About the drinking, I grab the cup without stopping, pinch the top and bring one side to my mouth. I spill half of it on me, choke on it and probably swallow about 2 or 3 gulps and that's it. I repeat every two stations or so. Not a great experience but it's the best I can do. I don't like stopping anymore.
PRs: Boston Marathon, 3:27, April 15th 2013
Cornwall Half-Marathon, 1:35, April 27th 2013
18 marathons, 18 BQs since 2010
AND ANOTHER QUESTION: Have you guys perfected the drinking some water while still running? Or even gels/gu, because I have not quite perfected that without choking on the water so I have had to come to a walk while consuming the gu and water or gatorade. I would like to not have to come to a walk, but I don't want to be choking my guts out damn it.
AND ANOTHER QUESTION:
Have you guys perfected the drinking some water while still running? Or even gels/gu, because I have not quite perfected that without choking on the water so I have had to come to a walk while consuming the gu and water or gatorade. I would like to not have to come to a walk, but I don't want to be choking my guts out damn it.
There is certainly an art to this, you can only improve it with practice. But why not stop & walk? You will only lose something like 10 seconds, but well worth it if you can get your Gu down & get a good drink. You will lose a lot more later in the race if you are insufficiently fueled & hydrated.
MTA: I'm not saying that's what I do; in reality I do what Lily does.
Dave
The way I have looked at it is that I have to "earn" the right to run a faster pace in a marathon by running a short race that supports my goal time (not just by plugging it into the McMillan calculator but by looking at what is reasonable based on my training mileage, etc). So for my last half, I knew I needed to run a half marathon at at least a 7:15 pace to make my marathon goal of 7:45 realistic - I think a 30 second spread is about right for me.
I have always done a tune up race because for me it's very hard to gauge effort in training. I can always run much faster in the race environment. Having done several marathon training cycles using similar training helps gauge it without a tune up race, but being new, I think having a shorter distance race result is helpful. Unless you just plan to run it at your normal long run pace (which is fine).
In terms of drinking, I used to always choke and spill but I have kind of gotten the hang of it finally - I grab the cup with my left hand, take my right hand and crumple the top of it so that there is only a spout, tilt it into the side of my mouth. If you keep the top closed except for the little spout in the corner and don't try to inhale while you are drinking, there's no choking or spilling.
ETA (For my first marathon it was a hot day and I was very afraid of dying so I walked through every single water station. But you're doing Monumental. It will be cold).
Runs4Sanity
FS, I hope that you are right about your A goal and that you won't crash during the race. Just keep in mind that you just stated not doing any speedwork, and that you do not run many miles (for marathon training, that is). Being comfortable running at 9:30-10:00 over 16-18 miles doesn't mean you can run 26.2 miles at 9:00. But maybe you can, and if you want to try it, it's really cool and we are all backing you up.
I can't guarantee a 9 min/mile for 26.2 lol, I don't even know if I can give 9:30-10:00 for 26.2. I can guarantee that it will not be even splits, most likely negative splits and quite possibly most definitely a positive splits lol
Again, I am stepping into the unknown and there is no telling what is going to happen. I do think, on a good day (weather wise and for my body) I could carry out a finish time that would give me an average 10:00 min/mile pace, but there is no telling if 30 days from now will be a good or great day.
I am going to be puking my guts up on race day damn it.
*Do It For Yourself, Do It Because They Said It Was Impossible, Do It Because They Said You Were Incapable*
PRs
5k - 24:15 (7:49 min/mile pace)
10k - 51:47 (8:16 min/mile pace)
15k -1:18:09 (8:24 min/mile pace)
13.1 - 1:53:12 (8:39 min/mile pace)
26:2 - 4:14:55 (9:44 min/mile)
There is certainly an art to this, you can only improve it with practice. But why not stop & walk? You will only lose something like 10 seconds, but well worth it if you can get your Gu down & get a good drink. You will lose a lot more later in the race if you are insufficiently fueled & hydrated. MTA: I'm not saying that's what I do; in reality I do what Lily does.
Originally my plan is/was to stop and walk, and with the gu's I'll probably take more like 25-30 seconds.....or faster depending on how well I can get it down without making a mess lol.
The way I have looked at it is that I have to "earn" the right to run a faster pace in a marathon by running a short race that supports my goal time (not just by plugging it into the McMillan calculator but by looking at what is reasonable based on my training mileage, etc). So for my last half, I knew I needed to run a half marathon at at least a 7:15 pace to make my marathon goal of 7:45 realistic - I think a 30 second spread is about right for me. I have always done a tune up race because for me it's very hard to gauge effort in training. I can always run much faster in the race environment. Having done several marathon training cycles using similar training helps gauge it without a tune up race, but being new, I think having a shorter distance race result is helpful. Unless you just plan to run it at your normal long run pace (which is fine). In terms of drinking, I used to always choke and spill but I have kind of gotten the hang of it finally - I grab the cup with my left hand, take my right hand and crumple the top of it so that there is only a spout, tilt it into the side of my mouth. If you keep the top closed except for the little spout in the corner and don't try to inhale while you are drinking, there's no choking or spilling. ETA (For my first marathon it was a hot day and I was very afraid of dying so I walked through every single water station. But you're doing Monumental. It will be cold).
That is definitely why I am going to see if I can better my PR this Saturday, as long as nothing keeps me from the race (praying my son isn't getting sick). I know I will be running tired legs but that will probably give me a feeling close to the final half of the marathon distance.
Last year the Monumental was around 43 degrees, I made the mistake of wearing my long sleeve undershirt under my short sleeve dri-fit, thankfully I was only running the half. This time I'll go with freezing for 30-50 minutes, wear a dri-fit T and gloves along with my capris.
That is definitely why I am going to see if I can better my PR this Saturday, as long as nothing keeps me from the race (praying my son isn't getting sick). I know I will be running tired legs but that will probably give me a feeling close to the final half of the marathon distance. Last year the Monumental was around 43 degrees, I made the mistake of wearing my long sleeve undershirt under my short sleeve dri-fit, thankfully I was only running the half. This time I'll go with freezing for 30-50 minutes, wear a dri-fit T and gloves along with my capris.
So now you're going for a sub-1:56 PR and a full effort? That is quite different from your original post.:-) But I think you may be doing the right thing if you are looking for signs of a near 4:00 finish time.
Former Bad Ass
I can never do a tuneup race, mostly because there are no races around here for like 9 months and mostly because my breathing gets affected too much. This year was my first running a HM during training and my coach wanted me to do an MP workout instead of all out for the breathing issues. But I can see how one would help with the GMP considerations.
However, for first time marathoners, even a HM might not give you the right GMP. It will depend on the miles, the paces during training, etc. i think someone in the forums once mentioned that most noobie marathoners end up running their marathon at their LR pace or slower.
I don't walk ir stop at water stations. I just grab a cup and keep running while drinking.
Damaris
I am a weirdo Lily, if an 8:57 pace seems relatively easy this Saturday I might push a little harder, but I am not going to kill myself over it
D, if you can drink and run flawlessly.... I envy you damn it But in no way do I fully believe my hm finish this Saturday will predict my finish time for my first marathon. That is twice the distance and a whole hell of a lot can happen when you add another 13.1 to that.
I am a weirdo Lily, if an 8:57 pace seems relatively easy this Saturday I might push a little harder, but I am not going to kill myself over it D, if you can drink and run flawlessly.... I envy you damn it But in no way do I fully believe my hm finish this Saturday will predict my finish time for my first marathon. That is twice the distance and a whole hell of a lot can happen when you add another 13.1 to that.
No, no, what I am saying is you need to run an 8:25 pace (or better) and really kill yourself. That will give you the confidence to run your 4 hr pace. Running a relatively easy 8:57 pace will tell you nothing.
I agree. If you want to see if you have the MP for a 4 hour marathon, you would need a 1:45-1:50 HM, so I think that's what onemile is telling you here. If you want to know if you can run a sub-4 in Monumental, that is. If you want to shoot for 4:15, the same but with maybe 1:53-1:55 HM on Saturday.
+1
race obsessed
FS
You are deep in MRT, you will quite likely find it very tough to hit the target HM equivalent of a marathon time/ effort.
If you don't hit your time for the HM, don't sweat it. This isn't a goal race and racing during training is Fing difficult.
If you do hit your time for the HM, then I would hazard to say your goal Marathon time is soft.
Personally, I would use it as race training - final gear selections - water station strategy - drinking on the run practice.
Whatever the outcome ,for fucks sake don't let it get in the way of your goal mentally. (from experience)
So let me get this straight,you guys want me to kill myself this Saturday.......?
Then my next question would be can i recover and resume training next week? That is why I am worried about killing myself this Saturday, I don't want it to jeopardize my training or the goal race itself.... that is my biggest fear, but I would love a 1:50:00 finish lol.
A sub 4 hour ain't gonna happen lol, I know that for a fact....hell getting close to 4:10:00 would be a miracle. I know I will most likely have to make one or 2 bathroom stops
FS You are deep in MRT, you will quite likely find it very tough to hit the target HM equivalent of a marathon time/ effort. If you don't hit your time for the HM, don't sweat it. This isn't a goal race and racing during training is Fing difficult. If you do hit your time for the HM, then I would hazard to say your goal Marathon time is soft. Personally, I would use it as race training - final gear selections - water station strategy - drinking on the run practice. Whatever the outcome ,for fucks sake don't let it get in the way of your goal mentally. (from experience)
The problem is that her goal is a) 4:00 b) 4:15 and c) 4:30. With no speedwork and no high mileage in training, isn't running for a 4:00 finish time risky if it's not backed up by at least a shorter race previous to goal race? If she's not ready for a 4:00 marathon come November and she ends up running some miles around 9:00 pace, what if she dramatically slow down and walk the last miles? She said many times that finishing strong is her main objective...