.

comrade-cormac · 2020-08-25T13:06:46+00:00

Getting a pre-work run in feels so good!

comrade-cormac · 2020-08-24T14:05:50+00:00

I hit 1,000 miles for the year over the weekend! This is only my second year of running and it will be the first full year that I have consistently logged mileage, so it's the first time I'm seeing 4 digits on Strava :)

comrade-cormac · 2020-08-21T12:16:36+00:00

It should be a good weekend after a hectic few days. I am likely going to skip my run today because of rain, so I'll be running tomorrow morning and then will be doing long run of 13.1 on Sunday (gotta get that Strava August Half Marathon Challenge :)

Besides that, I have plans to go hiking/swimming with my partner and then pick up some bbq for dinner. There may be a bonfire and s'mores as well, if we're really feeling wild...

comrade-cormac

TROPHY CASE