posted Oct-17-2007 06:49 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Jim24315:
Next was...is(?) supposed to be a 30k in Clarksburg on Nov 11 that is part of the USATF Grand Prix series. Although doubtful now, it's not completely out of the quesion. The leg seems to be improving but it will be at least another day or 2 before I try test it. After that Tinman has suggested I take a little break before going back to base and rebuilding--this was before the pull.

I look forward to reading about Columbus. Weather looks touch and go, but so far so good on Sunday. I don't think you could be any more ready.

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I strained a muscle in my calf after a half in May and Tinman worked me through it and I was back out there with just a couple unscheduled days off. I also helped things along by getting treatment for it: ultrasound and ART. It was sore the day after the treatment but then I was good to go the day after that. If you can make it to the 30k healthy, Tinman's the one to get you there!

Thanks for the vote of confidence, I feel ready and can't wait to report back! Although, I'd like that high of 75-78 for Sunday to go down about 10 degrees. It probably won't get that hot while I'm out there but even the upper 60's is not ideal. Oh well, it's not Chicago! I'll take it!

Anyway enjoy the downtime if you can and I look forward to hearing about you back out there soon.

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posted Oct-17-2007 09:32 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Jim24315:
Travis,

I read your report on the 18:30 again, and was glad to see that you are going to try some races without the stroller. I'm not trying to discourage you from pushing the kids--but only that you run some key races alone on flat courses to see what you can do. You are in your 30's now and will only be this young once. Also it would be good to see you build those miles up if you have the time. From my experience the single most important thing a runner can do who wants to improve is run more miles.

Good luck in the Old Reliable and stay in touch

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Jim,

I know what you mean about running solo to see what my potential is. However, coming down the home stretch with the stroller is a bit like coming down the home stretch and knowing you are twice as old as the guy you just passed. It motivates you to push yourself to your limits.

Think about it. No one would cheer loudly for the 6’4” 31 year old who pulls in by himself at 17:45 in 30th place overall. However, they got pretty wild when they saw the big yellow stroller come in under 19:00! It is all about what keeps you motivated and striving to do your best.

I used to be a pretty good runner when I was about 9 years old. I was right around a 7 minute miler back then. I was running 5Ks and 10Ks pretty easily. However, I moved out to Irvine California where the 13 and under competition was pretty intense! I started finishing 4th and 5th in my age group to kids who were running 60+ mpw at age 10. There were 12 year olds running below 6 minute miles. I got discouraged because what I did wasn’t a big deal out there. I didn’t run competitively again till my son was born and I discovered how much fun running with your kids can be.

So I guess my point is “Do what keeps you motivated in the sport”. For me that is running with the kids. For you it might be the fact that you can maintain your incredible speed and endurance at 60!

Anyway, thanks for the vote of confidence and try not to get any younger if your age is what keeps you motivated!

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posted Oct-17-2007 11:21 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by bhearn:
Having now convinced myself the course was a quarter-kilometer long, however, I'm drawing some satisfaction from the indication I could run ~39:20. Maybe I will yet have that big breakthrough sometime soon.

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Update: I wrote to the RD with my concerns about the "certified" course. I was surprised, though gratified, to get this response last night:

quote:

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I response to your questions.

I had the course remeasured and it was measured as long.

The figure is 198m long.

I am not sure how this happened as it was measured several times in both directions however I do apologize for this?

...

I took over the race less than 7 weeks ago and some of the website was not changed in time for the race.

Unfortunately the course this year was not certified this year and I am sorry I will take that down and let everyone know.

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And Jim, good luck with that hamstring. I still think that's an amazing half marathon. I know I wouldn't have the guts to throw a 6:17 mile into the middle to securely pass a rival.

[This message has been edited by bhearn (edited Oct-17-2007).]

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posted Nov-07-2007 09:39 AM            

Is a 42:16 training run indicative of a sub 40:00 10K race time? I felt comfortable and my pacing was almost exactly even throughout.

My plan is to go out a little strong just to gain some time on the long straight stretch at the beginning. I also want to see what competition shows up. If I go out slow then everyone else will probably save themselves also. I will shoot for a 19:59 for the first 5K and then drop my pace back a bit for the hill on mile 3-4. Once I crest the hill which starts mile 5 I will give it everything I have all the way down that two mile hill.

I think I will probably end up needing a 1:00 flat last quarter to break 40:00. With a huge crowd cheering I just might be able to do that.

Wish me luck!

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posted Nov-07-2007 10:05 AM               

It's hard to know how much weight to give a workout like that, especially when you are going to be making your attempt on a course like you are describing. I would say that it's a good sign. What IS known is that you are certainly capbable of doing it based on the that sub-19 5k. If you run anywhere near as well as you did on that day you should go under 40 with room to spare.

Good luck. I'll be looking for your report.

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posted Nov-07-2007 10:49 AM            

I looked at my splits from last year and I was on about a 42:30 pace with two miles to go. The eventual winner of the stroller race caught me as we crested the hill with about 2 miles to go. I absolutely hammered the next two miles. We were doing close to a 6 flat pace. If I don’t have someone pacing me at the end I am not sure that I will be able to kick it into another gear like that again.

The one good thing is that we start 3:00 minutes ahead of the rest of the field. If I can latch onto a 37:00 or below guy with two miles to go then I can probably do it.

The big thing is that my sprint speed will not help me much on this race. I will have to have perfect pacing to get my goal on this one! I bought a Garmin 205 today to help me with that.

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posted Nov-08-2007 05:05 PM               

I also have a 10K this Saturday. I am nervous, haven't raced in a year. It has been over two years since my last 10K. I am happy with my progress since starting back only 6 months ago.

I had a great tempo run Tuesday. Ran three miles in 6:45, 6:39, 6:35. My average HR was 167, 168, 169. This was on a measured bike path with rolling hills.

I looked up my running log from 2 years ago. 4 days before running a 5K in 19:25 and 11 days before running my 10K PR of 40:23 I had this tempo workout on the track.

6400 meters, 6:48, 6:47, 6:41, 6:44 with HR's 162, 165, 166, 167

There is no way I think I am in PR shape but I might be in the ballpark. I am going to try to hit the first mile in 6:40 and take it from there. I just don't want to go out to fast. I would be happy with sub 42 and very happy with sub 41. I am not going to taper, I should hit 70 miles this week with the race.

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[This message has been edited by bigdave10000 (edited Nov-08-2007).]

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posted Nov-10-2007 09:09 PM            

I had a tremendous workout the other day coming off of a cold so I am feeling good about my chances(Knocks on wood). Wish me luck and good luck to everyone else who is attempting to go sub 40:00.

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posted Nov-11-2007 07:42 AM               

Pace and effort were good. HR max is 185. I think the mile makers might have been off a bit my watch showed my pace as being more even,

1 - 6:31 162
2 - 6:52 172
3 - 6:25 172
4 - 6:39 174
5 - 6:35 172
6 - 6:37 172
.2 - 1:11 175

I am looking at running another 10K in January. I am doing Daniels' Plan A now. So with lots of miles and lots of Tempo work a sub 40 might possible.

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posted Nov-11-2007 02:37 PM            

(I didn't break 40 so am somewhat abusing this thread)

Race report, with all the grisly details for those that like that sort of thing is here....
http://www.coolrunning.com/forums/Forum8/HTML/010790.shtml

- alan
and if you really like grisly details http://alansmiles.blogspot.com

[This message has been edited by afletche (edited Nov-11-2007).]

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posted Nov-11-2007 09:42 PM            

http://www.coolrunning.com/forums/Forum8/HTML/010793.shtml

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posted Nov-12-2007 09:51 AM               

What a source of inspiration you are. I'm am very confident that you will get that sub-40. During any one race those 50-odd seconds can seem like an awful lot, but with your determination they can melt away sooner than you think. It was only a few months ago that I was sitting on the same number before finally breaking through.

Congratulations. You are back!

Travis, Alan...I caught your RR's on the other thread and enjoyed them. Nice goin.

[This message has been edited by Jim24315 (edited Nov-12-2007).]

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posted Nov-12-2007 12:50 PM               

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posted Nov-12-2007 02:25 PM               

I haven't posted in a good while. I ran a 42 minute 10K on 15 September and planned as many as three more 10K's between then and now to at least get a sub 42. Unfortunately I got a pretty severe case of bronchial constriction the day after a 26 miler on 29 September. The congestion lasted nearly a month and I didn't race again until 10 November.

I know that this is a sub 40 thread, but a sub 42 gets one sub seeded for the Peachtree Road Race and I am having to fight for every second.

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posted Nov-25-2007 07:04 AM               

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posted Nov-26-2007 03:30 PM               

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posted Nov-26-2007 03:50 PM            

I waited for my wife to catch up and ran in with her; she managed 3AG, so there was a bright spot. There were various causes (mostly the unexpected big hill at 7K and the badly placed markers), but nothing is an excuse for just quitting. I was rather proud I had never quit in 4 years of relatively frequent racing, though I'm always tempted in shorter races.

And this after I managed to gut out a 6:17 last mile in a marathon a couple of weeks earlier. I thought I finally had mental toughness.

Then out of the blue, I PRed at 5 miles on Thanksgiving, 31:43. That was a real shock. It's a hilly out-and-back course that I've done a couple times before; I was pacing for 32:30. But somehow the miles all clicked off a bit fast, and the last mile was 5:51 (mostly downhill). (Another surprise, I barely beat Santa!)

That equates to a 39:45 10K per McMillan, not even taking the hills into account, so I really should be there. But I think I am out of 10K opportunities this year.

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posted Nov-27-2007 11:19 AM               

Bob,

We were just talking about that a couple days ago--dropping out of a race that's not going well and "living to fight another day." To do so and come right back to run like you did on Thanksgiving is the best way in the world to silence the critics. My all-time PR at 10 miles came a week after I'd dropped out of a 10k after 4 miles of spinning my wheels.

Well done.

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posted Nov-27-2007 06:02 PM            

http://www.zoomerang.com/recipient/survey-intro.zgi?p=WEB2277ERNQEPQ

and yes, i did post this scrap in other topics :-( .. i badly need to pass in this one class, help me ..

Thanks a million runners

Raj

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posted Nov-27-2007 06:04 PM            

http://www.zoomerang.com/recipient/survey-intro.zgi?p=WEB2277ERNQEPQ

and yes, i did post this scrap in other topics :-( .. i badly need to pass in this one class, help me ..

Thanks a million runners

Raj

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posted Nov-28-2007 11:12 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Jim24315:
Bob,

We were just talking about that a couple days ago--dropping out of a race that's not going well and "living to fight another day." To do so and come right back to run like you did on Thanksgiving is the best way in the world to silence the critics. My all-time PR at 10 miles came a week after I'd dropped out of a 10k after 4 miles of spinning my wheels.

Well done.

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Hmm. I'd be interested in reading that discussion; was it in another thread?

I guess I feel like once I've started a race, I'm committed to finishing it with an honest effort, barring injury. If there really is a specific issue of "living to fight another day", say you were running Chicago this year and decided to mail it in and try again somewhere else with better weather a few weeks later, then I can understand that. But that seems pretty rare, and it didn't apply to me here. I'm not sure it would ever apply at 10K distance.

The last thing I want is any extra feeling that it might be OK to give up in a race!

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posted Nov-28-2007 11:40 AM               

The "discussion" was actually a brief exchange on the 50 plus thread. There was a lengthy thread on this topic more than a year ago but it has probably been purged from the system by now. Here is the first of two recent comments on 50 plus:

"There are only two marathons that I told myself that I would not drop out of. The one where I qualified for the trials and the trials itself. Otherwise, I am a big believer that to live to fight another day is a good strategy. Of course I didn't run that many marathons and only dropped out of one."

As you can see he was speaking specifically of the marathon, but the same can apply to any distance. I'm not, btw, endorsing this as a strategy to become overaly casual about. We don't want to develop the mindset that it's ok to drop out just because we are starting to hurt. There only 2 instances when I would drop out. The first and most important would be when I would be risking injury by continuing. The other, and more controversial would be the case of being unmotivated to continue on for what looks certain to be a crappy time. Sometimes it's just not worth it, especially when we have a more important race coming up soon after. Usually when I've dropped out it has been in a "spur of the moment" race for something low key like an all comers meet. Fwiw I've dropped out once in the 69 starts I've had since resuming training near the end of 2004.

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posted Nov-28-2007 07:18 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Jim24315:
The other, and more controversial would be the case of being unmotivated to continue on for what looks certain to be a crappy time.

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My problem with this, I guess, is that if I have it in my head that it will be OK to stop trying when I'm certain I'll get a crappy time, then it could become a slippery slope. If I'm aware that slacking just a bit could put me in this state, then there's a sense that there are distinguishable options ahead of me, one involving possibly getting to slow down soon. Better to keep giving up out of the mental realm of possibility.

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posted Nov-29-2007 08:34 AM               

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posted Dec-03-2007 08:10 PM            

If you like long, grisly, detailed race reports, check out my CIM experience here..
http://www.coolrunning.com/forums/Forum8/HTML/010859.shtml

- thanks, Alan

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