Getting speed and endurance back up. Third 5K was in 24:03 so pretty happy with my rapid progress back to old form.
Any Runners in the House?
- Thread starter thaudout
- Start date
I may be too optimistic, but I signed up for a full marathon May 14th, nearly a year to the day since I started running. I had planned to wait until 2017 when I'll have many more miles underfoot before I tried one but my October half marathon, and the training leading up to it, went so well that I figured I could manage a full by May.
I signed up for the Lake Wobegon Trail Marathon. It's a paved "rails-to-trails" trail in central Minnesota that goes between four small towns. No other races are associated with it, just the marathon and the field is limited to 450 runners. That will be a stark contrast to my half where they had 18,000+ runners between the 5K, 10Mi, and HM.
My plan is to keep running about 25 to 30 miles per week throughout the winter until early February then slowly ramp up the weekly miles until I hit 50 to 55 miles before tapering. Based on my HM time of 1:56 the race time calculators indicate I should be able to complete a full in 4:02 to 4:05 but with continued improvement in my running I hope to do better. Just how much better I have no idea. When I signed up for my half my goal was 2:30 and I crushed that. Between now and then I have a HM in March that will give me a better idea what to expect.
I signed up for the Lake Wobegon Trail Marathon. It's a paved "rails-to-trails" trail in central Minnesota that goes between four small towns. No other races are associated with it, just the marathon and the field is limited to 450 runners. That will be a stark contrast to my half where they had 18,000+ runners between the 5K, 10Mi, and HM.
My plan is to keep running about 25 to 30 miles per week throughout the winter until early February then slowly ramp up the weekly miles until I hit 50 to 55 miles before tapering. Based on my HM time of 1:56 the race time calculators indicate I should be able to complete a full in 4:02 to 4:05 but with continued improvement in my running I hope to do better. Just how much better I have no idea. When I signed up for my half my goal was 2:30 and I crushed that. Between now and then I have a HM in March that will give me a better idea what to expect.
I know I'm bringing a thread back from the dead (and my membership here since its been a while) but I thought I'd let everyone know I'm running the Boston Marathon again this Monday (Bib #30278). This year I'm running for charity so that was a rewarding and fulfilling experience. Currently it looks like its going to be partly sunny and 70 on Monday. I'm looking forward to it! Last time (in 2014) the last 5 miles, pretty much since Heartbreak Hill, were almost pure misery so this time I'm going to try to enjoy myself more.
Best of luck!!!!
That's great! Good luck and I'll be waiting to hear your results!
I guess we might try to get this back up and more active since it used to be an inspiring thread for me. I completed a Spartan Super in March in Vegas -- well it was called the Las Vegas Spartan but was really in AZ but they don't like being straight with you on anything lol. I'm going to be running through the Trifecta this year and will be doing a Sprint in Boise and a Beast in Dallas. I'm also considering doing a half this summer just to keep in form since the Beast is 20K+ so it will be fun.
Congrats dabrock! I don't know how I'd do in a spartan race. I have a hard enough time on the road!
Speaking of adding difficulty it also turns out that I have a torn meniscus on the inside of my knee. I got it about a year ago but it was from a nasty fall at the gym so I thought it was a bone bruise. It was sore throughout my race training but in mid-February it got really bad (I was hobbling on declines like a 90 year old) so I've had a couple of cortisone shots to get me through training and the marathon. So far it's held up well but I'll probably end up getting an arthroscopy afterwards. It'll be nice not having to ice my knee every day.
This is a long-winded way of saying don't expect any PR on Monday.
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Speaking of adding difficulty it also turns out that I have a torn meniscus on the inside of my knee. I got it about a year ago but it was from a nasty fall at the gym so I thought it was a bone bruise. It was sore throughout my race training but in mid-February it got really bad (I was hobbling on declines like a 90 year old) so I've had a couple of cortisone shots to get me through training and the marathon. So far it's held up well but I'll probably end up getting an arthroscopy afterwards. It'll be nice not having to ice my knee every day.
This is a long-winded way of saying don't expect any PR on Monday.
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Wow, that's hard to run with that type of injury. Hope you get through without any further issues. I'm pretty sure surgery will be the only option so hope the recovery goes well after the race!
It really hasn't been that bad, mainly due to the cortisone injections. I did my longer mileage toward the tail end of the first shot without any discomfort so I'm feeling pretty confident for Monday. It's more the daily maintenance that I'll be looking forward to not have to do anymore. I ice it at least twice a day (I have frostbite burns all over my knee), I've been blasting through bottles of naproxen, and I have to wear a brace all the time. It's not too bulky but putting it right back on after it gets all sweaty after runs is not ideal.
That is fantastic! Good luck!! FWIW, I had my knee scoped out several years ago and surprisingly, my running hasn't been affected by it. I expected it to limit my miles.
My marathon training was going very well until last weekend. I had my second 20 mile run and felt strong the whole route. I went for a marathon pace finish for the last 6 miles and actually ran about 20 seconds faster than MP. My goal time is 4:00:00, or a 9:10 pace, but at the end of the run I was doing so well I figured I should try for something better.
The last couple of miles on that run I felt a slight discomfort in my lower calf, about 2 inches above my heel bone. No biggie, I've felt that before.
The next day I played in basketball game (My son's BB team vs. us dads...I had to play!). That was a mistake. My achilles pain started going away as I warmed up, but by the end of the hour, it came back...hard. That night and Monday I was hobbling and very concerned about missing my first marathon (May 14).
It did get better during the week, and the doc I saw said I should have no problem recovering by the marathon, so I'm hopeful, but I'm laying low for now. I quit running for a week, and I skipped a planned 25K trail race last Saturday. I'm going to slowly try to get back into it this week, starting with a few miles and seeing how it goes.
I no longer care about my finish time, I just want to be able to cross the finish line now. I have had two 20 mile runs, and I've tested my nutrition plan, so I have no doubt I can do it, IF I can get my Achilles squared away.
Hope that you can do it. I know a lot of people that have Achilles issues and it's never fun.
I'm sure it will. Every longer race I've run (i.e. halfs and the two marathons) I've had at least one setback that derailed my training for a little while. This last time it was the meniscus (really when it flared up since I had the tear all throughout; it wasn't until about half-way through the training when it made it impossible to run any further). I ended up taking two weeks off which I thought would kill me but it really didn't. It also "allowed" me to stop being concerned about my time and just enjoy the overall experience.
So how did it go? Did your knee cause you any trouble?
It went pretty good, all things considered. No problems with my knee. The big issues were that it was more humid than I was expecting and there was a headwind the whole way. But I hydrated and fueled much better than last time and enjoyed the overall experience. I wouldn't say I enjoyed running for that period of time but I was able to appreciate the crowds and the moments and all that.
Glad it went well and no issues with your knee. When do you see about the need for surgery?
My first marathon is in the books!
I ran the Lake Wobegon Trail Marathon (paved trail) Saturday and finished in 4:09 and change. I had an Achilles strain 5 weeks before the race that took me out for about 3 weeks, missing one 20 mile run and a total of 55 miles of training. I had been able to run pain free the two weeks prior to the race, working up to 9 miles the weekend before. About mile 17, however, the pain came back, followed by quad pain about 3 miles after that.
I was running really strong, and very steady, and on pace to finish around 3:57 but when my quads lit up on top of my Achilles pain, my pace gradually slowed. I tried a few times to push through the pain to maintain a sub 4 hr finish but at 22 miles I gave up on that idea and just ran as fast as the pain would allow.
One side affect of running slower for the last 6 miles was that my heart rate dropped quite a bit, from 158 most of the race to 142 at the finish, and I didn't feel tired at the end. I had expected to collapse from exhaustion.
While I didn't make my 4 hour goal time, I'm pretty damn happy with the result and the experience. Not bad for having been a runner for just a year. I'm now debating if I want to signup for a fall marathon or wait until next spring again. Also up for consideration is whether I want to do another marathon as my next major race or go for an 50k trail race.
I ran the Lake Wobegon Trail Marathon (paved trail) Saturday and finished in 4:09 and change. I had an Achilles strain 5 weeks before the race that took me out for about 3 weeks, missing one 20 mile run and a total of 55 miles of training. I had been able to run pain free the two weeks prior to the race, working up to 9 miles the weekend before. About mile 17, however, the pain came back, followed by quad pain about 3 miles after that.
I was running really strong, and very steady, and on pace to finish around 3:57 but when my quads lit up on top of my Achilles pain, my pace gradually slowed. I tried a few times to push through the pain to maintain a sub 4 hr finish but at 22 miles I gave up on that idea and just ran as fast as the pain would allow.
One side affect of running slower for the last 6 miles was that my heart rate dropped quite a bit, from 158 most of the race to 142 at the finish, and I didn't feel tired at the end. I had expected to collapse from exhaustion.
While I didn't make my 4 hour goal time, I'm pretty damn happy with the result and the experience. Not bad for having been a runner for just a year. I'm now debating if I want to signup for a fall marathon or wait until next spring again. Also up for consideration is whether I want to do another marathon as my next major race or go for an 50k trail race.
Excellent, congrats!!!
Congrats!
What do you mean by paved trail? Asphalt?
What do you mean by paved trail? Asphalt?
Yes, asphalt. Trail running is very popular around here so when I mention the name of the race, people often think I'm talking about trail running, like in the woods, hence the qualifier. This particular trail is a rails-to-trail project.
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