The Running Thread - 2018

[Dis5150]

I had a bunch more photos but the dis wouldn’t load them. I posted them on my Instagram. I’m Dis5150 on there too.

 

[JulieODC]

I had a bunch more photos but the dis wouldn’t load them. I posted them on my Instagram. I’m Dis5150 on there too.

That was a great recap - you are amazing! I can’t imagine accomplishing a marathon in those temps!

 

[KevM]

ATTQOTD: I hadn’t heard of this. However, I also haven’t trained for a marathon. I’ll need to keep this in mind for whenever I do.

 

[Baloo in MI]

Silo District Marathon: Ok, race recap while I still remember most of it! We had planned to drive as far as we could after work on Friday night but decided to wait and get up early on Saturday to leave as it would save us around $100. Plus DH was pretty tired after work. Left around 8:00 after filling up with gas and diet Dr. Pepper (should have started on the water then, came back to bite me later). Took us about 6 hours to get to Waco. The route we took to avoid driving thru Dallas took us thru Canton. As it was the first weekend of the month, they were having their famous flea market. So that took us about ½ hour to drive thru town. It looked like something fun to do sometime if you like shopping and waking!

We got to Waco at 2:00pm and headed straight to Carl’s Jr. That is DH’s favorite fast food and we hadn’t been to one in about 5 years as they don’t have them in Arkansas. Western Bacon Cheeseburgers!

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After eating I looked up the location of the free shuttle parking lot that the Silo District Marathon was providing for the race weekend. Figured out that we were just around the corner from it so finding it was super easy.

Shuttle dropped us off at the Waco Convention Center to pick up our bibs. I was running the marathon and DH was volunteering at the finish line, handing out water. We both picked up our stuff with no problems. No expo, just bib and volunteer packet pick-ups and a place to get KT taped.

When we got dropped off we noticed that the parking lot for the Convention Center was pretty empty. We decided to take the shuttle back to our truck, pick it up and drive back to park in the emptyish lot to look around. The shuttles were only running until 6: 00pm and we didn’t want to be rushed. Moved the truck no problem. It was pretty hot already and I wasn’t drinking anything at all since my iced tea at Carl’s Jr. Due to the event weekend the Downtown Waco Free Trolly was running on an alternate route and we couldn’t figure out how to catch it. The shuttle driver had told us that it was only a couple of blocks from the Convention Center to Magnolia Market at the Silo’s so we decided to just walk. Well, it was a bit farther than he made it sound. And it was hot. But we made it and walked around, checking everything out.

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It was so crowded! We saw the line at the Bakery and said #NOPE! No cupcake was worth standing in line for an hour in the sun! We went into the Silo’s Market and tried looking around. I was looking for a Mother’s Day gift for my mom. It was just so crowded that we were not able to get anywhere! I saw a t-shirt I wanted so I grabbed that (#SHIPLAP) and went to get in line and it was wrapped around the store! I was going to put it back and leave when a very nice employee with an iPad grabbed me and said she could check us out if we were paying with a credit card. We were quickly checked out and she pointed us to a side door exit so we wouldn’t have to fight out way back out thru the store.

We walked around a bit outside to explore. They had a big astro turf area to play corn hole on or sit or kick balls around. That area was surrounded by picnic tables, which were surrounded by food trucks. We weren’t hungry but we spotted the Alabama Sweet Tea Company food truck and decided to wait in their very long line for an iced tea. They served it in super cute mason jars with lids and straws for $8.00. You could bring it back for $2 refills.

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It was getting late in the afternoon so we headed back to our truck to go find our hotel. Long walk back in the sun. Our plan was to drive to Chipotle, get our food to go and eat it later in our room. By the time we finally got to our truck and found the Chipotle we were hot and tired. I had logged 10,000 steps on my Garmin already! Walking into the nice, cool restaurant made us change our minds to getting it to eat there and sit and relax for a while. Chipotle is my go to pre race meal when I can find one in the area.

After we got done eating and chilling, we went and found our hotel, a no frills Best Western Plus a couple miles down the highway. We were both happy with the room, no complaints. I laid out all my racing stuff, then kicked back for the night. Went to bed about 9:00pm. We had to get up at 4:00 as DH had to be there an hour before me for his volunteering assignment and we had to go park in the shuttle lot again for transportation to the race start, which was at the Silo’s. I think we were on one of the first busses as it was still pretty deserted when we were dropped off. DH checked in with the volunteer director and was told where to go. I walked him to the finish line area and told him I would see him later when I crossed the line. I waited in line for the real bathroom to kill some time. Talked to a nice lady behind me in line who was visiting from Orlando. She does Disney races so we chatted about that while waiting. After that I sun screened myself up and headed to the bag drop area. I don’t usually do bag check as DH usually carries a back pack around with my stuff while he is waiting for me to finish. Another long line! I chatted with a girl behind me who was actually from Arkansas and who currently lives in Raleigh/Durham area! I live in Arkansas and all my DD’s live in Durham so we compared where they all live and work but no connections, lol. Finally dropped off my bag and walked around to kill some more time.

On the race day instructions there was a timetable with race start times, etc. Well there was a “warm up” scheduled, which I didn’t know what it was. Well, for those of you who watch Fixer Upper, it was the girl who they did the loft in downtown Waco for. They did a whole dance/warm up routine on the astro turf area. I didn’t realize who it was until almost the end. I did not participate as I have no rhythm, lol!

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Then they told us it was time for the marathoners to head to the start line. There were A & B corrals. I was in B. Probably the only time in my life I will be in B corral! There was about 8000 total runners but only 494 in the marathon! I started getting worried at that point. I am a solid mid/back of the pack runner. And when I race with 1000+ people that does not stand out. They had a 6 hour cut off and my goal was 5:54:59 to get a PR. We all waited at the start line then this guy came out and talked to us ( I don’t know if you can see but he is wearing long pants and a tool belt, both of which he ran the marathon in!):

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So fun! Then we all lined up to start but had to wait about 10 minutes as they were making sure the course was all shut down. This was their inaugural race and they were trying to get everything right. Chip went to the front of the corrals and did a crowd selfie. I was in the back and you can’t see me, lol. Finally got the all clear to start and this lady got up and counted us down:

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Chip and his family and entourage waited till everyone else had started, then they started in the back. They passed me at about .5 miles in. Then a golf cart passed me by with Joanna on the back. She came right up beside me and waved and gave me a thumbs up! And I know it was for me as I was all alone at that point. That would be a reoccurring theme for a while. There were a couple of people way back behind me, with the “parade bus” following them. Being in the very back made me run much faster than DB and I had talked about me running this race. I was so worried that I was not going to finish in time, or that everyone would be standing around for an hour, waiting for me to finish. Crowd support was good but it is kind of embarrassing when you are the only person they are cheering for, way in the back.

The full started at 7:00 and the half started at 7:30. Well, with our delayed start we actually started at 7:10. So when I was about 2 miles in guys on bikes told me to get to the side as the half leaders were about to pass me. Let me tell you nothing makes you feel slower than runners passing you like you are standing still! These races had big purses ($15000, $7,000 and $2500 I believe?) and had attracted some elite runners. After they passed me I started being passed by the rest of the faster half runners. I took this picture to show that all the people you can see are half runners. And as they passed me they would say, “good job” or “you can do it!” I know they meant well but it feels very bad to hear when you are in the very back.

After they passed me I came to the first water stop. And that is all it was, a water stop. The race was sponsored by Gatorade but none available. Took some water and kept running. When I passed the mile 4 marker I checked my Garmin and I was at 4.49! I actually cried a little bit because if I was a half mile off at mile 4 how far off would I be at the end? I thought I was doing very badly. Second water stop was right after this and they too only had water. I thought that was strange as every race I have ever been in had water and an electrolyte drink at every stop. The volunteers manning the booth were very apologetic that they had no Gatorade to offer us. It was in the mid to upper 70’s by then and I for one could have really used it. Right after the 10k mat the half runners split off from the full runners and I was very happy to see a few people up in front of me. They must have gone out fast and started slowing down as the half people caught up to them. I was making great time. My 10k time was 1:18:38. The course had been relatively flat up to this point but soon after the course split we started climbing some hills. I was feeling pretty good at this point and stuck to my :30run/:30walk intervals, even on the hills. I was passing people here and there. All of these miles were out of town on hills and they kind of all blend together in my memory. I used a porta potty around mile 9. I know at about mile 10 they started having Gatorade at the water stops. They also offered Gatorade gels but I didn’t take any. I ate half a Kind bar at my 1 hour time and the other half at 2 hours. Then I started eating my Jelly Beans, about 100 calories every half hour.

My half marathon time was 02:58:39.I was actually on track to get a big PR at that point. But I hit the half mark at the airport and that is when my mile times started going down. I had been averaging around a 12:30-12:40 mm the first half of the race. But once we hit the airport we had no shade whatsoever for miles! And it was hot! After running thru the airport we ran across a dike/dam. It was about 2.7 miles across. There were no water stops but there was an ice stop in the middle. I was so happy to get that cup of ice! I put it in my sports bra, under my visor, etc. Then I sucked on the rest of the ice all the way across the dam. I think it was supposed to be a water stop and they ran out of water as a volunteer was running across the dam, coming towards us, carrying 4 gallon jugs of water. And he looked wiped out! Also crossing the dam there were half full bottles of Gatorade lining the railing. I think they passed out full bottles at that water stop and they ran out of those too before I got there. Because I passed dozens of hall full bottles people had ditched, all the ice blue flavor.

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After we got off the dam we started hitting the hills. I had been good up to this point about running up the hills if I was on a run interval but that first hill coming off the dam I walked. And it was steep! Miles 17-23 were all up and down hills thru neighborhoods. They had 3 water stops between those miles, l guess because they knew we would feel like we were going to die by then! And trust me, I did feel like it! At mile 22 I threw up a couple of times. It was hot, full sun, and I had not had enough electrolytes. I was sweating and had chills at the same time. By mile 24 I was walking and for the first time since I started running races I considered not finishing. I just wanted to go lie down in the shade. But I was pretty much alone on the course at this point, actually having passed a bunch of people, and I figured I had a better chance of getting to the finish line faster if I just kept walking than if I lay down and waited for a medic to find me. Around there DH texted me that they pulled him off passing out water to start tearing stuff down. I texted him back ok but actually started crying as seeing him at the finish with a water for me was all that had been keeping me going. I heard another runner coming up behind me and he asked some people on the side of the road if they had any jelly beans. They said no, sorry, so when he caught up to me I offered him some and we walked and chatted for a bit. It was his first marathon and he looked as wiped out as I felt. He thanked me for the jelly beans and started running again. Somewhere towards the finish, after we had crossed the suspension bridges, I decided to try doing my intervals again and managed for a few minutes before I started walking again. The last mile of the race was on one street so I could see the finish line but it seemed like I was never going to get there! I kept trudging along and when I got to mile 26 I started running again, so I could at least run over the finish line for my pics! Important stuff, right?? My time was 5:58:49, 4 minutes over what I was hoping for. I was so happy to cross that finish line though and see DH standing there with a water for me! He had told the people he was helping that I would be coming in and they cut him loose and told him to go wait for me. I collected my medal and DH collected all the goodies they had, banana, some chocolate pb bar thing, and sugar cookies from the Silo Bakery. The lady handing those out gave me like 8 of them. She wanted me to take the whole box as they had so many left! But there was no Gatorade at the finish line! DH said people came across all day asking for a Gatorade when they finished. A lady walked up to me and asked if she could take a picture of me with her husband. It was the man I gave the jelly beans to! She said my jelly beans saved his marathon and she wanted my picture with him, lol!

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We made it out of the chute after that and walked to the Silo area to the picnic tables to sit and eat/drink. I went and got my bag from bag check so I could change my shoes. And DH went and bought me a Coke for my stomach which help A LOT! We had planned on going in the shop and looking around but all I wanted was to go back to the hotel so we left soon after. Turns out that Chip finished the race about 30 minutes ahead of me and I never saw him or his family after I finished. It was 87 degrees by then and I have no idea what the “real feel” was but somewhere in the upper 90’s. I was completely wiped!

We took the shuttle back to our truck then drove back to our hotel. I took a long bath with a recovery bath bomb, then took a shower. DH took a nap, lol! He said they worked him harder than he works at work! He had to lug cases of water and haul bags of ice to the finish line all day. Then break down signs and load them on trucks. All while standing in the direct sunlight. After he woke up we went to Chili’s for dinner. And I pigged out!

The next day we slept in (haha, 6:00!) got around, then went to Starbucks and planned our day. While checking out at our hotel we found a trolly map on the counter. We had to drive home later so we decided to try and see everything that we couldn’t see on Saturday due to the crowds. We drove back to the Convention Center, parked and walked to the trolly stop. Waited a few minutes and one showed up so took it to the Silo’s. We wanted to try the bakery but same, long line again. #NOPE again, lol! We went in the Silo Market and shopped. DH got a Magnolia hat and a t-shirt and I got a Silo District Marathon t-shirt. We found a cute galvanized steel bucket with a handle, stamped with the Magnolia Farms logo for my mom for Mother’s Day. Then DH went and sat in the shade while I got in line to get another Alabama Sweet Tea mason jar for my mom. Then we caught the trolly back to Spice Village, a huge indoor store/market and shopped there for a while before heading home. Only took us 5.5 hours to drive home as the flea market we drove thru getting there ended on Sunday. Got home around 7:30pm.

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Final thoughts: All in all we had a fun trip. I would definitely go back for the races but would not do the marathon again. I found the course too brutal with all the hills and no shade. Not at this time of year. I would do the half though. I would also stay at a hotel right in the downtown area so we could just park and take the free transportation everywhere. And iIf they do a survey or ask for input on the race I will suggest having an electrolyte drink offered at every water station plus have full bottles at the finish line. Plus more people on the course checking on runners in the heat. But for an inaugural race they did an ok job.

Congrats! It sounds like a very challenging race - hills, heat and not enough sports drinks! I hope the recovery is going well. I would be so star struck to have Chip run past me! Also, tell your DH that I have to agree, outside of In & Out Burger the one fast food place I miss the most is Carl’s Junior and specifically the Western Bacon Cheese Burger!

 

[Baloo in MI]

ATTYQOTD: In long runs my goal is to keep moving. I have no problem slowing down and walking for a bit, but I like to keep moving. Really the only time I come to a complete stop is to deal with an issue or in a race change out shoes or something. I just feel like momentum is my friend and I want it to keep propelling me.

ATTQOTD: I have not used Yasso’s 800 for marathon time purposes. I am familiar with them and was once (long, long ago) a 400/800 meter runner so 800 repeats give me flashbacks and I prefer to staff off the track now!

 

[LSUlakes]

This week we have the following folks with races!

12 - @michigandergirl - Fifth Third River Bank Run 25k (2:35:00 / N/A)
12 - @JohnFilipoff - Carolina Brewfest Half Marathon (1:42:00 / N/A)
12 - @Slogger - Greenbrier Half Marathon (2:00:00 / N/A)
12 - @KSellers88 - Finish on the 50 Half (NG / N/A)
13 - @SarahDisney - Japan Run 4 Miler (39:59 / N/A)

Best of luck to each of you this weekend! If you need to revise or add a time goal just let me know. If anyone else has a race this weekend let me know and I will be happy to add it to the list! Hope yall have a great race and we look forward to hearing how your race went!

 

[SarahDisney]

Ah! Forgot to update my goal! @LSUlakes, can you please update my goal for Sunday to sub-40? Thanks!

 

[LSUlakes]

Due to DS being sick I probably wont get around to posting a QOTD tomorrow morning, so I will post it tonight.

QOTD: (For 5/10/18) At what point as a runner do you believe you hit your peak? Do you believe you already have or you still have a few more PR's left in you? If you have, did you start a new set of PR's?

ATTQOTD: A friend once told me that runners regardless of what age they start running will peak around year 5 (I think, could be 7). This is of course based on regular running over that duration. So I got started in 2012, but somewhere around late 2016, early 2017 I was doing very little to no running. I am working on making it part of my routine again as things are getting a little easier at home. I think it will take the remainder of this year to get back, but a little slower than I was at the beginning of 2016. The way I see it I have another 1-3 years to get my best running in. Since I am currently 34, my best days may be behind me by 37. I hope to PR every distance before that time, and I think once I hit 40, I will start a new set of PR's for 40 and reset every 5 years.... At least that seems like a good idea.

 

[LSUlakes]

I have a request for everyone who reads the thread. I am curious about how many different users we have, and the best way I figure to see this is for everyone who hasnt already, go to the first post and hit the like button, which adds up everyone. I figure this probably wont get everyone as not everyone visits the page everyday, but its a start. Anyone else have a idea how I can find out how many unique visitors have visited the thread?

 

[rteetz]

I have a request for everyone who reads the thread. I am curious about how many different users we have, and the best way I figure to see this is for everyone who hasnt already, go to the first post and hit the like button, which adds up everyone. I figure this probably wont get everyone as not everyone visits the page everyday, but its a start. Anyone else have a idea how I can find out how many unique visitors have visited the thread?

Other than getting everyone to do something such as hitting the like button you won't find out how many unique views you get. That is only available to analytics which is something mods can't even see.

 

[LilyJC]

ATTQOTD: I have done Yasso 800s during training for a couple marathons. I never did them on a track though and certainly never did 10 during one run! Basically I used them as a goal for that particular interval - if I was training for a sub 4:00 marathon, then I would run the 800m ( I used .5 miles since I didn't run on a track) in under 4 minutes. I found them to be really fun - the most I ever did was 8 during a 10 mile weekday run. That was pretty exhausting to be sure, but I love a good workout.

The first full I trained with Yasso 800s for was the LA Marathon the year we had an extreme heat wave. By race day I was thoroughly freaked out by the daily emails they'd been sending with heat warnings, and an unprecedented time change really had me on edge. I played it super safe even though I'd been training for sub 4, and my time was 4:03. The next full I got my sub 4. All that to say I think Yasso 800s are a helpful training tool but not necessarily a predictor even though my times were pretty close to my Yasso 800s.

ATTQOTD 5/10: I guess I've never thought about my running peak. I plan to continue running until I'm as old as dirt if my body allows me! I hope to set new goals for myself depending on my fitness at the time.

 

[LilyJC]

​

Not sure if this has already been shared, but I thought it was fun! Perhaps anyone looking for 2:00 half and a fan of Desi would enjoy an early June trip to SoCal.

 

[McNs]

I have a request for everyone who reads the thread. I am curious about how many different users we have, and the best way I figure to see this is for everyone who hasnt already, go to the first post and hit the like button, which adds up everyone. I figure this probably wont get everyone as not everyone visits the page everyday, but its a start. Anyone else have a idea how I can find out how many unique visitors have visited the thread?

Checked post 1 and I had already liked (along with around 24 others at that point).

 

[McNs]

ATTQOTD Pace wise I peaked probably 10 years ago when I managed a 3:21 marathon. Back then my training runs would average around 4:30-4:40 kms (I know now I don't need to win every training run).

In terms of running commitment, I'm at my peak now. I twice ran 1000km, in 2012 & 2014, but smashed out over 1600km last year and already have 800km on the clock this year. I'm enjoying running more than ever (not having to win every run helps!) so I guess that's another peak to count!

 

[Bree]

@Dis5150 what a tough course, but congrats for sticking it out! Hopefully the kinks will be worked out if they decide to do this race next year. I’m shocked at no Gatorade!

 

[Waiting2goback]

QOTD: Have you ever done Yasso 800's to predict your marathon time? If so, how close was it? For those who do not know what Yasso 800's are, its a speed workout you perform during your marathon training plan. You run 800 meter repeats building up to 10 total before your taper. When you hit 10 of them you will take the average time of the 10 and that would be your expected marathon time. As a example, if you 10 average to 4:00 minutes, you use the minute as the hour, the seconds as minutes and no seconds. So for this example your predicated marathon time would be 4:00:00 marathon time.

ATTQOTD: I have not used this prediction tool but know people who have and there finish times and the prediction were close. I am considering using it this fall/winter to see what happens.

I don't. And questions like this make me wonder if I followed any of this stuff if I would be a better runner. I kind of just put my shoes on and run. If I'm not feeling it one day I go slower. If I have one of those days where it's easy, I push it. I just try to stay in my zone 2 the majority of my runs and add in some speed on occasion.

Due to DS being sick I probably wont get around to posting a QOTD tomorrow morning, so I will post it tonight.

QOTD: (For 5/10/18) At what point as a runner do you believe you hit your peak? Do you believe you already have or you still have a few more PR's left in you? If you have, did you start a new set of PR's?

ATTQOTD: A friend once told me that runners regardless of what age they start running will peak around year 5 (I think, could be 7). This is of course based on regular running over that duration. So I got started in 2012, but somewhere around late 2016, early 2017 I was doing very little to no running. I am working on making it part of my routine again as things are getting a little easier at home. I think it will take the remainder of this year to get back, but a little slower than I was at the beginning of 2016. The way I see it I have another 1-3 years to get my best running in. Since I am currently 34, my best days may be behind me by 37. I hope to PR every distance before that time, and I think once I hit 40, I will start a new set of PR's for 40 and reset every 5 years.... At least that seems like a good idea.

Oh, I have PR's left in me. Before I got injured my times were constantly improving and I still had a ways to go. If I can lose some more weight and stay consistent, I'll get there.

Had one of those awful runs yesterday. So frustrating. I bring it up because I was talking about shoes yesterday and I wore a new pair of 19's for the first time. My left leg above my Achilles was hurting within a mile. I made it just short of 2 miles before I turned around and walked home. It was the same feeling I got from my Hoka's that I can't wear anymore for running.

 

[Waiting2goback]

 

[Disney at Heart]

QOTD: (For 5/10/18) At what point as a runner do you believe you hit your peak? Do you believe you already have or you still have a few more PR's left in you? If you have, did you start a new set of PR's?

I think I've peaked. Of course, I didn't start runnning until I was 58, so I think the 5-year rule turned into the 4-year rule for me. I am definitely slowing this year. Still, like @LilyJC, I hope I can run until I am "old as dirt;" oh wait, I already am!

 

[cavepig]

Congrats @Dis5150 , sounds like a tough race way to tough it out!

ATTQOTD - - Have I peaked? I don't know, I would like to think not as I want to still PR. I've been running since I was 14 so I've had many peak times the last 24 years. I'm sure my mile & 5k & maybe 10k times won't be PRd, but at the half & full distances, hopefully PRs are still in my future.

 

[DopeyBadger]

QOTD: (For 5/10/18) At what point as a runner do you believe you hit your peak? Do you believe you already have or you still have a few more PR's left in you? If you have, did you start a new set of PR's?

I remember reading a research paper some time ago that showed that an endurance runner peaks in performance around 5,000-10,000 career miles. The career miles was defined as good training endurance miles. I'm at about 9,500 miles right now, and I still believe I've got a little left to squeeze out. If I translate my current 200m workouts, then it would suggest I'm at best capable of a 2:48 marathon. So there's still a little juice left to squeeze. Just got to get the endurance up to the same level. But I'm fairly confident that I'm nearing my peak.