Half Marathon Trainers

123

Intrepid Racers & Trainers - Dec 8 & 9 (Read 284 times)


an amazing likeness

    OMG. That poetry. Was amazing. I am drunk. But...I appreciate it soooooooooooooo much!

     

    I ran a 3:51.37

     

    Wow...wow....wow

     

    3:51:37  Are you flipping kidding me!

     

    Way to rock it VF.  Way.To.Rock.It. 

     

    I'll tip a beer in your direction tonight, well earned and completely deserved. 

     

    (By the way...I knew you'd be way under 4:00 unless something went wrong)

    Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.

    HappyFeat


      Vege!!! You are an incredible runner! Sounds like you did absolutely everything right. So proud of you!

      Don't make excuses for why you can't get it done. 

      Focus on all the reasons why you must make it happen.

        Fantastic VF!!!

        Really made me happy to hear that- Spectacular!!

        PBs since age 60:  5k- 24:36, 10k - 47:17. Half Marathon- 1:42:41.

                                            10 miles (unofficial) 1:16:44.

         

           

          I ran a 3:51.37

           

           

          Awesome!! No, scratch that. Sneaking in under 4 would have been awesome.... this is something else.

          Great stuff VF. Greatness.

          2017 Goals
          1) Run more than 231 miles
          2) Be ready for  HM in the spring

          vegefrog


            MATT?????

             

            How was it????

              MATT?????

               

              How was it????

               

              Different to yours! Wink

               

              Helped a friend through some painful last miles (for him) to a 5:something finish. I don't know what it was yet; haven't looks as he ended up in the med tent with an IV for dehydration winch added to the drama of the afternoon (He'll be fine). I've got home to a major tear in the domestic space time continuum as it appears the missus has flu. So now I must go feed/water/bathe and entertain the kids. Race report will have to wait, but I'll get one out at some point. All good here..... just a different kind of race today. Smile

               

              Also - holy bleeding nipples batman.... that's gonna sting! (TMI?)

               

              Cheers!

               

              PS. I am not drunk .... (maybe wish I was) but I still love MT's poetry..... and running.... I still love that too Smile

              2017 Goals
              1) Run more than 231 miles
              2) Be ready for  HM in the spring

              vegefrog


                Matt that is a good kind of race, in a different way. I'm sure your friend will always be thankful to you for sticking with him to the end. That sounds really scary, ending up in a med tent is never a good thing. I'm glad that everything turned out all right in the end...except for the nipples. OUCH!! Wink


                an amazing likeness

                   

                  Dec 8 vegefrog Kiawah Island Marathon 26.2 mi Kiawah Island, SC
                  Dec 8 jwcarlile Swamp Stomp Half 13.1 mi Lake Charles, LA
                  Dec 8 jaxn RocetCity Marathon 26.2 mi Huntsville, AL
                  Dec 9 bobev Decker Challenge 13.1 mi Austin (Keepin' it weird), TX
                  Dec 9 MattJ Dallas Marathon 26.2 Dallas, TX
                  Dec 9 TxDiverMom BCS Half 13.1 mi College Station, TX

                   

                   

                  Vegefrog and MattJ have checked in from their races.

                   

                  I see bobev posted in the main forums, that he finished his race in 72F and humid conditions.

                   

                  Anyone else ?

                  Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.

                    MTA: I just hit "Post" and realized how long this is. Sorry. You don't have to read it. Just thanks for letting me decompress a bit here with y'all!

                     

                    OK - This is going to be a day report, not a race report because the race was only part of it! Smile

                     

                    Up at 4:30am, On the road @ 5. Picked up my running buddy from his place and had a swift drive into Dallas. A 30 min queue to park at 5:45am but we were in the Dallas Convention Center (Race HQ) by 6:15.

                    We wandered back to the car to get ready and here's where I must have made my first mistake of the day. I swear I prepared as usual but I must have failed to apply Body Glide to all the necessary extremities... but we'll come back to that later, somewhere around mile 13! Wink

                     

                    We were loaded up into the coral's by about 7:25. They have a pretty strict coral system and they had porta-pots inside the corals, lining the sides. I have never seen it before. I thought it was going to be a nightmare come start time but it worked really well. If you happen to be a participant perpetually peeing pre-race your time mingling in the coral could be a revolving line for the pots... genius!

                     

                    They started the race on time and it took about 10 mins for us to get over the start line (Half the time it took last year!) and we were off and running! I let my running partner set the pace and for the first few miles we kicked around the 11min/mile pace.

                    I loved the first few miles of the race. The pace was great, the support was awesome and the weather was not too warm.

                    I may be way off base here but with the name change (WhiteRock Marathon > Dallas Marathon) and the course change, it's like they are trying to do what NY does... take in all the boroughs of the city. Not that Dallas has boroughs but... areas. Does that make any sense?

                    West Dallas did it large in for miles 1 through 4. There was a full gospel choir at one point!! Nothing says "Welcome to West Dallas" like a Mariachi Band playing in front of a gun store! The water stops were well manned here, as they were everywhere, but we were on a roll so we skipped them. Strangest mid race situation about a mile and a half in; This chap careens into the back of me and falls forward. I feel him falling and put my arms behind me and end up catching him under the shoulders... we are now shuffling forwards in a reverse wheelbarrow position. If I stop we're going to end up in a pile and if he stops, I am going to drop him flat on his face! He get's himself upright after a few paces and the conversation goes like this:

                    Him: "Sorry about that";

                    Me: "No worries mate. I wasn't exactly going to catch the Kenyans anyway"

                    Him: " ... It's just that I have really bad tunnel vision, I probably shouldn't be running this without a guide"

                    Me: Shocked

                    Me: "Erm... OK... Are you going to be OK."

                    Him: "Yep" (Moving off at about 9mins/mile, bouncing of my buddy as he goes!)

                    About 3 paces down the road he turns and calls out

                    "I'm from Utah, this is my first time"

                    As if that makes everything clear!! Bizarre!

                     

                    Miles 5 through 10 wind uphill through Oak Lawn into Highland park. The support remained awesome. Some great bands (old & young) through this section of town. We dropped the pace a bit and took in all the water stops at a run. I was also carrying 50+ oz of water, (because I'm a hydroholic) and noticed that I was 20+oz down, on top of water stops by mile 10. It was warmer and more humid than we had planned for.

                     

                    The miles rolled by though and 10.5 through 14 is downhill to the lake. We picked up the pace again. Saw my buddy's family at the top of the hill at mile 10.5 (that was cool) and realized that I was going to be the proud owner of a pair of severely chaffed nipples at around mile 13 when the blood started soaking through my shirt (fool! Blush).

                     

                    We hit the lake at mile 14 with a welcome cooling breeze. I had been running on the back shoulder of my buddy all the time but this was the first serious "check in" conversation we all had. We both felt fine - I sure did and believe that he really did too. He looked really good. The miles were clicking by OK and we pushed on. Next check in was at mile 18. Looking back at the splits we had started to slow at that point but it did not feel like it. We acknowledged that we were starting to feel it in our legs/feet and for the first time we walked the water station just after mile 18. We picked up the pace again straight afterwards though and rumbled down hill and round the bend to the Hooters Cliff shot zone at mile 19. We're slowing now though.

                     

                    At mile 20 Dallas has it's Heartbreak hill. Just under 2 miles... it wipes out my buddy. We are running when we reach the top but he has to stop for cramps. Stretches briefly and sets off again but half a mile later he's stretching again and by mile 23 we are walking. Talk switches to "finishing" and to be fair, that was the goal after all. It's a bit of a death march but we plod on. Support is thin and it's without a doubt the lowest part of the race. We walk through mile 26 and he says he wants to run to the end. I tell him I am with him but fear that's not going to happen... to his credit he runs round the corner, past his cheering family and across the line. Awesome to be there for that.

                     

                    We pick up medals, have photos taken and head upstairs to pick up finisher's shirts, go through the runners food/beer and out to meet his family in the family meeting area. We stop off at the rest room and the next thing I know he's on the floor. Freaky scary for a fraction of a second but he comes back round instantly. At this point HUGE kudos to Dallas Marathon and how they are organized. Med team there in under a minute (I never called them) and he was down in the medical area with an IV in under 5 minutes. Anyway, taking the drama out, I went to get his family and sat with his kids while his missus was with him and the med team until they released him. He was absolutely fine in the end, a little dehydration had caused a condition called "Micturition syncope" (Google it) and I will now always sit down when I pee after a race. Smile

                     

                    While I was waiting outside for his wife to get the car I found another runner on a bench. He was OK (lucid) but couldn't walk. He'd completely jacked up his left leg. He was from Austin and needed to get back to his hotel a couple of dozen blocks away. None of the taxis would stop for him - I think they thought he was drunk when they pulled over and he couldn't walk! Anyway we flagged down another cab and I loaded him in. My buddy's missus got back with the car and we sent him home with his family. Eventually this very sorry runner got to drag his aching ass (and bloody nipples) back home.

                     

                    Between Tunnel Vision guy, Micturition syncope, mangled moobs and the busted up guy from Austin I had a day that I will never forget.

                     

                    Lessons learned:

                    • Respect the distance! Strange that I ran a 4:20 last year and a 5:20 this year and felt the distance more this time round. Vege a 3:51 is freaking amazing.
                    • Look out for yourself. My buddy was in and out of the medical tent pretty easily but there were a couple of runners that left towards the hospital on stretchers, as well as 2 folks we saw laid out on the last 2 miles of the course who did not look good. Pushing it is one thing but I don't love running enough for it to kill me. Live to race another day. (I know this is a little morbid but hanging around that medical tent was not good for the racing mojo!)
                    • Dallas Marathon is a very well organized race. Kudos. Top marks.
                    • Body Glide your bits properly kids.
                    • Sit down when you pee immediately after a long or hard race boys (you too girls!)
                    • I had a lot of fun running this, not racing it. Not every race I enter has to be a PR attempt race to be a fun race.
                    • I still love running.... and I don't think I am done with the marathon distance yet. Wink
                    • If you make the foolish mistake of summarizing your 2012 in early December... something crazy's bound to happen!

                    2017 Goals
                    1) Run more than 231 miles
                    2) Be ready for  HM in the spring

                    vegefrog


                      "I'm from Utah, this is my first time"

                       

                      HAAAAAAAAAA. I'm gonna use that from now on. What a random, nonsensical excuse! It's great! Wink

                       

                       

                      Matt, that sounds like quiet a day dude. Thanks for the great report. You are certainly NOT done with the distance! If I can do it, you can do it Smile next time WITH body glide! I saw a bunch of guys during my race that had bloody nipples...looks so horribly painful! I don't know if I could keep going...

                      I also saw a girl who had shit herself. She was wearing a running skirt and it was running down the back of her legs all the way down to her socks. I could smell her, didn't know what it was, caught up and passed her and I was just like...amazed that someone would let themselves get to that point. We were so far from any BQ or AG win or...well really I can't think of anything that would warrant continuing in that condition. Yikes.

                        That was quite an experience!

                        PBs since age 60:  5k- 24:36, 10k - 47:17. Half Marathon- 1:42:41.

                                                            10 miles (unofficial) 1:16:44.

                         

                        Snickers1230


                          Congrats on the 3:51 Vege!  That's awesome!

                           

                          Matt, that was quite the report!  The story about the guy bumping into you and the conversation after is hilarious!  I'm glad your friend is okay!

                          Formerly Jackie_601 on RW

                           

                          Next up:

                          4/27 - Green 6.2 10K

                          HappyFeat


                            Matt - great Race Day Report! Love all the detail. You did a great job running the marathon and supporting your friend though the race.

                            Don't make excuses for why you can't get it done. 

                            Focus on all the reasons why you must make it happen.

                              I need to write a full report, but I fell way short of my goal last weekend.

                               

                              We were right on track at the half (and in the game until about 20), but I fell apart and ran a 3:22. It was hot and windy, but the short answer is that I need to work on my endurance.

                               

                              Looking forward to 2013 Smile

                               

                              --

                              Nashville, TN

                               

                                Good run, Jaxn! That's an effort to be proud of.

                                PBs since age 60:  5k- 24:36, 10k - 47:17. Half Marathon- 1:42:41.

                                                                    10 miles (unofficial) 1:16:44.

                                 

                                123