Running • Page 106

I would also add that from my reading and talking to people, the Nike PEBA (I think is the name) foam in their shoes seems like a potential differentiator. There are other super shoes of course, but other than maybe the Adidas EVO, the specific foam Nike is using just seems ahead of the pack. I know some runners that were in the Hyperion and Metaspeed and all of them are now in either the vapor or the alpha.

 

Went for it and ordered a pair of Endorphin Pro 4s. Irrationally excited for them to come in

 

I am curious if people who normally wear a stability shoe have issues going to a super shoe. At least the feel of the Vaporfly, I would find it to be a hard/injury waiting to happen adjustment.

 

I was on the fence for a while. My wife was an early adopter with the alphas and was telling me to take the plunge. I just didn't think I was a good enough runner for these kind of shoes. I thought they were more for the pros. Just kind of stubborn from how I came up in running. But given where my marathon goals are and where I am at as a runner, combined with a little better science out there, I think it is silly for me to not try them at least. Long story short, I hope you enjoy yours and get out of them what you are hoping for!

 

Thanks! I have been on the fence for a while, partially for similar reasons to what you said about transitioning from a different type of shoe. I do all my daily runs in Saucony Kinvara 12s, which are my favorite shoes I’ve ever owned but are low-stack low-drop trainers. Running in a maximalist plated shoe, which I’ve never really tried before, feels like it could go either way for me. Hoping I end up enjoying it for racing as much as others have.

 

Yeah, I have generally been a less is more running shoe person as well. I had the Kinvara 4's and the Adizero Boston back in the day. Then I went back to the Pegasus and then the NB Foam Zante for a few years, before going back to the Pegasus yet again. After recovering from a stress fracture from overuse in the pandemic, I did some training in the Nike Invincible and that was the first step into more shoe for me. I have been in the Pegasus again for two years now. My plan is to mostly run and train in the hard shoes and then beyond making sure I like the fit of my super shoes in a hard training run, keep them for racing.

 

Getting old sucks. I feel like I have to start incorporating A LOT more warm up and recovery time to avoid injuries/pain. I’m currently dealing with heel, hip/pelvis, calf and back issues and I kind of feel like whichever one was first has kind of a ripple effect in causing the others or at least making them more noticeable. Some of them, like my heel, I don’t even feel or notice during my runs but notice the rest of the time.

 

Time to find a good massage/physical therapist, haha. I basically can’t go without a massage every 3-4 weeks and keep my activity level up. I’d rather spend the money on preventive and stress relief than treat an injury at this point.

The PT I found a couple years back for an injury has ended up a pretty good friend, too. We ran my last marathon together.

 

Back in the double digits for a long run and near 30 in the weekly mileage for the first time since the marathon. We are so back, etc etc

 

I did learn that my PR in each of the four main race distances (5K, 10K, 13.1, 26.2) are well above average recently. Doesn’t always feel that way when a lot of people in your life are throwing up monster times. But it was something I was pretty proud of to discover. Worked hard.

 

Battled 97 percent humidity and some residual Boston fatigue for a 2:40 marathon yesterday. Not my best, and I didn’t expect it to be, given the 40-day gap between races. But it was so great to get back out there and just make a point of enjoying the experience, after a pretty grueling day in Boston.

 

Running my first full next Sunday and trying to decide if it's better to shoot for a time I know I should be able to hit, or aim for what the pace calculators say I should theoretically be capable of running, which is 10 minutes faster. Leaning toward the less risky option, because I think if I go out too hard and add 25 minutes by flaming out before the last 10K I will be more frustrated with myself than if I'd just aimed for a slightly slower time to begin with. Definitely curious about others' approaches to time goals

 

Since it’s your first one (congrats!) I’d say a more conservative approach is probably good. There is nothing bad, ever, about going out a little slow. The great thing about a marathon, in that regard, is it’s so long that you can really adjust and find your pace throughout without a conservative start torpedoing your goals. Whereas, in a 5K, it’s hard to make up for a slower-than-intended first mile. So I’d say roll with your conservative pace for the first half and then see if you can find a higher gear on the second.

 

Hold your conservative pace for 20 miles and then see what you’ve got left in the tank. The first one is all about actually just finishing, haha. Get across the line however you need to and celebrate it.

 

Follow up, I went into my last full with three goals:

a) 3:45
b) sub-4
c) 4:15

I knew I had 4:15 in the bag no matter what with how my training had gone. Sub-4 was gonna be work, but barring a bad race day experience, pretty guaranteed. A was my push goal. At the halfway mark I was 3:49 pace. At 19 miles, I was at 3:50 flat pace and then started cramping at 22. Ended up 3:58:30.

Definitely a “trust your training” and “listen to your body” combo.

 

congrats!

Craig and Garrett give great advice - I would only add that depending how many people are running the marathon you’re running, you may be in a bit of a log jam for the first half mile to 2-3 miles so you may not be at the pace you want and/or feel like your not quite comfortable in your strides and/or using energy horizontally to navigate around people, etc. but don’t worry about this. You can burn out way too quickly, or you can spelt make that time up later in the course, but your energy is gonna constantly go DOWN. You won’t gain any back by flying out of the gate.

I’d say go with the conservative approach until about mile 20-21 or maybe sprinkle in a bit of a faster pace for 10-20 seconds depending on how you’re feeling starting around mile 16-17. Not sure what your longest run during training was (I assume between 18-20 miles) and you may think you’ll get a jolt of energy around mile 21-22 but more than likely not lol but if you do have any reserves left and depending on what the terrain and hill situation is, use what you can in the closing miles.

 

1:51

Not my worst time but easily my worst training leading up to the race. Never been so sore after a half marathon

 

Thank you all for the advice!! Conservative pacing it is. My longest training runs were 20 miles and I felt pretty good at the end each time so barring something unexpected on race day I think I feel prepared in terms of purely covering the distance. We’ll see though, fingers crossed that it doesn’t end up being 80°F or something.

 

Marathon day in Lake Placid. Got pulled along by the half marathoners for the first few miles and my entire plan for the race went out the window. Split a PR half and just tried to hang on. Pace slipped later in the race but not nearly as bad as I was worried it would, was fighting calf cramps from cold rain more so than fatigue. Finished 3:13 which was faster than my stretch goal (3:20). Overall really thrilled with how it went, learned a lot (especially with respect to gels) and looking forward to doing it again on a flat course sometime in the fall or spring!

 

thats a killer pace. congrats!

 

Running faster than your stretch goal is incredible.

 

Congrats man, that's awesome! You've caught the marathon bug now.

 

@PolarBlare awesome job fighting through it! Seems like you found the right recipe for your training.

I didn’t run a full today, but I did do a half and finished at 1:22. Ready to roll that into marathon training.

 

Thanks everyone, and congrats on the race @Michael Schmidt, that’s fantastic!

 

Anyone else ever had a gel *taste* like a race?

Sense memory is wild. I used my orange clif bloks for the first time since the marathon this morning doing my speedwork and my first taste of that blok tasted exactly like mile 19 and I thought I was gonna throw up immediately. I felt the sun and exertion fatigue with every chew. It was brutal.