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Please add 5.0 miles for Wed 9/24 and 5.0 miles for today. Love those intervals.
Good luck to the marathoners this weekend! Bust some ass, you guys! Remember we're all rooting for you!
Knee is acting up again, since again I have neglected cross training. Why do I never listen? Because I love running so much, I guess. Also, I'm not completely pleased about the idea of spending an extra hour in the gym every day lifting weights and doing non-impact cardio when I could be outside in the perfect running weather. But, I'm just gonna suck it up and do it. It's better than not being able to run as long as I want because my knee hurts!
Well folks, I'm off to Savannah for the weekend. Trying to get in the last bit of summer warmth! It's supposed to be raining, though. Oh well, it'll still be nice. And guess what else? Savannah is FLAT. This means I'll be winging my way through the historic district in order to work off all that Southern cooking I'll be eating! Have a great weekend, everyone!
5.25 miles for yesterday, followed by a killer boot camp class. I needed it as I haven't run since last week. Dad came in for a visit, so I spent time with him, knowing I could pick up on the running again when he left. Best part of yesterday's run was running a 9:40 mile on the last mile. I am working on getting my 5K time to sub-30:00. It's going to take some time and training - but I'm determined. Have a 5K race tomorrow - will be my first time running a race after working all night. Will get in and to bed by 4 am, then will be up at 7 am to race at 9 am. After the race it will be back home and to bed to get the rest of my sleep so I can report for work Saturday night. We'll see how this goes!
Marathoners - I will be thinking of you this weekend. Sounds like the weather will be good. Wishing you awesome races!
Original Post by wrm2105:
we'll see how close I come to reaching my 3:15:59 goal.
Best of luck wrm. Hope you have a great finish.
First post-marathon race today. Ran a 5K this morning and set a new PR. Will know exact time by Monday, but husband's watch had me at 30:26-ish. My last official 5K race time from March 2007 (my first ever running race) was 35:48. I was really happy with my time today - I proved to myself that a sub-30 is achievable for me. Now on to training for the five miler in two weeks.
Congrats on your new 5K PR, kscout! It's one of the nice "side-effects" of marathon training--your speed at shorter distances tends to improve as well, even if you didn't incorporate any speed training while preparing for the marathon. I think that both speedwork and long slow distance runs are both useful in a training plan; in the long run, long slow running will improve your running speed while short bursts of speedwork will help your long distance running. In fact, depending on my race this morning (if I don't run faster than 3:15:59), I may very well dedicate my spring season primarily to shorter races (primarily 5K-HM) before taking on another marathon training program.
Enough rambling here on my part. I woke up early as part of my race-day prep and wanted to respond to your post. I'll report later today with an update.
Hi everyone, 26.2 miles today. Finished the Chicago Marathon (yup, that describes it). No BQ today, not even a PR, finished in 3:28:09. The late race heat totally did me in (temp hit the mid 70s by mid race and reached 78 degrees by the end, even though the forecasters predicted temps by Lake Michigan to linger right around 70). After enduring today's conditions, I have a greater appreciation for what marathoners endured in last year's Chicago race.
I'll be writing my race report tomorrow, with all of the details.
hey...im new to this group, but i did 4 miles today...its cool and motivating to see how far all of you guys run and like what your times are
Hi everyone, please add 26.2 miles for me.
wrm:Sorry to here about your race. One of the guys at work did the Chicago race last year and he came home thrilled that he even finished. He finished a iron man in 15 hours and 13 minutes this year. Race conditions really make a big difference.
I was much lucker, I had cool temperatures 8c/48f to start and 11c/53f at the finish line. I wore my gloves almost all the time.
Wrm: congrats on your marathon! Even if you didn't PR, 3:28 is NOTHING to sneeze at! You did a great job!
Munrori, congrats on your marathon, too! What was your time?
Welcome, katieruns! Glad to have you on our team!
Folks, I had a delightful weekend in Savannah, but I didn't run at all. Just felt like being lazy. It rained the entire weekend, so I didn't get to go to the beach, but it's still beautiful there and I ate some great food. It was also nice to get out of Atlanta for a weekend.
Munrori, congrats on your marathon, too! What was your time?
Jenka: I managed to complete the marathon in 3:26:01. Given I am 47 that qualifies for the Boston Marathon.
munrori, WTG! That's awesome!
Geesh, you guys...26.2 miles? And people say I'M crazy!
wrm, I loathe running in the heat passionately. This is, of course, a problem when you consider that all of the interesting events in our northern clime happen in the summer...What were the time cut-offs for BQ? It must be frustrating knowing that you can do more and yet the elements conspire against you. Do you have any other races in mind that can get you there?
And NO, I do not have any miles to report. I have been OFF for a whole, guilt-and-injury-free, decadent 9 days. I'll be hopping back up into that saddle this week. For now, I'm living vicariously through DH as he prepares for Clearwater.
Please add 10.9 miles for Saturday 10/11. Chilly, rainy outdoor run.
Congrats wrm and munrori! Heck, I'd consider those a 5K pace. And I'm 47, too, so no execuses there....
wrm - I'm bummed that you missed the BQ time - hard to believe it gets so hot in Chicago in October! I think that's one of the frustrating things about running - in spite of all of the training, it still comes down to that day - and it can be a really great day - or a "not as great as we'd like" day - and we don't know what it will be until we're in the middle of it. Kudos to you for running the race --- and for finishing the race! You did an awesome job!
munrori - great job on your marathon. The temps for your race sound heavenly!
Got my official time for last Saturday's 5K, and it's better than I could have hoped for. Came in at 30:02. Three seconds from a sub-30. Son finished in the top 10 (#10). First overall men's finisher came in at 15:11! I finished 50/93 overall. Had a lady on my heels in the last quarter mile, and I was determined she was not going to pass me. Just one of those days where all the stars and planets were in alignment and the karma was just right!
3.1 miles for Sunday.
Munrori, that is kick ass! Good luck at Boston!
Kscout, awesome PR! Only 3 seconds to go, you KNOW you can do that on the next one no problem!
As I've mentioned ad nauseum lately, the weather has been frickin' perfect for running (at least for me). I had my neighborhood running group last night, and although we only did 4 miles together I tacked on another 4 before and after because it was just so nice out. Mid-70s is pretty much my perfect comfort zone.
OK, everyone, here's my race report.
Everything started out very well. It was warmer than I would have liked (I prefer to feel a bit of a chill as I wait for the race to begin), but even with start time temps in the mid 60s, I still felt a bit of a breeze, much better than what last year’s Chicago Marathoners faced. I was conscious of the need to hold myself back in the first mile, all the while wanting to taking in the experience of starting this great race. I felt like I was successful with holding back, running a 7:37 first mile. But instead of keeping that pace through the first 3 or 4 miles, I sped up to GMP by mile two. It was difficult to do otherwise, since I felt so good. My first hour was a good one, crossing mile 8 in 59:18. The second hour was a lot like the first, with me reaching 13.1 miles in 1:37:02 and crossing mile 16 in 1:58:26 (7:24 pace). I was happy to see that I pace for a 3:14, even though I was well aware that I would not be able to keep this up through the rest of the race.
As I began my third hour of the race, the lack of shade and the increased temps (probably low to mid 70s) were starting to take their toll on me. My paces started to decline slightly at this point, although I was still averaging a 7:26 pace through 20 miles. I began my walk breaks at this during mile 21, and as my walk breaks got longer, I saw my hopes for a BQ disappear. By the time I crossed mile 23 I knew I wouldn’t earn a BQ of any sort (3:15:59 or 3:20:59), and by mile 25 all hopes for a PR were gone (that’s what 10:30ish miles for miles 23-25 will do to your time). I wish that I could remember more details about this part of the race, but I was in a fog through this part of the race. I do recall a couple of volunteers asking if I was okay and if I needed any assistance. At the 25.2 mile sign I buckled down and told myself, “If you dig deep you can still finish this in sub 3:30. You’ve trained much too hard this summer to not go sub 3:30.” So I pulled an 8:55 for mile 26 (even after walking the first .2) and ran the remainder of the course in 1:41 for a net time of 3:28:09.
So no BQ. No PR (that’s the most painful part for me). I ran over 1100 miles during 18 weeks of training, and for what, to finish 3 minutes and 40 seconds slower than my previous (and first) marathon? It not supposed to work out this way. I know that I’m better than what Sunday’s performance would suggest. Yet I’m fully aware that I made some dumb decisions on Sunday morning; I knew that I would only go sub 3:15 in ideal conditions, yet I raced the first 20 miles of the race as if it were a 40 degree day. I have nobody to blame for my failure to adjust to race day conditions. I also failed to account for the differences in shade between the first half and the second half of the course, contributed in part to the differences in the position of the sun as we approached the middle of the day. Just stuff to watch out for next year when I take on Chicago again.
Now I’m trying to figure out what’s next. Part of me would like to run another marathon to prove that my training didn’t go to waste, but it’s tough to come up with the resources to attempt a late fall marathon outside of the Midwest. There is a marathon in Indianapolis on 11/1, but I don’t think that my body will be ready for another 26.2 that soon. I promised myself in the event that I failed to BQ for next April that I would spend the following winter/spring on training for shorter distance races before taking on another marathon training program for Chicago ’09. Meanwhile I’m looking forward to tackling some shorter races in the next couple of months with the hopes of earning PRs in the 5K, 8K, and 10K. I just don’t wasn’t to rush back into racing; after Sunday’s performance, I’m afraid that another suboptimal performance would be like pouring salt on a wound.
Thanks for reading this, and thanks for your support. I may be down, but I’m not out—not by any means.
Another 5.25 miles of intervals today.
Hang in there wrm! I spent April to August watching my best effort times get worse and worse, even though I was putting in more and more miles. Only now am I starting to feel like I might be able to nab some PRs again. The heat of the summer really does me in.
I don't think the training is ever wasted....just that it takes a long time to reap the benefits (months and years, not weeks and months, they say), and even little enviromental changes cause the "improvement" signal to be lost in the "stuff-just-happens" noise.
Well, I managed to get in 19 miles last week with the move. Boy its been hectic, plus my alarm didn't go off this morning so I didn't get my run in :( I am SO annoyed!!! Hoping to do it after work today.
Congrats wrm and munrori on the marathons, excellent job for the both of you!
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