airtime247
Certified Coaster Junkie
- Joined
- Jan 3, 2004
- Messages
- 819
Joanne - Congratulations on NYC. You must be so excited.
Jason - Great job on the 19-minute 5K. I'm not even close to being that fast.
Maura - Great PR. Wow! Have fun here in California. Which cities are you visiting?
Jeannette - Congrats on your first race! I loved reading your report. If it wasn't for the hard way, I'd never learn anything! If I could chime in on your lessons learned:
1) Eat a decent breakfast but make sure you don't have too much fiber. Dairy can also be a problem. I love a PB&J and banana about an hour and a half before race time. I also try to eat carbs and protein after a race. I usually stash another PB&J for after the race too. Don't tell my dd where all of her Uncrustables have been disappearing to!
2) I always check the site for water stops ahead of time. When in doubt or if there aren't enough, I bring my own. Experiment with different types of carriers as some are annoying or awkward.
3) It is recommended to do your treadmill workouts at a slight incline to help mimic the uneven terrain and wind resistance you will have outside. There is no indoor substitute on how much harder the pavement is. Outside takes it's toll on me a lot more than treadmill, but I find I can go faster outside for some reason.
4) It's hard for me to keep pace outside, even with my Garmin. I tend to let my ego get the best of me and try to pass people, especially those young, skinny in-shape people. Of course, they end up passing me a mile or two later after my fat butt has run out of gas!
5) Always try to walk for at least five minutes after your race and then take your time doing stretches. I usually grab water and start walking and then come back for food which I eat while stretching.
6) Sitting for a long time is a big mistake I made several times. It's hard when some of the bigger races I've done are well over an hour from my house. I was more sore after sitting in my car for most of the day after a 10K than I was after the WDW Marathon because I went back to the parks after that and walked around for several hours. Stay moving and stretch a lot and you'll feel much better!
Suzanne - It sounds like you have a great weekend coming up. Have fun!
AFM, I had a busy race weekend. Yesterday was a 5K trail run on a beautiful but brutal course in one of our forests. It was a blast and the first trail race I've done since this race last year. I sure miss these. Training on trails just isn't the same as racing on them. I shaved 3:11 off of last year's time but the course was a little different.
Today was the extreme opposite experience. It was the most boring race of my life. It was a quirky race that counted in our local running club's circuit standings which was the only reason I competed. This was a timed race - one hour on the track at our local university. How ever many miles you could complete in that hour is how you placed.
I already felt fatigued after what I put myself through yesterday. I did my best but came up about 430 meters shy of 7 miles. Now I'm kicking myself for sneaking off the track to look for an unlocked restroom (couldn't find one). I probably lost three minutes which should have put me at that 7-mile finish which would have had me ahead of four other runners, three of whom I've never lost to. Grrrrrr!
Oh well, at least yesterday I finished second in my age group and had a first place finish in my AG today! Okay, there were only two of us yesterday and I was the only one today but still, my mom would be proud.
-steve
Jason - Great job on the 19-minute 5K. I'm not even close to being that fast.
Maura - Great PR. Wow! Have fun here in California. Which cities are you visiting?
Jeannette - Congrats on your first race! I loved reading your report. If it wasn't for the hard way, I'd never learn anything! If I could chime in on your lessons learned:
1) Eat a decent breakfast but make sure you don't have too much fiber. Dairy can also be a problem. I love a PB&J and banana about an hour and a half before race time. I also try to eat carbs and protein after a race. I usually stash another PB&J for after the race too. Don't tell my dd where all of her Uncrustables have been disappearing to!
2) I always check the site for water stops ahead of time. When in doubt or if there aren't enough, I bring my own. Experiment with different types of carriers as some are annoying or awkward.
3) It is recommended to do your treadmill workouts at a slight incline to help mimic the uneven terrain and wind resistance you will have outside. There is no indoor substitute on how much harder the pavement is. Outside takes it's toll on me a lot more than treadmill, but I find I can go faster outside for some reason.
4) It's hard for me to keep pace outside, even with my Garmin. I tend to let my ego get the best of me and try to pass people, especially those young, skinny in-shape people. Of course, they end up passing me a mile or two later after my fat butt has run out of gas!
5) Always try to walk for at least five minutes after your race and then take your time doing stretches. I usually grab water and start walking and then come back for food which I eat while stretching.
6) Sitting for a long time is a big mistake I made several times. It's hard when some of the bigger races I've done are well over an hour from my house. I was more sore after sitting in my car for most of the day after a 10K than I was after the WDW Marathon because I went back to the parks after that and walked around for several hours. Stay moving and stretch a lot and you'll feel much better!
Suzanne - It sounds like you have a great weekend coming up. Have fun!
AFM, I had a busy race weekend. Yesterday was a 5K trail run on a beautiful but brutal course in one of our forests. It was a blast and the first trail race I've done since this race last year. I sure miss these. Training on trails just isn't the same as racing on them. I shaved 3:11 off of last year's time but the course was a little different.
Today was the extreme opposite experience. It was the most boring race of my life. It was a quirky race that counted in our local running club's circuit standings which was the only reason I competed. This was a timed race - one hour on the track at our local university. How ever many miles you could complete in that hour is how you placed.
I already felt fatigued after what I put myself through yesterday. I did my best but came up about 430 meters shy of 7 miles. Now I'm kicking myself for sneaking off the track to look for an unlocked restroom (couldn't find one). I probably lost three minutes which should have put me at that 7-mile finish which would have had me ahead of four other runners, three of whom I've never lost to. Grrrrrr!
Oh well, at least yesterday I finished second in my age group and had a first place finish in my AG today! Okay, there were only two of us yesterday and I was the only one today but still, my mom would be proud.
-steve
Non-runners would never understand us, would they? 
She can't leave me alone with our 4yo DD until she comes down off her Easter basket high! 
