3:20 Thrusts into RunningAhead in 2012 (Read 940 times)

xor


    He's talking about the sub-3 thread in the Marathon Race Training forum:

     

    http://www.runningahead.com/groups/MarathonRaceTraining/forum/17ad87fbd0c34d90956944b0f3744af2

     

    And yes, that thread does seem to take a long time to load for some reason. That is odd, and a question for eric Smile .

     

    But as srlopez says, there's not a problem here with user groups in general.

     

    Of course.  Sorry, another example of a user group being created that is pretty much identical to a previously existing group.  I knew RWOLers had done this, but I hadn't looked.  Now I have. Into the two groups they created, actually.  What bhearn said.  That is not the typical user group experience, or at least should not be.  The other one yall created (Marathoners dailies) seems fast.

     

    xor


      Hey SRL -- you know that User Groups are really slow. Right?

       

      I saw this at 9:51 PST.  At 10:54 PST, this was posted in your user group:

       

      http://www.runningahead.com/groups/MarathonRaceTraining/forum/Post/e75e0b76e9fd4c5ab4630f2edb2d4c17#focus

       

      While there is no fix yet, I am posting this partly to apologize for my earlier testiness... but also to say, no, the user groups in general are not slow.  RWOL culture difference.... here, people listen and try to help.  I was testy earlier because some of this reads like a diss, but I know it wasn't.  Yall just aren't used to RA.  If you have an issue, post about it in the Tech Support area.  Some stuff will get fixed asap, and some will not... but people DO listen.  But don't just assume something sucks and is just doomed to suck.  :-D

       

      Anyway, there is a specific issue.  See linky.  eric is the bestest.

       

      fb-guy


        He's talking about the sub-3 thread in the Marathon Race Training forum:

         

        http://www.runningahead.com/groups/MarathonRaceTraining/forum/17ad87fbd0c34d90956944b0f3744af2

         

        And yes, that thread does seem to take a long time to load for some reason. That is odd, and a question for eric Smile .

         
        That's all I said.

        m: 2:55:04 | 10k: 37:14 | 50mile: 9:35

        xor


          No.  Really you didn't.  But ok.

           

          itstonz


          Man its Hot Here

            Kia Ora everyone

             

            Re the Group/Thread talk, I kind of like the one stop shop kind of feel. Im not sure Id be too keen to have to go looking around to see what people are up to and hear about how FB willy is recovering from pee'ing his pants

             

            NICK The Phitz plan has an 18 week option but I dont know if I can do that so Im going to do 12 weeks I think. As NYC I truely think part of the issue was that our event was seen as a rich outsiders event where as the sports events that went on,Giants playing the same night we weren't allowed to run, was seen as a New Yorkers thing. Thus there wasn't calls for all the hotdogs and such to be "donated" along with all the extra power generaters for the TV coverage. I see all the time on the Marathon Fb page people saying that runners who are wanting answers being called cold hearted for doing so because some people are still not back to 100% in NYC, but people who are asking why Tebow isn't starting for the Jets aren't.....but this kind of thing could go on and on and on.......Im just kind of excitied about what crazy stuff is going to hit Bruno when Im over in April

             

            Ive been asked to House/Dog sit over the Christmas holidays so if anyones in town,party at mine....THERES A POOL!!!!!!

             

            10 slow and enjoyable miles lastnight,not too hot but not too cold infact it was juuuuuuuust right

            fb-guy


              To quote myself. haha. "Hey SRL -- you know that User Groups are really slow. Right?"

               

              I think a six second page load that causes members to comment counts as slow. Sorry.

              m: 2:55:04 | 10k: 37:14 | 50mile: 9:35

              L Train


                Come on, man.  He already addressed that.  We've got this same conversation going in two different threads. 

                 

                fb-guy


                  FB - how did you place AG wise?

                   

                  7.4 @ 8:09 this morning as I try to creep my way back into things.

                   

                  Interesting stuff. 10th last year at 2:55, and 10th this year at 3:03. And I was reeling in a bald guy right at the end thinking -- 50-54. haha. He held me off, and yet. #9. Another 100 yards and I had him. LMAO.

                   

                  When Ron and I were walking to his hotel, we bumped into another 50-54 guys. He ran 2:49, but was shooting for 2:39 (wtf). He was a little bummed so I said you probably won the AG. And he was like "no way. last year the AG winner was in the mid 2:30s.". Well, he won 50-54.

                   

                  It was a bitch out there.

                   

                  Mr. Happy is starting to perk back up.

                  m: 2:55:04 | 10k: 37:14 | 50mile: 9:35

                  bhearn


                    So, I'm thinking I made the right call on switching to Tucson. Congrats again on toughing it out. I guess I'd like to have that story to tell, but I've spent most of the year training to PR. First Boston, now CIM -- no thanks. I'd at least like the chance this year, just once, to miss PRing because of training rather than weather.

                    xor


                      To quote myself. haha. "Hey SRL -- you know that User Groups are really slow. Right?"

                       

                      I think a six second page load that causes members to comment counts as slow. Sorry.

                       

                      I totally agree.  And, blam, it immediately got addressed.

                       

                      That said, I hope you see the difference between declaring ONE thread or even ONE group as slow and the more generic "User Groups are really slow", which reads as though this is universally true.  Which, well, I apologize for being bitchy about that, but seriously, it ain't that way.

                       

                      This is a really good site.  I love it here.

                       

                      Shoot, your problem was fixed about 90 minutes after it got brought up in this thread.

                       

                      fb-guy


                        SRL -- thanks!

                         

                        If you are a glutton for punishment, here's a RR.

                         

                        CIM 2012

                         

                        A little bit of background. I have race CIM twice before — 2:55 last year, and 3:04 in 2010. Two years ago there wasn’t a 3:05 pace group, because at the time the 35 and under Boston qualifying time was 3:10. So I made a last minute decision to run with the 3:00 group even though I wasn’t ready to run sub 3. But it worked out, and I ran 1:29:30/1:34:30 to hang onto a PR (with a +5 split). Last year, CIM was the first leg of the CIM2LasVegas double, and I was scheduled to run 3:20 with Zab. Just fast enough to catch the flight to Las Vegas, but slow enough to reserve some energy. But at the last minute, Zab missed his flight, so I thought wtf, and ran full speed. I did 1:26:30/1:28:30 for a 2:55 — which is my current PR.

                         

                        My training since the Headlands 50 has been designed to help me build the speed and endurance to break my PR and perhaps even get down to 2:51:59 — less than two hours plus my age. I knew that it was a stretch, and I could feel that my easy speed improvements as a beginner were coming to an end. Comparing my training cycles from  2011 to 2012, this year I ran more miles at a slightly faster pace. The 50 miler was positive, though a different running event, I ran a poor 5K in October, and two pretty good 12 miles tempo training runs in November. Which basically meant that nothing was in the bag, but lots of things were possible — I guess that’s what makes it fun.

                         

                        When I went to bed Saturday evening the weather was pretty calm, and despite having watched the local weather on TV (who correctly predicted that the worst of the storm would come through between 4AM and 9AM Sunday morning), I fell asleep thinking that they might be wrong and that we might have some real racing weather. Classic denial. Or maybe misguided optimism. All of which shattered by reality when the alarm went off at 4:30 and I looked out the window and the rain was pouring down sideways in sheets and the wind was cracking through the trees. The weatherman is almost always wrong — but today they nailed it.

                         

                        I drove to the start with another runner from my hotel, and we were just laughing as the car danced along the freeway in the wind. There was a tree down in the road near the start, with emergency crews cleaning up, and after she parked we just sat there looking at each other and saying “I’m not going out there”. Finally, I put on my garbage bag and stood in line to take the shuttle to the start. Some people were laughing, and a few had a look of complete shock. Like “what the hell am I doing here”? You know me, I think marathons are great and getting the crowd going was a lot of fun.

                         

                        One of my more memorable moments was when I was sitting there in the porta-potty and the walls were rocking back and forth and shaking, and I thought to myself -- “I am really glad I’m here. What a blast”. We had gusts into the high 20s (low 30s?), directly into our faces at the start.

                         

                        Miles 1-6 40:41


                        As usual, I had no idea what my race plan was. A PR attempt was gone, but I wanted a BQ for 2014. I couldn’t make up my mind whether to settle in with the 3:20 group, or try to go faster. After a while RunRonRun came up beside me and said hello — which was a big stroke of luck. He’s been running for years, we’re the same speed, he’s a Silicon Valley guy, he went to the same college where my daughter goes to school, and best of all, he actually knows what he’s doing.

                         

                        We’re talking and running. My shoe laces come undone (I’m so not committed to the race that I didn’t even double knot my shoes), and I lose 20 seconds. Luckily my tech shirt sticks to my front, so I don’t get my nipples rubbed off. No, I didn’t use any glide.

                         

                        Early on, my watch gets wet and fritz’s out, so I’m gonna have to rely on other runners.

                         

                        At some point Ron says that we are going to be taking a left turn into the wind soon and that we’d better find a group. Of course he’s right. So we speed up and get into the 3:05 group. My new home. We turn south and it’s like wtf.

                         

                        Miles 7-13.1 51:04

                         

                        Water is pouring down the street — sometime over the top of our shoes making little puddles in the inner sole. We pass a dead raccoon who is making a dam and a little lake. Nice. Not much to say, really. The hardest part is trying to not trip anybody or get tripped, but staying tight really helps. Nobody is talk, and there is definitely not enough laughing. Tough crowd.

                         

                        There are ankle hit puddles everywhere and little streams and rivers in the road.

                         

                        At some point after the longest due south, Ron gets bored and says he’s off to catch the 3:00 group. He waves at me to come along, but I can’t do it.

                         

                        I’ve never run with a pacing group before, and you get hammered at every aid station. Everybody slows down, we run into each other getting drinks, and then we have to get started back up again. Somewhere along the line I decide that I’m not perspiring anyway, so I stop drinking.


                        Which leads me to peeing in my pants. I’ve already lost 20 seconds to my shoelaces, so I’m not stopping again. Plus, I had a big gatorade the night before and a cup of coffee the morning of, so I have to go. It’s a first, and it’s a big success.

                         

                        We hit the half, and I call out — what’s our time? And nobody responds. It’s survival mode.

                         

                        Looking back, we hit the half at about 1:31:45 — on track for 3:03:30, so the pacer is a little ahead of schedule; though I didn’t know it at the time. And it took way to much energy to hit that time. A lot to much.

                         

                        Miles 14-20 48:02

                         

                        After the half, we grind on for a while (and I don’t know that we are faster than 3:05) and I’m thinking, OK, I’m going to fade to let’s try to beat 3:10 to not feel too badly about this race. Depression is a sad thing.

                         

                        Earlier in the race, I was hitting all the aid stations, so I have to go again. I’m peeing in my pants, and I’m staring off into space with that look of contented well-being, and I catch the eyes of a nice lady cheering on the sides. She looks at me and say “keep going”. I smile, and I do keep going. It’s been the best part of the race so far.

                         

                        Then, a couple of miles after the half, we veer to the southwest, and the wind drops down. And we look up, and at the same time the pacer and I both say “maybe the wind is done”. The pace is feeling fine, so I pull out a little ahead of the pack to see if I can pull away. But after a couple of miles, I can hear them back there going pop, pop, pop, pop, so I give up and fall back into the group.

                         

                        The pack is getting smaller, and we’re just holding on. But I’m right behind the pacer, and he’s a big guy — which is good, and it’s getting a little easier hanging with the group.

                         

                        Miles 21 - 26.2 43:56

                         

                        The rain has just about stopped and the wind has died down. If the race had started two hours later this would have been a PR day. Who would have believed it at 6AM.

                         

                        At mile 21 something funny happens. We’ve been reeling in Ron — he tried to catch the 3:00 group but didn’t make it, and he had to run in the wind and rain by himself without the help of the group. So he isn’t that far ahead of us.

                         

                        And then pacer slows down a little and says that he’s ahead on time, and he’s going to be slowing dow — and the if you’ve got a little left in the tank to just go for it.

                         

                        wtf. Why not.

                         

                        I caught Ron just before the bridge at mile 21.5 and keep going. In the last 4 1/2 miles I passed 49 runners, and got passed by two guys who beat me by about 100 yards. The crowds were out and the music was pretty good, and I was counting runners as I went. It was good for my concentration. My watch didn’t work, and I have no idea how CIM’s splits work, so I don’t know how fast I was going, but it felt OK.

                         

                        My final was 3:03:40, so I ran almost dead even halves. That would include a fast first quarter, an awful second quarter that was both slow and a huge energy sink, and a strong finish.

                         

                        Overall, this was a completely new experience for me. I’ve run PRs (which are pretty easy to get when you are a newbie), and a number doubles, where the second marathon is a fun run. This was neither. It wasn’t 100% effort, but it was close. And it felt good putting in my best effort even though I knew it wasn’t a PR day. I could have mailed it in, but I didn’t.

                         

                        Final update. Mr. Happy is starting to feel a little better.

                         

                        Thanks for taking the time to read this. Now it’s time to get ready for Boston 2013. I am committed to setting what is going to be my lifetime PR some time in the next couple of years. I would really like a Moose Mug (which does down to 2:52:59 in two month), I would love to hit a 2:49Tight lippedx before I get too old, and the course record for 55-59 at Big Sur is 2:57Tight lippedx. These are serious goals that I know are going to take a lot of work and some good luck. But I’m game to try.

                        m: 2:55:04 | 10k: 37:14 | 50mile: 9:35

                        bhearn


                          Great report, FB.

                          fb-guy


                            bhearn -- Good luck this weekend. Are you just doing an extended taper? GA with some strides? 20-30 miles?

                             

                            I think I'd bite someone's head off if I tried to taper for four weeks.

                            m: 2:55:04 | 10k: 37:14 | 50mile: 9:35

                            Jk_Alentejano


                            Moving in ;-)

                              fornobravo i'm asking about your user name here on the forum, cause in my language(Portuguese) it translates to "brave oven" ;-)

                              bhearn


                                bhearn -- Good luck this weekend. Are you just doing an extended taper? GA with some strides? 20-30 miles?

                                 

                                I think I'd bite someone's head off if I tried to taper for four weeks.

                                 

                                Tell me about it. It's worse than that -- I've pretty much already had a four-week taper, thanks to various life issues. Definitely losing fitness, and it's really hard to keep from eating everything.

                                 

                                But yeah, light, easy week. Actually I tweaked my hamstring doing my last speed workout a couple weeks ago, so maybe the extra week will help there. Or maybe it will still be tweaked.