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Chronicles of a fish: the days of surf and turf
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It's one day post-marathon and I'm still standing. Legs don't feel too bad, certainly not as bad as I remember them feeling after the first marathon, and there's no pity party going on in my head (that happy affair happened last night as I spent 5 hours couped up in a vehicle in sweaty clothes stinking up the joint while I tried my best to keep my legs loose and stretched...and while the Gummi Bears I had so cleverly dumped in the back pocket of my shorts for my run were getting all hot and sticky from my body heat and lower back pressed up against the seat - pretty gross, let me tell you...). Marathon #2 done....and here is my best attempt at keeping this report relatively short by my standards.
Steamtown Marathon, October 7, 2012
Pre-race -
We arrived in Scranton, PA around 1pm on Saturday to hit the Expo and catch a very useful discussion held by a panel of 4 accomplished and experienced runners (one even has her own book!) about how to properly run this particular course...which was basically summed up in seven words - DON'T GO TOO FAST AT THE START!!! Followed by an implied DAMMIT! Then an implied "period" and a zillion implied "exclamation points"!!!!!! Oh....if only......
We also met up with boardsie's very own DukeOfDromada and his super lovely wife at the Expo, and together we attended the very useful discussion about how to run the course. The Duke and I stayed after the talk and chatted a good bit about that discussion of how to run the course. We even came so close as to pinky swear that we would in fact not run too fast at the start. Strength in numbers....he's got my back, I've got his.....we're doing this thing the way they tell us....and we're not going out too fast at the start....DAMMIT....period, eclamation point!! Ahhhh....the best laid plans.....
After a very filling pasta dinner with the The Duke and Mrs. Duke, hubby and I headed back to the hotel so I could organize all of my gear for the next morning. I had an assortment of options to choose from, but with the change in weather forcast, my tailored-to-fit-me garbage bag was no longer needed. To bed early...and up early the next morning. I was caught checking the logs at 4:30ish-am by one of the many heart-throb boardsies and he sent me a quickie note that picked up my spirits.
Thank you heart-throb boardsie!! Had a breakfast of cereal, milk and apple juice....then showered, shaved, lubed with body glide, and dressed...then out the door at 5:45am to meet the bus to take us to the starting line. The bus trip was 45 minutes, and it was dark and cold and not much chatter on the bus. The gal sitting next to me was not interested in having a conversation, all she wanted to do was munch on her dry cereal o-n-e m-o-r-s-e-l a-t a t-i-m-e. OMG....staring straight ahead and popping one piece in her mouth, chewing, swallowing, reaching back in the bag, popping, chewing....on and on....then sipping on coffee....taking her hat off, then putting it back on, then taking it off, then pulling her hair back, then hat back on. I just sat there quietly and ate my banana.
It was still dark when the bus arrived at our starting line destination, which happened to be at one of the local high schools. Very perky students greeted us as we exited the bus and escorted us past more perky students who offered us bottles of waters and ribbons to wear, and then past even more perkier cheerleaders who pom-pommed their hearts out for us as we entered the front doors of the school. At this point I had just over an hour to go before I'd be starting on my journey, so I found the gym where runners who wanted to run in groups based on desired time were supposed to meet up. I found my group, settled down for a bit of hilarity with them...listened to some AC/DC to get in the groove...used the loo a few times.....then it was go time!!
1-2-3 GO!!! -
The organizers had us start based on estimated pace with the fastest runners up front (duh!)....and after a ready-set-kaboom of the cannon, we were off.....like a herd of very slow cattle working their way through a narrow head chute. In other words, it was congested.
Mile 1 - This first mile was very slow going, annoying, and slightly dangerous. I nearly got elbowed and tripped several times...and it was a lovely downhill that I could have made some good use of if it hadn't been for all the useless peeps around me. However, there was this lovely Catholic church to the left of us that lifted my spirits with its bells ringing....and the two priests dressed in their full regalia were out clapping at us while parishoners were encouraging us on. Nice touch at 8 in the morning....but perhaps next year the boys could break out the holy water to amp things up a bit. First mile was a shocking 8:49. And so starts the demise of the discipline where pace is concerned.....
Miles 2 through 10 - At the start of mile 2, I was already down almost a full minute off pace. :eek: Holy crap...this needed to be fixed. Mile two came in at almost bang on pace - 8:02. Okay...now after a quick calculation of time and where I needed to be I decided I'd try and gain ~ 15 seconds per mile over the next 3 to 4 miles to get back on track. Mile 3 was 7:41...okay, now I'm cooking....and feeling like a million bucks. Mile 4 was 7:23....too hot, but I was loving life and felt high as a kite. By Mile 5 (7:27) I was mainlining the good stuff and it was tough to slow it down, but I also knew that I had made up all the time I needed so it was time to ease off the gas. Miles 6 through 10 felt wonderful (7:41, 8:00, 7:41, 8:01, 7:47) . I kept fairly disciplined, and I was smug with myself for having banked some time. Feeling confident at this point, all concerns of not being able to maintain this pace had long been replaced by the euphoric feelings of doing some serious damage to my PB. HA! What were those silly warnings about going out too fast???
Miles 11 through 17 - I was still feeling pretty good about life until I hit mile 13, when I noticed my legs were starting to get a little heavy and that feeling like they were concrete was starting to creep in.
No worries, this is when I started to employ my arm pump a bit more to keep me going. And it worked pretty well. Just after mile 13, I caught up with a gentleman in his mid to upper 50s who was more than delighted to have hooked up with me. He was in a very chatty mood and a little flirtatious, but I had no extra energy I wanted to expend on him at that moment. "So, where are you from.....what time are you hoping to go.....how many marathons have you run....how old are you.....what's your favorite color.....do you like Mexican food....what's your sign??" I decided to slow it down a bit, but he kept looking over his shoulder at me to keep chatting. Eventually I let him get far enough ahead of me that he would have had to basically run backwards to keep chatting. Around mile 16, the demons started knocking on the door...and I let a few of them in. In retrospect, I think I had neglected to take in enough fluids and shot bloks and I was feeling the effects of that. The support along the roads was top notch - bands playing for us and locals out cheering us on and even handing out bottles of water to us. There was a trail we ran on for a while that was covered in a canopy of fall colors - a kaleidoscope of colors that actually made me a bit dizzy momentarily. It was a lot to look at....quasi-psychodelic....or maybe it was just slight dehydration and lack of energy that was playing tricks on me? (8:04, 8:07, 8:09, 7:59, 8:04, 8:15, 8:05)
Miles 18 through 22 - This was my low point. My legs were dead but I kept at it. I relied even more on my arms to keep me moving forward and I tried to stay relaxed. I looked at my watch at some point and saw I was averaging 8:30-8:45 so I kept telling myself this was just one of my recovery runs to trick myself into enjoying it. Finally around mile 21 I gave in and walked through the water station. I grabbed two waters...then I snatched up an orange slice...and then two more waters. Consumed all of it while walking then off again I went. There was another water/food station around mile 22 and I did the same thing....slowed down, multiple waters, two orange slices....then off again. There may have been one or two more quick stops similar to these two between mile 22 and 23 (lots of residents had their own stops set up for us - the community spirit and support was pretty impressive)...and then all of a sudden I started to feel much better. Of course, this is about where the hills began, but it was as if my misery had been lifted and I felt human again...and I was running again and enjoying it. I started passing people who were now wearing the shoes I had just kicked off. It was an amazing feeling to feel good again.
(8:19, 8:53, 8:32, 8:28, 9:10)
Miled 23 through 26.73 - With a new-found reason to live, I embraced the last 5k, plus the .53 bonus miles, with a skip in my step and smile on my face. Woo hoo!! Nearly there....I just had to get up and over a few hills that, now looking at my Garmin data, weren't half as daunting as they seemed at that moment. The steepest hill went through a nice neighborhood whose residents had all come out onto their lawns offering up all sorts of treats to keep us going - basically they were baiting us up the hill with iced cold beverages (non-alcoholic is all I saw, but there were promises of beer), and sugary sweets and fruit, and The Boss singing our anthem, "Born to Run", in his Sunday morning lawn sermon served up SpeakerKraft style for the umpteenth time when I passed - and the bait worked! High fives for everyone, a few shout outs to the ghouls and gobblins, and that hill was done and dusted. Nearly there....just a lovely downhill to coast on....then some flattish road....and my groove had come back in full glory. When my Garmin told me I was at mile 26 (but still had another .73 miles in my story to go), I gave it an extra kick. Thinking I only had a few more tenths of a mile to go (I had zoned out on the mile markers at this point), I let the dogs out thinking that it was all downhill to the finish. I could hear the music and the roar of the crowd, but I had yet to turn the corner to see the spectacle and the blasted long drag of a hill that had totally escaped my mind. Ugh! By this time I had hooked up with a gal I had started with, and we both huffed it up the hill challenging the other to keep it going. We did. We were good for each other - I wasn't about to let her pass me, and she wasn't about to let me get much in front of her. I felt nauseated at times, but we both knew we had to HTFU to bring it home in a respectable time. Hubby was waiting for me at the 26 mile marker with his camera in hand and cheers galore, so that gave me and my friend the final boost to make it the last 2 tenths of a mile. I thought those 2 tenths of a mile would never end....but they did. With my brand new medal around my neck and my shiny new mylar "blanket" wrapped around me, I waited to have my photo taken, then into the food tent where the smell of everything made me want to puke so I opted for two bottles of water, orange slices, and a chocolate cookie. (8:59, 8:46, 8:41, 8:19, 5:52 (8:03 pace))
Post Race -
The DukeOfDromada and his lovely wife were waiting for me after my finish - of course he had been waiting for me for about a half an hour since he sizzled and popped at 3:06!! We chatted and laughed and shared splits and strategies (he opted to obey the suggestions of the pros) and we schemed about Boston. Finally we bid farewell to each other and hopped in our respective cars for our journeys home. Mine was 5 hours....in which we almost ran out of gas due to totally forgetting to fill up the vehicle as we left Scranton in all the excitement. Thank god the warning light started flashing as we were approaching an exit that had a few gas stations to choose from.
Post Post Race Thoughts -
Am I happy with the results? Well, I did improve my time 2 minutes and 41 seconds, so that is good. And I knew in my heart that I had not put in the running mileage to bring the result I wanted, and I never had a quality LSR that I could put my money on, so there is all that. And then there is the little matter of running extra mileage in the race - .53 miles to be exact. If that's really what I did (I've been trying to figure out if I could actually do that - weaving and going side to side and taking turns wide - I guess it's possible with the number of twists and turns this course had, plus the fact that most roads were totally closed thus giving me loads of space to weave....
) then I could have shaved off 4 minutes if I had chosen my running path more wisely. So there's that too. And, I suspect I was feeling the effects of dehydration and low energy around the 18 mile mark (probably sooner, but it took getting to the 18 mile point to see the effects) having only been sipping small amounts of water along the way and having only taken 3 shot bloks at that point (I think 2 bloks equal one gel), so I need to not get behind in that respect. And I need to use more pace discipline - and not go out too fast, dammit! But this was a great experience....and I learned a good bit from this race that I will take with me to Boston.
Regarding the organization of this race, it was spot on. From the moment I signed up, the organizers did their very best to make sure we runners had access to everything possible to ensure that this Steamtown experience would be a positive one. They sent us weekly emails with training tips and encouragement. They organized a very nice Expo with very nice gear (I got my Race Ready shorts which are brilliant!!), and they provided us access to people who had knowledge and advice that some of us heeded to run this course as fast as we could.
I will now step back for a few days (maybe one, two?), then ease into things with some swimming, then maybe the bike followed by a run. My plan is to work on running hills and putting in some mileage at any pace my heart desires for the next month or two, then dive into a Boston plan. I need to find a plan that will excite me and challenge me...so I'm looking for suggestions. I wish there was a running club in my community, but there is not, so I will plod forward best I can and look to this forum and its loggers as my teammates.
Here's my Garmin data....
26.73 miles in 3:39:13 for an average pace of 8:12 min/mile.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/231345929
Official race time was 3:39:20.0 -
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Dory, I just thought I should tell you, that I am right now eating small pieces of cereal very, very, slowly. Chewing them methodically, just for you. (though you did remind me of the bus trip to the race start in Austria, where some very fit, very tanned athletes stood in the aisle and rubbed sun oil into each other. It was very soothing on the nerves)
Well done on your race, but please dont do a post mortem on it. Somehow, I get the teensiest impression that you feel you messed up by going out too hard. Youll never know really how much that did or did not affect the end of your race (which sounded strong, btw) so dont do what I do - turn it over endlessly in your head. Its done, and it went well for you. A stonking pb time to achieve in your second marathon. (And girl, you do not pick easy races!) Well done and roll on your next one! 0 -
Thanks, KG and Oryx. Sitting here analyzing the race and looking at my Garmin data and remembering how I felt at various stages of the race, the two biggest issues for me were probably, 1) water/nutrition (you can't even imagine how much water I drank Sunday night before bed - I just couldn't get enough....and during the race I didn't realize how thirsty I was until I started drinking water, then I wanted more and more - maybe the cold tricked me into not realizing I needed water...and the orange slices were heaven...), and 2) proper race line. If I really did run an extra half mile, then think of the time I wasted. But, water under the bridge and lessons learned.....and hopefully my mistakes will help someone out there who may be reading this and prepping for a marathon in less than three weeks. 0
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Im sure youve read it already, but claralaras Berlin report is a masterclass of marathon pacing.
Prepping for a marathon in 3 weeks? Yup, Im sure RedB is reading this intently. I'm just out for a jog on the 29th, it might be 26.2 miles... or it might not.... 0 -
Thanks, KG and Oryx. Sitting here analyzing the race and looking at my Garmin data and remembering how I felt at various stages of the race, the two biggest issues for me were probably, 1) water/nutrition (you can't even imagine how much water I drank Sunday night before bed - I just couldn't get enough....and during the race I didn't realize how thirsty I was until I started drinking water, then I wanted more and more - maybe the cold tricked me into not realizing I needed water...and the orange slices were heaven...), and 2) proper race line. If I really did run an extra half mile, then think of the time I wasted. But, water under the bridge and lessons learned.....and hopefully my mistakes will help someone out there who may be reading this and prepping for a marathon in less than three weeks.
I think you are being a little harsh on yourself. It's a tough race - the downhills are very tough on the quads and it's just plain nasty to follow up with hills in the later miles. But I always like the idea of running as a process and trying to learn something from every race - even the good ones. So to be picky:
Your training looked pretty good in terms of sessions. Not sure what your total milage was but I would not have said that you were short of miles. There are probably others who are better qualified to comment, the only thing I remember is that the steady state tempo miles were short. Did you follow a training plan ? If not it might be time to think about one.
Looking at your splits, the effort spent dodging around runners in the first mile or two may not have been the best use of energy - physical and even more so mental. It might have been better to allow the crowd to thin naturally. This would have saved you race line and stopped the drop into 7.2*mm pace. I've do this myself so I recognise the symptoms. Dipping this far below planned pace (even given a net down hill) this early is not a good idea. Time "borrowed" in the early miles is given up with interest later on.
You might want to reconsider nutrition. I'm not sure that cliff bloks equate the gels. I think of bloks as a boost but not as a replacement for gels. Even if they did 1.5 gels in 18 miles may not be optimum. This is a very individual thing but running out of energy at mile 18 would make me think about nutrition 4-5 miles earlier.
On the plus side you really recovered and pulled it back together in the later miles.
On the other plus side it is a PB.
.. and the best thing is that I really think you can use this experience to tear the Boston course apart:). You'll go into it knowing the profile, knowing better how to run the race ... and knowing that that you can get through the tough stretches of the run because you've done it before. 0 -
I think you are being a little harsh on yourself. It's a tough race - the downhills are very tough on the quads and it's just plain nasty to follow up with hills in the later miles. But I always like the idea of running as a process and trying to learn something from every race - even the good ones. So to be picky:
Your training looked pretty good in terms of sessions. Not sure what your total milage was but I would not have said that you were short of miles. There are probably others who are better qualified to comment, the only thing I remember is that the steady state tempo miles were short. Did you follow a training plan ? If not it might be time to think about one.
Looking at your splits, the effort spent dodging around runners in the first mile or two may not have been the best use of energy - physical and even more so mental. It might have been better to allow the crowd to thin naturally. This would have saved you race line and stopped the drop into 7.2*mm pace. I've do this myself so I recognise the symptoms. Dipping this far below planned pace (even given a net down hill) this early is not a good idea. Time "borrowed" in the early miles is given up with interest later on.
You might want to reconsider nutrition. I'm not sure that cliff bloks equate the gels. I think of bloks as a boost but not as a replacement for gels. Even if they did 1.5 gels in 18 miles may not be optimum. This is a very individual thing but running out of energy at mile 18 would make me think about nutrition 4-5 miles earlier.
On the plus side you really recovered and pulled it back together in the later miles.
On the other plus side it is a PB.
.. and the best thing is that I really think you can use this experience to tear the Boston course apart:). You'll go into it knowing the profile, knowing better how to run the race ... and knowing that that you can get through the tough stretches of the run because you've done it before.
Thanks for all of this feedback.
Due to triathlon training, my weekly running mileage probably only averaged under 40 miles per week. For the first marathon, I probably averaged 50 miles per week. Tempo miles short? You are probably correct for the goals I'd like to target. I did follow a plan - the same plan I followed for the first marathon, the FIRST Plan. I think the plan did a world of good for me the first time around, but I was bored to tears with it this time. I think I need something new for Boston....and am hungry for suggestions...or even someone to feed me a plan.
I agree that the early miles were not efficient and at times too hot. But how do you make up that time that you've lost? My big problem was how good it felt to go fast....and then perhaps some damage was done.
Reflecting on my nutrition and how I seemed to recover after taking on oranges - and I also popped two more shot bloks after mile 18, taking 5 bloks total for the 26 miles - this is something I need to fix. I've tried gels a few times with disastrous tummy results. Bloks agree with me....but perhaps I should look at a few different brands of gels to try.
And yes...the happy news is I definitely recovered and was able to run uphill to the finish at my targeted pace, so that does tell me something. And I had fight in me while running uphill to the finish, so that tells me something too. It was a PB, yep.....and I've got a pocket full of knowledge now to improve my performance in Boston.
Thanks again. Good observations. 0 -
I agree that the early miles were not efficient and at times too hot. But how do you make up that time that you've lost? My big problem was how good it felt to go fast....and then perhaps some damage was done.
It's tough - the first few miles it feels so easy, how can you hold yourself back? But you have to make up the time slowly - if you're two minutes down after the first mile, think of how much of the race you have left, how long you can take to get that time back. You don't need to be back on schedule until the very end, after all. So 5-10 seconds a mile is plenty of time to be gaining back.
(re. getting 26.7 miles on your Garmin, that's going to happen every time. Partly it's not following the racing line, partly it's just Garmins not being perfectly accurate. You need to either take that into account when setting your mile pace target or use a pace band and check your time against the mile markers)0 -
I was caught checking the logs at 4:30ish-am by one of the many heart-throb boardsies and he sent me a quickie note that picked up my spirits. Thank you heart-throb boardsie!!
Whoever this guy was, he'd have been better off giving you a quick reminder to trust your pace at the start, rather than cooing sweet nothings at a poor gal so early in the morning. (Although he does sound hunky).
Regarding a schedule: you might look at "Advanced Marathoning" by the much-motherforum-loved P&D. The 18 week plan, maxing at 55miles per week, has helped a load take big steps under 3:30. There's plenty of "easy" days too, that you could interchange with bikes'n'pool. Can't forget about the bikes'n'pool;)0 -
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Kurt Godel wrote: »Whoever this guy was, he'd have been better off giving you a quick reminder to trust your pace at the start, rather than cooing sweet nothings at a poor gal so early in the morning. (Although he does sound hunky).
Regarding a schedule: you might look at "Advanced Marathoning" by the much-motherforum-loved P&D. The 18 week plan, maxing at 55miles per week, has helped a load take big steps under 3:30. There's plenty of "easy" days too, that you could interchange with bikes'n'pool. Can't forget about the bikes'n'pool;)
Poet + triathlete = hunky heart-throb city!!
(and cooing sweet nothings always trumps smart advice that probably won't be taken)
The P&D plan is one that's on my list to look at. The FIRST plan is a very good plan that gave me a great base to start with and learn from, but I'm ready to move from such a basic plan to one that's more dynamic to keep me interested and challenged. I've read enough in the running forum to know that sessions can be made interesting and challenging, I just need to have all of those interesting and challenging sessions compiled in to one whopper of a Boston plan for me. I lurk in the DCM thread that Ecoli contributes his weekly training instructions to, and I've even considered giving his plan a good look at for Boston....assuming he wouldn't mind.
I couldn't help but think of you today as I was checking out a trail running club that is based 2 hours away but does many of their runs in my mountains. Club's name is Happy Trails....would be fun to do a few runs with them!0 -
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interested wrote: »
Are all the bar girls as well endowed as that one on the bottom right, are her arms long enough to even hold the pitchers of beer around those mountains 0 -
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RedB, here's this morning's steamy pool photo. (It's absolutely gorgeous here, by the way - crisp, sunny and lots of fall color going on!!!)
pool steam rising!.jpg
@catweazle.....so, have you always been blessed with this special ability to pick out the biggest headlights in a crowd? 0 -
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Congratulations on yet another PB!
You are not allowed to be disappointed with your result (well maybe a little if you must;)) You trained hard and finished strong and PBed so you should be delighted with yourself. I'd echo the thoughts above on taking it easy for a couple of weeks, you've put in a really solid year's work. Chill out in that lovely steamy pool:)
You are in great shape for Boston (in fact we need to get you one of those t-shirts that says I eat hills for breakfast)
As soon as the Klown has his shiny DCM PB we'll get him to post you that Boston book. In the meantime as Kurt suggested, P&D is a gem of a book and you'll already be familiar with most of the concepts but no plans for a while, rest, rest, rest!0 -
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Three days after the marathon and my legs and body are in remarkably good shape. I have taken 2 complete days off and done nothing other than get myself hyped up on chocolate and purchased a very fashionable and hip Camelbak to take with me on some of my long runs. It's a new model made for female runners - it's pink (wanted vibrant blue) and holds 1.5 liters of water. This should give me more freedom to choose my runs, add a little drag, and give me fewer excuses to stop. Sounds good, right?
Trainer
The plan is to ease into my training, so tonight was a spin in the basement while listening to some very loud and noisy music hubby had on. 15 miles in approximately 50 minutes. I did not push this, and I won't for a few sessions, but the legs really do feel quite good. Very pleased with this. 0 -
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Three days after the marathon and my legs and body are in remarkably good shape. I have taken 2 complete days off and done nothing other than get myself hyped up on chocolate and purchased a very fashionable and hip Camelbak to take with me on some of my long runs. It's a new model made for female runners - it's pink (wanted vibrant blue) and holds 1.5 liters of water. This should give me more freedom to choose my runs, add a little drag, and give me fewer excuses to stop. Sounds good, right?
Put it in the freezer between runs, the Camelbak can start to smell a bit if you are sticking anything other than water into it during runs no matter how well you clean it. They work pretty well though it can be a pain tightening the strap every time you take a slug from it to stop it bouncing.
Will Pink match the Madone, vibrant blue would have been a much better match
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Race nutrition update.....3 shot bloks equals 1 gel....and each block only has 33 calories. I only consumed 5 bloks the entire race, and I forgot to take anything 15 to 30 minutes before the race, so I only took in 165 calories for 26 miles. This was definitely a problem for me.Put it in the freezer between runs, the Camelbak can start to smell a bit if you are sticking anything other than water into it during runs no matter how well you clean it. They work pretty well though it can be a pain tightening the strap every time you take a slug from it to stop it bouncing.
Will Pink match the Madone, vibrant blue would have been a much better match
:eek::eek: If it starts to smell, then it's way beyond the point of acceptable health safety standards!!! But thanks for the freezer tip. I definitely won't be putting anything but water in the Camelbak due to fuzzy growth concerns, but even plain moisture can grow some disgusting funk. Ick!!
The pink will match the Madone's well harmonized muted colors, but the vibrant blue would have popped more.Hey Ms PB!! Great work at the weekend, a PB is a PB, and there is definitely a 3:29 in there someday soon.
And more importantly, best of luck with the new steed. Just don't go giving it a stupid name like William or something!!
Thanks BTH!! (do you like your name change??) My steed's name as dubbed by our very own Oryx is.....The Mad One!!!!! (get it?? it's a play on the model name....) 0 -
Trainer
Yep...same bat time, same bat channel - 15 miles in the basement in about 50 minutes. Legs needed a good 3 to 4 mile warmup before they got their groove on, then they felt strong. I kept it pretty easy for most of the miles, but every now and then I'd amp it up the length of an entire song (hubby had loud and noisy music blaring again). I guess this method of alternating easy and hard miles based on music tracks is sort of like doing a fartlek....that is, if I understand correctly what a fartlek is...and not a body function that provides great humor to most young boys and juvenile men. 0 -
If its clif shot blocks, you might want to recheck that. I had worked it out as two blocks = 1 gel. And like you, Ive got an intolerance to gels, but moreso the icky sticky ones like powerbar, fwiw, Im tolerating the blocks a lot less than I used to. I think the body just gets sick of the same stuff. Isotonic ones are better for me at the mo (viperactive is the current fave).Race nutrition update.....1 shot blok equals 3 gels....and each block only has 33 calories. I only consumed 5 bloks the entire race, and I forgot to take anything 15 to 30 minutes before the race, so I only took in 165 calories for 26 miles. This was definitely a problem for me.
I only ever put water in my camel back, but once I forgot to drain it. I will NEVER forget that smell. I dumped the bladder, but even still, the bag smelled so badly of decomposing vomit that it ended up in the bin too! The freezer sounds like a good idea. You can also get things that prop the bag open to dry it out.:eek::eek: If it starts to smell, then it's way beyond the point of acceptable health safety standards!!! But thanks for the freezer tip. I definitely won't be putting anything but water in the Camelbak due to fuzzy growth concerns, but even plain moisture can grow some disgusting funk. Ick!!
Youre becoming a triathlete alright.The pink will match the Madone's well harmonized muted colors, but the vibrant blue would have popped more.
I feel so proud. While mine actually translates as 'the inactive one' (which it is living up to at the moment) mine is being christened the beast, because learning to ride it properly is going to be hell.Thanks BTH!! (do you like your name change??) My steed's name as dubbed by our very own Oryx is.....The Mad One!!!!! (get it?? it's a play on the model name....)0 -
If its clif shot blocks, you might want to recheck that. I had worked it out as two blocks = 1 gel. And like you, Ive got an intolerance to gels, but moreso the icky sticky ones like powerbar, fwiw, Im tolerating the blocks a lot less than I used to. I think the body just gets sick of the same stuff. Isotonic ones are better for me at the mo (viperactive is the current fave).
Trust me, I have not looked into the science of bloks nor gels so I'm not really the right person to be providing any guidance here...but the Clif blok package states that 3 bloks equals one serving, and also that each blok has 33 calories....and I checked the website to have a look at the product specs and it says the same thing, plus states that 3 bloks equals one Clif gel. Here's the link to the website - and bloks vs. gels is the 5th "Q & A" down.
http://www.clifbar.com/food/did_you_know/C249
I also did a quick google search of calories per gels and it appears that most gels have between 90 and 120 calories per package. Again, I have no idea how any other elements of bloks/gels compare....and perhaps European bloks are packed full of more good stuff than American bloks...??
Tummy trouble sucks...I didn't have any trouble on the day, but tummy was tore up on Monday. I've looked for your Iso-gels, but apparently they are only sold over in Europe.
How many calories do you feel you need to run the marathon?? That is something I never gave any mind to until The DukeOfDromada mentioned the math that went into his gel/nutrition strategy. I have so much to learn. And have you worked out your water consumption too??0 -
You wrote this and it confuzzled me.1 shot blok equals 3 gels....
I have no exact nutrition strategy, like everything else its done by how I feel. Because one day three gels in three hours will be fine, another day it would make me puke, or wouldnt be enough or run through me like acid. Its unpredictable. So I keep it loose, with a rough idea in my head of when I will take a gel, but I'll take it sooner if the legs start to fade. I'll sip water continually if they have it in bottles.
I was talking to someone who is knowledgeable about nutrition, they reckoned I got it wrong in Austria which is why I couldnt run (I totally disagree on that - it was the heat, but anyway). The thing is, I took in as much as I could, while trying to keep it out of the 'I feel sick' zone. No point taking in the exact amount per hour if you throw it all back up again.0 -
You wrote this and it confuzzled me.
I have no exact nutrition strategy, like everything else its done by how I feel. Because one day three gels in three hours will be fine, another day it would make me puke, or wouldnt be enough or run through me like acid. Its unpredictable. So I keep it loose, with a rough idea in my head of when I will take a gel, but I'll take it sooner if the legs start to fade. I'll sip water continually if they have it in bottles.
I was talking to someone who is knowledgeable about nutrition, they reckoned I got it wrong in Austria which is why I couldnt run (I totally disagree on that - it was the heat, but anyway). The thing is, I took in as much as I could, while trying to keep it out of the 'I feel sick' zone. No point taking in the exact amount per hour if you throw it all back up again.
Oops.....my mind must've still been feeling the effects of the lack of nutrition. (Entry above corrected, thanks for pointing this out.)
And I do agree 100% with the wanting to vomit feeling. Too bad we can't stop for a steak and baked potato, a quick nap, and then resume the marathon again when we're all fresh again. It would be so much healthier than what we put ourselves through. 0 -
Only catching up now DD - I've been thinking about you but just haven't had a minute over the last couple of weeks. Well done on a cracking marathon. Sure, it may not have been your A-day but we're all guilty of being too hard on ourselves... The joys of being high achievers eh?! Most people learn lessons as a result of a bad race but you've managed to run a great race, get a PB and learn some valuable things that will leave poor old Digger eating your dust in Boston! Well done again.Im sure youve read it already, but claralaras Berlin report is a masterclass of marathon pacing.
There was a gigantic dollop of good luck thrown in on my day in Berlin but as well as that, and my seeing sense and stubbornly sticking to the plan, Berlin allows for an easy pacing strategy i.e. even splits - and that takes a lot of the mental pain and second guessing out of the day. I found it difficult to keep holding back early on but I just kept reminding myself what I had trained for and one silly move could have ruined the day altogether.Odin Drab Firefighter wrote: »Well done C, great performance from you and one you should be proud of. Take some time off now ye hear, its been a long season for you and you have got through a savage amount of training. Do stuff you want to do for the next 2/3 weeks and then plan your attack on Boston next year.
++++1!
First up, you need to rest and recover. Once that's taken care of, come find me... Boston better watch it's heartbreak a*s! 0 -
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Happy Trails......
Okay....3 out of the last 5 days post marathon were rest days.....and with today being ABSOLUTELY FREAKIN' GORGEOUS, how could I resist a little dabble in the out-of-doors trail style?? Couldn't. Giddy up!
Hubby was heading out to Jeremy's Run to do his usual 10 mile weekend hike. He likes to do two out and backs to try and maximize his elevation gain - he takes Neighbor Mt. Trail up a few miles when it splits from Jeremy's Run and then back down, then up again to Knob Mt. Trail a few miles and back down. I followed him out there and did my own thing - Jeremy's Run to Knob Mt. Trail and back down. Because I am in my recovery phase (sounds like I should stand up before you all and say apologetically..."Hello, my name is Dory Dory, and I'm a marathoner"), I had planned on putting in 6 to 8 miles today, so 3 to 4 miles out and back.
**cough, cough**
My very fashionable ladies pink Camelbak arrived in the post yesterday so I had it with me on this maiden voyage. All I can say ladies is, it is the bomb!! Love it!! It's not very big, but it holds 1.5 liters of water (I drank just over half of the water on this run) and it has pockets for snacks, keys, cell phone, etc. Easy on, easy off too!! I never noticed it on my back, not really...it did not bounce up and down, and it did not slosh all around. Perfect, if you ask me, for these kinds of adventures. I'm wondering if I need to name it?? Oryx??
But the run....the run. Trail running is magic. If you have never run in a wooded forest with only the sounds of the wind, the random squirrel, the creaking trees, and the running stream audible...and with the sun shining through the golden canopy of autumn colored leaves....and with the depth of your perception being only "X" trees deep, thus intensifying all of your senses and forcing you to live in the immediate moment...then you have not experienced the magic. And it was this magic that convinced me on mile 4 to keep going just a little bit further....and a little bit further....and a little bit further. I knew that the top of the mountain was approximately 7 miles up, so I started to entertain thoughts about reaching the top. Besides, all I had to do when I got home was laundry, so I figured what better use of my time on this beautiful day than to run around the woods with my Camelbak.
6.79 miles up, and I was at the top. Thank god!! The last push up was bloody steep, but I made it to the point where my trail intersected the Appalachian Trail. And now it was time to make my way back down, and that's not as easy as it sounds. The Blue Ridge Mountain is covered in rock, exposed roots, fallen trees, and streams to cross - all of which can make trail running exciting yet dangerous. More than once did I nearly bust my butt tripping...and more than once did I slip in the water. It's slow going, and that's fine with me. I'd be lying to you if I said this run was easy (or smart so early into recovery ("hello, my name is Dory Dory...")) for my legs were pretty much done on mile 9. 13.58 miles were put down in total. Yikes! But pace was slow, slow, slow....with lots of forced stops to cross water.
My Garmin lost satellite for a bit just after mile 12, so the Garmin data is a bit off, but here's the link so you can see where I ran today. The trail ends at Elk Wallow on Skyline Drive - the location of several of my runs, including the Hill from Hell running series I did.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/233024936
And here are a few photos of my run:
Knob Mt. Trail #5.jpg
Knob Mt. Trail #4.jpg
Knob Mt. Trail #3.jpg0
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