Ran a 10k - Official Thread (15 Viewers)

Juxtatarot said:

I guess I ended up running a few too many miles this week.  59.5.  I've usually been running in the mid 60s.  How many should I run this week, about 40?  We're 13 days to the marathon.

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Seems reasonable. Isn’t the guidance to back off 10-20% ish with same # of runs, more if very fatigued. You’ll be very ‘full of running’ with a taper and man you’ve got some serious fitness going to run 18 miles day after a race.  

Juxtatarot said:

I guess I ended up running a few too many miles this week.  59.5.  I've usually been running in the mid 60s.  How many should I run this week, about 40?  We're 13 days to the marathon.

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51.1 miles 2 weeks out worked pretty well for your last marathon.

pbm107 said:

51.1 miles 2 weeks out worked pretty well for your last marathon.

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Yeah, I saw that.  The week before I only ran 40.  That week I missed a day after fainting into a laundry basket and a couple more days off from being sick.  I was probably nervous about too few miles.

I want to run the 12 with 6 at MP on Saturday that McMillan has in his schedules and I’ve run that last week before a marathon several times.  If I average 6 miles the other 6 days, that puts me at 48.  That seems OK, I think. 

Juxtatarot said:

I want to run the 12 with 6 at MP on Saturday that McMillan has in his schedules and I’ve run that last week before a marathon several times.  If I average 6 miles the other 6 days, that puts me at 48.  That seems OK, I think.

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Just quoting this so I may be able to find it in the future.

@Zasada

Strong work. Guess the slow running of late paid off

St. Patrick's Day 10K Road Race Report

Got up at 0530, pooped, started getting my gear out for the race.  Just before my neurostim run (@gianmarco), I pooped again.  That took some of the pressure off, both mentally and physically.

Neurotstim run was good, just did a quick 3K (which also counts as my 3K warmup, per my marathon training plan).  Got back home, and lounged around for a bit.  Stared at that bottle of beet juice (@Juxtatarot) sitting on the counter, just goading me.   I debated skipping it but if you BMFs can drink it, so can I.  First half of the pint was tolerable but as I got through more, it got thicker and grosser.  Could barely get the last few mouthfuls down.  And then the belching after was extra-special.  Brushed my teeth, washed my mouth out with mouthwash but nothing would stop that putrid taste from coming back up with each successive belch.  Ugh.

Packed the rest of my bag and went to pick up my friend.  We got to the race an hour early and didn't have much to do so we sat around.  About 30 minutes before start, I grabbed a can of Coke (@SFBayDuck) for my sugar/caffeine hit.  My friend said, "Have you ever run with pop in your stomach before, not everyone can do it.  Often it comes back."  I shrugged my shoulders and drank it anyway, figuring my BMF e-friends wouldn't lead me astray, right?

15 minutes before gun time I start to feel gut movement again.  WTF?!  I already pooped twice?  Anyways, I figure I should play it safe and head to the bathroom.  The race was using a high school gym as a gathering point, and it's been 30 years since I've been in a high school gym bathroom.  Ugh.

Anyways time was getting tight so I finished-up, got back to my gear, and the panic starts.  Five minutes to race time and I can't find my sunglasses.  I look through my gear, my clothes, bag, etc.  Nothing.  Agh.  I had them just 30 minutes ago.  Running out of time, I just resign to running without them and head for the start line.  Only 2 minutes to start.  Don't have my music set up yet.  My bluetooth headphones are off.  One minute to start.  I'm fumbling around trying to get everything set and then the race starts.  Trying to move with the crowd toward the start line while messing with my running belt trying to get my phone into it.  Can't do it.  So I move off to the side and stop to get things right, not wanting to cross the start line until I was ready.

30 seconds later, things are a go.  I cross the start line, but I'm at the back of the pack.  Everyone in front of me is running slower than me.  But I have to run fast, right?  I'm trying to PR!  RUN FAST, ZASADA!  So I run "fast" just randomly.  Almost a sprint.  I'm passing folks all over the place trying to get some room.  The first 500m is just crazy as I'm panicked that I'm not in a zone and running logically.  Why didn't I get better prepared?!  This is going to be a disaster!

I finally get a second to look down at my watch.  OMG I'M RUNNING AT A 4:00/km (6:26/mi) PACE.  YOU IDIOT.  So I try to slow down.  And just like all of my other (aka "two") races, "slowing down" is relative.  My plan was 4:45/km (7:39/mi) for the whole race (if I could), which would give me a PR (just barely).  But because I'm a neanderthal, here I am, once again, rolling off KMs at a 4:25-4:35 (7:06-7:22/mi) pace.  

Finally when I get to 7K things get really rough.  My 8th KM clocks-in at 4:56 (7:57/mi).  Then my 9th is even worse at 5:15 (8:27/mi).  Both were a slight uphill, and I was fighting a stitch.  And this beet juice & Coke combo sloshing around my stomach is making me want to barf.  I normally run on an entirely empty stomach and this isn't feeling good.  Maybe the two are powering my muscles but they could shortly be powering some bush fertilization if I can't get things to settle down.

The last KM is a dream.  I want to kiss whoever set up this course.  300m of it was normal, but then you turn the corner for the homestretch and it's a slight downhill and I can see the finish line from 700m away.  Now that I can see the finish and the slight downhill is giving some life back to me, I muster what I can and run the last 500m at 4:30/km (7:15/mi).

As I'm crossing the finish line I see 47:10ish on the clock and know that I PR'd (prior Strava estimated PR was 47:58).  Especially since I didn't cross the start anywhere near gun time.  My gut is about to explode and rather than barf all over the poor girl who's trying to give me a medal and bottle of water, I rudely blast right by her to find any patch of grass.  One big heave and nothing.  Good.  HR is slowing.  Keep it down, Zasada.  A little heave.  Nothing.  HR slows some more.  Then the gut settles.  Phew.

Once I gain some composure, I fire up my watch again and head out for my 3K cooldown (as prescribed by my marathon plan), but it was a nice run given that the hard work was done and I had a PR under my belt.

Finally when I get back to the gym and looked at Strava, I see I had (estimated) PRs for:

• 10K (46:41)
  
• 5K (22:37)
  
• 2 mile (14:17)
  
• 1 mile (7:05)
  
• 1K (4:15)
  
• 1/2 mile (3:25)
  

All of them from the very begining of the race.  I'm such a moron.

Official chip time 46:43.93, which is 66/293 overall, 14/53 in my age group, and 51/150 among men.  The website shows only my gun time (47:13.60) so I'm not sure if the website is ranking me by gun time or chip time.  Either way, a satisfying race, even if ran galactically stupid.  Again.

Epilogue

It is an absolutely gorgeous spring day here in Calgary so even though the legs were a little tired, my mind was energized and the trails were calling to me.  So I decided to treat myself with a short hike in a nature preserve near the city.  Got some great views and enjoyed my first hike with only a tshirt on in six or seven months.  I took things easy, and plus tomorrow is a day off so no worries about over-stressing the legs.  A great day.

I think the ultramarathoners drink their Cokes flat.

Congrats on the PR @Zasada!  Fun report!  Did you ever find your sunglasses?

Juxtatarot said:

I think the ultramarathoners drink their Cokes flat.

Congrats on the PR @Zasada!  Fun report!  Did you ever find your sunglasses?

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Thanks!

Yeah I will definitely go with flat Coke next time.  I even thought of it beforehand this time but only had cans.  

I did find my sunglasses.  They were at the bottom of my gear bag.  I just didn't see them since I was so short on time pre-race and couldn't root through the whole thing.

Zasada said:

St. Patrick's Day 10K Road Race Report

 And this beet juice & Coke combo sloshing around my stomach is making me want to barf.  I normally run on an entirely empty stomach and this isn't feeling good.  Maybe the two are powering my muscles but they could shortly be powering some bush fertilization if I can't get things to settle down.
 

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What's the #1 rule of race day?  NEVER TRY SOMETHING NEW ON RACE DAY!!!!

Juxtatarot said:

I think the ultramarathoners drink their Cokes flat.

Congrats on the PR @Zasada!  Fun report!  Did you ever find your sunglasses?

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.  Aid station workers open them up way ahead of time to let them de-fizz.

Juxtatarot said:

I think the ultramarathoners drink their Cokes flat.

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Tris too.

That beet root crap is the ticket. My half time yesterday was 2:20:45. Today I was around 2:21-2:22 but had to stop to tie my shoe. Duplicated that again for a 4:44 full time.  Had to pull back 150 yards on the 4:45 pacer in the last 1.5 miles to sneak in under 4:45. The runners world calculator had me predicted to finish just under 5:30 so I’m happy with the result

 First place was a female just under 2:50 as I recall. She put 5 min into the first place male

today the second half of the course took us onto the private grounds of the estate 

BassNBrew said:

That beet root crap is the ticket. My half time yesterday was 2:20:45. Today I was around 2:21-2:22 but had to stop to tie my shoe. Duplicated that again for a 4:44 full time.  Had to pull back 150 yards on the 4:45 pacer in the last 1.5 miles to sneak in under 4:45. The runners world calculator had me predicted to finish just under 5:30 so I’m happy with the result

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Wow, a half marathon followed the next day by a full?  And a PR for both?!  So amazing.  Nice work!

SFBayDuck said:

What's the #1 rule of race day?  NEVER TRY SOMETHING NEW ON RACE DAY!!!!

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Yeah the Coke was definitely a mistake.  The beet juice was so bad that I think I can *only* drink it on race days.  I need to find the concentrated kind you guys use though.  A pint of juice pre-race is just too much volume.

Week started off great with a 2:00 run on Monday, but on Tuesday the achilles that's been an annoyance for the past few months flared up into full-on pain, almost felt like heat.  I took the next day off, hiked 5 with the pup on Thursday, took Friday off, and then did about 8 with a bunch of climbing with my trail buddy on Saturday.  I ran a bit on the way back down the hill and it seemed ok, but I took today off to be cautious.  I've been KT taping, doing extra work on my calves with the R8, and I'll try again tomorrow and hope I can avoid it becoming something serious.  I really need to be peaking in volume over the next four weeks going into Miwok.

Zasada said:

Wow, a half marathon followed the next day by a full?  And a PR for both?!  So amazing.  Nice work!

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Neither were prs. Well the half was because I haven’t run one before, but I’m not counting it. 

Thanks for the props  I’m very happy with it  heck, I was happy not having to walk and not blowing up

Great racing, guys!  Impressive work!!!  

Hanson guys, I gave a listen to the Luke Humphrey pod this morning on fatigue episode #5 . Might be a good listen. Haven’t listened to others but will listen to the one on taper on there way home. Had to pry myself out of bed this morning for an easy run and feeling much better after than before. 

BassNBrew said:

Thanks for the props  I’m very happy with it  heck, I was happy not having to walk and not blowing up

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Nice work, buddy! 

Zasada said:

Yeah the Coke was definitely a mistake.  The beet juice was so bad that I think I can *only* drink it on race days.  I need to find the concentrated kind you guys use though.  A pint of juice pre-race is just too much volume.

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I'm telling you, the concentrated stuff certainly wasn't pleasant, but I've definitely tasted worse.  This is the cheapest I've seen it online, and if you can find something else to buy it's free shipping on orders over $49.  I just bought it for $50 via Amazon Prime. 

Great racing, @Zasada.  Congrats!

So I have to ask about this beet juice stuff.  I did a little reading on it several months ago.  The article I read involved cyclists.  A couple of questions for you running guys who are taking it...

1.  How much are you taking?

2.  How soon before a race (week, days, hours?)

3.  Will this stuff help for a 5K?

Any personal experience with this stuff would be appreciated.

gdub said:

So I have to ask about this beet juice stuff.  I did a little reading on it several months ago.  The article I read involved cyclists.  A couple of questions for you running guys who are taking it...

1.  How much are you taking?

2.  How soon before a race (week, days, hours?)

3.  Will this stuff help for a 5K?

Any personal experience with this stuff would be appreciated.

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It’s a mixed bag of shtick and science over the past few pages. I believe in both. I think a page or so back had some links and science stuff.  If I were to try to answer your questions I’d say:

1- 1 shot concentrate or more of the non-concentrate which may be undesirable amount of liquid

2- few weeks prior and few hours prior to race. This is referenced in the links

3- probably

ChiefD said:

Depending on the number of beers after the race, I may get out the geetar.

Wife and I are getting in town Thursday late afternoon. That's her birthday, so we'll be heading down to St. Elmo's for a nice dinner.

Packet pickup sometime on Friday, and I'll probably do my big carb load at lunch. Then dinner somewhere Friday evening. So if anyone wanted to meet for dinner somewhere near the hotel that would be cool. We are staying at the Renaissance Marriott there in Carmel. I think @Juxtatarot and @gruecd might be staying there as well.

If we don't hook up Friday night, we could meet at the starting line for a quick hello before the race, and maybe grab a beer or two and some food after the race. I think @gruecd and his buddy are heading downtown after the race.

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I will be heading up to Carmel sometime Friday afternoon to pick up my packet and such. I'll then drive up early Saturday morning for the race. Assuming something stupid doesn't happen, I'll be done with the half long before any of you finish the full. Hopefully I am all nice and recovered and can find a nice viewing area to watch for you BMF's as you come toward the finish. Alternatively and/or in addition, I could try to grab a table at Matt the Miller's Tavern or the Union Brewing Company - a couple of establishments near the finish line. 

I'm open to something Friday afternoon/evening, trying to do something during the crazy morning before race (but probably most challenging), or something like a beer after the race. Sometime next week I'll send a PM out with my contact info. At the very least we will get a quick photo or 2 at some point. 12 day!

And the beet juice stuff is cracking me up!

gdub said:

So I have to ask about this beet juice stuff.  I did a little reading on it several months ago.  The article I read involved cyclists.  A couple of questions for you running guys who are taking it...

1.  How much are you taking?

2.  How soon before a race (week, days, hours?)

3.  Will this stuff help for a 5K?

Any personal experience with this stuff would be appreciated.

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I took one 2.4-oz shot about two hours before I ran on Saturday.  I think I'll do the same (or possibly two shots) before my workout this Wednesday.  If all goes well, then I'm going to do one shot per day starting on Sunday or Monday next week and then take 1-2 shots on race morning.

And yeah, I imagine it would help for a 5K.  

You have to decide for yourself if buying and drinking beet juice is worth it to be maybe one or two percent faster.

Juxtatarot said:

You have to decide for yourself if buying and drinking beet juice is worth it to be maybe one or two percent faster.

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By my calculation, 1% would be the difference between running 2:58:30 and 2:56:43.  I'll take it.

gruecd said:

By my calculation, 1% would be the difference between running 2:58:30 and 2:56:43.  I'll take it.

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Preachin' to the choir.  I ordered four Beet-It Sport shots yesterday.  I think I'll try 2 next week before my last challenging run and, if all goes well, 2 marathon morning. 

Pretty sure I have more gains to make by finding a way to improve my mental fortitude... of course a magic elixir can have that effect too, IMO!

Alright.  You guys convinced me I should try this beet juice stuff. 

I don't want to buy an entire 24 pack on line without trying.  If I was to try one of those shots, is it just something I would find at the grocery store?

SteelCurtain said:

I don't want to buy an entire 24 pack on line without trying.  If I was to try one of those shots, is it just something I would find at the grocery store?

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Highly unlikely.  Maybe just buy a bottle of juice at the grocery store for the first time and decide from there.  

SteelCurtain said:

Alright.  You guys convinced me I should try this beet juice stuff. 

I don't want to buy an entire 24 pack on line without trying.  If I was to try one of those shots, is it just something I would find at the grocery store?

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I think you need to buy it online through either Amazon or Lucky Vitamin.  At least that's what it says on their "where to buy it" page.

Professor Andy Jones on the optimal dose and duration of concentrated beet juice

By the way, about 15 minutes after downing two glasses of beet juice Saturday morning, I started sneezing and my nose started running.  I don't have a cold or anything so I wondered if that was cause by the beet juice.  Shortly after, I was fine.  Did anyone experience something similar?

Juxtatarot said:

By the way, about 15 minutes after downing two glasses of beet juice Saturday morning, I started sneezing and my nose started running.  I don't have a cold or anything so I wondered if that was cause by the beet juice.  Shortly after, I was fine.  Did anyone experience something similar?

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Nope.

You know you're a runner when you get your own personal water cooler for your office.  Can't really beat the convenience or the cost...only $30 total per month to rent the cooler and to have four (4) 5-gallon bottles delivered.  

Juxtatarot said:

By the way, about 15 minutes after downing two glasses of beet juice Saturday morning, I started sneezing and my nose started running.  I don't have a cold or anything so I wondered if that was cause by the beet juice.  Shortly after, I was fine.  Did anyone experience something similar?

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Random thought is it could be a low level allergy. I get a similar effect from cherries. 

gruecd said:

You know you're a runner when you get your own personal water cooler for your office.  Can't really beat the convenience or the cost...only $30 total per month to rent the cooler and to have four (4) 5-gallon bottles delivered.  

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This is baller level #BMF.

gruecd said:

You know you're a runner when you get your own personal water cooler for your office.  Can't really beat the convenience or the cost...only $30 total per month to rent the cooler and to have four (4) 5-gallon bottles delivered.  

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How much for a personal beet juice cooler?

Juxtatarot said:

By the way, about 15 minutes after downing two glasses of beet juice Saturday morning, I started sneezing and my nose started running.  I don't have a cold or anything so I wondered if that was cause by the beet juice.  Shortly after, I was fine.  Did anyone experience something similar?

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Nope.  Only symptom for me was revulsion.

gianmarco said:

How much for a personal beet juice cooler?

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Let's see, the shots are $1.39/ounce on Amazon.  Five gallons equals 640 ounces, so unless Beet It offers some kind of volume discount, that would be $889.60 per 5-gallon bottle of concentrated beet juice.  I just don't have that kind of scratch lying around...

You’re gonna see some slower times (sloth-like perhaps) from me upcoming, but there will be times.

Juxtatarot said:

I guess I ended up running a few too many miles this week.  59.5.  I've usually been running in the mid 60s.  How many should I run this week, about 40?  We're 13 days to the marathon.

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I ran 49+ last week, and this week will be 38.  Next week I'll go 5-5-4 to start the week, rest on Thursday, and a little shake-out run in Carmel on  Friday. 

ChiefD said:

Depending on the number of beers after the race, I may get out the geetar.

Wife and I are getting in town Thursday late afternoon. That's her birthday, so we'll be heading down to St. Elmo's for a nice dinner.

Packet pickup sometime on Friday, and I'll probably do my big carb load at lunch. Then dinner somewhere Friday evening. So if anyone wanted to meet for dinner somewhere near the hotel that would be cool. We are staying at the Renaissance Marriott there in Carmel. I think @Juxtatarot and @gruecd might be staying there as well.

If we don't hook up Friday night, we could meet at the starting line for a quick hello before the race, and maybe grab a beer or two and some food after the race. I think @gruecd and his buddy are heading downtown after the race.

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Be careful at St. Elmo's.  MFers overcooked my (overpriced) steak when I ate there post-marathon in November.  Sent it back, and it took more than 15 minutes to get a new one.  I wasn't impressed.

I definitely think we should meet up in the hotel lobby around 7:30-8pm on Friday.  I'm cool with a quick hello at the start area, too, and maybe a beer after.  I should be done by 11, so I'll be free until my buddy finishes (hopefully by noon), and then we'll have to haul ### back to the hotel to shower and check out before we head downtown.

If you guys @ChiefD, @The Iguana want to PM me your cell numbers (already have yours, @Juxtatarot), I can start a group text.

Please do a round of beet shots together for all of us.

gianmarco said:

Please do a round of beet shots together for all of us.

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The three of us are at the same hotel so this is feasible.  If you guys would like to see the video, I'm game.

Also: @ChiefD 

  @ChiefD cannot receive messages.

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What's up with this?

Juxtatarot said:

The three of us are at the same hotel so this is feasible.  If you guys would like to see the video, I'm game.

Also: @ChiefD 

What's up with this?

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Have no idea. It says my inbox here is only about 1/2 full.

ChiefD said:

Have no idea. It says my inbox here is only about 1/2 full.

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I think you know @Ocram who used to post in this thread?  I sent a PM to him.  

Juxtatarot said:

I think you know @Ocram who used to post in this thread?  I sent a PM to him.  

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OK. Pasta dinner at the hotel Friday night could work great. Hopefully that will be my last pasta meal for a long while. 

Wasn't a 10k, or even running related - but I did bike 94 miles Saturday - over gravel/mud/sand down in North Carolina.  First time ever doing anything like that, so didn't know what goal to set for myself like I could back when I was running.  Did it in under 7 hours, though, so I was happy with it.