OK, it's seriously time for a new runniing thread!!

[Grog]

Congrats to you, Bike Chick, and to your family and friends on completing your respective races... and even more!

[WindingRoad]

Awesome job Bike Chick! Sounds like you all had a wonderful time

So....I'm a week out from my HM and I'm sick. It's respiratory and I can't even begin to sleep unless I use Afrin at this point. I can't sleep 'well' even when I do, hence I'm up at 3:30 right now writing this I felt a little better yesterday and I even put in 3 miles. At this point I just want to stay limber for next weekend. I think even if I only run 2-3 miles each time I should be ok. Man my body always picks the worst times!

[Grog]

So....I'm a week out from my HM and I'm sick. It's respiratory and I can't even begin to sleep unless I use Afrin at this point. I can't sleep 'well' even when I do, hence I'm up at 3:30 right now writing this I felt a little better yesterday and I even put in 3 miles. At this point I just want to stay limber for next weekend. I think even if I only run 2-3 miles each time I should be ok. Man my body always picks the worst times!

This is not expert advice, but frankly in my opinion, a week away from a race you shouldn't be training anyway - you're not trying to improve at this stage. It's good under normal conditions to run, of course, but for this time I think you're much better off getting full rest than trying to run 2-3 miles. Maybe it's a good idea to go for a short, 3-mile run a couple days before your HM to remind your legs how to move, but even if you didn't you'll be fine on race day... as long as you've allowed yourself to heal.

Take it easy, rent a few good movies or grab a good book, get lots of sleep, and give your running shoes a break.

[zoom-zoom]

This is not expert advice, but frankly in my opinion, a week away from a race you shouldn't be training anyway - you're not trying to improve at this stage. It's good under normal conditions to run, of course, but for this time I think you're much better off getting full rest than trying to run 2-3 miles. Maybe it's a good idea to go for a short, 3-mile run a couple days before your HM to remind your legs how to move, but even if you didn't you'll be fine on race day... as long as you've allowed yourself to heal.

Take it easy, rent a few good movies or grab a good book, get lots of sleep, and give your running shoes a break.

What she said. As a friend told me a week or so before my first HM when I was stressing, "the hay is in the barn." Nothing you do now will make you better prepared for race day and if you're sick trying to push yourself could do more harm than good. I would shoot for 2-3 easy miles the day before the race to loosen-up, but don't feel obligated to do more runs until then if you are feeling ill.

[zoom-zoom]

Bike Chick, that is awesome! I'm glad you all had fun. A friend of mine was supposed to run that race as her first full marathon (she did the half last year). A couple of months ago she was sidelined with a stress fracture and was so bummed not to be able to run yesterday.

[OakLeaf]

Winding - feel better soon!

Here's what active.com has to say about it. I would add a couple of things:

They don't mention eating plenty of protein, but it seems to me that doing so will help your stop your body from metabolizing your muscles.

They also don't mention that hard exercise suppresses the immune system and slows down your recovery. BTDT in a serious way.

[WindingRoad]

Thanks everyone you all are great. I'm only going to go run if I really feel a lot better between now and Saturday. Sleep is my biggest priority right now. I did go back to bed this morning and slept a few more hours, thank God for that. My Dad recommended getting some Noni juice to help boost my immune system b/c it helps him a lot. I think I'll take my stuffy person up to Costco and check this Noni business out. Good news is I'm not running a fever and I only have one final exam tomorrow.

[Jolt]

It is HOT here today!! About 90 degrees and rather humid. Needless to say, today's run wasn't so great. When it gets too hot too quickly, I always have a hard time until I have a chance to acclimate. Fortunately, I was able to jump in a lake after my run to cool off, and stayed in and swam for about twenty minutes. Felt good to swim somewhere other than a chlorinated indoor pool!!

[Grog]

It is HOT here today!! About 90 degrees and rather humid. Needless to say, today's run wasn't so great. When it gets too hot too quickly, I always have a hard time until I have a chance to acclimate. Fortunately, I was able to jump in a lake after my run to cool off, and stayed in and swam for about twenty minutes. Felt good to swim somewhere other than a chlorinated indoor pool!!

I hate running in hot weather, but that post-run dip sounds delicious.

[Bike Chick]

Thanks everyone you all are great. I'm only going to go run if I really feel a lot better between now and Saturday. Sleep is my biggest priority right now. I did go back to bed this morning and slept a few more hours, thank God for that. My Dad recommended getting some Noni juice to help boost my immune system b/c it helps him a lot. I think I'll take my stuffy person up to Costco and check this Noni business out. Good news is I'm not running a fever and I only have one final exam tomorrow.

Winding, so sorry you are sick and like the others said, taking care of yourself is the important thing right now. Get plenty of rest and get well before next weekend.

I've returned home from Champaign and am planning my next HM. I guess I really am a runner after completing the half, even as slow as it was. I have a blister and a black nail on my left foot. I've learned a lot through this process, mostly about myself. Thanks everyone for your help and support.

[colby]

Way to go, Bike Chick!! Congratulations to you and your running family!

To everyone who is sick, recover well. My "feeling sick" rule is the old "above the neck, no more than 30 minutes and keep it easy - even walking; below the neck, just rest."

[colby]

Was waiting for my chip time to post before I got overly excited. My goal was to beat my 1:10 time from last year and head toward 1:05. I finished 12k (7.46mi) in .... 1:04:13. Tis an 8:36 mile. Not a flat course, either. I finished 2 years in a row around 1:10-1:12, then this year dropped to 1:04. Whew! I got stuck behind an ROTC crew (running 10 minute miles 4-people wide on a narrow street so few people could pass) that easily lost me 30-60 seconds, too. Not sure where the other 4 minutes are going to come from, but I'm hoping to get under an hour... someday. That's more like 7:45 miles (edited: I might be thinking of the 58 minute mark, which is where you get seeded to start even earlier - I think 1:00 is more like 8:00 miles).

Jogged back to the start and missed my stroller friends, but caught up to my husband who was "racing" our coworker and his wife (she won - by about 5 minutes, then my husband, then the coworker).

Almost 50,000 people finished the race and it's a lot of walkers, which skews these numbers. Interestingly, the race is well over half female finishers since the 80s. It's usually a lot of families, too. Sometimes you see costumes - the best was a mom dressed up like supermom and her 4 or 5 year old son dressed up like superboy - both in capes. There was also a guy running in a speedo advertising for a girlfriend in Seattle on his back. I did see about 5 people in Five Fingers other than my husband and myself, at least that I passed. There could have been more ahead of me. I answered a lot of questions.

Finish Time: 1:04:13
Overall Place: 4,164 out of 49,674 (8%)
Ran with a pace of 8:36 per mile
The average pace for 30-year-olds was 14:12
Placed 112th among 917 people the same age (12%)
Placed 70th among 824 people from Liberty Lake, WA (8%)
Placed 3,140th among 39,793 people from Washington (8%)
Placed 1st among 2 people with the same last name (:P)
Placed 1,036th among 29,854 females (3%)
Placed 32nd out of 583 among 30-year-old females (5%)
Placed 151st out of 2,885 people in your age group (5%)

[salsabike]

Hey, Colby, that's great! This was Bloomsday?

[Bike Chick]

Congrats on your race, Colby! Wow, 50,000 people? That's awesome. As was your time.

There were newlyweds running the marathon at Champaign; she in her veil and he in a bowtie. Cute. Another couple got engaged as they crossed the finish line. He tried to kneel down to propose and he couldn't do it (poor guy). He pulled the ring out of his pocket and put it on her finger. Can you imagine running for 26 miles with that in your pocket?

[colby]

Hey, Colby, that's great! This was Bloomsday?

Yep! It's a nice run. I like that it's longer than 5k, but not quite up to half marathon distance. Lets me exercise different thinking.