Running / Triathlon Thread

[UrbanAchiever 276]

Thought I would get this started and invite people to post 2019 goals, accomplishments, inquiries, etc.

I'm doing the Houston Marathon on 1/20 with a goal of 3:25 (largely depends on the weather). I don't have anything else on the calendar at this point.

[gasman 114]

I'm running the Cowtown half in February, then plan the Pikes Peak Ascent in August. Since I will be training in flat Texas, I should be totally prepared for it.....

 

[ToY 18]

Last year sucked.  I was consistent, but got no real results.   Hoping to be better this year!

I'm signed up for the Squamish 50 mile race in August.  We'll see how that goes! 

Edited January 7, 2019 by ToY

[jet black 199]

I don’t know if I have any real goals this year other than to race more and have more fun. Kinda got bogged down with goals last couple years. It was great and pushed me to great success but was just too mentally draining.

I still haven’t accomplished my 1:20 half marathon goal from last year and will give a couple good cracks at it the next few weeks. First at Houston, but I’m doing an anti taper for that as my cycling club has its annual hill country training camp the same weekend. So 2 days of hard cycling then try and run a fast half. What could go wrong?

So I’m thinking run the Katy half a couple weeks later with a proper taper and see how it goes. But I’m not sure I’m in the shape to be able to pull it off so might just skip that and go straight into more rounded triathlon training for the Galveston 70.3.

Only other race I’m signed up for at the moment is Kona, but will add 5-10 through the year.

[TexasBuckeye 43]

At  67 my running life is just about over, just some light jogging.

But my daughter is following dad! She is in training for the flying pig marathon (Cincinnati) in February. 

 

[Clintonaldo 2572]

I think I am finally over my knee surgery from last September so I will be doing a half on August 28th in North Georgia and then one May 11th in Tennessee. Last year I only ran once a week for 3 weeks before I did my first and only half and finished at 1:41 and 20th place overall missing 3rd in my age group by 20 seconds. I am going to start training this time because I would love to medal in my age group just once ( about to be 38 ) and I am super competitive. 

First race this year will be a 4 mile loop around the top of a mountain and then the rest is downhill until the last mile or so and maybe I am wrong but it shouldn’t be too bad. 

[HornOnTheBayou 8883]

I'm seeing temperatures around 29-30 degrees for the start of the 3M 1/2 on Sunday. Holy shitballs, it's going to be cold.

[jet black 199]

Same thing for Houston full/half. But it’s not the cold I’m worried about, it’s the accompanying 15 mph wind that’s gonna make it brutal.

[ToY 18]

Hopefully the wind dies down, because otherwise looks to be great weather for Houston!

I'm running 3M and definitely not in peak shape.   Shooting for 1:22 or so.

Edited January 14, 2019 by ToY

[UrbanAchiever 276]

On 1/13/2019 at 10:23 AM, jet black said:

Same thing for Houston full/half. But it’s not the cold I’m worried about, it’s the accompanying 15 mph wind that’s gonna make it brutal.

I'll take bitter cold any day of the week over upper 60s and humid as Houston has been known for in the past. The colder, the better IMO.

Curious about the wind, though. I'll keep an eye on that.

Edited January 14, 2019 by UrbanAchiever

[smoky 840]

Weather at the 3M Half was perfect.  

Came into today with a goal of breaking the 2 hour mark.  My two previous halves were 2:08 and 2:03 and I'm not much of a runner but am working towards next month's Austin Full.

Ran today in 1:49.  Kept a steady 8:20 pace pretty much the whole time.

Feels great.

[jet black 199]

Weather at the 3M Half was perfect.  
Came into today with a goal of breaking the 2 hour mark.  My two previous halves were 2:08 and 2:03 and I'm not much of a runner but am working towards next month's Austin Full.
Ran today in 1:49.  Kept a steady 8:20 pace pretty much the whole time.
Feels great.

Nice job smokey!

How did everyone else’s races go? I went 1:23:03 in Houston on a lot of fatigue. Hoping to take 3:04 off of that in a couple of weeks at Katy half with a full taper.

[Lazarus Bocanegra 303]

Got some buddies egging me out of retirement to run the Marine Corps marathon this year.  Any of y'all done it before?  I've heard good things.   I'm supposed to train for a century ride in September, so that could make things interesting.  

[0xdeadbeef 1639]

Started running again last October after many years of being an injured couch potato.  I forgot how much I love running.

Working toward the Austin Half Marathon in mid-Feb.   My goal is under 2 hours which, based on my training so far, will be close.  I hate getting old; 15 years ago I crossed the halfway point in a Full Marathon in about 1:30.   Now I'm pressing to get under 2hr.    

As a Bonus goal, it looks like I may have to be in Paris on a business tip the Monday after the Paris Half Marathon.  I think I'll be going out a day early.    

[UrbanAchiever 276]

The Houston Marathon was very kind to me. I ran a 3:22:44 (goal was 3:25) and bested my PR by 15+ minutes. 

The conditions were very favorable for low times - the wind dropped significantly from Saturday to Sunday, and temps stayed in the low 40s. That was my first Houston marathon, and that city knows how to put on a race. I couldn't have asked for a better experience. 

[UrbanAchiever 276]

17 hours ago, jet black said:

Nice job smokey!

How did everyone else’s races go? I went 1:23:03 in Houston on a lot of fatigue. Hoping to take 3:04 off of that in a couple of weeks at Katy half with a full taper.

 

Well done! I know you were kind of squeezing this one in. Hope you can crack that 1:20 in Katy!

[jet black 199]

The Houston Marathon was very kind to me. I ran a 3:22:44 (goal was 3:25) and bested my PR by 15+ minutes. 
The conditions were very favorable for low times - the wind dropped significantly from Saturday to Sunday, and temps stayed in the low 40s. That was my first Houston marathon, and that city knows how to put on a race. I couldn't have asked for a better experience. 

Huge Pr! Congrats!

[Neonmoon 38129]

Ran a PR half in the 3M at 2:03. Recently just ran a 2:08 Decker but 3M was a lot easier. 

I want to break the 2 hour next year. 

I was hoping to run the Austin full this year but got some peroneal tendinitis I think. Going to rest and hope for the best. 

[ToY 18]

The weather at 3M was great.  And the new course was not as hard as I expected (Red River).   Ended about running 1:20, which was 1-2 mts faster than I expected (thought 1:22)

[triplelonghorn 27]

I've got 15 lbs to cut and hope to sustain about 30mpw all year. I'll make a push then for a 1:45 (PB 1:54) HM next winter and might also train for a 50km trail ultra (my first; have done one marathon) this year.

[bmbmd 1027]

“We Are Triathletes” is finally up on Vimeo on demand.  It’s a great look at the life of a triathlete. Features Miranda Carfrae and Luke McKenzie.

[jet black 199]

Well I gotter done at Katy today. Came in at 1:19:13. Super pumped and now ready to ramp the bike training up for Tri season.

[hrmaddie 48]

Everyone is killing it this year!!!! Great job everyone...I've got a half coming up and one last marathon, which I am not shooting for a goal time, more of like a hard fun run.

 

[Longhorn94 2448]

My wife and I ran our first half at 3M. We have run several 10ks prior to the 3M Half. We had a great time and will be running the Austin Half next and then plan on running a full sometime later this year. Looking forward to following along with everyone. 

[Neonmoon 38129]

Weather for Austin Marathon is looking a little high. Damn

[Kermit 3140]

Running my first half on the 17th. Goal is to run a full later on in the year. I have no idea how in the hell my body is going to make it though a full. 

[dmtx 159]

Hrm, dude you are logging serious miles, at a pace I cant even run hard at. I thought u might be going after a full.

Jet is killing it too, lots of peeps on here are doing well.

After ptfs and pes anserinus - (runners knee) back in Oct, I took it easy with PT. I knew I wanted a spring marathon, but didnt want to travel to Austin or san antonio if I couldn't run well. So I went ahead and signed up for the hometown (fort worth) marathon, the cowtown. Not a fan of the route, but the start/finish is two miles from the house.

I'm still chasing the sub 4 marathon. Previous training data said it was to happen, but I believe a poor nutrition strategy was my demise. I'm a heavy sweater and I either bonk or cramp after mile 22. Plan is to take an energy gel every 30 mins and a salt tablet. Been practicing this in a few of my long runs. 

 

[usmc0331horn 951]

Gained like 15 lbs over the winter and need to get back into a consistent running schedule. Hoping to run the Outlaw Half in Luckenbach this April and see how that goes and then take the summer to burn the fat and get faster.

[Clintonaldo 2572]

My longest run so far coming back from surgery was last week and I was able to run 6 miles at a 7:00 pace. It felt good and I could have went longer but trying not to rush back too fast and not running my first half until end of April. Since I have never really trained I thought I would ask some of you how you do it. I usually only do 1 run a week and then I do OrangeTheory 4 days a week where I am getting around 20 minutes of treadmill time and I spend that time running at a much faster pace than I normally run trying to increase my pace for longer runs. What is the best way to increase speed?

[jet black 199]

Best way to get faster is to run more consistently/frequently. Best way to do that is to run easy. Don’t go out trying to do better than your last run every time. Slowly and carefully build your mileage up by running 6-7 days per week. All at endurance paces. Add no more than 10% more mileage each week. Once you’re consistently running 30-40 mpw (or whatever you have time for in your schedule) then you can think about adding a tempo run a week and maybe eventually speed work. But you need to get the mileage up and be consistent for 2-3 months before I’d suggest speed stuff.

[Clintonaldo 2572]

Fuck, sounds like I am going to have to practice. Bummer. 

[ToY 18]

I agree with what Jet Black said.

Doing 6 miles at 7:00 is very good, especially on your schedule.   You'll see the most bang for your buck by increasing your mileage and the number of days.   

Then you can add in workouts and you'll see another jump in performance.

Your cross training is great and will keep you healthy!

[Neonmoon 38129]

I hope the guy at mile 8 is okay. EMS performing CPR as I ran by. So sad 

[longhorndude 146]

I hope the guy at mile 8 is okay. EMS performing CPR as I ran by. So sad 

I’ve got a buddy working the race. Heard they got a pulse and transported to Dell so hopefully they’re taking care of him.

[Neonmoon 38129]

51 minutes ago, longhorndude said:

 

I’ve got a buddy working the race. Heard they got a pulse and transported to Dell so hopefully they’re taking care of him.

 

Thanks for the update. Glad he’s going to make it. 

As for my race, I decided to just ran a half, my peroneal tendinitis was bothering me and I didn’t want to do any serious damage to my ankle. I thought about making the turn, but made the safe decision. It sucks because of all the training I did, I really wanted to run another full. I guess I will try for next year. The weather was actually perfect today. mid 50s and a little sun. Hope everyone else did well. 

 

[smoky 840]

Today was my first full. The furthest I had gone in training was 20 and that was just once.

And that was exactly where I hit a wall.

Splits were great for me up until then.

Finished in 4:16, which certainly leaves something to build off of.

I feel good about it.

[Kermit 3140]

Finished my first half. Can’t imagine making the turn to a full, but goddamnit I’m going to do it. I should have been more prepared for that hill on 15th. Fuck that motherfucker. 

[HornOnTheBayou 8883]

1 hour ago, Kermit said:

Finished my first half. Can’t imagine making the turn to a full, but goddamnit I’m going to do it. I should have been more prepared for that hill on 15th. Fuck that motherfucker. 

Yep. I don't know who designed the course, but I'm going to go ahead and assume their mother is a whore. At least that's what I thought while making my way up that hill.

But all and all it was a good morning. It was my third half-marathon and I beat my previous time by five minutes.

[Neonmoon 38129]

4 hours ago, smoky said:

Today was my first full. The furthest I had gone in training was 20 and that was just once.

And that was exactly where I hit a wall.

Splits were great for me up until then.

Finished in 4:16, which certainly leaves something to build off of.

I feel good about it.
 

That’s a great time. Congrats 

[hrmaddie 48]

Congrats to DMTX he went under 4 hrs at the Cowtown on Sunday!!!!

The Cowtown half was supposed to be my goal race, but I DNSed.  Youngest daughter got the flu Friday night and middle daughter had a gymnastics meet Sunday morning.  I stayed home with the youngest Sunday morning while my wife went to the gymnastics meet.  As of last night she was still running a fever.  We are hoping it finally broke when she woke up this morning no fever.  She is on Tamiflu.  Hoping no one else in the family gets it, everyone got the flu shot.  I was in decent shape too, logging hill repeats every week and some hard runs.  Oh well, shit happens, I'll find something else.  

[jet black 199]

Sorry to hear. Good on ya for being a good dad.

[dmtx 159]

Thanks hrm! sorry to hear about the kiddo. 

I noticed during the kids 5k on Sat, both my hamstrings felt a little tight. I rolled them out afterward with some relief. But I just attributed it to the carb loading and some of the extra sodium I was taking. I felt very confident a sub 4 should be no problem, but we know how that shit goes. I was very mindful of my pace, focusing on getting to 10 comfortably. Then getting through the next 10, slowing a little if I felt like I needed to. Then seeing what happens the last 6. i told my self to chill on the inclines, I'll get it back on the down. From the very beginning my left hamstring just seemed tight, but not where I felt the need to slow down. All was pretty much to plan up to 20. After 19 i knew the slight wind would be in my face all the way to the finish, i was preparing mentally, or so i thought. Mile 20-22 was not as kind i was hoping,  but wasn't horrendous. The short inclines through Colonial hills, around mile 22, just beat me up and my quads didn't appreciate the downward side either. At this point I wanted to get to 25 with some reserves, I did not want to limp in to the finish. Its all flat after 23, the last half mile to the finish is a small slight uphill battle. I was slower from 23 to 25 than I wanted but I was really feeling it, soreness, heat, breeze. At mile 25 I just told myself I gotta go. I believe I did the last mile in 8:37, to squeeze in for a 3:58.

[gasman 114]

On 2/25/2019 at 9:10 AM, hrmaddie said:

Congrats to DMTX he went under 4 hrs at the Cowtown on Sunday!!!!

The Cowtown half was supposed to be my goal race, but I DNSed.  Youngest daughter got the flu Friday night and middle daughter had a gymnastics meet Sunday morning.  I stayed home with the youngest Sunday morning while my wife went to the gymnastics meet.  As of last night she was still running a fever.  We are hoping it finally broke when she woke up this morning no fever.  She is on Tamiflu.  Hoping no one else in the family gets it, everyone got the flu shot.  I was in decent shape too, logging hill repeats every week and some hard runs.  Oh well, shit happens, I'll find something else.  

Alamo Half is March 3 if you want to drive down to San Antonio. 

https://www.alamo131.com


Weather was nice for Cowtown. Ran the half with no real time goal in mind. I have spent too many races looking at my watch the whole time and missed the fun of the race itself. I ended up jumping in with the 1:40 pace group and felt good enough to try and hang with them as long as I could. Ended up with a 1:39. Way faster than I thought possible given my training runs and way more relaxing. Now to start some trail runs in preparation for the Pikes Peak Ascent. 

[dmtx 159]

Pikes Peak Ascent is on my WANT list. Looks like hella fun while being brutal. The ultrarunning couple that is my bro in law and wife moved to Evergreen last summer, so it would be pretty convenient.

[gasman 114]

On 3/2/2019 at 1:18 PM, dmtx said:

Pikes Peak Ascent is on my WANT list. Looks like hella fun while being brutal. The ultrarunning couple that is my bro in law and wife moved to Evergreen last summer, so it would be pretty convenient.

Registration is still open. Just sayin.....

[Newy25 7670]

On 3/4/2019 at 8:44 AM, gasman said:

Registration is still open. Just sayin.....

I live in Colorado, climb 14’ers every summer and run marathons regularly. 

The Pike’s Peak race is the most difficult event I have ever participated in. Expect to run the ascent piece 30 plus minutes slower than your best road marathon. I recommend a lot of leg strength training including lunges, squats, wall sits and burpees. 

[Jive Turkey 12584]

I'm back from Tokyo.  Ran the Tokyo Marathon on Sunday.  It was cold and rainy, but I did PR.  Finally went sub 3:35.  Flat, fast course.  Despite a few out and backs, I liked it.

Definitely feel like sub-3:30 is within reach.  To qualify for Boston, I'd need to go sub-3:25.  That may be out of reach.  But who knows. 

I trained hard to run faster for this marathon and it paid off.  Did a lot more speed work than I had before.  From mile 11 to mile 22, my splits were between 7:34 to 7:55 per mile.  I was cookin' for me.  But I know there's still room for improvement.  

I'd love to get into London or Berlin next year and go all out.

[UrbanAchiever 276]

1 hour ago, Jive Turkey said:

I'm back from Tokyo.  Ran the Tokyo Marathon on Sunday.  It was cold and rainy, but I did PR.  Finally went sub 3:35.  Flat, fast course.  Despite a few out and backs, I liked it.

Definitely feel like sub-3:30 is within reach.  To qualify for Boston, I'd need to go sub-3:25.  That may be out of reach.  But who knows. 

I trained hard to run faster for this marathon and it paid off.  Did a lot more speed work than I had before.  From mile 11 to mile 22, my splits were between 7:34 to 7:55 per mile.  I was cookin' for me.  But I know there's still room for improvement.  

I'd love to get into London or Berlin next year and go all out.

Nice work!! Congrats on the PR and for crossing Tokyo off the list!!  As an aside, you and I have eerily similar marathon race profiles.

[gasman 114]

19 hours ago, Newy25 said:

I live in Colorado, climb 14’ers every summer and run marathons regularly. 

The Pike’s Peak race is the most difficult event I have ever participated in. Expect to run the ascent piece 30 plus minutes slower than your best road marathon. I recommend a lot of leg strength training including lunges, squats, wall sits and burpees. 

So, you're saying there's a chance.....

[Newy25 7670]

6 minutes ago, gasman said:

So, you're saying there's a chance.....

You can absolutely do it if you have run marathons before but just train hard and be prepared. If you do the full take the ascent slow because coming back down is more difficult than you think. I busted hard on the way down taking a lazy step.