Eliwashere's spring fling mentor group!-Full (Page 10)

You could TOTALLY do a half by October...the farthest I had run before starting in January training for a HM was 6 miles...I finished! I followed the Half Marathon plan from here - and augmented with run and swim. 6 1/2 months is plenty of time.

I finished the Pacer's Half Marathon this morning. I had set a goal for myself to finish in 2:30 and rolled across the finish line at 2:10. It was a great day - sunny, clear with a bit of wind. The race wound around the Pentagon, next to the Potomac and through Arlington - it was lovely. The one thing I have to say is Arlington, VA is MUCH flatter than Camden, ME. I will write up a complete race report the next couple of days (after we fly home tonight).

Hope you all had a great weekend! (and Happy Mother's Day to all of you mothers)

Killed it Jennifer!  Congratulations, that is a fantastic accomplishment, and to smoke your goal like that is huge, congrats.

Charlie, I don't know from experience, but I hope you take the opportunity to do the half marathon in September.  I had planned on this year being my Olympic triathlon and half marathon year, next year was going to be my HIM and marathon year, and '12 was going to be the full iron year.  I was challenged to do the full marathon later this year, and after my 10K earlier in April, I decided that I would train for the marathon starting in June, after my Olympic tri.I am not really setting a crazy goal for the marathon, probably leaning toward somewhere in the 5 hour range, but I want to train for that distance I will just throw one bike and a swim or two a week into the program (as well as a couple of 'recreational' sprint races because I love to compete) so as not to lose technique or bum to saddle relationship over the season, but I am relishing the challenge and I hope you do to.  If you feel up to it, you will be able to knock it out of the park.

Congrats Jennifer!!  That is an awesome time.  Kicked butt!!

It unanimous; based on your comments and some reading about training I have decided to do the 1/2 Marathon.  Not exactly sure how I plan on training for it it.  I think I am going to continue with my Basic Sprint Plan to get me to the Sprint I have scheduled for July 10th.  The 1/2 is scheduled for September 26th which leaves me 11 weeks to train after the sprint.  With a week recovery that gives me a good 10 weeks.  Probably use a 12 week 1/2 plan from the many I have found on-line and use the strength, and cross days to run and swim.  Likely replace one of the shorter runs with a bike or swim as well.  This will let me compete in the Sprint in early September, but start adding run volume to build for 1/2 mary distance.

Any suggestions would be appreciated, I have also thought about adding a third run to my week starting next week to help build up weekly volume as well.  

Jennifer, WAY TO GO!!!! That is an AWESOME time.
Charlie, good for you. Sounds like a great plan.

I ran long today for the first time in a WHILE. 11.5 miles or so. I was hoping to be a little faster than I was. It was eye opening to see how much I had lost off the run by focusing on the bike.

I guess I need to get that third run back in each week.

However, since my shorter runs are going well, and fast, I am not too worried. I have plenty of time, and a good plan to get back on my game for my fall races.

Hope everyone had a good weekend!!!! 

Jennifer, that's a crazy time!  Great race, you trained hard and consistently and it paid off.  You earned that time - 20 minutes below goal time!  Wow and wow!

Race report is up: http://wwww.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=207321&posts=1&start=1

Thanks for all the encouragement...Charlie - you can do this!

Jennifer, you continue to amaze me!! And Charlie, you are going to be awesome too. I'm so proud of our group!

I missed my ride yesterday due to Mothers Day guilt (of all things!) but I had an otherwise fabulous weekend. Tonight my knee locked up on my during my run though and I have never had knee problems before. How should I treat this from here out??

Jenna, where exactly on the knee did you feel the pain?  I'd say you'll have to make sure it's ok before upping mileage at all.  I'd probably see someone since any advice you'll get here will be from non-professionals!

The HM distance is doable, but I wouldn't set a time goal.  Hopefully you can get some longer runs in, but you don't want to ramp too fast and you don't want that long run to be all your miles either.  To be totally honest, your run totals and frequency do seem a little low to be doing a half marathon in three weeks, but what do I know?  Confused yet?

I totally agree that my mileage seems really low. I took a HM training plan and merged it with the tri training so some of my runs were replaced with other workouts. You were right- I ended up not properly trained for either! I'll muddle my way through without much of a problem, but just to finish and not with a time in mind.

There was no pain in my knee at all. Just something I could feel at the front of my knee on the inside. If you sit in a chair with your knees at 90 degrees and put your finger on top of your right kneecap, then move your finger an inch to the left. That little gap between the cap and the rest of your knee is where I could feel just a little something. Like a tingling or a fuzziness? Not painful at all. Then the whole thing locked up on me but was fine after I walked it off. Strange...

Hey all,
Sorry I have been AFK. Busy week. Actually, busy couple of weeks coming up. Wedding to go to, Daughters Birthday, then we move.
Jennifer, it bears repeating-WAY TO GO!

Jenna, sorry to hear about your knee. If it cleared up and you had no pain after, I wouldn't worry too much. If it happens in the same place again, you may want to see someone. If you bruise or scrape the back of your kneecap, it can hurt like hell. Also, if the kneecap slips off track, that can take a while to heal/fix.

it may be something as simple as you took a funny step and one of the ligament/tendons moved a hair too much and let it lock.

Pay attention to it for a few days.
 

I tried to run on it again today and it became painful so I stopped. No pain at all before or after though, so I'm hoping a couple physio trips and some stretches/strength training will sort it all out for me.

I had my first training related pain on Monday!  Cool!  It is a pulling sensation, pretty painful on the outside of my right knee, right where the bone and tendon connect.  I guess I need to rest a day or two to see if it goes away?  Anyway, we will see.  I think I will run Saturday in preparation for the race Sunday.  I am ready, but more excited about June 19th and my first long course triathlon.

Keep us updated on the knee pain issue, and I hope it gets better SOON!

Jennifer, awesome half marathon.  You inspire me.  I can't wait for my long course tri. in June so that I can start training for a marathon in October. 

So I have decided to to do the 1/2 Marathon, and have built a new training plan to help me get there.

Here are my key dates:
July 10 First Sprint Tri
Sept 5  Another Sprint
September 26th  1/2 Marathon

Here is the training that I have loaded into my plan to get me through 9/25.

Now through July 10th I am essentially following the Run Focused Sprint Plan.  I am a little behind on the extra running so I am  adding that in fairly slowly.

After the Sprint I am more aggressively building run volume and maintaining Bike/Swim volume.  I think this will help me do well in the Sprint I have scheduled for September.

After the Sprint I focus on another long run and then Taper for the 1/2.

Here is a link to my volume graph.  Please provide comments and suggestions, I am a little concerned I am adding volume too quickly but I think I still fall within the 10% rule I read about.

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/training/training-reports.asp?action=report&memberid=184912&start=5%2F1%2F2010&end=9%2F25%2F2010&duration=week&values=sumtime&hidevalues=0

Also note that for the 2 weeks I have a sprint scheduled the Plan includes my estimates for those races in the weekly volume.

Thanks for the encouragement.  I am very excited to try and take this on.

Jenna, Dave - Good luck with your knees, I hope they start feeling better soon. 

Kind of funny my knees were a little sore today after my Bike ride.  Think I need to adjust my seat a bit, and am having my cycling friend make sure my cleats are positioned correctly for me.  Hopefully that will prevent any real injuries.   I was only sore maybe a 2 on the 1 - 10 scale.

Although this is the second time feeling this way after riding so I am sure there is something that can be done to help.

Jenna - so sorry to hear about your knee...because it was so unexpected, you might think about seeing someone. Take it easy!

Dave - sounds a little like ITB to me...have you tried stretching the ITB? Face a pole, cross your right knee over your left resting the ankle on top of the thigh right above the knee. Holding onto the pole, act like you are going to sit down (your left leg could eventually be at a 90 degree angle)...this helps me A LOT!

Charlie - I am glad you decided to take on the half marathon! After looking at your logs - it looks like a nice progression to the longer distances/longer time. If you have any extra time, you might throw in a quick run on one more day a week starting in June or July...if not - just make sure you get the long runs in (for me - that was crucial from both a physical as well as a mental standpoint). Keep in mind, I'm not a professional and only have my very limited experience to fall back on.

Hope everyone is doing well!

Dave - I agree with Jennifer that the knee pain sounds like ITB issues.  There's not a lot of structure on the outside of the knee up there, so it's not likely anything integral to the knee itself.  Stretching is key, and nightly rolling helped me a lot, too.

I had another thought about Charlie's training plan...one of the things my plan did that I think worked out well for me was scheduled all of my long runs on the same day of the week as the race (my race was on Sunday, so all of my long runs were on Sunday), you might think about that if it makes sense to you.

That's an interesting thought Jennifer.  And I'd suggest doing at least some runs at the same time of day to get nutrition/hydration down.  My half was sabotaged because I completely failed at pre-race nutrition since all my long training runs were in the afternoon and the race was mid-morning.

Charlie, build the long run volume slowly.  Add a little every week.  And even adding a few other shorter runs when you can helps.

Charlie, I agree, if you can get in the extra run, it helps. I know for me, I need 4 runs a week to improve most of the time, 3 generally keeps me steady.

Jenna, how is the knee?
 

Wheee-I made 600 posts.

So, now that I almost have street cred (isn't that at 1000), I feel like I need to start my plan for real.

Actually, I have been really busy this week, but I have managed to do some OK training. Last night and tonight I did the treadmill and spin bike respectively. It was nice to be able to get a workout it, and it helped my frame of mind.

Do you all find that getting in your workouts usually results in a better mood? 

Could my ITB issues be stemming from the new shoes?  It seems like the shoes came before the pain, I did not have this pain in my 10K and was using other shoes.  If the shoes are the culprit, I will pawn them off and just buy a pair of the same shoes I used for my 10K.  The Mizunos sure felt good in the store, but they have bothered me a little on my runs, and now this 'knee issue', I thought they were just going through a break-in period, but perhaps they are no good for me!

At any rate I believe I will run my next run and my race Saturday with the old Sauconys and rest assured that I will have no knee pain, then maybe continue breaking in my new shoes. 

Any thoughts?

Hi All.  Sorry I have been MIA lately.  Life seems to get in the way sometimes and just don't have the energy or the time to get everything done that needs to be done, including posting and training. Unfortunately I don't see an end in sight since I just accepted a temporary job  in addition to my current part-time job and other commitments.  It will offer me a new challenge and great experience in marketing, not to mention some much needed spending money, but will cut into more of my free time
 
My shins are feeling better but I have not tried walking briskly or running as of yet.    I need to refocus and just make sure I get some exercise/training in since I do know that it makes me feel good and helps me sleep at night - which I am not doing well with all that is going on.

Now I just need to find some time to go back and catch up on all that you have been up to lately.