Hanging up my running shoes

[SheHulk]

Just as a warning I had a white Elastigirl shirt in the Marathon 2018 (with a red running skirt) and everybody thought I was a University of Georgia fan or something. I guess they were playing in a championship game against Alabama that week so it made sense somebody might wear Georgia gear. The school logo is very similar to Elastigirl. Like I'm surprised Pixar didn't get a copyright infringement case similar. It was very frustrating for me. I corrected the first cast member who called out, "Hey! Georgia!" But after that countless people called out Georgia to me, or, even worse, "Roll Tide", I just stopped correcting them. To add insult to injury there was a woman wearing a full, red, Mrs. Incredible costume that I was neck-and-neck with from about Mile 5 to at least Mile 23. So people kept calling to Mrs. Incredible and I got excited, then I turned around and there she was. They were talking to her, not me. Even as I crossed the finish line the announcer said, "Hey, we have a Georgia fan!" If I wasn't so exhausted I would have flagged him down and corrected him.

The previous year I ran in a full Curtain Dress like Gisele from Enchanted and a grand total of 3 people recognized who I was supposed to be. After this year, I vowed the next time I wear a running costume it's going to be Snow White or something super-obvious.

 

[ZellyB]

Just as a warning I had a white Elastigirl shirt in the Marathon 2018 (with a red running skirt) and everybody thought I was a University of Georgia fan or something. I guess they were playing in a championship game against Alabama that week so it made sense somebody might wear Georgia gear. The school logo is very similar to Elastigirl. Like I'm surprised Pixar didn't get a copyright infringement case similar. It was very frustrating for me. I corrected the first cast member who called out, "Hey! Georgia!" But after that countless people called out Georgia to me, or, even worse, "Roll Tide", I just stopped correcting them. To add insult to injury there was a woman wearing a full, red, Mrs. Incredible costume that I was neck-and-neck with from about Mile 5 to at least Mile 23. So people kept calling to Mrs. Incredible and I got excited, then I turned around and there she was. They were talking to her, not me. Even as I crossed the finish line the announcer said, "Hey, we have a Georgia fan!" If I wasn't so exhausted I would have flagged him down and corrected him.

The previous year I ran in a full Curtain Dress like Gisele from Enchanted and a grand total of 3 people recognized who I was supposed to be. After this year, I vowed the next time I wear a running costume it's going to be Snow White or something super-obvious.

Oh yeah, I would have never known about Georgia. Although I do remember that race weekend because there were a lot of people talking about that game. Hopefully since I'll be running next to the original Mr. Incredible, more people will get it.

 

[SheHulk]

Oh yeah, I would have never known about Georgia. Although I do remember that race weekend because there were a lot of people talking about that game. Hopefully since I'll be running next to the original Mr. Incredible, more people will get it.

Yeah and with the blockbuster movie this summer featuring her costume it should be better. I was just a little ahead of my time Also it's possible you don't crave attention the way I do and will just enjoy wearing your costume whether people recognize you or not lol.

 

[ZellyB]

TRAINING UPDATE
7/30 - 8/5
BACK ON TRACK

​

After a lot of missed runs during vacation and subsequent travel-induced illness, last week was a return to your normally-scheduled training.

MONDAY 7/30 - 4 miles at Easy Continuous pace. All good here. Nothing too exciting to share really. Overall pace as always faster than it should be, but we were comfortable and managed it easily. Pace 11:16.
TUESDAY 7/31 - 6 miles. 1 mile warm up at our Easy/LR pace and then 4 miles at Marathon Tempo followed with 1 mile cool down at Easy/LR pace. This was a good run. No difficulty hitting our tempo pace for the 4 miles. The 4 miles at tempo were 10:22, 10:17. 10:08 and 10:22. I think we are supposed to be around 10:30 overall on M tempo, so a bit fast, but I thought pretty good overall.
WEDNESDAY 8/1 - HOW THE HECK IS IT AUGUST ALREADY?!?!

Anyway, rest day.
THURSDAY 8/2 - 4.5 miles at Easy/LR. Overall pace 12:00
FRIDAY 8/3 - Rest day

SATURDAY 8/4 - Galloway group run. 6 miles at Easy/LR pace. Overall pace 12:04. It was a beautiful morning!
SUNDAY 8/5 - 11 mile run at Easy/LR pace. We didn't really manage this run very well. DUH! First, we were a bit lazy and slept probably an hour longer than we should have, so by the time we hit around 9 miles, it was 82 degrees and little shade left to run. We also brought fuel and did fine with that, as well as our electrolytes, but neither of us brought water in addition, so we both ran out of electrolytes at the end and were really thirsty. When I get overheated and dehydrated, my head starts really pounding, so we had to slow up at the end. Although truthfully, we probably should have been a bit slower all along because I didn't adjust for T+D. Anyway, it wasn't a bad run at all, just got a bit too hot the last few miles. Otherwise, it was all good. Overall pace ended up at 12:22 which is actually still a bit faster than I think we should have been, so ok I guess??

So, pretty solid week I think. I will say this morning's run was a problem though. My groin is a bit antagonistic toward me right now, so after running the first mile and no improvement, we opted to cut it down to 3 miles and walked much of it. No major injury or anything, but I don't want to push myself to the point of injuring it this late in the training cycle, so discretion is the better part of valor and all that, so opted to be careful today.

 

[DopeyBadger]

So, pretty solid week I think. I will say this morning's run was a problem though. My groin is a bit antagonistic toward me right now, so after running the first mile and no improvement, we opted to cut it down to 3 miles and walked much of it. No major injury or anything, but I don't want to push myself to the point of injuring it this late in the training cycle, so discretion is the better part of valor and all that, so opted to be careful today.

Agreed. If you missed a ton, you may consider just subbing the hard runs with easy ones for the next few. Let your body catch up to the training load without increasing the mileage and intensity too much at the same time.

 

[ZellyB]

Agreed. If you missed a ton, you may consider just subbing the hard runs with easy ones for the next few. Let your body catch up to the training load without increasing the mileage and intensity too much at the same time.

Luckily the strain was short-lived. i think it was just some fatigue from the weekend runs. After taking Monday easy, we rested Tuesday and moved that run to Wednesday. I hit up some anti-inflammatory meds and that seemed to do the trick. Back to normal now, so I'm glad I took the time to rest it. I can be taught.

 

[ZellyB]

BHAG

OK, not that kind of HAG, but a A Big Hairy Audacious Goal !!
​

So, recently there's been a lot of talk on the marathon thread about Proof of Time and Corral placement for the Disney marathon. Last year and this year, we've used my HM PR from a race we ran back in October of 2017. I had thought that time was 2:12:07, but when I looked recently the official result now says 2:11:54. I don't know why it changed, but, HEY!, sub 2:12 now. LOL That time scored us a spot in the D corral for Dopey in January and from this nifty chart that @DopeyBadger created from various data points,

looks like we are firmly in D again. That was a great placement for us and I'm happy to get that again.

Our goal for Chicago is a sub-5:00 marathon. So, 4:59:59 and I'm a happy running girl. I think that Billy however believes that our HM PR would indicate we can do better than that. I'm not at all convinced of that. BUT, I know Billy also says that writing out your goals makes you something like 76.24% more likely to achieve it or something like that. I've also heard the philosophy of setting a Big Hairy Audacious Goal to really push yourself to achieve it and just maybe you can.

So, here's my BHAG. Score a C corral placement for the Disney Marathon in 2019. The Chicago Marathon is October 7. The cutoff for PoT submission for the Disney marathon is October 9. So, let's really push it and try for a 4:30 marathon time. Per Billy's chart, that gives us a decent shot at a C corral placement. That's an average pace of 10:17. Our marathon tempo pace is 10:30 or a marathon time of 4:35. So, kinda close right? The thing is, I don't really struggle that much to hit that pace. In fact, most of the time we are running a bit faster than that on our tempo runs. BUT...it's for just a few miles at a time and I worry a lot about being able to sustain that for 26.2. A weakness of mine is that endurance piece and can do I honestly believe that I can do it for that long. Look, I know it's a big stretch goal, but I feel like I need to get some kind of major carrot out there for myself to get a fire in my belly for Chicago. And, just maybe with all the right conditions, I could surprise myself and pull it off. I'm stoked about it, but worry that I won't have the DRIVE to really push myself on the race, so nothing like a Disney carrot to get me motivated...

My only caveat to myself is that I not allow myself to be disappointed if I manage my sub-5:00 but miss a 4:30 (huge time difference there first of all) because that has always been my ultimate goal and goal-creep can steel away the accomplishment I'm primarily after.

So, there you go dear readers, am I crazy?

Without a doubt. But, hey, why not go crazy sometimes right?

 

[DopeyBadger]

I like it!

I'm very confident if you trust yourself that the sub-5 is well within reach. I'd predict a most likely finish under ideal conditions to be around a 4:35-4:43.

Something you'll have to ponder over the coming weeks. Is the risk of attempting a sub-4:30 worth it? As you've experienced with marathons prior, there is a very fine line between just enough and too much (especially with the marathon). And a swing in 5-10 seconds per mile can be significantly more costly if it's on the too fast side. That's to say, aim for a 4:40 and get a 4:40. Aim for a 4:29, and you might get a 4:29 or a 4:55. Now it's totally up to you whether the risk is worth it. There's no right or wrong answer. Merely the experience you want for yourself on race day.

But with all that being said, I like it!

 

[ZellyB]

I like it!

I'm very confident if you trust yourself that the sub-5 is well within reach. I'd predict a most likely finish under ideal conditions to be around a 4:35-4:43.

Something you'll have to ponder over the coming weeks. Is the risk of attempting a sub-4:30 worth it? As you've experienced with marathons prior, there is a very fine line between just enough and too much (especially with the marathon). And a swing in 5-10 seconds per mile can be significantly more costly if it's on the too fast side. That's to say, aim for a 4:40 and get a 4:40. Aim for a 4:29, and you might get a 4:29 or a 4:55. Now it's totally up to you whether the risk is worth it. There's no right or wrong answer. Merely the experience you want for yourself on race day.

But with all that being said, I like it!

Sound advice! I think for me that a lot will depend on race day, you know? Are the conditions ideal? Am I feeling strong, healthy and confident? Can I be smart in the beginning miles and gauge how I'm doing and whether or not I really push myself to hit that BHAG. How will I react to the crowd-support and adrenaline push to get me where I want to be? All things to ponder and why I'm determined that the sub-5:00 remains the true goal of this race. But, I'm excited by the prospect of having this secondary aggressive goal out there as added motivation.

 

[MissLiss279]

I think you guys have a decent chance of getting that time! I’m sure Billy and you will come up with a race strategy right before Chicago when you know more what to expect for weather conditions.

For my last marathon in May, I had been training with a Marathon Tempo pace of 10:08. Those training runs for me also felt pretty easy/good. So at that point my ‘current fitness’ said I could run a 4:25 marathon. That time was always going to be my goal for my May marathon - it would be a 20 minute PR! I ran a half marathon during that training cycle (2:02). If I used the VDOT calculator with that half time, it said my marathon equivalent was 4:11! That calculator usually predicts faster than most, so I wasn’t sure that was really do-able, but that time was in the back of my head as a stretch goal.

20mph wind on race day, but otherwise great temps and mostly cloudy during the race, and it was relatively flat.

The plan was to actually start out about 10 sec slower than M Tempo pace for about the first 3 miles, then pick it up to M Tempo until about mile 17. At that point was when I could kick more speed in if I could. When I got to mile 17, I wasn’t sure if I could, but then I passed a band and that gave me a quick burst of energy. I picked up the pace and held onto it until the end and finished in 4:11!!! Look at these splits! (Yeah... I was a little fast in the middle...)




I used a data screen on my Garmin called ‘Race Screen’ and I manually lapped the watch at every mile marker. It would give me updated predicted finish times as I went, and it was pretty fun watching the prediction keep getting better and better as the race went.

Anyways, I wrote this so hopefully you will be encouraged that that HBAG may be achievable, but don’t forget to start out slow to save a little energy for the end. If you stick to @DopeyBadger ’s plan then I think it builds the endurance pretty well to meet that VDOT equivalent marathon time (or at least it did for me).

BTW for your 2:11 half, it has a marathon equivalent of 4:30... A nice time to have in the back of your head if weather conditions are favorable.

ETA: trust Billy’s advice more than anything you read from me...

 

[ZellyB]

Thanks for that @MissLiss279 Definitely encouraging and what a fantastic race you ran!

 

[michigandergirl]

You are not crazy, those are totally achievable goals!! I have similar goals for my October marathon: goal #1 is sub 5:00, goal #2 is beat Oprah's time 4:29:20.

Let's get it done girl!

 

[SarahDisney]

I think it's an ambitious goal, but it may be possible. Train hard and focus, and hope you'll get there. And even if you don't ... as long as you run smart you'll still get that sub-5, so it's a win-win situation

 

[ZellyB]

You are not crazy, those are totally achievable goals!! I have similar goals for my October marathon: goal #1 is sub 5:00, goal #2 is beat Oprah's time 4:29:20.

Let's get it done girl!

We're like goal twins! Let's do it!!

I think it's an ambitious goal, but it may be possible. Train hard and focus, and hope you'll get there. And even if you don't ... as long as you run smart you'll still get that sub-5, so it's a win-win situation

I like win-win situations.

 

[FredtheDuck]

So proud of you for putting your big HAG out there. And love the win-win mentality, too. Rooting you on from here and am excited to see how your training progresses over the next couple of months.

 

[KSellers88]

I love this update! I have so many people to cheer on for the Chicago marathon and I cannot wait to see y'all crush it!

You are not crazy, those are totally achievable goals!! I have similar goals for my October marathon: goal #1 is sub 5:00, goal #2 is beat Oprah's time 4:29:20.

Let's get it done girl!

Wait, Oprah has run a marathon?!?!

 

[ZellyB]

So proud of you for putting your big HAG out there. And love the win-win mentality, too. Rooting you on from here and am excited to see how your training progresses over the next couple of months.

Thank you. I told Chris this morning I think I still had a bit of a runner endorphin high from our morning tempo run going when I posted that. But, I'm still liking it today, so YAY! I'll give it my best!!

I love this update! I have so many people to cheer on for the Chicago marathon and I cannot wait to see y'all crush it!



Wait, Oprah has run a marathon?!?!

Chicago is going to be awesome. And, I didn't know about Oprah either until I read that as a goal from @michigandergirl awhile back and looked it up. It's a thing!! The Oprah line.

 

[SheHulk]

Thank you. I told Chris this morning I think I still had a bit of a runner endorphin high from our morning tempo run going when I posted that. But, I'm still liking it today, so YAY! I'll give it my best!!



Chicago is going to be awesome. And, I didn't know about Oprah either until I read that as a goal from @michigandergirl awhile back and looked it up. It's a thing!! The Oprah line.

It’s been my lifelong goal forever too. But I’m getting older and may need to age adjust that somehow. I looked it up and she was about 40 at the time.
It’s kind of unfair to Oprah that we all target her, like If she can do it I can do it. She was pretty fit at that time. I will never again look like she did the day she ran that race.
I’ve beaten Pamela Anderson’s marathon time but that’s not impressive given that we all know she runs in slow motion from watching Baywatch

 

[ZellyB]

It’s been my lifelong goal forever too. But I’m getting older and may need to age adjust that somehow. I looked it up and she was about 40 at the time.
It’s kind of unfair to Oprah that we all target her, like If she can do it I can do it. She was pretty fit at that time. I will never again look like she did the day she ran that race.
I’ve beaten Pamela Anderson’s marathon time but that’s not impressive given that we all know she runs in slow motion from watching Baywatch

 

[Bree]

I love your BHAG! You’ve got this!

I had no idea Oprah and Pamela Anderson ran a marathon.