20,000 Leagues of Running (comments welcome)

[Scootin'By]

It’s also true on training runs.

As far as throw away layers, there was a lady at my race on Saturday standing around the start corral in a bathrobe to stay warm pre-race. I don’t know if she had someone with her to take it, or if she was planning to just toss it (I assume she wasn’t planning on running in it )

The bathrobe is pretty funny. I actually hope that she did run in it LOL

I was a little disappointed that there weren't more people in fun outfits. I was the only person I saw in a Disney tee and the crown was so boring that someone commented on my socks (which were just black Saucony with green and blue stripes). I guess I'm spoiled by all of the pictures here. Oh well, I'm going to keep doing me and giving everyone a smile with my outfits. I've got a Christmas one all planned for my 10k Reindeer Romp

I've been trying to zero in on the right clothes for the right temp during my training runs, but the weather is just not cooperating. One week it's hot as Hades and the next it's Frozen. I really should have just stripped off the long sleeve tee, tied it around a bench, and seen what happened. They also had a "bag check," which was really just a garbage bag with your bib number on the front, but I didn't want to waste the plastic. I guess next time I could do that and just bring the garbage bag home to use the next week.

These are all great thoughts that I had last night after the race. It would have been wonderful if my brain had actually thought of them at the time, instead of, you know, being focused on running

Congrats!

Thank you!

Congratulations!

Merci!

Congrats on your race!

Dankje

Congratulations on your first race! Great job!

Gracias

 

[RuntheMouse]

Congratulations on your race!!

 

[jmasgat]

Congrats on your race! First races are always a big learning experience. The clothes, the crowds, the nerves. Now you know how things will go and the next race you'll be even more ready.

 

[NYC_MW]

Big congrats on your first race (of many
now that you're hooked )!

 

[Scootin'By]

I had three 30-minute runs this week and no long run. That's because I was traveling and spent all day Friday driving North and all day Sunday driving South. I pushed my long run to Monday, more on that below.


I'm still running mostly around the neighborhood, no track work planned for the near future. Tuesday's 30 minute run was fairly straightforward. I found running treasure on this one. About halfway through, I saw a box full of books next to the curb. I caught a glimpse of Mickey and decided to investigate. It was a copy of Disney's Americana Storybook Collection. Looked fun so I grabbed it and continued running. I swear, that book got heavier the closer I got to home! Great book though



Thursday I had a parent-teacher conference, so I ran back from the school. For this one I added a bunch of hills, since that's what killed my time at the first 5k. It was tough, but I made it with only one stop. Very proud of myself for that! I'm also getting better at just running. When I first started, I would plan my route out in advance to make sure I was getting in enough distance. Now, I just sort of eyeball my watch and make a bunch of turns until I'm satisfied. I like it.


As I mentioned, Friday was my driving day and I wasn't sure if I would have time for a run on Saturday. But, when I woke up, my cousins were still asleep, so out the door I went. It was cold! 28F or -4C, either way, cold! I layered up with running tights, tall socks and shorts on the bottom; a short sleeved shirt, padded coat thing, gloves and a hat on top. I was warm enough, maybe even just a little too much, but only by a little. I was pretty wet when I got back. It was also the first run where I had to watch out for ice on the road and where I also ran past a snowman Either because of how flat or how cold it was, I ran my fastest time yet (29.32 mins for 5k). It felt good! One problem I had was with my water. It was not frozen, thank goodness, but it was frickin cold! Any suggestions?



Last weekk I also ordered, and have been LOVING, a Garmin Forerunner 55. I got it from Kohl's for $199 and got $60 in Kohl's Cash to spend. Not too shabby.


This week I have a 4.5 mile run tomorrow, plus at least one conditioning run. Saturday night I have a 5k under the local Christmas light display (squee!!!). With just four weeks or so until my 10k I'm getting a little nervous that I'm not ready, but I'm also getting excited. 4.5 miles this week, break, 5.0 miles the next week at a Turkey-trot, break, 5.5 miles and then it's race time! My outfit is all ready, just need to check the tread on my shoes.


It's beginning to a lot like rac-ing!

 

[DopeyBadger]

Way to go!

 

[avondale]

But, when I woke up, my cousins were still asleep, so out the door I went. It was cold! 28F or -4C, either way, cold!

This is one way to know you're a runner: you get up before everyone else to get that run in! Even in the cold!

One problem I had was with my water. It was not frozen, thank goodness, but it was frickin cold!

If you have a water bottle of some type, hold it upside down while you run. The water will slosh around, which will keep it liquid, and it will slosh around the cap to keep that from freezing shut. If you hold it right side up, the cap may freeze on because no liquid around it (ask me how I know).

But maybe that's not the problem you mean!

 

[Naomeri]

If you have a water bottle of some type, hold it upside down while you run. The water will slosh around, which will keep it liquid, and it will slosh around the cap to keep that from freezing shut. If you hold it right side up, the cap may freeze on because no liquid around it (ask me how I know).

But maybe that's not the problem you mean!

Ooooh, that’s handy to know! When I did my virtual MW HM this year in 0°F, my water bottle cap wouldn’t lift up to let me drink

 

[Scootin'By]

The week in which I run 4.5 miles, a race, and end up in the medical tent
This was a good week, all things told. We'll get to the medical tent at the end.

I arrived home Sunday night ahead of schedule and feeling tired, but okay. Monday I took the day off pretty much just so that I could go for my long run. This was increasing distance to 4.5 miles, according to the plan. It was a beautiful day, 55 degrees and sunny, but I think I was still tired from Saturday's maintenance run and all the driving, because this run was a slog. From the very beginning I did a lot of walking (over 3 minutes in total), but I paced myself and just kept running and managed to run at an average pace of about 10 min/mile. When I got to 4.3 miles though, everything just started to hurt, especially calves and right under the ribs. Doesn't help that I finished at the top of a hill, but, c'est la vie. Anyways, good run overall. Nicely setup for this Saturday's 5 mile Turkey Burnoff (I hope - more below).

Wednesday I did a local yoga class and felt SO refreshed. Thursday I did an easy 35 minute. which was a lot better than Monday's. I only had one stop for walking!

Saturday was the 5k that started this whole thing, Run Under the Lights. A beautiful run through a county park decorated with thousands of holiday lights. It didn't start until after sunset, of course, and I was all ready with my racing outfit! Which turned out to be very appropriate, because November 18th was Mickey's 95th birthday. Happy birthday, big guy! And this time, I was not the only person inspired to dress for the occasion. Lots of ugly sweaters, Christmas outfits, even a Santa onesie (which looked too hot to run in).


Caption: Cute guy in glasses with Christmas Mickey ears and a Mickey Santa t-shirt under glowing green holiday lights ready to kick-off the Christmas season with a 5k Run Under the Lights!

Starting temp was a brisk 45, but it was a perfect running temperature. The lights really got me into the mood for both Christmas and a little jingle bell jog. I ran a good race with a good pace. Only one walking break of 15 seconds for this one too, I think my stamina is improving!

But I did have a few small hiccups.

Hiccup #1 - Running in the dark is harder than running during the day. It took me at least the first half mile to really get into my rhythm and I lost some time trying to figure it out.
Hiccup #2 - The flashy lightup bracelet my daughter let me borrow fell off around mile 1 and I had to turn around to grab it. Luckily it was still flashing and easy to see, but I lost at least 10-20 seconds. Combined with hiccup #1, I think this led to me running a slower ran (30:53), even though it felt easier than my previous 5k.

Hiccup #3 - I didn't drink enough water on the course. I normally go through 10-12 ounces on a 5k. This time, I think because the weather was so nice at 45F, I just didn't notice my thirst. By the end of the course, I had only drank about 3 ounces total. This is important for later, because I sort of forgot to pre-hydrate earlier in the day as well. I was so excited about the night run, I didn't even think about hydration prep the day before or the day of. Oops.

Hiccup #4 - I misjudged the finish line (which was also at the top of a hill, grrr). I was watching my Garmin and could see I was at almost 3 miles. I saw this lighted archway ahead and thought it was the finish line. So I started to speed up, use up the little bit of gas left in the tank, only to realize that there was ONE MORE arch to go. Ooof. I managed to run across the finish line, but I was pooped.

Best thing #1 - Running to upbeat Christmas music is awesome!

So, after my race, I get my medal, grab a bowl of chili and a hot dog, I'm eating peanuts and drinking water. This is when my head starts to feel a bit light. 15 minutes after the race, my heart rate is at 125 and I'm still taking some deep breaths. I make my way over to the medic tent (which is really just a table with no chairs) and yeah, my BP is down under 100. Dehydration and electrolyte imbalance. After 2 cups of hot cocoa, 4 cups of water, and 2 cups of salt water, I was feeling better. A big thank you to all the medics who staff races! Any suggestions for next time would be great.

My lower calves are also killer today. I thought it was the electrolyte imbalance last night when started to feel sore. I drank a Gatorade, took some Advil and applied some Voltaren. But this morning they are still pretty sore, especially going down stairs. Thus, I'm taking an easy week and hoping they're feeling better by Saturday for the 5 miler, which is TBD. Maybe just one maintenance run on Wednesday or Thursday with an extra walk.

So, lots of lessons from my second 5k. But also, lots of fun too

Thanks for reading my novel LOL

 

[col1]

Congrats sounds like a fun race.

 

[azrivest]

Hiccup #1 - Running in the dark is harder than running during the day. It took me at least the first half mile to really get into my rhythm and I lost some time trying to figure it out.

You got some practice for a future runDisney race!

Congrats on your race, it sounded like it was fun despite finishing at the medical tent. Did they really make you drink salt water?

 

[Scootin'By]

Did they really make you drink salt water?

Yep. They didn't have any Gatorade or electrolytes on hand. But somehow they had all these salt packets, so they dumped a bunch into one of those running cups and made me drink two of them down. It worked, but tasted really gross.

The medic recommended taking a look into salt chews for next time. I still need to check that out.

 

[avondale]

Congrats on the race! Sounds like fun under the lights!


Honestly for next time if you make sure to hydrate during the day before the race (or the day before for a morning race) and do your drinking during the race, you'll probably be fine. It seems like you had a lot of cumulative effects in this case.

 

[Scootin'By]

I had a pretty quiet week this week. My lower left calve was really barking (mooing?) and so I wanted to give it time to rest. I did lots of stretches and rolls to help it out and bt Wednesday I was feeling ready for a run. Not wanting a repeat of my earlier 5k, I took ate 2 Salt Stick chewable beforehand and filled one of my 6 ounce bottles with a squirt of electrolyte mix. 35 minutes easy, no problem. Well, no problem, except my lower calve started to get sore around 25 minutes. I even took a quick break at 30 to stretch it a bit. Ice and stretching helped it later on.

Had a great Thanksgiving! Watched the parade with my girls, cheered on the dog show, ate some tummy food, and of course did some online shopping.

No running on Friday because I was visiting an elderly aunt and resting for my long run on Saturday.

After my first 5k, I joined a local running group that offers free "low key" races (Loki races would be fun too!). Anyways, Saturday they had their Turkey Burnoff 5 miler, which was perfectly timed for upping my own mileage. I was not treating this as a race, just as a place to run with other people and have a water break provided for me at 1.5 miles and 3.0 miles!

It was darn cold outside, even by some other Deopey peoples standards I'm sure. Race time temp was 25F After picking up my packet, I stayed in the car with the engine off, letting the temperature slowly drop, hoping to become acclimated. But it didn't work, when I got out to get warmed up 30 minutes prior to start time it was still wicked cold.

The race itself was good. This was my longest distance yet and I'm really pleased with my progress. I just took it slow and steady, following my pace of between 10 and 11 minutes per mile. I was a little slower to start, but no big deal, just kept running.

It was really nice to have the water (and Gatorade!) provided in this "training run" and I feel like I stayed well hydrated. I ate a Salt Stick chew at 15, 30, and 45 minutes (per the directions), drank my first 6 ounces by mile 1.5 and refilled my bottle at the water station, plus drank a cup of Gatorade. On the way back, at mile 3 (or maybe 3.5, I dunno), I did the same thing.

Layers also stripped off as I ran. I started with tights, shorts, and socks pulled up high. All of which you will be happy to know stayed on throughout the race But I also had on a kind of running toque with head/ear bands, think running gloves, a bright orange quilted running jacket, long sleeve tech tee and short sleeved tech tee (fittingly enough with a polar bear on it ‍). The toque came off first, then the jacket started to unzip, then the gloves came off, and finally the headband. You'd think it was spring or something!

The lower calve muscle did okay. I noticed it start to ache a bit after the second water break, so maybe between mile 3.5 and 4. I kept reminding myself that this was just a training run, going to distance not pace, and whenever the ache came on too much I would walk for 30 seconds. By the end it was more than aching, but less than a full on ouchy.

Finished the 5 miler in 54 minutes and 39 seconds, which I think is pretty good! Just 1.2 miles left to build up to for the 10k in three weeks (plus a trip to PT this week to sort out this lower calve thing, boo!). Afterwards I treated myself to a Dunkin to warm up - for medicinal purposes, of course

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and got some good runs in

 

[Naomeri]

My lower left calve was really barking (mooing?)

It might be just because I’m beyond tired, but LMAO at the terrible pun

 

[GollyGadget]

It might be just because I’m beyond tired, but LMAO at the terrible pun

Meanwhile I'm so tired they I thought it was funny for a calf to moo but didn't understand the pun

 

[Scootin'By]

I had a really good week of running this week. Other parts of life, meh, but hey, c'est la vie (and at least running helps). I got three runs in this week. Two maintenance runs and one long run. I was very proud of myself because both of my easy runs this week were before work (so like, 630am) and I am NOT a morning person. Go me

Tuesday's run was an easy 35 minutes. I did what I'm calling Circuit #1, which is sort of an out and back, but along parallel streets. No problems with either my injury or my hamstring.

Wednesday night I took another yoga class, which was not supposed to be hot yoga but ended up being at least warm yoga because the a/c wasn't working. I definitely worked up a good sweat and drank most of my water. The calming tea afterwards was wonderful!

(Very random side note - Wednesday comes from Old Norse and is named for Odin. Woensdaag, Odensdaag, Odin's day. One of my favorite random facts!).

Thursday's run was also an easy 35 minutes and I did Circuit #2, which has a few more hills, but is generally about the same level of effort. This run was COLD. Okay, not like @DopeyBadger badge, but cold for DC standards. When I left the house it was 25F so I had on two shirts AND a running zip-up, which turned out to be a little too much. But, I'd rather be a little extra hot than cold. This run I also was inspired by @nancipants to try a few strides at the end of my run. I took it easy and just tried three for about 10-15 seconds, but it felt nice. I think I'm going to keep going these for my maintenance runs.

Saturday's run, by contrast, was 60F+ and it was HOT. I was out in shorts and a t-shirt and could have stripped off layers. This week, my Galloway plan called for a 6 mile run, so I combined Circuit #1 and Circuit #2, but in reverse order. I figure, get the slightly harder one done first. I wasn't feeling super motivated to get this run done, which may have led the first few minutes to be just a slog. But after I got going, it was a good run (with the exception of the aforementioned heat - bleh!). This also led me to drinking nearly all of my water on the run (about 20oz in total). After the medical tent incident, I've been trying to be better with my electrolytes. I'll have a Saltstick chew before my run, a couple on my run, and at least one after. I've also been adding Mio electrolyte squirt to one of my water bottles (I did two on this run because it was so hot).

The first few miles went well, but I was starting to get a little tired after mile 3. Luckily, I had to wait about 30 seconds for a light to change in between Circuit #2 and #1, and that gave me a bit of wind to make it through. About mile 4.5 I started to get tired again, but I'd brought a chocolate covered peanut butter granola bar with me. A few bites of that give me enough energy to finish it out. My only real problem was the two circuits together weren't quite 6 miles, so I had to run up this big hill and around a parking lot to add in the last 0.3. Worked out well, I got it done.

I was gassed by the end of the run, but not exhausted and falling over, so that's a win. Within about 30 minutes I was feeling like I could have run again and the day after I only had very minor soreness when first getting up, but it quickly went away.

6 miles took me 1 hour and 33 seconds to run. Average pace was just over 10 minutes/mile with about 3 minutes of walking. I'm really happy with this, even though I was running for distance not pace.

Two weeks until my 10k and I'm feeling good. I can definitely finish the race! This week I've got two maintenance runs and then a decision. Galloway's original plan had me running 6.5 miles, taper, and then 10k. But, my schedule sort of got crashed (story of my life) and I'm short one week. So, do I do 6.5 miles and then race (mostly for distance, not pace). Or, do I taper next week, and then race? Thoughts from the experts are definitely welcome!

Side Note:
- Total Nov Miles = 34
- Total Nov Time = 5 hours and 45 minutes

 

[azrivest]

Go you!

I'll let more credible experts chime in for the taper. If it were me, I'd go for the 2-week taper to be in better race shape. Unless you believe you need to do the 6.5 mile run to feel confident for your 10k.

 

[WillRunForPizza]

I think, like @azrivest, I would probably lean towards the two-week taper since you're new to the distance. Having already run 6 miles, you'll be fine with the extra 0.2 (and change) on race day, and then you can be sure you're fully rested. But if getting the 6.5-mile run in would make you feel better about the race, I don't think it's long enough to cause a problem a week out either.

(ETA: also not an expert though )

 

[DopeyBadger]

Agree with others. More to be lost than gained by running 6.5 miles this weekend (one week before the race). Allow the body to heal, but don’t pull completely back.