The Running Thread - 2018

[JAMIESMITH]

So... I finished today 2 minutes under my goal. Finished in 2:28:02

Hopefully, this will work as a POT for the marathon in January!

What did you think of this race? I’m in Mississippi, but only an hour and a half away from Tuscaloosa.

 

[apdebord]

Does anyone run with mace? I’ve had it with dogs (and their stupid owners) after this morning’s run. I usually go out of my way to stay the heck away from dogs even if it ends up with me in the street (like today). A teen walking a mastiff lost control and it got to me and almost knocked me down. I freaked out of course and ended up backhanding it on the side of the head and sprinted away as fast as I could. I had no idea if it was going to bite! This is the third time this week I’ve had issues with dogs.

Yep, we have an issue with unleashed dogs in the neighborhood because the owners are too lazy to walk them and they won’t put up a fence. After a smaller dog being walked got attacked, by dogs owned by people who have had animal control called on them several times, I started carrying pepper spray. I have it on a key ring and normally keep it in my pocket or my belt, but sometimes I wear it like a ring and keep it in my hand. I love dogs so I would hate to have to use it; I wish I could pepper spray the owners since it’s typically their fault.

 

[kleph]

Dallas Rock n' Roll Half Marathon race report

tl;dr version. the humidity and the hills whipped my butt. no goal time. no pr. just pain.

@LSUlakes official time 2:04:10

 

[Capang]

Does anyone run with mace? I’ve had it with dogs (and their stupid owners) after this morning’s run. I usually go out of my way to stay the heck away from dogs even if it ends up with me in the street (like today). A teen walking a mastiff lost control and it got to me and almost knocked me down. I freaked out of course and ended up backhanding it on the side of the head and sprinted away as fast as I could. I had no idea if it was going to bite! This is the third time this week I’ve had issues with dogs.

I'm about to start carrying pepper spray. Where I live coyotes have made a big comeback. I tend to do lots of trail running once it warms up and I've encountered them here and there. They usually are pretty skittish but lately they have been seen more during daylight hours. They also tend to make appearances near my daughter's bus stop most mornings as they head into the woods. Our city officials recommended the pepper spray. Recently the coyotes have eaten some small, unleashed dogs. We have leash laws, but apparently, if you are special enough in your own mind then you don't have to follow said leash laws. Nearly every run I've come across unleashed dogs whose owners aren't visible or pretty far behind the dog. It is aggravating at best and downright dangerous at worst.

 

[AZMermaid]

No race but tried for 4.5 this morning. I stopped at 3.5. Ugh. I think its a mental hurdle. Last week, I really felt woozy and faint at that same spot. This week, I ate before going out so that wasn’t the issue. It was more that my legs felt heavy and tired and I didnt push through. I’m annoyed at myself but DH pointed out my pace is getting faster and I did still do 3.5 miles.

 

[AZMermaid]

Oh and there’s this park I run around. I dont go through because there are so many unleashed dogs. It’s not a dog park, but it is totally treated like one.

 

[SarahDisney]

My park has a dog run and people still let their dogs run loose in the rest of the park. I've never had a dog try to attack me, but I have had to stop short a few times to avoid getting in the path of a dog. Almost got bowled over by a dog once. I assume the owners either didn't know or care ... they were off doing their own thing.
Ugh ... some people should not be allowed to have dogs.

 

[tidefan]

What did you think of this race? I’m in Mississippi, but only an hour and a half away from Tuscaloosa.

I've run Tuscaloosa 4 times. It is one of my favorite half-marathons only because it is relatively flat. It's about 1,000 runners. Mercedes in Birmingham is much larger (around 7,000), but A) it fell on Mardi Gras weekend, and B) it is much hillier than Tuscaloosa.

I think my time would have been better (I was right at 1 hour after 6 miles) except that my right ankle really started to bother me over the last 4 miles...

 

[tidefan]

My number one goal for January is to lose weight. I was at around 280 back in November and lost over 30 pounds. I've gained about 10 of that back (no thanks to Disney Cruise Line - just got off of the Wonder about a week ago - Castaway Cay 5k time was 30:55). However, my goal for January is to run at around 240 lbs. I think that would help a great deal. FWIW, I am 6'3", so I think 240 would be a good weight...

 

[Mickey Momma]

Rang the PR gong today! Woot! For once my watch time and the official clock time matched exactly: 2:44:21. (@LSUlakes )

I passed 151 runners after the 10K mark and was only passed by 3. So that's good.

Finally, I have a tech question for those more savvy than myself. My watch only recorded the elevation gain of the course as 535 feet. Most of the Strava results I have been looking at have elevation gains in the 800s. I know there can be variables, but this seems pretty significant for 13.1 miles. Unfortunately I can't find an official number on the race web site. Anyhow, just curious if there is a setting I am missing somewhere? As a reminder, I have a Vivoactive 3.

 

[McNs]

Rang the PR gong today! Woot! For once my watch time and the official clock time matched exactly: 2:44:21. (@LSUlakes )

I passed 151 runners after the 10K mark and was only passed by 3. So that's good.

Finally, I have a tech question for those more savvy than myself. My watch only recorded the elevation gain of the course as 535 feet. Most of the Strava results I have been looking at have elevation gains in the 800s. I know there can be variables, but this seems pretty significant for 13.1 miles. Unfortunately I can't find an official number on the race web site. Anyhow, just curious if there is a setting I am missing somewhere? As a reminder, I have a Vivoactive 3.

My Garmin FR220 always recorded elevation below what Strava would show once uploaded (Strava does its own recalculation with the watch data). I’ve since changed to a Fenix 5 with a barometric altimeter and that is now matching the Strava calculation once uploaded, suggesting the 220 and perhaps the Vivoactive just don’t seem to record elevation that well.

In any case when reporting on elevation I would ALWAYS take the higest number

Great job on the PR too! Especially with800+ ft of climbing!

 

[flav]

Dallas Rock n' Roll Half Marathon race report

tl;dr version. the humidity and the hills whipped my butt. no goal time. no pr. just pain.

@LSUlakes official time 2:04:10

Nice report. I was curious about the Rock n Roll part as they advertise that they have better everything this year... How were the music, the animation, the water stops...?

 

[Waiting2goback]

IASW is most definitely classic Disney and is a must ride once per trip or so. IASW for four hours straight qualifies as psychological torture.

It may be. That ride just makes me feel good so I'm not sure it would bother me. I'm not a huge ride person. I love a Disney for the history so I tend to do rides Walt had a hand in creating. I just think the guy changed the world for the good so I try to find the genius in what he did. So I tend to zone out sometimes and that ride is one of those times. I barely hear the song.

 

[jmasgat]

We have leash laws, but apparently, if you are special enough in your own mind then you don't have to follow said leash laws.

Yup. I have no patience or tolerance for people who knowingly ignore the rules--especially at our local park where there are signs posted. They will all hear from me about it (while I'm walking my leashed dog). And even then, they'll usually respond with a "but" or "he's only" or "it's just" and an excuse. My dog and I have been harassed by off-leash dogs and I have one scar to prove it.

Fortunately, my running routes are generally dog-free or dog-contained.

 

[kleph]

Nice report. I was curious about the Rock n Roll part as they advertise that they have better everything this year... How were the music, the animation, the water stops...?

it's been awhile since i've done a RnR race but, in my experience, this was par for the course. and i mean that in a generally positive way. they have gotten very good at pulling off these large events and this was no exception. but there are unavoidable hassles with large events.

• there were bands on platforms or DJs every few miles and the mile markers had music playing. mostly you got the regular cover-band style music but they were all into it so it was fun. there were a few people running with speakers on their backs which was annoying as hell. i have no idea if they were part of the "experience"
• the start went pretty smoothly. since the corrals were not physically separated there were a LOT of slower runners way ahead of where they should have been. it made the congestion on the first part of the race pretty significant. there were no strollers or pets, so that made up for it somewhat.
• the water stops were every two miles when possible. these were pretty well run for a race this size. the biggest issue was novice runners not knowing how to queue through (please don't dead stop in front of people). but that's par for the course with a big race like this. they also had regular gatorade and not that soy weirdness.
• the medical tents were placed regularly along the route and their personnel were pretty active monitoring the runners. as i said, it was really humid. i saw no less than three runners down on the course. (my friend who was a spectator says he saw one guy veer off the route at about mile nine, pull out his cell phone and call a ride)
• i thought they did a great job of the finish line. it was easy to move through despite the post-race zombie walk. the offerings were solid and easy to get to. the reception area was well arranged and large enough to handle the crowd.

if i felt up to another big race, i'd seriously consider one of theirs.

 

[Mickey Momma]

My Garmin FR220 always recorded elevation below what Strava would show once uploaded (Strava does its own recalculation with the watch data). I’ve since changed to a Fenix 5 with a barometric altimeter and that is now matching the Strava calculation once uploaded, suggesting the 220 and perhaps the Vivoactive just don’t seem to record elevation that well.

In any case when reporting on elevation I would ALWAYS take the higest number

Great job on the PR too! Especially with800+ ft of climbing!

Thanks! I think it is definitely an issue with the Vivoactive 3. Now that I am not post-race loopy, I will do a bit of research today to see if there is a setting somewhere that I am missing. I live and run in a hilly area and I want the credit for it!!

For the record, my watch and MY Strava matched. But being a local race for me, I was perusing the results of several friends when I noticed the discrepancy.

 

[JulieODC]

@Bree - great question. I seem to have more and more run-ins with dogs lately - unleashed, who won’t listen to the owner to stop/sit/down, etc. the latest was 2-3 weeks ago, when the large dog was snarling and lunging at me, I started screaming...the owner finally caught up and leashed it. I turned and ran away, but was so winded I had to stop and walk for a long time before I could catch my breath. It was really scary.

I’ve thought about mace, but worry that it might make a dog more angry and more prone to attack. Is that a totally unfounded concern?

 

[FlashAM7]

Completely crushed my PR for the Winter Park 10k this weekend! My goal was a sub 54 minute time, and I finished in 51:54. All of those interval and strength training sessions really work.

 

[LSUlakes]

QOTD: With all the PR's over the weekend I wanted to ask, when you meet a goal or PR, do you treat yourself to something special?

ATTQOTD: It's been a long time since I PR'd, so I imagine the next time I do, a extra beer or snack will be in order!

 

[DopeyBadger]

QOTD: With all the PR's over the weekend I wanted to ask, when you meet a goal or PR, do you treat yourself to something special?

Doesn't necessarily have to be a PR, but I treat myself to an apple fritter post-race every once in a while!