The Running Thread - 2016

[dmross]

So it has been a while since I have posted. I now haven't run since 8th May and I still have my chest infection. Antibiotics haven't shifted it and I had an x-ray today.
Been able to keep calm about the fact I haven't started training for the Disney Paris Half but beginning to panic now. Thinking that I am going to have 12 weeks max to train if I can shift my chest infection soon. What was going to be try and aim for a time, I think at maximum it is going to be just finish in the time limit.

I never thought I would be someone to say that I mis training and I want to be running again. So frustrating!

Know the feeling well. Hang in there!

 

[Waiting2goback]

 

[*DisneyDreamer]

Virtual High-Five! Sounds like you conquered the conditions. Bummer no official race time, but a kudos to you regardless.

Thanks! This was definitely a confidence booster race even with the tough conditions. If I can do a half with weather like yesterday's, I know I can do it again. And I definitely want to.

 

[*DisneyDreamer]

Sorry that happened to your race @*DisneyDreamer! That would be super frustrating. Glad you only came out of it with some blisters, though.

Definitely frustrating, but at least it wasn't a complete cancellation that required shutting down the course.

 

[LSUfan4444]

Holy Humidity was yesterday's long run a wet one.

Not alot of mileage on tap for me this week but a two mile road race on Wednesday evening (going to be a scorcher) and a 2 mile race on Fathers Day morning so looking forward to pain...and fun of course =)

 

[LSUlakes]

I ran my Market Square Day 10K yesterday morning. It went ok. I was feeling ok about it until Saturday morning. My lower back was very sore on Friday night, and still sore Saturday morning. It affected me all through my run and was really bad the rest of the day yesterday, and is still sore. My back hardly ever bothers me like that anymore, but Friday was my regular monthly chiropractor appointment, and it was canceled because the doctor wasn't coming in in the morning. And then my back got sore later that night?! How did it know that I skipped my visit?

I had a pretty good race even though my legs were still super sluggish from my HM 6 days before and my lower back being sore, and in spite of my pre-race fueling. It was also kind of warm in the beginning before it got cloudy. I don't know how this happened, but I forgot to drink anything all morning before the race? I got up at 6:45 and by the time I got dressed and took the dog out and packed up all my crap to drive to the shuttle bus, I realized I'd not had any water. And I did not eat as much as I normally would before a race. I brought a Larabar with me (usually I eat some oatmeal and a banana, but we were out of bananas and I didn't have time to make oatmeal). Once I realized I forgot to drink anything before leaving the house, I was going to get a water at the race start. I should have been plenty early enough, and there is a coffee shop right in the square near the start. Last year I got to the shuttle bus parking area around 7:45 (9:00 start) and the bus started running a few of us over early (the bus wasn't supposed to start until 8:00) so I had tons of time to kill all by myself in the square at the cafe. This year, the first bus did not even leave the shuttle area until 8:25, and the cafe area was packed by the time I got there and I didn't manage to go in and get a water.

A couple of the miles I walked up some hills a lot more than I should have. But I still came out with a race PR, 1:14:38, an over 4 min race PR from last year (1:18:49). And not too far off my distance PR of 1:13:39, which was pancake flat. I think the biggest hill in the PR one was about 5 feet, no joke, it was mostly along the ocean. Kicking myself for walking up those hills now, my good splits were 10:53, 11:31, 12:21 (I could have probably done better on that one too), and 11:34. My bad splits were 12:51 and 12:41... gave away a lot of time there compared to the good ones. Oh well, my next 10K is in mid-August, and my last HM is 7/9, so I should have plenty of just base building and rest before that one.

Congrats on the race and the PR!

Well, I survived my half marathon yesterday! But geez, if you want a drama-free and uneventful race, please don't sign up for one I'm involved in, because I'm 2/2 with the halfs I've attempted so far. First Wine and Dine with its shortened course last year, and now yesterday the heat caused the race to go to a red flag and stop official timing. They still let us finish (they have a black flag that would cause race cancellation) so I at least can say I completed the distance, but I only have times up to the 10 mile split.

The weather fortunately wasn't as terrible overall as I feared. Definitely warm and humid, but when the race started, there were some thin clouds, the sun was still low, and with the course being along the Lake Michigan lakefront, there was a lake breeze almost the entire time that helped. But right around when I reached mile 9-10 was when was the sun was getting a lot stronger and between 10 and 11 for me was when they changed the flag warning and stopped the timing. If it had been like it was those last 3 miles the whole time it might have ended a lot differently for me. It was brutal. But as it was, I took it really slow the whole time, walked a lot more than I wish I had had to, and as a result was able to finish with no ill effects other than blisters on my feet. So while I'm a bit disappointed I don't have any official time, and therefore can't submit to RunDisney (although I probably wouldn't anyway since my previous 10K time is probably better) considering the conditions, I'm just proud to have finished. A half marathon, even walking a lot of it, is no joke!

Sorry to hear the race was shut down officially. It is getting warm in a hurry.

 

[LSUlakes]

QOTD: If you have a pet, do you take it out for runs with you? Do you adjust your pace to accommodate your pet? How far do you run with your pet?

ATTQOTD: I have a beagle and have tried to take her out for a run, and well it did not go well. So I do not run with my pet.

 

[Barca33Runner]

QOTD: If you have a pet, do you take it out for runs with you? Do you adjust your pace to accommodate your pet? How far do you run with your pet?

ATTQOTD: I have a beagle and have tried to take her out for a run, and well it did not go well. So I do not run with my pet.

I run with my Irish Setter, McFly, about once a week (there's a picture in my journal if you'd like to see a picture of him). I've dialed it back running with him because I was having issues with shin splints after taking him for runs. He takes about a mile to settle in and that first mile is really tough on my legs. He is stop/start sniffing everything on our first lap, is very strong, and wants to run faster than me, so all of the quick changes in direction and pace aren't ideal for my lower legs. It also takes a lot of shoulder and leg strength to keep him moving in the right direction. He is really good after we have done our first lap and all of the smells are the same and he has settled into an even pace. With the weather being so warm I have decided pushing him for four or five miles during the heat of the day (the only chance I have to run) isn't ideal for him, so for the summer he is getting his exercise running in the yard.

 

[PrincessV]

HEAT... are we Floridians allowed to start complaining yet?! For the first time so far this summer, the heat got to me Sat. I had a heat index of 89 at 6am... yes, that would be BEFORE sunrise. 90% humidity. It was, fortunately, pretty cloudy, but with about a mile to go, I got the rapid pulse, dizziness, etc. that always means I'm flirting with heat trouble, so I slowed down and walked a decent chunk to finish. Got into the AC, pushed fluids, took a cool shower and felt better after a couple hours. Apparently it's time to start pushing electrolytes every day, not just during runs, again.

 

[rteetz]

QOTD: If you have a pet, do you take it out for runs with you? Do you adjust your pace to accommodate your pet? How far do you run with your pet?

No pet right now. Our dog past away just over a year ago. He wasn't much of an active type of dog so I didn't take him on any runs.

 

[dis_or_dat]

ATTQOTD: I've got 2 shelter dogs (one is basically a ridgeless Rhodesian Ridgeback and the other a larger chihuahua). When I was doing hill training, I took them to a paved trail that's basically 2 miles uphill. The bigger one loved it, but I had to keep turning back for the little one. I think we made it only 0.75 miles. There's a trail behind my house to a local dam and I used to take them for a jog along there, but my bigger one started to run into our neighbors' backyards, so I've stopped doing it.

 

[opusone]

QOTD: If you have a pet, do you take it out for runs with you? Do you adjust your pace to accommodate your pet? How far do you run with your pet?

ATTQOTD: I have a beagle and have tried to take her out for a run, and well it did not go well. So I do not run with my pet.

Similar to you @LSUlakes, I have tried in the past to run with my beagle/spaniel/??? mix, and it was not the easiest thing, so I really don't anymore. Every once and a while if I'm running three miles or less, I will take her with me, but she is not really interested after a mile or two, plus she always wants to pull over and mark her territory or just to smell something, so we don't quite see eye to eye on how runs are meant to be structured.

 

[camaker]

QOTD: If you have a pet, do you take it out for runs with you? Do you adjust your pace to accommodate your pet? How far do you run with your pet?

HAHAHAHAHA!! I have an English Bulldog. So no.

Seriously, though, he (see my pic) has a range of about 1 mile, on a good day. That mile consists of repeated breaks to sniff everything in sight. I tried to get a mile and a half out of him one time and he laid down in the grass and refused to move any further after about 1.25 miles of it until he had had a good rest. Not being one to learn from mistakes, I took him for a similar walk some months later and ended up having to carry him a half mile home after he just quit. Half a mile with a 60# dog in your arms is not a lot of fun...

 

[PrincessV]

How long was your friend's recovery? It's killing me not having any idea how long I might be out.

I want to say she was told 6-8 weeks, but don't quote me on that - I do know that she was in a place in life that it made sense to take a much longer break, so she did.

ICYMI, last night's NCAA T&F Championships Men's Final day was truly epic and arguably one of the most historic meets of all time.

It was awesome to watch! And on a personal note... WTG Gators!!!

To be sure, even wicking fabrics eventually get soaked with sweat if it is hot or humid outside, but you will feel cooler and more comfortable running in them - and even when soaked these clothes are much lighter because they cannot store as much liquid as cotton.

Yep, I can vouch! Imagine taking a bath and a shower at the same time, while fully clothed... yeah, that's me after even a little 3-miler here in Dante's 10th Circle... er, FL summer, lol! There's absolutely NO wicking or cooling going on, but at least I'm not carrying an extra 10lbs of soaked cotton.

Anybody watch the show Boundless on the Esquire Channel? I'm catching up on the current season and they do some wild races on there.

Yes! I absolutely love watching anything about adventure racing and keep holding out hope Mark Burnette will someday bring back the Eco-=Challenge.

ATTQOTD: I have a 17yo act who's never left her climate-controlled condo, lol!

~~~

Thoughts are with Orlando this sad, sad, day.

 

[baxter24]

QOTD: If you have a pet, do you take it out for runs with you? Do you adjust your pace to accommodate your pet? How far do you run with your pet?

Our family has had the privilege of being owners of two very lazy beagles. I attempted to run with one of them when he was young but learned very quickly he wasn't having any of it. He is actually how I came up with my name for the boards. Both dogs have since passed away but I still hold onto the dream of going for a run with my dog one day.

 

[ZellyB]

QOTD: If you have a pet, do you take it out for runs with you? Do you adjust your pace to accommodate your pet? How far do you run with your pet?

ATTQOTD: We have two dogs. A golden retriever who is 12 years old and who primarily likes to spend her time lying around on the cool tile floor. She does not run. I have a yorkie who loves to sprint as hard and as fast as his little legs will go. We've only ever run about a quarter mile or so with him, but he loves it.

 

[Dis5150]

QOTD: If you have a pet, do you take it out for runs with you? Do you adjust your pace to accommodate your pet? How far do you run with your pet?

We have 3 dogs and I can't take any of them with me. My Chihuahua would never be able to keep up, plus he is pretty lazy. He has to sit and rest on regular walks, lol. Our 1st rescue dog is still too skittish to put a leash on. It's too bad because he is big and strong and runs like a fiend! He would probably be a great running buddy. Our 2nd rescue dog is a beagle and we are just getting him fattened up. When we got him he was skin and bones, weighing 18 lbs. I weighed him yesterday and he gained 10 lbs in the last month! He escaped yesterday and went for a run of his own, gone 4 hours and came back soaked, coated in mud and covered with ticks! So he got his 2nd bath in 12 hours (I had just given him a bath Saturday night!) And he is seriously a monkey! He climbed over our 5' wire fence like it was a ladder!

 

[roxymama]

I ran the Run for the Pies 5k last night.

Big question: How was the PIE???

QOTD: If you have a pet, do you take it out for runs with you? Do you adjust your pace to accommodate your pet? How far do you run with your pet?

No pets for me (our small city yard does not lend itself to a dog & I am allergic to cute kitties.) But Flying Pig race weekend had a furry race just for pets and their owners and I'm sad to have missed spectating that


Unrelated Side note: the college campus by my house finally is devoid of students, which is my favorite! I can run around the pretty and shady campus all the time now with no one around!! Except for the nice group of power-walkers and the one security guard that were out this weekend I wish there were a few less Canadian geese around the lake path though!

 

[BuckeyeBama]

We have cats, so no. But better than half of the trail runners in my area run with dogs.

 

[ebradley23]

ATTQOTD- I have a small Brussels Griffon. Her poor tiny legs wouldn't get her very far. We had a dalmatian for years, and he would have been great to run with.