The Running Thread - 2016

[Ariel484]

ATTQOTD: I use them as mini goals when I'm working toward my bigger goal...so this year after working my way back from injury and basically starting from scratch with running, I first trained for a 10K, then a 10-miler...next is a half and then Dopey in January. It helps to keep me on track and build my mileage safely, and it gives me confidence as I conquer smaller goals on my way to my bigger goal in January.

 

[disneydaydreamer33]

ATTQOTD: I really don't run that many races, so each one I do is the main event. A fun 5K here and there maybe, but those would be just for fun.

Congratulations on a great road @gjramsey! That sounds intense (especially with that heat!) A neighbor of mine was in Hawaii this weekend for Ragnar with her 16 year old daughter and her pictures looked like so much fun- although they dealt with quite a bit of heat and humidity too it sounds like.

 

[croach]

ATTQOTD: Depends on the race. I did the Montreal half recently as a test run for my goal race in November. But usually it's more to break out of the monotony of training and have some fun. Not that training it's just the most fun ever. Lol.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

QOTD: What are your objectives for the races you do leading up to a goal race?

I only run goal races or proof of time races anymore (rD is a goal race for me, goal being to have a blast). I have spent thousands of dollars supporting local races over the years - done my time - no need to continue them. I prefer to just run

 

[LSUlakes]

Race Report:
This weekend I ran the Gulf Coast Half Marathon in Mandeville, LA. Started my morning at 4:00 AM and left the house around 4:45AM. Its about a hour and a half drive and was a little foggy. Once I arrived I went out for a 1.5 mile warm up with some strides to get ready for race pace. Went back to my truck to change shoes and get so GU, H20, ect and headed to the starting line. I was feeling good and had decided to aim for a 7:25 pace, but would be happy with anything under 7:35. The weather was much warmer than last years race, but the 68 temps didn't seem to bad as we had a light north wind and cloud cover for most of the race. Even with a high RH%, it really didn't feel hot until the last 5k or so of the race. The race went like this: Mi 1 - 7:16, Mi 2 - 7:14, Mi 3 - 7:15 (First 5k feeling confident and pace isn't to bad) Mi 4 -7:27, Mi 5 - 7:34, Mi 6 - 7:47 (at the 10k I am ~30 seconds behind my 10k PR, I can tell I'm starting to slip from my goal pace despite feeling like I am putting in the same effort. I tell myself to try to recoup and keep it under 7:45 until the last 5k and i'll make another push) Mi 7 - 7:58, Mi 8 - 7:51, Mi 9 - 7:57, Mi 10 - 7:56, (This is not going well, I feel like I am putting the same effort I was during miles 1-4, but I am 40 seconds off that pace.) Mi 11 - 8:09, Mi 12 - 8:26, Mi 13 - 8:21, Mi 13.1 - 7:47. (My legs are toast and I am doing everything I can to just keep moving.) Finish with 1:41:56.

I was disappointed at first, I missed my goal by more than 4 minutes. Then I began to think about it and what I need to do to improve. My goal was based on ideal weather and being healthy. The weather was a little warmer than I would like but didn't seem to bad, and I am still dealing with this cold a bit. ok, so there are some reasons for a disappointing performance... Then I look a little deeper into what else was going on training wise. For starts this week was not only my highest mileage so for this training period at 57.15 miles, but my highest ever. I took the day off before for rest so my legs felt good, but maybe I was actually running on tired legs. The other thing is I haven't exactly been running at HMRP or much MRP over the last 6 weeks. I have been just making sure to get miles in and avoid injury. So I've gotten the miles in, but now its time to work on getting the pace in with some of those miles. So to sum it up, yes, its disappointing to miss a goal, but I think the combination of several minor things are the reason for my failure, and although I cant control the weather, I can reduce miles before a big race and can try to avoid getting sick (somewhat in my control). Next test will be in early December to make a final prediction for my goal race in January.

To end the day yesterday, DD wanted to go for a run in the stroller and DW was heading out for 2-3 miles. She is currently doing a walk/run program. Since I had a good nap, I decided to loosen up the legs and ran 1.5 mile pushing DD, then meet up with DW for a run/walk for another mile.

Sorry for the wall of text.

 

[Dis5150]

ATTQOTD: I just use them as training runs, to test fuel, or different clothing items I want to wear as part of a "costume" for a Disney race. I am being very good this training cycle for the WDW Marathon, since it is my first marathon, I am not doing any races that don't line up with my training plan.

 

[whaler8]

QOTD: What are your objectives for the races you do leading up to a goal race?

I will use those races for pacing and build up my race stamina.

 

[opusone]

QOTD: What are your objectives for the races you do leading up to a goal race?

But usually it's more to break out of the monotony of training and have some fun.

^^^ THIS ^^^. I use non-goal races to keep me interested. I do like that they test my pacing strategy, but it's usually not at the same pace as my next goal race, so not entirely helpful. They also give me confidence that I am on-track with my training. However, they are mainly there just to mix things up a bit and enjoy a race environment.

 

[roxymama]

I think for me, if I ran every race as a goal race that I wouldn't like running as much as I do. So generally races in between "A" races are for the following reasons;
A) Suckered in by the bling or swag or cool race theme
B) I need to motivate myself to keep working and training and little in between "events" help time go by quicker and keeps me honest
C) It's nice to have races where time is not as important as just enjoying the race atmosphere and having supported training runs
D) Sometimes it is to test myself at a new distance (but one I don't care about conquering speedily just yet)
E) Suckered in by the bling or swag
F) The bling

EDIT: I think I answered the question incorrectly but I'll leave it. The corrected answer would be...my objective is usually a fun-run, supported training run, or a new distance "test" but mostly just to earn a new medal.

@gjramsey that sounds really cool. It was awesome that you got the honor of the last leg and having all those people join you. I'm getting chill bumps thinking about that. I'd be a crying mess #sappy

 

[michigandergirl]

ATTQOTD: I like to use them to gauge fitness and practice fueling. It's really hard for me to hold back though, so I have to be careful. And to be honest, sometimes I'll run races just for the medal, usually because my friends are running too and I don't want them to flaunt their bling.

@roxymama you & I are a lot alike!!

 

[keahgirl8]

ATTQOTD: I use them as mini goals when I'm working toward my bigger goal...so this year after working my way back from injury and basically starting from scratch with running, I first trained for a 10K, then a 10-miler...next is a half and then Dopey in January. It helps to keep me on track and build my mileage safely, and it gives me confidence as I conquer smaller goals on my way to my bigger goal in January.

That's basically what I did the first time I did each distance. Now I treat them just like a goal race, no matter the distance.

 

[DopeyBadger]

QOTD: What are your objectives for the races you do leading up to a goal race?

I use to have races during training to help build to my "A" race. But I found too often that I couldn't control my competitive spirit and tried to PR every time I went out. Some times I would get it and sometimes I wouldn't. But I believe all of this extra PR racing took away from my training. I tended not to take time off or lower mileage/intensity after these races and just jumped back into it. Thus, I wasn't appropriately recovering from all the racing. I think this was one of many reasons why my PRs for my "A" races stalled and I wasn't making as much progress as I wanted (back in 2012-2015). When I changed my mindset on running 6 days a week, nutrition, etc. back in Summer 2015, I also changed my mindset on races. I needed to do less racing and more training. So now I keep my "B" races limited to one per training cycle of my "A" race. This way I don't have to take time away from my "A" race training. So when I rarely do a "B" race my sole objective is to judge my current fitness for my upcoming "A" race.

Race Report:
This weekend I ran the Gulf Coast Half Marathon in Mandeville, LA. Started my morning at 4:00 AM and left the house around 4:45AM. Its about a hour and a half drive and was a little foggy. Once I arrived I went out for a 1.5 mile warm up with some strides to get ready for race pace. Went back to my truck to change shoes and get so GU, H20, ect and headed to the starting line. I was feeling good and had decided to aim for a 7:25 pace, but would be happy with anything under 7:35. The weather was much warmer than last years race, but the 68 temps didn't seem to bad as we had a light north wind and cloud cover for most of the race. Even with a high RH%, it really didn't feel hot until the last 5k or so of the race. The race went like this: Mi 1 - 7:16, Mi 2 - 7:14, Mi 3 - 7:15 (First 5k feeling confident and pace isn't to bad) Mi 4 -7:27, Mi 5 - 7:34, Mi 6 - 7:47 (at the 10k I am ~30 seconds behind my 10k PR, I can tell I'm starting to slip from my goal pace despite feeling like I am putting in the same effort. I tell myself to try to recoup and keep it under 7:45 until the last 5k and i'll make another push) Mi 7 - 7:58, Mi 8 - 7:51, Mi 9 - 7:57, Mi 10 - 7:56, (This is not going well, I feel like I am putting the same effort I was during miles 1-4, but I am 40 seconds off that pace.) Mi 11 - 8:09, Mi 12 - 8:26, Mi 13 - 8:21, Mi 13.1 - 7:47. (My legs are toast and I am doing everything I can to just keep moving.) Finish with 1:41:56.

I was disappointed at first, I missed my goal by more than 4 minutes. Then I began to think about it and what I need to do to improve. My goal was based on ideal weather and being healthy. The weather was a little warmer than I would like but didn't seem to bad, and I am still dealing with this cold a bit. ok, so there are some reasons for a disappointing performance... Then I look a little deeper into what else was going on training wise. For starts this week was not only my highest mileage so for this training period at 57.15 miles, but my highest ever. I took the day off before for rest so my legs felt good, but maybe I was actually running on tired legs. The other thing is I haven't exactly been running at HMRP or much MRP over the last 6 weeks. I have been just making sure to get miles in and avoid injury. So I've gotten the miles in, but now its time to work on getting the pace in with some of those miles. So to sum it up, yes, its disappointing to miss a goal, but I think the combination of several minor things are the reason for my failure, and although I cant control the weather, I can reduce miles before a big race and can try to avoid getting sick (somewhat in my control). Next test will be in early December to make a final prediction for my goal race in January.

To end the day yesterday, DD wanted to go for a run in the stroller and DW was heading out for 2-3 miles. She is currently doing a walk/run program. Since I had a good nap, I decided to loosen up the legs and ran 1.5 mile pushing DD, then meet up with DW for a run/walk for another mile.

Sorry for the wall of text.

After hearing of your training going into the race (in addition to the weather and health), I would agree with your reasons/assessment. I did a very similar race (training wise leading into it) in Fall 2015. Hit my highest mileage training to that point with a HM that weekend. I ran a HM PR of 1:46. When I ran my marathon six weeks later, the second half of my marathon was a 1:46 (marathon 3:38). So maybe consider what you just ran as the end of a marathon, rather then a HM PR attempt. So that would beg the question, have you ever run a 1:41:56 in the back half of a marathon? If not, look at the back halfs of your last couple marathons and see how much progress you've likely made since then.

About 2 months after the Fall 2015 marathon (so not even a full training cycle and barely fully recovered from the marathon), I ran a PR HM attempt and hit 1:38. If I were to try and extrapolate this data to you, then I'd predict your current fitness times of a HM PR at 1:35:13 (7:16 min/mile) and M PR at 3:18:17 (7:34 min/mile) when fully rested/tapered. How do those predictions sit with you?

 

[Dis5150]

Okay, I have decided I need to get new running shoes. I was all set to just order another pair of the Brooks Transcend 3's that I currently have but then got in a discussion with someone in a Facebook group about blisters. I have been getting blisters on my right big toe and on my foot just below my big toe on the curve/bone. They were telling me that I'm getting the blisters because Brooks shoes are super curved and my foot is pretty straight. Has anyone else here had any issues with that? I have tried all different types/brands of socks and still keep getting the blisters in those spots. I used moleskin for my 17 mile run this weekend and it helped but still had pain there during the run and got a small blister on my toe. I love the cushion of the Transcends and they were great at helping with my peroneal tendonitis problem so I'm a bit nervous about trying anything new, especially this far into my marathon training.

 

[PrincessV]

Okay, I have decided I need to get new running shoes. I was all set to just order another pair of the Brooks Transcend 3's that I currently have but then got in a discussion with someone in a Facebook group about blisters. I have been getting blisters on my right big toe and on my foot just below my big toe on the curve/bone. They were telling me that I'm getting the blisters because Brooks shoes are super curved and my foot is pretty straight. Has anyone else here had any issues with that? I have tried all different types/brands of socks and still keep getting the blisters in those spots. I used moleskin for my 17 mile run this weekend and it helped but still had pain there during the run and got a small blister on my toe. I love the cushion of the Transcends and they were great at helping with my peroneal tendonitis problem so I'm a bit nervous about trying anything new, especially this far into my marathon training.

I have the opposite thing: I need semi-curved shoes - straight ones don't match my feet. So i can say from experience that RunningWarehouse.com shows this information for each pair of shoes it sells. Even if you don't buy form them, it could be a great resource for you to find shoes made on a straight last!

 

[CheapRunnerMike]

QOTD: What are your objectives for the races you do leading up to a goal race?

I race every race I race. Pretty much.

 

[opusone]

I race every race I race. Pretty much.

Yes, but you're a freak of nature.

 

[Dis5150]

@PrincessV Where does it show that in the description on their site? I'm there now and don't see it...?

 

[PrincessV]

@PrincessV Where does it show that in the description on their site? I'm there now and don't see it...?

Apologies if this winds up being gigantic - wanted to copy the full page so you can see where it is on the page! Highlighted it in yellow:

 

[Dis5150]

@PrincessV Awesome, thank you! I didn't even see that lol.

ETA: @PrincessV okay, the Brooks Transcend 3 says it is straight lol! So now I'm more confused!

 

[PrincessV]

@Dis5150 I spend entirely waaaaay too much time on that website lol! Happy to help!