biobreak Member

Congratulations!! That's awesome! Welcome to the club of the addicted! I did my 7th and 8th marathons this year, with a sub-4 PR in Chicago and I had a blast! Feel free to add me if you like.

I'm in! This will be my 7th marathon and the first that I will travel for! I somehow didn't get mired in the registration mess the other day - thank goodness! Really looking forward to it!

Before I did Ragnar last year, I used to groan when my husband encouraged me to wear a reflective vest and headlamp. After Ragnar (where such gear, plus a blinking taillight, was required), I wouldn't consider running in the dark without them. I'm also coveting the crazy cool highly visible/reflective gear from here:…

I run to eat! Glad to be in good company!

Good for you for being so dedicated! However, it sounds like you might have been overtraining, and not allowing yourself enough time to rest and recover. That's just as important as your time running! An important part of building up your mileage is to increase no more than 5-10% of your mileage per week to avoid injury.…

This. For all marathoners!

The hardest thing in the world is to pull back and do less. But that's what you need to do! Don't increase your intensity, don't overcompensate by taking on new projects, strength training or (as my husband did during his taper recently) paint the bathroom. Your job is to stay on target and make sure you're well rested and…

I'm slooooooowly, slowly doing more in my VFFs. I'm up to a whole 2.5 miles!

I sure hope so. I don't have much chance of qualifying for Boston right now, but if I can just stay in shape, then I'll eventually age into it!

I second (third? fifteenth?) the recommendation for running skirts. I don't ever wear shorts anymore and I don't have to worry about bunching up. My favorite one is from LuluLemon, which was much more expensive than any previous item of running clothing I had ever bought, but SO worth it, especially for long runs. It's…

We've got a 26.2 for both the husband and I and a Ragnar sticker for me. We used to have a JFK50 (for the husband), but we had a fender bender and never got it replaced. Neglected to buy a HAT50K sticker a couple of weekends ago, though. Next time!

Have you seen a professional about your aches and pains? How many miles do you have on your shoes? What you went through this weekend sounds like more than just a bad run, which from my experience usually has more to do with poor fueling and hydration than aches and pains (unless it's stomach cramps). ITB issues can take a…

What did you end up doing? Hope it's going well!

Why are you training at low glycogen levels? Glycogen is an important part of long distance running - it gives you the carbohydrate spark that lights the fat-burning fire during your runs. I take a gu about every 5 miles during training and on race day to keep fueled and it works well for me. Others will take them more or…

This right here is my motivation. My marathon PR before having my son was 4:06. Afterwards - and 10 pounds heavier - it's 4:21. Thanks for the good reminder

I did the Washington, DC race this past fall with a team that was mostly made up of my marathon training pace group and we had a BLAST. We were all completely wiped out at the end (PLAN that you won't sleep, but try really hard to) but have all signed up to do it again this fall. The most important thing is having a good…

Had to skip my long run this past weekend due to a 24-hour stomach bug I had on Th/Fri. I've never had one of those before, and would really like never to have another! Ugh. The plan for this week is 4.5 yesterday, 4.5 today (with 1st mile in VFFs), 6 on Thurs and a 5-mile race on Saturday. It's the Celtic Solstice 5 miler…

You've got the right idea with a bit of a plateau for a few weeks - that gives your body the time to catch up to the training you're giving it. It's also a good idea to give yourself a cutback week every 4 weeks or so - cut your mileage by 20-25% to give your body a break. Just as important in training for distance as…

Do you have a good running store near you? They can help you get stocked up on what you'll need to train for that distance. By the way, if you add 1 more mile to your 30 mile goal, that's a 50K distance - definite ultramarathon. How are you training? A good rule of thumb when you're increasing your mileage is to increase…

My rules of thumb for long runs are this: * If I'll be out for more than an hour, or if it's hot, I bring water * If I'll be out for more than 90 minutes, I bring sports drink instead * If I'm out for more than 2 hours, I bring 1 Gu for every 5-6 miles that I'll be running * If I'll be out of my neighborhood, or anywhere…

Training for a marathon is a big thing to ask of your body, and you often build considerable muscle while doing it. You've got to feed your body - training with a calorie deficit can lead to injury if you're not feeding yourself well. Gaining a little bit of weight probably means that you're putting on muscle. Do your…

Six this morning - gorgeous day and I got to see sunrise over the lake in my neighborhood. Love these temperatures we're having right now! Tried to bike into work, but all the Bikeshare bikes were already checked out. C'est la vie. I'm thinking of finally starting to build up some mileage in my VFFs. I've only been walking…

There are so many variables that it's really hard to say what will work. The general guideline that most doctors give is 6-8 weeks before running, though of course you can walk before that. I had an unplanned c-section and it took longer for me to get back out there than I had hoped. But yes, you can run while…

I had planned to go out for about 5 miles this morning, but I'm sick and needed the extra sleep. Now eating soup and hoping I'll feel better before the weekend!

I have one Gu (Vanilla Bean) every 5 or so miles during training for a marathon and on race day. For a marathon, you need to keep your fuel topped off or you're more likely to hit the wall around mile 20. By about 20 miles, most people have burned through the glycogen that's stored in your muscles, which the flame that…

Whoops double post!

Skemery, good luck in training for your first! That's really exciting. As for taking your mileage down, the main thing you need to be aware of is not overtraining or doing anything that will cause too much strain on your body as it adjusts to a bigger and bigger work load each week. What's your total weekly mileage? You…

Wow, you've come really far - congratulations! You've got a great goal and a lot of fun ahead of you. I've run 6 marathons (most recent was Marine Corps last Sunday!) and I'm a coach for a first time marathoner's program in the DC area. The most important things I'd suggest right now are: * increase your mileage by no more…

Hey y'all! I'm BioBreak and I live in the Washington, DC area (a terrific place for runners!) and have been doing races since 2000, when I did my first 10K. Since then I worked up to 10 milers, half marathons and I just finished my 6th Marine Corps Marathon last weekend. I'm a certified RRCA distance running coach and I…

I did the Marine Corps Marathon last week, so I'm taking it easy for a couple of weeks. I took last week off completely, and ran about 5 miles yesterday. Today I biked a few miles into work and will do the same on the way home, but no running. I'm going to get back to doing the core strengthening planks and good stretching…