*Doing the Donald in 2010* Jan. Half Marathon Support Thread!

[french lady]

I did a nice 5k training run this morning and it was so quiet on the road. Only me. I don't know why but it feels like I am going at the same easy pace but in the last weeks, slowly, my times are going down.
53 days 2 hours and 52 minutes and my dream will come true.

Diane

 

[dismagiclover]

Sierra/MapleGirl Awesome that you actually wanted to go running this morning! Keep sticking with it and believe it or not the day will come when you feel sad it's a rest day

Liz Glad you are feeling better and happy that you stopped by. Hopefully you'll get out and have a good run tomorrow

Diane/FrenchLady for getting faster! It's amazing what putting in the miles does. I love your minute countdown! Definitely going to be a great day for all of us

 

[luvsTink]

Hi all,
It is great reading about how other folks are getting along with their training. I continued with physical torture...umm, I mean therapy this week. I joke about it, but it is the BEST thing I could have done, it is helping in a big way. I did 5 miles today at a 15:40 pace! My longest and fastest yet (kinda funny calling 15:40 'fast') But for me, it was awesome.

I can't remember who said it a couple of pages back, but never a more true thing was said: "I have never regretted a walk/run once I did it, but I have regretted nearly every one I didn't do!"

Thanks for all the insights and support!
Anne

 

[mla1977]

Hi everyone! I got in a 10 mile training walk/run yesterday. I'm maintaining a 15 mpm pace still. My goal during my shorter weekday runs is to increase my pace and maybe get down to a 14:30 pace by race day.

I do find that my legs don't even warm up for the first two miles, especially my shins which leads to my feet feeling like (or actually) they're flopping around and slapping the ground. That leads me to believe that I am going to need a 1-2 mile warm up before starting the race. At least it is a long walk to the starting line!

 

[Ronda93]

Liz - it was a great visit with my parents. They are retired and still very active. It's great to see them going strong.

Here's a race report from yesterday.

It was not a Dead Last Finish, but it was uncomfortably close. The weather was 50 and misty. The race start was 9:00. For me it was perfect. I am a vampire runner (never run when the sun is up) and I like to run cool.

The event was half marathon, 10k and 5k. We started at 5 minute intervals. The half went off and I went to the back of the cluster of people behind the start. They counted down the 10k start and the people around me moved forward, but with little enthusiasm. It was then I realized I was surrounded by 5k people. I weaved in and out and got across the start. I'm pretty sure I was the last one out.

The route was out and back. The surface was asphalt and, while it was moist, the footing felt okay. The first mile wound down into a creek valley.
The next mile was fairly flat along the creek and a dam. Miles 3 and 4 were up and back down the other side of the valley. Five was the welcome flat and the last mile was the climb back up the start hill. Wow. That sncked. It was an uncomfortable, hurt your quads, alter your stride, feel your toes jam the front of your shoes descent and just as lousy coming back up.

I planned to do a run 10 minutes/walk out the mile interval. I stuck to it. Knowing I have a planned walk coming makes a huge difference for me. I felt some muscle twinges during the race. A little tightness in a few muscles that faded with a little time. Post race I don't have any pains. So far, so good.

About the near DLF. Until this year I'd never been around racing before. I've done a few fun runs this year. I chose this for the hurry up and wait, get your bib number on right, navigate the water stop experience. It was the right distance the right weekend. My miles were 11:38, 11:59, 12:20, 13:01, 13:09, 13:08. With the little bit at the end it worked out to average 12:25.

That's my target for the Donald in January and what my long runs have been around. I was happy with how I did. That said, I placed 242 of 251. The pace of #249 was still under 14:00. The last two were 17 and some change. The 5 and 10k were billed as run/walks, but the walkers stuck to the 5k. Some of their pacing got into the 18-20 range.

They also had a separate start for Girls on the Run. I looked at some of their information online. It seems like a great program to get girls aged 8-13 running. They gathered around signs for various localities and buddied up before the start. Very cool.

I had a good time. I gained experience. I learned I *can* run up hills. From the forecast I have some lousy weather running experience coming up this week.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend. Let's hear about training!!!!

Ronda

 

[liznboys]

Hey Sierra, I don't remember if I knew you were doing that plan too. I took that chart right from the website: http://www.marathonrookie.com/half-marathon-training.html
I like that it is so simple.

Great jobs Diane, Anne and Megan!

Ronda, starting with the 5kers would be something I would do. lol It sounds like you did a great job though, congrats!!

Today I did a short run, 2 miles, then walked another mile back home. I'm feeling discouraged. I hope this weeks training goes well.

 

[dismagiclover]

Anne for a great training day! The tortoise wins the race!

Megan Wow! a 10 miler. Maybe you should switch over to the Full

Ronda Thanks for the race report. The course sounds like a tough one. Ending the race with an uphill mile I'm sure that last mile seemed like a long one. From my experience the 10K distance is the one serious runners seem to like best. Don't feel bad about being at the end. Remember Dead Last Finish > than Did Not Finish > Did Not Start. (I'm pretty sure that's how the WISH motto goes.) The great thing about the Disney is it is relatively flat (or so I'm told) and lots of back of the packers

Liz Don't get discouraged. Remember you are a newbie at this long distance thing. It's a tough race, but it will be worth every minute of training when you have that Donald medal! Plus you've already paid for the plane tickets and the room

 

[mla1977]

Thanks for the vote of confidence Jenny! I actaully just switched over to the half. I'm with Team in Training this year and I'm following their plan. We started in August. Once you get past 8 miles in the half training you start alternating high and low weeks. Next week is only 6 for me.

 

[sk8ingmom]

OK, it is a new week.

So I was doing good. I sometimes missed cross training days, but I was getting in all of my runs. I even ran 5 miles round-and-round an ice rink when DS9 had a last minte hockey practice scheduled during my run time last Saturday.

Then this week happened. That 5 miles in the rink 8 days ago? That was my last run. Rain, dark, work, hockey, Scouts, rearranging 3 rooms in the house, etc. I woke up yesterday determined to wog my scheduled 6 miles. Didn't happen. Instead we filled 77 bags of leaves - we have a 'large wooded lot'. That took all day and we still aren't done.

Gripe over.
Today is the first day of the rest of my training.

 

[syko]

It might not have been a wog, but filling that many bags would count as cross training in my book!!!!!

 

[liznboys]

Happy Monday all! I did my 3 miles this morning with my son and the jogger: 32:30.

Jenny, thanks. I will just keep doing my best and hopefully in the end it will be enough.

sk8, I don't know if you've read my posts lately, but I am right there with you. Today is the "first" day for me too.
That's a lot of leaves! We don't have many leaves in our yard, we have lots of pine needles.

 

[liznboys]

ATTENTION ALL DONALD DOERS!!!

Jenny/dismagiclover and I were talking and we want to do a meet for we Donald Doers! This is separate from the main WISH meet. It will take place at POP at 4pm that Friday the 8th, so it'll be easy for people to head to the WISH meet (at 4:30) if you want to. We ordered nametags from Tracy so that'll help with finding/knowing each other, here's her thread if you'd like to order one too:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2217748

So, Jenny and I will be there, and we hope to see all of you there too!

Oh, I didn't put an exact location for the meet as I am not familiar with POP. So does anyone have suggestions for exactly where to meet there? The WISH meet takes place in the food court I believe. I'm not sure if we should meet there too, or if that would make it more confusing (more WISH people around to sift through as they arrive for that meet) and therefore we should meet elsewhere? What do you think? Thanks for any and all input!

 

[MapleGirl]

Rain, dark, work, hockey, Scouts, rearranging 3 rooms in the house, etc. I woke up yesterday determined to wog my scheduled 6 miles. Didn't happen. Instead we filled 77 bags of leaves - we have a 'large wooded lot'. That took all day and we still aren't done.

I hate it when life gets in the way! Sounds like you did quite a bit of cross training. Good for you! DH got a yard vacuum that sucks up the leaves and mulches them. We love it! Gone are our raking/bagging days. What position does your DS play? I am a hockey girl!

Happy Monday all! I did my 3 miles this morning with my son and the jogger: 32:30.

Nicely done, Liz!

ATTENTION ALL DONALD DOERS!!!

Jenny/dismagiclover and I were talking and we want to do a meet for we Donald Doers!

What a nice idea! I'm pretty familiar with the Pop. We could meet outside the giftshop, in the registration area. I'll be entertaining a dozen family members, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to make it. I'll try to stop by. Worse case scenario, I'll see you all on Saturday!

Yesterday I did my 5 miles. I ran/jogged the whole way. I'm still super slow, but I'm able to talk and enjoy myself while I'm going. That's good right? I don't really want to pick up my pace so I'm back where I'm gasping for breath and wanting to die, but I guess that's what I'm supposed to do if I want to get faster, right?

Some one help me out here... If I want to increase my pace, should I run fast enough so that I can't talk or will my pace naturally increase just by staying slow and talking to DH while we go?

Have a great Monday everyone. I'm off tonight, but DH and I might play on the Wii Fit for a little cross training.

 

[dislvr74]

I did my LR on Saturday instead of my normally scheduled Sunday. This turned out to be a wise decision as I was able to run in shorts and a t-shirt on Saturday and it was very yucky outside yesterday.

Sadly, that's pretty much the only good thing about my run. I went out too fast and totally underestimated how much I would be hurting one week after a half marathon. Instead of the run 1/walk 1 that I used last weekend, I thought it would be a good idea to run 2/walk 1 (the ratio I use for short runs). I really don't know what I was thinking. By mile 4 I was hating life, my PF was acting up in my "good" foot, and it was all I could do to walk the last three miles home. Oh well, lessons learned and all that.

This experience has finally convinced me that I MUST plan to walk either the Illinois half marathon or the Indy mini-marathon in May. They are back to back and I'm afraid I will get injured and/or feel miserable if I try to go all out for both. I will probably walk the mini because it is almost too crowded to worry about setting a PR. It is a lot like WDW in that you run it for the experience more than for an awesome time. Plus, the new Illinois marathon route goes right past my backyard and I need to look good for my little army of spectators!

 

[dismagiclover]

Some one help me out here... If I want to increase my pace, should I run fast enough so that I can't talk or will my pace naturally increase just by staying slow and talking to DH while we go?

If you really want to increase your pace most runners would recommend speed work. Things like interval workouts or tempo runs. This is taken from Hal Higdon's site:

An interval workout usually consists of fast repeats separated by walking or jogging. The program begins with 5 x 400 meters in the first week and adds one more 400 every other week to reach 10 x 400 meters the week before your half marathon. Walk or jog between each repeat. The best place to run 400-meter repeats is on a track, although you can also use an accurately-measured road course. Run the 400s at about your pace for 5-K, or 10-K. For more information on speed training, see my book, Run Fast.

Tempo Runs: This is a continuous run with a buildup in the middle to near 10-K race pace. A Tempo Run of 30 to 45 minutes would begin with 10-15 minutes easy running, build to 15-20 minutes near the middle, then 5-10 minutes easy toward the end. The pace buildup should be gradual, not sudden, with peak speed coming about two-thirds into the workout. Hold that peak only for a minute or two. I consider Tempo Runs to be the "Thinking Runner's Workout." A Tempo Run can be as hard or easy as you want to make it, and it has nothing to do with how long (in time) you run or how far. In fact, the times prescribed for Tempo Runs serve mainly as rough guidelines. Feel free to improvise. Improvisation is the heart of doing a Tempo Run correctly.

These workouts are not always fun, but they do actually work at increasing your pace. Honestly, as long as your pace is fast enough to finish I wouldn't worry too much about time for your first half. Your goal is just to finish and the best way to accomplish that is to put in the miles recommended in whatever training plan you're using. This may be more info than you were looking for.

Remember one foot in front of the other

 

[dismagiclover]

Thanks for the vote of confidence Jenny! I actaully just switched over to the half. I'm with Team in Training this year and I'm following their plan. We started in August. Once you get past 8 miles in the half training you start alternating high and low weeks. Next week is only 6 for me.

I think I remember you mentioning a few pages back that you'd decided to make the switch to the half. I think you'll enjoy race day a whole lot more That is interesting that your training program alternates high and low weeks for a half. I know lots of full training programs do that. I'll be interested to see how it works.

 

[MapleGirl]

Thanks Jenny. This doesn't sound too bad. I think I'll start running faster (should I sprint?) between some light posts as I jog along.

 

[french lady]

Yabadabadou! My hills are done for this week: 6 total. And it went pretty well. It was a bit windy but going up the hills I was protected by trees. Total mileage: 5 miles.

Diane

 

[dismagiclover]

Thanks Jenny. This doesn't sound too bad. I think I'll start running faster (should I sprint?) between some light posts as I jog along.

You don't need to sprint, but you do need to increase your pace quite a bit during intervals.

Yabadabadou! My hills are done for this week: 6 total. And it went pretty well. It was a bit windy but going up the hills I was protected by trees. Total mileage: 5 miles.

Diane

Go Diane! Hills are one of my least favorite things so excellent job!

 

[Ronda93]

MapleGirl - I second the speed intervals to make things faster. I hate them, but got the same advice this summer and they work. I use a r3/w1 minute interval and run the 3 faster than I can sustain - very scientific. It has really helped increase my overall speed. I needed it, too.

Ronda