Marathon Training Thread

[ewth8tr]

I'm glad it worked out. My one good memory from my marathon last year was crossing the finish line with my then-8 year old. He met me about 100 yards up the trail after waiting there for 45 minutes (did I mention how badly I bonked). I kept telling him to wait for me as I was one step away from falling over in hamstring and calf cramps.

Yeah, I love it. 2 years ago when I ran the Huntsville Half Marathon, it was a pretty small field, so as I am running my last 100 yards, my then 5 year old son bolted from my wife and ran along my side to the finish line.

One cool thing that ToU is offerning (not sure if they've had it in the past or not) is you can sign up for text messages to be sent to family/friends when you cross the mile 13, mile 20 and the finish line.

[bluegoose]

One cool thing that ToU is offerning (not sure if they've had it in the past or not) is you can sign up for text messages to be sent to family/friends when you cross the mile 13, mile 20 and the finish line.

Thats a great idea. If StG had that, then bigpiney could go back to the hotel, grab a bite to eat, take a power nap and be back in time to see me finish after meeting his wife at the finish line.

[Pheidippides]

Yeah, I love it. 2 years ago when I ran the Huntsville Half Marathon, it was a pretty small field, so as I am running my last 100 yards, my then 5 year old son bolted from my wife and ran along my side to the finish line.

One cool thing that ToU is offerning (not sure if they've had it in the past or not) is you can sign up for text messages to be sent to family/friends when you cross the mile 13, mile 20 and the finish line.

Houston has something like that too, except I think it has even more places where you can get texts.

[SteelBlue]

Well I got 13.1 in today without significant pain. I had planned to go as close to 20 as possible but at 13 I could feel my hips getting tired and that usually meant itb irritation is coming soon and so I stopped. I am elated that I can go that distance again but not very confident that I could finish 26.2 in 2 weeks. Still not sure what I'll do.

[Sea Chicken]

Finished Top of Utah yesterday 4:02:35. Cowboy beat me by 30 seconds. Here's my race report:
http://court.fastrunningblog.com/blog-09-19-2009.html

[BigPiney]

Finished Top of Utah yesterday 4:02:35. Cowboy beat me by 30 seconds. Here's my race report:
http://court.fastrunningblog.com/blog-09-19-2009.html

That is a great report. I was pulling for you... I thought you could make it. Marathons are a beast. Well done.

[SteelBlue]

Well, I'm going to give St. George a shot. Just purchased my airline tickets so I'm committed. My knee is still sore but I can run through the current pain and when I warm up it isn't very bothersome. I missed all the meat of my training so my longest run was 16 miles and was clear back in August. My longest recent run was last Saturday, a 13 miler. But I feel like I have a decent shot of finishing this thing. The time won't be respectable, but I just want to get one under my belt.

[cowboy]

Well, I'm going to give St. George a shot. Just purchased my airline tickets so I'm committed. My knee is still sore but I can run through the current pain and when I warm up it isn't very bothersome. I missed all the meat of my training so my longest run was 16 miles and was clear back in August. My longest recent run was last Saturday, a 13 miler. But I feel like I have a decent shot of finishing this thing. The time won't be respectable, but I just want to get one under my belt.

Good luck. If it makes you feel any better, I talked a friend of mine into running ToU last week because he was going down for a wedding anyway. His longest run this summer was a half-marathon in Green River in August. He ran ToU Saturday in 3:29 and qualified for Boston (He's 45.) You'll do fine if you can run without pain.

[SteelBlue]

Good luck. If it makes you feel any better, I talked a friend of mine into running ToU last week because he was going down for a wedding anyway. His longest run this summer was a half-marathon in Green River in August. He ran ToU Saturday in 3:29 and qualified for Boston (He's 45.) You'll do fine if you can run without pain.

Thanks Cowboy, I think. These little stories are great until I actually have to reveal my time after this is all said and done. I'm not running without pain, but it's manageable. I believe I can finish, but it may be a really ugly time.

[bluegoose]

I did one of my last pre-marathon runs last night - 3 miles at just above marathon pace. It felt great and any other week I would have loved to have gone twice that far. It was also the best that my knee has felt in about 7 weeks. Hopefully things are coming together at the right time. My hip still gets tight after my runs, so I wouldn't be surprised to find myself hobbled once again with ITBS next week.

Rest on Wednesday and Thursday with a short 2 miler on Friday morning before we catch our flight to Vegas out of Sacramento.

In Hal Higdon we trust.

[Pheidippides]

Good luck to all in the St. George. I have a friend from my ward who is in Utah right now, finishing up his training as well.

At the same time y'all are running, I will be in my first race in 15 years. I have entered the Susan Komen 5k here, which I something like 40k less than you will be running. Despite the warnings of our good friend Cardiac, I am going to try to run a personal best. I will let you know how it goes. I haven't tried a 5k in a couple of months now and I'm in better shape than I was then, so I'm optimistic.

[Teenage Dirtbag]

In Hal Higdon we trust.

Speaking of Hal, back in April when I ran Salt Lake, at the finish line I told my wife and my buddy that I ran with that I was done with marathons. I was sick of the training, sick of the pain, etc.

I was depressed for having such a bad race, and when we got to the car, I got on my phone and had a Facebook friend request from none other than Mr. Hal Higdon! It was great timing. I think I belong to some fan group of his, and he had just sent a request to be friends. It was pretty cool, and it helped snap me out of my bad mood.

Anyway, good luck to everyone in St. George. My friend and I were considering doing the Mesquite Marathon in Nov, but I undertook a long run the other day and quickly realized I need more than two months to run a respectable time. But I'll be pulling for you guys this weekend.

[cowboy]

Time to bump this thread and start up the running talk again. All of you who don't want to act like middle school cheerleaders are welcome to join.

I started my training this week for the ToU, and I feel pretty good. I have to be vigilant about stretching to keep the tendonitis away, but other than that I'm healthy. Heart rate and pace are right on. Now if I can only stay healthy.

I'm doing Hal Higdon's novice program because it's really easy and doesn't take too much time. 3 miles today, tomorrow, and thursday, cross Friday, and 6 Saturday. I'm really pumped.

[bluegoose]

I am in a difficult spot right now in that I am trying hard to stay in shape for both cycling and running for the next few months before i commit to a fall marathon. On limited time, it is really tough.

3 days running and 3 days riding is just enough to keep me from getting out of shape in either one, but not enough to get me in shape in either one. I can put the miles in running, but it really tough to do more than 1 hard workout each week in running and cycling. After a hard cycling workout, I don't feel like doing anything more than an easy jog, and likewise, after a hard running workout I've got no zip in my legs to go hard on the bike.

I don't know how the triathletes do it.

[Pheidippides]

I am in a difficult spot right now in that I am trying hard to stay in shape for both cycling and running for the next few months before i commit to a fall marathon. On limited time, it is really tough.

3 days running and 3 days riding is just enough to keep me from getting out of shape in either one, but not enough to get me in shape in either one. I can put the miles in running, but it really tough to do more than 1 hard workout each week in running and cycling. After a hard cycling workout, I don't feel like doing anything more than an easy jog, and likewise, after a hard running workout I've got no zip in my legs to go hard on the bike.

I don't know how the triathletes do it.

I'm struggling too, but in a different way. I'm back up to about 25 miles a week in sort of a holding pattern, but with no races on the calendar until next January (although I may add a half in October) I'm stuck in a rut. I want to start pushing the envelope and doing some fantastically long distances on the weekend (I love long runs more than any other kind) but I'm worried about overtraining too.