April 2016 Running Challenge

greenolivetree wrote: »

ceciliaslater wrote: »

@greenolivetree - The Jenks Half hardly qualifies as a crowd. There were only about 300 people total last year. I ran a 2:10:54 race and literally could not see a single person in front of or behind me for the last half of the race! Very chill experience, so it might be a good one to start with. No pressure (nudge, nudge--come on--nudge, nudge). You've got til November to psych yourself up for it. LOL

Aaaaaaahhhh, but I've never even ran with a single other person. LOL Okay, there was that time back in 2003 when I took up running with a boyfriend... Maybe maybe, BIG MAYBE I'll talk myself into this one day.

I think about 1600 people ran the HM here last weekend.

Date      Miles      MTD
------    -----    -----
Apr 01    103.7    103.7  April Fools!!
Apr 03      6.2      6.2  Cohasset 10K, PR and 19th in my age group!
Apr 05      5.3T    11.5
Apr 06      3.8T    15.3

EvgeniZyntx wrote: »

Exactly, If you are breaking your mileage into two you actually need to add time for equivalent effort to induce endurance adaptations. There is even an equation - but since I don't do it, I don't have it in mind. 30%? more of the remaining???

Plus, by doing doubles too early you are actually hurting the period of recovery. 20 minutes in and you slow significantly protein synthesis.

It doesn't mean there isn't a place for doubles, but if you are going to do that, first increase the number of running days (while reducing miles per run), then increase mileage, then doubles. If you are only running 3-4 times a week doubles rarely make sense if it isn't a scheduling thing.

greenolivetree wrote: »

I guess I'm in the minority because I loved running in the cold this Jan/Feb!

Stoshew71 wrote: »

14 months later I ran my first marathon in just barely under 4 hours. So even though I tell people that I did Couch to marathon in 14 months, I don't know if I was truly represented your typical couch person.

MobyCarp wrote: »

Just a counterpoint from a slower developer - I ran my first 10K on Thanksgiving Day, 2011. Pointed at a half marathon in April 2012, got injured and had to trade down to the 5K. Pointed at the same half marathon in April 2013, got injured and had to trade down to the 5K. Got medical help to correct some root causes, got a paid training program, and finally made it to that half in April 2014, 2 years and 5 months after my first 10K, at age 58.
The plan was to run 4 halfs in 2015, and ultimately run my first marathon in September 2016. Nice long and slow development, right? Finishing Buffalo in 3:21 at age 59 created a moral obligation to run Boston 2016.
Turns out the Rochester Marathon in September 2016 will be my third marathon instead of my first; but even with everything going right after the last stress fracture, it took me 4 years and 6 months from my first 10K to get to my first marathon.

shanaber wrote: »

I started running in 2011 as well (at 56) and my 1st race was the Long Beach HM that a friend signed me up for. It was fun and so overwhelming all at once (~25k runners in all events!). Not even a month later I injured my knee (torn meniscus) playing with my pup so I could not run for 6 months. I have run a few HMs each year since, with 5 last year including qualifying for and running the USA Invitational HM. I just wish I could run as fast as @MobyCarp I am still seeing time improvements even at 60!

lporter229 wrote: »

Another slow developer here. I have been running pretty consistently, health and life permitting, for 18 or 19 years. It's been so long that I really can't remember my "running story" very accurately, but I know that when I started running (in 1997), it was for my general health and fitness. There were no apps, GPS gadgets or social media groups. I am not even sure there were running groups. If there were, they were few and far between. I pretty much just laced them up and went out for 30-40 minutes, 3 or 4 times a week, with no real goals in mind. I ran between 10 and 15 miles per week max. I did not participate in an organized race until 2002, my first 5K. When I moved to Cincinnati in 2003, I lived in a great running neighborhood and caught a bit of a bug. I ran my first 15K later that year and my first half marathon in 2004. I did all of my races at pretty much the same pace I trained 9:30-10 minutes per mile. My first half marathon was a 2:05. I never really thought of trying to get faster and didn't much care.

Editted /// I used that as my motivation for the next year and a half and finally achieved my goal in October of 2015 in Columbus with a time of 3:38:26, giving my a 16+ minute cushion for the 2017 Boston Marathon.

One thing I did want to mention is that I believe that all of those years of slow, easy running were critical in getting me where I am today. Matt Fitgerald says that over time, your body will adapt to a more efficient running form. A lot has been said about the values of having a high cadence. I never measured my cadence until 2 or so years ago. But when I first measured it, it was in the 184-188 range consistently. Currently, all of my runs are in the 190s. Even though I am very short, which probably makes for a naturally high cadence, I doubt that if I had measured my cadence all those years ago, that the numbers would be that high. It's not something I ever practiced or intended for, but something that I believed developed over time. I guess my point is, that even though we all want to be super fast, like yesterday, for some of us, the slow road to speed is the best one.