Ran a 10k - Official Thread (6 Viewers)

[tri-man 47]

Due to some issues I didn't get to run this weekend, so never got a good slow run in. Intended to do 6 miles this morning at an 11:00 pace. My stomach was gurgling, but I didn't think it would be a problem. I was wrong. Two

Runner's World had an article recently on this ...the recommendation was to drink something warm first-thing, which seems to get things moving along. If my stomach gurgles, I wait until I've addressed it. If I get that first pang while running, I know I've got about a mile before trouble occurs. And as I've mentioned, I basically know where every porta-potty is within several miles of my house.

 

[Brony]

Due to some issues I didn't get to run this weekend, so never got a good slow run in. Intended to do 6 miles this morning at an 11:00 pace. My stomach was gurgling, but I didn't think it would be a problem. I was wrong. Two

Runner's World had an article recently on this ...the recommendation was to drink something warm first-thing, which seems to get things moving along. If my stomach gurgles, I wait until I've addressed it. If I get that first pang while running, I know I've got about a mile before trouble occurs. And as I've mentioned, I basically know where every porta-potty is within several miles of my house.

My stomach is usually very reliable in a good way. On Saturday, I had a coffee induced BM before I left the house to my 5K. All good, right? Wrong. Porta potty line was about 15 people deep at 10 minutes before the gun. Fortunately, the line dwindled to zero at 2 minutes before the start, so I destroyed a porta potty just before the race. So vile. Happy that that was cleared before the race began and that I didn't drop my MP3 player in there!

 

[SFBayDuck]

Anyone catch that new show "100 miles to Nowhere" on animal planet last night? Basically it's following around 3 ultra runners as they film themselves completing 100 mile 4 day challenges through pretty extreme terrains. Last night they were in Provo, Utah and going up and over some serious mountains. Pretty decent show.

Forgot to record it but when I do I'll be assuming Duck is one of the guys.

Definitely made me think of ol' Duck when I was watching. Ultra marathon/trail porn.

Thanks fellas! I found it on OnDemand and just started watching. This looks awesome.

I've run in the Wasatch Mountains once, not a race just a fun run when I was in Salt Lake City for work last year. Those are some big ### mountains, and beautiful country.

 

[SFBayDuck]

Boston dudes - I have a meeting in Groton this Thursday morning, and then might have a few hours free in Boston that afternoon. I was thinking I might try to get in a few miles on the marathon course, any suggestions? I'm staying at the DoubleTree on Washington St.

 

[Ned]

Beer :( :( :( but also hats off to you for still supporting the group through all this.

 

[pbm107]

Duck, this will be my first time running Boston. I am interested in hearing an ultra runner's perspective of the Newton Hills considering the climbs you run regularly. Hopefully your knee is feeling better.

 

[Nigel]

Boston dudes - I have a meeting in Groton this Thursday morning, and then might have a few hours free in Boston that afternoon. I was thinking I might try to get in a few miles on the marathon course, any suggestions? I'm staying at the DoubleTree on Washington St.

How long of a run are you looking to do?

 

[gruecd]

Duck, this will be my first time running Boston. I am interested in hearing an ultra runner's perspective of the Newton Hills considering the climbs you run regularly. Hopefully your knee is feeling better.

As an (occasional) ultra runner myself, I'll say this about the Newton Hills. If you're running just the Newton Hills, they're really no big deal. The problem is where they're located in the race and the fact that your legs are already trashed from the nonstop rolling hills in the first 18 miles.

 

[tri-man 47]

Duck, this will be my first time running Boston. I am interested in hearing an ultra runner's perspective of the Newton Hills considering the climbs you run regularly. Hopefully your knee is feeling better.

Duck, if you're ambitious, you could take a train out to Newton and run the final 10 miles into the city. The train station would drop you just before the turn by the Newton fire station. You'd run the hill section, go by Boston College, then head into the city and toward the Citgo sign. Another option, assuming you have a car, is to drive to Hopkinton and run the first few miles (and back) to experience the start of the race.

pbm, I agree with grue - the hills aren't big hills, and they're actually spread out quite a bit. It's all about location, location, location ...and to some degree, reputation. Heartbreak Hill only refers to a race disappointment for a local favorite decades ago; not the challenge of the hill itself. I recall getting to the top of that hill (which is at an entrance to Boston College) and wondering 'was that HH?' I think it was the downhill right after that (and by the craaazy BC students) that did the most damage for me when I ran in 2011.

 

[worrierking]

Hi guys. Long time absent. I am in a crazy period of work and family stuff. I am still not running due to the Achilles/calf thing. I am determined not to start running again too soon and aggravate it again, so I will likely be out a few more weeks. The pain (which has never been severe) is almost gone, but I am going to be very smart about this since it has already ruined my marathon season (the big comeback). I am swimming a mile two or three times a week to try not to gain too much weight while I can't run. Maybe starting to look at some fall races.

Looks like some great stuff still going on. Brony, how is the calf? Was your surgery a complete success?

Beer, sorry to hear about the knee. I got similar news about my hip last summer and while I can't say I have been fully able to keep going, I can say that I haven't given up. I fully understand the emotional part.

I feel bad about not being here to support everybody, since you guys were so helpful during my crisis. I am getting my work back under control and should have more goofing off on the web time now.

 

[Nigel]

Duck another option assuming you have a car and flexibility to go straight from Groton is to take route 2 to 128 South and get off the route 16 exit towards Newton. Park at or near Newton Wellesley Hospital which is near the exit and around mile 16.5. Then run to Comm Ave/the Firehouse and take a right (cross the street and run on the carriage road parallel to Comm Ave where there will be very little traffic) and take that to mile 21(BC / top of Heartbreak) and back. That would give you a good sense of the meat of the course and is kind of on your way back from Groton to Boston. If you want to shorten just drive to Comm Ave and find street parking, shouldn't be too hard.

Eta: if this works and depending on your timing I might be able to join you if you wanted company

 

[SFBayDuck]

Thanks Nigel and Tri, that's exactly the insider intel I was looking for. I'd love to get in 10-12 miles or so, but it depends on 1) what the PT says about my knee when I go see him later this morning and 2) how much time I actually end up having on Thursday.

And there is no comparing of hills with what I do, it's just a different kind of race altogether. I was wearing a Way Too Cool 50K shirt at a deli yesterday and the guy behind the counter knew of the race and was asking me about it and giving me props. He said he "only runs marathons" and I responded by saying I didn't because road marathons are too hard!

On a semi-related note I just realized I don't currently have any road shoes at all - just three pairs of trail Hokas that I rotate through. I suppose one of them will have to do.

 

[pbm107]

Grue and Tri-man thanks for the feedback about the hills. It is in agreement with everything I have been hearing about the course. A coworker of mine mentioned that he had a lot of difficulty with the downhill after Heartbreak.

I suspect Duck would be unimpressed with the hills on the course.

 

[ChiefD]

Holy smokes I'm antsy already, and it's only Tuesday. Man this is one of the best feelings of the year. Saturday can't get here soon enough.

 

[tri-man 47]

So the topic of running came up in the graduate cost management class that I teach. Almost half of the class are getting a dual degree in dietetics and business. One of those students is also a runner, and she's rather eagerly offering advice and comments regarding nutrition. She mentioned Picky Bars:

http://pickybars.com/

Anyone heard of them or tried them? Duck? I decided to order some to see how they are. This student is interning at Lifeway, and so she is also pushing Lifeway Kefir. Anyone drink kefir? This is all rather cool ..I feel like I've got my own nutritionist here.

 

[BassNBrew]

Jeez there was some racing going on up in here today! Nice job brony, tri & Sand! Sorry to hear about you still battling the knee Duck, don't you have a 100 this fall you should be kicking off training for?

Final Quest 5k

Aptly named now that I look at it. This was the culmination of a couch to 5k program I started at our church back in late January. Very proud of the group that stuck with it. We started out with all kinds of interest but when the proverbial rubber hits the road quite a few bailed. There were 10 racers with me today and they were all over the place goal wise. We had two 1st place AG awards so pretty happy about that although one of them was by an ultra buddy who doesn't have a lot of competition as he's over 60 but I'm still claiming it for the group. I wasn't going to post any pics of me running like some of you have been but as luck would have it, two of the best pics of me running were taken today.

Ultra friend snapped this pic of me running alongside a almost deaf & almost blind friend of mine right at the finish, ignore me being a #####. I stayed with her the whole race because she has no depth perception so any little undulation in the road or small pothole causes her to lose her balance. On top of the she has a cochlear implant but with the outside noise, the wind and just trying to run & talk it was very difficult to communicate at times. She did great though, this was right as we neared the finish line. I told her she had to save enough to be able to run across the finish line so with about a 1/4 mile left we picked up the pace but as we rounded the final corner she was gassed and started walking. Unfortunately she couldn't see that the finish line was right there so I was yelling like a mad man until she understood and started running again. I dropped her off at the line making sure not to cross because I had to go back to get our last runner.

This is us finishing up her first 5k at the age of 60. I was worried she wasn't going to make it but she had a goal of 50 minutes and we came in at 48 & change. Her son will be running Boston with some of you and he met us with about 1/4 mile to go and ran her in with us. Pretty awesome moment for everyone and I gotta say one of the coolest things I've been able to be a part of as a runner. I've always enjoyed helping/coaching and seeing a smile like that, well I don't know how to top it.

I mentioned the name of the race earlier, the Final Quest. As some of you might remember I hurt my knee at the end of February and haven't been running at all since. I finally saw the ortho last week and the xrays of my knees were pretty depressing. I know I tore something in it but the side by side comparison between my & good bad knee is stark. My right knee is essentially bone on bone on about a 1/4 of it. The doc looked at it and couldn't understand how I was running 35-40 mile weeks pain free with it being as bad as it is. He followed that by saying my running days are probably done. I have an MRI on the 22nd to really illuminate what all needs to be done but it won't fix the major problem. My knee is still in good enough shape that it doesn't warrant replacement and frankly, it doesn't hurt. It just feels incredibly unstable but that is due more to the tear than the bone issue. I've been pretty messed up about it since my appointment so this last race was kind of nice finish I guess. It felt so good to run again today, I didn't realize how much I missed it but even jogging with this group at a 14 minute pace was great. I just wanted to keep going.

I've told a handful of my running buddies around here that have asked but for the most part kept it to myself. I'm kind of lost right now, throwing myself back into lifting again as something to fill the void. I'm going to start some stationary bike work this week just to do something to keep my cardio up and then I don't know...the summer will be rehabbing the knee after surgery and then figuring out whats next. If you've gotten this far, thanks. That's why I keep coming back to this thread, you guys are the best.

Dang it Beer, sorry to hear this. Time to take up cycling and join Sand and I for a century ride.

 

[Brony]

Hi guys. Long time absent. I am in a crazy period of work and family stuff. I am still not running due to the Achilles/calf thing. I am determined not to start running again too soon and aggravate it again, so I will likely be out a few more weeks. The pain (which has never been severe) is almost gone, but I am going to be very smart about this since it has already ruined my marathon season (the big comeback). I am swimming a mile two or three times a week to try not to gain too much weight while I can't run. Maybe starting to look at some fall races.

Looks like some great stuff still going on. Brony, how is the calf? Was your surgery a complete success?

Good to hear from you wk! I agree with your decision to come back slow. Think long term (which is tough when the weather improves and the belly is still there).

Thanks for asking about calf. It's doing pretty well. Symptoms are different from last year which in itself is great after a 20+ year pattern of similar symptoms showing after every single run. I still have some pain in the upper calf but it's pretty minimal and usually rears its head only after I pushed things too hard. There is zero pain if I just do 2 or 3 miles. I'm still obviously doing something that is causing my right lateral gastroc to work overtime when I run, but the surgery has definitely helped the leg handle that workload better than before. I'm still at every other day running for the next few weeks.

I'm working on strengthening the ankle and quad muscles so that the calf is doing a little less work. While it's not making things worse for sure, I don't know if it's helping that much. I hand massage the calf after each run and I don't go overboard with excessive stretching of it. Hand massage seems to work better than the stick.

TLDR - calf is doing really good but not cured.

 

[SFBayDuck]

Jeez there was some racing going on up in here today! Nice job brony, tri & Sand! Sorry to hear about you still battling the knee Duck, don't you have a 100 this fall you should be kicking off training for?

Final Quest 5k

Aptly named now that I look at it. This was the culmination of a couch to 5k program I started at our church back in late January. Very proud of the group that stuck with it. We started out with all kinds of interest but when the proverbial rubber hits the road quite a few bailed. There were 10 racers with me today and they were all over the place goal wise. We had two 1st place AG awards so pretty happy about that although one of them was by an ultra buddy who doesn't have a lot of competition as he's over 60 but I'm still claiming it for the group. I wasn't going to post any pics of me running like some of you have been but as luck would have it, two of the best pics of me running were taken today.

Ultra friend snapped this pic of me running alongside a almost deaf & almost blind friend of mine right at the finish, ignore me being a #####. I stayed with her the whole race because she has no depth perception so any little undulation in the road or small pothole causes her to lose her balance. On top of the she has a cochlear implant but with the outside noise, the wind and just trying to run & talk it was very difficult to communicate at times. She did great though, this was right as we neared the finish line. I told her she had to save enough to be able to run across the finish line so with about a 1/4 mile left we picked up the pace but as we rounded the final corner she was gassed and started walking. Unfortunately she couldn't see that the finish line was right there so I was yelling like a mad man until she understood and started running again. I dropped her off at the line making sure not to cross because I had to go back to get our last runner.

This is us finishing up her first 5k at the age of 60. I was worried she wasn't going to make it but she had a goal of 50 minutes and we came in at 48 & change. Her son will be running Boston with some of you and he met us with about 1/4 mile to go and ran her in with us. Pretty awesome moment for everyone and I gotta say one of the coolest things I've been able to be a part of as a runner. I've always enjoyed helping/coaching and seeing a smile like that, well I don't know how to top it.

I mentioned the name of the race earlier, the Final Quest. As some of you might remember I hurt my knee at the end of February and haven't been running at all since. I finally saw the ortho last week and the xrays of my knees were pretty depressing. I know I tore something in it but the side by side comparison between my & good bad knee is stark. My right knee is essentially bone on bone on about a 1/4 of it. The doc looked at it and couldn't understand how I was running 35-40 mile weeks pain free with it being as bad as it is. He followed that by saying my running days are probably done. I have an MRI on the 22nd to really illuminate what all needs to be done but it won't fix the major problem. My knee is still in good enough shape that it doesn't warrant replacement and frankly, it doesn't hurt. It just feels incredibly unstable but that is due more to the tear than the bone issue. I've been pretty messed up about it since my appointment so this last race was kind of nice finish I guess. It felt so good to run again today, I didn't realize how much I missed it but even jogging with this group at a 14 minute pace was great. I just wanted to keep going.

I've told a handful of my running buddies around here that have asked but for the most part kept it to myself. I'm kind of lost right now, throwing myself back into lifting again as something to fill the void. I'm going to start some stationary bike work this week just to do something to keep my cardio up and then I don't know...the summer will be rehabbing the knee after surgery and then figuring out whats next. If you've gotten this far, thanks. That's why I keep coming back to this thread, you guys are the best.

Dang it Beer, sorry to hear this. Time to take up cycling and join Sand and I for a century ride.

Yeah, I hate reading the stuff about injuries like this, as we all know it's a possibility at some point. Good for you for the attitude you have in helping others. Good luck.

 

[SFBayDuck]

Thanks for asking about calf. It's doing pretty well. Symptoms are different from last year which in itself is great after a 20+ year pattern of similar symptoms showing after every single run. I still have some pain in the upper calf but it's pretty minimal and usually rears its head only after I pushed things too hard. There is zero pain if I just do 2 or 3 miles. I'm still obviously doing something that is causing my right lateral gastroc to work overtime when I run, but the surgery has definitely helped the leg handle that workload better than before. I'm still at every other day running for the next few weeks.

I'm working on strengthening the ankle and quad muscles so that the calf is doing a little less work. While it's not making things worse for sure, I don't know if it's helping that much. I hand massage the calf after each run and I don't go overboard with excessive stretching of it. Hand massage seems to work better than the stick.

TLDR - calf is doing really good but not cured.

I think you're going about this the right way - the issue with your calf is most likely being caused by an imbalance or weakness somewhere else. When I mentioned my perpetually tight gastrocs to a PT awhile back, she immediately started talking about weakness or tightness in the hips as a likely cause.

 

[Brony]

Thanks for asking about calf. It's doing pretty well. Symptoms are different from last year which in itself is great after a 20+ year pattern of similar symptoms showing after every single run. I still have some pain in the upper calf but it's pretty minimal and usually rears its head only after I pushed things too hard. There is zero pain if I just do 2 or 3 miles. I'm still obviously doing something that is causing my right lateral gastroc to work overtime when I run, but the surgery has definitely helped the leg handle that workload better than before. I'm still at every other day running for the next few weeks.

I'm working on strengthening the ankle and quad muscles so that the calf is doing a little less work. While it's not making things worse for sure, I don't know if it's helping that much. I hand massage the calf after each run and I don't go overboard with excessive stretching of it. Hand massage seems to work better than the stick.

TLDR - calf is doing really good but not cured.

I think you're going about this the right way - the issue with your calf is most likely being caused by an imbalance or weakness somewhere else. When I mentioned my perpetually tight gastrocs to a PT awhile back, she immediately started talking about weakness or tightness in the hips as a likely cause.

I've been admittedly stubborn for a long time that my injury couldn't be due to running form since I ran for many years with no problems and the calf problem appeared with zero change in running form. I'm now more appreciative that, for example, a left knee ACL tear or a spinal imbalance could have cascade effects to the right calf. It's not intuitive for sure. My case is all the more curious since I would get calf symptoms while swimming or biking which is why the compartment syndrome thing makes sense.

 

[SFBayDuck]

So the topic of running came up in the graduate cost management class that I teach. Almost half of the class are getting a dual degree in dietetics and business. One of those students is also a runner, and she's rather eagerly offering advice and comments regarding nutrition. She mentioned Picky Bars:

http://pickybars.com/

Anyone heard of them or tried them? Duck? I decided to order some to see how they are. This student is interning at Lifeway, and so she is also pushing Lifeway Kefir. Anyone drink kefir? This is all rather cool ..I feel like I've got my own nutritionist here.

Now you're in trouble, as this enters into an area I've spent a fair amount of time on. After all, the name of my fantasy football team this past year was Mitochondrial Density.....

I haven't tried Picky Bars, but yes I'm familiar with them. My local running store has been carrying them for awhile now and several people I know love them. They are obviously focusing on runners and outdoor athletes, and recently announced their team of sponsored athletes which includes ultrarunners Rob Krar, Alex Varner, and Denise Bourassa, along with track guys Nick Symmonds and Andrew Wheating.

I view them as part of what I've seen increasingly over the past year or two in terms of a focus on "real food" or other alternatives to the standard gels and sports drinks for endurance training and racing. I'm not sure there is much (any?) science that shows that they actually improve performance, and guys like Matt Fitzgerald argue that only simple sugars have really been shown to do so. The first study I'm aware of on alternative fueling (FASTER=Fat-Adapted-Substrate oxidation in-Trained-Elite-Runners) was focused on fat-as-fuel and metabolic efficiency, and that's driving a lot of the interest in ways to do this stuff that doesn't include a gel every 20 minutes. Combine that with an increase in acceptance of the theory that inflammation is the primary cause of cardiovascular disease and that sugars are the biggest culprit in causing inflammation, and a lot of people are buying into the potential long term health benefits of "real food" that is more balanced in terms of macronutrient ratios and that isn't highly processed and stripped of vital micronutrients - even if performance isn't necessarily aided.

Some that I've come across:

Epic Bars are grass fed meat bars, basically, with some fruit and/or nuts mixed in. They sponsor two-time WS100 winner Timmy Olsen. I do like them after runs as a savory recovery option, but not so much during a run.

Feed Zone Portables is a collection of recipes to make your own real-food options for training and racing. I made a ####load of the tarragon chicken rice cakes and blueberry-chocolate rice cakes for my 100 miler, and did like them when I could get anything down.

Nut butters - These are particularly popular in the "fat as fuel" or ketogenic crowd. I've used Pocket Fuel on long runs, and I know Justin's is pretty popular and readily available.

Other Fat-based gels and products - Ben Greenfield did a good overview last year of some of the options, which include Pocket Fuel and Justin's. I've also tried VFuel and use Vespa, although that isn't technically a fuel but more of a supplement.

Our old friends at Cliff Bar recently came out with Organic Energy Food in flavors like Pizza Margherita and Sweet Potato with Sea Salt. I tried the Pizza one at a race and it tasted pretty good, but I'm not sure how easy it would go down at mile 20 in a road marathon.

Superstarches - while these are very much not real food as they are highly engineered, I think UCAN in particular is interesting in that it is specifically designed to provide carbohydrate without an impact on insulin levels, allowing maximal fat oxidation and minimizing inflammation.

And then of course you can go really old school and eat bananas, orange slices, peanut butter, potatoes, and raisins. I have no links for those.

tldr; I've heard Picky Bars are good but haven't tried them yet.

 

[The Commish]

I made it 25 minutes today and I felt pretty good doing it. Though, when I was done running and was doing my walking cool down I had the slightest of sensations that my legs weren't there. They didn't hurt or anything. It was weird. I could have probably gone further too so I was pretty excited. I'm now over two miles of running.

 

[The Commish]

What's with the numbness (I guess that's how I'd describe it?)? Am I going to die? Do I need to update my will?

 

[Cold Dead Hands]

What's with the numbness (I guess that's how I'd describe it?)? Am I going to die? Do I need to update my will?

Probably.

 

[Cold Dead Hands]

Tried for 6 miles at 11:06 pace but ran out of time. I got 4.75 in at that pace and could have hit 6 fairly easily. The short stride and slow pace made me want to punch a kitten. Felt like I wasn't moving even though it was only an extra minute per mile over my old pace. Going to take some getting used to.

 

[ChiefD]

Tried for 6 miles at 11:06 pace but ran out of time. I got 4.75 in at that pace and could have hit 6 fairly easily. The short stride and slow pace made me want to punch a kitten. Felt like I wasn't moving even though it was only an extra minute per mile over my old pace. Going to take some getting used to.

That means you did this run perfectly. All of us has experienced that before. But that distance running at the slower pace is going to help you tremendously. Nice work.

 

[MAC_32]

My wife wants the rain to stop. My running clothes hamper has been demoted from the utility side of the basement to the garage.

So. Much. Mud.

 

[Nigel]

I ran 5 early this morning at 7:50 pace which is fast for me. But it felt so easy, strangely easy, wanted to go faster...I was pumped. I stretched, showered then went to take my morning dose of Sotalol (a beta blocker) and realized I'd forgotten to take my 7pm dose last night. First dose I'd missed in 6 months. I checked the HR data and sure enough I averaged almost 20 beats higher than normal, my heart beating freely without the meds.

The risk of course is that I could have gone into a-fib. But I didn't, and it's a frustrating look into how much better I could perform without the drugs dragging me down. So tempting to cut the dose in half marathon morning but I know that would be pretty stupid.

 

[Cold Dead Hands]

I ran 5 early this morning at 7:50 pace which is fast for me. But it felt so easy, strangely easy, wanted to go faster...I was pumped. I stretched, showered then went to take my morning dose of Sotalol (a beta blocker) and realized I'd forgotten to take my 7pm dose last night. First dose I'd missed in 6 months. I checked the HR data and sure enough I averaged almost 20 beats higher than normal, my heart beating freely without the meds.

The risk of course is that I could have gone into a-fib. But I didn't, and it's a frustrating look into how much better I could perform without the drugs dragging me down. So tempting to cut the dose in half marathon morning but I know that would be pretty stupid.

A guy from church just died this past weekend running on the local track. Heart attack. No prior history that I know of. Definitely don't follow that temptation.

 

[Ned]

I was down in Tampa for our annual Easter trip and caught a nasty stomach bug. Spent the entire weekend in bed while everyone had fun in the sun. I went for a run on Saturday AM and felt like total dogsh##. I knew there was something wrong, but oooooof. :X I had all the intention of running 4 of the 5 days I was down there, but that didn't happen.

Getting caught up with y'all now.....

Brony - Great to see you're calf progressing! I can't believe how fast you already are post-sugery.

Tri - Glad to see you back to your mongering ways!

Duck - Hope the knee gets better soon. Great post on the nutrition. You know I'm big time in the camp of fat as fuel.

Sand - Awesome job on the century!! I may be venturing into the cycling world here shortly.........

pbm - Dude, you're going to kill Boston.

Nigel - So awesome to see your progress. Such an amazing/inspiring story!

Chief - Really excited for you! Can't wait to see all of your hard work pay off on race day.

prosopis - Good to see you poke in and congrats on the wife/daughter!

phatdawg - Another huge success story. Congrats!

 

[Ned]

How do I continue to improve on my times, besides the obvious run more?

Are you thinking more like 5K's and 10K's? Or more like 10 miles+?

Do you have any other health/fitness goals?

I think 10+ miles. I guess a short-term goal (2015) would be a 1/2 marathon at 7:30/mile, so I would need to run 5.1 miles farther than I did yesterday and cut 35 seconds off my per mile pace. I'm not sure if that's a lot or not? My biggest obstacle is time. I have little time during the week, so I would probably have to start running at like 6AM.

You've got some talent to be running like that with so little training volume under your belt.

Short answer to your question - run slow to get faster. It sounds counter-intuitive, but it's the truth. Check out the OP - there are some good links listed that should get you going.

 

[Ned]

I updated the OP to include our Boston bibs that I know of to make it easy to sweat on race day. Shoot me your bib number and I'll update it.

 

[Annyong]

I updated the OP to include our Boston bibs that I know of to make it easy to sweat on race day. Shoot me your bib number and I'll update it.

8675309

 

[Ned]

I updated the OP to include our Boston bibs that I know of to make it easy to sweat on race day. Shoot me your bib number and I'll update it.

8675309

Might want to give the BAA a call. I did a lookup on that bib # and didn't see you listed.

 

[MAC_32]

I updated the OP to include our Boston bibs that I know of to make it easy to sweat on race day. Shoot me your bib number and I'll update it.

8675309

Might want to give the BAA a call. I did a lookup on that bib # and didn't see you listed.

Ask for Jenny, she's usually helpful.

 

[ChiefD]

I updated the OP to include our Boston bibs that I know of to make it easy to sweat on race day. Shoot me your bib number and I'll update it.

8675309

Might want to give the BAA a call. I did a lookup on that bib # and didn't see you listed.

Ask for Jenny.

 

[Hang 10]

Ask for penis.

 

[Cold Dead Hands]

Ask for penis.

She didn't have any.

 

[Ned]

I updated the OP to include our Boston bibs that I know of to make it easy to sweat on race day. Shoot me your bib number and I'll update it.

8675309

Might want to give the BAA a call. I did a lookup on that bib # and didn't see you listed.

Ask for Jenny, she's usually helpful.

Jenny only handles number changes.

 

[The Commish]

Hey...Screw Jenny. I want to know why I can't feel my legs and if I can expect this more often the further I run....TIA

 

[Annyong]

Hey...Screw Jenny. I want to know why I can't feel my legs and if I can expect this more often the further I run....TIA

I don't know if I've ever felt that before.

 

[Hang 10]

Hey...Screw Jenny. I want to know why I can't feel my legs and if I can expect this more often the further I run....TIA

See if it happens again before worry too much about it. I've had a numb foot whilst running a couple times but it's a rare occurrence.

 

[pbm107]

Ran my last tempo run of the training cycle today, a little slower than last week but I wasn't working as hard. I am feeling pretty good about my fitness right now considering in my most recent half my pace was 6:43 at 170.

Four miles at tempo: 6:25 154, 6:22 166, 6:19 168, and 6:18 170.

 

[Ned]

Ran my last tempo run of the training cycle today, a little slower than last week but I wasn't working as hard. I am feeling pretty good about my fitness right now considering in my most recent half my pace was 6:43 at 170.

Four miles at tempo: 6:25 154, 6:22 166, 6:19 168, and 6:18 170.

I've posted it many times, but I always knew I was in prime shape when that first LT mile was a relatively low HR.

 

[beer 30]

What's with the numbness (I guess that's how I'd describe it?)? Am I going to die? Do I need to update my will?

It's called getting your fat ### in shape

Tape an aspirin to it and run more. Nobody ever said you had to have feeling in your legs to be able to run!

Update the will just in case

 

[tri-man 47]

I want to know why I can't feel my legs and if I can expect this more often the further I run....TIA

Commish, while it could just be a function of your recent training improvements, it seems you should keep alert to the possibility of a nerve issue or something more systemic (based on reading a number of commentaries on the matter). Keep track as to whether this always occurs, and always occurs in the same spot(s), or if it comes and goes. Maybe it would help to do some stretching after your run as a way to get good circulation back. On non-running days, it could help to stretch or do some sort of strength work. I wouldn't panic, but from what I read, it's not something to ignore, either.

 

[Sand]

Sand - Awesome job on the century!! I may be venturing into the cycling world here shortly.........

Closest thing a human can get to flying.

 

[Ned]

Sand - Awesome job on the century!! I may be venturing into the cycling world here shortly.........

Closest thing a human can get to flying.

My brother has been nagging at me for a couple of months to come out on some rides with him. My grandfather gave me his Cannondale R1000 (I think thats the model) last year. There's a 40mi ride I may jump into just to see what its about.

 

[The Commish]

What's with the numbness (I guess that's how I'd describe it?)? Am I going to die? Do I need to update my will?

It's called getting your fat ### in shape

Tape an aspirin to it and run more. Nobody ever said you had to have feeling in your legs to be able to run!

Update the will just in case

 

[The Commish]

I want to know why I can't feel my legs and if I can expect this more often the further I run....TIA

Commish, while it could just be a function of your recent training improvements, it seems you should keep alert to the possibility of a nerve issue or something more systemic (based on reading a number of commentaries on the matter). Keep track as to whether this always occurs, and always occurs in the same spot(s), or if it comes and goes. Maybe it would help to do some stretching after your run as a way to get good circulation back. On non-running days, it could help to stretch or do some sort of strength work. I wouldn't panic, but from what I read, it's not something to ignore, either.

It's happened just this once for about 5 seconds as I was walking my cool down. It was almost like that "numb" feeling you get when you're using a piece of equipment that's vibrating in your hands for so long and you turn it off and you can't feel your fingers for a few seconds. That kind of thing. I'm not really concerned about it. I do the stretching out of necessity already and have a leg workout (that I've thought about dropping actually because the day after I am always sore and focused on that rather than running).