bmallred http://localhost:8000/ en Thu, 24 Feb 2022 08:58:00 +0000 Mon, 09 May 2022 12:49:14 +0000 weblorg 0.1.0 (https://emacs.love/weblorg) bryan@revolvingcow.com (bmallred) http://localhost:8000/static/favicon.png bmallred http://localhost:8000/ Shaving six minutes off my 5k http://localhost:8000/posts/shaving-six-minutes-off-my-5k.html bmallred http://localhost:8000/posts/shaving-six-minutes-off-my-5k.html Thu, 24 Feb 2022 08:58:00 +0000 Last weekend my wife and I ran a 5k over in Fort Myers, Florida. Going in to the race the goals were:

  1. break the 30 minute mark
  2. don't "run to upchuck"
  3. practice pacing and "intelligently" adjusting it

I'll go ahead and break down each of these goals.

Goals

Break the 30 minute mark

So back in November of 2021 I had hoped to have already accomplished this. But I was a dumb ass and pushed myself too hard the two weeks before the race and ended up injuring myself. Before the injury I could run a 28 minute 5k on the treadmill if I pushed it. This time around I wanted to finally break the 30 minute window and was completely expecting a 29 (or if lucky) or 28 minute race.

Don't "run to upchuck"

It was a holiday weekend away from the kids and I still wanted to enjoy it with my wife. With this in mind I wanted to avoid the need to vomit as much as possible.

Practice pacing and "intelligently" adjusting it

Had a loose idea to start at a slower comfortable pace and build to a steady pace after about half of a mile. If I felt like my pace was too quick or unsustainable for the remaining distance then I would back off a bit to conserve energy.

Results and reflection

Overall I hit all my goals pretty well. I did break the 30 minute window (26:27) and I did it rather comfortably. During the race I adjusted my pace when I found myself running too fast by the mile marker, then sped it back up around 2.75 miles. I probably should have increased my pace gradually from the 2 mile marker, or 2.5 mile marker, but I am happy with the result either way.

For me, I practiced some tapering the week of the race reducing my overall weekly mileage just shy of 50%. I also worked to accustomize my self with different paces so my body would know what they felt like. For example, on a normal "no run" day I did a 1 mile run at my VO2 max, and the next day I ran a 5k at a 10:30 pace. I ended the week with a very easy 5k run at about a 13:00 pace to just get some miles in but reduce any chance of injury.

The training plan

Cobbled this shit together from reading a bunch of blogs and video content on YouTube. It is good to note I tried to stick with this verbatim, but there are times when family, work, or life in general will present scheduling conflicts and we must all remain flexible. So if a modification needs to be made feel free to do so from time to time. But always remember to have at least one rest day a week (for me preferably after the long run).

So you may ask what terms like hard, easy, and VO2 maximum actually mean. I have an app on my phone which I put my distance and time elapsed in to and it spits out these numbers for me. For example, say I ran a 5k (3.1 miles) at 32:21. With this it derives the following:

Easy run 12:53
Tempo run 10:50
VO2 maximum 9.49
Speed form 9:06
Long run (between) 12:53
  14:25
Yasso 800's [min/800m] 5:02

With this data I just say my easy run is essentially 12:53 and my hard run is typically my VO2 maximum at 9:49 (sometimes I substitute with a tempo run pace, but not often). When recalibrating my paces (once a month) I use the results from a 5k (one I raced or something private it doesn't matter).

Monday

No run

Do 10 reps of any options or combinations:

  • push ups
  • sit ups or crunches
  • pull ups
  • leg lifts or derivatives
  • jump rope
  • fornication

Tuesday

"Long" intervals

Pick one of the following:

  • 3 x 5min (hard) [3min]
  • Pyramid

Each should begin with a warm up run/jog and end with a cool down run/jog/walk.

Wednesday

Recovery run

This is an easy run which should not be as long as the long run itself but is a good run to make up mileage for the week goals. The pace should be comfortable and conversational. It should be about 45 minutes to an hour long if possible.

Thursday

"Short" intervals

Pick one of the following:

  • 20 x 30sec (hard) [30sec]
  • 10 x 1min (hard) [1min]

Each should begin with a warm up run/jog and end with a cool down run/jog/walk.

Friday

No run

Do 10 reps of any options or combinations:

  • push ups
  • sit ups or crunches
  • pull ups
  • leg lifts or derivatives
  • jump rope
  • fornication

Saturday

Long run

This is an easy run (or slower, gasp) meant to build endurance. It should be about one to two hours long if possible.

Sunday

Rest day

This is probably the most crucial day. Still stretch, walk, or something light if you would like, but you need to chill out and let your muscles rebuild.

The mileage log

In addition to this I actually started tracking my miles to ensure I am staying within the 10% rule to help avoid any injuries. The last thing I wanted to hurt myself which would slow or reset any progress made.

]]> Running my first ten miles http://localhost:8000/posts/running-my-first-ten-miles.html bmallred http://localhost:8000/posts/running-my-first-ten-miles.html Sat, 22 Jan 2022 10:25:00 +0000 Ran my first ten (10) miles today. At the start of the year my goal was to be able to run for two hours straight in preparation for a 10k race. It just so happens my long run pace is between 11m30s and 12m30s (although my suggested long run pace is between 12m53s and 14m24s) which equates to essentially ten miles.

In hindsight I should have reached this goal last week, but I could not remember for the life of me what my weekly mileage was and so didn't want to push it. This week I did the math and I could have gone eleven miles and still be within my ten percent weekly delta in mileage.

As I sit here drinking a coffee waiting for my son I am internally telling myself I should have just pushed it to the eleven miles. Let me explain why I didn't in the moment.

  1. From the moment I woke up I felt dehydrated
  2. New socks with blisters from the last long run
  3. Potential for rain

Not completely sure as to why I was dehydrated but I was. I have been pounding water every day that week. Albeit Thursday night there were a few drinks with the guys, but I still drank roughly twenty ounces before calling it a night. Either way when I rolled out of bed at four in the morning my throat was parched. Usually on my runs I don't bring water with me but this may change in the future with something small. At the end of the run my lips were parched and the effects on the body were noticeable.

The long run last week left me with one blister per foot in two different places. They were all bandaged prior to the run, but I was wearing some new compression socks made to wick away the sweat. With this being the first time wearing them and reaching my goal it seemed best not to press my luck any further.

And finally there was a high chance of rain the longer I stayed out. It was already drizzling for the last three miles and felt like with the other two factors in mind this definitely would add another unknown variable.

It may be thought I am overthinking everything. You are probably right. Honestly, getting through the year with no, or minimal, injuries is my upmost goal because I just don't want to be couched for a period of time.

]]> Firefox and Ads http://localhost:8000/posts/firefox-and-ads.html bmallred http://localhost:8000/posts/firefox-and-ads.html Fri, 29 Oct 2021 08:47:00 +0000 Opened Firefox this morning to which I was greeting the usual "start page" of most common sites and such. To my surprise they now show Sponsors on this. This is not the first time Firefox does things like this where obviously if you actually knew your user base then you would default these types of items to be turned off.

To disable this go the the menu, then settings, then home, and then deselect the "Sponsored shortcuts".

]]> Firefox annoying process name http://localhost:8000/posts/firefox-annoying-process-name.html bmallred http://localhost:8000/posts/firefox-annoying-process-name.html Thu, 21 Oct 2021 18:23:00 +0000 For some reason Firefox on my Void Linux machine now has the process name of GeckoMain. Okay, whatever. But on an almost daily basis I have to issue a command to kill it so it doesn't hang up my X session. So before I would just enter 

pkill firefox

Someone had a bright idea to change this so now it is even more obscure. So now I have to type just a few extra characters: 

pkill -f firefox

Silly, I know, but annoying as hell.

]]> Firefox and ALSA http://localhost:8000/posts/firefox-and-alsa.html bmallred http://localhost:8000/posts/firefox-and-alsa.html Thu, 21 Oct 2021 18:33:00 +0000 To piggyback on my last annoyance with Firefox I feel the need to complain about it again. The only thing keeping me from actually using Firefox as my main driver is the fact they ripped out support for ALSA.

WHAT THE F###!

Now all meetings and such must be ran through Chromium since Firefox is apparently too stupid to figure out audio input. I'm sure I could resolve this with some hack or patch to the code, but do I really want to spend time doing that when I know they will just go and do something to screw with whatever duct tape I apply for my needs?

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