Ran a 10k in June (5 Viewers)

[2Young2BBald]

Disney half marathon is November 9th for me. Anybody have any suggestions for a training plan between now and then. By now I mean a week from yesterday as I don't see being able to run before that and of course assuming my foot recovers.

I can't remember if I've replied to your post about Disney or someone else's, but I highly recommend you just run Disney for fun. Unless you are an elite and in the 1st corral, the race is built for runners to enjoy a slower run through the parks with photo ops with characters and by the attractions, etc. I was a moron and ran it for time and realized about 3 miles in that I'd have much rather ran it with my wife, who ran it about 20 minutes slower than I did. The photos of us together would have been awesome. I've had a few friends do it for fun and, at least during the full, they even rode rides.

As for a plan, I'd do shorter stuff and just enough to keep your fitness up while you recover. Maybe do some non-impact cross work, walk/hike, etc and then add in some runs. I would think you could easily get by with a long run of about 7 to 8 miles 8 to 10 days before the 1/2 and still be fine (*I am a lower mileage/cross type which includes swimming & biking).

 

[Hang 10]

Disney half marathon is November 9th for me. Anybody have any suggestions for a training plan between now and then. By now I mean a week from yesterday as I don't see being able to run before that and of course assuming my foot recovers.

Let's not too ahead of ourselves, chief. You just put your body through hell. Do whatever you can to recover this week and then reassess next week.

But I like your moxie. Already thinking about the next race. I love it.

 

[worrierking]

Disney half marathon is November 9th for me. Anybody have any suggestions for a training plan between now and then. By now I mean a week from yesterday as I don't see being able to run before that and of course assuming my foot recovers.

Let's not too ahead of ourselves, chief. You just put your body through hell. Do whatever you can to recover this week and then reassess next week.

But I like your moxie. Already thinking about the next race. I love it.

Me too! I expect an announcement about your next marathon is coming soon.

Today is the drop-dead day for the Towpath Marathon and with the gubmint still shut down it looks like they will be cancelling or rescheduling the race. I am signed up for the Northern Ohio Marathon in Fairport Harbor as a backup and I plan to run it. It's a very small race (200 runners for each the half and the full) and it looks like a wide-open course. I would be surprised if they have much if any traffic control. I don't like that, since I am absent-minded when fresh and rested and I am clueless after about 20-miles, so iI am a pavement smear waiting to happen. I also have no idea how the route will be marked and since it is such a small race and I am likely to be pretty slow and by myself, I am concerned about taking a wrong turn and ending up in Pennsylvania or Lake Erie or something. The weather is looking kind of crappy too. Humid with a low of 55 and a high of 75. The start should be fine, but it'll be close to noon by my finish and 70+ temperatures will slow me way down. The whole trip is looking like a CF. It's a shame since I am well-trained. I would love to go for a PR, but this may end up as one I run to get the medal and the T-shirt and to cross a state off the 50-state list. I will only need 46 more if I finish this one!

 

[2Young2BBald]

Disney half marathon is November 9th for me. Anybody have any suggestions for a training plan between now and then. By now I mean a week from yesterday as I don't see being able to run before that and of course assuming my foot recovers.

Let's not too ahead of ourselves, chief. You just put your body through hell. Do whatever you can to recover this week and then reassess next week.

But I like your moxie. Already thinking about the next race. I love it.

Me too! I expect an announcement about your next marathon is coming soon.

Today is the drop-dead day for the Towpath Marathon and with the gubmint still shut down it looks like they will be cancelling or rescheduling the race. I am signed up for the Northern Ohio Marathon in Fairport Harbor as a backup and I plan to run it. It's a very small race (200 runners for each the half and the full) and it looks like a wide-open course. I would be surprised if they have much if any traffic control. I don't like that, since I am absent-minded when fresh and rested and I am clueless after about 20-miles, so iI am a pavement smear waiting to happen. I also have no idea how the route will be marked and since it is such a small race and I am likely to be pretty slow and by myself, I am concerned about taking a wrong turn and ending up in Pennsylvania or Lake Erie or something. The weather is looking kind of crappy too. Humid with a low of 55 and a high of 75. The start should be fine, but it'll be close to noon by my finish and 70+ temperatures will slow me way down. The whole trip is looking like a CF. It's a shame since I am well-trained. I would love to go for a PR, but this may end up as one I run to get the medal and the T-shirt and to cross a state off the 50-state list. I will only need 46 more if I finish this one!

For trail races with lots of turns where I think I'll detach from the pack, I write directions on my arm with a Sharpie (for relays I write the leg distance and flag colors that mark the trail, etc). To out your mind at easy, why not write a few directions where the route might get sketchy and do a Google Maps flyover to get a virtual feel for the course.

 

[2Young2BBald]

Speaking of CFs, WK, I am signed up for a trail 1/2 Sunday that will likely be one too. The race is called Run 2 Pay It Forward and has an earthy/crunchy vibe I could do without, but couldn't pass on a trail race close to an hour from home. I love the charitable outfit putting on the event, but the longest race they've done is a trail 10K, so they may be over their head a bit here. As part of the event, runners are required to carry their own hydration to reduce environmental impacts. They will have refill stations on course. I am going to run it with a small camel back as I hate my hand held and think the Amphipod belt would bug the crap out of me for that distance. There is no course map, no elevation chart and, really, not whole hell of a lot on their website to describe the event. I would think the chances of getting lost are pretty good (so I'll be heeding my own advice and grabbing a trail map when I enter the park and try and mark some way points on my arm). The race sign up site allowed me to take race stalking to a new low. Once registered, there was a participant look up option where I could see the names of those registered. So, I spent time on a few work conference calls pasting women's name in to FB. Looks like a crew of cross fit instructors are running together.

 

[tri-man 47]

Disney half marathon is November 9th for me. Anybody have any suggestions for a training plan between now and then. By now I mean a week from yesterday as I don't see being able to run before that and of course assuming my foot recovers.

Let's not too ahead of ourselves, chief. You just put your body through hell. Do whatever you can to recover this week and then reassess next week.

But I like your moxie. Already thinking about the next race. I love it.

Me too! I expect an announcement about your next marathon is coming soon.

Today is the drop-dead day for the Towpath Marathon and with the gubmint still shut down it looks like they will be cancelling or rescheduling the race. I am signed up for the Northern Ohio Marathon in Fairport Harbor as a backup and I plan to run it. It's a very small race (200 runners for each the half and the full) and it looks like a wide-open course. I would be surprised if they have much if any traffic control. I don't like that, since I am absent-minded when fresh and rested and I am clueless after about 20-miles, so iI am a pavement smear waiting to happen. I also have no idea how the route will be marked and since it is such a small race and I am likely to be pretty slow and by myself, I am concerned about taking a wrong turn and ending up in Pennsylvania or Lake Erie or something. The weather is looking kind of crappy too. Humid with a low of 55 and a high of 75. The start should be fine, but it'll be close to noon by my finish and 70+ temperatures will slow me way down. The whole trip is looking like a CF. It's a shame since I am well-trained. I would love to go for a PR, but this may end up as one I run to get the medal and the T-shirt and to cross a state off the 50-state list. I will only need 46 more if I finish this one!

Para - making everything conditional on the status of your foot pain: Rule of thumb is a day off for each hour of effort. When you can, a 2-3 mile light jog will help the healing by getting blood flow through the legs and such. Take a couple of days for some stretching (gruecd and others would wisely recommend a massage). You can pick up the mileage again - if it feels right - in the second week out.

worrierking - sorry to hear of the iffy plans. I looked over the new course, and I think you can assimilate it very quickly ...essentially a big figure 8. Google Maps didn't have all the roads, but the ones I saw looked quite open ...not sure if they'll have you running with or against traffic (not that there should be a lot of traffic, given the nature of those roads). Much of the second half is down near the lake, so you can't get too lost.

2Young - you're crazy on many fronts.

 

[Miscellaneous]

Well, rejoining this thread should help, so here goes:

I was running hills in LA last year, but over the last 6 months we took a long vacation to Italy and moved twice... and I gained 15 pounds. I didn't run for a while.

My wife is now pregnant with our first, due in February, and I've decided my new motto is I'm exercising for three. We moved to a neighborhood in the Bay Area that's right on the water, so the courses available out my front door are really flat. My warm-up month was September, when I did 50 miles. My goals are:

- lose 25lbs

- run the Bay-to-Breakers (7 miles through SF) in roughly 1:10

- run a 10-miler in the summer at 10 minute miles

- run a half in the fall at 10 minute miles

- ...we'll see.

SFBay Duck/others, any thoughts on roughly 10-mile races over the summer in the SF vicinity? Is the RnR half in SJ my best bet for the fall?

 

[SFBayDuck]

Well, rejoining this thread should help, so here goes:

I was running hills in LA last year, but over the last 6 months we took a long vacation to Italy and moved twice... and I gained 15 pounds. I didn't run for a while.

My wife is now pregnant with our first, due in February, and I've decided my new motto is I'm exercising for three. We moved to a neighborhood in the Bay Area that's right on the water, so the courses available out my front door are really flat. My warm-up month was September, when I did 50 miles. My goals are:

- lose 25lbs

- run the Bay-to-Breakers (7 miles through SF) in roughly 1:10

- run a 10-miler in the summer at 10 minute miles

- run a half in the fall at 10 minute miles

- ...we'll see.

SFBay Duck/others, any thoughts on roughly 10-mile races over the summer in the SF vicinity? Is the RnR half in SJ my best bet for the fall?

Welcome (back) to the thread, and to the Bay Area! Which part are you in?

I really only know about trail runs in the area, not much about the road racing scene. I think Bridge to Bridge and RnR San Jose just happened, SF Marathon/Half is in July, and of course B2B in the spring. I'm sure there are more around, looks like this site has some pretty good info: http://www.runningintheusa.com/race/ListByCityRadius.aspx?City=San%20Francisco&State=CA

If you are interested in the trail scene let me know, and I'll send you links to the 3-4 companies that put on trail races around here - there are runs from 10K up to 100M almost every weekend of the year.

 

[worrierking]

For trail races with lots of turns where I think I'll detach from the pack, I write directions on my arm with a Sharpie (for relays I write the leg distance and flag colors that mark the trail, etc). To out your mind at easy, why not write a few directions where the route might get sketchy and do a Google Maps flyover to get a virtual feel for the course.

I would write the directions on my arm or bring a map, but then I would need to bring my reading glasses! I am 50 and need the Hubble Telescope to read anything closer than three feet away! I am going to try to speak to the race director in advance and find out more about the course and try to drive it on Saturday. It may alleviate some of my apprehension. I will probably find another reason to be nervous.

 

[worrierking]

Speaking of CFs, WK, I am signed up for a trail 1/2 Sunday that will likely be one too. The race is called Run 2 Pay It Forward and has an earthy/crunchy vibe I could do without, but couldn't pass on a trail race close to an hour from home. I love the charitable outfit putting on the event, but the longest race they've done is a trail 10K, so they may be over their head a bit here. As part of the event, runners are required to carry their own hydration to reduce environmental impacts. They will have refill stations on course. I am going to run it with a small camel back as I hate my hand held and think the Amphipod belt would bug the crap out of me for that distance. There is no course map, no elevation chart and, really, not whole hell of a lot on their website to describe the event. I would think the chances of getting lost are pretty good (so I'll be heeding my own advice and grabbing a trail map when I enter the park and try and mark some way points on my arm). The race sign up site allowed me to take race stalking to a new low. Once registered, there was a participant look up option where I could see the names of those registered. So, I spent time on a few work conference calls pasting women's name in to FB. Looks like a crew of cross fit instructors are running together.

That sounds like a great adventure. May I suggest leaving a trail of breadcrumbs? I wonder if the cross-fit girls are checking you out on facebook?

 

[The_Man]

The_Boy had a cross country meet today. Cooler conditions, flatter course, and a couple of good weeks of training = 19:00, a PR! He was the slightest bit unhappy about not breaking 19, which was his goal, but he found missing it by a second kind of funnily frustrating, rather than actually aggravating.

He and a teammate had a great run together; teammate helped set the pace earlier on, when my son tends to take it just a bit too slow. Then my son pulled them through the late middle where his good endurance helps him maintain his pace, and they passed tons of guys who were running out of gas. At the end, they both went for it, where his teammate got him by 2 seconds. I think they won the meet, though I had to bail out to come back to work before the scores were tallied.

On a side note, never underestimate the power of a good running log. After The_Boy had a few disappointing results over the last couple of weeks, I went back through the calendar and the coach's emails and constructed a reasonably accurate running log for him. Turns out the bad results came when their schedule had them racing twice a week for a couple of weeks in a row and his mileage dropped. I showed him how his race results (both good and then bad) tracked with his training. He got back on a good training schedule last week, and I know he's pretty psyched to once again see improvement result.

Saturday they're running the Baltimore Half Marathon, then have no meets next week. McMillan Running Calculator says based on a 19:00 5K, he could run a 1:27:58 HM. As usual, I think the McMillan number is too ambitious, but I do wonder if I should encourage him to try to break 1:30:00 - a 6:52 per mile pace.

 

[Miscellaneous]

Well, rejoining this thread should help, so here goes:

I was running hills in LA last year, but over the last 6 months we took a long vacation to Italy and moved twice... and I gained 15 pounds. I didn't run for a while.

My wife is now pregnant with our first, due in February, and I've decided my new motto is I'm exercising for three. We moved to a neighborhood in the Bay Area that's right on the water, so the courses available out my front door are really flat. My warm-up month was September, when I did 50 miles. My goals are:

- lose 25lbs

- run the Bay-to-Breakers (7 miles through SF) in roughly 1:10

- run a 10-miler in the summer at 10 minute miles

- run a half in the fall at 10 minute miles

- ...we'll see.

SFBay Duck/others, any thoughts on roughly 10-mile races over the summer in the SF vicinity? Is the RnR half in SJ my best bet for the fall?

Welcome (back) to the thread, and to the Bay Area! Which part are you in?

I really only know about trail runs in the area, not much about the road racing scene. I think Bridge to Bridge and RnR San Jose just happened, SF Marathon/Half is in July, and of course B2B in the spring. I'm sure there are more around, looks like this site has some pretty good info: http://www.runningintheusa.com/race/ListByCityRadius.aspx?City=San%20Francisco&State=CA

If you are interested in the trail scene let me know, and I'll send you links to the 3-4 companies that put on trail races around here - there are runs from 10K up to 100M almost every weekend of the year.

Redwood Shores - so, reeeeeally flat. I'm used to going up to Skyline to hike the Open Space areas, so I'll probably start making the drive up once a week or so, get more hills/trails in my diet.

I'm definitely interested in trail running, although again, my mileage is a bit on the low end. 10Ks are probably going to be my sweet spot on trail runs.

 

[MAC_32]

Disney half marathon is November 9th for me. Anybody have any suggestions for a training plan between now and then. By now I mean a week from yesterday as I don't see being able to run before that and of course assuming my foot recovers.

Let's not too ahead of ourselves, chief. You just put your body through hell. Do whatever you can to recover this week and then reassess next week.But I like your moxie. Already thinking about the next race. I love it.

Me too! I expect an announcement about your next marathon is coming soon.

Today is the drop-dead day for the Towpath Marathon and with the gubmint still shut down it looks like they will be cancelling or rescheduling the race. I am signed up for the Northern Ohio Marathon in Fairport Harbor as a backup and I plan to run it. It's a very small race (200 runners for each the half and the full) and it looks like a wide-open course. I would be surprised if they have much if any traffic control. I don't like that, since I am absent-minded when fresh and rested and I am clueless after about 20-miles, so iI am a pavement smear waiting to happen. I also have no idea how the route will be marked and since it is such a small race and I am likely to be pretty slow and by myself, I am concerned about taking a wrong turn and ending up in Pennsylvania or Lake Erie or something. The weather is looking kind of crappy too. Humid with a low of 55 and a high of 75. The start should be fine, but it'll be close to noon by my finish and 70+ temperatures will slow me way down. The whole trip is looking like a CF. It's a shame since I am well-trained. I would love to go for a PR, but this may end up as one I run to get the medal and the T-shirt and to cross a state off the 50-state list. I will only need 46 more if I finish this one!

I wouldn't worry about getting lost, heard good things about how the half was run by the same group earlier this year. A lot of towpath outcasts are being rerouted there too. Not us though, we will probably take the refund and get our sights set on other events in November.

 

[2Young2BBald]

The_Boy had a cross country meet today. Cooler conditions, flatter course, and a couple of good weeks of training = 19:00, a PR! He was the slightest bit unhappy about not breaking 19, which was his goal, but he found missing it by a second kind of funnily frustrating, rather than actually aggravating.

He and a teammate had a great run together; teammate helped set the pace earlier on, when my son tends to take it just a bit too slow. Then my son pulled them through the late middle where his good endurance helps him maintain his pace, and they passed tons of guys who were running out of gas. At the end, they both went for it, where his teammate got him by 2 seconds. I think they won the meet, though I had to bail out to come back to work before the scores were tallied.

On a side note, never underestimate the power of a good running log. After The_Boy had a few disappointing results over the last couple of weeks, I went back through the calendar and the coach's emails and constructed a reasonably accurate running log for him. Turns out the bad results came when their schedule had them racing twice a week for a couple of weeks in a row and his mileage dropped. I showed him how his race results (both good and then bad) tracked with his training. He got back on a good training schedule last week, and I know he's pretty psyched to once again see improvement result.

Saturday they're running the Baltimore Half Marathon, then have no meets next week. McMillan Running Calculator says based on a 19:00 5K, he could run a 1:27:58 HM. As usual, I think the McMillan number is too ambitious, but I do wonder if I should encourage him to try to break 1:30:00 - a 6:52 per mile pace.

AWESOMENESS!!!!!!!!!!! Great analysis too. I've built a spreadsheet on my boy too. Our boys had a week off due to homecoming so they have been crushing the miles. My sons shins started to ache a bit, but a good ice routine seems to have fended off shin splints as he did 8 yesterday and 7 today. I'm curious to see what the amped up mileage and interval work will do in their meet on Saturday. What kind of chats, if any, have you had with your son about pacing, gels and water, etc during the half? The reason I ask, is that my son asked if I'd look for a half for him to possible run a few weeks after the season. I found what appears to be another great new trail 1/2 in our area the second week in November. I told him I'm in if he wants to do it, but he needs take some coaching on how to attack a 1/2. I had thoughts of trying to run with him, but their is no ####### chance I could hang with him and it wouldn't be fair to hold him back.

 

[2Young2BBald]

Speaking of CFs, WK, I am signed up for a trail 1/2 Sunday that will likely be one too. The race is called Run 2 Pay It Forward and has an earthy/crunchy vibe I could do without, but couldn't pass on a trail race close to an hour from home. I love the charitable outfit putting on the event, but the longest race they've done is a trail 10K, so they may be over their head a bit here. As part of the event, runners are required to carry their own hydration to reduce environmental impacts. They will have refill stations on course. I am going to run it with a small camel back as I hate my hand held and think the Amphipod belt would bug the crap out of me for that distance. There is no course map, no elevation chart and, really, not whole hell of a lot on their website to describe the event. I would think the chances of getting lost are pretty good (so I'll be heeding my own advice and grabbing a trail map when I enter the park and try and mark some way points on my arm). The race sign up site allowed me to take race stalking to a new low. Once registered, there was a participant look up option where I could see the names of those registered. So, I spent time on a few work conference calls pasting women's name in to FB. Looks like a crew of cross fit instructors are running together.

That sounds like a great adventure. May I suggest leaving a trail of breadcrumbs? I wonder if the cross-fit girls are checking you out on facebook?

God I hope not. Registrations are already light, I'd hate to scare them off.

 

[tri-man 47]

Welcome back, Miscellaneous! Already anticipating the report from the nutty Bay-to-Breakers.

--

Medal Monger update: Got official word from the Fox Valley Marathon that I was 2nd (of 48) in my AG. I beat #3 by 3 seconds; #4 by another 16 seconds - crazy for a 3 1/2 hour race. But keeping it real, we all got bumped up a spot because one of our AGers was top masters, running a sub-7:00/mile pace.

eta: Obligatory race stalk - Event name: Fox Valley. Then: #6314

http://www2.backprint.com/actionsportsimages/search

 

[Sand]

Welcome back, Miscellaneous! Already anticipating the report from the nutty Bay-to-Breakers.

--

Medal Monger update: Got official word from the Fox Valley Marathon that I was 2nd (of 48) in my AG. I beat #3 by 3 seconds; #4 by another 16 seconds - crazy for a 3 1/2 hour race. But keeping it real, we all got bumped up a spot because one of our AGers was top masters, running a sub-7:00/mile pace.

eta: Obligatory race stalk - Event name: Fox Valley. Then: #6314

http://www2.backprint.com/actionsportsimages/search

Eh - 1/10th of a second per mile makes you eons better than that pretender you crushed.

----

So today I had no time to ride after work, so hit a ride during lunch. 20 miles, 1900ft. of climbing at a bit over 19mph. 238 watts normalized. That hurt.

As a note, when I see the messages in here about folks going out and getting their rides in at 20+mph I am in awe. I'd need to be doing 265w+ to get to 20 (i.e. oof). That ain't happening anytime soon.

 

[prosopis]

I did a 3 mile hill work out on the treadmill today. It was work but I felt like I killed it. I have been doing quite a bit of cross training that incorporates lunges, squats, kettle bells, core work. I have to believe I may be seeing the results of that. Seems like tri man was on to something with all of his lunges talk.

 

[Ned]

There's no doubt now; I'm hitting a new level. 10mi MLR this morning at 8:43/141. Unreal how easy this was. 42 miles in the past 3 runs/4 days and I'm feeling very fresh.

 

[Hang 10]

Welcome back, Miscellaneous! Already anticipating the report from the nutty Bay-to-Breakers.

--

Medal Monger update: Got official word from the Fox Valley Marathon that I was 2nd (of 48) in my AG. I beat #3 by 3 seconds; #4 by another 16 seconds - crazy for a 3 1/2 hour race. But keeping it real, we all got bumped up a spot because one of our AGers was top masters, running a sub-7:00/mile pace.

eta: Obligatory race stalk - Event name: Fox Valley. Then: #6314

http://www2.backprint.com/actionsportsimages/search

Nice work.

Also, for some more race stalking...

http://www.ecsc360.com/ecsc-day-6-8k-race/

Small set of pictures of one of the 8K's I did this summer. The chick in the white sports bra (pic #13)

Also, the guy with the medal looks real familiar.

 

[The_Man]

AWESOMENESS!!!!!!!!!!! Great analysis too. I've built a spreadsheet on my boy too. Our boys had a week off due to homecoming so they have been crushing the miles. My sons shins started to ache a bit, but a good ice routine seems to have fended off shin splints as he did 8 yesterday and 7 today. I'm curious to see what the amped up mileage and interval work will do in their meet on Saturday. What kind of chats, if any, have you had with your son about pacing, gels and water, etc during the half? The reason I ask, is that my son asked if I'd look for a half for him to possible run a few weeks after the season. I found what appears to be another great new trail 1/2 in our area the second week in November. I told him I'm in if he wants to do it, but he needs take some coaching on how to attack a 1/2. I had thoughts of trying to run with him, but their is no ####### chance I could hang with him and it wouldn't be fair to hold him back.

To be honest, I don't think there's anything I can tell you that you don't already know. My son still is so new to running, that he really doesn't have any idea how to pace himself, or even what time a comfortable pace for himself equates to. We talked a little this a.m. about a 5-5-5 approach to the HM. Run the first 5 miles as fast as he can while still feeling "comfortable" and running aerobically. Then try to sustain that pace for the next 5 miles, even as it become less comfortable. And then, finally, run the last 3.1 miles like a 5K, giving it max effort all the way to the end.

Also I told him to drink sports drink every couple of miles. After our talk, I realized I really shouldn't worry at all about his time. The Baltimore Marathon (of which the Half is part) has gotten to be a big all-day festival downtown. The coach had the team run it for the first time last year, just as something fun and different for the team to do together. So I'm just going to encourage him to have a good time and give it his best effort. My guess is that he'll probably run with a bunch of teammates, at least in the early stages.

 

[Ned]

AWESOMENESS!!!!!!!!!!! Great analysis too. I've built a spreadsheet on my boy too. Our boys had a week off due to homecoming so they have been crushing the miles. My sons shins started to ache a bit, but a good ice routine seems to have fended off shin splints as he did 8 yesterday and 7 today. I'm curious to see what the amped up mileage and interval work will do in their meet on Saturday. What kind of chats, if any, have you had with your son about pacing, gels and water, etc during the half? The reason I ask, is that my son asked if I'd look for a half for him to possible run a few weeks after the season. I found what appears to be another great new trail 1/2 in our area the second week in November. I told him I'm in if he wants to do it, but he needs take some coaching on how to attack a 1/2. I had thoughts of trying to run with him, but their is no ####### chance I could hang with him and it wouldn't be fair to hold him back.

To be honest, I don't think there's anything I can tell you that you don't already know. My son still is so new to running, that he really doesn't have any idea how to pace himself, or even what time a comfortable pace for himself equates to. We talked a little this a.m. about a 5-5-5 approach to the HM. Run the first 5 miles as fast as he can while still feeling "comfortable" and running aerobically. Then try to sustain that pace for the next 5 miles, even as it become less comfortable. And then, finally, run the last 3.1 miles like a 5K, giving it max effort all the way to the end.

Also I told him to drink sports drink every couple of miles. After our talk, I realized I really shouldn't worry at all about his time. The Baltimore Marathon (of which the Half is part) has gotten to be a big all-day festival downtown. The coach had the team run it for the first time last year, just as something fun and different for the team to do together. So I'm just going to encourage him to have a good time and give it his best effort. My guess is that he'll probably run with a bunch of teammates, at least in the early stages.

I think you're doing it right - let him have fun. It's a big experience for anyone's first time. I'm sure it seems even bigger for a HS kid.

BTW - I still use your 5-5-5 approach that you shared with me a few years ago.

 

[2Young2BBald]

AWESOMENESS!!!!!!!!!!! Great analysis too. I've built a spreadsheet on my boy too. Our boys had a week off due to homecoming so they have been crushing the miles. My sons shins started to ache a bit, but a good ice routine seems to have fended off shin splints as he did 8 yesterday and 7 today. I'm curious to see what the amped up mileage and interval work will do in their meet on Saturday. What kind of chats, if any, have you had with your son about pacing, gels and water, etc during the half? The reason I ask, is that my son asked if I'd look for a half for him to possible run a few weeks after the season. I found what appears to be another great new trail 1/2 in our area the second week in November. I told him I'm in if he wants to do it, but he needs take some coaching on how to attack a 1/2. I had thoughts of trying to run with him, but their is no ####### chance I could hang with him and it wouldn't be fair to hold him back.

To be honest, I don't think there's anything I can tell you that you don't already know. My son still is so new to running, that he really doesn't have any idea how to pace himself, or even what time a comfortable pace for himself equates to. We talked a little this a.m. about a 5-5-5 approach to the HM. Run the first 5 miles as fast as he can while still feeling "comfortable" and running aerobically. Then try to sustain that pace for the next 5 miles, even as it become less comfortable. And then, finally, run the last 3.1 miles like a 5K, giving it max effort all the way to the end.

Also I told him to drink sports drink every couple of miles. After our talk, I realized I really shouldn't worry at all about his time. The Baltimore Marathon (of which the Half is part) has gotten to be a big all-day festival downtown. The coach had the team run it for the first time last year, just as something fun and different for the team to do together. So I'm just going to encourage him to have a good time and give it his best effort. My guess is that he'll probably run with a bunch of teammates, at least in the early stages.

I like the 5/5/5 approach. Just sports drink? I would think calorie burning machines like these boys would need at least one gel or some sports beans. 8-milers absolutely wipe out my boy to the point that he seriously eats like three meals worth of food between 5pm and 10pm. I was thinking of having him try a gel for giggles at some point just to see how he takes it.

 

[koby925]

Welcome back, Miscellaneous! Already anticipating the report from the nutty Bay-to-Breakers.

--

Medal Monger update: Got official word from the Fox Valley Marathon that I was 2nd (of 48) in my AG. I beat #3 by 3 seconds; #4 by another 16 seconds - crazy for a 3 1/2 hour race. But keeping it real, we all got bumped up a spot because one of our AGers was top masters, running a sub-7:00/mile pace.

eta: Obligatory race stalk - Event name: Fox Valley. Then: #6314

http://www2.backprint.com/actionsportsimages/search

Nice work.

Also, for some more race stalking...

http://www.ecsc360.com/ecsc-day-6-8k-race/

Small set of pictures of one of the 8K's I did this summer. The chick in the white sports bra (pic #13)

Also, the guy with the medal looks real familiar.

I didn't know Colin Farrell ran 8ks in Virginia

 

[koby925]

The_Man, very cool about the boy. The Half will be a total wild card in my opinion. Trying to put myself back into that timeframe, I had a better 5k PR than the Little Man at that time but there's no way I could've run a sub 1:30 Half. 5k races were on my long end of the spectrum. The longest runs we did were about 6-7 miles. That said, there were guys on my team who I beat in the 5k that probably could've run sub 1:30 Half. Even moreso at that age vs as an adult, IMO, how they handle a Half will be dictated a lot by natural long running endurance.

 

[Hang 10]

Welcome back, Miscellaneous! Already anticipating the report from the nutty Bay-to-Breakers.

--

Medal Monger update: Got official word from the Fox Valley Marathon that I was 2nd (of 48) in my AG. I beat #3 by 3 seconds; #4 by another 16 seconds - crazy for a 3 1/2 hour race. But keeping it real, we all got bumped up a spot because one of our AGers was top masters, running a sub-7:00/mile pace.

eta: Obligatory race stalk - Event name: Fox Valley. Then: #6314

http://www2.backprint.com/actionsportsimages/search

Nice work.

Also, for some more race stalking...

http://www.ecsc360.com/ecsc-day-6-8k-race/

Small set of pictures of one of the 8K's I did this summer. The chick in the white sports bra (pic #13)

Also, the guy with the medal looks real familiar.

I didn't know Colin Farrell ran 8ks in Virginia

Apparently he took some time off of smoking heaters and bombing at the box office.

 

[gruecd]

Trail 50K coming up on Sunday. Let it be noted that deep tissue massage for the pectineus trigger point is not fun. Holy crap.

Getting it dry needled on Friday. Normally needles don't scare me, but this is a little too close for comfort. The things we do for this stupid hobby...

 

[Hang 10]

Trail 50K coming up on Sunday. Let it be noted that deep tissue massage for the pectineus trigger point is not fun. Holy crap.

Getting it dry needled on Friday. The things we do for this stupid hobby...

What were your symptoms with your ITB problem? The outside of my left knee is starting to bother me. Like maybe an inch above and outside of my knee.

 

[gruecd]

Trail 50K coming up on Sunday. Let it be noted that deep tissue massage for the pectineus trigger point is not fun. Holy crap.

Getting it dry needled on Friday. The things we do for this stupid hobby...

What were your symptoms with your ITB problem? The outside of my left knee is starting to bother me. Like maybe an inch above and outside of my knee.

Pretty much that.

Commence with hip- and glute-strengthening exercises, and start doing yoga. Do not try to run through it. Trust me.

(When the imaginary day comes when I'm not busy, I'll put together a cheat sheet with links to YouTube vids of the exercises. But I'm starting a 2-year term as the president of my local running club in January, so I don't anticipate that day coming anytime soon.)

 

[Hang 10]

Trail 50K coming up on Sunday. Let it be noted that deep tissue massage for the pectineus trigger point is not fun. Holy crap.

Getting it dry needled on Friday. The things we do for this stupid hobby...

What were your symptoms with your ITB problem? The outside of my left knee is starting to bother me. Like maybe an inch above and outside of my knee.

Pretty much that.

Commence with hip- and glute-strengthening exercises, and start doing yoga. Do not try to run through it. Trust me.

(When the imaginary day comes when I'm not busy, I'll put together a cheat sheet with links to YouTube vids of the exercises. But I'm starting a 2-year term as the president of my local running club in January, so I don't anticipate that day coming anytime soon.)

Damn, I guess dialing back is probably the best idea...hate hearing that though.

 

[Sean]

Trail 50K coming up on Sunday. Let it be noted that deep tissue massage for the pectineus trigger point is not fun. Holy crap.

Getting it dry needled on Friday. The things we do for this stupid hobby...

What were your symptoms with your ITB problem? The outside of my left knee is starting to bother me. Like maybe an inch above and outside of my knee.

Pretty much that.

Commence with hip- and glute-strengthening exercises, and start doing yoga. Do not try to run through it. Trust me.

(When the imaginary day comes when I'm not busy, I'll put together a cheat sheet with links to YouTube vids of the exercises. But I'm starting a 2-year term as the president of my local running club in January, so I don't anticipate that day coming anytime soon.)

Damn, I guess dialing back is probably the best idea...hate hearing that though.

The excercises here have seemingly helped me with my ITB issues.

 

[tri-man 47]

Big/busy weekend coming up ...

 

[SteveC702]

The_Man, very cool about the boy. The Half will be a total wild card in my opinion. Trying to put myself back into that timeframe, I had a better 5k PR than the Little Man at that time but there's no way I could've run a sub 1:30 Half. 5k races were on my long end of the spectrum. The longest runs we did were about 6-7 miles. That said, there were guys on my team who I beat in the 5k that probably could've run sub 1:30 Half. Even moreso at that age vs as an adult, IMO, how they handle a Half will be dictated a lot by natural long running endurance.

Yeah I am with you here, I went to running camp the summer before my senior year and was in about mid-16s shape. On the first day of camp we ran a 8K time trial to determine what group you ended up in, and I made the mistake of pushing the last couple of miles and ended up 4th overall and got put in the first group with my teammate who won. (and beat all but 3 of the counselors). Our counselor was this high mileage nutjob who had a 2:15-2:16 marathon PR and put us through the hardest week of training I've ever experienced up to my life. (I had never run more than 40 before, and even with me sitting out the last 2 days per my coach's orders I was still over 80...). Anyways, we ran a half-marathon on the 3rd day and 80% of the camp raced it. I came strolling in with the 2nd girl and did about 1:40, but I think sub-1:30 would've been a tall order that day.

My counselor gave me crap about how 8-9 of his HS runners were in lower groups but beat me that day (in fact I think their #7 ran 1:32 or something). A month later we saw them at an invitational and I wiped the floor with his entire varsity team. God that was satisfying.

 

[The_Man]

Interesting stuff. I know that my strength as a runner is endurance, certainly not speed. And not my stamina, either, which I essentially view as the ability to put out a redline effort over a sustained but not extended distance - maybe from 1 mile to as much as 10k. I'm much more cut out for the longer distances, where I don't have to go anaerobic.

I think he's in the same mold, so it will be interesting to see how he fares in the HM. I wouldn't be that surprised if he hangs with or even beats some of the varsity guys who dust him in the 5K. Holy crap, what I wouldn't give to go for just one fast workout weighing about 135 lbs.

 

[SteveC702]

The thing is, even for a lot of high schoolers whose strength is endurance and not speed, when you put them in the half marathon they still won't come anywhere near the type of times their mile/2mile/5K times indicate they can run. This is for a couple of reasons:

1. No matter how much mileage they do, their main focus is still 5K XC in the fall and probably 800/1600/3200 during track season. You just don't hear about high school teams doing 4-6 mile tempos at 80-90% of VO2max or 10-12 mile runs at (suggested) marathon pace.

2. High schoolers (in the U.S. anyways) probably started running as freshman, or at most joined some type of middle school program, so they don't have the years of aerobic development needed for them to perform at the longer distances.

A few years ago one of the footlocker finalists ran a 67x half (I think it was at the NYC half) and there were a lot of talks about it. The thing is, when you plug that time into most running calculators it's still a few points inferior to his 3200/5000 times. Heck, I had a high school teammate that everyone in the state thought was a machine because he had extremely mediocre speed (I think his 400 PR was 57) but he broke the XC state meet record and ran 15:30 on the track in the spring. He raced a 10-miler in between indoor/outdoor track season and ran around 55 minutes, which was pretty badass but most calculators would say he was capable of going 2 minutes quicker.

I wouldn't be surprised if your son beats a few of the varsity runners, and come much closer to his suggested-HM times than they do, especially if he runs a smarter race than them. The best thing for him would be to follow your advice, close strongly, build some confidence in himself, and mostly have fun. That way he'll be more likely to continue to be curious about and interested in the longer distances.

 

[prosopis]

There's no doubt now; I'm hitting a new level. 10mi MLR this morning at 8:43/141. Unreal how easy this was. 42 miles in the past 3 runs/4 days and I'm feeling very fresh.

Fantastic!!!!!

 

[FUBAR]

There's no doubt now; I'm hitting a new level. 10mi MLR this morning at 8:43/141. Unreal how easy this was. 42 miles in the past 3 runs/4 days and I'm feeling very fresh.

Fantastic!!!!!

 

[FUBAR]

After work HM tonight. Usual weekly route, but elongated it to make a Half.

Figured I'd mentally divide into 1/3 - first 5, middle 3, last 5 (then a "sprint" to finish) and try to keep the same pace throughout. Came pretty close.

First 5, trail 7:57 pace

Middle 3, half road/trail 7:54 pace

Last 5, road 7:55 pace

 

[SteveC702]

[SIZE=medium]Twin Cities Marathon Race Report[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]I would first like to say that it was one of the most awful, painful, and yet amazingly rewarding experiences of my life so far. Sorry if this is TLDR. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]Miles 1-3[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]It was incredibly crowded. Could not believe how tight it was still at mile 3. I guess this is probably very common with big races, but it was pretty new to me. I am used to things being thinned out a ton after mile 1. Just when you think it was starting to thin there was a water stop which basically threw a bottleneck right back in there. (Side note: I must have missed a memo, but at every water stop people would get water from the right and then get over to the left and walk to drink it. I wouldn’t think this was proper etiquette but with so many people doing it maybe I am wrong). The pace was right where I wanted it to be for this stretch, just would have preferred less bobbing and weaving. I could tell though that my sister wanted to pick up the pace.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]Miles 4-6[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]We started to pick up the pace a little bit. My sister was really weaving around. This was a bit frustrating because we weren’t really gaining as much net time as the effort we were putting forth. My sister had told me previously that 4:30 was her goal, but it became quite evident to me early on that she wanted to do better than that. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]Miles 7-13.1[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]The crowd had finally thinned a lot. My sister started to push and actually asked one of her friends that jumped with us to run alongside her and give her a water bottle how far ahead the 4:15 pacer was. She then admitted that she wanted to finish in 4:22 and maybe take a shot at 4:15. I was torn between being annoyed and still wanting to be there to help her. I had registered all along as support to her so I decided to go with the latter. I told her I would hang with her as long as I could. The one big problem I foresaw was that at mile 15 my brother was meeting us to give me a change of clothes and to switch hydration packs. I was feeling good though. At about mile 8 I stepped in a pothole that made my foot turn weird. I awkwardly stumbled and almost wiped out. Hurt a lot at first but seemed to be ok (I eventually think it caught up to me later.) Other than that no issues with my hip thus far, which was a great sign.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]Miles 13.1-18.6[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]By mile 15 I was soaking wet from head to toe. Was so happy to see my brother and get changed. My sister as I suspected decided she didn’t want to wait and kept running. I had rigged my shirt and bib with Velcro in order to switch over quickly. Worked perfect. (I also turned an old pair of sweatpants into tear aways using velcro for the start). Unfortunately there was quite a line here for porta-potties for some reason. Waited for a bit and didn’t move one spot, so I tucked behind a pine tree and my brother held a towel up and I changed my shorts and undercarriage there. Now here is where my day fell apart. Had I made the choice to just settle back into a pace and run the rest of the way by myself I am certain I would be in better shape right now and my end time would have been better too. I decided I was going to catch up to my sister. So off I went. Basically felt like I was sprinting even though according to my watch I really was only at 8:30-8:45/mile during this stretch. She had some cramping issues and had to slow down a bunch so I was able to catch her quicker than expected. So even though my pace between 13.1 and 18.6 dropped, the effort level was much higher. I am happy I did though because my sister really seemed rejuvenated and thanked me after and said it was her turning point. By mile 18 I was in a world of hurt though. My foot was absolutely killing me and my hip was starting to give me grief. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]Miles 18.6-21[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]At mile 20 I was done for. I was literally fighting back tears and every step felt like a hammer hitting me on the top of my foot. I told my sister I needed to walk and pulled over to the side. I could tell she was faced with a tough decision. She didn’t want to abandon me as she could tell I was in a ton of pain. I told her I wanted her to keep going as I knew how important her time was to her. She told me she was going to stay with me. I said fine. So I stopped and told her I refuse to run another step until she ran ahead without me otherwise we weren’t running again. We ended up getting into an argument right there. I am sure it was a sight to see. She realized I wasn’t kidding and finally went ahead. I think I walked the whole mile between 20 and 21. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]Miles 21-26.2[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]This became a brutal back and forth of running and walking. Walking was terrible for my hip. Running killed my foot. I started making goals of running .5 miles and walking .25. Then running .4 and walking .2, etc. It was awful. I started wondering if I was going to make it. I tried to eat a gel from my backpack and my hands were so cold and shaking from the rain I couldn’t open it and then I dropped it. Luckily there was a family up ahead that was handing out orange slices and sliced bananas. This little kid was so excited to be high fiving and handing out food for runners it put a huge smile on my face. I decided from that point on I would make sure that any kid standing on the side of the road trying to high five or give “knuckles” as my nephew calls it, would get one from me. It started to amaze me just how many people there were shouting encouragement and handing out stuff. Tents out alongside the road, people grilling out, drinking beer, playing music, it was all pretty awesome. So many funny signs, random strangers that just hop out and walk with you for a while, people calling you by your race number and telling you that you are doing something so few people can do. I honestly can’t wait until the next marathon in my area so I can go do the same thing.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]My final time as mentioned already was 4:43:16. My sister got her time and she is thrilled. I can’t really walk. I am debating going and seeing a doctor for an xray on my foot as it is the top of my foot that hurts. Everything else seems to be just the same general soreness. One thing I am very happy about is I have no blisters or chafing anywhere. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]Spoke to a good friend of mine this morning. Known him forever and I remember the first time he got falling down drunk. He was throwing up for like two days after. In his puking hungover stupor he yelled “Mark my words. I swear to god, I am never drinking again.” He of course got drunk the next weekend. He asked me if I plan to do another one ever. I of course replied “Mark my words, I swear to god, I am never running a marathon again.”[/SIZE]

Great read and congrats on your accomplishment.

The top of my foot hurt for two months after the Table Rock Ultra. I finally decided to see a doctor and between the time I made the apt and the apt date came, it went away. I'd give it some time.

Congrats Para. Don't worry about stuff hurting for now... you don't know if it's just sore or actually broken until a week or two after your first one

 

[SFBayDuck]

Big/busy weekend coming up ...

You're telling me! I did 9 on Monday and 4 Tuesday, took today off and have a really easy 4 planned for tomorrow. I've got a weird niggle in my left arch, but otherwise feeling pretty healthy and ready to tackle 50 miles on Saturday!

It would be nice to get some decent sleep the next two nights, it's like race eve jitters have already set in.

I am down to the least-fat I've been since early college days, thanks largely to avoiding beer and pizza (really any wheat) the past few weeks. But as soon as my stomach recovers Saturday evening I plan to throw down ultra quantities of each!

 

[Hang 10]

Big/busy weekend coming up ...

You're telling me! I did 9 on Monday and 4 Tuesday, took today off and have a really easy 4 planned for tomorrow. I've got a weird niggle in my left arch, but otherwise feeling pretty healthy and ready to tackle 50 miles on Saturday!

It would be nice to get some decent sleep the next two nights, it's like race eve jitters have already set in.

I am down to the least-fat I've been since early college days, thanks largely to avoiding beer and pizza (really any wheat) the past few weeks. But as soon as my stomach recovers Saturday evening I plan to throw down ultra quantities of each!

Look forward to your race report.

 

[tri-man 47]

Big/busy weekend coming up ...

You're telling me! I did 9 on Monday and 4 Tuesday, took today off and have a really easy 4 planned for tomorrow. I've got a weird niggle in my left arch, but otherwise feeling pretty healthy and ready to tackle 50 miles on Saturday!

Ready to rock! So it's you and me on Saturday; worrierking, gruecd, MAC, and Ned on Sunday? 2Young, which day is your trail HM? Hang 10, you up too? Others?

 

[Hang 10]

Big/busy weekend coming up ...

You're telling me! I did 9 on Monday and 4 Tuesday, took today off and have a really easy 4 planned for tomorrow. I've got a weird niggle in my left arch, but otherwise feeling pretty healthy and ready to tackle 50 miles on Saturday!

Ready to rock! So it's you and me on Saturday; worrierking, gruecd, MAC, and Ned on Sunday? 2Young, which day is your trail HM? Hang 10, you up too? Others?

Nah, I got a couple weeks off. Got a 10K on the 26th and a half marathon a month from now. Can't wait to hear about your weekend though!

 

[2Young2BBald]

Big/busy weekend coming up ...

You're telling me! I did 9 on Monday and 4 Tuesday, took today off and have a really easy 4 planned for tomorrow. I've got a weird niggle in my left arch, but otherwise feeling pretty healthy and ready to tackle 50 miles on Saturday!

Ready to rock! So it's you and me on Saturday; worrierking, gruecd, MAC, and Ned on Sunday? 2Young, which day is your trail HM? Hang 10, you up too? Others?

Sunday for me. Funny, in my life outside the internet, 13.1 on dirt is rather studly. Other than a buddy running Chicago (TM, Pete is running there Sunday and entertaining thoughts of hitching a ride with the pace group that would get him a BQ), I'm it with my running friends around here. Life on the internet I have you going 13.1 miles more than me, Grue 19 and Duck a mere 37 more Good luck guys this weekend, other than a chance of a few sprinkles, Sunday looks awesome for racing and I hope you all have the same.

 

[MAC_32]

Big/busy weekend coming up ...

You're telling me! I did 9 on Monday and 4 Tuesday, took today off and have a really easy 4 planned for tomorrow. I've got a weird niggle in my left arch, but otherwise feeling pretty healthy and ready to tackle 50 miles on Saturday!

Ready to rock! So it's you and me on Saturday; worrierking, gruecd, MAC, and Ned on Sunday? 2Young, which day is your trail HM? Hang 10, you up too? Others?

not I, my 10k was cancelled and unfortunately we can't make the rescheduled date

 

[Ned]

Big/busy weekend coming up ...

You're telling me! I did 9 on Monday and 4 Tuesday, took today off and have a really easy 4 planned for tomorrow. I've got a weird niggle in my left arch, but otherwise feeling pretty healthy and ready to tackle 50 miles on Saturday!

Ready to rock! So it's you and me on Saturday; worrierking, gruecd, MAC, and Ned on Sunday? 2Young, which day is your trail HM? Hang 10, you up too? Others?

not I, my 10k was cancelled and unfortunately we can't make the rescheduled date

Fn gov't.

 

[Hang 10]

Big/busy weekend coming up ...

You're telling me! I did 9 on Monday and 4 Tuesday, took today off and have a really easy 4 planned for tomorrow. I've got a weird niggle in my left arch, but otherwise feeling pretty healthy and ready to tackle 50 miles on Saturday!

Ready to rock! So it's you and me on Saturday; worrierking, gruecd, MAC, and Ned on Sunday? 2Young, which day is your trail HM? Hang 10, you up too? Others?

not I, my 10k was cancelled and unfortunately we can't make the rescheduled date

Dude, that blows.

 

[FUBAR]

Recovery ride this morning, 45 minutes / 14 miles. Decided to try the one-leg cycling drill a few times. Worked alright until I got near the end and while cycling with my right leg, my left leg got the biggest charlie horse I've gotten in a while. Almost fell off the bike right in front of a few co-workers.

 

[SteveC702]

Running a local 5K this Saturday morning and half-marathons for the next 2 weeks. Time to race myself back into shape.

 

[worrierking]

Should be some great reading sunday and monday. I am looking forward to it. Ran four at MP this morning (9:30) and will rest tomorrow and Saturday.