I just ran a half-marathon!

In reply to Giant Purple Snorklewacker:

on what device are you running the mapmyrun app?

AngryCorvair wrote: In reply to Giant Purple Snorklewacker: on what device are you running the mapmyrun app?

A Galaxy SIII android but that pic is from the mmr website after the device syncs the data up to my account.

The bannana is good start, but honestly kind of weak. Look for a energy or protein bar you can stand. And don't save it, as soon as you start to feel peckish, choke it down, even if you have to walk to do it, and chase it with more water than you are comfortable with. At both of my actual marathons I was painfully hungry for the last 4-6 miles and that was with grabbing all the bars samples and half bananas I could. Learning to eat while running was my biggest hurdle to breaking a troublesome 18 mile barrier I encountered training.

Hydration. I had to put three water bottles in my car and run by it about every 8 miles and get a fresh one. Over here I can freeze them and stash them ahead of time (I run a big loop).

If you are running two days in a row, you need two pairs of shoes. It takes at least 24 hours for the foam to recover. Heed to advice about 500 miles or so, your feet will thank you when you don't have plantar fasciitis later.

and yeah, kick ass.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote:

keethrax wrote: Hijacking a bit here... A few people have mentioned heart rate monitors. I've tried a few, and the variances between their readings has been *huge* Any suggestions on a reasonably decent choice on a budget?

Mentally apply the difference to whatever you read on that screen or just base all your percentages on that field tested number. As long as you are only using that HRM then it's all just a relative number.

Thanks. Since I didn't get long periods of time to test the various meters, I was unsure if even the same meter was likely to read fairly consistently. If they had all been fairly consistent amongst themselves, I'd just figure that they were all solid. Converting from some meter reading to a "real" value is no problem at all as long as a given meter should be fairly consistent.

alfadriver wrote: In reply to keethrax: If you have a smartphone, there are some Bluetooth bands that can be read by apps. But we've had pretty good luck with polar stuff. Check ebay for old nib units. For GPS hr monitors we still use garmins to run with. Again, there are apps but I'm still trying to find a good GPS running app.

Thanks. No smart phone. Nobody makes one I actually want. They all either have too much screen (gasp) or too little oomph for what I'd pay. There are a few that are close, and when I can get work to pay for one, I'll get one... But for now nobody makes the smart phone I want (ditto e-readers)

In reply to keethrax:

Twice I've gotten Polar watches here- http://www.heartratemonitorsusa.com/heartratemonitor-viewall.html?gclid=CJClvuqy6bgCFexDMgodZmIAmg

And this one is good for just basic http://www.heartratemonitorsusa.com/polar-ft2all.html

funny thing- quite a few years ago, i found some basic polar watches like that at Sears for $10. Easy buy.

But you can still fine NIB on ebay.

And some of the watches look like normal watches.

What kind of shoes are you wearing, after switching in 2009 I swear by minimalist shoes.

I have Vibram Five Fingers for the summer and Merrell Trail Gloves for the winter.

I've done tons of 5Ks, a bunch of 10Ks, and a couple of halves. I've got my first full coming up on October 20th too!

I use runkeeper to track my runs.

In reply to e_pie:

I'd love to be able to run mimimalist shoes- and even ran Vibrams for up to 3 miles. Then I saw a slow motion of my gait after breaking my foot. Slapping my foot from out to in isn't good. Too many years of skating vs. running.

Great way to mid foot strike, though. Loved them.

Mine is a Timex Ironman watch with matching wireless waterproof chest band monitor. It was approx $80 for the pair a couple years ago.

Looks like this: http://www.timex.com/watches/timex-personal-trainer-heart-rate-t5g971f5

What about this one for only $22?

http://www.amazon.com/Pyle-Sports-PHRM38BK-Monitor-Walking/dp/B004RQWYDO/ref=sr_1_12?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1375816110&sr=1-12&keywords=polar+heart+rate+monitor

I haven't been on here for a week or so.

Nice work, AC!!! Jeez--you're an honest-to-goodness runner now!!!

I ride a century and you then have to run a marathon. WTF?!

i don't feel like a runner, but i'm putting in some miles. i just got home from this week's long run. 13.3 miles in 2:09:39, so a 9:45 pace which is a little better than last week's 13.2 mi. they say "don't set a time goal for your first marathon," but i think they're bitches. when registering for the event i put my goal as 4:20:00 which is 10:00 miles, but my real goal is 4:00:00 which takes 9:08 miles. 26.2 of them. in a row. time will tell.

Pat, Keep an eye on yourself. Ines was well in line to finish her first marathon under 4 hours, which would have qualified her for Boston. Pretty amazing. But as she was running, her heart rate kept going up and up, and since drinking isn't very easy, she also wasn't really hydrating very well. On top of that, the energy packs she was taking during the run were high caffiene.

So by the time mile 22 came around, she collapsed. Twice. Being focused on finishing, and recovering pretty well, the running staff let her go on. To get you an idea how fast she was going- she WALKED the last 4 miles (running the last .2), and still finished 4:25 or so.

Anyway, the point is pay close attention to yourself during the race. It's easy to get caught up and not, or just focus on a goal that something can happen.

That being said, keep up the work, especially the speed work- you are doing great. My coach always mentioned that if you want to race fast, you need to train fast. Not the long runs, mind you, but the rest of them.

We did 10 miles today, just under 11mn/mi. I'd love to get back into the 9's. When I hurt myself a few years ago, I was training at ~ 9:00. Manged a DX-AA run at 8:53. So that's how fast it drops off.

In reply to alfadriver:

thanks Eric, i will be careful. with as many times as I've bonked on the bike, i know what it feels like. today i had a Clif bar about 5 miles in, 24 oz of gatorade and 8 oz of water. i tried to start a second Clif bar about 9 miles in but didn't like the flavor so those calories went back into my pocket.

This thread made me say berkeley it, and I cracked my first 13.1. "Yikes" is all I have to say, its FAR. Another runner told me that its "just running a 5k after running a 10mi" um, for some reason it seemed way harder! Did it in just under 2hr, plenty of water but didnt take anything to eat. Probably the biggest difference past the 10s I have done. Anyway, props to those that run that far and then do it again!

In reply to AngryCorvair:

Honey stingers. They rock.

I ran 40 miles this week and I'm fixin' to do another 11.1 tomorrow AM.

This thread is good for my motivation.

alfadriver wrote: In reply to AngryCorvair: Honey stingers. They rock.

They are the BOMB. Although not nearly as much fuel as a Clif Bar. I use them for shorter rides/mild hunger on the bike and the Clifs when I feel like I need more fuel.

All of the flavors are great, but strawberry is amazing (and I'm a chocolate fiend). I've also been on a blueberry Clif Bar routine lately.

In reply to alfadriver:

what is DX-AA? too lazy to google...

In reply to gamby:

i have heard good things about the blueberry Clif bar. and i will hit up REI because they are close to home and they have the honey stingers.

Unless your a freak I would absolutely recommend against setting any kind of goal for your first Marathon other than "finishing". I ran one 3 years ago and finished in 4:23 so right at 10:00 miles. I really should have considered running either slower or walking more as I messed up my foot/leg pushing for a target time and it took 8-9 months to really be able to get back to running. By then the fitness level I had built up had subsided some so now after 2 kids I'm back to starting at ground zero to train for another one. If I had been smart I would of just ran to finish the first and not injured myself and been able to maintain running/fitness after more easily and continued to train to hit my goals.

AngryCorvair wrote: In reply to alfadriver: what is DX-AA? too lazy to google...

DeXter-AnnArbor Half Marathon. It's been going on for something like 30 years. The weekend after Memorial Day.

It's a nice run mostly along Huron River Drive.

I thought it was a class like in land speed racing.. like for under 50cc, non streamliners

Pat, good for you! Hal Higdon's plans are great. I'm in week one of one of his Novice 2 half mary plan right now.

Make sure you research the nutrition that they will have at the aid stations on race and train with it to make sure your body likes it. If the brand of gels and energy drinks that will be on course work for your stomach your race day nutrition plan will be much easier. If not, you need to know that now so you can plan to carry what you need and just take water. Sounds like you are eating on the run, I can have a spaghetti dinner on the bike but can't do solids on the run--and you don't want to plan on eating a Cliff bar at mile 16 and find that you just can't eat it on race day!

I love Hammer stuff as it just plain works for me. I've done a couple Ironman's and pretty much took only water from aid stations on the bike to go with my own Perpetuem, gels and PBJ. I also carried my own gel in a flask on a race belt for the run to go with the fruit, Coke, Gatorade, and water they have on course.

Treat every run over 10 miles as a nutrition lab. If it works now it will work on race day. Good luck staying healthy and getting fitter!

today's run sucked. i had a very minor annoyance in my left knee, a small click/pop on the inboard side of my kneecap that has been there on and off for about 30 years. i can make it stop by making sure my knee is a little more bent when my foot hits the ground. today it got inside my head and i lost focus, so i only ran 5 miles instead of my planned 7.

on a more positive note, after running 13.1 on 8/3 and 8/10, the ten-miler on 8/17 felt like a walk in the park. i never thought i'd say that running ten miles was easy, but i had plenty of gas in the tank at the finish.

i'm looking forward to my physical on 9/18. i've lost 11 lbs (from 175 to 164, at 5'9" and 46YO), and i'm curious to see what my (small) dietary changes and my (large) increase in cardio have done to my BP and my cholesterol.