The Running Thread - 2016

[Mickey's sweetheart]

It was a hip injury after Princess 2015. I'm still recovering from it.



Does the pain increase when you're running?

No. It's quite painful for the first mile or two and then gets better. Wearing a compression sleeve on that calf helps.

 

[Mickey's sweetheart]

Oh wait silly me, my latest injury is a terribly stiff crick & painful neck I got from sleeping wrong a few nights ago! I never realized how much your neck moves when you run till now, had to take some days of just walking or it was too bouncy & painful & today I felt like C3-PO turning if I heard something as I attempted to run somewhat normal. I have a talent (and I'm sure many others do to) of hurting myself not while running but just living, I'm sure some of you get this!

This happens to me from time to time. The last two times it was actually from a rib that was out of place. The first rib goes around the base of your neck under the clavicle and it can slip out of place.

 

[Baloo in MI]

QOTD: What is the best sign you've seen while running a race? Spectators create some amazing signs and some very humeours ones to what are the best ones seen during races you have done?

During the last two miles of half marathon race that had an out and back at the end I passed a sign that made me smile and I told the holder I thought it was a great sign. She then responded wait until you come back. So a bit later as I came back I read the other side of the sign that said "Smile if you are not wearing underwear". End of the race, feeling loopy and all I could do was laugh and smile but then panic worried that everyone around me would think I was not wearing underwear. Really took my mind of the last mile!

QOTD: Injuries happen from time to time. What was your last injury and what was the last problem? How long did it take to recover from it?

About this time last year I developed Achilles Tendinitis. It hurt a lot and made my mornings miserable. I ended up going to my doctor and eventually a PT who helped me with a great plan to strengthen the injury. No problems with it since.

 

[Anisum]

QOTD: Injuries happen from time to time. What was your last injury and what was the last problem? How long did it take to recover from it?

Knock on wood I haven't had any major injuries. When I first started I woke up once with a pulled muscle in my back once and most of this winter the front of my foot had mild blisters.

 

[ebradley23]

Follow up ATTQOTD: I almost forgot about my worst running injury. During training, my toenail was weak. I went to a petting zoo with my family wearing flip flops (first mistake). I was attempting to keep a bunch of goats from getting loose (second mistake), and I kicked a fence on accident. The nail on my big toe peeled up, but didn't shear all the way off. Lots of blood and yuck. Four days later, I had to run my first 18 miler. Trying to leave the nail on made running unbearable, so I performed my own nailectomy the night before. It was awful, and I probably should have used a rag to bite down on like I was having a bullet removed in the movies. My family still refers to it as my "goat toe" and my kid would walk past and bleat at me if I wasn't wearing shoes.

 

[LSUlakes]

Todays QOTD was another great suggestion from a fellow poster. Thanks again!

QOTD:Has anyone volunteered for a race before? What was your experience and would you do it again? I am still deciding if I want to wake up early two days in a row but am intrigued. Anyone know what a race monitor does?

ATTQOTD: I have once. It was a race I was registered for, but the week of the race I had an injury and couldn't run. It was early on in my running days so I figured I would volunteer. My job was to direct people in which direction to go at an intersection. It was the fat boy 5k in NOLA and I got a good laugh as the last group came through, a guy was walking with a glass of bourbon and a cigar. I am glad I did it and now make sure I tell as many folks thanks for their time as I can during a race.

 

[Chaitali]

I just volunteered for a race this past weekend This weekend I volunteered at bag check after a point to point 10k so our job was organizing the bags by number when they arrived and then getting the right bag for runners as they arrived. It was a lot of fun. I've done past volunteer slots at registration, water stops, and handing out medals. Handing out medals was my favorite

I'm not sure what a race monitor does. I volunteered in a position once called course monitor and it was mostly just to point the runners in the right way. That was a trail marathon and they had us scheduled at places where people could potentially go down the wrong trail. Maybe something like that? Or maybe watching to make sure people have bibs and aren't just running the race without registering?

 

[croach]

ATTQOTD: Volunteered for the 5k at Disneyland last September. Yeah you have to get up early but it was an enjoyable experience. Got assigned to pass out the food boxes at the finish. Cool to see everyone come through with their medals and costumes, plus made me appreciate even more the people volunteering when I came through the next two days. Also Disney had a lot of bananas left over that day.

 

[RunDisneyDad]

ATTQOTD: I've never volunteered, but a huge thanks to all of those who take the time to volunteer!

 

[ZellyB]

QOTD:Has anyone volunteered for a race before? What was your experience and would you do it again? I am still deciding if I want to wake up early two days in a row but am intrigued. Anyone know what a race monitor does?

ATTQOTD: I never have, but would like to at some point.

 

[ebradley23]

ATTQOTD: I've never volunteered to be a course marshal or help at water stops. I volunteer to run with a local group called Inclusive Racing at least once or twice a year though. I am part of a team pushing a disabled athlete in an adaptive stroller. Our big 10k (Monument Ave 10k) draws 30-40k runners including elites many years. They don't allow strollers on the course, but make an exception for our athletes. This is an exciting event with bands every mile, crowds lining the whole street etc. We actually run with our athletes, so they get to experience the speed and feel of really racing. Loaning my legs so someone can experience racing is one of the most rewarding experiences I've ever had. Here are some pics of this year's finish (the team always pulls back to allow the athlete to finish first) and me post race with one of our athletes after a different event.

 

[Waiting2goback]

Not sure about 2017 but you should definitely plan on Dopey 2018. All the cool kids will be there!

I am not going to be sitting by my computer at noon today to register. It is killing me not to but if 3 months from now it is still open and I have had a few good months at work I could still register. I'm not ruling it out. And worse case scenario if Goofy fills up and things are looking good for me in the fall I can always register for the marathon by itself as that will probably still be open. I had so much fun doing the marathon last year so a repeat wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. Its not like the marathon is easy by itself.

But my friend that did the marathon with me this year wants to do Dopey and do it big so at this point I'll just save my money and hang with the cool kids in 2018.

QOTD: I have never volunteered at a race yet. I always thank as many of them as I can during a race and I do intend to in the future, I just haven't yet.

 

[PrincessV]

Can someone chime in with any adjustments I should make? I really don't want to injure myself by trying to do to many miles too soon. Any advice would be appreciated!

I ran my first full this past Jan. Everyone I know told me there was no need to go past 20 miles in training, and that I didn't need more than 1 or two 20s. I wound up doing 22 because the day of my final long run happened to be gorgeous and I felt good, but I planned to cut it at 18-20 if I wasnt' feeling it. Know what I learned? There really is no reason to go past 20 in training Going to 22 didn't hurt me in any way, but it didn't do anything helpful either. I also found, due to some schedule interruptions, that I did not need Galloway's 2 cut-back weeks for the bulk of my training (I did do a 3 week taper, though.) My cut-back weeks were 10 milers, so the last few 2-week cycles were 10, 18, 10, 20, 10, 22, 10, 7, 26.2.

So my advice is to rework your schedule to meet your life needs and don't worry about going over 20. You have plenty of time to hit the big miles before your race!

 

[Dis5150]

ATTQOTD: Have not yet but I plan to.

@ebradley23 that is awesome! I work at a center for developmentally disabled adults and volunteer every day to take them from their homes to their jobs and I love it! Next year I will be pushing a wheelchair in our center's annual walkathon.

 

[Chaitali]

@ebradley23 Wow, that wounds like a great organization!

 

[Waiting2goback]

So this week is moving week for the family. The packing and soon to be moving is/going to be very stressful. A lot of moving parts all coming down to getting done in a 24 hour window. Running shall be my escape, just hope I have enough energy to get some miles in during the weekend.

Good luck with the move!

 

[SunDial]

On one of our Disney marathons, we had custom shirts made that said, "We're not slow. We're just enjoying the course."

I love that. I want to put this on the back of my running shirts.

 

[Dis5150]

@Waiting2goback thank you for posting that training plan. I am going to switch over to that one as I think it will get me ready at a better rate. And if I start it next week it works perfectly as I have 18 weeks until my marathon! I was looking at the other plans on his site and am thinking of doing the Novice 2 between my Sept marathon and the WDW Full as there are 18 weeks in between those also. Thanks again!

@PrincessV Thanks for your input! I'm going to switch to the Hal Higdon Novice 1 plan and top out at 20 (although I may also stretch that to 22). It is very helpful to know that only going to 20/22 works for you guys and that makes me confidant that it will work for me too!

 

[PrincessV]

@Dis5150 I have no regrets about going to 22: every other long run had been in miserable heat here in FL, and race day wasn't ideal for a number of reasons - I'm glad I had that one perfect day to do 22 feeling great! But I won't plan on going over 20 in the future. (Of course, knowing my total inability to estimate how far I am from home, odds are my planned 20 will wind up being 21ish anyway, lol!)

 

[ebradley23]

ATTQOTD: Have not yet but I plan to.

@ebradley23 that is awesome! I work at a center for developmentally disabled adults and volunteer every day to take them from their homes to their jobs and I love it! Next year I will be pushing a wheelchair in our center's annual walkathon.

It's so much fun to see their excitement. My athlete this year was severely disabled and non-verbal. It was no secret that he was raring to go though. Every time we would say it was almost time, he would arch his back and make happy squeals.

I know there is a similar organization in Little Rock. One of my friends in Benton has a daughter with disabilities, and she's participated in some races in LR.

@ebradley23 Wow, that wounds like a great organization!

I highly recommend googling to see if there is a similar organization near you. There are many all over the country. We even have two here is Richmond (IR and Sportables). I really like IR, because they donate the stroller to the athlete and their family to allow them to be more active throughout the year. Sportables loans their strollers for the race. Both are great organizations which allow the athletes to experience something they wouldn't otherwise get to experience.