yeah... I think you're spot on.

yep your on the money red. i find pushing the 2 hr mark on an Oly is more painful than hitting the 10-12 hr IM.
It's short enough to absolutely smash all three disciplines but long enough to hurt you, I just focus down the road and remember the immortal words of Capt. Jack Sparrow "bring me that horizon"

I agree. I'm a slow twitch girl, so I like the long races. I raced in my first Oly distance races this year, one in April and one last weekend. The April race was doomed bec of nutritional struggles I've been having. However, I dropped nearly 25 minutes off my time last weekend (new bike, new nutrition plan and a short bike course all helped). Anyway, my heart rate was between 170-185 (at the high end near the finish of the race) :eek: I felt like I was pushing hard, yet at the same time felt pretty darn good. I biked and ran faster than ever. The longer I ran the better I felt. I ran with goosebumps....was it excitement or due to being at my LT? It really did take a lot out of me though. I went on a difficut ride on Saturday and was huffing it!

By all means, Beads, from a recovery standpoint no question. Within 30min of finishing I feel fine following an Olympic race, even though 31min prior, I wanted to lay down in the street and die!

My mile splits on a 5k are much faster than a marathon.
I am huffing and puffing at the end of a 5k, while I am rarely out of breath at a marathon.
The next day after a 5k I could run another 5k.
The next day after a marathon I usually take it easy and take a swim or a short bike ride.
I definitely go a little anerobic during shorter distances
and aerobic during longer distances.

Wow blood in your urine damn I am looking forward to that in April (I just can't portray sarcasm over a forum)

I have never had it over the past 3 marathons I have done...

No peeing blood but some blood in your urine.

From what my doctor explained from the repeated jarring of your bladder from running a long distance. It is more prone to happen if you drink to little, sweat too much or pee too much, basically when your bladder is empty.

Taking this a little further, Beads is right. Here is some info on the topic of blood in the urine from

http://www.time-to-run.com/doctor/bloodyurine.htm

Blood in urine, or haematuria, may have a number of causes. The most common reason for haematuria is a result of impact of the walls of the bladder while running. Repeated many times over a prolonged period such as during a marathon, each of these minor impacts causes more severe damage until eventually there is sufficient trauma to cause bleeding. The damage sustained to the bladder walls can be viewed through an instrument called a cystoscope, which is how the nature of the "injury" was first determined and which has also been used to show that healing occurs within a couple of days. Since the damage is due to impact of the bladder walls, the chance of developing haematuria is greatest when running with an empty bladder. Therefore, if you develop haematuria, avoid urinating immediately before the start of a marathon and see if that helps. The presence of some urine in the bladder will help prevent the bladder walls from making contact with each other.

Another cause of haematuria may be altered permeability of the filtering apparatus. Urine is produced by filtration of the blood through a network of blood vessels surrounded by a specialised membrane, called the glomerulus. Normally, blood does not pass the glomerulus apparatus into the urine that is being formed. However, there is evidence that the permeability of the glomerulus is sometimes increased during exercise, allowing red blood cells to collect with the urine. This condition reverses once exercise stops and the problem should not persist.

A third cause of a red-coloured urine is related to haemoglobin. Haemoglobin, which is red in colour, can enter the urine under certain conditions. One such condition may occur when the red blood cells are physically damaged as they pass through the blood capillaries of the foot by impact of the feet with the ground while running. The damage sustained causes the release of the haemoglobin in the cell, which is then excreted in the urine. This phenomenon has been called "footstrike haemolysis", or more correctly, haemoglobinuria. It does not occur very commonly. In fact, in a study by Steenkamp in 1986, there was no evidence of damage to the red cells after a marathon race. Therefore, it may only occur in susceptible people with red blood cells that are more fragile than average.

Running, however, is not the only cause of haematuria. It can also be caused by something that has nothing to do with running at all. Thus the first time that a runner experiences bloody urine after exercise a consultation with a GP is probably indicated. This is especially so if the condition does not resolve in 24 to 48 hours after exercise, if there is associated low back pain or fever, or if the bloody urine also occurs at rest. If testing reveals no apparent cause, then future episodes can be ignored. Generally, however, a runner need not be too perturbed if they pass a bloody urine after a marathon.