To Infinity and Beyond - Becoming a Better DopeyBadger (Comments Welcome)

[disneydaydreamer33]

Ohhh, the weather. The one thing that's tough with running 6 days per week and 90, 120, and 150 minute workouts is trying to squeeze them in-between inclement weather. So the weather Wednesday night was predicting all day thunderstorms. The weather Thursday morning at 5am when I woke up was predicting no thunderstorms until 2pm. Then at 6:30am as I was preparing to get ready, a small vicious thunderstorm popped up with heavy rain and lightening several miles south of home. I predicted using the finger method and distance traveled in the past hour that if it hit, it would be at 8:30am. That was going to be a problem with a 120 minute run and at 90 minutes the storm would hit. So I decided to alter the original workout to maximize the possible training time prior to the storm.

Yeah that sounds tough when you are trying to schedule around frequent thunderstorms! It's made me realize that since moving to Utah, my weather has become so boring. Because it is so dry, there is very rarely a summer storm. It sounds like it saving me from even more math lol

Great training week!!

 

[roxymama]

I may not be as good at "maths" as you, but I think 33/35 sounds pretty dang good, especially with an 18 miler hanging out in the data.

I saw two kids in skeleton sweatshirts hiding behind a wagon in their front yard and I could tell they were thinking about popping out at me but they chickened out. Still no kids trying to race me just yet. But that's ok....most kids could catch me pretty easily in a short distance sprint.

 

[DopeyBadger]

More great training.

Thanks!

Interesting that you discovered you inadvertently increased your hill training. I suspect as well that it will pay dividends for you!

I suspected it, but I certainly didn't expect it to the extent that it is right now. I'm hopeful it'll make running on non-hills seem even easier. I've noticed that the same effort on the flat stretches of road is more like 7:22 pace instead of 7:35 pace, and for M Tempo more like 6:48 pace than 6:58 pace. It will be interesting to see how race day feels.

Love the shot of G. Nice power posing going on!

Such a diva! She's actually going to be in a commercial later this month. It'll be her and a little boy walking up the iconic Bascom Hill.

Then they'll pass a tree and it'll be a boy and girl college aged. Then pass a tree and a boy and girl adult aged. Then pass a tree and it'll be Steph's grandparents walking up the hill. The concept sounds cool so I'll be interested to see it in person. This will be her second television commercial (the other was when she was a baby).

Yeah that sounds tough when you are trying to schedule around frequent thunderstorms!

This year has seemed especially tricky.

It's made me realize that since moving to Utah, my weather has become so boring. Because it is so dry, there is very rarely a summer storm. It sounds like it saving me from even more math lol

Sounds like a dream from the perspective!

Great training week!!

Thanks!

I may not be as good at "maths" as you, but I think 33/35 sounds pretty dang good, especially with an 18 miler hanging out in the data.

I know, I know. But a possible 100% would have been pretty sweet. Have to enjoy the near perfection though. I'm usually too hard on myself.

I saw two kids in skeleton sweatshirts hiding behind a wagon in their front yard and I could tell they were thinking about popping out at me but they chickened out.

Whahaha! Hopefully just joking and not nefarious of course.

Still no kids trying to race me just yet. But that's ok....most kids could catch me pretty easily in a short distance sprint.

No worries. The kids around here like beating me too. It's hard to beat a kid while running when they're on a device of some sort.

 

[canglim52]

55 Days to Go (I will run a sub-3 hour marathon and qualify for Boston!)

Date - Day - Scheduled Workout (Intervals within desired pace)

8/1/17 - T - 2 mile WU + 6 x 1 mile @ 6:41 min/mile w/ 0.25 mile RI + 2 mile CD (6/6)
8/2/17 - W - 7 miles @ 8:04-9:01 min/mile
8/3/17 - R - 1 mile WU + 9 miles @ 6:58 min/mile + 5 mile CD (9/9)
8/4/17 - F - 7 miles @ 8:04-9:01 min/mile
8/5/17 - Sat - 7 miles @ 8:04-9:01 min/mile
8/6/17 - Sun - 18 miles @ 7:35 min/mile (15/17)
8/7/17 - M - OFF

Total (training) mileage = 65.5 miles
Number of SOS intervals within pace = 30/32 (94%)

Monday was a swimming day. I finally got to see G swim since it's now in the afternoon and it wasn't cancelled! Not much to report on. The teacher was much more vocal and didn't let G get too wild which was a nice change. G has a tendency to wrap adults around her fingers. But this teacher was good at balancing structure with fun.

G wanted to give us a pose! She looks so determined.

View attachment 259435

Tuesday was another HM Tempo day!

2 mile WU + 6 x 1 mile @ 6:41 min/mile w/ 0.25 mile RI + 2 mile CD

T+D of 140 with full sun and minimal wind

My legs felt surprisingly fresh throughout the last two days. The dynamic WU indicated I was good but not 100%. I got about 0.5 miles of the WU in and realized I had to use the bathroom. I tried to tough it out but after 2.3 miles decided I wasn't going to make the entire run without stopping. Just mis-timed my water consumption today I guess.

HM Tempo pace = 6:41 min/mile
HM Tempo window = +/- 10 sec (6:31-6:51 min/mile)

Thinking back this pace is pretty close to my Daniels Threshold pace (6:38) from the spring. The difference between these workouts and Daniels was two-fold:

1) Recovery for Daniels T pace was 1 minute between intervals, whereas today it was 0.25 miles.

2) Daniels T pace was completely flat, whereas today it was a mix of flat, downhill and uphills.

The pace felt really comfortable throughout.

HM Tempo = 6:41, 6:43, 6:43, 6:44, 6:48, 6:43

The groin felt a little tight running up the hill on the 3rd interval so I gave myself a flat break on the 4th interval. Things returned to normal for the 5th and 6th interval. This was a solid run! Also, set a new CR on my Flat Half Mile Loop of 3:11. Looks like I've run this loop at least 680+ times. So woot woot on the new CR!

Wednesday was another easy day. A T+D of 143 with an average pace of 8:48 with a heart rate of 126.

Ohhh, the weather. The one thing that's tough with running 6 days per week and 90, 120, and 150 minute workouts is trying to squeeze them in-between inclement weather. So the weather Wednesday night was predicting all day thunderstorms. The weather Thursday morning at 5am when I woke up was predicting no thunderstorms until 2pm. Then at 6:30am as I was preparing to get ready, a small vicious thunderstorm popped up with heavy rain and lightening several miles south of home. I predicted using the finger method and distance traveled in the past hour that if it hit, it would be at 8:30am. That was going to be a problem with a 120 minute run and at 90 minutes the storm would hit. So I decided to alter the original workout to maximize the possible training time prior to the storm.

Original - 3 mile WU + 9 mile M Tempo + 3 mile CD
Changed to - 1 mile WU + 9 mile M Tempo + whatever I could fit in (up to remaining 5 miles)

M Tempo pace = 6:58 min/mile
M Tempo window = +/- 10 sec (6:48-7:08)

The T+D was 125, with minimal wind, a little bit of rain, and full clouds.

M Tempo = 6:58, 6:56, 6:48, 6:56, 6:53, 6:58, 6:55, 7:03, 6:53

The WU felt good so I was fairly confident the workout would go well. The last few longer distance runs I have been taking very short breaks at the "aid" station. Today, I aimed to try and run by the "aid" station and grab a water bottle while running. Needless to say, the run went well. A couple of things worked in my favor:

1) Ideal weather conditions
2) The motivation of knowing an impending storm may cut the run short
3) Local garage sale weekend with lots of spectators. I thrive on an audience.

Thankfully, the storm never came. All in all, 9/9 intervals were hit with an average pace of 6:56. This is a pretty rare workout for me, as I don't usually hit a full 100% of intervals on a M Tempo workout. In fact, with 9 total intervals at this pace I'd say this has happened less than a handful of times ever. The average HR was 151 which falls within the marathon zone for me (148-152). A serious record setting day which felt very calm and comfortable throughout. Any one of these recent workouts would make me proud, but to string them together has me over the moon. I learned a lot from the Lakefront 2016 training. This time, it's train smarter, not harder! I feel so close to the end of this 5 year journey. The dream is so close I can feel it. From 100 pounds overweight and a 35 min 5k equivalent, to the cusp of the top 2% of US marathon finishers with a sub-3 marathon. Current projections have me at 2:59:17 - 3:04:50. 8 weeks to go...

View attachment 259414

Seems like 7/16 was just an outlier because the other M Tempo runs have all been very solid. Things seem to be lining up quite well for race day!

View attachment 259413

Friday was a funny run. Everything was normal until I rounded the corner to head towards the "aid station" at the park. In the distance, I could see two figures staring at me. One an adult and one a child. As I got closer I started to recognize the small kid (maybe 3-4 years old), as one who races me every once in a while and lives near the park. The adult was his mom. She apologized, and I asked why. She said that she heard her two boys laughing outside her house and investigated. They had taken my water bottles and were drinking them. LOL! She had brought them back and had him apologize for drinking them. I told her not to worry. We all introduced ourselves to each other and then went about our afternoons. I'll have to keep an eye out for little C more often now. Not only does he want to race me, but he wants to handicap me in the race by taking away my hydration. Game on little man!

As for the run, it was a T+D of 123 with clouds. Average easy pace was 8:44 with a 125 heart rate.

Saturday was another easy day. Because of another kid's birthday party, this was an earlier run. It was a BEAUTIFUL morning. The T+D was 119 with clouds. The average pace was 8:16 with a heart rate of 130.

Sunday was long run day.

T+D of 120-130 with clouds and no wind. Another beautiful summer morning. I'm really getting spoiled by these and can only dream to have something as nice in 8 weeks for race day.

Long Run pace = 7:35 min/mile
Long Run window = +/- 10 seconds (7:25-7:45)

I was super excited coming into this run for one reason: the two other hard workouts this week (HM Tempo intervals and M Tempo) were both 100% hit rate workouts. Which meant if I could hit 100% of intervals today, I could nail a very elusive 100% week during the middle of a training cycle. This is extremely rare for me and maybe something I've only done 3-4 times in the last 2 years of tracking splits. So, I had my eyes on the prize - a 17/17 interval hit rate. I figured the first interval (not including the first mile because of water being carried) would be the hardest to hit. Then it would just be a matter of holding pace throughout.

Long Run = 8:29, 7:37, 7:41, 7:26, 7:39, 7:37, 7:28, 7:28, 7:30, 7:32, 7:23, 7:28, 7:25, 7:20, 7:29, 7:28, 7:28, 7:29

The run felt good throughout. I hit that always tricky first interval and thought I had this in the bag. I almost missed it on mile 4 when I noticed I was just under pace at 7:24 with about 0.2 miles to go. I was able to slow down just enough to squeeze that one in at 7:26. Things settled in and I really didn't need to focus on the pace anymore. Split after split was coming in as desired regardless if it was flat, uphill or downhill. Mile #9 I could tell things were getting a little tougher and it was "end of the marathon simulation time". Then during mile #11 I looked down with about 0.3 to go and saw 7:18 lap pace. I was like "crud"! How I'm going to get this one in now... So I slowed up and did my best to get the interval in window. After about 0.1 miles, I checked again, now it was 7:19. UGGHHH! I slowed down and yet only gained one second on lap pace. ARRGHH... Alas, the split ended at 7:23 and I just missed getting it within window. No matter. Keep trying to get the others in window! Again splits 12 and 13 were within window, and then came 14. I didn't even check mid-mile what the pace was. I was concentrating on taking my E-Gel nutrition at this point. So when the split came up at 7:20, I was like OMG, what the heck!!! So I again reminded myself that I better check myself before I wreck myself. Finally I came to the last mile. I was really starting to feel it. This is exactly the feeling I want at the end of this type of run. I want just to get close to that feeling of pushing it. This was far from an all out effort (as a long run should be slow and steady), but it also helps simulate the end of the race. I had been doing the mental math on the route and realized it was going to be a bit long, but I wasn't terribly concerned. So I ended up at 18.30 miles. All in all, 15/17 intervals hit! Now that's all well and good, but I really need to be careful here. While it was 15/17 hit, the two misses were too fast, and the overall average of the run was 7:30 vs 7:35. Not a huge gap, but if I do this too much, then I'm going to induce too much fatigue over the long term of the plan and it'll cost me on race day. So I've got to pull back even more with these longer runs to keep them within pace. Now that I'm 8 weeks out, there is no more changing paces. Any change between now and race day would have non-fully realized benefits and might also cost me on race day. The average HR for the 17 miles was 141. This is just within historical HR long run average of 138-142.

Two other things to note - this is the longest mileage training run since April 12th, 2015. On that day, was the last time I did a 20 mile training run. After that training cycle, I changed to the 150 minute max mindset. That training run was 3 hours and 14 minutes (9:42 min/mile training pace). Today's 18.3 mile run was 2:18. Almost an hour faster and just two miles shorter. That April 2015 training cycle led to a 4:58:53 marathon finish (my worst). Now, I hope to be on the verge of a 2:XX:XX marathon.

Another thing is I have seriously ramped up the elevation gain without realizing it. I changed up my route to have more access to water and in doing so increased the hills during every run. But I was just perusing the data the other data and it blew me away how much I increased hill work. In June and July of 2016, I did 5396 and 7963 ft respectively. With nearly identical mileage, I've done 9756 and 12577 ft in June/July of 2017. That's an 81% and 58% increase. Now the watch changed between now and then, so maybe that has something to do with it. But regardless, I have a feeling that's going to be super helpful come race day as well!

I'm glad you finally found out who's been taking your water... that's been going on for a while lol! Also Be carefull of that occasional groin flare up, usually that's related to your illiosoas and related core muscles. Keep up the great work, this has been a joy to watch!

 

[DopeyBadger]

I'm glad you finally found out who's been taking your water... that's been going on for a while lol!

LOL, at least this time! He claimed it was his first time and that he won't do it again.

Also Be carefull of that occasional groin flare up, usually that's related to your illiosoas and related core muscles.

Thanks for the tip. I'm definitely keeping an eye on it. Continuing to listen to the signs my body is giving me.

Keep up the great work, this has been a joy to watch!

Thanks!

 

[ZellyB]

The commercial with G sounds very cool. She's quite the little star!

I was also going to mention that I tried out a pair of the Saucony Freedom ISO when I was at the running store the other day. I just did a quick little jog up and down the sidewalk in them, but they felt amazing! One of the women who works in the store runs in our Galloway group and she told me she'd let me try her pair out (we are about the same shoe size) for a couple of runs to see if I really like them before committing. I thought that was really nice of her since those suckers are expensive. I've tried a few different pairs of shoes before, but never found one that felt as good as my Kinvaras, but at least for a short little jog, these felt amazing. How do you use them in your rotation? Which type of runs have you used them for primarily?

 

[DopeyBadger]

The commercial with G sounds very cool. She's quite the little star!

I was also going to mention that I tried out a pair of the Saucony Freedom ISO when I was at the running store the other day. I just did a quick little jog up and down the sidewalk in them, but they felt amazing! One of the women who works in the store runs in our Galloway group and she told me she'd let me try her pair out (we are about the same shoe size) for a couple of runs to see if I really like them before committing. I thought that was really nice of her since those suckers are expensive. I've tried a few different pairs of shoes before, but never found one that felt as good as my Kinvaras, but at least for a short little jog, these felt amazing. How do you use them in your rotation? Which type of runs have you used them for primarily?

That's awesome! That's pretty cool of her to let you try them out for a test run. I actually don't use them anymore. They only lasted a few runs for me before they started to cause a bruising on the top of my foot. Wasn't positive they were the cause, but I haven't had the occurrence since. I think there's a small piece of fabric as part of the lace looping that was causing friction with my foot. Thankfully, I was able to return them for nearly a full refund. I believe @opusone has them, so he may be able to chime in on what types of runs he uses them for.

 

[opusone]

I was also going to mention that I tried out a pair of the Saucony Freedom ISO when I was at the running store the other day. I just did a quick little jog up and down the sidewalk in them, but they felt amazing! One of the women who works in the store runs in our Galloway group and she told me she'd let me try her pair out (we are about the same shoe size) for a couple of runs to see if I really like them before committing. I thought that was really nice of her since those suckers are expensive. I've tried a few different pairs of shoes before, but never found one that felt as good as my Kinvaras, but at least for a short little jog, these felt amazing. How do you use them in your rotation? Which type of runs have you used them for primarily?

I believe @opusone has them, so he may be able to chime in on what types of runs he uses them for.

Yes, I use the Freedom ISOs for my speed and strength workouts. I also use them for some of my tempo runs, and I raced in them for my last half marathon. I really like them! By design, they only have medium (albeit awesome) cushioning, so I still prefer my max cushion shoes (Adidas Ultra Boost ST) for long and most easy runs.

 

[michigandergirl]

Two other things to note - this is the longest mileage training run since April 12th, 2015. On that day, was the last time I did a 20 mile training run. After that training cycle, I changed to the 150 minute max mindset. That training run was 3 hours and 14 minutes (9:42 min/mile training pace). Today's 18.3 mile run was 2:18. Almost an hour faster and just two miles shorter. That April 2015 training cycle led to a 4:58:53 marathon finish (my worst). Now, I hope to be on the verge of a 2:XX:XX marathon.

This is so awesome and inspiring!!

 

[DopeyBadger]

This is so awesome and inspiring!!

Thanks! I should also add this:

-20 mile run's HR was 153 at 9:42 min/mile at ~39 degrees
-this past weekend's 18 miler run's HR was 141 at 7:34 min/mile at 61 degrees

Some solid changes all around! 2 min/mile faster, 12 beats per minute less, and 22 degrees hotter out. I guess things are quite different than just two years ago.

 

[sourire]

Always enjoy reading your journal. Wonderful job last week!!!

G's photo is so sassy. Love it!

Also enjoy reading how your neighborhood kids try to race you and now drink your water hehe...at least it keeps things interesting out there, yes?

So I again reminded myself that I better check myself before I wreck myself.

Love this little tidbit!

On that day, was the last time I did a 20 mile training run. After that training cycle, I changed to the 150 minute max mindset. That training run was 3 hours and 14 minutes (9:42 min/mile training pace). Today's 18.3 mile run was 2:18. Almost an hour faster and just two miles shorter. That April 2015 training cycle led to a 4:58:53 marathon finish (my worst). Now, I hope to be on the verge of a 2:XX:XX marathon.

Wow. Fantastic!

 

[girliea]

Impressive...just impressive!

 

[DopeyBadger]

Always enjoy reading your journal. Wonderful job last week!!!

Thanks!

G's photo is so sassy. Love it!

She's a sassy kid for sure!

Also enjoy reading how your neighborhood kids try to race you and now drink your water hehe...at least it keeps things interesting out there, yes?

They're a bunch of stinkers!

Love this little tidbit!

It's an important consideration. Try not to do too much when things are going right, because that can suddenly make things not go so right anymore.

Wow. Fantastic!

Thanks!

Impressive...just impressive!

Thanks!

 

[DopeyBadger]

48 Days to Go (I will run a sub-3 hour marathon and qualify for Boston!)

Date - Day - Scheduled Workout (Intervals within desired pace)

8/8/17 - T - 4 mile WU + 2 x 2 miles @ HM Tempo w/ 0.5 mile RI + 4 mile CD (3/4)
8/9/17 - W - 7 miles @ 8:04-9:01 min/mile
8/10/17 - R - ***MISSED WORKOUT***
8/11/17 - F - 5 miles WU + 9 miles M Tempo + 5 miles CD (9/9)
8/12/17 - Sat - 7 miles @ 8:04-9:01 min/mile
8/13/17 - Sun - 7 miles @ 8:04-9:01 min/mile
8/14/17 - M - OFF

Total (training) mileage = 52.5 miles
Number of SOS intervals within pace = 12/13 (92%)

Tuesday was another HM Tempo day.

4 mile WU + 2 x 2 miles @ HM Tempo w/ 0.5 mile RI + 4 mile CD

Originally, when I wrote this plan 8 weeks ago this was to be a 10 mile Progression run (like the two I've completed previously). This was based on the assumption that on paper the 10 mile progression appeared as an easier hard day. This coming weekend we're heading to Minnesota for a wedding and so I have to move my Mega M Tempo Hybrid from Sunday to Friday. Thus, the schedule this week was to have only 2 hard days instead of 3. But after completing the 10 mile progression twice before, I now realize it's actually one of (if not the) hardest of all the runs. Thus, between the reduced recovery timeframe from Sunday's 18 miler to today and then reduced time frame from Sunday's 18 miler to Friday's 19 miler meant I made the switch from a 10 mile Progression to a HM Tempo day instead. Since I wanted to keep the mileage up (but keep it relatively easy) I made it a 4 mile WU and 4 mile CD (instead of 2+2).

HM Tempo = 6:41 min/mile
HM Tempo window = +/- 10 sec (6:31-6:51)

T+D of 137 with full sun and no wind.

HM Tempo = 6:53, 6:47, 6:42, 6:46

The first interval was just barely a miss. I was super stiff throughout this run and never really go my legs underneath me. Not terribly surprising since I had 18 miles on Sunday (and probably went a touch too fast). I was also wearing my older pair of Zealot Isos and confirmed after the run they're nearing the end of their life. So the shoes felt flat and didn't give me much spring back. Back to easy days for them. After today's run was over (and during it I guess), I was REALLY glad I didn't attempt the much tougher 10 mile Progression because that could have been a disaster. I was able to hit 3/4 intervals within pace. Now I've got two easy days to prepare for the monster workout Friday morning of 5 mile Easy + 9 mile M Tempo + 5 mile Easy. Bring it on!

Wednesday was an easy day. It was a T+D of 132 with mostly cloudy skies. Final average pace was a 9:03 min/mile with an average HR of 124.

Unfortunately, I was unable to get a recovery/easy run in Thursday night because of picking up our car after repairs from the car accident I was in, shopping for Christmas presents for G (we have a Mattel Factory store that offers up defected packaging items for 70% off retail), going to G's last swim practice of the summer (9 weeks of swimming 4x/week is done!), and some nasty blisters on both my big toes that deserved a day off. So with all that, I decided it was fine to skip the easy run and opted for more sleep instead.

Friday was the end of another 3 weeks up. Because of a wedding this weekend, I moved the long run from Sunday to Friday. I also had taken Friday off to be able to do my first max run (150 minutes) without worrying about timing. Today was the most aggressive training run yet:

5 miles WU + 9 miles M Tempo + 5 miles CD

M Tempo = 6:58 min/mile
M Tempo window = +/- 10 sec (6:48-7:08)

T+D of 124 throughout the entire run, with full clouds, and some heavy rain towards the end of the M Tempo section.

M Tempo - 7:06, 7:03, 6:54, 6:58, 6:56, 6:51, 7:07, 7:06, 7:00

The 5 mile WU was fine. The blisters were a bit bothersome, but I did my best to ignore them. As I hit the first M Tempo mile I tried to lock into pace. After about 0.2 miles I did a check on saw 7:45. I was like whoa whoa whoa. Better pick up the effort a touch. So I raised the effort just a bit and slowly but surely the pace started to come back into window. The run overall didn't feel as fluid as the last three Tempo attempts. The average paces for those were 6:58, 6:55, and 6:56 with HRs of 154, 151, and 150. Today felt more like 4 weeks ago when I hit an average of 7:12 and really faded hard (only 25% hit rate too). Granted today was 12 sec per mile faster and I did hit 100% intervals (big hooray for that one), but something didn't feel right with this one. The fade at the end of the M Tempo (or necessary ramp in effort) is something I want to be careful of. It could be that this was another mega tempo (easy+tempo+easy) which was similar to the 7:12 day (4+8+4). It could have been because of the rain and blisters as that made it a bit uncomfortable to run 19 miles. It's probably also because I just did 18.3 miles on Sunday, 12.5 miles on Tuesday, and then 19 miles today (Friday). Probably not enough recovery time in-between those two tough efforts. It also could be that I'm at the end of a 3 up week. In the past, I've done up, medium, up, and down (in relation to miles/duration). But this plan is up, up, up, and down. Both of these "didn't feel quite right" runs came at the end of the 3rd up. So I might need to reevaluate the last 7 weeks of training. I don't want to fall into a pit where I'm training too hard. I'm quite content with where I'm at (current projection is 2:58:30-3:04:47).





Regardless, while it didn't feel great, it was in fact a great run. I hit 9/9 intervals with another 100% rare hit rate. And the average pace was only 2 sec off current goal training pace (6:58 vs 7:00). The average HR was a touch high at 153 (just outside the historical window of 148-152). Happy to have a recovery week coming up and then back into the tough training schedule for the home stretch. Only a few weeks left (3, maybe 2) of actual training and then it's time to taper!

Saturday was an early morning run. We wanted to hit the road at 9am to head to Minnesota. So, I needed to get the run done early. A T+D of 102!!!! Beautiful crisp morning. Pace was an 8:41 min/mile and HR of 125. Although it wasn't completely comfortable because of the blisters on my toes. One of them popped mid-run and took a few hundred meters to settle back down. I spent a lot of the car ride with my socks off just letting my toes breathe.

The wedding and weekend were great. G had lots of fun at the park at the wedding (outdoor reception at a park). She played for 5 hours on the playground. G made lots of friends and is really willing to talk to any of the kids. Here are some pics from the weekend:



The lake was flooded. Where they are standing is actually the beginning of the beach. Everything between them was grass and pavement.



G modeling!




Hide and go seek!



Reading the map at Mall of America. Where do I want to shop?



Cheese!



Hi guys!



Cool new outfit from Descendants!

Sunday was another easy day. After a 4 hour car ride home, I needed to get a run in. So at 8pm I was out the door for my first night run of the season. Temps were good and pace was good.

I'm going to evaluate my current schedule to see if I need to make some changes. But before we get to that, I've got a nice recovery week lined up. Almost time for that last home stretch of training leading to the victory lap!

 

[roxymama]

So I'm guessing no zombies or werewolves got you during your night run since you are here updating us.

My brain may be in total Game of Thrones overload but your unicorn pic looks pretty much just like a house sigil. Lord Badger of the Cheeselands perhaps?

Blisters are super annoying. Do you think it's because your one pair of shoes is wearing down or do you think it's just because you are racking up some long miles? I have one that is springing up but my shoes are at ~257 miles per Strava and I know there's a bit more on there since I've used them prior to Strava a bit and I've not been 100% accurate at remembering to log all my runs over there #lazy
I think it may be time for me to start stalking zappos and other sites again.

I'm also 100% sure my kiddo would be jealous to know there is a bubble guppies ride in existence!

 

[DopeyBadger]

So I'm guessing no zombies or werewolves got you during your night run since you are here updating us.

Not this time...



There was that coyote that one time.

My brain may be in total Game of Thrones overload but your unicorn pic looks pretty much just like a house sigil. Lord Badger of the Cheeselands perhaps?

I had originally planned on creating a hybrid of this image with Dopey to create my DopeyBadger singlet. However, since this is likely my last Dopey Challenge, I didn't end up pursuing it. I was going to have Steph's grandfather make it.

Blisters are super annoying. Do you think it's because your one pair of shoes is wearing down or do you think it's just because you are racking up some long miles? I have one that is springing up but my shoes are at ~257 miles per Strava and I know there's a bit more on there since I've used them prior to Strava a bit and I've not been 100% accurate at remembering to log all my runs over there #lazy
I think it may be time for me to start stalking zappos and other sites again.

The blisters started from the 18 miler. Not quite sure why, probably just a distance thing. Thankfully the only time this year, thus far.

Shoe buying!!!

I'm also 100% sure my kiddo would be jealous to know there is a bubble guppies ride in existence!

We don't watch Nick so we had no idea what it was. Can't say other than some light theme-ing was it even noticeable really.

 

[DopeyBadger]

So as discussed here (link), I decided to evaluate the last 7 weeks of training. The 3 up and 1 down might not be working well for me as the last two times I've done it that 3rd up week has been a little rough. So, I decided to check out what's coming up and whether I need to make changes.

This is the original plan for the remaining 6 weeks.

After this week's recovery, I was to jump back into an "up" week as expected. A Progression + Hybrid, then max Tempo + near max LR, then Progression + Hybrid, then max Tempo + max LR. The thing that jumped out to me right away was that this would be 4 "up" in a row. So, it felt like the 3rd "up" was an issue the last two times I had done it, but to close out the schedule I was to attempt a 3rd and 4th "up". Given how things have felt, I've decided to pull back on that. But since I wanted to keep the 14 day taper from max LR (instead of 21 days), it meant things would get tricky for a traditional 3 up and 1 down, or a 2 up and 1 down.

So this is what I changed it to:



8/21 - no longer a Progression + Hybrid. Instead a max Tempo + near max LR
8/28 - no longer a max Tempo + near max LR. Instead a max Tempo + recovery week
9/4 - still a Progression + Hybrid. However, the Hybrid is not a monster Tempo, but rather a fast finish LR.
9/11 - same

This will make it a 1 up, 1 down, 2 up and taper. A little more recovery then maybe I wanted in the last few previous weeks, but I'm liking where I'm at right now.

The other change is I'm going to give the Beet Shot Pro (Concentrated Beet Juice) a try. I was having a conversation with another DIS user about the effects of Beet Juice on endurance performance and whether the scientific research supported the idea. This is what I surmised from the research:

Conclusions

-Acute supplementation (one time) with beetroot juice may have an ergogenic effect on reducing VO2 at less than or equal to VO2max intensity, while improving the relationship between watts required and VO2 level, mechanisms that make it possible to enable increase time-to-exhaustion at less than or equal to VO2max intensity.

-In addition to improving efficiency and performance in various time trials or increasing time-to-exhaustion at submaximal intensities, chronic supplementation with beetroot juice may improve cardiorespiratory performance at the anaerobic threshold and VO2max intensities.

-Apparently, the effects of supplementation with beetroot juice might not have a positive interaction with caffeine supplementation, mitigating the effects of beetroot juice intake on cardiorespiratory performance, however, more work is needed to confirm the results of these investigations because the number of studies analyzing the effects of the combination of beetroot juice with other supplements, such as caffeine, is limited.

-Intake of beetroot juice should be initiated within 90 min before athletic effort, since the peak value of NO3 occurs within 2–3 h after ingestion. At least 6–8 mmol (400mg) of NO3 intake is required, which can be increased in athletes with a high level of training.

What's interesting to me is the research is based on two time frames: Acute (one time) and Chronic (6 days). The 6 day data seems to suggest additional benefits above and beyond the acute dosing. It does appear the benefits are about 1-2% in racing times.

For a 24 min 5k, that's 23:31-23:46 just by taking beet root supplementation. A 1:50 HM, would be a 1:47-1:48 by supplement. A 3:04 M, would be a 3:00:19-3:02:10 by supplement. So while, 1-2% seems small it might be just enough extra push to reach a goal (say a 3:04 marathoner's goal of a 2:59 marathon perhaps...)

The source that was tested continuously was from http://beet-it.us/where-to-buy/

Effects of Beetroot Juice Supplementation on Cardiorespiratory Endurance in Athletes. A Systematic Review. Raul Dominguez

This is pharmacodynamic and dose response data based on a single dose.

Beetroot juice and exercise: pharmacodynamic and dose-response relationships. Lee J Wylie.

So this data shows that the timing of the dose matters as far as nitric oxide concentration goes (only this specifically as other gains like blood pressure and mitochondrial changes very well can be a cumulative effect). It shows that the peak of the beet root juice and cardiovascular/VO2max improvements occurs around 2.5-4 hours. If you take it as a night time dose and run in the morning (~12 hrs later), then there will be a small gain over water, but not much. The 24 hr timepoint shows that unless the dose is really high the effects of nitric oxide wear off after 24 hrs. It would be interesting to see pharmacodynamic dosing after a single dose and after 6 doses to see if there is indeed a cumulative effect.

Well the initial caffeine and beetroot juice research seems to imply they don't have an additive effect. One or the other is sufficient in receiving similar benefits.

Another paper seemed to suggest that the time trial benefits is reduced for people with a higher VO2max. Other research contends a higher dose is necessary for those with a higher VO2max.

The really difficult part about the research out there is that everyone seems to be using various dose levels, or various timing on dosing. Based on the pharmacodynamics, it would appear that timing of the dose is critical as well as the amount taken to maximize the effects.

So, another friend was kind enough to give me the opportunity to try Beet It Pro-Elite. So the week of 8/21, I will run through a dose loading procedure (Fri, Sat, and Sun) to see whether I tolerate the Beet Juice and whether I can tell any noticeable effects. Based on the research about those with differing levels of VO2max and their response and that no one has found a negative to taking too much, I'm planning on using the higher dose level of 800mg per day and take it roughly 90 minutes before I start running. If you were to use regular Beet Juice (not concentrated), it would be roughly 34oz of Beet Juice.

 

[canglim52]

So as discussed here (link), I decided to evaluate the last 7 weeks of training. The 3 up and 1 down might not be working well for me as the last two times I've done it that 3rd up week has been a little rough. So, I decided to check out what's coming up and whether I need to make changes.

This is the original plan for the remaining 6 weeks.

After this week's recovery, I was to jump back into an "up" week as expected. A Progression + Hybrid, then max Tempo + near max LR, then Progression + Hybrid, then max Tempo + max LR. The thing that jumped out to me right away was that this would be 4 "up" in a row. So, it felt like the 3rd "up" was an issue the last two times I had done it, but to close out the schedule I was to attempt a 3rd and 4th "up". Given how things have felt, I've decided to pull back on that. But since I wanted to keep the 14 day taper from max LR (instead of 21 days), it meant things would get tricky for a traditional 3 up and 1 down, or a 2 up and 1 down.

So this is what I changed it to:

View attachment 262964 View attachment 262963

8/21 - no longer a Progression + Hybrid. Instead a max Tempo + near max LR
8/28 - no longer a max Tempo + near max LR. Instead a max Tempo + recovery week
9/4 - still a Progression + Hybrid. However, the Hybrid is not a monster Tempo, but rather a fast finish LR.
9/11 - same

This will make it a 1 up, 1 down, 2 up and taper. A little more recovery then maybe I wanted in the last few previous weeks, but I'm liking where I'm at right now.

The other change is I'm going to give the Beet Shot Pro (Concentrated Beet Juice) a try. I was having a conversation with another DIS user about the effects of Beet Juice on endurance performance and whether the scientific research supported the idea. This is what I surmised from the research:

Conclusions

-Acute supplementation (one time) with beetroot juice may have an ergogenic effect on reducing VO2 at less than or equal to VO2max intensity, while improving the relationship between watts required and VO2 level, mechanisms that make it possible to enable increase time-to-exhaustion at less than or equal to VO2max intensity.

-In addition to improving efficiency and performance in various time trials or increasing time-to-exhaustion at submaximal intensities, chronic supplementation with beetroot juice may improve cardiorespiratory performance at the anaerobic threshold and VO2max intensities.

-Apparently, the effects of supplementation with beetroot juice might not have a positive interaction with caffeine supplementation, mitigating the effects of beetroot juice intake on cardiorespiratory performance, however, more work is needed to confirm the results of these investigations because the number of studies analyzing the effects of the combination of beetroot juice with other supplements, such as caffeine, is limited.

-Intake of beetroot juice should be initiated within 90 min before athletic effort, since the peak value of NO3 occurs within 2–3 h after ingestion. At least 6–8 mmol (400mg) of NO3 intake is required, which can be increased in athletes with a high level of training.

What's interesting to me is the research is based on two time frames: Acute (one time) and Chronic (6 days). The 6 day data seems to suggest additional benefits above and beyond the acute dosing. It does appear the benefits are about 1-2% in racing times.

For a 24 min 5k, that's 23:31-23:46 just by taking beet root supplementation. A 1:50 HM, would be a 1:47-1:48 by supplement. A 3:04 M, would be a 3:00:19-3:02:10 by supplement. So while, 1-2% seems small it might be just enough extra push to reach a goal (say a 3:04 marathoner's goal of a 2:59 marathon perhaps...)

The source that was tested continuously was from http://beet-it.us/where-to-buy/

Effects of Beetroot Juice Supplementation on Cardiorespiratory Endurance in Athletes. A Systematic Review. Raul Dominguez

This is pharmacodynamic and dose response data based on a single dose.

Beetroot juice and exercise: pharmacodynamic and dose-response relationships. Lee J Wylie.

So this data shows that the timing of the dose matters as far as nitric oxide concentration goes (only this specifically as other gains like blood pressure and mitochondrial changes very well can be a cumulative effect). It shows that the peak of the beet root juice and cardiovascular/VO2max improvements occurs around 2.5-4 hours. If you take it as a night time dose and run in the morning (~12 hrs later), then there will be a small gain over water, but not much. The 24 hr timepoint shows that unless the dose is really high the effects of nitric oxide wear off after 24 hrs. It would be interesting to see pharmacodynamic dosing after a single dose and after 6 doses to see if there is indeed a cumulative effect.

Well the initial caffeine and beetroot juice research seems to imply they don't have an additive effect. One or the other is sufficient in receiving similar benefits.

Another paper seemed to suggest that the time trial benefits is reduced for people with a higher VO2max. Other research contends a higher dose is necessary for those with a higher VO2max.

The really difficult part about the research out there is that everyone seems to be using various dose levels, or various timing on dosing. Based on the pharmacodynamics, it would appear that timing of the dose is critical as well as the amount taken to maximize the effects.

So, another friend was kind enough to give me the opportunity to try Beet It Pro-Elite. So the week of 8/21, I will run through a dose loading procedure (Fri, Sat, and Sun) to see whether I tolerate the Beet Juice and whether I can tell any noticeable effects. Based on the research about those with differing levels of VO2max and their response and that no one has found a negative to taking too much, I'm planning on using the higher dose level of 800mg per day and take it roughly 90 minutes before I start running. If you were to use regular Beet Juice (not concentrated), it would be roughly 34oz of Beet Juice.

Great post as usual! Seeing how you analyze and arrive at the decision to modify your plan was very helpful.

Great idea using the beet Juice concentrate, I've heard that it really helps out for gastrointestinal issues. One weird thing about beet juice, is that using mouthwash can reduce/eliminate the positive effects.

Lastly, what was your final conclusion on the arm sleeves?

 

[DopeyBadger]

Great post as usual! Seeing how you analyze and arrive at the decision to modify your plan was very helpful.

Thanks!

Great idea using the beet Juice concentrate, I've heard that it really helps out for gastrointestinal issues. One weird thing about beet juice, is that using mouthwash can reduce/eliminate the positive effects.

Thanks! Can't use mouthwash because it destroys the necessary type of bacteria in the mouth. The reason the Beet Juice works is because it increases the amount of NO3 and that occurs because of the breakdown of the Beet Juice by the bacteria as it is being swallowed. I also read that you shouldn't chew gum either. I stopped using mouthwash about 3 weeks ago in preparation (but I haven't stopped using gum yet).

Lastly, what was your final conclusion on the arm sleeves?

The final conclusion is they work, kind of. I haven't had a ton of super hot days, but I could gather the following from the limited uses. They don't seem to offer much benefit on their own. Yet, when I pour ice cold water on them, they seem to retain the cold for longer. Thus, if I pour ice cold water on an unsleeved arm and a sleeved arm, then the sleeved arm would stay cooler for longer. This means to yield what I found to be a semi-beneficial effect you would need to have ice cold water available to you. So, in a race without ice cold water and just normal water, I think the benefit is diminished. Potentially the benefits would be more noticeable on longer runs as I don't think I used them for anything longer than 90 minutes.

 

[girliea]

I had originally planned on creating a hybrid of this image with Dopey to create my DopeyBadger singlet. However, since this is likely my last Dopey Challenge, I didn't end up pursuing it. I was going to have Steph's grandfather make it.

Omg-you two are killing me! I'm gonna need you to make one of those with a tiger Billy!

My brain may be in total Game of Thrones overload but your unicorn pic looks pretty much just like a house sigil. Lord Badger of the Cheeselands perhaps?

I knew there was something about that unicorn pic but you nailed it @roxymama! And I love Lord Badger of the Cheeselands! Maybe you can warg into that unicorn on race day @DopeyBadger!