Forums >Racing>Water Strategy for Ten-Mile Race
Never said I "needed" to drink. I was thinking mostly in terms of planning for a possible hot day, should I encounter one. Also, I am not that experienced at this particular distance. On a usual October morning, no, I would not need to drink in a ten-mile race, and so I guess I am fast. Also, the fact that I am running in the first wave should indicate that I have at least some speed, don't ya think?
I didn't have any advice re the water drinking but...
It should not be hot. I've run the ATM several times and really can't remember it ever being too warm to race well. I logged 50 degrees at race start last year and 54 degrees the year before. There was a year when there was no water for the back-of-the-packers in the later miles - I think someone referenced it earlier in the thread - but since then, I haven't heard any complaints about water.
If you're trying to PR, your bigger concern is crowding. Even from the first wave. I'm a 7:00 pace runner and things didn't thin out for me until mile 3 or 4. The water stops, in particular, are mayhem. Better to skip the water stops during the first 5 miles of the race so you can pass slower runners, IMHO.
My blog is JT Running DC. It's awesome. Guide to Washington DC Area Running Routes. Guide to the New York City Marathon. Guide to the Boston Marathon. Guide to Running Gear. Guide to Running Clothes.
Why are so many people negative on this? Some people don't want to drink , some do. Why attack them just because they want to drink? They asked for advice and suggestions about drinking on the race. Why not give advice about drinking in a race? You may say i don't drink in a 10 mile but that is really totally irrelevant. Give advice on using the straw or pinching the cup or practicing or whatever, it makes no sense to tell them you don't have to drink, that was not what they asked about.
This seems like a strange reaction to me. The OP asked about hydration strategy for a 10 mile race and some of us offered our opinions. I didn't see anything negative (or positive for that matter) about the opinions offered. It makes perfect sense to say you don't have to drink in a 10 mile race.
Runners run
Well, the comment sounded negative to me, and to at least one other poster here. The bottom line--and obvious issue here--is that we are runners, and when someone calls someone "not that fast"--when our entire endeavor is to be fast--of course one will take that as a negative comment. How could it not be? The idea of a 50-miniute ten-miler being slow is the height of the ivory tower elitism/arrogance that is so prevalent on another running forum--which I left after only a week, as the term "hobby jogger" got so tiresome it was nauseating. They would agree that someone running a 5:00 pace in a ten-mile race is a "hobby jogger." Really? How about a 50 year-old running that pace? Is he/she merely "jogging"? Not everybody is 20 or 25 years old.
The comment was obviously negative, and to the rest of the running world--the real world outside of the 5 or 10 national/world contenders--it is viewed as offensive. I am in my mid forties, and I am anything but slow. I have worked hard for my fitness, and am happy about it. How many people in the US could even finish a ten-mile race? Maybe 0.5% of the population? How many could run it all the way through (i.e. no walking)? Fewer than that, obviously. We should just enjoy what we do and encourage each other--not take pot shots at another person's accomplishments and/or level of fitness.
So the problem was with one poster using the word "slow'? Okay then call out that poster if you have a problem with it--don't paint the whole forum with a broad brush of negativity.
spinach's comment was that "so many people" were being negative. From what I saw, there were a couple pages of honest comments--people just offering their opinion. You don't have to like or follow the advice you get on here, but you did ask.
Just my hobbyjogger's 2 cents.
Review my post. I did not "paint the whole forum" as being negative. Nowhere do I indicate this.
Just my faster runner's two cents.
"Slow" is not offensive.
The ATM is a great race. Water intake is the least of your worries if you're a 50-minute 10 miler runner.
Don't forget to thank a soldier.
I am nowhere near a 50-minute ten-miler, and I do not consider myself "slow." Speed is relative to many things--age, gender, experience, talent, economy, weight, body fat, diet, strength, endurance, and on and on. Why say to someone: you are "not that fast"? Are not there better ways of approaching the issue? Pretty obvious to me. I did not know that there were runners that would just come out with assertions like "you are not that fast"--especially having no clue of the person's background (age, gender, etc.). Seems highly presumptive to me. I am glad the runners in my club are not like this. They are always supportive and positive.
Feeling the growl again
Okay, I've read this thread five times now to make sure I got everything right. Frankly Goo was honest and correct with his comments and explained the context thoroughly. If you are still offended you should look internally at your own insecurity. I'm slow enough to be dismissed by my younger self as a non serious runner. So what? I'm still out there enjoying myself. But some training comments have a different impact based on how fast you are and need to be conditioned ad such to have value.
"If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does. There's your pep talk for today. Go Run." -- Slo_Hand
I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills
Review my post. I did not "paint the whole forum" as being negative. Nowhere do I indicate this. Just my faster runner's two cents.
No. spinach did which is why I quoted spinach, not you. He/she literally said "Why are so many people being negative on this?" You responded to my post in which I quoted him/her directly. I didn't see many people being negative about anything. I saw the majority of people offering honest, helpful advice which is why I said what I said. WTF is going on here?
Goorun has the unique perspective of being a former elite athlete. I'm glad he's here, but not everyone can handle his honesty. If you have an issue with something he said, fine, take it up with him. He's a big boy and can handle it. Not my battle to fight.
I'm done here. Good luck in your race.
I find it amusing that you ask for help regarding how to drink during a 10 miler, implying that you are a novice, yet when people offer advice you don't like, such as saying just stop and drink or even just to skip the water, you suddenly know everything. Your post comes off as a bait and switch troll attempt.
Of course people will come out with assertions that someone is not fast if they are asking for advice on how to hydrate during a race. If you are asking about how to drink during a 10 miler either you have not done the distance before, have not done the distance at a fast pace, or do not have experience drinking while running (whether it's racing or training).
I never said I did not like Goorun's advice. I just thought that one could be offended by the way he said it. I think I have explained this, but I reiterate it here, in case anyone did not glean this from what I have stated.
Likewise, I have already stated that I lack experience at this distance. To be more precise, if that helps, I lack experience at a fast pace at this distance, as I have run this distance, and a fair amount farther, in my weekly long runs. Is that wrong/trollish, too, to call a mere 10 miles a long run?
Again, why the negativity? What is wrong with considering one's fitness/accomplishments rationally--i.e. in view of one's age, gender, etc.? Surely I do not consider myself the fastest…but being in my mid forties, how could I be?
When giving me advice on my high school math homework, my mom always used to tell me: "you're not smart enough to skip steps". She wasn't telling me I wasn't smart. Just not smart enough to skip steps. NBD.
Come all you no-hopers, you jokers and roguesWe're on the road to nowhere, let's find out where it goes
OK, I try one more time and I'm done with this.
In the OP: "I am thinking I will opt for water twice in the second half of the race..."
My first response: "If you think you need a drink during 10 mile race, you are probably not that fast, so just walk/stop and drink".
You NEVER see fastest runners in 10 mile race to take water. Conclusion: People who are considering drinking water during 10 mile race would be not as fast as the fastest runner. Nowhere I called you slow. They still could be fast, because it is relative what "fast" is.
In my second post: "Speed comment is there to explain that fast runners NEVER drink in shorter races because it's a waste of time for them, but it could be beneficial for slower runners".
Somebody who runs sub 50 minutes 10 miles is IMO fast. Somebody who runs 10 miles in 50 minutes and 15 seconds is IMO fast too, but is slower (not slow) than sub 50 minutes runner. Somebody who is a female and 50 years old and runs 10 miles in 1:20 is IMO fast too, but slower than somebody else who runs 10 miles in 1:19 minutes.
Also in my second post: "The speed is relative"
Also in my second post: "I call myself hobby-jogger..."
I would never call somebody I don't know that. I have running friends and we call each other hobby-joggers because we are older and much slower than what we used to be.
Also in my post: "Anybody who run 10 miles over 50 minutes is "not that fast" to me".
Again, TO ME. Are you telling me that I can't have an opinion what is "fast" and what is "not that fast" to me ? Not slow, just not as fast as what I consider fast.
Also in my second post: "It's my way of saying, if you are not a fast runner, you have time to stop and drink".
In this context, if you are not running under 50 minutes 10 miles, you have time to stop and drink.That include, I believe, all of us posting here. I added "It's much easier to do that, than try to run and spill drinks all over yourself with a questionable benefit of saving some time".
Even if you are running sub one hour 10 miles, it would be IMO beneficial to you and anybody else who has problem drinking when running, to stop for a few seconds and drink and start running again, instead of spilling most of that drink all over yourself.
Now what you said: "The idea of a 50-miniute ten-miler being slow is the height of the ivory tower elitism/arrogance..."
Please point me where I suggested that 50 minutes ten-miler is slow.
and
"The comment was obviously negative, and to the rest of the running world--the real world outside of the 5 or 10 national/world contenders--it is viewed as offensive"
"Well, the comment sounded negative to me, and to at least one other poster here"
OK, you and other poster or the whole real world ?
"We should just enjoy what we do and encourage each other--not take pot shots at another person's accomplishments and/or level of fitness".
Again, could you point me where I took pot shots at another person's accomplishments and/or level of fitness.
I'm done.
Slow and steady never wins anything.
For freak's sake. If you can't handle some honest advice from some of the more experienced runners on here, why do you post? I am sure there are many places where inexperienced people are happy to blow sunshine up your derriere. I swear some people go around the internet just looking to be offended.
I never said you gave bad advice, Goorun. I have already pointed out your pot shot. Your first post was negative. Saying someone Is "not that fast"--someone you do not even know--can certainly be taken the wrong way. You then tried to explain your way out of if, but still cling to the strange notion that anything over 50 minutes for a ten miler is "not that fast." These are your words, not mine. Then, your buddies come in and defend your elitist attitudes with their bad, offensive language, and they end up sounding worse than you.
I do not need this. I choose to be happy about my running, and live in reality, not the past, not what I was or could have been 25 years ago. I am happy about the gifts/talents I have been given. That is my opinion. Am I allowed to have one?
You can live in your little bubble world here. I am done. Over and out.