Half Marathon Trainers

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Wish us luck! (Read 425 times)

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rectumdamnnearkilledem

    Today backroadrunner and I are running a 10 mile race. This will be my longest race, yet, but she already completed a 25k last May. I had planned to get ~7 hours of sleep, but my eyes popped open at 4am, so 6 will have to be sufficient. Tongue k

    Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

    remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

         ~ Sarah Kay

      Good Luck! Let us know how it went Smile
        I call these "raise a glass" events. Have a great time and pace yourselves well.

        Discipline is never an end in itself, only a means to an end. (RF)

        Wingz


        Professional Noob

          /cheering from sidelines Whoot! Way to go, Kirsten! Way to go, Eryn! C'mon, gals! Go, go, go, go, go!!!

          Roads were made for journeys...

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          rectumdamnnearkilledem

            Sad Last in my age category (25 runners)...but I still "beat" 8 people overall... Smile The guy who won had some insane time of like 49 minutes--his mile pace is faster than my half-mile pace, LOL! Tongue The first mile was OK, but the next 3-4 were horrendous. First I had shin splints kick-in, so I had to slow WAY down. Then as the shin splints let-up my right foot (it's ALWAYS the right foot...) went really numb and it felt like maybe a large stone was embedded in the tread underneath the ball of my foot...so I stopped, but there was no stone. Weird. That finally let-up, feeling returned, and then I was really comfortable and enjoyed the rest of the race, but by that point I was way at the back of the pack. I do definitely see the value in the hill work I have been doing, though. For a long ways I was behind these two girls and v-e-r-y slowly gaining on them. Then midway up a hill I powered past them and picked-up the pace for the last mile or so. I still had enough left to sprint about the last 100 yards. For the most part this race was kind of a let-down for me. I had such an awesome 10+ mile run last Saturday that I was pretty geeked for this race and really thought I could manage a 10:30 pace, even, but I was sorta stressed at the same time and didn't sleep real well most of this past week--and I have found that not enough sleep usually = shin issues and crappy running, overall. I'm just thankful that they eventually went away, but I am hoping that when I do my HM in 6 weeks that I can run faster and without the shin splints. Which brings me to my next question, do you guys think maybe I'd be smart to do more of a taper? I didn't probably do as much of a taper this past week as my body needed...I'm still figuring these things out. I wonder if I overdid it. As great as my 10+ mile run from last weekend felt, I wonder if I was still recovering from that today...add to that the sleep deficit and it was maybe a bit too much, too soon... Anyhow, at least when I do my next 10 miler my current PR should be easy to beat! Big grin k

            Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

            remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

                 ~ Sarah Kay

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            rectumdamnnearkilledem

              Oh, and I should add that this race was VERY well-organized. Miles were clearly marked and a beautiful course. I'm looking forward to doing this race again next year. My only beef is that they only did the timing pad at the end, so those of us at the back had maybe a half-minute tacked-on to our times. But it seems that those pads at the start are only at larger races. My very first race was a 5k/15k and they had a pad at the start and the finish, but I think that was a pretty big race, by comparison (though it didn't feel any larger). k

              Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

              remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

                   ~ Sarah Kay

              bas


                I'm still figuring these things out. I wonder if I overdid it. As great as my 10+ mile run from last weekend felt, I wonder if I was still recovering from that today...add to that the sleep deficit and it was maybe a bit too much, too soon... Anyhow, at least when I do my next 10 miler my current PR should be easy to beat! Big grin
                Right! And I just took a look at your log and noticed that your pace was faster than your pace in that 10+ mile run last week. And since that includes removing non existant stones from you shoe Smile Anyway, cheers from here! You finished while you were not feeling your best. Great! To answer your question: I think you should not do a 10+ mile run one week before your 10 mile race. So wait with your HM until the day of your HM... And cheers to Eryn too! bas

                52° 21' North, 4° 52' East

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                rectumdamnnearkilledem

                  Right! And I just took a look at your log and noticed that your pace was faster than your pace in that 10+ mile run last week. And since that includes removing non existant stones from you shoe Smile Anyway, cheers from here! You finished while you were not feeling your best. Great! To answer your question: I think you should not do a 10+ mile run one week before your 10 mile race. So wait with your HM until the day of your HM... And cheers to Eryn too! bas
                  Thanks Bas! Yeah, I will probably do a HM distance before my HM, but 2 weeks before...then a 9-10 a week before and much shorter, easier runs the week of the race. My body's feeling a little abused right now. Wink I still wonder what was up with that numb foot thing. I think it had to be related in some way to the shin splints, since it presented itself as soon as my shin pain started to subside. Very odd. I could have sworn there was something creating a lump under the ball of my foot, but there was nothing there. And after a couple of miles that sensation was gone. Weird. k

                  Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

                  remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

                       ~ Sarah Kay

                    I agree with Bas. I wouldn't even run as far as 10 miles the weekend before your race, maybe 5 miles at most at an easy pace. Save your strength for your race.
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                    rectumdamnnearkilledem

                      I agree with Bas. I wouldn't even run as far as 10 miles the weekend before your race, maybe 5 miles at most at an easy pace. Save your strength for your race.
                      Really? Man, the advice re: tapering is so conflicted...when, how.... I was thinking 9-10 miles would be on the conservative side (I think 10 is what Higdon recommends for novice HM runners the week before their race). k

                      Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

                      remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

                           ~ Sarah Kay

                        Good job!!
                        Cincinnati Flying Pig May 4
                          The weekend before a race, I've been known not to run at all, and the race has always turned out very well.
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                          rectumdamnnearkilledem

                            Hmmm...and Eryn didn't run much at all in the last 2 weeks before yesterday's race and kicked ass (she finished almost 10 minutes ahead of me). I'm going to really have to toy with this idea. Maybe see how conditioned I feel in 4-5 weeks and go from there. k

                            Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

                            remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

                                 ~ Sarah Kay

                              Hmmm...and Eryn didn't run much at all in the last 2 weeks before yesterday's race and kicked ass (she finished almost 10 minutes ahead of me). I'm going to really have to toy with this idea. Maybe see how conditioned I feel in 4-5 weeks and go from there. k
                              I had some injury issues to deal with, so I ran very little. None of my miles have been entered on my log in a few weeks cause I've been a slacker, but there weren't many to enter. I did about 20min's up & down my .25mi driveway the day before to loosen back up after not running for a few days, and my race times were the best I've ever run!! I was at a sub-10min pace, which is a miracle for me!! I even felt good by mile 2, and it is usually about 3-3.5 before I feel loosened up & in my groove. I even had enough left to sprint (or my version of sprinting) the last couple hundred yards!! Twas a great race. Pretty well organized. I was a little disappointed that they didn't have a mat at the start line, so our race time was the chip time, not our actual time. But, according to race time, I was a 10min mile exactly, still good for me. Actual time put me in the high nines. The course was nice, though out & back isn't particularly interesting. One depressing moment in the race...as I was passing the 3.5mi mark, the race leader ran past me...heading BACK TO THE FINISH LINE!!! Talk about making you feel REALLY slow!! He was sub-5min pace, unbelievable for someone of my snail pacing! I was surprised at how few of the snail-club ran this race. When I ran my 25K in May (in the same town), there were lots of people my pace & lots more slower than me. This race, although it was much smaller, only had maybe 20-25 people behind me & I was at the back of the pack!!
                              So do not get tired and stop trying. - Hebrews 12:3
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                              rectumdamnnearkilledem

                                I was surprised at how few of the snail-club ran this race. When I ran my 25K in May (in the same town), there were lots of people my pace & lots more slower than me. This race, although it was much smaller, only had maybe 20-25 people behind me & I was at the back of the pack!!
                                No you weren't...I only had 8 people behind me and you were 10 minutes ahead of me, bozo! Actually, that did surprise me, too. I was the last in our age category and I don't think 10:50/mile is THAT slow, considering. Had I not been dealing with the shin splints and numb foot I still would have been nearly last in our group, though, as there were only 3 women in our age range between you and I. k

                                Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

                                remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

                                     ~ Sarah Kay

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