The February 2016 Running Challenge

michable wrote: »

... My issue is that if I only get to a total distance of 23-24 km for my long run because that represents 3 hrs of running, then that is nowhere near the time or distance I will require to run the marathon, and how on Earth will I be able to run for another 2 hours on race day! ...

That right there is the area which I think has not been researched at all as @MobyCarp suggested.

First off, if someone is newer to distance running and has run a couple halfs perhaps, even if they are a 3 hour half runner and trains for a season with 3 hour 12 to 14 mile long runs, they may not have the strength in their running chain to go 26.2 miles in 6 hours and I would be concerned for them about injury pushing themselves to such a large, new and unfamiliar distance. Do any training plans suggest a runner who has a 10k as their longest run do a half marathon as their first long run? Then why take someone who has only run 12-14 miles as their longest distance and suggest it is safe to run 26.2 miles???

I also suspect their refueling plan based solely on those 3 hour runs could come up inadequate. I learned I needed a little more, an extra GU packet every hour to have the ability to run 4+ hours, and more water too for that matter (I'm 6 feet 2 inches tall and 250 pounds which takes extra fuel). Truth be told, I can do a two hour run with zero fuel, and a 3 hour run with a single GU. But a 4 hour run I do best taking 4 GU packets.

I was not dehydrating after 3 hours and could rehydrate quickly after the run, but a similar rate of water consumption on longer runs left me slower and achy from dehydration. Some added water would put extra spring in my shuffle on those later miles. Even if it's just mental, that is the biggest battle of all, the mental aspect.

I would not pretend to have more running physiological knowledge or experience than Jack Daniels. He has more in the tip of his pinky finger than I will probably gain in my lifetime. But I know when I feel something is very wrong from my own knowledge and experience that I do better when I listen to that voice in my head trying to make sense as opposed to following a generic plan. Which, in a sense, is exactly what the whole 25-33% and 2.5 hour long run things are...cookie cutter plans for all, from elite to novice, from fittest to out of shape, from just over 2 hour marathon finishers to 7 hour marathon finishers. That makes no sense.

@Stoshew71 has mentioned at a few points that even he deviates from such recommendations where he thinks it makes sense. It's all about having enough knowledge from reliable sources to arm yourself, and the intuition to know what you can do, and the wisdom to put it all together to reach your goal unhurt.

That's not easy, either.

@MobyCarp mentioned (if memory is correct) that a first time half or full marathoner is probably best served by training and running the race at easy pace. That just seems to make sense. Obviously you do not have to do it that way, many trained for their first with speedwork, many ran the first race at race pace. Many made it, many failed for various reasons including injury. If it's about least injury risk, I really do have to wonder what the odds of injury are for someone to suddenly one day run 26.2 miles when their previous longest ever run was 13.1 miles.

1-personal training episode. so sore
2-nothing, not feeling well
3-slept in. still not feeling great
4-see above, and then transmission cracked
5-car hunting
6-car hunting
7-4.75 miles. I added hills to my treadmill work out. oh the suck
8-nothing
9-i was on the way to the gym. because it was icy i didn't want to run outside. so icy, i hit a parked jeep with my 2 day all new to me car. no gym for me
10-yoga tonight. a little sore from the accident, but i'm really concerned about the race this weekend. I've not been able to train like I'd like to due to flares and accidents. I'm not sure how I'll do
11-no run. fell asleep by 7pm
12-slept like a rock thru my alarms
13-8k race day. freezing 1F. but i did get a PB and after not finding any particularly friendly people, i did find a few to chat and run with.
15-went to the gym and did a 10k virtual run. it was hard physically but I was proud I did it
16-rest
17-yoga tonight
18-wayward ice chunk took out rental's bumper, went back to insurance and got another car and filed a claim. sigh, no time for run today.
19-planned rest day.
20-7.04mi felt good. i missed the distance. the first few miles are always a struggle. it was my fastest 6-8 miles
21-video game day (borderlands pre-sequel)
22-nothing
23-lazy did not run. cannot get motivated
24-yoga tonight
25-overslept
26-yoga tonight

apparently I'm taking a rest month





RACES:
Jan 16-Frosty 5k-33:43:123 (gun time-don't have chip time)
Feb 13-Steve Cullen Run 8k chip time: 53:37
Feb 15 Puppy Love Virtual Run 10k runkeeper time: 1:13:20
?Mar 14-Great Pi Run?
?Jun 11-Rock n Sole 5 or 8k? honeymoon might interfere
June 19th through Sunday, July 10th SHE Power Virtual Half

@cbro70 - Awesome! Congrats! There is no such thing as "Not much". There is running or not running. About the only time runners should consider a run to be "not much" is during a taper and wondering why they are bothering with what feels like ridiculously simple and too short of runs. But they never consider other peoples mileage as "not much" because everyone started somewhere. And after an off season or injury everyone is again starting back over.

WhatMeRunning wrote: »

I may have a running disorder.

"May"? Piker. Admit it. It's the first step.

cbro70 wrote: »

Good morning friends. This morning was AWESOME !!!!! I ran 3.6 miles today, I know it does not sound like much since so many of you run much more, but I have not ran more than 2 miles in almost 14 years. The last time was when I was in Iraq. It feels so great to see that I can reach my goal soon. I hope everyone has an awesome day.

That is so awesome! Congratulations!

cbro70 wrote: »

Good morning friends. This morning was AWESOME !!!!! I ran 3.6 miles today, I know it does not sound like much since so many of you run much more, but I have not ran more than 2 miles in almost 14 years. The last time was when I was in Iraq. It feels so great to see that I can reach my goal soon. I hope everyone has an awesome day.

One of the signs of a dedicated runner is that, no matter how far he runs, he sometimes feels like it's "not much." You ran 3.6 miles farther than I will today.

02/09 3.25 miles - found it hard after the break
02/10 3.25 miles - same route, much better 30 sec faster
02/15 3 miles
02/23 3.5 miles
02/24 3.5 miles
02/25 3.75 miles
02/26 3 miles

23.25 done of 30miles

My half marathon story isn't anything exciting much, but I am really proud of what I accomplished. My goal going in was to finish with as little walking as possible, and be fit to spend the next couple days vacationing with my daughter (the trip was a belated birthday gift). My official time was 2:56:44, which isn't where I wanted it to be, but my gps said that I completed 13.5 in 2:49 (I stopped it for bathroom breaks--the lines were long). I was a little sore right after, but a nice hot shower and some stretching sorted me out and I probably walked an additional 8+ miles over the next two days without any stiffness or soreness.

I did not push my speed at all--just ran at a comfortable pace. I'd never run more than 12 miles before the event and I was quite concerned about running out of steam before the end. My goal going forward will be to slowly increase the speed of my long runs, I think, but I'll be dialing back the length of those runs for some time. I'd really like to get my 5 and 10 k speeds up before I contemplate running another half (I might go back and do the Disney one in November, but I'm fairly convinced that these races *can't* really be about speed for the non-elite runner--there are just too many people in the way, almost the entire way)

Things I'd do differently: Not carry water--there were plenty of water stops (I didn't use my fuel--might have wanted them if I was running faster, though)
Not stop to pee, even if I think I really, really need to. I didn't. I was just nervous. And the potties are disgusting.
Push myself to run faster in the wider spots, because the narrow spots jammed up so much that I couldn't really run at the pace I'd prefer.

Since the race, I've of course been at the hospital. My son is not capable of managing his diabetes independently due to his autism, so in my newly-acquired job as his pancreas, I expect I'll have far less training freedom for the near future, at least. I won't lie and say that it isn't bothering me--both the fear for his health and the loss of my own freedom. But I expect we will eventually fall into some sort of new normal. Today we started that, as he got home last night. I managed a short run at the gym and it felt delicious. So here we go...

---

1/31 Rest
2/1 6.25 @ 12.00 on the treadmill
2/2 3.5 (3 @ 11:50 and .5 walking) and strength training
2/3 Rest day
2/4 10.25 @ 11:46 on the treadmill.
2/5 Planned rest day--taking my daughter on her first college visit!
2/6 5 @ 10:35 on the treadmill
(25/25 for the week)

2/7 Rest
2/8 5 @ 11:23 on the treadmill. Knees were giving me a little trouble at the beginning but warmed up ok.
2/9 3.25 @ 10:46 on the treadmill and strength training
2/10 11 @ 12:00 on the treadmill. Dear goodness golly that was awful.
2/11 Rest
2/12 6.25 @ 11:23 on the treadmill.
2/13 Rest
(25.5/25 for the week)

2/14 No race day-- -7windchill too cold for wimpy me
2/15 5 @ 12 ish on the treadmill-saurus in my basement since we're having another stinking snow day
2/16 5 @ 12 ish on the treadmill at home. My legs/ankles/whatever are not feeling great today
2/17 5 @ 11 on the treadmill at the gym and strength training.
2/18 5 @ 10:45 on the treadmill at the gym
2/19 Walked around the Magic Kingdom
2/20 Walked around Epcot
(20/20 for the week)

2/21 13.5 @ 12:32 Disney Princess Half Marathon. See notes above.
2/22-25 Sitting in a hospital with a very ill boy
2/26 3.25 @ 10:38 on the treadmill
2/27
(16.75/20 for the week)

I plunged. I needed a reason to run
signed up for a half marathon in door county. march and april i will not be slagging like i have been

@skippygirlsmom Looking good in that shirt! Way to rep!!

@whatang - Yeah, that is plenty of time to build from where you are to a full. You're pretty close already.

@skippygirlsmom lovin' it! I got my husband 3 of the shirts. He loves 'em too.

Thanks for the reminders that running is running no matter the distance, sometimes it's hard to come in here with all the long run lingo and high miles but you all are always so kind and encouraging to those of us who are not where you are! The wealth of knowledge here is sometimes overwhelming but always amazing, So much appreciated! I love seeing the excitement of people reaching goals no matter no matter what those goals are, it's an incredible feeling and I always celebrate with you though I don't reply to them all always.

@WhatMeRunning I think Dr Google absolutely loves scaring people . I'm always trying to resist the impulse of entiring whatever ails me into the search bar - and whenever I fail, I end up completely terrified of the horrible things that will follow if you feel a little scratch in your throat or strained a thumb. I guess "it hurt a bit, but after a good night's sleep it was gone" doesn't make for ten-page-long forum posts as easily as the really messy horror stories! In any case, I hope your rest will leat to a speedy recovery!

@kristinegift Wow, 400 miles already? Great job, that's impressive.

@ereck44 congrats on hitting your February goal, and even with days to spare!

@5BeautifulDays - Thank you for the HM race report, it sounds like you had a realy nice time! I wish you and your son all the best for figuring out how to best deal with the diabetes.

@Virkati Lol, glad you managed to escape your PT alive! If you hold up against his torture, and continue being sensible about allowing yourself to heal properly rather then risking a setback, I'm sure you'll have a great HM in May.

@skippygirlsmom Love the photo! Great that the shirt went on the trip with you :-)

@4leighbeeP I'm a firm believer in "there is no TOO weird" when it comes to running!

Otherwise, I would have probably felt like an idiot today: I had planned to try a new running route on the drive home tonight, so I changed into my running clothes at work, drove to the start point - and as soon as I got out of the car, my instantly frozen ears informed me I'd forgotten to pack a hat. I still wanted to run, so I managed to improvise a head-wrap-thingy with my work shirt and some hair ties to hold it in place. Apart from that moment mid-run when a sleeve came loose and slapped me in the face, it worked well enough. And while I'm willing to admit it might have looked slightly weird (okay, in all honesty, more like completely ridiculous), I don't think it was too weird.

@whatang I agree with everyone else that's responded. You can do 13. I think my longest "run" before my first HM was 9 miles. It was ugly. But I felt I did very well on the HM. Don't forget your antichafe stick- I did, it wasn't pretty.

@Becky_44 I agree with you. It is so easy to compare and feel like your efforts do not compare. I still feel that way. I have the "how much is enough" talk with myself often. (Like when I've overdone it). Everyone faster and/or logging more miles has been where you and I are. If we run smart, we'll get there..


@5BeautifulDays congratulations on the HM! Hoping the diabetes with your son becomes managable in the short term. Save some time for yourself. Running will help with the stress.