Any Fall Marathons/Half Marathons?

[Brina]

I am doing a half in San Diego on November 19. I even talked dh into doing the 5K. A nice romantic weekend in San Diego with a half marathon in the middle.

[colby]

I am doing a half in San Diego on November 19. I even talked dh into doing the 5K. A nice romantic weekend in San Diego with a half marathon in the middle.

I tried that with mine ("you can do the 5k!"), but he'd rather take his laptop and surf the web at starbucks for 2 hours and meet me at the finish He did do the 12k, but so did thousands of other people, including friends and people he could walk with.

My mother-in-law might be joining me at the marathon, though she won't be doing the marathon distance. She may do the half marathon or 5k distances, either as a walk or a jog/walk. Maybe with our powers combined we could guilt my husband and father-in-law into walking the 5k! It's only 3 miles, right?

[kaybee]

LW -- I always finish my week with my long run on Saturday, so I can ride on Sunday. Then it's back to running Monday. It wouldn't be weird to have our running week go from Monday to Sunday -- 7 days is 7 days, any way you count it! Let's do it. Whoever logs on first Monday, just start the Marathon Training Thread for the Week of 9/11 (that's going to be a depressing day, isn't it?).

Colby -- it sounds like you are being very sensible, and I applaud you. On race day if you get to mile 7 and you're feeling froggy, you can always speed up. This is my third attempt at a half. The first two times I got too enthusiastic in my training and ended up injured. I'm determined to do it right this time. We can dream about finishing in under 2 hours, can't we? I'd have to work a lot harder and find a flat course (Memphis ain't it) to even come close, but it's nice to dream about.

Ladies, we each have a goal, we have plans to accomplish those goals, and we have a support system. Let's do it!!

KB

[colby]

Colby -- it sounds like you are being very sensible, and I applaud you. On race day if you get to mile 7 and you're feeling froggy, you can always speed up. This is my third attempt at a half. The first two times I got too enthusiastic in my training and ended up injured. I'm determined to do it right this time. We can dream about finishing in under 2 hours, can't we? I'd have to work a lot harder and find a flat course (Memphis ain't it) to even come close, but it's nice to dream about.

I must admit, I have a long run tomorrow and I am a little discouraged. This guy I work with has the "runner" body and can just up and run 8 minute miles like they are nothing. He doesn't run every day, but does so regularly. He'll pick up and run a 10 mile race at an 8:40 pace. We were discussing a 10mile race he's doing tomorrow, and the marathon came up... and I said he could ramp up to it with no problem, being complimentary and all, mentioned what the training is like (adding miles on long runs), and he said "well yeah, I could probably run one tomorrow and keep close to the same pace, though it sure would hurt the next day." Arrgh. I know he doesn't mean to be discouraging, it's just his personality and it's just a part of discussing something we both do... but today on my 3 mile prep run for tomorrow I just felt so slow (plus I took the dog, so we stopped and sniffed everything, next time I take the dog I'm not taking the watch ).

Reminds me of KSH's "why can't running be like swimming?" thread and Lise's "NOW can I get on my bike!?!?" post. That's how I feel... I know I'm slow on the bike, but I feel like if I trained, I could get faster. I know I have a decent swim time, but if I trained, I could do better. With running, I feel like I train, but I just don't get faster, and it's always hard. So when someone comes along that gets it so easily... it's just frustrating.

Maybe just complaining will make me feel better I'll try to wipe it out of my mind for tomorrow.

[Lise]

I've pretty much decided (for the moment, at least), that after next year's 1/2 IM tri, I'll be done with the long runs. I do enjoy races, for the community and excitement, but I'll limit the running to 5, 8, or 10 km. The training for the longer runs is boring and time consuming. I'd much rather train for a century ride! Then maybe I could actually get a little faster on the run, instead of just going for endurance.

I'm thinking that I'll mostly do sprint tris, after next year...the 1/2 IM is a goal. But I'll be 47 next year, and I was so worn out after this last Oly tri that it was discouraging. We shall see. I can certainly get better at the training, core work, etc. But I want to do more that's fun and less that's genuinely painful! For me, that means more biking, and less swimming and running. Not *no* tris--they remain my favorite. But less suffering with each one.

[colby]

I've pretty much decided (for the moment, at least), that after next year's 1/2 IM tri, I'll be done with the long runs. I do enjoy races, for the community and excitement, but I'll limit the running to 5, 8, or 10 km. The training for the longer runs is boring and time consuming. I'd much rather train for a century ride! Then maybe I could actually get a little faster on the run, instead of just going for endurance.

I'm hoping slower and longer is going to mean faster when I go back to shorter distances I'm hoping if I train for goals (I also want to do 1/2 IM next year), it will make my running more specific, and I will get faster instead of just falling into a rut and/or being bored (I year you on those long runs!). I really want to do a full IM sometime in the future, at least once, but I think it'll be a few years.

I really want to do a century and other bike events, too. Sometimes it seems an aspiring triathlete's job is never done

[maillotpois]

You guys will be amazed at how much better your body will feel after a century than it does after a long run. I swear. After my first century, I swore I would never run or do a marathon again unless being chased by a pack of dogs. So here I am....

[colby]

... today on my 3 mile prep run for tomorrow I just felt so slow (plus I took the dog, so we stopped and sniffed everything, next time I take the dog I'm not taking the watch ).

I'm replying to myself and this is an old thread, but I had to share my general progress. I started serious marathon training after my tri at the end of August. That's about a month now. Before that, I was running about 5 miles 5 days a week at about an 11 minute mile pace, and could not get faster, but didn't really care to either because I was stuck in "I hate running, maybe today I will bike instead" land

Today was the first 5-miler for a few weeks, really since I seriously started training. And, drumroll please, today I finished 5 miles in 50 minutes, just about on the dot. A 10 minute mile pace, YAY. I'll take what little improvement I can get

Back to the long march...

[Lise]

YAY! I know how hard it is to get back on that horse. And, given the choice, I will ride rather than run. But...13.1 miles on my bike is no big deal. 13.1 miles on my feet is hard and takes training. So I'll be running tomorrow morning! You GO--believe me, I think about my TE pals when I'm out there. I say, "Colby's doing it, Limewave's doing it, Denise (RM)'s doing it...etc." Then *I* can do it.

[colby]

YAY! I know how hard it is to get back on that horse. And, given the choice, I will ride rather than run. But...13.1 miles on my bike is no big deal. 13.1 miles on my feet is hard and takes training. So I'll be running tomorrow morning! You GO--believe me, I think about my TE pals when I'm out there. I say, "Colby's doing it, Limewave's doing it, Denise (RM)'s doing it...etc." Then *I* can do it.

Glad I'm not the only one! I think of you guys when it's one of those rough days, especially on the long runs (which are often "I HAVE to finish this so I can report back!"). I also think "I know the girls on the forum will understand..." even if I don't end up posting about whatever it is I'm thinking about. Some days I imagine us as a big string, pulling each other along... sometimes that's for my benefit, sometimes that's for you guys when I read about your challenges. We're a big peloton of runners, right?

[colby]

Today was the first 5-miler for a few weeks, really since I seriously started training. And, drumroll please, today I finished 5 miles in 50 minutes, just about on the dot. A 10 minute mile pace, YAY. I'll take what little improvement I can get

History repeats itself a few weeks later and I reply to myself yet again... my 5 mile time is down to 47 minutes, and that's not even pushing it. I never imagined cracking the 10-minute mile barrier for any distance. 3 minutes off doesn't seem like a lot, but I'll take that 30 second pace improvement Amusingly, my 5k time doesn't seem to be improving past the 10 minute barrier, so I think either my warmup needs some work or I just don't pace myself as well for the short distance as I do for 5 miles+.

I'm really anxious for my half marathon this weekend (Sunday). I am planning on taking it easy and not pushing hard, but I'm really curious about how I'll do. I just want to do at least as well as I did in May, and not injure myself and mess up my marathon training. With 20+ miles to run the following weekend, I can't afford to lapse too much.

[Bikingmomof3]

Colby,
Congrats on shaving time off.
I look forward to hearing your report after your 1/2 marathon on Sunday. I know you will do fantastic! Which run are you dong after the 1/2?

Keep the posts coming, each one inspires me to run more. I love running.