Good morning!  7 TM miles and stretching at the gym this morning.  Strength training tonight.  Saw all of 15 minutes of the championship game last night.  Tip off was 9:25 pm.  Uh...way too late for me to stay up.  Looks like it was a good game.  83 degrees forecasted today.  Already in the low 60s.  I was super jealous of all the runners I saw running outside during my commute.

Nachos:  My thoughts are with you.  Don't give up hope on running, but I'd be very cautious.  FWIW, my DH prefers cycling over running (although running is a pretty close second).  He has many opportunities to ride and race in the cycling community.  Who knows, you may find just as much joy in another endurance sport.  Please keep checking in.  Once a donut, always a donut!

Sprinkles/onemile:  A BQ is definitely on my radar, but my time is much more realistic.  However, I'm one of the "old gals" as RVD says.  I'm 47 so my standard is 3:55 or better.

AmiK:  Nice intervals!

Banshee:  Wise decision switching the rest days.

Ami - I read somehwere that the average person eating chips and salsa before a meal takes in approx 1,000 calories. Fried corn chips add up quickly i guess. Its just so hard to say to the chips and salsa. Salsa always reminds me of a Seinfeld episode....salsa.....seltzer....salsa....seltzer.

 

Onemile - 36 yr old male BQ time is 3:10..... maybe thats a "later in life" goal for me.

I am way behind responding to all the posts- please forgive if I am selective!

Josh I hope the problem is not as serious as a hernia, rest seems a sensible idea.

Nachos my reaction was the same as Docket, it would be worth getting a second expert opinion before giving up, On the other hand its way too big a risk to take if the diagnosis is confirmed- very glad it is not cancer.

Bagopux, thanks for the salty soup idea, any other tips are welcome as my son is doing his first ultra next month. I have used his camelback, and we tried using slices of lime to flavour the water as it can taste a bit plasticky.  I think putting in some sports drink crystals is a good idea, should not be hard to clean. The weight of the pack will tell you how much fluid is left, they do slosh a bit when more than half full. I find they hold plenty of fluid for a 3 hour run, but some need more liquids than others!

I am fortunate in having few aches and pains (but then I don't run as much as most of you) but I find soaking in a hot bath is pretty good for loosening up tight muscles.

Good week Docket.

Banshee you deserve the rest!

Onemile, go for it! Be bold, you are in great shape. Reaching the standard is an achievement to be proud of, you don't have to run Boston just because you qualify.

I don't think the standard gets all that much easier as you get older.

If you age grade a few examples you can see how they compare:

WADA                                                  Equivalent

Age                           Men             Women    Age Grade Men      Women       time men     women

18-30                        3:05                   3:35                 68.56           64.58

45-49                         3:25                   3:55                 66.32          65.29              3:11:33           3:35:59

60-64                         3:55                   4:25                 65.67           66.07               3:13:07          3:30:09

65-69                          4:10                   4:40                 65.03            66.39              3:15:02          3:29:07

In fact, it looks like the standards for older women are tougher than for younger women- my guess is that you can thank  Joan Benoit Samuelson and Colleen de Reuck (spelling?) for that!

Roll:  Does it help that I ate those organic blue chips with flaxseed?  I think probably not!

sounds fancy so .......yes

Hey all,

Did 4.5 yesterday, and I've got 4ish again today.

 

Nachos, sucks to hear. Hope biking and/or swimming works out for you. Maybe you can pair with a runner and tear up the team duathlon/triathlon circuit.

 

Ami, awesome workout. When's your race?

 

My BQ time is 3:10, which is crazy.

May 4th...getting close!

Well my BQ is 3:05 right now so I figure I'll aim for a 3:10 which I have 5 1/2 years to hit, that's my longer term goal.

Chest, Back & Abs finished yesterday with Insanities Pure Cardio, holy spit bucket batman.  Quad felt great through the whole thing with zero pain so I tried to get on the TM and see how the legs felt and pain comes back right away but it is getting better, still only hurts when I run.  I've flipped back to a low carb diet to take advantage of the change in workout type to try to drop another 10 pounds of fat.  Have Plyo some time this afternoon.

Nick - Great Job!!

Bagopux, thanks for the salty soup idea, any other tips are welcome as my son is doing his first ultra next month.

Simon, thanks for the advice on the CamelBak

Here's a few things I've learned from hanging out with the 100-milers:

1.  Only genetic freaks actually "run" an ultra.  The rest of us walk a lot.  Your mindset cannot be that I'll run as far as I can and then just walk as needed after that.  If you don't add in some walking early, far before it becomes a necessity, you are in for a long day.  A lot of people start right from the gun jogging the flats and downhills and walking the uphills.

2. My guess is that as many people DNF ultras because of nutrition/GI issues as do because of injury and fatigue.  You need to experiment with your food during training, and know what the race is going to have available.  Trying to survive a 50 or 100 on just Gu's and Gatorade will catch up to you.

3. If you are going to be racing after dark, practice after dark.  Make sure you try out your lighting options.  Most people do better with headlamps than with hand held flashlights.  I have definitely seen people get nauseous from using a flashlight because the light tends to bounce around out of sync with your eyes.   Also, certain types of lights will give people headaches when used for a long time.

4. If you are racing after dark, always bring way more clothes than you'll think you'll need.  I've pace twice.  Both times I did the last 12 or so miles with people running 100s.  We basically walked from 1 am to about 5 or 6 am.  Both times, by the end the runner was wearing every piece of spare clothing that I had brought.  50 degrees at 4 am is much colder than 50 degrees at 4 pm.  Also, if its warm during the day, get out of those sweaty tech clothes when the sun goes down.

5.  Always carry TP and hand sanitizer.  No need to elaborate there.

6. There's no place for pride on an ultra course.  Get over it.  Do what you gotta do.  If you finish 100 miles, nobody asks who you leaned on for 5 miles or what that funky smell is.

7. If the race offers pacers, take one at least for the last stretch.  Tell the pacer everything that's going on with you physically and mentally so they can help you.  A pacer is your medic, analyst, bartender, sherpa and motivational speaker all in one.  But the pacer can't help you unless you let them.  Also, have as good support crew on hand.  For most people, finishing an ultra is a team event.

8.  There's no such thing as being over-prepared.  Bring extra shoes, stuff for blisters, Tums or Rolaids, extra batteries, lots of socks, gators, sunscreen.... everything.

Hope that helps.

conrgats Nick. Sounds like a sub 4 is definitely in your sights