Prince Myshkin
Footballguy
Do we know for sure that BnB survived the Death March...errr Race???
Not that I have any doubts about our hero....
Not that I have any doubts about our hero....
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Ran a 10k in June (5 Viewers)
- Thread starter GStrot
- Start date
SFBayDuck
Footballguy
Ultrasignup hasn't been updated with results yet, and I don't see anything on the race website either.
Hang 10
Footballguy
koby925
Footballguy
Great job this week, racers!
H10, was that your first sub 90?
I have a nice success story from yesterday that I was able to enjoy vicariously. Buddy that I've talked about running with before who does Tris as much or more than running ran in the local Marathon on the Tobacco Trail where I train. With the training he's been doing, he was thinking he'd be in the 3:20 range. Previous PR of 3:12. He's 37 so keeping in mind the BQ standard of sub 3:10 but he thinks it's a long shot. Well, he went out in 3:20 pace and started feeling good. I saw him at a couple points and told him he was crushing 3:20 pace and at 1:37 Half he said he really thought sub 3:10 was a possibility. Next time I saw him he said he was going for it. He still needed about 6:54 pace over the final 3 miles and the last time I saw him was .6 miles from the finish and he was cruising. Easily looked 6:45 pace or so to me. So I meet up with him after and he's convinced he crossed right around 3:09:59 but a bit faster on his watch. We go to the results tent and they have him at 3:10:00.93....UGH. So for 20+ minutes he thinks he missed Boston by less than a second. Now, this isn't the most sophisticated race or volunteer staff so they hadn't account for the chip time. But they kept insisting it was his "official" time. I think what happened is when we were at the tent, the chip times were trickling in slowly. And the first to come in, obviously, were the leaders so the volunteers didn't think there'd be a difference. His Net time finally comes through and he ran 3:09:54. So he got his BQ T-Shirt and a big PR
H10, was that your first sub 90?
I have a nice success story from yesterday that I was able to enjoy vicariously. Buddy that I've talked about running with before who does Tris as much or more than running ran in the local Marathon on the Tobacco Trail where I train. With the training he's been doing, he was thinking he'd be in the 3:20 range. Previous PR of 3:12. He's 37 so keeping in mind the BQ standard of sub 3:10 but he thinks it's a long shot. Well, he went out in 3:20 pace and started feeling good. I saw him at a couple points and told him he was crushing 3:20 pace and at 1:37 Half he said he really thought sub 3:10 was a possibility. Next time I saw him he said he was going for it. He still needed about 6:54 pace over the final 3 miles and the last time I saw him was .6 miles from the finish and he was cruising. Easily looked 6:45 pace or so to me. So I meet up with him after and he's convinced he crossed right around 3:09:59 but a bit faster on his watch. We go to the results tent and they have him at 3:10:00.93....UGH. So for 20+ minutes he thinks he missed Boston by less than a second. Now, this isn't the most sophisticated race or volunteer staff so they hadn't account for the chip time. But they kept insisting it was his "official" time. I think what happened is when we were at the tent, the chip times were trickling in slowly. And the first to come in, obviously, were the leaders so the volunteers didn't think there'd be a difference. His Net time finally comes through and he ran 3:09:54. So he got his BQ T-Shirt and a big PR
Sand
Footballguy
Not to give anything away, but since he's probably sleeping right now...
He got picked up by the sweepers. Not sure how far he made it. The steep downhills killed him and he fell to a pace that wasn't going to finish by the cutoff. He texted me after and is doing fine, though.
tri-man 47
Footballguy
Great story, koby! Congrats to him!
Thanks for the brief update, Sand. We all worry when one of our own is out so late.
Thanks for the brief update, Sand. We all worry when one of our own is out so late.
Hang 10
Footballguy
Shamrock Half Marathon 2014
Going into this race I've basically done things the wrong way. I ramped up my miles and added speed work with basically just a month to train for this thing. I didn't really have much of a choice after battling this runners knee for all of January and into February. I guess I hoped my running base would come around and cancel out the inevitable tired legs. Well, for the most part it worked.
My goal was to break 90 minutes and long story short, I did it. Now, it was far from easy and I wouldn't recommend doing anything the way I did it.
Conditions were poor but not as horrible as I feared. Race starts out with a 13 mph head wind for the first 3 miles.
Mile 1 - Sanded the start feeling great - 6:19
Miles 2 - 3 Starting to realize my rookie mistake of wearing some very untested shoes (Brooks Puredrift). Though I'm used to some minimalist shoes, these things have NO support and they are so flexible that I felt like my feet and lower legs were working overtime. Anyways settle into a more normal pace of 6:50 and 6:51.
Turn out of the wind and pick up a bit more speed...though at this point I'm also starting to feel the cram training in my legs. My wind is great but legs are tired as hell.
Mile 4 - 6:41
Mile 5 - 6:48
Mile 6 - 6:44
Turn back into the wind and through the toughest stretch of the course. (My race fell apart here last year) Full on head wind of about 15+ with bigger gusts. Teamwork time. Decided to chat it up and get some drafting trains going. This was good strategy in more ways then one. The crew that I was working with was fast and it made me keep up if I wanted protection from the wind.
Mile 7 - 6:50
Mile 8 - 6:48
Mile 9 - 6:55
Finally escaped the wind and at this point I'm doing the math on breaking 90 minutes in my head. If I average about 7 min a mile I'll get there. That keeps me going but I'm starting wear down.
Mile 10 - 6:49
5k left and I'm spent...I'm starting to get passed at this point and it's not helping. Also, my calves are starting to ache.
Mile 11 - 6:56
Mile 12 - 6:59
I'm starting to think that if I don't pick it up this thing could come down to a sprint on the last .1 to break 90.
Mile 13 - 6:48
On the boardwalk and it's time to kick...I've still got a bit in the tank but it's about to come spewing out of my mouth.
.1 (.2 on my watch but whose counting) - 1:16 (6:24 pace)
Comfortably (yeah right) in under 90 with a 1:29:34 officially. 171/8936 Overall, 22/529 in my age group. I'm very proud of this effort because it never felt easy. But I'm going to try to do things a little smarter next time. Anyways, happy St. Patty's day.
Sidenote: last year I had a goal of a sub 40 10K (Check) a sub 90 half marathon (CHECK) and a sub 19 5K...Got a couple 5k's coming up in the next couple months.
Going into this race I've basically done things the wrong way. I ramped up my miles and added speed work with basically just a month to train for this thing. I didn't really have much of a choice after battling this runners knee for all of January and into February. I guess I hoped my running base would come around and cancel out the inevitable tired legs. Well, for the most part it worked.
My goal was to break 90 minutes and long story short, I did it. Now, it was far from easy and I wouldn't recommend doing anything the way I did it.
Conditions were poor but not as horrible as I feared. Race starts out with a 13 mph head wind for the first 3 miles.
Mile 1 - Sanded the start feeling great - 6:19
Miles 2 - 3 Starting to realize my rookie mistake of wearing some very untested shoes (Brooks Puredrift). Though I'm used to some minimalist shoes, these things have NO support and they are so flexible that I felt like my feet and lower legs were working overtime. Anyways settle into a more normal pace of 6:50 and 6:51.
Turn out of the wind and pick up a bit more speed...though at this point I'm also starting to feel the cram training in my legs. My wind is great but legs are tired as hell.
Mile 4 - 6:41
Mile 5 - 6:48
Mile 6 - 6:44
Turn back into the wind and through the toughest stretch of the course. (My race fell apart here last year) Full on head wind of about 15+ with bigger gusts. Teamwork time. Decided to chat it up and get some drafting trains going. This was good strategy in more ways then one. The crew that I was working with was fast and it made me keep up if I wanted protection from the wind.
Mile 7 - 6:50
Mile 8 - 6:48
Mile 9 - 6:55
Finally escaped the wind and at this point I'm doing the math on breaking 90 minutes in my head. If I average about 7 min a mile I'll get there. That keeps me going but I'm starting wear down.
Mile 10 - 6:49
5k left and I'm spent...I'm starting to get passed at this point and it's not helping. Also, my calves are starting to ache.
Mile 11 - 6:56
Mile 12 - 6:59
I'm starting to think that if I don't pick it up this thing could come down to a sprint on the last .1 to break 90.
Mile 13 - 6:48
On the boardwalk and it's time to kick...I've still got a bit in the tank but it's about to come spewing out of my mouth.
.1 (.2 on my watch but whose counting) - 1:16 (6:24 pace)
Comfortably (yeah right) in under 90 with a 1:29:34 officially. 171/8936 Overall, 22/529 in my age group. I'm very proud of this effort because it never felt easy. But I'm going to try to do things a little smarter next time. Anyways, happy St. Patty's day.
Sidenote: last year I had a goal of a sub 40 10K (Check) a sub 90 half marathon (CHECK) and a sub 19 5K...Got a couple 5k's coming up in the next couple months.
worrierking
Footballguy
Wow, great stuff on here while I've been gone. I was working the state High School basketball championships the last two weeks and I have had zero time for web stuff. Looks like I've missed some epicness. At the risk of missing somebody congrats to Mac, Fubar, Juxt and Hang ten. Great efforts! That's some inspiration for me to get back in the saddle and run. I am still rehabbing the groin (and the SI joint) and have run two three-milers in the last four days. It's going to be a long road back to my previous fitness and the groin is still giving me minor troubles. I am still hoping to be running normally by April 1st.
FUBAR
Footballguy
Thanks guys.
Looks like I'm more of a heel striker than I thought:
http://totalphoto1.exposuremanager.com/p/2014_instant_classic_trail_race/img_2446_83_4
Looks like I'm more of a heel striker than I thought:
http://totalphoto1.exposuremanager.com/p/2014_instant_classic_trail_race/img_2446_83_4
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2014 Gate River Run / USA 15K National Championships Trip/Race Report
Last Saturday I headed down to Jacksonville to do the Gate River Run, which also served as the USA 15K national championships on the USA Road Racing Circuit. I had low expectations of the race performance wise, and after having to take 3-4 days off on two separate occasions due to tight calf/hamstring/groin issues I was just happy to be healthy enough to start (and finish) the race.
On Friday my wife and I got up at 4 to do a quick 2 mile shakeout run so we can be out of the house by 4:45 and catch our 6 AM flight. After checking in, and picking up our packets I took a quick nap and went out for another short shakeout run before the mandatory elite athlete meeting for all the runners in the championships the next day. As a bonus, they served us dinner as well as invited **** Beardsley as a motivational speaker. It was pretty cool, although I completely disregarded the part about taking a leap of faith and going for the win tomorrow, as I am pretty sure that's suicidal advice for all but about a handful of runners in the room. (and more so for me).
Race Morning:
I got up at 5 to go down to the hospitality suite and pick up a bracelet per instructions from the night before. This would allows us to get into the elite warmup area on race day. I actually wasn't feeling well and debated skipping breakfast, but when I picked up the bracelet I saw the room full of Olympians and professional runners eating breakfast, so I figured it was probably a good idea to follow their lead and get something in the stomach. I munched down on two bowls of baked oatmeal made by the race director's wife and then grabbed some extra food for later as well as for my wife. When I got back to the room I was tempted to just go back to bed and do my own thing, but I figure I conned my way into the elite division so I might as well take advantage of the amenities, so at 6:15 I went downstairs and got on the bus shuttling all the elites to the race site. On the short ride over I had a pleasant conversation with a recent college grad who had just moved out to Eugene to pursue life as a professional runner, I guess it's not so crazy as he's run 64/2:18 and has a pretty bright future ahead of him.
Once we arrived on site they led us to a room in the back set up for us to relax, right outside the room there's 5-6 porta-pottys for our use only and a 0.5 mile stretch of road sectioned off for warming up. My near highlight of the day came when I got in line for the porta-potty and was one person away from getting to use a porta-potty right after Shalane Flanagan came out. After that I just went out for my warmup on that stretch of road until I got a little over 3 miles. The one thing I noticed was that even though pretty much everyone there was much faster than me, everyone was running 7-8 minute miles for their warmup and nobody was running much faster than that, so I didn't stick out or anything.
25 minutes before the race started they led us out of our area and took us to an area right in front of the start line. We just kept on jogging/stretching until they let the elite women start about 6 minutes ahead of everyone else. (the race features a handicap/"equalizer" bonus of $5000 for the first overall finisher). Then they played the national anthem and told everyone to get on the line. Unlike other races I have run recently, I know I definitely don't belong on the front so I took a spot about 3-4 rows back. They started us a minute later and off we went.
The race:
I did my homework before the race, and knew I was pretty much going to be in a no-mans land between the actual elites and the general mass. (and if I am lucky, I'll get to run with some of the other sub-elites and some of the fast guys having a really bad day). The race apparently started off at a "conservative" pace for the guys up front but I immediately drop back after seeing that I was running at 4:40/mi pace on my watch after the first 100 meters. I took a conservative approach of running the first 10K at slightly faster than half-marathon pace and then trying to hammer the last 5K. The times don't really show it since the 8th mile involves a brutal climb up a bridge but given that I moved up about 4-5 spots in the last 5K I definitely finished pretty strong. The fun part of the race is after you crest the big hill a little after 8 miles it is a massive downhill mile from the top of the bridge to the finish. Based on the "personal record" feature of my 620 I ran a 4:51 mile in the race somewhere, so it must have been in this last mile.
Splits based on my garmin: 5:16 - 5:13 - 5:13 - 5:16 - 5:14 - 5:16 - 5:08 - 5:29 - 5:14 - 2:06 (0.42mi / 5:00 pace) - 49:25
Based on garmin - 5:15/mi. Based on actual race distance -5:18/mi.
5K splits (based on memory and other runners near me at each point, since my timing chip didn't register for some reason). - 16:22 - 16:30 - 16:33
The results showed I finished 44th male / 46th overall, but there was a timing malfunction of sorts and some of the runners' times didn't even register, so the elite athlete coordinator just sent out an e-mail informing everyone of a few people that were missing times but will be added. After that I will be bumped down to 47th male / 49th overall.
A month ago I probably would have been upset with the time as I split 48:14 at 15K in my last half-marathon, but given the setbacks I am just glad to be close to 100% healthy without having lost too much fitness, and may be able to put in 3-4 weeks of solid training before tapering for Boston. Blasting down that last bridge may not have been the best of ideas though as it's over 48 hours after the race and my quads are still a little bit tight. (nowhere near as bad as yesterday morning though). This is also the 2nd USA national championship I have talked my way into, and I am just glad I was able to finish this one.
Last Saturday I headed down to Jacksonville to do the Gate River Run, which also served as the USA 15K national championships on the USA Road Racing Circuit. I had low expectations of the race performance wise, and after having to take 3-4 days off on two separate occasions due to tight calf/hamstring/groin issues I was just happy to be healthy enough to start (and finish) the race.
On Friday my wife and I got up at 4 to do a quick 2 mile shakeout run so we can be out of the house by 4:45 and catch our 6 AM flight. After checking in, and picking up our packets I took a quick nap and went out for another short shakeout run before the mandatory elite athlete meeting for all the runners in the championships the next day. As a bonus, they served us dinner as well as invited **** Beardsley as a motivational speaker. It was pretty cool, although I completely disregarded the part about taking a leap of faith and going for the win tomorrow, as I am pretty sure that's suicidal advice for all but about a handful of runners in the room. (and more so for me).
Race Morning:
I got up at 5 to go down to the hospitality suite and pick up a bracelet per instructions from the night before. This would allows us to get into the elite warmup area on race day. I actually wasn't feeling well and debated skipping breakfast, but when I picked up the bracelet I saw the room full of Olympians and professional runners eating breakfast, so I figured it was probably a good idea to follow their lead and get something in the stomach. I munched down on two bowls of baked oatmeal made by the race director's wife and then grabbed some extra food for later as well as for my wife. When I got back to the room I was tempted to just go back to bed and do my own thing, but I figure I conned my way into the elite division so I might as well take advantage of the amenities, so at 6:15 I went downstairs and got on the bus shuttling all the elites to the race site. On the short ride over I had a pleasant conversation with a recent college grad who had just moved out to Eugene to pursue life as a professional runner, I guess it's not so crazy as he's run 64/2:18 and has a pretty bright future ahead of him.
Once we arrived on site they led us to a room in the back set up for us to relax, right outside the room there's 5-6 porta-pottys for our use only and a 0.5 mile stretch of road sectioned off for warming up. My near highlight of the day came when I got in line for the porta-potty and was one person away from getting to use a porta-potty right after Shalane Flanagan came out. After that I just went out for my warmup on that stretch of road until I got a little over 3 miles. The one thing I noticed was that even though pretty much everyone there was much faster than me, everyone was running 7-8 minute miles for their warmup and nobody was running much faster than that, so I didn't stick out or anything.
25 minutes before the race started they led us out of our area and took us to an area right in front of the start line. We just kept on jogging/stretching until they let the elite women start about 6 minutes ahead of everyone else. (the race features a handicap/"equalizer" bonus of $5000 for the first overall finisher). Then they played the national anthem and told everyone to get on the line. Unlike other races I have run recently, I know I definitely don't belong on the front so I took a spot about 3-4 rows back. They started us a minute later and off we went.
The race:
I did my homework before the race, and knew I was pretty much going to be in a no-mans land between the actual elites and the general mass. (and if I am lucky, I'll get to run with some of the other sub-elites and some of the fast guys having a really bad day). The race apparently started off at a "conservative" pace for the guys up front but I immediately drop back after seeing that I was running at 4:40/mi pace on my watch after the first 100 meters. I took a conservative approach of running the first 10K at slightly faster than half-marathon pace and then trying to hammer the last 5K. The times don't really show it since the 8th mile involves a brutal climb up a bridge but given that I moved up about 4-5 spots in the last 5K I definitely finished pretty strong. The fun part of the race is after you crest the big hill a little after 8 miles it is a massive downhill mile from the top of the bridge to the finish. Based on the "personal record" feature of my 620 I ran a 4:51 mile in the race somewhere, so it must have been in this last mile.
Splits based on my garmin: 5:16 - 5:13 - 5:13 - 5:16 - 5:14 - 5:16 - 5:08 - 5:29 - 5:14 - 2:06 (0.42mi / 5:00 pace) - 49:25
Based on garmin - 5:15/mi. Based on actual race distance -5:18/mi.
5K splits (based on memory and other runners near me at each point, since my timing chip didn't register for some reason). - 16:22 - 16:30 - 16:33
The results showed I finished 44th male / 46th overall, but there was a timing malfunction of sorts and some of the runners' times didn't even register, so the elite athlete coordinator just sent out an e-mail informing everyone of a few people that were missing times but will be added. After that I will be bumped down to 47th male / 49th overall.
A month ago I probably would have been upset with the time as I split 48:14 at 15K in my last half-marathon, but given the setbacks I am just glad to be close to 100% healthy without having lost too much fitness, and may be able to put in 3-4 weeks of solid training before tapering for Boston. Blasting down that last bridge may not have been the best of ideas though as it's over 48 hours after the race and my quads are still a little bit tight. (nowhere near as bad as yesterday morning though). This is also the 2nd USA national championship I have talked my way into, and I am just glad I was able to finish this one.
SFBayDuck
Footballguy
So cool hearing the elite viewpoint on stuff like this! Thanks for sharing Steve, and congrats on what sounds like a race that went about as well as it could have with your issues heading into it.
Ned
Footballguy
fubar - wow thats a great time for a trial marathon!! What was the elevation gain?
hang - congrats on your sub 90! Doing that after fighting an injury is super impressive.
steve - you blow me away, man. Running like that when you're not in tip top condition??? Sheesh.
Sorry if I missed others - I'm having a hard time keeping up these days! I'm just now catching my breath after getting my ### handed to me at the archery nationals. Quite the learning experience.
hang - congrats on your sub 90! Doing that after fighting an injury is super impressive.
steve - you blow me away, man. Running like that when you're not in tip top condition??? Sheesh.
Sorry if I missed others - I'm having a hard time keeping up these days! I'm just now catching my breath after getting my ### handed to me at the archery nationals. Quite the learning experience.
Sand
Footballguy
Been fighting an ab strain, so my workload has been down. I did manage the first Tuesday night ride of the year, though. Was second up the big climb in my second best time ever (and that in March). 8 seconds - grrr. That bodes well for the rest of the season.
Page 3, really? Does anyone around here run anymore?? If so, please update the 2014 race calender for God's sake.
TIA
tri-man 47
Footballguy
SFBayDuck
Footballguy
I've been out on the trails a bit - 10 miles Saturday, 6 Monday, 6 yesterday. I've also finally decided that my focus in the short term needs to be on the biggest limiter I have - my weight. While I've lost 35 lbs since I started running back in '07, I'm still a fat guy at 193 lbs and 25% body fat according to my scale on Monday morning. I'm making it too hard on myself to chug up and down all these hills - my September 100 miler has over 20K of up and 20K of down, and I don't need to be lugging around all that extra jiggle. So Monday started an 8 week period where I'm going to really work on eating clean and limit my carbs, adding in some strength work to complement my running, and see what I can do in terms of dropping some lbs and inches. Monday also not coincidentally marked 8 weeks until I board a plane for Barbados for a 5-day President's Club trip (for exceeding my annual sales quota), so there's that for a little extra short-term motivation.
Page 3, really? Does anyone around here run anymore?? If so, please update the 2014 race calender for God's sake.
TIA
Next week is also 24 weeks until my 100 miler, which is the length of the training programs in the book Relentless Forward Progress. So by focusing on dropping weight over the next 8 weeks, it still will give me 17 weeks after that where I can shift the focus a bit if needed to eating right to support that key 17 week block of training, which may require upping the carbs a bit.
Hang 10
Footballguy
That's the kind of thing you should know beforehand and it's not atypical for 5k's to be dry. Do your penis research!
beer 302
Footballguy
I started on that weight loss epiphany in November when I was getting ready for my first 50k. I haven't dropped a ton but have a goal of dropping below 180 this summer to see what it does for me. I'm at about 182 right now and just the small change over the last few months has made a difference. That half I ran a few weeks ago felt great where last year it ate my lunch at 190. Training on the trails certainly played a larger part but the weight loss made a difference too. Another friend of mine who runs a lot of ultra's dropped into the low 170's and noticed a dramatic uptick in his speed as well. I know it's Mr. Obvious stuff but until you really focus on it, you don't realize how much of a difference it can make.
This is the race you missed, correct?
Hang 10
Footballguy
beer 302
Footballguy
So you went to essentially tailgate and were disappointed when there was no beer available. My suggestion, and certainly I'm not a learned man in this area, is come prepared.Penis
Well i went to run, but was late. So I then intended to get a nice little buzz before noon.
beer 302
Footballguy
You brought your shoes, right? Beer is on the same level in my opinion. If you want one after, don't depend on someone else to provide for you. It's just too damn important to leave in the hands of stranger.
Juxtatarot
Footballguy
I read in an email that they promise to have green beer next year. Apparently there was some legal issue. We'll have a beer together after you finish the Chicago Marathon.
Juxtatarot
Footballguy
Hang 10
Footballguy
My calves are just now starting to recover. Don't run a half marathon wearing these: http://www.acquiremag.com/sports/athletic-footwear/brooks-puredrift.php
It was my fate too. I pulled the plug around mile 45. I did make the start and my penis isn't hurting, but those are mostly the high points. Ran the math and could have made one more cut off, but I would have been stopped at mile 61 based on missing that cutoff. Several people after me continued, but I don't think any of them made it. When you've been averaging a 23 min pace, you're not going to start dropping 17 min miles for the balance of the race on the back end in the dark. Every single person I saw after this point on the way in was walking. I probably mentally checked out when I knew I wasn't going to make it, but I couldn't justify missing the shuttle back to the start and being stuck in the middle of nowhere pursuing a fruitless attempt.
Bottom line, this event was well beyond my capabilities as a runner. Running to the top of Mt. Mitchell is a walk in the park compared to this. As a sneek peek, at mile 4 we had a net 2300 ft climb over 3.5 miles which I think averages out to 12.5%. It's actually worse than this because there is some downhill mixed in meaning the gross is higher. I'll need to re-evaluate Massenutten 100 in the next few weeks. I post a race report on this failure later, just got back into town and have some work to knock out. I actually handled the uphill sections well, but I couldn't make up any time on the downhill sections. My downhill trail technique is awful at best and my knees were complaining. I took several tumbles and roll both ankles. Despite all of that, I could have finished if it wasn't for running out of time.
I see that the rest of you who made the start line had solid events. Congrats.
tri-man 47
Footballguy
I'm tellin' ya ...Prairie State marathon up in Libertyville right around the same time as Chicago. Even with the half-marathoners at the start, it's only about 500-600 people. Easy logistics, easy for family (or fellow FBG) support, great course ...
SFBayDuck
Footballguy
Tough one. Were your issues with the downhills blown quads, or just struggling to move down them quickly enough to make up the time you were losing slogging up those climbs? Was it pretty technical singletrack that was slowing you down?
The good news is that I've heard runners much more experienced than I say "you're not really an ultrarunner until you've DNF'd". So you've got that going for you, which is nice.
As for Massanutten - 16,200' of elevation is no joke, but it looks like the climbs aren't nearly as brutal as what you faced this past weekend - several of the 1000'-1500' over 3-5 miles variety. But other than that stretch from mile 16-25 or so, it looks like you're either going up or going down pretty much all day. How does the terrain compare to what you just experienced?
Hang 10
Footballguy
I can only imagine the hell this course must have been if it DNF'd our boy BNB.
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Ned
Footballguy
Ned
Footballguy
Ehh, I won't bore with too many details. Like I said earlier, I was going to Nationals for the big stage experience... and that sure didn't disappoint! I can't friggin' wait to go back next year.
I was a nervous wreck, especially on Saturday; never been so nervous for something in my life. The nerves before my first marathon were tiny little jitters compared to what I felt at the start of my line on Saturday. Nerves aside, I felt like I executed very well. I certainly learned how to control the shakes and still throw down some perfect shots. I just didn't string enough of them together to even sniff the top end. This game is all about the one with the best miss(es)....
Scoring is based on 300 perfect score and then X count as tie breaker (60 is perfect). The amateur national champ in my class (Open or Free Style) was the only non-pro to shoot a perfect 600/120 for the 2 days (6 or 7 pros shot a 600/120). To give some perspective - that's out of a total 1,583 shooters. He no doubt will have some contract offers coming his way.
I came in at a modest 596/89 which puts me around 160th or so. I've hovered at 300/low 50s at smaller venues, so I wasn't too far off of my average. I told my wife on Sunday after shooting a 299 - that is the happiest 299 I've ever shot. 299 usually frustrates the hell out of me, but I was thrilled to be able to do that with the huge pressure.
I learned quite a few lessons that will be huge for me in the coming years of this pursuit. Wish I could really put this experience into words, but it's just something you have to go experience to really understand.
beer 302
Footballguy
I don't get the whole minimalist thing but it works fro some folks. Can't imagine running in slippers for a half, my feet would be a wreck
While the quads were great, I was just struggling to make up the time. Others were doing it but I wasn't. I wouldn't call it technical, but a lot of 15-25% grade. At 216 lbs I have to keep the inertia in control otherwise it will get ugly. One of the earlier sections I looked to my left and it was a 45 degree angle as far as I could see...meaning at least 500 ft down and more likely 1000+ ft. The trail is sparsely used so it still had leaves covering the rocks and stuff.
Regarding the second paragraph, I really don't have that going for me. I didn't DNF for the usually reasons...physical, nutrition, bad day, etc....I was just too slow. I would have been too slow any day of the week. I could attempt this again and again and the result would likely be the same.
The terrain as Mass sounds identical elevation wise. Mass is more technical with more trail, but not as steep. It's also longer. I would need to hold a similar pace to the pace I couldn't hold this weekend to finish. Still need to mull on this as I'm likely in over my head.
FUBAR
Footballguy
FUBAR
Footballguy
You could try these:
http://totalphoto1.exposuremanager.com/p/2014_instant_classic_trail_race/img_2533_83_4
Yes, those are flip-flops in a trail marathon.
beer 302
Footballguy
Yea I've seen them in some of the trail runs I've done as well as Vibrams. More power to ya fella, Micah True I ain't.
Hang 10
Footballguy
My feet were fine...calves, not so much. I really just think it was the flexibility factor of the shoe.beer 302 said:
Here's the shoe I wore for my last half marathon: http://www.running-style.com/674-2705-large/brooks-pure-connect-2-m.jpg
And here's what I wore my 50K trail race (not flipflops): http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-X0CJDFWiNbA/TpRVQNiw0WI/AAAAAAAANwM/j3SYlNw4Tn4/s1600/Photo+Oct+08%252C+12+41+25+PM.jpg
This is why I didn't think another minimalist shoe would be an issue. The puredrift was a whole other animal. All the shoes have a 4mm drop. The drift can become a zero if you take out the insoles when I didn't.
tri-man 47
Footballguy
The almost casual nature of this comment deserves more love. For normal human beings, the thought of just running 45 miles is beyond comprehension ...much less on a tough, hilly course. But our guy expresses disappointment about having to stop at 45 miles and we nod in agreement ("yup, too bad it couldn't have been more"). We're nuts.
I'm super-impressed with the effort, BnB!!!
beer 302
Footballguy
Agree tri-man, incredibly impressive and not to be taken lightly regardless of the outcome. I haven't had the time to sift through it yet but I really want to see the results of the race and how many finished. A perfect 3-for-3 DNF's for the folks I know points me to suspect this race was one of those that is so tough only inhumans finished it. Below is a cut & paste from a post I made to one of the women. Much respect to all of you."Ah Angela, don't sweat it. There will be more death races for you in the future, it'll be ok.
Ha, say that a few times over & let it sink in, man we are a stupid bunch"
SFBayDuck
Footballguy
Well said, both of you. 45 miles over that terrain is an impressive accomplishment on it's own.
SFBayDuck
Footballguy
I bit the bullet and headed to the local track this morning to perform my first MAF test in over a year - good warmup, then 5 miles at 137-142 HR, with a focus on the mile splits.
The first two tests I ever performed back in the fall of 2012 my average paces (over 4 miles, I didn't even do a 5th) were 12:01 and 12:05. After focusing on it for awhile (running exclusively in that HR zone), I lowered that to 11:14 in December of 2012, and 10:43 in January of 2013. In most cases, the % drop in my pace from the first mile to the last was 14%-19%, which I considered pretty significant.
I haven't specifically been focused on running MAF, but the bulk of my running is done in that zone. So I was interested to see where I stand as I prepare to begin my "official" training block for my fall 100.
Mile 1: 9:39
Mile 2: 10:05
Mile 3: 10:26
Mile 4: 10:37
Mile 5: 10:25
Avg: 10:14
While I was hoping the pace would be faster than that, it was still encouraging to see a :29/mile drop since the last time I tested. Probably not coincidentally that is close to the improvement I made in the WTC50K from last year to this. There was also much less of a drop from the first mile to the last (over an additional 5th mile no less) than when I had tested previously, which I see as a good sign of increased fitness.
As boring as running circles slowly around a track for 50 minutes is, I'm going to try and be consistent with testing this monthly as I go through my training. Hopefully someday soon I'll only have to run 45 minutes around a track to accomplish the same thing. At the very least it'll be interesting data to consider as my training progresses.
The first two tests I ever performed back in the fall of 2012 my average paces (over 4 miles, I didn't even do a 5th) were 12:01 and 12:05. After focusing on it for awhile (running exclusively in that HR zone), I lowered that to 11:14 in December of 2012, and 10:43 in January of 2013. In most cases, the % drop in my pace from the first mile to the last was 14%-19%, which I considered pretty significant.
I haven't specifically been focused on running MAF, but the bulk of my running is done in that zone. So I was interested to see where I stand as I prepare to begin my "official" training block for my fall 100.
Mile 1: 9:39
Mile 2: 10:05
Mile 3: 10:26
Mile 4: 10:37
Mile 5: 10:25
Avg: 10:14
While I was hoping the pace would be faster than that, it was still encouraging to see a :29/mile drop since the last time I tested. Probably not coincidentally that is close to the improvement I made in the WTC50K from last year to this. There was also much less of a drop from the first mile to the last (over an additional 5th mile no less) than when I had tested previously, which I see as a good sign of increased fitness.
As boring as running circles slowly around a track for 50 minutes is, I'm going to try and be consistent with testing this monthly as I go through my training. Hopefully someday soon I'll only have to run 45 minutes around a track to accomplish the same thing. At the very least it'll be interesting data to consider as my training progresses.
Last edited by a moderator:
beer 302
Footballguy
FBG's Race Calendar 2014 in case you are looking for it. I know there has been races so far, fill in the blanks.
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