Running!

[Sir Clinksalot]

Ran my 2nd 1/2 this morning, was hoping to get a time around 2:20, ended up getting 2:40. The hill had a LOT more hills than I thought there were, but overall I actually felt better than my first 1/2, which is odd since I finished 8 minutes quicker in that one.

 

Have had a nice day of relaxation and I never feel guilty about it after a race, which is awesome.

[jray21]

Congrats! Hills can make a world of difference. That is why I only run the Disney marathons!

[moinab]

Congrats, Gregg! That course looked tough!

 

I have no idea what to expect, for my first full marathon, on November 28th. I'm hoping to finish under 5 hours. Race prediction formulas, based on my recent times, have me finishing in 4:40 - 4:50. I'll probably have a better idea, after my final long run, next week.

 

My shins are sore, from pushing myself too hard on my mile time trial, Saturday morning. I'm trying a compression wrap on them, while I'm at work, tonight. Seems to be working.

[Sir Clinksalot]

Oddly enough, I feel totally great and just a little bit sore after yesterday. I actually feel like I could run today, but I'm not going to.

 

After the Disneyland 1/2 it was 2 days before I could even put shoes on my feet hurt so bad.

[Groteslurf]

Congrats Greg !! Great job !!

 

I did a 1/2 marathon training Saturday and it was by far the most relaxing and easiest 1/2 marathon I ran so far. I went absolutely great and my time was approx 1h50m.

April 17, 2011 I will be running my first marathon (Antwerp). Next weeks I have a few days off from work so maybe I'll find the time then to train and run a marathon distance. I'm sure I can do it, it's only a matter of finding the 3-4 hours to run it

[Cyber.Fiber]

I have been on my schools varsity XC team for the past 3 years. I am no longer allowed to do any running as it conflicts with my dancing performance.

 

Since I began running in Highschool, my flexibility has decreased drastically. Because XC is in the fall (the same time that dance teams are working intense flexibility programs in preparation for winter competitions) I have for the past 3 years been reversing the effects of my stretching with all the running. Instead of building the desired Lean Muscle with stretching, the running has been building Bulky Muscle in the areas that are most important for flexibility: IE: Calfs, Quads, Hamstrings.

 

It sucks that I had to stop however, as I enjoyed it so much, but I have been dancing for 14 years now and am not ready to give all the training and hard work up. In just under the 3 months that I have stopped running, I have regained almost all of the flexibility I had lost over the past 3 years, and will be much further developed in my flexibility than I was before I began!

 

Anyways, keep up the hard work all you who have been training for this 2010 season, I'm a little jealous!

[Sir Clinksalot]

^^ That's awesome Benny.

 

I'm not even thinking about doing a full until I can actually run a full 1/2 (no walking) and get my time around 2:10-2:20 at least. I was on pace to do my race in about 2:20 most of Sunday (until around mile 9). It took me 40 minutes to do the last three miles, my legs just gave out.

[moinab]

Panic setting in!

 

Space Coast Marathon, (my first full marathon,) is in 24 days. I had my last long run, before tapering, this morning. I had planned on running 25.4 miles, but I totally hit the wall at mile 19. Had to walk the final mile home, and gave up on running the final 5.4 mile loop. I just ran out of steam - could barely pick up my feet.

 

I had really wanted to get as close to marathon distance as possible. My previous long run was 22.4 miles, and I really struggled through the last 4 miles. I'm wondering what I'm doing wrong, and am afraid I won't be able to finish the marathon!

 

I usually run a 6.1 mile loop, around a 10 minute/mile pace, for my regular runs. For long runs, I slow it down at least a minute and a half. My pace for the 22.4 mile run was 11:44. My pace today ended up being 11:48. I use a 3 minute run to 30 second walk ratio, throughout the run. My pace for the Wine and Dine half was 10:27.

 

I have coffee and yogurt with peanut butter and chocolate syrup before I run, take a GU packet/water stop halfway through each loop (about once every hour,) and a PowerAde/water stop at the end of each loop (about 25 minutes after the GU stop.)

 

Why am I hitting the wall between miles 18 and 20? Do I need more nourishment than what I'm getting? Any ideas/suggestions?

[jray21]

Good Luck!

 

I never run more than 22 miles preparing for a marathon. Anything over that, and you really run a big risk of overuse injuries, and wearing out your body too much, especially for a first marathon. There are also too many variables that affect hitting the 'wall.' It could be over-training, not pacing right, or just one of those days. You should have no problem running the marathon after you've already ran 22 miles. Just remember to start out slow and pace yourself. Way too many people let their nerves and the excitement affect them and they end up running really fast at first, and really hit the wall early on.

 

Also, with the marathon distances, it does help to carb load a little (not a eating free for all!). I burn 3000 + calories running, and if I only eat a little breakfast, and a few GU's, I will get very lightheaded and hit the wall pretty severely around 20-22. However, too much GU will give me a bad stomach. I usually alternate between either a GU or Powerade, and water, every 2-3 miles (Gel or Powerade, then water, Gel or Powerade, then water). I actually like AccelGel the best. I've used them all, and that sees to work best for me.

 

Don't worry about your first marathon though! You've definitely got your training in good, so it will just be a matter of keeping fueled, keeping hydrated, and pacing yourself. Good Luck!!!

[moinab]

We had pizza, the night before, which probably isn't the best pre-long-run meal.

 

As I was reminded, we spent most of the past week enjoying the TPR WISCONSIN festivities, which may have contributed to fatigue, also.

 

Thank you for the reassurances. I do think it's likely that it's a nourishment problem. I'm going to pay a lot more attention to what I eat, the week before the race - lots of complex carbs, and I'll be sure to take some sports drink at each water station during the race (which is what I've done in the half marathons I've done.)

[Sir Clinksalot]

^ As people kept telling me after my bad race last week (you included) ... it's just a run when you didn't feel all that great, but remember when you couldn't have run 20 miles.

 

You got through it, you did great, and you had just come back from vacation.

 

You just had a run where you didn't feel great, but I have a hard time calling a 20 mile run a "Bad" run.

 

You are ready, you are going to do great!!!!

[nay]

Why am I hitting the wall between miles 18 and 20? Do I need more nourishment than what I'm getting? Any ideas/suggestions?

 

You should be fine during the marathon. Just stay hydrated and eat well but nothing too crazy during the week before. The excitement from the race will get you through those final miles.

 

I have the Philly marathon in 2 weeks and I feel like I'm severely under-trained for it. I did a 20 mile run not too long ago, and I was in a lot of pain after that. I'm going to try and get one more semi-longish run on Saturday. Cheering my friends on in the NYC marathon on Sunday should hopefully keep me motivated, too. I did run a 5k this past weekend and ran a PR, so I'm pretty happy about that!

[moinab]

^^If it were just one crappy run, I wouldn't think much of it. The thing that has me concerned is that I've hit the wall on both of my 20+ miles runs. I did fine with 15 and 18 miles. I just wish I had one non-wall-hitting 20+ mile run before the race.

 

Getting back on the South Beach Diet bandwagon, today, after gorging on candy, birthday cake, wings, chips, pizza etc, for the past week. The more I think about it, the more I have to agree, Gregg, that vacation probably affected me more than I realized. I feel so much better when I avoid sugar and simple carbs, in general.

 

Congrats on your 5K PR, Renee, and good luck in Philly!

[moinab]

Bumping this up to wish Renee a great race, this weekend, in Philly!

[nay]

Thanks! I'm starting to get really nervous! I don't know if I trained enough, and 26.2 miles always sounds so overwhelming. This will actually only be my sixth full marathon ever! Looks like the weather will be nice, and a little chilly, but I'll take that any day over hot and humid.

[Groteslurf]

Good luck Renee !!!

[jray21]

Good luck! Have a great run!

[nay]

Thanks! The Philly marathon was a decent race. The weather was cool, which is perfect running weather for me. I felt that I ran a really great first half, but starting to hurt quite a bit during the last half. After the first half, I was hoping to finish with a time around 4:30, but ended up at 4:57. Not my best, but I'll take it. The crowd support was great, especially the frat boys in University City and the cookies, brownies and beer around mile 19!

 

I'm still pretty sore, but might do a Turkey Trot 5k on Thursday.

 

Is the Space Coast marathon this weekend? Hope you're rested and ready to go for that!

[moinab]

Sorry to hear you were hurting. Hope you recover quickly!

 

Yes, Space Coast is on Sunday. Unfortunately, my knee decided to start acting up, this week, for the first time. It's a bit loose and crunchy, and is a little achey with deep bends or stairs. I haven't run since a quick 3-miler on Saturday. Just going to keep resting and icing it, and taking ibuprofen.

 

I was aiming for a sub 4:30, but now I'm just going to hope for a sub 5:00, and hope I don't have to walk a majority of it.

 

As long as I don't end up really injured, it's probably best that this happened, to slow me down. I was getting overly ambitious, I think. I'm doing Space Coast, then the Dopey at WDW, and then the 26.2 with Donna on February 13th. Pushing myself for a time goal in my first full marathon, and then stacking all of these other races after it, is probably not in my best interest!

 

Do you think you'd do Philly again? I'm tempted to do one of the Runner's World Challenge races, and Philly is going to be one of them, next year. Richmond would be more convenient for me, though.

 

We're also looking at the Savannah Rock and Roll Marathon, next November. So many races, so little time and money!

[nay]

Good luck this weekend! Hope the knee feels better by then. I actually wore a knee brace during the marathon, since it was feeling a little funny the week or so before, and I ended up switching it to the other knee halfway through. I feel a lot better today and plan on running the 5k tomorrow.

 

I would probably do Philly again eventually. Not next year, but in the future. It was a nice, mostly flat course. The out and back part towards the end of the race was a little frustrating, though.

[Mr. Starr]

I'm off to go run a 4-mile with the family this morning!

[Coaster Cow]

^Turkey runs are my fave. Did a small-town 5-miler and came in 4th! Ran a 30:45, which is meh, but what I love about the race is not only the sweet swag (hideous turkey sweatshirts ) but how everyone knew everyone. My dad has ran the race almost every year its been run, and my grandfather pretty much has, too. The community feel is fantastic, and only having to run against 150 other runners, rather than a similar Rochester turkey race which brought in over 3,000 (!!!) certainly helps.

[Mr. Starr]

^Turkey runs are my fave. Did a small-town 5-miler and came in 4th! Ran a 30:45, which is meh, but what I love about the race is not only the sweet swag (hideous turkey sweatshirts ) but how everyone knew everyone. My dad has ran the race almost every year its been run, and my grandfather pretty much has, too. The community feel is fantastic, and only having to run against 150 other runners, rather than a similar Rochester turkey race which brought in over 3,000 (!!!) certainly helps.

 

Yeah, turkey trots are always awesome! The one we ran this year had about 1600 people, which was actually pretty bearable, and I won a frozen turkey

[moinab]

We had a great time at the Space Coast Marathon.

 

Started out not so great, though. We drove way out of our way (20 miles further south,) to go to the Running Zone (sponsoring store,) for the meet and greet with Dick Beardsley. That was a bad call, on our part, because after 3 hours in the car, Charlotte (3 years old) was an out-of-control animal, inside the store. After being asked more than a dozen times (no exaggeration) by 5 or so different employees if they could help us, we just left, without ever getting to meet up with Dick. Frustrating.

 

After a quick lunch, we drove another half hour back north, to the Expo at Kennedy Space Center. We arrived a couple of minutes after noon. Since my husband had signed up as a volunteer from noon to 3PM, he had to check-in and get right to work at the race shirt distribution table. I walked around the expo with the kids. For a small race expo, it had a good variety of booths with lots of freebies. I saw a couple of Christmas ornaments I really liked, but they were gone, when I went back to buy them.

 

After an hour of poking around, I left with the kids to go check in to the hotel. Didn't realize how far away we were - it took us 40 minutes (had some bad directions) to get the the Best Western Cocoa Beach. The hotel room was ok. I wouldn't have chosen it, though, if it weren't for needing the shuttle to the race. They provided breakfast, but not until 7AM. I suggested (nicely) that, as a host hotel for the marathon, they should have at least provided bananas, yogurt, bagels, etc. for the runners, who had to leave well before the 6:15AM race time.

 

After settling in at the hotel, putting Charlotte down for a nap, and getting everything ready for the morning, we drove back to KSC to spend some more time at the expo, and get in line for the bus to the pre-race dinner at the Apollo/Saturn V Center (it's a restricted area, so they have to bus everyone in from the visitors center.) The dinner was supposed to begin at 6PM, but we didn't even get in until 6:30. Because of that, they ended up having to cut the speech by one of the Space Shuttle pilots, because we had to catch the bus back to the visitors center at 8PM.

 

As cool as it was to have the dinner there, the staff was horrible. It was a buffet, and they kept running out of food, which would take at least 5 minutes to replace. So you are standing in a buffet line, and the salad runs out, holding up the line for 5 minutes, until they replaced it. Then you move up to the pasta, and the ravioli is out, and it takes another 5 minutes to replace that, and then the bread was out! It was ridiculous. The food was ok, but you had to pay for beverages, other than coffee, and they never refilled our water. Pretty crappy for $50 per person.

 

The speech by Dick Beardsley was great, however. If you ever get a chance to hear him speak, don't miss it. It was a particular thrill for me, because I vividly remember watching the 1982 Boston Marathon "Duel in the Sun" between him and Alberto Salazar, and rooting for Beardsley the whole time.

 

I barely made the 4:30AM shuttle to the race, the next morning. I was surprised that it was almost completely full. The staging area and starting line are in Cocoa Village, which a quaint little town center with artsy type shops. Very cute. They had just had the tree lighting ceremony in the park, (where the race was staged,) the previous night, so the whole park and all the shops had Christmas lights on. I loved having the staging area/finish line in a park, as opposed to a parking lot/empty field, which has been my experience in previous races. It was especially nice for my family, while they were waiting for me to finish, because there was nice playground and plenty to do to keep the kids occupied. Very family friendly.

 

I loved the size of this race. They had 2700 registered runners, but only 800 were running the full marathon. The starting corrals were divided down the street, with half-marathon runners on the left, and full marathon runners on the right. After the first block, the half runners turned left, to head down the south out and back part of the course, and the full marathon runners turned right, headed for the north out and back, before returning through Cocoa Village and continuing on to the south. I was never alone on the course, but there was plenty of space. It was never crowded, and you could keep to your own pace.

 

I was plagued by some bathroom issues, unfortunately, during the first half. Usually, I can easily run 20 miles without needing a bathroom break, but by the second mile, I knew I was going to have to stop. They only had two porto-potties at each water stop. I was trying to wait for an open one, but by mile 6, I was decided to stop. I waited for a minute, before giving up. Seriously - what are people doing in there? Putting on make-up, or what? I was not happy that I wasted a minute and didn't even get to go. Finally found an open one at mile 8, and then another at mile 12. I was good, after that.

 

The first out and back was very pretty, right along the river, as the sun came up. The terrain was gently rolling, the whole way. No big hills, but a lot of little ups and downs. I was able to keep a good pace, other than my potty breaks, and was still feeling ok by the half, when we headed down the south out and back. By mile 14, the wind started kicking up, off the river. That took a lot out of me, and after a few miles, I was begging for the turnaround, which was between miles 19 and 20. It was a rude awakening, however, once I hit the turnaround and discovered the wind was even worse, going back. I wanted to cry. I had been able to hold my pace until then, but after 20, I started losing steam, and had to incorporate more walking throughout the final 10K. I was originally hoping for a sub 4:30, but was happy with my official 4:44:51, and I was especially happy that my knee didn't bother me at all!

 

There were very few spectators on the course, and it's an open course, but that didn't bother me. I encountered only 2 or 3 cars, and it was nice to see people walking their dogs or riding bikes along the way. All of the water stops have various space themes, and are manned by different groups. There is a ballot at the end, to vote for your favorite, and the winning group gets $1000 donated to their cause. I thought that was a great touch. Toward the end, though, the volunteers enthusiasm was waning. Instead of handing out GU, they just left them in baskets or boxes on the table, and I missed several stops, because they weren't prepared or paying attention (standing around talking, rather than holding the cups out for you, etc.) After 4 hours, though, I can't really blame them. They should probably work in shifts, or something.

 

After crossing the finish line and getting your medal, you get a Space Coast Marathon logo beach towel, instead of a mylar blanket. That was a very nice touch. They also had beverages in ice filled kiddie pools. By the time I finished, they were out of bottled water, and only had Diet Coke left, but that's what I drink, so I was happy.

 

I managed to get my free pizza before they ran out, but missed out on the eggs. They did still have pancakes and sausage, but the bananas were all gone, too. There was plenty to completely stuff myself with, though!

 

Although it may seem like I'm complaining a lot, I thought it was a great race and my family had a great time. Best of all, I finished my first full marathon with a semi-respectable time, and I didn't hurt myself!

 

(Sorry for the crappy photo quality.)

With my family, at the pre-race dinner.

Dining under the Saturn V rocket.

Crossing the finish line about 15 times, while walking warm-up laps, before the race.

Medal area, after the finish line.

Medals.

The end of the race was running around the park on that walkway, into the arches, to the finish line, behind the pavilion.

Post-race beverages.

Setting up the post-race breakfast tent.

Walking through Cocoa Village, to the starting corrals.

That was my goal. lol

Looking toward the jumbo-tron, at the starting line.

This was around mile 2 or 3.

This was after the north turn around, mile 7ish.

Pretty.

This house made me laugh.

If I look kind of crazed, it's because I was, at that point. I made it! lol

Lots of space theming, everywhere.

I love my medal!

[BeemerBoy]

Congrats, Maureen! The dining setup under the rocket looked pretty cool. Sorry to hear some of the things didn't go as planned, but glad you had a great time!