The Running Thread - 2016

[DopeyBadger]

Congrats on all the PRs. Hoping your leg is fine and just needs rest. Gigi time sounds great! That way rest turns out to be a good time!

RE: bad smells> Chicken litter placed on fields for fertilizer! It's tough to breathe!

Thanks! With all the running I had been doing my Gigi time was limited on the weekdays, now it's time to make up for that with this time off. Lots of fun to be had!

 

[Dis5150]

September mileage - 37.5

But looking good so far for October as I did get my 15 mile run in this weekend! That is my longest run to date. We went out to the state park to run it on Saturday and when we got out there they were having a hot rod show where I usually run. So I told DH I would rather come back on Sunday since I was not feeling it anyway. So we went to the hot rod show instead. DH loved it. Then got up early and got 15 miles in. I have no idea of how I did, pace wise as my Garmin died at mile 4. And I had charged it fully the night before. So will be shopping for a new Garmin today with limited funds. I turned on an interval timer on my phone and just ran with that. Luckily I run there all the time so I knew exactly what to do to get the 15 miles in. It is basically a 5 mile out and back so I did it 3 times. The hard part was knowing when to drink and take fuel as I am trying to time my training with the stops for the WDW Marathon since I don't want to carry water. I think I did okay with it though.

 

[surfde22]

September Totals:

Miles: 114.11
Time: 18:26:45
Pace: 9:42

Set a new PR for monthly miles. September also included two races a week apart and nominal running during that week. That means the total could've been higher, but October should have a higher total. Definitely getting into the Dopey training now.

 

[derekleigh]

September Summary
Total Miles: 83.0
Total Time: 11:54:17
Average Pace: 8:37/mi

 

[ebradley23]

I need suggestions for wireless headphones. I have been reading reviews but still not sure which brand to try. My personal trainer's son recommends the Beats brand but he doesn't use them for distance running.
I just hate to spend the money and end up being disappointed.

I love my Jaybird X2. They have a wide variety of sizing options included to get a custom fit, so they stay put. I don't wear them when I race (I like hearing the cheering crowd), but I've worn them on several runs up to 20 miles with no issues.

 

[Flossbolna]

I am so happy!! I was able to run my race today (it's a public holiday here in Germany, therefore a Monday race)!!

Last weekend my stupid foot started to act up again. I did not want to run my 6k on an injured foot. I gave it some good rest this week and finally got out the bike again to walk less (I usually have an average 13,000 steps or more every day just from walking, without running). Made sure to do all my PT exercises. And on Friday my tendon did no longer hurt. There is still some issue with the foot though. But it is not a pain, just uncomfortable and a different area. It actually feels more like a sore muscle than tendon and foam rolling really helps with it.

So, I decided that I would give it a try and stop running if I could feel the tendon being bothered. I had adjusted my goal down to a finish in less than 45 minutes since I mainly have not been running at all since May.

And I am so pleased! I finished at 42:36 minutes. And it was such a great run!! It really showed me how much I enjoy running!

So, tomorrow I am going to get an appointment to see my doctor so that he can figure out what is going on. I do think that my every day shoe inserts that I got in May have been worn down. And now they do more bad than good when I wear them. I do have some special running ones, but those are not perfect either it seems as they cause my foot to nearly get blisters in the arch... Will see what the doctor says and go from there... I just hope that I will be well enough to keep running, at least my short 30 minutes twice a week...

 

[roxymama]

@LSUlakes I have a race to add.
@roxymama Grant Park Turkey Trot 5k, Chicago, IL 11/26/16 (33:59 goal)
Since I will be running this one with my best friend who just ran her very first 5k at 34:00, she has asked for me to "pace" her to a PR. So my goal will be 33:59 for her. Here's to hoping I can live up to it

And to follow up on my weird age group saga...The official results of my local 5k have now lost about 100 people and there are only 27 people now listed on the active link. So hubby and I are not even on the results sheet anymore. So who even knows what's going on, haha? Maybe we got DQ'd for singing "eye of the tiger" too loudly in the rain during mile 2??? I will repeatedly stalk the link because I've never age grouped, even though this is one of my slower races of the year...it still would count to me.

 

[LSUlakes]

Running late again on Monday.

September Totals:
Running - 158.39 Miles
Bike - 10.49 Miles

Last year for September I had 158.2 Miles, which means I beat out last years month by a whole .19! I had planned for more, but not disappointed with the results. The weather has improved and I had a very nice 16 miler this weekend!


Congrats to all the racers this weekend and nice work to everyone getting their miles in this month!!!!

I tripped and hurt my foot this week, so I can't even get my running shoes on, let alone run. Now I'm sick. I swear, if it's not one thing, it's another.

I feel you pain! I will explain in the QOTD...

 

[Ariel484]

@roxymama what?! That's bizarre...and annoying!

re:wireless headphones. I tried the Plantronics Backbeat Fit and they hurt my ears. I ended up giving them to my husband (after cleaning them with alcohol ) and he likes them a lot.

I, on the other hand, stalked deals for months and ended up purchasing a pair of Powerbeats Wireless in July 2015 - the wireless sports earphones from Beats By Dre. They were still pricey even with the discount, but I LOVED them until recently. This July I noticed one of the earphones had cracked - no idea how that happened, I don't remember doing anything to them. I ended up super gluing it back in place. Then for my run on Saturday, they WOULD NOT stay connected to my phone - music (the Finding Nemo Area Music Loop, thanks for asking) was constantly skipping. I had to turn around and go back home 0.25 miles into my run because it was driving me insane.

I'm not sure what to do at this point. When they worked well, I thought they were almost perfect, especially because they came with multiple ear pieces - so I was able to find ones that fit well in my ears. But I also feel like, for the price I paid, they should have lasted longer than a year. So I cannot recommend them. May try the Jaybirds since so many here seems to like, them, but I really only listen to music while running every once in awhile (at most once per week) so I'm not sure if it's even worth it to buy a new pair. Maybe just stick with wired headphones for once a week.

 

[dis_or_dat]

And to follow up on my weird age group saga...The official results of my local 5k have now lost about 100 people and there are only 27 people now listed on the active link. So hubby and I are not even on the results sheet anymore. So who even knows what's going on, haha? Maybe we got DQ'd for singing "eye of the tiger" too loudly in the rain during mile 2??? I will repeatedly stalk the link because I've never age grouped, even though this is one of my slower races of the year...it still would count to me.

Yikes, that sucks. I hope they get it together. I'm pulling for you to place!! Do they give out anything special? My last half, they gave coffee cups to the division winners.

 

[LSUlakes]

So for anyone wondering I often pull QOTD from personal experiences. I figured if I had an experience its likely someone here has as well and learning how they handled the situation can help me out as well as those who may not have yet had a similar experience can learn what to or not to do. Well, todays QOTD will be one of those. I am going to show just how goofy I am.

QOTD: Have you ever had a accident while out for a run? (This isn't bathroom related, but if that's a story you want to share, go for it!)

ATTQOTD: I'll get right to it. Started my run before sunrise on a route I have run 100's of times before. A part of the paved path curves around some trees and like I have done many times before I cut out the path and just run on the dirt/roots/rocks for 10 yards, then back on the paved path. Well I misjudged a step and busted my butt. Not a little fall, but full blown face in the dirt, very foul language out my mouth fall. Just as I was sliding across the dirt my watch did alert me I made mile 1, so of course I paused it while laying on the ground to compose myself. I fellow runner passing by stopped and asked if I was ok, which I thought I was and I started to get up and let him know I was good. As I was dusting myself off, I felt something that was out of place. I look down at my hand and my ring finger on my right hand at the last joint is pointing towards my middle finger. I was like oh nooooo. This is not good, not good at all. My thought process was, will its dislocated or broken, and really not much a Dr. can do for it that I cant do right here. So I pull the finger out and back to its normal position. Then I was still a .75 miles away from my truck. I figured why walk I will run there and see just how bad it really is. Got to my truck without much issues, cleaned off my hydration bottles that had dirt, turned mud on them and kept my hand in my ice chest while I called DW to bring tape to our tailgate and let her know what happened. She said, so what are you going to do now. I said, well I have a little more than 14 miles left to run and its just to nice of a day not to do it. Proud to say I finished the 16 miles and it turned out to be one of those long runs, that when I finished I felt like I could have kept going for many more miles. I had some other minor cuts and bruises but nothing major. Sunday my finger was black and blue and very swollen, but has since returned to a more natural color. Still swollen, today and I will give it a few more days to see what happens before going to get a Dr. to look at it.

 

[ZellyB]

I recently bought cheap wireless ear buds from Amazon, TaoTronics. I didn't want to spend a lot because I really don't listen to music much when I run because I'm usually with a group. I wore them for a short run and they seemed to do pretty well. They did cut out some but it was limited and didn't really bother me much. If I ever get to where I run with earbuds more then I'd invest in something better, but for my purposes they were the right price.

 

[CheapRunnerMike]

So tough to get caught up on this thread...I think I need to start checking in while on vacation!

Pretty happy to get my running miles back up again this past month with triathlon season over with...most miles since March when I was training for Boston.

September Totals
Miles: 155
Time: 19:46:03
Pace: 7:38

 

[ZellyB]

ATTQOTD: The only accident I had was when we were doing one of our last runs before Goofy in 2015. It was December and right around freezing temps. We were running across a bridge and hit a patch of black ice and my husband and I both went down hard. I was panicking once I hit the ground thinking that we were leaving for Florida in less than a week. Luckily other than a bruised hip though, I was okay as was my husband. PHEW!

 

[surfde22]

QOTD: Have you ever had a accident while out for a run? (This isn't bathroom related, but if that's a story you want to share, go for it!)

I have crashed twice in the last two weeks. The first was a week ago this past Thursday, 9/22. I was out for an early morning run in the dark, as most weekday runs are for me, and wiped out. One of my neighbors has a border of bricks around their house and along their driveway. I was a little closer to the side of the sidewalk than I thought, and my toe caught the brick, Luckily, I fell in the grass and as we've had so much rain lately it was soft and I just slid along it a little. Then this past Saturday I was out for an 8 miler. Just before the halfway point I bit it hard. I really don't know what happened. It's almost as if my heel hit the ground earlier than normal, and just stuck there. Well my body didn't stop as fast as my heel did and down I went. The road was a really rough/gravely surface and did some decent damage. The palm of my right hand and the outside of my right leg are pretty scraped up. I finished the run though. I figured I was almost 4 miles into an 8 mile loop so there was no real point in not finishing the run. There's also the two times I lost to ice this past winter, but they weren't that bad as far as falls go.

 

[Barca33Runner]

Not sure where the headphones question was, but here's my $.02:

I've tried Mpow Swift and Taotronics (both $20 Amazon Deal type wireless earbuds) and haven't had issues with either. I'm not an audiophile so sound quality isn't really an issue for me but they have never cut out and sound seems good enough. Still have both pairs but I prefer the Taotronics for the over-ear hooks (the reason I purchased them despite already having the Mpow). I've run multiple races with both and haven't had issues with battery life. I can't say I'm a heavy user, so I'm not sure how they would do with daily use and daily recharging. I'm probably pretty lucky as I would guess the lemon factor on these mass-produced, low-cost earbuds is pretty high, but they have been worth every penny for me.

 

[Barca33Runner]

QOTD: Have you ever had a accident while out for a run? (This isn't bathroom related, but if that's a story you want to share, go for it!)

I have been very lucky on this front and hope I am not jinxing myself for admitting it. I have hit a couple unexpected road inconsistencies/holes but have come away with just a slight scare each time rather than falling or injuring myself. My closest call was out running with my dog when he got spooked and darted under my legs. Not sure why a 75 Lb. Irish Setter is scared by a dachshund, but he's a big baby. I was quick enough on my feet to avoid a bad fall for both of us.

 

[Ariel484]

ATTQOTD: occasional rolled ankles and I did trip and fall once (broke the fall withy hands and not my face, luckily). Nothing too bad so far, known on wood.

Hope that finger gets better soon @LSUlakes! I would have called it quits for the day!

 

[RunDisneyDad]

ATTQOTD :

I think I told this one on last year’s Marathon thread, but during my last long run before last year's San Antonio RnR Marathon I took a bad fall. It had rained the night before so the roads were wet. I was making a right turn and when I planted with my right foot it slipped out from under me and bam, I was on the ground. There was a nice Mercedes SUV that had a front row seat to the whole thing and they waited to make sure I was okay. The thing that struck me on that fall was how quickly you can go from a normal run with normal thoughts to instantaneously laying on the ground trying to gather your thoughts and figure out what to do next. Luckily I was fine with only a tiny bit of road rash.

 

[Flossbolna]

ATTQOTD:
Yes and it was pretty bad. It was an evening run and I did not want to go out as it was cold and late. Because of that I did start running my usual evening run route on the sidewalks in my area without warming up properly. About 200 meters from my apartment one of the stones in the pavement caught my shoe and I fell straight on my face. Well, I managed not to fall really on my face, my knee and my hands caught me. It did hurt a lot on the hands, they were really scratched. And the knee felt uncomfortable, too. Someone had seen me fall and came over to see if I was ok. After I had caught my breath, I said I was ok and got up. At first I was all set to continue running, but then realized that my knee that I fell on felt wobbly and I thought that there might be a bruise and I should better go home and ice it. Well, once I was home and pulled up the leg of my pants I nearly fell off my chair in shock. There was not a bruise, but a fairly large triangular wound. About one inch each side with the skin still flapping off. I called the emergency services to find out where to go at 8pm with a wound like that and they wanted to send an ambulance, but I just took a taxi to the ER. There they nearly wanted to operate on me to take out the bursa as they thought it was scratched and would get infected. After some discussion they decided that it was only a superficial scratch and it would not get infected. So, I got plenty of stitches, some heavy duty antibiotics and instructions on how to have my family doctor to look after the wound. All in all really not pleasant and it took quite some time to heal. But I have learned quite a bit from it: 1) Warm up makes sense 2) I got a head light to see better as the street lights are really not very good here and then this spring when I had my foot problem I learned at PT that 3) I have gotten used to a wrong way of holding my feet and this leads to easier tripping, so my PT also should help with the tripping.