The Official Thread for Runners

[OhioBlue]

Observations from the Homecoming 5k this morning:

--First and foremost, if you expect to run a good time (for you) coming off of a nasty bout with gastroenteritis where you lose 5 pounds, even if you feel better a day or two later, you're going to be disappointed.

--Fall race conditions are my favorite.

--Running along the parade route 15 minutes before it starts means for most of the race there are plenty of cheers, some music, and lots of little hands to slap five with. Added a good vibe.

--the put-your-ability-in-perspective element of today's race (regardless of your ability, you know there is always some part of every race where you realize you're just another runner and nothing special) came as I spent most of the race following a father about my age running casually alongside his young daughter, who couldn't have been much more than 11 or 12. I was dying; he was laughing and smiling, and she and he both killed me. It only helped a little bit that I recognized him as last week's St George Marathon 2nd place finisher and former winner. Just a jog in the park with his daughter. Made me smile. And hate them. And then smile again.

--Was able to chat briefly with a group of Oregon St. fans and thank them for coming down, wish them a good experience but not quite as good as that of BYU fans today.

--Splits for me for this one: 6:59 (uphill), 6:30 (downhill), and 7:34 (oh yeah I'm not all the way recovered yet). Had enough for a 200m kick because there was no way I was finishing behind those crazy pants.

--Michael Bolton's "I Can Go The Distance" might have lyrics befitting a race, but it should never ever ever be blasted full volume at finishers entering the BYU track complex. Ever.

Though I'm so competitive with myself it's hard to let go of at times, under these conditions (sick, Bolton) I really can't complain much even though I ran my slowest time in quite a while (21:35) and it's got me ready to sign up for a turkey race sometime in November and give that coveted sub-20 yet another shot.

PS BigPiney I'm sorry I missed you, didn't think I'd even be there today. I looked around briefly at the start in vain; try as I might I just don't know what a big piney looks like. Hope you had a good race.

[BigPiney]

Observations from the Homecoming 5k this morning:

--First and foremost, if you expect to run a good time (for you) coming off of a nasty bout with gastroenteritis where you lose 5 pounds, even if you feel better a day or two later, you're going to be disappointed.

--Fall race conditions are my favorite.

--Running along the parade route 15 minutes before it starts means for most of the race there are plenty of cheers, some music, and lots of little hands to slap five with. Added a good vibe.

--the put-your-ability-in-perspective element of today's race (regardless of your ability, you know there is always some part of every race where you realize you're just another runner and nothing special) came as I spent most of the race following a father about my age running casually alongside his young daughter, who couldn't have been much more than 11 or 12. I was dying; he was laughing and smiling, and she and he both killed me. It only helped a little bit that I recognized him as last week's St George Marathon 2nd place finisher and former winner. Just a jog in the park with his daughter. Made me smile. And hate them. And then smile again.

--Was able to chat briefly with a group of Oregon St. fans and thank them for coming down, wish them a good experience but not quite as good as that of BYU fans today.

--Splits for me for this one: 6:59 (uphill), 6:30 (downhill), and 7:34 (oh yeah I'm not all the way recovered yet). Had enough for a 200m kick because there was no way I was finishing behind those crazy pants.

--Michael Bolton's "I Can Go The Distance" might have lyrics befitting a race, but it should never ever ever be blasted full volume at finishers entering the BYU track complex. Ever.

Though I'm so competitive with myself it's hard to let go of at times, under these conditions (sick, Bolton) I really can't complain much even though I ran my slowest time in quite a while (21:35) and it's got me ready to sign up for a turkey race sometime in November and give that coveted sub-20 yet another shot.

PS BigPiney I'm sorry I missed you, didn't think I'd even be there today. I looked around briefly at the start in vain; try as I might I just don't know what a big piney looks like. Hope you had a good race.

That was a hard race course. I was hurting after that first big hill, but it is steep after and I let it loose for a while.

I totally ran out of gas after 2 miles. At one point I was slowing to above a 7:45 mile and so wanted to walk. Got a bit of a second wind but it was too late. Just didn't have the kick in the stadium. I need to get tougher.

20:03.6

DAmn you 3.6 seconds!!

[OhioBlue]

That was a hard race course. I was hurting after that first big hill, but it is steep after and I let it loose for a while.

I totally ran out of gas after 2 miles. At one point I was slowing to above a 7:45 mile and so wanted to walk. Got a bit of a second wind but it was too late. Just didn't have the kick in the stadium. I need to get tougher.

20:03.6

DAmn you 3.6 seconds!!

Nicely done! Did you place in our age group?

[Joe Public]

I ran my slowest time in quite a while (21:35)

That's about three minutes faster than my PR (granted, I haven't raced a 5K in about 8 years). You're right there for the sub-20. Nice job.

20:03.6

DAmn you 3.6 seconds!!

Incredible. You posted last week about not having done any speedwork, but you're sitting on a 20:08 and a 20:03 already this month. You're a gazelle! Way to go.

I read that Miles Batty ran (and won) the race. That's pretty cool for you two to be able to say you raced Miles Batty.

[BigPiney]

Nicely done! Did you place in our age group?

5th place. Too many fast old guys out there.

[Slim]

I ran the City of Trees Half Marathon today.

1:40:33. I felt like I was flying until about mile 11 and then I just about died. I had no idea what pace I was running up until that point since my GPS went crazy on me and the miles weren't very quickly marked. My goal was 1:30 and I, clearly, didn't get that. Oh well. I need to work out a better system for getting my pace down since I suspect I was probably way too fast for the first few miles and it cost me in the end.

This was my first "real" race since high school cross country (which were 3 mile races). I ran a half marathon with my wife back in January but I stuck with her the whole time and didn't go all-out. Then I trained for the SLC marathon but ended up not running up after I got a wicked case of achilles tendinitis. I think I'm going to try and run the next SLC marathon if I can get some time off for it.

[lambdacoug]

I'm looking to begin training for a half in earnest and I will undoubtedly benefit from the advice and experience of others. What running specific forums do you find worthwhile and helpful, especially for noobs just starting out?

[PaloAltoCougar]

I'm looking to begin training for a half in earnest and I will undoubtedly benefit from the advice and experience of others. What running specific forums do you find worthwhile and helpful, especially for noobs just starting out?

A good resource and one who is respected by several in this forum is Hal Higdon. He has different schedules for half marathon training depending on fitness level, although even the novice training schedule assumes the ability to run 3 miles multiple times in a week. I followed a modified version of it when I ran the Disney Half last year (I managed a 2:12, which included a couple of walking stretches, not bad for 59, but hardly in the class of others around here).

I'm going to try and chase Mr. & Mrs. Parrothead at the Disney World Half in January and with my joint issues quieting down, I'll start training this week following a modified Higdon. Whether I can avail myself of nikuman's pacing services in thirteen weeks is very much up in the air.

[Moliere]

Mondays are my "fast" days. I just ran a 5K in 23:31, which is fast for me considering my previous best was around 24:20. Not bad, especially for the day after fast Sunday. My splits were 7:56, 7:40, 7:12, 1:10 (final 0.1). I think I can go faster.

Ran my 5K in 23:26 this morning. I could have gone faster if I wasn't dry heaving for the last mile. My only issue with running in the morning is that I don't have enough time to get fluids in me before I run so I end up dehydrated after a couple miles and my body's reaction to that is to dry heave.

But the rest of the run felt great.

[Pheidippides]

A good resource and one who is respected by several in this forum is Hal Higdon. He has different schedules for half marathon training depending on fitness level, although even the novice training schedule assumes the ability to run 3 miles multiple times in a week. I followed a modified version of it when I ran the Disney Half last year (I managed a 2:12, which included a couple of walking stretches, not bad for 59, but hardly in the class of others around here).

I'm going to try and chase Mr. & Mrs. Parrothead at the Disney World Half in January and with my joint issues quieting down, I'll start training this week following a modified Higdon. Whether I can avail myself of nikuman's pacing services in thirteen weeks is very much up in the air.

I highly recommend Higdon for first timers and beyond. If you find yourself wanting something a bit lower impact, Jeff Galloway's program is a good alternative.

I'm going to be running the WDW half in 2:00 (my goal is to finish both the half and the full in under 6 hours). All comers welcome. Costumed runners doubly so.

[ERCougar]

Ran my 5K in 23:26 this morning. I could have gone faster if I wasn't dry heaving for the last mile. My only issue with running in the morning is that I don't have enough time to get fluids in me before I run so I end up dehydrated after a couple miles and my body's reaction to that is to dry heave.

But the rest of the run felt great.

This made me laugh.

"Except for the dry heaving, I felt great!"

Runners are weird.

[Moliere]

This made me laugh.

"Except for the dry heaving, I felt great!"

Runners are weird.

[Parrot Head]

I went for my first Yasso 800s tonight and, man, am I tired. I went for an easy pace yesterday but had to sneak out during lunch so I wasn't able to go as easy as I had planned and I'm almost always a morning runner, so this schedule is throwing me off some. I also need a better stretching strategy post-run and I know I'm looking forward to a rest day tomorrow.

I called the nearby high school to ask about lights on the track and was told by the assistant principal that the public couldn't run on the track due to liability issues. I went anyway and I don't see how they can lock it up very well, so I plan to return.

I only ran 5x 800s instead of 10x, but it felt good to turn on the speed for a bit, even if my fast is probably slower than the moderate pace of many of you. I also got a PR in my 5k in the process

[Surfah]

2:46. In slippers.

http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/pulse/201210/man-runs-246-marathon-flip-flops-runners-world

[SteelBlue]

2:46. In slippers.

http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/pulse/201210/man-runs-246-marathon-flip-flops-runners-world

Wow. That had to be miserable. Also, it makes me feel like a complete loser.