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The Official OGBoards Running (and Cycling) Thread: (Insert Season Here)

DeacHoops said:
ok, pit. at the start of 2011, i made a goal of breaking 1:40 in the half this year. i planned on having two shots at it: the new river half (this past weekend), and the thunder road half in november. i wasn't actually going to shoot for 1:40 this weekend, but i just wanted to PR (current record = 1:44:01) and convince myself that i could break 1:40 in november.

well, i didn't even come CLOSE to a PR this weekend. the course was a hell of a lot harder than advertised, and i just died. so now i have one shot at improving by over 4 minutes. i don't like the idea of all of my eggs being in one basket, especially a "basket" as difficult as a charlotte half. i'd like to find a flat half marathon sometime between september and november (but preferably not october, as my marathon is in late october and i don't want to screw up that training). any suggestions on an easy course that's within driving distance of charlotte?
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Mistletoe in Winston Salem. Can't remember the date though
 
Mistletoe is in early December.

Virginia Beach Rock & Roll isn't easy driving distance but wouldn't be a bad weekend trip with one overnight. That's Sept 4 and will be super flat.
 
RollTheQuad06 said:
Mistletoe is in early December.

Virginia Beach Rock & Roll isn't easy driving distance but wouldn't be a bad weekend trip with one overnight. That's Sept 4 and will be super flat.
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What about the Dowd YMCA half in Charlotte?
 
iodeac said:
What about the Dowd YMCA half in Charlotte?
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dowd falls under the category of a charlotte half. which means it's not flat.

that's where my current PR is from, but i'd really like something easier.
 
Gotcha. Although after last Saturday, everything seems flatter by comparison.
 
Savannah in November?

If you are willing to wait until February Myrtle Beach is super flat and fast.

These are obviously a decent drive from Charlotte though.
 
Mistletoe isn't flat at all. Runnymede, Bio Hill, through Reynolda Gardens (heading back) . . . but for the last two miles from Forsyth Country Club area back down Runnymede and NW Blvd, most consider it a bruiser. It's a great race, though!

I know someone who enjoyed the Battle of the Triad course -- http://www.offnrunningsports.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=88

It was in November last year but pops up in late August this year. Flat first nine miles, rolling from there, the biggest issue this year would have to be fear of the heat (7am start notwithstanding).
 
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hm, savannah. i have a couple of friends, including my best friend, who are thinking about doing that one. i don't know much about it. but that may be a good option.
 
Just to throw a bug in all of the runners' ears - I'd like to plug the Carlsbad Marathon in Carlsbad, CA - January 22, 2012. The organization that I work with in Swaziland is one of the official charities of the race. If anyone's interested let me know. Running in the winter in San Diego is awesome I hear. I'm trying to build up to run it. Hopefully the full, but at least the half.

linky:
http://www.carlsbadmarathon.com
 
Third day in a row of running two miles for this guy. It isn't much and its far off of the 3.5 I was running last summer (at a quicker pace) but it is a step back in the right direction. Now that school is over and I can get a more normal schedule, I'm really hoping to be able to continue this and finally get in great, instead of just mediocre, shape
 
Ran the Indianapolis Mini this past weekend. Great race for anyone who lives in that area of the country or wants to travel there. Indy is a cool city, too. The course includes a lap around the Brickyard (during which I high-fived Al Unser, Jr.!). The course is completely flat except for the ramp entering the Brickyard and a short bridge-crossing. Only downside is that its very croweded 45k+ runners.

After the race, I drove down to Louisville with the friends I ran with to take in the Derby, and then made it back to Indy for a 9:30 reservation at St. Elmo Steak House. Not a bad Saturday!
 
Pit, I need to vent/be Emo for a bit. I posted a 4:03 at New River on Saturday, and while I was happy with a 17-minute PR, I really had my heart set on breaking 4 hours and I put in a ton of work to do it. The worst part is that Mrs. I/O told me that all my friends who had run the half or finished before 4 hours were waiting at the 4 hour mark for me to come through because they knew how badly I wanted to do it. :( I feel awful that I let them down. I think my takeaway is to STFU about my goals (and maybe I talked a little too much trash beforehand, as my boss/good running friend at work pointed out to me) especially considering that anything can happen on raceday, including a course that was way tougher than I anticipated. On the plus side, I feel incredibly motivated now, even moreso than before, and I'm positively itching to get back out there tomorrow and start working again. This time I plan to incorporate some strength training, as well as adding to my monthly mileage. I want to go from around 145 currently to maybe 175 or so. Thanks for letting me vent, I know I'll feel better in a few days but right now I can't help but feel disappointed in coming up short on Saturday.
 
io, don't take this the wrong way, but when I was trying to convince myself not to sit down and stop running and take a DNF, I told Patrick that there was probably no way you'd break 4 on that course. Not doubting you at all as you've put an absolute ton of work into your training, but because of the course. you did a DAMN GOOD JOB knocking so much time off.

if you want to feel sad you didn't make it all the way there, you can do that for yourself, but you sure did not let anyone down. knock that thought out of your head! 3 minutes? easy as pie next time! pick a course without a mountain in the middle you'll drop those few minutes and then some without changing anything!
 
gotta agree with RTQ, IO if you "came up short" it was in picking a marathon. On a more reasonable course you easily gain 4+ minutes with an equivilent run. The winner ran 3:02, in Oct. of last year he ran 2:53 at ridge to bridge (fast course). The third place guy ran 3:05 at new river and ran 3:01 at El Paso in March and ran a 2:53 in January.

But anything that keeps you fired up to run and train is good in my book. Great job! Where is the next marathon?
 
i agree with JB and RTQ. that course sucked really, really bad. i doubted whether or not i could PR, but i felt 100% confident that i could come in under 1:45. i'm in much better shape than i was when i ran 1:44. but geez, that course completely kicked my butt, and i didn't even do that one mountain that y'all had to go over. i added 6 minutes to my time (1:50:05). no doubt on a sane course you could do under 4.
 
ugh. couple days off. life got in the freaking way.
 
iodeac said:
Pit, I need to vent/be Emo for a bit. I posted a 4:03 at New River on Saturday, and while I was happy with a 17-minute PR, I really had my heart set on breaking 4 hours and I put in a ton of work to do it. The worst part is that Mrs. I/O told me that all my friends who had run the half or finished before 4 hours were waiting at the 4 hour mark for me to come through because they knew how badly I wanted to do it. :( I feel awful that I let them down. I think my takeaway is to STFU about my goals (and maybe I talked a little too much trash beforehand, as my boss/good running friend at work pointed out to me) especially considering that anything can happen on raceday, including a course that was way tougher than I anticipated. On the plus side, I feel incredibly motivated now, even moreso than before, and I'm positively itching to get back out there tomorrow and start working again. This time I plan to incorporate some strength training, as well as adding to my monthly mileage. I want to go from around 145 currently to maybe 175 or so. Thanks for letting me vent, I know I'll feel better in a few days but right now I can't help but feel disappointed in coming up short on Saturday.
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Disagree. I think publicizing goals is a good thing in terms of accountability. You might ease up on shit-talking, but don't feel bad about falling a little short. You had a GREAT run.

Nothing to be ashamed of, and no reason to feel like you shouldn't be open about your plans/goals.
 
iodeac said:
Pit, I need to vent/be Emo for a bit. I posted a 4:03 at New River on Saturday, and while I was happy with a 17-minute PR, I really had my heart set on breaking 4 hours and I put in a ton of work to do it. The worst part is that Mrs. I/O told me that all my friends who had run the half or finished before 4 hours were waiting at the 4 hour mark for me to come through because they knew how badly I wanted to do it. :( I feel awful that I let them down. I think my takeaway is to STFU about my goals (and maybe I talked a little too much trash beforehand, as my boss/good running friend at work pointed out to me) especially considering that anything can happen on raceday, including a course that was way tougher than I anticipated. On the plus side, I feel incredibly motivated now, even moreso than before, and I'm positively itching to get back out there tomorrow and start working again. This time I plan to incorporate some strength training, as well as adding to my monthly mileage. I want to go from around 145 currently to maybe 175 or so. Thanks for letting me vent, I know I'll feel better in a few days but right now I can't help but feel disappointed in coming up short on Saturday.
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This.

I added serious upper body weight training to my workouts last summer. Totally helped my running....
 
Goal talk: I plan to run with the 4:15 pace group in San Francisco.

I really want to break 4:00 too but it's not time yet. My PR is 4:20, I'll see how 4:15 goes, if I'm feeling good later in the race I'll leave the group and try for faster.

My time at New River was 4:42. Not good for me. But I know I ran a bad race, went out way too fast, etc. Next race I will work hard to run smarter and start slower.
 
Thanks everyone! It means a lot to see responses like those. I'm already trying to figure out when I'll try for another shot at the "title".

Random question: What do you all do with your non-technical race shirts? I have a ton of cotton shirts from various races that I really don't feel much attachment to. Will Goodwill take them? Otherwise I guess I'll just throw them away.
 
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