The Running Thread - 2018

[FredtheDuck]

ATTQOTD: When it rains, I like to have a hat to keep the water out of my eyes. So I usually run in a Brooks "Run Happy" hat that I got at a race expo. Conveniently, DH's head is huge and the one he got didn't fit, so I have two. If it's really cold (mid-20s or below), I wear a fleece beanie that I got as a race premium or an UnderArmour hat that does a decent job wicking sweat. In terms of other gear, I run in the dark a lot this time of year, so I have a headlamp from Nathan that I use.

Bonus ATTQOTD: Wait but what was the question? What go-to beer? We're alternating right now between 21st Amendment's Down to Earth Session IPA, Deschutes' Fresh Squeezed IPA, and a local brewery called Manor Hill's Taylor's Row IPA. I absolutely love Ballast Point's Sculpin IPA, but it's so dang expensive out here, so it's a nice treat but not one I get often. Shockingly, though, my favorite beer is actually a Belgian Tripel: Corsendonk's Agnus Tripel. I don't drink it a lot at home but my favorite local beer dive carried it (before the bar burned down... it just reopened with a limited menu that doesn't have it, but I'm hoping they'll add it back) and it was always a must. PS - Racer 5 is an excellent choice, @LSUlakes. Was one of the first IPAs I really loved.

 

[CDKG]

QOTD: Lets discuss another part of the running gear... hats/visors. With spring/summer eventually on it way (It was in the 40's this weekend here and I have heard the north is still getting snow). Do you wear a hat, visor, or some other form of head gear on your runs?

I like to wear a good runner trucker. I have a few that I will run/race in and a couple that I reserve for walks or bad hair days. I find them both stylish and functional! They keep my hair and the sun out of my eyes (I can usually go without sunglasses). When on the treadmill, I just wear a sweaty band to keep the flyaways out of my eyes.

 

[PrincessV]

QOTD: Lets discuss another part of the running gear... hats/visors. With spring/summer eventually on it way (It was in the 40's this weekend here and I have heard the north is still getting snow). Do you wear a hat, visor, or some other form of head gear on your runs?

ATTQOTD: ALWAYS visors in the heat! Helps keep sweat out of my eyes, and reduces sun glare on my sensitive eyes. I also always wear sunglasses with the visor, unless it's after dark. The summer sun in FL is no joke! (I also prefer visors with a dark underside, even if white on top, because it reduces glare bouncing up from pavement.

Bonus Question: Since wine was discussed yesterday, today we should turn our attention to craft beer. lol

Sorry, I've got nothing. I like Mich Ultra

 

[KingLlama]

Oh man....this thread has been such a huge help to me not only as I make running a regular routine, but also as I've conquered my first 5K, 10K, and 10-miler.

But there are days when this thread raises more questions than answers(and not in a bad way)....like today. I've been running in basic Reebok socks this entire time. Nothing fancy about them whatsoever, I just like the fit and the cushion. Haven't had a serious issue with blisters at all.

But now I'm wondering if I've been missing out by not trying different/better socks. I'd never heard of Balegas, never tried compression socks, etc. So should I look to make the switch? Will they make that much of a difference? Or should I stick with what's been working for me?

As for today's ATTQOTD: I wish I could pull off a cap to run in, but I have a size XXXXXXXL head, so any running cap looks like a yarmulke on my head. I can wear fitted baseball caps, but they are kind of "heavy" and aren't comfortable to run in. Visors though, I can get down with those.

 

[camaker]

Oh man....this thread has been such a huge help to me not only as I make running a regular routine, but also as I've conquered my first 5K, 10K, and 10-miler.

But there are days when this thread raises more questions than answers(and not in a bad way)....like today. I've been running in basic Reebok socks this entire time. Nothing fancy about them whatsoever, I just like the fit and the cushion. Haven't had a serious issue with blisters at all.

But now I'm wondering if I've been missing out by not trying different/better socks. I'd never heard of Balegas, never tried compression socks, etc. So should I look to make the switch? Will they make that much of a difference? Or should I stick with what's been working for me?

As for today's ATTQOTD: I wish I could pull off a cap to run in, but I have a size XXXXXXXL head, so any running cap looks like a yarmulke on my head. I can wear fitted baseball caps, but they are kind of "heavy" and aren't comfortable to run in. Visors though, I can get down with those.

I was very happy running in my Thor-Lo's and had never given a thought to changing socks or that socks could be better than what I already had. I saw so many testimonials on here (and other places) years ago for Balegas I finally decided to get a pair and see what the fuss was all about. I won't run in anything else now.

Don't be afraid to experiment just because it's not broken. You might find something you like better. Shirts, shorts, accessories, fueling, it could apply to anything. Just be sure to test the new items out on a few shorter runs to figure out if they are really going to work for you before committing them to long runs or race days where a "wardrobe malfunction" could lead to more significant consequences.

 

[Barca33Runner]

Yesterday ATTQOTD:

I wouldn't go back a day normally, but I love the Balega Enduro V-Tech Quarters that I have been running in. So much so that I've bought a few extra pairs for everyday wear. Definitely my favorite running related purchase of recent vintage.

ATTQOTD:

I wear a bondi band-like headband. No idea if it's actually that brand, but I pick them up for cheap at expos. They keep my hair and sweat out of my eyes better than a hat. When it's sunny I have no qualms about greasing my hair through with sunscreen. Not the best hair product, but it doesn't bother me. I also wear my Oakley sunglasses for every race regardless of weather. They keep stuff out of my eyes.

Bonus:

I've never had alcohol. The only time I'm tempted is with colorful drinks that look like they would almost completely mask the presence of alcohol. The smell of Beer and Wine give me the same gag reflex I get from malt vinegar.

 

[OldSlowGoofyGuy]

ATTQOTD: I always wear headgear for training runs, and almost never for races, unless it is a downpour.

For training, I have multiple options: burglar hat for super cold, earband for meduim cold, mesh running hat (amazing how much rain it lets in), solid fabric running hat for rain with a French Foreign Legion attachment for sun or rain, visor for hot pre-sun runs.

I wear a hat for 2 reasons: sweat wicking and sun protection.

For racing, I am a minimalist, so I may have a throw away hat, but that's it.

Bonus beer question: Note that I am deleting the word 'craft'. My at-home, go-to beer is Terrapin RecreationAle IPA. It's local, and used to be relatively small and locally owned. I believe it's been bought out by Millers-Coors. If the scale is 1=Canned Miller Light, 10=Local craft beer on tap, it's a 4.

I do not do hats! Even when it's cold it's head/earbands not hats. When it's hot I may wear a bondi type headband, but many times not.
I do not like beer so nothing to add on that, can I still belong here, haha!

Do you like Green eggs and ham?

 

[SarahDisney]

ATTQOTD: I wear a hat during the winter for cold reasons, but nothing during the summer. Unless it's raining, in which case I wear a moisture-wicking baseball cap. I just have this thing where I like to curve my baseball caps so severely that I can't see out the sides, and that's not so great for running.

Bonus QOTD: I always wanted to get into craft beers but never have. Sorry, I'm boring.

 

[jennamfeo]

Update: The wine is in the fridge. I assume I've lost my wine-drinking privileges, though.
I'm gonna stick to my bubbly wines. I know those get refrigerated. It usually says it on the bottle.

We are all just here to learn. Haha. But I also love me some bubbles. It's how I prefer my Chardonnay grapes to be processed.

Nice choice! I only drink Pinot’s from Oregon. They are the best! (My fav is Argyle...and they serve it at DCA!)

Oregon Pinots are my FAVE.

You can never go wrong with bubbles. We always have at least half a case of rosé champagne on hand.

OKAY I'M COMING OVER.

Bonus Question: My go to beer is Racer 5 IPA by Bear Republic. We dont have it here, but when I come across some I buy in bulk. IPA's are the opposite of wine, best consumed closer to it's born on date. Served cool, but not ice cold as the coldness numbs the tongue from all of the flavor. If my memory is correct, IPA's kinda happened by accident. I think the story goes something like this.. Europeans were traveling to India and wanted to bring beer with them. The beer would go bad on the trip so they used hops are a preservative, which helped the beer out but left a little bit of a different taste, but a lot less hoppy then current IPA's. Somewhere along the way, people decided they liked the high hop flavor. So the name IPA's for India Pale Ale is what we ended up with. This little story is likely flawed as I am sure someone told it to me while we were consuming some high ABV IPA's. Another beer fact, beer that is sold in a clear bottle is not worthy of being called a beer. There I said it! lol

This isn't too far off, but it was England who was shipping the beer to India. A huge pet peeve of mine is when people call them "Indian Pale Ales" and also people that say "Belgium Style". My go-to beer style is dark and barrel aged. I also like sours and when a craft brewery can make a good lager so I can feel better about drinking a light beer. I hate IPAs. They smell terrible to me like the smell of marijuana. Bleh. They taste like you fell into a bouquet of dried flowers. It's just not for me. I can appreciate a good one, but no sir, I don't like it. I would rather drink wine, or margs, or these cocktails that come in a can by Cutwater Distillery. Especially in the summer.

I like sours, just make it a solid sour and skip the pretense that you have the salt flavor as most of them do not

That is actually a different style of beer entirely, called a Gose (Go-suh), the sour with the salt.

ANYWAY, ATTQOTD: I sometimes try to run in hats but my head is weird and I don't like how hats sit on sunglasses. But if I am gonna be training in this AZ summer then I am going to probably look into a visor. Right now I just use a headband to keep my hair and sweat at bay, but also to keep my headphones in my ears.

 

[OldSlowGoofyGuy]

Back from a spring break vacation in Bradenton, FL

I am jealous. I grew up in Bradenton. Graduated from Manatee High School, worked at the Bradenton Herald.

Bradenton has been off my radar screen. Your post reminded me that maybe I need to get back down there.

I know I don't get there often enough
But God knows I surely try
It's a magic kind of medicine
That no doctor could prescribe

 

[KSellers88]

ATTQOTD: I occasionally wear hats, and I think most of them are under armour brand. I love hats when I am out on the lake or beach though!

Bonus: Like @Dis5150, I do not drink beer, or wine, but give me some vodka mixed with just about anything and I am good to go! LOL.

 

[AFwifelife]

ATTQOTD: no hats or visors for me. Sometimes a headband.

Bonus: DH and I gave up drinking but I was always a fan of the lighter and fruitier stuff. Spent quite a bit of time down at World of Beer next to UCF lol.

 

[Keels]

I have never had an IPA so no answer for me for the bonus.

Just go take a big chomp off a shrub or bush ... or suck on a bunch of pennies, and that's basically what an IPA tastes like.

 

[Chaitali]

I never used to wear a hat, I just wear an ear band in the Winter. But last year, I saw a visor I like (mostly for aesthetics) and I started wearing it on Summer runs. I really liked it and it's pretty comfortable so now I wear it on almost all hot runs. I skip it for races though and just go with sunglasses if it's going to be sunny.

 

[Sailormoon2]

Ottawa Voyageur Challenge

I am doing this in May! Did you get a "Challenge" medal as well as the 3 associated with each distance?

Fun Friday QOTD: Should I bring DD on Tower of Terror? She is 4, meets the height requirement, and depending on the day, said she wants to ride it. Those of you with children when did you introduce them to rides like this?

So late in responding to this but NO, unless as others have said it is at the very end of the trip. My first experience was totally traumatizing as I literally was expecting every other ride to "drop" repeatedly. LOL!!

@LSUlakes can you add me to an April 15th race "Spring Flyer 10K". Goal time sub-1 hour.

 

[rteetz]

Just go take a big chomp off a shrub or bush ... or suck on a bunch of pennies, and that's basically what an IPA tastes like.

I'll pass then...

 

[baxter24]

ATTQOTD: Headsweats visors are a must for me! I started wearing a golf visor when I saw my first race photos and my hair looked horrible. My ponytail was out of control and I just looked a hot mess. It wasn’t until I hadn’t done a few RunDisney races that I kept noticing the Headsweats visors on a ton of people and decided to pull the trigger. Love the elastic band on the back and that it is so lightweight. Keeps the hair out of my face and majorly helps with the sweating and sun. I do like the Goodr sunglasses to run in only if I’m running for a few miles.

 

[chuckille]

ATTQOTD: I always wear a hat and sunglasses on my training run. I’ll either wear my Nike Roger Federer hat (it’s a tennis hat but it has super sweat wicking powers and fits perfectly) or my trail running trucker hat. I also love my Goodr sunglasses...it never bounces on my face and I bought a bright color for safety purposes. For races though, I ditch those items and run as minimal as possible.

ATYQOTD: Ahh, I could go on and on about my favorite beers as it changes often, but suffice to say, I’m super into Kinkasi Tricerihops Double IPA at the moment. I’ll be drinking one this coming weekend after my HM. However, if I can find a Pliny the Elder during the week, that’ll be taking over as the post run beverage.

 

[FFigawi]

QOTD: Lets discuss another part of the running gear... hats/visors. With spring/summer eventually on it way (It was in the 40's this weekend here and I have heard the north is still getting snow). Do you wear a hat, visor, or some other form of head gear on your runs?

Never, if I can help it. I own several hats, and even bought a visor like the cool tri kids wear, and I hate them. They make my head hot, though on the flipside, they are useful for holding ice cubes against the top of my head.

Bonus Question: Since wine was discussed yesterday, today we should turn our attention to craft beer. lol

Bonus Question: My go to beer is Racer 5 IPA by Bear Republic. We dont have it here, but when I come across some I buy in bulk. IPA's are the opposite of wine, best consumed closer to it's born on date. Served cool, but not ice cold as the coldness numbs the tongue from all of the flavor. If my memory is correct, IPA's kinda happened by accident. I think the story goes something like this.. Europeans were traveling to India and wanted to bring beer with them. The beer would go bad on the trip so they used hops are a preservative, which helped the beer out but left a little bit of a different taste, but a lot less hoppy then current IPA's. Somewhere along the way, people decided they liked the high hop flavor. So the name IPA's for India Pale Ale is what we ended up with. This little story is likely flawed as I am sure someone told it to me while we were consuming some high ABV IPA's. Another beer fact, beer that is sold in a clear bottle is not worthy of being called a beer. There I said it! lol

Racer 5 is a great beer, and one of my favorites as well. My go-to right now are the NEIPAs from Spindletap and Brash, two small local breweries in Houston. My bike team is sponsored by Saint Arnold, the oldest craft brewery in Texas, so I drink plenty of their beer for free after all of our rides too.

I have never had an IPA so no answer for me for the bonus.

Not all craft beer is an IPA. There are plenty of other styles out there to choose from. If you want to try an IPA, I suggest one from Sierra Nevada or New Belgium. They're bigger brands and aren't as hoppy or citrusy as many other IPAs are. And don't listen to the naysayers (*cough @Keels cough*). Even she has been known to actually drink an IPA and not the flavored water she posts pictures of.

Bonus question: I seem to like most craft beers I try, however, I don't go out of my way to purchase beer to drink at home. The race I finished last Sunday, 11 Below brewing was handing out samples of their blonde and amber brews. Good stuff. They also happen to be a sponsor of our running club.

The breweries here do a good job of sponsoring athletic activities. Saint Arnold sponsors our bike team, you have 11 Below, Buffalo Bayou is on board with my friends' TIR team, and even tiny Holler hosts a weekly after work run.

Sorry, I've got nothing. I like Mich Ultra

That doesn't count as beer.

 

[rteetz]

Not all craft beer is an IPA. There are plenty of other styles out there to choose from. If you want to try an IPA, I suggest one from Sierra Nevada or New Belgium. They're bigger brands and aren't as hoppy or citrusy as many other IPAs are. And don't listen to the naysayers (*cough @Keels cough*). Even she has been known to actually drink an IPA and not the flavored water she posts pictures of.

Good to know!