Week of Oct 16 - 2006 Half-Full Marathon Info/Training Thread

I wasn't arguing for a tri bike as first bike. As a matter of fact, I put down the pro/ con thing because frankly I would argue against it. But if you are going to put clip on aero bars on a road bike, you better make sure the effective top tube length is short enough(possibly by swapping out stems) so that the handling of the bike is not thrown off by putting too much weight too far forward. The comment about short course tris is correct, I raced 3 this fall with the Trek and no aero bars. But the long course stuff next year, you better believe will be on the Roo Baby. Of course, I have goals such as dropping times and more ambitious ones related to the Ironman Collegiate National Champoinship and Hawaii. I may not be Karen Smyers and have only been nationally ranked on the Xterra off road circuit but that doesn't mean my racing doesn't matter. In addition, when I help people bike shop around here, I tell them they can get an excellent bike to grow with between $1000-1500. Of course, budget and quality matter to most of the people that are asking. BTW, my bikes are actually relatively cheap compared to some of the people I ride with.

So using the LBS to size you and then ordering online, I have a problem with that ethically but that is my personal opinion. Yes, there are places that you can pay for the service but that $150-200 plus the lack of follow up service rapidly eats into the cost savings. Most LBS do a year or more of follow up service. Would I buy a bike online? I've looked at it in the past- if I could have justified the additional cost of the Titus(yes, it was MORE) over the Jamis, I would have. Road bikes- I've looked at Airborne but they wouldn't fit and ultimately I ended up deciding I wanted full carbon. It really boils down to what you feel comfortable with. If you decide to buy online after careful examination of your LBS options, check out Colorado Cyclist and their Douglas house brand bikes. They seem like you can get a lot for the money, their customer service is knowledgable, and they publish geometry.

Someone asked how a tri bike is different- is really a geometry issue. The seat tube angle is steeper(bottom bracket or where the cranks attach to seat) and that is supposed to move you a bit further forward over the petals and therefore be a bit of leg saving to run afterwards. The other big geometry issue with a dedicated tri or time trial bike has to do with safety. I mentioned above being careful about getting too much weight forward. A road bike is designed to have most weight distributed over the seat and then down through the axis of the head tube and fork. A clip on aero bar puts your weight on your elbows but your head and more of your mass is further forward than a regular road riding position. A tri/TT bike has a different head tube angle that helps somewhat with this weight shift. There are some debates about 650 v 700 c wheel sizes. 650s accelarate quicker and are nice for a smaller athlete but Lance rode 700s so... The other major difference visually is the handlebar set up such as drop bars plus clip on aero bar on a road bike or less expensive tri bike or cowhorn bars with an aero bar with the shifters at the end of the aero bars. Yes, this affects the aerodynamics but also has to do with comfort level with the brakes and shifters separated and at the ends of the bars. I didn't buy a tri bike until I started racing long course events but that was partly a monetary choice. If you can own just one, most people suggest a road bike.
 
Revised!
Shirt orders due 10/24. I will send them to the printer first thing Tuesday and send out PMs with final cost and payment details.
 
Good Morning Everyone!!

My apologies for not checking in sooner this week-- but sadly, there was not that much to check in about. I have been pretty lax about my training for about a week there, so there's not too much to report. It's great to see everyone doing so well and it's great to see so many new faces around here!!! :wave2:

Wednesday, I got back in the game and ran a very very ugly 48 min (3 run/1 walk). Underhydrated, poor eating, couldn't get my head in the game... you name it. So I pretty much spent all day yesterday trying to psych myself up for my long run this morning.

This morning, I got up at 5:15am (a remarkable feat in and of itself) and did my long run of 12 miles (3 run/2 walk intervals)-- or as I like to call it: Run to the G-Flo. ;) (Upon arrival at the Grand Floridian, I promptly wanted to book a room and lay down for a nap. :teeth: )

I finished in 1:55.07, so the average pace was 9:35 min per mile. :banana: I'll take that for sure!!!

A few lessons learned:
1. I need to SLOW DOWN at the start. I split my first two miles at 8:36 and 9:10. WAY too fast running 3/2.
2. I need to stretch before I do my runs from now on. I got very sore/tight at the 10 mile mark.
3. PowerGel every hour works well for me. However, I do need more water, I think.
4. I realized when I finished that I could have hung on and finished the half with no problem. I also realized that I could probably have finished the full 26.2 if I had wanted to. It would have been hard and it would have been ugly, but if I HAD to, I could do it. That is huge for me.
5. Little dogs are far meaner and more territorial than bigger dogs. (At least in my neighborhood).

I should get to icing now. Good luck with those long runs this weekend. Stay healthy, stay safe, stay warm.

Happy training!
Solotraveler :earsboy:
 
Heather-- You ROCK! Congrats no the longest run ever. That is soooo exciting :Pinkbounc :Pinkbounc :Pinkbounc

MelR-- that is toooo funny :rotfl2: I'm going to have that song stuck in my head all day (and a smile on my face)!

I remember my Mom warning me to be careful of teh people I hung out with, because their habits would rub off on me. Well I should have listened more carefully. I have a feeling it won't be too long before I'm out pricing bikes! I am totally clueless. I read your detailed posts and it sounds like a foreign language. But I'm intrigued and curious to this strange world of which you speak! Maybe next Spring...

I am taking 1/2 a day vaca today to get a midlength run in (8 miles) and prepare for our big party tomorrow (DD 16th, DB 26th, DM, 61). Its at my house and I'm doing a turkey dinner. Woo hoo, should be fun. I want to have as much done as possible today so I can still get my LR in tomorrow. Should be 16 unless the IC pulls a fast one.

My butt hurts :blush: I told you I had a terrific lower body weight session on Tuesday and I'm still paying for it! A couple of weeks ago I stepped up my highest weight on the leg press to 460 lbs for just a few "gingerly" reps. Well on Tuesday I did a full 12 reps at 460lb, after doing 190, 270, 360, and then did the reverse pyramid back down to 190lbs, plus all the normal lunges, squats, etc. I am really feeling it now. But I am PSYCHED, I haven't made a big breakthrough in weight for a long time. I am doing a little "grunt" everytime I stand up!!! We'll see how the legs like it on the BP today. I brought my camera so picts should come soon :flower:

Sunny
 


wtpclc said:
Shirt orders due 10/31. I will send them to the printer first thing Tuesday and send out PMs with final cost and payment details.

Thanks, Carrie

I can attest this has been no small undertaking!!!!

Sunny
 
Back to the bike discussion, I am not going to be able to ride mine today because it is raining. In addition, the body has spoken!!!! I'm really stiff and sore today :confused3 Maybe that is because I did the 12 and 1/2 hour adventure race on saturday and still got all of my running and cross training in by THURS!!!! NOT COOL!!! There is a big rock climbing gathering this weekend at a climbing area near here. We try to go every year, so I'll rest today so I can climb badly without being sore this weekend ;)

So, Sunny, that means no pics today. I will take them next time I go. I may have to take them next time I mountain bike (did I mention I'm terrible at mt. biking?) Anyway, that is a cool trail too. It is fun to ride it then run it, it's just not my favorite.

Solo - YOU ARE FAST!!!!!! I cannot even imagine how fast you run on those intervals!!!!! Way to go!!!! At least the little dogs can't open their mouths big enough to really hurt when they bite.

Lynn - on the xterra races do you mt. bike? If so, you must be a brave person. I fall every time I mt. bike. I have come to the conclusion that if I don't fall, I was probably not being aggressive enough. Usually I ride like a chicken after a fall!!! I took a fall on the adventure race that we decided to call a sido. I was going down a big gravel hill when I got off balance around a curve. I fell toward the inside and of course could not clip out. I fell on my right side and ended up with the bike on top of me! The guys on the team (including my husband) must have been pretty impressed with the fall because they told our support guy about it at the next transition. The bruises are really starting to come out now. They are not going to be pretty. My legs are all scratched up by thorns from the trekking section. Phil looked at me 2 nights ago and said, "wow, your legs look rough, but your toenails are so pretty." I had just painted them to cover up the fact that one had turned black and is going to fall off!!!! :flower:

The boy is demanding attention. I'm suprised I can type with 35 pounds sitting on me and a realistic looking turtle climing up my chest!! Have a great weekend everyone!!!!!!
 
Hooray Sunny! At this pace, you will log your 1,000th mile next week! We must have a party! :cheer2:

For all you female cyclists out there, there is a great forum at http://forums.teamestrogen.com. There are tips for beginners and answers to every question you can imagine about cycling. It is the disboard of female cycling. Everyone is friendly and very helpful.

I did 30 minutes on the bike at the gym this morning. Still trying to get in training for the MS 150 bike ride from Houston to Austin next April, but it is difficult to train for a 1/2 marathon and a 180 mile bike ride. MelR knows all about this!

Here's my plan for 2006: Disney 1/2 marathon in January, MS 150 bike ride in April, Disneyland 1/2 marathon in September, and Disney FULL marathon in January 2007. (When the aliens return my former self to earth will try to explain to her that she really is an athlete?).

It's Friday everybody! Good luck to everyone on their LRs this weekend.
 


Melissa -- Your story about running past the band had me :rotfl: You guys are so great!

Christa -- Hope you got a good night's sleep. I was up when you were and thinking -- "oh, yeah, like I'm going to get up and go to the Y on the way to work to xt!" Ha!Ha!Ha!

It's funny. All this talk of bikes hasn't tempted me at all. I am such a klutz that wogging is about as much of a challenge as I can handle right now! :teeth:

I LOVE hearing about everyone's training. When I am struggling to do my very minimal walking or wogging, I keep thinking of Lily's "You have to put in the steps." and I think about how much more distance everyone else is doing. It is very reassuring and encouraging to me! :goodvibes: Tomorrow is LW of 4 miles. Actually looking forward to it, if I can bring myself to go in the pouring rain. :umbrella:
 
Woo Hoo Solo! I'm so glad you do yours on Firday, so I can feel a little more confident about my LRs! Your pace kicks hiney, though! Wow.

Sorry I've been rather absent lately. Things have been busy. Wed and Thursday were better than my Monday stonker, but I hthink I pulled a muscle in my hip. IIt's better, though.

:wizard: to all for tomorrow's LRs! (Sendign some to myself to. :blush: )
 
solotraveler said:
Good Morning Everyone!!


A few lessons learned:
1. I need to SLOW DOWN at the start. I split my first two miles at 8:36 and 9:10. WAY too fast running 3/2.
2. I need to stretch before I do my runs from now on. I got very sore/tight at the 10 mile mark.

Those are all good lessons. Number 1 is so key and so hard! Imagine how hard it will be on race day. All the more reason to practice is now.

I just learned number 2, too. I have to admit, up until a couple of weeks ago I never stretched before any run. I always stetched after LRs but not short ones. Now I am the stretch queen. There's something about when the mileage starts to pile up that you intuitively know you need to stretch.

About little dogs, I'd add: pound-for-pound little dogs are more powerful and more courageous. :pug:

That's all I got for now :earboy2: I really should be working...........
 
Arghhh... WIsh I knew what day it was. Please note that I edited my above shirt post to match earlier statements.

Shirt orders due 10/24. Payment will be due 10/31.
 
Hi everyone! Sorry it has been such a long time since I've posted. You all have not been out of mind. I have been pre-occupied with my search for employment and althought I have been active, I haven't posted. I missed it!

I started keeping stats on my fitness efforts since July 11, 2005 building towards the Disney Half in January 2006. Here is what I've accomplished since July 11.

Ran 104.84 miles
Walked 55.46 miles
Cross-Trained 45.4 miles
Biked 129.32 Miles
Weight Training 510 Minutes

This year I've participated in nine (9) 5K events, one (1) 5 Mile Race and most recently a 15K (9.3 mile) Race. Here are my times....

Kelly's Logan House, March 5, 2005, 5K, 30:24 9:49
Wilm. Montessori School, March 19, 2005, 5K, 27:43 8:55
Ronald McDonald House, April 21, 2005, 5K, 30:21 9:48
Chichester Bus. Association, June 25, 2005, 5K, 29:09 9:22
20th Annual Firecracker, July 4, 2005, 5K, 28:19 9:08
3rd Annual Kahunaville, July 23, 2005, 5K, 27:26 8:51
10th Operation Smile, August 10, 2005, 5K, 27:33 8:52
11th Rockford Park, September 3, 2005, 5K, 27:26 8:51
A. Red Cross Relief Fund, September 28, 2005, 5K, 26:26 8:31

Spring Lake 5, May 28, 2005, 5 Miles, 48:45 9:45
Wilmington Distance Run, October 9, 2005, 15K, 1:23:05 8:56

The 15K event was my longest organized distance ever! I was able to complete the 15K race without stopping and beat my expected time by 10-15 minutes. During the race, I kept track of my 5K and 5 Mile times. I set PR for the 5K and beat my best 5 Mile Race time by over 5 minutes, 30 seconds! :cool1: :banana: I experienced little or no pain during the race, came in 181st out of 231 runners and could have definitely continued on and completed a Half-Marathon distance.

Keenercam (Cam) and I are going to participate in another 5K event at the end of the month. I'll keep you posted on my progress as I continue my training for the Half. I am looking forward to meeting all of you!

By the way, I've dropped close to 15 pounds during the training and dropped from a 38 waist to a 34! I've gone from a XL Shirt to a Large. I haven't been this size since high school (I am 42 now).

Howard
::MickeyMo
 
xterratri said:
So using the LBS to size you and then ordering online, I have a problem with that ethically but that is my personal opinion.

I respectfully disagree. A LBS doesn't size someone with the presupposition they will buy a bike from them. That is like going to a Trek dealer, getting sized a 54, then going around the corner to another bike shop who has Specialized and telling them, "I feel it is unethical to buy a bike from you because the guys at the Trek shop sized me." A good LBS will want your long term relationship/business. They want you to come in and buy accessories and such, get your bike serviced at their shop. Besides, buying a bike online will still mean you will need to be fitted at their shop. A full fitting is $90-$125. What I am saying is don't count out online deals from reputable companies.

Food for thought: Some of the best surfers in the world are virtually unknown. They don't compete. They simply find joy surfing and not in ranks and titles or the prestige that accomanies them. We often need to ask ourselves honestly, "Where is our love found?"

Dave
 
Just finished sending out my shirt PMs. If you did not get one. I don't have you down. Please PM me.

Holy cow Howard, you have been busy! :wizard: for the job search!
 
Last night was a no go as it was pouring down rain :umbrella: and my sciatica and knee hurt like u know what :guilty: The pounding I did to it the other night didn't help the situation out one bit :blush:

I have a chiro apt this afternoon so we'll see what he has to say. It hasn't quit aching since yesterday even with the pain killers. If he can make it better I plan on a lr of 4mile on Saturday.

:wizard: everyone please!

Good luck to everyone on their lr this weekend :cheer2:
 
Carrie- Glad I can be of motivational assistance :teeth: Fair warning for tomorrow-- it's supposed to be COLD! :cold: Gosh knows it was this morning!

I don't know about my pace though. I got a fancy wake-up call recently courtesy of my 14 year old brother: Never particularly athletic, he decided to pick up cross country when he started high school in September. Seven weeks later-- he's the fastest freshman runner at the County Championships. His pace for the 5K: 6:40/mile. We're all very proud of him, but I feel O-L-D. :guilty:

Pluto- You would think that with my fancy Garmin that pace wouldn't be a problem, right?? Since next week is a "step back" week on my program, I think I will try and really watch my running pace more closely to see if I can do better with it.

Seriously falling asleep here, so I'm off for coffee! :)
Solotraveler :earsboy:
 
solotraveler said:
His pace for the 5K: 6:40/mile. We're all very proud of him, but I feel O-L-D. :guilty:
Yeah, I used to be fast. 5:41 best mile. Broke 7 min pace on the 5K a couple times. :rolleyes: I did a 9:30 2 mile when we started theall run plan. Later that morning, my father told me he was doing 7:30 miles on 5k's when he ran. Did I mention he was in his 40s then? :rolleyes:

No one in my family will have a better marathon time than me, though! :goodvibes

Minnie - lots of :wizard: :wizard: :wizard: :wizard:
 
Heather-- I should break 1,000 miles tomorrow :cool1: Thanks for noticing :)

Howard-- glad to see you've been busy :moped: Great job on all those miles and races!

I'm just back from my run. Well, today was one of those few and far-between PRD (Perfect Running Days) so my 8 miler turned into 10. It was just too beautiful to turn around. I decided I am not following a prescribed training schedule, I just can't force myself to do it.

I took tons of pictures, I couldn't wait to get back an "paint" a picture of my bikepath for you. Much to my amusement, every picture looks exactly like the one before :rotfl2: Ok, so I'll just post a few and you'll know what the whole 11 miles looks like. There are subtle nuances that apparently only can be seen en route!

Oh, and my pace was great considering I was stopping constantly (I took about 20 pictures). 10 miles avg pace = 9:20. I'll post my splits 'cause the last 3 were awsome :p

Minuteman Fitness Path (I think that's the official name) Starting point (Bedford, MA)
bp1.jpg


Basically what the rest looks like (with the exception of Lexington and Arlington Centers)
bp2.jpg


Milemarkers (oh, these baby's have great significance to me!!!!)
bp3.jpg


The backside of Lexington Center (really only "ugly" part of path, but very significant as the upper right hand corner points out)

bp4.jpg


More of the scenic route :)
bp5.jpg



Splits:

1 8:58
2 9:30
3 9:49
4 9:33
5 9:07
6 9:28
7 10;48
8 9:03
9 8:42
10 8:37

avg pace: 9:20


Sunny
 
Wilma's here...we're getting the first rain band right now. :umbrella: I skipped cross-training today so I could do my LR since I didn't know what the weather would be like for tomorrow...oh well, guess the LR will have to be tomorrow after all. :blush: I may be getting plenty of cross-training this weekend if we decide to board up the house :teeth:

Sara...welcome :wave: What type of training are you doing for the Goofy?

Sunny...the photos are wonderful! Thanks for sharing them. Anyone else? My route is too un-scenic for photos, though I occasionally see some gators and an armadillo.

Carrie...thanks for taking care of the shirts! It's getting more and more exciting :goodvibes

Solo...how cold is cold? :cold:

Howard...great times on your races!

MelR...perhaps you could repeat your performance for us during the marathon? We could get the band to come ;)

:wizard: :wizard: pixie dust for all the sore spots and injuries amongst us.
 
Sunny - great pics! That seems like the perfect place to run because it is beautiful and there are places to get yummies. My favorite places to workout are places were I can see and chat with other athletes. I noticed a runner in one of your pics! That must be great to see like minded folks. Next time, get him to take your pic and then we can get a shot of you in your favorite place.:flower: I'll have to get some to post soon.

I'm having a lazy day today! The boy is being quite in his room. I think he is actually napping. I am planning to join right in!
 

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