Ernesto's group (5th season) - Closed (Page 89)

I have the Adamo saddle on my tri-bike and whatever Bontrager model came on my Trek. I had lots of saddle issues and ranted and raved on the previous forums.

The best thing I ever did was purchase the Garneau Neo Power Bib Short.  Those things are amazing, and any saddle feels great with them!  They are worth every penny, especially for longer rides. 

Good stuff E, the fun begins again!  BTW, how is it going as a USAT Certified Coach Level I so far, any perks that come with that?

Hola team,

I'm 15 days away from my marathon and today I had my weekly long run (2:30) where I was supposed to do the first 90 min at near Maff rate and then the last hour at marathon pace (I'm shooting for a 3:30 time which is really aggressive for me, but I believe doable, and it comes out to an 8min/mi pace).  However, I'm getting worried that it might be a little too aggressive since today I felt tired and was not able to keep that pace for more than two miles out of seven at the end of my run (I went between 8 min to 8:40min/mi for those miles).  

So my question is if I should shoot for my stretch goal of 3:30 and see how I feel as I go through the distance on race day and adjust if necessary?  Or try to be a little more conservative and play it safer at a slower pace/goal?  The inner me says go for it and see what happens, so I'm interested in your thoughts. Thanks!

I think if your other workouts have been close to your goal you will be fine. You'll find on race day that between the adrenaline and the other runners you'll run faster than you realize. I'm about a month out from my marathon and I too am looking at a 3:30 (actually 3:25 to qualify for Boston) time. I had gotten behind on my training plan and today was to be a 16 mile run. I wanted to average 8:30 for the run. I used to monitor my splits and pace all the time but found if I just run the time and pace will take care of itself. So today without really paying attention I averaged 8:25 and felt like I left some time out there. You'll be fine! 

I second the thought and add to it. You live in altitude, your upcoming marathon is much lower. Nobody can run really hard where you run Gabe. Race day will be easy, at least for twenty miles (hehe!). 

Raced my du this morning.  Temps at race time were 35 degrees. Shorts, compression socks, base layer and wind vest.

I was set on following E's advice and treating the race like a regular workout.  I did a 90 min ride on Friday and  30 min swim.  Had a couple of beers the night before and lined up all the excuses to rationalize E's take it easy advice.

Well I treated the race just like a workout, except that it was 1:33:00 zone 4/5 workout! As soon as the gun went off, E's advice was thrown out the window.  Went hard and just about close to all out.  First 5K held 6:48 pace which was really too fast.  Bike leg was about 19+ mph on a really hilly course (first time outside since 2012 - man, does my hill work suck).  Second 5K held on for dear life at 7:02 pace on the backside.  Finished 5th in the AG, happy with performance and feel OK.

Gotta say if you are up for a real sufferfest, these short course duathlons are just brutal.  5Ks hurt to begin with, but stack them in between the bike is sadistic. Throw in the cold and you get the picture.

Good Job Joe.

Mitch- I've been having the same aches and pains getting used to running on the road again, plus I got a few extra miles out of my old shoes running on the treadmill this winter. I switched to my new pair on Friday, which helped, but I could still feel the asphalt.

Tomorrow I am defending my 10k title at the Klondike 10K, The moved the canoe race that determines the date back because of the early Easter. My kids are running the 5k scheduled with it.

Good job. You pushed it pretty hard. This reminds me of why I moved from doing 5k, 10k and HM to tris that are longer. I don't care to redline any longer .

Well the rain came back here today so an almost 3 hour trainer ride followed by about 5 mile run. then went over to the inlaws for a couple of hours before heading to the Y to swim 1650 yards.  The swim actually went way better than I expected considering I was pretty tired. Averaged 1:45/100 which is a good pace for me compared to last year I was closer to 2:00/100. Didn't push on the swim as my plan said to take it easy and make it more recovery.

Will someone take the rain away from here? j/k I know it is way worse elsewhere for others here now.

I was in Northern Florida all week...got stuck in a torrential downpour at 6am during a tempo run...miserable.

Google spreadsheet is sorted...time to get my a$$ back in gear!

Talking about rain... went for a scenic MTB ride an hour ago and got completely saturated on the way back. It's been a while since I was so soaked.
In some places the path turned into a river and the wheels were half submerged! It was enjoyable to a point, then swearing took over.

We've had mid 30's too. Mine isn't Celsius

Upcoming half Mary and Mary people:

I just want to point out that at one point somewhere towards the end of my mary training, I voiced on this forum that I didn't want to train anymore for anything, marathons, triathlons, nothing.  I just wanted to quit and rest.  I had been through a couple of miserable runs and was pretty dejected.

Joe reminded me after my most enjoyable first marathon and record setting performance for me, that it was a pretty good race especially considering that I had wanted to quit during the latter part of training.

Just sayin', in case it helps you!

x2!!