Ran a 10k in June (3 Viewers)

[culdeus]

Official times aren't up yet, but I'm guessing I'm going to be slightly slower than what my watch had, as I didn't start my Garmin until we were rolling (we walked the bikes for the first bit); though I also didn't turn it off right away at the finish either. Regardless, I certainly had PR's for 100k, 100 miles and total race.

My Garmin Data can be found here. The first line has totals, and the last page is a repeat of the page before for the most part, but has miles 96 on at the bottom.

For the most part I rode a pretty smart race, and kept my HR about where I'd like it. Our first mile was our slowest due to all the traffic. At mile 12 is where I went solo for quite a bit to catch a second breakaway group (my main group for most of the day!), and I endured a 28.8 mph mile while still maintaining a low (sub 170 HR). The next few miles hurt as it escalated, but I was able to bring it down until mile 24. During this stretch, the bigger group splintered, and I spent waaaaaaay too much energy bridging gaps. I burnt too many matches right here which could have really cost my day had I not been able to get my HR back down. Miles 42-47 were all solo miles, and while they were somewhat slow (barely faster than 20 mph) I was able to keep my HR under 170. Once the bigger group caught up with me, my HR miraculously dropped below 150 for the four mile stretch from 55-59 (this is when I decided I really wanted to go for a sub 4:30, and didn't want to stop. As I predicted before hand, I was most likely to have problems from mile 80 on due to my lack of long rides in training. My HR blew up right at mile 80 and from then on I was flirting with bonking until the end. Virtually every mile from 79 on I reached a max HR of over 180 (red lining for me), and did all that I could to keep it from getting any higher. Without my HR monitor, I am positive that I wouldn't have finished, as I would not have been smart enough to have slowed things down when needed.

You killed it man. Top 50 finish???

Remember there were P12 3 4 racers out there as well. The P12 finished in a stout 3:45 Cat 3 and 4 finished right around 4 hours. Those races had about 250 people in them total.Pigskin should consider getting a license for next year and making a run at it. Seriously.

 

[BassNBrew]

You killed it man. Top 50 finish???

They screwed up my chip time (had me finishing second at 29 mph ) so I can't know for sure, but using my Garmin time (has to be pretty close to accurate); I am approximately 50th overall. That is only of those that purchased chips though. Of those who rode (15,000+, but I don't know how many did the full 100), less than 1,500 (of those who raced the full 100) purchased chips. I'd like to think that the majority of "good" riders purchased chips, while those who were weaker didn't. I would have placed 12th of 225 in my age bracket, of those who purchased chips.

That's very impressive.I paid the price yesterday for taking 5 days off. My 15 mile tempo ride came in at 23.0 mph...flat, no wind. That should have been approaching 25 mph. legs were screaming and i couold get my HR above 150 regardless of cadence....should have been in the low 160's. Indoor intervals on tap for tonite.

 

[SFBayDuck]

Finally uploaded my Garmin data from Saturday's Mt. Ashland 15-miler, ranged from 5842' up to 7,048', with about an 1100' climb from miles 8 to 11. Considering all that (not to mention the hangover!), I'm really happy with the 12:04 pace overall.

Back on the local trails for 6 this morning put me at 130 for the month and 859 for the year, still tracking ok for my 1300 mile goal for 2009. "Just" need to do 110 miles/month the rest of the year to get there!

8% average grade for that 2.5 miles - oof.

Good Lord! That is some serious climbing

Yeah, gotta say I enjoyed miles 4-7 much more, cruising down that grade! Just kept telling myself I should turn around as I was just adding more and more climbing, but I was having too much fun at that point.Fun numbers out of the Garmin data - in August the 130 miles I ran took me about 25 hours, so right around an 11:30 pace. Seems pretty slow until I look at my favorite number for the month, elevation gain - 43,953'!!!! Talk about specificity of training, I've been pretty much all hills and trails since the marathon at the end of July.

 

[pigskinliquors]

Pic's of HH100 ride

 

[Sand]

Pic's of HH100 ride

Love the Clemson kit.

 

[culdeus]

Pic's of HH100 ride

me too me too

 

[Sand]

Pic's of HH100 ride

me too me too

Substandard kit.

 

[BassNBrew]

Pic's of HH100 ride

me too me too

Substandard kit.

Both of you look better suited for the mountains than the flats.

 

[pigskinliquors]

Pic's of HH100 ride

me too me too

LOVE the A&M Kit

 

[pigskinliquors]

Both of you look better suited for the mountains than the flats.

I think I'll take that as a compliment

 

[wraith5]

I... did my 13 miler on Saturday - 1:59 and change (didn't download it yet). Finished the last four miles pretty strong, I know that, and definitely negative splits. Tomorrow's speed work is 1/2 milers (4, I think). It's been a while since I worked the shorter stuff and I'm excited about it.

Great pics from the ride, gents. Downloaded my 13 miler - first 5 at 9:23 (155HR), next 4 at 9:10 (166HR), 3 at 8:57 (175HR) and the last mile at 8:37 (184HR). Overall 13 miles @ 9:09 (165HR) on a target pace of 9:23. I'm consistently beating my targets now - not sure if that's a good thing or not (big picture). my speedwork was indeed 4x 800 today, but I ended up doing 5x 800. Target pace was 7:12 and although I need to download the data tonight (forgot my 305 base today - oops) I know all but one repeat was sub 7 pace. The last was close to 6:45 giving it everything I had. Will update tonight with the actual numbers ('cause I know you're all on the edge of your seats about it!!) hope everyone else's runs are coming along well, too!

 

[pigskinliquors]

I... did my 13 miler on Saturday - 1:59 and change (didn't download it yet). Finished the last four miles pretty strong, I know that, and definitely negative splits. Tomorrow's speed work is 1/2 milers (4, I think). It's been a while since I worked the shorter stuff and I'm excited about it.

Great pics from the ride, gents. Downloaded my 13 miler - first 5 at 9:23 (155HR), next 4 at 9:10 (166HR), 3 at 8:57 (175HR) and the last mile at 8:37 (184HR). Overall 13 miles @ 9:09 (165HR) on a target pace of 9:23. I'm consistently beating my targets now - not sure if that's a good thing or not (big picture). my speedwork was indeed 4x 800 today, but I ended up doing 5x 800. Target pace was 7:12 and although I need to download the data tonight (forgot my 305 base today - oops) I know all but one repeat was sub 7 pace. The last was close to 6:45 giving it everything I had. Will update tonight with the actual numbers ('cause I know you're all on the edge of your seats about it!!) hope everyone else's runs are coming along well, too!

Wraith: it's awesome watching your progress!!! Not that I've ever done it, but tracking your morning HR is supposed to be one way to make sure you aren't "over-doing" it. With you consistently going faster and longer, you might want to start tracking (just a thought).

 

[Sand]

Both of you look better suited for the mountains than the flats.

I think I'll take that as a compliment

I take it to mean "You're as handsome as Marco Pantani."

 

[gruecd]

That's some awesome work on the speedwork, wraith. You're really coming along!

Decided to mix it up a little bit with my own speedwork tonight. Was scheduled to do 9 miles including 5 x 600M, but I decided to do some Yasso 800s instead. In a nutshell, if you think you can run a 3:05 marathon, for example, you should be able to do 10 x 800 in 3:05 each. Between the 800s, you jog for the same number of minutes it took you to run your repeats (although I just jogged 400M in between, so my rest intervals were a little shorter). It's really a negative indicator; if you can complete the 10 intervals in 3:05 each, it doesn't necessarily mean that you can run a 3:05 marathon, but if you can't do them, then there's a pretty good chance that you're screwed on the marathon, too.

Anyway....I nailed the workout. Was aiming to do somewhere between 3:00 and 3:05 on the intervals, and I did them in 2:56, 3:00, 3:03, 3:02, 3:00, 3:00, 3:01, 3:01, 2:58, and 2:53. Averaged 3:00. Basicallly, I wouldn't be crazy if I thought I might be able to go 3:05 in Chicago. With warm-up and cool-down, finished with 9 miles for the night.

SRD tomorrow, so I'm going at 7 AM for a massage. As always, it'll hurt like hell, but the legs will feel rejuvenated and ready to go for Thursday night's 12-miler.

Have a good night, everybody!

 

[gruecd]

Terrell Owens on a Wide Receiver's Workout

Damn, that dude is huge.

 

[wraith5]

my speedwork was indeed 4x 800 today, but I ended up doing 5x 800. Target pace was 7:12 and although I need to download the data tonight (forgot my 305 base today - oops) I know all but one repeat was sub 7 pace. The last was close to 6:45 giving it everything I had. Will update tonight with the actual numbers ('cause I know you're all on the edge of your seats about it!!)

Wraith: it's awesome watching your progress!!! Not that I've ever done it, but tracking your morning HR is supposed to be one way to make sure you aren't "over-doing" it. With you consistently going faster and longer, you might want to start tracking (just a thought).

Thanks PS - tell me more about tracking my morning HR!!

That's some awesome work on the speedwork, wraith. You're really coming along!

Decided to mix it up a little bit with my own speedwork tonight. Was scheduled to do 9 miles including 5 x 600M, but I decided to do some Yasso 800s instead. In a nutshell, if you think you can run a 3:05 marathon, for example, you should be able to do 10 x 800 in 3:05 each. Between the 800s, you jog for the same number of minutes it took you to run your repeats (although I just jogged 400M in between, so my rest intervals were a little shorter). It's really a negative indicator; if you can complete the 10 intervals in 3:05 each, it doesn't necessarily mean that you can run a 3:05 marathon, but if you can't do them, then there's a pretty good chance that you're screwed on the marathon, too.

Anyway....I nailed the workout. Was aiming to do somewhere between 3:00 and 3:05 on the intervals, and I did them in 2:56, 3:00, 3:03, 3:02, 3:00, 3:00, 3:01, 3:01, 2:58, and 2:53. Averaged 3:00. Basicallly, I wouldn't be crazy if I thought I might be able to go 3:05 in Chicago. With warm-up and cool-down, finished with 9 miles for the night.

Thanks a ton for the encouragement guys! I'm definitely feeling pretty good right now and hope I can keep building. I downloaded my run tonight and my times were actually 3:33, 3:28, 3:31, 3:29, 3:22. Goal time was 3:36.

gruecd - great Yasso workout! You're really tearing it up. What is your goal time for Chicago?

I wonder how many more 800s I could have done this morning? Hmmm...

 

[gruecd]

gruecd - great Yasso workout! You're really tearing it up. What is your goal time for Chicago?

Anything under 3:10:00 is a PR and gets me qualified for Boston 2010 and 2011, so that's goal #1. Based on my recent workouts, I think I could go as fast as 3:05 (7:04 pace).As of right now, I'm planning on going out around 7:10 pace, which would put me on track for 3:08. I'll take an inventory around mile 18, and if I'm feeling good, I'll try to pick up the pace a bit. I've got a guy pacing me who's a 2:40-something marathoner, so that should help!

 

[BassNBrew]

gruecd - great Yasso workout! You're really tearing it up. What is your goal time for Chicago?

Anything under 3:10:00 is a PR and gets me qualified for Boston 2010 and 2011, so that's goal #1. Based on my recent workouts, I think I could go as fast as 3:05 (7:04 pace).As of right now, I'm planning on going out around 7:10 pace, which would put me on track for 3:08. I'll take an inventory around mile 18, and if I'm feeling good, I'll try to pick up the pace a bit. I've got a guy pacing me who's a 2:40-something marathoner, so that should help!

That must be either one heck of a friend or he must owe you a huge debt. Not going to jinx you, but that should be a huge help in achieving your goal.

 

[gruecd]

gruecd - great Yasso workout! You're really tearing it up. What is your goal time for Chicago?

Anything under 3:10:00 is a PR and gets me qualified for Boston 2010 and 2011, so that's goal #1. Based on my recent workouts, I think I could go as fast as 3:05 (7:04 pace).As of right now, I'm planning on going out around 7:10 pace, which would put me on track for 3:08. I'll take an inventory around mile 18, and if I'm feeling good, I'll try to pick up the pace a bit. I've got a guy pacing me who's a 2:40-something marathoner, so that should help!

That must be either one heck of a friend or he must owe you a huge debt. Not going to jinx you, but that should be a huge help in achieving your goal.

Yeah, he's one of my friends from RWOL. He's just coming back from an injury, and since he won't be properly trained to "race" Chicago, he'll be doing it as a training run. Sadly, my 3:05-3:10 qualifies as an "easy" training run for him.

 

[BassNBrew]

Thru 9-1

Swim Total 8.10

Bike Total 3356.72

Run Total 185.30

2009 Total 3550.12

Barely 300 miles on the bike in August.

 

[pigskinliquors]

Thanks PS - tell me more about tracking my morning HR!!

Real easy. As you wake up, check your HR. Track it for a week, while comparing to the workouts that you've been doing. IF your morning HR starts to escalate, there is a good chance that you have been over-training, and your body needs more rest. Some people will actually determine their daily workouts, based on their resting HR.

 

[wraith5]

Thanks PS - tell me more about tracking my morning HR!!

Real easy. As you wake up, check your HR. Track it for a week, while comparing to the workouts that you've been doing. IF your morning HR starts to escalate, there is a good chance that you have been over-training, and your body needs more rest. Some people will actually determine their daily workouts, based on their resting HR.

Either over-training or staying up too late watching Law & Order / Stargate reruns...

 

[pigskinliquors]

Thanks PS - tell me more about tracking my morning HR!!

Real easy. As you wake up, check your HR. Track it for a week, while comparing to the workouts that you've been doing. IF your morning HR starts to escalate, there is a good chance that you have been over-training, and your body needs more rest. Some people will actually determine their daily workouts, based on their resting HR.

Either over-training or staying up too late watching Law & Order / Stargate reruns...

Either way, you are going to need more rest

 

[tri-man 47]

Rested from running Monday (did some dumbells instead), and followed with a couple of good runs:

Tues - 8 miles. easy out; 10K pace back

Wed - 11 miles. easy out, sub-marathon pace back

I'll rest again tomorrow before gearing up for another long run this weekend up near our cottage in Michigan.

 

[The_Man]

Looks like my ongoing debate between running 4 or 5 days a week has been answered as 4. Was just feeling too legsore to get out there yesterday. Also, my son started middle school Monday, and I'm finding that his needing to leave the house an hour earlier than in the past is definitely making it harder for me to get the time to run in the a.m. I think I'm going to have to be a dedciated 5K runner, because I just don't seem to have the time to take on longer runs.

Did a 4-mile tempo run today and felt only decent, but was still running a lot faster than I did just a few weeks ago. One dramatic difference today -- for the first time in the almost 3 months that I've been running regularly, it was actually chilly! The Baltimore weather has been tough, especially for the last month with temps in the 70s and 90+ percent humidity just about every morning.

Today it was low 60s, and very low humidity. Toward the end of my run, even though my legs weren't feeling great, I was markedly refreshed and had some fuel in the gastank that hadn't been there before.

Wraith, gruecd, tri-man -- nice running! You guys are just killing it and inspire me to stick with it as well.

 

[gruecd]

Rested from running Monday (did some dumbells instead), and followed with a couple of good runs:

Tues - 8 miles. easy out; 10K pace back

Wed - 11 miles. easy out, sub-marathon pace back

I'll rest again tomorrow before gearing up for another long run this weekend up near our cottage in Michigan.

That's good work, tri-man. You gonna start doing some interval work soon? Or have you already been doing some mile repeats? My memory fails me....

 

[wraith5]

Looks like my ongoing debate between running 4 or 5 days a week has been answered as 4. Was just feeling too legsore to get out there yesterday. Also, my son started middle school Monday, and I'm finding that his needing to leave the house an hour earlier than in the past is definitely making it harder for me to get the time to run in the a.m. I think I'm going to have to be a dedciated 5K runner, because I just don't seem to have the time to take on longer runs.Did a 4-mile tempo run today and felt only decent, but was still running a lot faster than I did just a few weeks ago. One dramatic difference today -- for the first time in the almost 3 months that I've been running regularly, it was actually chilly! The Baltimore weather has been tough, especially for the last month with temps in the 70s and 90+ percent humidity just about every morning.Today it was low 60s, and very low humidity. Toward the end of my run, even though my legs weren't feeling great, I was markedly refreshed and had some fuel in the gastank that hadn't been there before.Wraith, gruecd, tri-man -- nice running! You guys are just killing it and inspire me to stick with it as well.

Good job on the tempo run. Not everyone is cut out to run every day like some of the guys can, so it's better to acknowledge that fact and not break yourself. Four days always worked better for me than five - and three days works better for me than four did. Of course I have the luxury of running 6 or 7 miles in the morning before I have to go to work (plus cross-training on non-running days), otherwise I'd probably have to go back to shorter distances on Tues/Thurs with mid-length runs on Wed. Just find what works for you & go for it! I have also noticed a tremendous difference in my runs now that it's cooled off (and looking back at early summer runs I can see it, too).

 

[gruecd]

Just find what works for you & go for it!

Early in this training cycle I was running 5-6 days/week and peaking at 55 MPW. I actually find that I've been running better since I changed to a 8- to 9-day training cycle, meaning I take a rest day every 9-10 days. Between that and adding a double once per week, I've been able to ramp up my mileage into the 60's pretty consistently, which has really made a big difference in my performance.(And the cooler weather definitely helps, too!)

 

[tri-man 47]

Rested from running Monday (did some dumbells instead), and followed with a couple of good runs:

Tues - 8 miles. easy out; 10K pace back

Wed - 11 miles. easy out, sub-marathon pace back

I'll rest again tomorrow before gearing up for another long run this weekend up near our cottage in Michigan.

That's good work, tri-man. You gonna start doing some interval work soon? Or have you already been doing some mile repeats? My memory fails me....

I've had occasional mile repeat workouts, but now that I've gotten my mileage up, I can settle into some routines better. I'll do some mile repeats, and I also want to do the Yasso half-mile workout to build some confidence in my marathon goal (so the 1/2's would be at 3:30-3:35 ...shouldn't be a problem).

 

[SFBayDuck]

What's this cooler weather you guys are talking about? It's 94 here right now, was low 80s when I went for my 6 miler mid-morning. Gave me a chance to test out my new sweat-wicking visor, worked pretty well, but still getting a little drippage so I'll need to keep carrying the towel in my pocket for longer runs. Decided at the end of the run, with a final mile on mostly road back to the car after coming down out of the trails, to pick up the pace a bit and see what I could do and knocked out an 8:34 mile without killing myself too much. Good to see I still have a little leg turnover (yes, that's fast for me) with all this LSD trail running dominating my training right now.

As for the frequency discussion, I pretty much only run 3, occasionaly 4 times per week. I've read several times that it's not ideal to get more than 50% of your weekly mileage during your long run, but I go farther on the long run than the other 2 runs combined pretty much every week, sometimes by as much as double. I'd ideally like to consistently get in a 3rd mid-week run to go along with my weekend run, but just haven't been able to make it work consistently with my schedule. I do think there has been an impact for me as it really takes me a good 4+ miles on any given run to start feeling a groove. I theorize that if I was doing more 5-6-7 mile runs during the week, I'd probably push through that quicker.

10 days until I'm standing at the trail head with 36 miles in front of me.......

 

[Sand]

Finished my first 10k today. I can honestly say that that was the furthest I've ever run in one stretch. Done lots of soccer games where the total mileage is about the same, but that is completely different.

Did the first half in 30:30 - I was pacing a friend who is trying to get in shape for the 5k in October. He finished without stopping (a first for him) - pacing really does work. I stopped with him for a couple minutes as he was pretty well wiped after he finished. Went back out and did the second half in 27:30 minutes. Total run length was 6.5 miles (a tad over 10k). The last half was a nice 8:30 pace - I wanted to keep a a reasonable intensity and that was the pace I had in my mind to do. This wasn't a "hurt locker" type run; I just wanted to do the distance. Very pleased.

Then I went to the pool with the idea to put myself in the hurt locker. I planned on a hard 2000 yards, but after 1500 I started getting a toe cramp, calf cramp, and then a hammy cramp and called it. I seem to get cramps in the pool after a run. I figured I was good for 2k before I would have an issue but my body said 1500 was enough after the long run. Never a problem doing it the other way around.

Planning an OWS tomorrow with the tri club around here (finally getting to meet those folks) and then hopefully a short ride in the park that looks quite close to the terrain I'll see in the tri coming up.

 

[jmcc]

You guys are killing me I am still pugging away at the gym. I kept my HR at 164 for a bit today. It is still over 100 here so I am staying in the gym. I may try an outside early morning run this weekend. I am not so hard on myself for running out of breath now that I know why. Looking forward to hopefully fixing that. I am really interested to see how much and how fast I can improve once fixed.

 

[wraith5]

Finished my first 10k today. I can honestly say that that was the furthest I've ever run in one stretch.

Congratulations and Excellent work!!

 

[tri-man 47]

You guys are killing me I am still pugging away at the gym. I kept my HR at 164 for a bit today. It is still over 100 here so I am staying in the gym. I may try an outside early morning run this weekend. I am not so hard on myself for running out of breath now that I know why. Looking forward to hopefully fixing that. I am really interested to see how much and how fast I can improve once fixed.

Patience ...patience. Am I recalling that you have a medical test coming up, or did that already happen? I know they'd diagnosed your issue earlier.

 

[Keggers]

What's this cooler weather you guys are talking about? It's 94 here right now, was low 80s when I went for my 6 miler mid-morning.

Today's forcast: 59 at 9am.....high of 74 at 3pm.

 

[pigskinliquors]

What's this cooler weather you guys are talking about? It's 94 here right now, was low 80s when I went for my 6 miler mid-morning.

Today's forcast: 59 at 9am.....high of 74 at 3pm.

Global Cooling? I had my first runs in sub 70 degree weather this week. For both Tuesday's (6 miles) and Today's (8 miles) runs, the temp was right at 69 when I got started. Both felt great, but today's was a bit sluggish, as I did a full lunge workout yesterday (first one in quite some time). Legs are sore, but a good sore. I'm also down to 167 pounds (my preferred racing weight), so it's time to add quite a bit of weight training to my workout schedule.

 

[SFBayDuck]

What's this cooler weather you guys are talking about? It's 94 here right now, was low 80s when I went for my 6 miler mid-morning.

Today's forcast: 59 at 9am.....high of 74 at 3pm.

Global Cooling? I had my first runs in sub 70 degree weather this week. For both Tuesday's (6 miles) and Today's (8 miles) runs, the temp was right at 69 when I got started. Both felt great, but today's was a bit sluggish, as I did a full lunge workout yesterday (first one in quite some time). Legs are sore, but a good sore. I'm also down to 167 pounds (my preferred racing weight), so it's time to add quite a bit of weight training to my workout schedule.

87 forecast for today, but then back to "normal" into the high-70s and low-80s for the next 10 days.More importantly, forecast for Tahoe City on 9/12 is low of 45, high of 70. Obviously wouldn't mind a high down a bit more in the 60-65 range, but not too bad. Happy with the moderate temps for the low, it can be down in the low 30s this time of year up there, and I've been worried about what I was going to wear at the beginning of the race and what to do with it as it warmed up.

Now for the rest of the day, I'm not going to think about running. It's football time, with the Ducks visiting the blue turf up at Boise St. on ESPN tonight, season starting off right away with a game with possible BCS implications. You east coasters should get your runs in today so you can sleep in tomorrow, this one starts at 7:15 local time out here and should be an entertaining one!

 

[Sand]

What's this cooler weather you guys are talking about? It's 94 here right now, was low 80s when I went for my 6 miler mid-morning.

Today's forcast: 59 at 9am.....high of 74 at 3pm.

Global Cooling? I had my first runs in sub 70 degree weather this week. For both Tuesday's (6 miles) and Today's (8 miles) runs, the temp was right at 69 when I got started. Both felt great, but today's was a bit sluggish, as I did a full lunge workout yesterday (first one in quite some time). Legs are sore, but a good sore. I'm also down to 167 pounds (my preferred racing weight), so it's time to add quite a bit of weight training to my workout schedule.

Today in Birmingham we had a low of 62. Right now (noonish) it is at 73. We've had a very cool summer overall. My run yesterday was very temperate - much better than running in our typical summer heat (which is again better than New Orleans in August - hell, anyplace in the US is better than NO is August).

 

[Keggers]

Why do I even bother working the week before race weekend? The race isn't until Saturday...but it's all I've been thinking about. Don't forget the lip balm, remember to eat properly for the entire week, get sleep, etc...

Let me ask this: Does the "excitement factor" ever begin to fade? I sign up for the race...I'm excited. I plan my training schedule...I'm exctied. I get new shoes...I'm excited. And on, and on....

I guess I just can't wait for race day to be here! :(

 

[The_Man]

You guys are killing me :( I am still pugging away at the gym. I kept my HR at 164 for a bit today. It is still over 100 here so I am staying in the gym. I may try an outside early morning run this weekend. I am not so hard on myself for running out of breath now that I know why. Looking forward to hopefully fixing that. I am really interested to see how much and how fast I can improve once fixed.

jmcc,you are doing a great job. I also sometimes feel like I pale in comparison to the speed and distance demons in this thread -- but don't just compare yourself to the small fraction of people actually doing more than you, compare yourself to the enormous majority of people you are doing more than. Keep it up -- you're making a long-term difference in your life.

 

[Sand]

Why do I even bother working the week before race weekend? The race isn't until Saturday...but it's all I've been thinking about. Don't forget the lip balm, remember to eat properly for the entire week, get sleep, etc... Let me ask this: Does the "excitement factor" ever begin to fade? I sign up for the race...I'm excited. I plan my training schedule...I'm exctied. I get new shoes...I'm excited. And on, and on....I guess I just can't wait for race day to be here!

I just bought a wheel cover for my tri coming up. I'm watching it cross the country very impatiently...

 

[Sand]

You guys are killing me I am still pugging away at the gym. I kept my HR at 164 for a bit today. It is still over 100 here so I am staying in the gym. I may try an outside early morning run this weekend. I am not so hard on myself for running out of breath now that I know why. Looking forward to hopefully fixing that. I am really interested to see how much and how fast I can improve once fixed.

jmcc,you are doing a great job. I also sometimes feel like I pale in comparison to the speed and distance demons in this thread -- but don't just compare yourself to the small fraction of people actually doing more than you, compare yourself to the enormous majority of people you are doing more than. Keep it up -- you're making a long-term difference in your life.

You're already in the top 5% of the population, easy. Slog through a couple/few months of hard work and the rewards will be substantial and palpable.

 

[The_Man]

Just for fun I thought I’d throw this out – what’s the best run you’ve ever had?

I still remember mine from my first season of running cross country as a 13-year-old high school freshman. I had always done pretty well when we had to run a timed mile in middle school gym class, but I had never run competitively and the only reason I was doing cross country that fall was because my high school required us to do a sport each season.

About midway through the season, I showed up on a rainy Saturday afternoon to a practice that I didn’t know was "optional" until I got there. The only other three guys there were the top three guys on the varsity, including the defending individual state champ, and a pair of juniors. I was just a lowly JV newbie.

I wanted to bail, but they made it clear I had better just stop talking and HTFU so off we went for a four-mile run, 2 miles out and 2 miles back. I hung with them for the first mile-plus, but then they began to pick up the pace and off they went. We were running a hilly, forested route and pretty soon I couldn’t see them, though I was happy to see I wasn’t all that far behind when they passed me after the turnaround point.

Then, somewhere around the 2.5 mile mark, I realized that I felt good, or even great, actually. I was moving faster, my breathing wasn’t labored. And so I decided I better hurry up and run as fast as I could for as long as that good feeling lasted. I’ve always loved running in the rain, and the woods with the water dripping off the leaves reminded me of the running I’d done the previous summer and made me feel a little buoyant.

I knew I was running fast, faster than I’d ever run before. The route ended with a long uphill section up the school’s main driveway, and the good feeling finally wore off about a third of the way up. But I wanted to finish strong, kind of hoping that maybe at least one of the older guys would have stuck around to see me finish. Instead, as I came around the final turn on the uphill, I saw that the two juniors – who were always in competition with each other – must have raced each other to the finish and were still standing there waiting for the state champ to finish up and join them. Because he was still running, less than a hundred yards in front of me!

At that point, there was no longer any question that I was going to finish strong. As state champ guy finished, one of the other two kind of lifted his chin and pointed my way, and I can still picture their expressions of muted surprise as I came trucking up hard on their heels. For them, it was just an easy four-miler and they would have dusted me if it had been a race, but for me it was the first time I believed I was actually fast enough to be good. I would go on to win a couple of races and get All-League as a junior (before quitting as a senior to play on the reject football squad, but that’s another story) but 25 years later, the feeling I had on those last two inbound miles and the looks on the faces of those older, faster guys are my favorite memory of my running "career."

 

[gruecd]

Let me ask this: Does the "excitement factor" ever begin to fade?

After seven marathons and countless shorter races, I can unequivocally say.........NOPE.

 

[tri-man 47]

Let me ask this: Does the "excitement factor" ever begin to fade?

After seven marathons and countless shorter races, I can unequivocally say.........NOPE.

After two decades+ of serious training and racing, I too will say .....NOPE! Frequent sneak peeks at the race course on-line, jotting down potential splits, planning my mental imaging. Nope! I still have Boston qualifying pace times taped to the corner of my computer from two years ago, now getting frequent looks again. I love to page through my old log books from the last twenty years ...and I still remember many of those workouts (and all of the races). AND my kids are now old enough that I can share it with them (especially my daughter coming along to the tri's). AND with the internet I can now share in all of your successes. The_Man's question about 'best run' brings back a flood of memories ...still working on an answer to that.

 

[gruecd]

Easy 12-miler for me tonight at 7:49 pace. Legs felt a little heavier than normal, but they always seem to feel that way the day after a rest day. Weird. Doing a double recovery run tomorrow (4 in the morning, 5 in the aft), and then doing a half marathon on Saturday morning as a MP training run (with a 4-mile warmup beforehand).

My body isn't really sore at all, but I'm just TIRED, and I've actually been getting plenty of sleep. I think I'm just ready for the taper--a little over two weeks of hard training, and then it'll be time to let off the gas. 38 days until Chicago!!!

Have a great night, everybody!

 

[pigskinliquors]

Easy 12-miler for me tonight at 7:49 pace. Legs felt a little heavier than normal, but they always seem to feel that way the day after a rest day. Weird. Doing a double recovery run tomorrow (4 in the morning, 5 in the aft), and then doing a half marathon on Saturday morning as a MP training run (with a 4-mile warmup beforehand).My body isn't really sore at all, but I'm just TIRED, and I've actually been getting plenty of sleep. I think I'm just ready for the taper--a little over two weeks of hard training, and then it'll be time to let off the gas. 38 days until Chicago!!!Have a great night, everybody!

Did you break in the new shoes tonight?

 

[jmcc]

You guys are killing me I am still pugging away at the gym. I kept my HR at 164 for a bit today. It is still over 100 here so I am staying in the gym. I may try an outside early morning run this weekend. I am not so hard on myself for running out of breath now that I know why. Looking forward to hopefully fixing that. I am really interested to see how much and how fast I can improve once fixed.

Patience ...patience. Am I recalling that you have a medical test coming up, or did that already happen? I know they'd diagnosed your issue earlier.

9/11 is the test. TEE

 

[gruecd]

Easy 12-miler for me tonight at 7:49 pace. Legs felt a little heavier than normal, but they always seem to feel that way the day after a rest day. Weird. Doing a double recovery run tomorrow (4 in the morning, 5 in the aft), and then doing a half marathon on Saturday morning as a MP training run (with a 4-mile warmup beforehand).

My body isn't really sore at all, but I'm just TIRED, and I've actually been getting plenty of sleep. I think I'm just ready for the taper--a little over two weeks of hard training, and then it'll be time to let off the gas. 38 days until Chicago!!!

Have a great night, everybody!

Did you break in the new shoes tonight?

Yeah, just busted out a new pair of Mizuno Wave Rider 11's. I've run in the Riders before, but I've been rocking mainly NB for a while, so I just wanted to make sure they still felt OK. I've actually got a pair of NB 825's (a lightweight trainer) that I LOVE. I've worn them for every distance up to the half marathon, and they've been great. The only problem is that they've been discontinued for a while now, and my current pair has almost 140 miles on them, and ideally I like to have only 30-50 miles on a pair of shoes for a marathon. So basically I'm torn between wearing a new pair of Riders or wearing the slightly overused 825s. Decisions, decisions--I know. But I just feel fast in the 825s, so I'm still kinda leaning that way....I'm also giving a little bit of thought to picking up a pair of Nike LunaRacers. I've got running friends that SWEAR by these things, but I'm afraid my 210 pounds might be a bit much for these shoes to handle, and I'm also worried that they might not fit my wide feet. Might have to find a store that carries them so I can try them on.

Now I bet you're sorry you even asked the question, huh liquors?!

 

[Sand]

Just for fun I thought I’d throw this out – what’s the best run you’ve ever had?I still remember mine from my first season of running cross country as a 13-year-old high school freshman. I had always done pretty well when we had to run a timed mile in middle school gym class, but I had never run competitively and the only reason I was doing cross country that fall was because my high school required us to do a sport each season. About midway through the season, I showed up on a rainy Saturday afternoon to a practice that I didn’t know was "optional" until I got there. The only other three guys there were the top three guys on the varsity, including the defending individual state champ, and a pair of juniors. I was just a lowly JV newbie.I wanted to bail, but they made it clear I had better just stop talking and HTFU so off we went for a four-mile run, 2 miles out and 2 miles back. I hung with them for the first mile-plus, but then they began to pick up the pace and off they went. We were running a hilly, forested route and pretty soon I couldn’t see them, though I was happy to see I wasn’t all that far behind when they passed me after the turnaround point.Then, somewhere around the 2.5 mile mark, I realized that I felt good, or even great, actually. I was moving faster, my breathing wasn’t labored. And so I decided I better hurry up and run as fast as I could for as long as that good feeling lasted. I’ve always loved running in the rain, and the woods with the water dripping off the leaves reminded me of the running I’d done the previous summer and made me feel a little buoyant.I knew I was running fast, faster than I’d ever run before. The route ended with a long uphill section up the school’s main driveway, and the good feeling finally wore off about a third of the way up. But I wanted to finish strong, kind of hoping that maybe at least one of the older guys would have stuck around to see me finish. Instead, as I came around the final turn on the uphill, I saw that the two juniors – who were always in competition with each other – must have raced each other to the finish and were still standing there waiting for the state champ to finish up and join them. Because he was still running, less than a hundred yards in front of me!At that point, there was no longer any question that I was going to finish strong. As state champ guy finished, one of the other two kind of lifted his chin and pointed my way, and I can still picture their expressions of muted surprise as I came trucking up hard on their heels. For them, it was just an easy four-miler and they would have dusted me if it had been a race, but for me it was the first time I believed I was actually fast enough to be good. I would go on to win a couple of races and get All-League as a junior (before quitting as a senior to play on the reject football squad, but that’s another story) but 25 years later, the feeling I had on those last two inbound miles and the looks on the faces of those older, faster guys are my favorite memory of my running "career."

Why do I have the image of Iron Will in my head? Anyway -