Comments for blog.andyobrien.com

Comment on Marine Corps Marathon - 3:20:12 by Rob Rice

Rob Rice — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 17:08:04 +0000

Great race report. Sorry about the missed BQ, but coming from a guy who will only BQ if I live to be 90, I was very impressed with the race and the time. The Brook’s VIP porta potty report was hilarious. Keep on posting.
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Comment on Marine Corps Marathon - 3:20:12 by andy

andy — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 18:52:43 +0000

@Peter Larson
Peter - Thanks. I’m definitely not going to skip any water stations at a marathon anymore, even if it’s just for small sips of water/electrolyte drink. My next fueling strategy will make this one look laughable.

Comment on Marine Corps Marathon - 3:20:12 by andy

andy — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 18:50:27 +0000

@Thomas
Thomas - I just would like to finish a marathon strong. I was in a bad, ugly state at the end of this one. If you haven’t already seen it, take a look at my duck-walk bonk in the MCM finish videos at the 3:20:31 mark: http://bit.ly/1ZYyeA

Very embarrassing!

Comment on Marine Corps Marathon - 3:20:12 by andy

andy — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 18:45:59 +0000

@thepixelsuite
Todd - Thanks. Glad you liked the detail. About the GU, I can only get them down with fluid, unfortunately. And, I don’t carry fluids when I run the marathon. So, I have to plan them around certain water stations (mileage-based). Yeah, time-based GU intake would be nice, if only I could not gag on them without water.

But, I need more than in-race GUs for my next race. I need some more calories before the gun goes off.

Comment on Marine Corps Marathon - 3:20:12 by Peter Larson

Peter Larson — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 12:59:57 +0000

Andy - Great report, and very detailed. Having run two marathons in the past 4 weeks, I can tell you that a big difference between the two for me was hydration. Although my time in Manchester was slower than Hartford by 3 minutes, it was a much tougher course, and I enjoyed the race a lot more. I had a major mental breakdown in Hartford, which never really happened in Manchester, and I think hydration played a big role in that. I took fluids at every water stop in Manchester, and at mile 20 took in about 16oz of water which was handed to me by a student of mine as I passed through my campus. Although my legs gave out at mile 23.5 or so, I attribute that more to fatigue than fueling/hydration.

You should still be very proud of how you did - I’d kill for a 3:20. Marathons are always a learning experience, and sounds like you have plenty of new knowledge to apply to the next one!

Comment on Marine Corps Marathon - 3:20:12 by Thomas

Thomas — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:23:20 +0000

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. I would love to run a 3:20 marathon. Great effort Andy!

Comment on Marine Corps Marathon - 3:20:12 by thepixelsuite

thepixelsuite — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:49:37 +0000

What a terrific race report. So much great information and evocative detail, I almost felt like I was right there with you. No BQ this time perhaps, but you know you ran a terrific race at a pace a lot of folks would kill for, and I know you’ll be back out there once your foot heels up.

One GU strategy that’s worked for me is to take them in at certain times, not at certain mileage points. I tend to slow down a little the longer I run, so, if I waited to GU up at a mileage point, those fuel stops may stretch out farther and farther over time.

Comment on Crystal City Twilighter 5K - 19:12 by blog.andyobrien.com » Paul Thurston Burke Lake 4.5 Miler - 29:15

blog.andyobrien.com » Paul Thurston Burke Lake 4.5 Miler - 29:15 — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 16:06:34 +0000

[...] sight to cover the 2:22 spread. I went out much easier than the way I went out in my previous Crystal City Twiligher 5K race. This time my first mile was a friendlier 5:59, according to my Garmin. And, Matt took it easy the [...]

Comment on Crystal City Twilighter 5K Flying Home Stretch by Tim Hibbard

Tim Hibbard — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 20:02:56 +0000

Whoa! Crazy eyes

Comment on Crystal City Twilighter 5K - 19:12 by andy

andy — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 12:17:13 +0000

@Daniel Norton - Thanks. Yeah, I had no idea how to run this race. All my training and recent races were focused on marathons. And, I’ve been working on doing progressive split runs in my workouts. I guess you just have to go all-out, pretty much, when you run these 5Ks.