The Running Thread - 2016

[run.minnie.miles]

ATTQOTD: Still no running watch here! I do a lot of treadmill running (i know....judge away) or use my phone/fitbit for outdoor runs. I am still considering a garmin, but Aetna health insurance just announced a program subsidizing apple watches, so I want to see if my employer offers that first!

 

[Tasmen]

All this talk on here about garmin watches is going to result in me stopping at Best Buy on the way home and buying the 235. So thanks for that

 

[LSUlakes]

All this talk on here about garmin watches is going to result in me stopping at Best Buy on the way home and buying the 235. So thanks for that

So, what you are saying is todays QOTD was extremely helpful. lol Enjoy the new watch!

 

[keahgirl8]

I started with the Garmin 220 and absolutely loved it. Upgraded to the Garmin 235 for the on-wrist HR monitor and couldn't be happier. It does everything I want it to do and then some.

ATTQOTD: I have a Garmin 220. I had a 210 for several years and switched to the 220 about a year ago. I like it a lot.

@Keels

@virtuoso1989 Welcome!

ATTQOTD: I use the Garmin 220. I stay pretty simple on my run data so this does everything I need. But if I ever get back in the pool I might try something new since I always lose count of my laps. I also have a heart rate monitor that I wear on my forearm and connects to my watch.

ATTQOTD: I have the 220 Forerunner. I feel like I could use more of its features if I took the time to really look into it. I do like syncing it to my phone app after every run to see the more detailed data for my run.

Another 220 user here! It does everything I need as far as intervals, pacing, and distance is concerned. I got a Fitbit after my 220 though, so I wear both when I run. It looks kind of goofy, but it's so much less bulky than a watch that does it all. I really only need a watch when I run. In cross training, and every day use, the Fitbit works for me.

 

[roxymama]

Another 220 user here! It does everything I need as far as intervals, pacing, and distance is concerned. I got a Fitbit after my 220 though, so I wear both when I run. It looks kind of goofy, but it's so much less bulky than a watch that does it all. I really only need a watch when I run. In cross training, and every day use, the Fitbit works for me.

Do you have the purple and white one? That's what I have and I literally never noticed people's watches until I got one. Now I do try to spot other purple watch people out and about.

 

[keahgirl8]

Do you have the purple and white one? That's what I have and I literally never noticed people's watches until I got one. Now I do try to spot other purple watch people out and about.

Yes I do! I wish it was pink, but I like the purple!

 

[Keels]

For those who drive to WDW, I am looking for a place to eat dinner off of exit 384 SW Archer Rd (I-75) on a Sunday evening around 7:00PM. Any suggestions?

Brass Tap or Miller's Ale House. Brass Tap will have a better beer selection, if you find yourself in need of an adult beverage after the drive.

 

[Miranda]

QOTD: I have the Garmin 220, and I thought I was itching to upgrade to the 235, but I got an arm strap to use (Scosche Rhythm+) instead of a chest strap based on reviews from DC Rainmaker, and I have to say, I love it. I don't need to worry about the wrist mechanism staying in the right place (my watch is always moving around on my wrist) and the arm strap is really comfortable. I wear it on my upper arm above my bicep.

I also have the purple one and I love it and I'm not going to lie that another reason I didn't want to upgrade is the colors for the 235's are all boring.

 

[Baloo in MI]

ATTQOTD: I don't own any type of gps watch. I do use a program on my phone for mileage. I am just old school, stubborn, cheap and not interested in the added tech. Now stay off my lawn!

 

[MommaoffherRocker]

ATTQOTD: I got a refurbished Forerunner 10 off ebay a little over a year ago for a great price and it has held up nicely so far. However I am going to be looking for something new soon, I don't think it has the battery life I need as I get further into marathon training.

 

[Waiting2goback]

QOTD: I don't have a Garmin. Based on the prices I am thankful I don't see the need for one. I have my phone on my runs so I use Runkeeper. It gives me all the info I need and it's free. I wear my Polar HRM for my heart rate, obviously, and my calories burned. That cost me $70. The combination gives me everything I need.

 

[jele30]

ATTQOTD: I was using mapmyrun on my phone until I bought a Vivoactive HR last month. I debated between the Forerunner 235 and the Vivoactive for a ridiculous amount of time. I went that route as it was $80 cheaper and had a lot of features. The watch is big (pretty boxy height wise) and wish there was other color options, but there are alternative screens that can be downloaded that give a nice viewing options. The heart rate feature is nice, but honestly haven't been doing anything different on runs to train in specific zones. The recovery thing would be nice on the 235, but hoping I'll try out some of the other pluthera of activity options on the Vivoactive to seal the deal. All the 235 talk has me questioning my decision again, but the Vivoactive has been a very nice watch so far and it makes me want to move around more at work to try and PR on the daily steps and stairs counters.

 

[NJlauren]

Great question! Lots of useful info for me, hoping to get a watch at some point in the future.

Currently I use map my run and my Fitbit. Very low tech compared to the watches...

 

[JulieODC]

Helpful info from yesterday's QOTD! Right now, I just run with my phone -- put it on airplane mode so as not to eat up data, and use the GPS/pace functions of mapmyrun. I am been toying with the idea of a garmin though....

 

[LSUlakes]

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.?

ATTQOTD: I track mileage on my shoes. For training shoes I try to get 375 - 400 miles on a pair. The pair of racing shoes/flats I have will go to about 200 - 250 miles. They simply just don't hold up as long, but or only used for very specific workouts or races, so time wise I will get a few months out of them. I'd also add that flats are usually cheaper than trainers from what I have observed. When they are done they usually look good, with exception to the bottom of the shoe. I keep my oldest pair for yard shoes, the second oldest for casual use. So when another pair gets retired, the yard shoes go to the trash and each pair moves a step down.

 

[Ariel484]

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.?

I track the number of miles on my shoes in a Google Doc (which is also what I use to track my mileage). Once they get to 250-300 I start paying attention to how they feel, and if they start feeling bad they go right into the recycling. I use the same pair of shoes for training/racing.

 

[Dis5150]

ATTQOTD: I was using mapmyrun on my phone until I bought a Vivoactive HR last month. I debated between the Forerunner 235 and the Vivoactive for a ridiculous amount of time. I went that route as it was $80 cheaper and had a lot of features. The watch is big (pretty boxy height wise) and wish there was other color options, but there are alternative screens that can be downloaded that give a nice viewing options. The heart rate feature is nice, but honestly haven't been doing anything different on runs to train in specific zones. The recovery thing would be nice on the 235, but hoping I'll try out some of the other pluthera of activity options on the Vivoactive to seal the deal. All the 235 talk has me questioning my decision again, but the Vivoactive has been a very nice watch so far and it makes me want to move around more at work to try and PR on the daily steps and stairs counters.

This is exactly what I did! I also went with the Vivoactive. My main reason was because I could see it without my glasses on but I do love all the extra features that is has.

 

[CheapRunnerMike]

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.?

I track my shoe mileage in Strava. I have the reminder set at 250 miles and at that point I start to really monitor the wear. You can't just look at treadwear and base replacement off of that (although that is part of the equation), you need to consider the breakdown of the shoe itself (such as the foam in the sole that you cannot see). For me I can usually tell when it is time to retire a shoe based on how sore my feet feel after a run...I know what is normal and what isn't. That usually falls between 300 and 400 miles for my road shoes, while I can easily get over 500 miles with my trail shoes (due to softer surfaces, minimal treadwear, etc).

 

[Ariel484]

I track my shoe mileage in Strava. I have the reminder set at 250 miles and at that point I start to really monitor the wear. You can't just look at treadwear and base replacement off of that (although that is part of the equation), you need to consider the breakdown of the shoe itself (such as the foam in the sole that you cannot see). For me I can usually tell when it is time to retire a shoe based on how sore my feet feel after a run...I know what is normal and what isn't. That usually falls between 300 and 400 miles for my road shoes, while I can easily get over 500 miles with my trail shoes (due to softer surfaces, minimal treadwear, etc).

For me, it's when I start to get any kind of shin pain - that pretty much never happens to me unless it's time to retire my shoes.

 

[Miranda]

I used to just use RunKeeper on my phone, because I also always have my phone with me for safety and music/podcasts, but there were a couple of reasons that I wanted a separate watch. The first was that since I do run/walk intervals, I always needed to have at least one earbud in to hear the alerts or I needed to run with the phone out and the screen on (killing battery life) so I could see the interval timers on the screen. Neither of those options is super great. The one earbud thing is awkward and sometimes I don't want them at all, and the phone out means I'm constantly looking down at my phone when I really want to just look around.

With the watch, it has a run/walk feature built in, and I can set it up to use vibrate notifications so that during runs/races where I don't want to use headphones, I'm not screwed. The first and last place I really had this problem was at Tink last year (I got the watch as a "you did it!" reward to myself shortly after coming home). I realized at the start of the race that I wanted to run with my headphones off and just soak up the atmosphere, but to stick to my training plan I needed to have one of my earbuds in, and I was completely unprepared for that. It didn't even cross my mind that I might want to run without the headphones on. I spent some time early in the race trying to figure out how to just keep one earbud in and wrap the other one around in the strap of my sports bra to keep it on my head so I wouldn't lose them (I use bluetooth earbuds so they're not connected to anything). I also like just being able to start/pause/stop my run without digging my phone out of my pocket, turning it on, etc.

ATTQOTD: I track mileage, but I end up retiring them mainly on feel and tread wear. I run in Altra Olympus 1.0's at the moment and they don't make great casual shoes, although I have worn a retired pair for walking at Disney before. They have an extremely thick/firm midsole that does not flex much. I love the firmness in a running shoe, but I prefer my retired-because-I-didn't-like-them-for-running Asics Nimbus for general walking because they are soft and flexible.

I am actually trying to get a new pair of Nimbus only for walking/casual, which is a hard pill to swallow because they are $$. I would just get a previous model and save some cash, but I need the wide width, which only comes in one color, and I haven't found anyplace that still carries my size. I recently ordered a new pair from Zappos but wowza, the 18's run so small! I have an 11D in the 17's, and they are probably a half size too big, so I was going to order 10.5's next time, but then I read the 18's run small and order a half size up so I thought well ok I'll get 11 again, that should be fine since I should have gotten 10.5 last time. NOPE! I need an 11.5 for the 18's. My toes were right up to the end of the 11's.