Ran a 10k in June (5 Viewers)

[jmcc]

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 -

I had Rocky music going in my head.

 

[Sand]

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....

So you wore them on one puny little training run, huh? Anyway, I skipped out of work early today (way too nice of weather) and went down to the local park here that has nice bike lanes and terrain much like the tri next weekend. I think what I did was a bit more steep (and very curvy - not much chance to use the aerobars), but reasonably close. Did a decent ride on very sore legs from the run yesterday (sad, but true), and still managed a 19.2mph average. 20mph average in the tri last year would have me top 20% or so - sounds like a good goal. I was definitely slower than if I was properly rested. Finished up with a ~1100 yd swim in the lake there.

On the "free speed" side of things I bought a couple toys to use in the next tri - some latex tubes and a disc cover. Pretty excited about the disc cover - not a Zipp zub zero, but still pretty cool.

 

[Keggers]

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.

That's good to hear! I've played soccer most of my life (stopped about 3-4 years ago). I always loved the day before and the day of a game. The anticipation, the practicing/preparation, the competition (bar league softball and volleyball don't really count )...it's been missing the past few years.....until now. Anyway, Gruecd....which 1/2 are you doing...Lake County 1/2?

 

[gruecd]

Anyway, Gruecd....which 1/2 are you doing...Lake County 1/2?

Crap, forgot to get back to you. I actually think I'm gonna do the Justiceworks race in Stevens Point. It starts at 8:00 instead of 7:00, and it's only an hour away, so I can actually sleep in my own bed, and I won't have to get up at 3:00 like I would if I was doing Lake Country. I haven't tapered or anything, so I'm planning on just doing it as another MP training run, but if my legs feel good in the morning, I might race. Judging by last year's results, I could probably go top-10 if I race.Good luck tomorrow!!!!!! Text me and LMK how it goes!

 

[Keggers]

Anyway, Gruecd....which 1/2 are you doing...Lake County 1/2?

Crap, forgot to get back to you. I actually think I'm gonna do the Justiceworks race in Stevens Point. It starts at 8:00 instead of 7:00, and it's only an hour away, so I can actually sleep in my own bed, and I won't have to get up at 3:00 like I would if I was doing Lake Country. I haven't tapered or anything, so I'm planning on just doing it as another MP training run, but if my legs feel good in the morning, I might race. Judging by last year's results, I could probably go top-10 if I race.Good luck tomorrow!!!!!! Text me and LMK how it goes!

Good luck to you too...and to everyone else who has a race this weekend!

 

[gruecd]

Hey, Duck, your boy LeGarrette Blount is one classy dude.

 

[SFBayDuck]

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!

Wow...thank god I can go back to thinking about running again. What a nightmare that was, on every level.

Hey, Duck, your boy LeGarrette Blount is one classy dude.

No argument there, you can see my thoughts on that over in HUCKS thread. But and and pretty much sum up my feelings on it.

 

[gruecd]

No argument there, you can see my thoughts on that over in HUCKS thread. But and and pretty much sum up my feelings on it.

Homeboy can throw a mean punch, though. I'll give him that.

 

[The_Man]

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!

Wow...thank god I can go back to thinking about running again. What a nightmare that was, on every level.

Including the shoulder pad level -- what was with the feather boa?

 

[SFBayDuck]

No argument there, you can see my thoughts on that over in HUCKS thread. But and and pretty much sum up my feelings on it.

Homeboy can throw a mean punch, though. I'll give him that.

Pretty sure that wasn't his first punch. Pretty sure it won't be his last, either. I like the punishment they gave him - kicked off the team, but allowed to keep his schollie, stay in school, and work out. He can no longer tarnish the program by being on the field, but give him an opportunity to work his way back to a 2nd chance playing somewhere. I highly doubt he'll be able to take advantage of that chance, though.

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!

Wow...thank god I can go back to thinking about running again. What a nightmare that was, on every level.

Including the shoulder pad level -- what was with the feather boa?

They're "abrasion resistant", says Nike. Because, of course, football jerseys all over the country are being worn thin without those things .In the end, the unis do what they're really designed to do - generate buzz, and the kids apparently like 'em. When you're a 16,000-student university in whitebread Eugene, OR, and you have goals of being among the top athletic programs in the entire country, you gotta do what you can to market the program to compete for kids in the Bay Area, LA, etc. Unfortunately, Blount disproved the "all publicity is good publicity" saying all by himself last night.

And now, to get back on topic....

Planning the rest of my taper. About 8-10 trail miles tomorrow, with some climbing but nothing too aggressive. Then my normal 6 mile trail run on Monday, followed by a flat 4-5 miles on Wednesday. Then, it's 2 days of rest and driving up to Tahoe on Friday night.

 

[tri-man 47]

Keggers, is it just you this weekend? Nail it, buddy, nail it!!!

---

Tri-man's Marathon Training: Where toe nails go to die. I can tell that I'm losing the same nail as before. Not a big deal, but sheesh!

 

[gruecd]

Keggers, is it just you this weekend? Nail it, buddy, nail it!!!

Ummm.....

 

[2Young2BBald]

Keggers, is it just you this weekend? Nail it, buddy, nail it!!!

Agreed, go get it Keggers (and I think gruecd had another "training race" like Chicago. Keggers, I think it is VERY COOL that the jitters and planning start about Tuesday of race week. These guys are right, it never gets old.I owe you guys an update, but am coming back from vacation busier than heck. Quickie update, for the last few years I have had some pretty good pain in my left foot. Saw my podiatrist again today and the news is not good. Turns out I have a "deformity" where two joints meet in my arch in my left foot. She was hoping it was just a pin pushing down in to the tendons from the bunionectomy in 2001 which could have been cured with a quicke operation and limited down time with almost no break in swimming. Well, its a no go. It turns out 2 joints have created a "V" pushing down on the tendons that run below the arch. Now for the good news. I think I've posted before that my podiatrist is also a triathlete and she wants t keep me in action. Our talk today was about the fact that if I was a sedentary 40-year old guy she'd likely operate. Instead, she'll fit me for an orthatic (that my damn HMO won't cover ) and shoot me with cortisone as needed. We decided I'd race MY FIRST OLY next Saturday and come back in for the shot to keep me going for a race the next weekend if possible and then maybe gun for a 1/2 marathon PR in October. Cool part, I am NOT doing any additional damage and as long as I don't become a 250 LB diabetic and surgery should not be necessary.

 

[SFBayDuck]

I'm sure most (none?) of you have seen this story, but Erik Skaggs, an employee of Hal Koerner's Rogue Valley Runner's store I visited up in Ashland, OR, last weekend, and a top ultrarunner himself, suffered complete renal failure following his victory in the US 100K trail championships two weekends ago.

I know the whole ultra running thing is only of interest to a couple of us here, but wanted to post this for a couple of reasons. First, the dude was hospitalized for almost a week, and has no health insurance. His membership in USA Track & Field pays for a small amount, but he's looking at some pretty big medical bills. Anyone interested in throwing a couple bucks his way can see the address for a fund setup in his name on the Rogue Valley Runners blog. I don't think any of you are local to Memphis, but there is a fund raising race going on there as well on the 19th there as well as some potential others in the planning.

More generally, it's an interesting discussion on the use of ibuprofen, which he blames for contributing to his kidney failure. That's something of particular interest to anyone here participating in longer endurance events - ultrarunners, marathoners, century riders, triathletes, etc. Has me curious, particularly for the feedback of poppa, tri, gru, and others who've been at this awhile, on their thoughts on the topic. I rarely use good 'ole Vitamin I, sometimes here and there after a race or long run, but never before or during. Wondering other people's thoughts on the topic......

 

[gruecd]

I think gruecd had another "training race" like Chicago....

Nope, assuming the legs feel fresh in the morning, I think I'm gonna race it. Even bought some "fast" shoes today!

 

[gruecd]

Wondering other people's thoughts on the topic......

Simply put, all things in moderation.

 

[2Young2BBald]

I'm sure most (none?) of you have seen this story, but Erik Skaggs, an employee of Hal Koerner's Rogue Valley Runner's store I visited up in Ashland, OR, last weekend, and a top ultrarunner himself, suffered complete renal failure following his victory in the US 100K trail championships two weekends ago.

I know the whole ultra running thing is only of interest to a couple of us here, but wanted to post this for a couple of reasons. First, the dude was hospitalized for almost a week, and has no health insurance. His membership in USA Track & Field pays for a small amount, but he's looking at some pretty big medical bills. Anyone interested in throwing a couple bucks his way can see the address for a fund setup in his name on the Rogue Valley Runners blog. I don't think any of you are local to Memphis, but there is a fund raising race going on there as well on the 19th there as well as some potential others in the planning.

More generally, it's an interesting discussion on the use of ibuprofen, which he blames for contributing to his kidney failure. That's something of particular interest to anyone here participating in longer endurance events - ultrarunners, marathoners, century riders, triathletes, etc. Has me curious, particularly for the feedback of poppa, tri, gru, and others who've been at this awhile, on their thoughts on the topic. I rarely use good 'ole Vitamin I, sometimes here and there after a race or long run, but never before or during. Wondering other people's thoughts on the topic......

Both Runner's World & Triathlete Mag did big pieces on this. Long story short, they all arrived at NEVER on race day as their findings. I regularly did a few Advil as part of my pre-race routine. What I read scared the crap out of me and I think I have had maybe 4 total Motrin in the last year.

 

[Sand]

Wondering other people's thoughts on the topic......

Simply put, all things in moderation.

Speaking of moderation good luck in (yet another) race this weekend!Keggers, too. Kick ###, guys.

 

[jmcc]

Keggers, is it just you this weekend? Nail it, buddy, nail it!!!

Ummm.....

 

[2Young2BBald]

Finished 3 days of vacation "penance" today. Did 12 miles on the bike Thursday (wanted to do more but it gets dark too early lately), rode 5 miles round trip to our pool yesterday with a 1500 yard swim in between and capped it this morining with an 18 mile bike, 3 mile run brick. I am seeing HUGE benfits from training at high altitudes (and, I think I might just be taller too). I wasn't a total slouch on vacation. I did 3 1500 yard swims (2 at 9,600 ft of altitude and one down in Denver at 5,000+), ran the butt kicker of a half marathon and ran another 4 miler at the same altitude and did an 8 mile bike ride on a tandem road bike with little help from my son. And, we walked everywhere.

for Keggers & gruecd

 

[gruecd]

for Keggers & gruecd

First off, I have it on good authority that Keggers exceeded expectations this morning. I'll let him give you guys the details.Me? Let's just say that I did a MP training run the hard way. Did a three-mile warm-up before hand with the intention of racing. Wore the new LunaRacers. Temps were great at the start at 8:00, and I was on pace for sub-1:30 through the first 8 miles or so. At that point, it REALLY started to heat up (course was wide open at this point), my feet had developed 3-4 blisters from my new POS shoes, and my legs felt like they were stuck in concrete. Anyway, blew up in the end, ended up running 1:32:11, or 7:02 pace. If I'd know I was going to run just under MP, I would've just started at MP and then negative split the run. Would've been MUCH more pleasant that way. Anyway, not too disappointed, since I just decided yesterday to do the race at the end of a 60-mile training week and after just doing 12 on Thursday, and also because the damn shoes tore up my feet.

OK, time to go cut the lawn. Have a great day, everybody. And again, Keggers, congrats, bro!!!

 

[SFBayDuck]

Looking forward to the Keg Report!

Nice job gru, sounds like you made a good day out of it, topping off a hell of a week. You ran more this week than I was doing monthly all of last year.

Got in my 11 mile trail run this morning. Had a little trouble again the first few miles, but felt great by about the 45 minute mark through to the end. Probably over 1/2 singletrack, but not too aggressive on the hills with a lot of rolling stuff so about 3500' of gain overall, but peaked out under 700'. Decent pace for a run like that for me at 11:15, and finished strong again with a sub-9:00 final mile. Really happy with my avg HR of 147. I know the altitude next weekend is going to cost me a good 5-10 bpm, and with the mid-high 150s still a pretty comfortable zone for me I see that as a good sign.

Wore my big yellow "O" Oregon shirt, and sure got a lot more comments than usual, along with a hottie near the end that I haven't seen out there before that gave me a solid "Go Ducks!". Sorry, no pics.

Warmed up a bit at the start with two ladies who are training for NY and, yes gru, Boston. I know the one running Boston, she knocked out a sub-3:28 at NY last year to qualify with 17 minutes to spare! Of course I started before them, and they had passed me by the trailhead around mile 1 not to be seen again.

 

[Workhorse]

I guess I'll start being an active participant in this thread again since I just started my training for the Disney Marathon in January today.

Ended up picking up the Garmin Forerunner 201 and took it out on my first long training run today. 8 miles in a leasurely 9:20/mi pace. The area around my home in Suburban Atlanta has some wicked hills so the first training run always feels like a brick in the face. I felt better than expected afterwards and I'm actually looking forward to the next 4 months. I'm pretty much sticking with the Higdon Intermediate Marathon training schedule. It's really been beneficial in my half marathon efforts the last two times. The most difficult part of training will probably be the bachelor party/wedding in early October for my best friend, Phish Halloween shows, my 10th wedding anniversary vacation and the various holidays. I'm going to have to be very disciplined.

 

[gruecd]

Back from 5-mile recovery run. Will do another one tonight. Tomorrow 8 miles with 5 x 600M at 5K pace.

Have a great day, everybody!

ETA: Oh, and Workhorse, good luck with your marathon training. LMK if you need any help/advice along the way!

 

[gruecd]

Tonight's 6 recovery miles in 48:42.

Not sure if I'll stick with the schedule and do my 8 w/intervals tomorrow or if I'll take advantage of the day off and get my long run done. Time will tell.

 

[DolphinsPhan]

It's been awhile since I've posted...still on track with my marathon training. Did my 19 miler yesterday. Legs a little sore, but overall feel fine.

Have a question about sports/leg massages...anyone get them? When do you typically get one in relation to your workout - same day? next day?

Looks like everyone is chugging along nicely...keep up the great work everyont.

 

[gruecd]

It's been awhile since I've posted...still on track with my marathon training. Did my 19 miler yesterday. Legs a little sore, but overall feel fine. Have a question about sports/leg massages...anyone get them? When do you typically get one in relation to your workout - same day? next day?Looks like everyone is chugging along nicely...keep up the great work everyont.

Hey, PhinsPhan, glad to hear that the training is going well. Apparently everyone else has gone MIA this weekend. Regarding massages, yeah, I get one pretty much monthly. I had one last week, and I've got my next one scheduled for the Tuesday before the race. I generally try not to run for 24 hours after the massage. And drink TONS of water to flush all the crap out of your system after the massage therapist works it out of your muscles.

 

[2Young2BBald]

It's been awhile since I've posted...still on track with my marathon training. Did my 19 miler yesterday. Legs a little sore, but overall feel fine. Have a question about sports/leg massages...anyone get them? When do you typically get one in relation to your workout - same day? next day?Looks like everyone is chugging along nicely...keep up the great work everyont.

Hey, PhinsPhan, glad to hear that the training is going well. Apparently everyone else has gone MIA this weekend. Regarding massages, yeah, I get one pretty much monthly. I had one last week, and I've got my next one scheduled for the Tuesday before the race. I generally try not to run for 24 hours after the massage. And drink TONS of water to flush all the crap out of your system after the massage therapist works it out of your muscles.

Not much to add, other than ask around and be sure the therapyst understands the sports side of things. The two best massages I have had we're at a facilities tied to a hospital & a sports medicine clinic. The woman that did the one at the hospital freked me out by being ably to run her hands just off the skin and found hot spots where I was most sore so she could focus the massage. I wouldn't do one any more than 2 weeks prior to a race. I have had them done the day after too.

 

[tri-man 47]

Back from a Michigan weekend (and - Go Blue!). While gru ( ) and Keggers were racing, I finished another strong week of training ..pretty much a repeat of last weekend: 12 miles on Saturday with a slightly sub-marathon pace 10 mile tempo run (hilly course, so a hard run), then a slow 20 miler on Sunday. 56 miles for the week. Before leaving the cottage this morning, I had a great 35 minute lake swim - sun just coming up; some morning mist on the lake; no one but me on the lake. :heaven:

Regarding recent Q's - I don't take any pain medication. If I'm sore, I'm sore. Also, I'm not in the habit of getting massages. With the heavy run schedule now, I'll spend time working out the kinks myself, and that seems to be sufficient.

Workhorse, PhinsPhan, keep up the training!!! 2Young getting shots before upcoming races - warrior.

 

[pigskinliquors]

2Young: Sorry to hear about your foot, though it sounds like your doc has you in good hands.

Gru: Tough run, but you did it! I thought wearing new shoes was a bit crazy for a race.

Tri-Man: Great training week!

I also don't like to take aspirin, or any pain relievers, but will if it's intense (like this morning after consuming a bit too much!).

_____________________________________

My Update:

My run yesterday was pretty much a failure. I had a slow 14 scheduled. While it was a bit warm (86'ish) it wasn't any hotter/humid than my recent runs. I felt good through mile 6, then my HR started escalating fast. At mile 8 I was already over 180 I then slowed it down even more, and ran through mile 9. I then walked until my HR was back below 130 (about a quarter mile); then ran 2 more miles; walked another quarter mile; and ran one more mile. I got in a total of just over 12, but was more than whomped. My guess is that my legs hadn't recovered enough from last weekend's bike race; and unfortunately have no other excuse other than it just wasn't in me. I have a scheduled 16 miler for next weekend, and am not too excited about it right now.

Keggers

 

[Keggers]

Keggers, is it just you this weekend? Nail it, buddy, nail it!!!

Ummm.....

Hahaha!!! I was gone all weekend so here's my race report from Saturday's race:Friday night I picked up the girlfriend and drove about 2 hours straight south of Green Bay...to Oconomowoc, WI. We stayed with my cousin and her family. They prepared a wonderful dinner (my cousin ran this race too and her husband just completed his first tri ). We had a couple of beers while sitting around a campfire and went to bed promptly at 9:45pm. Got up at 5:15am...race was at 7:00am. I was thoroughly prepared and we all got to the race in plenty of time....nice and relaxed.

It was a beautiful morning! No wind at all, cool (upper 50s), and fog over the lake. Just perfect! Anyway, two weeks ago I was told by the race organizers that there would be pacers....there weren't. So I was kind of upset about that as I don't have a Garmin to keep track of my pace. So I was on my own in that regard. The course was fairly flat but had lots of turns. I was able run the tangents pretty good (I was surprised to see that not a lot of other people were doing this). There were only 839 total runners so the herd thinned pretty early...by mile 3 we were spread out. I was able to find my pace and stick to it. I don't recall each mile split, but I do remember them being extremely consistent. About halfway through I realized that I was among a group of 4 that stayed together. We all took turns leading for a while then falling back in our pack. It was neat having the non-verbal communication with the other runners. Basically we were pacing each other and pushing each other.

So I was able to hold my pace and have others "push" me....very cool! I felt good for most of the race. Obviously the last couple of miles were difficult but that's expected, right? I was pretty tired entering the last mile and the group got away from me. Oh well. I was still able to pick a few people off at the end (HTFU) and finished in exactly 1:42:00!!!! I had a relatively aggressive goal of 8:00/mile and I did it in 7:47/mile!!!

Needless to say I was (and still am) very happy...and almost got "emotional" at the finish line! I must've looked goofy with my perma-grin. :X I really trained hard for this one. It feels so rewarding to have set a goal and be successful. That's all for now....happy running everyone!

 

[pigskinliquors]

AWESOME Keggers!!!! You earned a :X

 

[Keggers]

AWESOME Keggers!!!! You earned a

Thanks! I had plenty of those on Saturday night!Forgot to mention that gruecd sent me a "wake up" text at 5:25am with some words of encouragement. VERY COOL!

 

[tri-man 47]

About halfway through I realized that I was among a group of 4 that stayed together. We all took turns leading for a while then falling back in our pack. It was neat having the non-verbal communication with the other runners. Basically we were pacing each other and pushing each other.

I loved this part. Great job!! That's an excellent time and reflects your hard work.

 

[SFBayDuck]

Needless to say I was (and still am) very happy...and almost got "emotional" at the finish line! I must've looked goofy with my perma-grin. I really trained hard for this one. It feels so rewarding to have set a goal and be successful. That's all for now....happy running everyone!

Awesome, well done! I know all about that "emotional" finish line thing. I still get it almost every time.As for me, I somehow tweaked my right achilles on my run on Saturday, it's been a little sore ever since. Really tight in the morning, loosens up ok but doesn't feel quite right throughout the day. So I headed out for my 5-6 miler today, with the idea of testing it out to see if it would loosen up or not. Ran about 1/2 mile, stopped to stretch the calves again, ran another 1/2 or so and stretched again, and at that point felt pretty good so decided to keep going. I did figure at that point that hitting the single track wasn't the best idea, so I stayed down in the flats, in fact ran about 3 of the miles on the local track to keep it nice, soft, and smooth. A hot day, but a pretty decent 6 mile run with a good mile walking cooldown and extra stretching afterwards. We'll see how it feels tonight and tomorrow, but it doesn't seem to be anything serious. Just obviously would prefer to toe the starting line of my first ultra at 100%, but I should be ok.

 

[gruecd]

Again, Keggers, GREAT job. Super impressed. What are you thinking about Fox Cities?? Honestly, it would be a great chance for you to piggy-back on your training!

I did 8 miles this afternoon including 5 x 600M intervals with 200M recoveries in between. Went 2:11, 2:12, 2:13, 2:14, and 2:12 on the intervals. Average was 2:12.8, which equates to a 5:54 pace. Was supposed to do them at 5K pace, but I did them just a little bit faster. Overall, pretty pleased with the workout.

 

[gruecd]

I wouldn't do one any more than 2 weeks prior to a race. I have had them done the day after too.

With all due respect to 2Young, I disagree with this. I know a lot of my marathoner friends who get massages early in the week before a race to work out any lingering soreness. But I wouldn't do them any later than Tuesday or Wednesday of race week. Like I said, I've got my next one scheduled for Tuesday, October 6. Also, with regard to post-race massages, I would recommend waiting until the 2nd day after the race to get your massage to account for delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS).But like most things exercise- and running-related, everyone's different.

 

[2Young2BBald]

W W Keggers. Outstanding job. I get the emotional thing too. Like pre-race excitement, it hasn't gone away and I hope it never does.

 

[Sand]

I also don't like to take aspirin, or any pain relievers, but will if it's intense (like this morning after consuming a bit too much!).

Funny enough I woke up Friday with a pinched nerve in my shoulder. AWFUL. Had a full schedule planned and couldn't really do much. I did manage a run on Saturday and Sunday, but those were interspersed with muscle relaxers and pain killers (hate 'em, but they were necessary). Did a short lake swim today and shoulder is a-ok.On a good front I installed latex tubes and my new wheel cover today and took her out for a ride. I didn't lose any speed on the uphills (in fact I was faster going up) and definitely gained some on the downhills. I was 1mph faster overall than a couple weeks ago, same course (yea I know that is based on a N=1 comparison, but it felt good). The course next weekend consists of 2 decent sized hills along with 2 really nice downhills to hammer - I think the cover will add some speed. I will be thrilled with anything over 20mph on this course.

Besides, the cover looks fast.

Oh, and Keggers -

 

[pigskinliquors]

I also don't like to take aspirin, or any pain relievers, but will if it's intense (like this morning after consuming a bit too much!).

Funny enough I woke up Friday with a pinched nerve in my shoulder. AWFUL. Had a full schedule planned and couldn't really do much. I did manage a run on Saturday and Sunday, but those were interspersed with muscle relaxers and pain killers (hate 'em, but they were necessary). Did a short lake swim today and shoulder is a-ok.On a good front I installed latex tubes and my new wheel cover today and took her out for a ride. I didn't lose any speed on the uphills (in fact I was faster going up) and definitely gained some on the downhills. I was 1mph faster overall than a couple weeks ago, same course (yea I know that is based on a N=1 comparison, but it felt good). The course next weekend consists of 2 decent sized hills along with 2 really nice downhills to hammer - I think the cover will add some speed. I will be thrilled with anything over 20mph on this course.

Besides, the cover looks fast.

Oh, and Keggers -

can't wait to get more feedback about your covers!

 

[Sand]

can't wait to get more feedback about your covers!

Couple things - I had one screw fall out during the practice run. I'm going to tape them for the race.Also, I definitely need a crack pipe - it is hard to get the head of an inflator in there. I'll kludge something the morning of the race, but with latex tubes the air pressure doesn't last long.And it is a bit hard to get it installed an not be wavy. You can't use a spoke magnet for a computer (unless you glue it onto the cover). I have a Garmin, so no big deal there.BUT, it should add free speed. I'll go through worse for free speed.

 

[pigskinliquors]

My update:

Had an unexpectedly sweet 6 mile run this morning (5:30 am). The temp was down to 73 degrees which made it much easier to breathe. With the awful run I had on Sunday I had zero clue what to expect. I started out slow (warm-up mile), but didn't have a clue how slow, as it was too dark to see, and I didn't want to run based on the Garmin, but based on how my legs felt. I felt like I was almost walking, and at the mile point, when the Garmin "lit-up" with the time; I was shocked that it said 8:41 (thought I was running 9:15'ish). I then ran every mile after at least :10 faster than the previous, with the 6th mile being at 7:27. My legs felt great, and still do! Giddy'up!

 

[gruecd]

My update:

Had an unexpectedly sweet 6 mile run this morning (5:30 am). The temp was down to 73 degrees which made it much easier to breathe. With the awful run I had on Sunday I had zero clue what to expect. I started out slow (warm-up mile), but didn't have a clue how slow, as it was too dark to see, and I didn't want to run based on the Garmin, but based on how my legs felt. I felt like I was almost walking, and at the mile point, when the Garmin "lit-up" with the time; I was shocked that it said 8:41 (thought I was running 9:15'ish). I then ran every mile after at least :10 faster than the previous, with the 6th mile being at 7:27. My legs felt great, and still do! Giddy'up!

Nice work, liquors. I couldn't drag my butt out of bed this morning, so I'll have to do my 11-miler tonight after my running club's board meeting. Probably won't get started until 8:00 or so, which means I won't get done until 9:30. Ugh.Prior to this training cycle, I'd only topped 50 MPW once or twice, and lately I've been hitting 60 pretty routinely. I even hit 70 once. The biggest thing I'm noticing is that I need a lot more sleep to recover. Normally I get get by on 5-6 hours of sleep, but now if I don't get a solid 8 hours, I'm falling asleep on the couch at 8:00 at night!

 

[jonmhend]

This week marks the beginning of week 4 for me going from couch-potato to 1/2 marathon in January. I'm curious if you guys think I'm under-training, not going fast enough, or over-training (given the distances you guys run, I doubt it will be the latter).

I'm in AZ and have been starting out at about 6 AM most days in a temp about 82-86 and 35-45% humidity.

Week 1: just trying to get 30 min of activity in. Jogged/walked 4 times that week for about 10.5 miles.

Week 2: tried cutting out more of the walking and (due to travel) I hit an elliptical 2 days. Total jogging/walking distance 9.2 miles but exercised 5 days. Found a decent 2.8 mile route that I ran 2x and did a 3.6 on the weekend. My pace is slow 10.5-11.5 min/miles

Week 3: Ran 6 days, 5 at 2.8 miles and one 4.1. Felt pretty good, but my times make me wonder if I can really call it "running" instead of jogging. Total distance was 18.2 for the week.

I'd like to think I could get down to 8.5 min miles for the half in January. I'm starting to think this might be too aggressive of a target, but once the weather cools off and I get into the 6-7 mile long runs, I'll probably have a better feel for it. Do you guys think for this one I should be more focused just on finishing rather than a time goal?

Really looking forward to the weather changing soon - at least in the mornings...

 

[2Young2BBald]

This week marks the beginning of week 4 for me going from couch-potato to 1/2 marathon in January. I'm curious if you guys think I'm under-training, not going fast enough, or over-training (given the distances you guys run, I doubt it will be the latter).I'm in AZ and have been starting out at about 6 AM most days in a temp about 82-86 and 35-45% humidity.Week 1: just trying to get 30 min of activity in. Jogged/walked 4 times that week for about 10.5 miles.Week 2: tried cutting out more of the walking and (due to travel) I hit an elliptical 2 days. Total jogging/walking distance 9.2 miles but exercised 5 days. Found a decent 2.8 mile route that I ran 2x and did a 3.6 on the weekend. My pace is slow 10.5-11.5 min/milesWeek 3: Ran 6 days, 5 at 2.8 miles and one 4.1. Felt pretty good, but my times make me wonder if I can really call it "running" instead of jogging. Total distance was 18.2 for the week.I'd like to think I could get down to 8.5 min miles for the half in January. I'm starting to think this might be too aggressive of a target, but once the weather cools off and I get into the 6-7 mile long runs, I'll probably have a better feel for it. Do you guys think for this one I should be more focused just on finishing rather than a time goal?Really looking forward to the weather changing soon - at least in the mornings...

While its good to have a target MM time, like 8:30s, I think it'd be more realistic to shoot for just upping your mileage first and then seeing if the speed will come (and, like you stated finish & finish strong). If you can continue to up your miles at current pace, you are on track for a 2:15ish 1/2, cut you MM to 9s and you are sub 2-hours. I am the last guy to be preaching a "plan" as I tend to follow my internal plan versus what is out there. But, I did follow a very tight plan before my 1st half and it paid off. You'd benefit from some structure at this early stage and with 4-months to go. Are you signed up for Disney as your 1st 1/2 by chance? If so, know that you'll have no where to run for the first 3 miles or so and that'll slow you down a bit (and be a bit frustrating if you've never encountered something like this before). Have you raced any distance before? If not, you may want to target a 10K in October just to get a feel for the event (jitters, potty, logistics, etc).

 

[jonmhend]

While its good to have a target MM time, like 8:30s, I think it'd be more realistic to shoot for just upping your mileage first and then seeing if the speed will come (and, like you stated finish & finish strong). If you can continue to up your miles at current pace, you are on track for a 2:15ish 1/2, cut you MM to 9s and you are sub 2-hours. I am the last guy to be preaching a "plan" as I tend to follow my internal plan versus what is out there. But, I did follow a very tight plan before my 1st half and it paid off. You'd benefit from some structure at this early stage and with 4-months to go. Are you signed up for Disney as your 1st 1/2 by chance? If so, know that you'll have no where to run for the first 3 miles or so and that'll slow you down a bit (and be a bit frustrating if you've never encountered something like this before). Have you raced any distance before? If not, you may want to target a 10K in October just to get a feel for the event (jitters, potty, logistics, etc).

10 years ago I ran the mini in Indy. Also did a 10K training for that.My experience there was that the race adrenaline pushed me out to like 7:40 miles the first half and then I faded hard. Finished at 1:52. I think you've got it right 'though, just keep putting in the miles and as the race gets closer I'll get a better handle on what I can/can't do.I'll be running the Rock n Roll AZ 1/2 on Jan 17.

 

[DolphinsPhan]

I wouldn't do one any more than 2 weeks prior to a race. I have had them done the day after too.

With all due respect to 2Young, I disagree with this. I know a lot of my marathoner friends who get massages early in the week before a race to work out any lingering soreness. But I wouldn't do them any later than Tuesday or Wednesday of race week. Like I said, I've got my next one scheduled for Tuesday, October 6. Also, with regard to post-race massages, I would recommend waiting until the 2nd day after the race to get your massage to account for delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS).But like most things exercise- and running-related, everyone's different.

Thanks to the crew for all of the massage info. I did check out a local place on Monday and I think I am definitely going to get a massage. My legs were still a little sore this morning from my 19 mile run on Sunday. I am wondering if I should get the massage after my 12 mile run this coming Saturday (in preparation for my 20 miler the following weekend) or wait until after the 20 miler??? Haven't had a massage before so don't know how I will react which makes me wonder about scheduling it for after the 20 miler. Of course if it is fantastic then I will be peeved that I didn't get one before my 20 miler. What's the play here?

In any case, I do my long runs on Saturday mornings, so it would seem scheduling one on Sunday or Monday make the most sense...

 

[gruecd]

I am wondering if I should get the massage after my 12 mile run this coming Saturday (in preparation for my 20 miler the following weekend) or wait until after the 20 miler??? Haven't had a massage before so don't know how I will react which makes me wonder about scheduling it for after the 20 miler. Of course if it is fantastic then I will be peeved that I didn't get one before my 20 miler. What's the play here?

Just to clarify, make sure that you're getting a sports massage or "deep tissue" massage. You don't want one of those feel-good, spa-type massages. This should hurt. But it'll be a good hurt.That being said, I'd suggest scheduling your massage for next week Monday or Tuesday. If it goes well, you could conceivably schedule another one for the first part of race week.-------------------------------Had a board meeting for my running club right after work, so I didn't get out for my run until almost 8:00 tonight. Did 11 miles in 1:24:16. Averaged 7:52 pace for the first five miles and then picked it up, averaging 7:29's for the last six miles. An easy 4-mile recovery run on tap for tomorrow morning before work.

 

[gruecd]

I'll be running the Rock n Roll AZ 1/2 on Jan 17.

Hey, jon. If you're not already registered, I got an E-mail today with a coupon code for $10 off the registration fee for RNR AZ. It's DESTAZ10, and it's good through 9/15.

 

[tri-man 47]

dear jon - I'd suggest just getting your distance up and going, and then seeing how the times are looking (as others stated). Once you get comfortable running, say, 6-8 miles, then you can start thinking about putting some focus on a better pace. Runners World just had a great article on the all around benefit of repeat miles, both for endurance and for speed. If you've had a lay-off of a number of years, don't overlook the strength work, too.

---

For me, a rest day yesterday, then 6 miles this morning with 4, qtr-mile 'block striders' to work on a strong, long stride. Speaking of Runners World, the Zola Budd article mentioned her work at Coastal Carolina with running coach Jeff Jacobs. I remember Jacobs dominating some local mid-distance races here in the Chicago area 20 years ago ...powerful strider.