Week of Sep 25 - 2006 Half-Full Marathon Info/Training Thread

[aladdinsgirl]

Question for those doing the MFM run/walk plan: does the training schedule really go 3 miles-4-4-5, etc? I gave my Mom my book, but before I gave it to her I typed out the training schedule. I have 3-4-4-5 typed, but not sure if I made a typing error or what. It just seems weird to me that we would do 2 4 milers back to back. I think I'm going to start my official training today instead of next Monday. I would like to get an 11 miler in, I know there's no real physical advantage to doing 11 miles, but psychologically it could make a big difference! Plus I'd like to give myself an extra week just in case something happens.

Keep up the good work everyone! We're almost under 100 days!!!

Krista

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Hey Lisa,

Have you ever considered that your knee pain may be associated with a tight IT band? That was my problem this past May. I went to an orthoped and then to a PT. Even though my pain was in my knee, kinda on the outside, they said my problem was actually located in my hip.

Actually, I am thinking it has nothing to do with my knees .

I will get on the exercise ball today to see if some of the ITB needs to be worked out (I roll on it sideways up and down the leg). It just doesn't feel any different to me than earlier in the summer and spring--when I was running 6 miles straight. However--the base of the ITB where it joins up with the knee...is one of the most tenderest spots when I use my trigger point therapy ball. So indeed--it could be the ITB.

Thanks for the help!

 

[MelRhoads]

Well- I made it back home and I'm mostly alive. I didn't die!!!! It was a pretty fun race. Our team finished in 24hours and 45mins! That is the longest race I have done in both time and mileage. It started at 5:00am with a 2 mile road run to get our race passports. The entire course was navigation so we were given maps and coordinates. My husband and marathon mean girl's dh split the navigation. She and I would get us lost! Anyway, we ran back in to our transition area (TA) and then set out on a long mountain biking section with several checkpoints along the way. We started out biking in the dark and fog, so my glasses fogged over right away and I could not see. I had to ride in the dark with no glasses!!!! I think I actually mountain biked better because I couldn't see enough to be afraid. We then dropped the bikes and hiked to several more checkpoints (through all kinds of poison ivy, water crossings and woods!) We had to walk about 80 feet on a high wire (we were secured in) and then after that trek to the river where we did a canoe section (we passed several teams on the river) After the canoe take out, we returned to the TA and then hiked to some more checkpoints. We then returned to the bike drop were we started another mt. bike section (with a lot of single track) By then it was dark again. We found checkpoints and biked in the dark. After we finished the single track, it started to lightening and thunder and rain, which worried me because we were riding back to the TA to go back on the river. It rained for the rest of the race. We got back to the TA with no major bike probs. We had one flat and one of the guys lost his front brakes. After our transition we got back into the canoes (it was pitch black and raining!) We did another canoe section. At one point in the canoe, I looked at my watch, it was 2:00am. I was thinking "well, I've never done this before!!" That was my first night canoe experience in the pitch black rainy wee mornings! Anyway, we got to the canoe take out and started off on foot again. it took us a long time to find the next checkpoint but we actually passed some more teams there. We hiked to 3 more checkpoints and then back to the finish line!!!! That was long!!! I decided I was insane when my alarm went off at 4:20am in the race and I realized that I had been awake for 24 hours and we werent even finished. No major injuries!!! I am pretty scratched and bruised and I have a bad case of poison ivy, but I think I'll be back in action in a few days!!!!! I'll try to post some pics, but I only took 2 becuase we just didn't stop enough to take any along the course. I think we finished 9th place. There were 16 teams. A few did not finish. I'll be doing lots of laundry today!!!

 

[TammyNC]

WOW Melissa-what a report. Glad to hear that you made it back without any serious injuries. Get rested up now.

 

[wtpclc]

Hey all! Busy weekend flowed over into a busy week. Forgive me fro those I miss.

Mel - Woo Hoo for you! FYI - Garmin has an auto pause that you can set.

Craig - Aren't the good runs awesome??!!

Helen - Welcome Home!!

Mael - Way to go! That's awesome.

Lisa - Hope the kness get better, whatever may be causing it!

Bree - Good to see you back!

Christa - Sorry about the acid reflux. I knw regular old heart burn kills me.

My runs are like the little girl with the curl. When tehy are good, they are very very good. When they are bad, the are horrid.

Guess what? The 8-miler was good!!!!! I could have gone further. My goal is to keep all of my splits under 8. Not only did I do that (10:51 was my worst), I averaged 10:37!!!! Gosh that felt good!

I think it's time for a shoe change. the top of my foot has not felt right as of late. I *think* I'm going to try the local store, even thought they do not have ASICS. I'll have to see what feels good.

Shirts - I'll go bump up the order thread, but I did not see that many responses. Now, I know someone had order information adn screenign information. Is that person still around? I'm starting to feel really tapped out right now. I'll see what I can find if the orignator of the info isn't around.

Have a good week everyone!

 

[wtpclc]

I knew I forgot some stuff:

Heather - So glad to hear you are doing ok!

Krista - I have only been a "serious" scrapper for a year and a half. I have HS phots, college photos, ... The only thing I'm 100% done on is WDW trips! Cannot wait to do my marathon scrapping!

 

[panthergirl]

Hi everybody!

Nice to read about everyone's continuing progress - big dogs and little dogs alike!

I ran 7.2 miles in 1:41 on Saturday. I'm bumping up the training this week so now I will do some type of cardio M, W, work with my trainer T, Th, Su and do my long runs on Sat. This week I'll be off a little bit as the Komen Race for the Cure in Charlotte is this Saturday so no long run. Still I think I'm on track to be ready on the big day! I should have parts of Nov. and Dec. to work on speed. (Speed being a relative term where I am concerned )

Don't forget to make your ADRs for marathon weekend this coming weekend. We made our final decisions on restaurants yesterday and I will be calling on Saturday. Does anyone have any idea what time the MK will be closing?

Have a great week ya'll.

Susan

 

[gatorphipps]

I ran 7.2 miles in 1:41 on Saturday. I'm bumping up the training this week so now I will do some type of cardio M, W, work with my trainer T, Th, Su and do my long runs on Sat. This week I'll be off a little bit as the Komen Race for the Cure in Charlotte is this Saturday so no long run. Still I think I'm on track to be ready on the big day! I should have parts of Nov. and Dec. to work on speed. (Speed being a relative term where I am concerned )

Susan - Great run Saturday. What was your long run supposed to be this weekend? If you want to get in a long run this Saturday, you could always run whatever you are supposed to run minus 3 miles. For example.....if you are supposed to do 10 miles, do 7 then finish the 3 during the race. That is what Bree and I do when we have a conflict like this. If you want to do this, I would be glad to meet you and run.

Everyone - BE VERY CAREFUL IF YOU RUN BY YOURSELF. A girl was raped this week on East blvd. She was running and the guy grabbed her and pulled her behind a building. This is a popular running area in Charlotte and on a good side of town so this could happen to anyone! So be careful everyone!

Melissa - Great job on your race. Sounds so fun and crazy!

Christa

 

[littlegreydonkey]

Morning all - blimey Mel that was an experience, well done you. Well I realised last night that I am a fool for peer pressure - I ended up doing the 6km 'warm up' run with my running buddy and was intending 'only' to do the 6km race afterwards - but then I got there, met about 9 people from my running club who were all doing the 10km and I didn't know anyone running the 6km - so I ran 10 miles last night for no reason whatsoever. That's the same as my long run on Saturday - although it felt a whole lot better which is good as I was a bit concerned at the end of Sat.

In other news, Nancy, was it you that wanted to do the Segway tour? I'm booking mine next week - assuming they're still doing them, I haven't checked in a while - so I will let you know what day I decide. Off to start work now - got an 'emergency' book to write (don't ask) and have to finish it by Friday!!!!! Helen

 

[wtpclc]

Helen - That was me who wanted to do the Segway! Wow, I'didn't realize that it was getting to be that time already. let me know what you decie!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Everyone - BE VERY CAREFUL IF YOU RUN BY YOURSELF. A girl was raped this week on East blvd. She was running and the guy grabbed her and pulled her behind a building. This is a popular running area in Charlotte and on a good side of town so this could happen to anyone! So be careful everyone!

We were advised by a coach this week to not wear hair in a ponytail by running--put it in a bun....but nothing with a long tail that can be grabbed.

 

[Tiger Lily 03]

Heather--Glad that you are safe!

Tiff, congrats on your race, you have gotten yourself into the best event ever! You can do it! And you will do fine! You have a great pace set up and as you stretch it out you will be amazed at yourself. I look forward to reading how well you are growing.

Kath, well you are certainly well on your way too! Great ½, you will do absolutely fine! I wish I could tell you about that Goofy thing, but that is one thing I cannot fathom.

Craig, you are at a fantastic pace there. You will be just flying as you go Goofy I’m thinking.

Nancy, it was fun to meet up with you and your DH. Hope those boxes are not causing you any trouble. Glad you are getting into your walking now. Hope a routine builds.

Like that comment about the “dead zone” I’ve been there too. Hate that place.

Mel, you are doing great too! You had a good pace for your 5k. Congratulations! on your improvement.

Lisa, so sorry to hear you have hit a “bump” and hope that is all it is. PD to you.

Monte, what’s this I hear! Jogging! WhooHoo! You are doing it! Take it easy as you build. Sounds like I would LOVE your training place. I train on a path in our National Park and love every moment. Some that I go with on Saturdays say they are bored with the scenery. Not me!

Sunny, hope you have a better work out. You are correct. You may be getting into the overtraining zone. I am glad you know that and are watching for it. I agree with you in that it takes me a while to “warm up” to going farther. After a bit I too feel I find that place and then it gets easier. I just wish I could find it more often!

Melissa, Wowsers! You guys are insane! I wonder if I would have ever done that in my younger years.

Christa, thank you for posting that reminder. That is such sad news.

Everyone seems like there are many that are showing improvement. I hope those who have not posted will be telling of their successes soon.

It was a great weekend for me. My friend visited this weekend. Friday we did a “girls date night” since DH had another event to attend. I did my 8 miles on Saturday in 1 hr 54 min. I am good with that time. I was only going to do 6 b/c I had some friends coming over to bike ride. Well, I decided that I felt good and I need to build up the distance so I put in the 8 miles according to the MFM schedule. I met up with someone who is training for the marathon and invited him to stop in here. Hoping he will. Our Saturday group is officially over and now the solo training will begin. My friends and I went off to frolic on our bicycles for a 20 mile trek. We stopped off to lunch on the way back so it really was not a rough ride. It was a pleasure tour. We took a trip to the local garden center then came back to watch Aviator. Sunday we went to an “ethnic” afternoon dinner and enjoyed Hungarian food and dancing. Lovely weekend. I have not yet done anything physical today and am not sure what I want to do.

Happy training everyone.

 

[panthergirl]

Susan - Great run Saturday. What was your long run supposed to be this weekend? If you want to get in a long run this Saturday, you could always run whatever you are supposed to run minus 3 miles. For example.....if you are supposed to do 10 miles, do 7 then finish the 3 during the race. That is what Bree and I do when we have a conflict like this. If you want to do this, I would be glad to meet you and run.

That's such a nice offer. I think I will stick with the 5K only on Saturday since I have been so wiped after my previous races. I was supposed to do 8 miles this week but I will just push that off a week and continue with the short stuff til then.

I was so mad about that attack especially since it is just blocks from my house. The police are advising not to wear headphones which sucks as I just got and iPod Shuffle for my birthday. They think this guy is still in the area and "will not stop until he is caught". I only run when it is full daylight when there are tons of other people on the roads. Be careful all!

 

[aladdinsgirl]

Good morning

Well, yesterday was my first day of real marathon training and I couldn't even finish my run. I have done something to my ankle and it hurts SO bad when I run. It hurt Thursday and Saturday, but I ran anyway, thinking my ankle was tight or something. I went out yesterday and started with running 3 minutes, within the first couple of minutes my ankle was screaming. I know it was something to do with the impact of running, because it hurts when I hit the ground, but walking, even at a fast pace doesn't bother me. I've been reading about ankle injuries, it seems that most injuries occur to the outer ankle, but it's my inner ankle that hurts, right below the bone. I'm going to rest until Friday and I found some ankle stretches--hopefully that will help. If anyone has any idea what it could be or what I can do to strengthen my ankle, please let me know!

Mel--I'm so glad that you are safe after you adventure ride. I can't believe you were up for over 24 hours--that's nuts!

Helen--Welcome back!

Lisa--Thanks for posting that reminder. I think we get too comfortable in our surroundings and let our guard down too often. Those sickos in the world look for the signs of us not paying attention to what's going on around us and then they attack. Everyone PLEASE be careful!!

Happy training everyone!!

Krista

 

[princessmomma]

Krista,

Could it be that you need arch supports? Do you have high arches?

Colleen

 

[aladdinsgirl]

Colleen--No I don't have high arches. I do overpronate, which could be the problem, but I wear running shoes for overpronation. I don't know, it's a mystery!

Krista

 

[Minnie]

Good morning everyone,

Thank you all for your sciatic stretching ideas. I am still in quite a bit of pain with that dang thing. I think the golfing last saturday agrevated an already sore bum I've been to the chiropractor and will be calling a friend that is a PT soon to see if she has any ideas for me.

I'm not sure what to do about the training. I can walk okay with only slight ouch but no running whatsoever as that hurts. Any ideas? My training plan is supposed to be starting and so far I haven't been able to do squat. Should I go ahead and try to atleast get in the miles/time by walking or not??

Krista, take care of that ankle

Kath, CONGRATS TO YOU (Glad to see you found your way over from the other board!)

Glad to see everyone else is doing so well.

 

[Rockclimber]

If anyone has any idea what it could be or what I can do to strengthen my ankle, please let me know!


Krista

I'll give my two cents again, since I love strength and conditioning so much.
Is there a specific spot that is tender to touch? Could it be a bone spur or some kind of low shin splint? or do you think it is muscular? I would first suggest trying a different pair of shoes. Even shoes that correct overpronation can vary in degree of correction. Of course keep up the RICE treatement, Rest, Ice, Compression and elevation. If the pain persists see an orthoped.

Because of ankle injuries I have had weak ankles, but my PT gave me some strengthening exercises. The first is to simply stand on one foot and bend forward touching the floor. Touch the floor at the 9:00, then straighten up, then touch and 12, straighten up, then touch at 3. You can bend the leg your standing on slightly, but the purpose is to be off balance and using your ankle to stabalize your body. The further away from your body you touch the harder it is. Work your way up to 15 - 3 touch sets on each leg. When you have mastered that try doing it with a towel,or half a swim noodle under your foot, to further place you in an unstable postion. I use a balance board also to stregthen ankles and increase balance.

Another simple anke strengthening exercise is to use a TheraBand. Tie it around in a loop and hook it around a stable object, lay on your back and put your foot through the loop. Do ankle flexes with your toe coming straight up, then toward the outside, and also toward the inside. 3 sets of 15 will get your ankles in top shape, but you may feel like you are walking around on toothpicks after the exercise. Stregthening the front part of your shin will also prevent shin splints. Often shin splints are caused by a muscle imbalance between your calf and shin area. You can get TheraBands online or at the PT. They make great strength and conditioning tools, plus you can take them anywhere.

Good luck and hope this helps,
Dave

 

[aladdinsgirl]

Thank you so much, Dave. I just printed your post out so I can work on the strengthening technics. I love these boards!! As far as where the pain is, it's on my left inner ankle, right below the bone and going toward the foot, as opposed to the heel. On Saturday my achilles tendon was hurting, but I'm thinking that was caused by my ankle. It's a very sharp pain that shoots through the ankle, but it only seems to hurt when I run, the day after I run I have a dull pain right at the bone (like right now I'm sitting at my desk and my ankle is hurting. Not enough to stop me from walking around, but enough that I can feel it). 2 days after a run, my ankle feels fine, so hopefully resting until Friday will really help. When I was running last Sunday, I fell on the path and I busted my left knee, I'm wondering if that fall somehow effected my ankle. I haven't had any problems with my ankle until Thursday. Do you think there is a connection?

Krista

 

[perfectmatch300]

Helen, Carrie, you'll love the Segway Tour. We did it last spring and DH hasn't stopped talking about wanting to buy a Segway of our own since then!

MelR WOW! What a time that adventure race must have been! I might have survived it in my much younger and more fit days, but certainly not now!

While I still have a lot of boxes, I'm getting back to walking, swimming and biking. I'm not on a formal program at this point, just getting out there every day and getting my exercise minutes in. I want to at least get enough boxes done so we can get both cars in the garage first then I want to find one that will hopefully help me increase my speed some. I've gotten better in the pool, better on my bike, but my walking/wogging speed is still not improving much. Also planning to work more on core strength. We have a pretty good exercise room here that I want to start taking advantage of once most of the boxes are done.