Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Seriously, you all are the best!!!

First off, thank you to everyone for their advice!!! I totally appreciate it! The trash bag idea makes sense, and I love JA Howie's idea about the knee socks (and what I love even more is that just from reading my blog, he knows that "cuteness" is still important)!!!
So, I've decided what I'm going to do for the 20 miler.......I'm doing it "by myself" on Friday. After much thought and talk with my TNT Mentor, she felt that the deal breaker for Saturday was that I'd have to be on a plane for about 4 hours afterward and that was not a good thing. So, luckily my Dad has totally stepped up and will be joining me at different points on the trail. He's even thinking about riding my bike for part of the time! Too bad you can't have horses on this trail, my Dad does Team Roping....maybe he could have ridden behind me and tried to lasso me!!! That would be freaking classic!!!!
I think what I'll do is start at 8am and have my Dad's first meeting time at 9:15-9:20, that should put me somewhere between 7-8 miles.
He can bike with me from 7-10 and then back for 10 -13 (I think he can handle 6 miles...it's pretty flat). Then he'll be back to where he parked the truck and can put the bike back in and drive down to 16, then hopefully finish the final 4 miles with me. From there we can throw the bike into my truck and drive back to his.
My Dad will be equipped with fluids and what not (knowing him he'll have some really great snacks too), so that should be pretty good.
Any thoughts on my plan?

Another Marathon Question: This question also relates to the weather. I haven't run much in the rain (been pretty lucky all summer), and when I have it's been "hot summer rain" so my gear needs didn't change. Any thoughts on the "cold fall rain" that we can get and what to wear? Obvious answer is some type of rain parka, I just imagine myself sweating to death. Or do you just run in it with nothing extra? Thanks in advance!!

12 comments:

Jess said...

Hahah man as soon as I finished getting through my Google Reader you had another post up. So two comments from me in a matter of minutes lol!

I think your plan for the 20 sounds great! As far as running the rain, the only thing I use is a hat because I can't stand the water dripping in my face.

Aron said...

great plan for the 20! you will be very happy you did it the day before when you get on the plane saturday. so nice of your dad too! i LOVE when chris rides the bike next to me... the miles fly by (and he carries my water belt!) so i hope its the same for you!

i haven't really had any experience with the rain yet... i would think a hat would be necessary and maybe bringing a change of socks incase they get soaked (not that you want to stop to change them but might be better than really bad blisters from the wet).

Melanie said...

Sounds like an awesome plan for your 20-miler.

As for rain, I don't really do too much differently for the rain. I find that if I wear more clothes, I'm just hotter, wetter and heavier.

I ran a whole race in pouring rain back in March (I seriously felt like I was running through the jungle on LOST) and I opted for my regular shorts, a long sleeve under armour shirt, and a hat. I made sure to get a wicking hat. I was of course drenched and needed to change as soon as the race was over, but having lightweight and good wicking materials helped me to keep from feeling like a wet mop the whole race.

Ali said...

Great questions!

If it is raining I would wear the same as I would if it wasn't, so shorts and short sleeves if warm, long sleeves long pants if cold. If it's the in between temp I would probably wear a short sleeve with a long sleeve over top that I can take off. The only thing I would definitely have on in the rain is a hat, rain in my eyes is annoying.

Once you are wet your wet. I'm not a fan of running in a rain parka, if it's not waterproof, you are going to get wet, if it is waterproof, you are going to sweat.

Oh and lots of bodyglide, I chaff like crazy in the rain.

ncrunner12 said...

Glad to hear you've got everything set for your 20 miler. You're going to be happy did it come marathon day.

Personally I have no desire to run in the rain. I know it's a good idea to train in all weather conditions but it doesn't sound like a good time to me.

My second half marathon was during a tropical storm with 30 mph winds steady rain and even hail at one point. After doing that I feel I can do anything. As for clothes I didn't change anything.

Running in the rain shouldn't be any different then training for a beautiful sunny day. I'd say I'd say train in a couple different outfits and find what works best for you. Good Luck

The Laminator said...

Your 20 miler sounds so doable when you break it down like that and you've got your dad as the fluid/gu manager.

Hmmm, as for running in the rain, it isn't fun, but sometimes it's a necessary evil. I'd wear some head protection (I've got my bandana) and water/sweat resistant clothes and socks.

Anonymous said...

How sweet of your dad! Let us know how it goes.

As for running in the rain. I wear a visor to help keep the rain out of my eyes. Clothes, I wear what I normally would.

:) said...

Run in the same thing in the rain, just make sure to use lots of bodyglide to prevent chafing... :)

jahowie said...

I'm glad that you liked my idea and thanks for the shout out. :-)

I like your plan for the long run. It's good to have support along the way and it's very cool that your Dad is going to be there for you.

I'm with everyone else here on the hat thing. I usually wear a hat when I run anyway, but it would really help if it was raining. Good luck!!

Progman2000 said...

Ditto what everyone else said about the rain:

- No on the parka
- Yes on the hat
- Big YES on the bodyglide (don't forget to do your feet)

Unknown said...

That is so cute that your dad will act as your 'coach'!

As for the rain...
Living in Portland I am just USED to it. I don't think I do anything different except if it is cold rain versus regular rain. Oh - except I wear a ball cap.

Good luck!!

Jason said...

Ha!!! When it rains, I just wear what I normally do. If you were a parka, you'll sweat yourself to death.

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