The Running Thread - 2019

[Sleepless Knight]

ATTQOTD: Nothing for Cinco de Mayo.

I had lasagna for dinner so I failed in theme-ing.

Lasagna for dinner is never failing.

 

[apdebord]

ATTQOTD: I taught a Pure Barre class and used the special “Fiesta” playlist. Then I made guac to snack on and steak fajitas for dinner.

 

[KevM]

@LSUlakes for when you the the time, here are the races I’m currently signed up for for the rest of the year.

June 1st - KevM - Wissahickon Trail Classic 10K (NG/NA)
June 13th - KevM - Midsummer Night 5K #1 (NG/NA)
June 16th - KevM - Cabela’s 5 Miler (44:59NA)
June 21st - KevM - Media 5 Miler (NG/NA)
July 4th - KevM - Sweet ‘N Salty 5K (NG/NA)
July 11th - KevM - Midsummer Night 5K #2 (NG/NA)
July 13th - KevM - Blacklight Run 5K (NG/NA)
Aug 8th - KevM - Midsummer Night 5K #3 (NG/NA)
Aug 25th - KevM - Philly 10K (52:45/NA)
Sep 29th - KevM - Ocean City NJ Half Marathon (1:59:59/NA)
Oct 20th - KevM - Hotfoot 8.8 miler (NG/NA)
Nov 23rd - KevM - Philly Half Marathon (NG/NA)
Nov 23rd - KevM - Philly 8K (NG/NA)
Nice 24th - KevM - Philly Marathon (4:30:00/NA)

 

[flav]

Question: I would like to know when people thought it was appropriate to take kids on a 5k run and when it was successful without tears.

Same time as when people like us decided to take on running and had a bad race day. In other words, letting kids experiment on sports/music/hobby is an opportunity to grow but it is not always easy. Whose kids 100% enjoyed all their swimming lessons or their piano practices?

My DD decided at 10yo to start running because she saw how rewarding it can be: I came back from a solo runDisney trip with smile and pride (and yes, shinny medals). I said ok for a 1k or 2k and she refused. She absolutely wanted a 5k. I registered her but, when I had trouble convincing her to train, I said: I am not bringing you to a race undertrained, you will get hurt and you won’t have fun. She completed a few 5k successfully.

Fast forward to a little over a week ago. She whimpered, complained, even cried for a full 29 minutes during her 5k race. The other 15 seconds, she smiled because of the cameras (I trained her well!). Honestly, I was probably looking like the mean mom who dragged her but it is all the opposite. I was telling her to breathe because she wasn’t, offered her walk intervals which she declined and would even have been totally ok with a DNF. Turns out that she was just not happy with herself for letting the pacer pass her. I pointed out that she had 1k left if she wanted to change that and she did. Now, she tells what a great race it was, she feels great about herself (mom, I am awesome), she showed off her medal and asked to register for next year.
So, in conclusion, tears are ok, if they are from you to you and make you a better version of yourself. Same goes with kids. Cheers to all parents who try with the best intentions. Yes, deep down the kids know it is the case.

Does it get easier when they are a little older because you can just drop them off, go run, and pick them back up?

Yes, it gets easier. Although it is always tough to fit regular running/training into anyone schedule.

They won't want to hang out with us forever so I am going to accept that half marathons or less are where it is at until they are 12.

Someone with a lot of running experience told me this weekend that my kids were still young for me to train for Marathons: They are 11.5yo and almost 14yo! Yikes!

 

[TheHamm]

That escalated quickly....

Sorry.
I'm generally overprotective but a little more on edge today.

Someone with a lot of running experience told me this weekend that my kids were still young for me to train for Marathons: They are 11.5yo and almost 14yo! Yikes!

I'm not sure how one decides your kids are too young for marathon training. Being amazed that you have the organization and stamina to add training to the other responsibilities seems more appropriate.

 

[flav]

I'm not sure how one decides your kids are too young for marathon training. Being amazed that you have the organization and stamina to add training to the other responsibilities seems more appropriate.

I am not sure I would be a better mom without the running/training. And I would probably end up with less stamina

 

[LSUlakes]

@LSUlakes for when you the the time, here are the races I’m currently signed up for for the rest of the year.

June 1st - KevM - Wissahickon Trail Classic 10K (NG/NA)
June 13th - KevM - Midsummer Night 5K #1 (NG/NA)
June 16th - KevM - Cabela’s 5 Miler (44:59NA)
June 21st - KevM - Media 5 Miler (NG/NA)
July 4th - KevM - Sweet ‘N Salty 5K (NG/NA)
July 11th - KevM - Midsummer Night 5K #2 (NG/NA)
July 13th - KevM - Blacklight Run 5K (NG/NA)
Aug 8th - KevM - Midsummer Night 5K #3 (NG/NA)
Aug 25th - KevM - Philly 10K (52:45/NA)
Sep 29th - KevM - Ocean City NJ Half Marathon (1:59:59/NA)
Oct 20th - KevM - Hotfoot 8.8 miler (NG/NA)
Nov 23rd - KevM - Philly Half Marathon (NG/NA)
Nov 23rd - KevM - Philly 8K (NG/NA)
Nice 24th - KevM - Philly Marathon (4:30:00/NA)

You have a busy race schedule my friend!

 

[KevM]

You have a busy race schedule my friend!

Haha. That I do. I have a goal of competing 26 races this year. I’ve done 12 to date. And if I do all of these listed then the Philly Marathon will be Race #26.

 

[Waiting2goback]

QOTD: Did you partake in any Cinco de Mayo events yesterday?

ATTQOTD: I may have had a few margaritas while watching LSU baseball (BTW we lost after a exciting comeback to go into extra innings, just to lose). Other than that, it was just a normal Sunday at home.

No, I don’t really get the point. Seems like another excuse to drink, and I don’t drink so for me it is another wasted holiday.

We had nachos for dinner last night, if that counts.

In other news, a friend of mine missed qualifying for Boston yesterday by 39 seconds. She’s got her sights set on a fall marathon now....but UGH!

That’s awful. I’d rather miss by 5 minutes because you know you would question every water stop, bathroom, break, etc... if I went faster at the water stop I would have made it. Or if I only held it I would have made it...

Hopefully she gets it in the fall!

 

[Waiting2goback]

@JulieODC this is for your friend.

 

[KSellers88]

ATTQOTD: We had our open house on Cinco de Mayo so the realtor offered chips and salsa and margaritas. That was the extent of our celebration, now we just need someone to buy our house!

I've thankfully never gotten lost on a race course, but during the Bay St. Louis half I passed five runners who clearly had gotten lost. They were running the wrong direction on the course and seemed very confused. I had never ran the race before so I didn't know how to help or where to tell them to go , I just kept hearing them say "this doesn't seem right". Then I got concerned I would get lost too, but luckily I figured it out.

 

[LSUlakes]

QOTD: I had a random thought while I was driving to work this morning that I thought would make for a interesting question. What is the highest and lowest overall finish placement you have had during any race?

ATTQOTD: My worse finish happened during my first race ever! I was a sophomore in high school and joined the CC team late. I went out there and it was brutal lol. My whole team came out on the course and ran the last half mile or so with me. It was both lifting and embarrassing at the time. I finished with only one other person behind me, which I am not entirely sure if that person finished or dropped out. My best finish came from a very small 5k, probably around a 100 people or so. This was within the last 5 year or so, and I was tapering for a marathon that was to happen the follow week. The race was a fundraiser for a girl I know who was in a bad car accident, so i decided to run it. Well after the first mile it was just a group of 3 of us and I knew the other two people with me. One of my friends dropped off the pace around the halfway point. I ran with the other guy who was determined to win and I told him he could have it because I was not going to go any faster than 6:45 pace. With .75 miles to go he took off. With my goal marathon coming up I just let him go. I came out second and got a trophy lol. It was a lot of fun to get some hardware!

 

[camaker]

QOTD: I had a random thought while I was driving to work this morning that I thought would make for a interesting question. What is the highest and lowest overall finish placement you have had during any race?

ATTQOTD: What an interesting question. I don't track finishing stats for all my races, just selected half marathons and longer. I tend to be mid-pack in a very competitive age group, so I focus more on how I perform based on my expectations rather than relative to others, but I do keep my eyes on it. I like to look at both absolute finishing number and where I finished as a percentile of the field, so larger races aren't so depressing from a finishing position standpoint. The best and worst I've got tracked right now are:

Finishing Position
Best: 24th overall at 2019 Light 2 Light 50 Miler (46 finishers, 11 DNFs)
Worst: 19,508th overall at 2018 Chicago Marathon (48,096 finishers)

Finishing Percentile
Best: 4th %ile at 2017 Disneyland Half (355th overall, this was the brutally hot and humid race year that took a toll on everyone)
Worst: 85th %ile at 2019 Badwater Cape Fear 51.4m (85th/100 runners, don't care. Loved the race and the experience)

 

[cavepig]

Lowest - - I know I was close to last in my first varsity Cross Country race my sophomore year, I think I beat like 1 or 2 people, it was humbling. I know I had other races too where I was near the back, but can't remember specifics. I was last in some track events/heats I'm pretty sure. As for road races, probably when I was sick in the 2016 WDW marathon was my worst that I can think of.

Highest - - Have no idea, I placed in the top 10 at some meets in Cross Country if I can even still count those. For Road Races, it would be smaller local ones with age group awards, my marathon last Fall I age group placed (I already forgot what place), but there wasn't a ton of people.

I can't remember a lot of local races on how I finished & have no records of them & no meaningful story I can remember of the finishes.

 

[canglim52]

ATTQOTD: It’s all relative I suppose. By the numbers, my best finish is 3rd at a local 5k and my worst would 1421 at Chicago. However I’m much more proud of my Chicago performance lol.

 

[Neon Cactus]

My best was the Texas Rangers 5k last month. I'm a slow runner so wasn't even close to the front of the pack, but my time was the best it's been in a 5k. I did laugh though because it had been raining and was cold and it felt like the entire group of runners was smaller than one wave at the Disney Marathon. My worst was the Disney World Marathon this year. Not training well, I wasn't even sure I'd be able to finish. I came in close to the back of the pack, but I was just happy to finish and had fun doing it.

 

[PrincessV]

ATTQOTD: I have NO idea! I've never paid any attention to my finishing place. I guess this goes hand-in-hand with my hatred of racing for time, lol!

 

[AntimonyER]

ATTQOTD: Worst: My first 5K (2012 or 2013?), before gps/run tracking, I was training in my neighborhood which I thought was 3 miles, so was excitedly talking about how I thought I could do a sub 30 5K. It ended up being only 2.2 miles years later when I picked up running again and had gps to track it. I finished in just under 37 minutes, about mid-pack in a group of 1000.

Best: Finished 1st overall in my first 10k (the one I went off track in for a bit from yesterday's secondary QOTD) this February. I got lucky that there was an ultra race that day about 30 miles away that drew the best runners from my area. (For reference, if I had run the 10K in my april race, I would have finished 5th even with a 30 second PR).

 

[IamTrike]

QOTD: I had a random thought while I was driving to work this morning that I thought would make for a interesting question. What is the highest and lowest overall finish placement you have had during any race?

I am not sure. I have a couple of smaller races where I have placed in my age group. Disneyland was probably my highest half finish in a large race. I was 176th out of about 15k overall. My worst finish was probably the princess 10k. I walked with my daughter came in 11290 out of about 12000.

 

[steph0808]

Best - A 7k last year. The field must have been sparse because I got 3rd female overall with a 7:57/mile pace. My fastest pace ever for a race! I was thrilled but also p*ssed because I wanted top age group award because they give out railroad spikes and I have a silver and bronze and need a gold! Of course, I bypassed the age group award for the top 3, which is a cool wooden train.

Worst - Next to last at a trail 25k in 2013. I will never run the 25k again. I usually run the 15k, which is nice, but the extra 6.2 miles are brutal - basically all switchback uphill, across a dam, wet feet, more hills, etc. It took me 2 hours to do 15k and then another 2 hours to do the remaining 10k. Never again. I go back every year for the 15k though!