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

[AntimonyER]

Well done! I wish I could wear the Nike shoes to give them a try, but I have such wide forefeet, my only attempts at wearing Nikes resulted in neuromas both times.

 

[disneygpa]

Great race and report!! Congrats!

 

[DopeyBadger]

Great job! Very inspiring!

Thanks!

Well done! I wish I could wear the Nike shoes to give them a try, but I have such wide forefeet, my only attempts at wearing Nikes resulted in neuromas both times.

Thanks! Have you ever tried them on? Apparently they made the Next% shoe wider than the 4%. I've tried Nike and Adidas shoes on before and could never get them to fit. But this shoe is no problem and fits like a glove. Might be worth a try if you can try one on. I think my local Dicks Sporting Goods store had them for sale.

Great race and report!! Congrats!

Thanks!

 

[AntimonyER]

Thanks!



Thanks! Have you ever tried them on? Apparently they made the Next% shoe wider than the 4%. I've tried Nike and Adidas shoes on before and could never get them to fit. But this shoe is no problem and fits like a glove. Might be worth a try if you can try one on. I think my local Dicks Sporting Goods store had them for sale.



Thanks!

Not the new ones, no. the 4% were way too tight though. I might try to get by there and check it out one day.

 

[Jules76126]

Congrats on a great race!

 

[DopeyBadger]

Congrats on a great race!

Thanks!

 

[Sleepless Knight]

1:34:57! 6th OA, 3rd AG, 2nd fastest Official HM. Recap to come.

Yea!!!!! Sounds like everything is working the way it's designed to. Congrats on a great race.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Yea!!!!! Sounds like everything is working the way it's designed to. Congrats on a great race.

Thanks!

 

[DerTobi75]

Congrats! Have I mentioned before, that I could read you Training Journal all day long? There is so much to learn and inspiring stuff

Do you always listen to music while running or just when you race?

 

[lhermiston]

Do you always listen to music while running or just when you race?

I was curious about this after the race recap, too! What’s on your playlist? Do you base songs on BPM?

 

[canglim52]

Interesting. 25g carb and 100mg caffeine. Could get in trouble quick if people don't realize the 400mg recommended limit.



Thanks! And the original time before I added my Next% adjustment was 1:35:02. So I think I'm getting closer on reading the data correctly.

I’d assume they’ll update their race packs with a combo of caffeinated and non caffeinated... if not I’ll just buy both. Still glad they came out with an option because I never loved my work arounds lol.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Congrats! Have I mentioned before, that I could read you Training Journal all day long? There is so much to learn and inspiring stuff

Thanks! Appreciate it!

Do you always listen to music while running or just when you race?

I always listen to music when training and racing. I feel like it helps me zone out. What's funny is that in training I can "hear" all the music in the moment. But when I'm in a race, the music is on, but I never really ever "hear" it since my focus is elsewhere. It's just background noise in the moment.

I talk about music and it's effect on perception of effort here: Eureka! The Quintessential Running Post

I was curious about this after the race recap, too! What’s on your playlist? Do you base songs on BPM?

Essentially all the songs on the playlist are high BPMs. It's a mix of music from "Power Music Workout" (just remixed versions of current songs but at a higher BPM) and Armin van Buuren (State of Trance Ibiza 2018 and 2019).

I’d assume they’ll update their race packs with a combo of caffeinated and non caffeinated... if not I’ll just buy both. Still glad they came out with an option because I never loved my work arounds lol.

It would make sense if they did the combo. Definitely agree that for those who want to take in caffeine, this is a good option. I'll be curious where the price falls though because Maurten gels are crazy expensive comparatively.

 

[Chaitali]

Congrats on a great race! That's impressive that you were able to keep faith in your plan and follow through the whole time

 

[DopeyBadger]

Congrats on a great race! That's impressive that you were able to keep faith in your plan and follow through the whole time

Thanks! I wasn't sure at first. I do like my blind running. But I do feel like for this race this GAP+prediction window strategy worked. I wasn't aiming for 6:55 exactly, but rather a window based on several inputs of data. It allowed me the mental flexibility to be ok in a race environment. I hope I can pull off something similar in the next two HMs as well.

 

[FFigawi]

Thanks! I wasn't sure at first. I do like my blind running. But I do feel like for this race this GAP+prediction window strategy worked. I wasn't aiming for 6:55 exactly, but rather a window based on several inputs of data. It allowed me the mental flexibility to be ok in a race environment. I hope I can pull off something similar in the next two HMs as well.

See? Tracking your pace isn’t so bad after all.

 

[DopeyBadger]

See? Tracking your pace isn’t so bad after all.

 

[DopeyBadger]

15 Weeks to Go! (15 minutes) + TrainerRoad High Volume Full Triathlon Plan Week 13/28 + 80 Day Obsession - Peak Week



9/23/19 - M - OFF
9/24/19 - T - 80DO-AAA + Ramp Test (26 min; 35 TSS)
9/25/19 - W - 9 x 1 min @ Max (Run)
9/26/19 - R - Phoenix+1 (90 min; 108 TSS) + 20 min Brick Run at LT to HM Tempo
9/27/19 - F - 80DO-Total Body Core + Pettit (60 min; 40 TSS)
9/28/19 - Sa - Putuo (255 min; 188 TSS) + 40 min Evening Run at Easy
9/29/19 - Su - 140 min Run at LR + 80DO-Cardio Flow

Total Run Miles - 32.0 miles
Total Run Time - 4:20 hours
Total Run TSS - 271 TSS

Total Biking Time - 7:11 hours
Total Biking TSS - 371 TSS

Total 80DO Time - 2:28 hours
Total 80DO TSS - 27 TSS

Total Training Time - 14:00 hours
Total TSS - 669 TSS


Monday

Off day. Had Gigi's practice that evening and worked on some new plays. Gigi had a full belly of food so she was giving 50%.

Tuesday

80DO-AAA in 2 sets of 15 cycle through each series and then move to the next one.

1 - Upright Row, Bent over Fly, Frog Sliders, Glute Bridge w/Loop
2 - Push-up, Skull Crusher, Weighted ab sit-up, Quad Ped Heel Press
3 - Bent Over Row, Hammer Curl, Knee Tuck, Fire Hydrant

Cycling: The Ramp Test is an assessment workout that uses gradual increases in Target Power to push you as hard as possible over the course of a fairly short but demanding, continuous effort. RPM was 97. I was still fairly sore coming into this one from the HM on Sunday. Not as sore as I was prior to 80DO that morning, but still sore. So I seriously considered not even doing it. But I truly did want to see what I could gut out even when my legs were sore. I'm glad I did. My FTP was 238 watts in my last test (7/2) and this time I was able to get a 257 watts score. So an improvement of 8% from the last FTP and given my current weight an improvement of nearly 10%. So I've gotten a fairly big increase from these super long cycling rides.



But with the great news of the new FTP comes the not as great news.... new goal FTP pacing....



But at the end of the day...



Wednesday

We had Gigi's 4th game of the season. Not nearly the success as last week (a positive run, a catch, a flag-pull, and a 4th down goal line flag pull all in a day's work for her), but she still had fun.

Evening Run:
Conditions - Mostly Cloudy, Wind 5mph to 5mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 65°F + 48°F; FL - 65°F
End: Temp+Dew = 64°F + 48°F; FL - 65°F

9 x 1 min at Max



Had a little bit of an audience for this one as the neighbors on the flat street decided to come out of their homes and just stare at me for the entirety of the run. It was getting dark towards the end of the run, so I turned my Noxgear 360 on. At one point I had a car drive up next to me and I'm pretty sure they were trying to gauge how fast I was running. During the process, I turned slightly to see the car and tweaked my back. I think for the most part I didn't pace these well. The first couple were a bit too fast, and then I paid for it on the back half. I definitely pulled back on the last few because my hamstrings were super tight. But finished with a nice 5:31 GAP on the last one just to show I still could if I wanted to. I should have had more rest between intervals (3 min), so I'll try to do better next week. The GAP average was 5:29. Overall a 60 min run in 6.4 miles.


Thursday

Workout was under 120 min, so I didn't take the day off.

Cycling: Phoenix +1 is 90 minutes of continuous riding where you'll spend 75 minutes between 85-90% FTP. RPM at 91. So this was the first cycling ride at the new FTP. Not only that, but I just noticed in writing this summary that this workout was a +1. So the last 12 weeks of brick cycling rides have been at 80-85%, but now we've stepped up to the high end Half Ironman bike pacing. So a double increase in difficulty. Happy to report though I survived the entire ride without any break. The motivation was high on this one to prove to myself I could do it. It's crazy to think that what I just held for 75 min was only just last week capped at 20 min intervals.

Evening Run:
Conditions - Clear, Wind 4mph to 4mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 63°F + 44°F; FL - 63°F
End: Temp+Dew = 62°F + 44°F; FL - 63°F

Transition = 7 min

Threw on my running gear and was out the door as fast as possible.



Based on the DoLittle HM, my HM Tempo was around a 6:56-7:01 under ideal conditions when using GAP. So that gave me a goal window of 6:48-7:01 and I feel fairly confident that I hit that window. A total of 20 min, 2.9 miles, 7:00 min/mile average and HR of 151 (which with such a short run I think is probably a bit of a misnomer).

Friday

80DO-Total Body Core in 2 sets of 15 cycle all the way through each series then back to the top.

Series 1: Surrender to Shoulder Press, Quad Ped Crawl, Burpee Sliders
Series 2: Bent Over Row Tap Back, Squat Tabletop Row, Saw on Sliders
Series 3: Modified 1/2 Turkish Push-up, Side Reach Push-up, V Crunch to Scissor Crunch
Series 4: Runner's Lunge Curl, Static Sumo Hammer Curl, Slider Crawl Out
Series 5: Tricep Push up w/ knee tuck, Squat Hold Kickbacks, Weighted Windmills


Cycling: Pettit is an hour of aerobic Endurance work spent between 60-70% FTP. RPM was 91. Since we've moved into Phase 2 (Build) of the training the focus has shifted towards running. So because of that, the Friday cycling workout has changed from hard to easy. I'm not complaining.


Saturday

Cycling: Putuo is 4 hours 15 minutes of aerobic Endurance work spent between 65-75% FTP. RPM at 88. I had a PB sandwich, two nature valley choc/PB bars, and 800 calories of Tailwind during the ride. Stopped at 90 min and every 45 min afterwards. One longer break because Gigi needed me to clip a rouge toenail.

Evening Run:
Conditions - Partly Cloudy, Wind 10mph to 16mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 59°F + 49°F; FL - 59°F
End: Temp+Dew = 58°F + 49°F; FL - 59°F

Just always shocked how little fatigue I carry from a 4.25 hr bike ride earlier in the morning. Feels almost as if I hadn't done anything (although it certainly doesn't feel like that during the ride or immediately after the ride). In total a very easy 4.8 miles at 8:25 min/mile with HR of 131.

Sunday

Run:
Conditions - Overcast, Wind 12mph to 22mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 56°F + 55°F; FL - 56°F
End: Temp+Dew = 57°F + 56°F; FL - 56°F

A rainy morning/day. Tried to wait it out, but eventually had to get the day started and just had to run in the rain. Overall, I'm happy with how the run went. I had a Garmin VO2max of 57 after Saturday's run. So I punched in the data in my calculator and determined that my LR pace should be a 7:48 min/mile. So the goal was to be close to that throughout. I had a PB spoon and banana about 2 hours before starting. Then a SIS Beta about 10 min before starting to run.



It was rainy (Nike shorts don't like rain). It was windy. It was a nice beautiful Fall morning. I locked into the goal pace and just kept the foot on the pedal. It was around 8 miles that I really started to feel this run. Things were certainly getting harder, but each time the split came in, the pace was consistent. So I was tired, but able to maintain consistent pacing. I took a swig (about 1-2 oz) of concentrated Tailwind at 45, 90, and 125 min. I've got a new plan of action with fueling given I can only carry about 2.5 scoops of concentrated Tailwind. So I've got an order of Maurten gels (with and without caffeine) coming to test out a new 15 min interval system starting at 45 min into the run/race (when over 90 min). In total, 17.9 miles in 140 min at 7:49 min/mile with HR of 137. This was a very very strong run. My Garmin VO2max stayed at 57 again. So here are the updated charts:

Garmin VO2max



Highest VO2max since July 2018. The other thing to notice is my goal is to get to a VO2max of 60 before Disney. That's what I did leading into Dopey 2018. So in comparison, I didn't hit a VO2max of 57 during the Dopey 2018 training cycle until the week of 11/12/17. So I'm about 6-7 weeks ahead of schedule at the moment.



And given my current body weight of 171 pounds, that puts my Absolute VO2max at 4.42 which now matches the highest value I have ever received. I held that 4.42 for one week right before Dopey 2018 at a body weight of 157. So the absolute VO2max is the same even though I'm currently 14 pounds heavier. Feeling strong and really happy with where I'm at right now. Just need to gain 3 points in VO2max over the next 15 weeks.



80DO-Cardio Flow to close out the week! It was peak week of 80DO which is do as many full intervals in 30 minutes. I was able to do 13 total reps when the cast did 10.

Next week is the first triple hard run workout week. A 10x1 min, then a 15+30 min LT+15 workout, and then a 60 min M Tempo brick workout (coming off a 120 min Half Ironman bike paced workout). So the TSS is slightly down, but the intensity is way up this week. Just 7 weeks to go till the Madison HM benchmark and 15 weeks to go till Disney!

 

[DopeyBadger]

14 Weeks to Go! (14 Blades) + TrainerRoad High Volume Full Triathlon Plan Week 14/28 + 80 Day Obsession - A Little More Obsessed



9/30/19 - M - OFF
10/1/19 - T - 80DO-AAA + Triple Divide (90 min; 119 TSS)
10/2/19 - W - 10 x 1 min @ Max (Run)
10/3/19 - R - Carpathian Peak+2 (90 min; 107 TSS) + (15+30+10 min Evening Run at LT to HM Tempo)
10/4/19 - F - 80DO-Total Body Core + Pettit (60 min; 40 TSS)
10/5/19 - Sa - Boarstone (120 min; 96 TSS) + 60 min Brick Run at M Tempo
10/6/19 - Su - 70 min Run at Easy + 80DO-Cardio Flow

Total Run Miles - 30.7 miles
Total Run Time - 4:11 hours
Total Run TSS - 267 TSS

Total Biking Time - 6:00 hours
Total Biking TSS - 361 TSS

Total 80DO Time - 2:18 hours
Total 80DO TSS - 61 TSS

Total Training Time - 12:29 hours
Total TSS - 654 TSS


Monday

Off day.

Tuesday

80DO-AAA in 3 sets of 10 cycle through each series and then move to the next one.

Series 1: Lunge Press, L Raise, Candlestick, Athletic Hinge Pulse
Series 2: Single-Leg Bridge With 1-Arm Pullover, Hammer Curl, Boat Pose Russian Twist, Quad Ped Donkey Pulse
Series 3: Bridge Chest Press, Lunge Triceps Kickback, Plank Hip Dip, Superman Glute Pulse


Cycling:
3 sets of 3x3-minute VO2max repeats at 110-120% FTP with equal, 3-minute recoveries between intervals & 10-minute recoveries between sets of repeats. Try to settle on a repeatable power output such that you finish each interval... barely. This might require some trial & error and it's likely to change as your fitness improves - you may be able to hold it for longer, you may be able to increase it, you may be able to repeat it with less rest. Adjust the Workout Intensity as you see fit, but make each one of these mean something, make each one HURT! And don't drop your watts lower than 110% FTP.

RPM at 95. Seemed like a perfect level of difficulty as I was just holding on by the end of each 3 min interval.


Wednesday

No flag football game because of rain. Tweaked my back at work not really doing anything at all. I'm thinking it was the candlesticks from 80DO the day prior. I tried to be aggressive with some stretching but I was walking around like I was 80 years old.

Evening Run:
Conditions - Overcast, Wind 9mph to 9mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 55°F + 52°F; FL - 55°F
End: Temp+Dew = 55°F + 51°F; FL - 55°F

10 x 1 min @ Max



Decided to try starting slower and see if my hamstrings liked that better. Average ended up a GAP of 5:35. Hamstrings liked this a lot better. It was quite slippery because it had rained all day and was still sprinkling during the run. So I couldn't get up to a faster pace because I didn't have a ton of traction on the black road.

The back still didn't feel great, but it didn't hold me back during the run itself.

Thursday

Double day, so I was up at 3:45am and on the bike by 4:15am.

Cycling: Carpathian Peak +2 is 3x16-minute over-under intervals with 1-minute valleys at 95% FTP and 3-minute peaks that ascend to 105% FTP, remain there for 1 minute, and then return to 95% FTP. Recoveries between intervals are 9 minutes long. RPM at 95. These are my absolute nemesis. These workouts are absolutely brutally hard. I did not survive and had to adjust the intensity of the ride down. Turns out I've done this exact workout once before on Jan 26th and I literally had to quit it was so hard. This time I at least made it through it but had to stop a few extra times and drop the intensity down a little bit. Here's a description of over/unders:

"The primary objective of over-unders is to increase your ability to tolerate and utilize the byproducts that accompany riding above your FTP, all while maintaining a reasonably high power output. In doing so, you'll develop the ability to handle changes in pace while doing quite a lot of work.

The over-segments or 'surges' flood the muscle with metabolic byproducts bringing with them the desire to ease up - don't.

Hold that burn, then back off only slightly during the under-segments or 'valleys' in order to work through the burn and effectively train your muscles to process the lactic buildup while still going pretty hard.

These intervals can increase how long you can work above FTP as well as how quickly you can reprocess the metabolic buildup that can limit your capabilities. Equally as important, the short efforts above your current FTP can actually lead to increases in FTP.

Try to keep your cadence above 85rpm, preferably above 95rpm."

Towards the end of the ride, I was hearing a creaking noise coming from the bike setup. But I couldn't pinpoint where the noise was coming from.

Evening Run:
Conditions - Mostly Cloudy, Wind 8mph to 19mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 54°F + 43°F; FL - 54°F
End: Temp+Dew = 53°F + 42°F; FL - 54°F



The goal pace was 6:44-6:52 per my current Garmin VO2max. I didn't even get up to LT HR (156-157), but that's not terribly surprising because I was physically tired but cardiovascularly not. But I was happy with 30 min straight of good strong running and my ability to lower the pace at each mile. Daniels normally limits LT to 20 min intervals with 4-5 min rest. So a 30 min LT interval seemed really aggressive to me. But like I said, I never got up to LT HR.

Happy to finish 3 hard workouts in 24 hours. Wasn't sure what my body had left for this, but I'm happy with the results. But it just jumped another point today! Just need to shave off two more to equal Dopey 2018 fitness levels yet I'm running today at 14 pounds heavier. So my absolute VO2max is now the highest I have ever recorded (4.50).

Back still not 100%, but definitely headed in the right direction.

Friday

80DO-Total Body Core. It was a 3 x 10 rep count.

Series 1: Static Twisting Lunge Pulse, Lateral Squat Hop Raise, Side V Pulses
Series 2: Front Lunge + Goalpost, 2 Jump Row, V-Up Flutter Kick
Series 3: Chest Press Bicycle, Alt. Lateral Push-up, Roll Up Knee Twist
Series 4: Rotating Angle Lunge Curl, Sumo Squat Curl, Loop X Twist
BONUS: Side Plank Triceps Kickback, Frog Crunches

Unwrapped my bike and discovered that the bike seat support had snapped.



Guess I figured out why it was creaking... Good thing I had to wrap it in tape months ago to keep it from cutting me. Otherwise when this snapped it might have been even worse for me. That means I had to make a quick trip to a bike store to pick up a new seat. Decided to try out Trek. The people there were great and got me all setup. I made some adjustments when I got home to try and best emulate my prior setup.


Cycling: Pettit is an hour of aerobic Endurance work spent between 60-70% FTP. RPM of 92. Seat was probably a bit too low. Didn't have a ton of time to play around with it because I had to head straight back to Madison to pick Steph up from work.


Saturday

Early morning because Steph had to leave for work at 7:15am. So with a 3 hr workout on tap I needed to start no later than 4:15am. Up at 3:15am and started the cycling at 3:57am. Gave me less than 6 hours of total sleep.

Cycling: Boarstone is 2 hours of steady, aerobic Endurance spent between 65-75% FTP. RPM at 90. Seat wasn't quite right yet. Probably a little high on this ride, but again, I didn't have enough time to play around with it because I was on a tight timeframe. So my rear end was a little sore during this one. The FTP pace of this one was more like Ironman bike leg pacing.

Brick Run:
Conditions - Overcast, Wind 7mph to 7mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 50°F + 45°F; FL - 50°F
End: Temp+Dew = 50°F + 46°F; FL - 50°F

Transition = 10 min

Game time to see what I could hold for 60 min while @ M Tempo.



Average HR goal was 146-148 based on more recent watch data. The GAP goal was 7:02-7:09 based on a Garmin VO2max of 57-58. The beauty of GAP is miles 4 and 8. You'd look at those on the surface (7:17 and 7:20) and assume being way off pace. You'd also see a "fade" from 6:53, 7:00, 7:06, and 7:20 and assume the workout was going poorly. But the GAP again shows differently. Miles 4 and 8 were right in line with all the other miles and that "fade" was fairly even pacing across each mile. I then did my Fast Finish on a M Tempo run with a 2:58 lap. Much much faster than any prior fast finish lap prior (usually around 3:08-3:17). Finished off at 8.5 miles in 60 min (7:08 min/mile) with GAP average of 7:03 and HR of 146!

And... just like that I gained another point on the Garmin VO2max which now puts me one point shy of previous peak running performance. That's a 3 point gain in one less than one week's time.



I've only been at or higher than a Garmin VO2max of 59 in three weeks (all right before Dopey 2018, and not until 12/17/17).



As soon as the running portion of training actually started and the temps really started to drop, my fitness has absolutely skyrocketed. Ecstatic about the sudden increase in fitness and I'm hopeful I can maintain or possibly push things into a higher level in the next 14 weeks.

Gigi took a good shot at my right knee. Took me down in pain for about 1-2 min. The pain lingered for several hours, and even by the time I went to bed wasn't feeling great.

Sunday

Slept for 11 hours. The knee felt ok, so I was hopeful that Gigi's smack on the knee wasn't going to hold me back.

Run:
Conditions - Clear, Wind 8mph to 8mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 51°F + 45°F; FL - 51°F
End: Temp+Dew = 56°F + 47°F; FL - 51°F

Honestly, I felt little to no fatigue from yesterday, but I still decided to take it easy. I didn't feel any need to actually do LR pace and just stuck with easy. 70 min for 8.2 miles (8:32 pace) and a very low HR average of 128.

80DO-Cardio Flow to close out the week! This one was part of "A Little More Obsessed" and different than 80DO. Much much harder.

Solid training week down! The first training week with three hards (R + LT + M Tempo). Now, the coming week has an 11x1 min Max, 30 min HM Tempo Brick, 4.5 hr bike ride, and 2.5 hr run. Buckle down because it's another doozy!

 

[DopeyBadger]

Haunted Hustle HM Weather: 10 days to go!

Seems like it wasn't even that long ago since the DoLittle HM occurred, but here we are gearing up for the next one.



Start at 9am and end at 11am
9/13/19 - T+D of 100-104 (adj of 0.5%), 62% cloudy, 41% chance of rain, 10mph SSE wind

I could do without the rain during/before the race since some of this race is on conservancy trails. But I'll take what we get since this race will be a free entry long run training effort for me.

 

[DopeyBadger]

2019 DopeyBadger Racing Season Prediction Contest - Race #4 (Haunted Hustle HM)

Alright posters and lurkers, let's play a prediction game! It's one of my favorite things to do pre-race. It's also something I do with everyone else on their training plans. Go through the process on deciding race day goals and pacing strategies all based around a possible finish time. I want to hear from everyone.

But here's the twist this time around- It's going to be a season long contest. I'll explain more below.

Spoiler: Rules Rehash

Please don't be concerned that your time prediction will have much of an impact on my chances. I could run really well, or I could crash and burn. Anything is possible. Here are some rules:

1) Predictions must be made after this post either in this journal, to me verbally, or on my Strava account.
2) Only one prediction per person per race/TT.
3) Predictions must be in by 48 hours prior to the race or time trial.
4) Predictions can be as close as you like to another person’s guess. So, if someone says 3:45:00, you can guess 3:45:01, or the same time (3:45:00).
5) A prediction must be in time. Thus, a guess of "you'll do your best" or something similar is appreciated but not valid.
6) In the event I don't finish, the race is cancelled, or I don't have an official time (unless pre-decided otherwise), then there will be no time recorded for that race.
7) The winner receives a mystery item via email.
8) An important one - To be eligible to win, a person must predict in at least one half marathon race and the 2020 Disney marathon.

I reserve the right to change these rules however I see fit, as after all, this is for fun.

How to play?

Simple explantation

You choose how fast you think I'll run a race when we're about a week out from the race itself. Don't worry I'll remind you.

Longer explantation on how it'll work

-You choose how fast you think I'll run a race when we're about a week out from the race itself.
-Whatever the difference is (negative or positive) from my official time to your prediction is your rolling value from one race to the next.

For example, let's say you predict I will run a 25:00 min 5k. And I run a 26:45 min 5k. Your difference from that race is a -1:45. You predicted my time too fast (thus negative) by 1:45.

As a different example, let's say you predict I will run a 25:00 min 5k. And I run a 24:30 min 5k. Your difference from that race is a +30 seconds. You predicted my time too slow (thus positive) by 30 sec.

The goal is to be the person closest to 0:00 at the end of the season. So if you were -30 seconds on the 5k, then maybe on the next race you'll want to guess 30 seconds slower than you actually think I'll run to try and get back to 0:00.

-You do not have to participate in every race to be eligible to win at the end. You are only required to play in at least one half marathon game and the 2020 Disney Marathon.
-But to incentivize you to predict in more races, for every race you play in above and beyond the required minimum of a HM and the M, you get a bonus 15 seconds. That means if someone plays in 6 total races (HM, M and 4 other races), then they'll get 60 bonus seconds (15*4) off their final time when the game is over. The bonus will not be applied until after the Disney Marathon. The bonus will not hurt you. So if you have 60 second bonus time, and you end with a +/- 45 second final score, then you end with 0:00 as your final adjusted score.

In the event of a tie, then the bonuses will be removed from each of the tied players to the unadjusted final score. Whomever is closer to 0:00, will be the winner. In the event, that after removal of bonuses the unadjusted values are still tied, then it will be decided by some game decided by Gigi at a later point.

Current Race Schedule

This may or may not change based on how the 2019 season plays out.

4/12/2019 - One Mile Time Trial *Has occurred
5/25/2019 - Brat Fest 5k *Has occurred
9/22/2019 - DoLittle HM *Has occurred
10/20/2019 - Haunted Hustle HM (this is the run we're guessing on)
11/10/2019 - Madison HM (registered)
1/12/2020 - Disney Marathon

Since to be eligible to win at the end, you're required to play in at least one HM there are a few along the way. So keep that in mind if you're strategically selecting races along the way as there are now only 2 HMs remaining that have been registered for.

This schedule is based on me not getting injured between now and Disney. I'll do what is in my best interest when it comes down to the race. Even though Haunted Hustle will end up being a training run, it'll still be eligible for a prediction and thus eligibility purposes.

*****

Haunted Hustle HM!

The place where it all started in October 2012. The site of my very first race, the Haunted Hustle Marathon. The marathon isn't held anymore. Since I placed at the BratFest 5k, I was given a free entry into a race at a later time. So this is my free race. Based on where the training is right now, and based on the course itself, I decided to make this a training run and not a race effort. The question is though, can I actually pull that off? To date, I've done 47 races. On a few occasions, mainly in 2015, I tried to do "training run" races only to actually end up racing them. Which definitely cost me in actual training and the "A" race experience. So I'm aiming to be more diligent this time around and stick to the plan.

Elevation wise, I'm looking at this:



*Pulled this from another runner's Strava account.

In total, about 440-475 feet elevation gain throughout. So about 33-36 feet per mile. As a reference, my normal 4 mile loop training run is about 37 feet per mile. So this will be fairly similar. Although in this race the bulk of the elevation gain appears to occur in miles 3-4, 6-7, 7-8, and 8-9 per GAP. From a GAP perspective, the other runner had a -5 seconds per mile (or this course costs you about 1:05 from a flat run). One thing to note is that based on the two people I could find on Strava who ran in 2018, they both came up with 13.0 miles. So take that possible 0.1 miles into account.

The goal here is to do a standard long run. Might end up doing the last 1-2 miles as a fast finish depending on how I'm feeling (which is what I've been doing for most long run training runs in this plan thus far). I'll do the same as I did last time, and take into account the GAP of each mile in pacing window decisions. Thus, I'll be watching pace again for this race for more practice with this GAP window methodology. Today, my Garmin VO2max sits at 58 which by my calculation is a 7:40 min/mile long run pace. I was at 57 (7:48 min/mile) and 59 (7:32 min/mile) last week. So I'd say that's a reasonable window on my Garmin VO2max predicted long run pace (7:32-7:48 min/mile). That puts the possible fast finish of HM or M Tempo somewhere around a 6:45-7:09 min/mile.

In the interest of full disclosure, I felt a very small twinge in my right ankle (the same ankle from last year) when I took a step down the stairs to my car this morning. Nothing during the 80DO workout this morning prior though. So it might have become aggravated from the side planks. I've felt a few more twinges since being at work, but am hopeful this is a short term minor thing. But it may mean there is a small chance that I completely cancel the Haunted Hustle HM and void the guesses. That all remains to be seen how the next 10 days play out.

So as a reminder, the goal is to have a season ending score of 0:00. Here are the current standings:




So for example, let's use @Jules76126 as an example. She currently has predicted +80 seconds (too slow) based on the last three races. Let's say jules76126 actually thinks I'll run a 1:40:00 HM at Haunted Hustle. Since she's currently sitting at +80, then she would actually want to guess a 1:38:40 (1:40:00 - 80 seconds) if she believes I'll run a 1:40:00 flat. This will cancel out the amount of time off she was from the other two races and get her back to zero. Players with a (-) number in the cumulative time off column want to guess a time slower than they actually think I will run. Players with a (+) number in the cumulative time off column want to guess a time faster than they actually think I will run.

Also, being that this game was designed as a season long does not exclude one from jumping in late. You could have not played in the first three races and yet want to start playing now, and that's perfectly fine. Additionally, you could have played in the first three races and yet want to sit out on the Haunted Hustle HM prediction. That's fine too. But as a reminder, anyone who plays in not their first HM prediction (which one HM is required) earns a 15 second bonus on their final time guess at the end of the game for each race played. Everyone but the last three players listed are eligible for a bonus if they guess in this race. But remember, you must play at least one HM race to be eligible to win at the end. So the last three players listed who have participated prior need to play in the Haunted Hustle or Madison HM to be eligible to win at the end. You can always ask questions if you're confused about this (also see the rules section under the spoiler tag).

Everyone has until 48 hours prior to the race to get their prediction in. So your guess is due by Friday, October 18th at 9am.

Current Guesses

1:34:15 - @steph0808
1:36:15 - Gigi
1:36:20 - @FFigawi
1:36:21 - @SheHulk
1:37:00 - @Jules76126
1:37:06 - @tigger536
1:37:13 - @KSellers88
1:37:25 - @lhermiston
1:37:37 - @roxymama
1:38:16 - @TheHamm
1:38:18 - @PkbaughAR
1:38:30 - @DisMatt0483
1:39:00 - @bovie
1:39:40 - @disneygpa
1:39:42 - @DerTobi75
1:39:52 - @canglim52
1:40:02 - Me
1:41:41 - @mrsg00fy
1:42:25 - @MissLiss279
1:42:46 - @SarahDisney
1:43:00 - @Chaitali
1:43:39 - @TeeterTots
1:47:00 - Steph


Passing

@flav
@JAMIESMITH
@michigandergirl


Yet to submit

@Sleepless Knight
@surfde22
@cburnett11
@QueenFernando
@ZellyB

Best of Luck!