BamaDC's Group - CLOSED (Page 6)

surprisetriguy - 2009-12-21 11:20 AM

Did some run/walk last night and the ankle is doing a bunch better.  I do need to make sure that I get the brace on for runs.  If I can keep the ankle from twisting, my life is much less painful.

sand101 - 2009-12-21 12:32 PM

There was a thread on here a bit back where the question was asked - "What is the most important concept in training to get faster on race day?"  Most people said things like "consistency" and "discipline".  I said it was injury prevention.  I still think I'm right.

Don't cause a chronic injury.  It is not worth it.  At the worst you can jog in the pool - zero impact.

sand101 - 2009-12-21 1:32 PM
There was a thread on here a bit back where the question was asked - "What is the most important concept in training to get faster on race day?"  Most people said things like "consistency" and "discipline".  I said it was injury prevention.  I still think I'm right.

cornfed - 2009-12-21 8:12 PM

I didn't see that thread but I have to agree.  Injury prevention should trump everything.  If your "discipline" causes you to turn what should have been a minor pain into a chronic injury you're going to have serious problems maintaining consistency.  I skipped my run this morning because I just wasn't feeling up to it.  Not in the "wo is me, I'm tired" but I did was pretty beat up from my run and everything else this weekend.  Could I have dragged my butt out of bed and gone running?  Certainly, and I'm sure there are plenty of people that would say I should be more disciplined to maintain consistency.  However, my body was telling me that I needed a rest day and given the fact that I not only feel rested but am eager to go running tomorrow I'm pretty confident that listening to it was the right thing to do.

titeloops - 2009-12-22 9:59 AM Oh No! Woke up around midnight in agony, sick as a dog. Spent several hours on the can with a trash can between my legs. Not sure if it's something I ate, or if I've got some kind of virus. Still feeling pretty rough. Can't keep anything down. On the bright side, I lost 4 lbs overnight!

wiky - 2009-12-22 8:06 AM

ETA: Wrong thread -- sorry!

cornfed - 2009-12-22 7:44 PM Who here is using a HRM while training?  I have one but I don't really pay attention to it.  That's mostly because I don't have a good handle on what my HR zones should be.  I spend a lot of time around 165 onwhat I would consider (based on perceived exertion) to be zone 3/aerobic.  But based on my HR zones that 80-90% or zone 4.  For what it's worth I used the Karvonen method with resting HR of 61 (measured when I first got my HRM back in August) and max heart rate based on the 208-.7*age(30) formula.

I'd like to figure out what my HR zones should be (without doing some threshold testing).  I'm also open to the possibility that the zones are correct and that I'm just running too hard all the time. 

Thoughts? Comments?

BamaDC - 2009-12-22 9:55 PM

What's wrong with Threshold Testing?  It's the cheapest way and pretty accurate.   Here is a link from this website on how to test.  It also talks about the 220 -age thing.

No Pain no Gain!

cornfed - 2009-12-23 8:01 AM

I know the 220-age rule doesn't work.  Runners world had a different formula, 208-0.7*age, which is supposedly more accurate but I'm not so sure.  I didn't say there's anything wrong with threshold test, just halfheartedly avoiding it for several reasons. 

One, I don't think it would have made much sense to have done it when I started running.  I read the article you cited and figured that thirty minute time trial would probably have killed me at that point, which seemed counter productive. 

Two, if you look at my log my average HR is only a few beats above what I figure should be zone 3.  I've gotten into a pretty steady routine and don't want to risk injuring myself or throwing off my weekly training if it's only a minor tweak.

Third, I just can't convince myself that it matters.  There are a lot of people on this board that talk about this or that training zone, they post the results of there testing with their coach, etc. (I'm not talking about you or the other people in this group, fyi).  But when I look at their logs and race reports I wonder how much of a difference it really makes.  I realize this probably sounds arrogant but I'm an engineer so I need supporting data. 

I noticed that you knocked almost three hours off your IM time from 2008 to 2009.  That's pretty impressive to a guy who ran his first half marathon (prior to BT so it's not in my race log) in 2:30.  Did you use a HRM while training for both?  Do you think that was due to experience or better fitness because you trained more effectively with you HRM?  Bascially I'm looking to be convinced that doing the threshold testing will pay off over the long haul and is worth what I see to be a risk to my current training (which seems to be working). 



That's what I was afraid of...

BamaDC - 2009-12-23 9:29 AM

First off I didn't mean for my words to come across harsh.

 I agree with you about testing when you start running.  When I started running/jogging back in 05, I did it because it was fun.

When I was training for my first IM I used this approach(fun).  After I finished IMKY in 08, I wondered how much I could improve.  I used a coach from Nov08-May09, then it got well not fun.  Training used to be a joy, then it was like a job. So I went back to doing my own thing.

So in my case testing is helpful, but I'm trying to squeeze everything I can out of myself.  I also need to see supporting numbers/data.  That's why I use GPS for the Run and a Powermeter on the bike.  I can pull up files from last year and compare my fitness.  HR/pace or HR/power.  Example, this time last year my bike functional threshold power was 250 watts.  This year it 272 watts.

What type of engineer are you?

surprisetriguy - 2009-12-23 11:05 AM Drew, did you mean 208 - (0.7*age)?

Can you all help me.  I have been having trouble getting home every morning (I drive a truck for FedEx).  At about 230 am, everymorning, I wind up stopping for free coffee at a certain truck stop (but then I also buy a donut and some doritos or something--bad news).  I need some snack ideas that will keep me awake (carrots and cucumbers have become torture).