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Alan T · 06-05-2013, 09:58 AM

I have gotten very negligent in updating this ever since we started the Runkeeper/Strava thread. Most of the day to day satisfaction from my runs are commented out either there or in Strava comments. Pretty much everyone who is interested in following the daily runs is already following me on Strava as well.

So I don't have a huge need to post day to day information here and think that I need to revamp what I am using this thread for. Focus it more on my goals (both trying for and achieved) as well as my planning and other random things to do with training .

I updated the first post, May was a pretty good month for me all things considered.. I made several of my goals and set plenty of new personal bests..

May 29th, I officially broke the 200 pound weight barrier and have continued my downward trend with that. This morning, weighed in at 197.6 (after my run I was 195.4).

I ran in a 5 mile race on May 4th, and technically not may but June 1st ran my first 10k race. I was disappointed in my results of the 10k race, the heat and humidity killed my chances for breaking 1 hour which was my goal.

I did set several new PRs this month though, best 5k, 10k, 15k and 10 mile times as well as longest distance run thus far. I do not expect to be breaking more PRs as we enter June, July and August though as the heat will make it tough, but we will see what happens.

So I still have goals for breaking an hour on a 10k, as well as a less likely 25 minute 5k. I think 26-27 minute is possible with the right weather for me right now though. I also want to run a half marathon distance some point this summer (By mid-August) to be ready for a half marathon race I want to run in September.

What I have been working on lately is putting together a half marathon training plan to be ready for September 15th.

I am doing a relay race with my wife (Half marathon relay) later this month up in Maine, so I'll be running roughly 6.55 miles or so... I'm kind of viewing it as a second chance for me to get under 1 hour 10k though as long as the weather cooperates hopefully. So I decided to give myself a few days to rest before that race. Since it is just in the base building phase of the training plan, its no huge deal.

Here is the "training load" of my previous training leading into my training plan through mid-august. Kind of neat to see in a graphical layout, but you can see why it is important to taper before a big race. It also helps illustrate why you can't just simply keep running further and further every week without some down time or rest time.

The Blue is my "fitness" level, as I do more exercise, my fitness level continues to increase. Even the smaller runs help increase it, which I guess is a reason why everyone talks about building a base.. You have to build up your fitness level to be able to run faster or further.

The Red is my "fatigue" level. As you can see, the more you exercise, the more fatigue builds up. It is interesting to note that fatigue builds up faster than fitness, it has more volatile peaks, especially from longer runs or harder runs. One of the many reasons why everyone recommends running the bulk of your runs at an "Easy" pace or a comfortable pace I assume. You can also see where I back off on the training and even take a few days off at the end of May, the fatigue drops much faster than the fitness level does.

Leading up to my 10k race I had on june 1st, was the only time since Feb that my fitness level was higher than my fatigue level, and that leads into the third line, the beige one that measures the Training Stress Balance (TSB). Anything above 0 says my fitness is higher than my fatigue. The further below 0 I go, the more my fatigue is getting in the way of my fitness. For optimal performance in a race or attempt for a PR, I want that TSB to be as high as possible.

Leading into June 1st, my TSB was 13, and I think I was set to have a great race if not for being unprepared for the weather. My backup chance is coming June 23, and according to this predicter, I should be somewhere around a TSB of -3. Not as good as previous, but I am trying to find a balance between being fresh for this race and focusing on my bigger goal of building the base for my half marathon in September.

With my current plan I put together, my training load will continue to increase into September, where I reach around a -35 TSB before I start tapering for a week or 10 days. The Half marathon I am targeting is September 15th, where my TSB will be back up to a 6. Not great, but I haven't put this many miles on before.

All together, my phases are breaking down as such:

Phase 1 (Base) - 6/4/13 - 7/1/13: 101 miles in 20:30:00
Phase 2 (Building) - 7/2/13 - 7/22/13: 93.2 miles in 18:31:50
Phase 3 (Training) - 7/23/13 - 8/19/13: 148 miles in 29:19:50
Phase 4 (Final) - 8/20/13 - 9/15/13: 147.5 miles in 29:28:50

I guess we will see how it goes! I've mixed in Hill runs, Interval Runs, Fartleks, Tempo Runs into the schedule with 5 other easy runs per week.

06-05-2013, 09:58 AM	#104
Alan T Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mass.	I have gotten very negligent in updating this ever since we started the Runkeeper/Strava thread. Most of the day to day satisfaction from my runs are commented out either there or in Strava comments. Pretty much everyone who is interested in following the daily runs is already following me on Strava as well. So I don't have a huge need to post day to day information here and think that I need to revamp what I am using this thread for. Focus it more on my goals (both trying for and achieved) as well as my planning and other random things to do with training . I updated the first post, May was a pretty good month for me all things considered.. I made several of my goals and set plenty of new personal bests.. May 29th, I officially broke the 200 pound weight barrier and have continued my downward trend with that. This morning, weighed in at 197.6 (after my run I was 195.4). I ran in a 5 mile race on May 4th, and technically not may but June 1st ran my first 10k race. I was disappointed in my results of the 10k race, the heat and humidity killed my chances for breaking 1 hour which was my goal. I did set several new PRs this month though, best 5k, 10k, 15k and 10 mile times as well as longest distance run thus far. I do not expect to be breaking more PRs as we enter June, July and August though as the heat will make it tough, but we will see what happens. So I still have goals for breaking an hour on a 10k, as well as a less likely 25 minute 5k. I think 26-27 minute is possible with the right weather for me right now though. I also want to run a half marathon distance some point this summer (By mid-August) to be ready for a half marathon race I want to run in September. What I have been working on lately is putting together a half marathon training plan to be ready for September 15th. I am doing a relay race with my wife (Half marathon relay) later this month up in Maine, so I'll be running roughly 6.55 miles or so... I'm kind of viewing it as a second chance for me to get under 1 hour 10k though as long as the weather cooperates hopefully. So I decided to give myself a few days to rest before that race. Since it is just in the base building phase of the training plan, its no huge deal. Here is the "training load" of my previous training leading into my training plan through mid-august. Kind of neat to see in a graphical layout, but you can see why it is important to taper before a big race. It also helps illustrate why you can't just simply keep running further and further every week without some down time or rest time. The Blue is my "fitness" level, as I do more exercise, my fitness level continues to increase. Even the smaller runs help increase it, which I guess is a reason why everyone talks about building a base.. You have to build up your fitness level to be able to run faster or further. The Red is my "fatigue" level. As you can see, the more you exercise, the more fatigue builds up. It is interesting to note that fatigue builds up faster than fitness, it has more volatile peaks, especially from longer runs or harder runs. One of the many reasons why everyone recommends running the bulk of your runs at an "Easy" pace or a comfortable pace I assume. You can also see where I back off on the training and even take a few days off at the end of May, the fatigue drops much faster than the fitness level does. Leading up to my 10k race I had on june 1st, was the only time since Feb that my fitness level was higher than my fatigue level, and that leads into the third line, the beige one that measures the Training Stress Balance (TSB). Anything above 0 says my fitness is higher than my fatigue. The further below 0 I go, the more my fatigue is getting in the way of my fitness. For optimal performance in a race or attempt for a PR, I want that TSB to be as high as possible. Leading into June 1st, my TSB was 13, and I think I was set to have a great race if not for being unprepared for the weather. My backup chance is coming June 23, and according to this predicter, I should be somewhere around a TSB of -3. Not as good as previous, but I am trying to find a balance between being fresh for this race and focusing on my bigger goal of building the base for my half marathon in September. With my current plan I put together, my training load will continue to increase into September, where I reach around a -35 TSB before I start tapering for a week or 10 days. The Half marathon I am targeting is September 15th, where my TSB will be back up to a 6. Not great, but I haven't put this many miles on before. All together, my phases are breaking down as such: Phase 1 (Base) - 6/4/13 - 7/1/13: 101 miles in 20:30:00 Phase 2 (Building) - 7/2/13 - 7/22/13: 93.2 miles in 18:31:50 Phase 3 (Training) - 7/23/13 - 8/19/13: 148 miles in 29:19:50 Phase 4 (Final) - 8/20/13 - 9/15/13: 147.5 miles in 29:28:50 I guess we will see how it goes! I've mixed in Hill runs, Interval Runs, Fartleks, Tempo Runs into the schedule with 5 other easy runs per week. __________________ Couch to ??k - From the couch to a Marathon in roughly 18 months.