Last weeks' totals:
Last weeks' race results:
This weeks' races:
"I want you to pray as if everything depends on it, but I want you to prepare yourself as if everything depends on you."
-- Dick LeBeau
Seeing some folks putting in a little more miles lately: atomno2, Happyfeet, Lynwood, and even Paul's starting to bring it. Good stuff!
After not making much progress last 2 years, where my Half marathon has been stuck at 1:50-151, and my 5K only going from 24:30 to 22:50. Took a break for a couple of months and now trying something different for a while, short more frequent runs. Run 2-3 doubles each week, one run on each double day will have some speed/hill stuff, the rest very easy, 3-4 min/mile slower than the faster stuff. Will continue this patterns for a couple of months before adding in the long run again if this shorter stuff does not break me.
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Not bad for me but nothing earth shattering either. I won my age group and was the first finisher over 50 and 15th overall at the Hunger Run at 21:09. I'm a little disappointed that I'm back over 21 minutes in a 5k. I've gained about 5 pounds or so since the fall and I haven't been able to get serious about dropping it yet... hopefully soon I will before it starts getting out of hand. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Richard,
kind of ironic in that you gained weight and ran a "Hunger Run"? I looked at your result in your log, and then noticed that your using PEDs. I think as a group we need to take a stance on members using PEDs and would welcome their feedback about this (mandating that you change your avatar here to where your wearing a placard saying "I used PEDs"). You made a recent purchase that I discovered. Now did you find that this recent purchase helped you in your race? PEDs (Performance Enhancing Devices), as in the Spira Stinger shoes your now sporting, the same Spira Stingers that some races have banned because they have springs in them. Did they help you? Can you feel the extra bounce? Are the shoes very light? I think I am especially appalled by this (since Spira only offers the Stinger up to a size 13 so I'm shut out since I'm a 14).
Rob
old-runner: when you replace your avatar, please also change your screen name to Boing-Runner.
Carolina Rob: need to fit into a size-13? Consider surgery.
Bahahaha... I didn't even know what you were talking about with the PEDs... yep, I got the Spiras last Friday and ran a couple miles Friday evening in them then the race on Saturday. I think they're great but they're not magic. You'd never really know there are any springs in there. They just feel comfortable, and supposedly the springs never break down so you can wear the shoes 1,000 miles or more with no noticeable breakdown in the cushioning. It'll be interesting to see. I've worn them on every run since then including 10.6 miles Sunday and 6.6 miles today and my legs feel great. Supposedly the springs absorb a lot of the shock.
I was 17 seconds slower Saturday (21:09) than in the same race two years ago (20:52) but I'm also two years older and at my age that ain't an advantage (I'll be 60 next month!). The shoes aren't going to make your legs move any faster, although I'm wondering if it might be an advantage in longer races (half marathon or longer) since your legs theoretically don't get as fatigued. I'll be wearing them in Myrtle Beach so maybe I'll find out. There are a lot of variables involved though and that's just one of them.
if anybody's interested in buying a pair of Spira running shoes I've got a code you can use to save 30% on the site. The retail price for the ones I bought (Sprira Stinger XLT) was $130 but I got them for $89 including free shipping.
Here's the code: ezfspira
Here are some people who have won races wearing them...
http://www.spirafootwear.com/race_victories.php
Richard Hefner Past Race Results (Athlinks)
You sound like A-Rod -- "I didn't know what PEDs are"? Now your going to tell us that your cousin was the one who bought the shoes for you as a X-Mass present so you have plausible deniability. So I looked at that list of winners -- Barry Bonds, Mark McGuire, Rafael Palmiero and they talk about their new winner, Ryan Braun! How is the fit in the front of the toebox btw (is it roomy or tight)? And do they size true (did you have to order a bigger size than you normally wear or do they fit nicely)?
Cliff/Clive,
back in 2006 I was a size 13. Then in the fall of 2006 (after I went thru the episode of being told I may never stand again after "minor" back surgery and confined to a hospital bed for 4.5 months), when I made my (miraculous) recovery none of my shoes fit, and measured my feet and they had grown to a 15 (my hands also grew). About six months later, things retracted but I was a full 14 (didn't start running until another 18 months later). And no surgery for me after going thru that experience (unless you absolutely need it). How is your (1919) Spanish flu doing (winding down)?
Richard, You sound like A-Rod -- "I didn't know what PEDs are"? Now your going to tell us that your cousin was the one who bought the shoes for you as a X-Mass present so you have plausible deniability. So I looked at that list of winners -- Barry Bonds, Mark McGuire, Rafael Palmiero and they talk about their new winner, Ryan Braun! How is the fit in the front of the toebox btw (is it roomy or tight)? And do they size true (did you have to order a bigger size than you normally wear or do they fit nicely)?
Rob... That's weird about your feet and hands growing. But about the PEDs, sorry to say the athlete references are mostly lost on me. It's a whole 'nother story for another time but I swore that if the major league baseball players went on strike in 1994 I'd never watch another game, and when they came back in 1995 they had lost me. I haven't seen a game since... not just baseball but any other sport except for running. I'm sure Ryan Braun is a fine fella and all, but I had to Google him just now to figure out who he was and what he's done.
Anyhoo, for the last couple years I've been buying all of my running shoes a half size bigger than I used to and since then I've almost developed something on my feet akin to toenails. These fit me fine but I saw somebody else mention that they needed to order a shoe that was a half size larger than they were accustomed to so maybe everybody should do that. To me the toebox is about normal -- not too big but not too small. Sorry to get so scientific with the description.
Rob, I'm definitely past the "teeming infection" stage and now just in cleanup mode (I hope). Lots of sludge remaining in the head and chest, and my lungs aren't quite back to normal yet. I'm going to try some really light exercise and see if it loosens stuff up and gets mobilizes it.
Richard, I used to wear an 11 street shoe, so I just bought size-11 running shoes and thought nothing of it. Constantly cramming my toes into the front of the shoe. Luckily, I too discovered the grand idea of sizing up to fit the forefoot, and my toenail and blister problems went away seemingly overnight.
Lynwood,
how are you feeling? Did you come down with what Typhoid Clive/Cliff had or was it allergies or something else (hopefully)?
Good to hear your doing well (and that Cliff/Clive is not Typhoid Mary for that 1919 Spanish flu -- otherwise, we would have placed him into the quarantine section of that Wed nite run). What runs of substance (intervals, tempos) have you done in the 7:30 to 7:50 pace over the past 4-6 weeks?
Also a big difference in 7:30 vs 7:50, more than 4 minutes over a HM distance, unless you meant that you want to keep your pace between that range to account for the hills
Yeah, you guys are right. Not much to go on. Not enough training time after losing December. I was able to run 11 miles of Thunder Road at 7:50 and felt like if the course was flat I could have kept that pace. I'm confident I'm in better conditioning now. So, I'll use that as a pace and if I feel good, I'll speed up. That sounds simple enough. I think Nobby would say I'm winging it. heh
MTA: If I get tired, I'll slow down.