Triathlon/Marathon/Endurance Sports Thread

[mtwarden]

Heading out tomorrow for the annual Bob Marshall Wilderness Open. This year it's being held close to a month earlier (has always been Memorial Day weekend).

https://bedrockandparadox.com/bob-marshall-wilderness-open/

While snowpack is lower than normal, we did a little scouting and snowshoes won't be optional—we have three to four passes that will definitely require shoes.

Weather looks promising, but we had a BIG wind event and the blowdown is substantially worse than normal (and it's always bad in May before the trail crews get out).

 

[mtnbound]

Heading out tomorrow for the annual Bob Marshall Wilderness Open. This year it's being held close to a month earlier (has always been Memorial Day weekend).

https://bedrockandparadox.com/bob-marshall-wilderness-open/

While snowpack is lower than normal, we did a little scouting and snowshoes won't be optional—we have three to four passes that will definitely require shoes.

Weather looks promising, but we had a BIG wind event and the blowdown is substantially worse than normal (and it's always bad in May before the trail crews get out).

Good luck and be safe. I missed that this was going to be early than normal. Is there a specific site you use to stay up on this event?

 

[mtwarden]

Thanks!

Not really, pretty low key event. I’ll usually post up a trip report when I’m done. Other guys usually do as well, over on backpackinglight.com

 

[pattimusprime22]

Only 8 weeks to go until my marathon! Training has been a roller coaster for sure. I have almost always ran/jogged for fitness sometimes taking it more seriously than other times but really haven't built miles and went on long runs since I trained for my last marathon 14 years ago.

Learning that has occurred so far;I thought that with a baseline of running sometime 5-10 miles a week and sometimes not I would adapt pretty quickly to running a marathon training program, even at 43, that wasn't true. Shoes and their construction and design are SUPER important. I kept having odd calf pain on the medial anterior of my right calf. Couldn't figure it out. Didn't seem to be associated with stride. Put on my old beat up shoes and issue IMMEDIATELY resolved. Cost me a bunch of training miles that I converted to elliptical time. Turned out issue was drop. My new running shoes are zero drop my old ones are 6mm. I still want to transition to zero drop eventually but gonna stick with medium drop shoes until after this marathon.

It was SUPER discouraging to battle through pain and wonder if I could do this. Already booked lodging and told everyone I was gonna run a marathon, then not be able to complete a short 3 mile run without calf pain and go get on a elliptical for days at a time sucked beyond belief mentally. Last saturday ran 9 miles pain free, been cruising through 4 and 5 mile days this week and off today before 13 tomorrow. Cautiously optimistic.

The good news is that on shorter runs 10 min/mile used to feel easy zone two/three now 9 minutes per mile does. Did my first 8 miler at 12 min mile and did 9 miler last weekend at 10 still staying in upper zone 2 to middle of zone 3 by the end. Goal time for marathon is 4 hours (8:58/mile target 3:55 with 5 min buffer) so hoping to work those times down still but gonna concentrate on taking it easy and not injuring myself on long saturday runs and pushing the tempo a bit more on the weekday runs. I've got 8 weeks left hopefully I make a bunch of progress!

Glad you've been able to get back to training. It's important to know when you're hurt and you need to switch to crosstraining rather than keep beating yourself up with more running. With only 8 weeks to go, you def don't want to hurt yourself, so perhaps the best thing to do on those long runs is keep them easy and maybe throw some race pace in towards the middle and end to see how it feels on tired legs.

Also, try not to get hung up on a somewhat arbitrary goal of sub 4. It would not be a fun marathon to start at 9min/mile and then find out at mile 13 that you can't hold it. For me it leads to a more fun race to start at a pace that is definitely sustainable, and speed up as I go and feel good. Going faster by seconds/mile early can cost you minutes/mile later in long races if it's not something you can hold.

 

[CMF]

I’m in Alabama so not crazy elevation, Garmin watch said I finished with 6,676 feet of elevation gain.

Nice! What race is it?
Not many options down south for elevation gains.
Homochitto hammer does one some years in MS, but it's a 10- or 20-miler with 800/1600 el.

 

[Wiregrass Wilderness]

Was this a trail run? 6,676 sounds VERY hilly to me. Especially for Alabama. I am guessing the northern part.

It was, had a couple miles of dirt roads and then the rest of it was single track trails. It was at Lake Martin so kind of central Alabama.

Garmin could’ve been off some but it definitely had more elevation change than I expected. I just know some of the big out west trail races have a ton of elevation gain.

The website says it’s “3,000+ elevation gain per lap.” The 50k does 1.5 laps due to the layout. However, the half lap that you repeat is the most up and down of the race. Not sure how accurate the Garmin Fenix 6 is, but I would say it was definitely 5,500+ of elevation gain.

 

[Wiregrass Wilderness]

Nice! What race is it?
Not many options down south for elevation gains.
Homochitto hammer does one some years in MS, but it's a 10- or 20-miler with 800/1600 el.

It was the Lake Martin 50/50. It’s a 50k and 50 miler. I was very impressed with the race and layout. The trails were in great shape and the people putting it on did a great job. I plan to do it again next year. Maybe I’ll get a wild hair and try the 50 miler next year.

 

[BuckSmasher]

Glad you've been able to get back to training. It's important to know when you're hurt and you need to switch to crosstraining rather than keep beating yourself up with more running. With only 8 weeks to go, you def don't want to hurt yourself, so perhaps the best thing to do on those long runs is keep them easy and maybe throw some race pace in towards the middle and end to see how it feels on tired legs.

Also, try not to get hung up on a somewhat arbitrary goal of sub 4. It would not be a fun marathon to start at 9min/mile and then find out at mile 13 that you can't hold it. For me it leads to a more fun race to start at a pace that is definitely sustainable, and speed up as I go and feel good. Going faster by seconds/mile early can cost you minutes/mile later in long races if it's not something you can hold.

Did well on Sat. Finished with 13.1 so I could say I did the half! Definitely was feeling it last 4 or 5 miles. Turning around and running another 13.1 is gonna be tough. Finished in 10:45 pace. So way off goal of 9:00.

Did a 4 miler yesterday and 8 miler yesterday. Actually feeling less sore now. Another set of 4 and 8 and a rest day then 17 on saturday! Stepping back 5 miles next week. Then another mileage increase.

 

[pattimusprime22]

Did well on Sat. Finished with 13.1 so I could say I did the half! Definitely was feeling it last 4 or 5 miles. Turning around and running another 13.1 is gonna be tough. Finished in 10:45 pace. So way off goal of 9:00.

Did a 4 miler yesterday and 8 miler yesterday. Actually feeling less sore now. Another set of 4 and 8 and a rest day then 17 on saturday! Stepping back 5 miles next week. Then another mileage increase.

Ya, if running a half in training slower than goal race pace is tough, I'd say your goal race pace is too optimistic. Just trying to be realistic and help you avoid burying yourself on race day.

I know you're fairly close to the race, but often quoted rule of thumb is to not increase mileage more than 10% week to week. I think this is most applicable to the long run, so a jump from 13 to 17 might be a bit big. Perhaps see how you're feeling after 15 and if your feeling beat, then call it good for the day. Your body will definitely notice the stimulus from 15 miles, and the extra 2 might just be more injury risk.

 

[BuckSmasher]

Ya, if running a half in training slower than goal race pace is tough, I'd say your goal race pace is too optimistic. Just trying to be realistic and help you avoid burying yourself on race day.

I know you're fairly close to the race, but often quoted rule of thumb is to not increase mileage more than 10% week to week. I think this is most applicable to the long run, so a jump from 13 to 17 might be a bit big. Perhaps see how you're feeling after 15 and if your feeling beat, then call it good for the day. Your body will definitely notice the stimulus from 15 miles, and the extra 2 might just be more injury risk.

I have been preparing myself for that mentally. If that happens oh well.

I am following Hal Higdon's marathon training. People swear by it. We will see.

 

[cq0302]

Thanks!

Not really, pretty low key event. I’ll usually post up a trip report when I’m done. Other guys usually do as well, over on backpackinglight.com

Sounds interesting. What’s the basis for this becoming an event? Doesn’t seem to be much info. Seems like it would be a good time, maybe a slight change up from 50ks

 

[mtwarden]

The guy who organizes it did the Alaska Wilderness Classic a couple of times and thought Montana could host a similar event. Been going since 2012.

 

[Split toe]

Heading out tomorrow for the annual Bob Marshall Wilderness Open. This year it's being held close to a month earlier (has always been Memorial Day weekend).

https://bedrockandparadox.com/bob-marshall-wilderness-open/

While snowpack is lower than normal, we did a little scouting and snowshoes won't be optional—we have three to four passes that will definitely require shoes.

Weather looks promising, but we had a BIG wind event and the blowdown is substantially worse than normal (and it's always bad in May before the trail crews get out).

What pack is this?

 

[mtwarden]

Seek Outside Flight first generation. I had to have a guy lengthen the frame as it was too short for my torso (he happened to have worked for Seek Outside ). I also upgraded the belt to the gen 3.

The gen 3 gives you a choice in frame lengths and an upgraded waist belt.

Not made for hauling meat, but could be used in a pinch for that. For general backpacking with heavier loads (long trips, need for lots of water, carrying kids/wife stuff, winter camping, etc) it’s the bees knees

 

[eamyrick]

Finished up pacing Cocodona last week. Took some notes. My guy imploded at mile 280. I ended up getting 42 miles in 24 hours with some decent vert. A few weeks before switched over to Topo Athletics and have zero complaints. Some notes:

2026 Cocodona notes
Race Mantra:
“Rejoice always, 1 pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.”


-Gaia plus airplane mode worked great. I preloaded the course gpx and actually thought Gaia was more intuitive than OnX. I also uploaded the course to my Garmin Fenix 7 but the phone is much easier to use.

-12 liter Solomon pack sucks with extra required gear and water. Ends up being overstuffed and too tight. Blew out the right seem and return to REI. Going to give Ultraspire a try. Probably 50% of the runners were using the traverse.

-Thin Patagonia sun hoody worked amazing despite a front deep zipper. The material is very cool and the hood stayed put.

-Chapstick every hour and 2x daily sunstick for face.

-Rei fingerless sun gloves. I liked these soo much I bought a spare pair when I got home. Using poles a ton they kept my hands in good shape.

-Lube feet, groin, nips, crack (no chafe). I’ve been using Gourney Goo with great success.

-Elevation gain and exposure equals double water.

--Always take more water and salt. I had an exposed section outside of Sedona and needed to double my water. Tried a hydrapak 2l for the first time and it worked great.

-800-1000mg salt intake per hour worked well 45-80 degrees, dry, pre hydrate with 1000mg sodium mix

-Need 3.5 oz fill puffy with hood. Cold weather gear is required on numerous sections and the temp can range from 35-90.

-ordered the OR stratoburst rain jacket when I got back to replace my Arcteryx that lacks pit zips.

-Lightweight pants with zip to fit over shoes

-Course descriptions were 25% at best

-for heavy downhill work tape heels, outer big toe taping worked well

-sleep with AirPods/background sounds/buff around ears/eyes

-ideally just carry two of the same headlamps, same battery in case one breaks

-used waist belt for phone, AirPods, chapstick, gels, worked great

-expresso goos great to stuff in waist belt

-wilderness wipe pack in pocket for blowing nose, cleaning hands, and daily bathroom. I was everyone’s friend at the shitter because I had extra wipes.

 

[eamyrick]

 

[Split toe]

View attachment 1066329View attachment 1066330

Sounds awesome!

 

[eamyrick]

And if anyone is considering the Austin Rattler 50k in November I’ll see you there. Figured it would be a good build up to Big Bend 100k in January if I can keep healthy.

 

[mtwarden]

Yes to two identical headlamps. I had a “dependable” headlamp go on a backcountry hunt (where we were in headlamps morning and evening). Now it’s always two.

I’ve been using GAIA since it’s inception; I paid $9.99 for it (no monthly fees) and it’s for life— they said I was considered a “legacy” member