The Running Thread - 2018

[OldSlowGoofyGuy]

ATTQOTD: Eating pizza is typically my post-race routine.

Same here.

I'm pretty bad about cool-down/stretching after a training run. My general rule of thumb is 1 second of stretching for every 6 minutes running, so a 1 hour run = 10 seconds of stretching.

After a race, since I am usually near death, I completely forget about stretching. I pay for it the next day.

 

[Miranda]

ATTQOTD: I find all the snacks and beer and I cool down walking to them and my car.

 

[MissLiss279]

Can I get some level-headed advice from this bunch?

I did my first half this past weekend at Dark Side. I detailed it in that thread, so I won't rehash it here, but the bottom line is that while the first 2/3 of the race were great, the cramps I suffered in the final 1/3 brought me to a screeching halt and I nearly got swept. I hadn't had the chance to train in heat/humidity, so I hadn't had the chance to experiment with different solutions for it. Hence, the cramps.

Here's the issue...there's another half coming up in a few weeks that I've had my eye on. It falls on the birthday of my younger brother, who passed away last Fall unexpectedly. To pay tribute to him(and honestly, to do something to keep my mind off him for a few hours that day), I'd thought of signing up for that half. It will probably be similar weather to what I experienced at WDW this past weekend.

After my Dark Side experience, the only reason I'm even remotely considering this one is because the half and full are the same loop(the full just does it twice), so there's absolutely no danger of getting swept. I could literally walk the whole thing and make it through just fine. But I will only have a couple of weeks to "experiment" and see what I can do about these cramps that flare up.

So I guess my question is....what should I do that day?

A. Try the half and just walk it if the cramps flare up.
B. Try the half, but only if I can get in a long training run in warm weather before then so that I can try a different cramps solution.
C. Do a 5K or 10K in his honor instead.

I say do the half. Find some salt tabs (I use Endurolytes) or Base salt or some sort of electrolyte replacement and use that. If you have a chance to use them in a training run, great, if not use them anyways. Pour water on your head or back of neck early and often (each water stop) to help keep you cooled down.

 

[camaker]

Can I get some level-headed advice from this bunch?

I did my first half this past weekend at Dark Side. I detailed it in that thread, so I won't rehash it here, but the bottom line is that while the first 2/3 of the race were great, the cramps I suffered in the final 1/3 brought me to a screeching halt and I nearly got swept. I hadn't had the chance to train in heat/humidity, so I hadn't had the chance to experiment with different solutions for it. Hence, the cramps.

Here's the issue...there's another half coming up in a few weeks that I've had my eye on. It falls on the birthday of my younger brother, who passed away last Fall unexpectedly. To pay tribute to him(and honestly, to do something to keep my mind off him for a few hours that day), I'd thought of signing up for that half. It will probably be similar weather to what I experienced at WDW this past weekend.

After my Dark Side experience, the only reason I'm even remotely considering this one is because the half and full are the same loop(the full just does it twice), so there's absolutely no danger of getting swept. I could literally walk the whole thing and make it through just fine. But I will only have a couple of weeks to "experiment" and see what I can do about these cramps that flare up.

So I guess my question is....what should I do that day?

A. Try the half and just walk it if the cramps flare up.
B. Try the half, but only if I can get in a long training run in warm weather before then so that I can try a different cramps solution.
C. Do a 5K or 10K in his honor instead.

I'd say go for the half with option A and try to get a training run in at a higher temperature if you can. Cramps seem to happen for a variety of reasons ranging from under training to running form issues (not using enough glutes and relying too heavily on calves) to electrolyte imbalances. I'm sure there are other causes, as well. The challenge is going to be figuring out which applies to you and how to address it. The issue may also need a fairly specific pace/distance/heat/humidity threshold to trigger, making it a crap shoot as to whether being able to run long training runs without cramping will translate over to racing without cramps. Take your best guess as to the precipitating cause and try something to fix it. If you cramp, you just have to try something different next time or evaluate whether it might have a different cause.

 

[camaker]

I'll double dip on QOTDs today.

ATYQOTD: I don't really have a defined warm up before racing or training runs. Pre-race I tend to do some random dynamic stretching just to keep moving and do something to keep the nerves at bay.

ATTQOTD: Post-race, the only cool down activity I have is walking back to the car/bus. I do try to keep moving and for a half or longer I'll put on calf sleeves to help with circulation and recovery.

 

[gjramsey]

ATTQOTD: Hmmm, I guess I don't really have a set cool-down activity. Walk around and talk to friends, get post-race banana or other food. No stretching

 

[PrincessV]

QOTD: Warm up routine before a race? Do you have one? What do you do? When? For which distance?

ATTQOTD: Depends on the race...
Disney races: before leaving hotel room, I do my usual pre-run foam rolling/stretching routine. After that, the walking to start area, standing around, walk to start area, etc. is generally sufficient warm-up. But for cold races, I walk at least 5 minutes once I start to get a proper warm-up before even attempting a running step.

Non-Disney races: same home routine, but once at the race I'll do a 1/4-1/2 mile run-walk warm-up and try to time it to finish 5-10 minutes before the start.

QOTD: Since we discussed warm up yesterday it makes sense to discuss the post race cool down today. So, do you have any kind of post race routine, and if so how does it change depending on the race distance?

ATTQOTD: Kinda just my warm-up in reverse - walk a while until my HR drops, do some standing stretches, then my usual foam roller/stretching routine once home or at my hotel room. Unless it takes a long time to get from race to home/hotel, and/or if I get chilly, in which case I'll shower first, then foam roll/stretch.

 

[run.minnie.miles]

ATTQOTD:
Walk, drink, eat. Repeat.

I'm working on finalizing our vacation plans for next month... If anyone has any must-dos, eats, sees, or skips for Maui, please let me know!! (you can PM me if you don't want to pollute this thread )

 

[Keels]

Change my shoes and slam a beer, though not always necessarily in that order.

 

[michigandergirl]

ATTQOTD:
Walk, drink, eat. Repeat.

Ditto!

If anyone has any must-dos, eats, sees, or skips for Maui, please let me know!!

It's been 16 years since we've been to Maui, but we loved it and can't wait to go back. We eloped and were married on Kapalua Bay, which is a great snorkeling spot. The road to Hana is a must do and everything along the way. The sunrise/bike down Haleakala was awesome (we did the unguided tour). So jealous, have fun!!

 

[rteetz]

QOTD: Since we discussed warm up yesterday it makes sense to discuss the post race cool down today. So, do you have any kind of post race routine, and if so how does it change depending on the race distance?

There is usually a lot of walking after a Disney race so that seems to work well for me. I eat and drink and that’s about it.

 

[cavepig]

Does waiting for characters after the race then riding Space Mountain & walking Swiss Family Treehouse count as a cooldown?! Otherwise, I've got no specific cooldown.

 

[FFigawi]

QOTD: Since we discussed warm up yesterday it makes sense to discuss the post race cool down today. So, do you have any kind of post race routine, and if so how does it change depending on the race distance?

Find my way to the nearest cold beer!

Can I get some level-headed advice from this bunch?

So I guess my question is....what should I do that day?

A. Try the half and just walk it if the cramps flare up.
B. Try the half, but only if I can get in a long training run in warm weather before then so that I can try a different cramps solution.
C. Do a 5K or 10K in his honor instead.

I'd suggest option A combined with topping off your electrolytes and fluids before and during the race. Use BASE salt or Salt Stick to do this for the few days before the race and while you're running, and you're much less likely to have cramps from heat and dehydration.

 

[jennamfeo]

ATTQOTD: I forget all about the cool down after a race. I just want chocolate milk, beer, and food (usually pizza).

 

[OldSlowGoofyGuy]

Like @KingLlama I am looking for advice. I'm running a half this weekend with a big downhill. Basically level for 5, big downhill for 5 to 11 or 12, then slight downhill to the finish. Here's the profile.



I'm going to go for a PR (<1:52:00) which is an 8:31 pace. I'd say I'm not in good enough shape to hit that on a level course.

My questions are:
What pace should I go for on the level portion?
What about the big downhill? How freewheeling should I go?
What happens if I go too fast on the downhill? I know what it feels like to run out of endurance or for my legs to quit on a level course. What happens if you overdo it on a downhill? Obviously your quads give out, but what's it like? They run out of energy and don't fire anymore? Or the pain is so great that you have to slow down? To put it a different way: what is the limiting factor on a downhill race?

I have to add: this course seems like cheating, but it will look the same in the record book. I also have to add: I may be 'racing' with other DISers that have halfs this weekend (and fully expect to get my butt kicked despite the downhill course.)

 

[camaker]

Like @KingLlama I am looking for advice. I'm running a half this weekend with a big downhill. Basically level for 5, big downhill for 5 to 11 or 12, then slight downhill to the finish. Here's the profile.

View attachment 319333

I'm going to go for a PR (<1:52:00) which is an 8:31 pace. I'd say I'm not in good enough shape to hit that on a level course.

My questions are:
What pace should I go for on the level portion?
What about the big downhill? How freewheeling should I go?
What happens if I go too fast on the downhill? I know what it feels like to run out of endurance or for my legs to quit on a level course. What happens if you overdo it on a downhill? Obviously your quads give out, but what's it like? They run out of energy and don't fire anymore? Or the pain is so great that you have to slow down? To put it a different way: what is the limiting factor on a downhill race?

I have to add: this course seems like cheating, but it will look the same in the record book. I also have to add: I may be 'racing' with other DISers that have halfs this weekend (and fully expect to get my butt kicked despite the downhill course.)

I can't give you too much pacing advice, but I will throw a caution out there for you. The natural tendency on downhills is to lengthen your stride as you go, or try to go, faster. That increases the strain on your hamstrings, especially. Just pay attention to keeping your cadence up and try not to go full on "gazelle" on those stretches.

 

[Bree]

QOTD: The walk to get my medal, water and food box is my post race cool down.

 

[Tygerlilly]

Well, I gave myself a goal. Theres a 15k on my birthday (October 27th) and I'm going to sign up on my next payday. If I do well for the next month and a half after that, I'll sign up for my first Half marathon that is in mid-November.

Pretty excited to have a solid goal to work towards now. Hopefully I can move my vacation dates around to work in a Disney race next spring since we will already be there!

 

[FFigawi]

Like @KingLlama I am looking for advice. I'm running a half this weekend with a big downhill. Basically level for 5, big downhill for 5 to 11 or 12, then slight downhill to the finish. Here's the profile.

View attachment 319333

I'm going to go for a PR (<1:52:00) which is an 8:31 pace. I'd say I'm not in good enough shape to hit that on a level course.

My questions are:
What pace should I go for on the level portion?
What about the big downhill? How freewheeling should I go?
What happens if I go too fast on the downhill? I know what it feels like to run out of endurance or for my legs to quit on a level course. What happens if you overdo it on a downhill? Obviously your quads give out, but what's it like? They run out of energy and don't fire anymore? Or the pain is so great that you have to slow down? To put it a different way: what is the limiting factor on a downhill race?

I have to add: this course seems like cheating, but it will look the same in the record book. I also have to add: I may be 'racing' with other DISers that have halfs this weekend (and fully expect to get my butt kicked despite the downhill course.)

My advice is to keep a short stride and lean forward over your legs. You want to aim for your feet landing under your body like you do on flat ground. Our natural tendency is to lean back and brake with our heels, which only serves to put more stress on our quads, or as @camaker said above, to stride out and go for broke, which can lead to your feet pounding against the front of your shoes. Neither approach is conducive to having a decent race at the end. Gravity will carry you down the hill, you don't need to give it much help or much fight as long as you run careful and steady. If you're running down switchbacks, watch out for the camber of the road. The slant in the middle will be hell on your ankles. Try to stay on the edges where it's flatter. And yes, if you blow your quads up running downhill, they will seize up and not work when you try to use them to power along the flat portions. I've seen it plenty of times and it's an ugly thing to watch.

 

[kleph]

Running Participation Declines Expected To Level Off

With race participation slipping in recent years, a big American win and the gnarly conditions at the Boston Marathon shined a much-needed spotlight on the sport of running. However, race organizers and running industry execs still believe a renewed focus on delivering unique experiences will be necessary to again drive up race finishers.

On the positive side, a comprehensive study on running retention from Running USA that came out earlier this year found that race participation is on a path to stabilize. The study, based on a survey for more than 5,000 runners in October and November last year, also found numerous challenges around race events:

• Cost is a major driver for race participation, particularly for females and younger runners
• Only half of the respondents felt they get good value from their race experiences
• Runners are looking for new experiences – events need to create new themes and experiences annually
• Fitness classes more than other color, mud, etc. type events are taking the runner dollar
• Time is a contributing factor – many just have less time

“The findings really confirmed what we have been hearing around the sport,” Running USA CEO Rich Harshbarger told SGB Executive. “Essentially, runners will pay more for an ‘experience’ on one hand and are willing to participate in lower priced events if they are fun. The real follow up on our end as well as for the industry is to be able to properly define and execute on an ‘experience’. Our follow up is to help events understand how to best define that for themselves and not create fads or gimmicks in order to maintain longevity.”

https://sgbonline.com/running-participation-declines-expected-to-level-off/