The Running Thread - 2019

[Professor_Cookie]

I have a question that feels a bit goofy. I’ve tripped running a couple times lately and busted up my knees and palms both times. The first time was on a trail, which I was relatively new to, so I attributed it to the new surface. Today was on a sidewalk, though

Balance exercises. Stand on one foot for 30 seconds. When you can easily do that, try it with your eyes closes. When you can do that, try it standing on a pillow.

well, in the first instance, at least, you WILL fall on trails. It happens. I was blooded more than once this summer. It definitely happened more in my Altras than my saucony’s or my hokas, though.

 

[PrincessMickey]

It went better than expected. The last mile I could feel it but kept running knowing it was the last mile. You have the training in so you should be good. Just go whatever pace feels good and walk if you have to. It’s such a fun race so just enjoy it!!!

 

[garneska]

@bovie i fall more than I like. Definitely stick with balance exercises as @OldSlowGoofyGuy suggested. I have nothing to offer I eat pavement and dirt on a regular basis, I just accept it and hope I don’t do too much damage.

@dis_or_dat fantastic on the PR. I hope it gets you to NYC marathon. Bummer your training cycle was not great but awesome results!

 

[michigandergirl]

@bovie I fall on trails regularly. I run much slower on trails because of that. Unlike road running, I can't zone out when trail running, I have to pay attention every moment, and even then I might still fall when I'm getting tired and not picking up my feet enough.

Also, I try to avoid sidewalk running as much as possible. I had a bad fall once from tripping on a crack in the sidewalk, so I run in the road almost always (low traffic routes).

Falling sucks! I hope you heal up quickly!

 

[jmasgat]

@bovie... I might still fall when I'm getting tired and not picking up my feet enough.

Also, I try to avoid sidewalk running as much as possible. I had a bad fall once from tripping on a crack in the sidewalk, so I run in the road almost always (low traffic routes).

@bovie This exactly. Try to maintain good form--torso erect, pick up feet. And I hate running on sidewalks. Too much uneven cement is bound to trip anyone up at some point.

Hope you heal quickly.

 

[Professor_Cookie]

Great trails are a good parallel to backcountry snowboarding, B/C skiing, and mountain biking. Grinding out the climbs, then zoning out on the down hills, having to pick your line, and control your speed while not hindering your flow.

 

[dis_or_dat]

@bovie I notoriously trip on flat surfaces because I don't pick up my feet at all (my running cadence is 190+), but I do a lot of core work so that helps stop me from eating pavement on the regular.

@StacyStrong good luck with your decision. I've heard great things about Hot Chocolate race!

 

[OldSlowGoofyGuy]

Race Recap

11/02- @OldSlowGoofyGuy - NEGA CASA Superhero 10k, Lavonia GA (49:59 / 48:32* (unofficial))

This is a very small race. They also have a 5K that starts at the same time. The races are at Tugaloo State Park on Lake Hartwell.

I get up early on race day. I like to have coffee and have plenty of time to get my gear ready, make sure I know where I'm going, pick a lunch place, etc.

Spoiler: Weird Pre-race Dream

I'll put this behind a spoiler so you can easily skip it. Don't worry, it's not like 'creep you out' weird.
When the alarm goes off at 4:40AM, I'm dreaming about this race. Not a nightmare, no missing shoes or terry cloth compression shorts (yeah, I dreamed that one time), just a dream.
I've never run this race or been to Tugaloo State Park, but I know it's this race.
We're walking to the start, which was eerily like the real start that I've never seen. A woman breaks her water bottle. It's a weird long-neck scientific flask water bottle. I offer to go back and get her bottled water. I walk back to a church fellowship hall building (not accurate) and get a bottle of water. As I turn around, my deceased mom is there so I get her a cupcake from the table, and she is really excited about the cupcake. That's the whole dream. It left me with a warm, safe feeling.

I wake up and at some point while having breakfast, I open our kitchen trashcan: there's a cupcake wrapper in it! WTH?
Unbeknownst to me, my wife has a secret supply of frozen cupcakes, and had one before going to bed last night.

The race is about 50 minutes away, which fits perfectly with my rule that your one-way travel time should not exceed your expected race time. I arrived in plenty of time and parking and registration were simple and fast. I did a 1.5 mile warmup, shedding clothes as I went. Weather was about 38 degrees, no wind, and clear after the lake mist burned off. I raced in compression shorts, tank top, and throwaway gloves, arm warmers, and hat. I ditched all the throwaway gear right before we started. I felt kind of silly as almost everyone else had tights, long sleeves, gloves and hat.

The race is not chip timed. 5 and 10K start at the same time. The race is so small (<200 total) that crowding is not an issue. The 10K course is 2 loops with each loop having 2 out-and-back with a 180 degree turn around a cone, hard to go fast around those. It's hilly; my Garmin shows 560 feet elevation gain, which is more than Peachtree (318 ft) and more/mile than the Atl 10 Miler (779 ft). It's not a PR course with the hills and turn-arounds. My plan was to keep it around 8:00 and try to break 50 minutes.

I'm pretty happy with my pacing:



Since the race was so small, there was not much interaction with other runners, especially on the 2nd loop. I got passed by a woman around mile 2. I kept her in sight the whole race and finished about 5-10 feet behind her. I probably could have passed her at the end, but it seemed uncalled for as we weren't in the same division. I got passed by another woman around mile 4 on one of the hills. We exchanged some light hearted banter (as much as you can after a hill on a 10K), that seemed to center around that I was doing OK for an old guy. She was gone. No way I could hang with her or reel her in.

At the finish, Classic Race Services uses the old-school finisher card method. Mine has a big '4' printed on it! After you fill it out and drop it off, they immediately post it on a big board broken up by gender and age group, so you can instantly see if you're in the money (unless some jerk hands in an early card at the last second which seems to happen often). They posted my card off to the side. Always a good sign!

I finished in 48:32 and was the Male Masters Winner and 4th place overall! One of the joys of small races. The bling was a nice handmade pottery mug and matching coaster.

* If you're good at runner math, you'll notice the paces I posted don't equal a 48:32 minute 10K. The course only measured 6.03 miles by my watch. Extrapolating my pace out to a full 10K, it's more like a 50 minute 10K.





Then it was off to downtown Lavonia for a celebratory lunch. Oddly enough, 2 of the 3 restaurants in Lavonia are Italian, and they're right next to each other. One serves beer and one doesn't. Guess which one I picked? The pizza wasn't the greatest, but you have to grade on the curve. Lavonia is a small town with a population of 2000, not New York City. The staff was friendly and the service was fast. Oh yeah, and the beers were a buck. I rate this place a 'Pass', and I'd go there again if I ever race again in Lavonia. (I might have to go back next year and try to beat those 2 women!)



I'm not sure how I posted such a long recap for a local 10K, but if you made it this far: thanks for reading!

 

[StacyStrong]

@bovie I notoriously trip on flat surfaces because I don't pick up my feet at all (my running cadence is 190+), but I do a lot of core work so that helps stop me from eating pavement on the regular.

@StacyStrong good luck with your decision. I've heard great things about Hot Chocolate race!

Thank you! I ran it. I ran it slower than I would have liked, but considering how sick I am, getting myself there and across the finish line seems like a win!

 

[flav]

October totals:
Distance: 118km (73mi)
Average speed: 6m29s/km (10m27s/mi)

The month of October was average in general i.e everyone and everything are doing fine, nothing special to mention. Some goes for running, I respected the plan in terms of outings and duration but more or less on paces. Maybe I am having trouble with adapting to Fall (less sunlight) and not being at Wine’n’Dine right now... I hope that I will love Marathon Weekend as much!

 

[michigandergirl]

Congrats @OldSlowGoofyGuy !!!

 

[steph0808]

They tried to theme each mile after something Pittsburgh related. Second to last mile they were giving out pierogis. That's probably one of the last things I'd want to eat, let alone while running.

I think perogies would be so awesome to eat at the end of a race! Then again, I am southwestern PA born and bred (and still live here).

I need to do this race next year.

 

[Slogger]

Congrats @OldSlowGoofyGuy. Sweet 10k mug.

 

[Slogger]

October Summary

Distance 163.2 miles
Avg. Pace 9:54
Elevation 3169 ft

ytd miles 1177 (hope to finish with 1400-1500 miles this year)

Completed Half Marathon #23, finished 2nd in Age Group, 14 weeks until Phoenix Marathon.

 

[opusone]

Hot Chocolate 15k (Chicago) Race Recap

I had a surprise visit from my college roommate and his 16-year old daughter this weekend. They flew in from Austin to pre-celebrate my birthday as well as attend a college tour at the University of Chicago.

So, my weekend plans changed last minute from a scheduled quiet Friday night, attending a football game on Saturday (ND vs. VA Tech), the Hot Chocolate 15k on Sunday morning, and a pre-birthday dinner on Sunday night to picking up from the airport late Friday night, staying up even later Friday chatting, registering my 16-year old daughter for the same UChicago tour on Saturday, attending the UChicago tour with both our daughters, dining out with our guests on Saturday night, and returning them to the airport mid-afternoon on Sunday. Although I skipped the ND/VA Tech game (which ended up being quite an exciting game), the good news is that I was able to catch up with a really good friend that I haven’t seen in quite a while. Also, I was still able to fit in the Hot Chocolate 15k race this morning. In fact, in a very odd sequence of discussions on Saturday morning before heading to the UChicago tour, we last minute decided to hit the Hot Chocolate Expo and register my college roommate (5k), his daughter (her first 15k), my wife (5k), my daughter (her first 15k), and my son (5k – his first race ever). This was awesome as my original plan was just to pop downtown, run the race solo, and drive back home.

After dropping my wife, son, and college roommate at their corral (I), then taking the two 16-year olds to their corral (E), I made my way to corral A. As my first race in over two years and my last race on the front half of a century, surprisingly, I went in knowing exactly what I could expect to do and felt confident that I could achieve it. So, the question I was mulling over in my mind was whether or not I should push the pace a little faster than my goal to challenge myself a little more. However, there is a problem pacing at the Hot Chocolate Chicago race (as @roxymama can verify); within the first 0.2 miles of the race, you go underground for almost a mile followed by running amongst the tall buildings in downtown Chicago for another mile. This completely throws off your GPS watch, and it usually doesn’t get back fully on track for another mile or two after that. Although I was confident in the pace I could run for the race, I was not confident in my pace-by-feel abilities. But, as I entered my corral, I immediately saw the most beautiful thing in the world… pacers! Given that I had an 8:00 pace as my goal pace, I lined up perfectly with the nice round pacer intervals, and Paul, the 8:00 pacer, was right in front of me. Perfect, I thought. I will just run behind Paul during the first few miles when my watch will be useless, then I can go by feel after a nice, controlled start.

Soon the starting horn sounded, and we were off. It was crowded at first, so I wasn’t right near the pacer, but I kept him in my sight until the crowd thinned out enough to make some moves to get with the group. I didn’t see the first mile marker, so I don’t know our split, but by the second mile marker, we were slightly ahead of pace (maybe a 7:50 average pace). Paul, the pacer, slowed down a little, and by the third mile marker, we were on target. Paul continued to pace us very well, and although I was feeling pretty comfortable and thought I could push more, I decided to stick with the pacing group a while longer. In my mind, I was thinking I would stay with the group until about mile six, then go on my own. Mile marker six came, and I didn’t speed up. It wasn’t a conscious decision, and I’m not sure why I didn’t go as I still felt quite good. Also, it wasn’t until this point that I realized that nobody was talking in this group. I mean, the entire time since the start. I did hear a few words between the pacer and a guy next to him at a couple of the mile markers when the pacer was stating the last mile/overall time/pace, but it wasn’t really a discussion. Not sure why this hit me as weird as I believe there is no expectation of conversation in a pacer group, but the few times I have joined or stayed near one, they always seem to have some type of discussion/excitement. Anyway, I decided to strike up a conversation with the pacer. So, I asked him how long he had been pacing (two years), what distances (up to marathon which is his favorite), if he had paced in Chicago before (no, this was his first), where else he was pacing (all over the U.S.). All of the sudden, everyone else jumped in and started asking questions of Paul and each other. It was as if someone just needed to break the ice. We were at about mile seven, the group seemed to be enjoying themselves, so I thanked Paul for his awesome pacing, and I went off to see what I could do for the last 2.3 miles. I was able to increase pace by about 30 seconds per mile which felt good from a performance point of view but definitely not sustainable for more than a couple miles at this point in the race. Luckily, all I had was a couple miles left, and I crossed the finish line at 1:13:10 (7:51 overall pace).

More importantly, my daughter and my college roommate’s daughter finished the 15k (their longest race so far) at a 9:06 pace, and my son finished his first race ever (5k). I’m a very proud dad!

 

[steph0808]

Edit to say: holy crap, that was a lot longer than anticipated...


Veteran's Marathon Recap

Thank you to @DopeyBadger for his plan and training advice!

Today was my marathon for 2019 (I like to think I can do one every year)! It's a small local race on the trail that I almost exclusively train. And it's put on by my local running club, so when I'm able (i.e. in town and not pregnant or have an infant), I run it. I think I've made 4 of the 7 years - two times running the half and two times running the full).

It was a cool 37ish degrees at the start, and I dressed fairly appropriately in shorts, long-sleeve, gloves, and headband. Well, the gloves and headband were off in the first two miles - no biggie, I just tuck them in my fuel belt.

It is an out-and-back course on a rails-to-trails trail. The first thing is that it is uphill until the turn-around (a climb of about 300 feet, so not terrible, but definitely there). The second thing is that there is no crowd support - you have the water stops (about every 3 miles) and they say "great job" and you have about 15 people at the two road crossings/relay exchange points and the finish, but that's it.

But - I was a happy bee-bopper. I was determined to have a good attitude throughout the marathon - I can control most shorter races, but the marathon is a different beast. I gave up predicting anything about it a long time ago!

I did well the first half - averaging about 9:18-ish/mile. My HR read high (it said "No Zone" the whole time - it must have been so high that I was dead ), but I think it was cadence lock. I think my HR was really 20 beats lower - I was still talking (to myself) and feeling good. The first half, I wished I had worn a t-shirt.

Before I hit the turnaround, the people on the way back seemed glum. I figured out why. The wind that I had anticipated being at my back was instead full in my face. It was probably 10-15 mph gusts every 2-3 minutes.

However, my spirits were not deterred! I did slow down slightly (9:40-ish) once I hit the wind, but I was good. I was glad I wore a long-sleeve then.

Mile 18.5 brought the interesting feeling that my legs were wearing capris and not shorts. I think the wind made them numb. That was an interesting mile!

I continued to slow down into the 10:xx, but I was still happy.

My ultimate two goals were 1. Be relaxed and don't stress about time. 2. Don't walk. My other marathons usually have many walking periods after mile 20.

My water bottle was almost empty, so I decided to walk the three remaining aid stations (I didn't want to fill it back up). At mile 19.5-ish, I walked while I drank the water and then started again. At mile 22, I drank water and grabbed some pretzels. At mile 24, I did the same.

So, while I did walk, I don't count it. It wasn't walking because my legs were tired and I didn't want to run. Or because I hurt and was depressed and didn't want to run. I walked to drink and recuperate for less than .1 miles. Those miles were 11:00-12:00 because of the walking.

While my ultimate goal had been low 4:00s - I was not stressed when that slipped through my fingers. I remained upbeat and plodded on toward the finish line. I stepped on the gas with the goal of breaking 4:20 and saw that I could almost break 4:19 as I ran as fast as my legs would waddle toward the finish (alright, I think I actually did hit low-9:00s for that .2 miles).

Alas, I forgot to look at the board (no, it's not chip timed - they rip the bottom part of your bib off and mark your time on it! gasp!) for my final time, and the results haven't posted yet. (But seriously, almost all my races are like that - I live in a small town).

I stopped my watch at 4:19:03, so we will see if I made sub-4:19 or not.

It's not sub-4:10, and it's not sub-4:00, but it's a 16-minute PR, and I was happy the whole time. It's amazing what a good mental attitude (and not really being focused on time) can do.

Then I came home, took a shower, ate a donut and drank chocolate milk, played with my kids, and did three loads of laundry. Now for more tylenol!

I will say - I'm not hungry at all - I think I might cancel my Ohana dinner that I scheduled for after the marathon in January!

 

[dis_or_dat]

Loving these long recaps (obvs ).

What an interesting dream @OldSlowGoofyGuy, especially with that cupcake.

A few weeks ago I had a dream that I was randomly at a race that had started a day earlier than I thought, but I didn't want to waste my training and was determined to run it. I was only a few minutes late after quickly changing and taking in some prerace fuel. But then I realized I had left my shoes on the other side of the building, which meant I was going to be starting over half an hour late and that's when I finally gave up.

 

[AntimonyER]

Congrats to all the racers this past weekend!

 

[Waiting2goback]

Edit to say: holy crap, that was a lot longer than anticipated...


Veteran's Marathon Recap

Thank you to @DopeyBadger for his plan and training advice!

Today was my marathon for 2019 (I like to think I can do one every year)! It's a small local race on the trail that I almost exclusively train. And it's put on by my local running club, so when I'm able (i.e. in town and not pregnant or have an infant), I run it. I think I've made 4 of the 7 years - two times running the half and two times running the full).

It was a cool 37ish degrees at the start, and I dressed fairly appropriately in shorts, long-sleeve, gloves, and headband. Well, the gloves and headband were off in the first two miles - no biggie, I just tuck them in my fuel belt.

It is an out-and-back course on a rails-to-trails trail. The first thing is that it is uphill until the turn-around (a climb of about 300 feet, so not terrible, but definitely there). The second thing is that there is no crowd support - you have the water stops (about every 3 miles) and they say "great job" and you have about 15 people at the two road crossings/relay exchange points and the finish, but that's it.

But - I was a happy bee-bopper. I was determined to have a good attitude throughout the marathon - I can control most shorter races, but the marathon is a different beast. I gave up predicting anything about it a long time ago!

I did well the first half - averaging about 9:18-ish/mile. My HR read high (it said "No Zone" the whole time - it must have been so high that I was dead ), but I think it was cadence lock. I think my HR was really 20 beats lower - I was still talking (to myself) and feeling good. The first half, I wished I had worn a t-shirt.

Before I hit the turnaround, the people on the way back seemed glum. I figured out why. The wind that I had anticipated being at my back was instead full in my face. It was probably 10-15 mph gusts every 2-3 minutes.

However, my spirits were not deterred! I did slow down slightly (9:40-ish) once I hit the wind, but I was good. I was glad I wore a long-sleeve then.

Mile 18.5 brought the interesting feeling that my legs were wearing capris and not shorts. I think the wind made them numb. That was an interesting mile!

I continued to slow down into the 10:xx, but I was still happy.

My ultimate two goals were 1. Be relaxed and don't stress about time. 2. Don't walk. My other marathons usually have many walking periods after mile 20.

My water bottle was almost empty, so I decided to walk the three remaining aid stations (I didn't want to fill it back up). At mile 19.5-ish, I walked while I drank the water and then started again. At mile 22, I drank water and grabbed some pretzels. At mile 24, I did the same.

So, while I did walk, I don't count it. It wasn't walking because my legs were tired and I didn't want to run. Or because I hurt and was depressed and didn't want to run. I walked to drink and recuperate for less than .1 miles. Those miles were 11:00-12:00 because of the walking.

While my ultimate goal had been low 4:00s - I was not stressed when that slipped through my fingers. I remained upbeat and plodded on toward the finish line. I stepped on the gas with the goal of breaking 4:20 and saw that I could almost break 4:19 as I ran as fast as my legs would waddle toward the finish (alright, I think I actually did hit low-9:00s for that .2 miles).

Alas, I forgot to look at the board (no, it's not chip timed - they rip the bottom part of your bib off and mark your time on it! gasp!) for my final time, and the results haven't posted yet. (But seriously, almost all my races are like that - I live in a small town).

I stopped my watch at 4:19:03, so we will see if I made sub-4:19 or not.

It's not sub-4:10, and it's not sub-4:00, but it's a 16-minute PR, and I was happy the whole time. It's amazing what a good mental attitude (and not really being focused on time) can do.

Then I came home, took a shower, ate a donut and drank chocolate milk, played with my kids, and did three loads of laundry. Now for more tylenol!

I will say - I'm not hungry at all - I think I might cancel my Ohana dinner that I scheduled for after the marathon in January!

Never cancel Ohana! Congratulations on your race!

 

[Waiting2goback]