I made the USAF Marathon video

[runerx]

The "official" video from the 2009 USAF marathon shows me finishing at about the 1:56 mark.http://www.usafmarathon.com/docs/Marathon2010.wmvDave

[BlueCrush]

Full marathon winner! That's awesome, Dave! Congrats!

[lovemyraffe]

Congrats on finishing! I'm doing my first 1/2 marathon in 5 1/2 weeks.

[AKLGT]

great job! I'm doing my first 1/2 on Sunday! Won't be fast, but.... I'll finish! Next year, I hope to be ready for a full marathon.

[runerx]

which halfs are you guys doing??

[808 Vibes]

Woooohoooo...way to go Dave, and everybody else!!! *from somebody who cannot, and I mean CANNOT run* (don't like to use the word "cannot", but it's a proven fact that there are only 2 things I cannot do: run, and math!) though giving birth to a big baby with no meds...no prob! LOL

[tpollauf]

Quote, originally posted by runerx »The "official" video from the 2009 USAF marathon shows me finishing at about the 1:56 mark.DaveNice job Dave, BUT I think I'll stick to grueling weekend hockey tournaments where we play 4 - 6 games with sometimes kids half my age and most have a lot of Canadian blood in them (AKA... damn good players ). Keep it up so the next one your time will be even better

[lovemyraffe]

I'm doing the Cedar Canyon Half Marathon. http://cedarcityevents.org/eve...id=21It starts at 8200 feet and drops to 5600 feet.

[runerx]

NICE!! Watch those early miles.. you can beat the hell outta your legs with the down hill, and really pay at the end of the race. A few of my friends ran Boston a few years back and they said that the down in the first part of the race really made their quads sore at the finish.Up is harder to run but less abusive.... seems you can't win GOOD LUCK!!!Thanks guysDave

[lovemyraffe]

This is my first venture into running. I've done a few training runs at 13 miles with a lot of hills. I'm not trying to win, just finish.

[runerx]

AWESOME. Sounds like you have done the training.... Be sure that you practice taking water and Gels on the run, during your training. When you get water squeeze the top of the cup down with your index finger and thumb so you can stick the entire top of the cup in your mouth. It gets more water in your mouth AND most importantly keeps it from going up your nose. Also try different flavors of gel.. Sometimes the provided gels upset my stomach and I ALWAYS take my own. good luck!!! Dave

[AKLGT]

I'm running the Skinny Raven Half Marathon. we start in downtown Anchorage and then end up on the Coastal Trail. There's only a few hills, nothing major, so pretty much flat. Last Saturday I ran 11 miles on the trails and (removed)! I wanted to die! My legs were dying!!!! I literally couldn't feel them and could barely move! LOL.http://www.anchoragerunningclu....html

[AKLGT]

Quote, originally posted by lovemyraffe »This is my first venture into running. I've done a few training runs at 13 miles with a lot of hills. I'm not trying to win, just finish.same here.I usually don't drink water at all on my runs, but am told I should hydrate around 7 - 8 miles.

[runerx]

Yep at that distance taking water is a must, and I would recomend a gel at the same time.... But make sure you have done it in practice so you are used to getting water and having something in your stomach. During the marathon I took water and gel at 7, 13 and 21 Mi. good luck

[AKLGT]

alright, I'm new to the whole long distance running thing, what is the gel you are talking about? is it like protein or energy supplement??

[runerx]

Energy gel. I personally like GU Vanilla 2x caffiene. On easy runs the chocolate is good it tastes like choc. Icing I have also used Roctaine (expensive but the high performance version of Gu). Tehy provide Electrolites and sugars to keep you going. I like to take water (not gatorade) and Gels. Others prefer the Gatorade but I have a sensitive stomach. I tend to get sick at the end of races. Being really well hydrated and watching carefully what I take really helps me with this.

[TONY TAT2]

[AKLGT]

hmm. I'll go check that out and see if GNC carries anything. my plan was to pick up some energy bars for before and after the race. I tend to not eat in the mornings like I should.

[lovemyraffe]

I take water with me on longer runs. There are feed stations at miles 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11. I haven't had gels for almost 10 years. Back then they were absolutely terrible. I hope they have gotten better.

[AKLGT]

well I went to GNC and picked up some protein and power bars as well as a gel pack to try out. Also picked up some anti chafing cream so I don't get rubbing issues.

[runerx]

Yeah chaffing sucks. I usually use speedstick gel anti-prespirant on places I'm likely to have issues. The bars are good pre and post race. I can't take them on the run. The gels will really help you to not Bonk at the end of the race. Just make sure that you have some water to wash them down with, and don't do anythinbg out of the ordinary on race day that you havn't tried in practice. I usually hit a gel near the middle of a half and water atleast twice, less or more depending on the heat. My wife just sent in her entry for the Chicago full, so we will be up there on the 10th of OCT for that one. Post up your results.Lemmie know if you have any other questions.good luckDave

[AKLGT]

thanks! since it's on Sunday, I guess I won't get to practice this! oh well. my plan is just to do it in 2:30 which is a little over 10 min miles. I figure that's pretty safe since that's about what I'm running now. I just want to finish in a half way decent time, not win anything. maybe if I ran it in 1:30 or something, but that's not gonna happen for me. LOL

[lovemyraffe]

Quote, originally posted by AKLGT »thanks! since it's on SundayGood luck! Let us know how you do. I too am looking to finish under 2:30. I finished a 13.1 training run at 2:26 so I really hope that I can do that on race day.

[runerx]

Stick to your pace and it should happen. The adreanaline and excitement of race day can get you through alot. Just don't get too excited and go out too fast. Even splits of negative splits are usually the best bet. Dave

[AKLGT]

ya that's what happened on my first race. it was a 5 mile. I was running around 46 mins but on race day I went hard too fast and then got side cramps. I finished at 52:18 So I was really disappointed. This time, I'm just gonna put on my ipod and just get into my own groove, try not to worry about everyone else until the very end...

[runerx]

Sounds like you may have had too much in your stomach too. I am VERY careful about what I eat/drink and when before a race. Basically I can have no food 3-4 hours before and have cutoff times for different drinks. Gatoraid until 20 min before sips of water until 5-10 min before. Dehydration can cause cramps too.Dave

[AKLGT]

well, I tend to not eat in the mornings. but I'm gonna have a protein bar and drink some water, not too much though. got the gel pack to take later... hopefully it goes well.

[runerx]

yeah it's all about finding out what works for you. Anything other than a marathon I don't eat the morning of. Marathons I get up 4 hours before and have a bowl of plain oatmeal and slam a Gatorade. Otherwise It's a big late night snack and then just fluids. this is after years of trial and error....Dave

[AKLGT]

alright, so....having never done this before and since I don't run with ANYTHING, where do I put the little gel pack? Do you run with some kinda fanny pack or something? I think one of my running shirts has a small pocket, but I hate that anything in it will bounce around and annoy me.

[runerx]

Many running shorts have a "key" pocket that a gel will fit into. They also make racing shorts that have pockets on the back along the waist line for gels. My wife stuffs hers into her jog bra strap. She likes that because they are more liquid that way. I've seen people strap them to their arms and all sorts of stuff. I personally have shorts with pockets in the back an have carried a folded gel in the "key" pocket. Tomorrow will be my 1st 10 miler since coming back from injury. I'm ending week three and will have 47 miles in. It feels sooooo good to be on my feet again. Next hurdle will be keeping healthy through speed work.Dave

[AKLGT]

ah ok. very cool! well, they gave us cool shirts to wear but I'm gonna wear the one I was planning which has a little pocket. my shorts don't have any pockets to put my key and the gel. so guess we'll see. I usually run with my little armband too, so hopefully I won't over heat. however doubt that will happen since our temps are pretty cool and it's overcast/rain every single day for the last 28 days. longest rain ever. yesterday was the record.

[runerx]

I usually tie my key into my shoelaces if I cant hide it on the car somewhere. Where are you, that has rain like that?? thats gotta be tough to get out and train. Of course most people think my wife and I are nuts for running in the conditions that we do.Dave

[AKLGT]

I'm in AK. And make that 30 days of rain. however, the race was great, no rain, though a bit overcast with a little sun peaking out. It was perfect running weather imo. Thanks for your pointers with the gel, I'm quite certain that gave me the extra bit of boost and energy I needed for the last half of the run. I'm still waiting for official results, but according to my GPS I ran 13.1 mi @ 2:20:32 and total 13.6 mi @ 2:2638. there was some stopping and walking at the beginning and I only had to stop once when my phone decided to leap off my arm onto the ground behind me. That took a min or so to get figured out and make sure it was alive. LOLAnd btw, the gel was absolutely disgusting, but necessary. LOL

[runerx]

Nice job!! Some of the gels are definately better than others. I have had to try more than a few to find one that was atleast ok and did not upset my stomach. I've had the gels keep races/runs from becoming death trots at times too. Glad to hear that your race went well. Lemmie know if you want any more training or racing tips.Dave

[AKLGT]

well, any advice or insight is welcome. I'm pretty new at this and I'm learning there's a lot of strategery involved in running. and here I thought you just go out and move your legs. LOL

[runerx]

Anytime. As you can tell I love to talk running..Yeah there's a little more to it than that. Dave

[lovemyraffe]

Congrats on finishing!I started using some gels. I have found that I prefer the ones that aren't really thick. I try to avoid the chocolate since they tend to be thicker. There are some flavors out there that aren't too bad. Quote, originally posted by AKLGT »well, any advice or insight is welcome. I'm pretty new at this and I'm learning there's a lot of strategery involved in running. and here I thought you just go out and move your legs. LOLI too am new at running and need any advice and insight.

[runerx]

Anytime. I can get you my E-mail if you want..Dave

[AKLGT]

Quote, originally posted by lovemyraffe »Congrats on finishing!I started using some gels. I have found that I prefer the ones that aren't really thick. I try to avoid the chocolate since they tend to be thicker. There are some flavors out there that aren't too bad. I too am new at running and need any advice and insight.Ya they only had the Power bar Vanilla gel at GNC. it was fairly thick, and never having tried it before, was well... gross. LOL. and super sweet! but it definitely helped. I looked at my official race time this morn and though I did make my overall goal of 2:30 or less. I suppose that does make sense because the first portion of the start, I was way in the back and had to walk and weave my way through people. Then I dropped my ipod and had to pick that up and reattach to my armband and on the way back after the halfway mark, dropped my phone. so I suppose that did take some extra minutes getting that crap situated. Now I know for next time... I need to figure out a better system or something. Maybe I'll end up having to buy a new itouch or something with the GPS tracker, I dunno. I have that thing from Nike I got from my best friend for my birthday, but haven't used it. 1246 Frazier, Hope Anchorage, AK 32 2:27:38.9 2:26:17.5 72 391 666So I was 72nd in my age group, 391 for women's half and 666th overall. Out of... 125 in my age group, 664 women, and 992 overall.

[AKLGT]

so now I'm thinking, I want to really improve on my half times. I don't really want to run a marathon so perhaps I will work on getting down to 2:00:00 as possible and hopefully at some point even less! now that would be pretty amazing for me! I'm not really (and never have except when I was like 10) been a strong distance runner. I'm pretty quick for shorter distances, but not really longer ones. so this is extremely challenging for me.

[lovemyraffe]

Quote, originally posted by AKLGT »I have that thing from Nike I got from my best friend for my birthday, but haven't used it. Use the Nike stuff. I recently got one and love it. It keeps track of everything for you. I would use it with the iPod Nano if you have one, it has many more features. I just have the sportband.

[runerx]

At this point its all about consistency and starting to build in a little speed work. I love quarter mile repeats and mile repeats for building confidence and speed for longer distances. I ended up taking today off cuz of a sore knee. At this point resting here and there is definately better than getting injured again. You can get some pretty intresting info from the GPS. My wife trains whth a Garmin watch almost daily. Dave

[AKLGT]

so do you train to run in bursts? like at the end of each mile sprint or what not? I've been told to do that by a few people and others tell me to do steady pace... so I don't really know what to do to be honest. I know if I run in bursts, it will build muscle faster and really that's why I started all the running was to lean out and build endurance for boxing. but then I hurt my wrist and now boxing is on the side line.

[runerx]

Typically my basic running schedule looks something like this:Monday Easy long run, not the longest run of the week but a good solid slow distance run.Tuesday: distance workout, either a harder effort for a given distance, like the middle five miles miles of a seven mile run or long intervals mile repeats at or below my target race pace by 5-10 Sec. you can go longer or shorter down to 800m on these.Wednesday long easy recovery.Thursday short intervals: quarter mile repeats, ladder workout, or Fartlek workoutQuarters, just like they sound, start out with 4-6 quarter miles. These are well below race pace. if you add the quarters up they should be 10-20 seconds below your goal mile pace for your race if you can. You may have to adjust to what you are able to do. Take a 200m-300m walk between or 2-3 minutes for recovery add some if you need to, and be sure that you are getting your heart rate back under control. Around 120 is good but you don't want full recovery either.I always start and end with 6x 150m easy wiith a 50 m walk inbetween each 150. And If im spliting my workout into sets, for exapmle if I run 16 quarters I break them into sets of four early on doing 6x150 inbetween or sometimes a quarter jog, to get settled back down.Ladder 800m, 400m, 200m, 400m 800m, same principal as the quarters but the shorter intervals are quicker. the distances are also fluid but usually are long on the end and short in the middle.Fartlek, This is more the style you asked about. Fartlek is a sweedish term for speed play this consists of either using a given distance to pick up the pace or time. so for instance you would run faster for 30 sec to one min. and the return to your slower pace for a min or two and repeat this 6-8 times. Distance is the same but you have a measured distance or you pick out a telephone pole, mail box, tree and decide to run up tempo till you get there.Thurday long recovery this can be your shorter distance day or if you're racig on Saturday and want to try to go fast I take this day short or off.Friday long recovery or easy short distance to shake the crap out of your legs if you are racingSaturday Race or med long daySunday LSD- long slow distance, This one is about time on your feet. you should be going slightly over your race distance for the half or slightly under for a full. Time is not really imporant just get through the distance. and of course you work your way up to this.So there's the basic frame work. Now to start out with I'd only do 1 workout on Tuesday ad flip between distance intervals and short interals every other week. You also need to look at what you are curently running and put some of your own distances into what I've said above. Take it easy at first, and work your way into things. If you really want to get strong do the short intervals up a hill and run down for your rest, or do a loop that you run hard up the hill and take it easy for the rest of the loop. Above all LISTEN to your body. Pain is part of the process, but injury is not. Sore, tired, is good. Sharp pain means that you need to back off. I have the luxury of having a coach who runs every step with me so he really knows how I am feeling. Its harder to monitor yourself. All of the distences and times can be bumped to meet yur current training, nothing is set in stone. Another great way to increase your distance but not beat yourself up is to run twice a day a few days a week. even just a few miles 2-3 mornings a week will really help out with your strength but not really tax your body that much more. Adding distance will make a HUGE difference in the way that you feel in your race. good luck!!!Dave

[lovemyraffe]

Race is in the morning. My tendon has still been bothering me, but I have been taking it easy for a couple weeks now. Shooting for 2:15.

[runerx]

Sorry I didn't see this.. how did it go??

[lovemyraffe]

I finished in 2:07.1.

[runerx]

COOL!!!My wife ran the Air Force half this weekend and KILLED her PR. She ran a course record by four minutes, broke her own PR by three minutes and won in 1:18.20. She's right on pace to run her olympic trials qualifier in Chicago Dave

[AKLGT]

Quote, originally posted by lovemyraffe »I finished in 2:07.1.wow! that's awesome! I've been greatly slacking on my running and have been trying to catch back up and then some. I believe my next event is Oct 23. I am shooting for 2:20, but we'll see. My times are super slow right now.

[AKLGT]

Quote, originally posted by runerx »COOL!!!My wife ran the Air Force half this weekend and KILLED her PR. She ran a course record by four minutes, broke her own PR by three minutes and won in 1:18.20. She's right on pace to run her olympic trials qualifier in Chicago DaveWOW! That is amazing!