Discussion: Valley Forge

I hope so. I am pretty sure I will regret trying it but expect I will regret missing it more. Besides, I have a whole month to train, I have run, died in, and finished marathons with a lot less training.

I am quite sure I will set a personal worst for a marathon, though the current PW is for marathons with no orienteering. Currently in first (last?) place is Pikes Peak, about 5:05, with Mt. Greylock a close second in 5:02. Both provided the key ingredients -- serious suffering and good memories.

Personal worst would have to be the two marathons I dropped out of. In both cases I was trying to make Boston qualifying time (I think it was 2:50 or 3:00 for me at the time) without training properly. Do I ever train properly? Ran on pace for 3/4 of the race and then fell apart. Serious suffering but no good memories. Don't think I have ever gone over 4 hours in one I ran and completed, but I have stayed away from the trail ones and things like Pikes Peak. Hiking that was hard enough. Have gone over 5 hours in those that I race walked and the one at the end of an Ironman length triathlon.
Based on my Stumble time and the DVOA LongO, I can expect to be much worse at Valley Forge.

Can I get a 5 AM start time? I'll turn on the controls. :)

Don't think I have ever gone over 4 hours in one I ran and completed

I've never gone under 4 hours. But I've also never run one on roads and my idea of marathon training is to wake up on the first Sunday in June and think to myself - 'me thinks I'll go over and run Nipmuck today'. Sometimes I finish, sometimes I don't but I've always done at least 20-21 miles or so and the times I've dropped its been heat issues.

Also did Greylock in around 6 hours but made the mistake of trying to pace myself against this older dude who couldn't have weighed much more than a G. He burned me on the first ascent of the mountain and that was all she wrote....

I'll probably take a 7am start but only because I'm normally a morning person anyway so might as well get started on it. Plus I'll get to see the faster folk somewhere other than just leaving the start..

Plus I'll get to see the faster folk somewhere other than just leaving the start..

If you've trained well, you may get to see them a second time -- when you go by them someplace in the last few miles. :-)

Valerie, if you start at 5 am I'll start with you!!!
Peter, nice to see you're going to do this.
I think Cristina might too!

If you've trained well, you may get to see them a second time -- when you go by them someplace in the last few miles.

You forget who you're talking to here - its going to be about not going out too fast in the first half... But being the passer, rather than the passee in the last few miles would be a pleasant change of pace :-)

The first time I completed a marathon, well, I was training for a marathon but I got talked into running a 50-miler instead. On about 3 days notice. So I read what little I could find about how to make it through a 50 and the advice I took with me was that walking breaks were OK, and the sooner you started them, the better.

The course was a short out-and-back, then 12 times around a 4-mile loop, a couple of very small hills on each loop. So I walked those 24 hills. On the first one, as I slowed to a walk about 3 miles into the race, a guy going by asked if I was OK and gave me a look like he figured I wasn't long for this world if I was walking already.

End result was I was moving just as well at the end, 6:59, 8:15 pace.

Walking early and often might be a good plan at Valley Forge.

Somebody see if you can twist my other arm, please.

I think the beds are spoken for, but I have floor space if you're interested.

a guy going by asked if I was OK

Did you beat that guy?

OK. Who all is going to this thing? I dismissed it as a preposterous idea when I first saw it, but if all my associates are going to show up, I don't want to be left out of the trash talking.

Of course its a preposterous idea - which of course is why I'm planning on it... That and I truly enjoyed the ValleyGoat a few years back and have been looking for an excuse to return to that area.

Did you beat that guy?

No idea, but I'm pretty sure I was in the top six or eight of a field of about 25. And I know I enjoyed it more, really looked forward to the walking breaks.

I'm in. It's the last race of the year, so might as well trash myself and then get fat over the holidays.

Well, I signed up, although reading the details raises one concern for those of us who like to pace ourselves evenly -- total time limit is 7 hours (unless you start early) but the cut-off time at halfway is just 3 hours. Might have to not walk too often.

The good part of all this is it is motivation for some longer runs in the next 4 weeks, which, combined with my 5K training, should set me up for a fine finishing kick. A day for some scalps?

Dream on....

"Finishing kick. "Scalps". Someone needs an orchiectomy.

Ooh, now that's obscure. But I know the word because my brother had one. (The remaining one is apparently sufficient, but then, maybe he started with four.)

And your bro doesn't mind you talking about his orchiectomy? I guess you're not scaring away any potential mates on AP.

He's happily married, no worries there.

I'm out doing a good workout and once again my log has gone to hell....

You make it sound like it's not your fault.

Well, it's not! The finger is clearly pointing at a certain professor of philosophy. Though he has expanded my vocabulary.

Too much chocolate torte and too little remedial AP log training...tsk, tsk!

If you bring your own headlamp, and really want to start in the dark, I guess you could do the 5am start thing. Especially if Valerie sets up the start punch before she starts, and maybe leaves it locked in a car until the 7am start crew gets there at ~6:30am?

I'm guessing we'll need to leave a box at the 1/4th aid station even before we staff it for these early volunteers.

And, new, just today, Janet Porter volunteered to set up her Jr. Team fund raising food setup at the start/midpoint/finish area, so you can have lunch/dinner at the end (or in the middle) of your run! I'm thinking it would be nice if it were an all-you-want-to-eat setup but as that's not in the budget, I'm soliciting for that possibility: if you're interested in funding this on behalf of the US Jr. Team, so we don't all have to fuss with money at the event, let me know what you're willing to contribute and I'll negotiate with Janet.

Also glad to see Sandy's offering floor & bed space too - between us we'll have plenty of space. And you're welcome to stay Friday and Saturday nights (at least at our place - I'm guessing Sandy's too but haven't spoken to her) - just in case you're tired after the run...

BTW, I'm thinking the winning time will be roughly 4 hours, so you can make your own estimates based on that... and decide if you need the 5 or 7am start (vs 9 am...) I'll have to rethink cutoff times too - I don't want to cut-off anyone who's got a decent chance of finish on time, but I really don't want to search for people in the cold/dark of Saturday evening - after having run the marathon myself.