How many miles did you run today?

[Dusty Heaters]

Couldn’t find the time to run today on account of house chores...but I took receipt of my new vehicle.

Spoiler: 2020 F-150 Raptor

 

[Fueco]

3 1/3 miles on roads and gravel. Another sluggish run (I am definitely not a morning person), but it was good to get out before it heats up. Temps in the upper 60s, on the way to the low 90s.

 

[FlyingMonkey]

I'm still trying to do proper long runs on Sundays, which at the moment just means getting up earlier. Today at 6:15am, it didn't look so bad either: overcast, hint of rain etc. And for the first third of my scheduled 24km (just under 15 miles) fast finish long run, it was great: cruising along at 5:45/km pace, a little bit faster than I'd planned (I'd just forgotten I was supposed to be running 5:50/km for this half) and feeling fine. Then the clouds started to break up and the sun that peaked through was, unsurprisingly, hot. I got to the American ferry and turned, but my half way point today was further up the road. 12.9km, and still on 5:45/km, when I turn back off the main road, was supposed to be when I upped the speed to 5:30/km, and I did get faster, but not that fast. I wasn't feeling bad, I just didn't feel like I was going to get that much faster today.

So instead of going from 5:50 to 5:30 (from 12.9km) to 5:10 (from 17.9km) to 4:50 (from 20.7km), finished off with a 'sprint' of 4:30 or better (for the last 500m), I went from 5:45 to 5:36 to 5:32 to 5:18, finished off with a 5:00/km 'nothing like a sprint'. No coincidence that it was the section from about 14km to 22km that was the most exposed and hot, where I only made marginal improvements. But the good thing is that in the second 'half', the 12.1km where I was supposed to get progressively faster, I did keep accelerating, and my average for this half was 5:29/km, for a 5:37/km overall (I'd been aiming at 5:33). Partly this was because I had made sure I had enough water and gels (which I don't use in cooler weather, but you use so much more energy running when it's hot), so I didn't flake out like the last time I tried a fast finish long run in hot conditions.

Next time, if I want to go any further, I will start even earlier. It's just difficult to get up early when the conditions also make it harder to fall asleep...

PS: I have joined the ranks of Ciele cap wearers... as usual I got the most suitable thing in the sale, so white / neon pink / flourescent yellow it is!

 

[Man with Apple]

Welcome to the Ciele club @FlyingMonkey

I got in 12 miles this morning. A bit of a choppy run though. Through 7 miles I was pacing in at 6:38/mile. Then I did a hill climb on mile 8. Between the hill climb and the heat which had already reached 80 degrees by 7:00 a.m. I was a bit zapped. Next 3 miles I was clocking in around 7:05 miles.

Had to make a stop at home bc I had an appointment this morning. Ended up taking an hour. Finished the last two miles right after that.

Final pace came in at 6:48/mile for the 10+2 miles.

I haven’t trained or done this type of mileage in the middle of summer. Gotta say, the heat really sucks the energy out of you, especially on any portions of the run that require additional exertion.

 

[Michigan Planner]

14.6 miles this morning. It was finally a day with morning temps below 70, and while the humidity was still high, it wasn’t unbearable.

My pace was 8:49/mile and I averaged 147 for my HR. I even managed to find nearly 750’ of elevation. I think it was almost entirely while running through a golf course around mile 8 or so.

 

[freehand]

16 miles today @9:42 pace. An undulating trail route (1,600ft of elevation) from the coast to home. Feel surprisingly wrecked after it tbh. Had a crappy night’s sleep and I’ve found that has a big effect on my energy levels. Also I was carrying all the water and nutrition I’d need. But it was an enjoyable run nevertheless. Snapped one photo... all my long run photos look the same!

 

[Dusty Heaters]

10 miles without stops/water/fuel by perceived effort, putting pace/HR to the side. Netted out at 7:38/mi average pace and 149bpm average HR. I am definitely feeling my fitness going up and to the right off of only 40 miles per week. This felt too easy...I could have easily gone 10 more with a sip of water.

My individual learnings from 2020 thus far: Running intentionally slow all the time just makes me a slow distance runner. Forced slow long runs are particularly dilutive and will only be incorporated under special circumstance going forward. Speed sessions each week that are very uncomfortable and force me to push through the misery yield a great personal ROI, but need to sprinkled in intelligently. Strength training has been a huge help. Running in the extreme heat and suffering has also been beneficial. Running short doubles some days allows me to get in volume while dramatically cutting down on fatigue. Need to play around with more anaerobic work.

 

[FlyingMonkey]

@freehand - where is that? Somerset?

 

[Fueco]

10 miles without stops/water/fuel by perceived effort, putting pace/HR to the side. Netted out at 7:38/mi average pace and 149bpm average HR. I am definitely feeling my fitness going up and to the right off of only 40 miles per week. This felt too easy...I could have easily gone 10 more with a sip of water.

My individual learnings from 2020 thus far: Running intentionally slow all the time just makes me a slow distance runner. Forced slow long runs are particularly dilutive and will only be incorporated under special circumstance going forward. Speed sessions each week that are very uncomfortable and force me to push through the misery yield a great personal ROI, but need to sprinkled in intelligently. Strength training has been a huge help. Running in the extreme heat and suffering has also been beneficial. Running short doubles some days allows me to get in volume while dramatically cutting down on fatigue. Need to play around with more anaerobic work.

Your distance runs shouldn’t be slow, they should be at long race pace (marathon, half, whatever your long race goal is).

The only easy pace stuff, while in improvement mode, should be warmup/cool down and recovery between intervals.

This was the problem I had with the last coach I worked with. He only wanted me to do slow distance and threshold pace work. I did not get faster, only more efficient and running slowly.

 

[freehand]

@freehand - where is that? Somerset?

Yes, the run was Clevedon to Bristol and this is the view south towards the Mendips

 

[Man with Apple]

10 miles without stops/water/fuel by perceived effort, putting pace/HR to the side. Netted out at 7:38/mi average pace and 149bpm average HR. I am definitely feeling my fitness going up and to the right off of only 40 miles per week. This felt too easy...I could have easily gone 10 more with a sip of water.

My individual learnings from 2020 thus far: Running intentionally slow all the time just makes me a slow distance runner. Forced slow long runs are particularly dilutive and will only be incorporated under special circumstance going forward. Speed sessions each week that are very uncomfortable and force me to push through the misery yield a great personal ROI, but need to sprinkled in intelligently. Strength training has been a huge help. Running in the extreme heat and suffering has also been beneficial. Running short doubles some days allows me to get in volume while dramatically cutting down on fatigue. Need to play around with more anaerobic work.

Your distance runs shouldn’t be slow, they should be at long race pace (marathon, half, whatever your long race goal is).

The only easy pace stuff, while in improvement mode, should be warmup/cool down and recovery between intervals.

This was the problem I had with the last coach I worked with. He only wanted me to do slow distance and threshold pace work. I did not get faster, only more efficient and running slowly.

On my long runs during training season I try and follow a method some Kenyans use. First two miles warm up, followed by race pace + 10 seconds, and finished with the last 3 miles at 10k or 5k pace. Those last 3 are always grueling. But come race day I have always felt I have fuel left in the tank for a nice mile kick at the end.

 

[Dusty Heaters]

My Daniel's VDOT has my marathon pace around 6:53/mi...which is a little hot for me during weekly long runs. That's more in line with where I feel 'tempo' is most days. True easy pace right now seems to be around ~8:20/mi, which feels deliberately throttled back. I start to lose the ability to carry a conversation around ~7:10...So maybe 7:40ish is a pretty good 'steady easy' zone for long runs.

I'm still playing around and learning. Appreciate you guys weighing in with thoughts and experiences. @Fueco @Man with Apple

 

[sugarbutch]

Only 40 miles. I say only because I intended to do 60-70, but at 20, I felt the telltale squidge of a flat rear tire and found this:

I tried to repair the tube unsuccessfully, so I threw in the spare and headed back home.

I stopped at Mike’s Bikes in Sausalito on the way home and picked up everything I need to convert to tubeless. I’m also moving up to 30mm from the 26mm that came with the bike.

EDIT: I found myself up around max HR quite a few times without what I would consider to be commensurate effort, and I really had no pop today. It wasn’t particularly hot, I think I was adequately hydrated/fueled, I slept decently, and I last rode on Wednesday. It was weird.

 

[FlyingMonkey]

My Daniel's VDOT has my marathon pace around 6:53/mi...which is a little hot for me during weekly long runs. That's more in line with where I feel 'tempo' is most days. True easy pace right now seems to be around ~8:20/mi, which feels deliberately throttled back. I start to lose the ability to carry a conversation around ~7:10...So maybe 7:40ish is a pretty good 'steady easy' zone for long runs.

6.53/mile is nearer my Half-marathon pace, and 7:40/mi is in my 'moderate aerobic' zone according to Daniels, which is my current steady run territory... your 'throttled back' unbearable slow pace is on the far edge of my fastest possible Long Run pace. But I'm at least 15 years older and I was never as fast as you to begin with...

My conclusion: run how you like. You're young, you're fast, so enjoy it!

 

[Fueco]

I did 14+ miles on my bike this afternoon, at a mellow pace, including a stop at my favorite brewery for a Minnow NEIPA. The last 3.5 miles was with my wife, kids, and dogs.