Active Expert: Matt Fitzgerald

RE: Drinking My Own "Kool-Aid"

Rundad4two — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 14:41:58 GMT

Welcome to my life.

RE: 10 Percent Undertrained

Matt Fitzgerald — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 17:05:50 GMT

Well said, Tom. I wear a heart rate monitor and GPS device during all of my runs and then download the data to Training Peaks WKO+ softwae for analysis. It allows me to continuously monitor pace/HR relationships, which is very instructive.

RE: 10 Percent Undertrained

runningInZen — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 14:10:51 GMT

I agree Matt, I also beleive that monitoring one self can at least inform you of how close to peak performance you are or if you are slipping over the edge into overtraining. Keeping records of pulse, I've read from many sources, is one very good indicator. During some sharpening workouts or periodic time trials. Progress can be monitored effectively by Running a time trial and running it in a specific time and immediately taking one's pulse. As the peak of the season approaches, run the same time trial, attempting to run it in the exact same time, then checking the pulse again. If it's lower this time, then conditioning is improving, if it's higher, and training has been consistent, a rest may be needed. Keeping track of resting pulse is also a good measure of overtraing, if it spikes by more than 10 beats/min. Also listening to ones body. Take the minor aches and pains seriously, before they become serious and debilitating.

RE: 10 Percent Undertrained

Matt Fitzgerald — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 16:58:32 GMT

Great insights. And I think that what you hint at is true--that this is an issue that affects elites more than it does most other athletes. But although I'm hardly elite, I train close enough to my personal limits that the problem has affected me, too.

RE: 10 Percent Undertrained

TriTroy — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 03:40:34 GMT

Reminds me of my first run at Wildflower in 2006 I think. Sam McGloane set a new course record. She's said at the pre-race meeting, for the Oly distance, that she'd recently come off an injury and was not able to do the training she'd wanted. For the really fit types, not me, I wonder if a little less intensity might be in order just to be really rested. Sam didn't seem to indicate that the difference may have been due to improvement in the areas not affected by her injury but don't know for sure. Also reminds me of one of the marathon sites, Hal Higdon perhaps, where he was surprised to hear of a runner that ran 3 mi every other day with a long run on the weekend and had a pretty descent finish time.

These bodies are wonderful machines.

TriTroy

RE: This Is So Slow

Transnine62 — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 20:39:53 GMT

I do the same thing. The second method seems to be the most effective for me because I am a very competitive person. I just ran a 5k race this past weekend. When I got tired during the last mile, instead of thinking of Haile Gebrselassie, I thought about how Ryan Hall ran a 14:20 something 5k split in the middle of his marathon at the Olympic Trials. Surely I can keep my composure and push just a little longer if I am running considerably slower for just one 5k! This is definitely effective.

Tripp

RE: This Is So Slow

Matt Fitzgerald — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 19:51:34 GMT

Paul,

As a so-called "Active Expert" I was fortunate to have my blog created for me by Active's community specialist, Toby Guillette. For help in creating your own blog, try contacting him directly: toby.guillette@active.com.

Matt

RE: This Is So Slow

Paul828 — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 17:54:24 GMT

Matt,

I enjoy seeing and reading your blogs in the community discussion areas. I too would like to post my blog entries in the discussion page. I investigated for a while to learn how to do this easily, but was not successful given the time that I had. Can you tell me how to easily accomplish this?

Happy trails!

Thanks.

Paul828

RE: Total Stress Load

Matt Fitzgerald — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 01:20:57 GMT

Thanks for sharing your story. Every competitive runner has one like it, except for a few beginners who haven't gone thorugh such an experience yet. Even professional runners have to deal with encroachments from other parts of their lives.

RE: Total Stress Load

Transnine62 — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 17:00:45 GMT

Matt:

I had a similar problem about two weeks ago. On December 5th I ran a challenging, hilly 10 mile race and won pretty easily feeling great and at the top of my game, averaging 5:52 a mile. I am training for Boston and used this race to help prepare for Boston. My training went great from there up until my girlfriend of 3 years broke up with me a little bit before Christmas. I was heart broken and on top of that I have some big desicions to make as far as my career/life goes. On a Sunday morning, a little before new years eve, I went to a trail planning to run 15 miles around 7 min pace and depending on how I was feeling, I was going to pick it up the last 2-3 miles. Well I started out slow and after 5 miles of struggling to run sub 8 min pace I knew I wouldnt make it to 15miles. I ended up running 10 miles right at 8 min pace and had to stop over 5 times to regroup. It was probably my worst run ever, but i realized at a lot was going on in my life and needed to recover. I took two full days off (News eve and new years) and then started back up. My legs felt fresh and revived. Even though I still have my mental breakdowns, they don't affect my runs as much. I am back into the groove of things and my fitness is even better than it was before. It is good to recognize your total stress level and a good way to determine that is on your runs. If your typical easy day is 7min pace and you are struggling to hit 8min pace there is something wrong.

Tripp