Recently in Running Category

So close -- one second per mile and I would have been sub-4:00. It's close enough that I'm satisfied for now though. I don't plan on running another marathon for quite a while.

I did my training better this time around. I was following something similar to the FIRST Training Program, but I wasn't as strict about the pace of my workouts. I did MWF bicycle, TThS run, with Tuesday being intervals (1/2 mile with 2 minute rest), Thursday temp (6-8 miles at about 8:15 pace), and Saturday long run (with 3 20-milers, 7 weeks, 5 weeks, and 3 weeks before the marathon). I was a little rushed, because I jumped into training right after recovering from San Francisco, so I think I can do better if I do another full proper training cycle, starting from a good base without any injuries or recent overtraining.

Samantha did her first marathon in 5:32. Ted took first in his age group at 3:15. Frances took second in her age group for the half at 1:57. Annie finished her first half marathon at 2:17.

I finished the SF Marathon in 4:17:46. I'm very disappointed. I ran the first half in 1:50, way too fast, and just died on the second half. I haven't yet signed up for the Silicon Valley Marathon, but I am planning on running it to redeem myself and get an acceptable sub-4:00 time.

Finished Bay to Breakers in 58:07, 773rd out of 23692. It hurt. Next year I may do it more "in the spirit", meaning with a camelbak full of wine.

In an attempt to answer the question "what's the minimum effort I need to expend to run under 4 hours in July?" I decided yesterday to go to bed early so that I can get up at 5:00am and run a half marathon (13.1 miles) in San Ramon. Results have been posted here, I ran 1:59:22, just over the 9 minute pace I tried to hold to. 10th out of 18 in 25-29 males.

This is the longest distance I've run, and I went there with the goal to come in under 2 hours by sticking to the pace, but I'm not good at it yet. My first mile was like 7:40, but by about mile 3 I had it sorted out. Started to run out of energy at the 5 mile mark. Left toe started going numb about 9 miles. All but the big toe on right foot numb by 11 miles. Had enough energy to step it up to probably around a 7 min pace the last few hundred yards, which means I could have set my pace faster.

One thing that I was able to determine is that I am able to eat energy gel and drink some water while running without getting an upset stomach.

7:00pm addendum: my knees are not likely to hold up on a marathon unless I build up to it. I can walk, but I have trouble with stairs and getting out of the car right now. Hopefully I'll be better by tomorrow.

I came in 924th out of 2711 runners, with a time of 1:05:08 (a 8:44 mile pace). I was shooting for an hour, and thought I could do it, but... I guess I'll need to train more. Results are available at doitsports.com.

This is the first visible step in my progress towards running the SF Marathon in July (and running it under 4 hours). Thanks to Haley for suggesting this as a New Year's resolution. Also, thanks for flashing us. Very nice.

So, what would I have wanted to know beforehand?

Safety Pins

I forgot about safety pins until the night before and had to stop at Safeway on my way to the race. Easy to forget because pinning a bib to your shirt is not something you normally do.

Sweats

I showed up at the shuttle pickup location wearing what I would run in, plus a sweatshirt. It was about 48 degrees (9 deg C). I would have been much more comfortable if I had worn sweatpants, and possibly even a jacket. This isn't the Marines, and I don't have to look like a hard ass anymore.

Bring your crap

Okay, this is going to vary from run to run, but for the Across the Bay 12k, I'd say go ahead and bring your backpack with stuff you will want after the race with you to the starting point. Obviously, don't bring valuables, but I was glad I had put my fanny pack with my car keys and some cash in with my sweatshirt. For Bay to Breakers, there's no sweat service, I can't say what's normal yet.

Push to the front

If you are going to run a respectable pace, and are starting with the commoners in the last wave because you don't have any time to qualify for a better start position, get to the front if you are going to start fast. I probably could have gained 2-3 minutes by starting at the front.

Tape those nipples

Actually, I knew this before hand. I think my 3rd Marines 10k tank top has blood stains from where my nipples were beforehand. This is especially important if you wear cotton. Cotton is evil. Moisture + cotton = sandpaper. Point being, it's hard to keep track of which shirts happen to hit you just right to leave you in pain, and no one is ever going to know you wear band-aids on your nipples when running more than about 5 miles. Unless you go an post to your blog about it. If you like, you can actually find specially made nipple protectors like NipGuards.

Next up will probably be Bay to Breakers, also a 12k, but I don't know if I'll break an hour with the hillier course. Bay to Breakers is a much larger run, I'm going to sign up, now that I have a time to give them, since I should be able to get into the second wave behind the actual competitive runners.

Signed up for the Across the Bay 12k. This is about the furthest distance I've run, but I've run 5mi to 10k distances many times. Biggest difference is that this is the first time I'm doing it willingly, and I won't have sing cadence the whole way. I ran 45 minutes today, would guess about 5 miles, but don't know. But the main thing I need to do to get ready for this (it's only two weeks off) is to start getting to bed earlier.