The Running Thread - 2016

[PrincessV]

@BuckeyeBama I had the exact opposite happen - way back in high school soccer, a coach insisted that I was running "wrong" and needed to land on my heels. I tried valiantly... and wound up with debilitating knee, ankle and back pain. Gah!

 

[Mickey Momma]

Speaking of socks (and blisters), Zulily has Thorlos Experia socks on their site today - three pairs for $17.99!

 

[opusone]

...and switched to a midfoot/forefoot strike a few years ago. I can certainly run faster without any more effort with the forefoot strike, but it comes with a price. I have had more injuries since making the change than ever before in my running career. It puts more pressure on the bones and muscles of your feet than a heel strike...

Question for you: did you also switch shoes (to a lower/zero drop) when you switched to mid/forefoot strike?

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Question for you: did you also switch shoes (to a lower/zero drop) when you switched to mid/forefoot strike?

I did it in 2 stages - first stage was shoe change, then strike change, per my coach's advice. Started slowly, very slowly. My first problems were with my achilles, but that resolved itself after my body got used to the change. But the bones in my feet are different than most people and this creates problems. I get stress fractures easily in my feet because of this.

I have switched back to an elevated shoe (Pegasus) and land more mid-foot to heel again. I hope that this gets me back to injury free running.

 

[roxymama]

Yes...the Pureflow. I think I'll go back tomorrow and ask to be looked at and analyzed for the right running shoe for me.

My husband has very flat feet and a surgically-repaired knee and wears Brooks Beasts (it's a men's shoe, so I do not know the female counterpart) but he loves them. They are a heavier shoe since they offer the support he needs. But he is not ever sprinting a whole race, so they work for him. So, I guess what I am saying is don't give up!!!

@Anisum PUMPKIN RACE!!!! I hope you have a ton of fun with it and don't blame me for the crazy idea. Let us all know how running with a pumpkin friend goes.

ATTQOTD: Up until this year I was running 5ks so I didn't do a whole lot of "prep" other than setting my clothes out and trying not to stay up to late and trying not to drink or eat anything upsetting to my stomach. I never had to fuel or go to the bathroom during a race or carry much, etc. Once I moved onto the longer races I was a bit more calculated in what I was doing. I tend to eat a bigger lunch than dinner the day before. Usually always something mild and then for dinner I go pretty basic (pbj's are a favorite.) I make extra sure to be drinking water normally. And I go to sleep earlier than usual (like 9pm instead of 10:30+)
I also shower night before unless it's going to be super gross hot out, then I'll do a rinse in the morning as a form of "air conditioning" for my skin.
I set out all my gear and clothes and make sure my phone and watch are charging.
I like to get all my last water and any breakfast in at least an hour before start time. For bathroom reasons and digesting reasons too. But I also like to have some sips of water before the race, like right before it.
I have to do a light warm up or my legs feel too heavy/odd after standing around too long.
Hmmm, I'm probably forgetting something. OH, I'm a nervous wreck to the point of feeling like I could puke...so that's not something I like but I know its coming. I'm fine once I get to where I am supposed to be, because the nerves are never about the run...its always about the logistics of getting there, etc. One reason I picked Disneyland as my first half...I can walk there/warm-up to the corrals.
I WILL need so much help on figuring out how to fuel and prepare for a half marathon though so I'm taking lots of notes.

 

[roxymama]

I can't believe I forgot one thing I do to prepare. I always review the race course one more time before I leave for my race. I like to have an idea of what the course is as it just mentally helps me (usually) to know kind of where I am going. I like to kind of pick a spot where I think I could start speeding up (if its a race day and not a fun day.) And I appreciate knowing ahead where the water stations will be so I can figure out which ones I want to run past or which I might want to maybe stop.

 

[michigandergirl]

Yesterdays QOTD: Last month I got my very first blister and I can say for certain it was because I was sweating buckets from the heat & humidity that day. I just left it alone and it eventually went away on its own. My preventative measures are: buy shoes at least a half size bigger and body glide ever inch of my feet & toes for any run longer that an hour.

Today's QOTD: The night before I lay out everything I need for my race and make sure my phone & Garmin are charged. I don't usually eat any differently unless its a marathon, in which I have my biggest meal earlier in the day (carb load) and then a light dinner.

The morning of I need at least two hours to complete my pre run ritual, which goes like this:
-1 cup of coffee
-bathroom
-oatmeal and banana
-another possible bathroom visit
-body glide

Then at the race I get in line for the potties about 15 minutes before the start. Once in my corral, I will eat a couple of shot bloks. I don't do much warming up other than the walk from where I parked to the race, which is often pretty far because I hate paying for parking.

 

[Anisum]

@Anisum PUMPKIN RACE!!!! I hope you have a ton of fun with it and don't blame me for the crazy idea. Let us all know how running with a pumpkin friend goes.

I'm really excited for it. I usually wear purple for my races (because it's what my family spots me in) but I'm going to be pumpkin colors with my orange top and green headband (tink of course, gotta have that pixie dust) I also convinced a friend to do it with me and she's regretting her decision to become a tough pumpkin. I also made sure I didn't donate my old running shoes after re-reading your recap from last year just in case I need them to get through the mud.

 

[Ariel484]

QOTD: What is your pre race routine for the morning of or day leading up to a big race?
Todays QOTD is another suggested question which I thought would be important for those who haven't given it thought before a idea of preparations to consider.

Pizza the night before, preferably homemade. Set out race clothes, bob, fuel, etc and set up coffee.

Morning of: Coffee a couple of hours before, plain bagel with peanut butter 1 hour before.

 

[roxymama]

I'm really excited for it. I usually wear purple for my races (because it's what my family spots me in) but I'm going to be pumpkin colors with my orange top and green headband (tink of course, gotta have that pixie dust) I also convinced a friend to do it with me and she's regretting her decision to become a tough pumpkin. I also made sure I didn't donate my old running shoes after re-reading your recap from last year just in case I need them to get through the mud.

Does your race have multiple starts? Mine had like three different waves...8am, 9am, etc. I would tell your friend if she is nervous about pumpkin size to just get her pumpkin first thing when she arrives. They had lots of little ones...so this way she can make sure she grabs a small one. Mine was 4lbs I think? But they had all kinds. They weigh it for you so you can say "ok" or "no, let's get something else"

 

[CheapRunnerMike]

QOTD: What is your pre race routine for the morning of or day leading up to a big race?

Get in line for port-o-potty
Use port-o-potty
Get back in line for port-o-potty

 

[DVCFan1994]

ATTQOTD: I don't have a strict day before or day of race day routine. I simply eat healthy and try to avoid junk food the day before, anything that might give me GI issues in the next day or so. I don't carb load, because I am not very fast and haven't gone past the half marathon distance, so I did not feel the need. I fuel on the run, so I replace carbs as I go. I do make sure my phone and Garmin are charged, and have all my clothes ready to go. I fill water bottles and put my fuel in my fuel belt. I try to get to bed early, but on a good day I am a bad sleeper, throw in pre-race excitement and the problem is compounded. I do not eat anything in the morning before my races. I may have a few sips of powerade or gatorade but that is it. I will use the port-o-potty at least once, usually twice.

 

[surfde22]

Get in line for port-o-potty
Use port-o-potty
Get back in line for port-o-potty

Do you use the port-o-potty a second time or just stand there in line? The line seems like an odd place to just hang out.

 

[Baloo in MI]

QOTD: What is your pre race routine for the morning of or day leading up to a big race?
Todays QOTD is another suggested question which I thought would be important for those who haven't given it thought before a idea of preparations to consider.

ATTQOTD: The day before a long race I try to hydrate more and make every effort to stay off my feet and relax. I eat a bigger lunch and light dinner and try to get a good nights sleep. I always lay everything out that I need, get my fuel belt or camelback ready. I will pin on my bib if I have it already. Then organize my bag so I can wake up, get dressed and head out the door. I have a fun routine of having my younger daughter pick out my gels and she puts them in my belt. This way they are a surprise for me in the race. Except I always pick the first one that I have about 20 minutes before the race - mocha with caffeine. I like to get to the race early so I can get acclimated and relax. I love the pre-race atmosphere so I enjoy people watching and chatting with other runners and taking in the moment. Now I want to go race!

Good luck to all you racing this weekend!

 

[disneydaydreamer33]

ATTQOTD: I try and do the sensible things that have been said already (charge my earbuds, and garmin, and phone; lay out clothes, eat a sensible dinner the night before and a tried and true light breakfast the morning of), but like @roxymama, I am ALWAYS fighting nerves and the 24 hours before my race, I am constantly questioning why I signed up for this stupid thing to begin with! You would think after years of realizing I always end up happy that I have completed the race, I would stop this cycle, but NOPE I am a nervous wreck no matter what! I guess if there is any helpful advice out of this, it would be that nerves aren't a bad thing and if you just try and push through the nerves, you WILL be so happy when you cross that finish line and it will have been SO WORTH IT!

 

[The Expert]

Like @Ariel484 I run in Balega socks and have never had a blister from running in them. When I have had blisters from other circumstances I will sometimes cover them with moleskin if I need to otherwise I just leave them alone and let them heal on their own.

Ditto this. LOVE my Balegas!

 

[cavepig]

ATTQOTD - I don't really have any prerace or race day rituals but I guess I have ideal plans & hope I hit some of the ideas

Day before ideal - no running, no crazy activities, hydrate all day, eat a simple pasta or potato or rice dinner, lay out clothes, shoes, fuel & any items I will run with or have right before the race & attempt to get a good sleep

Day of race - eat breakfast a few hours before (I don't have a set meal but I do drink OJ, chocolate milk & something with caffeine coffee or Coke), dress & head out, grab a before race photo, dynamic stretches & warmup or basically try not to stiffen up waiting around if there's no room to actually warm up.

New race day plans I think we'll include pre-pinning my bib the night before (I almost left without it for this year's WDW marathon as I wasn't all there that morning) & rolling out my calves/shins/etc

 

[michigandergirl]

Get in line for port-o-potty
Use port-o-potty
Get back in line for port-o-potty

Yup

 

[IamTrike]

Get in line for port-o-potty
Use port-o-potty
Get back in line for port-o-potty

Yeah Pretty much this.

My race routine vary's a little bit so here's my disney routine for morning races.

Week before: drink more water/gatorade than normal. I usually up my consumption about an extra 24 ozs a day.
Night before : small dinner
set 4 alarms and a wake up call for ridiculously early
check through all my clothes and supplies which I've already laid out
recheck everything, maybe pin on bib
Get in bed and stare at the ceiling willing myself to go to sleep, because I only have 5 hours before I need to get up
Finally fall asleep 1 hour before I need to get up to race.
Morning of the race: Get up about 45 minutes before i need to leave
Bathroom
Drink a starbucks doubleshot and eat a half a granola bar
Get dressed
Bathroom
head to race start
bathroom
Walk to start
Visit bushes
Gu 15 minutes before start

 

[keahgirl8]

What stability shoes do you like? I have zero knowledge of them. Never even heard of them until I did some flat feet running reading today.

I wear Brooks Adrenaline GTS, but everyone is different.

Ohhhhh. While I did go to a running store...they didn't do all that. He just put them on my feet and said they seemed to fit well. He spent A LOT of time with me talking about good runing form...his opinion is not to heel strike, but to hit midfoot...he was VERY passionate about that and the olympic runners and h theow they run. He teaches clinics on running form and gave me handouts on what he teaches. I guess I should have asked more about these specific shoes. I thought the same thing as you...Just get running shoes and it'd be fine. Figured if I got Brooks, I was good to go.

Oh man...that is not a fitting. They should have you try on the shoes and watch you run in them. Then they had me take off my shoes and stand barefoot, so that they can look at my arches. Some stores even have treadmills or computer equipment they use. Mine isn't that fancy. I just ran down the sidewalk, but it was good enough! That was years ago and I'm still wearing the same type of shoes. Was it a running store, or a sporting goods store. While they do have running gear in sporting goods stores, they wouldn't necessarily fit you properly.

QOTD: What is your pre race routine for the morning of or day leading up to a big race?
Todays QOTD is another suggested question which I thought would be important for those who haven't given it thought before a idea of preparations to consider.

ATTQOTD: Not much special.

Eat a good dinner (last couple times, chicken pad thai worked out well )

Get all my chargeables charged (Garmin, HRM, headphones, phone)

Make sure my playlist is downloaded. NEW ADDITION after firing up my playlist during my 10K in August and finding out that none of my music was on the device anymore and there was a very poor data signal in the area. I for normal not-long runs I use Apple Music, which I usually stream from the Radio section. It's like Pandora, you seed it with a song and it plays related songs. But I have a playlist that I have made with like 3 hours of songs that was set up to be downloaded from the cloud to my phone just for situations like this where the data signal is poor. It's my race music now, I just use the playlist at all my races. But I guess Apple Music sometimes just decides that it doesn't need to be local anymore after a while.

Pack everything else up in my race bag. Usually that is my gels (Huma), Nuun tablets (cherry limeade), handheld water bottle, race dot magnets, a Bondi Band, maybe a visor, and travel size Body Glide. Maybe gloves if it's a cold weather race.

How early I wake up before race time varies depending on how far I need to drive to get there. Sometimes it is up to an hour drive. I usually aim to arrive at the race 30-45 min ahead of time up to an hour or more if I haven't already picked up my bib or the parking situation might be sketchy or there's a shuttle bus or it's a large race and there might be portapotty lines. I usually will get up an hour before I need to leave the house to give myself time to get dressed and eat breakfast before the race. For a while, I was stopping for a small coffee and an oatmeal cup (Umpqua Oats) at the local coffee place down the road on my way to races, but I started having some portapotty issues before races this year, which I know is a runner thing sometimes but never happened to me last year, so I thought maybe it was my breakfast. The oatmeal cup has a lot of nuts and berries and probably a decent amount of sugar. But the breakfasts I have made at home instead (toast with peanut butter and jam and a banana or my own oatmeal packet) haven't done any better, so I've just accepted that I need to make time for a pre-race stop.

I try and just stretch near the start until the race. About 15 min before the start, I will turn on my headphones (bluetooth ones), turn on my HRM (I have a Scosche armband one also bluetooth), turn on the Garmin again (I try and turn it on when I arrive once to let the satellites get found if I'm not local to my normal area), make sure the Garmin's got HRM/phone/satellite connections, start up the Live Tracking for my husband, get my playlist queued up, and wait to start shuffling forward.

This is pretty much my routine! I don't carb load, I just make sure I eat a balanced meal that includes carbs. I also start hydrating a few days before, especially if it will be hot.

Pizza the night before, preferably homemade. Set out race clothes, bob, fuel, etc and set up coffee.

Morning of: Coffee a couple of hours before, plain bagel with peanut butter 1 hour before.

I envy people that can eat pizza the night before. That is definitely not me. I have to eat like an old person.

ATTQOTD - I don't really have any prerace or race day rituals but I guess I have ideal plans & hope I hit some of the ideas

Day before ideal - no running, no crazy activities, hydrate all day, eat a simple pasta or potato or rice dinner, lay out clothes, shoes, fuel & any items I will run with or have right before the race & attempt to get a good sleep

Day of race - eat breakfast a few hours before (I don't have a set meal but I do drink OJ, chocolate milk & something with caffeine coffee or Coke), dress & head out, grab a before race photo, dynamic stretches & warmup or basically try not to stiffen up waiting around if there's no room to actually warm up.

New race day plans I think we'll include pre-pinning my bib the night before (I almost left without it for this year's WDW marathon as I wasn't all there that morning) & rolling out my calves/shins/etc

I do have a suggestion for that. You can do this at home too, but it's especially helpful for out of town races. I make a race day checklist before I leave home and pack it with my gear. The night before, I lay everything out (including my pre-pinned bib), making sure I've got everything on the list. The next morning, I check the list again before I go out the door. I came up with this plan after forgetting something and having to go all the way back. It just prevents mistakes, and it keeps my pre-race anxiety in check.