The Running Thread

[daft twat]

Ran my third half marathon yesterday and PR'd the fuck out of it. My first 1/2 was 2:02, my second was 2:00 (but I had to stop and pee and according to my watch that took 1:38 seconds, which is absurd).

Yesterday I did 1:53. The last three miles were tough and mile 13 was my slowest. The humidity and the rain took their toll. But I had enough to push it for the last tenth and I felt great after. Super happy about this race.

Congrats, dct. That's a nice chunk of time to drop between races.

[epilogue]

Ran my third half marathon yesterday and PR'd the fuck out of it. My first 1/2 was 2:02, my second was 2:00 (but I had to stop and pee and according to my watch that took 1:38 seconds, which is absurd).

Yesterday I did 1:53. The last three miles were tough and mile 13 was my slowest. The humidity and the rain took their toll. But I had enough to push it for the last tenth and I felt great after. Super happy about this race.

Congrats, dct. That's a nice chunk of time to drop between races.

Thanks!

The last two I ran with my wife. I'm not very fast but I am faster than her. My training had gone really well, so I knew I'd be able to cut a decent chunk if I ran by myself this time. My goal was 1:55. Obviously, I'm really happy with the result. Though, on a different day, without the rain in those last few miles and lower humidity, I almost think I could maybe have gotten closer to 1:50. But, I'll take this and be thrilled. Maybe next time.

[epilogue]

First run out since the 1/2. I was sick last week so I didn't get out.

Only ran 6. Planned 7 but the wife started to get really sick so we stopped. Probably a good thing since the heat was getting to me. I'm hoping to get about 30 miles in this week since it's just my first week back after 8 days off.

[daft twat]

Was supposed to run 20 on Sunday. Drank too much the day before and spent all day in the sun. Didn't get going until after ten. Sun and wind. During mile 9 I felt off. Next thing I know I am freezing cold. 75 degrees and I'm shivering. Clearly dehydrated. Really disappointed by my stupidity. I could hardly run 5 yesterday. Legs feel destroyed. The marathon is in 4 weeks.

[The Argonaut]

10 miles in 69 minutes

First run since my race. Felt good. Also, my first run in a new pair of NB 101s. I estimate my old 101s have 1,800 to 2,000 miles on them.

I bought myself a pair of these, based maybe 80% on this post.

[daft twat]

Half marathon distance this morning: 1:32:26. My hope for 3:10 in a few weeks is pretty slim, but I keep telling myself there won't be hills like I train on. It would also be nice if the wind laid off that day.

Another positive is I haven't been doing gels. I dislike the gels. I just bought the jelly beans today. I will try them during my 2 hour long run tomorrow.

[epilogue]

Half marathon distance this morning: 1:32:26. My hope for 3:10 in a few weeks is pretty slim, but I keep telling myself there won't be hills like I train on. It would also be nice if the wind laid off that day.

Another positive is I haven't been doing gels. I dislike the gels. I just bought the jelly beans today. I will try them during my 2 hour long run tomorrow.

Go. Git. IT!

[epilogue]

It's not big deal, probably, for most folks. But one of my goals since I started running 4 years ago was to run 7 days in a row. I finally hit that goal today. I'm exhausted.

[Strat]

Ran 3 last night

I often beat myself up because i can't/dont want to run 8 miles at this elevation. Nor really put in the work to get there. So, I am giving myself a break and starting small. 1 step at a time.

[daft twat]

Ran 3 last night

I often beat myself up because i can't/dont want to run 8 miles at this elevation. Nor really put in the work to get there. So, I am giving myself a break and starting small. 1 step at a time.

Genuinely interested - we both know a Minnesota mile - how does running at elevation compare? Are you significantly slower with the lack of oxygen or do you acclimate?

[nyquillyn]

Daft, I'm sorry I haven't been here to support you during marathon training. Life is insanely full and complicated right now.

1:32:26 isn't far off your goal, man. McMillan calculates that to be a 3:14. If you're training on a shitload of hills, you're probably dead on. I would recommend a couple more speed sessions in the final weeks, say at 15 to 30 seconds faster than marathon pace.

As far as my running is concerned, I had a really rough day at the Grand Canyon about 3 weeks ago. I ended up in a death march up the South Kaibab. I can usually run up it in 2 to 2 1/2 hours, but this time it took me 6 hours to hike out. Had stomach issues again. Went to the doc and I had some pretty nasty ulcers.

This was a rough "ultra season" for me. My ego took a pretty nasty hit. Not finishing top 10 sucks, but in all honesty this sport is just exploding and where a few years ago I'd only have to worry about competing against 3 or 4 really good runners, nowadays 20 to 30 elite-level runners show up at every race. College cross country dudes are now bypassing the marathon altogether and going straight into ultras. I was never anything better than "above average", so really I don't think I have declined much. I just think the fields are WAY stronger.

I'm gonna take a break from ultras and train hard for the Tucson Marathon in December.

[Strat]

Ran 3 last night

I often beat myself up because i can't/dont want to run 8 miles at this elevation. Nor really put in the work to get there. So, I am giving myself a break and starting small. 1 step at a time.

Genuinely interested - we both know a Minnesota mile - how does running at elevation compare? Are you significantly slower with the lack of oxygen or do you acclimate?

Its genuinely harder. Two years ago when i ran around harriet I took 1.5 minutes off my pace without even trying. Up here I run at about 9 minute pace. its fucking hard. Im constantly gasping and hacking phlegm. Im sure I would acclimate if i worked up to 30 miles a week but even running just a little bit can be miserable. When I hike it usually takes me about 30 minutes or so to acclimate. I am better than when I first moved out here but acclimating is a constant thing out here.

[epilogue]

I wasn't going to run today. But then I did.

[daft twat]

Grandma's Marathon in Duluth today. 3:18:49. I kept a solid pace for the first half and then fell apart. I didn't run over 18 miles in the 11 weeks I trained and that was my undoing. The last 8 were just survival. I am in a lot of pain right now. I will train smarter next time and give it one more go. If I don't qualify for Boston then, I'll knock it on the head and stick to shorter distances.

[epilogue]

Grandma's Marathon in Duluth today. 3:18:49. I kept a solid pace for the first half and then fell apart. I didn't run over 18 miles in the 11 weeks I trained and that was my undoing. The last 8 were just survival. I am in a lot of pain right now. I will train smarter next time and give it one more go. If I don't qualify for Boston then, I'll knock it on the head and stick to shorter distances.

Great time, none the less. Congratulations! Super awesome!

[surfndestroy]

I am almost ashamed to post in here but here goes.

Fuck, I was doing so good in my training until two things happened in January. The marathon I was training for got cancelled and my Dad died. Shit ass excuses but found a new marathon to train for and learning to just be thankful for the Dad I had.

Started training again last week. Hell of a kick off, a ten mile event with 3,700 feet elevation gain. A week in and I'm up to doing four miles at a 7:24 minute pace. Have great advice from T2B to get me through. Nearly four months of training to go with three goals; cross the line under 3:30, hug my kid, tell him I love him and thanks for coming out, and look up at the sky and say "Hey Dad, told you I could do it."

[oasisfan35]

My running this year has been very sporadic, as has life. I've attempted to have rigid exercise schedules, keep it up for a bit then it falls apart. I wanted to run a bunch of halves this year... I have one on the calendar, two weeks away. During dog walks I noticed that it was actually a great overcast morning and that after a later night of drinking I had absolutely nothing to do.

I wasn't going to run today. But then I did.

Strapped on the shoes, had half a glass of water and walked out the door. 13.1 miles later I returned averaging well over a minute less than I ran my best race last year. Running is good stuff.

[epilogue]

I wasn't going to run today. But then I did.

Strapped on the shoes, had half a glass of water and walked out the door. 13.1 miles later I returned averaging well over a minute less than I ran my best race last year. Running is good stuff.

[daft twat]

Went to Jamaica for a week. Ran yesterday for first time since the marathon. 2 slow and somewhat painful miles. Did 5 today. A bit faster, a bit less pain. CC season starts in 6 weeks. I should be good to go. 50 weeks until I qualify for Boston.

[Biff Pocoroba]

Just did my annual 10k but this one was in the rain.
I was in the last heat to get started before it was delayed, we got ushered into a parking garage almost immediately. Waited it out about half an hour but it rained the whole time. Once you're soaked you're soaked so while didn't get any worse it did feel like I did the race in a wet bathing suit. Of course my socks were saturated; haven't been that anxious to take off my shoes & socks in a good while. The finishing area was a sloshy, muddy mess. I did a lot more walking than running than usual on the course but I finished. I've got a dozen or so of the t-shirts but this one I felt like a I earned.