Its been awhile since I've posted. I needed a short break. Hope you all have been running healthy and happy. Do you guys have a favorite race distance? I'm gearing up for my last 5K of the season this coming Sunday and it had me thinking that I truly love racing this distance. I like the HM distance for endurance and to have a longer goal, but I like running fast. IMO you can't be good at all. What are your favorite distances?
Running is my mental-Ctrl-Alt-Del.
Half marathon is my favorite by far. Although I also really liked the 15k distance but have only raced that once. I don't really feel like I know how to race a marathon well and I suck at the short, fast stuff.
I was curious at your paces due to your comment about you saying how you suck at short stuff and I looked at your log and you are a fast runner! That is why they are public right? You're recent marathon time is impressive. I consider myself pretty average myself, but do like to push myself in races.
Super B****
Half marathon when I'm racing a 5K, 5K when I'm racing a half marathon.
(I love them both, but they both suck while I'm doing them!)
chasing the impossible
because i never shut up ... i blog
Oh gee Thanks. I didn't really mean that my race times sucked. It's just that I can't seem to run shorter races at the times my longer races suggest I should be able to. For example, McMillian says I can run a 6:45 paced 5k based on my half marathon PR but I haven't been able to even hold a 7:00 pace for one. And I've tried a couple times. That might be due to the nature of my training though - I'm not sure - but I plan to spend a little time on the shorter stuff this winter/spring and see if that helps.
Good luck! I also find that specific training definitely helps. Not one that loves formal speed work, but I do love tempo runs and progression runs. That's all I really do for speed work. I also find that the longer runs definitely make the shorter runs seems easier. All the miles help in some way or another.
I'm like onemile. My paces for short distances do not measure up with my 3:27 full. I think it's due to the fact that I've conditioned myself for nothing but marathons (12) in the last 3 years and have never trained to target a 5k or a 10k race.
To answer Hilary's question, I prefer the marathon distance. It's short enough that I do not need to walk any part of it (after running a few of them I've finally mastered that part) and long enough that it becomes a battle for the mind. I love the dialogue that goes on in my head. The will to go on mile after mile and triumph (in my own modest way) vs the temptation to stop at all costs because it sucks to be doing this for so long. Not being forced to do something difficult but having to debate in my brain whether I'm doing it anyway is an amazing way to get to know myself. The marathon for me is not about what my body can do (I already know exactly what it can do at the end of each training cycle...). Rather, it's about what I'm made of inside of me. It's not all that good, but it's not as bad as I usually see myself either.
PRs: Boston Marathon, 3:27, April 15th 2013
Cornwall Half-Marathon, 1:35, April 27th 2013
18 marathons, 18 BQs since 2010
Former Bad Ass
I'm like onemile. My paces for short distances do not measure up with my 3:27 full. I think it's due to the fact that I've conditioned myself for nothing but marathons (12) in the last 3 years and have never trained to target a 5k or a 10k race. To answer Hilary's question, I prefer the marathon distance. It's short enough that I do not need to walk any part of it (after running a few of them I've finally mastered that part) and long enough that it becomes a battle for the mind. I love the dialogue that goes on in my head. The will to go on mile after mile and triumph (in my own modest way) vs the temptation to stop at all costs because it sucks to be doing this for so long. Not being forced to do something difficult but having to debate in my brain whether I'm doing it anyway is an amazing way to get to know myself. The marathon for me is not about what my body can do (I already know exactly what it can do at the end of each training cycle...). Rather, it's about what I'm made of inside of me. It's not all that good, but it's not as bad as I usually see myself either.
I think you haave described the marathon perfectly and the reason why it is the only distance I like (well, that or longer).
Damaris
Refurbished Hip
50 miles
50K
HM
In that order.
Running is dumb.
Uffda
I enjoy the HM, even though it's not my fastest race or my farthest distance.
- Andrew
Labrat
Half Marathon no question. (I'd broaden it to any race in the ~1.5 to ~3 hour range so 15K, 10 miler out to ~20 miles)
I really don't enjoy 5Ks, they are just too far above my LT to be comfortable.
My lack of speedwork this year has shown in slower 5Ks, but my strong tempo work has shown in better HM performance.
I am going to have to suck it up and do a lot more speedwork, then ride that speed with endurance to faster HMs.
5K 20:23 (Vdot 48.7) 9/9/17
10K 44:06 (Vdot 46.3) 3/11/17
HM 1:33:48 (Vdot 48.6) 11/11/17
FM 4:13:43 (Vdot 35.4) 3/4/18
Walk-Jogger
I think I like the 400 meters, 1 mile and 10 mile race distances the best.
For my money the 1 mile race is the most honest and painful, and it displays the best combination of raw speed, power and mental fortitude.
I love the 400 meters because it's short enough to run close to all-out 100%, and it's over before you have any time to think to yourself "this sucks!". I'm old and not fast at it, but it feels fast when I race it.
I just like the 10 mile race distance because I can run it at about half-marathon pace, but it's over and done with 3 miles sooner than a half.
Retired & Loving It
uʍop ǝpᴉsdn sǝʇᴉɹʍ ʇI
Even though the 5k is 20 minutes of torture, I always think "That was fun" when I finish. I think the HM is my favorite because that is where both speed and endurance come together and the distance is a very good test. I am running my first marathon this Sunday so I will let you know how I like it. I seriously doubt it will be my favorite distance, but stranger things have happened.
Are we there, yet?
Despite the great time I had at NC 24, my favorite race distance remains the mile, followed by 800m and 5K. Not withstanding that 2014 will be filled more with long races than middle distance or 5K, beginning with a HM and peaking with 24-hours at NC 24.
2024 Races:
03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles
05/11 - D3 50K 05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour
06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.
From a competition perspective, it's the 10K. It's a race that's devilishly hard to race. If you go out too fast and blow up, you'll have a long way to think about it as you get passed by people who weren't quite as rambunctious. Conversely, if you go out a bit conservative, a 10K is too short to make up the time you'll lose. You simply can't give up 30-45 seconds in the first couple of miles and get those back in the next four miles. You can make that up in a marathon or maybe even a half marathon but not in a 10K.
It's also devilishly hard to prepare for. It requires a really tight balance of speed, endurance, and stamina. You have to train all three systems nearly equally and that's almost impossible to do. I have yet to see a race report from someone who really raced a 10K wherein they think they did a great job in both their preparation and race execution. People always seem to think they screwed it up and that indicates to me the challenge of preparing for and racing a 10K.
From a personal perspective, I love half marathons. You don't have to go balls to the wall from the gun as in a 5K. While you are never relaxed as in a marathon, you don't really have to push hard from the gun either. Preparation is fairly straightforward as well. VO2 max intervals and tempo runs interspersed with a few long runs. Post-race, you feel like you did something because you'll be sore as hell the next day but recovery doesn't take forever as with a marathon. Indeed, I frequently feel like a half marathon gives me a fitness boost while I actually lose fitness post-marathon because recovery takes so damn long.
Short term goal: 17:59 5K
Mid term goal: 2:54:59 marathon
Long term goal: To say I've been a runner half my life. (I started running at age 45).