Good job on the 3Rd placing! But oh man that must have stung a little 
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lul.
Nah not really. Just eventually doing half marathons and full marathons maybe. I’m not in an area where that other stuff is normal, no trails or anything fun like that. Tons of ironman/tri people around here. One guy I run with on occasion, who is beast af, does like a half or full ironman every month. He’s nuts. He keeps improving too.
My main focus with this running stuff for now, is to figure out how to just run very fast for one mile, relaxed, and then keep trying to figure out how to extend it. It’s like this weird little obsession I have. So i’m not really into times and such, though I do lis them. I’m more into trying to figure out how to run a relaxed sub 5 mile, then stack on another, and then another. Could be impossible but that’s what my brain is hung up on, hah.
So for me, just pretty much trying to sharpen running itself as much as possible.
Pretty cool about the half ironman, crush it. How are you with swimming? The swimming event kind of DQ’s me from it. I know how to swim but I hate swimming, especially in the ocean etc. Trying to swim fast is very foreign to me. I used to bike alot, enjoyed that.
pc!
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Thanks! … and ya, when it happened I thought, this is pathetic, let me keep up with this guy and at least beat him. Then I thought about dying, and said F it. I didn’t know who it was until I finished, then I realized it’s a pretty fast guy who beat me (no stroller lmao - straight up) a few races ago, 17:XX guy, 18:XX with a stroller… lmao. Knowing who it was, took the sting out a bit. hah. He’s a really cool dude too, very nice, wants to run a marathon in every state in the US.
I saw someone I knew afterwards, was talking to him, and someone who also ran in the race came up to us and was questioning the stroller guy. He was convinced that the guy had a motor in it. It was pretty funny & pathetic simultaneously. I kept trying to tell him the dude is legit fast, and he just couldn’t accept it. I think for him it stung for real.
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Also btw, been meaning to post just a few “big runners” i’ve come across recently (for fun). I’m probably (or most definitely) one of the lightest men on this forum, so some of the extremely thin & light runners I post are more identifiable to me, but probably much less so to others.
Here’s just a few big elite runners (middle to long distance) I know of.
Mac Fleet (even his name is big): 6’3 180-190 lb
https://www.instagram.com/p/BbnuKUGDcuv/?taken-by=macfleet
https://www.instagram.com/p/BbfUuFvDHTm/?taken-by=macfleet
Isaiah Harris: 6’2 185 lb
- Looks pretty huge for a 800m guy
Andy Vernon: 5’11 160 lb?
- Very strong bone structure to me, looks like he could pack on a TON of muscle.
- Dropping 13:XX 5k’s with a massive frame, especially when you see him right next to an elite Kenyan for example
In the context of elite running, those 3 people look enormous to me.
As far as sprinting goes, we already know some of those guys are absolutely enormous, even on the less specialized end of the spectrum with NFL guys for example who can fly over 40 yd. Just don’t see bigger frames as much on the elite level middle to long distance runners, that’s for sure. But there definitely are some.
peace!
That’s an interesting approach but sounds pretty bad ass if you can make it happen! It does look like you’re in a location with a pretty nice temperature year round (unless it gets dog hot in the summer lol).
I should be fine with the swimming, I’m not particularly fast but I’m pretty decent at keeping a pace for a while. Since it’s an out and back race a lot of it is that weird dolphin diving stuff. The ocean here is frigid year round, so I agree with that part.
I’ll tag ya in my log when I start training specifically for the race.
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I’m in. You’ve got a unique approach and perspective and i like that. Keep doing you brother
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Thanks again for the knowledge. I’m soaking every bit of this up. My best time in the 400 is 62.5s, so I’m not there yet. Need to find 3s for the goal there. Hoping youre right, additional strength gains put on in the right manner will actually help the 400. Worried about slipping on the 2 Mile, but agree with you that if my mind and training are right, I will be ok.
Running training is not much different than lifting training. Imagine That! There’s a time for structure (peak, comp) and a time for flexibility (off season, general). You really have a great grasp of your goals and processes. Looking forward to these 1 Mile races. Do you know which one you are targeting the most for the PR?
I don’t think those goals are crazy by any means. What’s the completion date? 
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The running weather around here isn’t too good, hot + humid actually sucks. lmao. Summers are crazy brutal. You’ll see most fast people don’t even race in the summer… That’s another reason why they need more mile races, less of an issue with weather. People who competed in that big 10k here, were complaining about ~72F & 85+% humidity - to a Florida runner, that’s great weather, hah. Hoping it gets cold for my last two races.
Checking out your journal already. Cool man sounds good.
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Late response sorry. Thanks alot man!
Oh yeah, FL weather would be my nightmare running scenario lol. Even the mild summers up here in ME can get gross. Give me a dry 50* for running every time!
Right on man.
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Yo man. Sorry for the late reply. Completion date = pre 2018. So still have some time left.
Was hoping to achieve my 1km PR’s on either the 12/2 or 12/6 races, the mile PR on 12/13, and the 2 mile PR in the 5k on 12/17. So far, fail city, but close.
Was feeling amazing for my 12/2 race, but really screwed up my strategy and just shifted into safe mode. That effort really bothered me because, I just stopped trying to hit my hard 1km and instead decided to play it safe at around ~700m & finish the mile without too much pain, hit 5:16.
Then in training 2 days later, hit 5:11 by myself with a 3:04 km afterwards.
On the 12/6 race, plan was again to kill that 1km. But I got pushed back into the second row and got boxed in at the start for a bit, lost the lead group & instead of pushing it too hard to catch them, decided to play it conservative and consistent. Hit 5:03 (big PR) and 1km in 3:01 (another big PR). Notice how close those are to my goal… My brain trolls me. It likes to see me fail. 
I have a mile race on 12/13, and then a 5k on 12/17. So two more official race attempts, but plan on pushing it hard in training as well, so plenty of opportunities ahead. No more holding back in training.
I’ll do a bit more writeup on it in a second.
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Should have been posting more. Staying with my Aunt last weekend with like no inet didn’t help, derailed my internet life a bit. hah.
Long story short: my mental game is a wreck and I need to fix it. I’m supposed to be peaking now, and I feel like I am, but i’m not peaking mentally AT ALL. One thing i’ve noticed is that, even though intervals and such improve my fitness, they are teaching me how to quit. I adapt pretty well to how I train, and if that training includes “quitting”, i’ll adapt there as well.
So, if i’m doing 4 x 400m @ goal mile pace with 100m jog rest, then when a mile race comes around, I feel like stopping at ~400m - even when there’s no 400m marker. My body & mind just say, hey it’s time to relax right? I can really feel it mentally, more so than physically. That happened during the race on 12/2. Went out just like I said I was going to, and literally 400m in, I start wanting to slow down. Here I was actually leading, feeling really great, definitely ready to PR my 1k, but all of these thoughts of slowing down were flooding, and not just due to the pace. I’ve mostly been running intervals, segments of my goal distance, as if i’m scared to just get after it for the full distance. This “fear” is really bothering me. That’s why i’ve decided to make a major change in my training. FWIW, most people respond very well to intervals, and I feel like I do as well - physically. But mentally, I just feel like it’s engraining in me an idea of “this effort will be over soon”, when in reality, there’s much further to go.
My strategies for races are also not that “normal”. People don’t traditionally risk burning out at 1km, when the race is 1 mile. So, these protective mechanisms kick in hard, and tell you to dial it back. But that’s exactly what i’m trying to overcome. I don’t want my brain, or body, telling me to dial it back. If I want to go hard for 1km when the distance is 1 mile, I want my body & mind to give me everything, no holding back.
Anyway, recent results:
12/02: mile race: 5:16 official (5:13 watch), 3:06 1km estimated inside that effort
12/04: new training strategy: alone mile PR: 5:11 (-10s), then an alone 1km PR: 3:04 (-3s)
12/06: mile race: 5:03 official (PR) (-9s) (5:03 watch), 3:01 1km (PR) (-2s) estimated inside that effort
5:03 is really close to sub5 … and the sad thing is, I really had it.
I’ve started to track my fatigue, in runs, by hitting the lap key - which has already been extremely useful. So, when I experience a significant fatigue change, I hit the lap key, allowing me to see each point in the run where I felt a “surge” of fatigue, and how I ran for that segment. Here’s the breakdown of my last mile race:
So that technique turns out to be very valuable IMHO … I can see that, at 0.32 miles (4:43 pace), that’s my first sign of fatigue. Then you can see my pace slip into the low 5’s for subsequent segments. The worst part of it though, is the last 0.13 miles, where I hit 5:32 pace. That’s where I just lost all of that hard work in the previous segments. The lame excuse, I just didn’t know when the finish line was coming, it’s around a bend and I just was like man wtf where is this thing. Now back to that lame excuse: when I start wondering where the finish line is, that should be a sign for me to just sprint my brains out, because every single time that’s happened to me, the finish line is not so far away. I easily lost ~5s in that last 0.13 mi 
Anyway, GPS data & footpod data is really beneficial. I know what I need to work on.
Also here are some photos but, it seems like all of the ones I previously posted have disappeared ?? These are all from the 12/2 race:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BcQCUckhPs2/?taken-by=andrewdarqui
https://www.instagram.com/p/BcQESqKB3cI/?taken-by=andrewdarqui
https://www.instagram.com/p/BcQHlIJhySa/?taken-by=andrewdarqui
Also, to give you an idea of how these holiday mile races are, they are totally worth attending if you have one in your area. They are crazy amp’d up. Thousands of people watch, hundreds (650 or so for the one on 12/6) in the actual race, cops motorcycles roaring all over the place. It’s a really intense atmosphere. During most of the race, you have people cheering you on like crazy. It’s pretty sick.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BcYv-VvHc7g/?taken-by=andrewdarqui
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Ok so one more post about how my training is changing. I’m shifting even more towards my old dunk mindset, of try and PR every session. Though, it’s not PR full run up every session, it could be PR your 1 step, 2 step, 3 step, full, or coming in from a different angle etc. But the central idea here is: PUSH IT. HARD. AS FUCK. I didn’t do dunk sessions where I just imagined what it would be like to jump as aggressively as possible, for as many jumps as possible, I did it.
So, what i’m doing (and already started doing with my alone-PR’s I listed above), is picking a PACE (or PACES) and PR’n how far I can go with it. This is a radically different approach to traditional training & traditional interval training. I experimented with this last year and loved it, time to get back to it.
Some examples.
Previously, my focus would be to pick some intervals which coverer the overall distance i’m trying to train. So say for a mile, I want to run 4:55, i’d pick 4:50 to 4:55 for 4x400 w/ 100jog rest or 2x800 w/ 100 jog rest etc. But for each of those protocols, that’s 4 quits for the 4x400, and 2 quits for the 2x800.
My new strategy, will be to simply try and hold 4:55 pace for as long as possible. If today I can hold it for 1200m, cool. If I can hold it for 1 mile, even cooler. If for some reason I can hold it for 1.5 miles, even better.
Then I have variations of that. Two variations would be, workups & dropsets. For workups, say I pick 5:20 pace, then shift into 5:10 pace, then shift into 5:00 pace and hold that as long as possible. For “dropsets”, say I pick 4:30 pace hold that until i’m nearly dead, drop into 4:45 pace & hold that, and finally drop into 5:00 pace and hold that until i’m nearly dead.
So even for what used to be a 100m sprint, now becomes more of a “how long can I hold 3:55 pace?”.
On easier days, I can pick say, 5:30 pace and hold onto that for as long as possible. Much less intense, but we’re still going to find out how long I can hold it.
The central idea here is the idea of quitting/stopping. I want my brain to flood the stop signals when it’s no longer capable of pushing. I want to try and remove, or reduce the noise, of my brain telling me to “stop/slow down” when I have much more in the tank.
These techniques are a radical change for sure. They will also increase the quality of my speed sessions drastically, and also reduce the volume. No longer am I doing things like 12 x 400m or anything like that. 12 x 400m becomes “how long can I hold <insert 12 x 400m goal pace>”? I’m sure plenty of running coaches would advise against such a strategy, probably talk about burnout and such etc… But really, how am I going to burn out running 5:30-5:45 pace if I feel like seeing how long I can hold that? How am I going to burn out if my goal is one hard effort at 4:45 pace, seeing how far I can go?
Then you add races into the mix, and I think i’ll be much better prepared mentally AND physically.
I experimented with this stuff last year, it seemed to work well. I called it “hang on”, ie “how long can you hang on to X pace”, or “hold on for dear life” training. Whatever it is, it reminds me more of how I trained for jumping/dunking. If I had a PR effort in me, I didn’t wait until next week, I got it done and then ran back to my computer to post weird footage on youtube.
Tonight i’m going to dropset 4:45 pace hopefully, that’s what’s on my mind anyway. So, 4:45, 5:00, 5:10.
One thing about failing myself, ie playing it safe when I wanted to crush it etc, is it just makes me way more aggressive. I absolutely hate when I plan on doing X, but I abort it out of “fear”.
I used to say “go get it” all the time when I was dunking… much more aggressive attitude. Murder rims, etc etc. Need to bring that mindset to the roads & track. I’m capable of some serious shit, just need to take an axe to these inhibitory mechanisms, but also stay healthy & not do anything stupid obviously.
Hope that makes sense.
Murder roads doesn’t sound as cool as murder rims. Just need to man the fuck up.
peace!!
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Hah ya.
It’s also why the elites rarely come down here to compete. Which is incredible when you think about it. I wish more races around here would put some serious money up & attract elites at various distances, would love to see what they could do in the heat/humidity. Bet some elite locals could give them a challenge for a bit. I mean guys running ~14:5X 5k’s in 80+F @ 90+% humidity aren’t even close to 13:XX’rs in reality, but would love to see those 13:XX’rs compete here while not being as climate adapted, would be fun. They did that recently in the 10k, and a guy who routinely drops 28:XX’s ran 29:21… Other people were up to a minute slower too. Just interesting to think about climate & performance.
That’s why the guy who just ran 4:17 for the mile, in the Antarctic, is an absolute monster.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BcGLg-mg9aU/
Sub 4 miler, 4:17 in -20F, on snow. Absolutely mind blowing.
It’s going to hit ~45F or so this weekend. Coldest it’s been in a very long time. Right now it’s like 75-80. Hoping it extends into 12/13. Would love for it to be ~60F or so.
peace!!
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Saw this today, dno why but it cracked me up.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bcc_GuSgwsu/?taken-by=ironmind
“Savickas (who’s about 6’ 3”/191 cm tall and weighs about 400 lb./182 kg), has the strong legs, back and shoulders that are key attributes of a genuinely-strong person.”
Surprising…
lmao.
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Good session tonight. Two efforts which can be considered PR’s:
- alone 1km PR: 3:01 (4:53 pace) (ties overall PR which happened in the 12/6 mile race)
- consistency 1km PR: very consistent throughout. Previous 1km PR’s have me dipping into 5:0X/5:1X alot more from 0.4-0.5mi+, this was pretty much all 4:5X for the entire effort, which happened to be 0.77 mi (1230m) in total … that entire effort was 4:53 pace.
Really thought I had that sub3 1km tonight… LOL’d when I saw it was 3:01. My CNS trolls me.
So far, the more aggressive training sessions have been good. Two PR’s in my last 2 out of 3 of these sessions. The reality is, there’s always something to PR, even if you’re going slower.
My speed sessions are funny, this small amount of work was nearly 10 miles total:
evening speed - trying to be more aggressive: 0.77 mi (1230m) @ 3:48.4 (4:53 min/mi, 200 SPM, 1km @ 3:01 ties PR - but my most consistent 1km ever), 400m @ 1:06.0 (4:21 min/mi), 320m @ 53.6 (4:29 min/mi), legs dead 0.82 mi (1320m) @ 4:33.6 (5:33 min/mi)
great session!
In addition to the work, I have a very long warmup, lots of slow recovery jogging mixed in, strides to get the legs firing, and a long cool down. That’s how it adds up. I like it though, feels like i’m getting in some good overall work.
Finally, I jumped several positions on the overall leaderboard for the 400m I did, to number 2 overall. The social running site I use has CR’s (course records) that people can add. Going to start trying to knock more of those off, deliberately. Just to give me an extra thing to focus on and help me compete with.
Really need to get my 400m speed under 60s. That’s a key to being really fast over lots of distances. Just need that power, especially for my mile race finishes. Also right now, with my 66s today, @IronOne smokes me by 4 seconds My “estimated” 400m PR based on watch splits is 61s, but my real 400m PR is 63s IIRC. This 400m tonight was 66s. Crazy how fast 66s feels, can’t imagine <= 50s, but I can imagine ~57s at some point.
Here’s the 66s 400m for future reference:
Also as far as alone PR’s go, it’s kind of like if you go jump/dunk by yourself vs going to a gym/court with tons of people and trying to do the same. The latter will give you a big boost, competition/crowd effect. The former can be much tougher. So I consider efforts I do alone, PR worthy even if they are slower than my max PR’s. PR’n alone also gives me more confidence going into a race.
peace!!
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I can’t imagine the pain. This dude’s got a mind of steel.
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Love how technical you are with your training and tracking. This stuff is important when you’re trying to get to the ‘next level’.
Also, totally agree on the effect of running by yourself vs others/competition. My best 400 prior to the 62s was 67s lol. It’s a game changer.
Running is so mental.
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Yeah man. You can see at the end of this video, he looks pretty wrecked. That noise he makes is not the normal noise one makes after running hard, lmfao.
Paul Robinson
I still haven’t found a video of the full effort. Really hope someone posts a raw clip of the full mile. Some of those clips look surreal.
Here’s a few raw clips, but still not the full vid:
ridiculous.
Also here’s Paul Robinson in the 2014 5th Avenue Mile, does great. Also damn @ the top 5, 3:51.0, 3:51.0, 3:51.1, 3:51.2, 3:51.3 … nutty - flying. That’s my favorite mile race to watch. They also have bonus money for the first guy through the half mile, that’s why you see that mid-way sprint which usually kills the guys trying to get it, but in this race, one of the guys who tried still held on for top 5… that’s impressive.
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Thanks alot man! Yeah it definitely is. Since i’m posting a video of Kipchoge below, he’s also a great example of journaling (so he claims, I wish he’d post it). He claims to have a detailed training journal dating back 14+ years. He’s also seemingly a master of the mental game. He’s the most consistent runner i’ve ever seen - in results and in the race itself, he always looks the same. It’s incredible.
Ah sick! You get those 400’s into the low 60’s by yourself when you’re doing an important speed session, pretty much a sure thing sub 60 with race/competition stimulation. Another good thing about those race/competition runs is that prove that we are capable of more. A good confidence booster for training.
I’d definitely love to be able to hit sub60 400’s in training, would indicate a pretty solid level of horsepower. Pretty sure my mile to 5k will be very solid when I get to those numbers. Need to focus on it more like i’m doing recently. I’ve definitely been neglecting it in favor of more general endurance.
As for the mental side of running, Kipchoge is someone i’ve noticed who ALWAYS talks about it. When people ask him for tips, advice, etc, he most always talks about some mental aspect, instead of the usual training specific advice etc.
He mentioned a phrase recently, which I rarely hear:
Psychological fitness
He mentions one can be in 13:XX 5k shape physically, but run a 16:XX 5k because their psychological fitness is not up to par. This is something i’ve kind of discovered on my own (but using different numbers than that hah). So it’s interesting to hear someone at his level (the guy who nearly broke 2 hours in an unsanctioned marathon), talking about it. Here’s the clip:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BcPRqY8DnIw/
I can relate to that instantly. I personally feel my physical fitness is superior to my psychological fitness. Historically for myself, it’s been the complete opposite. So my recent training changes are an attempt to improve my psychological fitness foremost, but will also have the side effect of improving my physical fitness, win win.
Kipchoge drops gems every time I see him speak or write something. He’s kind of becoming “the oracle” of running.
The stuff he talks about can be applied to any discipline though… I just love the idea of Physical + Psychological fitness etc. It’s spot on.
peace!
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