Active Community : Thread List - Marine Corps Marathon

Wednesday run - Happy Thanksgiving

PersianP — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:18:19 GMT

Running long 16 miles today before heading out to San Antonio for Thanksgiving feast! We will have a family fun run Thanksgiving morning. My sister is helping with preparing the feast this year, which means less work for me!

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Anyone running or cooking?

Marathon Haikus

MCM Ron — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 14:18:04 GMT

Harmony broken?

Forum change leaving you sad?

Time for a haiku!

Man You guys are boring today!

Myblueeyedgurl — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 18:30:49 GMT

Will the promise of points bring you out of hiding? Most interesting post before 4:30 gets 10 points! 7 for the two runner-ups!

Great Quotes

Jimmy_D_Jarhead — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 02:39:34 GMT

"You only ever grow as a human being if you're outside your comfort zone."

PERCY CERUTTY

I get a daily quote from Runner's World and this was today's. Just about the best I have seen in a few weeks. What do others have in the arsenol?

Jimmy

Tuesday Runs

DCtoPgh — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:25:51 GMT

So no running for me, but after being able to sleep through the night without getting up to eat I hit the elliptical for 45 minutes. I feel pretty darn good. I could probably be back to running tomorrow but will wait until the end of the week if only because I'm lazy and don't want to start running yet

RR: JFK50

DCtoPgh — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 23:04:33 GMT

It was an epic day. I hope all the ups and downs are reflected in my race report

RR: Warda Cardiac 50 Miler, Nov 21, 2009

Stevemustangred — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:54:14 GMT

Our 23rd Marathon/Ultra of 2009 was held on Bluff Creek Ranch, outside the town of Warda, about halfway between Austin and Houston. The course is single track mountain bike trail winding through forests, hills and pasture. Temps were 55-65 all day with an occasional slight breeze; humidity was 90-100%. The area received 2 inches of rain Friday/Saturday morning. There was MUD. It continued raining during the first two loops. The sun tried to come out during the fourth loop but changed its mind and went back behind the clouds.

The 50 Mile race began in the rain at 6AM. The first loop was 5 miles in the dark. Then we had to repeat six 7.5 mile loops. There was an aid station at the start/finish and at mile 3.5. Parts of the course were quite hilly with a few switch backs. The entire course was very slippery. It was nearly impossible to go up at least four very muddy hills. I couldn't lift one foot without the other one sliding back down. Sometimes I had to pull from tree to tree to get up the hills. Eventually ropes were strung on a couple of dangerous hills so we could pull ourselves up. In one spot I had to literally crawl up the hill through the mud. Falling was not an option as the drops off the sides of the hills were 50+ feet. The slippery mud was worse every loop. When it finally stopped raining the mud became sticky and only came off my shoes while crossing a flooded swiftly moving creek. Going down the slippery hills was more challenging than going up because it was hard to navigate some of the switch backs while maintaining balance at a high rate of uncontrolled descent.

In the pastures and in some of the forest sections we had to navigate around numerous moistened cow pies while avoiding slipping up against an electric fence. In many places puddles were over our ankles and ensured that our feet remained wet for the duration.

I changed socks every 15 miles to relieve my feet of pebbles. I wore my trail shoes and that probably limited my falls to just one during my second loop. I took two Advil following that event. The shoes aren't very comfortable but they help protect my feet when I kick rocks and roots. I tripped more times than I can remember. When we started the race in a light rain a lead group headed out pretty fast. I was lead runner of a large group until morning light started breaking. I guess they mistakenly thought I knew which way the trail was supposed to go. My head lamp worked well and I never got lost on the well marked trail.

Quitting was never an option. I started walking the extremely slippery parts while running whenever I could get traction. The mud probably added at least an hour to our times and certainly required an extra amount of concentration and energy. At some point something with thorns gave me an 8 inch cut down my right shin. I was covered with so much mud that I didn't notice the cut until the day after the race.

Different parts of the trail had cute names like Sidewinder, Spaghetti Bends, Bidet, Roller Coaster, etc. Roller Coaster was one of the last sections the trail with only 5 ups and downs. I was so happy to see that sign for the last time that I started singing Roller Coaster of Love. Parvaneh was somewhere ahead of me in the tangle of trails and unfortunately could hear me “singing”. It is not something about which I am proud, but it was really funny yesterday when she told me she could hear my bellowing.

A 50K and 25K were also run on the same loop. 54 dedicated runners finished their races. Aid stations were well supported. They BBQ'd hamburgers for us at the finish. It was tough running past the grill on each lap without being able to stop for a bite.

14 runners started the 50 mile race. 3 did not start and 2 DNF’d. The first 50 miler finished in 8:18. Parvaneh, who waited for me to catch up several times, finished in 11:05. I clocked in at 11:12. That was good enough for fifth male, seventh overall, and I finished about 30 minutes before it started getting dark. Surprisingly, I was still running easily at the end and probably could have kept running. My average pace was a blazing 13:27 per mile! Two days later and I am still a little sore and tired, but I don't feel any worse than I do on those rare occasions when I PR a marathon.

Next up: Double Decker Marathon, Austin, Texas, December 6.

Richmond RR - Better late than never

MikeDaMarine08 — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:56:12 GMT

Race Report – Sun Trust Richmond Marathon

Respect the distance

Originally, I had not planned on running the full in Richmond. My decision to run it finally came after I learned that Irene’s XC team would not be participating in the state finals this year.

The weather forecast for the weekend looked promising (partially cloudy, high of 65) considering that we had a ton of rain the week leading up to the marathon. Having run the Outer Banks Half the week before, I was a little concerned about being able to have a quality effort but I was still pretty stoked to get back on the road again.

I arrived at the expo around 2 and caught up with a couple of local friends of mine and we navigated the expo together. It was an average expo but they did have some great gear and I managed to get out of there in a reasonable amount of time without leaving too big of a hole in my wallet. I did not manage to catch up Chris or Charlie for dinner, but I did find a great local Italian restaurant thanks to my local friends Jon and Christine, who I ended up joining for dinner.

Race morning, I woke up (the first time) at 0330 and consumed my breakfast which consisted of a bagel, breakfast shake, Cliff bar and washed down with 32oz of Gatorade. I was back in the rack by 0400. I woke up an hour later and jumped in the rain locker, stretched, got dressed and was out the door. Walking to my truck it felt a little chilly and I briefly thought about grabbing my arm sleeves to run in. I decided not to as the forecast was to be in the 60’s. I drove to the finish area and quickly found a place to park just a block from the finish.

I hung around the start area for the National Anthem and 8K start. As the HM runners were gathering, I made my way to the porta-johns for one last pit stop. On my way back I ran into Charlie and we hung out for a while before we made way to our respective corrals. There was a slight drizzle, but my flannel kept me warm for the most part. I was beginning to regret not bringing my arm sleeves. I decided to make one more pit stop before finding a spot somewhere in between the 4:15 and 4:30 pace groups. My goal was to run right around 4:30 for this race. I planned to take water and sports drink at each water stop except for miles 6, 12, 18 and 24 where I would take water with my gel. My gel of choice for this race was Hammer Rasberry.

The race started right on time and I pitched my flannel shortly after crossing the start line. I had looked at the elevation profile and knew that there were some hills scattered throughout the first half of the course, so I knew that I would have to be careful and not burn myself out running them to hard. I ran the first mile @ 9:50 as I tried to settle into a comfortable pace. My plan for the race was to walk the water stops (roughly every 2 miles) in an effort to manage my heart rate. Mile 2 was 10:09 as I hit my first water stop shortly after the mile mark. I felt like I was running pretty comfortable as my 3 mile split was 30:30, a little slower than I wanted but I was getting settled nicely. Chris had caught up to me at some point but then had to make a pit stop along the way.

I was into a pretty good rhythm was feeling more comfortable as miles 4, 5 and 6 ticked away at 10:01, 10:21 and 9:55 giving me a 3 mile split of 30:17. Chris caught back up to me and we resumed our leap frog activities. I had some really fast splits (probably too fast) while running through the initial hills with Chris. Miles 7, 8 and 9 where 9:14, 9:18, and 9:39 (weeeeeeee! that was fun) making my splits for those miles 28:11 (yup, too fast). Looking at it now we really flew through those hills Chris! Nearing the HM mark, we wondered if you could claim a PR for a distance covered during a longer race. I was on pace to beat my 10 mile PR, which I did with a 1:38:21, and Chris was on pace to beat his previous HM best. Miles 10 – 12 @ 9:23, 10:22 and 9:42 were still at a good clip with a 29:27 split.

I lost Chris a little before I hit the HM mark @ 2:10:29, which was faster than the OBX half which I had completed the weekend before. Miles 13-15 @ 10:16, 9:41 and 9:59 were still sub 30 with a 29:56 as I came up on the famous Lee Bridge. I can see why some Richmond Marathoners hate it. Being 6’3”, I had a number of people drafting me and was lucky enough to be able to draft a couple of runners myself. Drafting does make a difference IMO.

I was beginning to feel the effects of my fast run through the hills and strong first half as I hit miles 16-18 in 10:12, 10:49 and 10:07 making my split for those 3 miles 31:08. It would get worse from there. I found the wall around miles 19-21 as I wandered into the 11 minute mile range with 11:02, 10:21 and 11:00 for a 32:23 3-mile split. As I hit mile the mile 20 split in 3:20:52, I knew that I had an outside shot at a 4:20 something finish and was definitely on pace for my goal of 4:30. Watching my HR approach 180 during mile 20 told me that I would be closer to 4:30 than 4:20 as I decided to take it easy the last 6.2.

Miles 22-25 were my worst with 11:12, 11:30 and 11:19 giving me a 34:01 3-mile split. The course had changed to water stops every mile and I took advantage of them by walking through them until after mile 25. Mile 26 was an 11:12 as I hit the downhill run to the finish and ran as fast as I trusted my legs to let me. My finishing time was 4:31:25, which was an 18 minute improvement over MCM just 3 weeks ago, a PR! Thank you Power Balance! ;-)

Completing Richmond has shown me that my training and perseverance has paid off over the last 8 months following my calf injury. Learning from my setback and respecting the distance (thank you Ramesh) have been two of the major factors is helping me remain focused and not push too hard while I am still recovering and learning each and every time I race. While my pacing and wardrobe were less than ideal, I believe my rest, nutrition and hydration strategies were almost perfect. All in all I am very happy with my performance and am looking forward to improving again my next time out.

RR: Dizzy Fifties 50K

RunDaddyRunx4 — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 01:47:58 GMT

Ok, so here’s my RR. Dizzy Fifties 50K (3 times around the North and South loops passing through the central and only aid station after each loop)

Started off with bad news, something came up and Immer had to back out two days before the race. Left work early on Friday and went over to Fleet Feet to pick up my race packet. Ending up spending a boat load of money, (no wonder why I don’t go that often). I purchased some full length CRX compression pants, a case of Gu’s and a few of the Honey stinger gels. I used them on my race and by far the most palatable gel’s I’ve tasted, a must try.

My wife and kids are out of town visiting family and so my daughter can go to the movie “New Moon” with our cool Aunt up in Lynchburg, VA so I was a bachelor for the weekend. Came home Friday, rented Pelham 123 and ate a nice big bowl of pasta and still got o bed early. As anyone knows, a good night’s rest before a big race is non-existent. Got up at 4 am, fed the dogs and chickens, checked on the puppies and left for Monte Sano Mountain in Huntsville and got there about an hour before the race. No warm up run, I figured that since this is my first Ultra and the furthest distance I’ve ever ran I didn’t need the warm up, plus this was a trail race so I raced to finish, not time.

6:30 am, we started. I hung in the middle. First up was a 2.3 mile pre-loop. No problem, perfect weather (wish it was a bit colder [40’s to 50’s]). Next loop was the dreaded North Loop (4 miles), all the horror stories I heard about it were ALL TRUE. It was true trail running. I actually think my time was slower down the steep hills because of the rocks and grade of the hills. The back side was no picnic either, ended up walking just a portion of the hill due to the grade. I was thinking that I have to run this loop 3 times today. By this time I was starting to get passed by the more experienced runners so I kindly stepped to the side as they passed. (I’m a rookie at trails). Next up was the South loop, 5.6 miles of semi-flat trails. I made up some time and tried to keep my pace. My goal was to try and match my co-workers time of 5 hours (9.39 pace). Reached the Aid station/start line/finish/line and on pace with a few minutes in the back to use later. Wow I though, I can actually do run this thing in five hours.

North Loop again, this time the hills seamed steeper and longer, walked about a total of .5 miles. Legs still felt great but the bottom of my feet were starting to hurt. It was here where I gave up hopes on finishing in 5 hours. So what if my co-worker can smoke me, this was my first ultra and I was going to enjoy it. Reached the aid station and grabbed a handful of M&M’s. They lasted about 15 seconds then I spat them out and grabbed a PB and banana sandwich I packed for the run. Started on the South loop with sandwich in hand and water in the other. At this time was when I was passed by the race leader, I just stepped out of his way and honored his speed. He finished in 2 hrs 31 min., wow. ¾ of the way into this loop I hit a tree root and took my first and only fall. Got up and brushed off the dirt and leaves and kept going.

Last time through the North loop, I thought of quitting and wondered why I wanted to run an ultra, shoot, I even registered for 2 more over the next two months. Am I crazy, I should get checked out, what was I thinking? Hooked up with some of the local runners and was talking to them on the South loop. (I may be crazy but they were insane) They ran the first loop of this race, then drove to the Krispy Kreme race in town (run 2 miles, eat a dozen donuts then run 2 miles back) and were now back on the course finishing the race. I heard all the horror stories and they regretted it but still trucking along. I came across the finish line in 5 hours 30 minutes 25 seconds. My first ultra! Finished 23rd of 69 runners. I thought this was pretty good because these were all true runners, who else would spend their Saturday morning running 31 miles up and down a mountain. Since I am trying to do the Fleet Feet Grand Slam my next race is Huntsville Marathon on 12/12 then another 50K on 12/31 and end up with Mountain Midst on 1/23. It is labeled as the toughest trail race in Alabama with some pretty strict cut-off times. I just hope I can make it.

Monday runs

MCM Ron — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:47:15 GMT

Been a while since I started one of these! I ran a quick 3.1 on the treadmill this morning. This first mile was barefoot (Thanks, Nita!)

Happy running!

Dealing with Giant Blister on Arch?

Jeff Le — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:49:45 GMT

Hi All, so I'm less than two weeks to go until the California International Marathon. I've survived the tendonitis and the foot doctor decided to give me some new orthodics just in case. I tried them out on my last real long run and I developed a pretty big blister on the center part of my arch.

Do you have any advice on what to do with the blister? I'm nervous that it will derail the last few days of training. At least I'm in the taper.

Thanks again for your wisdom in advance,

Jeff