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Ran a 10k - Official Thread (8 Viewers)
- Thread starter Ned
- Start date
Juxtatarot
Footballguy
@The Iguana Congrats! Aren’t you glad you didn’t do a “fun run”?
But, if it felt “almost easy”, maybe you should have caught the 1:35 pace group!
But, if it felt “almost easy”, maybe you should have caught the 1:35 pace group!
The Iguana
Footballguy
I do more detail on that later. Easy might be a minor exaggeration, but I never thought 1:40 wouldn't happen. A 7:07 mile 13 and a 6:37 pace for the .17 proves to me that I can go faster... I'm so looking forward to giving you far more details than you would ever want in a race report. Stay tuned!
gruecd
Footballguy
If we succeed in making this a brand, maybe we'll hire 50 Cent or some other washed-up rapper to do it.
SteelCurtain
Footballguy
Congrats Iggy!
pressure is on me tomorrow!
pressure is on me tomorrow!
Zasada
Footballguy
tri-man 47
Footballguy
ChiefD
Footballguy
Damn, @The Iguana. Good thing you listened to me and raced that thing. I will take all the credit, other than the part where you crushed that mofo based on your training and the stones in your sack.
So happy for you. Nice work you #BMF.
So happy for you. Nice work you #BMF.
gianmarco
Footballguy
The Iguana
Footballguy
Steel nailed his pace group. Nice!
gianmarco
Footballguy
gianmarco
Footballguy
gianmarco
Footballguy
As most of you could tell already from following Strava, we were away on vacation for a week and a half. Had a great trip and it was really nice to get out and run a few times. Weather was perfect for it in Scotland, mostly in the 50's, only got rained on significantly for one run and it was a nice rain. I realized that I rarely get that kind of rain here as it's usually thunderstorms when we get rain. Some really nice locations to run, particularly Crail, Stonehaven, and Inverness. The bigger cities (Edinburgh and Glasgow) were more challenging to run in. Unfortunately, we only had 2 days in Lisbon and didn't get to run while there even though I wanted to. We did so much walking and just ran out of time. 30K steps on Tuesday (over 14 miles) and close to that on Wednesday with significant elevation on both days helped keep fitness up.
Anyway, back home now and can finally start to get in a groove again. Move is over, trip is over, temps are coming down and kids are in school. I'm going to try and get back to 30+ mpw starting this week until our 15K race in late November. I looked back at my training log and can't believe I've had 7 weeks of pretty low miles after a nice stretch over 2 months. Such is life, I guess. That said, I'm in a good place, feel great almost every time I get out there and I've been enjoying my "slow" running. I don't know if it's ever going to get me much faster but also realized I don't really care. I've learned to embrace the really slow paces and appreciate just being out there every time I go.
I now live exactly 2.5 miles away from a close friend here and running to his house is a decent route. Texted him this morning if he wanted to go out for a few miles and so headed his way. We met up and got out for about 3 miles together and had fun. Unfortunately, I went out a little too fast to start (blistering 11
x pace) and got my HR higher than I intended and felt like I was working harder than I should have been despite great temps, no pressure to hurry back, and good rest last night. How it always seems to happen. Anyway, after finishing with him and my HR already elevated, things felt much easier all of a sudden so I decided to run fast back home for the first time in a long time. I wasn't even sure I'd know how or how it would feel.
That was a pleasant surprise. I wasn't really watching my pace, just occasionally peaking at my HR. I was in the upper 150's, low 160's and felt really, really good. Looking back at the end of my run, I don't think I've ever run those paces as comfortably as I did today. Not that it was "easy", but it felt like something I could hold for much longer than I would have expected before this MAF training. Breathing wasn't labored at all and stride just felt good. Even the hills weren't too taxing. I don't know if it's a combination of the walking/elevation we just did on vacation, fresh legs, lower weight, and/or the aerobic training I'd been doing, but it felt "different" in a good way. It was a little over 20 minutes of progressively faster running after my first 5 miles and I felt wonderful at the end and not tired at all despite hitting my last mile at 7:30ish.
That gave me a little encouragement for the 15K coming up. I still don't have much idea for a goal for that race but I may try something similar in the next few weeks and see if I can replicate this. That said, I haven't raced in months and I'm not really missing it. This training and timing for other stuff came at a good time for me.
Happy Sunday, gents. And great racing this weekend from some of you BMFs.
Anyway, back home now and can finally start to get in a groove again. Move is over, trip is over, temps are coming down and kids are in school. I'm going to try and get back to 30+ mpw starting this week until our 15K race in late November. I looked back at my training log and can't believe I've had 7 weeks of pretty low miles after a nice stretch over 2 months. Such is life, I guess. That said, I'm in a good place, feel great almost every time I get out there and I've been enjoying my "slow" running. I don't know if it's ever going to get me much faster but also realized I don't really care. I've learned to embrace the really slow paces and appreciate just being out there every time I go.
I now live exactly 2.5 miles away from a close friend here and running to his house is a decent route. Texted him this morning if he wanted to go out for a few miles and so headed his way. We met up and got out for about 3 miles together and had fun. Unfortunately, I went out a little too fast to start (blistering 11
x pace) and got my HR higher than I intended and felt like I was working harder than I should have been despite great temps, no pressure to hurry back, and good rest last night. How it always seems to happen. Anyway, after finishing with him and my HR already elevated, things felt much easier all of a sudden so I decided to run fast back home for the first time in a long time. I wasn't even sure I'd know how or how it would feel.That was a pleasant surprise. I wasn't really watching my pace, just occasionally peaking at my HR. I was in the upper 150's, low 160's and felt really, really good. Looking back at the end of my run, I don't think I've ever run those paces as comfortably as I did today. Not that it was "easy", but it felt like something I could hold for much longer than I would have expected before this MAF training. Breathing wasn't labored at all and stride just felt good. Even the hills weren't too taxing. I don't know if it's a combination of the walking/elevation we just did on vacation, fresh legs, lower weight, and/or the aerobic training I'd been doing, but it felt "different" in a good way. It was a little over 20 minutes of progressively faster running after my first 5 miles and I felt wonderful at the end and not tired at all despite hitting my last mile at 7:30ish.
That gave me a little encouragement for the 15K coming up. I still don't have much idea for a goal for that race but I may try something similar in the next few weeks and see if I can replicate this. That said, I haven't raced in months and I'm not really missing it. This training and timing for other stuff came at a good time for me.
Happy Sunday, gents. And great racing this weekend from some of you BMFs.
bushdocda
Footballguy
Sounds like a plan. 30 miles with a day where you ditch MAF and fit some faster miles in between a warm and a cool. Stretch the faster bit by a mile each week. Done.
Edit - welcome back homey.
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gianmarco
Footballguy
Yeah, I was thinking the same.
Also, if there's one thing I've learned from MAF is how big a difference a good warmup makes for me. Any run where my HR has been close to 140 for the start has been a struggle to control the rest of the time. When I keep it lower for the first mile, the rest of the run goes much better.
By comparison, even though I didn't start well for an MAF run, it still served as a great warmup for me to run faster after 5 miles. I've never felt that "strong" that far into a run. From now on, I'm starting any workout with at least one slow mile.
bushdocda
Footballguy
Watching the men’s 10k world champ and other track stuff over football. Legs up. FFA chili in the pot. Kids not raging for the moment. Coldest beer possible in my near future. Pleased with this workouts and volume this week and on the recovery focus to be workout ready in a few days.
Zasada
Footballguy
Zasada
Footballguy
Minor weekend update.
Went for my first massage yesterday. Wasn't nearly as awkward as I expected. Masseuse focused on my butt, as requested, and despite the cliche waterfall sound machine, it was good. She definitely found the part of my butt that's been hollering at me.
At the end of the massage she told me to not run for 48 hours. "You should have told me that before I booked the appointment", I exclaimed. "I have a 5K charity run for work tomorrow". She just laughed and said that I should do what I needed to do, but it's usually best to take a couple of days after a massage to let the muscle recover.
So what would a #BMF do?
Not only run the 5K, but run 16K to the 5K. And then try to PR the 5K. All of your #BMFery this this weekend got me fired-up. You guys are such enablers, and I want to be cool like you.
So while the "race" I was running wasn't timed, it was the same race as my first 5K I ever ran two years ago, so I thought it would be great to PR my 5K here two years later.
Given that I wasn't getting to the mountains today (timing sucked), I decided to run to the run. Had about 30 minutes in-between to chill at the event before the start. Work photos, etc.
I went out, and despite my butt hollering at me the whole time, gave it a go. The course is long (5.3km) so I ran as hard as I could, pegged my HR at 160, and after my watch chimed 5K I shut it down and walked/jogged the last few meters to the finish.
After uploading to Strava, I saw that I got in under 22 minutes. Unofficial, of course, but still satisfying. Will have to go run a timed 5K at some point to log an official time.
Now I'm sitting on my couch, enjoying a shake of some whey protein, frozen strawberries, cacao powder, flaxseed meal, and almond milk. Hoping my flyer on Pats WR Phillip Dorsett pans-out. As of this writing, not so much.
Went for my first massage yesterday. Wasn't nearly as awkward as I expected. Masseuse focused on my butt, as requested, and despite the cliche waterfall sound machine, it was good. She definitely found the part of my butt that's been hollering at me.
At the end of the massage she told me to not run for 48 hours. "You should have told me that before I booked the appointment", I exclaimed. "I have a 5K charity run for work tomorrow". She just laughed and said that I should do what I needed to do, but it's usually best to take a couple of days after a massage to let the muscle recover.
So what would a #BMF do?
Not only run the 5K, but run 16K to the 5K. And then try to PR the 5K. All of your #BMFery this this weekend got me fired-up. You guys are such enablers, and I want to be cool like you.
So while the "race" I was running wasn't timed, it was the same race as my first 5K I ever ran two years ago, so I thought it would be great to PR my 5K here two years later.
Given that I wasn't getting to the mountains today (timing sucked), I decided to run to the run. Had about 30 minutes in-between to chill at the event before the start. Work photos, etc.
I went out, and despite my butt hollering at me the whole time, gave it a go. The course is long (5.3km) so I ran as hard as I could, pegged my HR at 160, and after my watch chimed 5K I shut it down and walked/jogged the last few meters to the finish.
After uploading to Strava, I saw that I got in under 22 minutes. Unofficial, of course, but still satisfying. Will have to go run a timed 5K at some point to log an official time.
Now I'm sitting on my couch, enjoying a shake of some whey protein, frozen strawberries, cacao powder, flaxseed meal, and almond milk. Hoping my flyer on Pats WR Phillip Dorsett pans-out. As of this writing, not so much.
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-OZ-
Footballguy
Zasada
Footballguy
tri-man 47
Footballguy
AAABatteries
Footballguy
I know this is the 10k thread but posting it here anyway. No running since Tuesday but that's because I've been off playing mountain man the last few days.
Went up to the Appalachian Trail again but went backpacking this time for 3 days/2 nights. First day was hot, middle day was brilliant and relatively cool and then last night was kind of cold up on one of the mountains and then got rain/drizzle overnight and throughout today.
Now it wasn't running but I got a hell of a 3-day workout.
Day 1 - 13.86 miles; 3,353 ft. elevation; 6h 9m; 38,475 Steps; 219 floors
Day 2 - 15.61 miles; 4,305 ft. elevation; 6h 42m; 41,373 Steps; 276 floors
Day 3 - 11.14 miles; 2,507 ft. elevation; 4h 28m; 30,184 Steps; 198 floors
Total - 40.61 miles; 10,165 ft. elevation; 17h 19m; 110,032 Steps; 693 floors
I plan to post a write-up in the hiking thread for anybody interesting in hearing about me seeing a 20-something, severely smelly dude's grundle in the backwoods.
Went up to the Appalachian Trail again but went backpacking this time for 3 days/2 nights. First day was hot, middle day was brilliant and relatively cool and then last night was kind of cold up on one of the mountains and then got rain/drizzle overnight and throughout today.
Now it wasn't running but I got a hell of a 3-day workout.
Day 1 - 13.86 miles; 3,353 ft. elevation; 6h 9m; 38,475 Steps; 219 floors
Day 2 - 15.61 miles; 4,305 ft. elevation; 6h 42m; 41,373 Steps; 276 floors
Day 3 - 11.14 miles; 2,507 ft. elevation; 4h 28m; 30,184 Steps; 198 floors
Total - 40.61 miles; 10,165 ft. elevation; 17h 19m; 110,032 Steps; 693 floors
I plan to post a write-up in the hiking thread for anybody interesting in hearing about me seeing a 20-something, severely smelly dude's grundle in the backwoods.
gianmarco
Footballguy
Of note, here are my 2 day totals from Lisbon while walking. That's one hilly city, btw.I know this is the 10k thread but posting it here anyway. No running since Tuesday but that's because I've been off playing mountain man the last few days.
Went up to the Appalachian Trail again but went backpacking this time for 3 days/2 nights. First day was hot, middle day was brilliant and relatively cool and then last night was kind of cold up on one of the mountains and then got rain/drizzle overnight and throughout today.
Now it wasn't running but I got a hell of a 3-day workout.
Day 1 - 13.86 miles; 3,353 ft. elevation; 6h 9m; 38,475 Steps; 219 floors
Day 2 - 15.61 miles; 4,305 ft. elevation; 6h 42m; 41,373 Steps; 276 floors
Day 3 - 11.14 miles; 2,507 ft. elevation; 4h 28m; 30,184 Steps; 198 floors
Total - 40.61 miles; 10,165 ft. elevation; 17h 19m; 110,032 Steps; 693 floors
I plan to post a write-up in the hiking thread for anybody interesting in hearing about me seeing a 20-something, severely smelly dude's grundle in the backwoods.
Day 1 -- 30,560 steps; 14.26 miles, 251 floors
Day 2 -- 22,939 steps, 10.26 miles, 307 floors
Interesting how our steps/miles don't match up well. Wish it would show me elevation.
I'll say it was nice to be able to walk/climb as much as we did and not feel exhausted at the end. No doubt I would have struggled with what we did before a couple years ago. Now, it was fun and it felt good doing it.
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-OZ-
Footballguy
Mid-late 50s. Retired Apache pilot. True BMF.Old friend, or old person who is a friend? Asking for a friend ...
AAABatteries
Footballguy
I'm know the steps are somewhat inaccurate but I'm not sure by how much. What's interesting is my steps are typically in the 2k-2.3k steps per mile range but all of these were over 2500 steps per mile and that make sense as our there with 35 pounds on my back I'm taking smaller strides.
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Zasada
Footballguy
I notice this on the FBG group page. Really impressive.
Not sure if you're a Braves fan, but Soroka is a Calgary boy. Great to see him pitching so well.
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The Iguana
Footballguy
test
does that work here?
does that work here?
AAABatteries
Footballguy
Thanks.
I'm a life-long Atlanta native so I've lived and died with the Braves over the years. Growing up they sucked and then we had an incredible run with only the one championship. They have a really good young nucleus so it's been fun watching them the last two years but they've burned me so many times that I have trouble staying totally invested. I tried getting updates on my phone while I was on the trail but signal was hard to come by.
Soroka has been really good and very happy to see him pitch such a good game. Thankfully with my trip I missed the heartburn of watching that unfold yesterday. I'm cautiously optimistic about this series at this point although it still feels like a Lucy pulling the football away situation waiting to happen.
Zasada
Footballguy
I would just like to point out that you ~3-hour marathoners in here (@gruecd, @Juxtatarot, @pbm107, I'm sure I'm missing someone) are badass. I just realized that my PR 5K pace, which took a ton of effort to hold yesterday, is the same pace you run your marathons at. Respect.
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gianmarco
Footballguy
Not to make you feel worse about yourself, but your pace yesterday isn't the pace they run. Those 3 have run sub 3 hour marathons, which is a sub 6:50 min/mile pace. You "only" ran a 6:58 pace "unofficially".
Yes, it's sick.
Zasada
Footballguy
Snow in the forecast again tonight. Ugh.
Seriously considering taking the next three (four, including today) days off. Not excited about running in the snow again, not excited about treadmill, and my butt (which isn't getting any/much better) could benefit.
This coming weekend is Canadian Thanksgiving, so I'm taking Friday off to cook the turkey and then the rest of the long weekend to eat it. Can get lots of activity in then.
We'll see.
Seriously considering taking the next three (four, including today) days off. Not excited about running in the snow again, not excited about treadmill, and my butt (which isn't getting any/much better) could benefit.
This coming weekend is Canadian Thanksgiving, so I'm taking Friday off to cook the turkey and then the rest of the long weekend to eat it. Can get lots of activity in then.
We'll see.
Zasada
Footballguy
Yeah I saw that in the pace conversion chart but still took some liberties with my statement.
Zasada
Footballguy
On easy runs I'm about 1,000 steps/km. Hover in that 1.0-1.1m stride length range. For my 5K yesterday I was 1.25m per stride. My cadence doesn't vary much by pace. 176-178 on easy runs, 180-182 on fast runs.
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MAC_32
Footballguy
With the time? No. But it's because the race director inexplicably changed the course and added a quarter mile to the race. All of the 5Ker's I spoke with and stalked on strava net 3.2 or 3.3 and all of the 10ker's net 6.4 or 6.5 Control what you can control though. And I was happy with the race that I put down.
Cleveland Heights Happy 10K
To the surprise of no one, I was a big fan of the 10:30 start time. No alarm needed as the neurotism stroll didn't need to happen until 7:30. I sat down with my black coffee, hard boiled egg, and banana at 7:45 and just relaxed on the couch for over an hour. It was the anti race morning. Morning business, quick shower, put on the attire I laid out the night before, grabbed the pre-packed bag, and pre-packed food from the fridge (this is the key to a stress free race morning) then out the door to a race 10 mins from my house. Why can't they all be mid-morning races 5 miles from my house.
Nothing noteworthy pre-race. 10 minute warm-up and a just to be sure round 2 at the porto. This race was a two looper, first half of each loop with a net down hill around 100' then back up to finish. My wife ran it as a tune up to her fall 2018 full and went out way too fast then blew up, so that nugget floating around in the back of my head helped remind me to maintain restraint. Then I heard a skinny dude in a purple singlet at the line saying he intended to go out in 5:50 then we'll see. Perfect, I have a down hill leash to ensure I don't go out too fast. After the dust was settled from the always chaotic first quarter mile purple dude and someone else who was going to start fading soon were right in front of me with a tall drink of water a good block ahead of them. So I just settled in about 2 strides behind purple dude, but unlike him was sure to stay with the tangents - I've never seen someone out front weeble and wobble from side-to-side of the street like this guy. Hit mile 1 a little fast at 5:46, but I was just happy to see that instead of a 5:3X or 5:2X as I've done before.
The descent ended and we turned up a brick road incline. 40' over less than a quarter mile isn't anything to cry about, but it's a heart rate killer in short races. I foot chopped that thing hard in an effort to get the more steadier incline portion no further into the red than I was at the bottom. Once we settled in again on a more tame incline I could tell purple dude was starting to labor some, whether he was doing the 5K or 10K I decided if we get to the turn around mile 2.5 and I see a pace saying 6:XX then I'll surge by him. After hitting mile 2 at 6:03 and seeing a 6:11 pace at that turn I blew by him then tried to find my pace. Clocked that mile at 6:03 then turned into loop 2.
That tall drink of water from earlier, I turned into the loop and saw the bad news. He's running the 10K and he is blocks ahead of me. Oh well, just keep running your race. I was a little concerned when I got to the end of mile 4 and saw 5:56 because that same mile from earlier was 5:46 and this time around was more deliberate and far less restrained. We'll see what the legs have to say when I fire into the ascent in a few minutes. I kept gliding down, but not watching the clock this time. I turned onto the brick road and was happily surprised foot chopping ability was still there. I turned back onto side streets and starting running into 5K congestion, which didn't help with the tangents but crowd support helped maintain focus despite the fatigue. At this point I yanked the music out of my ears and fed off their energy the rest of the way.
I finally peaked at my time less than a quarter mile from the line to see the weird news. I'm already past 10K? My paces on the ascents were 5:5X? WTF. I pressed on then crossed the line more annoyed than anything at 38:30. But looking at the splits after:
5:46 (5:52 GAP) -53' elevation
6:03 (5:58 GAP) -6' elevation
6:03 (5:57 GAP) 28' elevation
5:56 (5:56 GAP) -15' elevation
5:55 (5:53 GAP) -20' elevation
5:57 (5:50 GAP) 33' elevation
5:51 (5:37 GAP) 32' elevation (0.47 miles)
I'm not sure I could have run a much better race. Maybe if I had a leash pre-5K congestion on loop 2. Or if my original leash held it together a little tighter on loop 1. But either or both of those things could have just as easily led to a more labored finish. I won't acknowledge a 10K PR based on strava (36:53), but I am going to prepare for the November half with strava paces in mind and not yesterday's actual time. Sub 80 is probably too aggressive, but it's still in the range of potential outcomes based on the calculators so it's what I'm going to keep training for.
After 8 week of hard training it was nice to hit the pause button, but once recovered I have about 5 weeks of training time left, which is plenty of time for two brutal short cycles. Let's dance.
JShare87
Footballguy
Placing?With the time? No. But it's because the race director inexplicably changed the course and added a quarter mile to the race. All of the 5Ker's I spoke with and stalked on strava net 3.2 or 3.3 and all of the 10ker's net 6.4 or 6.5 Control what you can control though. And I was happy with the race that I put down.
Cleveland Heights Happy 10K
To the surprise of no one, I was a big fan of the 10:30 start time. No alarm needed as the neurotism stroll didn't need to happen until 7:30. I sat down with my black coffee, hard boiled egg, and banana at 7:45 and just relaxed on the couch for over an hour. It was the anti race morning. Morning business, quick shower, put on the attire I laid out the night before, grabbed the pre-packed bag, and pre-packed food from the fridge (this is the key to a stress free race morning) then out the door to a race 10 mins from my house. Why can't they all be mid-morning races 5 miles from my house.
Nothing noteworthy pre-race. 10 minute warm-up and a just to be sure round 2 at the porto. This race was a two looper, first half of each loop with a net down hill around 100' then back up to finish. My wife ran it as a tune up to her fall 2018 full and went out way too fast then blew up, so that nugget floating around in the back of my head helped remind me to maintain restraint. Then I heard a skinny dude in a purple singlet at the line saying he intended to go out in 5:50 then we'll see. Perfect, I have a down hill leash to ensure I don't go out too fast. After the dust was settled from the always chaotic first quarter mile purple dude and someone else who was going to start fading soon were right in front of me with a tall drink of water a good block ahead of them. So I just settled in about 2 strides behind purple dude, but unlike him was sure to stay with the tangents - I've never seen someone out front weeble and wobble from side-to-side of the street like this guy. Hit mile 1 a little fast at 5:46, but I was just happy to see that instead of a 5:3X or 5:2X as I've done before.
The descent ended and we turned up a brick road incline. 40' over less than a quarter mile isn't anything to cry about, but it's a heart rate killer in short races. I foot chopped that thing hard in an effort to get the more steadier incline portion no further into the red than I was at the bottom. Once we settled in again on a more tame incline I could tell purple dude was starting to labor some, whether he was doing the 5K or 10K I decided if we get to the turn around mile 2.5 and I see a pace saying 6:XX then I'll surge by him. After hitting mile 2 at 6:03 and seeing a 6:11 pace at that turn I blew by him then tried to find my pace. Clocked that mile at 6:03 then turned into loop 2.
That tall drink of water from earlier, I turned into the loop and saw the bad news. He's running the 10K and he is blocks ahead of me. Oh well, just keep running your race. I was a little concerned when I got to the end of mile 4 and saw 5:56 because that same mile from earlier was 5:46 and this time around was more deliberate and far less restrained. We'll see what the legs have to say when I fire into the ascent in a few minutes. I kept gliding down, but not watching the clock this time. I turned onto the brick road and was happily surprised foot chopping ability was still there. I turned back onto side streets and starting running into 5K congestion, which didn't help with the tangents but crowd support helped maintain focus despite the fatigue. At this point I yanked the music out of my ears and fed off their energy the rest of the way.
I finally peaked at my time less than a quarter mile from the line to see the weird news. I'm already past 10K? My paces on the ascents were 5:5X? WTF. I pressed on then crossed the line more annoyed than anything at 38:30. But looking at the splits after:
5:46 (5:52 GAP) -53' elevation
6:03 (5:58 GAP) -6' elevation
6:03 (5:57 GAP) 28' elevation
5:56 (5:56 GAP) -15' elevation
5:55 (5:53 GAP) -20' elevation
5:57 (5:50 GAP) 33' elevation
5:51 (5:37 GAP) 32' elevation (0.47 miles)
I'm not sure I could have run a much better race. Maybe if I had a leash pre-5K congestion on loop 2. Or if my original leash held it together a little tighter on loop 1. But either or both of those things could have just as easily led to a more labored finish. I won't acknowledge a 10K PR based on strava (36:53), but I am going to prepare for the November half with strava paces in mind and not yesterday's actual time. Sub 80 is probably too aggressive, but it's still in the range of potential outcomes based on the calculators so it's what I'm going to keep training for.
After 8 week of hard training it was nice to hit the pause button, but once recovered I have about 5 weeks of training time left, which is plenty of time for two brutal short cycles. Let's dance.
Funny you posted just now as I was about to ask where Mac was.
MAC_32
Footballguy
Whoops, didn't write that in the wrap-up, 2nd - tall drink of water actually faded some and only beat me by 48 seconds. I was more than a minute in front of 3rd. No idea who it was. Purple dude won the 5K.
The Iguana
Footballguy
Story time! Get comfortable or scroll fast, this might be long but I'll try to be too wordy!
Fort Ben Half Marathon
preface ended up a little wordy. reveal contents or just go to the race part.
Preface - Last Saturday (9/28) I went out for a 20 miler. Only 2nd time to go that far, went pretty well. Monday I ran 8, relatively easy, didn't feel so good. Wednesday I went 6.6 at about 7:35 a mile hoping it would be "easy" to try it this weekend. Did it but it was far from easy (but it was also about 85*). Thursday did an easy 6 that was not easy then came in here whining for advice on how to run my race on Saturday. Got advice that ranged from "no way I'd race it this close to the full" to rf;dbap! Ultimately also heard what I basically wanted to hear from @Juxtatarot (maybe others too?) - go out at 7:35, see how it feels, be smart and dial it back later if needed. So, I started setting my mind to that mentality.
So, with that in mind, Friday rolls around, race was in a park a couple miles from work. Went over at lunch, picked up my packet and an Arby's roast beef and a chocolate shake for lunch - why I don't know but both sounded good. For dinner I had a father/daughter date night with my 17 yo. We went out for Italian and I had a nice big bowl of spaghetti with a couple meatballs and some mushroom sauce. We also walked around downtown a little, stopping at a board game store and a couple other places getting our
on. Great night and all the while putting myself in the right frame of mind. Got home at a decent hour, played a few games of rocket league and was in bed doing a crossword puzzle or 2 before going to sleep about 10:30 or 11. Dog woke me up about 3 to go outside but I was right back to sleep.
Saturday morning my alarm goes off on my watch, I lay there a couple minutes contemplating the day and then it's time to get ready. Glop a little Vaseline in a couple places and put my compression shorts, running shorts and shirt on. Sat down at the table for a healthy size glass of water, a banana, and a macadamia nut cliff bar for breakfast while perusing the innerwebs a bit. Then into the bathroom for BM#1, brief note to here, go through the checklist to make sure I have everything and out to the car. Drove to the gas station and picked up a large mostly un-sweet ice tea with a little bit of sweet tea mixed in.
When shortly after leaving the gas station I had a choice to go right and up the back way to the race or left and to the interstate. I mistakenly turned left. Drove along without thinking until it was about 45 seconds too late! As I'm on the interstate, I saw a brake light or 60 and remember "oh crap, they are working on this road all weekend and it's shut down ahead! Mini-panic sets in as there are lots of cars in front of me and about a mile +/- to the next exit. I left with plenty of time but not if I end up parked or something. Luckily the traffic actually was flowing reasonably well and I ended up only about 10 minutes behind schedule. Whew! However, the exit was onto the bypass and while driving along there, I came to a second part of construction I didn't know about but there was an exit just before the traffic starting to back up that I was able to take and then just go the back way the rest of the trip...
So, get the parking area. I had a bag I was going to check because it was a decent trek from parking to the race site - about a mile or so. I had planned to use that as my neurostim run, then check the bag for later (along with the long sleeve shirt I was wearing for the cool morning). With the delays, I decided to scrap the bag and the hoody and just get ready for the race and go - which I did. It was a beautiful morning, still dark and a nice little jog from the parking area to the starting area. The neurostim jog also stimulated my digestive system and I needed to visit the bank of port-a-pots. There was a decent line there but I got in with plenty of time, had BM#2 and then wandered over to the starting area.
Spoiler is all pre-starting area. Once actually at the starting area, I am in what I thought was corral A. I'm stretching, re-tying my shoes to make sure all is comfortable, prepping mentally, etc. One of the volunteers notes that corral A is in front of the tape we are buy and a few of us move up and continue prepping. They do a prayer, the national anthem, normal welcome message, etc. In the meantime the pacers show up and around me there is a 1:30 and a 1:35 stick. I'm looking around and the 1:40 stick is behind the tape the guy sent me in front of. I had been chatting with another guy. He has a marathon he is doing is like 3 or 4 weeks and was using the day more as a training run. After seeing the sticks, I say something to him about me wanting to run about a 1:40 and that I think being in front of the line is a mistake. He looks says "yeah, me too" and we both decide to slink back behind the line - pretty smart move on my part, IMO. Plus ahead of the line was really the "elite start" and behind was actually corral A, which is what I thought in the first place...
So, now that I'm where I "should be", I snuggle up next to the 1:40 stick. There's actually 2 pacers - a guy probably my age +/- a few years and a younger blond. They passed the stick back and forth throughout the day. I didn't necessarily plan to run with the pacer - had never tried it before but decided since they were right there, I might as well start off with them - figured it would keep me from getting caught up in the excitement and go out too fast, etc.
As for my running, I'm just cruising along, feeling pretty good. It's basically all downhill for the first 2 miles. I'm feeling comfortable, probably would have gone faster if not for being in the pace group because of excitement and the downhill, etc. Nothing exciting to report.
The first half of mile 4 was still a slight incline, but very mild. The last quarter or so of mile 4 was a noticeable decline. Between the 2, I caught my breath from the hill and reigned the group back in cause the hill wasn't really that bad, and I still felt fine. So, by the end of mile 4 I was back at the front of the pace pack just rolling along.
I decided that if 1:40 didn't happen, it wasn't going to be because I didn't try. If I tried and failed, fine, but I wasn't dialing it back! I felt confident that I could make it happen.
For me there were 2 things - one 1 felt good and was willing to push just a little. 2 I knew when the hill came that I'd prefer to have a little cushion on my time. Even thought I mental make myself "attack the hill" I also know they really slow me down and it doesn't take much of a hill for it to happen. So, during these miles, the chatterbox fell behind me. I could here them for a while then actually not so much. I didn't "lose" them but I did put some distance between me and the pace group.
Another note - somewhere in this part I realized that something funky was up with my HR. No way was it really going down like that. It kinds of freaks me out a little to think about as I'm not really sure what all was going on. Some may have been the watch, but some may have been a circulation issue with me. A lot of this was in shaded woods on paved trails. My arms were a little cold and my hands had a little bit of a "tingle" link when you get cold. It wasn't that cold out there but I knew something was up. I felt fine so figured it was mostly about the watch - I hope that's true but not really sure.
The good part was that in miles 7 and 8, before I realized something really odd was happening, it gave me a huge mental boost to be running this pace with that good a HR going. Then I realized it wasn't real and quit thinking about it - mostly thought about breathing - which was also great - and I was committed to the effort!
So at this point I have a decent buffer built but a bit of a climb looming in the distance...
But for the most part I attacked the uphill and rested on the flat/downhill. I caught a number of people along here but I also could here the pace group catching up to me - pretty sure they had caught me by the end of this mile.
I took a little bit of time to compose myself and get the breathing in order and about the end of the mile I shortened up my stride and started turning my legs over. It was time to go!
I can't adequately express how much fun that was. Nor do I have the ability to adequately express my gratitude to this place. You guys are totally motivated and a true inspiration in this process. Thanks for being along with me in my thoughts on this run and many others. It was fun times!
Results:
Time: 1:38:47
division: 16 of 102
men: 125 of 875
overall: 146 of 1726
Next up - 26.2 at the Monumental - #beatgrue!!!
Fort Ben Half Marathon
preface ended up a little wordy. reveal contents or just go to the race part.
Preface - Last Saturday (9/28) I went out for a 20 miler. Only 2nd time to go that far, went pretty well. Monday I ran 8, relatively easy, didn't feel so good. Wednesday I went 6.6 at about 7:35 a mile hoping it would be "easy" to try it this weekend. Did it but it was far from easy (but it was also about 85*). Thursday did an easy 6 that was not easy then came in here whining for advice on how to run my race on Saturday. Got advice that ranged from "no way I'd race it this close to the full" to rf;dbap! Ultimately also heard what I basically wanted to hear from @Juxtatarot (maybe others too?) - go out at 7:35, see how it feels, be smart and dial it back later if needed. So, I started setting my mind to that mentality.
So, with that in mind, Friday rolls around, race was in a park a couple miles from work. Went over at lunch, picked up my packet and an Arby's roast beef and a chocolate shake for lunch - why I don't know but both sounded good. For dinner I had a father/daughter date night with my 17 yo. We went out for Italian and I had a nice big bowl of spaghetti with a couple meatballs and some mushroom sauce. We also walked around downtown a little, stopping at a board game store and a couple other places getting our
on. Great night and all the while putting myself in the right frame of mind. Got home at a decent hour, played a few games of rocket league and was in bed doing a crossword puzzle or 2 before going to sleep about 10:30 or 11. Dog woke me up about 3 to go outside but I was right back to sleep. Saturday morning my alarm goes off on my watch, I lay there a couple minutes contemplating the day and then it's time to get ready. Glop a little Vaseline in a couple places and put my compression shorts, running shorts and shirt on. Sat down at the table for a healthy size glass of water, a banana, and a macadamia nut cliff bar for breakfast while perusing the innerwebs a bit. Then into the bathroom for BM#1, brief note to here, go through the checklist to make sure I have everything and out to the car. Drove to the gas station and picked up a large mostly un-sweet ice tea with a little bit of sweet tea mixed in.
When shortly after leaving the gas station I had a choice to go right and up the back way to the race or left and to the interstate. I mistakenly turned left. Drove along without thinking until it was about 45 seconds too late! As I'm on the interstate, I saw a brake light or 60 and remember "oh crap, they are working on this road all weekend and it's shut down ahead! Mini-panic sets in as there are lots of cars in front of me and about a mile +/- to the next exit. I left with plenty of time but not if I end up parked or something. Luckily the traffic actually was flowing reasonably well and I ended up only about 10 minutes behind schedule. Whew! However, the exit was onto the bypass and while driving along there, I came to a second part of construction I didn't know about but there was an exit just before the traffic starting to back up that I was able to take and then just go the back way the rest of the trip...
So, get the parking area. I had a bag I was going to check because it was a decent trek from parking to the race site - about a mile or so. I had planned to use that as my neurostim run, then check the bag for later (along with the long sleeve shirt I was wearing for the cool morning). With the delays, I decided to scrap the bag and the hoody and just get ready for the race and go - which I did. It was a beautiful morning, still dark and a nice little jog from the parking area to the starting area. The neurostim jog also stimulated my digestive system and I needed to visit the bank of port-a-pots. There was a decent line there but I got in with plenty of time, had BM#2 and then wandered over to the starting area.
Spoiler is all pre-starting area. Once actually at the starting area, I am in what I thought was corral A. I'm stretching, re-tying my shoes to make sure all is comfortable, prepping mentally, etc. One of the volunteers notes that corral A is in front of the tape we are buy and a few of us move up and continue prepping. They do a prayer, the national anthem, normal welcome message, etc. In the meantime the pacers show up and around me there is a 1:30 and a 1:35 stick. I'm looking around and the 1:40 stick is behind the tape the guy sent me in front of. I had been chatting with another guy. He has a marathon he is doing is like 3 or 4 weeks and was using the day more as a training run. After seeing the sticks, I say something to him about me wanting to run about a 1:40 and that I think being in front of the line is a mistake. He looks says "yeah, me too" and we both decide to slink back behind the line - pretty smart move on my part, IMO. Plus ahead of the line was really the "elite start" and behind was actually corral A, which is what I thought in the first place...
So, now that I'm where I "should be", I snuggle up next to the 1:40 stick. There's actually 2 pacers - a guy probably my age +/- a few years and a younger blond. They passed the stick back and forth throughout the day. I didn't necessarily plan to run with the pacer - had never tried it before but decided since they were right there, I might as well start off with them - figured it would keep me from getting caught up in the excitement and go out too fast, etc.
- Miles 1: 7:33 HR 131; Mile 2 7:30 HR 147
As for my running, I'm just cruising along, feeling pretty good. It's basically all downhill for the first 2 miles. I'm feeling comfortable, probably would have gone faster if not for being in the pace group because of excitement and the downhill, etc. Nothing exciting to report.
- Mile 3: 7:44 HR 154; Mile 4: 7:17 HR 158
The first half of mile 4 was still a slight incline, but very mild. The last quarter or so of mile 4 was a noticeable decline. Between the 2, I caught my breath from the hill and reigned the group back in cause the hill wasn't really that bad, and I still felt fine. So, by the end of mile 4 I was back at the front of the pace pack just rolling along.
- Mile 5: 7:29 HR 158; Mile 6: 7:32 HR 147
- Mile 7: 7:34 HR 139
I decided that if 1:40 didn't happen, it wasn't going to be because I didn't try. If I tried and failed, fine, but I wasn't dialing it back! I felt confident that I could make it happen.
- Mile 8: 7:28 HR 131; Mile 9 7:22 HR 129; Mile 10 7:29 HR 121
For me there were 2 things - one 1 felt good and was willing to push just a little. 2 I knew when the hill came that I'd prefer to have a little cushion on my time. Even thought I mental make myself "attack the hill" I also know they really slow me down and it doesn't take much of a hill for it to happen. So, during these miles, the chatterbox fell behind me. I could here them for a while then actually not so much. I didn't "lose" them but I did put some distance between me and the pace group.
Another note - somewhere in this part I realized that something funky was up with my HR. No way was it really going down like that. It kinds of freaks me out a little to think about as I'm not really sure what all was going on. Some may have been the watch, but some may have been a circulation issue with me. A lot of this was in shaded woods on paved trails. My arms were a little cold and my hands had a little bit of a "tingle" link when you get cold. It wasn't that cold out there but I knew something was up. I felt fine so figured it was mostly about the watch - I hope that's true but not really sure.
The good part was that in miles 7 and 8, before I realized something really odd was happening, it gave me a huge mental boost to be running this pace with that good a HR going. Then I realized it wasn't real and quit thinking about it - mostly thought about breathing - which was also great - and I was committed to the effort!
So at this point I have a decent buffer built but a bit of a climb looming in the distance...
- Mile 11: 7:48 HR 112
But for the most part I attacked the uphill and rested on the flat/downhill. I caught a number of people along here but I also could here the pace group catching up to me - pretty sure they had caught me by the end of this mile.
- Mile 12: 7:44 HR 109!
I took a little bit of time to compose myself and get the breathing in order and about the end of the mile I shortened up my stride and started turning my legs over. It was time to go!
- Mile 13: 7:07 HR 107; Final .16: 6:32 pace
I can't adequately express how much fun that was. Nor do I have the ability to adequately express my gratitude to this place. You guys are totally motivated and a true inspiration in this process. Thanks for being along with me in my thoughts on this run and many others. It was fun times!
Results:
Time: 1:38:47
division: 16 of 102
men: 125 of 875
overall: 146 of 1726
Next up - 26.2 at the Monumental - #beatgrue!!!
The Iguana
Footballguy
weird. thought I only spoilered part of that but it's long so probably for the best!
ChiefD
Footballguy
Well da-di-da I ran such an awesome race oh and by the way my report was so awesome I accidentally forgot to tell you wankers I finished 2nd out of the whole race.....
The Iguana
Footballguy
A few notes - running with the pace group almost felt like "cheating". The help along the way was invaluable! Basically just the occasional info to "relax", some talk about form and such, a story here and there to lighten the mood, everything. Me not looking at my watch 400 times to see where I am pace wise and just trusting the 2 of them to handle it... all that.
Also, about the half way point when my HR got all whacked out on the watch, I quit feeling the vibration of the laps going off so I wasn't actually seeing my actual split times at the miles. It would be gone from the watch by the time I'd note the mile marker and look down. Really have no idea what was going on there... kind of wacky stuff, IMO.
Also, about the half way point when my HR got all whacked out on the watch, I quit feeling the vibration of the laps going off so I wasn't actually seeing my actual split times at the miles. It would be gone from the watch by the time I'd note the mile marker and look down. Really have no idea what was going on there... kind of wacky stuff, IMO.
