Beginners and Beyond

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Tuesday? (Read 41 times)

    7 miles with 10 x 1 min on / 1 min off.

     

    I went out with the pacer in my early marathoning days, but it's been a long time. I have a watch, I don't know what a pacer adds to that.

    Of course my favorite pacer of all time was this guy (for those of you who might remember that story).

     

    Dave

    RunningOnSand


      7 miles with 10 x 1 min on / 1 min off.

       

      I went out with the pacer in my early marathoning days, but it's been a long time. I have a watch, I don't know what a pacer adds to that.

      Of course my favorite pacer of all time was this guy (for those of you who might remember that story).

       

       

      This looks like a great story. Care to share (again)?

         

        This looks like a great story. Care to share (again)?

         

        Guy in the yellow asks me (#108) what my goal is, I tell him, he says "Great, I'll pace you!" You can pretty much see how fascinated I am by his offer. I am running my race, you can do whatever the hell you want. After about a half mile he says "my watch is jumping around, what pace do you have?"  After a mile or so he's getting ahead of me; after a couple miles I can't even see him anymore. OK then. Round about mile 12, I see him again, looking pretty rough. As I pass him, he says "I'm cramping up, you go, you're looking good!"  Thanks buddy. I ended up running a PR, BQ,  negative split. He ended up finishing about an hour and 15 minutes behind me. Interesting pacing strategy, but I guess it worked for me.

        Dave

        Coastal


          Dave - - I remember that.  Wonder why he singled you out for the benefit of his efforts?

           

          Zzy:  That's too bad about the pacers.

           

          I've had limited but mixed experience with pacers.  The ones from the Clif Bar pace team were really good and kept close to pace which was helpful.  Passed one in a half who was talking to her entourage trying to figure out how fast they were going.  Not sure how helpful that one was.

           

          Sunny URD.  It was sunny again, too nice to go to the Y so I decided to go home and just enjoy the sunshine.  I've slept pretty poorly the last several nights and felt really drained today.

          Cyberic


            Dave - - I remember that.  Wonder why he singled you out for the benefit of his efforts?

             

             

            He noticed Dave shared his passion for neon yellow, to a lesser degree.

            Docket_Rocket


              That story always makes me chuckle.

               

              Good thing I run with music, as it is easy to pretend I don't hear people I don't want to hear.

              Damaris

               

              As part of the 2024 London Marathon, I am fundraising for VICTA, a charity that helps blind and visually impaired children. My mentor while in law school, Jim K (a blind attorney), has been a huge inspiration and an example of courage and perseverance. Please consider donating.

              Fundraising Page


              delicate flower

                 

                 You can pretty much see how fascinated I am by his offer.

                 

                Every time I see this pic and the look on your face, I LOL.  

                <3

                GinnyinPA


                  For my first marathon, Gettysburg, I wanted to follow a pacer because I know my paces are all over the place, especially at races, and hoped a pacer would keep me close, especially in the early miles. The guy was from a professional pacing company, not local, and had never run the course. He had also never paced a group before, just an occasional friend. He knew there were hills, so planned to bank time in the early miles. Turns out he had no clue how to manage his pace when he was chatting with people. First mile was very slow. I told him our pace and he sped up - way too fast. Then he'd start talking and he slowed down again.  Another woman and I just peeled off from the group and did our own thing. I never saw him again.  The race hasn't had pacers since, because "there wasn't enough demand for them," but I wonder how many complaints they had afterwards. 

                  zzyzx


                    I like the idea of pacers to prevent myself from getting too excited early. That's what I did for my half PR. I thought I might be able to do 1:50, stuck with them for a while, got ahead of them by mile 3 or so, got annoyed when they passed me at mile 11, and kept them in my site and blew by them at the finish to get a 1:49:47.

                     

                    I just don't see the point (especially for a non-marathon so Boston isn't even an issue) of fast pacers. I only use them on occasion so it's not a big deal but it's weird.

                    Docket_Rocket


                      For my first marathon, Gettysburg, I wanted to follow a pacer because I know my paces are all over the place, especially at races, and hoped a pacer would keep me close, especially in the early miles. The guy was from a professional pacing company, not local, and had never run the course. He had also never paced a group before, just an occasional friend. He knew there were hills, so planned to bank time in the early miles. Turns out he had no clue how to manage his pace when he was chatting with people. First mile was very slow. I told him our pace and he sped up - way too fast. Then he'd start talking and he slowed down again.  Another woman and I just peeled off from the group and did our own thing. I never saw him again.  The race hasn't had pacers since, because "there wasn't enough demand for them," but I wonder how many complaints they had afterwards. 

                       

                      I don't know, banking miles is never a good choice for a marathon.

                      Damaris

                       

                      As part of the 2024 London Marathon, I am fundraising for VICTA, a charity that helps blind and visually impaired children. My mentor while in law school, Jim K (a blind attorney), has been a huge inspiration and an example of courage and perseverance. Please consider donating.

                      Fundraising Page

                         

                        He noticed Dave shared his passion for neon yellow, to a lesser degree.

                         

                        Right. His first request was "let me have your shoes", then I said no, but I'll let you pace me.

                         

                        I guess we were just chatting it up a little at the start, he asked my goal time, and must have been in line with his. He indicated he had run a lot of marathons, and much faster than that, but I think he was just way out of shape.

                         

                        Regarding pacers in general. I used them for my first two I think. Certainly I had no opinion on them one way or another at that point, I assumed it was just something you did. But for my first one I didn't even have a watch. I think as a newer runner it was nice to have the social interaction of a bunch of people running it together, and I did plenty of yakking it up along the way. Which of course I can't imagine doing today.

                        Dave

                        Cyberic


                          7 miles with 10 x 1 min on / 1 min off.

                           

                          I went out with the pacer in my early marathoning days, but it's been a long time. I have a watch, I don't know what a pacer adds to that.

                          Of course my favorite pacer of all time was this guy (for those of you who might remember that story).

                           

                           

                          Great meme raw material right there.


                          delicate flower

                             

                            He indicated he had run a lot of marathons, and much faster than that....

                             

                            Not in five years he hasn't.  #googlestalk

                            <3

                            RunningOnSand


                               

                              Every time I see this pic and the look on your face, I LOL.  

                               

                              Truth. Big grin

                                 

                                Not in five years he hasn't.  #googlestalk

                                 

                                Ha! This is why we keep you around.

                                Dave

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