First 10 mile run this weekend

yirara
yirara Posts: 9,944 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Just a bit of positive vibes here: This Sunday I'll be running my first 10 mile race. I never ran this distance before (max being 8.5 miles with 1 mile walking for warm up, a big sand dune along the way and a bit of rest-walking) but I don't care. I only ever did a 10km race two weeks ago, which was rather mountainous and included more walking. But I also for the first time ran for a full hour yesterday without having to walk, thus I'm very positive that this race will work out well enough.

I never honestly thought I'd be looking at those distances but now I carefully hope that I'll be running a half marathon much later this year. Wow!

Replies

  • sm700
    sm700 Posts: 1 Member
    Yay!!! Good for you!! Sounds like you trained well! Adrenaline will help too and take you through. I'm a half marathon runner and the farthest I ever run or train before a race is 10 miles. So, if you can handle that, you're ready for a half marathon! Good luck!
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,944 Member
    Wow, really? 10 miles to be able to do a half marathon? Please do tell me more: at a certain pace or just be able to run it completely? Walking frequently, for just 100-200 meter has been a problem for me for ages. That I'm not fast is something I don't care about. I guess I will run the 10 miler at around 8min/km as that's a speed I can run at for a long time it seems with still maintaining a floating phase in my gait.
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
    I'm pretty sure that you could comfortably do a half. Pace is really up to you, and whether you walk/run or run the whole thing is up to you.
    Just make sure your pace will get you done before they close the course for the race.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,944 Member
    edited February 2016
    Cheers! There's not really a cutoff time for this race. The last person last year finished after 2:44h but I guess I'll end just over two hours, depending on the wind. Gosh, I really hope it won't rain. Not looking forward to getting soaked, and then driving home in the same state :blush: Thought at this moment it looks like it will storm, with the first half with, and the second half against the wind, and there's a high chance of rain *sigh*
  • neutroncore
    neutroncore Posts: 36 Member
    Wish you good luck. By the way in Which state?
    Here from new jersey. I started regular running from last december.. I got the wahoo ticker x chest strap to record and analyze my runs. I thought in the beginning I will never make 10 km in straight run I challenged myself .. now I can do it with little effort... and I ran 18 km straight last week with additional 5 km of run and walk mixture... my point is... challenge yourself, you CAN do it.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,944 Member
    UK, windy and wet west coast :s I use ismoothrun on my iphone and just recently paired it with a Scosche Rhythm+. Works like a dream. The only time I did get very high readings (think 220bpm) at the beginning of a run was when my heart was indeed acting up because I didn't warm up properly but just started to run :* I'll keep an eye on it but don't worry about it. Not sure yet where exactly my MaxHR is but from spinning about 2 years ago, and how I feel when running I'd guess around 205, maybe a bit higher.
  • peachyfuzzle
    peachyfuzzle Posts: 1,122 Member
    Good luck!
  • msf74
    msf74 Posts: 3,498 Member
    Have a great race!

    A 10 miler is my preferred distance. 10km is a little too short and a half is a little too long for my tastes. 10 miles is the sweet spot.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    yirara wrote: »
    Wow, really? 10 miles to be able to do a half marathon? Please do tell me more: at a certain pace or just be able to run it completely? Walking frequently, for just 100-200 meter has been a problem for me for ages. That I'm not fast is something I don't care about. I guess I will run the 10 miler at around 8min/km as that's a speed I can run at for a long time it seems with still maintaining a floating phase in my gait.

    If you check Hal Higdon's novice half marathon plan the longest run is 10 miles. With the novice plan the goal is to finish the race with a smile on your face, the more advanced plans are for more experienced runners with a time in mind. For your first 10 mile race or HM your goal is only to finish......

    The longest training run I did for my last HM was around 18km, before I ran my first HM a few years ago I actually ran the full distance in training just to prove to myself I could do it (for me it was mentally necessary but not physically)

    Most important tips I can offer are.....nothing new on race day (kit or food, stick with the tried and true) and watch your pace, don't go out too fast (a common mistake we've all made.....). 10 miles is a long race, take your time and enjoy it.

  • neutroncore
    neutroncore Posts: 36 Member
    I'm not sure how much this medically credible, but I learned that your healthy max heart rate should be around this number (220 minus your age).
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    neutroncore wrote: »
    I'm not sure how much this medically credible, but I learned that your healthy max heart rate should be around this number (220 minus your age).

    Not valid at all. The 220-your age "formula" was originally derived as a max HR for recovering heart attack patients and, even then, was completely arbitrary.

    The only way to determine one's max HR is with a stress test as it varies so much from person to person (genetics, fitness levels etc) I'm 60 and can push my HR was past 160bpm when doing HIIT or running hills (I even hit 169 on a bike recently doing a threshold test) without feeling dizzy or anything like that (my resting HR is 48 last time I checked)
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,944 Member
    edited February 2016
    Thanks a lot. i will check out this plan for the sake of it. Yes, I did do lots of things wrong during my first race 2 weeks ago: started out too fast (didn't expect everyone to start fast and didn't look at my speed), got overwhelmed by the storm raging at that time, didn't check the route properly and was surprised to see yet another climb about 1.5km from the finish, etc. I was happy I made it but was slightly frustrated that I didn't get the time I was hoping for (was two minutes too slow) and thus ran the same route again two days later during perfect weather and finished 3 minutes earlier :smiley:

    Well, I learned enough from that. Most importantly: if everyone dashes off ignore everyone.
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
    i start in the back. between the runners and the walkers as most of the races by me have a run/walk untimed "race" too
  • organic_homestead
    organic_homestead Posts: 31 Member
    Yay! Have fun with your run! You'll do great and it will be such an amazing feeling when you finish. If you know your pace then stick with it. So many times I start the race out with my friends and they all take off and keep calling back for me to keep up. I just shake my head. I know what my race pace is and you know what? I finish before most of them because they've burned out and I've kept my energy stores in check.

    I have a HM in early June that I run every year (in Iowa, USA). I've slowly started training but I really get going mid-March.

    You will be more than ready to do a HM later this year; just keep up the running!
  • pgray007
    pgray007 Posts: 47 Member
    The theory I've always heard is that you can race at 2X your "comfortable" training distance. So if you can do ~6 miles 3-5X per week, you can push it to a half. That doesn't mean you'll run it well, just that you can do it without undue stress.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    pgray007 wrote: »
    The theory I've always heard is that you can race at 2X your "comfortable" training distance. So if you can do ~6 miles 3-5X per week, you can push it to a half. That doesn't mean you'll run it well, just that you can do it without undue stress.

    I don't know who promotes that "theory" but it sounds like a recipe for an injury to me.

  • omma_to_3
    omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member
    yirara wrote: »
    Wow, really? 10 miles to be able to do a half marathon? Please do tell me more: at a certain pace or just be able to run it completely? Walking frequently, for just 100-200 meter has been a problem for me for ages. That I'm not fast is something I don't care about. I guess I will run the 10 miler at around 8min/km as that's a speed I can run at for a long time it seems with still maintaining a floating phase in my gait.

    Yes, many training plans only have you running 10 miles max for a half. Those last 3 miles breeze by. Curious why you view taking walk breaks as a problem. I run 8/walk 1. I started doing this due to hip issues and was pleasantly surprised to realize I'm faster that way. It helps me keep better form too.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,944 Member
    edited February 2016
    Not so much as a problem. I don't have joint, ligament or any other skeletal problems. My 'problem' is that I never was able to run as a child or adult before, not even one round in a stadium (don't ask why. No idea). Thus being able to run without walking is HUGE for me.
  • brandiuntz
    brandiuntz Posts: 2,717 Member
    yirara wrote: »
    Wow, really? 10 miles to be able to do a half marathon? Please do tell me more: at a certain pace or just be able to run it completely? Walking frequently, for just 100-200 meter has been a problem for me for ages. That I'm not fast is something I don't care about. I guess I will run the 10 miler at around 8min/km as that's a speed I can run at for a long time it seems with still maintaining a floating phase in my gait.

    Good luck! I also tend to run half-marathons and can say the pace I run halfs at is about 1 minute per mile slower than my 10K pace. This also holds for my 10K to 5K pace. Something you might want to use as a guide.

    You can definitely run a half race soon. Most of my long runs before a half-race stay 10-12 miles.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,944 Member
    Btw, I've been looking at half marathons around here, but by the look of it there's not so much choice. There's one in October that I hope to do as it's flat terrain. Other than that several with quite a bit terrain, like 100-250m undulating, 250m up, past my home but again some terrain (route of the 10k I did) and twice over a fine-grained sand dune... it's fairly mountainous here. Oh, and one in two weeks with flat terrain, but really too early for me :wink: It just asks for getting injured I think.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,944 Member
    Made it! Well... kind of anyway. First 5 miles were easy enough; I knew I could do it. But the second half involved a lot of walking. Why? Because this race was spoiled by a massive storm with wind gusts of up to 50 mph and a general wind of around 30 mph. Impossible to run! Oh well.. it was a nice experience, nothing hurts, and next time I'll do better. And it looks like I'll need to adjust my HRmax by quite a bit. In the first half it was constantly at around 180 (was running a bit faster than I planned to), but once I was hit by the headwinds it was around 195-200 with peaks as high as 210. And I thought 205 would be a good estimate for my max
  • dewd2
    dewd2 Posts: 2,445 Member
    Congrats!

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