Running into daylight savings time - 11/01-11/7/09

[Chile Pepper]

Last Friday my traumatologist informed me that I have to cut back on my running, as I have signs of early degeneration in my hips--and my wonky knee (an old ACL injury) is getting wonkier (we'll probably operate on it in May or June). So he said to cut my running in half--from 12 km a week to 6. I was really enjoying the challenge of trying to increase distance and improve times, so now I'm having to readjust to it just being a warm-up for my weight training, which sounds totally boring. He also said I need to keep the weight down on the weight lifting, without trying to increase much even in the long run. Again, how boring. On the bright side, he said I can cycle as much as I want.

[katluvr]

Chile Pepper--sorry to hear!

Colby--this is my first marathon and I have a really big goal of doing it in 4:30. I have 16 weeks to go...so hopefully time to build to that consistent speed (10:18 AVERAGE PACE). I know I am being agreessive and very optimistic. But I feel like if I don't try it I won't know.

I was wondering on my run the other day...do I include "walk" breaks in training on my LSD days? Realistically will I walk during the real thing? If I "walk" then I need to increase running pace. If I do walks in training...then I need to expect not to bealbe to run the entire 26.2. So I am still thinking and working that out. Any thoughts.

Tonight is 6 miles of "hillls" and only hills I have are overpasseses so it equals hill repeats. At least it is in the mild 70's and 60's by evening/darkness now.

K

[Veronica]

I'm out of the running game for awhile and no cycling either most likely. My 10K trail run aggravated my overuse injury from 2007's double centuries. It's got two months to heal before I start training for next year's goal race.

I guess I'll finally just have to start swimming since it's about the only cardio I can do until this heals.

Veronica

[ASammy1]

Andrea, what do you think of the course for the Shamrock? Is it really windy?

Have you spectated at it before? Do you know anything about it?

I really don't want to travel that far for my first 26.2. But that's one of the ones I'm kind of looking at, anyhow...

Oakleaf, the course is really flat/fast and not too windy except for the part on the boardwalk which is where the race ends. I have not spectated the half before, but I ran the Shamrock 8k last year which is always the Saturday before the 1/2 and full marathons. The 26.2 is a 2011 Boston qualifier so with it being flat/fast, many people run it trying to qualify. It's a huge race with lots of people from all over and a really good time. You get beer and Irish stew when you are finished and a lot of people dress up. You have your whole spectrum of serious runners down to the person running with green face makeup and feather boa! I had a blast last year for the 8k and I'm really looking forward to making the jump to the half this year.

Here is my race report from last year. http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showt...light=shamrock

Hope this helps and is the info you are looking for.

[Jolt]

You have a different standard of what's tolerable I think... Or else you really mean "gravel" (aka river rock), and not "crushed stone" which is what most people mean when they say "gravel."

I know my form is far from perfect. But I can't walk slowly and carefully across my driveway without excruciating pain. I'm not sure what grade of stone we have, but those rocks are big and sharp, and when they're at least half the size of the part of my foot I'm supposed to be landing on, how does that get comfortable???

I guess what I was thinking of was closer to river gravel than to what you're describing--your driveway does sound like it would be a bit rough.

[colby]

Colby--this is my first marathon and I have a really big goal of doing it in 4:30. I have 16 weeks to go...so hopefully time to build to that consistent speed (10:18 AVERAGE PACE). I know I am being agreessive and very optimistic. But I feel like if I don't try it I won't know.

I was wondering on my run the other day...do I include "walk" breaks in training on my LSD days? Realistically will I walk during the real thing? If I "walk" then I need to increase running pace. If I do walks in training...then I need to expect not to bealbe to run the entire 26.2. So I am still thinking and working that out. Any thoughts.

A couple of theories on that I think - Jeff Galloway always plans walking into his long runs on his training plans, saying that walking in planned walk breaks actually lets you run faster. The alternative opinion is that you should run the whole distance, since it is, after all, a run.

Reality: assuming it in fact it is, this will be the first marathon I will have ran that won't involve walking of some form or another (at the end, in breaks, to eat, whatever). I have only ran two only-marathons (the other two have been Ironman, and lots of half marathons). My first was over 5 hours, my second 4:55 - but the whole time I was telling myself I'm not a runner. I'm trying the "yes I am a runner, and yes I can run fast" self-motivation technique this year.

Walk breaks may be better than hitting a wall at mile 24 and walking 15-20 minute miles for the last 2 miles. A sensible way to add them is to walk the aid stations. When training, I often walk when I eat or to stretch - sometimes it really does hit the spot.

If your long run training pace has been/is 10:30-11:30 miles, you probably can make 4:30 -- guessing from the calculator that tells me my 9:45-11 minute training pace lets me run a sub-4 hour marathon anyway.

[Urlea]

I ran just under 6miles today. Not a bad run & not a great one. For some reason I really struggled to keep my pace under a 10min/mi. That was a little annoying, but other than that it was a beautiful morning to be outside & I beat the rain so that was good.

It is fun to see what you ladies are choosing to do for your goal races next year. I am excited to track the progress, you did awesome this season!

Maggy & I have decided to be ambitious and try for a 100mile ultra August 2010! Right now a 50miler seems very doable, it's what happens after the 50 that I'm curious about. Needless to say, lots and lots of training to do!

[OakLeaf]

I did 6.25 yesterday, just to get out and run. Thought about doing mile repeats and decided it's a little early to start back up on the speedwork. Next week. It definitely works on my head a bit, to know I can run 9:12 (and likely faster) for 13 miles in a flat race, then come home to the hills and non-tapered legs and the tail end of recovery, and be running 10:30's for half the distance.

Now here's the interesting thing though. Using Jeff Galloway's pace predictor - just entering my 5K PR and reverse-engineering from there, not actually doing a mile TT - my half marathon time and 5K PR correlated pretty closely. And according to that, my long run pace should be 12:00. In the flats, I'm assuming, and probably adding another :30 for the kind of terrain I have around here. Which, what I've been doing in the hills has been around 10:45 for the most part, give or take :15 on either side.

So... once again, mileage building is going to be about learning to run even more slowly than I already had to learn to run so far.



V. and Chile, so sorry you're sidelined. Chile, enjoy the bike - Veronica, try to hang in there in the pool.

- Oak, who still doesn't even want to LOOK at a pool, 33 years after the ACL injury that meant swimming was the only cardio I could do for three months...

[katluvr]

Thanks Colby.
Yeah I am "thinking" I CAN DO THIS. In my past 1/2 marathons and training I did the short walk for hydration/nutrion breaks & in race at teh water stations. But right now plan is NOT to build in significant walk breaks.

Oak, yeah, my long slow distance runs should be between 11 & 12 min miles. Still seems SLOW and still don't understand that is I train for distance at that pace how doe I run the whole distance at race pace. But I am trying HARD to do the plan.

I have long day w/ late meeting today so I ran my "hills" yesterday (scheduled for today). I did 6 miles...up and over that bridge/over pass 3 times (so back and forth 3 times = 6 times up). I did not look at pass. I just ran what I could. 6 miles in 67 mintues. 11.17 min mile pace. I was VERY pleased with my running time, pace and how I felt!

So since I swapped days --today should of be my easy 4 miler. I just couldn't get out of bed. It was less than 12 hours since my hill run. So not sure when I'll get that 4 miler in. I should of just gotten my rear end out of bed and done it!

K

[indigoiis]

I did a rinky 2.88 trail loop this morning, but I did it in the direction that made it all (excepting one big drop) uphill. So I got a workout, anyhow.

[ASammy1]

Sometimes I feel like such a poser posting on this thread. All of you are so accomplished and I'm just beginning, but I have to admit that I am inspired by all of you. You ladies keep me pushing forward.

And OMG Urlea! 100 miles ... I am not worthy! I am not worthy!

Anyway, with all that said, I finished w1d2 (week 1, day 2) on the c25k program today and it went fairly well. It seemed like it took longer for the ankle soreness to hit, so maybe I just need to strengthen them!? It was 51F, 11mph winds, and sunny-a great day to be outside!

[Becky]

Andrea, you and I can be posers together 3 miles is a long run for me right now

[Jolt]

Andrea, you and I can be posers together 3 miles is a long run for me right now

Don't feel bad--I've been running for a few years and still usually only do 3-mile runs at around 10:00/mile! My longest ever was about a 9-miler and it involved quite a few walking breaks so it was pretty slow. We don't all have to be super runners, what really matters is getting out there, moving your body the way it was meant to move, and enjoying it.

[Becky]

Oh I don't feel bad, just impatient "Impatient" should be my middle name!

[OakLeaf]

Becky and Andrea, go back and read Colby's great post from a week or two ago, about not feeling like a real runner.

I'm betting most of us don't.

And I think the reality is that if we're committed enough to post about it here, gosh darn it, we're runners.


Urlea, 100... yikes. On topic - it's really important for me to hear that an ultra-runner like you still goes out for 6-mile runs. I get into a mindset that below a certain distance, it's not even worth putting my shoes on for - and the longer my long runs get, the longer that "minimum" seems, too.