Forums >Racing>3:20 Marathoners ... New and Improved for (the rest of) 2017
Mother of Cats
The Spiderpig comment was awesome - props to Rovatti
Dad - over under on whether JATW happens? I haven't registered yet, and I'm debating registering for something else.
(to the rest of you, since we're in DC, many of our races are on federal property. If the federal government shuts down, those races can't happen. And we're currently on track for another shutdown this Friday)
8 very easy to yoga (9:11), yoga, and then 3 easy (8:46) plus drills+strides.
Everyone's gotta running blog; I'm the only one with a POOL-RUNNING blog.
And...if you want a running Instagram where all the pictures are of cats, I've got you covered.
Cobra Commander Keen
OMR - I'm glad your hip is feeling better. I have no insight as to why it's gone, but those inclines will certainly help with speed even without traditional speed work.
McB - I've never tried the Instinct, but I do love my Escalantes. At nearly 550 miles it might be time to replace them, though.
Rovatti - The armory sound like an "interesting" place. Spiderpig? I get a reference to this, but perhaps not the reference.
DWave - Aren't something like 80% of federal employees considered "vital", and who still show up in the event of a "shutdown"? Perhaps the races could go on otherwise.
Judging by Brew's absence I'm guessing he has something bigger smaller more important occupying his time.
My yard is currently being town up to repair a leak in the main water line that is just upstream from my water meter/inlet pipe, so my house and most of the neighborhood is without water for at least today. Too bad they only told me about the water being cut off since it's in my yard. People in the neighborhood are less than pleased.
The local HS track finally has a new surface on it, though no lines painted yet. The local old guy/fast guy has done a workout there this week, so I'll likely try it out as well tomorrow. Hopefully it's unlocked now so I don't have to jump a fence...
5k: 17:58 11/22 │ 10k: 37:55 9/21 │ HM: 1:23:22 4/22 │ M: 2:56:05 12/22
Upcoming Races:
OKC Memorial 5k - April 27
Bun Run 5k - May 4
I think it's closer to 20% are essential. It sucks for them, because they have to show up at work, but don't get a paycheck. (they do eventually get backpay, but it sucks if one doesn't have a decent financial safety cushion so that one can forego a paycheck for a few weeks).
To explain the effect on the races - many of our races are at least partially on National Parks Service property (in DC, it's all very fluid - you can be on DC property for a block, then NPS property for two blocks, etc..). The roads that are part of NPS are usually less trafficked and have fewer intersections, and so are easier to shut down for races.
When there is a shutdown, all NPS property is closed and cannot be used, including for races. Races have been cancelled during past shutdowns for this reason. When there's a shutdown looming, races scramble, either revising their course to avoid NPS property, or postponing. Or cancelling.
Random fact #1: races that are staged on NPS property also cannot have race day registration, since you can't have financial transactions on NPS property.
Random fact #2: many of our local running routes/bike paths are also at least partially on NPS property. So when there's a shutdown, barriers go up there as well, and we're technically not allowed to run or bike on those. Of course, it's not like they're patrolling and writing tickets, so pretty much everybody just runs on those anyway. But it's fascinating how quickly the quality of those bike paths disintegrates when there's a shut down. The NPS does a ton of maintenance (trimming branches, clearing trash and fallen leaves) that you don't notice until they stop doing it for a few days.
DkW ~ I'm a little below 50% of the race happening (or greater than 50% that there will be a brief shutdown). My (informed) instincts tell me they won't make a deal by Friday midnight ("Hey, we've got the whole weekend to work that out."), but will before Monday ("when it really matters").
CDR K ~ As a govt employee, I can confirm the majority of us are non-essential. (If you're essential, you have to come in on snow days too!)
Rovatti - Spiderpig? I get a reference to this, but perhaps not the reference.
He posted a few years back.... one of the few to have run afoul of the 3:20. I can't remember the particulars, except that he repeatedly posted unflattering pics of girl-in-motion (another 3:20er) to piss her off.
Recovery Phenom
Pepperjack: It's encouraging that you had a friend go under 3:20 at Rehoboth. That will be my fall marathon next year-- I am like 90% sure. I want the bulk of my training to be in October and November, and then take a break during the dark month of December! Congrats on the speedy 5K! Good mileage last week.
OMR: Great to hear from you. Nice mileage for you last week.
Pesto: Interesting that such a competitive race is mis-measured. I think that's worse than a long course because then you feel like you can't legitimately claim a PR. At least that is how I feel. I need for my Garmin to at least be the race distance. Congrats on being so super speedy on it!
Dad4: Looks like you are doing Jingle All the Way? The wind forecast will probably change between now and then. Wear shorts!
CommanderKeen: Great to see you building up. Exciting news about the baby possibly coming a little early!
Katia: Do you find the snow is slippery? I am afraid to run on it.
RLK: Congrats again on CIM! I am really happy for you. Hope you eat ALL the junk food! I think my coach is prepping me for the Houston half. I was surprised to see so much speed work so soon, but I trust him and will back off if I am not feeling it.
Brewing: Ooooh!!! Hope everything is going smoothly!
Ace: Charleston half sounds like fun!
Darkwave: Wait- you are doing the Houston Half? Me too! Hope to see you around at some point, although not the day before because I know your reclusive ways! I hope to meet Gracie, whose blog I sometimes see you comment on. I was also looking at that Philly Love run, but I think three halves might be overkill. I'm not doing Jingle all the Way.
Seattle: Hope you recovery fully son.
McBen: Did those Disney runners also advocate eating massive quantities of bread and pasta the week of a marathon?
Races for 2018
I am signed up for:
- New Year's Day 5K (where I hope to wave goodbye to the 20:17 2017 PR)
- Houston Half
- Rock N Roll New Orleans Half
- Patriot's Day Marathon
Goals other than mileage/PRs: Staying healthy is always a goal. I'd also like to try and do more strength training. I don't have "fun" goals as you describe them though! 20:17 in 2017 was really a fun goal and awesome to hit it on the nose. Maybe 20:18 on the nose in a summer race?
My latest workout: 4 x 1-minute w/1-minute recovery jogs, 4 x 2 minutes with 1-minute recovery jogs, 4 x 3 minutes with 90-seconds recovery jogs. Those are very short recoveries and that workout was super intense. I was supposed to run the 1-minute intervals the fastest, which meant starting out fast and slowing down as the workout progressed. I was in the 6:10 neighborhood for the 1-minutes, 6:25 for the 2-minutes, and 6:40 for the 3-minutes. Those short recovery jogs were so darn short.
26.2 x 31 (3:15:34 PR)
13.1 x 35 (1:30:58 PR)
Author of the book Boston Bound
Yes. I hope you're right! Current forecast has 18 mph winds w/ gusts to 24 mph; wind chill around 20.
Nice workout. Starting faster is tough.
Will Run for Donuts!
Congrats to RLK on CIM! Great job getting under 3:20!!
Congrats also to pepperjack on the 2nd place in the 5K!
Any of you DCers doing the Gar Williams Half on the 17th? I'm going to make another attempt at a sub-1:30. i'm probably not there yet, but it won't be my first crash and burn if I'm right.
I'm also doing Disney in 2018, McBen. It's a really fun weekend, and where else can you do a half and full back to back? Enjoy it! My son will be making his marathon debut that weekend. His training has been spotty since he graduated, so we'll see how much track/XC fitness remains. He's not looking to do much more than finish, so he should be fine.
Jones - are you in DC?
And nope, not doing Gar Williams. DC Roadrunners put on good fun races, though.
E78 - yup - I'm in for Houston as a goal race - would like to run 85 minutes there. Agreed with Dad on the difficulty of starting with the fastest reps.
Heh - the mess grows. The race management for Jingle All the Way offered registrants the opportunity to switch to the "Great Chocolate 5 Miler" - also this weekend - which apparently was not expected to be affected by a shut down (I'm not sure why that is, since that race ran onto the Pentagon grounds, I thought).
Anyhoo - Great Chocolate is now cancelled according to the Arlington County Police. Interestingly, Great Chocolate itself has not stated anything about cancellation on its website. Amusing.
Strict WTF adherent
McBen: Did those Disney runners also advocate eating massive quantities of bread and pasta the week of a marathon
True story: Twas the night before Disney's Princess half marathon a few years ago. I was fueling with a few Sierra Nevadas at the pool bar, and one of the runners came out of the cafeteria and sat next to me with her dinner. It consisted of 13 slices of toast and 13 packets of peanut butter. I guess one for each mile? These people are OBSESSIVE about fueling.
RnR New Orleans has been on my list for a while. McW seems to think it's a bad idea for me to go there. She's probably right.
Jones - I run the Goofy every year. Your son has youth on his side, so I'm sure he'll be fine. And if there's a place for a fun run, that's probably it.
I believe the final straw with Spiderpig came when he threw some shade at Stevi for her race results (I don't remember her screen name).
Darkwave - I'm out in the hinderlands of VA (Woodbridge). I used to work in town, but converted to full-time telework this past spring. Two less hours of commuting is two more hours of training!
McBen - I've done the Goofy three times, and am doing the Dopey in 2018 just to try it out (and score more medals!). I've done a few other Disney races as well. I just treat them all as fun runs and really enjoy the experience. Plus, it's fun to double up the races like that - not many other events allow the opportunity. I've got a bunch of family and friends joining me this year, including my 75yo mom running her first half! She's got decent speed for her age and given the lack of competitors (usually 5 or less), she's got a solid shot at winning her age group! Good luck to you!
pie man
There were rumors somehow somebody was out keeping people off the government property one of the previous shut owns. But it was friend of a friend stuff, so I'm not sure it actually happened. And logistically that just seems impossible. We did lose out extended hours at fort McHenry during the sequestration and never got them back. But that was not a shut down?
My favorite was my financial aid from U of Illinois when I was applying arrived super duper late. Like, it arrived April 25 and I had to make my decision May 1. And they blamed the shutdown, which had occurred in November/December the year before.
I did 5 easy with strides worked in tonight, per D's advice. I didn't feel quite recovered yesterday so I waited. Still felt some soreness, but I think I worked some of that out. It's not like my team is counting on me to score, I think we have quite a few sub 35 guys so it's just me running for me. And trying to stay out of the bottom 10.
I had a twist on the goofy challenge--all 4 races, then the Clearwater 50k the next weekend (no longer works if they aren't a week apart and it looks like like they aren't ).
11:11 3,000 (recent)
Problem Child
NuRP (apparently his name) born this morning. 8 lbs 3 ounces and 20.25” long. My wife grows them big. She is finally getting some sleep. I snuck (overslept) a 4 hour nap and woke up in a panic when it was dark outside when I woke up. He is doing great. He gets an Ultrasignup account when he turns 8. I’m sure there are some short races he can sign up for. Photos on the page of faces group because at least there I won’t get people upset.
Yesterday was the passing of the 21st amendment. It would have been fitting since I, and Kev, were born in National Beer Day. Apparently today is Saint Nicholas day.
Dont Doxx my baby. You know who you are.
Many of us aren't sure what the hell point you are trying to make and no matter how we guess, it always seems to be something else. Which usually means a person is doing it on purpose.
VDOT 53.37
5k18:xx | Marathon 2:55:22
Wasn’t there someone who was talking about how attractive the women were during his marathon? People are FAWKing weird.
thanks CK for asking about the Spiderpig reference, I was completely lost as well. Sounds like quite a character.
Jones - huge kudos to your mom running her first HM! That's definitely on the top 5 of things I've read in these forums. And good luck to her with the AG win!
brew - finally!! congrats!! Glad to hear the three of you are doing well. When are you heading home?
McB - did you actually count the 13 slices (and PB packets)?! How did you do that without getting caught? I think I'd have to use my fingers for that.
e78 - I agree, long course >> short course. It would have definitely been a PR for me (probably in the 18:05-18:15 neighbourhood), but it does feel like it can't be claimed. I'll be running a 5.4km race on December 31st probably, so that will definitely not be a short course for a 5k PR Tough workout too!
PJ - those 4 races + a 50k the following weekend sounds just brutal
5K - 18:03 (5.18) | 10K - 37:58 (2.18) | HM - 1:20:45 (9.18) | FM: 2:57:59 (10.18)