The Running Thread - 2018

[ZellyB]

ATTQOTD: I've never really done a warm up until our most recent HM where I followed DopeyBadger's warm up suggestion of an easy job before race start. I do think it helped.

 

[SheHulk]

ATTQOTD: I've never really done a warm up until our most recent HM where I followed DopeyBadger's warm up suggestion of an easy job before race start. I do think it helped.

same

 

[Miranda]

ATTQOTD: The warm up is the thing you do when you sprint from the portapotty to the starting line because you heard the gun go off while you were still in there, right?

That is a thing that has happened to me twice. The first time was a 10 mile race that had not enough portapotties so there were a lot of us still over at them at the start time, they were placed a decent distance away from the line, AND it had chip timing but no starting mat... only a finish mat. That was frustrating... my 2:05 time might have been closer to 2:00! Although probably not enough to get me under it. I don't even understand why there was no start mat... we started and finished in the same place, it wasn't like it was a point to point race and maybe they couldn't have mats in both places. They literally could have used the same mat! The second time was a half marathon that had two waves starting like 6 min apart, and was using an actual cannon... like the 1812 Overture kind... to start the race. I was in there when the first one went off and it scared the crap out of me.

Joking aside, I do some walking around, some dynamic stretches, maybe a few static ones that always feel super good (heels over the edge of a curb to stretch calves, bending over hamstring stretches), but I don't really run to warm up.

 

[KSellers88]

ATTQOTD: Lots of dynamic stretching. I do it before every run no matter the distance. Unfortunately my post race stretching needs some work.

@LSUlakes my goal for this weekend's half is a sub 1:50 (eek.) I've been told putting it out there helps, so here goes nothing! Thanks for keeping up with all these races and this thread!

 

[DopeyBadger]

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

Depends on the distance. But here is the just of it for me:

The warm-ups are key for anything faster than "long run" pace which includes HM Tempo, Daniels T, and Tempo. Essentially, there are two main pathways for the body to use oxygen to produce energy. The aerobic pathway is mostly used in slower running. The closer you get to the point where it becomes harder to breathe (Ventilatory Threshold) the more you use the anaerobic pathway. The aerobic pathway is more efficient and faster at creating energy, whereas the body uses anaerobic when the aerobic can't keep up (because you're going too fast).

The most interesting part between the aerobic and anaerobic pathway is that even though the aerobic is used mostly during slow running it takes about 6 minutes of running before it can be used. This means for the first 6 minutes we're stuck with the slow, inefficient anaerobic pathway. So if you don't do a warm-up, and you're running faster than "long run" pace (about MP + 9%) you push the anaerobic pathway too hard. This creates a deficit in energy within the first 6 minutes that becomes harder to overcome. As this deficit starts to catch up with you in later miles, it causes our running form to suffer.

I do dynamic stretching before all of my races. I suggest my runners do whatever pre-training run stretching routine prior to the race as well. So some stretch. Some don't stretch. Good research to show that changing the routine is more likely to lead to injury than either to stretch or not stretch.

After the dynamic stretching comes the race day WU. If the distance is a 5k, I'll probably do 30-40 min of running at a very easy pace (like 20% slower than marathon pace). For 10k, maybe 20-30 min. For HM, maybe 10-20 min. For M, I usually only do about 6-10 min. The pace isn't super important as long as it isn't faster than MP + 20%. If my body thinks easy is MP + 30%, then I go with that. Towards the end of the WU is when I'll add some strides in. Strides are short bursts of speed lasting in total duration of no more than 10 seconds. Three seconds building pace, three seconds holding pace, and three seconds of gradually slowing down. These are a neuromuscular stimulus. You've likely tapered leading into race day. Which means you were likely doing a lot of easy running the last few days/weeks. These strides reawaken the muscles to say, hey guys it's race day. I do maybe 4-5 strides in total with at least 45-60 seconds between them. The goal is not to be super fast and burn up energy. It's meant to be short and sweet. I start this entire running WU no sooner than 60 min to race start. I finish the WU no closer than 15 min to race start. Earlier than 60 min and the WU loses its effectiveness. Closer than 15 min and you start to infringe on your racing ability.

 

[jennamfeo]

@LSUlakes my goal for this weekend's half is a sub 1:50 (eek.) I've been told putting it out there helps, so here goes nothing! Thanks for keeping up with all these races and this thread!

I was going to call you out because I knew you had a goal in mind, but opt'd not to! Haha. <3 GO GIRL!

 

[DopeyBadger]

ATTQOTD: Lots of dynamic stretching. I do it before every run no matter the distance. Unfortunately my post race stretching needs some work.

@LSUlakes my goal for this weekend's half is a sub 1:50 (eek.) I've been told putting it out there helps, so here goes nothing! Thanks for keeping up with all these races and this thread!

I've got a number in mind too.

 

[KSellers88]

I was going to call you out because I knew you had a goal in mind, but opt'd not to! Haha. <3 GO GIRL!

LOL! You definitely should have, I need all the accountability I can get!

I've got a number in mind too.

Hoping to make you (and myself!) proud!

 

[DopeyBadger]

LOL! You definitely should have, I need all the accountability I can get!

Hoping to make you (and myself!) proud!

You already have.

 

[camaker]

@LSUlakes, can you please add me to the race calendar for this weekend?

28 - @camaker - Owl’s Roost Rumble Trail Half Marathon (No Goal / N/A)

No goal for this race. It’ll be my first trail race and I plan to take it slow and easy and just enjoy the experience.

Thanks to everyone who chimed in with advice on my question of which race to run earlier in the week. Ultimately this decision came down to the factors that I wanted to run further than a 5k, I’ve been wanting to try a trail race and I think a slow run for a longer distance will be easier than a fast road race on my shin. In addition, one of my running goals is to hit my 20th half marathon this year (this will be #18) and it really can’t be overstated how much I dislike 5ks!

 

[avondale]

mat! The second time was a half marathon that had two waves starting like 6 min apart, and was using an actual cannon... like the 1812 Overture kind... to start the race. I was in there when the first one went off and it scared the crap out of me.

Well, at least you finished in the port-a-potty faster than you expected, eh? Couldn't resist the joke when you said it like that...

 

[avondale]

ATTQOTD: I stretch and do a light jog before a race. But most important to my routine is use the bathroom AT LEAST twice before the race start. I usually go once, then stand in line again which usually takes about 10-15 min. I’ve had too many near misses during long training runs...

I second the using the port-a-potty at least twice. Although I did the go-and-get-right-back-in-line strategy at my last race, and I was a bit too early and the line was still so short that my second visit came sooner than was optimal. But still made my nervous bladder happy.

 

[avondale]

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

Most of my races are half-marathons. I like to do some sort of warm-up, but it depends on how much time I have, how crowded the start area is, and how warm the ambient temperature is. Ideally, a lot of brisk walking for things like the bag check and port-a-potty visits. Time and space permitting, I'll do a very easy jog for 5 minutes or so, followed by some dynamic stretching, followed by 5 minutes or so more of easy jogging. I try to make sure the easy jog is for long enough that I'm actually starting to feel a bit warm (i.e., WARM up ), so that depends on the ambient temperature, too.

If I have to cut something for time, it is unfortunately the warm up, because the port-a-potty visits can't be cut.

 

[flav]

Depends on the distance. But here is the just of it for me:

The warm-ups are key for anything faster than "long run" pace which includes HM Tempo, Daniels T, and Tempo. Essentially, there are two main pathways for the body to use oxygen to produce energy. The aerobic pathway is mostly used in slower running. The closer you get to the point where it becomes harder to breathe (Ventilatory Threshold) the more you use the anaerobic pathway. The aerobic pathway is more efficient and faster at creating energy, whereas the body uses anaerobic when the aerobic can't keep up (because you're going too fast).

The most interesting part between the aerobic and anaerobic pathway is that even though the aerobic is used mostly during slow running it takes about 6 minutes of running before it can be used. This means for the first 6 minutes we're stuck with the slow, inefficient anaerobic pathway. So if you don't do a warm-up, and you're running faster than "long run" pace (about MP + 9%) you push the anaerobic pathway too hard. This creates a deficit in energy within the first 6 minutes that becomes harder to overcome. As this deficit starts to catch up with you in later miles, it causes our running form to suffer.

I do dynamic stretching before all of my races. I suggest my runners do whatever pre-training run stretching routine prior to the race as well. So some stretch. Some don't stretch. Good research to show that changing the routine is more likely to lead to injury than either to stretch or not stretch.

After the dynamic stretching comes the race day WU. If the distance is a 5k, I'll probably do 30-40 min of running at a very easy pace (like 20% slower than marathon pace). For 10k, maybe 20-30 min. For HM, maybe 10-20 min. For M, I usually only do about 6-10 min. The pace isn't super important as long as it isn't faster than MP + 20%. If my body thinks easy is MP + 30%, then I go with that. Towards the end of the WU is when I'll add some strides in. Strides are short bursts of speed lasting in total duration of no more than 10 seconds. Three seconds building pace, three seconds holding pace, and three seconds of gradually slowing down. These are a neuromuscular stimulus. You've likely tapered leading into race day. Which means you were likely doing a lot of easy running the last few days/weeks. These strides reawaken the muscles to say, hey guys it's race day. I do maybe 4-5 strides in total with at least 45-60 seconds between them. The goal is not to be super fast and burn up energy. It's meant to be short and sweet. I start this entire running WU no sooner than 60 min to race start. I finish the WU no closer than 15 min to race start. Earlier than 60 min and the WU loses its effectiveness. Closer than 15 min and you start to infringe on your racing ability.

I really enjoy all the answers to QOTD from funny to concise (@OldSlowGoofyGuy) to very thorough ( @DopeyBadger ) and everything in between.

Edit: And thanks to @LSUlakes for asking them!

 

[LSUlakes]

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: I have a routine for post run as well. Again, the shorter the distance the more running associated with it. For shorter races a mile or two cool down at a very easy pace is common, followed by stretching. For longer races like a marathon I have found stretching and to continue to move around help with recovery. A ice cold chocolate milk also does wonders for recovery, but a beer is hard to pass up.

 

[MissLiss279]

ATTQOTD: I don’t really have a set routine, but I do continue to try and walk around for a while after a marathon or half.

 

[KevM]

ATTQOTD: I’ll walk for a little bit after a race and do a little stretching, but that’s about it.

 

[apdebord]

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

 

[Dis_Yoda]

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?

Drink Water/Powerade/Gatorade (depending on race)
Eat Banana and/or Food Provided
Try not to spill the yellow cheese on self while eating it on the bus back to the hotel

 

[KingLlama]

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.