Well, the academic year is over, and the summer has now officially begun. Not a moment too soon - this was an exhausting year, mostly due to COVID. I never caught it, thankfully, but teaching during a pandemic ranged from scary (early on) to weird (teaching in a mask, to a room full of people wearing them, is surreal) to stressful (not just for me, but for students and other colleagues, all of whom were impacted in various ways and to different degrees). So, let’s just say it’s just nice to be on break.
As I’ve noted before, running really helped me deal with COVID-world by generating a “walled off” daily practice that allowed me to “check out” for a little while each day, clear my head, and make regular progress towards something while most of the other activities I was engaged in (like teaching, or doing research) were either “on hold” or not going as well. Running created an achievement bubble in which I could focus on progressing and getting better at something, and mentally this was a big deal.
I wonder if this is part of the appeal of running in general. Why run 45 miles a week? It’s a lot of work. I’m not a professional runner. So why do it? I think about this a lot - perhaps for me it’s valuable because it doesn’t matter what is going on over there (in life). I can always keep running, keep progressing. It’s a daily constant, a practice of excellence that (outside of injury) can be walled off from life’s frustrations. Some days, nothing goes right, but I can still say - yeah, but I ran six miles. That’s no small thing.
I don’t know what the ultimate answer is (there likely is not one). Still, the “why run?” question is always a live one inside my head. I no longer have nagging doubts about it - the once constant voice that said “stop this nonsense!” is long gone. The voice that remains is contemplative. Running is a peculiar practice, addictive, and it is obvious that it is deeply meaningful in a lot of people’s lives. As a philosopher by vocation, I find the whole activity fascinating, particularly since I’m a practitioner myself.
Month Five Overview
To those reading for the first time, I just finished month five of a ten-month training plan with an eventual target of time-qualifying for the NYC Marathon. For my age (54) this requires a half marathon time of 1:36. I discuss that goal in another post, but in short - 1:36 across 13.1 miles is a crazy “stretch goal” for me. My previous PB for that distance was at the Little Rock Half Marathon in March 2020 (just before COVID!), finishing at 1:47. Which is a great time, but it’s not 1:36.
What’s 11 minutes, right? As experienced runners know, 11 minutes across a HM is a big deal - it’s almost a minute off average pace. I ran Little Rock at 8:10 average pace, but making the 1:36 time means getting that time down to 7:20 average pace. At least from my view, there might as well be an abyss separating 8:10 from 7:20. Realizing that at 54 simply “running faster” in training would be my ticket to a stress fracture, I took on a different strategy - Zone 2 running (which I explain in this post). Basically, Zone 2 training can be wrapped up in one short saying: run slower, in order to run faster.
But as Zone 2 runners know, this approach to training is very counterintuitive and it requires monumental amounts of patience (those reading who are trying this method - stick with it). In month one, I saw big results but in month two post I experienced frustration at the lack of progress. In month three, I saw a glimpse of some gains, but not big ones, and in month four saw obvious and significant progress again. So, how did month five turn out? Generally speaking, I’d say “slow but steady progress”, with one exception - a very marked improvement in my half-marathon time at the very end.
One new variable that emerged in month five that anyone in a Zone 2 plan has to factor in eventually was weather. Simply, once it is over 60F, your heart will work to cool you down as you run. Since Zone 2 plans require you to stay in a heart-rate zone, this gets harder as your heart is now fueling your run and keeping you cool. So, whatever pace progress you have made in Zone 2 will inevitably sputter and perhaps even fall backward. Mentally, this can be very challenging. Patience is required, but another solution, as I mention below, is to make temperature based pace adjustments.
The Dragnet Data: Just the Facts, Ma’am
As in previous month-summary posts, I’ve posted below the raw table data and chart data that goes along with it. Since I have 20 weeks of data at this point, the table gets too long to post, so I’m just showing weeks 9 - 20 below. Previous month posts will show weeks 1 - 8, if you’re interested. Some things to note:
Each week its the same, 5 10k’s + 1 HM = 44.1 miles
From week 9 - 18, 10k #1 was different from #2 - #5. #1 is a harder route, and it’s on the street (#2 - #5 are done on an off-street paved path). So the pace in #1 is different. Starting in week 19, all five 10k’s use the same off-street path.
“None” is a non-run due to weather or injury with the exception of week 20, when run #2 - listed as “none” - was actually a Zone 4/5 5k run (no place to put the data in the table). I discuss this below, as starting in week 20, I am transitioning from 100% Zone 2 to 90% Zone 2/10% Zone 4/5.
Here’s the table:
The Long Run
First, my long run is (now) always 13.1 miles. At the start, I ran 10 miles, which is why I have (in the chart below) only 15 runs listed for 20 weeks. 5 of them were not HMs, so I don’t list them (to maintain data consistency). Given my weekly mileage, this is the top range of what a long run should be - 20% to 30%. The HM is exactly 30% of my miles.
Second, given my target HM time (1:36) I need my Zone 2 HM time to be within a minute/minute and half of the target pace (7:20). So, I need a Zone 2 HM pace between 8:20 and 8:50. Not there yet, clearly - but I am getting closer.
Third, remember that a Z2 HM is hard to run. Usually Z2 runs are meant to be less than 90 minutes long. This makes sense - at some point, you get fatigued, and cardiac drift sets in. This almost always happens to me around 10 miles - although I have no problem running further, the last few miles are a challenge to stay in zone without a collapse of pace.
As an example, look at Week 19’s half-marathon. If you zoom in, at mile 10 you can see that I “lose control” of my heart rate. Since 141 is the high end of my Zone 2, you can see at 10 miles the “lows” of my heart rate are above 141. Before that, I jump above 141, but I can pull it down again (by slowing down). After mile 10, this is no longer effective (thus I’ve “lost control” of my heart rate). The Week 19 long run was in higher temps, but this last-three miles problem has been typical. You just get bodily stressed.
How about progress as a whole? Looking at the chart below, after the first big drop to 10:19 (run #2), my Z2 HM pace plateaus around 10:30 until about run #9. After that, there’s a drop into a new range from run #10 - #13, with pace times closer to 10 even. Finally, there’s a big drop to under 10, with last run #15 clocking in at 9:39. So, across runs #2 - #15, I dropped a minute off my average HM pace. With 20 more long runs to go before my race, if I drop another minute off my pace, I’ll be where I need to be.
Okay, now let me address the temperature adjustment in the charts. Runs #8, #13, and #14 were at temps higher than 60F. So what I did was this: I adjusted the actual pace time by subtracting 5 seconds for every 2F above 60F. So, for those three runs, the RED line shows the actual pace time for 60F+ runs, and the GREEN line shows temperature adjusted pace. Where the temps are below 60F (all the other runs) the line is just green.
This leaves the most interesting data point - run #15 (last one). No temperature adjustment needed, since it was 52F for that run. This run was completed at 9:39 average pace, and if you look at the heart rate graph below, you’ll see that I “lost control” of HR only after mile 12. My average heart rate was 134 for the run, and I stayed in Zone 2 for 85% of the run. This is a breakthrough run for the plan - hopefully this means I’m in a “new plateau” in the low to mid 9s. We’ll see in month six.
The Standard 10K Runs
Remember that the data in the 10K chart below is not for one run per data point, but rather each data point is an average of all 10K’s for that week (5 scheduled each week). So, looking at the chart, it’s obvious that after the big gains in weeks 2 and 3, there are two plateaus; the first is weeks 3 - 11, where I’m stuck in the mid 10s for average pace. In weeks 12 - now, I’m in the next plateau, which is in the mid-high 9s.
It is possible that the last two weeks should actually show a greater gain, or perhaps even a drop to a new plateau - if I temperature adjust the paces. I haven’t done that here, and simply left the paces unadjusted. As things go forward, if I find as the temps continue to rise that I need to account for it, I’ll do the same as with the HM chart - just have a line for adjusted/non-adjusted.
So, where do I need to be in November? My best guess is that if a 1:36 HM time is equivalent to a 44 minute 10K, which is a 7:00 pace, then I need a 8:00 Z2 time. I’m 90 seconds away from that. Again, as with the HM, I’ve dropped about a minute from my pace since beginning. Another minute by November would leave me 30 seconds shy. This is a problem, but for the 10K times I do need to build in speed work to help my Z2 pacing, which is coming next in the discussion.
Speed Work
As those who have been reading regularly know, I dropped speed work early on (I was using an 80/20 plan at the start) due to a worry about injury. I was so far out from the target race that there seemed to be little reason to not just run 100% in Zone 2. My thinking was that as I approached the final 20 weeks, I could transition back to 80/20.
In week 20 (with 24 weeks to go) I transitioned to 90/10. What I did was substitute one 10K run for a 5K, run at maximum effort. What I will do for the next four weeks is stick with this schedule. This will allow to compare for a month maximum effort 5K data, and then in Week 24, with 20 weeks remaining, I can transition fully to 80/20.
So, how did that one 5K go? Okay. I wasn’t used to the speed, since I’ve been running Z2 all the time, and it was pretty hot (close to 74F). I ran a 24:30 time, or a pace of 7:50. To hit my time in November, I need a 5K pace closer to 6:50, so a minute off. I didn’t do any temperature adjustments here. So if it had been cooler, I’m not sure what pace I would have hit. According to the temperature adjustment formula, my adjusted pace would be 7:25, which would be very encouraging at this point in the plan.
But let’s look at this week’s 5K from a different angle. Here’s the heart rate graph for the run. What’s interesting is that my maximum HR never moved above 164. I know that my maximum heart rate is higher than that, so I’m not sure why this happened.
Let’s compare this to a 5K I ran about a year ago. I cannot remember if I ran that 5K the fastest I could (I doubt it, given the pace I ran), but my average heart rate was 167, my maximum HR hit 180 a few times, and my average pace was 8:59. So, I know my max HR is around 180, and I also know that my 5K this week was run at 1:10 pace faster, while having a slower average HR (154 this time compared with 167 a year ago).
That’s a pretty dramatic improvement. So, damn.
Don’t Forget: Cross Training Really Helps
People usually ask me what I’m doing outside of the Z2 training, as they try to fix on all the potential variables in play. Don’t forget that I am still maintaining a twice-a-week cross training schedule focused on strength training. I use weights for arms, chest, core, and legs. The last two (core and legs) are the only ones that matter for running. The rest (arms, chest) is vanity driven, lol.
How important are these exercises?
Very. My legs are so much stronger than a year ago, and my core midsection is very solid. Without a solid core, you can’t sustain a proper running form for more than six or so miles (I remember those runs). I don’t have great form to begin with, but it’s not because of my core, thankfully. I just have some bad form-related habits to work on. Once your core gives out, you just can’t run properly and you’ll get tired, and probably injured. Core is essential, legs are very important.
Taking Stock: Looking to November, Making Changes
So, looking forward, I need to start making some small adjustments as I transition away from the base-building phase of this long plan - which was 100% Zone 2 training - and into an 80/20 plan that incorporates speed work. The reason is obvious - you can’t Z2 your way straight to a 7:20 pace. What Z2 work does is prepare you aerobically to run at that pace in a sustainable way. But it can’t get you to that pace on its own.
So, to run at that pace, you have to start running faster, and slowly build runs in that get you closer and closer, at longer and longer distances. Hence the “20%” part of the plan - 80% at Z2, 20% at higher zones. But let’s just take this one step at a time. For month six, I’m going to transition to 90/10. So, as I noted above, this will mean replacing one 10K run with a 5K run that is all-effort (Z4/5). At the end of month six, I’ll have a month of 5K data to analyze.
If at the end of month six I feel like I can transition safely to 80/20, then I will change that 5K all-effort run into intervals and then replace another 10K run with a 5 mile Z3 tempo run. The eventual goal would be to run the intervals much faster than the 7:20 target HM time, to get used to the speed, and the tempo runs would have as a goal slowly building up to a 5 mile long 7:00 pace. But this is too far out to plan now - let’s see how month six goes, and then play it by ear (or by leg, as it were) from that point.
Some Observational Odds and Ends
I still love my Brooks Glycerine 19’s. As things stand, I think I’m converted to the, so that’s it for my long-time love affair with Mizuno’s (which are still great shoes, but the Brooks are better).
It’s really motiving to follow others on their running journey - whatever that journey happens to be. I find the Facebook running groups to be really helpful. I love to cycle through the different runs people do, read about the challenges they are experiencing, and the successes they have. One favorite pastime is to locate people who are running in far off places and then follow them on Strava. I love seeing and reading about people running in England, in Russia, in Tibet (yes, I have one of those), in Africa, and lots of other places. How cool! Awesome pics.
This continues to be a lot of work, and I don’t suspect that will stop at any point. And at 54, I have no idea how much longer I’ll be able to do it. But it’s a lot of fun, and very fulfilling. So, I’m going to keep smiling, plow forward, and eventually I’ll get wherever it is that I’m going.
Up next: Month Six.
If interested, hit the ‘subscribe now’ button and these posts will go to your email when published. As I note in the intro to this blog, I write on lots of things. I mostly write on running, and also about philosophy (how it applies to everyday life), but sometimes I throw one in on politics. As always, thanks for reading, and please feel free to leave a comment!