TT Running Club

“hey no fair.
I cant see anything!”

“Nothing? I can see it, except for that black rectangle right where his behind is....



I had success at the track last night, sort of. My goal was to get the feel for the right pace for the 10k on Monday. My plan is to run the first mile in about 6:50, then speed up a bit to, say, 6:30 or so pace for the rest of the race. So I wanted to run 4 800's in about 3:25. For rest (jogging), I decided on either 2 minutes or heart rate back down to 140, whichever was longer. As it turned out, my HR went back down really quickly, which is a good indicator of being in decent shape. The bad part of the workout was that I did these a little too fast. My times were: 3:08, 3:13, 3:19, 3:19. The good part about those times is that I seemed to be able to settle in to the 3:19s (i.e., 6:38/mile pace) pretty comfortably.

I'll hit the weights at lunch today, but won't run; run a little tomorrow (4-5); then take it easy on Sunday.

Hopefully I'll have good news to report on Monday or Tuesday....”

“Hey LeSubtil, how'd the marathon go??”

“Ran in a triathalon today. My 5k time was 21:46, which was ok for having just swam a 1/4 mile and biked 9. June 1st marks the begining of a long summer, have to run 450 miles this summer for cross country.”

“Yeah, LeSubtil how'd it go? How'd P do on her 10K? I was thinking about you both yesterday!”

“I realized one of my life long goals Saturday by finishing a marathon. I had 3 goals actually, to finish, to run the whole race, and be trained enough to be able to have fun. I got 'em all!

It's a beautiful course out Old Mission Peninsula, and it was a perfect day. There was frost on the grass of the baseball diamond as we cut across to the starting line. It was mostly sunny all day, no wind, and got as warm as the mid 50's.

I'd been pretty anxious about the whole thing, and I'd had some knee pains right up until that morning, so I decided to run my long-run pace and stick to it. I was very happy to find out after several miles that my knee wasn't going to act up. By mile 6 I was thinking "I can do this!" I think I said it out loud. The whole run out to the half-way, turn - around point was just plain fun; the scenery and commaradarie (sp) made it go by too fast.

I drank water every 2 miles at aid stations plus I carried a liter of sport drink. I ate a pkg of Gu every 5 miles. That was a possibly risky last minute change as I wasn't used to Gu, but I think it worked.

My worst time was 15-17 miles. My legs got heavy and I felt slow though my watch said I was still on my pace. I was starting to feel poorly, then I noticed that lots of folks were starting to walk, and I was beginning to pass more and more runners. That inspired me so I just kept plodding along...

My family met me at an aid station at the 22 mile which gave me a tremendous boost. They had made signs and all high-fived my as I passed. I had enough left to run the last four miles a little harder; I thought I might beat 4 1/2 hours. There were people everywhere cheering, that's new to me too. The course finishes on the high school track with full bleachers. 3 of my kids ran the final half lap with me. I finished with a 4:38.17 and I'm very happy with that time! Didn't walk a step.

My wife ran her first 10K also, part of the same course. It sucked 'cause I couldn't see her start or finish, but she did well. She ran a fast race then got a side ache in the last mile that slowed her down. She ran a 56:35 and was dissapointed but I think she rocked.

The crowds were great. The other runners were great. The course was beautiful and the weather was perfect. I had fun training, and it all seems to have worked. I feel very, very lucky.

I will have some pics as soon as I fix my CD drive...”

“Wow, Le, you did great. Congratulations. Realizing a goal like this has to feel good. Congrats to your wife, also. You are inspiring me to push up my training schedule a little.
I ran my 8K today and finished in 36:20. After going to a mass 50-year-old birthday party with my classmates on Saturday night, I was happy to break eight-minute miles.
I am not scheduled to run another race until Chicago in Oct, but I will try to pick up a couple of halfs.
Keep on truckin' everyone.”

“Excellent, le Subtil!!! Glad you had such a good time - some marathon experiences can be opposite of yours.

I ran a 10k race this morning, my first one in about 3 years, I think. My minimal goal was to finish in under 42, since that would give me a spot near the front of Bay to Breakers next year. But really, I thought I should be able to run around 41 and maybe even somewhat close to 40.

I woke up with a throbbing headache. WTF, I never get headaches, other than migraines, but this was just a full head drum concert. I took a couple advil, then headed out. I got to the race early, so just reclined my seat and tried to get a little rest in. The headache stuck with me, though. I started my usual warmup routine about a half hour before start time, and my legs felt like concrete, no doubt from all of the yard work and painting I did on Sat and Sun. Hey, do those Kenyan guys ever have to paint their kitchen?

Anywho, I was trying to stay positive in the early going, and was hoping I wouldn't be too far off of my planned 7:00 first mile. Holy cow, I hit a 6:25, then a 6:30 or so, then a 6:40. Well, I was still feeling like crapola, but just kept trying. Around 4 miles I really felt dead and lots of people started to pass me. Anyway, I kept clicking my watch at the mile markers, but didn't look at the times. Finally, I hit the track at the college to finish, and when I rounded the final turn it was ticking off 41:45, 41:46, 41:47... Yikes! I got on my horse and kicked it in to finish a few seconds under 42. Not a terrific time, but actually a rather good performance considering it was probably the worst I've ever felt warming up.

That's it for now - time to go clean up the paint!”

“Great run, Bowlder. It's all about tearing out your guts on some runs, isn't it?
Since I was still sweating out alcohol residue yesterday, I decided not to try to kick it into fourth gear. (Does anyone here think I have a fourth gear?)
It's beautiful weather today. I am gonna go for a long one after work.”

“Great job guys! Glad everyone had such successful weekends!”

“i'll need some pics to fully appreciate all your hot sweaty running experiences, please. leg shots a must.”

“I'm impressed guys, both of ya!”

“Well, guilt has kept me away from this thread for a while. Shame, since I was the thread-starter. :)

Big congrats to Turbo, Bowlder, and Dunadan, you guys are doing great.

And HUGE congrats to LeSubtil--man that is awesome to fulfil a life-long goal/dream and have family there to help you savor the moment. I have finished a marathon--but not without walking. So I know what it takes in terms of training and overall commitment.

As for me...I went orienteering Sunday and went for a short (1-1/2 mile) run this morning...I am badly out of shape and hope to re-establish the discipline of 4x or 5x/week solid workouts. Won't/can't be happy with myself as long as I am out of shape.”

“Lyra, lyra, always with the pics....

They say they'll have pics of us posted before too long - I will forward the URL when they are. Just for you.”

“GREAT JOB GUYS!!
I'm in awe.”

“A few stats from yesterday's 10k:

I finished first! (in the slower half of my age group, that is, 61st out of 120)

55 guys from older age groups beat me: 51 from the 50-59 group and 4 from the 60-69 group.

30 women from the 19-29 age group beat me, as did 8 from my own age group and 1 from the 50-59 age group.

Overall I was 210th out of 627 finishers.”

“If half the runners in your age group broke 42:00 that is a very fast field. I'll be thrilled when I can run a 5k in 21:00 again, much less two in a row.”

“Way to go at the races, guys! I wish I could get back out there, but I have to baby my knee for awhile longer. I'll just have to live vicariously through your exploits.”

“jogged Sat but not Sun and Mon :(
but jogged today. felt good. still having shin pain. But I am stretching more.”

“Jog On, Maple!”

“I did go kayaking Mon :)

thanks aero”

“Yeah, Fritz, it is indeed very competitive. This race was one of the races on our grand prix circuit, in which there are both individual and team cash prizes. The races (which range from 1 mile to marathon) always draw the elite of northern CA runners. It's very impressive!”

“A true runner!!! How can you tell?! Despite crossing over the electronic chip timer pad, ensuring high tech accurate timing, le subtil is clicking off his watch!”

“EXCELLENT JOB LeSubtil!!!! That is so great! Its great to hear that you completed such an impressive life goal. The big question is...are you gonna do it again?LOL. BTW My first time is only 2 seconds different from yours, crazy stuff. Congrats to the wifey too.”

“I DID IT!!!

I Nora jogged all the way to work. I jogged 2 miles and walked the last part out (about 2 blocks). It felt great. (hitting myself in the head) who woulda thunk it...

only prob is, I had a huge cramp in my right lower leg muscle. I kept jogging, not sure if I did it any good. I am also starting to feel pain in my right knee. yes I have bad knees, so I will wrap them both prior to running.
what a great feeling, I am sorry I didnt take this up years ago.

oh ad I droped 2 more lbs!!

running rocks!”

“congrats maple!

btw, whats a "nora jog"?”

“Nora (thats me :) ) is a slow trout AKA jog

LOL”

“trout, LOL. good job, yo!”

“I don't know, lyra....it sounds fishy to me....”

“LOL

I drink like a trout and trot like a horse

that better?”

“I can just picture a Nora trouting down the sidewalk in Manhattan.”

“sure you can, its NEW YORK!”

“As requested by lyra, a pic of me from Monday's 10k. Legs included. Drool at will....

Note the lack of a sports bra....”

“wow, freeboobing and all! LOL! j/k

niiiiice.”

“That's funny, I just got an email from the photo company asking why someone just ordered 17 poster sized copies of that photo....”

“it was Aero!! i totally hear he has a thing for you.”

“Gawsh, I'm blushing....”

“Well, I got back into running this weekend. My first 5K is just about a month away, and I have a LONG way to go to be ready for it! I did successfully run for 15 mintues without feeling like I was going to die, though! So, that's a start. Going to be warmer the next few days, so I can get some warm muggy weather training in. Whoo-hoo!”

“Be careful running in the heat, Smiley! And congrats to you for doing such a fine job at setting out to reach a goal! The heat, however, can really play tricks on your body if you aren't hydrated enough.”

“Hiya wolfeyes! How are ya?”

“I bees fine! I am not running, though. I get to sit/ride around in a van with no AC for 8 hours so that pretty much depletes my desire to be in the heat any more than I have to.”

“Yeah, smiley, hydration is the key. Also, your body can indeed get used to running in the heat, but it does take some time - just ease into it. Another thing I usually do in the heat is soak my cotton hat (that I always wear anyway - see photo above) in water. On super hot days, I'll soak it in water, then freeze it - nothin' like putting on a frozen hat when it's 90 degrees out!”

“Yeah, I hear ya on the hydration thing. I've not really been very good about drinking enough water, so I hereby promise to drink more water every day!

I should have a running partner by later this week as well. G's done with school and softball, so basically he has nothing to do now except cater to my every need. :) I'd like to start runing in the morning, but getting him out of bed might be tough!”

“BowlderMan, wouldn't it be more efficient to just get your hair wet and stick your head in the freezer? ;D”

“keep up the good work Smiley. I know you will do just fine in the 5K coming up.

I have got to get back out running myself. With everything that has been going on this past month I haven't done a thing.

I moved and joined a new gym since my membership expired at the other place. This gym has an indoor track also but it takes 16 laps to make a mile, plus it is in a tunnel so there is nothing to see. Guess I will start trying to run outside.”

“Well, aero, I do that after a run on a hot day. Actually, on those hot days, at the end of my shower, I do like to just turn the hot off and run the icy cold water on my head for a couple minutes....”

“Ewker, I sent you an e-mail last Friday, did you get it?”

“Smiley, I replied back to you. Guess you did't get mine :(”

“that's what i was afraid of. they just fiddled with the spam filter late last week, and now a ton of things aren't getting through.


use my yahoo: amy5053 (at) yahoo.com”