My Journey....Revisited (comments welcome) - Page 6 - The DIS Discussion Forums

adkkev · 01-17-2013, 07:30 PM

Any idea why you started cramping so badly? Do you use Gu or SportBeans or anything like that? It almost sounds like you hit some sort of electrolyte shortage and your leg muscles revolt!

Congrats on finishing your marathon ... and best wishes on your Albany HM.

Try trail running ... definitely different than road racing/running ... and it mixes things up a bit so you don't get "bored" with your running. I hadn't run any trail races until last summer, and I've done 3 so far (none of marathon distance though). I absolutely love it.

dragitoff · 01-18-2013, 07:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adkkev

Any idea why you started cramping so badly? Do you use Gu or SportBeans or anything like that? It almost sounds like you hit some sort of electrolyte shortage and your leg muscles revolt!

Congrats on finishing your marathon ... and best wishes on your Albany HM.

Try trail running ... definitely different than road racing/running ... and it mixes things up a bit so you don't get "bored" with your running. I hadn't run any trail races until last summer, and I've done 3 so far (none of marathon distance though). I absolutely love it.

I'm almost positive my cramping has been a direct result of underhydration. Since I've only ever trained during cold months, I have had to intake little fluids. During my 20 mile training run for the marathon, I barely drank my 2-8oz. Fuel Belt bottles. Obviously, 16oz. for a 20 mile run is not alot if the temps are high.

I bought 2 additional bottles yesterday to try to re-program myself to drink more fluids. I use Clif Shot Bloks for fueling as beans are too aggravating to me and gels are gross.

When I train, I usually drink Gatorade and my Shot Bloks have electrolytes so I don't think that is the problem. I think it's nothing more than needing additional fluids.

I do run some on trails now. I enjoy it. The place I do my long run training at is a city Riverwalk and there are a few trails off the paved Riverwalk that I hit while doing long run training. There is also a nice trail at a local college that I enjoy running.

dragitoff · 01-25-2013, 07:20 AM

It's been a few days since my last update. I was out of town for work. I've been taking it easy the past few weeks post-marathon. I have been running though. Last Saturday, DW and I did a 4.25 mile run at a nice leisurely pace. I was in west TX/NM this week for work and finally got to run Wednesday. I was staying with my brother while out there and he lives on the side of a mountain. Since I was so eager to run, I headed out a little too quick UP the mountain! I ended up doing 2.7 miles in 25 minutes. The altitude, quick pace, and running up the mountain got to me much quicker than I would have liked so I decided not to push it any further than that.

I got home yesterday afternoon and did a nice 4 mile run with DW. I plan on resuming my half-marathon training for the Albany Half on March 2nd. I plan on not pushing it too hard tomorrow (maybe something around a 9:30 pace) for my scheduled 9 mile run. I'll probably wait until next Saturday's run before I resume running at half-marathon pace for training runs.

dragitoff · 01-28-2013, 07:23 AM

Had a great weekend. The weather was perfect this weekend. We had alot going on between running, hair cuts, feeding the homeless with some friends from church, church and taking our kids and dogs to the park Sunday, but I found time to get 8 miles in Saturday morning. I ran it at half-marathon pace and felt really good. No heavy legs or soreness. I'll continue to take it relatively easy on my runs this week. This Saturday's run, I'll push the pace a little in building up for the half marathon in a few weeks.

The best part of the entire weekend was yesterday afternoon. My DD11 signed up for the middle school track team and has her first official practive today. She's never run much and only did one race (5k last summer in about 45 minutes), but I've always told her she has the perfect frame for running. She's tall with long, slender legs and I feel she could be really good at it with some work.

She did a mile yesterday with DW and I and I was so proud of her. She ran 1/4 mile continuously without walking and then took short walk breaks mixed with running to finish out the mile run. Her time wasn't horrible (especially for 1st time and run/walk), but most of all, she was proud of herself and encouraged to do more. It was a happy moment for DW and I.

dragitoff · 01-29-2013, 06:57 AM

Had a nice 3.22 mile run this morning. I'm still taking it relatively easy post-marathon as far as pace is concerned although I did do my 8 mile weekend run at 9mm pace. It was perfect weather this morning and I really enjoyed the light mist. Made it feel really good. My headlamp didn't care for it, but it was a good morning for a run.

dragitoff · 01-30-2013, 06:43 AM

Really pushed the pace this morning in my 5 mile run. I completed it in 44:05 which is technically not that far off my half-marathon pace, but I usually ease into that pace, taking the 1st 3 or 4 miles easy and then picking up the pace around mile 5 or 6 (negative split). I went out a little too fast early on due my Garmin not working properly. It wasn't until I had hit my 1st mile marker that I realized how fast I was going (closer to 5k pace). I slowed down a little, but still did the 2nd mile in a mid 8 minute pace. Mile 3 was a 9:15 and then I finished strong (both sub 9 minutes)

It was a solid run, but hotter than it had been. It's supposed to rain and subsequently cool off later today. The wind was strong in my face on the return trip home which didn't help with the tired legs and side stitches. Hahahaha.

I downloaded an app Sunday night that helps me track my food intake. Despite marathon training, I had gained about 15lbs. from the summer to Christmas. This is not uncommon for me as the fall is a busy time of year for me and I often eat out alot since I'm working crazy hours. In the little town I live in, even the "healthy" choices aren't so healthy.

Just since Monday, when I started tracking my intake (breakdown of each type of food I'm eating too: protein, carbs, sugar, etc...), I've already dropped 4.6lbs! My goal is to drop the 15lbs. I gained before the half marathon in a little over 4 weeks. I'm off to a great start and know I can do it!

dragitoff · 01-31-2013, 07:06 AM

For whatever reason, today's 3 mile run was tough. It was cold this morning, which normally doesn't bother me, but the wind was brutal and COLD!!!!! Once I warmed up, I was ok, but it took me at least a mile and a half.

It's the funniest thing how the wind was in my face all the way to the turnaround, but went away once I warmed up and would have enjoyed the tailwind!

Desiree · 01-31-2013, 07:12 AM

Good for you for pushing through! I would have went right back inside! LOL

dragitoff · 02-04-2013, 07:14 AM

Had a great running weekend. Saturday's scheduled 10 miler was a fast one. I pushed really hard and finished in 1:28 (8:50mm pace) and felt good. DW and I decided yesterday on an impromptu 2 miler just to shake the legs out. She had ran a 10K Saturday (not an official race, just the distance), which was a big step for her since her previous long distance run was 5 miles and quite a bit of that last mile was walked.

Our 2 mile run was fun. I'll be out of town this week for work, but I plan on getting some good runs in while I am. I entered a local 5k for Saturday morning. It'll be my first 5k since last summer and I'm excited to see how I do. I'm definitely a stronger runner than I was when I did my last 5K; however I'm curious how my pacing does since I've been running longer distances at slower paces than 5k. I plan on pushing myself a little bit this week on improving my pace on the shorter runs.

dragitoff · 02-04-2013, 02:20 PM

well poo! Just found out they cancelled my scheduled 5k. I'll look to see if I can find another close one. Otherwise I'll just do my regularly scheduled 10k. My band plays a show Friday night so I can't get up too early for an out of town run.

Desiree · 02-04-2013, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dragitoff

well poo! Just found out they cancelled my scheduled 5k. I'll look to see if I can find another close one. Otherwise I'll just do my regularly scheduled 10k. My band plays a show Friday night so I can't get up too early for an out of town run.

Sorry about the cancellation but hopefully you can find another or just do your normal run!

dragitoff · 02-11-2013, 07:03 AM

Really quick update after a week away from home.....

Last week was a fast week. I don't mean it went by fast either. I really pushed the pace on every run last week except my Sunday run (supposed to run Saturday, but I've been sick and had to work some Saturday too).

I was in beautiful Amelia Island, FL last week for work and I did 3 runs while I was there. Tuesday-3 miles in 25 minutes, Wednesday-5 miles in 44 minutes, and Thursday-3 miles in 25 minutes. Thursday was interesting because I ran with my baby brother (21 minute 5k brother!) and a friend of ours who does Adventure Races. The friend said he usually runs 5ks in the 25-26 minute range. I figured that would be a perfect pace for what I was planning to run.

Since he was our guest, we let the friend take the lead. First mile in 8:04, 1/2 mile into the second mile, I asked if we could slow down a little. We were going 7:40! That's my 5k pace, but I had just ran 5 miles less than 20 hours before at a fast pace and my legs were on fire. We did slow things down a little to average around a 8:20 pace for the full run.

Yesterday's run was scheduled to be a 10k; however I had done an extra 2 miles earlier in the week and we were pressed for time so I opted to run 4 miles with my wife whom I hadn't seen much all week. Glad I did. :-)

This week will be challenging since it's supposed to rain all week until Thursday. I so hate the treadmill.

Desiree · 02-11-2013, 08:14 AM

Sounds like some beautiful weather and some great runs although they were fast!

dragitoff · 02-11-2013, 09:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Desiree

Sounds like some beautiful weather and some great runs although they were fast!

Actually the weather was a little dreary. Overcast and even a little misting rain one day, but the runs were definitely fast, at least for me. I enjoyed it though. Beautiful place to run.

dragitoff · 02-13-2013, 06:23 AM

I'm seriously getting tired of the rain here! It's been raining heavily for almost a week now and I was stuck on the dreadmill again this morning. I cut my 5 mile run short because I have an early meeting at work and needed to get going. I still got in 3 miles and felt good. The extra 2 would have been no problem though. The rain is supposed to move out sometime today. I'm looking forward to hitting the outdoors tomorrow morning for my 3 mile run. I'm really looking forward to my 11 miler this Saturday.

01-31-2013, 07:12 AM	#83
Desiree BL II - Purple Team LSU Fan.. Geaux Tigers! I melt when I hear him talk Eats food one item at a time and in order Join Date: Apr 2000 Location: Baton Rouge, LA USA Posts: 5,217	Good for you for pushing through! I would have went right back inside! LOL __________________ DH: Me: DD (18): My blog!!

02-11-2013, 08:14 AM	#88
Desiree BL II - Purple Team LSU Fan.. Geaux Tigers! I melt when I hear him talk Eats food one item at a time and in order Join Date: Apr 2000 Location: Baton Rouge, LA USA Posts: 5,217	Sounds like some beautiful weather and some great runs although they were fast! __________________ DH: Me: DD (18): My blog!!

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01-17-2013, 07:30 PM	#76
adkkev hiking fool Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: upstate NY Posts: 501	Any idea why you started cramping so badly? Do you use Gu or SportBeans or anything like that? It almost sounds like you hit some sort of electrolyte shortage and your leg muscles revolt! Congrats on finishing your marathon ... and best wishes on your Albany HM. Try trail running ... definitely different than road racing/running ... and it mixes things up a bit so you don't get "bored" with your running. I hadn't run any trail races until last summer, and I've done 3 so far (none of marathon distance though). I absolutely love it.

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The DIS Register to remove Join Date: 1997 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 1,000,000

01-25-2013, 07:20 AM	#78
dragitoff DIS Veteran Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 954	It's been a few days since my last update. I was out of town for work. I've been taking it easy the past few weeks post-marathon. I have been running though. Last Saturday, DW and I did a 4.25 mile run at a nice leisurely pace. I was in west TX/NM this week for work and finally got to run Wednesday. I was staying with my brother while out there and he lives on the side of a mountain. Since I was so eager to run, I headed out a little too quick UP the mountain! I ended up doing 2.7 miles in 25 minutes. The altitude, quick pace, and running up the mountain got to me much quicker than I would have liked so I decided not to push it any further than that. I got home yesterday afternoon and did a nice 4 mile run with DW. I plan on resuming my half-marathon training for the Albany Half on March 2nd. I plan on not pushing it too hard tomorrow (maybe something around a 9:30 pace) for my scheduled 9 mile run. I'll probably wait until next Saturday's run before I resume running at half-marathon pace for training runs.

01-28-2013, 07:23 AM	#79
dragitoff DIS Veteran Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 954	Had a great weekend. The weather was perfect this weekend. We had alot going on between running, hair cuts, feeding the homeless with some friends from church, church and taking our kids and dogs to the park Sunday, but I found time to get 8 miles in Saturday morning. I ran it at half-marathon pace and felt really good. No heavy legs or soreness. I'll continue to take it relatively easy on my runs this week. This Saturday's run, I'll push the pace a little in building up for the half marathon in a few weeks. The best part of the entire weekend was yesterday afternoon. My DD11 signed up for the middle school track team and has her first official practive today. She's never run much and only did one race (5k last summer in about 45 minutes), but I've always told her she has the perfect frame for running. She's tall with long, slender legs and I feel she could be really good at it with some work. She did a mile yesterday with DW and I and I was so proud of her. She ran 1/4 mile continuously without walking and then took short walk breaks mixed with running to finish out the mile run. Her time wasn't horrible (especially for 1st time and run/walk), but most of all, she was proud of herself and encouraged to do more. It was a happy moment for DW and I.

01-29-2013, 06:57 AM	#80
dragitoff DIS Veteran Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 954	Had a nice 3.22 mile run this morning. I'm still taking it relatively easy post-marathon as far as pace is concerned although I did do my 8 mile weekend run at 9mm pace. It was perfect weather this morning and I really enjoyed the light mist. Made it feel really good. My headlamp didn't care for it, but it was a good morning for a run.

01-30-2013, 06:43 AM	#81
dragitoff DIS Veteran Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 954	Really pushed the pace this morning in my 5 mile run. I completed it in 44:05 which is technically not that far off my half-marathon pace, but I usually ease into that pace, taking the 1st 3 or 4 miles easy and then picking up the pace around mile 5 or 6 (negative split). I went out a little too fast early on due my Garmin not working properly. It wasn't until I had hit my 1st mile marker that I realized how fast I was going (closer to 5k pace). I slowed down a little, but still did the 2nd mile in a mid 8 minute pace. Mile 3 was a 9:15 and then I finished strong (both sub 9 minutes) It was a solid run, but hotter than it had been. It's supposed to rain and subsequently cool off later today. The wind was strong in my face on the return trip home which didn't help with the tired legs and side stitches. Hahahaha. I downloaded an app Sunday night that helps me track my food intake. Despite marathon training, I had gained about 15lbs. from the summer to Christmas. This is not uncommon for me as the fall is a busy time of year for me and I often eat out alot since I'm working crazy hours. In the little town I live in, even the "healthy" choices aren't so healthy. Just since Monday, when I started tracking my intake (breakdown of each type of food I'm eating too: protein, carbs, sugar, etc...), I've already dropped 4.6lbs! My goal is to drop the 15lbs. I gained before the half marathon in a little over 4 weeks. I'm off to a great start and know I can do it!

01-31-2013, 07:06 AM	#82
dragitoff DIS Veteran Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 954	For whatever reason, today's 3 mile run was tough. It was cold this morning, which normally doesn't bother me, but the wind was brutal and COLD!!!!! Once I warmed up, I was ok, but it took me at least a mile and a half. It's the funniest thing how the wind was in my face all the way to the turnaround, but went away once I warmed up and would have enjoyed the tailwind!

02-04-2013, 07:14 AM	#84
dragitoff DIS Veteran Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 954	Had a great running weekend. Saturday's scheduled 10 miler was a fast one. I pushed really hard and finished in 1:28 (8:50mm pace) and felt good. DW and I decided yesterday on an impromptu 2 miler just to shake the legs out. She had ran a 10K Saturday (not an official race, just the distance), which was a big step for her since her previous long distance run was 5 miles and quite a bit of that last mile was walked. Our 2 mile run was fun. I'll be out of town this week for work, but I plan on getting some good runs in while I am. I entered a local 5k for Saturday morning. It'll be my first 5k since last summer and I'm excited to see how I do. I'm definitely a stronger runner than I was when I did my last 5K; however I'm curious how my pacing does since I've been running longer distances at slower paces than 5k. I plan on pushing myself a little bit this week on improving my pace on the shorter runs.

02-04-2013, 02:20 PM	#85
dragitoff DIS Veteran Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 954	well poo! Just found out they cancelled my scheduled 5k. I'll look to see if I can find another close one. Otherwise I'll just do my regularly scheduled 10k. My band plays a show Friday night so I can't get up too early for an out of town run.

02-11-2013, 07:03 AM	#87
dragitoff DIS Veteran Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 954	Really quick update after a week away from home..... Last week was a fast week. I don't mean it went by fast either. I really pushed the pace on every run last week except my Sunday run (supposed to run Saturday, but I've been sick and had to work some Saturday too). I was in beautiful Amelia Island, FL last week for work and I did 3 runs while I was there. Tuesday-3 miles in 25 minutes, Wednesday-5 miles in 44 minutes, and Thursday-3 miles in 25 minutes. Thursday was interesting because I ran with my baby brother (21 minute 5k brother!) and a friend of ours who does Adventure Races. The friend said he usually runs 5ks in the 25-26 minute range. I figured that would be a perfect pace for what I was planning to run. Since he was our guest, we let the friend take the lead. First mile in 8:04, 1/2 mile into the second mile, I asked if we could slow down a little. We were going 7:40! That's my 5k pace, but I had just ran 5 miles less than 20 hours before at a fast pace and my legs were on fire. We did slow things down a little to average around a 8:20 pace for the full run. Yesterday's run was scheduled to be a 10k; however I had done an extra 2 miles earlier in the week and we were pressed for time so I opted to run 4 miles with my wife whom I hadn't seen much all week. Glad I did. :-) This week will be challenging since it's supposed to rain all week until Thursday. I so hate the treadmill.

02-13-2013, 06:23 AM	#90
dragitoff DIS Veteran Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 954	I'm seriously getting tired of the rain here! It's been raining heavily for almost a week now and I was stuck on the dreadmill again this morning. I cut my 5 mile run short because I have an early meeting at work and needed to get going. I still got in 3 miles and felt good. The extra 2 would have been no problem though. The rain is supposed to move out sometime today. I'm looking forward to hitting the outdoors tomorrow morning for my 3 mile run. I'm really looking forward to my 11 miler this Saturday.