Ran a 10k in June (5 Viewers)

[prosopis]

13.1 miles in 1:58:40 (9:04s). HR averaged 164, again a little higher than I'd normally expect, but I never crossed 175 which is good. It was in the 30s pretty much the whole way! My legs are pretty tired - this week after my 22 miler last weekend has been tougher than the week after Chicago.

I am interested to hear what my cardiologist says on Tuesday about HR. I am not as fast as you guys especially over 13 miles but my HR yesterday avg 162 for 9.1 11:25 pace. Yesterday I had the garmin set for run 5 mins ( I really tried to keep a 9:30 pace) and walk for 1.5 mins.Looking over my records my HR may not be as bad as I thought but I do have some spikes with highest being 186.

 

[gruecd]

16 hungover, dehydrated miles this morning at 7:35 average pace.

Yeah, still hating you.

I am glad someone said it.

Haters.

 

[wraith5]

16 hungover, dehydrated miles this morning at 7:35 average pace.

Yeah, still hating you.

I am glad someone said it.

Haters.

Probably important to acknowledge that grue works his ### off to be capable of doing that. Personally I save my ire for the dude I met at the Chicago Expo who runs 3's and smokes. That's just not right.

 

[BassNBrew]

Start 5K 10K 15K 20K Half 25K 30K 35K 40K Finish

8:01:32 00:24:25 00:48:42 01:12:14 01:35:27 01:40:41 01:58:43 02:22:21 02:46:29 03:12:39 03:25:25

the_Man is in. Nailed his 24:25 start right on the nose. Here are the 5k splits.

24:25

24:17

23:32

23:13

23:16

23:38

24:08

24:10

Congrats on you great marathon

 

[Ned]

Well.....I got my first official 10K under my belt and I friggin' killed it!! I have so many thoughts about this race that I can't really get them all focused. For those that don't want to read the novel I can sum it up in a few smilies -

Long version......

I was pretty worked up over running this last night. I tend to be OCD and it was really kicking into overdrive when I was thinking about how to attack this race. I've ran at this location twice this year (5K) and knew it was a flat course so I didn't have to stress about hills at all. I settled on 2 goals: 1 - Don't screw it up by going out too fast like I did all summer at the 5Ks. 2 - Break 50:00. I am so glad I decided to do that self-race 5 miler last week as I leaned pretty heavily on it as my gauge on WTF I should be doing out there. Without that run, I don't think I would've had anywhere near as much confidence as I did today. I set the same goal of starting out around an 8:10 pace and letting my body tell me what I had for the rest.

It was a perfect morning, aside from the 15-18mph winds. 47 when I got in the car and crystal clear skies. Based on last year's turn out this was a small race (148 for 10K, ~500 for 5K), but when I got there they had a full blown stage setup with music and quite a few vendors. It didn't look like a lot of cars, but I was surprised at all the stuff they had for such a small race. I had myself so amped up for this thing that I could tell the anxiety was messing with me a little. At the gun I was so antsy and just wanted to get this thing going. I felt like a little kid hopped up on Halloween candy.

After the first mile, I was right on schedule with an 8:09. However, my HR was at 175. That had me a little spooked, so I tried to really calm down and pull myself together over the 2nd mile. Effort wise I felt pretty strong, but the 2nd mile came in at 8:12 and my HR went to 181. At this point I was pretty since I was expecting to be able to settle the HR down to 170 range. I decided that I felt OK, so I picked up the 3rd mile with the plan to scale it back if I started to really feel the effects of my elevated HR.

At the turn around point at around 2.5, they had a water station. I wasn't thirsty, but I figured I'd take a quick splash to just wet the old whistle and not swallow. I'm the biggest dork alive. I took the shot of water and proceeded to choke on it spitting it all over the place and chucking the cup. My throat paid for that for the rest of the race

As the miles melted away, I felt strong and stronger and could really see that 49x in my head. For the entire race, I had only been passed by 2 guys. The 2nd one I was able to keep within sight and used him as my rabbit for the rest of the way. As we neared the 6mi marker, he slowed down a bit. As I came up along side him he asked me how much further we had. After trying to tell him 6 different ways that we had 0.40 to go I just opened up my stride and pulled away. As we turned the corner at the 6 mi marker, he pulled past me again.

I proceeded to have a kick over the last 0.2 that I never knew I had in me. It brought me back to my HS track/cross country days. I got a little too focused on the final kick and started to turn right (where the old 5k finished was) instead of left. Nevermind the guy with a bright ### orange flag pointing left. Nooooooo I was going to turn right since I pictured this damn finish since 5pm last night. When I looked up and saw there was nobody there, I finally realized I was going the wrong way. I turned around quickly and still beat the guy and finished with an unofficial time of 49:26.

I can't explain how damn proud I am of this run. I learned a lot about myself today and really hope I can translate this into a great HM in 3 weeks. If you had told me back in February (when I started this weight loss/get fit thing) that I was going to run a sub 50min 10K, I would've said you're insane!

Here are my splits from the Garmin (which I must admit running a race with this thing is a pretty good advantage):

1-8:09 (max HR 175)

2-8:12 (181)

3-7:57 (182)

4-7:55 (185)

5-7:59 (187 - prior to this race, 187 was my highest HR ever)

6-7:54 (189)

last 0.2 - 1:18 (193)

 

[Ned]

Start 5K 10K 15K 20K Half 25K 30K 35K 40K Finish 8:01:32 00:24:25 00:48:42 01:12:14 01:35:27 01:40:41 01:58:43 02:22:21 02:46:29 03:12:39 03:25:25 the_Man is in. Nailed his 24:25 start right on the nose. Here are the 5k splits.24:2524:1723:3223:1323:1623:3824:0824:10Congrats on you great marathon

HI FRIGGIN FIVE The_Man!!!! Can't wait to hear how it went.

 

[prosopis]

16 hungover, dehydrated miles this morning at 7:35 average pace.

Yeah, still hating you.

I am glad someone said it.

Haters.

You know I love having someone like you around.

 

[prosopis]

16 hungover, dehydrated miles this morning at 7:35 average pace.

Yeah, still hating you.

I am glad someone said it.

Haters.

Probably important to acknowledge that grue works his ### off to be capable of doing that. Personally I save my ire for the dude I met at the Chicago Expo who runs 3's and smokes. That's just not right.

I was once easily beaten at racquet ball by a pack a day smoker and easily 100 lbs over weight guy. That aint right and I have not played since.

 

[prosopis]

Start 5K 10K 15K 20K Half 25K 30K 35K 40K Finish 8:01:32 00:24:25 00:48:42 01:12:14 01:35:27 01:40:41 01:58:43 02:22:21 02:46:29 03:12:39 03:25:25 the_Man is in. Nailed his 24:25 start right on the nose. Here are the 5k splits.24:2524:1723:3223:1323:1623:3824:0824:10Congrats on you great marathon

freaking awesome. All that work paid off!!!! He really is THE MAN!!

 

[prosopis]

Well.....I got my first official 10K under my belt and I friggin' killed it!! I have so many thoughts about this race that I can't really get them all focused. For those that don't want to read the novel I can sum it up in a few smilies -

Long version......

I was pretty worked up over running this last night. I tend to be OCD and it was really kicking into overdrive when I was thinking about how to attack this race. I've ran at this location twice this year (5K) and knew it was a flat course so I didn't have to stress about hills at all. I settled on 2 goals: 1 - Don't screw it up by going out too fast like I did all summer at the 5Ks. 2 - Break 50:00. I am so glad I decided to do that self-race 5 miler last week as I leaned pretty heavily on it as my gauge on WTF I should be doing out there. Without that run, I don't think I would've had anywhere near as much confidence as I did today. I set the same goal of starting out around an 8:10 pace and letting my body tell me what I had for the rest.

It was a perfect morning, aside from the 15-18mph winds. 47 when I got in the car and crystal clear skies. Based on last year's turn out this was a small race (148 for 10K, ~500 for 5K), but when I got there they had a full blown stage setup with music and quite a few vendors. It didn't look like a lot of cars, but I was surprised at all the stuff they had for such a small race. I had myself so amped up for this thing that I could tell the anxiety was messing with me a little. At the gun I was so antsy and just wanted to get this thing going. I felt like a little kid hopped up on Halloween candy.

After the first mile, I was right on schedule with an 8:09. However, my HR was at 175. That had me a little spooked, so I tried to really calm down and pull myself together over the 2nd mile. Effort wise I felt pretty strong, but the 2nd mile came in at 8:12 and my HR went to 181. At this point I was pretty since I was expecting to be able to settle the HR down to 170 range. I decided that I felt OK, so I picked up the 3rd mile with the plan to scale it back if I started to really feel the effects of my elevated HR.

At the turn around point at around 2.5, they had a water station. I wasn't thirsty, but I figured I'd take a quick splash to just wet the old whistle and not swallow. I'm the biggest dork alive. I took the shot of water and proceeded to choke on it spitting it all over the place and chucking the cup. My throat paid for that for the rest of the race

As the miles melted away, I felt strong and stronger and could really see that 49x in my head. For the entire race, I had only been passed by 2 guys. The 2nd one I was able to keep within sight and used him as my rabbit for the rest of the way. As we neared the 6mi marker, he slowed down a bit. As I came up along side him he asked me how much further we had. After trying to tell him 6 different ways that we had 0.40 to go I just opened up my stride and pulled away. As we turned the corner at the 6 mi marker, he pulled past me again.

I proceeded to have a kick over the last 0.2 that I never knew I had in me. It brought me back to my HS track/cross country days. I got a little too focused on the final kick and started to turn right (where the old 5k finished was) instead of left. Nevermind the guy with a bright ### orange flag pointing left. Nooooooo I was going to turn right since I pictured this damn finish since 5pm last night. When I looked up and saw there was nobody there, I finally realized I was going the wrong way. I turned around quickly and still beat the guy and finished with an unofficial time of 49:26.

I can't explain how damn proud I am of this run. I learned a lot about myself today and really hope I can translate this into a great HM in 3 weeks. If you had told me back in February (when I started this weight loss/get fit thing) that I was going to run a sub 50min 10K, I would've said you're insane!

Here are my splits from the Garmin (which I must admit running a race with this thing is a pretty good advantage):

1-8:09 (max HR 175)

2-8:12 (181)

3-7:57 (182)

4-7:55 (185)

5-7:59 (187 - prior to this race, 187 was my highest HR ever)

6-7:54 (189)

last 0.2 - 1:18 (193)

Fanfreakingtastic!!

 

[Sand]

1-8:09 (max HR 175)2-8:12 (181)3-7:57 (182)4-7:55 (185)5-7:59 (187 - prior to this race, 187 was my highest HR ever)6-7:54 (189)last 0.2 - 1:18 (193)

That is one hell of a redline run for 4-5 miles.---(My small update). Hit 25 miles this week. Tweaked a small something in my knee, so I'm off today. Gonna hit the bike hard in the basement so I can crush the TT next weekend.

 

[prosopis]

1-8:09 (max HR 175)2-8:12 (181)3-7:57 (182)4-7:55 (185)5-7:59 (187 - prior to this race, 187 was my highest HR ever)6-7:54 (189)last 0.2 - 1:18 (193)

That is one hell of a redline run for 4-5 miles.---(My small update). Hit 25 miles this week. Tweaked a small something in my knee, so I'm off today. Gonna hit the bike hard in the basement so I can crush the TT next weekend.

This quote you put up makes it look like those are my times. I wish they were but that is Ned's times. The day I have times like that I wont have to post it because you will hear me holler from Arizona.

 

[Ned]

1-8:09 (max HR 175)2-8:12 (181)3-7:57 (182)4-7:55 (185)5-7:59 (187 - prior to this race, 187 was my highest HR ever)6-7:54 (189)last 0.2 - 1:18 (193)

That is one hell of a redline run for 4-5 miles.---(My small update). Hit 25 miles this week. Tweaked a small something in my knee, so I'm off today. Gonna hit the bike hard in the basement so I can crush the TT next weekend.

My main thing back in HS track was the 200m/400m. When i was running the 10k this morning I realized that there's a pretty distinct comparison in these distances in terms of relative effort for sprinters & distance runners (at least to me). 200m = 5K 400m = 10k A properly run 400m fn hurts. That 10k had the same type of pain today. My legs are on fire!

 

[Sand]

1-8:09 (max HR 175)2-8:12 (181)3-7:57 (182)4-7:55 (185)5-7:59 (187 - prior to this race, 187 was my highest HR ever)6-7:54 (189)last 0.2 - 1:18 (193)

That is one hell of a redline run for 4-5 miles.---(My small update). Hit 25 miles this week. Tweaked a small something in my knee, so I'm off today. Gonna hit the bike hard in the basement so I can crush the TT next weekend.

This quote you put up makes it look like those are my times. I wish they were but that is Ned's times. The day I have times like that I wont have to post it because you will hear me holler from Arizona.

So you're calling me out on my crappy quoting abilities?

 

[FUBAR]

1-8:09 (max HR 175)2-8:12 (181)3-7:57 (182)4-7:55 (185)5-7:59 (187 - prior to this race, 187 was my highest HR ever)6-7:54 (189)last 0.2 - 1:18 (193)

That is one hell of a redline run for 4-5 miles.---(My small update). Hit 25 miles this week. Tweaked a small something in my knee, so I'm off today. Gonna hit the bike hard in the basement so I can crush the TT next weekend.

Sorry about the tweak, take your time on it.That hear rate is insane. I'm not sure whether to call the doctor or congratulate. My run this morning1 mile warm up - 8:035k run - 21:431 mile cool down - 7:55Took Saturday off, just busy.Friday night - ran from my house to the airport (3.1M out, 2.4M back) to see Air Force One Land. We ran back on the road where the convoy was going. Although we finished before the convoy passed us it was cool to see people out waiting to see it and cheering for us.

 

[The_Man]

argh - just had a post disappear. Won't be on line today, will give the Race Report tomorrow. Tried my best, didn't hit the wall, just ran out of gas and encountered a tough headwind for the last 5 miles.

Thanks all! More tomorrow.

 

[IvanKaramazov]

Big congrats to Ned and The_Man. Nice running, gentlemen.

 

[prosopis]

1-8:09 (max HR 175)2-8:12 (181)3-7:57 (182)4-7:55 (185)5-7:59 (187 - prior to this race, 187 was my highest HR ever)6-7:54 (189)last 0.2 - 1:18 (193)

That is one hell of a redline run for 4-5 miles.---(My small update). Hit 25 miles this week. Tweaked a small something in my knee, so I'm off today. Gonna hit the bike hard in the basement so I can crush the TT next weekend.

This quote you put up makes it look like those are my times. I wish they were but that is Ned's times. The day I have times like that I wont have to post it because you will hear me holler from Arizona.

So you're calling me out on my crappy quoting abilities?

I am calling myself out on slow running.

 

[prosopis]

argh - just had a post disappear. Won't be on line today, will give the Race Report tomorrow. Tried my best, didn't hit the wall, just ran out of gas and encountered a tough headwind for the last 5 miles.Thanks all! More tomorrow.

Looking forward to the report. Your times looked great.

 

[gruecd]

Big congrats to Ned and The_Man. Nice running, gentlemen.

:X The_Man - I see you hit the half in 1:40. I know you fell a little short of the BQ, but I'm genuinely glad that you went for it. Nice work.

Oh yeah, and I signed up today to run Veterans Marathon on November 13 in Columbia City, IN.

 

[tri-man 47]

Ned and The_Man - great, great job, guys!!! Ned, that's an awesome report; looking forward to The_Man's!

 

[Ned]

Thanks guys. I'm still on cloud 9. Official time was 49:26 good for 4th of 7 in my age group and 49/174 OA. Pretty siked!!

Big time for The_Man's report...

 

[Mad Cow]

Blurry camera phone shot at mile 12

 

[gruecd]

8 cold miles this morning in 1:03:29. Nice progression run, hitting the first mile 8:37 and the last mile at 7:18. Brief stop after about 30 minutes for a quick Burger King confessional.

Oh, yeah. Quick PSA. Invest in some wind-resistence briefs or something for when it's cold outside. You don't want it to get too cold down there. Not a pleasant feeling.

 

[pmbrown_22]

Ned, The_Man and Mad_Cow - Great races this weekend. FBG's putting in some good efforts this weekend.

------------------

Good week for me. I was back at it for 6 days again. I ran 4 on Friday (wanted 8, but i did not have the time), 6 on Saturday and 10 on Sunday. All runs were ran a bit faster than I did for last session, but I felt really good with all of them. Yesterday's run felt like I could have pushed a bit farther if I wanted too, but I had a lot to do and did not want to push things too much.

Have a great day all.

 

[pmbrown_22]

8 cold miles this morning in 1:03:29. Nice progression run, hitting the first mile 8:37 and the last mile at 7:18. Brief stop after about 30 minutes for a quick Burger King confessional. Oh, yeah. Quick PSA. Invest in some wind-resistence briefs or something for when it's cold outside. You don't want it to get too cold down there. Not a pleasant feeling.

Definitely needing some of this attire as well. Not sure where to look or how to go about asking about wraps, warmers or the like for "down there". Maybe it is time to invent something. Might be a pretty good market for it.

 

[Ned]

8 cold miles this morning in 1:03:29. Nice progression run, hitting the first mile 8:37 and the last mile at 7:18. Brief stop after about 30 minutes for a quick Burger King confessional. Oh, yeah. Quick PSA. Invest in some wind-resistence briefs or something for when it's cold outside. You don't want it to get too cold down there. Not a pleasant feeling.

Definitely needing some of this attire as well. Not sure where to look or how to go about asking about wraps, warmers or the like for "down there". Maybe it is time to invent something. Might be a pretty good market for it.

My #1 annoyance about running in the cold right there... Would love to know (in as little detail as possible) on what you guys do to combat this.

 

[pmbrown_22]

8 cold miles this morning in 1:03:29. Nice progression run, hitting the first mile 8:37 and the last mile at 7:18. Brief stop after about 30 minutes for a quick Burger King confessional. Oh, yeah. Quick PSA. Invest in some wind-resistence briefs or something for when it's cold outside. You don't want it to get too cold down there. Not a pleasant feeling.

Definitely needing some of this attire as well. Not sure where to look or how to go about asking about wraps, warmers or the like for "down there". Maybe it is time to invent something. Might be a pretty good market for it.

My #1 annoyance about running in the cold right there... Would love to know (in as little detail as possible) on what you guys do to combat this.

At most, I wear an extra pair of lined shorts, but usually I just deal with it. I have tried using extra socks as a wrap (haven't we all), but to know avail. And there is only so much you can do. Nothing would look more strange than running in the cold with a pillow stuffed down the front of your pants.

 

[gruecd]

8 cold miles this morning in 1:03:29. Nice progression run, hitting the first mile 8:37 and the last mile at 7:18. Brief stop after about 30 minutes for a quick Burger King confessional.

Oh, yeah. Quick PSA. Invest in some wind-resistence briefs or something for when it's cold outside. You don't want it to get too cold down there. Not a pleasant feeling.

Definitely needing some of this attire as well. Not sure where to look or how to go about asking about wraps, warmers or the like for "down there". Maybe it is time to invent something. Might be a pretty good market for it.

My #1 annoyance about running in the cold right there... Would love to know (in as little detail as possible) on what you guys do to combat this.

If you look under "Underwear" at Running Warehouse, they have a couple different options for wind boxers/briefs. Probably worth picking up a couple of pairs. Use this link to get 15% off your entire order.

 

[Sand]

8 cold miles this morning in 1:03:29. Nice progression run, hitting the first mile 8:37 and the last mile at 7:18. Brief stop after about 30 minutes for a quick Burger King confessional. Oh, yeah. Quick PSA. Invest in some wind-resistence briefs or something for when it's cold outside. You don't want it to get too cold down there. Not a pleasant feeling.

Definitely needing some of this attire as well. Not sure where to look or how to go about asking about wraps, warmers or the like for "down there". Maybe it is time to invent something. Might be a pretty good market for it.

Seeing as this is the FFA, make sure you have an XXXL as an option.----On my end - what is it about 25 miles? It seems once I hit that kind of mileage a switch gets hit. I went out last night (knee tweak disappeared) and ran a 10k. This was my third day in a row running and my legs were feeling it. No problem - cruised through it with 8:05 miles over hilly terrain (980 ft over 10k). Went home feeling as good as I left - which is very unusual. I probably could do the 10k this weekend if I wanted to. It seems my legs are up the task. Prolly won't, though, 'cause the TT is looking pretty good.Followed up the 10k with a 45 minute interval session on the bike in the basement. That hurt way worse.

 

[pigskinliquors]

Great weekend The_Man, Ned and at the pic MadCow!

My weekend was the Suck. I did a very light spin on Saturday for 40 minutes, and it felt great. Yesterday I went out for an ez 4 miles (first miles since my calf tweak last Tuesday), and it felt great for .5 miles prior to blowing up. A sharp pain in my right calf = I'm ####ed for the HIM next weekend, and likely ####ed for trying to BQ at Houston I'm going to shut it down for the rest of the week, other than one short swim, and will likely still attempt to race next Sunday, knowing almost certainly that I'll be damn lucky to finish the bike, and won't likely even be able to start the run. Major depression has kicked in

 

[D_House]

I ran a post-high school PR in a local 5K on Sunday of 21:35 (net time by my watch), which works out to a 6:56/mile pace and was good for 9th in my age group. I felt pretty good throughout and had a nice kick at the end, passing a couple runners.

My wife also PRed in what was a nice little event. It had a fun party atmosphere and there were lots of runners in costumes.

This seemed so short and easy after running a marathon. I think I am going to continue working on this distance and see if I can't get my times down to where they were when I ran X-country in high school (just under 18'). It'd be nice to be running to place in my age group.



Ned, The_Man and Mad_Cow: nicely done, and same to any other racers I may have missed!

 

[Ned]

If you look under "Underwear" at Running Warehouse, they have a couple different options for wind boxers/briefs. Probably worth picking up a couple of pairs. Use this link to get 15% off your entire order.

Awesome. Thanks!

Great weekend The_Man, Ned and at the pic MadCow!

My weekend was the Suck. I did a very light spin on Saturday for 40 minutes, and it felt great. Yesterday I went out for an ez 4 miles (first miles since my calf tweak last Tuesday), and it felt great for .5 miles prior to blowing up. A sharp pain in my right calf = I'm ####ed for the HIM next weekend, and likely ####ed for trying to BQ at Houston I'm going to shut it down for the rest of the week, other than one short swim, and will likely still attempt to race next Sunday, knowing almost certainly that I'll be damn lucky to finish the bike, and won't likely even be able to start the run. Major depression has kicked in

:( GL PSL

 

[Ned]

I ran a post-high school PR in a local 5K on Sunday of 21:35 (net time by my watch), which works out to a 6:56/mile pace and was good for 9th in my age group. I felt pretty good throughout and had a nice kick at the end, passing a couple runners.

My wife also PRed in what was a nice little event. It had a fun party atmosphere and there were lots of runners in costumes.

This seemed so short and easy after running a marathon. I think I am going to continue working on this distance and see if I can't get my times down to where they were when I ran X-country in high school (just under 18'). It'd be nice to be running to place in my age group.



Ned, The_Man and Mad_Cow: nicely done, and same to any other racers I may have missed!

Great job! I was never able to crack 21 back in HS. Shooting for 18's?

 

[D_House]

I ran a post-high school PR in a local 5K on Sunday of 21:35 (net time by my watch), which works out to a 6:56/mile pace and was good for 9th in my age group. I felt pretty good throughout and had a nice kick at the end, passing a couple runners.

My wife also PRed in what was a nice little event. It had a fun party atmosphere and there were lots of runners in costumes.

This seemed so short and easy after running a marathon. I think I am going to continue working on this distance and see if I can't get my times down to where they were when I ran X-country in high school (just under 18'). It'd be nice to be running to place in my age group.



Ned, The_Man and Mad_Cow: nicely done, and same to any other racers I may have missed!

Great job! I was never able to crack 21 back in HS. Shooting for 18's?

Thanks. I figure if I did it before, I can do it again, right?

 

[wraith5]

Big congrats to Ned and The_Man. Nice running, gentlemen.

The_Man - I see you hit the half in 1:40. I know you fell a little short of the BQ, but I'm genuinely glad that you went for it. Nice work.

Fantastic job, The_Man!!

Oh yeah, and I signed up today to run Veterans Marathon on November 13 in Columbia City, IN.

I will be joining grue in Columbia City on 11/13 to run my 3rd marathon in the past 12 months. I am very, very excited!! This is why I ran 22 miles last weekend by the way. I wasn't quite ready to announce that I was going to race again and wanted to make sure grue and I were on the same page.

As an added bonus, for about 60 seconds or so I'll actually be able to see grue run this time, since it's a tiny race. I've run three races with the man and never actually seen him run!

 

[The_Man]

Hey, friends. Thanks for your nice words here and on FB.

Short version - I went for it, gave it my all, and came up a little short on the BQ time due to a combo of not quite enough endurance, headwinds, and some rolling hills I didn't expect it. Still, a 3:25 is awesome for me and I truly feel I couldn't have run a faster time.

Long version follows:

Perfect a.m. for a marathon. Cool, calm. Had an awesome F-18 flyover and it gave me goosebumps in the starting corral when they played the national anthem a few guys around me snapped to this incredible attention - they were clearly active and/or former Marines.

In my mind, I had broken the race up into about 7 different pieces, each with their own goal time and strategy.

Section 1 (Miles 1-4) - The Warm-up. I just wanted to get my feet under me and get my pace established without working too hard through this section, which contained the biggest hill of the day in Mile 2. I still started out a little too fast, probably. With 25,000 runners it really was impossible to do much of a warm-up and so my HR spiked a little in this section. Still, while that was a little high throughout, I wasn't working hard at all, felt great, and was confident my HR would come back down.

Mile 1: 8:04

2: 8:18 (up the hill)

3: 7:31 (down it)

4: 7:33

Section 2 (Miles 5-8) - The Starting Chute. For this section, I knew I had to stay on pace, but didn't want to feel yet like I was laboring. So I told myself to imagine getting to the end of Mile 8 at exactly the right time, and now ready to begin racing, but still without having burned up much effort (especially because the other big hill was in mile 6-7). This part also went really well and my HR came down below 160 - my go zone - where it would stay the rest of the day. Was feeling really good through here.

5: 7:46

6: 7:39

7: 8:00 (up the hill)

8: 7:26 (down)

Section 3 (Miles 9-11) - Fast 5k. Here's where the race began. It was mostly down hill from Georgetown to the River and I intended for this to be the place where I began to effort somewhat, and would then back off. It went totally according to plan - if I went too fast anywhere during the day, this might have been it, but I was feeling great so I figured I would just go as fast as I could and keep my HR below 160. Also, my wrist band got soaked through and fell off around here, so I was now flying blind a little. Not a big dea, though, because I pretty much knew what times I would have to run to stay on pace.

9: 7:26

10: 7:24

11: 7:28

Section 4 (Miles 12-16) - Make or Break. This was a totally flat section on a boring out-and-back stretch. My plan was to run all 5 miles as steady as possible, right at overall Goal Pace (7:39). If I could do that, it would set me up to go for a BQ in the 2nd half. This went well, and for the first time, I could see the 3:20 pace group just a few hundred yards ahead. I knew they had started slightly before me, so I felt like if I kept them in sight, I would have a chance. Was still slightly ahead of pace here and feeling pretty good, although I had to force myself once or twice to keep up the pace and my HR went above 160 here and there. Turns out, I went a little too fast through here. Maybe if I had saved a little juice, it would have helped me later, but I kind of doubt it.

12: 7:25

13: 7:37

14: 7:33

15: 7:28

16: 7:27

Section 5 (Miles 17-20) - Run the Mall. I would have to pick up the pace a little through here and I was hoping the crowds and inspiring sites would help. Turns out I was so focused internally, that I barely noticed any monuments or sites the entire day. I saw the Lincoln Memorial when the course turned straight toward it, and I forced myself to glance left at the Capitol on Mile 19, but otherwise, they didn't really register. At the end of the day, I realized I didn't even see the Washington Monument, despite running 5 miles all the way around it!

As I'm writing this, I'm looking at my splits for the first time, and it's amazing how they correspond to how I was feeling. During Mile 19, I really began feeling it for the first time. My cardio was fine, but my legs were tired. It began to become hard to turn them over fast enough to keep my HR up - it began dipping to the low 150s.

17: 7:33

18: 7:39

19: 7:38

20: 7:44

Section 6 (Miles 21-23) - The Bridge. Here's where I started to run out of gas. You run across the 14th Street bridge, followed by going up and down a series of overpasses and off-ramps until you get into the neighborhood of Crystal City. I felt great on the bridge, which I thought was the only tough part of this 5k section, and was caught offguard by the downs and especially ups that followed. Plus the wind, probably 10-15 mph out of the NNW became a real factor here, blowing in our faces for 5 of the final 6 miles. As I've said before, it seems like I can run forever on the flats, but my leg strength doesn't match my endurance, and hills really suck it out of me. Here's where I thought of you guys, thinking I wanted to really push it to 21.7 (35K) so I could post a good split time for anyone watching, but by the time I got down into Crystal City, I knew I was spent. There's a turnaround shortly before mile 23, and when the 3:20 group came back down toward me after the turnaround, I was kind of demoralized to know I couldn't catch them.

21: 7:36

22: 7:59

23: 7:59

Section 7 (The finish). I just totally ran out of gas here, and had to stop to walk a couple of times in the last 2 miles. I'm actually suprised my times aren't worse than they were, because I felt like they took forever. It kind of sucked to run so well and then to feel like I finished so poorly with all the people there watching.

24: 8:19

25: 8:44

26: 9:12

26.2: 9:09 pace

All in all, it was awesome. I knew that a BQ in my 1st marathon, running an average of just 35 mpw on the Higdon IM 1 plan was a highly unlikely goal. And my real goal was to get to the starting line healthy, then give my best effort. I truly feel like I ran my best race. My HR never got over 160, so I don't feel like I used myself up too early - I just didn't quite have the conditioning to go the full distance. Even if I had run slower at the beginning, I think I still would have faded late, and wouldn't have had the satisfaction of going for it.

Feeling good today, a little sore, but nothing crazy. Thanks again to everyone here for all your advice and support and friendship. I never would have attempted this without you. I feel this was a huge success personally, and a very meaningful accomplishment, and I have you to thank for encouraging me to do it.

 

[BassNBrew]

Hey, friends. Thanks for your nice words here and on FB.Short version - I went for it, gave it my all, and came up a little short on the BQ time due to a combo of not quite enough endurance, headwinds, and some rolling hills I didn't expect it. Still, a 3:25 is awesome for me and I truly feel I couldn't have run a faster time. Long version followserfect a.m. for a marathon. Cool, calm. Had an awesome F-18 flyover and it gave me goosebumps in the starting corral when they played the national anthem a few guys around me snapped to this incredible attention - they were clearly active and/or former Marines.In my mind, I had broken the race up into about 7 different pieces, each with their own goal time and strategy.Section 1 (Miles 1-4) - The Warm-up. I just wanted to get my feet under me and get my pace established without working too hard through this section, which contained the biggest hill of the day in Mile 2. I still started out a little too fast, probably. With 25,000 runners it really was impossible to do much of a warm-up and so my HR spiked a little in this section. Still, while that was a little high throughout, I wasn't working hard at all, felt great, and was confident my HR would come back down.Mile 1: 8:042: 8:18 (up the hill)3: 7:31 (down it)4: 7:33Section 2 (Miles 5-8) - The Starting Chute. For this section, I knew I had to stay on pace, but didn't want to feel yet like I was laboring. So I told myself to imagine getting to the end of Mile 8 at exactly the right time, and now ready to begin racing, but still without having burned up much effort (especially because the other big hill was in mile 6-7). This part also went really well and my HR came down below 160 - my go zone - where it would stay the rest of the day. Was feeling really good through here.5: 7:466: 7:397: 8:00 (up the hill)8: 7:26 (down)Section 3 (Miles 9-11) - Fast 5k. Here's where the race began. It was mostly down hill from Georgetown to the River and I intended for this to be the place where I began to effort somewhat, and would then back off. It went totally according to plan - if I went too fast anywhere during the day, this might have been it, but I was feeling great so I figured I would just go as fast as I could and keep my HR below 160. Also, my wrist band got soaked through and fell off around here, so I was now flying blind a little. Not a big dea, though, because I pretty much knew what times I would have to run to stay on pace.9: 7:2610: 7:2411: 7:28Section 4 (Miles 12-16) - Make or Break. This was a totally flat section on a boring out-and-back stretch. My plan was to run all 5 miles as steady as possible, right at overall Goal Pace (7:39). If I could do that, it would set me up to go for a BQ in the 2nd half. This went well, and for the first time, I could see the 3:20 pace group just a few hundred yards ahead. I knew they had started slightly before me, so I felt like if I kept them in sight, I would have a chance. Was still slightly ahead of pace here and feeling pretty good, although I had to force myself once or twice to keep up the pace and my HR went above 160 here and there. Turns out, I went a little too fast through here. Maybe if I had saved a little juice, it would have helped me later, but I kind of doubt it.12: 7:2513: 7:3714: 7:3315: 7:2816: 7:27Section 5 (Miles 17-20) - Run the Mall. I would have to pick up the pace a little through here and I was hoping the crowds and inspiring sites would help. Turns out I was so focused internally, that I barely noticed any monuments or sites the entire day. I saw the Lincoln Memorial when the course turned straight toward it, and I forced myself to glance left at the Capitol on Mile 19, but otherwise, they didn't really register. At the end of the day, I realized I didn't even see the Washington Monument, despite running 5 miles all the way around it!As I'm writing this, I'm looking at my splits for the first time, and it's amazing how they correspond to how I was feeling. During Mile 19, I really began feeling it for the first time. My cardio was fine, but my legs were tired. It began to become hard to turn them over fast enough to keep my HR up - it began dipping to the low 150s. 17: 7:3318: 7:3919: 7:3820: 7:44Section 6 (Miles 21-23) - The Bridge. Here's where I started to run out of gas. You run across the 14th Street bridge, followed by going up and down a series of overpasses and off-ramps until you get into the neighborhood of Crystal City. I felt great on the bridge, which I thought was the only tough part of this 5k section, and was caught offguard by the downs and especially ups that followed. Plus the wind, probably 10-15 mph out of the NNW became a real factor here, blowing in our faces for 5 of the final 6 miles. As I've said before, it seems like I can run forever on the flats, but my leg strength doesn't match my endurance, and hills really suck it out of me. Here's where I thought of you guys, thinking I wanted to really push it to 21.7 (35K) so I could post a good split time for anyone watching, but by the time I got down into Crystal City, I knew I was spent. There's a turnaround shortly before mile 23, and when the 3:20 group came back down toward me after the turnaround, I was kind of demoralized to know I couldn't catch them.21: 7:3622: 7:5923: 7:59Section 7 (The finish). I just totally ran out of gas here, and had to stop to walk a couple of times in the last 2 miles. I'm actually suprised my times aren't worse than they were, because I felt like they took forever. It kind of sucked to run so well and then to feel like I finished so poorly with all the people there watching. 24: 8:1925: 8:4426: 9:1226.2: 9:09 paceAll in all, it was awesome. I knew that a BQ in my 1st marathon, running an average of just 35 mpw on the Higdon IM 1 plan was a highly unlikely goal. And my real goal was to get to the starting line healthy, then give my best effort. I truly feel like I ran my best race. My HR never got over 160, so I don't feel like I used myself up too early - I just didn't quite have the conditioning to go the full distance. Even if I had run slower at the beginning, I think I still would have faded late, and wouldn't have had the satisfaction of going for it. Feeling good today, a little sore, but nothing crazy. Thanks again to everyone here for all your advice and support and friendship. I never would have attempted this without you. I feel this was a huge success personally, and a very meaningful accomplishment, and I have you to thank for encouraging me to do it.

Congrats man. Great write-up, you'll get your BQ soon.

 

[gruecd]

All in all, it was awesome. I knew that a BQ in my 1st marathon, running an average of just 35 mpw on the Higdon IM 1 plan was a highly unlikely goal. And my real goal was to get to the starting line healthy, then give my best effort. I truly feel like I ran my best race. My HR never got over 160, so I don't feel like I used myself up too early - I just didn't quite have the conditioning to go the full distance. Even if I had run slower at the beginning, I think I still would have faded late, and wouldn't have had the satisfaction of going for it.

Feeling good today, a little sore, but nothing crazy. Thanks again to everyone here for all your advice and support and friendship. I never would have attempted this without you. I feel this was a huge success personally, and a very meaningful accomplishment, and I have you to thank for encouraging me to do it.

Nice report, The_Man. Seriously, to finish your first marathon within 5 minutes of a BQ is fantastic. Like I've said (many times) before, there's a big cumulative component to marathon training, and it's an exponential one. Your training for MCM will help you in your next marathon, and your training for those two marathons will help you in your third one, etc. You think you might be willing to try something like Pfitz 18/55 for your next one? If so, and especially if you pick a flatter, faster course cough: GREEN BAY :cough, I'm willing to bet that the BQ will be yours.Again, great work.

 

[Sand]

Great weekend The_Man, Ned and at the pic MadCow!

My weekend was the Suck. I did a very light spin on Saturday for 40 minutes, and it felt great. Yesterday I went out for an ez 4 miles (first miles since my calf tweak last Tuesday), and it felt great for .5 miles prior to blowing up. A sharp pain in my right calf = I'm ####ed for the HIM next weekend, and likely ####ed for trying to BQ at Houston I'm going to shut it down for the rest of the week, other than one short swim, and will likely still attempt to race next Sunday, knowing almost certainly that I'll be damn lucky to finish the bike, and won't likely even be able to start the run. Major depression has kicked in

Calf heart attack?That program seemed to have gotten me back in line. Maybe have a look.

 

[pigskinliquors]

AWESOME write-up The_Man, and GREAT race. You left it out there, and the results show it. Boston is certainly in your sights!

 

[wraith5]

AWESOME write-up The_Man, and GREAT race. You left it out there, and the results show it. Boston is certainly in your sights!

 

[pigskinliquors]

Great weekend The_Man, Ned and at the pic MadCow!

My weekend was the Suck. I did a very light spin on Saturday for 40 minutes, and it felt great. Yesterday I went out for an ez 4 miles (first miles since my calf tweak last Tuesday), and it felt great for .5 miles prior to blowing up. A sharp pain in my right calf = I'm ####ed for the HIM next weekend, and likely ####ed for trying to BQ at Houston I'm going to shut it down for the rest of the week, other than one short swim, and will likely still attempt to race next Sunday, knowing almost certainly that I'll be damn lucky to finish the bike, and won't likely even be able to start the run. Major depression has kicked in

Calf heart attack?That program seemed to have gotten me back in line. Maybe have a look.

Look taken! Thanks a ton Sand. I have had ongoing calf problems, and :knockonwood: have been getting better and better at avoiding them. This makes great sense, and I'll follow it to see what happens. IF I can recover that quickly, I can still have a chance at Houston, as it's still more than 12 weeks out. I'm hoping I can get my run and swim in for sure next Sunday, and won't likely even attempt the run. I'll treat it as a good training day to get the feel of what a HIM will feel like.

 

[BassNBrew]

It's at this time of the year that marathon recovery, not marathon training, takes center stage. The best recovery is one that optimizes your musculoskeletal recovery yet also maintains your conditioning. You've built superior fitness before the marathon and you don't want to lose all of it and then have to start from scratch.

Research indicates that the muscle damage from running a marathon can last up to two weeks. The research also indicates that soreness (or the lack thereof) is not a good indicator of muscular healing. In other words, just because you aren't sore anymore doesn't mean that you are fully healed. This is the danger for marathon runners: Post-marathon muscular soreness fades after a few days but submicroscopic damage within the muscle cells remains. If you return to full training too soon--running more and faster than the tissues are ready for--you risk delaying full recovery and the chance to get ready for your next goal.

The solution, it appears, is to recognize (and accept) that the muscles will take a while to heal and to be prepared to take it easy for the first couple of weeks (even longer if you're particularly sore after your marathon). While the research isn't very promising when it comes to things to do to relieve soreness and aid healing, a couple of concepts appear to help. First, providing gentle blood flow to the area helps bring healing nutrients into the muscles and also helps to remove waste products and damaged tissue. Walking and gentle massage can help, particularly in the first few days after a marathon. Once muscle soreness has significantly reduced (usually two to four days after the race), light jogging can commence. The recovery program below forces a runner to let muscles fully heal but also provides some light jogging to aid blood flow and "feed the need" that we all have for our daily runs. Just be mindful to run very slowly.

No runner wants to get super fit and then lose that during the recovery process. But since you must reduce your training load following your marathon, it can be tricky as to how much and how soon to insert running into your post-marathon training.

The bad news is that no matter what you do, you will lose race sharpness. But that's OK because your next big race is probably several months away. The good news is that most research indicates that as long as there is an aerobic stimulus once every two to three days, aerobic fitness will be maintained. In this recovery plan, you run at least once every other day (except for the first two days after the marathon) to minimize any loss of base fitness.

Many runners liken recovery training to a "reverse taper" without the fast workouts. Easy running is gradually increased over the weeks post-race. By the fourth week, your normal level of training is approached.

Recovery time is also the best chance to pay back your support system for the help provided during your build-up to and participation in the marathon. Use this time to help others with goals, whether running-related or not, and spend more time with family and friends.

Also use this opportunity to celebrate your success and recharge your systems. Determine what went right in training and in the race and what you would fix. If done correctly, you can come out of this period fully healed and ready to take your marathon fitness into the next training phase.

Optimal Marathon Recovery Program

Day: 0

Run: MARATHON

Notes: Congratulations!

Day: 1

Run: OFF

Notes: Can include gentle walking for 15 to 20 minutes. Eat well and stay hydrated to facilitate recovery. Ice baths are favored by many runners.

Day: 2

Run: OFF

Notes: Can include gentle walking for 15 to 20 minutes.

Day: 3

Run: 20 Mins Very Slow + Easy

Notes: The first run back is often very awkward so go slow and run on flat terrain.

Day: 4

Run: OFF

Notes: Don't forget to enjoy the accomplishment of your marathon.

Day: 5

Run: 20 Mins Very Slow + Easy

Notes: Muscle soreness should be subsiding

Day 6:OFF

Day: 7

Run: 30 Mins Very Slow + Easy

Notes: You may not feel like a runner but you are laying the groundwork for your next training cycle.

Day: 8

Run: 20 Mins Very Slow and Easy

Notes: The first back to back running day provides insight into how the recovery is going.

Day 9

Run: OFF

Day: 10

Run: 30 Mins Easy

Notes: The muscle soreness should be gone and you are finding your stride again.

Day: 11

Run: 30 to 45 Mins Easy

Notes: Depending on how your body feels, you should notice the pace increasing and your body returning to its running rhythm.

Day: 12

Run: OFF

Day: 13

Run: 45 to 60 Mins Easy

Day: 14

Run: 30 to 45 Mins Easy

Easy: You should now start to feel like a runner again, just not a runner ready to race. Over the next two weeks, gradually increase your volume toward your normal training level.

This plan is a good start for marathoners. Adjust it based on your previous experience with marathon recovery as well as how you are feeling.

Visit www.mcmillanrunning.com for more of my articles.

 

[Ned]

All in all, it was awesome. I knew that a BQ in my 1st marathon, running an average of just 35 mpw on the Higdon IM 1 plan was a highly unlikely goal. And my real goal was to get to the starting line healthy, then give my best effort. I truly feel like I ran my best race. My HR never got over 160, so I don't feel like I used myself up too early - I just didn't quite have the conditioning to go the full distance. Even if I had run slower at the beginning, I think I still would have faded late, and wouldn't have had the satisfaction of going for it.

Great job!!! A 3:25 is phenomenal no matter what, let alone it being your first ever. I totally envy you guys that can run those kinds of times for that long of a race.

 

[Mad Cow]

Funny story from my race. They had us park at a mall which was a couple of miles from the end. The start was 13 miles up a canyon. Now most canyons here in Utah have a couple of openings. The start for this one was easily accessible from the main highway through Provo Canyon, then heading up past Sundance ski resort. However, if you keep going past that, you travel through the mountains, through a bunch of beautiful scenery and switchbacks that can be harrowing at times, and come down in a city named American Fork, which by freeway is maybe 20-30 minutes from the mall. There were approximately 60 buses to be used that day.

Well, our driver obviously had no #######g idea what he was doing. Because they loaded each bus one at a time from a huge line, the bus drivers could not see where the other buses went. All of the other buses took the obvious 30 minute drive to the start. Our driver started to drive a really odd way, but figured it was a different route. Well, by the time we passed the last road that would lead to the canyon highway, we started looking at each other like WTF? The race busing started earlier than I thought was necessary by a good margin, and given how narrow the roads are up by the start, I reasoned that maybe the reason for the early busing was the buses could not turn around and had to take the opposite way. So, our bus drove 30 minutes up State Street to American Fork, and entered the canyon. Once the road started getting narrow with switchbacks, there were some pretty nervous people. Throw in some snow and ice that were on the road at that elevation and the jitters of my wife and the 2 other women from our neighborhood who were 1st-time half-marathoners disappeared and were replaced by fear of cascading over the edge of the road.

The 30 minute drive ended up being over a 90 minute drive through the Alpine Loop. We arrived at the start point at the exact time the costume contest was to begin. We ran there, got dressed, judged, ran the porta potties, did our business, and then it was race time. Overall, a very start to the race, but how can I really complain since we were able to sit in a heated bus up to nearly start time (40 minutes before) while the couple of thousand other runners had been standing in the cold for all that time.

I posted the experience on the race Facebook page last night and the race director is going ballistic. He is not happy a bus driver that they paid cannot read a simple map.

 

[Ned]

The 30 minute drive ended up being over a 90 minute drive through the Alpine Loop. We arrived at the start point at the exact time the costume contest was to begin. We ran there, got dressed, judged, ran the porta potties, did our business, and then it was race time. Overall, a very start to the race, but how can I really complain since we were able to sit in a heated bus up to nearly start time (40 minutes before) while the couple of thousand other runners had been standing in the cold for all that time. I posted the experience on the race Facebook page last night and the race director is going ballistic. He is not happy a bus driver that they paid cannot read a simple map.

I would've been a wreck (no pun).

 

[Sand]

All in all, it was awesome. I knew that a BQ in my 1st marathon, running an average of just 35 mpw on the Higdon IM 1 plan was a highly unlikely goal. And my real goal was to get to the starting line healthy, then give my best effort. I truly feel like I ran my best race. My HR never got over 160, so I don't feel like I used myself up too early - I just didn't quite have the conditioning to go the full distance. Even if I had run slower at the beginning, I think I still would have faded late, and wouldn't have had the satisfaction of going for it.

Great job!!! A 3:25 is phenomenal no matter what, let alone it being your first ever. I totally envy you guys that can run those kinds of times for that long of a race.

The Man - a BQ is just a matter of time. I'm thoroughly impressed with that effort.

 

[IvanKaramazov]

AWESOME write-up The_Man, and GREAT race. You left it out there, and the results show it. Boston is certainly in your sights!

Boston is only a matter of time. When you do eventually qualify, be sure to take off work when registration opens.

 

[The Flying Turtle]

I finished my first half-marathon this weekend in a time of 1:57:00. Since my goal was 2:10 (stretch goal was 2:00) I was very happy.

Thanks to everyone in this thread for all of the tips and advice.