slow buggers running club (Page 5)

far too fast tbz! go join newadventures in no longer a slow bugger running club well done though

yeh its tough! its not easy being slow :P

good luck in your races

welcome schwamm and thanks widgeon.

i survived my 10k, ran all of it and think i can in under 75 mns. not 100% sure as i forgot to check my watch as i started.

how did you get on maxpixie? 

Thanks y'all!  The happy thoughts worked, I came in at 1:06:30!  Wahoo!  I couldn't have done it without my pacer, who's firmly NOT in the slow buggers running club   I've got a race report up, if anyone cares to read it.  I did walk a little bit of mine, 2 water stations and a random little break somewhere at 5.5 miles. 

Good job today, everyone

ohmygod!!!! i've just gotten back to where i'm staying and had my first chance to go online to check my race time and i am in a state of shock!!!

69 minutes, 50 seconds!!!!!!!

the gun time was 76 minutes, 12 seconds so seeing as i was an eejit and didn't check my watch at the start i knew i'd beaten my hoped for time of 75 minutes. my in my brain but not going to tell anybody time was 72 minutes and my never in a month of sundays and i'm dreaming time was 70 minutes. and i beat even that!

argh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

will do race report now

Um, I'm not in the slow buggers running club?  I have yet to go sub 10 minute miles for any race beyond 4 miles (though I think I proved that I can break 10 minute miles for at least 6.2 miles after pacing maxpixie to that time yesterday, at a pace that felt sort of easy 7 days after a marathon). 

My best 1/2 marathon is 2:16.  And given how badly I fell apart at the Philly Marathon (my goal was in the 4:40s, or roughly 10:30ish pace and I did the first half in 2:21, but that overall goal didn't happen- hip flexor cramps eventually got so bad and affected my knee meaning that I walked most of the last 4.2 miles, having to really push to hold off the 5:30 pace group at the end ).  I think I am firmly in the slow buggers running club until I can run a sub 4:30 (or more accurately sub 4:22) marathon.  

You've done a half marathon, so assuming you were to start building up your long runs soon, you could COMPLETE the NJ Marathon in April.  You don't need to do a 20 miler necessarily, though you would want to do at least one long run over like 17 miles. 

Your time goals, however, are completely unrealistic at this point, I'm afraid.  My best mile is like 7:5something, and I could probably do 2 miles in like 16 something.  My best half marathon is 2:16 and had everything gone perfectly at Philly, I may have been able to just break 4:30, but that would have taken the race of my life.  Realistically, I should have have done like 4:39-4:49, but leg cramps meant I barely broke 5:30.  Regardless of whether it's your first or 100th marathon, there is always the possibility of something like that happening, just so that you understand what could happen.  Your half marathon time was 2:43 and even assuming you could drop that down to a 2:30  in the next 4 months, you'd still be looking at like a 5:10 marathon time.  There is a big difference between doing 9 minute miles for 2 miles and for 26.2 miles, something that can take years.  I'm not trying to discourage you from running marathons and from doing the NJ Marathon or any other marathon next year- in fact, given you did a half marathon and have been training, though keeping your runs fairly short, it seems like it could be a realistic goal for you (I am not a coach however).

You mentioned the NYC marathon in your later post.  There's a lottery to get in, so there's no guarantee you'd get in, though if you don't get in 3 years in a row, you've got guaranteed entry the 4th year- see the website for details.  But NYC is a tough course; while the experience is great,  t from what I've heard though, it is not neccessarily the best course to do your first marathon on.  

The NJ Marathon (formerly the Jersey Shore Marathon) is a flat, fast course.  It's very well run, with great volunteers, and with a race director who raced the mess that was the Philly marathon so I'm sure he learned things from there.  Well-stocked aid stations, pacers to help get you to your goal time.  It's a good race to do your first- small enough to be personal, large enough that you shouldn't be completely alone.  You (and anyone else) can feel free to PM me about the NJ Marathon if you have any questions.  I have reasons to know a lot about that race... 

Obviously, it's your choice as to when and if to do your first marathon.  And remember there is nothing wrong with a 5, 5:30 or 6+ hour first marathon.  It's your first one, and the focus should be on finishing with a smile on your face, rather than time (unless you're some running god who has the ability to qualify for Boston the first time around perhaps).  Good luck with whatever you do!

brilliant news widgeon - care to give us the details?

i've not posted on here as i have only run once since my 10k as i waiting for physio. once i get the all clear iwill be back posting again i'm sure.

I'm still in the club. Sadly, no matter how much I run, I can't seem to break 11-12 min/mile pace. I have no idea why. I've been trying to train for the Houston Half Mary which is next Sunday. I hope I can finish. I had a couple of weeks of being sick in December and that really set me back.

Tomorrow is my first race of 2007....doing a duathlon....1.5mile run/12mile bike/1.5mile run. Not looking to break any speed barriers tomorrow either.

I would love to stay in this club forever, but I guess I don't feel like a "runner" until I can run a sub-10 min/mile pace. I know that track workouts help, but surely increasing mileage helps speed too?

I still fight these.  Whenever either my milage or intensity goes up from what I'm used to they tend to come back at least for a bit.   Stretching helps, swim drills with fins help, not pushing too hard definitely helps, walk/run helps. 

I found that after a stressful run I would get splints on almost any run I did for the next 2 weeks, but after that they did adapt.  My milage is down from the summer, but I'm working on pace and I'm getting them again.  I think for a lot of us who don't have an athletic background we need to be pretty conservative about how quickly we increase the demands on our bodies, especially if you're big like me (6', 240 lb).  Just jogging can be a big stress to a body not used to it.

The rule of thumb is to increase volume by no more than 10% per week, so that's what I did on my long runs leading into a race last fall.  I still wound up with shin splints during the race.   That rule may not be conservative enough for guys like me who are just breaking into athletics.   Now I'm being more conservative about my mileage and have had fewer problems. 

One exercise I find helpful with shin splints can be done sitting at work.  Put your feet together flat on the floor with legs slightly extended in front of your chair, then rotate the feet upward pivoting on the heels, as far as they'll go easily.  Do that about 50 or 100 times a few times a day at work to strengthen the tibialis muscle.

I hope something there helps, I know it's a bit rambling.  I guess I'm trying to say take it slowly, don't sweat the pace or mileage, don't ignore pain.  Do more than your body would prefer so you'll adapt, but not so much that something breaks.  And yeah, you definitely count!!  One day you may even like running...