More Manatee Mayhem - 2017 Edition - Closed (Page 8)

NAME: Tom, Fox, Foxy.

OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA: FB, IG: ponderingfox, Tw: albrechtmba

STORY: My brother did a tri back in 2011, and got me interested in it.  I thought it over, and figured I could swim, bike, run, so let's do it.  Did my first in 2012, and been in it since.  Last year was a running year, and this year probably will be skewed that way as well.  I prefer the short course stuff, which invariably confuses all the people who see me as active and assume I surely must run marathons.

FAMILY STATUS: Single, no pets.  So, doubly single?

CURRENT TRAINING: Picking back up after finishing PT for an achilles issue that cost me six months of racing.

THIS YEAR'S RACES/EVENTS: Will be posting to training log soon.

GOALS/OBJECTIVES/DESIRES: I really want to run a 19:xx 5k this year.  And set some good HM PRs. And do my first HIM.

WHAT MAKES YOU A GOOD MANATEE: Been a manatee for four or five years now.  Once a manatee, always a manatee.  I still feel a loyalty to the group.

Once I get my base mileage up to a comfortable level (at least 20), I'll start doing more speed work.  But I've run a 21 min 5k before on 10 mi/wk, so there's that.  But my running buddy ran in HS and college, and she's going to make sure we get the speed work in.  We have some local tracks that we're going to be using in order to prep for some of our key April races.

NAME: Tom, Fox, Foxy.

OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA: FB, IG: ponderingfox, Tw: albrechtmba

STORY: My brother did a tri back in 2011, and got me interested in it.  I thought it over, and figured I could swim, bike, run, so let's do it.  Did my first in 2012, and been in it since.  Last year was a running year, and this year probably will be skewed that way as well.  I prefer the short course stuff, which invariably confuses all the people who see me as active and assume I surely must run marathons.

FAMILY STATUS: Single, no pets.  So, doubly single?

CURRENT TRAINING: Picking back up after finishing PT for an achilles issue that cost me six months of racing.

THIS YEAR'S RACES/EVENTS: Will be posting to training log soon.

GOALS/OBJECTIVES/DESIRES: I really want to run a 19:xx 5k this year.  And set some good HM PRs. And do my first HIM.

WHAT MAKES YOU A GOOD MANATEE: Been a manatee for four or five years now.  Once a manatee, always a manatee.  I still feel a loyalty to the group.

Once I get my base mileage up to a comfortable level (at least 20), I'll start doing more speed work.  But I've run a 21 min 5k before on 10 mi/wk, so there's that.  But my running buddy ran in HS and college, and she's going to make sure we get the speed work in.  We have some local tracks that we're going to be using in order to prep for some of our key April races.

I had a ton of success using Daniels Running Formula a couple of years ago.  PR'd a 5K in Oct @ 22:41 and then again in April the next year @ 21:55, so like 45 seconds.  I think I maxed at 25 mpw but the vast majority were in the 12-18 range.  I was only doing speed work 1x/week because I was tri training.  Increasing frequency to 5x/week really helped me, too, especially resisting injury.

I have that book.  The mileage for his 5k stuff starts at 40 mpw, so I'd need to figure out how to adapt it.

I'm also training for a HIM in May, so I'll be balancing the distance with the intensity.

I've worked with his stuff a fair amount too and do like it. I don't always follow exact, but try to pull things from it. I think the race specific plans (while good) can be a bit much for people who aren't really run focused. 3 hard runs a week is very common and that's going to be too much in multiple ways. I had trouble executing it. Somewhere in there he did say that the more priority run is earlier in the week, so with fewer miles it would seem to just do the first one.

I think a better option though would be to work with the more general red & blue plans than trying to look so race specific all the time, even if you really only care about the one distance. It's a trap that many can fall into. These are better designed for running year round and have a good amount of mileage plus hard work is only twice a week instead. I think one could swap some of the blue hard work over into the red plan at times too as the red can be very t-pace heavy while the blue will have a blend with more i-pace & some r-pace. I think the race specific plans will go better after executing these color plans first. Possibly several times in a row if you're having more of a run emphasized year (or longer). The race specific seem to be more for converting a decent general base instead of building up like more people may be used to seeing.

The harder you run, the more heat you'll produce!

That would be entertaining to watch. "No, honey, I'm pretty sure your leg is not on fire", "No, dear, I don't think those are the symptoms of the plague".

One additional update.  As some of you know, I served as the Walk Chair for the Austin Light The Night (LLS) walk in 2016, sort of a combined personal (mother passed from leukemia a year prior) and professional (we got the first ever test cleared by the FDA to manage patients with leukemia in July) thing to which I couldn't say "no".

Well, I also set a goal to raise enough funds to name a research grant portfolio in honor of my mother and hit my target juuuuuust at the end of the year, thanks to many generous friends/family/colleagues.  So, there will now be an Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia grant given in memory of Diane Marie McManus from the national LLS, about which I could not be happier.

So, I wanted to take a moment and thank you all for the support over the last year and a half during her illness, passing and my subsequent work with LLS (and relative absence from training).  This being that moment, THANK YOU POD!

They asked me this morning to serve on the board of the Austin LLS, and I'm about 100% sure I'm going to (just want to make sure it's something I can commit to doing well first).  Maybe y'all will see me racing in purple this year instead of orange!   

It's OK, as I'm not as fast as orange is anymore anyway...  and it gives me an excuse besides getting time in the saddle to write T.I.T. 

Again, happy 2017.  Feels like a new year in lots of really great ways.

Matt

One additional update.  As some of you know, I served as the Walk Chair for the Austin Light The Night (LLS) walk in 2016, sort of a combined personal (mother passed from leukemia a year prior) and professional (we got the first ever test cleared by the FDA to manage patients with leukemia in July) thing to which I couldn't say "no".

Well, I also set a goal to raise enough funds to name a research grant portfolio in honor of my mother and hit my target juuuuuust at the end of the year, thanks to many generous friends/family/colleagues.  So, there will now be an Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia grant given in memory of Diane Marie McManus from the national LLS, about which I could not be happier.

So, I wanted to take a moment and thank you all for the support over the last year and a half during her illness, passing and my subsequent work with LLS (and relative absence from training).  This being that moment, THANK YOU POD!

They asked me this morning to serve on the board of the Austin LLS, and I'm about 100% sure I'm going to (just want to make sure it's something I can commit to doing well first).  Maybe y'all will see me racing in purple this year instead of orange!   

It's OK, as I'm not as fast as orange is anymore anyway...  and it gives me an excuse besides getting time in the saddle to write T.I.T. 

Again, happy 2017.  Feels like a new year in lots of really great ways.

Matt

Thank you for birthday wishes!

Criminey, one short week out and I'm waaaaay behind!  Will post bio in a bit...

Just back on my feet.  We were in LA as a family last week to watch my oldest march in the Rose Bowl Parade (WAY COOL) and take some family SoCal vaca time. 

It was awesome (except for the 36 hours I spent in bed with the flu - fever broke at 0230 on day of parade and got up at 0420 to go spectate!). Band rocks!

Missed a week of running, which is a bummer as I was actually on a plan for the first time in like 2 years and enjoying it.  Back at it today, but still a bit wobbly on me feet.

Anywho, happy new year one and all!  May 2017 be an awesome (and injury/niggle free) superfuntime all around.

Matt

One additional update.  As some of you know, I served as the Walk Chair for the Austin Light The Night (LLS) walk in 2016, sort of a combined personal (mother passed from leukemia a year prior) and professional (we got the first ever test cleared by the FDA to manage patients with leukemia in July) thing to which I couldn't say "no".

Well, I also set a goal to raise enough funds to name a research grant portfolio in honor of my mother and hit my target juuuuuust at the end of the year, thanks to many generous friends/family/colleagues.  So, there will now be an Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia grant given in memory of Diane Marie McManus from the national LLS, about which I could not be happier.

So, I wanted to take a moment and thank you all for the support over the last year and a half during her illness, passing and my subsequent work with LLS (and relative absence from training).  This being that moment, THANK YOU POD!

They asked me this morning to serve on the board of the Austin LLS, and I'm about 100% sure I'm going to (just want to make sure it's something I can commit to doing well first).  Maybe y'all will see me racing in purple this year instead of orange!   

It's OK, as I'm not as fast as orange is anymore anyway...  and it gives me an excuse besides getting time in the saddle to write T.I.T. 

Again, happy 2017.  Feels like a new year in lots of really great ways.

Matt

Colors must not have been bright enough. 

One additional update.  As some of you know, I served as the Walk Chair for the Austin Light The Night (LLS) walk in 2016, sort of a combined personal (mother passed from leukemia a year prior) and professional (we got the first ever test cleared by the FDA to manage patients with leukemia in July) thing to which I couldn't say "no".

Well, I also set a goal to raise enough funds to name a research grant portfolio in honor of my mother and hit my target juuuuuust at the end of the year, thanks to many generous friends/family/colleagues.  So, there will now be an Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia grant given in memory of Diane Marie McManus from the national LLS, about which I could not be happier.

So, I wanted to take a moment and thank you all for the support over the last year and a half during her illness, passing and my subsequent work with LLS (and relative absence from training).  This being that moment, THANK YOU POD!

They asked me this morning to serve on the board of the Austin LLS, and I'm about 100% sure I'm going to (just want to make sure it's something I can commit to doing well first).  Maybe y'all will see me racing in purple this year instead of orange!   

It's OK, as I'm not as fast as orange is anymore anyway...  and it gives me an excuse besides getting time in the saddle to write T.I.T. 

Again, happy 2017.  Feels like a new year in lots of really great ways.

Matt

No joke! She is hard core! I think she be givin' you a run for your money on this competition!