Wheeler Farm Loops

Wow! That's a big confidence booster.

Take it easy this afternoon!

Sure was - her longest bike ride of the year by a full 3 miles!

I would struggle to keep up with you on a bike.

I'd make you work on the uphills. With properly inflated tires, you'd crush me on the downs!

What do you think of the new course?

Who's running the marathon this year? Nobody wants to?

Hey Jake- I want to pick your brain on speedwork for a minute, as my speedwork part of the brain has completely atrophied from lack of use. I'm training for a flat, fast 14k trail race in 10 weeks and I actually want to focus on it with some good speedwork. What would you recommend for workouts?

Because you are holding me to account - along with Andrea and Mr Murphy - I'm going to jump in and just have a wee say:)

I know you're working on weaknesses and different energy systems etc, which is great and right and proper, but you're not allowing your body time to recover and adapt from the training stesses - never mind everyday life etc.

You've got to have some days where you're just running at a relaxed pace for under 60 mins, x 2 - of course.

I know the hill blasts and some of the rhythmic strides don't take much out of you, but you're not allowing your body to 'fully' adapt to the LT and AT sessions you're banging out.

Step back and look at last week's training, what would you say if that was somebody else's work - even if they were a 2:12 guy?

Yep, you might be 'getting away with it' at the moment but you're getting diminishing returns. Ease up a bit and spread the workload out - the rewards will be much greater.

I hope this doesn't sound too abrupt, I've just written it from with what I honestly believe. I could go back over it and make sound polite and nice, but that would be phony:)

Nice workout:)

Ooops, just to add to my previous post:

Sure, you can handle the training load, in terms of tiredness etc, but it's what's happening on a neuromusular level that's important.

Also, tendons need more time than muscles: they're not avascular, but they don't benefit on the same level as the muscles in terms of nutrient rich blood etc.

That's me done; I'm starting to sound like my wife: nag, nag, nag:)

Steve - I like the new course. Couple good hills right in the middle. I'm guessing dropping the top prize from $3000 to $500 has something to do with no one wanting to run the marathon!

Jon - the duration of a 14K trail race would probably mean you're running right at, or just under, your threshold. So I think some workouts at "road 15K pace" would be the sweet spot. Based on your 16 flat 5K, I think that would put you right around 5:30 pace. So the workouts like 6x1 mile, 6-8 x 3/4, 3x2, or even just a straight 3-4 miles at that pace, done once every 7-10 days, would really prime the engine for that kind of sustained effort.

Bam - I hear everything you are saying. Objectively, I look at last week and think that person either doesn't know what they are doing, or they are being incredibly insecure. Truth is, it was the latter. I haven't been as mentally sharp lately, feeling a bit lazy, and tried to stir it up a bit to stop feeling that way. The crappy 5K on Friday night seems to have woken me up a bit. Time will tell. From a training perspective, it wasn't wise. I got away with it, but that doesn't mean I should have done it. I need to keep June 22 circled in my head and not worry about the short term, just keep focused on the bigger goal.

Definitely agree about your last statement of keeping June 22nd as the key goal. I'm no expert on training but I think it's important that you train in a way that will prepare you for a PR on that day. All other races leading up to it are just building blocks really.

SLC half course question - are the sugar house hills the toughest of the course?

They are steep, but short. When you crest both of them, you have to stay engaged to get back on pace b/c the road is very gradually uphill (almost not perceptible) in the ~100m after the top. Easy to lose focus there.

The hill at 2700S (a mile after leaving the park) is actually probably tougher, because its a longer grind. Consistent uphill for 3 blocks. You see the traffic light way off in the distance when you make the turn, but it takes a while to get there. But after that, the course is a breeze.