The Running Thread - 2016

I like out and back courses for many of the reasons listed. I like to memorize the first half of the course and hit milestones on the way back. I enjoy seeing other runners that I believe are in my division to judge how I'm doing. I like to also mentally tag people that are ahead of me and see if I can catch them. The one thing I don't like is the cone. I would prefer more of a gentle turn like around a city block, than a quick turn.
 
I'll throw out a QOTD for you inspired by our current WDW racers this weekend.
What obscure Disney thing would you want want to see on a race medal...like you'd register immediately?

I've never been one for deciding my race participation based on medals, lately even more so. However the TOT 10-miler and Chip & Dale Marathon Relay are two race medals I liked a lot. Sadly neither of which are available.

While I doubt I would have done the race (logistic issues) I anxiously awaiting the DL Half 10-year medal. I had hoped it would have been a big "D" like the previous few years, but in a blue-ish color with a sizeable diamond in the middle much like the basic logo Disney used so much. Sadly, it turned out to be one of the worst medals I've seen in recent memory IMO

Good morning folks! For those that had a race this past weekend, how did it go? I wasn't able to check in much this weekend as we are in the process of organizing our home to put on the market as well as looking for a new house. In order to get things done, my running had to take a back seat over the weekend.

QOTD: How do you feel about out and back courses or even sections of a course where you have to make a U-turn?

I don't mind them for longer distances such as 10Ks or longer. But for anything less I hate them as I lose time and momentum. A few of my favorite races both a 1-miler and 5K have an out-and-back style course, but the turning point is so sharp and quick it is very hard to keep your pace and stride, thus you lose some time.
 
I've never been one for deciding my race participation based on medals, lately even more so. However the TOT 10-miler and Chip & Dale Marathon Relay are two race medals I liked a lot. Sadly neither of which are available.

Honestly I'm the same way...I may appreciate a "cool" medal, but the medal has never swayed me towards entering any race. I have a ToT medal too, it was a good one.
 
Honestly I'm the same way...I may appreciate a "cool" medal, but the medal has never swayed me towards entering any race. I have a ToT medal too, it was a good one.

Call me shallow, but I'm the opposite. With so many races out there to choose from locally (for me, at least) and with my area not having a whole lot of compelling scenery for the courses, the medal design is often the tipping point for running the race or not. Now, that being said, that applies mostly to local races, where there is often more than one per weekend within driving distance. For a "destination" race such as Disney, the design is much less important than the location/experience.
 

QOTD: What is your post run drink?

ATTQOTD: If its a short run, I don't really drink anything special. After a run of a hour or more, chocolate milk taste so good! After a race, a cold IPA!

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So that was my weekend..

Princess 5K was fun though I really miss um princesses at the 5K not the fab 5.. We finished just under an hour which was expected-

Gasparilla 15K went really well- finished with just over 14 min miles (2:11:34) which I was happy with as it included a pit stop and the fact my little toes were in agony.. 5K was slower than usual but since it wasn't on fresh legs I was happy (47:53)

Now the half- after hearing so much about how they sidewalk the slower runners due to permits and the 8K race I was determined to stay in front of that but after 12+ miles the day before wasn't expecting that to happen.. So yeah I *never* got sidewalked and put in my fastest finish in years (6 min faster than my last half 2 weeks ago AND 42 min faster than my Nov half) at 3:05:02. So very happy the 2 hr mark is back in view to conquer...

Now I'll need to figure out if I need to track down Meb and Shalane to autograph ALL my race bibs to insure a great race...

Congrats on your race!
 
QOTD: Most of the time, nothing special, just some water. We go to breakfast usually after I finish my long run, so I just chow down there. Once in a while I might mix up a scoop of protein powder and water. After a race it's usually just water as well. When you are slow, the lines for the post-race food and drinks are crazy, so I don't usually ever make it through the lines and just drink the bottle of water that someone hands me at the finish line.
 
@Disneyland_emily Congrats on your race weekend. It always amazes me when people can run so many races in a short period of time. And those medals are cute too!

I agree with the posters above that often many other factors contribute to signing up for a race that has nothing to do with medals (locale, course, distance, date) but if a race has the things I listed AND a nice medal (or a nice jacket/shirt)...I get very very tempted. My Disney race I would have done if they just handed me a banana though. But I'll gladly take the medal :)

ATTQOTD: My post race drink is plain water. I have not tried chocolate milk yet because I can get a little funky tummy with lactose. Sometimes after races I will grab a powerade and follow up with water.
 
I guess I should amend my answer that sometimes I have Tailwind packets and will mix up a bottle of that to sip after a really long run, like 10-13 miles. I have done the chocolate milk thing before, but we don't keep milk on hand anymore. I don't drink it much, and it always goes bad, so we have switched to just keeping almond/coconut milk blend on hand for cereal. It's not the same as having chocolate milk, and that's why I'll mix up the scoop of protein powder and water instead (I use the Trader Joe's brand of powder).

Related to my comment about when you are slow sometimes the food/drink lines post-race are too insane to battle... the only thing worse is when they run out of food. :( I did a 5K/10K on New Year's Day that was really disappointing. They completely ran out of food for the later finishers in the 10K. I don't know if they just didn't have enough or if the 5K and fast 10K people just were piggy, but it was really disappointing to finish and there was not really anyone around. They just left some pallets of water in the middle of the finish line area, the food tables were abandoned, and everyone had moved inside for the post-race stuff. I guess that is the downside of a mixed 5K/10K race in the middle of winter when the majority of the people are doing the 5K.
 
Related to my comment about when you are slow sometimes the food/drink lines post-race are too insane to battle... the only thing worse is when they run out of food. :( I did a 5K/10K on New Year's Day that was really disappointing. They completely ran out of food for the later finishers in the 10K. I don't know if they just didn't have enough or if the 5K and fast 10K people just were piggy, but it was really disappointing to finish and there was not really anyone around. They just left some pallets of water in the middle of the finish line area, the food tables were abandoned, and everyone had moved inside for the post-race stuff. I guess that is the downside of a mixed 5K/10K race in the middle of winter when the majority of the people are doing the 5K.

I was shocked at one race when I finished my 5k around 29 minutes and I was grabbing one of the last waters off of a stack of empty 24 packs on the ground! I knew my hubby was just a few minutes behind me and knew he would want water so I had to only drink half of mine and gave the other half to him. Not exactly the refreshing moment he had in mind. Only later did we realize there was a huge tent with water in the finisher area which was in another area of town (and a really nice food spread) but a run club set out that water on the ground for people...but ummm...maybe put the water at the finish line? Or tell people there was more water a mile away? I got the sense people just "knew" from doing it in years past but it was our first time running that race.
 
QOTD: What is your post run drink?

Mostly just water for me. I also do lactose-free chocolate milk when I'm at home after long runs. At races the people handing out milk/chocolate milk look at me like I'm crazy when I ask if they have anything without lactose. Doesn't seem like it should be that odd of a question.

Edit: I'll also add that I have become hyper-aware of what I am consuming during my longer runs. I used to get debilitating migraines quite often after long runs and believe I was unwittingly suffering from hyponatremia. I have virtually eliminated them in the last couple years by monitoring my salt intake much more closely. So I usually drink sports drinks during runs and switch to water after finishing.
 
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My first walk/run today in 3+ months. Made it through the run with no pain whatsoever - hurray. Now I have to find my running groove again and get back in running condition. According to my 620, my VO2 is down to 39 from 49 when I was injured. Yeah, I know that I am getting old, but 39 for me is horrible.

I'm happy to see you're able to get back out there. I'm wishing you the best of luck that you'll be able to get your fitness back in time for next year's Dopey!

AOTOD: Post run I drink chocolate milk. I try to consume it within 15 minutes of stopping my workout. If the workout is an easy day, then I typically take in 8 oz of milk with two scoops of Nesquik powder. If the workout is a hard day, then I typically take in 16 oz of milk with 5 scoops of Nesquik powder. If the workout is a carb depletion day, then I try to take in 32 oz of milk with 10 scoops of Nesquik powder. I also try and time my meals to occur within one hour of finishing as well. There are other commercially available carb/protein recovery products that are better than chocolate milk but I can't justify the price difference for the slight gains between commercial over chocolate milk.
 
ATTPQOTD: Out and backs do not bother me too much. The one I enjoyed the most was NO R&R a couple of years ago that had Mo Farrah, Shalane Flanagan, Kara Goucher, and some other big names. The out and back is down St. Charles and it was amazing to see them go by the other direction.

ATTQOTD: Water for most and water/Gatorade for long runs. Races I will look for chocolate milk if available.
 












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