SubJeff on 10/8/2009 at 17:54
Quote Posted by David
Nothing's 'needed' to tip me over the edge, just deciding whether I
really want to put myself through the hell that comes across in the video, and whether I'd be able to complete it or not. I think I would, but I if I do it I'd want to finish it, not collapse in a heap half-way round.
I hear you. I'm going to have to really train for this because at the moment I'm in the worst possible shape. That's partly why I'm doing it though.
Those seem like good tips raph, thanks.
heywood on 10/8/2009 at 19:41
fonz - The big marathons have to limit entries to keep it logistically reasonable. If everybody who wanted to run could get in, these races would see up to 100k entrants.
If you're going to do a marathon, the best advice I can give is to join a running club. You'll get advice, training partners, camaraderie, and support. With some larger clubs, you'll also be able to get real coaching. My wife was a pretty serious runner and did about a dozen marathons including a few of the biggies before switching to triathlons. I saw her and her club members try all kinds of different training strategies and they all responded differently. So I think you really have to get to know your body and how it responds to different training regimens, rather than blindly following a specific recipe. Though some generally applicable advice is to build aerobic fitness first and endurance later. Also, pay close attention to nutrition & hydration before and during the race, it's the key to avoid hitting the wall.
Faf - Your commute includes a lot of city streets or stop lights, right? I dunno what shape you're in, but if you ride to work regularly, I'll bet you could ride 26 miles in 2 hours on your mtn bike. 3 hours is pretty slow, especially for a road bike. I do either a 25 mile loop or 28 mile loop on my road bike once a week or so and it usually takes 1:15 to 1:30 with stops. The average pace is typically either 18-20 or 20-22 mph depending on who shows up to ride. I accidentally showed up with my mtn bike once (forgot which was in my car) and hung on to a couple of other riders averaging 18, but that was HARD. I am in moderately decent shape, but not a serious cyclist. As Starrfall alluded to, domestic pro and Cat 1 racers can average 25ish for an hour on a road bike or close to 30 on a time trial bike or in a large pack. Top international racers even more.
And the Tough Guy run sounds pretty cool... in the summer. I don't know about swimming and wading though muddy freezing water in the middle of winter though.
Macha on 14/8/2009 at 22:29
Quote Posted by raph
Any candidate for a TTLG team?
Count me in, I had planned to do a marathon sometime.
Starrfall on 14/8/2009 at 22:59
I was reading about the (
http://www.badwater.com/) Badwater Ultramarathon the other day and it sounds like the worst thing ever. 135 miles in the BLISTERING heat from Death Valley to Mt. Whitney for almost 4000m of cumulative vertical gain.
They don't even go straight across death valley they spend like a third of the course running around IN it. (
http://www.badwater.com/route/pages/20bwprofile.html) Here's the route profile, it's ridiculous, the last 12 miles is a 4000+ foot gain in altitude.
SubJeff on 14/8/2009 at 23:11
Quote Posted by heywood
And the Tough Guy run sounds pretty cool... in the summer. I don't know about swimming and wading though muddy freezing water in the middle of winter though.
That's half the point though.
Anyway, in Summer its Nettle Warrior I think and not only do you have to face the nettles but people get dehydrated even though the water courses are longer.
Quote Posted by Macha
Count me in, I had planned to do a marathon sometime.
Get training, get signed up and we'll see you there. No response from fonz or David yet...
Starr that ultramarathon (ultra!) looks insanse. Tough guy is nothing compared to real insanity like this.
heywood on 15/8/2009 at 02:43
One of my ex's ultra-marathoner friends did the Badwater. Another did the Boston Marathon this year - except he started at the end, ran the course in reverse before the race started, ran the race, and then ran back. Another one of her friends does a race every year where they run a short 2 or 3 mile loop around a pond... (
http://home.att.net/~lakerun/)
for 24 hours. And a whole gang of guys from her club ran across the country a couple years ago. This all may sound pretty impressive, but believe me ultra-marathoners are not just overachievers. Most are genuinely ill.
There is a running
cult club called Divine Madness:
(
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/features/siadventure/30/divine_madness/) http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/features/siadventure/30/divine_madness/
(
http://www.newsweek.com/id/96258) http://www.newsweek.com/id/96258
(
http://www.rickross.com/reference/divine_madness/divine_madness5.html) http://www.rickross.com/reference/divine_madness/divine_madness5.html
That's the lunatic fringe of the sport for sure. But even the 'mainstream' ultra-marathoners are people that you can tell are not quite right within 5 minutes of meeting them.
rachel on 16/8/2009 at 17:38
I was in Badwater for less than 30 minutes and all I wanted was to get the hell out of there, the heat is unbearable. And these guys are running in there??
Holy shit. :sweat:
Starrfall on 16/8/2009 at 18:04
Yeah, when it starts hitting about 115 here even walking for two minutes to get the mail is like a herculean feat of helldeath so those guys are nuts. I mean this is one of the hottest places on the entire surface of the planet.
heywood on 17/8/2009 at 00:17
From what I heard, which is second hand, the top finishers run most of it, except speedwalking the three major climbs. The mere mortals walk about as much as they run, but since the valley is flat and comes in the first half of the race, you run it. To train for the heat, people spend lots of time in a sauna (the dry kind) and run in the summer wearing the hottest clothes they can (ski clothes, plastic jackets) and so on. Some even put treadmills and stationary bikes in saunas. I think you have to be kind of insane & definitely OC to do this, not to mention having an amazing tolerant body and an uncommonly supportive family.
Starr - Yikes. I didn't realize it gets to 115 in the central valley. Around here, I usually stay off my bike when it's over 90. :sweat:
