The Running Thread - 2018

[PaDisneyCouple]

@jennamfeo

Got another one: Wisconsin!

@LSUlakes , please add:
10/21 PaDisneyCouple (Mr.) Hershey Half Marathon Goal <2:10

 

[PCFriar80]

Well @PCFriar80 so much for your "chamber of commerce" weekend. It rained every single step of this race today. But it was cooler and there was no heavy wind. Just a absolutely miserable from start to finish.

Final time: 3:57:01 getting under my sub-4 goal. Please update @LSUlakes

Nice job with the sub 4:00. So much for the 5 day forecasts.

 

[kleph]

Nice job with the sub 4:00. So much for the 5 day forecasts.

It was awful but it was not an awful that hindered performance so I'll take it.

 

[apdebord]

Question for the folks here - after one of the WDW 10k/half challenges, how much time would you want before another race?

I'm doing the Star Wars Challenge next April. 6 weeks after that is Bay to Breakers (12k or 15k) - I'm trying to decide if it's too close. I mean, to some extent I can just kinda take it easy through Bay to Breakers, but part of me would really like to see how I can do on a course with actual hills.

I don't expect to have any major races planned over the summer - next one after that might be Bridge to Bridge in August, and that's another 12k.

Opinions?

I ran the Wine and Dine Challenge in 2017 as my first WDW challenge and PR’d the half by 14 minutes. I ran another half exactly 2 weeks later and PR’d Wine and Dine by 7 minutes. I just made sure I stayed moving after the half and when we got home, I just repeated the last week of my half training plan. It’s certainly doable if you are smart in your recovery and then remaining weeks before Bay to Breakers!

 

[IamTrike]

I am running W&D with a friend in a couple weeks. It is her first half-marathon and she is a bundle of nerves. I want to get her something to motivate her during the race as we won’t be running together and she can be hard on herself. I found a bracelet that says “Believe,” but am wondering if my running friends have any other ideas?

its not jewelry, but maybe you could find someone in the same corral, that could encourage your friend. if there is a meetup pre race that could be a good chance to meet people.

Last long run before my NYC Virtual Marathon in the books. 21 miles - it was 42 degrees and raining. I'll take those conditions over the heat and humidity that has plagued my training for the last 4 months. It wasn't fast, but it was 30 seconds per mile faster than my goal pace and I had plenty left in the tank when it was over.

The hay is in the barn. Now time to taper and avoid injuries/illness for the next 3 weeks.

congrats,try not to go too crazy while you're tapering.

 

[Miranda]

Question for the folks here - after one of the WDW 10k/half challenges, how much time would you want before another race?

I'm doing the Star Wars Challenge next April. 6 weeks after that is Bay to Breakers (12k or 15k) - I'm trying to decide if it's too close. I mean, to some extent I can just kinda take it easy through Bay to Breakers, but part of me would really like to see how I can do on a course with actual hills.

I don't expect to have any major races planned over the summer - next one after that might be Bridge to Bridge in August, and that's another 12k.

Opinions?

6 weeks is plenty in my opinion... I did a 15k 2 weeks after a half earlier this spring. I only take like a week off after a half at most. This year I didn't even take that off, since my spring half was the first day of a 6 day special week at Orangetheory where you had to go 4 of 6 days to get a free towel and water bottle. I'll pretty much do anything for free stuff, so I took the one day off after the half, then went to OTF the next 4 days straight.

 

[michigandergirl]

Question for the folks here - after one of the WDW 10k/half challenges, how much time would you want before another race?

I'm doing the Star Wars Challenge next April. 6 weeks after that is Bay to Breakers (12k or 15k) - I'm trying to decide if it's too close. I mean, to some extent I can just kinda take it easy through Bay to Breakers, but part of me would really like to see how I can do on a course with actual hills.

I don't expect to have any major races planned over the summer - next one after that might be Bridge to Bridge in August, and that's another 12k.

Opinions?

I ran a half marathon in the snow only 4 weeks after Dopey, so yes, I think it's totally doable.

 

[jmasgat]

OT (since I'm not out running today with a minor, recurring quad strain) So @LSUlakes ......happy about the Georgia game?

 

[kleph]

2018 Hartford Marathon race report

tl/dr version: it rained the whole race. i faded hard after mile 20. still hit my goals.

there was a lot of positive crowd support with this one even though it was dour weather. as i mention, some guy finished and then went back out to the start of the final stretch of the race and, while wearing his mylar blanket, was shouting "ALL OF YOU ARE SUB FOUR MARATHONERS!" at us. not gonna lie, after seeing a couple dozen people pass me as fatigue took its toll, that's what i needed to rally for the final half mile.

EDIT: fixed the link

 

[OldSlowGoofyGuy]

"ALL OF YOU ARE SUB FOUR MARATHONERS!"

Congrats on the sub 4!

But go ahead and call it what it is: "All of you are a 3-SOMETHING marathoner!"

I think @KSellers88 is next in line!

 

[Mickey Momma]

2018 Hartford Marathon race report

tl/dr version: it rained the whole race. i faded hard after mile 20. still hit my goals.

there was a lot of positive crowd support with this one even though it was dour weather. as i mention, some guy finished and then went back out to the start of the final stretch of the race and, while wearing his mylar blanket, was shouting "ALL OF YOU ARE SUB FOUR MARATHONERS!" at us. not gonna lie, after seeing a couple dozen people pass me as fatigue took its toll, that's what i needed to rally for the final half mile.

EDIT: fixed the link

Great read! So many things are out of our control on race day and training can be such a gamble. Congrats on your sub-four/three-and-change race despite all the challenges thrown your way.

 

[garneska]

@kleph congrats on the sub four marathon. Awesome job!

 

[Kazrak]

I'll pretty much do anything for free stuff, so I took the one day off after the half, then went to OTF the next 4 days straight.

There's a saying at work, "If you ever need to get people to evacuate the building, don't tell them there's a fire or a bomb. Tell them there's free stuff on the front lawn."

 

[Keels]

OT (since I'm not out running today with a minor, recurring quad strain) So @LSUlakes ......happy about the Georgia game?

I got a picture of @LSUlakes double-fisting IPAs at 2:05 yesterday, so between that and the outcome of the game I'm pretty sure he's a happy guy today.

There were so many Georgia fans in town on Friday night - it was like impossible to get a dinner reservation. And then there was a massive Second Line through the French Quarter on Saturday before the game, filled with red and black ... so the Dawgs definitely came to party before they got housed in Death Valley.

 

[gjramsey]

Texas 10 Cypress race report - The one main thing I like about the race site is that it is about 10 minutes from the house, so that makes for a little more leisurely morning before heading to the race. Got to the race site about 45 minutes before the start, and did a warmup lap around the outlet mall. Talked to some of my friends that were all signed up for the 10 miler, and they all were going to stop after 5. As usual for the Texas 10 race series, the race is 2 lap race for the 10 miles. My goal for the race was to break 1:20, since the summer has been rough and this morning was the same. T+D was over 150 this morning.

Started the 1st mile at a 7:47 pace, and had dialed back a little bit. Miles 2, 3 and 4 were at 8 or just under. Mile 5 was at 7:40. They changed the start/finish area in the outlet parking lot this year, so there was a little confusion as to how to start the 2nd loop. After the first loop, you took a right to the finish, or a left to do a small out/back to hit the 5 mile timing mat.

So started the 2nd lap, and saw a couple of my friends. Mile 6 was 7:42, so I dialed it back a little, again. 7-9 were 7:52, 7:58 and 7:56. At mile 9, one of my friends who said they were going to drop at 5 passed me up. She was picked/pressured to finish the 10 by the others. So I tried to keep up with her the last mile and had a 7:32 final mile.

15 second negative spilt for the race and a finish time of 1:18:04. Very happy with the results today. On the plus side, I actually podiumed, which was a pleasant surprise.

 

[cavepig]

Well @PCFriar80 so much for your "chamber of commerce" weekend. It rained every single step of this race today. But it was cooler and there was no heavy wind. Just absolutely miserable from start to finish.

Final time: 3:56:26 getting under my sub-4 goal. Please update @LSUlakes

EDIT: updated gun time with chip time.

Congrats on hitting the 3's for your marathon time! Way to go!

 

[kleph]

Congrats on the sub 4!

But go ahead and call it what it is: "All of you are a 3-SOMETHING marathoner!"

I think @KSellers88 is next in line!

first of all i want to thank you and everyone else offering congratulations. i did this race training on my own so this board was my support-group-by-proxy. just keeping tabs on it helped keep me in the running mindset, especially when the going got rough in the peak of summer.

the backstory here is that almost exactly ten years ago i missed BQ by four minutes. i made another effort shortly thereafter and trained myself into injury. that sidelined me for a little while and work did for long while. my last marathon attempt was four years ago and was a disaster (a mellon production that @Keels can tell you about). so this is a return to sub-three marathoning. but that's not to diminish the accomplishment in the least.

going in, i knew trying to hit an unrealistic time for my current fitness level is setting myself up for failure. i had to re-learn my level of conditioning and let go of my previous expectations so i could learn new ones. that was a lot more difficult than i expected. then, after getting a grip on that, i had to go through the race training itself. so, yes, this time is slower than my all-time PR but, make no mistake, it is just as much of an achievement.

 

[Keels]

Way to go, @kleph - regardless of the hows and whys, you deserve plenty of congratulations on your performance - and hopefully it’s just another step in the right direction on your journey.

 

[MissLiss279]

Prairie Fire Half Marathon report

1:56:57 - PR!!!
@LSUlakes

So... this is my local marathon/half. This is my second time to run the fall half (have also ran the full marathon twice before) plus the preview runs of this course. I know it pretty well. One decent hill, one short steep hill, and then a few rollers, but mostly flat.

First - it was really weird for me to be running the half when there was a full going on.

The weather for today was going to be interesting. I cold front was predicted to come through with rain and a strong 20+ mph north wind, but what time would it actually make it??

The hourly predictions made me think it would be after the half. Temps to start the race were about 50 with light wind. Soon after the race started (and I mean like right after I crossed the start line), it started to rain. It was fairly light rain. I started with the 2 hour pacers and stayed with them until the first water stop, about mile 2.5. The water stops are really small, so it was like everyone just came to a stop trying to get water, and I couldn’t deal with that, so I went on around them at that point. I tried to keep my pace around 9, and was somewhat successful. A little fast here and a little slow there, but I was doing okay. I had expected it to be light rain for most of the race, but at mile 4 it started to downpour. It poured for at least a mile, and was still pretty heavy for another mile or two. In the older residential neighborhoods that we ran through, the runoff from the rain created mini-rivers. At that point, my feet were already wet, so I just ran through them, and tried not to add extra mileage finding the narrowest areas. At about mile 6, I picked up the pace just a little to about 8:50. Then about mile 9, I picked it up to about 8:30 and tried to hold on until the end. I kind of felt like I might puke the last mile and a half, but I didn’t let myself slow down. Just kept telling myself I would be finished in under 15 minutes.

I’m so happy that I was able to finish in under 2 hours for the first time!

I’m also thankful I didn’t run the marathon today. I changed into dry clothes and went to go cheer on marathoners and handed out a few hand warmers at mile 20. By the time I got to mile 20 (sometime between the 4:15 and 4:30 pacers), the wind had really shifted to the north. It was getting cold! After being there for 30-45 minutes, I headed back towards the finish. It just looked miserable to be running in the rain in low 40 temps with 20+ wind. The last two miles is running to the south, so at least the wind was at their backs. I stayed as long as I could. I missed two or three runners that I really wanted to cheer on, but I was cold. This race doesn’t have a very large marathon runner count, and there aren’t always that many spectators especially for the later runners, and I really wanted to cheer them on. I have been there. This was where I ran my first marathon, and I finished in just under 6 hours (85 degrees that day by the time I finished!), and wanted to offer as much support as I could. I’m very impressed with anyone that finished in the conditions that we had today.

ETA: Thanks @DopeyBadger for the training plan!! I’ll be hitting you up soon for a spring marathon plan.

 

[SarahDisney]

Staten Island Half Marathon - Official Time 2:39:40
I did this as a supported training run, and while I was a bit faster than planned, it felt good. The course was nice, but the logistics were a little messy, especially by the start.

I also now have officially qualified for guaranteed entry into the 2019 NYC marathon through the 9+1 program (9 qualifying nyrr races + 1 volunteer experience). So I got to ring the 9+1 bell:

I also qualified for guaranteed entry into the 2019 United Airlines NYC Half, which is one of my favorite races, so that was exciting too.

Overall, a good race, but I don't know that I'd do it again because Staten Island is just such a hassle.