We're all out there chasing our better selves (FredtheDuck chases on)

I'm in the market for a new running watch (I love my FR10, but I'm ready to upgrade), so I'm interested to see what you end up with!

Good luck with that 10K decision ... that's a tough one.
 
I'm in the market for a new running watch (I love my FR10, but I'm ready to upgrade), so I'm interested to see what you end up with!

Good luck with that 10K decision ... that's a tough one.

Your timing is excellent. I ended up going with the 235, since it went on sale today on Amazon (I got it for $250). I couldn’t justify the extra $150 for only a couple of extra metrics, especially since they were features that I’m probably not advanced enough to really benefit from. It’s out for delivery now!
 
Yay for a new gadget! I've got the 225 and it's a perfectly serviceable watch. Which doesn't stop me from drooling over other watches that I.DO.NOT.NEED!!
 
Your timing is excellent. I ended up going with the 235, since it went on sale today on Amazon (I got it for $250). I couldn’t justify the extra $150 for only a couple of extra metrics, especially since they were features that I’m probably not advanced enough to really benefit from. It’s out for delivery now!

I have the 235 and LOVE it! Although I really really really want the Fenix. The investment is the same thing that causes me to pause when I consider buying it. I'm not training for the Olympics or anything anyway, LOL.
 


Monday Tuesday Training Update (Week 9): Week Ending 3/18

This was the plan for the week:
M - 4 @ EA
Tu - 5 @ EB + strides
Th - 1 @ WU, 3 @ tempo, .5 @ CD
F - 5 @ EB + strides
S - 8 @ LR (blind)

So week 9 was significantly backed-off week relative the prior week. I got to looking at my plan and realized that week 8 (the prior week) was the second-toughest week of this plan. The context helped me feel much better about how run down I felt.

Anyways, how'd I do in week 9? Well, I had to make some adjustments. As I've written previously, I had to skip Monday because we were traveling. Tuesday's run was cut by a mile for time, and I definitely was still feeling a little run down. I went in to Thursday prepared to back my tempo run down to an EB run if the tempo felt too tough, but it felt totally fine. I had some knee tightness, but nothing major. Friday's 5 miler was even more comfortable, and I felt like I was pretty much back to form.

Saturday's run was a bit of a bummer in that A) I had to cut it short for time and B) my blind pacing wasn't great. I'm still not sure what happened, but I thought I had an alarm set for 6:30, which would have given me plenty of time to get my run in and get back in time to shower, eat, and head to gymnastics with our kiddo. But either the alarm went off and I silenced it (which is unlikely) or I blatantly didn't set it. Anywhoooo... I woke up at 7:22 when my kiddo did. I knew we had a jam-packed day and I also needed to leave a window for @MoanasPapa to get his LR in, so I decided to scramble and get in what I could, which ended up being about 6.5 miles. It wasn't my most enjoyable run, I think mostly because I kept watching the clock to make sure I got back in time to shower before we had to leave. As it was, I cut it close. This run was also blind, and I overran it. My average pace was 10:45, a full minute faster than I am supposed to run my LRs at. I'm usually better at hitting LR pace or close to it, so I'm not sure why the overrun happened.

I missed yesterday's run. We'll see soon if it ended up being for good reason. Today was back on schedule, and the run felt nice and easy (only four miles?! and two of those at WU/CD?! i'll take it!).

TWO gear updates:
- I had my first run with the Garmin and I can tell I'm going to like it a lot better than the AppleWatch for running. For the time being, I'm still using the AppleWatch the rest of the day. I know it means I'll miss out on some Garmin metrics, but I like and use a lot of the every-day features of the AppleWatch, I just thought it wasn't a great running watch. I'm happy that I got it for under $250, too. We put the extra cash we had set aside for the 645 towards new clothes for our kid, who is growing like a weed.
- I got a pair of Altra Escalantes at REI this weekend. I plan to use them as walking shoes on the weekends/at theme parks. After the calf/ankle/foot pain I had on the Universal day when I was in LA, I got to thinking about what was going on. I realized that I typically prefer to walk in flat shoes like flip flops or Toms, or even barefoot. But I also wanted to give myself some cushion. The Altras fit the bill on both fronts. I won't run in them because I like the running set up I have now, but I wore them to the grocery store Saturday afternoon after my (abbreviated) LR and felt even better than after I finished my run... I really like the heel cushion in particular. I can't help but think that it's funny how much I've shifted towards function/physical comfort over style - they're nothing at all to look at, but it's important to me to feel good as a runner these days.
 
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Monday Training Update (Week 10): Week Ending 3/25

This was the plan for the week:
M - 4 @ EA
Tu - 1 @ WU, 2 x 1 mile @ T w/ 1 min RI @ WU, 1 @CD
Th - 1 @ WU, 3 @ tempo, .5 @ CD
F - 5 @ EB + strides
S - 10 @ LR

As I wrote about previously, I missed Monday's run. It ended up being for a good reason, which I'll talk about down the road, I'm sure.

My Tuesday run was on the TM, but I got to play with my new Garmin! It was off in terms of distance, which was to be expected given that it had not been used before and this was an indoor run, but I'm enjoying seeing the additional functionality, and I'm glad my first run with it was on the TM because it definitely took a little bit of learning to get going.

We got six inches of snow on Wednesday (which is saying something—our total for the rest of the winter was only 3.7 inches). So icey sidewalks had me inside both Thursday and Friday. My tempo felt fairly comfortable and went by quickly, so I'm hopeful that the feeling is indicative of training gains! Friday I had to cut for time, so I got 4.3 in instead of five. Boo.

Saturday was my first run outside with the Garmin. Can I just say how much I LOVE the pacing alerts? I suck at pacing, and if I'm off right out of the gate, I am typically off for a lot of the run. The pacing feature helped me find a pace and fall in to a rhythm, and I got a lot of enjoyment out of knowing that I was actually doing the workout I was supposed to do. I also felt pretty good after the run, and I think this was my farthest run of this cycle... I'm sure proper pacing (instead of my normal "too fast") was the big factor there. One other thing that I noticed: a ten mile run used to be really intimidating to me. Like, not able to sleep intimidating. My only intimidation with this one was that it was cold and I had somewhere to be pretty close to when my run was slated to be done. I have much more confidence in my abilities now. Bonus: when I got home @MoanasPapa had blueberry pancakes and bacon waiting!

So that was my week! Lots going on right now, but mostly good things. I will have a race update later in the week... but spoiler: We're not running Cleveland. Since we're so far in to this training plan and it is designed around a particular weekend, we're trying to find another race to do that same weekend that is closer to home.
 


Congrats on a good week!
And yeah, the pacing alerts on the Garmin are a game-changer. It's so nice to know whether you're in the right place or not without having to check your watch every few seconds.
 
Monday Training Update (Week 11): Week Ending 4/1

This was the plan for the week:
M - 4 @ EA
Tu - 4 @ EB + Strides
Th - 1 @ WU, 3 @ tempo, .5 @ CD
F - 4 @ EB + strides
S - 5 @ LR

This was a glorious week for two reasons: 1) It was nice outside so I got to do lots of outdoor running. 2) It was blissfully backed off in terms of miles and intensity. The novelty of being able to sleep in til 7:00, get my "long run" in, and still make it to gymnastics with plenty of time to spare was not lost on me. The only hiccup was that I had to cut my Friday EB run short (GI), and my pacing on my LR wasn't super great, even with the Garmin. I wasn't in the mood for a podcast so I listened to the Hamilton MixTape and remembered why I run to podcasts now... I tend to run to the beat, even if I try not to.

I got up to do my run this morning but my ankle has been bugging me a bit (nothing major, it's just sore). Between the ankle soreness and the fact that I was going to have to cut the already short run short because I had to be at work early for a deadline project, I decided the best course of action was to skip it, give the ankle another day, and pick back up tomorrow. This week is a pretty intense week in both distance and intensity (my run tomorrow involves 2 consecutive miles at T-pace, a rest, and then another mile at T, while my Saturday LR is 11 miles), so I'd rather go in to it feeling good.

Hey @DopeyBadger quick question: tomorrow you have 2 min REST built in between the first two @ T and the last one @ T. Is that rest meant to be run @ WU, walked, or literally just stop and rest? Thanks!
 
I usually play the Daniels T rest by ear. It can be a walk, a WU or anything in between. The key to T is consistent pacing as scheduled. So do whatever rest you feel is necessary to nail the T pacing.
 
I mentioned that we were no longer planning to run Cleveland on 5/20. Our friend that we were planning to run with is injured, and the whole point of going all the way up to CLE was to run with him. So, I began to search for something local. I debated switching weekends, but we have a lot of travel coming up, and though I'm worried about the heat in late May, it seemed best to keep it where it was.

So I'm between two right now: The St. Michael's Running Festival, which is about 90 minutes from here and is dubbed the "flattest, fastest 13.1 in the mid-Atlantic." It's by the water kinda near Annapolis, so it sounds like the scenery would be really pretty. The disadvantage is that it's a small town and the lodging options are somewhat limited. @MoanasPapa wants to stay overnight the night before so that he doesn't have to get up "ridiculously early" to drive, pick up bibs, and get to the starting corral. Another is that they don't have timed corral starts, they do it by bib number and bib numbers are assigned at packet pickup. It seems so weird. I'm not fast by any means, but it seems like an odd way to handle things. The elevation map is pretty appealing though:

upload_2018-4-4_15-8-30.png


The other option is the Marine Corps Historic Half. It's also a couple of hours from here, this time more inland. We ran the MCM10k here in DC last October and loved how well-organized the race was. Not that it matters because we're not marathoners, but the MCM Historic Half acts as a qualifier for the MCM. Two advantages for this: more lodging, and a neighbor (the one that convinced me to run my very first 10k) is running it. He's faster than us though, so we wouldn't run together. Disadvantage: miles 10-12:

upload_2018-4-4_15-12-16.png

So that's what I've got for race research so far. In either case, we're driving back home after the race, work the next day beckons.
 
Another is that they don't have timed corral starts, they do it by bib number and bib numbers are assigned at packet pickup. It seems so weird. I'm not fast by any means, but it seems like an odd way to handle things.

That's really weird.

I guess I'd ask yourself what the purpose of this race is. What do you want to get out of it? That would drive me to decide between the two.
 
That's really weird.

I guess I'd ask yourself what the purpose of this race is. What do you want to get out of it? That would drive me to decide between the two.

Embarrassingly, I don't have lofty goals. My race goal for Cleveland was:

- I want to PR the Cleveland half in May (@DopeyBadger, I'm aiming for +/- 5 mins from the goal you set in my next training plan. Hoping to be on the under side of the goal this time, instead of the over, and I know that's going to take more endurance/confidence work)

I'm still not a confident enough runner to set goals beyond "do better than last time."
 
And there's nothing wrong with that goal. Any goal is a solid goal, if it's your goal.

Since it appears to be a time-based goal, then I think going with the flat race has a higher probability of better finishing time. Same weekend, and likely similar weather which would usually be my first criteria.
 
If you're looking for a PR, the flatter course is likely to be a better option, unless the weird starting corral/bib number situation really gets in your way (if it's not a huge race, it may be a little bit of a difficult start, but hopefully it won't be too crowded and you can find a way to run your pace).

Logistically, though, the Marine Corps half sounds like it might be better. I'd say if you're looking for a smoother experience, go for Marine Corps, but if you don't mind having to stay a little bit farther away and possibly a bit of a messy start, the St. Michael's Running Festival definitely sounds like a potential PR.

(Just my two cents on the bib numbers ... assigning bib numbers at pickup actually makes a lot of sense to me. That's how NYRR does it and I really like it - they just take the top bib from the stack and don't have to waste time looking for the right bib. But if you're going to do that, you can't corral by bib number. That's just asking for trouble.)
 
Another is that they don't have timed corral starts, they do it by bib number and bib numbers are assigned at packet pickup. It seems so weird.
That's super weird. I know of several half marathons that don't have corrals solely because of size in which case grabbing the bib number makes sense or certain races who corral incorrectly in my opinion (*cough*Hot Chocolate*cough*) but to just do it based on bib number doesn't make sense. What a wild way to do corrals.

If you're doing lodging either way then I would weigh out the costs if it's all the same otherwise (not trying to PR) St. Michaels sounds like a more local experience while MC Half sounds like a larger half with more resources. Also if things on course are important to you (like the number of water stops or whatever) then take that into consideration.
 
Thanks for all the feedback on the races, everyone! I think we're leaning towards St. Michael's, but I haven't had time to figure out what our lodging options are, and if they're super sparse, that's going to tip the scales. I was looking at the 11-13 hill for MC and while I know I won't love it, I'm in fine enough shape to deal with it.
 
Monday Training Update (Week 12): Week Ending 4/8

This was the plan for the week:
M - 4.5 @ EA
Tu - 1 @ WU, 2 @ T w/ 2 min rest + 1 @ T, 1 @ CD
Th - 1 @ WU, 2 @ tempo + 1 @ T, 1 @ CD
F - 5 @ EB + strides
S - 11 @ LR

As mentioned last week, I skipped my Monday 4.5 @ EA. I'm glad I did, because I felt much better the next day. The T workout was hard, but not unmanageable. One nice thing about these faster paces: The miles tick off faster. The workout felt over almost as soon as it started. After the 2 miles, I kinda slowed to a walk, but then felt like that was silly, so I sped up to a slow jog for the rest of the interval before the last T mile. I cut the cooldown for time, which I hated to do but I've had two big work deadlines in the last week.

My Thursday run went well. It was on the treadmill. I went in to it kind of dreading what a T would feel like after the tempo paced miles, but those tempo are getting a tiny bit easier, so I felt just fine to speed up.

Friday's EB was also on the treadmill. I was up against the clock again, so this time I started doing some strides (I don't always do them on the treadmill) to try and cover some distance a little faster so that I didn't have to cut yet another run short. Totally worked, I got my 5 in.

Saturday was my 11-miler. I had been dreading it for much of the week because there were rumblings that we were going to get snow/sleet, but other than a little drizzle in the first couple of miles, it was fine. In fact, it was warmer than I expected and I was probably a little overdressed. 11 is my longest run of this training cycle (I have one more in a few weeks), and I'm glad to say that I felt pretty good at the end of it. I started to flag a little around mile 8 or 9, but that's where I was heading back uphill to get home, so no wonder. My pacing stayed strong, and I'm really happy with how I felt both during and after the run. One mistake I made was to not carry enough water, though. I carried the same amount that I carry for my 8-milers (2 small Nathan bottles, one with water, one with TailWind) because I didn't want to pull out my hydration vest, but that ended up being unwise. I definitely dehydrated a little, and so now I know that anything over 8 has to have the vest, regardless of the weather.

Unfortunately, this week wasn't off to the greatest start. I'm still a little worn from the 11-miler, so I decided to "take it easy" and do today's run on the treadmill. I got on and noticed a tiny twinge in my hamstring. I figured I'd give it a mile to work itself out... my body seems to really live by the adage that the first mile is a liar. But then, around .85 mi, GI issues struck. I paused to deal with that, then got back on, and then the GI issues came back about a mile later (odd, because my dinner last night was the same thing I eat before every race). And my hamstring still wasn't feeling great and I could hear in my cadence that I was compensating with a wonky stride. I decided that today was just not going to be my day, which is dumb because it was an EA run, but it happens.

I'll get back at it tomorrow. I may do tomorrow on the treadmill just to ease up on the hammy, but I'm hoping the rest of this week can be outside, it is supposed to be really nice towards the end of the week.

I'm also signing up for three races this week: one of the two halves I've been talking about in May, the 10k I wasn't sure I could run my LR pace for (I decided with the help of the naggy Garmin, I can keep it slooooow) in April, and an evening 5k in June that ends in a beer festival (same one I did and loved last year).
 
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