Ran a 10k - Official Thread (7 Viewers)

[SteelCurtain]

@gianmarco - i understand your disappointment.  Many of us have been there.  I have three thoughts and they may be completely unrelated.

1.  Do not discount a dew point of 71 degrees.  It’s very hard to recognize the impact it has on your performance.

2.  In most of my 5k’s, it’s between 1-1.5 miles when i feel like “there is no way i can keep this pace”.  However, the best 5K’s are ones where you force yourself to just go at that pace. 

3.  You are maturing as a runner and you will find it more and more challenging to break through your time goals. Early on in a running career, you can improve multiple times as you ramp up your abilities.  But after a while, it gets harder to get those PRs. So don’t get discouraged.  Keep learning and working at your goals.  Remember.....volume is king.  If you add 5-10 miles per week to your training, i promise you that you’ll see faster paces at all different distances. 

PS.  Kudos to your wife.  She crushed it!  Looks like you married a BMF.

 

[MAC_32]

Sweet & Savory 100k Relay

This race setup is similar to what many of you were supposed to do 2 weeks ago. It's self supported, so it is each team's responsibility to sufficiently fuel and taxi from one location to the next. One major difference though - 2 legs each instead of 3.

Preparation was certainly different than usual. I was banged up after the Memorial Day 5 miler and really haven't done anything of substance since. Some faster runs than others, but I dont think I've ran a single sub 7 minute mile since that last race. Feet/heels were doing okay, but never really got above 90-95% so I approached this as if there would be some sort of break afterwards. 

I skipped the neorotism run though. This was intentional. Part because this race being on the back end of vacation I thought rest was more important. And I had a couple nights of deep sleep leading into it. But also because I didnt want to go out too hot on leg 1. Two takeaways I had from the relay two weeks ago were that I would need to grind the second leg regardless and most of those that struggled later all cited doing leg one too fast. But anyway...

Leg 2 - 4.5 miles

The first half of this leg is basically an unnoticeable < 1% grade along an APT with a momentum killing 75' climb followed by more unnoticeable < 1% climbing to the next exchange. My goal for this part was to just get loose and focus on cadence until the bump. I wasnt settled on a pace, but I wanted to stay below 6:30 while also not letting myself get under 6:10. Most importantly, I just wanted to maintain cadence focus without 'forcing' effort.

While skipping neurotism was intentional, skipping any warm up wasnt. Leg one was only a 5k and my stomach upon arriving to leg 2 said another trip to the bathroom took priority. Only one other team started at our time and they came through about a minute and a half in front of ours. Great, a rabbit to chase.

Miles 1 and 2 - 6:28/6:11

As expected, a little stiff to start but loosened up about five minutes in. I  first checked my pace at 10 minutes and wasnt surprised about mile 1, but the 6:04 I saw for the beginning of mile 2 grabbed my attention. Despite my efforts to slow the pace I didnt really. Curious how this will go later. 

Mile 3 - 6:28

I hit the climb and my pace slowed as expected, but I got to the top feeling just as strong as before so I continued on with the same plan as the first 2 miles.

Miles 4 and 4.5 - 6:13/6:07

I finally spotted my rabbit at the top of the climb and was able to hold back from increasing the pace...until passing him with a half mile to go. Probably just a habit, when you pass someone keep pressing on the gas so they dont try to follow. Hopefully this doesnt come back to bite me.

4.49 miles - 6:18 net pace, 28:22, 198' elevation

Post leg 2

Turkey, roast beef, ham, and cheese with mustard on an everything bagel - yum, but weird at 9:15 in the morning. After only having a banana and coffee in the morning I wanted to refuel quick so I could just get away with water and snacking between now and leg 8. And after I really just got away with water, pretzels, oranges, fruit snacks, and more water. It was a little muggy and my next leg was double the distance, so odds of some sort of blow up were real. 

Leg 8 - 9.1 miles

I was happy to see leg 7 start about 5-10 minutes after several teams and none of them looked like they were much faster/slower than her. More rabbits later in my leg the better. It was noticeably warmer though. Instead of low 60's with 50some% humidity it was about 70 with 60some% humidity. No matter how much I hydrated I was still thirsty, so I asked my team to stop about mile 5 and get me a couple swigs.

Leg 7 came through about the same spot as before, about 3-10 minutes behind several teams. So let's go hunting.

Miles 1-3 - 6:03/6:33/6:24

This leg starts with a short incline then a good decline followed by a noticeable incline, but one that shouldn't impact me too much then a rolling 3rd mile. If I could get through this section around 6:20 net pace and not working too hard I'd be happy. 3 kills, nailed the pace, and feeling good. Off to a good start.

Miles 4-6 - 6:23/6:24/6:21

Goal for this section was to start pushing the envelope. Mentally I treated this leg like a 7 mile race. The first 3 miles were essentially rolling hills, but this section represented more of a climbing portion. One of those for every 60' you climb you only come back down 20' before climbing some more. I was running low on fluids, but fueling felt good otherwise so when I rendezvoused with my team I took them up on the 2 swigs of water but passed on the fruit snacks. I quickly felt like that was enough to get me through the climbing, but I was also keenly aware of my feet/heels. They...are not happy. But, press on. And 2 more kills. 

Mile 7 - 6:50

After 6 miles of rollers but more up than down this last section was going to make or break me. Can I get through it without slowing down too much? While also having enough ammo left to take advantage of the 2 mile descent that follows? I was confident in part one but had no expectation for part 2. My body would tell me very quickly once we stopped climbing. 

Mile 8 - 6:16

Yes! While I labored through the last 20' of climbing or so I got to the top and knew instantly there was still some pop left in my legs. My feet/ankles/and now calves werent happy but the shorter stride on the way up saved energy for the bigger muscles upstream. It took a little bit to rebuild speed, but that followed the flow of the decline too. It starts off rather unnoticeably then slowly increases until the grade really fires into mile 9.

Mile 9 and 9.1 - 5:07!!!/5:17

I actually net a 5:01 mile that probably started around mile 8.9. I had no expectations for a pace on this decline, but that took me by surprise. I was just in attack mode from the top of the hill. At first it was just get faster with each stride and later on it was net more kills as those that started with a 10 minute lead came into focus. I'm sure my feet were yelling at me here but I dont remember and wasnt listening anyway. Just kill everyone. And I was even able to somewhat maintain the speed despite 30-40' of climbing over the last quarter mile once the descent finally ended. 

9.1 miles - net 6:15 pace, 57:03, 573' elevation. I think I'm even happier with this than i was the sub 30 five miles last month.

There's a lot to write about the rest of the day, but to briefly summarize - it was a blast and I understand why Gian was so bummed about the necessary format change to the relay 2 weeks ago. We finished 4th of 20 teams in 8 hours 22 minutes - 8:06 pace. 

Going forward I will be taking a (short?) break then probably will take some time to ramp up mileage/intensity. The post race massage confirmed what I already knew - inflammation around the achilles. It hurt to touch and led to tightness going both down to my feet/ankles and up to my calf. Ice the achilles/heat the calves - repeat. I will work on strength training only at least early in the week then re-assess in a few days if I need more time or if I'm okay to go again. I dont anticipate a long break, but given what others have gone through here with similar issues and that it isn't much different now than after the memorial day 5 I will be exercising caution. I'll be back soon though. 

 

[gianmarco]

@gianmarco - i understand your disappointment.  Many of us have been there.  I have three thoughts and they may be completely unrelated.

1.  Do not discount a dew point of 71 degrees.  It’s very hard to recognize the impact it has on your performance.

2.  In most of my 5k’s, it’s between 1-1.5 miles when i feel like “there is no way i can keep this pace”.  However, the best 5K’s are ones where you force yourself to just go at that pace. 

3.  You are maturing as a runner and you will find it more and more challenging to break through your time goals. Early on in a running career, you can improve multiple times as you ramp up your abilities.  But after a while, it gets harder to get those PRs. So don’t get discouraged.  Keep learning and working at your goals.  Remember.....volume is king.  If you add 5-10 miles per week to your training, i promise you that you’ll see faster paces at all different distances. 

PS.  Kudos to your wife.  She crushed it!  Looks like you married a BMF.

Thanks 

Not discounting the heat/humidity.  I know it's bad and I'm getting used to how it affects what I can do.  It certainly played some role in today.  I do think the blood donation from one week ago probably was the biggest deal and I wouldn't be surprised if that's what caused the HR spike.  When I ran yesterday, things felt much better than earlier in the week and I was hoping I was back to normal.  But I don't think I was.  I don't want to put excuses out there so it is what it is, but if I'm trying to look objectively other than "it just wasn't my day", I think it was asking too much to race a hard 5K just one week after that.  I'm ok with it.  On top of that, two low volume weeks heading into this didn't keep me fresh enough.  I lost a little fitness, and probably enough combined with the above to not be able to hit the goal I wanted.

I know how it's supposed to hurt.  If I was holding the 7:15 pace, I would have given it what I had to try and finish.  Unfortunately, my pace dropped and was already at ~8:00 min/mile after keeping it between 7:20-7:30 for the beginning of the 2nd mile.  I had no way to get it almost :45 faster/mile when my HR was already at 190.  I could have pushed and gotten it lower, but not enough to finish under 23 minutes and I decided to just let it go as a result.  I decided shortly after the 1.5 mile mark that it just wasn't worth it for me today.  

I'm not discouraged, though.  I'm surprisingly not bothered by today.  It would have been nice for things to go better, but this wasn't a big goal race.  I'm more excited that she did well, honestly and I'm glad I played at least a small part in that. 

 

[JShare87]

Sweet & Savory 100k Relay

This race setup is similar to what many of you were supposed to do 2 weeks ago. It's self supported, so it is each team's responsibility to sufficiently fuel and taxi from one location to the next. One major difference though - 2 legs each instead of 3.

Preparation was certainly different than usual. I was banged up after the Memorial Day 5 miler and really haven't done anything of substance since. Some faster runs than others, but I dont think I've ran a single sub 7 minute mile since that last race. Feet/heels were doing okay, but never really got above 90-95% so I approached this as if there would be some sort of break afterwards. 

I skipped the neorotism run though. This was intentional. Part because this race being on the back end of vacation I thought rest was more important. And I had a couple nights of deep sleep leading into it. But also because I didnt want to go out too hot on leg 1. Two takeaways I had from the relay two weeks ago were that I would need to grind the second leg regardless and most of those that struggled later all cited doing leg one too fast. But anyway...

Leg 2 - 4.5 miles

The first half of this leg is basically an unnoticeable < 1% grade along an APT with a momentum killing 75' climb followed by more unnoticeable < 1% climbing to the next exchange. My goal for this part was to just get loose and focus on cadence until the bump. I wasnt settled on a pace, but I wanted to stay below 6:30 while also not letting myself get under 6:10. Most importantly, I just wanted to maintain cadence focus without 'forcing' effort.

While skipping neurotism was intentional, skipping any warm up wasnt. Leg one was only a 5k and my stomach upon arriving to leg 2 said another trip to the bathroom took priority. Only one other team started at our time and they came through about a minute and a half in front of ours. Great, a rabbit to chase.

Miles 1 and 2 - 6:28/6:11

As expected, a little stiff to start but loosened up about five minutes in. I  first checked my pace at 10 minutes and wasnt surprised about mile 1, but the 6:04 I saw for the beginning of mile 2 grabbed my attention. Despite my efforts to slow the pace I didnt really. Curious how this will go later. 

Mile 3 - 6:28

I hit the climb and my pace slowed as expected, but I got to the top feeling just as strong as before so I continued on with the same plan as the first 2 miles.

Miles 4 and 4.5 - 6:13/6:07

I finally spotted my rabbit at the top of the climb and was able to hold back from increasing the pace...until passing him with a half mile to go. Probably just a habit, when you pass someone keep pressing on the gas so they dont try to follow. Hopefully this doesnt come back to bite me.

4.49 miles - 6:18 net pace, 28:22, 198' elevation

Post leg 2

Turkey, roast beef, ham, and cheese with mustard on an everything bagel - yum, but weird at 9:15 in the morning. After only having a banana and coffee in the morning I wanted to refuel quick so I could just get away with water and snacking between now and leg 8. And after I really just got away with water, pretzels, oranges, fruit snacks, and more water. It was a little muggy and my next leg was double the distance, so odds of some sort of blow up were real. 

Leg 8 - 9.1 miles

I was happy to see leg 7 start about 5-10 minutes after several teams and none of them looked like they were much faster/slower than her. More rabbits later in my leg the better. It was noticeably warmer though. Instead of low 60's with 50some% humidity it was about 70 with 60some% humidity. No matter how much I hydrated I was still thirsty, so I asked my team to stop about mile 5 and get me a couple swigs.

Leg 7 came through about the same spot as before, about 3-10 minutes behind several teams. So let's go hunting.

Miles 1-3 - 6:03/6:33/6:24

This leg starts with a short incline then a good decline followed by a noticeable incline, but one that shouldn't impact me too much then a rolling 3rd mile. If I could get through this section around 6:20 net pace and not working too hard I'd be happy. 3 kills, nailed the pace, and feeling good. Off to a good start.

Miles 4-6 - 6:23/6:24/6:21

Goal for this section was to start pushing the envelope. Mentally I treated this leg like a 7 mile race. The first 3 miles were essentially rolling hills, but this section represented more of a climbing portion. One of those for every 60' you climb you only come back down 20' before climbing some more. I was running low on fluids, but fueling felt good otherwise so when I rendezvoused with my team I took them up on the 2 swigs of water but passed on the fruit snacks. I quickly felt like that was enough to get me through the climbing, but I was also keenly aware of my feet/heels. They...are not happy. But, press on. And 2 more kills. 

Mile 7 - 6:50

After 6 miles of rollers but more up than down this last section was going to make or break me. Can I get through it without slowing down too much? While also having enough ammo left to take advantage of the 2 mile descent that follows? I was confident in part one but had no expectation for part 2. My body would tell me very quickly once we stopped climbing. 

Mile 8 - 6:16

Yes! While I labored through the last 20' of climbing or so I got to the top and knew instantly there was still some pop left in my legs. My feet/ankles/and now calves werent happy but the shorter stride on the way up saved energy for the bigger muscles upstream. It took a little bit to rebuild speed, but that followed the flow of the decline too. It starts off rather unnoticeably then slowly increases until the grade really fires into mile 9.

Mile 9 and 9.1 - 5:07!!!/5:17

I actually net a 5:01 mile that probably started around mile 8.9. I had no expectations for a pace on this decline, but that took me by surprise. I was just in attack mode from the top of the hill. At first it was just get faster with each stride and later on it was net more kills as those that started with a 10 minute lead came into focus. I'm sure my feet were yelling at me here but I dont remember and wasnt listening anyway. Just kill everyone. And I was even able to somewhat maintain the speed despite 30-40' of climbing over the last quarter mile once the descent finally ended. 

9.1 miles - net 6:15 pace, 57:03, 573' elevation. I think I'm even happier with this than i was the sub 30 five miles last month.

There's a lot to write about the rest of the day, but to briefly summarize - it was a blast and I understand why Gian was so bummed about the necessary format change to the relay 2 weeks ago. We finished 4th of 20 teams in 8 hours 22 minutes - 8:06 pace. 

Going forward I will be taking a (short?) break then probably will take some time to ramp up mileage/intensity. The post race massage confirmed what I already knew - inflammation around the achilles. It hurt to touch and led to tightness going both down to my feet/ankles and up to my calf. Ice the achilles/heat the calves - repeat. I will work on strength training only at least early in the week then re-assess in a few days if I need more time or if I'm okay to go again. I dont anticipate a long break, but given what others have gone through here with similar issues and that it isn't much different now than after the memorial day 5 I will be exercising caution. I'll be back soon though. 

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, you are ridiculous. I saw these runs on Strava and just kept shaking my head at how much of animal you are. Well done!

 

[gianmarco]

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, you are ridiculous. I saw these runs on Strava and just kept shaking my head at how much of animal you are. Well done!

So much this.  That final mile, even with a downhill, after what you already raced was absolutely insane.  The results aren't surprised given the work you put in plus the underlying talent, but still.  So impressive and I'm glad it went so well for you.  True BMF.

 

[bushdocda]

Thanks 

Not discounting the heat/humidity.  I know it's bad and I'm getting used to how it affects what I can do.  It certainly played some role in today.  I do think the blood donation from one week ago probably was the biggest deal and I wouldn't be surprised if that's what caused the HR spike.  When I ran yesterday, things felt much better than earlier in the week and I was hoping I was back to normal.  But I don't think I was.  I don't want to put excuses out there so it is what it is, but if I'm trying to look objectively other than "it just wasn't my day", I think it was asking too much to race a hard 5K just one week after that.  I'm ok with it.  On top of that, two low volume weeks heading into this didn't keep me fresh enough.  I lost a little fitness, and probably enough combined with the above to not be able to hit the goal I wanted.

I know how it's supposed to hurt.  If I was holding the 7:15 pace, I would have given it what I had to try and finish.  Unfortunately, my pace dropped and was already at ~8:00 min/mile after keeping it between 7:20-7:30 for the beginning of the 2nd mile.  I had no way to get it almost :45 faster/mile when my HR was already at 190.  I could have pushed and gotten it lower, but not enough to finish under 23 minutes and I decided to just let it go as a result.  I decided shortly after the 1.5 mile mark that it just wasn't worth it for me today.  

I'm not discouraged, though.  I'm surprisingly not bothered by today.  It would have been nice for things to go better, but this wasn't a big goal race.  I'm more excited that she did well, honestly and I'm glad I played at least a small part in that. 

Glad you’re putting it in the rear view.  I agree that weather and post blood donation this was not ripe for PR. Will make the next one sweeter, GB. 

 

[gianmarco]

Glad you’re putting it in the rear view.  I agree that weather and post blood donation this was not ripe for PR. Will make the next one sweeter, GB. 

I should also add that there's at least something to take from it. I'm glad you guys thought I had that sub 22 in me, and maybe someday I do, but I decided to be realistic and more controlled. My goal was better 7:15-7:20 for the start, especially with the weather.

I had a really solid start, hit my pacing goal instead of coming out too hot, and felt really in control for that first mile. It was actually a somewhat comfortable first mile and I made sure I held back even though I could have done more. 

I think that's probably why I'm not as bothered by what happened because it wasn't due to lack of discipline on my part to start the race. My wife and I were running together and suddenly she started pulling away pretty quickly. At first I thought she was speeding up but when I looked down and saw a big drop, I knew something wasn't right. I tried to push even a little and my breathing went whacky. Looked back down and saw 188 for my HR and knew I was in trouble. I spent the next minute or two trying to get things under control and when it kept getting worse despite a good start, I knew the PR just wasn't going to happen. I realized for the first time what that was like and opted on throwing in the towel when that goal went out the window. Never thought that would matter before but it did. 

I don't have anything else scheduled until late November but I might go for a late fall 5K and go for the PR then.

 

[gruecd]

I'm not discouraged, though.  I'm surprisingly not bothered by today.  It would have been nice for things to go better, but this wasn't a big goal race.  I'm more excited that she did well, honestly and I'm glad I played at least a small part in that. 

Sorry to hear that things didn't go the way you wanted, but also glad to hear that you're taking it in stride.

My race wasn't good, either.  Temps were in the low to mid 60s with 80% humidity when we started yesterday, and I foolishly decided to give it a shot despite the type of warm, humid conditions that have literally NEVER worked for me.  First few miles were solid between 6:32-6:42, and I settled into fourth place, but that was obviously too fast given the heat, because I could feel it hit me the minute we hit the hills on the wide-open country roads in mile 5.  When we came to the turnaround on the out-and-back section just short of 8 miles, I noted that the 3rd-place guy was 2-3 minutes in front of me, and the 5th-place guy was 2-3 minutes behind me.   Unlike my sweat, my "why" quickly evaporated with nobody to push me, and miles 9-11 were my slowest of the race at 7:15/7:14/7:16.  I got it back down under 7:10 for the last couple of miles and finished with a disappointing 1:31:14.

So yeah, I know it's not racing season, and I know that temps were literally almost double my ideal, but it's still discouraging to think that I couldn't even manage marathon pace for a half.  I feel like this type of race does more mental harm than good, and I really almost wish that I hadn't even done it.

 

[gruecd]

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, you are ridiculous. I saw these runs on Strava and just kept shaking my head at how much of animal you are. Well done!

Agreed, @MAC_32.  That's stupid fast, especially given the circumstances.  Wow.

 

[Alex P Keaton]

Made the decision late last year to start training more for speed and less for distance.   Then I got distracted playing tennis and basketball, and pretty much stopped doing any serious running this winter or early spring.   Started up again back in late April doing speed drills with the local running club.

Anyway, fast forward to today.  On a whim I signed up for the Race Against Hate 10k in Evanston (IL).   Didn't have any huge expectations, but in the back of my mind I thought a PR was possible for 3 reasons:  1) a cool 55 degrees with fog and mist off the lake, 2) I've only done a couple 10k races, and they were all in 2013-14 when I first started running, so my times weren't anything to write home about, 3) my speed work has been solid, so I've felt decent lately.

Race started out crowded and slow for the first 1/2 mile.  I was at about a 9:15 pace, which wasn't what I wanted.   But gradually I ramped it up and finished the first mile at around 8:45.   2nd mile was an 8:05 pace.   I worried about running too fast and losing steam, but whatev's.

Yadda yadda yadda, I hovered from 8:05/8:10 the rest of the race, then sprinted the last 0.4 miles.  Haven't seen the official time yet, but should be around 52:20, which would beat my PR by about 75 seconds.

Anyway, felt good out there today and was psyched to run well. It's been a few years since I had anything to celebrate on the running front.

 

[Brony]

Sweet & Savory 100k Relay

Leg 2 - 4.5 miles

4.49 miles - 6:18 net pace, 28:22, 198' elevation

Mile 8 - 6:16

Mile 9 and 9.1 - 5:07!!!/5:17

9.1 miles - net 6:15 pace, 57:03, 573' elevation. I think I'm even happier with this than i was the sub 30 five miles last month.

There's a lot to write about the rest of the day, but to briefly summarize - it was a blast and I understand why Gian was so bummed about the necessary format change to the relay 2 weeks ago. We finished 4th of 20 teams in 8 hours 22 minutes - 8:06 pace. . 

BEAST!!  Nice running!  Sounds like you had one of your best events.  Congrats!

 

[Zasada]

I had no way to get it almost :45 faster/mile when my HR was already at 190.

Good call.  You know yourself.  It wasn't your day, probably brought about by the blood donation a week ago.  And the high SI.

Keep at the training and you'll rock a 5K sooner than you can say "beet juice".

 

[Zasada]

I think I'm even happier with this than i was the sub 30 five miles last month.

Sounds like an incredible run.  Fantastic work.  That ~5:00/mi downhilll is just ludicrous.  Downhills sound fast when you're sitting at home, but on the course they're not nearly as speed-increasing as they sound.

 

[tri-man 47]

Made the decision late last year to start training more for speed and less for distance.   Then I got distracted playing tennis and basketball, and pretty much stopped doing any serious running this winter or early spring.   Started up again back in late April doing speed drills with the local running club.

Anyway, fast forward to today.  On a whim I signed up for the Race Against Hate 10k in Evanston (IL).   Didn't have any huge expectations, but in the back of my mind I thought a PR was possible for 3 reasons:  1) a cool 55 degrees with fog and mist off the lake, 2) I've only done a couple 10k races, and they were all in 2013-14 when I first started running, so my times weren't anything to write home about, 3) my speed work has been solid, so I've felt decent lately.

Race started out crowded and slow for the first 1/2 mile.  I was at about a 9:15 pace, which wasn't what I wanted.   But gradually I ramped it up and finished the first mile at around 8:45.   2nd mile was an 8:05 pace.   I worried about running too fast and losing steam, but whatev's.

Yadda yadda yadda, I hovered from 8:05/8:10 the rest of the race, then sprinted the last 0.4 miles.  Haven't seen the official time yet, but should be around 52:20, which would beat my PR by about 75 seconds.

Anyway, felt good out there today and was psyched to run well. It's been a few years since I had anything to celebrate on the running front.

Way to go, @Alex P Keaton!!!  Good to see you back at it (knowing the fam keeps you busy on the home front).  

 

[Zasada]

Yadda yadda yadda, I hovered from 8:05/8:10 the rest of the race, then sprinted the last 0.4 miles.  Haven't seen the official time yet, but should be around 52:20, which would beat my PR by about 75 seconds.

Nice work, @Alex P Keaton!  Get yourself some Portillo's to celebrate!  Are you on Strava?

 

[Alex P Keaton]

Nice work, @Alex P Keaton!  Get yourself some Portillo's to celebrate!  Are you on Strava?

I'm not.  Should I be?

 

[Zasada]

I'm not.  Should I be?

Well all the cool kids are. 

Benefit for me is that numbers and tracking improvement are a big motivator.  It's a big part of why I've been able to stick with this running thing.

Downside is that it's social media and, for some, comes with some security concerns and might make you feel like you need to go out and compete with everyone else on every run.

It's also great to be able to see all the BMFs from this thread out there running and getting it done.

 

[gruecd]

I've got 2 big running things that I kinda wanna do sooner rather than later, and I'm trying to figure out how to fit them in the schedule when (a) I don't do well running in heat, and (b) I still like running spring and fall goal marathons.

1.  I want to run the 53-mile Glacial Drumlin trail end-to-end (at one time).

2.  I want to do a 200-mile, maybe 10-day run across Wisconsin to raise money for this charity and also (less altruistic) to help create some brand awareness/name recognition for work.

I tend to be slow and work over the holidays, so maybe I could do the 50-mile thing in late November (after racing Indy earlier in the month), and then parlay that fitness into a run across the state in December sometime.  Any other (better) suggestions?

 

[Zasada]

@SteelCurtain running an impromptu "training" marathon this morning for kicks.  Wow.

 

[ChiefD]

@SteelCurtain running an impromptu "training" marathon this morning for kicks.  Wow.

He'll probably run a half marathon this evening to cool down.

 

[Zasada]

Not sure I can believe this tool, but apparently I'm a 91st percentile 10K runner, an 89th percentile HM runner, and a 75th percentile full marathon runner.

Which surprises me.  

So I checked this tool and it comes in way lower.  No 10K rank, but 64th percentile HM and 61st percentile for the full.  That makes more sense.

 

[JAA]

I've got 2 big running things that I kinda wanna do sooner rather than later, and I'm trying to figure out how to fit them in the schedule when (a) I don't do well running in heat, and (b) I still like running spring and fall goal marathons.

1.  I want to run the 53-mile Glacial Drumlin trail end-to-end (at one time).

2.  I want to do a 200-mile, maybe 10-day run across Wisconsin to raise money for this charity and also (less altruistic) to help create some brand awareness/name recognition for work.

I tend to be slow and work over the holidays, so maybe I could do the 50-mile thing in late November (after racing Indy earlier in the month), and then parlay that fitness into a run across the state in December sometime.  Any other (better) suggestions?

Id target #1 during the cold months early in your season.  You like it colder, you can make it part of your training, and you can plan it out yourself.  Since your only goal is to finish, just roll with it as part of training at your own pace.

Id also target #2 late in the season.  I suck between Thanksgiving and Xmas, not sure about you but my training is lax as my partying is high.  That said, 10 days is a nice vacation.  Do you have family/kids to consider?  If not, id consider October as school has started (vacations done) for others but not Xmas spending started.  Prolly a good time to raise money.

 

[JAA]

Not sure I can believe this tool, but apparently I'm a 91st percentile 10K runner, an 89th percentile HM runner, and a 75th percentile full marathon runner.

Which surprises me.  

So I checked this tool and it comes in way lower.  No 10K rank, but 64th percentile HM and 61st percentile for the full.  That makes more sense.

Interesting

96% for 5k and 90% for half.

Wish it had Tri numbers!!

 

[SteelCurtain]

Im going to start piling on the miles. 

Here's why I ran a marathon today.  I need to stop being a wimp and start running. 

Raced Saturday.

Rained most of Sunday but I got out in the evening and did 10 miles.

Got my son to school this morning and cranked out 26.2.

Legs are tired.  Still hoping to bang out another 5-10 miles tomorrow.

 

[Zasada]

@Zasada:  "I had train for 16 weeks, getting up at 0300 on some days to complete my runs.  And then on race day I had to muster every ounce of mental strength (and #### my pants) to run a <4hr marathon.  It was a life achievement."

@Steel Curtain:  "It's Monday so I ran a <4hr marathon."

 

[tri-man 47]

@Zasada:  "I had train for 16 weeks, getting up at 0300 on some days to complete my runs.  And then on race day I had to muster every ounce of mental strength (and #### my pants) to run a <4hr marathon.  It was a life achievement."

@Steel Curtain:  "It's Monday so I ran a <4hr marathon."

Meh.  Take him up into your hills and watch him melt like the dew on a warm summer day.  You can pick up the whimpering mess on your way back down a couple hours later.  

 

[tri-man 47]

I've got 2 big running things that I kinda wanna do sooner rather than later, and I'm trying to figure out how to fit them in the schedule when (a) I don't do well running in heat, and (b) I still like running spring and fall goal marathons.

1.  I want to run the 53-mile Glacial Drumlin trail end-to-end (at one time).

2.  I want to do a 200-mile, maybe 10-day run across Wisconsin to raise money for this charity and also (less altruistic) to help create some brand awareness/name recognition for work.

I tend to be slow and work over the holidays, so maybe I could do the 50-mile thing in late November (after racing Indy earlier in the month), and then parlay that fitness into a run across the state in December sometime.  Any other (better) suggestions?

While it's efficient to double them up, a couple of downsides are (a) the challenge to your body and your marriage of stacking all three into a season (these two events plus the roundabout marathon), and (b) you'll be tapping into a number of friends to support you during the above, and asking them to do both back-to-back seems awkward.  It risks being a distraction to the fundraising aspect.  

The later you schedule either one, the more you risk having true winter-like weather (e.g., early snowstorm).  That wouldn't be fun for you or your crew.  I think you need to do #2 as a stand-alone goal in the late fall, which means skipping the marathon that season.  You don't want to risk failing in the effort because you pushed yourself through a marathon some weeks prior.  You can catch #1 in some later year.   

 

[pbm107]

Here's why I ran a marathon today.  I need to stop being a wimp and start running. 

When and what is your next goal race? 

 

[SteelCurtain]

When and what is your next goal race? 

Marathon in fall.  Likely October or November.

Half marathon in mid-September will be raced as well but as a part of the marathon training cycle 

 

[pbm107]

Marathon in fall.  Likely October or November.

Half marathon in mid-September will be raced as well but as a part of the marathon training cycle 

Be careful with those ultra long training runs, I get being frustrated being a bit behind in training but you don’t want to get injured. 

 

[SteelCurtain]

Be careful with those ultra long training runs, I get being frustrated being a bit behind in training but you don’t want to get injured. 

It’s a good point.  When i stock on the miles, you’ll notice they are almost all slow miles.  I may try to incorporate one day a week at the track.  Beyond that, everything else is 90 seconds or more per mile slower than MP.

Fortunately, i have a pretty good sense of my body and when to pull back. 

The other piece of this is in 4 weeks, I’m going backpacking for 2 weeks so there will be no running.  I want to pile on miles as much as i can until i so that trip.

thanks for the feedback.  Much appreciated!

 

[wilked]

Fellas, ran a race a few weeks ago, 10k. Hadn’t been training a whole lot but was at least “semi fit”. Ran the race hard, was happy with the result. 

That week had a pain on bottom of foot. Pain has been there ever since, makes me limp at times. It’s in the center of the foot, just beyond the arch toward the front. If you trace from your middle toe down, it’s right where you start to bend down the arch. Only one foot. 

Thoughts?  I’ve been patiently waiting for it to go away but doesn’t appear to be subsiding. 

Thanks

 

[bushdocda]

Fellas, ran a race a few weeks ago, 10k. Hadn’t been training a whole lot but was at least “semi fit”. Ran the race hard, was happy with the result. 

That week had a pain on bottom of foot. Pain has been there ever since, makes me limp at times. It’s in the center of the foot, just beyond the arch toward the front. If you trace from your middle toe down, it’s right where you start to bend down the arch. Only one foot. 

Thoughts?  I’ve been patiently waiting for it to go away but doesn’t appear to be subsiding. 

Thanks

Hard to say but if you haven’t done so already, you can clear some angry fascia rolling your foot on a lacrosse ball or similar.  

 

[SFBayDuck]

Hard to say but if you haven’t done so already, you can clear some angry fascia rolling your foot on a lacrosse ball or similar.  

Yup, sounds like plantar fasciitis. Roll the foot. Roll the calf. Ice and ibuprofen if it’s still acute. 

 

[SFBayDuck]

The other piece of this is in 4 weeks, I’m going backpacking for 2 weeks so there will be no running.  

Way to bury the lead!  Sounds awesome, where you going?

 

[ChiefD]

I ALWAYS carry toilet paper in my tackle box. The last time it had to be used was when my 13 year old son was about 5. He had to go when he and I were on a canoe ride in Minnesota, at the same lake we were the last ten days. He got a kick out of taking a dump on the side of the lake on the shore, and we laugh about it to this day. Thus, there is toilet paper in my tackle box. When I put it in there, it is always in a large ziploc, and I spool off about 8-10 "wipes" off the roll. Just in case.

As fate would have it, he and I were out in the boat when "the event" happened last week.

We were out in the boat fishing for northern pike. We anchored up, and within about 15 minutes he hooks into this HUGE pike. I saw it come to the surface, and it was about 36" or so. The fish sees the boat, takes a turn downward and after a quick run, he snaps off the line at the bobber. My son mopes.

My colon gets to work.

After another 15 minutes or so I feel the rumblings. The 'ol twinge in the abdomen. I do a mental calculation in my head to see if I can make it back to the cabin. Taint gonna happen. I wait a few minutes to see if it will subside, so I take a swig of Miller Lite. That only seems to fuel the fire that is burning hot molten lava in my stomach. I start to sweat, and tell my son:

"I need to poop. Now."

He laughs as only a 13 year old boy can. I look at him dead serious, as if I just told him Santa Claus was not real, and say: "Pull up the anchor." As he is doing that, I fire up the motor so we are ready to fly. I've been coming to these lakes since I was 12 years old, so I already know where I'm going to try and land this boat.

Fortunately, a couple of years ago my older brother had the same emergency, so I knew which shore to land on. Unfortunately for him, he didn't have toilet paper in his tackle box. He ended up using the wrapping that goes around a water bottle, and was ridiculed and continues to get ridiculed to this day.

I am smarter than him. I have ten "wipes" of toilet paper in my tackle box. The way this is feeling I may need to use them all.

I put the motor on full throttle, and my colon and intestines are on full throttle as well. I point the boat toward my target, looking for a soft target. I come in hot, just as a ferocious cramp sends what will be the first stream down to my ba.ss-hole.

The bass doesn't bite. Tried to hit the lure and missed. Praise the Lord.

I beach the boat and go scrambling up the bank, eyes searching for the first tree I can find. As I race up the hill at a pace of 4:38/mile, my heart rate is an estimated 142. So that was good to see. Calm under pressure.

I take a step on the flat ground, and it's coming. Like...I'm gonna give birth right there in front of my son, jeans on and all. As I look up, there are no standing trees. WTMF!!! I feel a squirt.

I picked a spot that was an opening, and the only tree available RIGHT NOW is deadfall laying on the ground with a few large branches sticking up. I take 3 @gruecd sized strides, whip off the jeans, and in one swift motion the northern lights starting blowing up with all my southern might.

With what I can only describe as a miracle from the Lord, there is no Hershey squirt in my boxers. I gasp in amazement - the only thing I've seen more impressive is @gianmarco plopping on the blanket after his runs during the relay.

This was more than likely the closest I have come in my 49 10/12 years on earth to sheeeeeittting my pants. And I came out unscathed. I had plenty of toilet paper, but I left behind a crime scene that CSI wouldn't even investigate.

I clean up, walk back down the bank, and smile at my son. He says right away:

"Now we are even, Dad."

Yes son...yes we are.

 

[Zasada]

I beach the boat and go scrambling up the bank, eyes searching for the first tree I can find. As I race up the hill at a pace of 4:38/mile, my heart rate is an estimated 142. So that was good to see. Calm under pressure.

All that training pays off.  Without it, you wouldn't have been fast enough to avert a pants-filling disaster!

 

[MAC_32]

Sounds like an incredible run.  Fantastic work.  That ~5:00/mi downhilll is just ludicrous.  Downhills sound fast when you're sitting at home, but on the course they're not nearly as speed-increasing as they sound.

I think part of it is my build.  @gruecd has mentioned before about how us bigger people are impacted more by the elements.  He's right, but on downhills I think it can be a positive.  We have to work harder than you all going uphill, into the wind, fighting through rain, etc. but properly trained we're able to better take advantage of a downhill or wind at our back.  There's more to it than just that - there's also the increased impact on the knees, hips, quads, back, etc. But if they're able to withstand the pounding the ingredients are there for us whereas they aren't for the smaller and skinnier.

But if I'm being honest I'm still taken aback by just how fast that last mile actually was.  I did a sub 5 mile a couple years ago, but to come that close to another one despite running 8 miles prior - downhill or no downhill.  I wasn't sure what to expect with that finish, but it wasn't anywhere near that.

 

[Zasada]

There's more to it than just that - there's also the increased impact on the knees, hips, quads, back, etc. But if they're able to withstand the pounding the ingredients are there for us whereas they aren't for the smaller and skinnier.

Yeah a buddy of mine is consistently better running downhills than I am.  He's got a more solid build than me (I'm about as far from "solid" as one can be) and also a lower center of gravity.  Also I probably have more fear than he does which is a big element in downhill running.

 

[gianmarco]

I think part of it is my build.  @gruecd has mentioned before about how us bigger people are impacted more by the elements.  He's right, but on downhills I think it can be a positive.  We have to work harder than you all going uphill, into the wind, fighting through rain, etc. but properly trained we're able to better take advantage of a downhill or wind at our back.  There's more to it than just that - there's also the increased impact on the knees, hips, quads, back, etc. But if they're able to withstand the pounding the ingredients are there for us whereas they aren't for the smaller and skinnier.

But if I'm being honest I'm still taken aback by just how fast that last mile actually was.  I did a sub 5 mile a couple years ago, but to come that close to another one despite running 8 miles prior - downhill or no downhill.  I wasn't sure what to expect with that finish, but it wasn't anywhere near that.

Absolutely.

There's nothing I enjoy more than running downhill. Even at fast paces, it's "effortless". 

Running the downhill on one of my routes with my wife, she didn't get much of any benefit at all.

 

[Brony]

I was expecting a different outcome with all of that detail about the emergency toilet paper situation.  You can rig a fishing line and spin quite a yarn.  Nice work @ChiefD!  Enjoy your vacation!

 

[tri-man 47]

So yesterday I pushed a strong 500 yds in the pool, and today did a short, hard brick workout (6 mi bike; 1 mi run).  With that, I'm now officially in Taper Time for Sunday's more-than-a-sprint triathlon.  Good thing, as I need the rest after two big, focused weeks of training (wishing I'd had a couple more weeks like those, but it didn't work out).

If I hope to medal mong, I'm sure I'll need to approximate last year's time (1:33+) and then see who else is in my AG.  Two regulars (one new to the AG) are typically sub-1:30, so it could be tight.  I had a slow T1 last year due to the wetsuit and general tardiness, but I won't wear a wetsuit this year.  I could shave two minutes of transition time, but I expect to lose half of that on the swim and bike, given where I'm at.  So A goal is sub-1:33.  B goal is sub-1:35.  C goal is to have a steady day, rack up kills on the run, then finally move on to marathon training after a three year pause!

 

[The Iguana]

I haven't run in a about 1.5 weeks. Last run was during my vacation...



Thought I had just about got both my right heel and my left calf back to about normal and then got up yesterday after doing a bunch of yard work Sunday and my calf is just shy of feeling actually "injured" verses just hurting.

Getting old is hard work, IMO. 

 

[ChiefD]

Getting old is hard work, IMO. 

Tell me about it. I got a side stitch sitting at my desk yesterday.

I'm looking around like...WTF?

 

[ChiefD]

Now my right hip hurts to the touch and my leg is going a little numb. This actually started last night. Laid on my side watching TV and got this sharp pain in my hip.

Seriously, what the hell? Come to mention it, the side stitch was on my right side also yesterday....

 

[tri-man 47]

Now my right hip hurts to the touch and my leg is going a little numb. This actually started last night. Laid on my side watching TV and got this sharp pain in my hip.

Seriously, what the hell? Come to mention it, the side stitch was on my right side also yesterday....

I think the fast movement and deep bend of the recent poop squat strained a hip muscle.  I recommend going out to the back yard before dinner time, dropping trow, and doing 2x10 poop squat reps at a slow pace.  Be sure to add a very loud poop grunt ("unnghhh") at the base of the squat to ensure a maximum exhale. Bring your kids with you to keep watch for proper form.

 

[ChiefD]

I think the fast movement and deep bend of the recent poop squat strained a hip muscle.  I recommend going out to the back yard before dinner time, dropping trow, and doing 2x10 poop squat reps at a slow pace.  Be sure to add a very loud poop grunt ("unnghhh") at the base of the squat to ensure a maximum exhale. Bring your kids with you to keep watch for proper form.

Awesome, thanks.



   

 

[gianmarco]

I think the fast movement and deep bend of the recent poop squat strained a hip muscle.  I recommend going out to the back yard before dinner time, dropping trow, and doing 2x10 poop squat reps at a slow pace.  Be sure to add a very loud poop grunt ("unnghhh") at the base of the squat to ensure a maximum exhale. Bring your kids with you to keep watch for proper form.

I was going to say the same thing.

 

[BassNBrew]

It’s my first Father’s Day without my Pop... so I wrote some words about why I'm running ... I’d love for you to read it...

https://shoogslarrison.wordpress.com/2019/06/14/for-pop/

Thanks for posting this.  This disease makes me sick.  Took our company owner earlier this year.  At least with cancer you have have a shot with some luck.  ALS is a sentencing someone to torture until they die.  You've handled this like a champ and should be proud of yourself.  I know your dad is proud of you. 

Please post the link link to your fundraising page before the race and/or PM me a link at that time.

 

[BassNBrew]

My worst 5K ever.  Frustrating morning.  Just wasn't my day but I'm ok with it.  My wife finished 23:05 (7:25 pace) with a nice PR.  4th in her AG.  So proud of her and she says she raced smart. 

Man, that sucks to hear.  I wouldn’t put much stock into it other than it just wasn’t your day.  Sounds like the humidity didn’t play in your favor and may have had a significant impact, but you just never know if there was also an underlying reason for the huge spike in HR at mile 1.3 (hydration, underlying illness, etc).  And once that happens in a 5K, it’s not coming back.  Well don’t let it ruin your day, and get back after it so we can read about the positive vibes after your next 5K.  

Enough with the participation awards.  He got his bass handed to him by his wife who ran in the same conditions and didn't melt like a buttercup.  Hopefully she'll give him a rematch and a chance to earn his pants back.