Rusk Runner
14 beautiful miles today. 8:40 avg pace (last 4 were 8:30 to 8:00). Through the hills etc, my HR avg ended up being in the recovery zone. Temps started at 45 and finished at 75.
Listened to The Civil Wars and Allison Krauss & Union Station for the entire run and ended up having a good time. I wilsh it was always like this, but I will revel in them whenever they come along.
PRs...5K - 20:36, 4mile - 26:15, 13.1 - 1:32, 26.2 - 3:42
Just Run!!!
mdawg - congrats on the Boston entry - we're all proud of you !
indy - good advice on starting today - I went to the first 1/3 of the line and traffic was much better !
me - final HM / tune up race - I never thought it would be possible to beat 1:45 but I did by 15 seconds !!! ~ 1:44:45 today !!! a PB from 1:49 - same race last year. Paces were really consistent around 8:00 as planned. It was overcast so everything was good - mile 12 was tough but luckily I found people to pace off of all race and just focused on smooth breathing and distracting my mind. I was supposed to do 18 today with 14 at MP (final Pfitz MP run) - I added 2 warm up miles and was going to do 3 after the race. I ended up only doing one. My legs were toast at 11:00 miles - lol. So, since this appear to be "junk miles" I simply stopped after that one mile. So, I did 16 today
Have a great Sunday !
PB's 10K 47:15 (9/13) HM 1:45 (9/13) M 3:57 (10/13)
Running Blog http://davesdigitaldestinations.blogspot.com/
Good deal, DTF!!! That should be a big confidence boost for you!
White Lightning
Nice job DTF!!
Play the Game Hard!
DTF - Nice race, you beat my best HM time! So much for being disappointed about that 10k time. And, to your question about running in storms, for some reason I have had high wind/rain issues more often in Port Austin than anywhere else. I finally realized that it is dumb to wear a hat if rain is forecast because it seems that I end up having to carry it so it doesn't blow away more than I would like. Now I only wear a hat for sun.
Ran 18 miles today at 8:55 pace (faster than the 9:05-9:10 goal, but the cool weather made it hard to slow down). Of course the Hansons plan only called for 16 miles, but a couple 18 mile runs seemed to work for Onemile during her last marathon, so I thought I would try it. 65 for the week.
PRs: 10k-44:36 (10/12), HM-1:44:55 (4/13), FM-3:41 (10/13)
Smashy!!!
Wow, DTF, that's awesome! Congrats on the PR.
PRs: 21:35 (5K); 1:46:46 (HM); 4:30:46 (FM)
Great job on the PR, DTF!
Nick - that is one great long run - you're going to do super in October !
thanks all for the congrats on my HM ! I wanted to ask a few race strategy items to the group for advice :
- Last years HM 1:49 -> calculators say i can run ~3:50 -> actual race = 4:07
- This years HM 1:45 -> calculators say i can run ~3:40 -> actual race = TBD
My goal is simply to break 4 hrs this year. However, I know there are inefficiencies like water stops and tangents (i.e. - I ran 26.4 last year). I carry my own water, but need to refill bottles on the run. Last year's 4:07, I ran ~10-15 seconds faster than MP thinking i was more fit and bonked at mile 23. Everyone's told me this year to hold marathon pace better. So, i'm thinking this year my plan is to run 9:09 for 20-23 miles and then seeing whats left in the tank after that (to run 9:09 or faster)
Question 1 - any advice on my strategy ? Do i really need to be running at 9:00's to make up for the inefficiencies ?
Question 2 - advice on final non-marathon pace long run training paces ? My 20 mile paces have ranged from 9:15 fast to 10:15 slow. I have a 20 miler, 22 miler and 16 miler left. I'm debating between endurance and stressing my system enough (edited later - i'm thinking I should shoot for 9:30-9:40 based on a mix of Pfitz and Hansons)
thanks for your help !
DTF - I typically plan on a pace (on the watch at least) of about 5 seconds less than Goal Time pace to make up for the inefficiencies. For example, if you ran 26.4 last year (about the same distance as me), then that would mean you would need to run at a pace of 9:05 miles to meet 4:00. So I guess, that would be my target, rather than running at 9:09 (watch based pace) and having to make up time at the end. If you were talking about 9:09 actual course based pace, then yes, that sounds good.
As for the long run paces, I guess I really don't know. That is kind of one reason I like the Hansons plan since they tell me what I should run for the long run (and then I don't listen and run faster anyway, yesterday at least). I would say that Pfitz would tell you that 9:15 LR pace is faster than he would prescribe in his plan for your goal.
Former Bad Ass
Hi, guys. Very busy today and with my grandmother dying last night it has been a storm of business. I did 18 miles with the last 10 @ MP yesterday, followed by 3 with hubby that afternoon. 9 miles tonight and boy did I need those miles!
DTF, congrats on a great performance and time!
Hope everybody is doing well.
Damaris
The Shirtless Wonder
Docket: My condolences on your loss.
DTF: Congrats on your HM. My advice for marathon is what my running buddy told me. Break the marathon into 8 mile sections. 1st eight run easy comfortable pace/conserve to resources [maybe a fast easy but not too fast], 2nd eight slowly increase pace to bank some time, and final eight try to hold on to get goal. Works out to 24 miles so last 2+ just keep on and finish. It is easier to set time targets for an 8 mile run sections v. 26 mile run. You can estimate how well you are doing at HM mark, but I found I did better using the 8 mile distances easier to keep pace than tracking individual miles. Something I should done last time, but was too focused on final goal time instead of running smart.
Out for 4+ miles this morning for a fast easy run. Not really tempo but last 2+ miles were in the high 7's pace. So calling it a fast easy. Temps were around 49F but wind made it feel a lot colder. Starting to miss summer already and the real cold hasn't even begun.
Enjoy the day folks.
Joe Suder
Nulla camisia et nulla problematum
Posted the following message in the Marathoners section of RWOL, but would welcome any thoughts on the matter here: (Thread was entitled "Should I still try to do Chicago?")
Four weeks ago this coming Friday I strained a calf muscle. I tried a bit on the treadmill last Friday but think I may have hurt it again a little. I can still feel it when walking, but that will probably go away in a couple of days. Chicago is 3 weeks from this coming Sunday. (Today is Tuesday.)
If I don't run this week and perhaps next week, that will give me two weeks remaining to do "something." (Don't ask what.) I haven't run during the prior four weeks (except for the doctor suggested treadmill test) so have certainly lost fitness even if I can run. If I try a short run in two weeks and don't feel any calf issues, is there anything I can do to make it worth my while to do Chicago? I could try a few runs of increasing distance (while trying not to re-damage anything) and then pretty much just do easy running during taper week.
If I have to cancel I'll obviously lose out on the registration fee and I'll have to eat the air fare. But I'd save the $478 hotel charge.
I've run Chicago the past 5 years and it is my favorite big city marathon. I hate the thought of having to cancel, but am even questioning my ability to run 26.2, let along run it well.
(I only want to hear answers in the affirmative. )
I was just looking at your equipment list, RVD - and the shoes you wore when you strained your calf and when you did your treadmill test are 3 years old with almost 1500 miles on them. I'm thinking that could be your problem right there.
The causes of the calf strain were different. After the lowest mileage week of the year (15 vs yearly average of 51+ vs recent average 70ish) due to a Saturday night half marathon and really bad weather that week, I went out for a run and didn't warm up sufficiently. Only warmed up about a quarter mile and then tried a new exercise of attempting to lengthen my stride while keeping the same cadence.
I was trying to strike the ground faster so that my heel would come up higher in back, reducing the lever on the forward swing of that leg, moving the foot farther to the front and then accelerating it back again to point of contact with the ground under my center of gravity. It was making me go considerably faster without much of an increase in energy. I don't think I had my form quite right and was landing more on my forefoot (and at more of an angle) whereas I wanted to land more midfoot. Should never have attempted this without a considerably longer warmup. I had totally forgotten about how few miles I had run that week which made me more stiff than I otherwise would have been.
I actually ran barefoot for a couple of years. I always run in minimalist shoes, which we used to call racing flats in the old days.
Hi, guys. I did 9 miles yesterday and they went really well. The first 4 were blah and the last 5 were awesome.
shadow, hope your run went well.
RVD, did you post that question on the main RA forums? I know you posted it in RWOL but the more answers, the better. I would hold off until the week of the race and if you can run it, run it for fun. You are already losing the airfare and race cost, so maybe hold off until the time you have to cancel the hotel reservations and see how your leg feels. Hope your calf feels better.