The Running Thread - 2018

[camaker]

Better runners than me may disagree, but I've always heard that you want to take the first run(s) of any multi race weekend slower and conserve it all for the longest distance.

I’d modify this just a bit to suggest that a typical runner (ie, not Dopey sextuple PR extremists like @DopeyBadger) who is comfortable with all the distances being run, should/could focus on any one of the races with the intent to take the others easy. For example, I ran all 3 races at DLH last year. I knew that a half PR was not going to be in the offing based on the weather conditions, so I took the 5k easy, went for (and got) a shiny new 10k PR, and then went with a half marathon effort that felt appropriate based on what I had left in the tank. The PR effort in the 10k didn’t end up affecting my half performance nearly as much as I thought it would.

 

[JulieODC]

I watch Boston and the Olympic marathons.

We usually go over and watch Boston live (we live 15 minutes from the halfway point), DVR it, and then come home and watch highlights and the finish line and keep an eye out for friends finishing. Last year DDs daycare teacher ran and she was SO excited when we saw her finish.

 

[Bree]

ATTQOTD: This year was the first year I watched any marathon on TV. Why? Cuz it was the WDW marathon and now that I live in central FL I get a TV channel that shows it!

 

[WhereInFlorida]

ATTQOTD: This year was the first year I watched any marathon on TV. Why? Cuz it was the WDW marathon and now that I live in central FL I get a TV channel that shows it!

Hmmm, what channel was it shown? And how much did they show?

 

[lhermiston]

QOTD: Yesterday morning I was watching a little TV and saw that the LA Marathon was being aired. I got to watch the last 20-30 minutes of the men and women leaders. BTW the women's race was a good one! So, my question is, do you watch a marathon if it's on TV?

Nah. I don’t have cable, so I don’t watch much of anything. I’d prefer to watch more baseball. I can’t see myself watching a marathon, though I do enjoy WDW marathon recaps.

 

[FredtheDuck]

Quick question for the Garmin users here: I finally got a Garmin 235 (yay!) and I want to get started with it, BUT tomorrow’s run is going to be on the treadmill. Should I hold off on using it until I can get an outdoor run it so that it has a little more data on me, or ok to jump right in with an indoor run?

I’d welcome any other setup tips/tricks, this is my very first Garmin!

 

[LilyJC]

ATTQOTD: This sounds somewhat narcissistic, but we watched the LA Marathon both times I ran (once was the charity relay) to see if I made it on camera. My family loved getting to see me cross the finish line on TV when I ran the full. I really like watching it now each year as it’s a race I truly love. I also very much enjoy watching the Olympic Marathon!

 

[OldSlowGoofyGuy]

I’d welcome any other setup tips/tricks, this is my very first Garmin!

Congrats! I've had mine about 9 months and love it.

Have you ever scratched the face of a watch? If the answer is 'yes', you might want to add a glass face protector. If the answer is 'no', don't bother. I put a protector on and it saved my watch from a permanent scratch.

A technical tip (I think @camaker told me this. Sorry if I mis-remember that.) is to change the setting to record every second for more accurate (but larger) data.

Menu > Settings > System > Data Recording > Every Second

 

[flav]

Unless you are DopeyBadger, the idea of trying to PR all 3 races is not something I would recommend, and especially since 2 are on the same day. Going for one? Sure. Seems like the 1/2 would be the one--you clearly can do around 2hr and change (based on your 5/10k PR). You can treat Saturday like a couple of easy training runs.
Good luck.

Better runners than me may disagree, but I've always heard that you want to take the first run(s) of any multi race weekend slower and conserve it all for the longest distance.

@jmasgat and @Sleepless Knight Thank you for your answers. That is a wise approach especially since the main objective is to finish all three races, preferably with a smile. I just find it hard to motivate myself with an overall time objective or a half PR that I know might not be optimal given that I raced 15k a few hours before.

I’d modify this just a bit to suggest that a typical runner (ie, not Dopey sextuple PR extremists like @DopeyBadger) who is comfortable with all the distances being run, should/could focus on any one of the races with the intent to take the others easy. For example, I ran all 3 races at DLH last year. I knew that a half PR was not going to be in the offing based on the weather conditions, so I took the 5k easy, went for (and got) a shiny new 10k PR, and then went with a half marathon effort that felt appropriate based on what I had left in the tank. The PR effort in the 10k didn’t end up affecting my half performance nearly as much as I thought it would.

@camaker I like your example of DL. Congrats on the 10k PR!
It made me realise that I do not really expect to run the half in less than two hours given the distances I will have run the evening before. I will keep that objective for my September RnR half.

I am tempted to PR my 5k but afraid it will drain me. I will have to try it over the next month during training. Yes, that actually sounds like a fun first step.
Edit: This weekend, weather permitting, my plan has been updated to run 5k crazy fast Saturday before dinner and run 13k in the allocated 80 minutes the next morning.

If that goes well and I am able to get a proper refuling plan for the races, I might reassess the 10k and half objectives as we get closer.
Edit: Possibly as I run them

Thanks!

 

[Keels]

Quick question for the Garmin users here: I finally got a Garmin 235 (yay!) and I want to get started with it, BUT tomorrow’s run is going to be on the treadmill. Should I hold off on using it until I can get an outdoor run it so that it has a little more data on me, or ok to jump right in with an indoor run?

I’d welcome any other setup tips/tricks, this is my very first Garmin!

Definitely use it for the treadmill! That way you can get comfortable with starting/stopping and if you want to practice any kind of alerts, you can get a feel for what those are like in a controlled environment!

I have a Vivoactive 3 and I wear it 24/7 unless it's on the charger. I would definitely wear it for a few days to get a full realm of data for comparison.

 

[OldSlowGoofyGuy]

...and if you want to practice any kind of alerts, you can get a feel for what those are like in a controlled environment...

In hindsight, this is stupid, but the first time I ran a workout with targets set on the FR235, I did not realize it was going to yell at me for the whole run.

You're going too fast...you're going too slow...your posture is bad...wipe your nose...you finally managed to do things right for a second...you're going too fast...

 

[rteetz]

@LSUlakes you can add me for November for...
02 - rteetz - Disney Wine & Dine 5K (TBD / N/A)
03 - rteetz - Disney Wine & Dine 10K (TBD / N/A)
04 - rteetz - Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon (TBD / N/A)

 

[Keels]

In hindsight, this is stupid, but the first time I ran a workout with targets set on the FR235, I did not realize it was going to yell at me for the whole run.

You're going too fast...you're going too slow...your posture is bad...wipe your nose...you finally managed to do things right for a second...you're going too fast...

She's a real nag, the old Garmin.

My favorite is that it still tells me to MOVE after a long run ... especially like on Marathon day after I've been sedentary for like 20 minutes after 26 miles.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

@jmasgat and @Sleepless Knight Thank you for your answers. That is a wise approach especially since the main objective is to finish all three races, preferably with a smile. I just find it hard to motivate myself with an overall time objective or a half PR that I know might not be optimal given that I raced 15k a few hours before.



@camaker I like your example of DL. Congrats on the 10k PR!
It made me realise that I do not really expect to run the half in less than two hours given the distances I will have run the evening before. I will keep that objective for my September RnR half.

I am tempted to PR my 5k but afraid it will drain me. I will have to try it over the next month during training. Yes, that actually sounds like a fun first step.
Edit: This weekend, weather permitting, my plan has been updated to run 5k crazy fast Saturday before dinner and run 13k in the allocated 80 minutes the next morning.

If that goes well and I am able to get a proper refuling plan for the races, I might reassess the 10k and half objectives as we get closer.
Edit: Possibly as I run them

Thanks!

I also recommend prioritizing your desires and goals in each race and for the overall weekend. After you've determined what you want to accomplish, you determine your best path to success. You'll want to account for possible risks that subgoals may pose for the ultimate goal. Meaning if you want to finish all races in a predetermined time, make sure that crushing your PR for a shorter distance will not come at too high a cost for the longer distances.

For years, I resisted the thought of running a 5K and Half on back to back days. Since I wanted to finish the Coast to Coast first and foremost, I did not want to risk running a 5K and thus wrecking my legs for the Half. Only after I ran a half at the end of a normal week at Disney World did I realize that I could run in multiple races in a single weekend without sacrificing the big goal.

 

[CDKG]

Hey gang, I have been dealing with calf cramps during the second half of my long runs(and races).

I know that hydration is key, and I need to do a better job of that, but someone also suggested Nuun tablets. I found some the other day and was going to try them out over the next few weeks.

For those of you who use them, how do you use them? Morning of? Day before? Quantity?

Thanks for the help. When it comes to Nuun, I know none.*

*see what I did there

As someone who has always been prone to heat illness, nuun has been a lifesaver for me! I drink one nuun electrolytes tab during my run, regardless of distance. If I have a race or long run coming up, I may have one or two the day before as well to prepare for the activity. When I drink alcohol (usually a couple of glasses of wine with dinner) I always follow it up with a nuun electrolytes tab before bed. When visiting a hot (especially if it's also humid) climate, I will drink 2 nuun electrolytes tabs every day to avoid heat illness.

I have also found nuun vitamins to be a good way to encourage drinking more water during the day (they have yummy flavors). I probably have 2-3 every day. Nuun vitamins doesn't have all the sodium and other electrolytes, so you don't need to limit the number you consume a day like electrolytes (which I believe 2 a day is the recommendation).

BTW, nuun is offering a Friends & Family 30% off discount through March 31st with promo code: hydratefriends30

 

[Keels]

As someone who has always been prone to heat illness, nuun has been a lifesaver for me! I drink one nuun electrolytes tab during my run, regardless of distance. If I have a race or long run coming up, I may have one or two the day before as well to prepare for the activity. When I drink alcohol (usually a couple of glasses of wine with dinner) I always follow it up with a nuun electrolytes tab before bed. When visiting a hot (especially if it's also humid) climate, I will drink 2 nuun electrolytes tabs every day to avoid heat illness.

I have also found nuun vitamins to be a good way to encourage drinking more water during the day (they have yummy flavors). I probably have 2-3 every day. Nuun vitamins doesn't have all the sodium and other electrolytes, so you don't need to limit the number you consume a day like electrolytes (which I believe 2 a day is the recommendation).

BTW, nuun is offering a Friends & Family 30% off discount through March 31st with promo code: hydratefriends30

I like your style!!

I'll also add ... I drink A LOT of water, but sometimes I get bored of it. I appreciate the light flavor and carbonation that Nuun provides to a bottle of water. We go through a ton of Nuun Vitamins at our house (Strawberry Melon and Blueberry Citrus are my two flavors of choice), as well as Energy+.

 

[Miranda]

My favorite is the cherry limeade... I haven't branched out much from that. I think the only others I have tried were watermelon (meh) and tropical fruit (ok).

 

[Keels]

My favorite is the cherry limeade... I haven't branched out much from that.

I've got four tubes of that ... but I also REALLY have grown to love Lemon-Lime as well. I *may* have mixed it with some tequila on St. Paddy's Day for a Nuunarita ...

 

[CDKG]

I like your style!!

I'll also add ... I drink A LOT of water, but sometimes I get bored of it. I appreciate the light flavor and carbonation that Nuun provides to a bottle of water. We go through a ton of Nuun Vitamins at our house (Strawberry Melon and Blueberry Citrus are my two flavors of choice), as well as Energy+.

Fellow Nuunbassadors know how to do it! Shall we even get started with nuuntinis? I love a nuunarita especially the cranberry lime nuunarita! Hydrate while you dehydrate!!!

 

[Keels]

Fellow Nuunbassadors know how to do it! Shall we even get started with nuuntinis? I love a nuunarita especially the cranberry lime nuunarita! Hydrate while you dehydrate!!!

NUUNARITAS 4 EVA!!!!!!