Week of Oct 2 - 2006 Half-Full Marathon Info/Training Thread

[plutosmyfav]

So, to answer your question. The whey powder I use has 120 calories (1 scoop or about 4 tbsps.) in it and I usually mix it with 1% milk a few frozen strawberries and 1/2 a banana. Not sure how many points that would be?

Colleen

I've been using protein powders for years now (mostly protein shakes for breakfast). One I am currenty loving is ML Milk&Egg Protein. It has 21g of protein for 2 tbls and is 105 calories (2 pts). Its totally worth the two points. I use to mix my shakes with soy milk but lately I've be doing crystal lite with frozen berries. Yum! Sometimes I throw in some flax meal. I also read on the McMillan site that Slim Fast is a great recovery drink (good ratio of carbs/prot). I started taking one with me for immediately after stretching on my LR and it works well. (3 pts)

I did a 7.5 mile treadie run tonight. It was actually really nice! I was enjoying the fact that the TM is FLAT and totally predictable! I did the first 7.0 in 1:01:48 (6.8 mph continuous). Didn't get in upper body weights, though.

Christa-- sounds like you'll be the next Tri among us!!!! Go Swimmer!

On the subject of running/weight. I've been told by reliable sources that you will automatically take of 5 seconds from you pace for every 1lb of fat you lose (real fat, not water loss). Its too bad the appetite grows with the mileage, though!


Sunny

 

[TEK224]

Great job Carrie. Can't wait till I get up to that distance.

Christa, I know what you mean about the swim. I used to swim in the morning before work, then about 2 hours after I get to my office I'm ready for a nap. Really had trouble keeping my eyes open.

I did a 4 miler tonight. It was a wog, but I can't remember the last time I went that far. I picked a route through my neighborhood and took off. Wanted to be back home in under an hour (gotta beat the sweeper ).

Made it home in 57:49 for the 4 miles. I'm very proud of myself. Right now I'm sitting at the 'puter with an ice pack on the nagging graoin injury, but other than that I felt really good after that run!

I'm just so happy right now!

Terri

 

[gatorphipps]

Christa, I know what you mean about the swim. I used to swim in the morning before work, then about 2 hours after I get to my office I'm ready for a nap. Really had trouble keeping my eyes open.

Terri - Glad to hear that! I cannot seem to keep my eyes open tonight. Going to have to go to bed soon...What about CSI? Great time on the wog!

I do a protein shakes from Arbonne. They are (what else?) choc. They call to mix with H2O, but I mix them with milk and drink right after a LR. I think it is 3 points (2 being the skim milk).

Christa

 

[keenercam]

Cam and Tiff, I am going to crack open my Garmin manual and learn how to download the information. I will try and give you both a condensed version on how to do it once I figure it out!
Colleen

Colleen -- You're my hero!

Oh, and 3 or 4 points for a high energy recovery drink doesn't sound bad at all. Thanks for the heads-up!

 

[Tiger Lily 03]

I saw some big butts ahead of me and I thought exactly as Solo put it ("wow, she's doing it, so can I!!!!!). I then decided my big butt was a beacon of hope for those behind me

I just couldn't resist. I have a vision of a slogan on our shorts now!

Thank you everyone for posting up your progress. You too have inspired me. I so love coming here and reading about how we are all doing.

I have figured out that the gels work for me. I can manage a half pack at a time ok so I suck that down and wait a bit then finish off the pack. Only problem is having to carry an opened half packet. I use gu, but have tried carbboom and the WDW race sponsored packets too. I also second the call for the Snickers Marathon bars. Oooh I don't have them often, but I do like them.

I have a vision for you...picture me with my Amphipod water belt belted TIGHTLY around my hips! Yes, I really mean my hips. I wear it so low it is just before the bend in my upper thighs. I carry 4 water bottles on the back---3 upright and 1 more toward the front on its side because it rests in the bend of my legs. I will probably carry only 1-2 bottles on the day as the water stations should sustain me and I will have a bottle or 2 when I really need it. Then I have a waist pack wrapped about the same level around my hips.(not a very big one, I am trying to decide if I want to stay with this one or go with the lime green DIS waistpack. To the outside of this waistpack I attach my cell phone with an ear piece threaded through my shirt and my camera is slung on my right side on the pack belt in it's own belt holder. I used the waist pack last year, the water bottle belt is new and so far believe it or not it is all working out for me. NO back pain as I am carrying it all tightly strapped on my hips! This I can do just fine. The vision continues on the trail, I am tangled up in wires now. Remember I am wired to my cell phone and loop the earpiece around my neck and tucked into my bra strap, then comes the Ipod shuffle that I have newly added as my distance is increasing. Of course I never train without my HR monitor and will definitely have that with the watch on my wrist along with my Garmin of course. Whew!


Colleen, I will learn from you too, I don't use my Garmin to the fullest either. I haven't taken the time to learn. I need lots of time to learn new stuff and don't take that right now with the Garmin.

I did my lr Sat and actually managed 9/5 in 2:21. The last bit I really slowed significantly, I started to feel those wobbly legs I have heard about b4. I don't like that much. I did the beginning of the distance at around 12-13 min each mile. I hooked a rhythm and it was fabulous. Weather was crisp and it all clicked. So today DH and I did a pleasant 14 mile bike ride and I hope tomorrow will cooperate and I can get the run in.

Keep at it we are doing it!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Lisa, this will be my strategy too! There will be a good supply and gu and such along the race route, correct? Do you every carry your own in a race? I just ordered a 12 pack of gu from roadrunnersports.com. I like the Tangerine with caffeine the best.

I am a big believer in hydrating early and hydrating often as well. I did a 50 minute easy run yesterday and didn't bring water because it was fairly cool. I really felt drained over the last 10 minutes. Water really helps me, but it is really a hassle to carry.

Does anyone have one of those hydrating belts that has 6 or 7 little bottles positioned around the belt? I have a water bottle carrier belt and it actually hurts my lower back when I run.

Colleen

I carry my own gu. They have power gel along the course and I personally do not like it though others rave about it. It reminds me of cake frosting.

They have power gel and powerade..so if you will be depending on the course for your nourishment, then train with these items. Also, they actually do not have the gels placed adequately--in my coach's opinion....they hand them out kind of late in the course (about mile 8 or 9, I think--I didn't get it, so don't recall). You'll want to carry at least one or two just in case.

I am wearing shorts with pockets that I will have stuffed with my cell phone and gu's (it looked like "gus" without the apostrophes, so my apologies ). As long as my back behaves, I will be carrying a belt with water bottle holder as I tend to get thirsty at the most inopportune times.

If the belt is hurting your back, then it is just too much weight. Try running with less and see if that helps.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

A new course in California...check out this thread:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=909998

 

[gatorphipps]

They have power gel and powerade..so if you will be depending on the course for your nourishment, then train with these items. Also, they actually do not have the gels placed adequately--in my coach's opinion....they hand them out kind of late in the course (about mile 8 or 9, I think--I didn't get it, so don't recall). You'll want to carry at least one or two just in case.

Colleen and anyone else interested in the gels on the course- I do not know about the 1/2 marathon this year, but the only time I saw the gu (or what ever they hand out) was after the 1/2 way mark of the marathon(Looking @ the map it was mile 16). It was b/4 we got to AK. There were bananas and oranges on the marathon course after the 1/2 marathoners turned off (mile 14). The map says there was something @ mile 9, but I do not remember it being there. There was chocolate right b/4 we went into MGM (no gu). I haven't looked @ the map for this year so it may have changed. Bree and I bring our on b/c mile 9 and 16 is too late to start taking them. You should start around mile 4-6 (about an hour into the run). Like Craig, I never take them in a 1/2, but for a full marathon, I start taking them early.
That is my opinion for the day....

TigerLily03 - How do you keep your belt around your hips? I have tried, but it always slides up to my waist area.

Christa

 

[plutosmyfav]

Garmin skills-- For the 201 I had to go to the Garmin site and download the program for the pc. It is totally worth the aggrevation of opening the user's manual!!

Gues what???? I'm so excited!!!! I just signed DD and myself up for our first Mother/Daughter 5K! Its in Lexington on Nov 6th. She probably won't be able to run the whole thing so we'll wog it. But now I need to get her out more than once per week for training. There's just not enough hours in the day!

I love the Snicker's Marathon bars, too but I don't think I could eat them during a run. I use them as meal replacements in a hurry or recovery from weightlifting. I also love the Detour Whey bars (chocolate, carmel, peanuts). The small ones are 15g of protein and only 3 points. I get them at BJs for a decent price.

Terri-- great job on the 4 miler

The vision continues on the trail, I am tangled up in wires now. Remember I am wired to my cell phone and loop the earpiece around my neck and tucked into my bra strap, then comes the Ipod shuffle that I have newly added as my distance is increasing. Of course I never train without my HR monitor and will definitely have that with the watch on my wrist along with my Garmin of course. Whew!

I was amazed at how many people I saw at my half who just had the clothes on their backs and the shoes on their feet, no packs, no wires, nothing! I feel more like a mule than a mustang on my LRs with all the equipment I have to carry!

Sunny

 

[wtpclc]

Garmin users - Download teh software. Plug your charger into your pc and run the software. I think Garmin needs to be turned on and tehn you hit uplad. It's very simple once you download the softawre.

Colleen - I think I killed myself too. I hope your cold gets better soon! That's miserable.

My legs did not work yesterday. Can you say Stonker? My shoes were fine Saturday. Yesterday, they were too tight. I loosened them one, but then had to go again. My feet burned like crazy. DH made me walk until they felt normal agin. Then I tried to run. I think my shoes were so loose tha tI was wobbling and my knees hurt. I walked half of my 50 minutes. I did try to walk really fast though to keep the ehart rate up. I am really afraid for tempo now.

Also, has anyone had a pain on the top of the foot, almost to the ankle? I though it was from my old shoes. It was fine Saturday, but hurt during the day yesterday and while running. I iced it while doing my cold soak last night. Hopefully, that will help. 40 minutes XT lined up tonight. I'm just waiting to see how many funny looks I get at CUrves when I do the extra circuit time.

 

[Minnie]

Good morning everyone,

I finished my 1st official day of training last night with a 30 min slow wog. I am not watching distance this week so far only trying to just get my rear back out on the road. It was very humid and warm last night and will be again tonight so that slows me down also. We do have nicer cooler weather coming in towards the end of the week so I'm looking forward to that

I'm planning on asking for a Garmin for my birthday which is at the end of this month. I have quite a bit of traveling coming up so having this tool would really help. So for all you experienced Garmin users out there which one should I ask for? What I mainly want it for is the distance/time and I think the little runner guy doing the pacing would be great to. Would I be okay then with the Garmin 101 or should I go for the 201???

Thanks everyone and have a great day!

 

[aladdinsgirl]

Good morning! Glad to see that everyone's training is still going well. I did 35 minutes of r3/w2, I ended up doing 3.08 miles, pretty pleased with that. I had to stop twice to fix my ankle brace, I think I'm just going to have to get used to wearing it. I tried wearing 2 pairs of socks on my left foot, while the cushioning was great, the brace and the extra sock made my shoe too tight. So I stopped to take the extra sock off and then I just took the whole brace off. That lasted all of about 2 minutes before my ankle started protesting, so I had to stop again and put my brace back on. Grrr. At the end of 35 minutes, my foot was sore, but not nearly as bad as the 5K.

Good info on the gu, I haven't tried any yet. I bought one about a month ago, but I haven't run far enough to need one. I'll second (or third) that the Snickers Marathon Bars are awesome, I have one after every lr. Sometimes the thought of it sitting in my car waiting for me is what gets me through my run!

Oh, question for those who use the fanny packs when you run. Do you just buy a regular fanny pack from Target or wherever or do you have like a cool max one? I can't believe I'm asking this question since funny packs are against my religion ( ), but I think it would be handy to have one on long runs for keys, cell phone, bars, etc. And do you guys carry water bottles in your hand? I don't like doing that, hearing the water swish around makes me think of the water swishing in my stomach and it makes me sick to think about. I usually drink 16 oz before my run and 16 oz after, that's fine for now, but when I get into 5 and 6 miles, I think I'll need water along the way. I do my lr's at a park, I guess I could just run to the car and take a swig, but that would require getting over to my car, digging in my pockets for the key, unlocking the car and then locking the car back and putting the key away. I don't want to take that much time for a drink of water. Just wondering what everyone else does, other than the water belts.

Lily--I would LOVE to see a picture of you with all of your paraphernalia. I bet that is a sight to see!

Colleen--That smoothie sounds great. Where do you get protein powder? At GNC?

Solo--Are you going to clue us in on what in the world happened? Glad you are okay! And awesome pace!!

Sunny--I can't believe you can run on the TM for 7 miles!! I can't do more than 3-31/2 before getting bored. You are the woman!!

I was going to say more, but I completely forgot what I was going to say. Oh well, this post is long enough anyway. In case you can't tell, I am a talker!! That was the only thing I ever got in trouble over at school, talking too much! Happy training everyone!!

Krista

 

[aladdinsgirl]

Minnie--Go ahead and get the Garmin 201, it's just so great. There are quite a few differences between the 101 and 201, but the real clincher for me is that the 201 has a rechargable battery, like a cell phone while the 101 takes AAA batteries. There are other differences, the 201 has more features and I think it pulls from more satellites than the 101. If you are concerned about the price, I found it at www.walmart.com for $118. I really shopped around when I got it for Stephen for his birthday, trust me, that's the cheapest you'll find it (unless you go on ebay or something, but I rarely do that). After shipping and taxes the total was right around $130. Hope this helps.

Krista

 

[TEK224]

I got my Garmin 201 from their site (thanks to a tip from someone here). It was $110 and you could get free shipping.

Terri

 

[keenercam]

Hi, everyone! Not much to report here. Did a 30 minute wog yesterday morning and did 30 minutes CT this morning (Sansone WATP 20 minute power mile and then some crunches, etc.)

Lily -- The mental picture of you with all your gear had me

Tomorrow is a "rest" day. UGH! I'm not good at doing that deliberately. Of course, having to be at 3 meetings tomorrow night will make me grateful for no pressure to exercise.

Does anyone know -- The MFM walk the half plan has me resting on Sunday and Wednesday. Does that mean I really shouldn't do anything at all? I mean, if I feel up to going to the gym and doing the elliptical or bike, should I not? Also, if it says to walk for 30 minutes but I really feel like going further, should I not? Just curious as to what all you experienced half marathoners think. (of course, later on in the training when it says I have to walk 10 miles, I am sure I won't be the slightest bit tempted to go further than prescribed! )

 

[TammyNC]

Does anyone know -- The MFM walk the half plan has me resting on Sunday and Wednesday. Does that mean I really shouldn't do anything at all? I mean, if I feel up to going to the gym and doing the elliptical or bike, should I not? Also, if it says to walk for 30 minutes but I really feel like going further, should I not? Just curious as to what all you experienced half marathoners think. (of course, later on in the training when it says I have to walk 10 miles, I am sure I won't be the slightest bit tempted to go further than prescribed! )

I was just wondering the same thing. I will take the Sunday rest day, but was thinking that on Wednesday I'm used to at least 30 minutes. Looking forward to hear what others think.

 

[wtpclc]

I thought rest meant rest. Give your muscles time to recover. If you push them too hard, you could injure yourself. I swear I've heard people say that rest meant easy, not completely off, though.

 

[TXBelle]

According to John Bingham, author of MFM, rest means rest. You are supposed to do nothing that day in order to allow your muscles to rest and your body to recover. That being said, I noticed that for the MFM full marathon training schedule, there is only one rest day per week. So, I have modified the 1/2 marathon training plan to have only one rest day per week. I take a long bike ride on Sunday in order to continue my training for the MS 150 bike ride in April 2006.

Today was cross-training. I rode the bike for 30 minutes and did 10 minutes on the elliptical. Still haven't opened that abs DVD.

As to water issues, I have a Camelback fanny pack that allows me to carry 20 oz. of water. The only problem is that 20 oz. is not enough for a long run. I also don't like the weighted down feeling. So I have started carrying bottled water instead and putting extra bottles in the mailbox for long runs (based on a suggestion from someone on this thread).

 

[zoegirl]

Good afternoon!!

Lily - the image of you and all your "gear" is cracking me up! You are prepared! If I thought my back could stand it, I'd wear a full back pack slam full of stuff that I "might" need along the way.
The first year we ran WDW my FIL was our pack horse. He had shorts on with pockets for the baggies of gatorade powder b/c princess me doesn't like powerade, plus he wrapped my extra shirt and Christa's extra shirt around his waist when we got hot, then he had a big water bottle in case one of his princesses ran out of our own along the way. We couldn't get dehydrated now could we? Then the man carried a camera in some extra pocket he had in the pants he wore over the shorts and managed to take like 100 pictures of us in our 1st ever marathon. He didn't run with us last year but he will this year. I'm glad, I don't like carrying my own stuff

You guys have been talking about gu. Christa was right, they do pass out power gel somewhere between 13 and 18. It is in fact power gel, because we all know that disney would not offer anything that wasn't a coke product. You will get powerade to drink (yuck) dasani water (yum not tap) and power gels. If you're slick you can grab like 10 of them and have enough for your longs runs for the next 3 months. They pass out oranges and bannans along the way. They look sick by the time you get to them and they smell even worse. Then you get a nestle chocolate as you run through MGM.

Ran a short run yesterday afternoon, threw some sqats and lunges in at the end for good measure. Can't say it was a great run. I do not like running in the afternoon. Any one else feel this way? I feel like all the energy has been sucked out of me. But I got it done, and that's what counts right?

Well the lunch hour is over, must get back to work.

until later,
~bree~

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Colleen and anyone else interested in the gels on the course- I do not know about the 1/2 marathon this year, but the only time I saw the gu (or what ever they hand out) was after the 1/2 way mark of the marathon(Looking @ the map it was mile 16). It was b/4 we got to AK. There were bananas and oranges on the marathon course after the 1/2 marathoners turned off (mile 14). The map says there was something @ mile 9, but I do not remember it being there. There was chocolate right b/4 we went into MGM (no gu). I haven't looked @ the map for this year so it may have changed. Bree and I bring our on b/c mile 9 and 16 is too late to start taking them. You should start around mile 4-6 (about an hour into the run). Like Craig, I never take them in a 1/2, but for a full marathon, I start taking them early.
That is my opinion for the day....

TigerLily03 - How do you keep your belt around your hips? I have tried, but it always slides up to my waist area.

Christa

Thanks for that Christa--I was sick last year and really have no idea where it appeared..the first nourishment of edible variety was roughly at 9 miles, but I do not recall what that was. Could have sworn that someone was trying to hand me a power gel. I guess they weren't.

But yes--anyone doing the full will need nourishment way before that point anyway, no matter what form it is provided.

Very very very very important for those that don't eat before their long jaunt or refuel during their long jaunt...to really consider trying and practicing. It may be a bit uneasy the first couple of times that you do it (I got cramps my first long run this season b/c of my breakfast--but no problems anymore)....you may feel that your times might improve and your recovery is better.