How They Train! Vince Molosky

March 2011

Age

  • 31

How many years have you been running?

  • 17

Lifetime personal records

My memory is not very keen, so some of the numbers might be off:

  • 800m – 2:10
  • 1,600m – 4:38
  • 3,200m – 10:05
  • 5,000m – low 16s
  • 10,000m – low 34s
  • 5K – low 16s
  • 4.4M – 23:58
  • 8K – low 26s
  • 10K – 33:48
  • 12K – 42:29
  • 15K – 54:07
  • 10M – 57:19
  • 20K Trail – 1:13:39
  • Half Marathon – 1:15:13
  • 18M – 1:51:31
  • 30K – 1:53:54
  • 50K Trail – 4:49:57
  • 50M – 7:36:06

Consider your training over the past 6 months to one year.  How many miles a week do you typically run when not injured and consistently running?

  • 45

What running events (sprints to ultra-distance) do you train for or what are your training goals?

  • My only training goal is to not get hurt/injured. As you might guess from the list above I have a difficult time focusing on 1 or 2 distances, as they all have their pros and cons. I try to maintain a base for the distances from 10K-50K using my normal training. I will then tweak it slightly for the longer and/or trail races if necessary.

What does your typical week of running look like?

  • Monday: Cycle to work (1.9 miles), cycle home (1.9 miles), 5-6 miles (road) @ 6-6:15 pace*, softball occasionally, cycle to/from dinner (varying distances)
  • Tuesday: Cycle to work (1.9 miles), cycle home (1.9 miles), 7-8 Miles (road) @ 6-6:15 pace*, softball occasionally, cycle to/from dinner (varying distances)
  • Wednesday: Walk or cycle to work (1.9 miles), walk or cycle home (1.9 miles), DO NOT RUN, softball occasionally, cycle to/from dinner (varying distances)
  • Thursday: Walk to work (1.9 miles), walk home (1.9 miles), 4-6 miles @ 6-6:15 pace*, softball occasionally, cycle to/from dinner (varying distances)
  • Friday: Walk to work (1.9 miles), walk home (1.9 miles), 2-3 miles @ ~6:30 pace*
  • Saturday: If no race: 16-24 trail miles at Torreya State Park (I typically do the first 16 miles in 2:15-2:20)*; if race: just warm up, race and cool down
  • Sunday: 3-5 miles @ 6-6:15 pace*, soccer

I previously had mile markers painted on my routes, but they have since faded or been destroyed by road construction. I do not pay much attention to my mile splits but try to consistently decrease my overall route times, thus always running faster.

How does your training vary over the course of a year?

  •  I typically forego the Torreya training and substitute shorter road 10 milers from about late April until the end of August because heat and I do not get along very well. I will also forego the Torreya training and substitute it with road runs of 24-36 miles from the beginning of October to the end of November while trying to prepare for the Tallahassee Ultra 50M.

Do you take recoery or down time?

  • I usually take a little down time toward the beginning of Summer and again around Christmas to try to recover from the race season. My legs are good about telling me when I need to take it easy and I listen to them.

Do you peak for certain races?

  • I do not try to peak for specific races, but just try to be prepared for many different races of varying distances.

How much sleep do you usually get at night?

  • I used to be bad at getting enough sleep, but now that I have the opportunity, I try to get 7-8 hours per night.

What time of the day do you normally run?

  • Monday-Friday: after work starting at 4:15 PM

  • Saturday-Sunday: starting between 7:30 AM and 9:00 AM

What injuries have hampered your training over the past year? 

  • I am fortunate in that I have not injured anything significantly enough to hamper my training. I typically get most of my muscle tweaks playing soccer as opposed to running.

Do you take any dietary or medical supplements?

  • I take a multivitamin every morning (Target brand Men’s Formula, I think) and try to avoid caffeine or any other fake energy “enhancers.”

What type of running shoes do you prefer?

  • Training Shoes – over the last few years I have had good luck with ASICS (gel-Enhance or similar) and typically do not spend over $65.
  • Racing Flats – I really like the Adidas AdiZero series.
  • Road 5K-30K: Adidas AdiZero Rocket
  • Road Over 30K: Adidas Adizero Adios
  • Trail Races: retired racing flats
  • Trail Ultras–retired racing flats or Inov8 Roclite 295

Do you use weight training?

  • Not anymore. 

Do you stretch? 

  • Yes.  Before almost every run, in this order: hamstrings, quads, groins, IT band, calves (gastrocnemius then soleus)

What are your favorite running routes?

  • #1: The 16 mile Torreya State Park loop consisting of the Torreya Trail, Weeping Ridge Trail and Challenge Trail.
  • #2: My normal 10 mile route from my place: Old Saint Augustine Rd, Southwood Plantation Rd/Biltmore Ave, Salinger Way, Grove Park Dr, Terrebonne Dr, School House Rd, Four Oaks Blvd, Shumard Oaks Blvd, Esplanade Way, Blairstone Rd, Orange Ave, Paul Russel Rd, Old Saint Augustine Rd.

What running resources do you like that would benefit someone else?

  • The obvious #1 choice for all of my running information needs is the Fleet Foot and www.gulfwinds.org.
  • I am a big fan of gmaps pedometer: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/. I used to travel around Florida for work and would be staying in different cities all of the time. This made it very easy to plan a running route while in an unfamiliar place.
  • If interested in Ultras, the following website has a comprehensive list of ultramarathons and events across the country: http://www.ultrarunning.com/ultra/calendar/index.shtml

How has your training changed over the years?

  • In high school we would be doing 70 mile weeks with crazy workouts such as 25 400’s (5 sets of 5 starting at 80 seconds and dropping 2 seconds per interval until the last interval of the last set was 64 seconds) with 100 meters rest between each. In college we were doing 100 mile weeks with 2-a-days and equally crazy workouts. In my opinion, the 70 mile weeks were okay, but the 100 mile weeks were overkill. I was burned out after college and my mileage dropped to about what it is now, with almost no specific “workouts” and I’m enjoying running again.

What advice do you have for beginning or experienced runners to help them with their training?

  • For both beginning and experience runners, listen to you body.  If something doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t.  Don’t be stubborn and push through it until you know what it is.  Also, it is okay to take a rest day.  I am a firm believer in taking a day completely off.  Once I got past feeling guilty about taking a rest day, I found that I felt much better.