~Philadelphia Marathon 11/23/08~

[Theta]

I got a little over 6 miles in late afternoon. DH came with me and I was able to do a 1/2 mile walk and 1/2 mile run intervals. We averaged a little under 12 minute miles, so I was happy with that.

Jodi, I watched the ING NYC marathon on television today. I guess we will be there next year, right? Some of those hills look really nasty.

Dave, sorry I am the wrong one to ask for training advice. My training cycle for this marathon has been so unstructured. Three short weeks from today, I just hope to make it the 26.2 miles, catch a plane and then drive the 80 miles home all within 15 hours.

 

[Mouse Skywalker]

Colleen- Nice job on the 6 miles. I think you and I are in the same boat with this marathon. I'm feeling very underprepared. I wish I had the miles that Cindy has under her belt. I want to wish your daughter all the best in getting better and gaining her weight back.

Shoot, I forgot all about the NYC marathon. I need to see how that went. Was Jodi running in it? Is that what her training in NYC was?

 

[KeenHo]

Hi everyone!

I didn't get a run in today. I aggrivated my heel/arch and just looked up the symptoms... it's textbook plantar fasciitis. I think my casual leather shoes aggrivate the pain in the heel as I walk around as do my work dress shoes. Any recommendations would be welcomed. I read up on some of the ways to avoid the issue - stretching, cut down on miles, hills and speed-work, anti-inflammatories, arch straps, etc. I hope it doesn't come to all of this. I will be running again soon and I will increase the stretching of my calves which is recommended.

I hate to think of having something like this leading up to Philly, I will get over it though. I am kind of baffled that it is an annoyance now, and it was prior to MCM. However during MCM it wasn't an issue. I guess it got naturally stretched during the 26.2.

Colleen~ I won't be donating blood again until after Philly. Then not until late January. I should be fine donating post-Philly during my recovery/muscle soreness.

Cindy~ Congratulations on your last LR, your pace was excellent! Good work.

Lou~ Nice results on your bridge run. You had a nice cool day to run it too. I am glad you ran it smart and stayed healthy. By the way, I think that Green Guy was happy to see someone.

Where is Jodi? Maybe she is doing some Temp-Ho'ing in NYC.

Have a great week! I will have some numbers to report soon.



Howard

 

[msblrobs]

Dave - Dallas was great . Trip was LONG both ways but the weather was awesome and the Cowboys won so it was an awesome time.

Lou - Nice race

Cindy - Great pace on the 20 miles . Your race goal is definitely a good one .


Colleen - Glad DD continues to feel better . Sweet pace on your run as well .


Oh Howard - So sorry to hear about the plantar fasciitis . My best advice would be to freeze a soda bottle filled with water and roll it under your arch a few times a day. Also, loads of calf stretches and stretch the affected foor by pulling the toes back. I find when I wear shoes you have to pull your toes up to walk it aggravates PF so make sure you're not throwing slides on at all.

I am going to try to do my 12 miles tonight. My leg was killing me yesterday, even after 800 mg ibuprofen and then another 600 mg 4 hours later so I thought it best to delay the LR for a day. I did walk at a 10% incline on the TM for an hour and went to my belly dancing class yesterday and hopefully will knock out the 12 tonight on the TM. Like Howard, I really don't need my leg deciding to misbehave this close to Philly since I've already done two marathons in agony and it's not something I want to repeat. However, if it keeps up I will have to resign myself to seeing an ortho and admit that marathoning may not be in my best interest since the advanced arthritis is not going away anytime soon .

 

[Jodi]

Hey Everybotty;

Well let's get this out of the way straight off; I went to NYC on Sat. w/ my mom & sisters (oh my) & loved seeing all the runners carbing up in Little Italy. I started to get queasy, like I was running the marathon the next day , what a dork. However, I did get nauseated on the train ride home thinking about Philly - I'm telling you, I work myself up silly over this crap. And WHY? I mean, what's really at stake here? Absolutely nothing. I always fear that I won't finish, I suppose, or that I'll be SO miserable I'll have to walk to the finish like I did my first marathon. Oh well, so glad to be losing sleep over something that's 3 weeks away. I'm already worked up about running NYC next year!

And yes, I did run....umm....a grand total of 6 miles yesterday . 6, 20, it's all semantics, right? Wouldn't be the first time I started my tapering early .

Chester & Ceci - Where are you guys?

Howard - OUCH . Stretch & don't run for a few days, that's what I say. Also, alternate that ice therapy w/ hot baths w/ Epsom salt. And the ever-popular self-massage .

Colleen - Glad DD better, she'll gain that weight back in no time (funny, I've NEVER had that problem ). WTG on that run/walk 6 miler! NYC in '09, baby!!

Lou - Are we less emotional this week? See, I put a smiley so you know I'm ribbin' you. Anyway, nice job on that 10k!! Nice splits, too. Your marathon time prediction, please????

Dave - Heard your review on the Podcast . NICE JOB on that 10 miles! Do not run 20 miles next weekend, please. Go 12 or 14, if you don't feel like poop while doing it. 20 miles now isn't going to do anything for you except perhaps cause an injury. You KNOW you can run 26.2, save up the bod for the 23rd!

Sara - That is the COOOLEST THING EVER about DD!! I assume you'll be chaperoning her??? Awaiting results from tonights 12!

Mikey - You ran 12 sometime? I missed that post, but nice job. How was the girls' Halloween? Did you gorge on candy?

Cindy - Sorry about your gore-fest, ouch So now you know that I didn't run 20 this weekend are you still going to talk to me? I've heard that you runners that actually train & are dedicated can look down on the likes of myself who taint the running populous as a whole (or hole) . Glad to see you've thrown down the gauntlet on your finish time! Now, time to obsess!!

Oh yeah, I got up this a.m. & ran, too, so there! only 4 miles though

 

[lourodrigis]

Lou - Are we less emotional this week? See, I put a smiley so you know I'm ribbin' you. Anyway, nice job on that 10k!! Nice splits, too. Your marathon time prediction, please????

Jodi's back - I like it that you are getting all jacked up about Philly. We don't get to win a World Series or Super Bowl, we get pumped up thinking about races. I got pumped up yesterday just being around a few hundred runners that are running Philly in a few weeks. Don't worry about your training. You are taking the Allen Iverson ("Practice? We are talking about practice.") approach to running a marathon. I bet you'll show up at Philly with your game face on and do fine.

If I have to give a prediction I am shooting for a round number like sub 4:00:00. A lot depends on the weather. If we get a nice cold/dry day I should be fine. If it's wet like last year I am just going to be happy to finish. I figure I'll run as fast as I can for as long as I can, bank plenty of minutes, and then try to suck it up and finish without puking.

Lou

 

[Jodi]

If we get a nice cold/dry day I should be fine. If it's wet like last year I am just going to be happy to finish.

STOP TALKING ABOUT WATER & RUNNING!!!!! Are you trying to push me over the edge????

 

[rKyDeX]

Hey everyone

20 days until Philly and I'm in the second week of a running break. I've been having symptoms similar to the pains I had with hernias last year, so I made a visit to the Doc. An ultrasound confirmed that the hernia repairs have held up okay, but that I've got a groin strain. The Doc suggested 2 weeks off. Philly may end up being a "catered" training run for me. I'm going to donate blood tomorrow since I won't be running until the week before the Marathon.

Lou
Congratulations to the Philly's. I wish the Rays could have put up a better showing, but the Philly's pitching stymied Pena and Longoria - that and some atypical fielding errors. Oh well, there's always next year.


Happy training to everyone.

Chester

 

[Jodi]

Chester - OUCH . Take care of yourself & enjoy that 2 weeks off of running....I certainly am .

 

[CynthiaCindy]

Dave – I forgot to mention that I got to hear your review during my 20 miler yesterday – great job! I’m with Jodi – don’t do 20 miles next weekend. Maybe 15 or 16 at most. Another idea would be to do a brick – bike for awhile and then run (maybe bike 2 hours, run for 1.5?). This would give you a good workout without the pounding of doing a 20

Colleen – Glad to hear that DD is feeling better. Nice job on the 6 – that’s a great pace!

Howard – I think that Sara and Jodi gave you good advice. You have the fitness to take more than a few days off if you need to – just get to Philly healthy!

Sara –

Jodi – Of course I will talk to you! Although I have a feeling you will beat me in Philly. At that point, I may have to reconsider.

Lou – We’re running in your city, can’t you promise us good weather? Seriously?

Chester – Sorry to hear that you are injured. I hope the 2 weeks rest is all it takes!

Cindy- Wahhhooooo for you. Great job getting your 20 miler in, and I'm glad you didn't have anymore chafing trouble. You've done such a fantastic job with your training, and you are in great shape. You are going to rock the course in Philly. No more marathon meltdowns like before. Enjoy the taper.

Thanks for the vote of confidence, it means a lot. I have lots of doubts about my goals for the race. Even now, I'm wondering if I should reconsider my time goals.

Cindy - Now, time to obsess!!

Yeah, already started on that one

 

[Mouse Skywalker]

Greetings Everyone: OK, I did a short 3 miler today, and man was I sore and tight. I think my 10 miler on Saturday took more out of me than I thought. I was surprised at how sore my quads were.

Dave - Heard your review on the Podcast . NICE JOB on that 10 miles! Do not run 20 miles next weekend, please. Go 12 or 14, if you don't feel like poop while doing it. 20 miles now isn't going to do anything for you except perhaps cause an injury. You KNOW you can run 26.2, save up the bod for the 23rd!

Yay, Jodi's back. So what were you doing in NYC anyway? Yeah, I think I have to agree with you about the 20 miler. It's good to hear that from other people. Maybe I'll try to do a solid 13.1 miles this weekend. I guess I know I can run 26.2. My question is how uncomfortable will I be when I'm running it.

Dave – I forgot to mention that I got to hear your review during my 20 miler yesterday – great job! I’m with Jodi – don’t do 20 miles next weekend. Maybe 15 or 16 at most. Another idea would be to do a brick – bike for awhile and then run (maybe bike 2 hours, run for 1.5?). This would give you a good workout without the pounding of doing a 20

Cindy- after today's run, I agree with you about not doing the 20 miler. Whew, I'm feeling nervous about Philly. If I do 13.1 this weekend, then my mileage will top out at 15 miles that I did way back for the Rochester half marathon (I did a two mile warmup before the race). Don't worry too much about your time goal. I would focus more on finishing the marathon strong, and not focus so much on the time. If you can do that, the time will take care of itself.

Chester- You take care of yourself. I'm pretty much in the same boat that you are. That's OK, we'll all hang out in the back of the bus and have fun...

Lou- You definitely sound like you are still on the high of the Phillies win. Good luck on the sub 4 hour race...

Sara- How'd the 12 miler go?

Howard- I totally agree with Sara's advice. Freeze a water bottle, and roll your foot on it.

OK, gotta run... or should I say hobble?

 

[CynthiaCindy]

Dave - I think your plan for this weekend makes sense. Don't be nervous about Philly - you know you can finish!

Cindy- Don't worry too much about your time goal. I would focus more on finishing the marathon strong, and not focus so much on the time. If you can do that, the time will take care of itself.

What I am obsessing about is not really the finish goal but the pace per mile that I am going to run. Right now I am planning on running 9:50. But should I really be running 10 m/m? I'm pretty sure both will feel good/easy for the beginning of the marathon, but . . .

I don't want to run too fast and completely fall apart in the last 6 miles (yet again) but I also don't want to run too slowly and finish the marathon feeling like I could have run a lot faster because, seriously, what is the point of running so many miles in training if I'm not even going to push myself during the race?

So many numbers and questions to torture myself with . . .

 

[KeenHo]

... what is the point of running so many miles in training if I'm not even going to push myself during the race?

Cindy~ I think like you do with respect to this comment. Not only during the race, but also for training. I find it really hard to just go out for an easy run. I always want to push myself (to an extent) during my training to see what I am made of so that during a race, I know what my limits are. Make sense?

Dave~ I am freezing a bottle now and will be using it tonight after I relax a few minutes and get something to eat. The lovely ladies gave me some good advice. I spoke with the President and CEO of a Hospital (a Board member for the company I work for). He ran MCM a few years ago in something like 3:45. He told me ibuprofen and more ibuprofen. I did that before my run tonight.

I ran tonight after work. I better get used to running in the dark, huh? I wear a 2" belt made of a 3M reflective material used by firefighters on their helmets. It works great and is very visible to automobiles. I just hope the deer can see it!

Here are my numbers:

Miles: 7.34
Time: 1:00:14
Pace: 8:12

Splits: 8:33, 8:07, 8:03, 8:04, 7:54, 8:19, and 8:09.

I can't say I didn't feel the PF tonight during my run and my left foot is rebelling a bit. I will ice it with the frozen roller. I am not going to let it rule my training, I will make due and follow the recommended stretches, icing it and taking ibuprofen.

I am happy that I put some good miles in tonight in preparation for Philly.

Have a great night!



Howard

 

[msblrobs]

It's "ROCKY" week on AMC this week so I'm watching Rocky tonight to get inspired for Philly in a few weeks

The 12 miles turned into 8 but they were a relatively pain-free 8 so I'm okay with it. I will do 10-12 on Sunday and be happy with that before I taper.

Cindy - Girl, I wish I had some good advice for your mental woes about the goal time/pace . Just plug your recent race numbers into the Runner's World tools and see what they give you for a realistic marathon goal. It's such a tough call but I agree it's best not to stress and better to do some positive self-talk on your recent past performances being good indicators of a favorable outcome for the race .

Chester - Terribly sorry to hear you're struggling with an injury . At least you can donate blood and have a great attitude about Philly no matter what it holds for you .

Dave - Adding my vote for doing nothing over 14 miles next weekend. Remember the rule about no mileage greater than days prior to the raceopcorn:: ? You need to get to the starting line healthy. I'm also trying to wrap my head around the fact that my 13.1 mile attempt may not be pleasant in the least Glad you got the DVC invite - I got one too and thought of you.

Lou - There'd better not be rain. Seriously man, stop talking about the rain...you know we'll all blame it on you if God forbid that happens .

Jodi - You definitely have nothing to prove so no sense sweating the lack of miles. However, it's way too that you're already sweating NYC 2009 .

Howard - Awesome run Glad you're making due with the PF and treating it accordingly.

Steve - We're still in this thing together, right ? How's the achilles these days?

Colleen, Jen, Mike -

Rocky's got his grey sweats on heading out for his run so I've gotta go I've got auditors in house at work this week for preliminary samples so I may be scarce around here while I'm talking them in circles until they leave me alone Happy training/tapering

 

[lourodrigis]

Chester - The Rays were a 250:1 shot to win the Series before the season started. I think that they had a pretty amazing season no matter what happened in the Series. IMHO I think Joe Madden outmanaged himself because it's hard to make Charlie Manuel look smart. On the running front...watch out for the groin strain. That's a tough injury to heal. I still have problems from a similar injury.

Cindy - Doubts? If you have doubts after running 210 miles I better start getting real worried. You'll be fine. I think the last 6 miles at Philly are way easier than WDW. For starters you'll be on Main Street in Manayunk at Mile 20 and you'll have thousands of screaming people (some drunk) cheering you on for 2+ miles. The last 3+ miles are on the Schuylkill River and are very scenic and flat. As for weather, I'll promise you temps in the low 40's...we'll see about rain.

Dave - Rest the quads these last few weeks.

Sara - I was watching Rocky last night too. It's one of those movies you can't turn away from when you are flicking through the channels. Nice job with the 8 miles and belly dancing (does that count as x-training?).

Howard - You are challenging Cindy for the Most Dedicated DIS Runner Award. Those are some nice paces for a training run. Just be careful and save some of that energy for Philly.

Hey Mike, Steve, Colleen, and Jen!

I'm planning to get 6 miles in this morning but they are talking about rain here this morning. No running yesterday as I rested some mildly sore knees post bridge run.

Thank God the election commercials will be over soon. The only change I am worried about is whether or not I should change running shoes before Philly.

Lou

 

[Mouse Skywalker]

Good Morning Team. Here's a perk for participating in Democracy. Free Ice Cream!

http://www.benjerry.com/features/i_voted/

 

[lourodrigis]

Good Morning Team. Here's a perk for participating in Democracy. Free Ice Cream!

http://www.benjerry.com/features/i_voted/

There are even more some "perks". Go to Starbucks and get your free coffee after you vote...http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/11/03/starbucks-offers-free-coffee-to-voters-on-election-day/

 

[Optimator]

Dave - I'll join the bandwagon that I think you're already on. Don't do 20 this weekend.

Howard - Be smart my friend. PF is one of those deals that just doesn't go away on it's own. Don't try to force your way through it if it gets any worse.

Lou - Great job on the 10K!

Sara - Glad to hear you had a pain-free run. That's great news about your DD being selected for world travel.

Chester - Tough news about the groin injury. Take it easy and let it recover.

Cindy - My unsolicited race pace opinion: Finishing strong is great and all for you mentally, but I think most of us non-elites have to face the fact that we're not going to run significantly negative splits in a marathon.

You've trained your booty off for the purpose of getting a good time. Establish a quick, but doable pace right away (nothing crazy fast, mind you) and hang on as long as you can. Conversely, if you start out conservatively then decide at mile 16 you still feel good, how much can you realistically pick up the pace at that point? It's too late to get back those lost minutes.

If I'm shooting for a PR, I'd much rather run a strong 20 or 21 miles and fight last few miles than to finish decently and be slower overall. And all your training should ensure that those strong 20 or 21 may very well be 23 or 24.


Jodi - Glad you had fun in the big city. Did you go to the expo? That would have been fun, I bet.

You'll love this one and I thought of you immediately. I was scheduled for 8 miles on Sunday. I got all dressed and ready to go, the family was off to CCD, the weather was pretty good, no problems. I get out the door, run about 90 feet (according to the Garmin) and just decided I didn't feel like it. Turned around, went back in the house and took a nap on the couch.

Well, I guess not everything was fine for the run. In all honesty, I've had a whopping headache for about 4 days now and it's kind of zapped my motivation. I've diagnosed it as either meningitis, a brain tumor, an aneurysm, a secret government implant, or the bubonic plague. Or maybe just a virus. Either way, I hope either it goes away soon or the implant gets activated and I get some cool James Bond-like sports car.

Toodles for now.

 

[msblrobs]

In all honesty, I've had a whopping headache for about 4 days now and it's kind of zapped my motivation. I've diagnosed it as either meningitis, a brain tumor, an aneurysm, a secret government implant, or the bubonic plague. Or maybe just a virus. Either way, I hope either it goes away soon or the implant gets activated and I get some cool James Bond-like sports car.Toodles for now.

I had a whopping headache on Sunday, the worst I've ever had, which is really spooky and another reason I bagged the Sunday LR. Are you still feeling it today ? Have you thought it might be tension or the result of some blocked Chi? Do some neck rolls, self-massage, etc. in your neck and your upper back and see if that does the trick I hope it goes away soon and your mojo comes back real quick .

 

[jbucci]

Hello all, I managed a LR last night- planned on 12, but felt pretty good and did 13.1 (I couldn't stop at 13, it seemed wrong somehow).

I finally figured out how to post pictures, so here is a photo of our NOt So Scary Halloween costumes-- I was Buzz, my DH was potato Head and my DD5 was Jessie, Woody and Bo Peep are friends of ours.

I also just came back from voting-- I really looking forward tot he end of the political ads