left.right.repeat group -closed - Full of a bunch of winners...YEAH! (Page 227)

Ugh... Nice.... and there we all were...united in our concern for Carmen....!!  ha.. okay guess i need to name my bike too.. maybe it makes it faster!

BTW... I definitely think Lena is off the hook for the Cake....

M.

Ok Bryan,

I had my last "long" run yesterday before the race on sunday...a 10 miler, longer than I have ever run.

I employed the "slow down" theory that you described above (at least I tried) so here are my run results for yesterday:

 NOt sure how that table will show up, anyway...I am usually out the gate and running downill (as I live on a hill) and have a 7:15-7:25 first mile...actual first mile = 8:02 GREAT i am slower (and it DID take effort)

2nd mile is usually 7:45-8:00, actual 2nd mile = 8:15 (ok slower but could be more slower)

mile 3 is usually 8:45ish, actual mile 3 = 8:20!! (crap! i need to slow down!)

i wont bore you with EVERY little detail here but miles 4 - 8 are usually around the 9 minute mark and as you can see I stayed near that all the way thru mile 6. 

at this point I said to myself "well I tried to go slower now its the second half, lets see how we survive.

MIles 7 & 8 had a significant hill in the middle as it was a little "out and back" as part of my loop, my times reflects that hill presence.

mile 9 flattened out a bit, while mile 10 ended in the biggest hill of all, which always kicks my a$$ at the end of every run no matter which distance I run.....always have to run back home which is up that hill....ugh.

I was very pleased with this run for several reasons:

• got to test what the "holding back" in the beginning felt like (nothing new on race day!)
• also practiced my race day routine which included meal the night before, morning coffee/meal bathroom break, etc (all except for driving an hour to the location) 
• got to get 10 miles under my belt, which gave me more confidence in making the distance
• solidified my goal of going sub 2 hour.

looking forward to a few shorter runs this week as I taper to sunday...so EXCITED FOR THIS!

Way to go...... Seems like you are Ready!!

I obviously have not been in here for a few days... so a quick, condensed version of a response.

No I cannot and will not pee on my tri bike. I am also of the no pee on carbon, no pee in the shoes philosophy. But yes, I may be drinking a lot of water before climbing into that wetsuit in IMAZ 2012. As Briana said, wear your gloves.

I know you said if you are hydrating correctly, you should be peeing, but I was of the mindset that as long as I was hydrating (on the bike, I mix Infinit nutrition in my water) properly, the sweat/consumption should be balanced. I guess I still don't drink enough according to expectations.

Bryan, you might not have been there for Briana's 3M finish, but you probably had breakfast AND lunch before I crossed the finish line. I have no expectations of podiums in my future, but at least I was not asked to pick up the cones...sorry I missed you.

Run for Chocolate, and more wedding stuff for my daughter in a couple of weeks.

Suzie,  way to keep up the training.  Small steps go a long way in training.  Keep up the good work.

Pace13/Jeff nice run even with the hills!

Malsup/Monte - the bike shopping went okay, I am going to All3sports tomorrow to do the Retul bike fitting.  By doing this they will tell me which brand of bike will be best for me.  I did ride a Felt B16 and it felt good, was sad that no one had a Fuji that I could have tried.  Can't wait for the fitting and here what they have to say.  Will keep you all posted.

Triplebypat/Patrick, as you know it doesn't matter how fast we go as long as we finish.    Great job on your run as well.

I did run (read:plod through) 3M... and I agree - I am happy enough to have the opportunity to run and finish (stil vertical and not last).

And yes the Chocolate is Dallas.

Absolutely!  I think we are in Hurst for the volleyball tournament, so I'll have a bit of a drive that morning and probably won't have time after the run to hang around (depending on the schedule), but we can definitely meet at the start.

irishod / John,

I'd be happy to share with you what went right and wrong on my first marathon - I probably have more in the wrong column than the right column, but it's all a learning experience.

Keep in mind that I did not have any running background. I had not ran since I was in college, and that was only when I played pick-up basketball or had to run for a PE class.  I started training in March 2011 for a May sprint tri, slowly building the distance. After the sprint tri, I did a hybrid of the BT 16 wk olympic plan and Hal Higdon's novice marathon plan. I ran three days a week, usually, with the long day according to Hal Higdon's 18 week plan.  In August my training dropped off due to work issues, and then I started trying to ramp back up the distances in September. Each week I would tell myself that if I struggled with the long run, I would do the HM instead of the full.  I was able to do the 20 mile long run three weeks before the SAV R&R Marathon, and was able to do it in 3:16, and felt good afterwards. Started my taper, and then 9 days before the marathon, I got sick. I laid in bed for four days, and didn't do any physical activity the week before. During the marathon, I held my target pace for 15 miles, but then every muscle in my legs started giving up (either cramping or coming close). I started run /walks, then eventually just walked, so wanting it to end.

So things that went wrong:

1. Got sick - not much you can do about that.

2. Volume - I don't think I had enough base volume of running. I did one long run each weekend with two short runs during the week. This may have been enough, if my swimming and biking volumes were up, but I didn't swim any and biked sporadically during the three months prior. In hindsight, doing it over, I would run 4 days a week leading up to the marathon, with two shorts, one medium distance, and one long each week.

3. Pacing - Bryan is so right. Start out slower and then build. Even if I finished with the same time, it would have been better psychologically to have finished strong, instead of hobbling in.  Not a good feeling to see pace groups pass you in the last 8 miles, each holding banners with a time longer than you wanted to finish at.

4. Run your own race - You read it in "You are an Ironman", and also on this forum. So true.  I ran those first 15 miles with a friend from work. If I had been on my own, I think I would have been more in tune with my body and paced better. Instead, I thought I would be able to keep pace with him, and for a while I pushed myself longer than I should, and he held back for me longer than he should. I finally insisted that he go ahead.

5. Enjoy the day - I was so worried about having been sick, nervous because it was my first ever running race, and all of the logistics getting to / from the event, worried that I would soil my britches, worried that I would be one of those freak fatalities, etc., that I didn't really get to enjoy the experience. 

Things that went right:

1. I finished! - Although my training was not as good as I feel it should have been, it was still enough to take me from basically never running before to a marathon in 8 months. Feel free to look at my training logs - they go back to April of last year. Not optimum as stated, but it may make you feel better that you are much more prepared than I was. 

2. Had my family at the finish - With less than a quarter mile left, I made myself start running again (didn't want my picture taken walking across the line!).  I spotted my wife and girls on the side near the finish. Stopped to give each a kiss.  Puts it all into perspective!

Sorry everyone for such a long post!

sounds great to me too! ... photo opp with the "big man" himself (since I didn't get one at IMAZ).

Back to business, finally ran again yesterday after a week absence... it was hard not to do be active during that time, but when I got sick this time last year it turned into bronchitis that stuck around and gave me asthma, so doing ok.

Got through my two 90 sec intervals and two 3 minutes intervals with only a little bit of wanted to stop at the very end, so I'm glad I was able to pick up where I left off. Tomorrow starts my indoor tri program.. and I have a brick bike/run after work, so I'm interested to see how that will go. More importantly, I get gym and pool access! So I'm really excited to change it up and start building a bike and swim base.

Benttwice  -  Thanks for sharing.  It really is helping me to hear others experiences.  You touched on many of the things I've been thinking about regarding the race.  I had plugged a recent 5k time into the McMillan calculator and was going on the assumption that I would shoot for the time it predicted.  I've come to realize that is a vastly unrealistic goal.  So I'm working on trying to find a realistic pace.  I'm also torn on the volume issue.  I'd like to build up a bigger base, but in the recent past have run into injury issues.  Trying to find a good balance there.  I also will be starting with a running friend, but will take the "run your own race" to heart. 

Congrats on toughing out the finish, and happy you could share it with your family.

Benttwice, I really liked your thoughts on the race. Its always great to hear that others have similar feelings on race day!!! Thanks for sharing that!

Billy so glad Carmen is going to be reconstructed...that was a bit humorous!!! And now Lena doesnt have to bake you anything!!!LOL

Lena those cakes are fabulous!!!!

I rode 50 miles this weekend ..outside. I do NOT live in God's country. New Englad is typically cold and snowy...but we have had almost no snow and it was almost 50 on saturday and pedaled for as long as I wanted. It was great. Tried again on Sunday but the wind froze my face. We have had an amazing winter here!!!

Thanks for the props everyone. I'm still hydrated!

I think I'm catching the rotation thing in the swim.  I learned to swim in open water (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) and in my family, all the kids would try to swim upstream in the river.  No rapids or anything but brisk enough I ALWAYS drifted downstream, no matter what, while my older siblings and cousins could hold their own - well, a little. The rotation is exactly what I used to feel when I was fighting desperately against the current.

Can I borrow about 25 of those miles!!  ha.