The Running Thread - 2016

[SunDial]

QOTD: Do you track miles on shoes or do you retire them by calendar time? What criteria do you use to retire training shoes (e.g. How many miles)? What about racing shoes? Do they still look good? What do you do with them once you already have a pair for yard work, casual use, ect.?

In the beginning I did not track the mileage. Wore them until they were no longer comfortable or I wore a hole in the bottom. Yes I have and they still felt good. Now I track thru the Garmin Connect. Old ones become use for everything else in daily life.

 

[Slogger]

ATTQOTD=Longest "not Long Run" run has been 14 miles.

Our kids are teenagers and don't trick or treat anymore but we did stock up on candy for other kids dropping by. I've been good and only had one mini Twizzler and one Kit Kat so far.

 

[SunDial]

Todays QOTD came from a fellow poster on this forum. Thanks for the suggestion!

QOTD: I would be interested to hear the groups thoughts on posting runs on social media. Does everyone post each run on Instagram? Facebook? Find it annoying? Follow any inspirational runners on social media?

The only running forum I post on is here. No Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest accounts or any others that are out there. I will read on a triathlon forum and drag racing forum but that is it.

 

[FFigawi]

TOO MUCH CANDY!

I do not understand this sentence.

 

[SunDial]

QOTD: With Halloween just around the corner, I thought I ask if you have you ever done a costume type run?.

This past February for the Princess Half Marathon my daughter and I dressed up and play role reversal. I was Ariel and she was King Triton. We had a complete blast. We were stopped to take pics with a lot of other runners. This year with Belle theming I have to find a long yellow dress.

 

[SunDial]

QOTD: With daylight saving time ending on November 6, and our runs are getting lasting longer into the afternoon, I figured now would be a good time to discuss what do you do to make yourself visible when you are running in the dark? So what items do you run with so you can be seen by others on the road? Do you have certain routes that you stick to that have more street lighting? Routes with uneven surfaces become a problem? How about safety from people who may wish to cause you harm?

This is a great question and I wish more people not just runners would light themselves up at night.

I have 4 strobe lights on my running belt. One for each direction along with a flash light. Over a year ago I added the Tracer 360 light. I am very well seen at night since that is when I do most of my training. I even wear the Tracer 360 when training on the road bike.

 

[jele30]

QOTD: October is nearly over... Post your monthly totals and how did things go based on your goals?

Running: 33.92 miles at a 11.23 pace. I slacked off at the end of the month and missed my back to back longer runs.
Crosstraining: Doing well in this area. I missed a few that were scheduled, but overall feeling like I made some major improvements in this area this past month. 3 Pilates sessions, 16 miles on inline skates, lots of walking, and avg of an elliptical workout a week.

QOTD: With a new month comes new goals. What are your running goals for November?
I would like to reach 40 miles this next month and make all my scheduled workouts. I registered my husband and I for the 5 mile Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving, so my plan is geared around that race.

QOTD: What is your longest midweek training run you have ever done that did not count as your long run?

Longest midweek run has been 4.5 miles, but my crazy plan has a 6 miler in a couple weeks. Seriously who created this plan...that's right I did.

Question for fun: How much of you kids candy have you eaten since trick or treat?
Wasn't a good track record going into today, but did really well tonight.

 

[LSUlakes]

So a few interesting notes about tonight late night run.
1. I forgot my running socks at home and ran 4 miles in business socks.
2. Watched the 9th inning of the world series and then it goes into a rain delay..... That game may not end until sometime in the morning. lol

This is a great question and I wish more people not just runners would light themselves up at night.

I have 4 strobe lights on my running belt. One for each direction along with a flash light. Over a year ago I added the Tracer 360 light. I am very well seen at night since that is when I do most of my training. I even wear the Tracer 360 when training on the road bike.

You are serious about catching up! I do enjoy your responses!

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Congratulations to the Cubs fans out there, and my condolences to the Indians fans. What a game! Gut wrenching for both teams.

 

[Chaitali]

@SunDial Love the costumes! It sounds like you guys have a lot of fun together

 

[LSUlakes]

Congrats to the Cubs! I'm not much of a MLB fan, but do follow college baseball. Having said that, if your a sports fan last nights game was amazing to watch.

QOTD: Do you use back check offered for your races? Why or why not? What items do you check?

ATTQOTD: It really depends on several factors. It all really comes down to a race by race decision. For example, a local 5k where the bag drop and the location of my vehicle, plus the hassle of dealing with checking a bag, I will just keep stuff with my truck. Having someone at the race would also eliminate the need for smaller races as well. For half and full marathons though this doesn't usually work out as I arrive well before my support crew would be out there. So back check is the best option there. For races that I have to travel to, it again all depends on the race. At WDW, bag check is a painless process and the time spent in the pre race area outweighs any negative of the check in and out of the bag. Yet, for Boston, the bag check process is a PITA. You basically have to leave your bag at the finish area, which even after you finish seems far out of the way. You are allowed to bring stuff with you to the pre race area, but what you bring there is only going to be kept if you carry it for 26.2 miles. So, in summary, I do use back check, but the race will determine if I will or not.
Things I put in my bag... GU, water, sports drink, body glide, flip flops, extra socks, a t-shirt for after the race, Band-Aids, ibuprofen, Imodium, and a towel.

 

[ebradley23]

ATTQOTD: I don't use it for anything less than a half marathon. Even then it's case by case. When he ran the full while I did the half, I checked my bag. I needed to be warm and dry while waiting on him to finish. If my husband and I are both running, I just leave the stuff in the car. We don't usually hang around the post finish area more than 30 minutes or so. The line to retrieve the bag is usually too much of a hassle for such a short period of time

 

[JulieODC]

QOTD: I've never used a bag check -- never had a race start and end at different places, nor have I done one in weather that I couldn't go from the car to the starting line without layers.

 

[MommaoffherRocker]

ATTQOTD: I do not use bag check. It just feels like one more hassle on race morning so I leave everything in the car or hotel room.

 

[Chaitali]

I've only used bag check once and it was for the Marine Corps 10k last year. It was a point to point race and it was raining. I knew I was going to want dry clothes at the end because it was also going to be a long train ride back to where my car was. RnR DC is also a point to point race but I've been lucky enough to have my husband cheering me on and meeting me at the finish for that one. If he wasn't available to carry stuff for me, I would probably use bag check for that race too.

 

[ZellyB]

I've never used bag check. We usually leave very quickly after races to get home and cleaned up, so we've just never felt like we needed it.

ETA: Oops, just remembered we did do it for W&D last year since we were going into the after party and wanted to change clothes.

 

[OldSlowGoofyGuy]

ATTQOTD: I always use bag check if it is available. I like being self-sufficient at the finish in case there's a logistics snafu with my support crew (DW). Dry, warm clothes, hat, OOFOS flip flops, beer money.

 

[Miranda]

ATTQOTD: I (almost) never use bag check... I'm always afraid I'll lose my stuff.

I did use it once but only because in addition to the free bag check where you just gave them plastic bags, there was a company called The Mobile Locker Company offering locker rentals. It's basically a box truck with little lockers lining 3 sides. I rented one of the small lockers and then I didn't have to worry about them losing my stuff. Except that the regular bag check line and the locker truck line were in the same line (had to wait in line to get your locker key to go into the truck), and they were running WAY behind. I only made it out of the line before the race started because someone finally started coming through and asking if anyone had already rented a locker because they were all sold out. They should have had a separate locker line so that all the people who had pre-rented lockers didn't have to wait so long! The line was still at least 50 people long when I skipped ahead, put my stuff in, and sprinted for the porta-potty about 5 minutes before the race started. The race starts with a cannon fire (Old Port in Portland Maine) and I missed it because I was in the porta-potty. Well, I mean, I guess I heard it in there... but it didn't feel very festive! Thankfully I was in the second wave that started 3 minutes later, so I was able to exit and start the race with my wave. I think people had to have still been in the bag line!

 

[roxymama]

ATTQOTD: Only used it once because we walked from my house to the race and registered there and I bag-checked the free race t-shirt.
I'm super low maintanence so I prefer not carrying a lot of stuff. Same mindset while in Disney too. My car is basically always my "bag check."
That being said, I WISH I had bag checked a hoodie for the last race because I was warm while running but got very cold after finishing.

 

[preciouspups]

ATTQOTD: I (almost) never use bag check... I'm always afraid I'll lose my stuff.

I did use it once but only because in addition to the free bag check where you just gave them plastic bags, there was a company called The Mobile Locker Company offering locker rentals. It's basically a box truck with little lockers lining 3 sides. I rented one of the small lockers and then I didn't have to worry about them losing my stuff. Except that the regular bag check line and the locker truck line were in the same line (had to wait in line to get your locker key to go into the truck), and they were running WAY behind. I only made it out of the line before the race started because someone finally started coming through and asking if anyone had already rented a locker because they were all sold out. They should have had a separate locker line so that all the people who had pre-rented lockers didn't have to wait so long! The line was still at least 50 people long when I skipped ahead, put my stuff in, and sprinted for the porta-potty about 5 minutes before the race started. The race starts with a cannon fire (Old Port in Portland Maine) and I missed it because I was in the porta-potty. Well, I mean, I guess I heard it in there... but it didn't feel very festive! Thankfully I was in the second wave that started 3 minutes later, so I was able to exit and start the race with my wave. I think people had to have still been in the bag line!

What race is that Miranda?

I've never used one. Local races are usually close to my car and everything I need will fit in my sparkle skirt. I left a bag of stuff with DH at Princess last year just in case I didn't like anything in the snack boxes they handed out. My Honey Stinger waffle was a lot better than the bird seed that was in the box. And I had a Gatorade in the bag too. Sparkle Skirts will hold my key, id, money, tissues, iphone, and even a small water bottle.