Running thread

I thought about it, but I figured breaking the PR was good enough for me, and plus there was this influencer fitness chick running ahead of me with a selfie stick and I didn’t want to ruin her shot lol.

Just training, I live right next to a long trail that’s like 23 miles or so. I haven’t done real events because of covid and I’m still in a crowded pace group where it would take me a very long time to get up to speed when it thins out.

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I’m in a slow wave for pike’s peak so that combined with uncertainty about effects of altitude has me not expecting my best time. I’m treating this year as an exploratory run so that next time I’ll have a better idea of what to expect and where the bottle necks are (there are some single file sections). Hopefully I’ll do a good enough time to qualify for a faster wave next time.

It sounds like you need to add “Run a 10k faster than my age” to your list of goals (unless you’ve already done it). Breaking 50 minutes seems achievable if you can run a 1:45 HM.

it went just ok. did not get under 22 minutes. was under 23 easily. didn’t feel like i left it all out there, but also felt like absolute garbage for about 6 hours after. so it was strenuous enough. not sure if there will be another race this year. if there is, i need more track work

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Was heat a factor? It’s been crazy hot lately - today was 103. I think I suffer in the heat if it’s over 85 or so.

heat not really a factor. it was maybe 70 at the start. it was 730am. I just don’t know how to push and sustain and recover anymore.

Did some hill repeats with my 20 y/o. She killed me

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We don’t have any hills here so I’m jealous. I did just return from a conference and my hotel had 18 floors of fire exit stairs with an elevator to go back to the bottom floor, so I did quite a few reps of those (gets the heart rate up quickly)

Went out yesterday afternoon for a short run (0.8 miles, according to the sign). Trying to lengthen it. It was a bit warm. My calf has been hurting for a month or so, but doesn’t hurt while running.

Oh man, stairs kill me. For many years, I would run early in the morning, and was quite fit. Then, I would take public transportation to work, which included about 70 stairs, and I would be winded just walking up them.

Repeats on 18 flights sounds miserable.

I have posted here before about how I have drawn a line in the sand and while will accept my son being faster than me when he is a teenager, want to hold him off until then*. I can still outrun him if we go out for a run.

However, yesterday we went and played tennis with his friends. He can clearly get to a tennis ball faster than I can. As can his friends. Getting older sucks.

*If I stay approx the same speed and he puts in the work to become faster than me, I will actually be rather proud.

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Stairs
i was early 30s and running a fair bit and reasonably fast. (e.g. I was disappointed in a 252 marathon.)

office was on the 12th floor. each day i would walk the stairs up just to get some steps in. exited those stairs every time gasping and hoping no one said anything to me for a while until i could catch my breath. stairs are hard.

It takes a few weeks to get used to doing stairs reps. The mistake most make is to go too fast too early. You’ll probably feel it in your calves and quads so it might take a few weeks to get those muscles used to sustained use. Often, there is a railing that you can use to pull yourself up, so there is a bit of arm exercise. I always look for a building where I can get the elevator back down to or close to the ground floor because it’s not good for my joints to be walking all the way back down.

Generally, if you’re doing more than 10 floors (probably 5 floors for me) you’re better off walking, taking two steps at a time. It’s only the elite stair climbers that can run all the way up and it would be a slow run.

My quest to stay faster than my son until he is at least 13 (March b-day) is going to be tough.

He just ran a “cross country meet”. It was a 1.3 mile flat race, which he ran in 8:10 for a 6:17 pace. I could probably outrun him at that pace (though not 100% sure), but he was running 6:49 for a mile a few months ago, he is getting faster at an amazing clip, seems unlikely I will be able to hold him off until March.

80% proud, 20% grumbly at this development.

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Forget to mention that I did the Pikes Peak ascent and it was an awesome experience. Unfortunately, I started to get calf cramps around the 3.5 mile mark, so my time was very slow. I ingested lots of water and electrolytes during it but had to stop every few minutes to stretch when I started cramping. I think my problem was that for the last two months I had trained purely on the treadmill and fire escape stairs, so wasn’t getting any lateral ankle movement (which you can get from trail running) in my training. I also need to work on my magnesium/calcium levels in my diet.

Altitude wasn’t a problem for me personally but I did pass a lot of people (assuming fellow flatlanders) who were suffering. We drove up to the summit a couple of days before and I ran around for 20 minutes to get a feel for the altitude. It was cool to see some bighorn sheep grazing up there.

Looking forward to next year!

just recently found a few YouTube videos of “before/after” CC races. lemme see if I can find one…

Be careful out there. It’s rutting season

Maybe the deer mistook her for a car.