My Journey to 50 miles (2nd attempt)... (comments welcome)

Question Billy, @DopeyBadger during these CV runs like the one above, do you run a 5th RI? OR do you just incorporate the RI with the CD mile? Does that make sense?

I don't do or schedule the 5th RI in cases like these. When I program it in Garmin, I usually do a repeat of 4x, then add in a single lone run segment by itself. That, or I just press the manual lap button during the 5th RI to skip to the CD. Either works.

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So I was lazy Thursday morning and didn't get up at 3 to get my run in. Instead I slept in until my 4:07 alarm and ended up having to run in the afternoon. Not a really big deal except for the added heat and cars on the roads.

Run was supposed to be 3.5 miles @ EA, EA = 12:49

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A little too fast in the first mile, a little too slow for the rest of the run. But, I'm happy that my pace was steady. Even if it was a little slow.

Today is a day off. At least from running. Looking forward to 2 five mile runs this weekend!!
 
Weekend update! Great weekend for running. Got up fairly early and got both runs in just about sunrise time. Sure nice to see the sun coming up over the Cascades!

Saturday's run was supposed to be 5 miles @ EB + Strides, EB = 11:58

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I was a little fast on all the splits. Not horribly fast. But still a work in progress with the paces.

NOTE: Started to have a little tightness in my right shin. Feels like its muscular, tibialis anterior. Doesn't feel like shin splints. I ran a fairly steep downhill that I usually don't run. I'm really hoping it was just using the muscle differently. Going to continue to run on it for now.

Sunday was supposed to be 5 miles @ LR, LR = 11:38

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Again, paces are fast. I really try to get these right. It's a constant struggle so far. Tightness was still in the shin. But, still runnable.

Today is a day off. Enjoyed sleeping in-ish. Trying to rest the shin, but I gotta get the yard mowed. If the tightness persists I may have to take a few days off. Just going to play it by ear at this point.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!!
 


Tuesday's run, nice EASY run this morning. Uneventful, pleasant weather, quite and peaceful like most early morning runs.

Run was supposed to be 4 miles @ EA, EA = 12:49

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Splits were a little better today. I'm really making an effort to get this pacing thing under control. I've been trying to break the runs down to 1/4 mile increments and check my time. Seems to be getting better, maybe. Looking forward to my CV run tomorrow morning!!
 
BIG NEWS!! Wednesday's AM run was preempted by a special delivery!! Please welcome Finnian Oliver to my Disney crazy family!!

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He arrived very late Tuesday night 11:19pm. Soooo I didn't get up at 3am to run. No worries, I got the run in later!! This makes grandchild number 5 for us. Unless my youngest daughter changes her mind, I believe Mr Finn will be our last.... kinda sad about that. Grandkids are the BEST!!

On to Wednesday's run.

2 mile WU + 4 x 5 min @ CV w/ 90 sec RI @ WU + 1 mile CD, WU/CD = 13:40 CV = 9:40

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I'd like to state for the record that I really like the CV runs. Really need to work on my pacing. Especially during the early intervals. The first two intervals were way too fast!! The last two intervals weren't so bad. Couldn't get my lazy rear out of bed this morning to get my EA run in. I'll run it this afternoon even though it's supposed to be toasty outside! At least toasty for us.... nothing like the rest of the country is experiencing....

Should have mentioned this earlier. But the knot in my shin seems to have resolved. No further tightness. Gonna chalk this up to getting old and trying new things....
 


Congratulations!
Congratulations!
Thank you both!

Got to spend some time talking with him last night. Told him I'd do my best to try and keep him out of trouble, while at the same time showing him how to have fun!
He's such a tiny little guy, but boy can he wail when he's not happy!!

Thursdays run, 4 miles @ EA, EA = 12:49
Let me preface what I'm going to say. I realize it's WAY hotter in many parts of the country right now than my paltry 80 degrees. But today was 27 degrees warmer than the same run on Tuesday. And WOW! Could I feel it! After about 1.5 miles I could really feel the heat. HR was elevated compared to Tuesdays run.

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Overall pacing was pretty good. A little fast in the beginning then a little slower toward the end. Took a long time to cool down. Probably should have jumped in the pool with the grandkids. I'll definitely be getting up early Saturday and Sunday. This running in the heat is much more challenging!!
 
Wow! What a weekend!! Or at least a Sunday Funday!!

Saturday was kinda rainy around here so it was get up early, get my run in and then piddle around the house doing chores that I've been putting off.
Saturday's run was supposed to be 6 miles @ EB + Strides, EB = 11:58.

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So, I intentionally tried to go out a little slow on this run. I have a tendency to always run too fast in the beginning. I accomplished my goal of going out slow, but sure made up for it in the second mile. The other miles weren't too bad, at least for my pacing. There was a really light drizzle all morning. Actually felt really good for running. Strides went really well, except for the 3rd stride. For some reason Sully decided he had no interest in sprinting. Had to pull him along with me. He did fine for stride 4 and 5 so I'm not really sure what his problem was with 3.

Sunday was supposed to be 2.5 mile WU + 4 miles @ HM Tempo + 0.5 mile @ Daniels T + 1 mile CD, WU/CD = 13:40, HM Tempo = 10:15, Daniels T = 9:52

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WU/CD pacing was good... Everything in between was WAY too fast!! I've really been trying to slow myself down and work on nailing these paces. I'll get there.... I hope.

The rest of Sunday was a full on adventure for me and my oldest grandson Bodie. We went to see the Goodguys car show! Very fun! I'm really glad he enjoys looking at cars as much as I do. But, I'm pretty sure if you ask him what the highlight of the car show was, he's say it was riding the 102 yr old merry-go-round. He thought that was just neat that something that old was still running.

After the car show, we went to High Trek Adventures & Ziplines. https://www.hightrekeverett.com/parktour.html Originally, I was planning on just letting Bodie go by himself. However, after watching him struggle a little with the interlocking mechanism of the lanyards, I decided it might be best to go with him. Now, I'm not a young man and trying to chase a almost 9 year old around on a rope/cable course wasn't easy! But I'm happy to say I survived the climb around the course and then the 3 separate ziplines to get to the end! What a blast! It's all he talked about for the rest of the day!! So glad I was able to go with him.

Finished the day by spending some much needed sitting on my butt time with the youngest grandson Finnian. It was my job to try and keep him awake so he might sleep for Mom & Dad last night. It's not an easy task to keep a 5 day old baby awake. But, we had a good long talk about his sleeping habits and he said he'd try to sleep at night like a normal person!

After the 8 mile run, the walking at the car show and the adventure park I was freaking exhausted!! I was out the second my head hit the pillow!
 
Tuesday morning run. This one was a struggle. Couldn't fall asleep last night so getting up at 3am was tough. But, after last time of running in the heat of the day, getting up after 4 hours of sleep sounded more appealing than another hour of sleep.

The run itself was pretty good. Pacing was pretty good. Sully decided for some reason to make a random left turn in front of me. He took a knee to the ribs and dang near took us both down. Weird dog...


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Run was supposed to be 3.5 miles @ EA, EA = 12:49

This was probably one of my best pacing runs. Pretty happy with these results.
 
Wednesday morning run..... got up a little earlier so that I could get it all in and still catch my vanpool. Alarm went off at 2:30... that was not easy to get up to.

It's funny... everyone thinks I'm crazy for getting up so early. But, it really is the best time of the day to run. Nice and cool out, no traffic, peace and quiet!

This morning was 2 mile WU + 4 x 6 min @ CV w/ 2 min RI @ WU + 1 mile CD, WU/CD = 13:40, CV = 9:40.

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Times for the WU/CD and RI were really good! But my pacing for CV is way too fast for the last 3 intervals. I'm finding a little difficult to figure out how to keep track of my pace after the first CV interval. I'm thinking that I need to figure out what I should be running per tenths of a mile and try to maintain that.... I'm happy to see that I can maintain a pretty fast pace (for me) for the 6 min interval. Unfortunately I think the faster running isn't that great for me. @DopeyBadger Billy, do you have any suggestions on how I can keep better track of my pace? I feel good running these paces but realize that I'm not in the zone I should be for improvement in the long run.
 
I'm using the Garmin Vivoactive 3.

I've tried watching the active pace on the watch, but it varies quite a bit.

Are you more so watching the "lap pace" though? That one varies quite a bit less because it is constantly gathering data points during each lap/interval. If you're not doing that, then that's where I would start.

Another good option is custom workouts (which it looks like you're using):


I believe the vivoactive 3 supports this (I use Garmin Connect online rather than the phone based system). Then in your 6 min CV intervals you would just set a pace window alert. If the goal was 9:40, then I'd set the window at 9:30-9:50. This way anytime you exceed a lap average pace of 9:30 during the interval you'd be buzzed/beeped notifying you you've gone too fast. Like this:

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Are you more so watching the "lap pace" though? That one varies quite a bit less because it is constantly gathering data points during each lap/interval. If you're not doing that, then that's where I would start.

My data field was just set for "pace". I just changed it to "lap pace". I'll see if that helps me! Thanks!!

I'll also set the window up for the pacing. I had it set but left the high and low the same at 9:40.
 
Starting August on the right foot. Even though I was up a little too late listening to music I still got my rear in gear and got out of bed at 3am to get my run in.

Fun evening with friends listening me to a band named "Ventura Highway". Great band! Lot's of 70's classic rock! Good times! They have a Journey tribute band playing at the same location next Wednesday. Probably going to be another late night for me.

Wednesday's run was supposed to be 3.5 miles @ EA, EA = 12:49

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Overall the pacing is pretty good. Changing my data field to "lap pace" seems to be a little more stable than the previous setting. I'm hoping that making that change might help me get my paces under control.
 
No run today. So, I finally got all my workouts put into my Garmin calendar. What a great feature! I'm really diggin' the new Garmin so far!

In other news, I've finally stopped procrastinating and signed up for my next half marathon.

I think after my disappointment with the last race, I was worried about taking the plunge again. However, training is going great! I feel good other than normal aches and pains, so I decided to trust my training and sign up.

http://skagitflats.skagitrunners.org/

This is the half I'm in. VERY flat! It is a USATF certified course so I should be able to submit a time for corral placement. At my speed it ultimately might not make a difference, but at least I'll have one to submit.

Upcoming challenges. Running on vacation!

We are road tripping from our home to Reno, then on to Vegas and back home. We'll be stopping overnight in Klamath Falls OR. They have what looks to be a nice trail so I can get my Sunday run in early before we hit the road to Reno.

The plan for Reno is to get up early enough to hit the Riverwalk trail (before the heat) for T, W, Th's runs. This is obviously dependent on how late I stay up. But, I hate treadmills enough to lose some sleep and get outside!!

Vegas might be the ultimate challenge. We will be meeting friends there and who knows how late we'll be out. I'd like to do at least one of my 5 mile runs along the Strip. Which means I'll really have to get up early and get it done because of the heat! If I have to retreat to the treadmill to survive, that will be plan "B".

After that I begin my taper week with EA/EB runs. Probably only one more run on the road. But, since we haven't decided which route to take home, I'm not sure where I'll be running. I'm leaning toward going from Vegas over to Morro Bay CA, up to Monterey and then back over to I-5 for the remainder of the trip. I just love that drive up Highway 1.... The bonus would be to get to run along the beach at some point on the trip.

Looking forward to seeing how I fare in hotter temps and much higher elevations. May have to adjust some of my paces, just to stay alive.
 
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Saturday day update:

Had to work again this weekend so it was up at 3 and get it done!

Was supposed to be 3.5 miles @ EB + Strides, EB = 11:58

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Pacing for mile 1 & 2 were pretty good. Had to deal with some issues during the third mile that slowed me a little. Still love STRIDES! Feels good to just run! Even if it is in short bursts!

@DopeyBadger Billy, while in Vegas I'm supposed to do an EB 5 mile + Strides run on Saturday. I'm thinking of moving this to Friday and taking Saturday off. We are all arriving Thursday evening and I think I'll have a better chance of getting up early on Friday than I will on Saturday. Would it be ok to make this swap? Thoughts?
 
Billy, while in Vegas I'm supposed to do an EB 5 mile + Strides run on Saturday. I'm thinking of moving this to Friday and taking Saturday off. We are all arriving Thursday evening and I think I'll have a better chance of getting up early on Friday than I will on Saturday. Would it be ok to make this swap? Thoughts?

If I've got the date right as 8/31, then yes moving it from Sat to Fri should be fine. It's not a fatigue inducer anymore as you've shifted into taper mode.
 

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