imj0257

iTrader: (1)

I ran 4 miles on Sat and 4 on Sun. First run in 2 weeks. I could still feel a little pain (more of annoyance) in my right leg but more in the upper knee area rather than inside upper thigh. Dunno what is going on there. Either way, I was able to finish the run but had to take a couple of short walking breaks, most probably in part to the time off and the 85 degree heat. I think I will just have to tough it out.

dallison

They finally posted teh results,1:10:47 32nd out of 475. I am very happy with this being my first long distance, err my only long distance race.



Make sure you guys take care of those knees, it doesn't get any easier on them.

cM3go

Great job dallison! My goal is to run this half marathon in 2 hrs flat or under.


Anyone tried KT Tape? I just picked the stuff up, suppose to help support joints and injury prone areas for active people.

GIBSON6594

I really don't know how you guys run as long and as far as you do. I run about 3 times a week, treadmill, and I start losing serious steam after a mile or a mile and a half. Sure I could push myself, but I can't imagine hitting 4, 5, or 6 miles.

I guess some people are just better at it than others.

imj0257

iTrader: (1)

Just takes practice like any other sport or activity . And determination and commitment really helps.

dallison

What imj said is correct. We all didn't start off running 4+ miles, and if we did we got injured.

I never would have been able to hold a 6:30-7 min mile over 10 miles unless i worked at it.
I've had setbacks but i had to be smart about most of my decisions. I'm very determined and focused when i have a goal. Right now i am happy where i'm at with a 20-21 min 5k but i know i will want to push it further and get under 20 and maybe even do a half under 1:30. That is all up to me in what i want.

I like beating other people and it makes me feel good that i can succeed at something i enjoy.


To this day the hardest race mentally and physically was a two mile uphill race at Stratton mountain in Vermont. You have to reach down deep inside when you are giving 100% and find a way to give even more and finish strong. I excelled and beat a lot of other people that live and run in the mountains where i live in a mainly flat area.
You get out of it what you put in.

dallison

It seems as if i am stuck at 20:30, i think i may need to do some hills to get it down further.

cM3go

Ran my first (hopefully last!) half marathon! Finishing time: 2:05:30. Ran it all except for walking during 1 uphill portion, avg pace 9:15 a mile. I won't be running for at least a week now.

dallison

congrats on the finish and respectable time. Those long races are not easy at all. You'll definitely feel it for a couple days.
I am sure you'll do another half at some point. It will always be in the back of your head to lower your time to your target.

This is my rest week as well.

imj0257

iTrader: (1)

Congrats on the finish and great time!

You will be back for more..

imj0257

iTrader: (1)

Did an 8 mile run last night and it felt great! I could still feel a little something in my right thigh but on a scale of 1-10 it was a 2 at most and it was not even noticeable half the time (mainly noticeable when I do sharp turns or steep descents).

But yea I felt great the whole run and finished with a 7:38 pace so hopefully I am back to where I was before it started hurting

'06 Arctic

Congrats cM3go! excellent job and time!

Welcome back imj.

I did 20 this weekend in Boston, one more long run this weekend (20 or 22) and then start to taper for the Pittsburgh marathon. I'm not going to know what to do with myself with all this free time in the evenings with not having to run! Gonna focus on 5k's next, I wanna try to get to be Dallison fast !

dallison

i'm not getting any faster and you have a little bit of youth on your side.
I was looking at my race times for the past few years and they have slowly come down. I was running 21-23 min 5k's and it dropped last year to 19-21 minutes with an average of 20:30.
My fascination now is to drop below 20 for most races. I ran a 5k this past weekend in 20:32 and my ass was dragging again. I never really prepare or train with speedwork. I need to sprint the hills soon and see if that helps.





I'm taking the week off and should resume sat or sun. I'm doing yard work in leu of running and i feel guilty as if i shouldn't be resting. It feels good to not have to come home and get the run in, but i also feel good after my runs.
I'm doing edging to prepare for mulch this weekend.

dallison

I ran my hill speed workout last night.
It's 115 meters with a 65 ft elevation change, i think that's about a 20% incline, but i'm not positive.

I ran 1.2 miles as a warm up and then lined up 10 times and sprinted 95-100% and jogged the downhill part to the starting line.

I was pretty much at my limit during the 10th time. I hope doing this every week or two will help..

subinf

I've committed to an olympic triathlon. I now need to drastically change my usual running routine. This should be interesting.

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

dallison-question: do you train solely by pace or do you use a heart rate monitor? despite age there are ways to maximize your speed without over killing yourself with speed work and junk miles and risking injury.

i don't have the patience to read the whole thread right now (hence i'm asking).

dallison

gtfo good luck

dallison

I don't use a watch or any electronic gadgets. I train by effort. If i am going for 7-12 miles i'll slow it up and can keep the same pace, anything less, i go faster.
I could probably be doing everything wrong for all i know.

You really don't need to run more than 15-20 miles a week to be quick. You just need to pay attention to pain. Go slow on the downhill parts and make sure you stretch afterwards and wear proper shoes.

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

then you're doing it all wrong. you essentially run by pace. of course i'm coming at this as an ultradistance triathlete (and i don't run a ton of miles in a week either at most 40).

like i said, there are ways to run faster despite age, without killing yourself or risk injury, but it takes discipline to execute and an understanding of what is going on physiologically to create changes. OR keep doing what you're doing and hope you reach the goals that you have set for yourself the old fashioned way.

'06 Arctic

TLtrigirl - I assume you train off of heart rate then?

Finished my last long run this past weekend. Did 22 miles of the marathon course. Legs were def starting to feel it around mile 18. The past three weeks were my biggest mileage wise and I could tell for sure on Sunday. Started to taper this week, 16 days!

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

yes. and i have noticed vast improvements in the last 4 yrs doing so.

i hate 20 mile runs, but they have to be done. the last 10K of a marathon is all mental.

my favorite part of training...tapering. all the hard work is done and now you rest and fine tune the machine to go fast on race day (when it counts). which marathon are you doing?

subinf

What is a typical week of running like?

dallison

I like running by effort without the watch. I know i need to do speedwork, i just need to actually apply myself.
I'm fairly successful doing what i'm doing. I'm happy for the moment but i will get faster. Sometimes it's direction that i need.

cM3go

Props to you, I sure as hell don't know how anyone does a marathon!

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

hmmm, i don't "just run"...since i'm an ultra distance tri nerd here's my typical week: for moderate to peak volume wks during race prep phase-
M- swim 3500 m, lift, bike 2-4 hrs (though i break this up due to my schedule)
T- run (tempo or track work)
W-swim 4000-4500 m, run 10-13 miles moderate
Th- bike (tempo or speed work), lift
F- swim 5000-6000m (then arms fall off)
Sa-BRICK day- bike 6-7 hrs, f/b 30 min transition run <==legs feel like "bricks"
Su- long run (13-21 mi)


so...are you tired yet?? this is about 17-23 hrs of training a week.

if you want to know the methods of getting faster for running without killing yourself....send me a PM (it's not a method for folks looking of now results or don't have the patience to let their bodies adapt to become more efficient machines). if not....keep on doing it the old fashion way. i did that for yrs and i didn't improve that much AND ended up with injuries. something had to change b/c what i was doing wasn't giving me the results i knew i was capable of. so if something ain't working...time to find another way.

hey dallison-good luck with your running endeavors. happy training!

subinf

Interesting. Thank you for the response. Are you a professional?

dallison

damn, that is one hell of a schedule. pm sent

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

no. just a seasoned competitive age grouper with an extensive background in knowing the body and how it ticks (i'm not a trainer).

replied

subinf

I meant it mainly because of the training schedule. I would love to have that amount of time available.

imj0257

iTrader: (1)

So you have no break days?

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

there are plenty of triathletes that do long distance stuff and manage to train for them on a typical 9-5 workday, they have families, etc. it's hard...but they manage to do it. their spouses will hate them and resent them for it....but it needs to be an agreement and understanding to make it work. it' even better if the other half likes doing tri's too.

i happen to have a flexible schedule of sorts to train. if you notice about 1/2 the hours for training in a wk are on the weekend. so you're really only training about 8-10 of those hrs during the work week.

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

not until i get closer to race day (about two weeks out). b/c i cross train...my legs get a break on fridays when i only swim.

subinf

I need a different job

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

work is overrated my friend

it's all about trying to balance your life out. if the pie wedge is WAY bigger for work than the other parts of your life....time to re-balance. kind of like a portfolio.

then again i know there are some careers (certain govt type positions and attorneys) that work IS their life. you better love your work!

or you need a sugar momma

PrissyJayne

TLTri - I'm just curious - does your method work at any stage of training?

I'm curious because I started C25k and made it through week 6. Then I took about 2 weeks off and have been running "on my own" since then. I usually make it somewhere between 1.5-2 miles on the days I run and that takes me 25-30 minutes (don't laugh). I'm a treadmill runner for two reasons: I run at 4am and the trails on base are poorly lit and it scares me. I would love to run a 5k this year but it seems like I'll never make it that last mile. I only have 30 minutes to run in the mornings - so I need to increase my speed significantly to get there. I know this seems so tiny to you distance runners, but a 5k would be a HUGE accomplishment for me. I've never ever ever been a runner.

subinf

yeah...

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

^^^see...i figured. you'll get more free time...in 15 yrs when you make senior partner and then you can deligate everything to junior members. just as long as you enjoy what you do

first, congrats for taking on something that is challenging to YOU. baby steps. you'll find as you get more fit, the more you will want to push that limit of your own physical ability.

next goal...just finish the first 5k. don't worry about times, just finish. to you this is a gi-normous mountain. depending on when the 5K is...will determine the approach. if its in a few weeks. just finish the darn thing. if you have a number of months...then...the method can be implemented. this method usually is more effective for longer runs b/c an hour of stimulus to the body versus 30 minutes will begin to get your body to change physiologically speaking (hence the cross training). do you have weekends free?

i've had friends that picked up running, started with 5k's and she has managed to get up to half marathon distance. she has done HR training the whole time. mind you she just turned 50 (i think) and has been doing this the last few yrs. however she does no speed work...and she is wired to really only have one speed...not that fast. she's ok with that though. she does them to finish and running the whole time.

all depends on what your goals are, your current fitness level etc.

PM me if you wanna discuss the matter further. can't give away all the secrets...

'06 Arctic

cM3go - Thanks, it was a sickness I contracted when I first watched my Sister-in-law run the NYC marathon in 2008. I started out doing HM for the first three years. Then I watched my SIL run the Boston Marathon and I was hooked on running a full, so last year was my first at the Pittsburgh marathon. This year will be my 2nd marathon, also at the Pittsburgh marathon.

TLtrigirl - I'm running the Pittsburgh marathon. I've been training based on pace. Tried monitoring my heart rate for the first few months, but then slacked off.

imj0257

iTrader: (1)

I've never used a heart rate monitor; I have always used what my body is saying and my GPS watch that shows pace etc, and it worked just fine for my half marathon. Then again my ultimate goal, as of now, is to complete a full marathon, and no way could I have the workout schedule that TLtrigirl has. I like to have off days to relax and down some beers.

If I were to eventually commit to a triathalon or something then I would definitely change my habits but for now I 'think' I am fine. I am not looking to drastically increase my pace, I am looking to finish a full marathon.

'06 Arctic

TLtrigirl is correct. Training and gauging your runs bsed on your HR is much more beneficial than running for pace. I've read articles that state that the majority of runners (don't recall actual #'s & to lazy to look up) run their long runs way to fast and their tempo &/or speed work runs to slow as they are based simply on pace. When you base them on your heart rate you get a much better workout as you target what HR zones you are in for a certain run and thus can ensure that your long runs are aerobic instead of anaerobic and your speed work/tempo runs are sufficiently "hard". I believe HR training would drastically change what each of us consider our "easy" pace, speed work pace, etc.