2022 Advanced Racing Thread (Read 497 times)

ch17


It's Tuesday every day

    Hello! Happy almost-Thanksgiving.

     

    Fishy: thanks for the great race report! Way to focus during the race. I picked up a few ideas re fueling/thinking to save for later.

     

    Keen and (if applicable) Darkwave: good luck in your races tomorrow!

     

    Mikkey: something I didn't think about until this AM is: okay, 280 mi is far, but how did the cat know which way to go???? [I mean, if you threw me into a box, drove me somewhere far away (and I didn't know how far or where), and threw me out with nothing but the clothes on my back, could I just start walking home? BTW, I don't get to ask anybody or read signs.]

     

    Turns out, there are possible answers for this (e.g., https://time.com/4104980/animal-navigation-pets/). but, still...

    Fishyone


       CH- Thanks for the feedback.  RE- cats.  My best friend's family growing up got a new cat who was really mean and nasty to the other pets and family member so much so the dad took the cat about 20 miles away to a farm with the intention it would become a barn cat. He drove it there in a crate in the trunk of the car. Almost 3 months later (the entire summer) the cat showed up back at the house.  Best part of the story is the cat was so mellow upon his return that they ended up keeping him and he lived to a ripe old cat age.  The experience changed him!!  I know it sounds made up but it is absolutely a true story!!

       

       

       

      Mikkey: something I didn't think about until this AM is: okay, 280 mi is far, but how did the cat know which way to go???? [I mean, if you threw me into a box, drove me somewhere far away (and I didn't know how far or where), and threw me out with nothing but the clothes on my back, could I just start walking home? BTW, I don't get to ask anybody or read signs.]

       

      Turns out, there are possible answers for this (e.g., https://time.com/4104980/animal-navigation-pets/). but, still...

      5K 18:36 (2023), 10K 39:40 (2022), 1/2 1:24:37 (2023), full 2:58:36 (2015) 

        Fishy—finally catching up on your RR. Great race! Beautifully even splits, especially impressive with the wind. I’d think that would’ve slowed you down in spots; maybe it did if we could see the splits per mile...if your watch had held up. At CIM I had a low battery warning pop up around mile 22. I was like, wtf? I knew my battery was borderline but not that bad. Fortunately it lasted till the end of the race. I realized the issue is that I had turned the backlight on at the start when it was dark; I forgot to turn it off when it got light out, and didn’t notice...because it was light out. Anyway—pretty stressful for you I’m sure, but you obviously adjusted masterfully. I am usually a slave to my watch, but at Chicago I decided to trust the pacers and stick with them from the start. It was very freeing to not even think about my watch. Then later on in the race you know what feels right, and can make the decision to hold on/pick it up/slow it down, as needed. Is a muffin the entirety of your usual prerace breakfast? Sounds a bit light to me, but clearly it worked for you!

        Dave

        Fishyone


          Thanks Dave. This is me to a "t" and it was so nice to follow the pacer and my only goal was do not let him out of your sight.

           

          Yes, a muffin is normally it for me. Tasty and high in sugar.  I run all of my morning runs including the weekend long run on coffee only.  The morning of a race I wake up super early and force the muffin down so I have 2 hours to digest before the race.

           

          In the past I've had a few runs that were too close to food and my stomach rebels completely.  Really bad heartburn forcing me to slow down/stop.

           

          Someone earlier posted a pre run breakfast that would absolutely end my running day.

           

          I am usually a slave to my watch, but at Chicago I decided to trust the pacers and stick with them from the start. It was very freeing to not even think about my watch. Then later on in the race you know what feels right, and can make the decision to hold on/pick it up/slow it down, as needed. Is a muffin the entirety of your usual prerace breakfast? Sounds a bit light to me, but clearly it worked for you!

          5K 18:36 (2023), 10K 39:40 (2022), 1/2 1:24:37 (2023), full 2:58:36 (2015) 

             

            Dave - is PNW the Pacific North West?

             

            Yes, basically Washington & Oregon. Famous in the US for rainy climate. Although that’s mainly in terms of number of rainy days per year; the total rainfall amount is not so high. Heavy rain is rare, thunderstorms are virtually nonexistent. Most of the rain is a drizzle, but it’s nearly daily through late fall/winter/early spring.

            Dave

            flavio80


            Intl. correspondent

              Dave - That gave me a smile. I think it's been 6 years now since Garmins auto turn off the backlight a few seconds after you're no longer looking at it. And it automatically lights it up when you look at your watch.

              I will give you though that Garmin are assholes and artificially lock features here and there to make you buy the more expensive watch.

              Like there's a cheap watch with AMOLED display, but then the sports part of it is crap. If you want the same AMOLED display but good sports features, then you have to pay like 900 dollars on the Epix 2.

              If you don't want to pay that much but need good sports features, then you have to pay 300 to 500, but you will have a crappy display.

              Fishy - I've heard cats can be real assholes when they're teenagers then they mellow out later. Maybe that was also part of what happened?

              Also, a muffin for breakfast sounds great. Easy carbs and sugar for energy and, at least for me, it won't weight you down later.

              Jmac - You reading that book yet or still procrastinating ? It has at least 10 sections that could be useful re: nausea during a race. Those include consuming caffeine pre-race, consuming protein (bacon or eggs for breakfast), usually consuming very little food, then suddenly your stomach can't handle all the gels, it could be that the gels decided to sit in your stomach for some odd reason instead of flowing down, it could even be heart burn, or maybe plain old hiatus hernia causing mayhem making you feel full with just a bit of food in your stomach.

              I quote enjoyed the reading, though I did skip over parts of the section about supplements. It was interesting, though, that there are many studies around using probiotics to reduce severity and frequency of respiratory diseases like colds. That one drew my attention.

              PRs: 1500 4:54.1 2019 - 5K 17:53 2023 - 10K 37:55 2023 - HM 1:21:59 2021

              Up next: no idea

              Tool to generate Strava weekly

              Running Problem


              Problem Child

                Ran a 10k today. I used it as a fitness test. I kept speeding up and now the spreadsheet says I could do a sub 3:03 marathon. Hanson's says 3:05. I'm going to need to do some work if I'm going for a NYCQ (NQ? NyQuill?) in Boston. Actually...I think this is about where I start MOST of my marathon training.

                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

                JMac11


                RIP Milkman

                  I just booked my 2023 CIM hotel. Who the hell knows if I'll run it, but for some bizzare reason they allowed me to book with points. 30K points for 3 nights total at the Hyatt Regency is definitely not correct. They had the dollar rate right thoigh (about 380 per night). Let's hope they don't cancel this on me.

                   

                  Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

                  5K: 16:37 (11/20)  |  10K: 34:49 (10/19)  |  HM: 1:14:57 (5/22)  |  FM: 2:36:31 (12/19) 

                   

                   

                  Fishyone


                     

                    Fishy - I've heard cats can be real assholes when they're teenagers then they mellow out later. Maybe that was also part of what happened?

                    Also, a muffin for breakfast sounds great. Easy carbs and sugar for energy and, at least for me, it won't weight you down later.

                     

                    Yes, very similar to human teenagers   Mikkey-  puppies can be tough during the "teenage years" as well.  Keep running the energy out of that boy!

                     

                    RP- I think 10ks are the best shorter distance gauges of marathon fitness. It's hard to find a 10K and when I find them they always seem to be just an "add-on" and they have far fewer runners. There's plenty of time between now and April.

                     

                    JMac- It almost sounds like you're planning another marathon cycle You even change your mind fast....Someone should do the 7 stages of grief for a less than optimal marathon.  It took me a couple months to work through what you've done in a couple weeks.  Bravo!!

                    5K 18:36 (2023), 10K 39:40 (2022), 1/2 1:24:37 (2023), full 2:58:36 (2015) 

                    mmerkle


                      https://runsignup.com/Race/FindARunner/?raceId=128101&rsus=100-200-d588a217-07d2-4f3a-9419-8788da4bdb69

                       

                      Bib # 155 in case anyone wants to track me. Weather is looking like 40 degrees with light wind and sun which is awesome. The scale this morning read 135 which is perfect, just where I want to be. Just need to take advantage of these conditions and execute well.

                        mmerkle - Go get it!

                        Dave

                        JMac11


                        RIP Milkman

                          https://runsignup.com/Race/FindARunner/?raceId=128101&rsus=100-200-d588a217-07d2-4f3a-9419-8788da4bdb69

                           

                          Bib # 155 in case anyone wants to track me. Weather is looking like 40 degrees with light wind and sun which is awesome. The scale this morning read 135 which is perfect, just where I want to be. Just need to take advantage of these conditions and execute well.

                           

                          Wow what a forecast! Best of luck! You're clearly in sub 3 shape, just need to go execute.

                          5K: 16:37 (11/20)  |  10K: 34:49 (10/19)  |  HM: 1:14:57 (5/22)  |  FM: 2:36:31 (12/19) 

                           

                           

                          SteveChCh


                          Hot Weather Complainer

                            Good luck mmerkle.  I'll be keeping a close eye out for your result, although the race starts at 2am our time.  I agree with JMac that you're in great shape and that weather is perfect to put up a great performance you look capable of.

                             

                            RP - Very nice 10km.  I agree with caitlin on the other thread - if you sound positive about a race it will make me nervous.

                             

                            Fishy - JMac already wrote a post about the stages when I was going through them, a very good and accurate representation of how I was feeling.  I'll try and find it...

                             

                            1) Denial - often occurs in the race as things are going south. "No, no, this isn't happening. It's just in your head. You're going to be fine and you're going to recover!"

                             

                            2) Anger - "this race fucking sucks, I'm so stupid for doing this. I'm never doing another one of these again." Often, you want to punch those cheery spectators in the face who are saying things like "it's just a few more miles! You got this in you." No, I don't have it in me! OTHERWISE I'D BE RUNNING FASTER.

                             

                            3) Bargaining - "If only I had done more long runs, or maybe fewer long runs, this wouldn't have happened. What else could I have done differently to prevent this?" This phase can last the next few days after the race

                             

                            4) Sadness - "Why do I bother with running at all? Why should I pick myself up and ever try this again?" This can last anywhere from a few days to a few weeks

                             

                            5) Acceptance - "The race didn't go the way I planned. It's time to pick myself up and get back at it." Often, you can reach acceptance without necessarily getting right back into training, but you know that you want to take another crack at it.

                             

                            I'm glad I listened to the very good advice here to slowly make decisions on next steps and races. 

                             

                            I got my bloods back and all is normal, although B12 is on the low end of normal so they're going to give me a shot.  I've got a chat with the potential new coach on Tuesday when we'll decide if it's a good fit, and I have physio at the Sports Clinic in a few weeks where we'll work out a plan to sort out my muscle imbalance.  My legs were really sore after Queenstown, I probably should have respected the hard course more than I did, especially after learning the lesson in 2020.  A quiet couple of weeks ahead then time to focus on Christchurch 2023.  My mate from Melbourne who did an amazing support crew job on the day is coming over to run it too.  He's going for sub 3 and has a PB of 2:59:58 (Marby if you're lurking you'll know who I mean as you met him at the pub and discussed the 25 second difference in your PBs and how silly that it seems so significant - although that last bit may only be my opinion).

                            5km: 18:34 11/23 │ 10km: 39:10 8/23 │ HM: 1:26:48 9/23 │ M: 3:34:49 6/23

                             

                            2024 Races:

                            Motorway Half Marathon February 25, 2024 1:29:55

                            Christchurch Half-Marathon April 21, 2024

                            Selwyn Marathon June 2, 2024

                            Dunedin Half Marathon September 15, 2024

                            Marky_Mark_17


                              Fishy - JMac already wrote a post about the stages when I was going through them, a very good and accurate representation of how I was feeling.  I'll try and find it...

                               

                              On this, I've started reading Steve Magness' book "Do Hard Things".  Been enjoying it so far, some interesting and useful stuff.  It's not running-specific per se, but he does put a lot of running examples in there.

                               

                              One interesting point he raises early on is Performance = Actual Demands / Expected Demands.  We tend to get our best results when get this as close to 1:1 as possible.  If actual demands are too high relative to expectations, that's when we tend to blow up.  Conversely, if expected demands massively exceed actual demands, you get into the 'why bother' zone.

                               

                              There's an important related point around "expected demands" which is that you necessarily have to embrace reality i.e. don't set silly expectations.  The best goals are those that are just beyond our current capabilities - achievable, but not unrealistic.

                              3,000m: 9:07.7 (Nov-21) | 5,000m: 15:39 (Dec-19) | 10,000m: 32:34 (Mar-20)  

                              10km: 33:15 (Sep-19) | HM: 1:09:41 (May-21)* | FM: 2:41:41 (Oct-20)

                              * Net downhill course

                              Last race: Maraetai HM, 10 Mar, DNF

                              Up next: Waterfront HM, 7 Apr

                              "CONSISTENCY IS KING"

                              Running Problem


                              Problem Child

                                I just booked my 2023 CIM hotel. Who the hell knows if I'll run it, but for some bizzare reason they allowed me to book with points. 30K points for 3 nights total at the Hyatt Regency is definitely not correct. They had the dollar rate right thoigh (about 380 per night). Let's hope they don't cancel this on me.

                                 

                                Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

                                 

                                Awesome.  I might make 2023 my last chance NQ. Happy thanksgiving.  Don’t you have a daughter due soon, or did I miss that?

                                 

                                Fishy 10k races here are usually an add on and measure 6.1 miles.  The one I raced was short, and they could move the start/finish back, or the turn around back, to make it longer.

                                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