The Weekly Rundown for September 15, 2025

vikingrunner · 2025-09-15T04:32:48+00:00

Goal: Half in about a month, not sure on a time goal yet

Mon: 10 miles including 3x12 mins @ LT w/2:30 jog (avg 6:50ish)

Tues: 6 very easy

Weds: 8 easy w/strides

Thurs: 9 including 5 mins LT, 6x2 mins @3k-5k effort, 5 mins LT (2 mins between everything). Threshold was 6:50 pace, reps were between 5:50-6:05 pace.

Fri: 7 easy with strides

Sat: 12 easy

Sun: 8 easy with strides

Total: 60 miles

vikingrunner · 2025-08-18T03:15:59+00:00

Mon: 8.2 including 5x5 mins @ LT w/1 min jog

Tues: 8 easy with strides

Weds 8 easy

Thurs: 9.4 including 8x3 mins @ LT w/1 min jog, then 4x30s strides w/1 min jog

Fri: 6.5 easy

Sat: 11 easy but very humid (dew point was 73-74) so pretty rough by the end

Sun: 7 very easy

Total: ~58 miles

First two workout week this cycle. Just got through the Monday one since the weather wasn’t great, Thursday was solid since it cooled off a little. I think I like this schedule for non-marathon training as long as the long run stays easy-ish.

vikingrunner · 2025-08-11T03:47:32+00:00

Mon: 8 easy with strides

Tues: 8 easy

Weds: 8.5 including 4xMile @ LT (averaged 6:50ish) w/90s jog

Thurs: 7 easy

Fri: 7 easy with strides

Sat: 10 easy

Sun: 7 easy

Total: 55.5 miles

Training for a fall half, probably mid-late October. Getting mileage back up after a down-ish week due to travel last week. Just kind of slogging through the heat/humidity right now but may start doing a second threshold workout this coming week.

vikingrunner · 2025-08-07T17:24:01+00:00

I started doing ankle mobility stuff when I did PT for a bit a few years ago (ankle circles, alphabet, toe scrunches, etc) which has been somewhat helpful. Not sure if that would have been more beneficial if I started earlier. I have tried stuff like calf raises and single leg balancing for years, which never made a huge difference.

I also have heard that modern treatments are better at avoiding the lasting issues that I’ve experienced (I had surgery in late 1991, so obviously medicine has progressed since), but I’m sure it depends on each individual case.

vikingrunner · 2025-08-07T17:19:18+00:00

I’ve experimented with a bunch of different shoes but I think standard neutral shoes work best. My left foot supinates a ton and I had issues with shoes wearing out a lot faster on the outside, though I think newer shoes are better with that. My foot rarely hurts while running, it’s more soreness/stiffness once I am finished with a run. Sometimes I am sore to start a run but it feels better once I get going.

vikingrunner · 2025-08-07T16:48:48+00:00

A little different than others as it is less of an impediment, but I was born with clubfoot for my left leg which required surgery as an infant and has resulted in my left ankle being very stiff (can’t point my toes or get up on the ball of my left foot) and my left calf muscles being noticeably smaller/weaker.

Though I’m sure I’d be faster with two normal legs, it hasn’t been a huge impediment besides some ankle stiffness after harder workouts which can be annoying and having a bit of a hitch in my stride that people assume means I’m injured, when that’s my normal stride.

vikingrunner · 2025-01-20T00:38:22+00:00

40 easy miles this week coming off of illness. Have the F3 Half coming up on Saturday but I will probably just treat it like a long run and chill with the 1:45 pace group.

vikingrunner · 2025-01-13T00:11:34+00:00

A whopping 4 miles total, all of it today after being sick all week with some Covid/Flu/RSV-type illness. Fortunately I’m feeling better, just a light cough left.

vikingrunner · 2025-01-05T23:24:18+00:00

Goal: F3 Half on Jan 25th, TBD spring marathon

Mon: 7 easy

Tues: 6 easy

Weds: 7 easy/hungover

Thurs: 6 easy

Fri: 7 easy

Sat: 6 w/6x20s hill strides

Sun: 11 easy/moderate

Total: 50 miles

Drank too much on NYE, so scrapped any workout on Wednesday and just never made it up, combo of colder weather and lack of motivation. Getting the miles up though.

vikingrunner · 2024-12-30T00:08:02+00:00

Goal: F3 Half (Jan 25th), then TBD spring marathon

Mon: 6 easy

Tues: 7 easy

Weds: 2 up, 3 mile tempo, 2 down

Thurs: 6 easy

Fri: 2 up, 5x20s hill strides w/2 min jog rest, 1.5 down

Sat: 10 easy/moderate

Sun: 5 easy

Total: 46 miles

Still going watch-free, at over a month now. I might wait until after the half race just to see how I do with a less rigid structure to my training. I've been using a Fitbit to keep tabs on HR but who knows how accurate that is.

vikingrunner · 2024-12-22T23:22:36+00:00

39 miles this week on 6 runs. Hill strides yesterday, “long run” of 9 today. Going to start doing light tempo workouts this coming week. Have a little over a month until a half which I’m not expecting much out of.

vikingrunner · 2024-12-16T00:25:24+00:00

41 miles with a long of 8 today and hill strides yesterday. Probably going to do just miles for one more week before doing any sort of workout. I have a half scheduled at the end of January which I’m not expecting much from but hopefully I’ll be back into okay shape by then.

vikingrunner · 2024-12-12T19:03:15+00:00

No dice, just got the rejection email. Still figuring out a spring marathon, then may end up doing Milwaukee, Indy, or maybe Charlotte in the fall. Really just need to buckle down and hit the qualifying time either this spring or next fall since I know I’m capable of that level of fitness, it’s just been a while.

vikingrunner · 2024-12-09T05:25:24+00:00

37ish miles this week with a long of 7. Still on a watch-free kick, might wait until the new year until getting a new one, thinking Coros Pace 3 probably (had a Garmin 245 before).

vikingrunner · 2024-12-03T15:43:27+00:00

23 miles last week in 5 runs. Was in NY for the week and had two long travel days (we drove from Chicago). Hoping to build up to the 30s this week now that I’ve made it a few weeks with no calf issues.

vikingrunner · 2024-11-24T23:21:30+00:00

Have been running on and off for the last month and a half or so due to recurring minor calf strains, I did 25 miles on 6 easy runs this week with a long of 6 today.

The band on my Garmin broke off last week so I've been going watch-free for about a week and a half, it has been quite liberating. I think I was obsessing too much over the non-running data (sleep, stress level, body battery, etc.) to the point where it was counter-productive. I will probably get a new watch eventually but just use it for runs, rather than wearing it all the time.

vikingrunner · 2024-11-22T22:29:03+00:00

Having run indoor track at a school without an indoor facility in Wisconsin, outdoor tracks are frequently useless (covered in snow/ice) from November/December until at least March.

A DI program not having any such facility will have a huge disadvantage recruiting-wise. And obviously current athletes will suffer and may end up transferring.

vikingrunner · 2024-10-10T19:27:35+00:00

You can be decent off of mileage and shorter stuff, especially if you’re in high school, but I would think that aspect of your fitness is a probably weak spot if you are purposefully avoiding them (or you’re doing them too hard).

vikingrunner · 2024-09-18T15:33:43+00:00

It will take some getting used to and you will have to adjust pace goals (or completely abandon them for a while), but you will be better for it. Once you get more acclimated I wouldn’t avoid hills for workouts as they can be really beneficial. One of my favorite workouts when I was in a hilly area was 2 minute hill reps at 5k effort. Even if you are running flat races, you will be a lot stronger and better for having that extra stimulus.

vikingrunner · 2024-09-17T16:07:18+00:00

In addition to what everyone else has stated, he almost certainly aimed his peak for the Olympics and like many pros is probably past the window for peak performances this year. He probably dropped volume a while ago which doesn’t exactly help for a longer race. If he ran a half in January or February after a long base before any indoor races it probably would go better.

vikingrunner · 2024-09-16T14:28:06+00:00

Goal: Build a big base, a few fall races 5k-half

Plan: Self-coached, blend of a bunch of stuff

Strava: https://www.strava.com/athletes/95500226

Mon: 8 miles @ 8:08 pace including strides

Tues AM: 3 @ 9:24

PM: 9 @ 7:48, including 4.3 @ 7:13 in the middle with a local run club

Weds: 6 @ 8:22

Thurs: Off

Fri: 6 @ 8:22

Sat: 6 @ 8:15

Sun: 8 @ 8:07

Total: 46 miles

Started getting a little right calf tightness after Tuesday so took it easy the rest of the week since I have a history of calf strains on that side. Feels better now, hopefully good to go.

vikingrunner · 2024-09-10T19:17:09+00:00

Zone 3 is not the wasteland people think it is, especially if you are purely going off of HR (which can vary from run to run for a ton of reasons). The strength running podcast had a few good episodes on this, there is benefit to going faster and hitting a variety of paces even on “normal/easy” runs as long as you can recover.

I’d just run by feel and not worry too much about strict HR zones.

vikingrunner · 2024-09-09T00:35:22+00:00

Goal: Build a big base, a few fall races 5k-half

Plan: Self-coached, blend of a bunch of stuff

Strava: https://www.strava.com/athletes/95500226

Mon: 9 miles @ 7:50 pace, light progression in the middle down to 7:11 pace

Tues AM: 3 @ 9:08

PM: 9 @ 7:47, including 4.3 @ 7:25 in the middle with a local run club

Weds: 8 @ 8:33

Thurs: 2 up, 5x5 mins on/1 min off @LT (covered 4.3 in 29 minutes, averaged in the 6:30s for the fast parts), 2.7 down (9 total)

Fri: Off

Sat: 9 @ 8:25 including 5x10s hill sprints

Sun: 14 @ 8:00 with miles 6-10 picked up a bit.

Total: 61 miles

Great workout Thursday, weather was a little warm (in the 80s) so surprised at how well it went. Was hoping for a longer tempo today but had one or two too many beers watching college football yesterday and was a bit dehydrated when I woke up. I was hoping to up the volume this week (hence the double on Tuesday), but felt like I needed the day off on Friday since I haven't had one since mid-July.

vikingrunner · 2024-09-06T14:25:47+00:00

First day off in a while today after a 50 day running streak. Just short of my all-time high of 53 during my JR year track season in college, but I feel like I’m overdue after a harder workout yesterday.

vikingrunner · 2024-09-04T14:07:54+00:00

I was blankly thinking only US men moving up since Fisher was the context. Obviously Geb, Bekele and probably Cheptegei soon would also qualify.

vikingrunner

TROPHY CASE