First Day of Spring Monday - 3/21

Liam3494 · Mar 21, 2011

Not sure if I should be starting a thread as I have only just got back into this, but here goes anyway. Technically, it's the first day of Autumn for me, as I am living in the Southern Hemisphere at the moment, but it's the first day of the new season anyway, and for me, the weather will start to turn perfect for training, so no more excuses.
 
As my re-build is, deliberately, slow and steady, today was an early morning light run of only 2 Kms, on an urban route that I have run a few times recently. Without trying, and without any great effort, I ran some 20 seconds faster than I was doing last week, when I first re-laced my shoes after the lay-off.
 
On the weight front, in three weeks I have dropped 11 lbs, but with still 29 to go to hit my target by the end of June, a long way to go, but at least it's heading in the right direction.
 
Hope everyone who is running further and faster than me, had a great weekend, and doesn't mind me kicking off todays thread.

ksrunr · Mar 21, 2011

Thanks for starting us Liam. Looks like a positive Monday for you for sure.
 
14 miles this morning. Goal was 10 ez, 3 at MP, and 1 cool down. Was 10 secs per mile avg off on the MP miles (7:09, 6:59< 6:51) I'll blame it on the heat an humidity plus a bit tired.

Rip and Mike owe us race reports.

ripvanracer · Mar 21, 2011

And I have a fantastic race to report!!
 
I drove to Parkersburg for a 2 pm race since the weather looked nice and it was still a little cool for a morning race. Turned out to be 55 or so with a little breeze and overcast. Perfect running weather. I drove the course when I got there and it was an out and back with a loop in the middle. It was mostly rolling hills with the first mile net downhill and the last mile that same uphill. I talked to a couple friends until it was time to warmup and I took off to do the course. From the first step, my legs felt great. I ran the first mile in 7:02. The second mile was 6:37 and the third was around 6:40. I changed into my new Kinvaras to give them a try and see if I liked them enough to run my 10 mile race next weekend in them. They fit perfectly like my old sauconys and I did a couple strides before lining up for the start. There were 3 runners I knew who had beaten me pretty bad last fall so my goal was to go out too fast the first mile and try to stay with them. We took off and I did go out too fast but a group of 6 or 7 gapped me in the first half mile. Another couple runners came up on my shoulder so we ran together. After a small uphill, we headed down hill for a while until it leveled off. I hit the first mile in 5:39 which was a little bit of a surprise. I started gaining back on some runners after that and caught a couple before we hit the half way point. I had passed one of the runners that beat me last fall and was trying to catch a second one the next half mile. He was still a couple seconds ahead of me when I went through 2 miles in 11:25 (5:46). Now I started thinking that I may be able to break 18 if I could last one more mile. The problem was the long hill coming up. I worked as hard as I could and caught up to the other guy and ran a little bit side by side but when we got to the top, he went back ahead as I was really hurting. I was now watching the clock and remember looking down at 16:12 and I could see the finish area. When I got to the last turn though I was at 17:54 with a little way to go. I finished in 18:11 for 4th overall and 2nd in the 40-49 AG. That gave me confidence I can get my goal in next weeks 10 miiler if I have another strong race.
 
Today I went out for a recovery run on a fairly flat loop. 9.16 miles 66:49 (7:17 avg) Probably back on the treadmill tomorrow with cold weather coming back for a little bit.

hally · Mar 21, 2011

Yeah for Liam starting the daily. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr at Liam for telling a 54 yr old woman that he lost 11 pounds in 3 weeks

I sure hope Dove comes by with a road race as well as Rip and Mike.
 
Anyone here doing Boston this year? I know Robin moved and isn't hosting a meetup.
 
Long day yesterday and fairly strenuous six mile hike, and by the time I was able to do all my evening cache logging and wind down from the day it was 11:30.
Woke from a vivid nightmare at 5 and decided I needed extra sleep so I shut off alarm.
Tomorrow is not looking good either. But maybe I can drag myself up at 5:30 and get something done in the form of exercise.

evanflein · Mar 21, 2011

"so my goal was to go out too fast the first mile and try to stay with them"
 
Gotta love a goal like that! Quite the race for you, Rip, and wow what a field you were running with. That effort was only 2nd in AG?? Sheesh. GL on the 10 miler next weekend.
 
Yeah, Liam, there are a few women in here who won't take kindly to the 11 pounds in three weeks thing, but hey, it is what it is, right? <img alt="rolleyes.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/rolleyes.gif"> Good job on that and I hope you have a smooth and uneventful return to activity. I know it won't be long before you're burning up the roads again.
 
No Boston here for me, but sometimes I sorta wish I was. Besides feeling tired on yesterday's 15 miler, I'm basically running really well these days and feel like I could crank out a good race on that course. Oh well, Newport will be here soon enough.
 
I'll head to the gym with DH at lunchtime today for some elliptical and weights, but not sure about a run. My legs felt heavy and tired yesterday so a rest day might be in order. I was so tired last night I could barely keep my eyes open past 10 (early for me). So... we'll see. It's going to be so nice out later that I might have to get out for just a couple miles and call it a recovery run.
 
I miss Choovie, she's been gone for ages. <img alt="sad5.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/sad5.gif">

irunmike · Mar 21, 2011

Great race, Rip! Yes, you are indeed running in fast company.
 
Running fine, ks!
 
Hi Erika! I'll miss seeing you this April. I didn't qualify for this year's Boston. That's why I substituted an earlier marathon 3 weeks ago. But I hope to see some of my Kick friends when they get to The Commonwealth.
 
I had a great time in NYC this w/e. DW and I went straight to the expo on Sat. and took care of business there. Then we dropped off some care packages for DD and the checked into our hotel. I hung out there while those two went shopping for a dress (ka-ching!). Later the three of us had a nice dinner at an Italian place. (Man are prices high in Manhattan! And I wasn't even drinking wine!)
 
The next day was the race. I took a cab to 96th and 5th Ave, and got into my corral 20 minutes early, like we were instructed. Froze my butt off standing around in 33F temps with a 5 mph breeze. Everyone was shivering by the time to gun went off.
 
It always amazes me how some folks try to win the race within the first mile while the course is still jam packed with runners. Several times I had to make quick adjustments to avoid tripping. Anyway things loosened up enough by mile 3 and I was able to run my own race. I find Central Park to be a bit challenging in the upper corner. There are some good-sized hills there. (We run this Half in a clockwise direction.) So I tried to be a little conservative until mile 8 when we finally leave the Park and can cruise down 7th Ave through Times Sq. I ran strong! Felt good the whole way and even had a good finishing kick. Here are my splits (done manually on the Garmin):
 
Mile 2 17:01 6 8:09 10 8:37 .1 0:47
 3 8:05 7 8:04 11 7:50
 4 8:07 8 7:57 12 7:46
 5 7:50 9 7:05 13 7:25
 
That mile 9 marker must have been short. Garmin indicated as much, but at the time I remember uttering a naughty word and tried to rein it in a little bit. Averaging mile 9 and 10 comes to 7:51, which makes more sense.
 
Anyway, I was very unsure what I could do 3 weeks after a Full, so I came into the race with low expectations. I told everyone this wasn't a goal race, but I was sure to have fun in the big apple. But as it turned out I beat my top goal of 1:45:00! Here are the official results:
 
net time: 1:44:46
overall: 2298
gender: 1661
AG: 120/385 M5054
pace: 8:00
age adjusted time 1:29:29
AG% 66.18
 
Sunday night we took DD and her roommate out to dinner, and this time I ordered a bottle of wine (ka-ching!). Great meal and good conversation in the afterglow of another successful race. I am psyched!
 
If you haven't run this Half, do yourself a favor and put it on your calendars. It's a great race in a great city. I hope to see you there next year. Thanks for reading.
 
Mike

tomwhite · Mar 21, 2011

...did Lliam have Clearance for this??
 
 
just checking
=====
 
......rest day.....poolrun tomorrow
 
frontyard grass is
going ape-sh**t
 
....trying to ignore it.......successfully at the moment.
 
....good running guys.....

Hemerocallus · Mar 21, 2011

Hi Liam, KS, TW, Mike, Rip, Hally and Erika!
 
Excellent racing, both Rip and Mike! WTG on the AG hardware, Rip....that was hard earned indeed! <img alt="banana.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/banana.gif">
 
7.1 mile easy RAW. Temps are going to dip down for the rest of the week and we may be getting some (shudder) snow on Wednesday, just in time for my morning run. 
Blech...enough already!!!!<img alt="icon_scratch.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/icon_scratch.gif">
 
....I miss Choovie, too!
along with a lot of others.

Dove · Mar 21, 2011

Did I hear my name?
 
My weekend didn't go quite as planned. I had a bittersweet race but am trying to stay positive about it all.
 
First, let me say that I have joined a new racing team and we have a fantastic coach. He doesn't think I've been tapping into my potential, he thinks I'm afraid to see how far I can push myself. He has been giving me plently of speed and hill workouts lately, too.... just try to see if we can make some improvements. He has been telling me lately that I need to let go sometimes and risk a DNF just to see where that line is for me.
 
So back to my race: my goal was to run the full 24-hours. No mileage goal, just stick it out. I've never completed the allotted time at this particular race. I always hit my goal distance and quit. 2009 my goals was 50 miles. 2010 I wanted 3 miles past midnight (ended up with 70 miles). This years race started well. My legs were strong. I could tell the speed work had made a difference. Even at my slow "all day" pace I could feel my push off was stronger than it has been. That was probably what created my problem. I am pretty blister resistant - but this race is notoriuos for bottom-of-the-feet blisters. The surface makes you slide every-so slightly with each push-off. I had forgotten to tape my feet, and I didn't bring my taping supplies. I had a rather unspectacular 50k split, then for some reason I just started moving along so nicely. Effortless and rythmic. At mile 40 my feet started to go. I looked at the clock and realized that if I pushed a bit I could PR at the 50 mile distance, but it could blow the rest of my race. I figured my feet probably wouldn't hold up anyway, so coaches voice came into my head and said "what are you afraid of? just give it a try, worst case, you drop out at 50". So I let go. I got progressively faster. I ran mile 49 in 8:15 and PR'd by over 1/2 hour. I was elated! But I also paid the price. My feet were totally gone. I decided to hobble until I could hobble no more and made it all the way to the 63 mile mark and dropped.
 
So big PR, didn't make my original goal, I think I can crush it next year if I manage my feet better. I'm still a bit disappointed, though.

ksrunr · Mar 21, 2011

Nice racing Mike and Rip!
 
Dove - I've always thought you were tentative about racing but crazy for miles.
 
Hi TW and Erika and Heme. What is snow? I'm looking at heat index tables to determine if I'm running fast enough.

ripvanracer · Mar 22, 2011

Great racing Mike. Nice negative split too.
 
Fantastic effort on the PR Dove. You will get the whole 24 hours soon enough.
 
Ks, I think that heat index has been good for me this winter. Every workout is 70-72° and some days are more humid than others.
My incline conversions have also been pretty close. (40 seconds/mile for 3% and 25 seconds/mile for 2%)

Johnny · Mar 22, 2011

Rest day, just lurking, but saw the Dove post and wanted to congratulate you.....Great job..24 hours or not...when I grow up I want to be just like you. (since we all know I'll never grow up, that's a moot point)
 
so, since I'm here....thanks for starting Liam....first day of fall....just seems weird.
 
Nice running KS.....I watched the KU-Illinois game last night...not familiar with KU this year. Is that their usual MO, just doing enough to win??
 
Congrats on the AG award rip
 
Nice racing Mike....I'd love to run in Central Park some time.....was there in 99, but wasn't running at that time.
 
3lbs in 11 days or is it 11 lbs. in 3 weeks....whatever, ALL the wimmin in here are Hawt, 3lbs or 11 lbs over their desired weight or not, AND, I miss choovie too.

gobi · Mar 22, 2011

Nice racing Mike and Rip
 
Dove - utmost respect for attempting another 24, I'm not strong enough to do it.
 
I have just started tapering for my 100km which is this Sunday, no laughing but it is 1.10am and I cannot sleep due to a lack of training.
 
It has only been one day !!!!!
 
Saturday I raced another duathlon finishing 24th and 4th in my AG, it was not a great race from me to be honest as I struggled to get my legs turning over on the run, discovered than no hill work makes climbing hard on the bike and the plus point of the day was great endurance as on the 2nd run I only ran 2 seconds a mile slower than the first run.
 
A winter on the turbo means good on the flat bad on the hills :¬) 
 
MrsG continues to have issues and just to add insult to injury has now picked up a Peronial tendon problem which has stopped her running again. She can however ride a bike (most of the time) and boy can she ride. We did 50 miles with the bike club in 2.25 on Sunday actually she did as I rode about 2.28 having been dropped by the group on a 9 mile section where at 25mph I couldn't stay in touch she tucked in and rode away. In all honesty I had been dropped on every climb so had ruined myself to stay in touch that long.
 
All the best
 
Gobi

Opie · Mar 22, 2011

This is like Big Monday on ESPN. Great racing, all! Mike, I would love nothing more than to do that race. Dove, I'm ultra happy with that mile 49 in 8:15! I understand why you feel disappointed but don't be. I sympathize with Mrs. G.
 
The MRI confirmed the stress fracture. I go back 4/25 and in the meantime, keep doing what I'm doing: wearing the boot as much as possible, cycling, yoga and swimming. I should be cleared then to run a 5k leg with my marathon relay team here. He also predicted that it could recur and surgery might be necessary at that point, putting in a plate. I said, doc, I could just give up running. He said something to the effect of don't fool yourself (for a new doc he knows me pretty well) and said I have 5-10 good years of running left. I'm fine with the current prognosis. Having the PF on this foot last year has given me some patience I didn't have before that.

irunmike · Mar 22, 2011

Dove, I'm so in awe of your racing ability. That's a strong pace at mile 49! Congrats.
 
Opie, thanks for stopping by. I've been wondering how you're doing. Stay patient and come back stronger than before.
 
Nice racing, Gobi. All my best to cycling Mrs G.
 
Thanks guys for all the props.

Liam3494 · Mar 22, 2011

I feel guilty about posting my 2 Km after reading Dove's report above, not to mention Mike & Rip, but I guess we have all had to restart after a lay-off once in a while, so I'll hang in there -
 
Great to read about the races etc., I've missed them.

First Day of Spring Monday - 3/21

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