The Running Thread - 2016

[FFigawi]

If anyone wants to see the real joy and heartbreak of running, check out the Comrades live feed. It's already been quite a race. The men's winner finished in 5:18 (for 90km!) and set a new record, and the women's winner was 10 minutes behind with 15k to go and passed the front-runner with 2k to go. The 12-hour cutoff will be at 1130am (EST), and over 50% of the finishers come in during the last hour.

http://raceday.comrades.com/index.php/live-streaming/home-about/live-streaming

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Did a 10 miler this morning - my longest run since I began my recovery. It was 75 degrees with 100% humidity when my run began (fog so thick I could barely see the trail). It was on out and back trail run with the "out" portion all low grade up hill (which made the final 5 miles much easier). Since it was warm and humid, and my longest run in 5 months, I tried to make it a zone 2 run. I managed to maintain that heart rate until the last 2 miles. By that point it was warmer, and my body was warmer from the effort, and I couldn't keep my heart rate from climbing into the 150s. So I finished the run but am disappointed that I still have so far to go in conditioning. I feel great, but even after 3 months of work I still am not even close to where I was when injured in November.

 

[Miranda]

Did my 5K this morning in 35:07. A little disappointed with the time... I stopped to walk more than I would have liked in miles 2 and 3. My mental game in mile 3 needs work. Calf was kinda sore, felt like it had a knot in the center of it. I'm still not sure if my achilles issue is actually my calf or not... I think it might be my calf. Lots of stretching and foam rolling for me this week. I have a HM next Sunday!

I am happy that I did improve my time from last year. Last year I ran this race in 37:09, so I cut just over 2 min off that time.

 

[Slogger]

Happy Memorial Day Weekend (and unofficial start of Summer)!

Special thanks to our military and their families for their dedication and service.

 

[Slogger]

Has anyone ever been to Vegas and found decent places to run?
We are staying on the strip in mid-July and won't have a car.
I know it will be hot and traffic is crazy 24/7 but the thought of spending time on the treadmill each morning is not appealing either.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[SueInBoston]

Ran the Boston Run to Remember half this morning. I was fretting over weather all week, this past week Boston had a heatwave, every day was sunny and hot. I've only had one run in that heat and only got 7 miles down before the pollen got to my eyes and lungs. Anyway, today was perfect running weather, low to mid 60's and cloudy. I was doing well up to about mile 9 then i lost steam and felt every twitch and pain. Ended up walking the last 2 miles to finish. All in all, great route, well run and I will definitely run it again next year.

 

[gjramsey]

Has anyone ever been to Vegas and found decent places to run?
We are staying on the strip in mid-July and won't have a car.
I know it will be hot and traffic is crazy 24/7 but the thought of spending time on the treadmill each morning is not appealing either.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.

When in Vegas, I usually will do early morning runs on the strip and on Koval just east of the strip behind the Casinos from Palazzo to MGM. You do lose some time going up and down the steps around the intersections. The early morning runs are fun (5:30-7:30) with some other runners and the folks who have been up all night trying to give you a hard time. I have seen a cop with a hooker in cuffs. They really are entertaining runs not knowing what you will see.

 

[disneydaydreamer33]

Yeah I have enjoyed running down the strip in the morning. @gjramsey is correct that early morning Vegas is pretty interesting! There is almost a ghost town atmosphere.

 

[Baloo in MI]

That is good news @LSUlakes. Congrats to all those finishing their races this weekend!

So during my long run yesterday I got to thinking about this awesome thread and all the people who have contributed with advice, stories, articles or simply a funny thought. I have learned so much from this thread but the thing I think that I appreciate the most is that I feel like I have gotten to know and respect many of you. I feel like the thread has become a space where people share their concerns, fears and challenges. As such we have shared many things and I have noted how many of us have been dealing with family health issues. I know that I have shared that I lost my father-in-law recently to cancer. He had lived with us for the last three years of his life and his loss has been a huge impact on my family and myself.

He was a huge supporter of my running and often met me at the door as I came back from runs to ask how it went. As his health deteriorated he would often tell me to keep running. He even picked out my medals hanger. Anyway, I have decided that I am going to dedicate my attempt at my fall ultra and then Dopey to him. This got me to thinking about what all you have shared. So I have an idea. What if all of us that are going to WDW Marathon Weekend committed to running for something or someone? We could share this with each other, we could create a Running Thread Team, have a meet up prior to one of the races and maybe go so far as to create our own shirt or button or something that could recognize the things we are running for.

So this is just an idea and my feelings will not be hurt in the slightest if this is more of a good idea in the middle of a long run but maybe not so good in reality and people are not interested. I thought I would put this out there for people to think about and maybe we could figure out a way to make my rough ideas work if others are interested. So give it some thought. Either way I will be running in honor of Chris. Enjoy the long weekend!

 

[Slogger]

That is good news @LSUlakes. Anyway, I have decided that I am going to dedicate my attempt at my fall ultra and then Dopey to him. This got me to thinking about what all you have shared. So I have an idea. What if all of us that are going to WDW Marathon Weekend committed to running for something or someone? We could share this with each other, we could create a Running Thread Team, have a meet up prior to one of the races and maybe go so far as to create our own shirt or button or something that could recognize the things we are running for.

So this is just an idea and my feelings will not be hurt in the slightest if this is more of a good idea in the middle of a long run but maybe not so good in reality and people are not interested. I thought I would put this out there for people to think about and maybe we could figure out a way to make my rough ideas work if others are interested. So give it some thought. Either way I will be running in honor of Chris. Enjoy the long weekend!

That's an awesome idea!! I dedicated a race to a loved one last year and it motivated me to do my best. Definitely pushed harder than normal when doing it for someone else.

I won't be at Marathon weekend but could still find a way to implement at whatever race I am participating in.

 

[Slogger]

When in Vegas, I usually will do early morning runs on the strip and on Koval just east of the strip behind the Casinos from Palazzo to MGM. You do lose some time going up and down the steps around the intersections. The early morning runs are fun (5:30-7:30) with some other runners and the folks who have been up all night trying to give you a hard time.

Sounds like fun. Definitely will give it a try.
Thanks @gjramsey and @disneydaydreamer33

Now I need to figure out which Cirque du Soleil show to attend!

 

[Chasing Dopey]

Did a 10 miler this morning - my longest run since I began my recovery. It was 75 degrees with 100% humidity when my run began (fog so thick I could barely see the trail). It was on out and back trail run with the "out" portion all low grade up hill (which made the final 5 miles much easier). Since it was warm and humid, and my longest run in 5 months, I tried to make it a zone 2 run. I managed to maintain that heart rate until the last 2 miles. By that point it was warmer, and my body was warmer from the effort, and I couldn't keep my heart rate from climbing into the 150s. So I finished the run but am disappointed that I still have so far to go in conditioning. I feel great, but even after 3 months of work I still am not even close to where I was when injured in November.

Having you calculated the impact of the heat/humidity differential between November and now? You might not be as far off as you think. Plus, feeling good after 10 is nothing to sneeze at.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Having you calculated the impact of the heat/humidity differential between November and now? You might not be as far off as you think. Plus, feeling good after 10 is nothing to sneeze at.

Yeah, I looked at a 12 mile run in similar conditions at the end of June last year. I ran 40 seconds/mile slower and averaged 6 bpm faster heart rate today. That is quite a gap. Still, you are right. I need to be happy with my progress and just keep enjoying the runs.

 

[Chasing Dopey]

Yeah, I looked at a 12 mile run in similar conditions at the end of June last year. I ran 40 seconds/mile slower and averaged 6 bpm faster heart rate today. That is quite a gap. Still, you are right. I need to be happy with my progress and just keep enjoying the runs.

Gotcha. I tell ya, it's tough to track progress this time of year. I try to beat the sun for the start of my long runs, but the humidity is brutal around Alabaster until about 7 or 8. And my HR does the same thing in the last two miles. It's almost a fast walk to stay in the zone at the end.

Although I did read an article last week that studied the effectiveness of dumping cold water on your head vs. drinking it to keep you cool. According to them, dumping it was much better. Maybe I'll find a place to stash some ice water along the course next time and see what happens.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Gotcha. I tell ya, it's tough to track progress this time of year. I try to beat the sun for the start of my long runs, but the humidity is brutal around Alabaster until about 7 or 8. And my HR does the same thing in the last two miles. It's almost a fast walk to stay in the zone at the end.

Although I did read an article last week that studied the effectiveness of dumping cold water on your head vs. drinking it to keep you cool. According to them, dumping it was much better. Maybe I'll find a place to stash some ice water along the course next time and see what happens.

Worth a try. I don't mind hot runs - just hate the performance drop-off.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Gotcha. I tell ya, it's tough to track progress this time of year. I try to beat the sun for the start of my long runs, but the humidity is brutal around Alabaster until about 7 or 8. And my HR does the same thing in the last two miles. It's almost a fast walk to stay in the zone at the end.

Although I did read an article last week that studied the effectiveness of dumping cold water on your head vs. drinking it to keep you cool. According to them, dumping it was much better. Maybe I'll find a place to stash some ice water along the course next time and see what happens.

For me personally, I can usually tell whether my water is better served to be on my body or in my body based on how I feel. If I'm thirsty, then I need to drink it. If my skin is hot to the touch, then I need to pour it on myself.

I'll add that something I like to do for races, but not every run (because I embrace the training effects of running in heat/humidity) is cover myself in ice cold towels prior to the race to lower my core body temperature slightly. Then the gradual raising of temp during the race has to go past normal before it can go too high. It helps slow the effects of heat, but not humidity on race performance. Galen and Meb did this at the Olympic Trials and it was done at the 2008 Beijing Olympics as well. Although they had sweet special made vests, I just have some free cooling towels.

@BuckeyeBama I know the progress isn't where you want to be yet, but just look back at how far you've come in 3.5 months. You still have 14 weeks (another 3.5 months) until the classic 18 week training schedule starts for marathon weekend (9/4/16). So essentially, you're only at the mid-point in your injury comeback training. This means you could still see somewhere between a 10-20% improvement between now and marathon weekend. How does this 10-20% improvement compare from where you are to your pre-injury times?

 

[DopeyBadger]

That is good news @LSUlakes. Congrats to all those finishing their races this weekend!

So during my long run yesterday I got to thinking about this awesome thread and all the people who have contributed with advice, stories, articles or simply a funny thought. I have learned so much from this thread but the thing I think that I appreciate the most is that I feel like I have gotten to know and respect many of you. I feel like the thread has become a space where people share their concerns, fears and challenges. As such we have shared many things and I have noted how many of us have been dealing with family health issues. I know that I have shared that I lost my father-in-law recently to cancer. He had lived with us for the last three years of his life and his loss has been a huge impact on my family and myself.

He was a huge supporter of my running and often met me at the door as I came back from runs to ask how it went. As his health deteriorated he would often tell me to keep running. He even picked out my medals hanger. Anyway, I have decided that I am going to dedicate my attempt at my fall ultra and then Dopey to him. This got me to thinking about what all you have shared. So I have an idea. What if all of us that are going to WDW Marathon Weekend committed to running for something or someone? We could share this with each other, we could create a Running Thread Team, have a meet up prior to one of the races and maybe go so far as to create our own shirt or button or something that could recognize the things we are running for.

So this is just an idea and my feelings will not be hurt in the slightest if this is more of a good idea in the middle of a long run but maybe not so good in reality and people are not interested. I thought I would put this out there for people to think about and maybe we could figure out a way to make my rough ideas work if others are interested. So give it some thought. Either way I will be running in honor of Chris. Enjoy the long weekend!

Thanks for sharing. This thread has definitely turned into a great resource. I enjoy the openness of people sharing the highs and the lows. I think it's wonderful that you will be dedicating your upcoming runs to him.

I started running because my doctor told me to make changes if I wanted to have kids. Every run I have done has always been dedicated to my daughter (even before she existed). At first it was so I could be around longer in her life, then more recently it's been to prove to her to never let someone tell you you can't do something if you really want it. I want to teach her through my actions that if she really wants something in life, to go out and PROVE how much she wants it by doing all of the necessary things to make it happen. I made this small picture and pinned it to myself secretly before every Dopey 2014 run before my daughter was born. Someday when she's older I'll give her this item to show her to always strive for her goals whatever they may be.

 

[Waiting2goback]

Yes, a beat per minute is a beat per minute know matter what you're doing. The key is to remember that it's rare to be able to hit the same max heart rate in all three sports. With a different starting point, your zones are going to be different as a result. Here's a few articles I found that talk about the issue and offer some ideas how to increase performance on the bike.

http://www.slowtwitch.com/mainheadings/coachcorn/cyclingrate.html
http://www.220triathlon.com/training/run/best-heart-rate-zones-for-running/8100.html

For reference, here are my two main zones for running vs cycling. As you can see, there's about a 10 bpm difference between the two.
...........Bike.......Run
Zone 2 115-139 150-159
Zone 3 140-157 160-168

Thanks John. I will take a look at these articles when I am awake enough to focus. Your zone's are much higher than mine. How old are you if you don't mind sharing? I calculate 120-135 for my Zone 2 running and I am 42. I have to do my bike still.

If anyone wants to see the real joy and heartbreak of running, check out the Comrades live feed. It's already been quite a race. The men's winner finished in 5:18 (for 90km!) and set a new record, and the women's winner was 10 minutes behind with 15k to go and passed the front-runner with 2k to go. The 12-hour cutoff will be at 1130am (EST), and over 50% of the finishers come in during the last hour.

http://raceday.comrades.com/index.php/live-streaming/home-about/live-streaming

I caught it for a bit before I started work. I got to see right before the 11 hour cutoff and there were people sprinting to try and make it before it hit 11:00 and some people missed by just inches and then they were swept off in a different direction when they crossed too late. I would have been so mad if that were me. I also saw a lady who looked like she was going to puke the second she crossed but the camera switched angles so I don't know if she did or not.

Did a 10 miler this morning - my longest run since I began my recovery. It was 75 degrees with 100% humidity when my run began (fog so thick I could barely see the trail). It was on out and back trail run with the "out" portion all low grade up hill (which made the final 5 miles much easier). Since it was warm and humid, and my longest run in 5 months, I tried to make it a zone 2 run. I managed to maintain that heart rate until the last 2 miles. By that point it was warmer, and my body was warmer from the effort, and I couldn't keep my heart rate from climbing into the 150s. So I finished the run but am disappointed that I still have so far to go in conditioning. I feel great, but even after 3 months of work I still am not even close to where I was when injured in November.

I have been running all along since October but I had to take about 3 weeks off from mid September to mid October last fall because of my foot. I haven't recovered yet. I didn't push too hard in the fall because I didn't want to reinjure myself before WDW. My point is, it is taking me forever to get back to where I was. I have my first race of the year in 4 weeks from today I believe. But, with hard work and consistency we will both be fine. Just keep doing your best and avoiding injury and you'll get back to where you were.

I wouldn't worry so much about the slower pace in the humidity. During the marathon in January it was 97% humidity at the start of the race. It stayed humid til I was about 1/2 done and then it got cooler. The problem is, by the time it got cooler the humidity had already sucked the life out of me. It does a number on you. I think humidity is worse than heat. The conditioning will still come regardless of pace. Pace only counts in a race. If you run slow in training but get a PR in a race will you really care about the training pace?

Ran the Boston Run to Remember half this morning. I was fretting over weather all week, this past week Boston had a heatwave, every day was sunny and hot. I've only had one run in that heat and only got 7 miles down before the pollen got to my eyes and lungs. Anyway, today was perfect running weather, low to mid 60's and cloudy. I was doing well up to about mile 9 then i lost steam and felt every twitch and pain. Ended up walking the last 2 miles to finish. All in all, great route, well run and I will definitely run it again next year.

I have heard this is a great race. Would you agree?

That is good news @LSUlakes. Congrats to all those finishing their races this weekend!

So during my long run yesterday I got to thinking about this awesome thread and all the people who have contributed with advice, stories, articles or simply a funny thought. I have learned so much from this thread but the thing I think that I appreciate the most is that I feel like I have gotten to know and respect many of you. I feel like the thread has become a space where people share their concerns, fears and challenges. As such we have shared many things and I have noted how many of us have been dealing with family health issues. I know that I have shared that I lost my father-in-law recently to cancer. He had lived with us for the last three years of his life and his loss has been a huge impact on my family and myself.

He was a huge supporter of my running and often met me at the door as I came back from runs to ask how it went. As his health deteriorated he would often tell me to keep running. He even picked out my medals hanger. Anyway, I have decided that I am going to dedicate my attempt at my fall ultra and then Dopey to him. This got me to thinking about what all you have shared. So I have an idea. What if all of us that are going to WDW Marathon Weekend committed to running for something or someone? We could share this with each other, we could create a Running Thread Team, have a meet up prior to one of the races and maybe go so far as to create our own shirt or button or something that could recognize the things we are running for.

So this is just an idea and my feelings will not be hurt in the slightest if this is more of a good idea in the middle of a long run but maybe not so good in reality and people are not interested. I thought I would put this out there for people to think about and maybe we could figure out a way to make my rough ideas work if others are interested. So give it some thought. Either way I will be running in honor of Chris. Enjoy the long weekend!

If I make it to the weekend I would love a thread specific meet-up to put names with the faces and meet some of you in person. I am not sure I would wear a shirt for the race as I need to wear my most comfortable clothes for a marathon but if I got to train in it and it was comfy I would wear one.

I always run for my kids. My oldest daughter told me the night before my first marathon I was her role model. It got me through my first marathon and it helps motivate me for every race. I run for my son too. With all his medical issues he goes through a lot of stuff on a regular basis so it pushes me when I think I am having a bad run. But I run to make all my kids proud so I can find someone to dedicate a race to.

 

[croach]

If anyone wants to see the real joy and heartbreak of running, check out the Comrades live feed. It's already been quite a race. The men's winner finished in 5:18 (for 90km!) and set a new record, and the women's winner was 10 minutes behind with 15k to go and passed the front-runner with 2k to go. The 12-hour cutoff will be at 1130am (EST), and over 50% of the finishers come in during the last hour.

http://raceday.comrades.com/index.php/live-streaming/home-about/live-streaming

Did you see the video of the lady almost get taken out by the motor bike and then other bikes wrecking behind her?

 

[FFigawi]

Now I need to figure out which Cirque du Soleil show to attend!

Ka (MGM) and La Reve (Wynn) are our two favorites

Did you see the video of the lady almost get taken out by the motor bike and then other bikes wrecking behind her?

Yes. She won last year and was leading by 10+ minutes when that happened.