Skywalker heeds Yoda: "Do or do not. There is no try."

[MattSkywalker]

 

This Padawan passed the first challenge in a Han Solo fashion (started good, went back to scoundrel habits, and only barely passed by showing up at the end). Now, as a Level 2 Padawan, I plan to do it more like Luke Skywalker (consistent throughout) - and learn how to do instead of try, especially getting more sleep.

 

My main quest remains the same - only the race is now one month closer, so it requires greater discipline. At the same time, I tweaked goals to be more attainable (e.g. aiming for 10:45pm bedtime, but permitting 11:15pm as a pass). Subquests serve the main quest and my long-term fitness goals. I decided to make them more tangible and fun by adding stat points (full points can be gained only at 100% of completion and will be decimally reduced by lesser percentages).

 

Main quest: Run between 10 and 15 km in the Wings for Life World Run (Zadar location) on May 6

Subquest 1: Follow the weekly running+walking program: (a) >6000 steps each day; (b) 1 weekly long run (>10 km) that includes hills; (c) 1 to 2 speedworks (tempo/HIIT/fartlek) per week.

-> 3 STA + 2 DEX

Subquest 2: Strength train 3 times a week (bodyweight + dumbbells; barbell is optional).

-> 2 STR

Subquest 3: Have a: (a) vegan protein meal after each run or strength training, and (b) an IF twice a week.

-> 1 CON: facilitates muscle gain and fat loss + 1 CHA: increases attractiveness and confidence

Subquest 4: Go to bed between 10:45pm and 11:15pm, without internet. Only devotions and time with wife permitted.

-> 2 CON + 1 STA: boosts my immunity and energy levels

Subquest 5: Start each day with Scripture study, meditation and prayer, and end it with at least prayer.

-> 2 WIS: helps me make wiser decisions + 1 CHA: makes me peaceful and better with people

 

So, let us DO!

[Elastigirl]

That run looks cool. You have a great solid training plan.

[jonfirestar]

That's an interesting looking race. Do you know what kind of pace you'd need to hold in order to hit 15km? 

[MattSkywalker]

2 hours ago, jonfirestar said:

That's an interesting looking race. Do you know what kind of pace you'd need to hold in order to hit 15km? 

 

I'd need to keep it under 6:00 min/km for 1:30 before getting caught by the catcher car (which sets off with the speed of 15 km/h after the first 30 min of the race) - that way, I'd run 15k.

 

So far, I've been able to hold the below 6 min/km tempo for almost 13 km. Not that I went all out in the 15k (for now, I'm sticking to the premise that the long run show be slow/easy), but there's definitely more work in the remaining 2 months of prep. During my last long run (15k) this Sunday, I felt some pain in the shins for the first time - scared the hell out of me as I imagined being overtaken by the shin splints, so I'm trying to balance the strain and injury prevention (with strength training as one of the measures). Still pretty green, so any advice is welcome.

[Mrs Van]

Good luck with that race! Jon is the ideal person to give you running tips.

Here for some Luke Skywalker goodness

[MattSkywalker]

Thanks!

 

The conversation between Han and Luke in my head this week 0.

[jonfirestar]

13 hours ago, MattSkywalker said:

 

So far, I've been able to hold the below 6 min/km tempo for almost 13 km. Not that I went all out in the 15k (for now, I'm sticking to the premise that the long run show be slow/easy), but there's definitely more work in the remaining 2 months of prep. During my last long run (15k) this Sunday, I felt some pain in the shins for the first time - scared the hell out of me as I imagined being overtaken by the shin splints, so I'm trying to balance the strain and injury prevention (with strength training as one of the measures). Still pretty green, so any advice is welcome.

If you can hold 6min/km for 13k then you are almost certainly able to do so for 15km under race conditions. Being surrounded by people has an amazing energizing effect but that is also something that needs to be managed. 

 

When you start to push up distance make sure you spread out the added km throughout the week and not just onto the long run. That should help to reduce the injury risk a little. Just because you have a 15km race goal doesn't mean you need to be running 15km every week until then. So also remember to back off from time to time to give yourself a lot of time to recover. So if you are doing 25-30km weeks go ahead and cut it down to 15-20km for a week before ramping it back up. 

[MattSkywalker]

2 hours ago, jonfirestar said:

If you can hold 6min/km for 13k then you are almost certainly able to do so for 15km under race conditions. Being surrounded by people has an amazing energizing effect but that is also something that needs to be managed. 

 

When you start to push up distance make sure you spread out the added km throughout the week and not just onto the long run. That should help to reduce the injury risk a little. Just because you have a 15km race goal doesn't mean you need to be running 15km every week until then. So also remember to back off from time to time to give yourself a lot of time to recover. So if you are doing 25-30km weeks go ahead and cut it down to 15-20km for a week before ramping it back up. 

 

Thanks! Helpful to know one should have less intense weeks for recovery. Up to now, I thought every week should be the same (except pre-race taper).

 

Btw, what would you say about the HIIT runs, is it healthy for a beginner to have them every week? or is it better to alternate them with, e.g., tempo runs?

[Maigs]

Welcome to the Rangers!

 

On 3/13/2018 at 8:54 PM, MattSkywalker said:

subquest 3: Have a vegan protein meal after each run or strength training, and an IF twice a week.

Are you vegan?

I'm veganish and playing around with a modified IF lately where I'm eating breakfast and dinner but skipping lunch. It seems to stop my snack cravings

[jonfirestar]

On 3/15/2018 at 12:53 PM, MattSkywalker said:

Btw, what would you say about the HIIT runs, is it healthy for a beginner to have them every week? or is it better to alternate them with, e.g., tempo runs?

 

 

2 quality workouts per week, be they tempo or HIIT should be fine but it sort of depends on the overall intensity and volume of those workouts and the rest between them. Most running programs will contain one interval session and one tempo session per week. There is a lot of argument around the effectiveness of threshold type workouts so there is a lot of divided opinion on whether they should be done at all in favour of all HIIT type workouts . Personally I alternate tempo and HIIT sessions but do one per week of both. I also mix up hill repeats and sprint intervals but my training plan will be changing quite dramatically in a few weeks when I shift focus onto the summer mountain marathon  

 

[Wild Wolf]

Definitely following! Really digging the goals, Matt.
@Jonfirestar has become the Rangers residential runner and has great advice about pace/time/training. I know from personal experience that “less=more” when it comes to running you’ll want heavy intense days, moderate days and light days. I also know how important it is to roll your feet (using a tennis ball/lacrosse ball) when your running a lot. Healthy feet lead to a lot of good things

Wolf


"Maximum Effort!"

[Siuken]

On ‎3‎/‎13‎/‎2018 at 9:54 PM, MattSkywalker said:

So, let us DO!

Let us DO indeed! Great goals!

[Xena]

Two ideas for shin splints...well three sort of:

 

Running on a softer surface helps for sure. Not sure if all of your running is on the road, but trail is much softer. If you are running on road, asphalt is softer than concrete. I find that running on grass, even for short periods helps give my body a break from the pounding.

 

Warm-up exercises help. You can google "shin splint exercises" and pick your favorites. My two favorites can both be done sitting down: ankle circles (10 in each direction), and "writing the alphabet" with your toe. I've only had rare twinges of shin splints, and these took care of them

 

This third I'm assuming isn't the issue. You might need shoes with more cushion. This would especially be the case if your shoes are really worn out (sounds like you haven't been running that long, so I don't think that's the problem in your case). Might also be a problem if you were running in an extremely lightweight shoe designed for sprinting. I bet you are wearing some kind of solid training shoe. I wouldn't rush out and buy new shoes unless that really seems like the problem.

[MattSkywalker]

On 3/16/2018 at 3:14 PM, Maigahane said:

Welcome to the Rangers!

 

Are you vegan?

I'm veganish and playing around with a modified IF lately where I'm eating breakfast and dinner but skipping lunch. It seems to stop my snack cravings

Thanks for the welcome, @Maigahane! Yes, for some 8 years. Well, truth be said, I too am more like veganish - vegan when making/buying my own food (my wife and kids too), but we do eat food made with eggs and cheese when we're at family or friends' place, though I always avoid non-fermented dairy, i.e. milk, as I'm allergic to lactose - felt like being brought back from the dead when I cut that off from my diet (my metabolism was screwed + when the doc saw my liver, he said I have hepatitis - it was discovered eventually that I have Gilbert's syndrome that was wreaking havoc together with lactose allergy; after switching to vegan diet, all the symptoms went away in less than 2 months).

 

Glad to know IF works for you that way! I'm usually skipping dinner, or sometimes breakfast. And gotta admit plant-based diet by itself does marvels in combating cravings (after the initial adaptive phase, and if you eat enough at meals, of course). Not to mention how fresher and lighter I feel ever since (less heaviness in the intestines). But one has to do their research and eat the right food for the right amount of protein when doing strength workouts (my favs, or 'maginficent 7', are soya, quinoa, oats, lentils, kidney beans, seitan and tofu).

 

How long are you veganish and what made you take that road? I'm always interested to hear that.

 

On 3/16/2018 at 6:03 PM, jonfirestar said:

 

 

2 quality workouts per week, be they tempo or HIIT should be fine but it sort of depends on the overall intensity and volume of those workouts and the rest between them. Most running programs will contain one interval session and one tempo session per week. There is a lot of argument around the effectiveness of threshold type workouts so there is a lot of divided opinion on whether they should be done at all in favour of all HIIT type workouts . Personally I alternate tempo and HIIT sessions but do one per week of both. I also mix up hill repeats and sprint intervals but my training plan will be changing quite dramatically in a few weeks when I shift focus onto the summer mountain marathon  

 

Oh cool! I guess there'll soon be much more hill repeats?

 

So, if I understood correctly, a good weekly schedule would be 1 HIIT session, 1 tempo run and 1 long run (which, I guess, agrees with the intense/moderate/light formula @Wolfpool mentioned)? I actually set it like that in the beginning, but felt like HIIT tired my legs too much for the other two runs to be effective or safe from injury, so I put it on hold for a time (that is, I'm alternating it with the tempo run for the time being). But planning to reintroduce it again (I'm running consistently only for a month and a half, after all). Oh, one more question: how much faster do you run your tempos in comparison with the easy run? (My typical easy long run would be 6:30, while tempo run would be 5:20).

 

19 hours ago, Wolfpool said:

Definitely following! Really digging the goals, Matt.
@Jonfirestar has become the Rangers residential runner and has great advice about pace/time/training. I know from personal experience that “less=more” when it comes to running you’ll want heavy intense days, moderate days and light days. I also know how important it is to roll your feet (using a tennis ball/lacrosse ball) when your running a lot. Healthy feet lead to a lot of good things

Wolf


"Maximum Effort!"

Thanks for the encouragement and follow, Wolfpool! Yeah, I see @jonfirestar is a Jedi Master to turn to. And thanks for the advice on rolling my feet! Didn't know that. I only heard that foam roller is great, but haven't managed to buy one yet. A tennis ball I have - so rolling it next time!

 

18 hours ago, Siuken said:

Let us DO indeed! Great goals!

Thanks, buddy!

[Maigs]

I'm still skeptical on the IF, but it does seem to be working for me. I've been doing it for the last 2 weeks. I also gave up sweets at the beginning of the year and am finally getting past those cravings which helps. I have blood pressure issues so a normal IF of more than 12 hours would not work well with me. Skipping breakfast has resulted in feeling like dying by 10 or so.

 

I've been low meat most of my life. Growing up if we did have meat it was chicken or turkey. Most of my family now is vegetarian. I went 99% vegetarian 2.5 years ago (I very occasionally have fish) and started working towards vegan around the beginning of the year. I pretty much never have egg but am still working on eliminating dairy. Hubs is an omnivore but is lactose intolerant. I'm trying to get him to give up cheese but he's stubborn. He swears it doesn't affect him much but his digestion and breathing are much better on dairy-free days and he seems to itch when he eats dairy.

I do it mostly for environmental reasons but I also feel it's much healthier than meat and dairy heavy diets and have a soft spot for animals

[Siuken]

So on my down time at work I've been dabbling a bit in running laps and such, you've been a big inspiration for this man. I've also learned a lot from the people giving you advice. May have to steal that Idea for my challenge. 

 

[MattSkywalker]

2 hours ago, Xena said:

Two ideas for shin splints...well three sort of:

 

Running on a softer surface helps for sure. Not sure if all of your running is on the road, but trail is much softer. If you are running on road, asphalt is softer than concrete. I find that running on grass, even for short periods helps give my body a break from the pounding.

 

Warm-up exercises help. You can google "shin splint exercises" and pick your favorites. My two favorites can both be done sitting down: ankle circles (10 in each direction), and "writing the alphabet" with your toe. I've only had rare twinges of shin splints, and these took care of them

 

This third I'm assuming isn't the issue. You might need shoes with more cushion. This would especially be the case if your shoes are really worn out (sounds like you haven't been running that long, so I don't think that's the problem in your case). Might also be a problem if you were running in an extremely lightweight shoe designed for sprinting. I bet you are wearing some kind of solid training shoe. I wouldn't rush out and buy new shoes unless that really seems like the problem.

Hey, thanks so much for these valuable info! I'll def go do some running on grass as soon as this wet weather goes away (grass is more like mud at this time :/). Right now, I'm running on asphalt roads.

 

Funny thing, I've been doing ankle circles without knowing it's good for preventing shin splints. I'll add writing the alphabet one (I can literally feel it's beneficial for the shin when doing it!) and will google for more.

 

As for the shoes, I'm wearing Adidas Supernova Glide 4. Bought them in September 2013 on a discount at a marathon (went there to cheer a friend who said it's a good deal and encouraged me to start running), but they basically stood idle for 4 years. I did a few <5k runs last year, and ran a 10k race, and only this year I started running consistently. In my counting, I ran (and walked some of it) ~130 km.

 

1 hour ago, Maigahane said:

I'm still skeptical on the IF, but it does seem to be working for me. I've been doing it for the last 2 weeks. I also gave up sweets at the beginning of the year and am finally getting past those cravings which helps. I have blood pressure issues so a normal IF of more than 12 hours would not work well with me. Skipping breakfast has resulted in feeling like dying by 10 or so.

 

I've been low meat most of my life. Growing up if we did have meat it was chicken or turkey. Most of my family now is vegetarian. I went 99% vegetarian 2.5 years ago (I very occasionally have fish) and started working towards vegan around the beginning of the year. I pretty much never have egg but am still working on eliminating dairy. Hubs is an omnivore but is lactose intolerant. I'm trying to get him to give up cheese but he's stubborn. He swears it doesn't affect him much but his digestion and breathing are much better on dairy-free days and he seems to itch when he eats dairy.

I do it mostly for environmental reasons but I also feel it's much healthier than meat and dairy heavy diets and have a soft spot for animals

Good thing that you tweaked the IF for your individual situation - for it should be done to help, not to exhaust. And kudos for giving up sweets! That's my weakness - haven't given them up entirely, but I don't eat them regularly as before (used to crave for them after every lunch); now only on special occasions.

 

Yeah, people talk mostly about health or animal-rights reasons for vegan diet, but it definitely has pretty tangible environmental rationale. All of those reasons inspire me in this lifestyle + as a believer, I unexpectedly found good biblical reasons (Genesis [1:29.30] diet, desert manna diet and Israel's craving for meat that was punished [Ex 16, Num 11], Daniel's diet [Dn 1:12-16], etc., and the overall Bible narrative of going towards restoring the Edenic order - meat-eating seemed to be permitted only as a temporary postdiluvian diet [Gen 9]). I haven't paid attention to itching, but I did notice breathing problems (whenever I eat pizza with cheese, I get more mucus and cough before sleep), besides digestion problems and constipation, of course. If your husband is allergic to lactose, avoiding milk should be a must (it was my doctor actually who banned it from my diet, and I'll be thankful my whole life to her for that). Here's to your success in convincing him!

 

58 minutes ago, Siuken said:

So on my down time at work I've been dabbling a bit in running laps and such, you've been a big inspiration for this man. I've also learned a lot from the people giving you advice. May have to steal that Idea for my challenge. 

 

Wow, can't tell you how sweet it feels that I was able to be an inspiration for you. Thanks, man!

 

It sure feels like being Gimli at first, but you'll be surprised how quickly one can get conditioned for running. Only 2 months ago, I would see everything yellow and feel dizzy, esp. the first km - wondered how one can run for so long with such struggle to just breathe. Now I can run for 15 km without catching my breath! Aerobic capacity, which seemed as an insurmountable problem, is now not an issue (I'm now worrying more about injury prevention). So, knowing that, keep on - you'll soon be feeling more like Legolas.

[MattSkywalker]

For the last day of Week 0, had a nice 2-hour 13k brisk walking tour of the neighbouring villages, hills and forests - or, to the Bywater and back again.

 

I plan to run this route for one of the long runs during this challenge - it's beautiful, but gotta say those hills look daunting!

 

[Xena]

18 hours ago, MattSkywalker said:

Funny thing, I've been doing ankle circles without knowing it's good for preventing shin splints. I'll add writing the alphabet one (I can literally feel it's beneficial for the shin when doing it!) and will google for more.

 

Glad you like the alphabet! And I think a good sign that you can feel it in the shin muscles. Shows that it's warming up the right muscles.

Some of the other ones are tapping your toes from side to side and pulling a towel with your toes...but I don't think you have to do everything. A couple will make a difference, I think.

 

18 hours ago, MattSkywalker said:

As for the shoes, I'm wearing Adidas Supernova Glide 4. Bought them in September 2013 on a discount at a marathon (went there to cheer a friend who said it's a good deal and encouraged me to start running), but they basically stood idle for 4 years. I did a few <5k runs last year, and ran a 10k race, and only this year I started running consistently. In my counting, I ran (and walked some of it) ~130 km

 

I looked up the shoes and they are good for training. They are a neutral shoe, so they won't help that much if your feet tend to pronate (roll in). Has anyone ever told you that you do?

 

The people who are in the business of selling shoes will tell you that they wear out over time...but I'm currently working on a pair from 2014, so I'm not judging there. I think they are fine.

------

 

Regarding the HIIT stuff, how much are you trying to do and how fast? It's possible that you're going to hard with it to start. You're training for a mid/long distance race, so you don't really need to be doing all-out sprints. Intervals between 2 and 5 minutes would be good. For that kind of workout, I try to hit a total of about 5 k at the fast pace...400-800 m repeats would be typical (or something taking a similar amount of time as a hill repeat).

[MattSkywalker]

1 hour ago, Xena said:

I looked up the shoes and they are good for training. They are a neutral shoe, so they won't help that much if your feet tend to pronate (roll in). Has anyone ever told you that you do?

Glad to hear they're good for training - even on discount, they weren't cheap. Hmm, I actually haven't paid much attention to it. To me, it seems my feet aren't rolling in (though it's tricky to tell, as the roads around my village tend to have side to side inclines due to hills). Will definitely ask an experienced runner to check me out.

 

1 hour ago, Xena said:

Regarding the HIIT stuff, how much are you trying to do and how fast? It's possible that you're going to hard with it to start. You're training for a mid/long distance race, so you don't really need to be doing all-out sprints. Intervals between 2 and 5 minutes would be good. For that kind of workout, I try to hit a total of about 5 k at the fast pace...400-800 m repeats would be typical (or something taking a similar amount of time as a hill repeat).

Yeah, looking back, I see that in my n00bness (and inspired by silly articles that tell you to die in the intervals) I went for unnecessarily crazy-fast sprints.

 

I'm not sure what pace to choose for the intervals. My easy pace is around 6:30/km, and tempo around 5:20. So I guess intervals should be like below 5 min/km? How fast is your HI interval pace in comparison with the easy pace?

[Siuken]

That's a gorgeous walk!

[NightWatcher13]

That's a gorgeous walk!

^^^ this. That's some gorgeous countryside for going for a run

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

[Xena]

I basically use this. You enter in a real race pace that you could run (not what you hope you can run after training) and it provides target training paces

 

https://runsmartproject.com/calculator/

 

I find that the pace will feel too slow on the intervals at first. Depending on what kind of workout you usually do, I would say to give it a try first. Don't judge by how you feel on the first rep, but more by how you feel toward the end of the workout.

 

This isn't exactly the recommended way, but you could also look at the table at the bottom and build up from your easy pace

 

http://teamscrappy.blogspot.dk/p/jack-daniels-vdot-and-run-pacecharts.html

 

[Mrs Van]

3 hours ago, Siuken said:

That's a gorgeous walk!

Have to agree, beautiful surroundings.

[MattSkywalker]

4 hours ago, Xena said:

I basically use this. You enter in a real race pace that you could run (not what you hope you can run after training) and it provides target training paces

 

https://runsmartproject.com/calculator/

 

I find that the pace will feel too slow on the intervals at first. Depending on what kind of workout you usually do, I would say to give it a try first. Don't judge by how you feel on the first rep, but more by how you feel toward the end of the workout.

 

This isn't exactly the recommended way, but you could also look at the table at the bottom and build up from your easy pace

 

http://teamscrappy.blogspot.dk/p/jack-daniels-vdot-and-run-pacecharts.html

 

Thanks, this is a massive help! I've definitely been overdoing it. According to the calculator (I entered a 15k event with a 1:29 time), my easy pace should be between 6:57 & 7:21, threshold pace 5:49, interval 5:23, reps 5:08 (all per km). It was corroborated in the charts when I chose my best 10k result (59:39).