dallison

i wasn't planning on running this weekend at my inlaws, but the weather was perfect and i was pretty well fattened up from yesterday.

I was only going to run 4 miles, but ended up doing just over 7. When i was looking at teh satelite map i thought i was going to tell where i could turn around. I couldn't find it, so i kept going.

Now i am going to buy those sleeves with ice.


I will have more miles this month compared to last april and may, I hope this is going to be a good running year.

'06 Arctic

Sounds like you're off to a great start!

dallison

I got mine yesterday and tried it out this morning. It's pretty suite. I put it on 30 minutes before i ran for no reason at all except to see how it felt on. I froze the pack according to the instructions.

I ran the entire time w/o my knee hurting at all, and i mean at all.

I only ran 4 miles, but that is to keep w/in my ramping up the mileage properly.

After i finished, i put the ice in the sleeve and am sitting here happy as a clam. I'll leave the sleeve and ice on for about an hour, then take it off.


Thanks for the recommendation. I didn't get to use a coupon, but i wasn't waiting to get a valid one.

'06 Arctic

Great to here, I'm glad its working for you

I went for a deep tissue massage last night before my marathon next weekend. Its crazy how the aches and pains I had before are pretty much gone. I really need to warm-up and stretch better. I think a lot of my problems with my shins was due to tightness in my calves and hamstrings. Going to get a sports massage next Thursday to loosen things up and get the blood flowing before the race on Sunday.

Counting down the days.

zac

Thats exciting Arctic! Best of luck!

'06 Arctic

Thanks Zac! You'll find out here soon enough, but these two weeks of tapering before a marathon are tough! I just want the damn race to be here.

dallison

did the massage hurt since it was a deep tissue?

'06 Arctic

Yeah, at certain times it can be pretty painful. You can always tell the MT to ease up on the pressure. I had some knots in my calves and up in my traps. When we sent over those and really dug in there to try to break them up it stung. I was surprised though that it wasn't as bad as I expected.

I went last year after I had been cycling for two months and I was almost in tears I had so many knots in my quads, hamstrings, and calves. It hurts during, but its worth afterward .

Shalooby

Good luck Arctic! I'm looking forward to getting that close too. Just looking over the event details for the one I'm hoping to do gets the adrenaline going.

The training so far is going great with no pain at all so far. I haven't done any long runs yet but my pace has definitely picked up. I'm running about five days a week and my endurance has gone up as well. I'm also doing some weight training too. So far so good!

'06 Arctic

Thanks. Seeing the gains from your training really helps to motivate you huh? That's awesome! Good luck, when is your race?

Shalooby

It does, yes. It's an incredible boost.

The race is October 30 so I've got plenty of time to build up to where I need to be. I figure if I keep going with the schedule I'm on now I should be just fine by race time.

dallison

less than two weeks.......

zac

How long is this one?

dallison

lol, i should have quoted one of his other posts about his marathon. He's running on this weekend i believe.

zac

Ohhhhh, I thought I missed something lol.

bgsm1th

hhmm - massage before a marathon... Never really thought of that. I've got 20 miles this Saturday and 22 miles a couple Saturday's from now before my marathon. I may have to get a massage between my final 22 and the marathon to loosen up a little bit.

Good luck Arctic!

'06 Arctic

Yep, Pittsburgh Marathon is this Sunday. This taper time does really drive you nuts. With the cut back in mileage and what not, I feel like I'm losing my fitness. I've been riding my bike easy to cross train in between runs, but I'm just dying to run this thing already! Unfortunately, the forecast looks like this will be the third year in a row that its a rainy race. Its been in the 70's-80's with all sun all week so far, of course it would turn to shit for the race!

'06 Arctic

Thanks BG! I started to get massages last year when I was cycling a lot. The deep tissue massages can be pretty painful (you can always tell them to adjust the pressure) but it really helps get any knots out and loosens up your legs. I have a foam roller and "The Stick" that I use during the week, but they can't really replace a massage. My MT says that you shouldn't get a deep tissue within a week of any race/event as your muscles will need the time to heal. I went and got another massage on Tuesday, this was a Sports massage. Its suppose to really get the blood flowing and get your muscles ready to perform, we'll see if the money spent was worth it!

Good luck in your race!

zac

Are you running the marathon competitively?

'06 Arctic

Me? No, I'm far from being an elite or seeded runner! My main goal is to break 4 hours. I'd really like a 3:55 or faster. I just like to make sure I do everything in my power while training (running or cycling) to ensure that I am thoroughly prepared for an event/race.

zac

Oh, I see. So will you be doing a pasta feast before the marathon?

'06 Arctic

No, from everything I've read from coaches and nutritionists you should be eating complex carbs, like wheat pasta, long grain brown rice, & whole wheat breads two to three days before the marathon in order to stockpile your body with these slow burning carbs to use during the race.

A big mistake a lot of people make is loading up on simple carbs the night before the race. It usually just leads to GI issues the next day as your body is trying to deal with a large quantity of food from the night before as you run 26.2 miles. The night before should be a lighter meal with a even proportion of a lean protein, carb, & vegetable.

Morning of the race, ideally about 1-1.5 hours before, should be carb heavy, but still a lighter meal. Oatmeal, bagel with nut butter & banana. These can be simple carbs since your body will be burning these soon. Of course, don't eat, drink, or try anything new the day of the race. This goes for breakfast, clothing, race fuel, etc. You want to try all of this stuff out during training to get it dialed in so you don't throw yourself any curve balls.

One link of many that I've read:
http://www.pittsburghmarathon.com/Le...slie_Bonci.htm

zac

Not as simple as I thought. I got some reading to do...

I wasn't going to do it, but I guess this would be a bad idea. They have it the day before the race, all you can yeat pasta party type deal.

http://www.philadelphiamarathon.com/pasta-party

Shalooby

Good luck Arctic! Might not be on here again before your race (although that's highly unlikely

You can do this! Embed these words in your head........

No.. NO!!!! NO QUITTING!!!!

mdkxtreme

I've been running 4 miles with my friends lately. I am definitely not built to be a long distance runner because after every four miles, I feet would get numb and my shins would start hurting.

But lately, I think my feet has built a tolerance for blisters as I don't develop any of it after my run.

'06 Arctic

They aren't necessarily a bad thing. It's just a lot of people overdo and think they need to load up on all these carbs and start stuffing pasta, bread, and any carb they can find down their throats. A lot that I've read says to stretch it out and have a more gradual increase in carbs.

'06 Arctic

Thanks Shalooby!

dallison

Does anyone use anything for aching knees? They don't really hurt, but they ache all the time. I have been taking glucosamine, but was wondering if there was something better.

dallison

good luck tomorrow.

princelybug

iTrader: (16)

Ran a 5K this morning in these:



Anyone have any experience with these?

dallison

how did they feel?

princelybug

iTrader: (16)

It takes a good amount of time to get used to them. I wore them almost daily for a month before even attempting to run in them. I'm more comfortable in them now than in traditional running shoes. The toe separation is awesome.

One thing that's going to take much more getting used to is the absence of cushion. Some people can handle that better than others, but my flat feet make it harder for me.

zac

I cant imagine running in those. Were they created for running?

Whats even crazier is people run barefoot.

princelybug

iTrader: (16)

Yes, they were created specifically for running. It does sound crazy, but I hear that running barefoot is "natural", and that's what these shoes try to emulate.

It's tough in the beginning, but once you're used to wearing them, it's much better than normal running shoes.

dallison

soooooo?

how did you do and did you take today off?

'06 Arctic

Yeah took yesterday off. Really glad I did that!

It was an experience that I will never forget and easily the hardest thing I've ever done. It was awesome. I finished in 4:07:01 for an average pace of 9:25 per mile. I didn't meet any of my major goals (sub 4, sub 3:55) but I finished and I'm really satisfied with that!

I was on pace to be right around four hours, but I ran into some problems around mile 23.5 that my hamstrings and calves started to cramp. I was having to stop and stretch for about half a mile, then I finally revised my goal from breaking 4 to finishing and found a pace that I was able to sustain without cramping up.

Without ever running a marathon and not really knowing what to expect I think my expectations of my own performance were a little over estimated, but I do tend to expect a lot from myself. Even without the cramping breaking four would have been hard as hell. I read a lot of marathon post on RunnersWorld and every experienced marathoner all said that the race really doesn't start until Mile 20 and they couldn't be more right! I have my GPS splits at home, but the checkpoints for the race are:

10K - 56:59 (9:10 pace)
13.1 mi - 2:01:29 (9:16 pace)
20 mi - 3:04:25 (9:13 pace)
26.2 mi - 4:07:01 (9:25 pace)

Planned recover this week and next then onto to training for the Columbus Marathon! Gotta get that sub-four

zac

Great job! You were only 7 min. off! Very close. Im sure youll hit sub 4:00 at colombus

dallison

wow awesome race. At least that gives you a baseline and room to improve. I could imagine how worn out you were yesterday you are way braver than i.

Shalooby

Congratulations!

'06 Arctic

Thanks guys!