Ran a 10k in June (11 Viewers)

[beer 302]

Ran my 2nd 5K ever on Saturday. Ended up 3 minutes better than the one I ran last year. All of the running the last 6 months really paid off. I'll never be able to run the fast ones that most of you guys can do but I'm pretty happy with my time. I ended up with a time of 25.12. I don't have any sort of Garmin or anything so have no idea my times per mile. I tried to pace myself the 1st mile but ended up pretty tired at the end so not sure if I went out to fast or not. Last year I did this exact 5K in 28.10 so the running the last 6 months have really helped me..Thanks again for all of the tips.. My goal for next year will be cutting it to 24 minutes. I think I need to start running longer runs but slower to improve my times - right?

I'll let the runners comment on training but increasing mileage certainly helps the short run times.

 

[AcerFC]

Race Report

This 5K was put on by a foundation that gives all the money back into the school district I work in. So a lot of parents of kids in my classes and kids I coach that head up the foundation. I contacted them about the 5K that I am planning and they invited me to come at 6:00am to see what the set up was like and all the behind the scenes stuff going on. Even though the race wasnt until 8, I took them up on their offer and woke up at 5 to eat and get there on time. Im really happy I did because it helped a lot and gives me a lot of great thoughts for what to do for my race.

There were a few kids I teach/coach in the front so I stroll up to them. Joke with a kid that runs track who has a best mile of 4:44 that I do it quicker so he needs to keep up with me. The gun starts and I head out feeling great for waking up so early. I actually think I went out a little too quick but it was business as normal for the first mile. Finished it in 6:44. The second mile was a small incline at the start but flattened out but I was slowing a bit. Finished it in 7:29. The last mile was brutal. We came down a street and I thought I was headed back to the finish line. Nope, we had to go up a very steep incline at mile 2.6-2.7ish. The rest was downhill but that hill was rough. Surprisingly, finished mile 3 in 7:31. So it looks like I really dogged it a bit mile 2. I could have pushed harder I guess. Last .85 was .58 seconds. Finshed 22:42, 23rd overall and 3rd in my age group for a pin

Then my kids and wife came for a 1 mile walk a few hours later so that was fun

 

[pigskinliquors]

Kuz: Great job on the PR!!! Git your butt training right away to crush it.

13 today with the last 8 at marathon pace. This went well, but I definitely need to get up earlier and get out there before it warms up too much. The problem is that I'm a totall wuss when it comes to needing sleep. If it were up to me, I'd be asleep by 9:00 every night. Last night, though, the kids weren't in bed until 10, and then Mrs. Karamazov made some demands on my time that precluded me to getting to sleep until a little after 11. I should have just gotten up 5:00 so I could have my coffee, eat some breakfast, and take care of business and still get out there by daybreak, but instead I slept until 6:45 and didn't hit the asphalt until 8:00. By then it was already 75 and humid. It worked out okay, but that's only because I wasn't going that long; 16 or so would have really taken a toll on me in the heat/humidity.

Way to take care of Mrs. K, get some sleep and get your run in. A mini-tri!

In all honesty I was not prepared. I'll have a detailed later in the week.

Dude, you get to wear the race shirt to future events People to that shirt (and race), you do not need to explain what went on. Be proud you had the balls to even take on that challenge

Bucket list, meet check mark.

United Way 5K on the Runway - The race was completely on the smaller runway at Bluegrass Airport in Lexington, so it was indeed as flat as one can get. I was thinking they might have part of the race on the area surrounding the airport and then finish on the runway, but the entire race was 2 laps around the runway. My previous PR was 29:30 (only ran 2) and so with the flat course I was aiming for something right at 28 min. I was a little disappointed as the race description said "with aircraft as your scenery", but there were only a couple of glimpses of planes as they took off during the race. I thought they might have a few private planes, etc. parked along the way, but no such luck.

I would estimate about 400 runners in the event, which actually made it a bit crowded at the starting line. I had hoped to "sand" the first mile, but got stuck in a huddled mass for a while. Finished the first mile in just over 9:00 (pretty fast for me). I was breathing a little harder than expected at this point, but I kept close to the same pace for most of mile 2. I hit a bit of a mental wall near the end of mile 2 and slowed some from there through the first part of the third mile though. I think it came from the difficulty in judging distances because the whole course looked basically the same. As i got near the far turn, I was able to pick it back up for the last half mile or so to finish at 28:24.

Overall a little slower than I had hoped, but I did take over a minute of my PR from just a couple of months ago.

Quick report from my double this weekend.

Race 1 (tri): Absolutely crushed the swim. I was the fastest person over the age of 20 - 1/51 AG. And I kept it pretty easy besides. Bike was a bit of a disappointment - I was :10 slower than last year, which is a bit of a surprise - 7/51AG. Run was actually quite good. I averaged 7:38/mile, which was five seconds better than last year - 13/51AG. We had nice overcast conditions, so my performance was pretty much on par with previous. Not bad considering my injury laden winter and general lack of work. Overall I was 8/51 in AG. Tons of fast folk showed up - I had no chance of backing onto the podium here.

Race 2 (du): I was feeling yesterday, both the race and the 5 hour drive. The weather looked absolutely horrible, but miraculously the rain stayed away. It was 75F/100%RH, though. Bloody swamp as it poured all day in NO yesterday. First run was decent - 7:39/mile and 9/29AG. The bike was both awesome and terrifying. The way out and in to the bridge was scary - the roads were wet and they use a pebbleized surface here that is slick as snot. I slowed way down for lots of these curves and did slide a bit in one. The ride up to the bridge was cool; a tremendously rare event that was loads of fun. The way down from the bridge was a bit high on the pucker factor - they had to put plywood down over expansion joints and hitting those in the wet at 35mph wasn't much fun. Still, I did crush this ride. Won the AG by a good bit and was 7/170 overall on the bike. Great result on tired legs. The second run was tough. Sweating doesn't cool you down as it doesn't go anywhere and it was getting hot. I managed 8:05/mile or so and improved to a whole 8/29 in AG. Still ridiculously slow on the run, though. Finished 4/29 in AG (so close!).

Weekend comments: Good grief I am a slug running. Out of the top 40 in the tri I was 39/40 on the run. In the du just a reasonable run performance would have gotten me a podium. I need to stay ####### healthy for a while. And lose some ####### weight - I am a moose.

Ancillary comment: Please offer up your prayers to a participant in the tri from Saturday. He evidently was coming down one steep hill (I hit 49mph on that hill) that has a few sweeping curves. He missed a curve and went into the opposite lane and went under a van. Evidently it was really bad.

Awesome results GB! Your runs were a tad bit slow for you, but damn the rest was freaking good!!! Outstanding especially considering they were back to backs! T&P's to the participant that went down.

I'll do a write up of my 5K tomorrow.

Finished 22:42 and 3rd in my AG for another medal on the podium.

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!________________________

My update:

Yesterday I tried to start my day with a hard/fast 44 mile ride. It was hard, but not fast. The winds were down at the start (5-8 mph). The first 22 miles were mostly downwind and I completed them in just less than an hour (22.1 MPH AVE). Miles 23-44 were mostly into the wind unfortunately, and 3+ miles of it were newly chip sealed I hoped to still average 21.0+ for the ride, but the wind picked up quite a bit (15 MPH+ at the finish) and the new chip seal really took a toll on my back and psyche. The chip seal was on my very favorite stretch to ride in this area, and now I will detest :sad: I ended up getting in 44 at 20.2 MPH and my legs were pretty toasted coming in.

I grabbed a bagel, mowed the lawn (1.2 acres on a rider), then came in and did P90x chest, shoulders and tri's followed by Ab ripper. I finished before noon then proceeded to sit in the pool with my friends/neighbors and drink beer until going to sleep at 10:00. Pretty darn good day!

 

[BassNBrew]

Race ReportThis 5K was put on by a foundation that gives all the money back into the school district I work in. So a lot of parents of kids in my classes and kids I coach that head up the foundation. I contacted them about the 5K that I am planning and they invited me to come at 6:00am to see what the set up was like and all the behind the scenes stuff going on. Even though the race wasnt until 8, I took them up on their offer and woke up at 5 to eat and get there on time. Im really happy I did because it helped a lot and gives me a lot of great thoughts for what to do for my race.There were a few kids I teach/coach in the front so I stroll up to them. Joke with a kid that runs track who has a best mile of 4:44 that I do it quicker so he needs to keep up with me. The gun starts and I head out feeling great for waking up so early. I actually think I went out a little too quick but it was business as normal for the first mile. Finished it in 6:44. The second mile was a small incline at the start but flattened out but I was slowing a bit. Finished it in 7:29. The last mile was brutal. We came down a street and I thought I was headed back to the finish line. Nope, we had to go up a very steep incline at mile 2.6-2.7ish. The rest was downhill but that hill was rough. Surprisingly, finished mile 3 in 7:31. So it looks like I really dogged it a bit mile 2. I could have pushed harder I guess. Last .85 was .58 seconds. Finshed 22:42, 23rd overall and 3rd in my age group for a pinThen my kids and wife came for a 1 mile walk a few hours later so that was fun

Congrats on the podium!!!

 

[pigskinliquors]

:08-:12; is BnB (or Grue, or TriM...) the "World's Most Interesting Man?" Reminded me of them.

 

[BassNBrew]

Quick report from my double this weekend.

Race 1 (tri): Absolutely crushed the swim. I was the fastest person over the age of 20 - 1/51 AG. And I kept it pretty easy besides. Bike was a bit of a disappointment - I was :10 slower than last year, which is a bit of a surprise - 7/51AG. Run was actually quite good. I averaged 7:38/mile, which was five seconds better than last year - 13/51AG. We had nice overcast conditions, so my performance was pretty much on par with previous. Not bad considering my injury laden winter and general lack of work. Overall I was 8/51 in AG. Tons of fast folk showed up - I had no chance of backing onto the podium here.

Race 2 (du): I was feeling yesterday, both the race and the 5 hour drive. The weather looked absolutely horrible, but miraculously the rain stayed away. It was 75F/100%RH, though. Bloody swamp as it poured all day in NO yesterday. First run was decent - 7:39/mile and 9/29AG. The bike was both awesome and terrifying. The way out and in to the bridge was scary - the roads were wet and they use a pebbleized surface here that is slick as snot. I slowed way down for lots of these curves and did slide a bit in one. The ride up to the bridge was cool; a tremendously rare event that was loads of fun. The way down from the bridge was a bit high on the pucker factor - they had to put plywood down over expansion joints and hitting those in the wet at 35mph wasn't much fun. Still, I did crush this ride. Won the AG by a good bit and was 7/170 overall on the bike. Great result on tired legs. The second run was tough. Sweating doesn't cool you down as it doesn't go anywhere and it was getting hot. I managed 8:05/mile or so and improved to a whole 8/29 in AG. Still ridiculously slow on the run, though. Finished 4/29 in AG (so close!).

Weekend comments: Good grief I am a slug running. Out of the top 40 in the tri I was 39/40 on the run. In the du just a reasonable run performance would have gotten me a podium. I need to stay ####### healthy for a while. And lose some ####### weight - I am a moose.

Ancillary comment: Please offer up your prayers to a participant in the tri from Saturday. He evidently was coming down one steep hill (I hit 49mph on that hill) that has a few sweeping curves. He missed a curve and went into the opposite lane and went under a van. Evidently it was really bad.

Awesome ride Sand!!!

 

[2Young2BBald]

Race ReportThis 5K was put on by a foundation that gives all the money back into the school district I work in. So a lot of parents of kids in my classes and kids I coach that head up the foundation. I contacted them about the 5K that I am planning and they invited me to come at 6:00am to see what the set up was like and all the behind the scenes stuff going on. Even though the race wasnt until 8, I took them up on their offer and woke up at 5 to eat and get there on time. Im really happy I did because it helped a lot and gives me a lot of great thoughts for what to do for my race.There were a few kids I teach/coach in the front so I stroll up to them. Joke with a kid that runs track who has a best mile of 4:44 that I do it quicker so he needs to keep up with me. The gun starts and I head out feeling great for waking up so early. I actually think I went out a little too quick but it was business as normal for the first mile. Finished it in 6:44. The second mile was a small incline at the start but flattened out but I was slowing a bit. Finished it in 7:29. The last mile was brutal. We came down a street and I thought I was headed back to the finish line. Nope, we had to go up a very steep incline at mile 2.6-2.7ish. The rest was downhill but that hill was rough. Surprisingly, finished mile 3 in 7:31. So it looks like I really dogged it a bit mile 2. I could have pushed harder I guess. Last .85 was .58 seconds. Finshed 22:42, 23rd overall and 3rd in my age group for a pinThen my kids and wife came for a 1 mile walk a few hours later so that was fun

Very cool all around. Congrats!

 

[John Bender]

Tried to run on back to back days as I rehab my back injury.

Bad idea. Back feels great, left knee is starting to bark/feel strained on the outside of the knee.

When will I learn?

 

[sho nuff]

Ran my 2nd 5K ever on Saturday. Ended up 3 minutes better than the one I ran last year. All of the running the last 6 months really paid off. I'll never be able to run the fast ones that most of you guys can do but I'm pretty happy with my time. I ended up with a time of 25.12. I don't have any sort of Garmin or anything so have no idea my times per mile. I tried to pace myself the 1st mile but ended up pretty tired at the end so not sure if I went out to fast or not. Last year I did this exact 5K in 28.10 so the running the last 6 months have really helped me..Thanks again for all of the tips.. My goal for next year will be cutting it to 24 minutes. I think I need to start running longer runs but slower to improve my times - right?

Great job...my goal is to get to 24 this next one I run. My PR is a very soft one in the 27 minute range but that was last year before the bulk of my half marathon training and while carrying some extra poundage.Your last line is right IMO. I found my times doing better with the long slow runs as a 5k still has a large endurance aspect to it.Those long runs did me so much good in 5ks.

 

[Kuz]

Ran my 2nd 5K ever on Saturday. Ended up 3 minutes better than the one I ran last year. All of the running the last 6 months really paid off. I'll never be able to run the fast ones that most of you guys can do but I'm pretty happy with my time. I ended up with a time of 25.12. I don't have any sort of Garmin or anything so have no idea my times per mile. I tried to pace myself the 1st mile but ended up pretty tired at the end so not sure if I went out to fast or not. Last year I did this exact 5K in 28.10 so the running the last 6 months have really helped me..Thanks again for all of the tips.. My goal for next year will be cutting it to 24 minutes. I think I need to start running longer runs but slower to improve my times - right?

Great job...my goal is to get to 24 this next one I run. My PR is a very soft one in the 27 minute range but that was last year before the bulk of my half marathon training and while carrying some extra poundage.Your last line is right IMO. I found my times doing better with the long slow runs as a 5k still has a large endurance aspect to it.Those long runs did me so much good in 5ks.

cool - thanks..

 

[benson_will_lead_the_way]

Logged over 4 miles yesterday. I waited until about 1 minute into my run before I stretched my calves. That seemed to help, but they still tighted up on me around 2.5 miles. Ran probably 730 pace. Just feels good to be running again...but sucks my calves won't chill out.

 

[17seconds]

Tried to run on back to back days as I rehab my back injury.Bad idea. Back feels great, left knee is starting to bark/feel strained on the outside of the knee.When will I learn?

I'm going to go out for an easy 4 today after a week of complete rest following the marathon last sunday. Did ice and compression for several nights and my feet are feeling better.I know many of you said to take 2 weeks or more off, and the tendonitis isn't complete gone, but I gotta test this thing.

 

[Ned]

Sorry for the quick drive by. I will get fully caught up on the thread tomorrow. Been a busy weekend and a busy day today. Looks like FBGs are kicking ###, as usual.

Had a great time camping with the family. The boys are at a great age right now for this stuff. Thankfully the great camping counter balanced a craptastic half marathon yesterday. It was a humbling kick in the balls, to say the least. 76 and sunny at the start with absolutely zero shade and 87 at the finish. Started out easy but that quickly faded to an embarrassing death march from mile 9 on. Ended up at 1:52:44 which is the slowest HM I've had yet. The sun is an amazing force, to say the least.

Spent the day in the hospital today for my moms surgery. She beat stage 3 ovarian cancer a couple of years ago, but unfortunately it's now back in her lymphnodes (all located in her abdomen and no organs). she had an enlarged lymphnode removed today and will go back to chemo for the rest. She came out of surgery fine and is anxious to attack the chemo again. I need to take a page from her book on toughness. She's been thru so much and just continues to battle.

 

[Kuz]

Sorry for the quick drive by. I will get fully caught up on the thread tomorrow. Been a busy weekend and a busy day today. Looks like FBGs are kicking ###, as usual. Had a great time camping with the family. The boys are at a great age right now for this stuff. Thankfully the great camping counter balanced a craptastic half marathon yesterday. It was a humbling kick in the balls, to say the least. 76 and sunny at the start with absolutely zero shade and 87 at the finish. Started out easy but that quickly faded to an embarrassing death march from mile 9 on. Ended up at 1:52:44 which is the slowest HM I've had yet. The sun is an amazing force, to say the least. Spent the day in the hospital today for my moms surgery. She beat stage 3 ovarian cancer a couple of years ago, but unfortunately it's now back in her lymphnodes (all located in her abdomen and no organs). she had an enlarged lymphnode removed today and will go back to chemo for the rest. She came out of surgery fine and is anxious to attack the chemo again. I need to take a page from her book on toughness. She's been thru so much and just continues to battle.

Sorry to hear about your mom - Wish her the best!! Thoughts & prayers to you & your family..

 

[tri-man 47]

Tried to run on back to back days as I rehab my back injury.

Bad idea. Back feels great, left knee is starting to bark/feel strained on the outside of the knee.

When will I learn?

Hanging around the OCDs in this thread? Not anytime soon.Congrats on some great 5Ks!!!

Kuz - yup, more miles, and keep the slow stuff slow. You're just building your aerobic engine, which takes time and isn't apparent in any visible way. When you want to do speed, do it deliberatly, such as with track intervals.

Ned - so did HR data cue you in to the tough day you'd be having with the HM? Was the HR running high (and if so, did you not 'listen')? On a more important note, wow, sorry to hear about your mom. Sounds like she is a strong woman though, and she'll keep fighting.

 

[sho nuff]

Sorry for the quick drive by. I will get fully caught up on the thread tomorrow. Been a busy weekend and a busy day today. Looks like FBGs are kicking ###, as usual. Had a great time camping with the family. The boys are at a great age right now for this stuff. Thankfully the great camping counter balanced a craptastic half marathon yesterday. It was a humbling kick in the balls, to say the least. 76 and sunny at the start with absolutely zero shade and 87 at the finish. Started out easy but that quickly faded to an embarrassing death march from mile 9 on. Ended up at 1:52:44 which is the slowest HM I've had yet. The sun is an amazing force, to say the least. Spent the day in the hospital today for my moms surgery. She beat stage 3 ovarian cancer a couple of years ago, but unfortunately it's now back in her lymphnodes (all located in her abdomen and no organs). she had an enlarged lymphnode removed today and will go back to chemo for the rest. She came out of surgery fine and is anxious to attack the chemo again. I need to take a page from her book on toughness. She's been thru so much and just continues to battle.

Sorry to hear the run did not go well.And even more sorry to hear about your mom.And I know what you mean about taking a page from her toughness...I take so much out with me when I run that I got from my mom and other strong people around me.Mom made it through breast cancer. Her mother made it through breast, skin, and lung cancer and 3 heart attacks. Mother in law made it through colon cancer.None of them seemed to ever complain...just fought it and battled.Will definitely keep you and your family in my thoughts and prayers.

 

[Sean]

Ned - really sorry to hear about your mom. She definitely sounds tough though and ready to kick cancers ### again.

Bummer about the HM. Mother nature can be a real mother####er. Curious about your HR data as well (as tri-man mentioned). Glad you got to enjoy some good times with your kids at least.

 

[IvanKaramazov]

Sorry for the quick drive by. I will get fully caught up on the thread tomorrow. Been a busy weekend and a busy day today. Looks like FBGs are kicking ###, as usual. Had a great time camping with the family. The boys are at a great age right now for this stuff. Thankfully the great camping counter balanced a craptastic half marathon yesterday. It was a humbling kick in the balls, to say the least. 76 and sunny at the start with absolutely zero shade and 87 at the finish. Started out easy but that quickly faded to an embarrassing death march from mile 9 on. Ended up at 1:52:44 which is the slowest HM I've had yet. The sun is an amazing force, to say the least. Spent the day in the hospital today for my moms surgery. She beat stage 3 ovarian cancer a couple of years ago, but unfortunately it's now back in her lymphnodes (all located in her abdomen and no organs). she had an enlarged lymphnode removed today and will go back to chemo for the rest. She came out of surgery fine and is anxious to attack the chemo again. I need to take a page from her book on toughness. She's been thru so much and just continues to battle.

Sorry to hear about your mom, Ned. That certainly puts a ####ty HM in perspective. I did a half like you described a few years ago -- low 80s at the start with basically 100% humidity and no shade. It was actaully sort of fun in a perverse way because I was just doing it as a training run in preparation for a fall marathon. It would have been impossible to really "race" under those sorts of conditions.

 

[17seconds]

Sorry to hear about your mom Ned. You seem like a great guy and I'm sure the folks who raised you are great people as well. GL with it.

 

[BassNBrew]

Sorry for the quick drive by. I will get fully caught up on the thread tomorrow. Been a busy weekend and a busy day today. Looks like FBGs are kicking ###, as usual. Had a great time camping with the family. The boys are at a great age right now for this stuff. Thankfully the great camping counter balanced a craptastic half marathon yesterday. It was a humbling kick in the balls, to say the least. 76 and sunny at the start with absolutely zero shade and 87 at the finish. Started out easy but that quickly faded to an embarrassing death march from mile 9 on. Ended up at 1:52:44 which is the slowest HM I've had yet. The sun is an amazing force, to say the least. Spent the day in the hospital today for my moms surgery. She beat stage 3 ovarian cancer a couple of years ago, but unfortunately it's now back in her lymphnodes (all located in her abdomen and no organs). she had an enlarged lymphnode removed today and will go back to chemo for the rest. She came out of surgery fine and is anxious to attack the chemo again. I need to take a page from her book on toughness. She's been thru so much and just continues to battle.

Best wishes for your mom.How about dropping some race data on us.

 

[goldenchild]

Still trying to get caught up on this thread... great job to those that provided results from the weekend.

My 5k is coming up on Saturday As I mentioned before, this is my first organized run. Ever.

I played a flag football tournament on Saturday, so my calves and hammys are still full of lactic acid. My plan is to do an easy 1-1.5 miler tomorrow. Then again on Thursday and rest on Friday before the big day on Saturday. How does that sound?

 

[BassNBrew]

Still trying to get caught up on this thread... great job to those that provided results from the weekend.My 5k is coming up on Saturday As I mentioned before, this is my first organized run. Ever.I played a flag football tournament on Saturday, so my calves and hammys are still full of lactic acid. My plan is to do an easy 1-1.5 miler tomorrow. Then again on Thursday and rest on Friday before the big day on Saturday. How does that sound?

Switch the Thursday and Friday plans. I find it better to do a little something the day prior to an event.

 

[goldenchild]

Still trying to get caught up on this thread... great job to those that provided results from the weekend.My 5k is coming up on Saturday As I mentioned before, this is my first organized run. Ever.I played a flag football tournament on Saturday, so my calves and hammys are still full of lactic acid. My plan is to do an easy 1-1.5 miler tomorrow. Then again on Thursday and rest on Friday before the big day on Saturday. How does that sound?

Switch the Thursday and Friday plans. I find it better to do a little something the day prior to an event.

Sorry, I should have specified... I was planning do my usual weekly weight/core training on Mon/Tues/Thur/Fri. The things I listed in my original message were just for running. Does that change your suggestion?

 

[tri-man 47]

Still trying to get caught up on this thread... great job to those that provided results from the weekend.My 5k is coming up on Saturday As I mentioned before, this is my first organized run. Ever.I played a flag football tournament on Saturday, so my calves and hammys are still full of lactic acid. My plan is to do an easy 1-1.5 miler tomorrow. Then again on Thursday and rest on Friday before the big day on Saturday. How does that sound?

Switch the Thursday and Friday plans. I find it better to do a little something the day prior to an event.

Agreed. And think through the race. Do you know the course? One little trick is to know the number of turns, particularly over the back half of the race. As you're running, count them down and feel good about getting one more stretch out of the way. I actually did this two weeks ago on a new course (I jogged the last part of the course and back as my warm-up). It's a nice 'reward' to reach that last straight-away. If you have some juice left, start pushing a 1/4 mile from the finish or more. The sights and sounds will always carry you through the last 100 yards or more. At the start, monitor your breathing, and make sure it's comfortable. Don't get caught up in pounding the first mile and then gasping for breath the rest of the way. First time out, take it a bit easy (don't "Sand" it too much). A lot of runners will take off too hard - don't get caught in that. Breath well, and feel relaxed. You'll get a PR! Feel good doing it. Share some smiles or 'thanks' with the crowd and the volunteers. That'll help to keep your head in the game.

 

[benson_will_lead_the_way]

Sorry for the quick drive by. I will get fully caught up on the thread tomorrow. Been a busy weekend and a busy day today. Looks like FBGs are kicking ###, as usual. Had a great time camping with the family. The boys are at a great age right now for this stuff. Thankfully the great camping counter balanced a craptastic half marathon yesterday. It was a humbling kick in the balls, to say the least. 76 and sunny at the start with absolutely zero shade and 87 at the finish. Started out easy but that quickly faded to an embarrassing death march from mile 9 on. Ended up at 1:52:44 which is the slowest HM I've had yet. The sun is an amazing force, to say the least. Spent the day in the hospital today for my moms surgery. She beat stage 3 ovarian cancer a couple of years ago, but unfortunately it's now back in her lymphnodes (all located in her abdomen and no organs). she had an enlarged lymphnode removed today and will go back to chemo for the rest. She came out of surgery fine and is anxious to attack the chemo again. I need to take a page from her book on toughness. She's been thru so much and just continues to battle.

Best wishes Ned

 

[John Bender]

Anyone running the Grandmas marathon in Minnesota?

My mother is running it - and was thinking about heading up to spectate.

 

[pigskinliquors]

Tried to run on back to back days as I rehab my back injury.

Bad idea. Back feels great, left knee is starting to bark/feel strained on the outside of the knee.

When will I learn?

As Tri said; probably never. My family doctor has stated more than once that he would rather try to get somebody off of crack than running, as you can at least point out the bad things about the first addiction.

Logged over 4 miles yesterday. I waited until about 1 minute into my run before I stretched my calves. That seemed to help, but they still tighted up on me around 2.5 miles. Ran probably 730 pace. Just feels good to be running again...but sucks my calves won't chill out.

Are you wearing calve sleeves? I can't find my notebook to confirm.

I'm going to go out for an easy 4 today after a week of complete rest following the marathon last sunday. Did ice and compression for several nights and my feet are feeling better.

I know many of you said to take 2 weeks or more off, and the tendonitis isn't complete gone, but I gotta test this thing.

More crack.

Sorry for the quick drive by. I will get fully caught up on the thread tomorrow. Been a busy weekend and a busy day today. Looks like FBGs are kicking ###, as usual.

Had a great time camping with the family. The boys are at a great age right now for this stuff. Thankfully the great camping counter balanced a craptastic half marathon yesterday. It was a humbling kick in the balls, to say the least. 76 and sunny at the start with absolutely zero shade and 87 at the finish. Started out easy but that quickly faded to an embarrassing death march from mile 9 on. Ended up at 1:52:44 which is the slowest HM I've had yet. The sun is an amazing force, to say the least.

Spent the day in the hospital today for my moms surgery. She beat stage 3 ovarian cancer a couple of years ago, but unfortunately it's now back in her lymphnodes (all located in her abdomen and no organs). she had an enlarged lymphnode removed today and will go back to chemo for the rest. She came out of surgery fine and is anxious to attack the chemo again. I need to take a page from her book on toughness. She's been thru so much and just continues to battle.

So sorry to hear about your Mom, but awesome that you are able to find inspiration through her It sucks re: the weather for your HM. I also find it pretty funny that of all people you didn't post any HR info and we are all Jones'ing to see it.

Still trying to get caught up on this thread... great job to those that provided results from the weekend.

My 5k is coming up on Saturday As I mentioned before, this is my first organized run. Ever.

I played a flag football tournament on Saturday, so my calves and hammys are still full of lactic acid. My plan is to do an easy 1-1.5 miler tomorrow. Then again on Thursday and rest on Friday before the big day on Saturday. How does that sound?

Switch the Thursday and Friday plans. I find it better to do a little something the day prior to an event.

Agreed. And think through the race. Do you know the course? One little trick is to know the number of turns, particularly over the back half of the race. As you're running, count them down and feel good about getting one more stretch out of the way. I actually did this two weeks ago on a new course (I jogged the last part of the course and back as my warm-up). It's a nice 'reward' to reach that last straight-away. If you have some juice left, start pushing a 1/4 mile from the finish or more. The sights and sounds will always carry you through the last 100 yards or more. At the start, monitor your breathing, and make sure it's comfortable. Don't get caught up in pounding the first mile and then gasping for breath the rest of the way. First time out, take it a bit easy (don't "Sand" it too much). A lot of runners will take off too hard - don't get caught in that. Breath well, and feel relaxed. You'll get a PR! Feel good doing it. Share some smiles or 'thanks' with the crowd and the volunteers. That'll help to keep your head in the game.

as always Tri! Though I'd argue that telling somebody NOT to SandTM a 5k is against everything that is preached in this thread. Blasphemy!

Anyone running the Grandmas marathon in Minnesota?

My mother is running it - and was thinking about heading up to spectate.

I hope somebody is...otherwise your mother is going to be darn lonely. _______________________

My update:

I did plyo today, and found out just :15 ago that Cross Fit has been canceled for tonight I'm going to do some yard work and fit in some sort of workout to replace it.

 

[2Young2BBald]

Sorry for the quick drive by. I will get fully caught up on the thread tomorrow. Been a busy weekend and a busy day today. Looks like FBGs are kicking ###, as usual. Had a great time camping with the family. The boys are at a great age right now for this stuff. Thankfully the great camping counter balanced a craptastic half marathon yesterday. It was a humbling kick in the balls, to say the least. 76 and sunny at the start with absolutely zero shade and 87 at the finish. Started out easy but that quickly faded to an embarrassing death march from mile 9 on. Ended up at 1:52:44 which is the slowest HM I've had yet. The sun is an amazing force, to say the least. Spent the day in the hospital today for my moms surgery. She beat stage 3 ovarian cancer a couple of years ago, but unfortunately it's now back in her lymphnodes (all located in her abdomen and no organs). she had an enlarged lymphnode removed today and will go back to chemo for the rest. She came out of surgery fine and is anxious to attack the chemo again. I need to take a page from her book on toughness. She's been thru so much and just continues to battle.

Do the math on the overall results and I'd bet it tells you, you had a pretty good race I've had "that" race more than once and it helps to look at how the guys in my AG did and if you run some averages compared on the perceived bad race versus a race you viewed as a good one Athlinks has some cool analytic tools that can help with this.Sorry to hear about your Mom.

 

[goldenchild]

Still trying to get caught up on this thread... great job to those that provided results from the weekend.

My 5k is coming up on Saturday As I mentioned before, this is my first organized run. Ever.

I played a flag football tournament on Saturday, so my calves and hammys are still full of lactic acid. My plan is to do an easy 1-1.5 miler tomorrow. Then again on Thursday and rest on Friday before the big day on Saturday. How does that sound?

Switch the Thursday and Friday plans. I find it better to do a little something the day prior to an event.

Agreed. And think through the race. Do you know the course? One little trick is to know the number of turns, particularly over the back half of the race. As you're running, count them down and feel good about getting one more stretch out of the way. I actually did this two weeks ago on a new course (I jogged the last part of the course and back as my warm-up). It's a nice 'reward' to reach that last straight-away. If you have some juice left, start pushing a 1/4 mile from the finish or more. The sights and sounds will always carry you through the last 100 yards or more. At the start, monitor your breathing, and make sure it's comfortable. Don't get caught up in pounding the first mile and then gasping for breath the rest of the way. First time out, take it a bit easy (don't "Sand" it too much). A lot of runners will take off too hard - don't get caught in that. Breath well, and feel relaxed. You'll get a PR! Feel good doing it. Share some smiles or 'thanks' with the crowd and the volunteers. That'll help to keep your head in the game.

Thanks for the advice BnB and Tri! Unfortunately I don't know the course at all, but I can still count the turns based on the map.Here it is, by the way... My link It doesn't look too bad on my computer screen The weather is starting to heat up over here in San Jose, but the race starts at 7:30am so I'm hoping the heat wave doesn't start that early.

I really like the advice about the breathing and not to get caught up in the macho-ism at the beginning (I totally would have too! lol).

Ideally, I would like to find a nice piece of tail to pace the whole time and still come in within my target goal of 30min ... seriously though, I just hope I am able to finish the whole thing without walking.

 

[rascal]

Bought a pair of running shoes saturday at a local running store, and apparently I had pretty good form except I hit my heal a tad too much. I am having to retrain my body due to hernaited discs, maintain a tight core and emphasize mid-foot contact and not heal, and today I went for 30 minutes of jog/walk and felt pretty good. Hopefully I don't feel bad tomorrow and can go again on Wednesday.

 

[2Young2BBald]

Swam 2,000 today after riding 30 miles yesterday and doing the Du (5K run/5K kayak) on Saturday. Got to back things down a bit this week as I have an Oly on Sunday. I haven't had the chance to OWS yet this year and the swim is in a river with a decent current and, of course, the last 300+ yards of the swim are in to the current. I did my Oly PR, 2:30, on the same course two years ago. Based on where I am on the bike, I'd be happy with something around 2:45.

 

[Sand]

BTW, folks, found out that the guy who wrecked was a good friend and a ridiculously good rider (way, way better than me - like Cat 1/2 type talent). I don't know his condition, but my heart is in my shoes right now. From the facebook posts I get the impression he is alive, but has a long road to heal up. Hopefully that is the case, as the accident sounded awful.

Edit: found out he had a broken femur, collapsed lunch, nasty road rash, and some rib fractures. They say a long recovery, but should have a full recovery. Feeling much better now.

This just goes to show that you have to be really careful out there. This guy rode 200+ miles/week and still had this happen.

 

[beer 302]

BTW, folks, found out that the guy who wrecked was a good friend and a ridiculously good rider (way, way better than me - like Cat 1/2 type talent). I don't know his condition, but my heart is in my shoes right now. From the facebook posts I get the impression he is alive, but has a long road to heal up. Hopefully that is the case, as the accident sounded awful.

Wow man, between this and Ned's post about his mom, really puts all this silliness in perspective. Thinking I need to start a runners prayer for the group tomorrow morning.Stay safe guys!

 

[Trey]

I'm sure there might be some info buried in this thread but I've ignored it for 335 pages...

Got a lot of family and friends considering a half marathon at the end of September.

Does anyone here have a link to a training regimen that could get me from "lazy bum who could throw on shoes and do a 3 mile jaunt" to capable of running a half marathon in 12 weeks?? I've been out of the distance game since senior year of high school(~6 years at this point) so I'm not sure the best methods for tackling this.

 

[Sand]

I'm sure there might be some info buried in this thread but I've ignored it for 335 pages...

Got a lot of family and friends considering a half marathon at the end of September.

Does anyone here have a link to a training regimen that could get me from "lazy bum who could throw on shoes and do a 3 mile jaunt" to capable of running a half marathon in 12 weeks?? I've been out of the distance game since senior year of high school(~6 years at this point) so I'm not sure the best methods for tackling this.

Welcome! Lots of good plans out there and most attack this with about the same strategy. I'd recommend the Novice Higdon Program. If you find it too easy you can always bump up to the Novice 2 program.In all honestly your road to do this really isn't all the complicated. Build up in a reasonably slow way so as not to get injured and be consistent and get your runs in.

 

[pigskinliquors]

Bought a pair of running shoes saturday at a local running store, and apparently I had pretty good form except I hit my heal a tad too much. I am having to retrain my body due to hernaited discs, maintain a tight core and emphasize mid-foot contact and not heal, and today I went for 30 minutes of jog/walk and felt pretty good. Hopefully I don't feel bad tomorrow and can go again on Wednesday.

Hey Rascal: I highly recommend that you look into the Pose method of running or Chi running. Both will help you achieve mid-foot contact. Getting a proper set of shoes was a great start!

Swam 2,000 today after riding 30 miles yesterday and doing the Du (5K run/5K kayak) on Saturday. Got to back things down a bit this week as I have an Oly on Sunday. I haven't had the chance to OWS yet this year and the swim is in a river with a decent current and, of course, the last 300+ yards of the swim are in to the current. I did my Oly PR, 2:30, on the same course two years ago. Based on where I am on the bike, I'd be happy with something around 2:45.

2:45 sounds very realistic. Start some sort of a taper though for God's sake.

BTW, folks, found out that the guy who wrecked was a good friend and a ridiculously good rider (way, way better than me - like Cat 1/2 type talent). I don't know his condition, but my heart is in my shoes right now. From the facebook posts I get the impression he is alive, but has a long road to heal up. Hopefully that is the case, as the accident sounded awful.

Edit: found out he had a broken femur, collapsed lunch, nasty road rash, and some rib fractures. They say a long recovery, but should have a full recovery. Feeling much better now.

This just goes to show that you have to be really careful out there. This guy rode 200+ miles/week and still had this happen.

Great news that he should have full recovery. Be safe out there everyone, and keep looking for runners/bikers/swimmers and pedestrians.

I'm sure there might be some info buried in this thread but I've ignored it for 335 pages...

Got a lot of family and friends considering a half marathon at the end of September.

Does anyone here have a link to a training regimen that could get me from "lazy bum who could throw on shoes and do a 3 mile jaunt" to capable of running a half marathon in 12 weeks?? I've been out of the distance game since senior year of high school(~6 years at this point) so I'm not sure the best methods for tackling this.

Sand's recommendation of Higdon is a great one. I'd also look at Runners World's Smart Coach. Whatever you do, find a plan, and get at it. There are some amazing runners and in this thread and even more people that will provide you with inspiration to kick this HM's ###. Oh...also...don't forget to race stalk.

 

[comfortably numb]

Great job, Sand. I can't really imagine doing two events back-to-back like that, let alone putting up those kinds of results in the process. Hope the other guy is okay.

 

[SteelCurtain]

Lots of good races going on out there.

Thoughts and Prayers to Ned's mom and Sand's friend.

I haven't run due to work craziness and hope to get back on the asphalt this week.

 

[comfortably numb]

My 5k Portugal Day race went like this.

Was in my hometown where I grew up, I always remembered this race, and had a feeling it was going to be tough in regards to where I placed. Lots of younger people run this and its a fast course. I ended up 91/150 and 10/13 in my age group.

9AM start, I was soaked just jumping around at warm ups.

Took off at the gun, for some reason I started towards the back, so i danced around some people 1st few seconds, the streets were wide so it thinned very quickly.

I must have been pretty amped cause within like 3 min, i was breathing harder than usual.

When I knew I was close to the 1M marker my breathing was a bit uncontrolled.

Was thinking, this is NOT good. Then as I hit the 1M marker, and I looked for my time, I realize whey i was struggling some.

1M 6.53

That at least made me feel better and as I grew more tired I didn't mind to slow down.

I hit both water stations to just splash some water, not really for finish line photos, but cause i was freaking hot!

For the most part I just tried to hold on and control my breathing.

Not that much more happened, splits were as such

6.53

7.49

8.09

24.00

Shaved 9 seconds off my PR.

Pretty happy about that considering it was the hottest race I ever ran.

I really don't know how you freaks can run/swim/bike half and full marathons when it's like 90.

I pushed myself at the finish line of 3miles and thought I was gonna faint.

 

[sho nuff]

I'm sure there might be some info buried in this thread but I've ignored it for 335 pages...Got a lot of family and friends considering a half marathon at the end of September.Does anyone here have a link to a training regimen that could get me from "lazy bum who could throw on shoes and do a 3 mile jaunt" to capable of running a half marathon in 12 weeks?? I've been out of the distance game since senior year of high school(~6 years at this point) so I'm not sure the best methods for tackling this.

I echo the other comments about Higdon's novice program.Biggest thing is to take it slow and build the mileage up without injury.Its still a pretty quick turnaround to go from not much running to a half...but if you take it slow the higdon novice should get you to the finish line.

 

[sho nuff]

My 5k Portugal Day race went like this.Was in my hometown where I grew up, I always remembered this race, and had a feeling it was going to be tough in regards to where I placed. Lots of younger people run this and its a fast course. I ended up 91/150 and 10/13 in my age group.9AM start, I was soaked just jumping around at warm ups.Took off at the gun, for some reason I started towards the back, so i danced around some people 1st few seconds, the streets were wide so it thinned very quickly.I must have been pretty amped cause within like 3 min, i was breathing harder than usual.When I knew I was close to the 1M marker my breathing was a bit uncontrolled.Was thinking, this is NOT good. Then as I hit the 1M marker, and I looked for my time, I realize whey i was struggling some.1M 6.53That at least made me feel better and as I grew more tired I didn't mind to slow down.I hit both water stations to just splash some water, not really for finish line photos, but cause i was freaking hot!For the most part I just tried to hold on and control my breathing.Not that much more happened, splits were as such6.537.498.0924.00Shaved 9 seconds off my PR.Pretty happy about that considering it was the hottest race I ever ran.I really don't know how you freaks can run/swim/bike half and full marathons when it's like 90.I pushed myself at the finish line of 3miles and thought I was gonna faint.

Congrats on the PR...thats about the time I am shooting for...running one on the 4th I think. I need to update the race calendar for a few events I have added.

 

[pmbrown_22]

Ned - Sorry to hear about your mom. She sounds like a tough cookie though. An inspiration to all.

Sand - Glad to hear your friend will recover. Every once in awhile a story like this comes along and re-iterates the importance of being safe out there. Sometimes it is out of our control, but always good to keep those thought on whether something is safe or not in the back of your head.

numb - great race. you are officially in the "Sanding" club.

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

Did not feel like it, but I went out for 5 miles yesterday. Nothing special, just getting some miles in. I had been debating on going through another marathon cycle or no, but I think the decision was made for me last night. We just got a contract on our house and will be moving in 17 days. I am going to try and keep up the running, but it may be tough. We have a ton of stuff to get packed up. I think that I am going to try and keep running as much as I can and then do a couple of halfs in the fall. That way I can still keep up on the fitness and still stay in some sort of shape. I am going to really try setting a good half PR as well, so I can keep up my speed work up.

Have a great day all.

 

[beer 302]

Got in a good workout today, been trying this for the last few weeks. Ran 5.8 to start. Stop off and do a mile on the elliptical at the YMCA by my house and then an easy 1/2 mile jog home. Thinking about starting some kind of training program. While I enjoy these workouts it's not going to take long to get into a routine and lose interest. Going to check out the Higdon program listed above.

 

[Ned]

Sorry if I missed any one. This thread is really thriving. All the new blood is awesome.

grue - Please update the race calendar ASAP with ever single race you're considering. I want to avoid racing on the same weekend as you where ever possible. Sorry to hear about the crummy 10K experience.

Sean - Congrats on the great start! You should be proud of that time. That's a very solid time for a first race.

BnB - That's some crazy HR creep in such a short amount of time. I unfortunately know exactly what that feels like now.

PSL - You are motivating me to mix in some P90x. You are an ANIMAL.

2Y2BB - YOU FRIGGIN WON YOUR AG?!?! Dude that's kick ###. And it was your first ever kayak race?!

Dexter - Congrats on that race. You are insane for even attempting that.

Ivan - Good work on the MP run. I agree with Jux. Be happy to get those in at such an early stage. That's a sign of good things to come.

Prince - Congrats on the PR! Funny you did a race on a runway. They announced at the HM I did this weekend that next year's race will take us down the middle of the flightline on the AFB.

Sand - You're your own worst critic. Even with iffy training you're still on the verge of podiums at most races. You're a stud. Very scary to hear about your friend. Thoughts out to him and his family.

Kuz - Assuming your previous year's training was primarily endurance building, you should look to mix in some speed work in the form of intervals, tempos, etc.

Acer - Congrats on the podium! FBGs are crushing the podiums this season.

John - Outside of knee is most likely ITB. Here's some stretch and strengthening you can do to help.

benson - sucks about your calves. Did you get any compression sleeves? I'd slow those runs down until you're pain free. 7:30 may feel easy, but you should be going super slow to where you can carry multiple sentence conversations (most likely 8:30 range for you). It's hard to do, but it's good for ya.

tri - Yes and no. You'll see it in my RR next, but I thought I was listening and then I wasn't. I would've posted the HR data if I had it handy. I was posting from my phone from my sister's house. This is going to be a difficult RR to write. I'm not terribly proud of how I handled this, but what can you do? I believe in sharing the bad with the good. It's easy to only post the good times.

Thanks to all for the well wishes of my mom. She's a trooper and a half.

 

[gruecd]

Hey, guys. Life has gotten in the way lately, and I seem to have fallen way behind here. No signs of it getting better anytime soon, either.

Anyway....Saturday's 10K sucked (too warm, and sleep-deprived), but I did manage a nice, easy 15-miler in near-90-degree heat on Sunday. Heading south with a buddy tonight for an 18-mile trail run in the Northern Kettle. It'll probably take us 3 hours, but that's fine. I think I need a mental break from racing, so hopefully the trail stuff will do the trick.

I hope everyone is doing well!

 

[gruecd]

grue - Please update the race calendar ASAP with ever single race you're considering. I want to avoid racing on the same weekend as you where ever possible.

I don't blame you. I seriously have no idea what I did to deserve this....And sorry to hear about your mom, but she sounds like a strong woman; I'm sure she'll come through everything just fine!

 

[pigskinliquors]

Shaved 9 seconds off my PR.

Pretty happy about that considering it was the hottest race I ever ran.

I really don't know how you freaks can run/swim/bike half and full marathons when it's like 90.

I pushed myself at the finish line of 3miles and thought I was gonna faint.

Well done Numb!!! Awesome to have a PR in those conditions. Please don't be intimidated by what others have done, and are doing. Go back in this thread and you will hear multiple people that have stated how hard a 5k or similar race was, and are now doing marathons, cross-training, and more importantly have incorporated fitness into their daily lives. I tell my daughters that it's like brushing your teeth. You need to do it every day to keep your body (and in many cases your mind) healthy. Keep at it, and you can do EVERYTHING that others are doing here.

Got in a good workout today, been trying this for the last few weeks. Ran 5.8 to start. Stop off and do a mile on the elliptical at the YMCA by my house and then an easy 1/2 mile jog home. Thinking about starting some kind of training program. While I enjoy these workouts it's not going to take long to get into a routine and lose interest. Going to check out the Higdon program listed above.

beer: That's a great workout to do every once in awhile. Do build speed and endurance you will need more variety. Speed runs, pace runs, and long runs.

tri - Yes and no. You'll see it in my RR next, but I thought I was listening and then I wasn't. I would've posted the HR data if I had it handy. I was posting from my phone from my sister's house. This is going to be a difficult RR to write. I'm not terribly proud of how I handled this, but what can you do? I believe in sharing the bad with the good. It's easy to only post the good times.

Thanks to all for the well wishes of my mom. She's a trooper and a half.

Keep us posted on your Mom's condition. In that weather, I'm guessing most every body who ran that race is struggling with telling people their results. Hard races like yours are great to use mentally in the future. The next time you think things are getting tough in a race, you'll have the pain of that race to remember. Improvement is often about learning how to work through more pain than you have in the past. You've suffered some pain, and now know you can work through it. Don't forget that pain.

Hey, guys. Life has gotten in the way lately, and I seem to have fallen way behind here. No signs of it getting better anytime soon, either.

Anyway....Saturday's 10K sucked (too warm, and sleep-deprived), but I did manage a nice, easy 15-miler in near-90-degree heat on Sunday. Heading south with a buddy tonight for an 18-mile trail run in the Northern Kettle. It'll probably take us 3 hours, but that's fine. I think I need a mental break from racing, so hopefully the trail stuff will do the trick.

I hope everyone is doing well!

:jealous: Enjoy your "Easy" 18 miler Grue. You deserve some shade and a chance of scenery. Soak it all in!________________________

My update:

I'm preparing for two weeks of being on the road. I have a conference at Virginia Beach that runs this Friday, through next Wednesday. I'll be back home for less than 24 hours, before taking off to Florida to spend a couple days with my sister and then I'm off on a cruise for a week. It's a working cruise, as I'm doing some consulting on board and will also be having my Cruise Management Class with me (8 UG's and 2 Grad Students) as part of their course requirements.

I'm hoping to create very different and new workouts while away as I'm starting to plateau a bit, and my body likely needs some relief. Main goal will simply be to not put much weight on, and to be fresh for a hard two weeks of training before heading to IA/WI for two weeks of vacation (and pedaling the 471 miles across Iowa).

Today I'm running .6 miles with each of my girls separately; then doing a 1.2 mile bike ride with both of them; then taking them swimming (100 yards for the 10 year old; 50 yards for the youngest). I created an Iron Man chart for them. The loop by our house is .6 miles, and our pool is 15 x 7.5. To complete an IM this summer they need to do 282 lengths in the pool (little one will do them the short way = 7.5 yards); 187 laps on their bike; and 44 laps running. I have already contacted a friend who will be making them medals for when/if they complete all tasks. They get ice cream for the first one completed; a night out with Dad for the second one; and a trip to Toys 'R Us for completion (+ the medal).

 

[tri-man 47]

rascal - most runners are heel-strikers, so you're not alone. It takes quite a while to transition to a mid-foot strike, so be patient with it, and watch your calves. You might want to get some compressions socks for during and after runs to support the calves.

Trey - you can do the HM! Your training will be as much about mental confidence and physical skill. Keep us informed of your training progress!

2Young - looking forward to your Oly results!

Sand - so sorry about your friend. My son is getting me a Road ID for Father's Day. I'm long, long overdue to get one of those, and it's precisely for the possibility of accidents such as this. You just never know. Best wishes for a full recovery.

gruecd - I think Ned is referring to your ability to pick hot weather days, which he would like to avoid!

(Man this place has gotten busy! )

goldenchild - OK, course eval: You start with a big rectangle with three left turns. Line up on the left side at the start, but not too far - you could get bottled up at the first turn or two. As you go up Alma past the stadium, you'll be approaching mile 1, and that's your only real incline for the race. Be patient that first mile or that incline will seem like a mountain. You do a 1/2 mile out-and-back on Senter, and you can distract yourself watching runners going the other way. Now you're halfway done and ready for the interesting part of the race! That looks like a nice stretch for over a 1/2 mile running through the park. Keep it steady and don't think ahead ..just relax and run. You'll also be running slightly downslope the rest of the way. When you turn back onto Senter at the 2.5 mile point, it's 1-2-3 to the finish - (1)run that familiar stretch of Senter again, (2) enjoy the downhill on Alma, and then (3) finish with the loop into the stadium. Success!

 

[Ned]

Dover AFB Half Marathon

Like I mentioned in my response to tri, this isn't a RR that will come easily. I'm embarrassed with how I handled this run and would like to forget it quickly. For as much as I preach about HR, I didn't do a good job of listening to what I preach. Denial is a powerful thing. Its amazing what you can convince yourself of.

We were camping this weekend in a state park 15mins from the base. We had a blast with the kids and dogs (2 labs LOVE camping). The heat was pretty bad in the sun, but was pretty tolerable in the woods/shade. Lots of hiking and hanging out by the campfire had me really relaxed. I slept great both Friday and Saturday night.

Sunday morning came and it was a pretty uneventful start. We left on time, which is a minor miracle in itself with the kids and dogs in tow. I thought my wife was nuts for wanting to keep track of 2 big dogs + 2 kids at the race, but who was I to argue? Pulled in to the base at 7:15 and hit sign-up. Wow it was already steamy. I did my best to stay in the shade while we waited for the start, which was only possible by standing under the planes on display at the museum. This place has next to zero trees. Side note - if you are ever in the area, their museum is small, but a must see. The kids absolutely loved seeing all of the displays and asking what planes I worked on.

My plan was to follow the 5-5-5 plan for this race. Run the first 5mi below LT (178) and reassess how I was feeling. Based on how I felt, I'd adjust as needed for the next 5mi. Knowing the heat was going to cause HR creep, I fully expected the second 5 to be slower no matter how easy I took the first 5. I expected to have to run the last 8 at or above LT and felt capable of doing that (mistake #1). I always carry water with me on training runs, but never at races. I was at least smart enough to bring my handheld bottle with me. I also planned on taking water at each of the 8 aid stations no matter what. I'm a pretty heavy sweater and was worried I'd get dehydrated quickly.

The gun goes off and I settled in at a comfortable pace. We were running into a slight headwind, which actually felt good given the steamy sun (76 at the start, I don't know the humidity levels). I wanted to make sure it was really easy and resisted the urge to pace the guys that I thought were beatable. I'm a very competitive person, so it was difficult for me. I thought back to my triple crown where I had to let the non-triples go do their thing, which helped. I was feeling good, of course, and the first couple of miles were going smoothly. At mile 3 people were already starting to fade. This was a confidence boost, which in hind sight was a double edged sword. Somewhere around this part a younger guy in his mid 20s was in front of me for a while. He started to fade a bit so I passed him slowly. Just as I cleared him, he ducks in behind me to draft and actually laughed with an evil 'HAHA'. That pissed me off, so I picked it up a tick making him earn the draft. He didn't hang with me, which was a mild victory. This here was my first warning sign, but I didn't see it at the time. I felt like I had picked it up a decent amount, but it only amounted to a 4 second diff from my avg pace. All that effort for 4 seconds should've told me my body was working harder to regulate my body temp. But, I didn't see it and kept on goin'. I hooked up with a guy around my age at mile 4 and we joked about the lack of shade - It was his first time being on a military base and said "I guess these bases aren't allowed to plant trees". Splits: 7:50/173, 7:52/176, 7:49/177, 7:46/180, 7:51/183

I justified the higher HR at a slower pace as taking it easy. I know I can run 7:35-7:40 easily at this HR range, so in my mind the 7:50 average was OK. I was going slower, so I was holding back. Right?! What a dufus. Instead of heeding the warning signs of the high HR at a slower pace, I justified it by telling myself I was running slower and would be fine (mistake #2). We worked our way around the perimeter of explosives area of the base which had me reminisce a bit about old times. The reminiscing quickly ended when I noticed my HR wasn't coming back down below 180. Oh frig, I'm in trouble. An aid station was at 5.5 and I decided I better take advantage of it and stop to get a full drink (instead of running/drinking thru it). At this point, I could feel the heat pouring out of my singlet. I knew I was in trouble, but really convinced myself that I could salvage it by dropping the pace (even more). I quickly learned that wasn't going to happen as the pace slowly erroded and I couldn't get the HR back under 180. I walked and double fisted each aid station. 1 water to drink, 1 water for the head/back. Around mile 8 I realized this was a lost cause. I am embarrassed to admit that I mentally checked out. I gave up. I pride myself on being able to fight through crap (hell I puked 2x at Philly and fought through that), but for whatever reason I just quit. I might as well just walked off the course and quit the race. After the aid station just after mile 8, I did attempt to pick things back up, but every time it was a failure. The legs had nothing. Splits: 8:13/181, 8:20/181, 8:37/180, 9:04/179, 9:10/177

The rest of the run I just shuffled it on in. The heat was rising rapidly (87 and still sunny at the finish). As I ran past the BX, they had the in-ground sprinklers going on the lawn. I veered off into the edge of the grass to get hit with the sprinklers. Wow that felt awesome. It gave me a little jolt of energy, and I picked it up some. That was short lived as my legs gave way to the heat a short time after. I was mentally dejected and just cruised it on in to the finish. As I got to the finish, a few of my old buddies from my unit were there to cheer me on. I was thrilled to see them and was really appreciative that they'd sneak away from drill to come support me. Splits: 9:33/174, 9:25/176, 9:18/177, 0.22 - 8:12/180

Total time was 1:52:44 (1:52:58 gun time - no chip timing). 31/194 OA and 8th in my AG (I don't know the total in my AG). I try hard to keep perspective on this game and remember where I came from. I remember that feeling of accomplishment when I finished my first HM a year and a half ago. I still finished a HM in less than prime conditions. As hard as it is, I have to forgive myself for the 'quit' and remember that I'm out here doing something I never considered possible even 2 years ago. Maybe it's just a way to cope, but it helps to remember the beginning.

In the wise words of tri, this was a big time teachable race. I have to respect mother nature no matter how strong I feel. I should've started out way slower and way below LT. I'm thinking even at 165 I would've been in trouble towards the end. I also never want to feel like I did on this run. Mentally quitting was really upsetting and still bothers me to type it out 3 days later. Regardless, I still need to be honest with y'all and myself. It's easy to write up the PR RRs and keep the bad races short.

 

[beer 302]

Dover AFB Half Marathon

Like I mentioned in my response to tri, this isn't a RR that will come easily. I'm embarrassed with how I handled this run and would like to forget it quickly. For as much as I preach about HR, I didn't do a good job of listening to what I preach. Denial is a powerful thing. Its amazing what you can convince yourself of.

We were camping this weekend in a state park 15mins from the base. We had a blast with the kids and dogs (2 labs LOVE camping). The heat was pretty bad in the sun, but was pretty tolerable in the woods/shade. Lots of hiking and hanging out by the campfire had me really relaxed. I slept great both Friday and Saturday night.

Sunday morning came and it was a pretty uneventful start. We left on time, which is a minor miracle in itself with the kids and dogs in tow. I thought my wife was nuts for wanting to keep track of 2 big dogs + 2 kids at the race, but who was I to argue? Pulled in to the base at 7:15 and hit sign-up. Wow it was already steamy. I did my best to stay in the shade while we waited for the start, which was only possible by standing under the planes on display at the museum. This place has next to zero trees. Side note - if you are ever in the area, their museum is small, but a must see. The kids absolutely loved seeing all of the displays and asking what planes I worked on.

My plan was to follow the 5-5-5 plan for this race. Run the first 5mi below LT (178) and reassess how I was feeling. Based on how I felt, I'd adjust as needed for the next 5mi. Knowing the heat was going to cause HR creep, I fully expected the second 5 to be slower no matter how easy I took the first 5. I expected to have to run the last 8 at or above LT and felt capable of doing that (mistake #1). I always carry water with me on training runs, but never at races. I was at least smart enough to bring my handheld bottle with me. I also planned on taking water at each of the 8 aid stations no matter what. I'm a pretty heavy sweater and was worried I'd get dehydrated quickly.

The gun goes off and I settled in at a comfortable pace. We were running into a slight headwind, which actually felt good given the steamy sun (76 at the start, I don't know the humidity levels). I wanted to make sure it was really easy and resisted the urge to pace the guys that I thought were beatable. I'm a very competitive person, so it was difficult for me. I thought back to my triple crown where I had to let the non-triples go do their thing, which helped. I was feeling good, of course, and the first couple of miles were going smoothly. At mile 3 people were already starting to fade. This was a confidence boost, which in hind sight was a double edged sword. Somewhere around this part a younger guy in his mid 20s was in front of me for a while. He started to fade a bit so I passed him slowly. Just as I cleared him, he ducks in behind me to draft and actually laughed with an evil 'HAHA'. That pissed me off, so I picked it up a tick making him earn the draft. He didn't hang with me, which was a mild victory. This here was my first warning sign, but I didn't see it at the time. I felt like I had picked it up a decent amount, but it only amounted to a 4 second diff from my avg pace. All that effort for 4 seconds should've told me my body was working harder to regulate my body temp. But, I didn't see it and kept on goin'. I hooked up with a guy around my age at mile 4 and we joked about the lack of shade - It was his first time being on a military base and said "I guess these bases aren't allowed to plant trees". Splits: 7:50/173, 7:52/176, 7:49/177, 7:46/180, 7:51/183

I justified the higher HR at a slower pace as taking it easy. I know I can run 7:35-7:40 easily at this HR range, so in my mind the 7:50 average was OK. I was going slower, so I was holding back. Right?! What a dufus. Instead of heeding the warning signs of the high HR at a slower pace, I justified it by telling myself I was running slower and would be fine (mistake #2). We worked our way around the perimeter of explosives area of the base which had me reminisce a bit about old times. The reminiscing quickly ended when I noticed my HR wasn't coming back down below 180. Oh frig, I'm in trouble. An aid station was at 5.5 and I decided I better take advantage of it and stop to get a full drink (instead of running/drinking thru it). At this point, I could feel the heat pouring out of my singlet. I knew I was in trouble, but really convinced myself that I could salvage it by dropping the pace (even more). I quickly learned that wasn't going to happen as the pace slowly erroded and I couldn't get the HR back under 180. I walked and double fisted each aid station. 1 water to drink, 1 water for the head/back. Around mile 8 I realized this was a lost cause. I am embarrassed to admit that I mentally checked out. I gave up. I pride myself on being able to fight through crap (hell I puked 2x at Philly and fought through that), but for whatever reason I just quit. I might as well just walked off the course and quit the race. After the aid station just after mile 8, I did attempt to pick things back up, but every time it was a failure. The legs had nothing. Splits: 8:13/181, 8:20/181, 8:37/180, 9:04/179, 9:10/177

The rest of the run I just shuffled it on in. The heat was rising rapidly (87 and still sunny at the finish). As I ran past the BX, they had the in-ground sprinklers going on the lawn. I veered off into the edge of the grass to get hit with the sprinklers. Wow that felt awesome. It gave me a little jolt of energy, and I picked it up some. That was short lived as my legs gave way to the heat a short time after. I was mentally dejected and just cruised it on in to the finish. As I got to the finish, a few of my old buddies from my unit were there to cheer me on. I was thrilled to see them and was really appreciative that they'd sneak away from drill to come support me. Splits: 9:33/174, 9:25/176, 9:18/177, 0.22 - 8:12/180

Total time was 1:52:44 (1:52:58 gun time - no chip timing). 31/194 OA and 8th in my AG (I don't know the total in my AG). I try hard to keep perspective on this game and remember where I came from. I remember that feeling of accomplishment when I finished my first HM a year and a half ago. I still finished a HM in less than prime conditions. As hard as it is, I have to forgive myself for the 'quit' and remember that I'm out here doing something I never considered possible even 2 years ago. Maybe it's just a way to cope, but it helps to remember the beginning.

In the wise words of tri, this was a big time teachable race. I have to respect mother nature no matter how strong I feel. I should've started out way slower and way below LT. I'm thinking even at 165 I would've been in trouble towards the end. I also never want to feel like I did on this run. Mentally quitting was really upsetting and still bothers me to type it out 3 days later. Regardless, I still need to be honest with y'all and myself. It's easy to write up the PR RRs and keep the bad races short.

Thanks Ned, sucks to get yourself psyched up for a race and then fall short of your expectations but understand that to a guy like me just starting out I couldn't finish this race so to me, this is quite the accomplishment. I know we are all at different levels but keep in mind you and the others in this thread give guys like me something to shoot for. Your worst day in a HM is better than my best day, don't kick yourself too hard. Sounds like a helluva effort to me