Ran a 10k - Official Thread (4 Viewers)

[bushdocda]

Congrats @xulf - cannot wait to get the report on the day. You seemed to make some adjustments to training with they longer goal pace sessions and just look like you nailed it today. Awesome.

@SteelCurtain and @gruecd inspired the elites to go crazy on that London race course. International pacing and racing studs.

Recover well boys.

 

[gruecd]

Fantastic job, @xulf! And @SteelCurtain, rock-solid as always!

 

[gruecd]

One of my friends described London as the “European version of Boston.” He’s not lying. Weather was fine for running but awful for spectating, and yet the people came out in droves.

Highlight of my day was stopping quickly at 25.5 to kiss my wife and kid. Lenka was soooo excited. “Daddy, run!”

 

[Zasada]

@xulf Great race!!! Kick ***. :BMF:

 

[Juxtatarot]

Do you wear a hat when running in the summers? If so, do you have a light-weight, washable recommendation?

 

[BassNBrew]

TLDR - Finished in the top 1/4 in my charity 5k this weekend.

Unimportant details...Due to severe weather 75-80% of the field was a no show.

 

[bushdocda]

Do you wear a hat when running in the summers? If so, do you have a light-weight, washable recommendation?

I have a million running hats and headbands to keep sweat out my eyes. Mission makes good affordable hats I think I really like this one

Cooling Laser Cut Performance Hat

The MISSION HydroActive Max Cooling Performance Hat is the ultimate headwear for cooling comfort and protection from the sun. Only MISSION has HydroActive Max technology that provides 30% greater COOLING POWER for instant cool relief from the heat.

www.mission.com

Headsweats makes similar hats to Mission I think.
And Ciele makes alot of running hats, I think the goCap is the one I like but not 2x better hat than mission to me.

 

[Juxtatarot]

Do you wear a hat when running in the summers? If so, do you have a light-weight, washable recommendation?

I have a million running hats and headbands to keep sweat out my eyes. Mission makes good affordable hats I think I really like this one

Cooling Laser Cut Performance Hat

The MISSION HydroActive Max Cooling Performance Hat is the ultimate headwear for cooling comfort and protection from the sun. Only MISSION has HydroActive Max technology that provides 30% greater COOLING POWER for instant cool relief from the heat.

www.mission.com

Headsweats makes similar hats to Mission I think.
And Ciele makes alot of running hats, I think the goCap is the one I like but not 2x better hat than mission to me.

Can you throw it in the wash?

 

[bushdocda]

Do you wear a hat when running in the summers? If so, do you have a light-weight, washable recommendation?

I have a million running hats and headbands to keep sweat out my eyes. Mission makes good affordable hats I think I really like this one

Cooling Laser Cut Performance Hat

The MISSION HydroActive Max Cooling Performance Hat is the ultimate headwear for cooling comfort and protection from the sun. Only MISSION has HydroActive Max technology that provides 30% greater COOLING POWER for instant cool relief from the heat.

www.mission.com

Headsweats makes similar hats to Mission I think.
And Ciele makes alot of running hats, I think the goCap is the one I like but not 2x better hat than mission to me.

Can you throw it in the wash?

I guess so on gentle or a short cycle and no dryer.
I pour water on my head a lot so not sure I ever really washed it but it would clean up fine with a lil soap and water I reckon without the washing machine maybe jacking up the brim.

 

[tri-man 47]

Do you wear a hat when running in the summers? If so, do you have a light-weight, washable recommendation?

I have a million running hats and headbands to keep sweat out my eyes. Mission makes good affordable hats I think I really like this one

Cooling Laser Cut Performance Hat

The MISSION HydroActive Max Cooling Performance Hat is the ultimate headwear for cooling comfort and protection from the sun. Only MISSION has HydroActive Max technology that provides 30% greater COOLING POWER for instant cool relief from the heat.

www.mission.com

Headsweats makes similar hats to Mission I think.
And Ciele makes alot of running hats, I think the goCap is the one I like but not 2x better hat than mission to me.

Can you throw it in the wash?

I use a couple of different, random running hats ...not really sure the brand or where I got them. But I regularly wash them. I wash my running gear in cool water and a delicate dry cycle, given the fabrics, so the hats aren't taking too much abuse.

 

[Dr_Zaius]

Huh, never considered using a hat for summer runs. Do you hat folk feel that it keeps you cooler? I'd have to think it would help if you're running in direct sun.

 

[Juxtatarot]

Huh, never considered using a hat for summer runs. Do you hat folk feel that it keeps you cooler? I'd have to think it would help if you're running in direct sun.

Yes, plus all of don’t have the flowing locks to protect our scalps like we once did.

 

[JShare87]

Huh, never considered using a hat for summer runs. Do you hat folk feel that it keeps you cooler? I'd have to think it would help if you're running in direct sun.

Yes, plus all of don’t have the flowing locks to protect our scalps like we once did.

I got 99 problems but this ain't one.

 

[tri-man 47]

Huh, never considered using a hat for summer runs. Do you hat folk feel that it keeps you cooler? I'd have to think it would help if you're running in direct sun.

Yes, plus all of don’t have the flowing locks to protect our scalps like we once did.

I got 99 problems but this ain't one.

Alright, alright, alright...

 

[MAC_32]

Do you wear a hat when running in the summers? If so, do you have a light-weight, washable recommendation?

No, but I have about a dozen headbands that absorb sweat MUCH better than a hat. They securely hold in my sunglasses without being uncomfortably tight as well - don't even notice them.

 

[bushdocda]

Huh, never considered using a hat for summer runs. Do you hat folk feel that it keeps you cooler? I'd have to think it would help if you're running in direct sun.

I wet the hat and think it keeps me cooler and less sweat in eyes.

I also have a mop on my head so running without a winter hat, headband or hat hat is not happening.

 

[Juxtatarot]

When my heart rate is higher than expected: Damn this stupid heart rate monitor!

When my heart rate is lower than expected: Wow, I'm in amazing shape!

Example:

Yesterday: 7:16/124 Today: 7:46/137

 

[pbm107]

When my heart rate is higher than expected: Damn this stupid heart rate monitor!

When my heart rate is lower than expected: Wow, I'm in amazing shape!

Example:

Yesterday: 7:16/124 Today: 7:46/137

I hear you, I have been going through a minor crisis of confidence myself in this area, but I don’t put much weight in individual runs. I didn’t have a great start to the year with training, a combination of being a little burned out and coaching my son’s basketball team. Sometime during this training lull, I scheduled my colonoscopy and the first appointment available was the Monday before Broad Street (yesterday), figuring that I wouldn’t be in real racing shape anyway. The colonoscopy went fine with good results.

Anyway, training went better than expected in March being 8 sec/mile more efficient than last March and only 1 sec/mile less efficient than last April. I figured I’d just continue with what I was doing, similar to last year, and I would have a good chance at sub 60 again.

April numbers so far are 8 sec/mile less efficient than March and 9 sec/mile less efficient than April of 2022. I can’t explain why my numbers have gotten worse, my allergies were bad starting the week 4/3, but the past week and a half they haven’t been bad. I feel fine, weight and diet have been good, tempo runs have been fine (not easy but not brutal either). The good news is that my tempo runs and long runs have been efficient, it’s mostly my recovery runs that have been out of whack. It is normal for my recovery runs to be less efficient as they are usually after harder efforts but this is more extreme than usual.

Looking at my 15 day moving average it looks like I peaked this year the days between 3/17-4/1, and last year it was closer to race day 4/7-4/22 without dropping off much before race day. Just another example of once you think you have something figured out you realize you don't.

What am going to do with information, nothing as I’m going for sub 60. If I perform much worse than last year I guess I can say that there were some warning signs. The good news is that it should be raining all weekend so I shouldn’t have much of issue with allergies. Just have to remember to protect the nips. Not sure if the colonoscopy will impact things, I felt sluggish this morning.

 

[gianmarco]

When my heart rate is higher than expected: Damn this stupid heart rate monitor!

When my heart rate is lower than expected: Wow, I'm in amazing shape!

Example:

Yesterday: 7:16/124 Today: 7:46/137

I hear you, I have been going through a minor crisis of confidence myself in this area, but I don’t put much weight in individual runs. I didn’t have a great start to the year with training, a combination of being a little burned out and coaching my son’s basketball team. Sometime during this training lull, I scheduled my colonoscopy and the first appointment available was the Monday before Broad Street (yesterday), figuring that I wouldn’t be in real racing shape anyway. The colonoscopy went fine with good results.

Anyway, training went better than expected in March being 8 sec/mile more efficient than last March and only 1 sec/mile less efficient than last April. I figured I’d just continue with what I was doing, similar to last year, and I would have a good chance at sub 60 again.

April numbers so far are 8 sec/mile less efficient than March and 9 sec/mile less efficient than April of 2022. I can’t explain why my numbers have gotten worse, my allergies were bad starting the week 4/3, but the past week and a half they haven’t been bad. I feel fine, weight and diet have been good, tempo runs have been fine (not easy but not brutal either). The good news is that my tempo runs and long runs have been efficient, it’s mostly my recovery runs that have been out of whack. It is normal for my recovery runs to be less efficient as they are usually after harder efforts but this is more extreme than usual.

Looking at my 15 day moving average it looks like I peaked this year the days between 3/17-4/1, and last year it was closer to race day 4/7-4/22 without dropping off much before race day. Just another example of once you think you have something figured out you realize you don't.

What am going to do with information, nothing as I’m going for sub 60. If I perform much worse than last year I guess I can say that there were some warning signs. The good news is that it should be raining all weekend so I shouldn’t have much of issue with allergies. Just have to remember to protect the nips. Not sure if the colonoscopy will impact things, I felt sluggish this morning.

Hoping you only have 1 ****ty day.

Good luck!

 

[Juxtatarot]

When my heart rate is higher than expected: Damn this stupid heart rate monitor!

When my heart rate is lower than expected: Wow, I'm in amazing shape!

Example:

Yesterday: 7:16/124 Today: 7:46/137

I hear you, I have been going through a minor crisis of confidence myself in this area, but I don’t put much weight in individual runs. I didn’t have a great start to the year with training, a combination of being a little burned out and coaching my son’s basketball team. Sometime during this training lull, I scheduled my colonoscopy and the first appointment available was the Monday before Broad Street (yesterday), figuring that I wouldn’t be in real racing shape anyway. The colonoscopy went fine with good results.

Anyway, training went better than expected in March being 8 sec/mile more efficient than last March and only 1 sec/mile less efficient than last April. I figured I’d just continue with what I was doing, similar to last year, and I would have a good chance at sub 60 again.

April numbers so far are 8 sec/mile less efficient than March and 9 sec/mile less efficient than April of 2022. I can’t explain why my numbers have gotten worse, my allergies were bad starting the week 4/3, but the past week and a half they haven’t been bad. I feel fine, weight and diet have been good, tempo runs have been fine (not easy but not brutal either). The good news is that my tempo runs and long runs have been efficient, it’s mostly my recovery runs that have been out of whack. It is normal for my recovery runs to be less efficient as they are usually after harder efforts but this is more extreme than usual.

Looking at my 15 day moving average it looks like I peaked this year the days between 3/17-4/1, and last year it was closer to race day 4/7-4/22 without dropping off much before race day. Just another example of once you think you have something figured out you realize you don't.

What am going to do with information, nothing as I’m going for sub 60. If I perform much worse than last year I guess I can say that there were some warning signs. The good news is that it should be raining all weekend so I shouldn’t have much of issue with allergies. Just have to remember to protect the nips. Not sure if the colonoscopy will impact things, I felt sluggish this morning.

Did you set off low heart rate alarms after the procedure?

 

[pbm107]

When my heart rate is higher than expected: Damn this stupid heart rate monitor!

When my heart rate is lower than expected: Wow, I'm in amazing shape!

Example:

Yesterday: 7:16/124 Today: 7:46/137

I hear you, I have been going through a minor crisis of confidence myself in this area, but I don’t put much weight in individual runs. I didn’t have a great start to the year with training, a combination of being a little burned out and coaching my son’s basketball team. Sometime during this training lull, I scheduled my colonoscopy and the first appointment available was the Monday before Broad Street (yesterday), figuring that I wouldn’t be in real racing shape anyway. The colonoscopy went fine with good results.

Anyway, training went better than expected in March being 8 sec/mile more efficient than last March and only 1 sec/mile less efficient than last April. I figured I’d just continue with what I was doing, similar to last year, and I would have a good chance at sub 60 again.

April numbers so far are 8 sec/mile less efficient than March and 9 sec/mile less efficient than April of 2022. I can’t explain why my numbers have gotten worse, my allergies were bad starting the week 4/3, but the past week and a half they haven’t been bad. I feel fine, weight and diet have been good, tempo runs have been fine (not easy but not brutal either). The good news is that my tempo runs and long runs have been efficient, it’s mostly my recovery runs that have been out of whack. It is normal for my recovery runs to be less efficient as they are usually after harder efforts but this is more extreme than usual.

Looking at my 15 day moving average it looks like I peaked this year the days between 3/17-4/1, and last year it was closer to race day 4/7-4/22 without dropping off much before race day. Just another example of once you think you have something figured out you realize you don't.

What am going to do with information, nothing as I’m going for sub 60. If I perform much worse than last year I guess I can say that there were some warning signs. The good news is that it should be raining all weekend so I shouldn’t have much of issue with allergies. Just have to remember to protect the nips. Not sure if the colonoscopy will impact things, I felt sluggish this morning.

Did you set off low heart rate alarms after the procedure?

No alarms were set but they did mention that I looked like I was in good shape and most people they see aren't. From the start of the 24 hr fast to when I left the house, dropped 7 lbs (mostly liquid).

 

[xulf]

Glass City Marathon Race Report

This report feels much different to write than Monumental’s.


Prologue:

November’s Monumental was tough. PR’ing with a ~3:40 time was nice, but not at all what I was looking for. So much was out of my control with the weather being in the mid-60s, the rain/wetness, and the wind. The race did not go as planned – I made it 20 miles at pace, then 4 more slower, before having to walk most of the rest of the race. The weather made it really hard for me to distinguish between whether the elements were what caused me coming up short of my goal (<3:20) or if it was my training or my prep/fueling.

I wanted to find another race sooner than later to try and get back at it. Toledo is only a couple hours up the road, and the temps/weather have been historically great for a late April race (I heard that before with Indy).

After Monumental I didn’t “train” until the beginning of this 2023. I still put in good mileage to keep my fitness up and would throw in some runs ~7:30 to not lose too much. I was looking to do a 16-week cycle and more or less, shoot for <3:20 again (using Hanson’s plan again).

I made some adjustments to this training cycle to help ensure success…or at least to know that it didn’t have anything to do with my preparation:

• I increased my GMP by ~5 seconds. Instead of training for a 7:30-7:35 pace, I was going with 7:25-7:30. I wanted to give myself some buffer for extra mileage and in case I started falling off at the end of the race.
• I added 3 miles to every GMP run. Instead of progressing from 6@GMP to 10@GMP throughout, I started at 9@GMP and went through a HM@GMP. Part of the reason I did this was because in my last cycle, I ended up doing a 13@GMP run when I had to skip my interval day earlier the week. I finished that run and thought that there was no way I could do 26 at pace, maybe 20, but not 26 (which is what happened). Also, the Hanson HM plans have you going up to 7 miles, and I felt like I needed to get to at least half the distance of the race to feel confident.
• I added 2 miles to every Sunday long run. The exception was that I replaced two of the 16 milers with 20 milers.
• I only wore my magic shoes (Endorphin Pros and Endorphin Speeds) on my long runs. I wore them for a lot of my GMP runs last training session, and I feel like that is cheating. I would rather train in slower shoes to get the little extra boost on race day. Also, my feet KILLED me during the Monumental. I don’t know if it was from the wetness or lack of time on my feet in those shoes. I felt like by running the long runs in them, I got more comfortable with them for longer timeframes.
• I upped my strength training. Instead of being sporadic with doing these 1-3 times a week (if that) for Monumental, I was much more deliberate this time (and ended up doing 4 workouts a week for the last few months).
• Oz did the pushup challenge in March. I kept going up to my race and knocked out 7,500 in that time.
• I am probably in the second best shape of my life. Only behind when I did 1.5 rounds of P90x ~15 years ago.

Fueling – during Monumental, when I bonked I was STARVING. I was so hungry and just needed calories when I finished. I learned from this and changed my approach.

• For the full week before, I was eating as many “decent” carbs as I could shove in my face. I ate even when I wasn’t hungry, just give me some more bread! I still had some desserts, but I more or less cut the crap out during the day.
• Morning of, I ate a huge PB sandwich, a scoop of PB by itself, 3 mini snickers, a few fruit snacks, and a sour apple dum dum for MAC.
• I trained with no fuel or water this session (even on the 20 milers). Not sure if that is the best thing to do, but it wasn’t hot, so I didn’t need water. After Monumental, I couldn’t stand GUs, so I didn’t want to eat them if I didn’t have to.
• During this race, the plan was a GU at mile 6, 11, 16, and then some fruit snacks at 21 (MACs idea). I followed that.

 

[xulf]

NOW TO THE RACE – this is actually going to be pretty boring, the prep work is what made this for me. Weather was in the lower 30’s with a bit of wind. When I got out of the hotel, I was pretty nervous because it felt SUPER COLD. But, once I got to the course and did a little warm up jog, it felt great.


Miles 1-10: 7:32/7:26/7:23/7:23/7:23/7:23/7:25/7:26/7:26/7:23

Only a few thousands at this race, so it isn’t anything like the Columbus Marathon or Monumental. I was in group 1 and the start went well with not much congestion. I had expected to be in the 7:40s for the first mile, but with little dodging, I came in at an ideal time.

The first few miles rolled by and this section was mainly streets/neighborhoods. My HR was around the mid to upper 150s for this whole stretch, which is right where I wanted to be. I was trying to keep at my training pace of 7:25-7:30, and was right at that or sneaking in just below it. I kept telling myself not to back off at the end of miles if I was slightly ahead, because on this distance, a couple seconds per mile here and there really add up. And, while <3:20 was my goal, I knew if I could keep my pace at 7:25-7:30, I could have a chance at <3:15 if I didn’t add too much mileage and had a burst at the end.

So, what surprised me was that I was keeping right on pace with the 3:15 pacer/group. I knew the math made sense, but I didn’t expect them to be 50 yards ahead of me throughout. I just kept watching them and contemplating if I should try to join them and go for it, or if that would cause me to get crushed later in the race. So, I just ran at my pace, which was essentially the same as them (just a little bit back).

Around mile 6, there were 2 women who were also running right around my pace. One in her 30s with a purple shirt and another in her upper 40s (?) with blue pants. We never talked, but we were always pretty close together. Passing back and forth who was in front of who. It was nice having similar speed runners around, because when I got passed, I knew I must be slowing up and then would hook on them.

Purple shirt ran just like me on the lines to try and cut off unnecessary distance. When I was behind her, I knew I could just follow her path and we were good.



Miles 11-20: 7:23/7:25/7:28/7:26/7:22/7:21/7:25/7:22/7:15/7:25

Annoyingly, this is about the time that I noticed my heart rate monitor was locking into my cadence (or I was dying). Multiple times I took off my watch to stop the reading and then put it back on (a fun thing to do while running). It would go to my normal HR for a bit, then lock back on my cadence. I did this a few times and it never “stuck” to the right HR. I checked it a couple times just to make sure I wasn’t in the upper 160s (which I wasn’t), then just said F it and didn’t mess with it anymore.

This section of the race was through a park, then a neighborhood and out on a main road. I love path running / park running which this race had a bunch of (99% of my runs are on paths/parks at home). These miles again just kept coming off and I was feeling good. Purple shirt and blue pants were still right with me…and so was the 3:15 group. Mile 19 came and there was a big downhill. I knew this was a chance to try and catch up to the 3:15 group and hopefully have them will me to the end. I kicked it in on the down hill with some monster strides and came up right behind the 3:15 group. We then hit a water station that was followed by a turn and for some reason, I got slowed up there. Lost some time, and once I got situated, I had lost that distance I made up and the 3:15 group was up farther ahead of me again.



Miles 21-26+: 7:20/7:28/7:27/7:28/7:39/7:37/7:39

My wife and kids came out to Toledo to experience the race and cheer me on. This is actually the first race I have ran where my wife wasn’t in the same race or a shorter version. They were supposed to find a point around the 11.5 mile marker, but missed me by a couple minutes (because I’m so fast! Or really because they slept in). We looped back around and they were there screaming for me somewhere near mile 21. This was a super awesome pick-me-up!!!

Also at Mile 21, I went for MAC's fruit snack idea. An unforeseen issue happened. They were all hard because of how cold it was outside. They were a struggle to eat, and I only had 4 before I gave up as they made it too difficult to breath while chewing (not so awesome). Lesson learned (though in retrospect I could have held them in my hand for awhile, but my brain wasn't working).

Mentally, this was a tough stretch. I had only made it 20 miles at Monumental before I crashed. I didn’t want to go through that again, but my legs were dead tired. I just kept reminding myself that these are the miles I trained for. Adding to this, even though my times were right in line with what I had been doing, the 3:15 group kept pulling away. They were negative splitting and finishing strong, and I just didn’t have the extra few seconds per mile in me. While I gave some thought to trying to step on the accelerator, I didn’t want to risk blowing up. So, I just fell back into my training pace of 7:25-7:30.

By the last couple miles, I knew 3:15 was out of the question and stepped back a little more. Again, I knew I was going to crush my goal, so why push harder than I had to. I am sure I could have pulled out another few second if I had to, but not a whole minute.

After seeing my family around mile 21, they hopped in the car and headed to the finish. I saw them again right after mile 26 and pushed through to the finish (which is pretty cool because it is on the University of Toledo’s football field).

As an observation, the last 5-6 miles is on a long stretch of running/bike paths. It could be a VERY lonely place if you were struggling. I tried to cheer on and pickup anyone that was walking or looked defeated. I’ve been there. But this was worse because there was no crowd, just you and your pain. Very glad I didn’t have to deal with that this race.


PS – both purple shirt and blue pants beat me. Blue pants probably got in under 3:15 as she was keeping better pace with that group. Purple shirt finished 2 seconds in front of me.



Official time – 3:16:02

PR by >24 minutes

 

[ChiefD]

I just kept reminding myself that these are the miles I trained for.

This line right here. Gives me chills just reading about it because I personally have repeated those words to myself during my final marathon.

And that line sums it all up. You had a plan, nailed the training, and executed the race. Total perfection.

Awesome, awesome job.

 

[Zasada]

Official time – 3:16:02

PR by >24 minutes

Awesome. Love that you came back and got it done, after a challenging Monumental. Race prep was key! Hanson's seems to work for some, but I love that you adjusted to include more long runs, longer long runs, and more running at pace.

Fantastic time, and a smashing PR. On what was already a strong PR. :BMF:

 

[Juxtatarot]

@xulf Congrats again! Do you have interest in running/qualifying for Boston? You’re younger than most of us, right?

 

[xulf]

@xulf Congrats again! Do you have interest in running/qualifying for Boston? You’re younger than most of us, right?

I'm 42 and turning 43 later this year.

I 100% have interest in getting to Boston. For my age, I have to get under 3:10, plus any buffer.

If I understand the rules right, in 2 years (my age 45 year), that BQ time jumps to 3:20. I'm not sure the juice is worth the squeeze to get below 3:10 for next year. It may make more sense just to try and repeat this again in 2025.

...

But, who knows. I'm a bit of a psycho.

 

[tri-man 47]

@xulf Congrats again! Do you have interest in running/qualifying for Boston? You’re younger than most of us, right?

I'm 42 and turning 43 later this year.

I 100% have interest in getting to Boston. For my age, I have to get under 3:10, plus any buffer.

If I understand the rules right, in 2 years (my age 45 year), that BQ time jumps to 3:20. I'm not sure the juice is worth the squeeze to get below 3:10 for next year. It may make more sense just to try and repeat this again in 2025.

...

But, who knows. I'm a bit of a psycho.

So you could run a qualifier in fall'24 or spring'25 for Boston 2026 (eighteen-month window), when you'll be 45. That'd be a reasonable plan. Keep up the strength work; build on the training and knowledge you added for this cycle, and you should be in great shape for a BQ. If you go this route ...I hope to be joining you!

 

[xulf]

@xulf Congrats again! Do you have interest in running/qualifying for Boston? You’re younger than most of us, right?

I'm 42 and turning 43 later this year.

I 100% have interest in getting to Boston. For my age, I have to get under 3:10, plus any buffer.

If I understand the rules right, in 2 years (my age 45 year), that BQ time jumps to 3:20. I'm not sure the juice is worth the squeeze to get below 3:10 for next year. It may make more sense just to try and repeat this again in 2025.

...

But, who knows. I'm a bit of a psycho.

So you could run a qualifier in fall'24 or spring'25 for Boston 2026 (eighteen-month window), when you'll be 45. That'd be a reasonable plan. Keep up the strength work; build on the training and knowledge you added for this cycle, and you should be in great shape for a BQ. If you go this route ...I hope to be joining you!

That sounds even better!

Can race sooner and meet up with @tri-man 47

 

[MAC_32]

and a sour apple dum dum for MAC.

I may be on at least a several year endurance race hiatus, but I am glad to read my influence lives on.

In all seriousness, phenomenal race - your training has been on point. I'm sure if you wanted to you'd get the BQ at the required 3:10 clip...but why do that when you can train for the 3:20 buffer...then smash the 3:10 anyway.

 

[Dr_Zaius]

@xulf Congrats again! Do you have interest in running/qualifying for Boston? You’re younger than most of us, right?

I'm 42 and turning 43 later this year.

I 100% have interest in getting to Boston. For my age, I have to get under 3:10, plus any buffer.

If I understand the rules right, in 2 years (my age 45 year), that BQ time jumps to 3:20. I'm not sure the juice is worth the squeeze to get below 3:10 for next year. It may make more sense just to try and repeat this again in 2025.

...

But, who knows. I'm a bit of a psycho.

So you could run a qualifier in fall'24 or spring'25 for Boston 2026 (eighteen-month window), when you'll be 45. That'd be a reasonable plan. Keep up the strength work; build on the training and knowledge you added for this cycle, and you should be in great shape for a BQ. If you go this route ...I hope to be joining you!

I've got an annoyingly timed birthday from a Boston perspective. If I ever make a go at it, I may try to qualify in fall '25. If I hit lightning in a bottle I can run in '26, but the main plan would be to qualify for '27 with the extra 5 minute buffer for turning 50.

 

[Dr_Zaius]

And phenomenal race @xulf ! I like the mental discipline to not change your plan mid-race for the riskier sub 3:15 attempt.

As an aside, I like if there's a woman running the same pace as me in a longer race, as I feel if we are stereotyping they tend to be much steadier pacers than men. The men seem much more likely to end up with positive splits in my experience.

 

[bushdocda]

@xulf great stuff and great race. The base & strength, MP & long run adjustments, training execution, pre race fueling and race day guts and execution are so awesome to read.
Stoked for what’s next. Did you prefer training for spring race to training for fall?

 

[Brony]

Miles 21-26+: 7:20/7:28/7:27/7:28/7:39/7:37/7:39

My wife and kids came out to Toledo to experience the race and cheer me on. This is actually the first race I have ran where my wife wasn’t in the same race or a shorter version. They were supposed to find a point around the 11.5 mile marker, but missed me by a couple minutes (because I’m so fast! Or really because they slept in). We looped back around and they were there screaming for me somewhere near mile 21. This was a super awesome pick-me-up!!!


PR by >24 minutes

That brings back some memories. Glad you got to enjoy your new PR with your family there. Congrats!!!
Hopefully you got some Tony Packo's dogs for the car ride home.

 

[gianmarco]

Just wanted to give a quick update. Knocked out 4 miles @GMP -10 today.

#ReadyforBerlin

 

[ChiefD]

Just wanted to give a quick update. Knocked out 4 miles @GMP today.

#ReadyforBerlin

Nice work. This training block has been solid for you. You got this!!!

 

[xulf]

@xulf great stuff and great race. The base & strength, MP & long run adjustments, training execution, pre race fueling and race day guts and execution are so awesome to read.
Stoked for what’s next. Did you prefer training for spring race to training for fall?

Hmmm. I dont have a great answer. My 2 best races have been in the spring - HM last year and then this one.

With the sucky conditions at Monumental, I don't have a great gauge for how well I could have done and the prior fall i had COVID right before my race.

I personally like early morning running (when its light out), so summer training is great from that aspect. I don't like heat, but as it gets cooler I get a bump in fitness right before the race just because of lower temps...which is a nice confidence boost.

The past couple of winters have been pretty mild, so not too much snow and ice. But, it's always a lot harder to get the runs in during daylight hours since the days are shorter.

So that's a lot of round about talk to say I don't know. During training I probably prefer the other season

 

[xulf]

Miles 21-26+: 7:20/7:28/7:27/7:28/7:39/7:37/7:39

My wife and kids came out to Toledo to experience the race and cheer me on. This is actually the first race I have ran where my wife wasn’t in the same race or a shorter version. They were supposed to find a point around the 11.5 mile marker, but missed me by a couple minutes (because I’m so fast! Or really because they slept in). We looped back around and they were there screaming for me somewhere near mile 21. This was a super awesome pick-me-up!!!


PR by >24 minutes

That brings back some memories. Glad you got to enjoy your new PR with your family there. Congrats!!!
Hopefully you got some Tony Packo's dogs for the car ride home.

Ha, no dogs for me. I'm pretty sure my family would have not appreciated that.

 

[-OZ-]

Magic May - health conscious, limit drinking; read 10 pages of non fiction; spend at least 30 minutes outside everyday and Kettlebell swings or Burpees.

 

[gruecd]

I hate that I let sports affect me this much. I'm in an awful mood today. Just mad at the world. Probably shouldn't run yet today, but I might not have a choice. Need to burn off some of this angst.

 

[ChiefD]

I hate that I let sports affect me this much. I'm in an awful mood today. Just mad at the world. Probably shouldn't run yet today, but I might not have a choice. Need to burn off some of this angst.

Packers are better off without Rodgers. They'll be fine.

 

[Juxtatarot]

I hate that I let sports affect me this much. I'm in an awful mood today. Just mad at the world. Probably shouldn't run yet today, but I might not have a choice. Need to burn off some of this angst.

Packers are better off without Rodgers. They'll be fine.

Brewers are 16-9.

 

[gruecd]

I hate that I let sports affect me this much. I'm in an awful mood today. Just mad at the world. Probably shouldn't run yet today, but I might not have a choice. Need to burn off some of this angst.

Packers are better off without Rodgers. They'll be fine.

Brewers are 16-9.

I'm done with the Brewers. Despite their most recent FAILURE (yes, Giannis, it was a failure), at least the Bucks' owners will spend the money it takes to TRY to win a championship.

 

[gianmarco]

At this point, you might just want to move and start over.

 

[Sand]

Miles 1-10: 7:32/7:26/7:23/7:23/7:23/7:23/7:25/7:26/7:26/7:23

Miles 11-20: 7:23/7:25/7:28/7:26/7:22/7:21/7:25/7:22/7:15/7:25

Miles 21-26+: 7:20/7:28/7:27/7:28/7:39/7:37/7:39

Since when do they allow robots to run these marathons?

 

[tri-man 47]

Magic May - health conscious, limit drinking; read 10 pages of non fiction; spend at least 30 minutes outside everyday and Kettlebell swings or Burpees.

This works well for me!

 

[Dr_Zaius]

Squeezed in a run before dark while traveling. An hour was not enough time to digest a half rack of ribs, but I survived

 

[Zasada]

I hate that I let sports affect me this much. I'm in an awful mood today. Just mad at the world. Probably shouldn't run yet today, but I might not have a choice. Need to burn off some of this angst.

I won't even watch my (NHL) team's games right now. It bums me out too much. And that's even with incredibly low expectations.

 

[gruecd]

At this point, you might just want to move and start over.

I've heard Nashville is nice.

 

[Sand]

I hate that I let sports affect me this much. I'm in an awful mood today. Just mad at the world. Probably shouldn't run yet today, but I might not have a choice. Need to burn off some of this angst.

I won't even watch my (NHL) team's games right now. It bums me out too much. And that's even with incredibly low expectations.

If you aren't a Rangers fan please step to the back of the line.