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This just confirms that at least part of the priorities in my life are exactly where they need to be...Fixed.Gotta give some props to Duck on this front.Oh and from now on, I'm getting Ned or BnB to write my race reports. When I post them, it's like I'm giving a witness statement to the cops. Just the facts.
I actually thought of him Sand when seeing a beautiful piece of trail "Duck Sand would take ask for a pic of this".
Hi, Steel Curtain!
What's up, kids?First of all, congrats to all of the racers this past weekend; it sounds like you all did a great job. I haven't been on the boards much, other than to argue with some people in the "retirement" thread who seem to think they know my job better than I do, but that's another story.
So to tri-man's point, yeah, I got up early on Saturday morning and drove with a buddy down to the Ice Age Trail to run the last 18+ miles of the race course. As you'll recall, my ITB flared up at Boston, but I got some treatment last week, and it was feeling pretty good when we started out. Well that lasted for about 2/3 of the run, but the last 6-7 miles were pretty miserable. The hills definitely didn't help, and by the end, I could barely bend my knee.I was pretty frustrated and generally in a ####ty mood the rest of the day Saturday and all day Sunday, but after doing a bunch of stretching and foam rolling and hitting yoga yesterday afternoon, it's feeling better. And with 12 days to go until race day, I'm going HAM (Google it) on this MFer. I saw a guy this morning who did some Active Release and Graston Technique work and ultrasound on it. I’ll see him a few more times before the race, and he’s gonna help me K-tape it, too. Hoping to see my regular MT on Thursday, and I’ve got four PT appointments before the race. Gonna go to yoga every day. Might not get a whole lot of work done between now and then, but I'll get this leg better if it's the last thing I do!
If you ask him, probably a bit too good. It was a long, cold day for the kids (and for we parents too). Their bus left at 1pm and the meet began at 3pm. Temps were in the high 40s for the start but dropped in to the 30s and the meet did not end until after 9:30pm. His 4x800 was the second event of the "evening" session. They were having the kids line up about 15 minutes before each event, so staying warm was tough. There were 10 teams in the meet and they ran all ten in a single heat. He went out very cautious and hovered between 8th and last until the final turn where he blasted an incredible kick and passed the baton to the second runner in 5th place and just missed over taking 4th. Their second runner picked up 4th, the third runner held the postion and then the wheels came off for their 4th. They handed off neck and neck with a kid that could fly and our runner tried to keep up. He was gassed by the end of the first 400 and began to drop spots during the second lap, ultimately, they finished 7th. My son ran the fastest 800 of the four in 2:18. I think he had more kick and probably should have gone sooner. The reason I said too good in my son's eyes is that the coach let him know he'd likely run varsity 800s this week (they have 3 meets in 4 days due to rain outs). I'm excited to see what he can do. Their best distance runner's dad is the assistant X-Country coach (this kid was the only X-Country to qualify for states) and stands at the 200 mark and barks out splits for his son. I told my son I'd be happy to do the same if he thinks it'll help (or, I told him to ask the dad/coach to do the same for him).
So manicure, pedicure, Geisha girls? Really unspecific here...
They had what I am guessing was a 20'x20' tent with a tarp down for a floor. There was a propane heater that heated the tent to around 70 degrees or so. They circled the heater with camp chairs and you could leave your gear there (which was nice as its a bit of a walk from the car). There was a picnic table with every imaginable race provision one would need and an amazing gentleman that forced us to be waited on (Tri-Man, you would remember this guy as a volunteer at DWD. His name is Gary, about 65, neatly shaven grey beard, runs their Traverse City Running Fit store). He had run Boston and was in the pack that was pushed off course and told an incredibly moving story of what it took for him to get back to his hotel and rejoin his wife (and how he looked after a young woman). Post race, we didn't even get back to the tent before Gary was asking us what we needed and ran around to get us what we needed. Its a bit silly, but the private porta-john may have been the best perk of all. I am a jittery mess on race day no matter the event and HATE the bathroom lines and everything that comes with them. I will never have it so good again (unless I win another opportunity . While I'd love to give Running Fit my shoe business to get VIP access at another event, I am loyal to my Local Running Store for all they do for the local community. I am going to try and volunteer, possibly doing kayak support, at one of Running Fit's tris to show my appreciation if time permits.
I meant to comment on this in my last post, these are incredible times. How was his bike leg and did he win his AG (I have to think he did). As I recall, he is only in middle school, right? The local high school has to be dying to get a hold of him for X-Country.
Shoes today should be out of the box ready for just about anything. I'd do what ever the schedule calls for being hyper-aware to shut things down should some pain and/or rubs (start of blisters, etc) should arise. I'd wear the best pair of socks you have to ensure any rubs stay at a minimum (or body glide where these may occur).
I did the bike, we won the men's relay. Of course we were the only men's relay team. It's not apples to apples, but we had the 3rd fastest time in the event. I think there were about 200 entries. He was 6th in on the 5k. I ended up 4th in on the bike with a so-so 21.1 mph average. He passed one more in the last mile to be the 3rd person across the line. He got a bunch of cheers and enjoyed that.He's a freshman so that time isn't anything special. He's doing 70 sec 400m and has best stand alone mile is 5:46. That said, he's still improving and just started interval work 8 weeks ago.
I did my 100 miler with a pair shoes fresh out of the box sans 2 miles of walking. My first marathon I did with a new pair with 200 yards on them.
I gotta give you credit, MAC, when I see strollers in races, they aren't going anywhere near as fast as you did. I think it would be a pretty funny scene to see you sprinting it out with someone at the end for first place with a stroller. That's a no win situation for the other guy, no? Win and yeah you beat the guy with the stroller. Lose and...well, you lost to a guy with a stroller.
Running shoes never need to be broken in -- they're not boots. The only real "break in" factor is making sure you've got the lacing right.
Geez...thanks for making me feel incredibly slow.Congrats on the age group win.
Kind of what I figured.
Ran my first 10K in Houston in about 4 years on Saturday. Goal was to run 56 minutes (9 minute mile pace). Wanted to be at least at 9:30 for the first mile. I miscalculated what pace everyone was running, and I felt really good, so I was really surprised when my first mile was 8:32. Though I did back it off a little bit, I ended up averaging 8:37 per mile and finished at 53:15. Didn't feel great at the end, but didn't feel as though I were going to die either.
I do not have a GPS watch yet. Thanks for the comment. I really did not know I was slowing down that much in mile 5. My left knee started to ache some in that mile so maybe I slowed down to compensate. By mile 6, the pain had subsided so obviously I was able to increase my pace. I will definitely look into getting a GPS watch. Thanks again.
Congrats on meeting your goal! The first four miles are pretty close and, of course, hills and wind can be a factor. Most people here think it's a good idea to run the first mile a little faster like you did. A GPS watch can certainly help. I also have followed other racers that seem to have a consistent pace.
Man, mini 2Y has some talent! So friggin cool he's already pushing varsity on what seems to be a pretty deep team. He's running times I was running as a JR. I don't know squat about swimming, but I'm not surprised that low HR training translated to a better endurance base for you. Very cool.2Young2BBald said:
The start looks awesome to me, but then again you really shouldn't listen to me on these things. Honestly you should have really hated that last mile. The fact that you didn't means that you probably didn't hit mile 4-5 hard enough.dhockster said:
Best race report in the history of, well, forever.BassNBrew said:
Would you believe that this isn't my original username?
I don't think the taper had much to do with it, although I guess it is possible. I have done two four-week tapers, six three-week tapers and two two-week tapers for my ten marathons. I can't find any evidence fom my personal performances that taper length really means that much. I tapered for two weeks before my last race and finished strong (but I was more conservative early). I think I went out just a bit too fast for my training.dhockster - congrats on the 10K! I totally agree with koby's comments. A GPS is a great tool to have. Just make sure you get the HR monitor too.
BTW, those targets are completely unrealistic. 500 miles is in the bag. The 5k will likely fall next time around. The 10k is a gimme, as is finishing a HM.
You'll get lots of training specific advice, but for something different, I'd race more. There is a theory around racing your way into race shape. Your training routine and targets seem perfect for this. Admittedly, I am a race addict and probably over do it a bit. I race around 12 to 15 events a year (usually without races in Jan/Feb). It keeps me honest in terms of training. I also was not a big fan of sticking to a long term training plan. Instead, I train for what's next. The other thing I'd recommend in starting a training log. As you progress though this addiction, it valuable to be able to go back and see what you were doing and when.
Congratulations on the progress you've made so far. I agree with the others that your goals are too low. For example, if you can run 10 miles in training, you will absolutely be able to run 13.1 on race day with a bunch of other runners on the course with you. It sounds like you already know that and are re-evaluating. Don't be afraid to pick one or two stretch goals.
at the finish line image.
