I have a lot of shoes now, and I've been running in most of them. I used to be a die-hard Brooks PureFlow fan, but I don't care for the update on the 3s. My 3s have 130 miles on them, somehow, and I also scored a pair of the 2s, which used to be my favorite shoe. Those have 115 miles on them.
They're not my favorite shoes anymore. My favorites are my Saucony Kinvara 5s and Newton Distance IIIs (I like the looser fit), but I thought I might need more cushion for the higher mileage. I got a pair of Adidas Glide Boosts, and they feel pretty good.
But I think they're hurting me.
I'm used to 4mm drops, and the Glide is 10mm. A weekly run in them is probably okay, but putting more miles on them seems to hurt my calves and, thus, my Achilles. It's very disappointing because I was hoping to use them to lengthen the life of my Kinvaras. I think I might want to run the marathon in them, but I wonder if I shouldn't try something with a little more cushion.
But I love the Kinvaras. I should probably stick with them for this training cycle. I think I know too much about shoes, and it's clouding my judgment, if that's possible. I'm sure I'm overthinking things (no surprise there). So I'll wear the Kinvaras for the River Run.
And I do have a plan for the River Run/18-miler.
Miles 1-5: very, very easy warmup (10:30s or slower, hopefully)
Miles 1-8 of the race: controlled and comfortably hard, around 9:10 pace
Miles 9-13.1 of the race: go for it and start dropping the pace, hopefully end with sub-8 miles
Cross your fingers! I'm taking today and tomorrow off, and I'll run/walk with the 5k group for its 3.5 miles Saturday morning. I should be well-rested and ready to go for Sunday, right?!
Showing posts with label river run. Show all posts
Showing posts with label river run. Show all posts
Thursday, September 04, 2014
Tuesday, September 02, 2014
River Run Half-Marathon
So I'm running the River Run Half-Marathon again. It's this Sunday, and it will be part of my 18-mile long run.
It will also be another attempt at a sub-2.
I'm trying to think positively and believe that I can do it. I've been running okay since the Parkersburg half, so I'm hopeful. I'm front-loading my runs this week so I can take off Friday. Saturday will be an easy 3.5 miles with the 5k training group, and Sunday will be my fourth half-marathon of 2014.
The River Run was my first half-marathon way back in 2011. Reading the recap is kind of funny. I was so serious about the 13.1 miles. I also did the race 2012, and I remember starting out too fast and just going with it. I kind of forgot how much I slowed down at the end though.
(Note to self: Even if you don't record anything else in this stupid blog, do more race recaps. It's good to see them after the fact.)
For this race, I'm also trying something else: I'm not drinking the rest of the week. I had two beers yesterday, and I won't drink again until probably Sunday night. If it's successful, it will likely be a strategy I employ for the marathon as well (probably two weeks for the marathon, which is 53 days away -- not ready!).
It will also be another attempt at a sub-2.
I'm trying to think positively and believe that I can do it. I've been running okay since the Parkersburg half, so I'm hopeful. I'm front-loading my runs this week so I can take off Friday. Saturday will be an easy 3.5 miles with the 5k training group, and Sunday will be my fourth half-marathon of 2014.
The River Run was my first half-marathon way back in 2011. Reading the recap is kind of funny. I was so serious about the 13.1 miles. I also did the race 2012, and I remember starting out too fast and just going with it. I kind of forgot how much I slowed down at the end though.
(Note to self: Even if you don't record anything else in this stupid blog, do more race recaps. It's good to see them after the fact.)
For this race, I'm also trying something else: I'm not drinking the rest of the week. I had two beers yesterday, and I won't drink again until probably Sunday night. If it's successful, it will likely be a strategy I employ for the marathon as well (probably two weeks for the marathon, which is 53 days away -- not ready!).
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
2012 River Run Half-Marathon Recap
It's easy to see where I screwed up:
All those sub-10 miles are just too much for me. I just can't believe how much I slowed down after mile 8, which is where I fell apart.
Too bad the River Run wasn't a 10k.
So we started as a group, and I should have held back with the bulk of the group. But - famous last words, right? - I was feeling good and figured I should see what happens.
What happens is I fall apart and have a bunch of 11+-minute miles. The Parkersburg race was done with a better strategy, although that was purely accidental.
On the plus side, I should be able to hit my 10k goal (sub-hour) when I find another one to do, and I should be able to do my 5.5-mile leg of the relay in 55 minutes or less.
But man, this was disappointing. About a minute faster than Parkersburg and about 2 minutes off my goal. Clearly I need to make some changes, starting with:
All those sub-10 miles are just too much for me. I just can't believe how much I slowed down after mile 8, which is where I fell apart.
Too bad the River Run wasn't a 10k.
So we started as a group, and I should have held back with the bulk of the group. But - famous last words, right? - I was feeling good and figured I should see what happens.
What happens is I fall apart and have a bunch of 11+-minute miles. The Parkersburg race was done with a better strategy, although that was purely accidental.
On the plus side, I should be able to hit my 10k goal (sub-hour) when I find another one to do, and I should be able to do my 5.5-mile leg of the relay in 55 minutes or less.
But man, this was disappointing. About a minute faster than Parkersburg and about 2 minutes off my goal. Clearly I need to make some changes, starting with:
- no more long races for 2012 (probably not until April or May) - this also means I will have to motivate myself to keep my fitness
- upping mileage to about 30 miles per week
- consistently adding in speedwork
- doing some long runs with goal-pace miles
The thing I'm not mentioning is weight loss. I know I would likely improve my performance if I dropped 10 pounds or so, but I'm not ready to make that commitment. I will keep my diet more balanced, and since there are no long races planned, there will be no need to carb-load for five days beforehand.
My wallet asks for a diet, however - meals out and craft beer add up!
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
2011 River Run Half-Marathon Recap
I had all these grand goals of treating my body well - good food, lots of sleep, not too much beer. I kind of failed:
Wednesday night: four pints of Oktoberfest, burger & fries for dinner
Thursday: Aaron and I split two pitchers of beer, and I ate pizza & wings for dinner
Friday: BBQ for dinner followed by two beers out and then splitting a 150ml of Rare Vos at home
And not nearly enough sleep!
Saturday's food choices were better, at least: grilled chicken salad for lunch, one latte and no caffeine after that, spaghetti (no meat) for dinner with one beer. I think I was asleep by 11 or 11:30 and then up around 5.
Before I went to sleep, I had gathered everything I needed for the race - Power Bar for breakfast, clothing, gels, Spi Belt, iPod, Garmin, hat, etc. - so I didn't need to do much in the morning aside from wash my face, put in my contacts, brush my teeth and get dressed. I ate most of the Power Bar before the race, but I have trouble eating an entire one for some reason. The dishrag texture doesn't help, I guess.
We arrived at Rocky River High School around 6:30, which gave us time to pin on our bibs and get to the bus for transportation to the starting line. The River Run is a point-to-point race, and the high school is nearer to the finish line. It took FOREVER to get to the starting line, and we both had to pee. Aaron eventually took advantage of being a man and peed outside, but I still had to wait for the Port-o-Potty.
While waiting for the restroom, I saw our friends from Pittsburgh, so it was nice to see them prior to the race. Once I was done, it was almost time for the race to start. We found our running group and started with them.
I felt good. The first 6 or 7 miles went well. I ran with one of the coaches. She took a bathroom break at mile 6 and ran the rest of the way with another girl in the group - that meant I was on my own for the second half of the race. Honestly, I kind of needed someone because I started fading. The second half - especially the last quarter - was tough. I kept moving forward, only walking through water stops. I did a gel at 5, Gatorade at 8, and another gel at 11. Aid stations were every two miles, which was awesome and I definitely took advantage of them.
I remember at mile 10 seeing that I was at 1:45. I was so excited knowing that I could do 12-minute miles for the rest of the way and get to my 2:30 goal. I had pretty much stopped looking at my watch by that point because my pace was depressing me. I'd held a 10-minute pace during the first half, and watching it slip was too hard. I actually held fairly steady and finished with 2:19:45!
Under 2:20! Officially I had a 10:40 pace, but the course, of course, was a little long. According to my Garmin, I had a 10:30 pace. Who cares?! I finished in under (barely) 2:20, and I got this:
Wednesday night: four pints of Oktoberfest, burger & fries for dinner
Thursday: Aaron and I split two pitchers of beer, and I ate pizza & wings for dinner
Friday: BBQ for dinner followed by two beers out and then splitting a 150ml of Rare Vos at home
And not nearly enough sleep!
Saturday's food choices were better, at least: grilled chicken salad for lunch, one latte and no caffeine after that, spaghetti (no meat) for dinner with one beer. I think I was asleep by 11 or 11:30 and then up around 5.
Before I went to sleep, I had gathered everything I needed for the race - Power Bar for breakfast, clothing, gels, Spi Belt, iPod, Garmin, hat, etc. - so I didn't need to do much in the morning aside from wash my face, put in my contacts, brush my teeth and get dressed. I ate most of the Power Bar before the race, but I have trouble eating an entire one for some reason. The dishrag texture doesn't help, I guess.
We arrived at Rocky River High School around 6:30, which gave us time to pin on our bibs and get to the bus for transportation to the starting line. The River Run is a point-to-point race, and the high school is nearer to the finish line. It took FOREVER to get to the starting line, and we both had to pee. Aaron eventually took advantage of being a man and peed outside, but I still had to wait for the Port-o-Potty.
While waiting for the restroom, I saw our friends from Pittsburgh, so it was nice to see them prior to the race. Once I was done, it was almost time for the race to start. We found our running group and started with them.
I felt good. The first 6 or 7 miles went well. I ran with one of the coaches. She took a bathroom break at mile 6 and ran the rest of the way with another girl in the group - that meant I was on my own for the second half of the race. Honestly, I kind of needed someone because I started fading. The second half - especially the last quarter - was tough. I kept moving forward, only walking through water stops. I did a gel at 5, Gatorade at 8, and another gel at 11. Aid stations were every two miles, which was awesome and I definitely took advantage of them.
I remember at mile 10 seeing that I was at 1:45. I was so excited knowing that I could do 12-minute miles for the rest of the way and get to my 2:30 goal. I had pretty much stopped looking at my watch by that point because my pace was depressing me. I'd held a 10-minute pace during the first half, and watching it slip was too hard. I actually held fairly steady and finished with 2:19:45!
Under 2:20! Officially I had a 10:40 pace, but the course, of course, was a little long. According to my Garmin, I had a 10:30 pace. Who cares?! I finished in under (barely) 2:20, and I got this:
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