I want to run a marathon. (The running thread)

[Sidewalk]

sidewalk, I never knew or felt the high, until I started running the ultras (distance), then it was too good of a high to break through the "wall" when you are about spent and don't want to go on anymore. weird. it's hard to explain.

That is me about 5 minutes into a run

Seriously, I feel spent after about 2 hours. Up to that point I feel okay, but at that point I feel dead. But when I have to turn back around and do the same distance back like this last run, those last two hours are really, really long. And especially since the closer I get to my house, the more hills I have to contend with. I don't have much of a flat area nearby, my 5 miles today showed 1600' gain and loss. But we are all different, and maybe it just wasn't meant to be. My running friend (in her 40's and going for a new PR around 4 hours) would probably quite everything and run across country if she won the lottery

good luck on your marathon too

Normally I would say luck has nothing to do with it, but I think I will need all the luck I can get

 

[spf_970]

All your guys talk of running marathons has me bummed. I was a fairly serious runner a number of years ago and have run 10 marathons including Boston 3 times. My best time was a 3:05. I tried to break 3 hours but could not do it. Hurt my back about 10 years ago and have never been able to run any distances since. I miss it alot. Enjoy it guys!! I wish I could be out there with you training!

 

[machete]

That is me about 5 minutes into a run

Seriously, I feel spent after about 2 hours. Up to that point I feel okay, but at that point I feel dead. But when I have to turn back around and do the same distance back like this last run, those last two hours are really, really long. And especially since the closer I get to my house, the more hills I have to contend with. I don't have much of a flat area nearby, my 5 miles today showed 1600' gain and loss. But we are all different, and maybe it just wasn't meant to be. My running friend (in her 40's and going for a new PR around 4 hours) would probably quite everything and run across country if she won the lottery

Normally I would say luck has nothing to do with it, but I think I will need all the luck I can get

dude, I feel the same way sometimes.

spf, sorry to hear about your back. I'd say, walk some 5k's, just to get out there, but damn man, 3:05's, and Boston 3 times?! very cool.

 

[greggargubby]

That is me about 5 minutes into a run

Seriously, I feel spent after about 2 hours. Up to that point I feel okay, but at that point I feel dead. But when I have to turn back around and do the same distance back like this last run, those last two hours are really, really long.

first time posting in this thread. long time runner, but never quite reached marathon distances. close, but not quite. over the years, i've been an on-again off-again runner, mostly due to knee issues (i'm big and an old skier, neither of which help). at times i average 35 miles a week, right now probably 18 due to yet another knee issue. that said, i think i figured this one out yesterday, so hopefully my mileage will go back up once i stretch my way out of the pain.

sidewalk, have you tinkered with whatever fluids and/or foods you are carrying with you while you run? also, do you eat right after you run? at least for me, anyway, running comfortably for anything more than a 10k requires a real focus on nutrition, while i'm running and after i'm done. without that, i just don't have the endurance. it's like a switch with me. a lack of food at the appropriate times means i'm a 10k runner. eating food at the appropriate times unlocks the door to distances i used to think were bat-shit insane.

 

[greggargubby]

All your guys talk of running marathons has me bummed. I was a fairly serious runner a number of years ago and have run 10 marathons including Boston 3 times. My best time was a 3:05. I tried to break 3 hours but could not do it. Hurt my back about 10 years ago and have never been able to run any distances since. I miss it alot. Enjoy it guys!! I wish I could be out there with you training!

sucks to hear, spf. i can't stand being sidelined from anything, but not being able to run or ride are the worst. can't even stand looking at a moto or running magazines when i can't participate.

what is the nature of your injury? muscular? spinal? have you had the opportunity to pursue treatments other than western medicine?

 

[Sidewalk]

sidewalk, have you tinkered with whatever fluids and/or foods you are carrying with you while you run? also, do you eat right after you run? at least for me, anyway, running comfortably for anything more than a 10k requires a real focus on nutrition, while i'm running and after i'm done. without that, i just don't have the endurance. it's like a switch with me. a lack of food at the appropriate times means i'm a 10k runner. eating food at the appropriate times unlocks the door to distances i used to think were bat-shit insane.

Carrying fluids and drinking the right amount makes a huge difference, but I have always been careful about that since I experience dehydration during survival training years ago (3 days with no fluids at all). Food seems to have a minimal impact as far a I can tell unless I eat something really bad the night before. But I have huge energy reserves already to burn from

A year ago anything more then a 5k was crazy, now a 5k is a quick run around the block. I feel relatively comfortable that I could just grab some water and run a half marathon at any time now, and I am going to try and maintain that ability as long as I can.

Unfortunately I haven't run at all in 2 full weeks. I think I got a case of
tendinitis half way through my 20 mile long run and haven't run since. I tried to the other night but I thought I felt it coming back so I aborted. I will try again tomorrow since this is my last week before the marathon on Sunday. I didn't want to push myself to train while healing so I just didn't run. I think it was a good decision though as I don't feel any more discomfort during day to day activities like I did a couple weeks ago and I still think I can do the full 26.2 Sunday.

The day is nearly here!

Can't wait to get it over with though, I hate all this running

I just watched "The Spirit of the Marathon" yesterday and noticed most people were running the Boston without carrying fluids and the fluids handed out on course were in huge cups, is that normal for most marathons? I don't want to bring my 70oz Camel-Bak if I am not going to need it. I figured on a 4 oz cup about every mile and my Camel-Bak would be just about right for my fluids use but an 8 oz cup every 1-1.5 miles would actually be just about right for me.

 

[Baptistro]

I just watched "The Spirit of the Marathon" yesterday and noticed most people were running the Boston without carrying fluids and the fluids handed out on course were in huge cups, is that normal for most marathons? I don't want to bring my 70oz Camel-Bak if I am not going to need it. I figured on a 4 oz cup about every mile and my Camel-Bak would be just about right for my fluids use but an 8 oz cup every 1-1.5 miles would actually be just about right for me.

I will not carry water with me on the big ones any more other than perhaps a small hand held bottle (12-16 oz.) that I can refill, as water is plentiful on course. I will however, make sure I carry enough food. I bonked super hard in my last marathon less than two miles from the finish (couldn't even walk bonk), and a donated goo got me to the end with a little reserve in the tank.

 

[Sidewalk]

I will not carry water with me on the big ones any more other than perhaps a small hand held bottle (12-16 oz.) that I can refill, as water is plentiful on course.

Cool, I will probably do something like that then.

 

[greggargubby]

... my 70oz Camel-Bak...

sounds like you have things pretty well mapped out. but, how do you run with a camelbak? i tried it once and it seemed just ridiculous. i mean, i couldn't see pulling that off for more than a mile. that said, it's 100oz pack, so maybe it's just too big. how do you keep it from bouncing everywhere? mine would chafe me to the point of bleeding in minutes flat.

 

[machete]

I usually wear a camel back for ultras. the jogging isn't super fast, as it's trail running. and I just sinch up the camel back and haven't been chaffed by it yet.

if it's a loop run, then I usually switch out my hydro equipment when I switch out socks or something. I also have a fuel belt, and a couple hand held water bottles.

water/aid stations are about 4-7 miles apart on ultramarathons...so it can vary. and I have a tendency to sweat out a lot of salt, which then makes me bonk hard. so I try to replace it continuously. salt tabs, or tabs that go into the camel back work great. I eat when I can, and carry goo packs which are great for a burst of energy. some bars, that I pick at, beef jerky. usually salty chips, pringles or what not get me through at the aid stations.

don't down too much salt at an aid station, or your stomach will go loose in a couple miles. not fun.

 

[Sidewalk]

sounds like you have things pretty well mapped out. but, how do you run with a camelbak? i tried it once and it seemed just ridiculous. i mean, i couldn't see pulling that off for more than a mile. that said, it's 100oz pack, so maybe it's just too big. how do you keep it from bouncing everywhere? mine would chafe me to the point of bleeding in minutes flat.

I have been using Camel-Baks for so long that I don't really even notice. I usually wear a sleeved shirt though to protect from a little rubbing, but it isn't a big deal. Getting the straps comfortable is the important part. I have used it for every run that was longer then an hour (upwards of 18 miles) and have always been glad I had it. I think I will take it will be to the marathon regardless just in case.

 

[Baptistro]

Camelbacks are invaluable for long training runs. Running 20 miles in the hills by yourself with little to no water around means you have to carry your own. Long runs do tend to be slower paced when training, so chafing is generally not an issue if you prepare properly. Udder butter, the right clothes and the right pack will keep you comfortable for hours.

 

[scratchpad]

well i'm out for a while. got the mri results and its not looking too good but it is getting better since starting therapy.

2 herniated dics L4-L5 and L5-S1, annular tearing, degenerative disc disease, and a whole ton of other shit.

hope to get back to running soon.

good luck on your marathon sidewalk

 

[Sidewalk]

5:30:47

 

[greggargubby]

5:30:47

well done, sir.

 

[Sidewalk]

I met up with my friend last night for a pre-race dinner and I ordered the meal with more carbs on the menu then anything else. First time I have ever ordered a meal based on the nutritional that was the opposite of desired (I love that law). Got some last minute advice from here since this was going to be her 5th marathon and she recommended against the Camel-Bak saying there would be plenty of water on course. So I brought a bottle of Gatorade just in case figuring I could ditch it if I needed.

I didn't make it to bed until 11 PM and couldn't sleep. Funny since I wasn't really nervous, just couldn't sleep. Got a couple of hours in the got up with my wife who was volunteering at the finish at just before 4AM. I hopped back online to try and set up the runner tracking for my family and found out that they want you to park in a certain area and take a shuttle. Problem is the shuttle stops running more then an hour before the race start

Picked up my friend at 4:45 as planned and found parking about 2 miles away. We thought we had plenty of time, but we were farther from the start then we thought (which was about 2 miles) and the volunteers didn't seem to know where the starting line was and there were no signs saying where to go. So we ended up running about those two miles or so to the starting line. I guess she always arrives late and gets lost so it is tradition for her

The starting corals were pretty good well organized though so I took off from the start with only a few hundred people about 40 minutes after race start.

After a few miles I noticed I didn't need my own fluids, so I drank what I had instead of using the water stations and ditched the bottle. Lesson learned for future runners. I would drink two cups of the Cytomax and then dump a couple cups of water over my head to cool off.

Around mile 6 my MP3 player quit working, that was depressing.

Around the half way point I was really starting to feel tired and sore. Knowing I was only half way and that my pace would only get slower sucked.

I ran into my mom at 14.6 who was volunteering at the medic aid station there who said my friend was doing well. She has been sick for the past two weeks and just started training in the Vibrams two months ago. She really wants to qualify for Boston, but wasn't planning for it to happen this time.

At about 18 miles I realized I had probably no more then two hours to go, but I wasn't doing half bad. I knew I would finish, even if I got injured I could walk the rest if I had to.

At 20 I knew it was only a 10k left, so I picked up my pace as fast as I could sustain.

Last 5k was the worst, felt like it was taking forever and I just couldn't go as fast as I wanted. I really wanted to finish with 12 minute miles, I couldn't pull it off. I could stop walking through the water stations, but I knew that was a bad idea.

Last water station was less then a mile from the finish, I ran straight through. I got fluids like normal but I upped my pace even more knowing I was nearly done with the finish barely in site, I was breathing hard and my legs were about dead.

Last .2 miles I upped it even more, I wanted to be completely spent when I crossed the line. Either I would finish sprinting using every last bit of energy, or I would be limping and in complete pain.

Last 100 or so feet I pulled all the stops and went into a full on sprint (aka marathon pace for Kenyans).

Photo is my friend Rebecca, my wife, and myself. And me at mile 14.6.

 

[machete]

congrats Sidewalk. very cool man. so you ran total 28.2 miles? that's officially an ultra.

 

[Baptistro]

5:30:47

 

[Sidewalk]

congrats Sidewalk. very cool man. so you ran total 28.2 miles? that's officially an ultra.

The 2 miles isn't official, just an estimate



This means that if I can run a marathon, that just about anyone out there can do it. Just have to work for it.

 

[Deucer]

'grats Sidewalk! Great work! Nothing like finishing your first marathon.

I've been meaning to update for a while, and keep this thread going. I ended up running the SB half about 10 minutes slower than I was targeting.

Bad course for me, huge hill in the middle, not as prepared as I would have liked, drove up the night before, knee pain, bonked after the hill yada yada yada it sucked, really disappointing. Had me questioning whether I was going to go after the SF marathon this year. I took a few weeks off to re-evaluate running sporadically only when I really felt like it.

But, I put down 12 fun and pain free miles on Saturday and my short (6mile) run yesterday was back on pace around 7:20/mile and felt great, so it looks like things are back on.

My best (and only) full marathon time was 3:45:30 at SF last year. With the training and experience I've had since then I should be able to run 3:30 or 8:00/mile, or that's the target right now. I'm using SF as a warmup for Chicago in the fall. Here we go...