The Running Thread Vol 2
Discussion
1st ever race win 
Ran the Mayors corporate challenge 5k in Alpharetta Georgia last night. It was about 33C so pretty hot but not unusual for here. Started the race and for the first downhill mile a guy ran away from me and a friend and I thought he would win it. About a mile in after a 5:27 mile, he visibly slowed and so my friend took the lead when the pace car was diverted off by the police and he basically ran into the back of it. The car got back on track and went up a steep hill and the pace slowed to a 6:08 given the incline and I took over at the 2 mile point. Still going uphill I managed to eek out a small lead and then it flattened off. Mile 3 came in another 6:08 and I followed the pace car through the line for 18:31 on a humid hot and hilly course.
Never led a race before or won, so it was a fantastic experience and now really looking forward to the half I have planned in December which is flat and cooler.
Afterwards, wen to the local food trucks and had a well deserved beer. My friend came 2nd which was nice and whilst it was not a top quality race in terms of athletes, it was nice for a Masters (not called Vets over here in the US) to win
Enough bragging, back to earth with a long run planned for the weekend and then more training
Ran the Mayors corporate challenge 5k in Alpharetta Georgia last night. It was about 33C so pretty hot but not unusual for here. Started the race and for the first downhill mile a guy ran away from me and a friend and I thought he would win it. About a mile in after a 5:27 mile, he visibly slowed and so my friend took the lead when the pace car was diverted off by the police and he basically ran into the back of it. The car got back on track and went up a steep hill and the pace slowed to a 6:08 given the incline and I took over at the 2 mile point. Still going uphill I managed to eek out a small lead and then it flattened off. Mile 3 came in another 6:08 and I followed the pace car through the line for 18:31 on a humid hot and hilly course.
Never led a race before or won, so it was a fantastic experience and now really looking forward to the half I have planned in December which is flat and cooler.
Afterwards, wen to the local food trucks and had a well deserved beer. My friend came 2nd which was nice and whilst it was not a top quality race in terms of athletes, it was nice for a Masters (not called Vets over here in the US) to win
Enough bragging, back to earth with a long run planned for the weekend and then more training
Rich_W said:
IME (and I should stress I'm no expert on physiology. Just me when I've had various aches) muscle pain is normally a result of another muscle being weaker. So when I had runners knee on my left knee a good few years back. It was because my left outer quad muscle (cant remember what it was called)was weak so it was "pulling" my knee cap (slightly) out of line . Does that make sense?
So although the pain was in the knee itself, once I'd strengthened that quad up specifically for a week or 2 (found a vid on YouTube) the pain went away. And because that muscle is now working a bit better I gather it's less likely to happen again (fwiw anyway)
I thought i'd add a bit of cross training to try and reduce the injury risk of just running , thought rowing would be good as it's not weight bearing but my knee didn't like the bit where it's fully bent before straightening it.
When you built up your quad did you just do a load of squats and lunges ?
I read cycling is a good cross training because it mostly uses your quad .
Edited by egor110 on Friday 26th August 17:24
The jiffle king said:
1st ever race win
Ran the Mayors corporate challenge 5k in Alpharetta Georgia last night. It was about 33C so pretty hot but not unusual for here. Started the race and for the first downhill mile a guy ran away from me and a friend and I thought he would win it. About a mile in after a 5:27 mile, he visibly slowed and so my friend took the lead when the pace car was diverted off by the police and he basically ran into the back of it. The car got back on track and went up a steep hill and the pace slowed to a 6:08 given the incline and I took over at the 2 mile point. Still going uphill I managed to eek out a small lead and then it flattened off. Mile 3 came in another 6:08 and I followed the pace car through the line for 18:31 on a humid hot and hilly course.
Never led a race before or won, so it was a fantastic experience and now really looking forward to the half I have planned in December which is flat and cooler.
Afterwards, wen to the local food trucks and had a well deserved beer. My friend came 2nd which was nice and whilst it was not a top quality race in terms of athletes, it was nice for a Masters (not called Vets over here in the US) to win
Enough bragging, back to earth with a long run planned for the weekend and then more training
Congrats! You've been having a storming time of late!Ran the Mayors corporate challenge 5k in Alpharetta Georgia last night. It was about 33C so pretty hot but not unusual for here. Started the race and for the first downhill mile a guy ran away from me and a friend and I thought he would win it. About a mile in after a 5:27 mile, he visibly slowed and so my friend took the lead when the pace car was diverted off by the police and he basically ran into the back of it. The car got back on track and went up a steep hill and the pace slowed to a 6:08 given the incline and I took over at the 2 mile point. Still going uphill I managed to eek out a small lead and then it flattened off. Mile 3 came in another 6:08 and I followed the pace car through the line for 18:31 on a humid hot and hilly course.
Never led a race before or won, so it was a fantastic experience and now really looking forward to the half I have planned in December which is flat and cooler.
Afterwards, wen to the local food trucks and had a well deserved beer. My friend came 2nd which was nice and whilst it was not a top quality race in terms of athletes, it was nice for a Masters (not called Vets over here in the US) to win
Enough bragging, back to earth with a long run planned for the weekend and then more training
The jiffle king said:
1st ever race win
Ran the Mayors corporate challenge 5k in Alpharetta Georgia last night. It was about 33C so pretty hot but not unusual for here. Started the race and for the first downhill mile a guy ran away from me and a friend and I thought he would win it. About a mile in after a 5:27 mile, he visibly slowed and so my friend took the lead when the pace car was diverted off by the police and he basically ran into the back of it. The car got back on track and went up a steep hill and the pace slowed to a 6:08 given the incline and I took over at the 2 mile point. Still going uphill I managed to eek out a small lead and then it flattened off. Mile 3 came in another 6:08 and I followed the pace car through the line for 18:31 on a humid hot and hilly course.
Never led a race before or won, so it was a fantastic experience and now really looking forward to the half I have planned in December which is flat and cooler.
Afterwards, wen to the local food trucks and had a well deserved beer. My friend came 2nd which was nice and whilst it was not a top quality race in terms of athletes, it was nice for a Masters (not called Vets over here in the US) to win
Enough bragging, back to earth with a long run planned for the weekend and then more training
Well done, great achievement.Ran the Mayors corporate challenge 5k in Alpharetta Georgia last night. It was about 33C so pretty hot but not unusual for here. Started the race and for the first downhill mile a guy ran away from me and a friend and I thought he would win it. About a mile in after a 5:27 mile, he visibly slowed and so my friend took the lead when the pace car was diverted off by the police and he basically ran into the back of it. The car got back on track and went up a steep hill and the pace slowed to a 6:08 given the incline and I took over at the 2 mile point. Still going uphill I managed to eek out a small lead and then it flattened off. Mile 3 came in another 6:08 and I followed the pace car through the line for 18:31 on a humid hot and hilly course.
Never led a race before or won, so it was a fantastic experience and now really looking forward to the half I have planned in December which is flat and cooler.
Afterwards, wen to the local food trucks and had a well deserved beer. My friend came 2nd which was nice and whilst it was not a top quality race in terms of athletes, it was nice for a Masters (not called Vets over here in the US) to win
Enough bragging, back to earth with a long run planned for the weekend and then more training
KTF said:
What's the bling like at the US events?
I'll answer more broadlySpain (3.5 years living there)
Bling - never won one, but modest to be honest
Goodies - great, e.g. got a full bagette, cup of hot chocolate, bag, t-shirt and various other bits of tat
Cost to enter - Cheap as chips... normally 10euro as the local governments encourage running and pay to close the roads and sponsor many events
Competition - Pretty good at the front with multiple 15 min 5k runners and the top 100 would be under 20 minutes for sure, but a wide range of runners but few walkers
USA - Georgia (1.5 years living there)
Bling - usually way over the top, but only a personalized medal last night. I was 3rd in my age group on Saturday and won a patch with this on from Atlanta Track club
Goodies - technical t-shirt, bag, cups usually
Cost to enter - $25 for a 5k, $30-40 for a 10k and $50+ for a half, but mainly run by profit making organisations or charities to raise funds
Competition - Depends, but in a 5k only the top 20 would be under 20 minutes for a 5k and last night there were 4 of us. Last Saturday there were about 150 under 20 minutes I think. There are then the usual spread up to 40 minutes, but a bundle of people even in serious races who walk the whole thing. (Think 15-20% of the field)
If you want a good place, come and run in a US local 5k event. I've seen many won in 22-23 minutes and top 10 are 26 mins with fields of 3-400. Given the relative fitness and size of people I'm not that surprised.
Age category awards... This is amazing as you get the top 3 in a race (Male/Female) then the top 3 masters (M/F) then by each 10 or even 5 year age category from 10 to 90 a top 3 who all get an award... The ceremonies take forever!
In the US people do sport at kids and up to college age. It then goes to watching sport and watching kids do sport or going to a gym... (I'm being very generic) My run group has about 50 people of whom 35 go every week in a town of 50k. There are other run groups but they are smaller
Sorry for the long answer, but took the chance to explain
Nice 14 miles today, I'm learning to hate the set of stairs in the middle (both ways!) of my long run route, but it was a lovely evening and I took it fairly gently pace wise.
Congrats TJK! I've won a couple of races beforehand and I've found that running for the win is a totally different experience to anything else.
Congrats TJK! I've won a couple of races beforehand and I've found that running for the win is a totally different experience to anything else.
Any cyclists/triathletes on here able to offer a bit of advice?
Injury has meant that I can't run for at least the next month. I've been advised that cycling however is fair game, I can do as much as I want.
My current running routine consists of 2-3 sessions a week consisting of a long run, hill reps and fartlek - with more emphasis on hills than speed (but always some speed work.)
How would I structure a cycling routine that will keep me in good shape so that I can pick up the running where I left off? I'm finding hard to translate it all across in my head - when I've been cycling before it's always been long aerobic workouts but no speed work, hill work (specifically) or any LT work.
Injury has meant that I can't run for at least the next month. I've been advised that cycling however is fair game, I can do as much as I want.
My current running routine consists of 2-3 sessions a week consisting of a long run, hill reps and fartlek - with more emphasis on hills than speed (but always some speed work.)
How would I structure a cycling routine that will keep me in good shape so that I can pick up the running where I left off? I'm finding hard to translate it all across in my head - when I've been cycling before it's always been long aerobic workouts but no speed work, hill work (specifically) or any LT work.
The jiffle king said:
...
Competition - Depends, but in a 5k only the top 20 would be under 20 minutes for a 5k and last night there were 4 of us. Last Saturday there were about 150 under 20 minutes I think. There are then the usual spread up to 40 minutes, but a bundle of people even in serious races who walk the whole thing. (Think 15-20% of the field)
If you want a good place, come and run in a US local 5k event. I've seen many won in 22-23 minutes and top 10 are 26 mins with fields of 3-400. Given the relative fitness and size of people I'm not that surprised.
Age category awards... This is amazing as you get the top 3 in a race (Male/Female) then the top 3 masters (M/F) then by each 10 or even 5 year age category from 10 to 90 a top 3 who all get an award... The ceremonies take forever!
In the US people do sport at kids and up to college age. It then goes to watching sport and watching kids do sport or going to a gym... (I'm being very generic) My run group has about 50 people of whom 35 go every week in a town of 50k. There are other run groups but they are smaller
Sorry for the long answer, but took the chance to explain
Slight OTCompetition - Depends, but in a 5k only the top 20 would be under 20 minutes for a 5k and last night there were 4 of us. Last Saturday there were about 150 under 20 minutes I think. There are then the usual spread up to 40 minutes, but a bundle of people even in serious races who walk the whole thing. (Think 15-20% of the field)
If you want a good place, come and run in a US local 5k event. I've seen many won in 22-23 minutes and top 10 are 26 mins with fields of 3-400. Given the relative fitness and size of people I'm not that surprised.
Age category awards... This is amazing as you get the top 3 in a race (Male/Female) then the top 3 masters (M/F) then by each 10 or even 5 year age category from 10 to 90 a top 3 who all get an award... The ceremonies take forever!
In the US people do sport at kids and up to college age. It then goes to watching sport and watching kids do sport or going to a gym... (I'm being very generic) My run group has about 50 people of whom 35 go every week in a town of 50k. There are other run groups but they are smaller
Sorry for the long answer, but took the chance to explain
In 2012 someone I knew (Only enough to say Hi to really) went and did the New York Ironman Triathlon. He qualified for Kona, Hawaii (World Champs) from an "ok" performance. Said exactly the same as you. That whilst there are some fast people at events. It's no where near the depth you get in Europe. Said if you ever want to feel like superman go and race fat Americans
egor110 said:
When you built up your quad did you just do a load of squats and lunges ?
Err No. I did a google and I found that the muscle was called "vastus medialis" so types that into YouTube and it was kind of twist your leg over anti clockwise to isolate that muscle and not the others. Then raise the foot up and down. Seemed to work. 
Edited by Rich_W on Saturday 27th August 18:45
The jiffle king said:
KTF said:
What's the bling like at the US events?
I'll answer more broadlySpain (3.5 years living there)
Bling - never won one, but modest to be honest
Goodies - great, e.g. got a full bagette, cup of hot chocolate, bag, t-shirt and various other bits of tat
Cost to enter - Cheap as chips... normally 10euro as the local governments encourage running and pay to close the roads and sponsor many events
Competition - Pretty good at the front with multiple 15 min 5k runners and the top 100 would be under 20 minutes for sure, but a wide range of runners but few walkers
USA - Georgia (1.5 years living there)
Bling - usually way over the top, but only a personalized medal last night. I was 3rd in my age group on Saturday and won a patch with this on from Atlanta Track club
Goodies - technical t-shirt, bag, cups usually
Cost to enter - $25 for a 5k, $30-40 for a 10k and $50+ for a half, but mainly run by profit making organisations or charities to raise funds
Competition - Depends, but in a 5k only the top 20 would be under 20 minutes for a 5k and last night there were 4 of us. Last Saturday there were about 150 under 20 minutes I think. There are then the usual spread up to 40 minutes, but a bundle of people even in serious races who walk the whole thing. (Think 15-20% of the field)
If you want a good place, come and run in a US local 5k event. I've seen many won in 22-23 minutes and top 10 are 26 mins with fields of 3-400. Given the relative fitness and size of people I'm not that surprised.
Age category awards... This is amazing as you get the top 3 in a race (Male/Female) then the top 3 masters (M/F) then by each 10 or even 5 year age category from 10 to 90 a top 3 who all get an award... The ceremonies take forever!
In the US people do sport at kids and up to college age. It then goes to watching sport and watching kids do sport or going to a gym... (I'm being very generic) My run group has about 50 people of whom 35 go every week in a town of 50k. There are other run groups but they are smaller
Sorry for the long answer, but took the chance to explain
When I go on holiday I do look for local events but it's normally the height of summer and 30+ so the natives wisely don't schedule any
tenohfive said:
Any cyclists/triathletes on here able to offer a bit of advice?
Injury has meant that I can't run for at least the next month. I've been advised that cycling however is fair game, I can do as much as I want.
My current running routine consists of 2-3 sessions a week consisting of a long run, hill reps and fartlek - with more emphasis on hills than speed (but always some speed work.)
How would I structure a cycling routine that will keep me in good shape so that I can pick up the running where I left off? I'm finding hard to translate it all across in my head - when I've been cycling before it's always been long aerobic workouts but no speed work, hill work (specifically) or any LT work.
Surely you'd just find a big hill and do hill repeats another good power workout is get the bike in a gear that's hard to pedal pretty much come to a stop then accelerate as quick as you can without changing down gear.Injury has meant that I can't run for at least the next month. I've been advised that cycling however is fair game, I can do as much as I want.
My current running routine consists of 2-3 sessions a week consisting of a long run, hill reps and fartlek - with more emphasis on hills than speed (but always some speed work.)
How would I structure a cycling routine that will keep me in good shape so that I can pick up the running where I left off? I'm finding hard to translate it all across in my head - when I've been cycling before it's always been long aerobic workouts but no speed work, hill work (specifically) or any LT work.
Try mountain biking also to switch things up , much like off road running the terrain is constantly changing and you'll get a really good work out.
Are you able to get to the gym and use the cross trainer or rowing machine?
First fell/trail race ever today for me.
A short 2 lapper totalling about 5 miles which was ok as an introduction.
But I don't think I'm any good at them! It was very noticeable that as soon as the terrain got rough underfoot the guys who were more experienced flew away from me, and as soon as I hit good footing again I was away and making up lots of time.
Also it probably didn't help that I did 14 miles on Friday night, but hey ho!
Hoping to get back onto the roads again, I'm much happier there.
A short 2 lapper totalling about 5 miles which was ok as an introduction.
But I don't think I'm any good at them! It was very noticeable that as soon as the terrain got rough underfoot the guys who were more experienced flew away from me, and as soon as I hit good footing again I was away and making up lots of time.
Also it probably didn't help that I did 14 miles on Friday night, but hey ho!
Hoping to get back onto the roads again, I'm much happier there.
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