Oh, I created a Garmin Connect account yesterday, and I have one question: is there no way to do a mass-import of all my .GPX files? I figured out how to do one-offs, but it'd be great to do a bunch. If not, I guess I can just upload the post-surgery runs and start from there.

They have released a map of the new route:
http://www.defitourdulacbeauport.com..._modif_web.pdf

Start/finish line has not moved but we were supposed to make a complete loop, coming back by "Du Domaine" which is a very long and fairly hard hill. That long hill would have ended at about 400m from the finish line and I was already dreading my 3rd go on it.

Looks like this new route might actually have made the race a wee bit easier and less hilly.

Strava segment for the whole loop:
Strava Segment | Tour 6 km

Strava segment for approximately the 3km section:
Strava Segment | Lac Beauport nord 2013 3km

1:41:41 for the HM. Very pleased with time and fairly steady pace for a n00b. Full race report probably later this afternoon.

Race report is up: From Fat To Fit At 44: Myrtle Beach Mini-Marathon Race Report

that's amazing - great job.

Alan T: How are you exporting your Garmin stuff to other apps? Is there some automation that I'm missing? I see how to export .gpx files, but are you then having to upload it to all the other apps?

I mentioned it on Facebook, but saying it again here great job on your race today Ben. You did an outstanding job from the start of your planning, through training all the way to the race. Even when the surgery came up, you didn't let it get in the way and kept focus on your goal and crushed it. What great motivation for everyone else to what is possible when you simply have willpower.



I don't honestly remember what I did here for mine. I think at one point they might have had a mass-import tool or some way to do it, maybe they removed it? I wish I could help on this one, it has been a while.


These days I'm using tapiriik

It will auto sync for me to Endomodo, Runkeeper, Strava for me. I have several other things automatically pull that data from Runkeeper (gympact, fitleagues, loseIt, etc) once it is there.

The few other ones like Mapmyrun or runtastic, I just do manually several at one go later on. But I might go a week or three these days in between uploading those because I just don't really use them much anymore.

Look like tons of good runs by folks over the past couple of weeks, based on results I've seen on Strava. Fun seeing everyone posting a ton of PRs, new longest runs, etc.

it's getting late and I'm tired but I'll quickly stop by to say that my 18k race also went very well. Finished it in 1h25m49s for a pace of 7:40 per mile. It was a hilly affair in rough conditions. Lots of rain, quite cold and windy too. I also was feeling a bit under the weather as of yesterday, sinuses getting clogged and having on and off headaches during the day.

I'll be back with some race report tomorrow...

FM

Great job FM. Nice time even when feeling under the weather!

Alan, my guess is that it automatically synced everything over when you first set up Taparik, and that's why you don't remember how you did it. ;) Yes, all my runs dating back to January came over to Garmin Connect when I did the sync. Sweet, and thanks for the tip!

On another note, the Charleston Marathon is a little close. I'd still do it if I had no other easy options during winter, but it turns out that there is another perfect one for me the first weekend of March. The Albany, GA Marathon (Albany Marathon in Georgia) would allow me to do a full FIRST 16-week program starting the week of November 11th, is pretty flat, and I have a free and friendly place to stay in Albany: one of my older brothers lives there, and he happens to be the only member of my family or closer extended family who has ever been into long-distance running. (He ran on the cross country team in college and has completed a sub-1:30 HM.)

There was also a practical concern about the Charleston Marathon: I'd forgotten that we're going to spend nearly a week in the Western NC Mountains with my in-laws after Christmas, which would have been ~3 weeks before the race. Those hills are great for training, BUT the weather is too unpredictable at that time of year. It's possible that I might have to take some or all of that time off from running due to snow/ice making it impossible. There's a great park that's not insanely hilly like the area right around their condo (they have an awesome view wayyyy up at the top of a ridge) where I'd do my long run that week, but it's fully possible that I wouldn't be able to get there. I'm fine if two months out from race day I have to miss a run or two, not so much right before I'm supposed to taper...

Heh. He emailed me back. Turns out he's training for the Albany HM that same weekend. Fun. I'm registered now. {gulp}

1:41 is a phenomenal first half marathon time. Hell, it's a phenomenal half marathon time period. Congrats. Boston in 2015?

Thanks!

As I mentioned at FOxL, it's now on my radar. Depending on which race calculator you believe, my HM time translates to somewhere in the 3:32-3:34 range for a full. I turn 45 in December. BQ time for 45-49 is 3:25. With 4 months of training, I would think I'd drop maybe 5-8 pounds of body fat from my Myrtle Beach race day, and of course the fitness level is still improving. 3:25 seems (at least at this point) to be a reasonably realistic goal for March 1st.

Race report
Le Défi du Tour du Lac Beaport
October 20th, 2013
Lac Beauport, Quebec, Canada


Prologue commentary
"Défi" translates straight to "Challenge" and "Tour", well you know. So this could have been translated loosely as the "Tour around the Lake Challenge" ;) It WAS supposed to be a 6km loop around a local lake with race distances of 6, 12, or 18 km. I say WAS because they had to change it with about 6 days notice because of some road construction that were cutting off one lane of the local road. On race day, they take one lane of the local road for runners and the other is for cars going on a one way around the lake. Because of the construction, there would have been no way for cars to come and go at all so they settled for a 3km stretch on the north side of the lake that runners would go out and back, making it 6km in length. Once for those running the 6km, twice for the 12k'ers and 3 times out for the other 18k'ers.

This being my first Summer at running, I didn't feel ready to do a half marathon but I felt like 18k would be all right. In retrospect now, I think I could have done a half, but I'm happy with my decision to sign up for this 18k. The race in itself is pretty small. Overall, looking at the official results, I count about 750 entries, for all three distances. Only 96 runners finished in the 18k race.

Going into this, and up to last week, I had not realized how hilly this course (either the original or the revised version) would be. Indeed, they call it a "Challenge" and it really was.

Training
I used a modified Hal Higdon intermediate 2 half marathon schedule to train for this race. Modified in two ways: (1) I cut some of the mileage because I didn't feel it was safe to run the kind of mileage it was asking for given where I was on my usual weekly mileage and also because I was training for a slightly shorter race than a half marathon and (2) since I signed up late for it, I used only the last 5 weeks of his 12 weeks program. Looking back at it, I liked his 5 days a week schedule that works in some speedwork with easy runs and plan on using some of his other training programs in the future but had I decided earlier that I would do this race, and knowing how hilly it would be, I would have done more hill work. Live and learn.

Saturday, Sunday morning and pre-race
Saturday was rough. I started feeling the beginning of a headcold I was afraid would latch on for over a week now. You know, itchy sinuses, dull headache, some muscle soreness that comes from nowhere, in my case between my neck and right shoulder, although I had not lifted anything last week. Where I had to go to get my bib was in downtown Quebec City but dang stupid road construction (seems to be a theme around town!) made it a crazy adventure to get there and back, what with the headache, I was not feeling good about the next morning. My oldest son also had a hockey game at 5:30 that afternoon, killing any plan of simply having a light quiet dinner and relax all evening. Ended up having a roast beef sub at Subway just before his game. Could have been worse, could have been better...

Woke up on Sunday fairly rested after what I thought had been a good night sleep. Cold had not gotten worse and other than what had become a usual dull headache and some stuffy sinuses, I didn't feel too bad. Took a sudafed and a couple tylenol before breakfast and felt quite okay from then on out. I say "what I thought" had been a good night sleep cause my wife said I probably ran half my race overnight. She said I shuffled around a heck of a lot under the sheets. ;)

Since parking spaces would be restricted around the start/finish area, we'd been instructed to park at a nearby ski resort and that we'd be shuttled in by school buses to the race site. This resort is maybe only 2km from race site so not a very long bus ride but still a bit special, especially since my wife, two sons and mother-in-law were coming to cheer me on but they had to take a later bus since the first few were reserved for runners. Boarding the bus alone made it weird for me.

The whole setup is very nice though, especially with the tree's in their autumn colors. I had two photographers for this race. While our 16yo son had the nice Canon camera I thought it was a good idea to leave our 9yo have our old Kodak Easyshare camera with a couple set of spare batteries. He had a blast. :)

Here's a pic of the mountain around the ski resort that he took...


Other than the nice way, what struck me as i got out of the car was how cold and wet it was. We left home to a cloudy sky but no rain and dry pavement and got there, about 40 minutes away from home to a rainy, windy, cold kind of a place.

Don't know what I was saying there but this is a pic of me before the race, tell me I don't look cold...


Here's me warming up, you can see the lake in the background


Another from the warmup, that's my wife in the foreground. She looks cold doesn't she? Poor darling...


It really was a miserable day for supporters, and for racers waiting for the start. I ran a VERY easy kilometer to simply get the blood flowing and not only warmup the muscles but simply warm up my body...

My fueling plan was fairly simple. I wanted to take one pouch of some sunkist fruit candies every 20 minutes. These are not your traditional fueling options but I had used them a couple times on long runs so I knew they'd work. I wore my hydration belt because I trusted drinking from my bottles more than from them little cups they pass you on the race. Thing was, the hydration belt could only hold two of these pouches on the outside pocket. With it being all rainy and everything, I didn't want to put anything inside with my phone that was also my music source for the run. I then devised the following teamwork plan and told my 9yo son he'd have the job of feeding me one of these pouches on each of my two passes back in front of them. He was happy to be able to help.

The race
We finally go to the start. I'd looked at last year's times and figured my expected tim would put me at about the bottom of the top tier or runners so I took place accordingly. It was about right as i didn't feel jammed at the start and wasn't passed by a ton of runners either.

Here's to give you an idea of what the 3km stretch looked like:


As you can see, it starts fairly flat although there's a slight downhill at 500m followed but I reasonable uphill for 600-700m than a long dowhill for almost 1 km. We'd then reverse course to head back in, facing that long battle uphill for 900m or so just after you turned around the big orange traffic cones. That long uphill was a legbreaker. Here's a closer look at what I have dubbed loose lace hill (anecdote coming later)


As for overall conditions, it was raining for most of the race and it was especially windy at times, mostly when we hit the higher up North spot on the course where you can see that we were passing closest to the lake. At that spot, there was no cover from trees from the wind blowing from the lake and sometimes the rain would pick up and really splash you in the face. It was quite an experience...

Loop #1, (Start to 6k)
I felt very good right out the gate. The couple days off before Sunday had really rested my legs and the first couple kilometers felt unforced, kinda helped by the downill a bit. I had set my watch to show me the overall average pace for the run instead of my usual setting at "current pace". Last Sunday when doing my test run I'd realized that the current pace would vary wildy from downhil to uphill and back down and I had no idea how good or bad it was going overall. With the average pace for the run, I at least had an idea of how good/bad the race was going. First time I looked at the watch was about 600 meters in and my pace was at 4:32 per km (7:18 per mile). I would hold that pace for my first 6 km.

It was going so well, I had given an approximate time of my coming back to my wife, and had set a song on my playlist to match my seeing them, but I was running way ahead of it that the song started mayb 300m after I'd left the turn back out. Not only that, but they completely missed me looping back around! My wife said she actually thought I'd be turning closer to the start/finish line and wasn't looking at the right place, but she also said she didn't expect me back as quickly.

Time for that 6k: 27:17 (4:33/km, 7:19/mile)
time for the 3k out: 13:18 (4:26/km, 7:08/mile)
time for the 3k in: 13:59 (4:40/km, 7:30/mile)


Loop #2, (from 6k to 12k)
I was kinda bummed to have missed them but wasn't sure if they were not just there and I couldn't see them. I tried scanning what little crowd there was and couldn't find their face and I'm usually good at that. I also hadn't taken any of the sunkist pouches yet, hoping to get one from my son at the turnaround. I dug one from my hydration belt and that's when "A little Party never killed nobody" from Fergie came on, that song I wanted to have playing when I'd see my wife's face. It's a song she'll be dancing hiphop on for their next group choreography and for some reason, it always gets me going. It sure did and I picked up the pace, or at least didn't let it drop too much going downhill.

This time around, the big Loose lace hill did a bigger number on my legs, and my shoes were soaking. That's also when noticed the lace of my left starting tocome untied. Not completely but I kept an eye on it. Legs were burning at about the 10k mark, coming atop that long hill but I pushed on. Average pace was now hovering around 4:38 or 4:40 per km (7:27-7:31) and I was still happy with that. Heart rate was held in check at aroudn 158, but the legs, as usual were the limiting factor.

Kep scanning the crowd as I was coming back to the turnaround and there they were, with my Matthew right by the side orchestrating the perfect handoff of a small sunkist pouch. I get misty eyed simply recalling seeing his face. I'm a big softie...

Time for that 6k: 28:27 (4:45/km, 7:38/mile)
time for the 3k out: 13:55 (4:38/km, 7:28/mile)
time for the 3k in: 14:32 (4:51/km, 7:48/mile)

My average pace after 12k was 4:39/km (7:28/mile) a mere 2 seconds off my best 10k pace on a VERY flat course.

Loop #3, (from 12k to 18k)
Leaving my fans from the turnaround I felt good but had to fight the dang little voice inside that wanted to tell me that there was STILL 6km to be run... Every little uphil was now tougher but I didn't feel any cramping coming. I kept monitoring my left lace but it had not gotten worse since I'd first seen it untie a bit. Then, just as I started going down the big downhill, the other shoe felt loose. Yeah, of course, the other lace had become pertty much completely untied, thus the Loose Lace hill name! There was no way I was gonna stop midway down so I checked my footing and tried to make sure I wouldn't simply fall down and at the pylones stopped to tie my show cause I knew there was no way I could safely run back the last 3k with the right shoe untied. But my of my, the effort it took to start back up that hill!!! Really, that was a low point of the whole race. At some point up that hill, I thought I was simply running in place, not going up AT ALL. I swear, you'd have told me "hey you're going backward man!!!" and I would have believed you. But then I looked at a slightly older man with a bright yellow jacket that was just in front of me and he wasn't getting away from me so I figured "if Ì'm not going up, then he isn't either, plow away dude, plow away" And I did. Then I saw the 16.5k mark on my watch, only 1.5 to go, then 17, then I could see the finish line and I tried pushing but got passed by a couple fellas. Kept them in my line of sight but couldn't get back to them

Here's my sexy face on a final push:


Here's about to cross the finish line and attemps a Olu hop (more later):


Time for that 6k: 29:18 (4:53/km, 7:51/mile)
time for the 3k out: 14:22 (4:47/km, 7:47/mile)
time for the 3k in: 14:56 (4:59/km, 8:00/mile)

Chip time for the race: 1h25m49s, 4:46/km, 7:40/mile

Final results:
22n overall out of 96 entrants
6th out 22 in Men 40-49

VERY happy with these results. When I started training for it, my goal was an average pace at about 4:45 per km but that was before realizing it would be that hilly of a course, I'm satisfied with 4:46 per km and with the race being 18k, I now know I could run a full 21.1 half marathon.

Also looks like the faster 40-49 runners all signed up for the 18k. Had I decided to do the 12k, I would have place 2nd out of 26 with my straight 12k (i.e. without any pushing)! :D

Right after the race, rocking the badass gloves!


Wife told me to smile, apparently I don't smile much when I'm gasping for air. Again rocking the badass gloves :)


That was my first bling in a race. That first 10k I did back in August didn't give out medals to finishers. :D

I also got a bottle, you know the metal type with a sort of latch on it.


After race
I was ok for maybe 5-10 minute then it got real cold, and wet! Feet were spongy as heck.

Waiting to get some after race snack:


Today, I'm pretty sore on some spots I hadn't been sore in a while. Hammies are screaming, calves are sore, shins & ankles ouch. Mostly the pounding of going downhill for the calves, shins and ankles and uphill did the work on the hammies. We'll survive and live to run another day. :)

Now what?
Well, racing season is about over around here. There's an indoor marathon with distances of 10k, HM and marathon that's to be held in Quebec City on December 8 but that's too soon to my liking to be properly prepared for a half marathon. Might sign up for the 10k but the half, expecially will go to next May. Would like to do my first half outdoors and not around an indoor track...


Outtakes/extras/bloopers!
So, you wanna laugh? Here's my try at a little hop, not jump, and a near faceplant as I cross the finish line. I'd almost call my hop more a stomp cause my feet stomped the ground pretty hard there ;)
attempt at a Olu hop ;) - YouTube

If you're still reading, thanks! And big thanks for all the help and support you guys provide!

Awesome job Ben and Steve!

Nice runs for both of you!

That was definitely pretty close to a faceplant, FM,lol. Outstanding run!

hehehe, yeah, it was VERY close, but it was worth it :)

thanks guys! :)

FM

This thread makes me happy. :)

Congrats to you both!

I've started up my routine again about 3-4 weeks ago and have been working hard on doing 2.5-3.5 miles an activity. Still haven't got up to full jogging/running but on Friday I posted my fastest 1 mile time (14:02) in 20 years an my fastest 5k ever (43:08). I'm planning on doing about 3-4 5Ks next year. Maybe ABC and I can do one together or something, him and my times are very close and we aren't too far from each other.

Congrats to Frogman and Ben for your HMs!

Dan, I'm going to do the 'Stache Dash 5K in Costa Mesa on November 23 this year if you're up for it.

Here's the link:

http://bookthatevent.com/StacheDash/costa-mesa/

Why does there always have to be a theme!?!?!?

I'll have to check out how that works, I'm going to Iowa that week for a day to train a Real Estate Office there for work and not sure what the ramifications are for the rest of the week yet.

I don't understand this either. If anything, this discourages me from entering an event.

I do appreciate the "Movember" movement and everything but I just want to run I don't want to deal with a bunch of people that are just out there because they want to show off...

There was an article about the big number of "fun runs" and how, while they were appealing to the masses, they were also showing how our society has now gone to a participation first, compete second kind of mentality.

Main reason why I will probably never do one of those color runs type race. Looks more like a parade than a race.

I did think about entering a race called Santa Shuffle with my son, but mostly because it was for a good cause (Salvation Army)...

FM

You all have inspired me to get off my lazy butt and start. Right now, I can only do walks, but my medium goal is to be able to do Pat's Run in Tempe without walking. It's a 4.2 mile run, and it's usually held mid-April.

There is a small track close to my house, and my first goal is to be able to run 3 laps without stopping. That works out to 0.9 miles. Since my best estimated mile is only 19:48 right now, I have a long way to go.

Yes, the collective improvement in this thread is phenomenal!

Awesome! Starting is the hardest step. Well there are a bunch of other hard steps as well, but you know what I mean!

In my area at least there are dozens of races every weekend, some are the fun run type some are for charities, some are put on by local running clubs and some by larger orgs.

I haven't ever done one of those color runs but my wife has. I personally think if it gets more people out and active then great even if it is not my cup of tea.

If you are struggling finding races nearby check coolrunning as they usually have tons of them listed even in the winter.

I need to find the "Fat Ass" run. Only people that are fat asses can be in it. I think I'd be top 10.... j/k

That's awesome! As dangarion said, as goes the cliché, you've taken the hardest step, the first one... but there'll be a ton of tough ones along the way.

Take things easy, don't rush anything. Take me for example, I have fast times, but I'm ever so conscious about not upping the mileage too fast and such. Slow and easy wins the race!

One last cliché, no matter how slow you run (or even walk), you're still lapping the guy sitting on his couch.

have fun and happy running!

FM

Boo - you edited! I was just going to say how much I enjoyed the new spelling "digamam"!

(But seriously - great job, FrogMan and Ben!)

hehehe, thanks :)

I'm feeling it in my hammies today though.

FM

This right here! This is really it. The second you start walking, jogging, running, anything you are already doing more than probably 1/2 of the population. IMO.

and even more, I'd add that the moment YOU start doing something, from doing NOTHING, you are doing more than the YOU of a week ago was doing. Always compare yourself to YOU, try to make a better YOU. If you do that, you'll be a winner...

FM

A new runner!

{insert shameless plug} Check out the Zombies, Run! 5K trainer! {/insert}

dang, I really need to get back to it. Used it when I started running this summer but after that was just ok with music when running outside. I might start it again now that I'll be running on the treadmill more...

FM

Say no to treadmill running! Seriously, running in the snow is fun! :)


(as long as they have plowed the streets ) :)

Official Strava/Runkeeper Thread
 

That's the thing. I lived in Massachusetts for 18 months and it's not comparable to what we have around here. Seriously, streets will often be reduced to barely being a car and three quarter wide, with packed sniwy ice underneath. Pretty dangerous.

FM

To be honest, I haven't been listening to Zombies Run much myself. I find that I run better when listening to various podcasts.

Well, this was a nice surprise. Following a record-distance 10K run on Sunday, I thought I will go out for an easy 5K on Tuesday evening. That final mile on Sunday was a struggle, and my legs were still a little sore from the long distance.

But instead, I got PRs in 1mi, 2mi, and 5K distances, negative splits, and a near-perfect run from start to finish.

This was totally unplanned and unexpected, especially given the fact that I was really close to talking myself out of running last night. My 2yo daughter even told me, "No running, Daddy. No running."

double dola?

Anyone else notice the Races feature under the Challenges tab? I'm not sure how new this feature is, but it looks pretty cool. For now, it's only available in the San Francisco area.

There are specific routes in the area of a certain distance (5K or 10K) and you would run that route within a the race time period (looks like 4 days). You're ranked among others who run the same route.

http://www.strava.com/races

* Race at any time during the four-day competition window
* Compete alongside friends or run it on your own
* Run as many times as you want - no limit on the number of attempts

for a laugh, NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson's recent 20 miler on Strava:
Run Profile | 20 miler... Done! | Times and Records | Strava

Guy's fast on wheels or on shoes!

FM

I went in expecting a left-turn-only route, and left disappointed.

I finished "Run Less, Run Faster" a few minutes ago, and I am PUMPED! Everything about their recommendations really does make it seem like a wonderful fit for me. My home-made HM plan had me doing essentially their three key runs every week, and interestingly enough, I found myself enjoying doing my long runs significantly faster than the McMillan-suggested paces. I did my final semi-long run (8 miles) before the HM at the pace the book suggests, and it turns out that one of the other long runs late in my process was also right around their pace before I was aware of the program. Also, their philosophy of "run in fewer races and go for optimal performance in every one of them" just resonates with my personality and makeup. Training for my first marathon commences the week of November 11th.

I'd been discouraged with my post-race recovery until I realized that a big part of my issues are very likely related to the time off from strength training from the hernia. It hit me that this week's lower body strength training is the first time I've done lower body strength training with more than body weight in over TWO FREAKING MONTHS. :p I did weighted squats, weighted lunges, leg extensions, and hamstring curls for the first time since the mid-August diagnosis, doing a full 3-sets-of-each workout with almost as much weight as I was using before the time off. Of COURSE your legs were sore and fatigued, nitwit. :banghead:

FWIW, they are feeling a lot better this morning, three days removed from the aforementioned lower body workout. I suspect that I'll be fine for a long-ish (probably 8-10 miles) run today.

Looks like i'll need to give running a break for a little while: first time in 9-10 months that i've had soreness/tenderness in my Achilles (I ruptured it Jan 2012).

Back to ice and elevation for a couple of weeks before my trip to Vietnam, which is supposed to include a three day hike... Fingers crossed rest works.

Today's workout put me at 1000 miles run for the year. Up from like 100 miles run last year and 0s every year before that. :)



Your run today definitely looked like you've gotten past the recovery phase!


Ouch, stinks about the Achilles. My Wife was dealing with Achilles overuse issues this week herself, but she didn't rupture it last year. I can't even imagine how that would have felt like.

Yeah, felt much better today, though what you see on Strava is a little over-reported. Over the next two weeks in advance of starting the official marathon training, I will be calibrating my footpods to try to get the pace reporting on them as close to accurate as is possible. I was doing that today with iSmoothRun. Actual distance was 10.01 miles and actual pace was 8:03. It was a nice run, probably better numbers than any other than my race given that average heart rate was in the low 150s, just not quite as good as Strava is showing. ;)

So, after seeing the official numbers posted from my 5K today I bested my previous 5K PR by 0.1 seconds. They recorded to 1/10 of seconds for this one, where the previous run was just to seconds.

I pulled the numbers from the two races. Today I spent 2/3 of my time in Zone 5, where in the previous run I did not have a single second in Zone 5. Average heart rate was 179. I guess I feel good that I probably did not leave much of anything on the course today, but frustrated to not get the 5K time under 25:00.

A week of no running at all due to a business trip, looking forward to start again next week, hopefully full of energy.

Every .1 counts! congrats! :)

Congrats, HG!

Good stuff, hoopsguy!

Race report
Oktoberfest 13.1
October 27th, 2013
Philadelphia, PA


Inconsistent training and my mt-dew-and-peanut-butter-cap'n-crunch-only diet did not produce the results I was hoping for. I had been under the illusion that a 2:00 finish was possible, and was able to keep that pace for the first 7 miles. But after that, my legs just absolutely ran out of whatever it is that legs need to keep running. I even had to stop and walk multiple times. Plus, I wasn't ready for hills at all, except for the downhill kind.

Approaching the finish line, crowd cheering on..."alright doug, lets kick this thing into high gear and show the folks how it's done". So I start sprinting, but my legs rebelled against my brain, and my calves cramped into bocce balls. So I limped past the finish line, and almost had to stop altogether. I am hoping that no video surfaces of that moment. 2:13

Best 10K, best 15K, and (I'm guessing) best half marathon should provide some measure of satisfaction. Even if the legs did run out of Mountain Dew halfway through.

Sounds like you just ran out of fuel. Still finishing a half marathon is great, and you have something to improve on next time. Don't be down on it, you did a great job!

if it wasn't for this thread, i probably never would have run a half marathon, and for that i'm grateful.

And you should be very proud for completing it! Congrats!

I think I want to post daily regarding my marathon training, but I don't want to clutter this thread or even my blog, so I've started a dynasty thread here to serve as my training log: Real-Life Training Log: 125 Days Of Preparation For My First Marathon - Front Office Football Central

I commented a fairly pedestrian "good job!" on your Strava feed but I do believe it was a good job, an impressive job. I mean, you ran a frigging half marathon! How many people have we all heard about say that "oh yeah, I started running, I'm gonna get in shape!" only to see them post runs on FB or hear about their running for a couple weeks, maybe a month and never hear about it again? huh, how many? Too many!

No matter how infrequent your training was, or how neglected your diet was (I'm not much better btw, although no Mt Dew for me ;)), you still put in some work toward a goal, running a race that is 13.1 frigging miles! In which you pushed yourself for two frigging hours! That is worth something, something to be proud of.

Keep on running, keep on having fun doing it, mix it up and if you want to, you'll do better next time.

Happy running, life is good :)

FM

The Ultimate Motivational Clip - Rise & Shine! - YouTube

I pulled the MP3 of this video and it's now on my iPhone and I think I could listen to it in a loop all day, just awesome...


FM

Nice one FG.

Here is my most motivational video about running, from obese and depressed to Ironman and to appear in runners magazine. the guy has also a nice blog that i read after watching the video a year ago.

On Strava, what does GAP stand for? It looks like it takes elevation into account with your pace, but I'm not 100% sure.

Beginning week 2 of my regimen. I'm hoping it starts to get easier. I went to a running shop, and they analyzed my stride and recommended a stability shoe. I will admit, my knees haven't been sore, which is a first. And I have avoided shin splints so far. But the muscles on the outside of my calves start to burn badly about a mile in. I think it is because these muscles haven't been used before due to my stride, and the shoes are forcing them to work harder. The day off between runs is a lifesaver right now, to let them heal a bit.

You are correct, GAP = Grade Adjusted Pace. It is a Strava special value that they use the elevation vs what your expected pace would be if you ran the same effort on level ground. In an attempt to show your effort level and not just how fast you ran.


As for your running, it is perfectly normal for the muscles to be sore after a run, especially if you haven't been running before or for quite some time. Especially when you start up, make sure to take full advantage of the off days to rest and recover, as that is where the most of the improvement comes in , the healing of those muscles.

As you continue to run, over time, the amount you can run will increase the soreness will decrease and the amount of down time needed will decrease as well.

FWIW, I started running just this past May 30th. Had not run since maybe high school, some 25 years ago. At first, I found it hard to even run every 48 hours. The first few steps would sting in my hips but I would warm up and I'd be able to go through with my run. But for most of Summer, I never erally thought about regularly running on back to back days. There were even days follwing a run that I'd dread going to my son's soccer game by fear of simply having to do a light jog.

But it got better after a while and eventually I was able to run on back to back days for only a couple days. Then, the Hal Higdon plan I picked to train for my 18k race had runs on Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday, then on Saturday & Sunday. I thought I wouldn't be able to handle the midweek stretch but I was. That was back in mid September, so maybe 3 months from my beginnings as a runner. I went at it almost like clockwork all Summer though, every other day, making it a week of 3 runs followed by one of 4 runs. My highest mileage week topped at 26.4 miles, three weeks before my race. I had an easy week last week following the race but will be building on that as I train for Strava's Any Way 10k in four weeks or so. Weather permit, I'll have my first 30 miles week this week, as I go for my first ever run of half marathon length this weekend...

FM

Nice job Doug. Sounds like you gave it your all and that's all you can ask.

On a side note... peanut butter Cap'n Crunch is sounding awfully good right now.

47 degrees for my bike ride today. At one point got up to 34 mph going down a nice steep hill. I think I lost all feeling in my ears at that point. Going to seriously need to find some warmer bike wearing gear.

ish, yeah biking is rough in the cold... Was 30, felt like 20 according to the local meteo outlet, for my 5:20am run this morning. Bought a pair of sorta/kinda tights from Nike last week and tried for the first time this morning. Awesome! Add to that a baselayer from Columbia that they call Omniheat (it has a sort of foil backing that's supposed to keep your body heat but at the same time wicks away sweat) and I was running with a simple sweatshirt.

Still had to take care where I stepped as we received some snow yesterday and while most of it melted by the ended of the day, there some ice patches left and right on the side of the streets. It's quite dark at 5 am, wouldn't want to start spinning on a patch of ice...

FM

Love it. I'm a sucker for that kind of stuff.

I don't know how many folks here are podcast listeners, but there is one I just discovered called Endurance Planet. There is a great episode from 9-6-13 with Dr. Tim Noakes (he did The Lore of Running) and the entire episode is pretty fascinating as he and the host go about debunking myth after myth about nutrition, hydration, and training. Great stuff.

I'm a big podcast listener during my long runs. I'll grab it for this weekend. Thanks!

And just for added mind's-eye candy, here is what the female host of that podcast looks like (middle):

Sorry, I've been busy a bit so not online as much so might have missed it, but who is Lars? Looks like someone from here, just want to put a name to the screen name so I know who I am rooting on :)

I was wondering the same thing, Alan.

I think we might need to do a who's who every once in a while in the strava club to match up names and screen names.

I'm thinking maybe corbes = Lars.

I hit 20 pounds lost today. Paltry compared to what Ben has achieved, but I feel pretty good about it. Halfway to my goal weight (mid-170s). :cool:

Ideally, one should never put themselves in the position to achieve what I've achieved, weight-loss wise. Good job!

I created a screen name post over there and filled in the ones that I know. Please jump in and post your name there or here.

Log In | Strava

Log In | Strava

True. If I lost what you've lost, I'd be knocking on death's door. :)

[quote=Kodos;2869601]I hit 20 pounds lost today. Paltry compared to what Ben has achieved, but I feel pretty good about it. Halfway to my goal weight (mid-170s). :cool:

wow awesome!

awesome indeed Kodos! well done!

FM

Great job Kodos! Just like running, weight loss isn't a competition between other people, it is a competition with your goals. Right now you're winning. keep it up! :)

Good to be not only back out on the bike but on the new (to me) Major Jake. Temperature was perfect and the rain MADE ME KNOW IT WAS REAL.

Here is a terrible pic of my bike as I was pulling it to the freight elevator. That's how much I love this bike. I WILL POST TERRIBLE PHOTOS OF IT.

Yes, I am elated to be back out.

She's a beaut!

Signed up last minute for a 10-k this morning.

On the positive side I have a sub 40 minute time in something labeled a 10-K race.

On the negative side, the course measured about .4 miles short.

Probably didn't run the smartest race given I haven't run six miles at one time since late July but cumulative fitness still does wonders. Went out way too fast and tried to voluntarily slow down a bit. Then I involuntarily slowed in miles 4 and 5. Felt better toward the end.

Time for a finish line beer. Unofficial time of 39:33 for something like 5.8 miles.

Wow, that is really fast. Do you think your GPS could just be off?

Congrats to Kodos on his weight loss and digamma for posting a damn fast run.

I lengthened my walk/run today, and a couple of hours after I was done, the inside of my thigh was sore. I took a look at it, and I have a nice rash. I am putting some A&D ointment on it for now, but since my fat thighs won't be skinny any time soon, does anybody have any suggestions how to prevent this?

This happened to me quite often when I first started running, especially when I was a good 70 pounds heavier than now. At first I started using body glide before every run on the insides of my thighs and that helped remove the chafing.

Since then, some friends clued me in on wearing under armor 9 inch boxer briefs under my running shorts. Those are the most comfortable things for me ever.. I wear them every run now and haven't had a problem with chafing since then at all.

Can you get these at Target or something similar, or do I need to go to a sporting goods store? I think my cotton boxer briefs bunched up while I was running, and that was the biggest culprit.

In awe of the digamma speed as always.

http://www.amazon.com/Reebok-Perform...3437259&sr=1-1

These are great for my meaty thighs... the underwear, not the dude's package.

I got mine at the local sporting goods store for $20, but they can be bought on Amazon as well

I left before the awards ceremony yesterday (trip to the zoo!), but this was good enough for 14th out of 335 finishers and 1st out of 36 35-39 year olds--my first time winning my age group.

That's awesome! Congratulations!

I ran my 5 miles yesterday morning. Before I left for the football game I noticed pain in my right ankle...wrapping under my foot and climbing up the side of my calf.

It numbed with the weather I suppose and I didn't really feel it in the evening.

Today I've been non stop limping. I had to wrap it to coach on the field of my youth football team today. It feels like a knot in the arch of my foot...and I still have the pain that wraps around the bottom of my foot from the ankle.

I still did my 40 minutes of cardio today. Tomorrow is a scheduled day off.

I'm supposed to run Tuesday. This junk better be gone by then.

With those type of pains, you want to take it carefully to make sure you don't make it worse or you may be sidelined for far longer. Make sure to RICE (Rest, Ice it, Compression, and Elevate it) and give it a little time.

A day or three off now is better than two weeks later.