Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums
This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!
Ran a 10k in June (5 Viewers)
- Thread starter GStrot
- Start date
Juxtatarot
Footballguy
Right, I already qualified. I had always planned on Boston being a one time thing. I don't think I'll run it next year but, obviously, I have plenty of time to make a decision.I am fairly certain Juxt has a qualifying time from 2012 Chicago marathon as well. (just not sure if he's planning on doing this again next year)
Last edited by a moderator:
sho nuff
Footballguy
Thanks...don't think Im going to be ready by January.
Im purposefully taking things easy and slow coming back from this hernia.
Going to rebuild my endurance slowly as if Im a newbie just starting out.
Only adding in some speed after a few months...and only rarely to break some monotony.
Also doing much more core work and such.
Maybe even copy grue hitting some yoga (was invited by a mom at my daughter's dance class)...but definitely more yoga like core work...and lunges for tri-man.
beer 302
Footballguy
I mentioned before I might have an in at this race. I have a full on the schedule for fall followed by an endurance race then nothing until a half/full in March and possibly this. Pretty sure that would be bad ###.
Juxtatarot
Footballguy
I never realized that. I had always assumed they measured from the middle and if you took the turns right you could cheat a little. My Garmin measured 26.47 for Boston. I assumed it was a problem with the Garmin but perhaps not.wilked said:
worrierking
Footballguy
Running the tangents is almost impossible in the first few miles of a large marathon. I try to as much as possible, but it is not easy to do in crowds. In some races like Houston, you can't run the tangents until the half split at mile nine. The longest my garmin ever read was 26.49. It's usually atenth of a mile or so more than 26.2.
Man I wish I was fast enough to qualify for Boston, but that won't happen.
Man I wish I was fast enough to qualify for Boston, but that won't happen.
Workhorse
Footballguy
Got in to see my podiatrist this AM about my foot.
Gout.
I can't believe it. Doesn't run in my family, I obviously exercise all the time, stay hydrated and eat a reasonably healthy diet. Doc couldn't believe that I was able to run Boston with that kind of gout attack. I guess I'll need to be extra vigilent about my diet next training cycle and probably cut back alcohol quite a bit.
Gout.
I can't believe it. Doesn't run in my family, I obviously exercise all the time, stay hydrated and eat a reasonably healthy diet. Doc couldn't believe that I was able to run Boston with that kind of gout attack. I guess I'll need to be extra vigilent about my diet next training cycle and probably cut back alcohol quite a bit.
IvanKaramazov
Footballguy
I'm pretty sure all four of my marathons measured out at 26.4 or longer -- I think one may have been 26.6. "Running the tangents" is a good idea in theory, but I've come around to the view that in many cases, it's actually easier to just to go with the flow even if it adds a couple tenths of a mile as opposed to fighting against traffic constantly. Then again, I'm a mid-packer so the course tends to be congested almost the whole way for me.
Juxtatarot
Footballguy
That sucks Workhorse. I thought you only had a sore toe from running! I don't know that much about gout, but hopefully those diet changes keep it under control. Do you think there's a chance it's a misdiagnosis?
koby925
Footballguy
Yeah I don't know much about it either. Is it something you can keep under control? Still run on? I'm guessing so since you ran a Marathon on it.
tri-man 47
Footballguy
I believe my Boston length was 26.44. That alone can add an extra couple of minutes to the overall time! In my HM PR last fall, which was on a gravel path and not crowded, I aggressively ran tangents and ended up at 13.0. It has an effect ..good or bad.
Workhorse - sorry about the diagnosis! Use it as an opportunity to revamp your diet as necessary, and hopefully come back stronger than ever.
gruecd - I remember, now, that you were up in Minocqua. I figure a rails-to-trails course is generally flat. A gravel path is softer for the feet, and I expect it has a good amount of shade.
--
wilked: Kudos again on your excellent race in Boston. Steady running and a huge PR. I don't want your success to be totally overwhelmed by the terrible events of the day. You deserve some recognition for your achievement!
Workhorse
Footballguy
The doctor doesn't seem to think that this will be a chronic condition and he even said that once the gout-specific anti-inflammatories kick in, I could be back running in a week or so.
MAC_32
Footballguy
I was all excited to give an update on where I am on Monday...then realized it was Boston Marathon Day and decided the timing was bad...then decided to follow along like the rest of you and offer my congrats once all were done...then...that happened.
Runners are like family. One, big, giant dysfunctional and oddly wired family. I feel like someone attacked my family. Like most runners it fueled my fire and got me to do one of the best runs I've done in a long time yesterday. I am not in the condition to do anything long distance wise, but modified my interval run yesterday to a 2.62 mile one. 2 min 62 sec warm up, 2.62 miles on, 2 mins 62 sec rest, 2.62 miles on, 2 mins 62 second cool down. Anger is motivating and I ran angry yesterday. I'm sure I wasn't the only one.
Runners are like family. One, big, giant dysfunctional and oddly wired family. I feel like someone attacked my family. Like most runners it fueled my fire and got me to do one of the best runs I've done in a long time yesterday. I am not in the condition to do anything long distance wise, but modified my interval run yesterday to a 2.62 mile one. 2 min 62 sec warm up, 2.62 miles on, 2 mins 62 sec rest, 2.62 miles on, 2 mins 62 second cool down. Anger is motivating and I ran angry yesterday. I'm sure I wasn't the only one.
The_Man
Footballguy
BC Students: "We decide when our Marathon ends"
A bunch of students were organizing a group on Friday to walk the last 5 miles of the course from BC to Boylston Street, as a tribute to those injured and a sign of not giving in to terror.
They've had to temporarily postpone it, though, at officials' request. Because they didn't think they could accommodate the 15,000 people that have signed up so far.
So f'ing badash
A bunch of students were organizing a group on Friday to walk the last 5 miles of the course from BC to Boylston Street, as a tribute to those injured and a sign of not giving in to terror.
They've had to temporarily postpone it, though, at officials' request. Because they didn't think they could accommodate the 15,000 people that have signed up so far.
So f'ing badash
Ned
Footballguy
tri-man 47
Footballguy
rail
Footballguy
Without reading the past few pages, I'm sure I'm feeling what some other posters are feeling now: GD it, I'm running me a Boston Marathon because I'm not going to let anyone take that chance away from me or anyone else.
But the reality sets in: I've only run one marathon (documented in this thread over 2 years ago) and that was pretty much a disaster with injuries and a 5+ hour time.
I've been training for a half next month - the Colfax Marathon in Denver. The training has been much easier, but now about 4 weeks out I'm starting to feel some pain / maladies come on that are similar to 2 years ago. I stretch. I've been doing strength training since January. Maybe I'm just not training right. I'm hoping to do it under two hours - a measly 9 min. pace. Never can really seem to improve on my pace, but then again, maybe I'm just not doing it right/hard enough.
My question is - what program/regimen would you guys recommend for me to do to get to a qualifying time of 3:15 (I'm 42)? Last time (and for this half) I just downloaded Higdon's training program and followed it. I'm thinking I need to get more involved / detailed with strength training, learning how to pace, how to do speed training, diet, etc. Any books, links, programs, etc. that would get me where I need to go?
I don't expect I'll get it done by 2014. But I'm feeling determined - if I have to wait until 2015 or 2016, fine. I'll do a long, gradual, buildup if I have to.
But the reality sets in: I've only run one marathon (documented in this thread over 2 years ago) and that was pretty much a disaster with injuries and a 5+ hour time.
I've been training for a half next month - the Colfax Marathon in Denver. The training has been much easier, but now about 4 weeks out I'm starting to feel some pain / maladies come on that are similar to 2 years ago. I stretch. I've been doing strength training since January. Maybe I'm just not training right. I'm hoping to do it under two hours - a measly 9 min. pace. Never can really seem to improve on my pace, but then again, maybe I'm just not doing it right/hard enough.
My question is - what program/regimen would you guys recommend for me to do to get to a qualifying time of 3:15 (I'm 42)? Last time (and for this half) I just downloaded Higdon's training program and followed it. I'm thinking I need to get more involved / detailed with strength training, learning how to pace, how to do speed training, diet, etc. Any books, links, programs, etc. that would get me where I need to go?
I don't expect I'll get it done by 2014. But I'm feeling determined - if I have to wait until 2015 or 2016, fine. I'll do a long, gradual, buildup if I have to.
Juxtatarot
Footballguy
First off, if anyone thinks it is too soon after the bombings to do a race report, I apologize. I feel a bit odd writing this but I’m home and have the day off work, I am too sore to do anything active and it’s an ugly, rainy day. I have the time to get this all written out now.
I’ve been thinking about my race and trying to analyze exactly what went wrong for me. Instead of giving a real race report, I’d like to post my splits (time and heart rate) from Boston and from my PR in Chicago last fall to use as a comparison.
Chicago Boston
5K 22:15/? 21:20/164
10K 21:39/159 21:29/165
15K 21:38/158 21:16/166
20K 21:37/154 21:38/166
25K 21:39/157 22:08/167
30K 21:42/158 23:27/167
35K 21:53/162 25:14/165
40K 22:46/164 31:31/145
Finish 10:17/167 16:19/135
A few things jump out. First, and most obvious, is my earlier slowdown in Boston and then you the collapse. Second thing is my heart rate is much more elevated until my collapse.
Of course, these are two entirely different marathons. Boston has it’s famous hills while Chicago is famously flat. It was also about 10 degrees cooler for the Chicago race and Chicago wasn’t in the sun like most of the Boston race.
My first thought was that I was a victim of the hills. Later, then, I thought it was just a matter of hitting the “wall” too quickly and perhaps I wasn’t careful enough with proper carb loading. I also thought I might have been more dehydrated than I realized. Now, however, I think the culprit was my elevated heart rate from the beginning. I really have no idea why it was so high. I noticed this during the first half of the race, but I really felt fine and comfortable. In fact, I felt so good that I thought I was holding myself back -- I really wanted to go faster. It wasn’t until the second half that things started quickly changing.
For further reference, I did a 16 mile run with 12 marathon pace during training and my HR was in the 150s for the MP portion (where I think it should be). When I ran the 5K a month ago, my HR in miles 2 and 3 both averaged 168 -- only a little higher than this marathon!
I’m strangely at peace with this one. Usually when I don’t run as well as I’d like I beat myself up for days but this one I’m taking in stride. (And I felt that way immediately after finishing so it’s not a matter of the bombings putting things in perspective although they have certainly done that as well.) However, I’d really like to get a better idea of what happened. I’d like for this to be a learning experience for my fall marathon.
Here are my questions for the group:
Why would my heart rate be so much higher than I would have anticipated? I doubt it was the hills because they don’t play a big role at the beginning. Might sleep matter? I’ve rarely slept well the night before a big race and also I’m a light sleeper regardless. It was quite noisy at the hotel and outside. I probably got a total of about 4 hours of sleep over Saturday and Sunday nights and never a deep sleep. I didn’t feel “sleepy” tired during or before the race, though.
Does a higher heart rate cause you to “hit the wall” sooner? I’d think so but I couldn’t find a good answer when I googled this.
Any other thoughts about my race?
I’ve been thinking about my race and trying to analyze exactly what went wrong for me. Instead of giving a real race report, I’d like to post my splits (time and heart rate) from Boston and from my PR in Chicago last fall to use as a comparison.
Chicago Boston
5K 22:15/? 21:20/164
10K 21:39/159 21:29/165
15K 21:38/158 21:16/166
20K 21:37/154 21:38/166
25K 21:39/157 22:08/167
30K 21:42/158 23:27/167
35K 21:53/162 25:14/165
40K 22:46/164 31:31/145
Finish 10:17/167 16:19/135
A few things jump out. First, and most obvious, is my earlier slowdown in Boston and then you the collapse. Second thing is my heart rate is much more elevated until my collapse.
Of course, these are two entirely different marathons. Boston has it’s famous hills while Chicago is famously flat. It was also about 10 degrees cooler for the Chicago race and Chicago wasn’t in the sun like most of the Boston race.
My first thought was that I was a victim of the hills. Later, then, I thought it was just a matter of hitting the “wall” too quickly and perhaps I wasn’t careful enough with proper carb loading. I also thought I might have been more dehydrated than I realized. Now, however, I think the culprit was my elevated heart rate from the beginning. I really have no idea why it was so high. I noticed this during the first half of the race, but I really felt fine and comfortable. In fact, I felt so good that I thought I was holding myself back -- I really wanted to go faster. It wasn’t until the second half that things started quickly changing.
For further reference, I did a 16 mile run with 12 marathon pace during training and my HR was in the 150s for the MP portion (where I think it should be). When I ran the 5K a month ago, my HR in miles 2 and 3 both averaged 168 -- only a little higher than this marathon!
I’m strangely at peace with this one. Usually when I don’t run as well as I’d like I beat myself up for days but this one I’m taking in stride. (And I felt that way immediately after finishing so it’s not a matter of the bombings putting things in perspective although they have certainly done that as well.) However, I’d really like to get a better idea of what happened. I’d like for this to be a learning experience for my fall marathon.
Here are my questions for the group:
Why would my heart rate be so much higher than I would have anticipated? I doubt it was the hills because they don’t play a big role at the beginning. Might sleep matter? I’ve rarely slept well the night before a big race and also I’m a light sleeper regardless. It was quite noisy at the hotel and outside. I probably got a total of about 4 hours of sleep over Saturday and Sunday nights and never a deep sleep. I didn’t feel “sleepy” tired during or before the race, though.
Does a higher heart rate cause you to “hit the wall” sooner? I’d think so but I couldn’t find a good answer when I googled this.
Any other thoughts about my race?
I use a mix of 3 books in my training as well as training/workouts I can dig up online on what elites do and modify them. I would recommend 2 of the 3 books for most marathoners.
Advanced Marathoning (by Pfitzginer / Douglas) is popular with this group. (http://www.amazon.com/Advanced-Marathoning-Edition-Peter-Pfitzinger/dp/0736074600/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1366214744&sr=8-1&keywords=advanced+marathoning)
Hansons Marathon Method (by Luke Humphrey) is good too. (http://www.amazon.com/Hansons-Marathon-Method-Renegade-Fastest/dp/1934030856/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1366214830&sr=1-1&keywords=hanson+marathon+method)
Advanced Marathoning (by Pfitzginer / Douglas) is popular with this group. (http://www.amazon.com/Advanced-Marathoning-Edition-Peter-Pfitzinger/dp/0736074600/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1366214744&sr=8-1&keywords=advanced+marathoning)
Hansons Marathon Method (by Luke Humphrey) is good too. (http://www.amazon.com/Hansons-Marathon-Method-Renegade-Fastest/dp/1934030856/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1366214830&sr=1-1&keywords=hanson+marathon+method)
Juxtatarot
Footballguy
Those would be good books for him to read to get a lot of general (and advanced) knowledge. He probably shouldn't do speedwork though until he's built his endurance base -- particularly since he's had a history of injuries.
Perfect timing for a report. F the terrorist.I do most of my events on 3-4 hours of sleep, but I do try to focus on a banking sleep/rest in the lead up days. Regarding hr, it likely was stress/excitement.
I'd be interested in your nutrition plan before commenting further. For long events it's optimum not to eat anything 3 hours beforehand.
Juxt, I looked through the race reports on other boards and it seems like the common culprit right now may be cold weather on race day. My quads were tight from the beginning and never loosened up. There were a lot of comments about legs getting beaten up by the early hills, even from some locals who trained on the course regularly.
As for the sleep / high HR thing, I just chalk some of it up to nerves. For a reference point, my resting HR in the middle of the night / early mornings is about 40-42 bpm. It's usually a few beats higher as early as 2-3 days leading up to the race. (I am happy if it's in the 45-47 range). I used to freak out about it, but now I just try not to check at all. I slept about 6 hours on Saturday night and 4-5 hours on Sunday night as well... partly due to the time difference and mostly due to the excitement.
I don't think your race report posting is inappropriate at all, I'll post my in a little bit as well.
As for the sleep / high HR thing, I just chalk some of it up to nerves. For a reference point, my resting HR in the middle of the night / early mornings is about 40-42 bpm. It's usually a few beats higher as early as 2-3 days leading up to the race. (I am happy if it's in the 45-47 range). I used to freak out about it, but now I just try not to check at all. I slept about 6 hours on Saturday night and 4-5 hours on Sunday night as well... partly due to the time difference and mostly due to the excitement.
I don't think your race report posting is inappropriate at all, I'll post my in a little bit as well.
Last edited by a moderator:
sho nuff
Footballguy
sho nuff
Footballguy
koby925
Footballguy
I am feeling some reality set in from my initial idea also. I have done zero marathons and don't know if it's good to do 2 in 6-7 months. I'm wondering if I have the time to commit to short notice marathon training, we are moving in June into our new house...I'm trying to find qualifiers that would work, etc. Chicago or Hartford (wife's from there) seem to make more sense from a readiness, travel and course layout perspective but they are too late for 2014 BQ. 2015 may be more realistic? I still haven't given up on 2014, though. Need to figure it out soon.
Last edited by a moderator:
MAC_32
Footballguy
sho nuff
Footballguy
Pretty much what Steve and Juxt said...and Im sure Ned will chime in about liking what he did with pFitz as well as others.
Im pretty much probably in line with what you run...though, guessing when in better shape you are a bit faster than me.
Half PR is 1:54 right now...going to shatter that next March or in the fall if I am up for it.
My only marathon was a disappointing day of quads and hamstrings killing me forcing me to walk/jog/walk/jog most of the last 10 miles.
Good that you are determined to do it...while Id love to run Boston...I don't have it in me to train that hard for a marathon. Its just too much time for me to train even more than I did last year...to be able to build up the endurance to do it fast enough to come close to qualifying.
I will run one more marathon (unless I flop...then damn it I will probably run it til I get it right just once).
But will stick with a half here and there and shorter races that seem more fitting to me right now.
Juxtatarot
Footballguy
BnB and Steve - Maybe it was nerves but I would have thought that would have settled as the race progressed. I don't remember HR being excessively high walking around in the start corral.
Steve - I really doubt the cold hurt me. If anything, I thought it was a little too warm! I've had plenty of practice running in the cold.
BnB- About nutrition, I focused on carb heavy foods for a few days before the race. I didn't snack as much as if I were home before a marathon, though. That might have hurt me some. Race morning I had a bagel about 3 hours before and a package of PowerBar gummy chews about 20 minutes before. During the race, gels during miles 5, 11 (forgot at 10) and 15. Switched between gatorade and water at stations about 50/50.
Steve - I really doubt the cold hurt me. If anything, I thought it was a little too warm! I've had plenty of practice running in the cold.
BnB- About nutrition, I focused on carb heavy foods for a few days before the race. I didn't snack as much as if I were home before a marathon, though. That might have hurt me some. Race morning I had a bagel about 3 hours before and a package of PowerBar gummy chews about 20 minutes before. During the race, gels during miles 5, 11 (forgot at 10) and 15. Switched between gatorade and water at stations about 50/50.
koby925
Footballguy
I agree with others. F holding back on the race report. I don't know enough about Marathon running or HR but the numbers from my novice perspective lead me to believe maybe it just wasn't your day. It happens all too often in this wonderful but cruel sport. Your HR indicates you were giving a great effort just to accomplish what you did.
Also, amazing how consistent you were at Chicago.
sho nuff
Footballguy
Not sure on the HR.
I noticed mine spiked quicker than anticipated in my lone marathon...a little slow down got it back under control...then the heat got to me and it rose a bit before my legs started giving me fits.
Yours never seemed to really increase...just sort of stayed high for you.
So reading this...I really have nothing for you...sorry.
tri-man 47
Footballguy
Juxt - I believe the Boston experience in and of itself causes the HR to run a bit higher ...so many stimuli. I do think you went out just a little too fast, given the challenges of the rolling hills in Newton still to come. But what puzzles me is the HR dropoff over the final miles.
My take on it is that your sustainable pace is high 150's, which leads to some creep into the low 160s as you tire near the end of a marathon (see: Chicago). Mid/high 160's is not the right HR pace for you in a marathon. Do you have any training data that refutes that, I wonder? As I see it, you were cruising a little bit above your speed limit, and, yeah, you wore out and bonked to some degree over the final miles.
My take on it is that your sustainable pace is high 150's, which leads to some creep into the low 160s as you tire near the end of a marathon (see: Chicago). Mid/high 160's is not the right HR pace for you in a marathon. Do you have any training data that refutes that, I wonder? As I see it, you were cruising a little bit above your speed limit, and, yeah, you wore out and bonked to some degree over the final miles.
Ned
Footballguy
A few questions...
[*]
[*]What specific program did you use (there's a number of HM plans on Higdon's site)?
[*]How hard/what pace are you running your long runs and/or easy runs?
[*]DO YOU WEAR A HEART RATE MONITOR?
[*]What has the progression of weekly mileage looked like before starting the HM training (did you jump from 10mpw to 40mpw or was it gradual)?
[*]What kind of pain and where is it located? Is it just during a workout or is it after a workout? Both?
To answer your questions (and echo a lot of what's already been said):
- Read this - Advanced Marathoning. It's a fantastic overview of the general concepts of distance running/training as well as how it pertains to the marathon. I've ready it 3x and reference it like its my bible.
- Without knowing your full background, I agree with Jux 100%. Focus should be on endurance building and not much else. Forget speed work until you've established a big endurance foundation. Speed will be there for when you're ready.
- Speaking honestly... Going from a 2:00 HM to a 3:15 marathon is quite a goal that will take a long gradual build. I have a 1:35 HM PR and am not ready for a 3:15 marathon (3:31 PR)... You need to run a BQ by September this year in order to register for 2014, which honestly isn't in the cards.
wilked
Footballguy
Juxt, I am not sure on HR, but clearly that is why you 'bonk'd'. You were consuming your available glucose at a much higher rate than you normally do (my layman opinion). I have no idea why though.
I had a weird HR thing early in the race (you will see soon) but it recovered...
I had a weird HR thing early in the race (you will see soon) but it recovered...
Juxtatarot
Footballguy
You're correct, history tells me mid 160s is way too high for MP. I usually do LT runs at that HR. It just felt so easy through the first several miles. And I felt like my HR shouldn't be that high so I ignored it. That was stupid, I know. Steve warned me last week about feeling deceptively fresh after a lay-off (I took the week off beforehand to rest my Achilles). Although I understood that in theory, I probably didn't put that advice in practice. The HR drop-off at the end is from slowing all the way down to some run and walk at the end. Muscles were so sore too. Maybe the low HR is evidence that I threw in the towel a little bit and I could have managed a few minutes better if I would have forced myself.
Last edited by a moderator:
wilked
Footballguy
Boston Marathon Writeup - wilked
First, let me say that I am not a smart man. If I was a smart man I would have built a good training plan and executed it. My excuse is I have an 8 month old which makes time management tough, but that's ultimately just an excuse.
Before March 23rd I had only run longer than a half marathon once, and that was when I ran the Philly marathon 18 months ago. Clearly I went into that marathon unprepared and paid for it, bonk'd pretty good at 19ish, both quads locked, and I hobbled to the finish. I swore I would prepare better this time, but some injuries slowed down my training and next thing you knew I was 3 weeks away having run a single half marathon and all other runs below 10 miles. On 3/23 I ran 16, and a week later ran 15, then started 'tapering'.
My HM PR about 8 months ago was 1:39, a personal goal of double-digit minutes. Doing the HMX2+10 would give me a 3:28 goal. Thankfully I realized that was not achievable given my training, and I truly wanted to 'enjoy' Boston as it is very meaningful for me. Still, I am very competitive...eventually I settled on the following plan:
Miles 0-5, 8:40 pace (slow, don't play dodge the guy in front of you, calm the nerves)
Miles 5-10, 8:30 pace (begin to run the race, establish a pace)
Miles 10-15, 8:20 pace (begin to race the run, start pushing myself a little)
Miles 15-21, 8:45 pace (dial back on the hills to maintain HR, balance pace and HR)
Miles 21-finish, 8:15 pace (let 'er rip, whatever you have left push it, go even faster if it feels ok).
Add it up and that gives me 3:43 overall, 8:30 pace. I debated pushing for 3:39 but the math seemed like it would require too quick a pace (in the back of my head I knew if I hit 21 and it was within reach I would push for it).
I ran for a charity (National Organization of Rare Disorders), 18 of us from work were on the team. We all met up for breakfast, I ate whatever I would normally eat before a long run, and we got a private van over to a runner's house who lived a quarter mile from the starting line. Very convenient, nice to have a relaxing morning. We got to the buses, checked my bag, and I took inventory:
-Running hat to block sun and wick sweat
-Light team-logo tank top
-Shorts
-Shoes
-Music (we had a fundraiser where people could donate $5 to pick a song on my race day playlist, so had that queue'd, about 12 miles worth)
-Garmin 305 w/ HR monitor
-2 Gu Packs, attached to shorts via safety pin
Weather was perfect, even not running I was plenty warm in my tanktop and shorts. Off we went, great atmosphere, packed to the hilt. I made a point to slap hi-5 with any kids on the sidelines, just soaking it in. Crowds were awesome. I was keeping an eye on my watch, trying to stay slow on the huge downhill, trusting in the math / strategy. For some reason my HR spiked up to 180 early in the race, thinking it had to be a false reading, certainly didn't feel that high, as well as I have never gotten the thing above 170 running as hard as I can.
At mile 1.something my pre-race bladder was enough of a distraction that I ran over to the woods, emptied it out. Felt much better after. Shortly after that I ran into my sister-in-law, slowed a bit to chat with her. After continuing to check my watch and seeing my times suffer, she finally told me to get my ### moving. At most water stops I grabbed a 4-6 oz gatorade. I couldn't remember if Advanced Marathoning recommended 8 oz every 2 miles, or 8 oz every mile, so decided to split the difference. I decided to run some faster splits for a bit to 'make up' for my pee break. And so it went up to Mile 5, feeling fine, enjoying the run.
At Mile 5 I was right on my stategy, 8:39 overall, happy I was executing well. I sped it up to 8:30 pace, still felt like I was running 'slow' for me. Here the crowds got bigger, Framingham / Natick, and again I was soaking it in, still hi-5'ing, having fun. At mile 7-8 I felt my glut getting tight (a prior issue with me), but ran through it, confident it wouldn't be an issue (it never got worse). Also had a mild stitch in my side, but it didn't worry me, and it subsided. Very flat through here, and my consistent times reflect that. Still sticking to gatorade at most water stations, roughly 4-6 oz. At mile 9 I popped a GU, securing my remaining GU on my safety pin to my shorts (note, I was planning on a 3rd GU at mile 18 where they hand them out). I pushed up the pace toward the end of this stretch as I was feeling good...deviated somewhat from my plan, but felt ok about it. Goal was 8:30 pace through here, I did 8:25.
Mile 11/12ish we hit the Wellesley Scream Tunnel. Wow, this was cool. College gals packed this mile, all looking for a kiss, lots with hilarious signs. I slowed down, taking my time choosing, laid 2 or 3 kisses on a couple lucky gals. At the end of the Scream Tunnel two gals were holding signs, buck naked, signs covering the interesting parts, and signs read "If you run faster we will drop the signs." I took it as a sign (no pun intended) and got back on my horse. Goal through this 5 mile stretch was 8:20, which felt like I was pushing myself for the first time. Headphones were off at this point and I felt like I was racing for the first time. I had some fans in this stretch but wasn't positive where they were, so kept slowing looking for them. Pace suffered slightly, but not too much. Finished mile 15 right on my goal for that stretch, 8:20.
Mile 15 included a biiiig downhill. Lots of people speeding up around me, I stayed the course and kept at my pace, holding back, waiting for the hills. At mile 16 the first hill came, and I pushed myself through it without losing pace, felt great. Once the second hill came I played it smarter though, slowed to match HR. Crowds were huge and very supportive, but I couldn't do anything but ignore them, stayed focused on breathing and stride. HR never got much above 160, which I was happy with. This repeated itself for the next hill. At the top of each hill I made sure to tell those around me nice work, chatted with a few people, got their backstory. Heartbreak was next, and it was tough, but I had trained on it multiple times and pushed through it, feeling good still.
And next thing I knew I was on the backside of Heartbreak. Perhaps overconfident, I decided sub-8 min pace was within my capability from here on out. BC kids lined the streets, drunk, loud, and very encouraging. Hi-5's were back in effect, felt like a cheetah, and I cranked. Right on Chestnut Hill, left on Beacon, and oh sheit, quad is twinging.
In Philly my quads were twinging (pulsing / jumping) from 18/19 miles on until they locked for good at 22/23. I was now terrified this was going to repeat itself. I slowed right away to 9 mi pace, mentally doing the math, thinking I can still hit 3:45 overall. After a min or two it subsided though, and I went back to a medium pace, testing it. It felt ok, and on I went. My family was all at mile 24, so that became my focus. I live right at Mile 24, so this section was as familiar as my backyard. These miles went by quickly... I was focused on a decent pace and mentally had all my faculties monitoring my quad. I had given up on caring about HR, but was watching my pace. The math was difficult at this point since my garmin was 'behind' the mile markers (owing to tangent-tangent stuff).
At mile 24 seeing my family was awesome. I stopped for a short bit, gave my wife a hug and kiss, say hi to my nieces / nephews, and then got back on the course. A few secs later I see my 11 year old nephew bobbing beside me, said he is going to run with me (I was a little worried he was running a 9:30 pace before I told myself relax and enjoy this moment as it was very cool). We chatted for a bit, I love the kid's perspective of a marathon (ie why are you doing this? How long have you been running? Really?). He stuck with me to the first stoplight then ran back.
I was gassed at this point...probably pushed too hard too early. The last 2 miles felt like a slog, all willpower. I realized 3:40 was out of the question, and also realized 3:45 was a lock, so tried to even out a pace I could maintain. Right on Hereford, left on Boylston. Wow, the finish line had never looked further away. On I went, fully spent crossing the line.
I am not going to go into what happened 15 mins later, that is another thread, this one is about the sense of elation I felt as I crossed. I was very happy with my time, happy my body held up, happy I executed my plan, and very happy to be done.
My quarter-mile splits, graphed as pace, and annotated - http://s14.postimg.org/k1sdde2ch/Marathon_Graph_With_Commentary.png
My garmin - http://connect.garmin.com/activity/298627795
First, let me say that I am not a smart man. If I was a smart man I would have built a good training plan and executed it. My excuse is I have an 8 month old which makes time management tough, but that's ultimately just an excuse.
Before March 23rd I had only run longer than a half marathon once, and that was when I ran the Philly marathon 18 months ago. Clearly I went into that marathon unprepared and paid for it, bonk'd pretty good at 19ish, both quads locked, and I hobbled to the finish. I swore I would prepare better this time, but some injuries slowed down my training and next thing you knew I was 3 weeks away having run a single half marathon and all other runs below 10 miles. On 3/23 I ran 16, and a week later ran 15, then started 'tapering'.
My HM PR about 8 months ago was 1:39, a personal goal of double-digit minutes. Doing the HMX2+10 would give me a 3:28 goal. Thankfully I realized that was not achievable given my training, and I truly wanted to 'enjoy' Boston as it is very meaningful for me. Still, I am very competitive...eventually I settled on the following plan:
Miles 0-5, 8:40 pace (slow, don't play dodge the guy in front of you, calm the nerves)
Miles 5-10, 8:30 pace (begin to run the race, establish a pace)
Miles 10-15, 8:20 pace (begin to race the run, start pushing myself a little)
Miles 15-21, 8:45 pace (dial back on the hills to maintain HR, balance pace and HR)
Miles 21-finish, 8:15 pace (let 'er rip, whatever you have left push it, go even faster if it feels ok).
Add it up and that gives me 3:43 overall, 8:30 pace. I debated pushing for 3:39 but the math seemed like it would require too quick a pace (in the back of my head I knew if I hit 21 and it was within reach I would push for it).
I ran for a charity (National Organization of Rare Disorders), 18 of us from work were on the team. We all met up for breakfast, I ate whatever I would normally eat before a long run, and we got a private van over to a runner's house who lived a quarter mile from the starting line. Very convenient, nice to have a relaxing morning. We got to the buses, checked my bag, and I took inventory:
-Running hat to block sun and wick sweat
-Light team-logo tank top
-Shorts
-Shoes
-Music (we had a fundraiser where people could donate $5 to pick a song on my race day playlist, so had that queue'd, about 12 miles worth)
-Garmin 305 w/ HR monitor
-2 Gu Packs, attached to shorts via safety pin
Weather was perfect, even not running I was plenty warm in my tanktop and shorts. Off we went, great atmosphere, packed to the hilt. I made a point to slap hi-5 with any kids on the sidelines, just soaking it in. Crowds were awesome. I was keeping an eye on my watch, trying to stay slow on the huge downhill, trusting in the math / strategy. For some reason my HR spiked up to 180 early in the race, thinking it had to be a false reading, certainly didn't feel that high, as well as I have never gotten the thing above 170 running as hard as I can.
At mile 1.something my pre-race bladder was enough of a distraction that I ran over to the woods, emptied it out. Felt much better after. Shortly after that I ran into my sister-in-law, slowed a bit to chat with her. After continuing to check my watch and seeing my times suffer, she finally told me to get my ### moving. At most water stops I grabbed a 4-6 oz gatorade. I couldn't remember if Advanced Marathoning recommended 8 oz every 2 miles, or 8 oz every mile, so decided to split the difference. I decided to run some faster splits for a bit to 'make up' for my pee break. And so it went up to Mile 5, feeling fine, enjoying the run.
At Mile 5 I was right on my stategy, 8:39 overall, happy I was executing well. I sped it up to 8:30 pace, still felt like I was running 'slow' for me. Here the crowds got bigger, Framingham / Natick, and again I was soaking it in, still hi-5'ing, having fun. At mile 7-8 I felt my glut getting tight (a prior issue with me), but ran through it, confident it wouldn't be an issue (it never got worse). Also had a mild stitch in my side, but it didn't worry me, and it subsided. Very flat through here, and my consistent times reflect that. Still sticking to gatorade at most water stations, roughly 4-6 oz. At mile 9 I popped a GU, securing my remaining GU on my safety pin to my shorts (note, I was planning on a 3rd GU at mile 18 where they hand them out). I pushed up the pace toward the end of this stretch as I was feeling good...deviated somewhat from my plan, but felt ok about it. Goal was 8:30 pace through here, I did 8:25.
Mile 11/12ish we hit the Wellesley Scream Tunnel. Wow, this was cool. College gals packed this mile, all looking for a kiss, lots with hilarious signs. I slowed down, taking my time choosing, laid 2 or 3 kisses on a couple lucky gals. At the end of the Scream Tunnel two gals were holding signs, buck naked, signs covering the interesting parts, and signs read "If you run faster we will drop the signs." I took it as a sign (no pun intended) and got back on my horse. Goal through this 5 mile stretch was 8:20, which felt like I was pushing myself for the first time. Headphones were off at this point and I felt like I was racing for the first time. I had some fans in this stretch but wasn't positive where they were, so kept slowing looking for them. Pace suffered slightly, but not too much. Finished mile 15 right on my goal for that stretch, 8:20.
Mile 15 included a biiiig downhill. Lots of people speeding up around me, I stayed the course and kept at my pace, holding back, waiting for the hills. At mile 16 the first hill came, and I pushed myself through it without losing pace, felt great. Once the second hill came I played it smarter though, slowed to match HR. Crowds were huge and very supportive, but I couldn't do anything but ignore them, stayed focused on breathing and stride. HR never got much above 160, which I was happy with. This repeated itself for the next hill. At the top of each hill I made sure to tell those around me nice work, chatted with a few people, got their backstory. Heartbreak was next, and it was tough, but I had trained on it multiple times and pushed through it, feeling good still.
And next thing I knew I was on the backside of Heartbreak. Perhaps overconfident, I decided sub-8 min pace was within my capability from here on out. BC kids lined the streets, drunk, loud, and very encouraging. Hi-5's were back in effect, felt like a cheetah, and I cranked. Right on Chestnut Hill, left on Beacon, and oh sheit, quad is twinging.
In Philly my quads were twinging (pulsing / jumping) from 18/19 miles on until they locked for good at 22/23. I was now terrified this was going to repeat itself. I slowed right away to 9 mi pace, mentally doing the math, thinking I can still hit 3:45 overall. After a min or two it subsided though, and I went back to a medium pace, testing it. It felt ok, and on I went. My family was all at mile 24, so that became my focus. I live right at Mile 24, so this section was as familiar as my backyard. These miles went by quickly... I was focused on a decent pace and mentally had all my faculties monitoring my quad. I had given up on caring about HR, but was watching my pace. The math was difficult at this point since my garmin was 'behind' the mile markers (owing to tangent-tangent stuff).
At mile 24 seeing my family was awesome. I stopped for a short bit, gave my wife a hug and kiss, say hi to my nieces / nephews, and then got back on the course. A few secs later I see my 11 year old nephew bobbing beside me, said he is going to run with me (I was a little worried he was running a 9:30 pace before I told myself relax and enjoy this moment as it was very cool). We chatted for a bit, I love the kid's perspective of a marathon (ie why are you doing this? How long have you been running? Really?). He stuck with me to the first stoplight then ran back.
I was gassed at this point...probably pushed too hard too early. The last 2 miles felt like a slog, all willpower. I realized 3:40 was out of the question, and also realized 3:45 was a lock, so tried to even out a pace I could maintain. Right on Hereford, left on Boylston. Wow, the finish line had never looked further away. On I went, fully spent crossing the line.
I am not going to go into what happened 15 mins later, that is another thread, this one is about the sense of elation I felt as I crossed. I was very happy with my time, happy my body held up, happy I executed my plan, and very happy to be done.
My quarter-mile splits, graphed as pace, and annotated - http://s14.postimg.org/k1sdde2ch/Marathon_Graph_With_Commentary.png
My garmin - http://connect.garmin.com/activity/298627795
Ned
Footballguy
Did you notice what it was while standing in the corral? I'm willing to bet you were pretty amped up at the start.
HR will tell you when you're hitting the wall. You just need to know your ranges so you can use it as a gauge. If not, you (and us) are just guessing. I learned quickly that trying to compare training runs to races is useless. Too many variables are at play to rely on that.
Without knowing all of the variables, I'd wager a guess that you were at or near LT right off the bat. The fact that your HR remained pretty constant with the pace slipping is a tell tale sign. Just an educated guess though...
I also wouldn't be so quick to say the hills didn't play a role. You typically run flat training and races, right?
Ned
Footballguy
Nah, once you bonk you're done. That low HR at the end is just a law of averages since you did a walk/run. I wouldn't question if you threw in the towel or not.
comfortably numb
Footballguy
Juxtatarot
Footballguy
Congrats on the PR! I get those crazy HR spikes in the beginning of most of my runs. It's bad data. Ignore it. I've read it's normally caused by the sensors being too dry and/or something to do with the fabric of tech shirts.
comfortably numb
Footballguy
I knew you were not going to be happy with your outcome. I was following you just hoping you would not pack it in at mile marker 26.
Good job man and glad your team is safe.
Juxtatarot
Footballguy
IvanKaramazov
Footballguy
Nice report, Wilked. That's really an amazing accomplishment given your training. You will destroy one of these someday when you have more time to invest in it.
Similar threads
