The Running Thread - 2018

[Z-Knight]

Anyone been to Toronto? I have to head there later this month for work. I heard driving in the city is a nightmare. I’m debating whether I should stay outside the city instead but that means I won’t get to see the city. I need the car as the location of my meeting is In Scarborough

watch out for the automated (non-manned) toll roads...I think the 407? or something...I don't recall the name/number but there are certain highways there that are tolled and you might not notice it getting on and then I think the charges are high.

 

[Princess KP]

Anyone been to Toronto? I have to head there later this month for work. I heard driving in the city is a nightmare. I’m debating whether I should stay outside the city instead but that means I won’t get to see the city. I need the car as the location of my meeting is In Scarborough

I live in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and yes, traffic is horrible, even on weekends. I think the only time there isn’t traffic is 11pm - 5am.
Highway 407 that Z-Knight mentioned is north of the city and you most likely won’t travel on it. PM me and I can offer some hotel suggestions based on what you would like to see / do.

 

[AntimonyER]

Does anyone ever just have a bad run? Like you don't feel right from the start, your pace is off, and you can't even finish your planned distance? I had been working back up to my pre-summer 10 mile runs, and as storms had passed through and there was a light rain, I decided to give it a go last night. Made it 9.11 miles and if I had tried to go any further, thats what someone would have been calling. Ugh. I had hoped I hadn't fallen off so bad sticking to shorter runs outside, or treadmill runs over the summer. Oh well. At least I have almost two months before my HM.

 

[jmasgat]

Does anyone ever just have a bad run? Like you don't feel right from the start, your pace is off, and you can't even finish your planned distance? I had been working back up to my pre-summer 10 mile runs, and as storms had passed through and there was a light rain, I decided to give it a go last night. Made it 9.11 miles and if I had tried to go any further, thats what someone would have been calling. Ugh. I had hoped I hadn't fallen off so bad sticking to shorter runs outside, or treadmill runs over the summer. Oh well. At least I have almost two months before my HM.

Where's the "hand raised, Ooh, ooh, me" emoji? Yes, it happens-with no rhyme or reason as to why, sometimes. Don't worry too much about it.

One time I went out for a run that was supposed to be 8-10 and got to a spot 5+ miles (after I already had taken my refueling break), and just couldn't go one more step. I actually lay down on someone's lawn (briefly) to just compose myself. Then I shortcut it home.

Weather, fatigue, mental stress, life.....so many thing can just produce a stonker. It just is the way it is. Conversely, and hopefully, one day you will also have a great run when you least expect it, and you will be equally puzzled as to why. I have had a great run after a night of zero sleep and worry (hello, Disney races!) It will all balance out!

 

[OldSlowGoofyGuy]

Does anyone ever just have a bad run? Like you don't feel right from the start...

Yes. It can be weather related, out too late the night before, or unexplained.

If it's a tempo run, I might give up on maintaining pace, and just try to get the distance in. But occasionally, even the distance doesn't happen, especially if I get a late start. I will sometimes try to make up the distance on the next couple of easy runs (ADA: against @DopeyBadger advice). I absolutely hate not hitting the plan miles for the week.

Don't beat yourself up too much; 9.11 (took me a minute to get the 'calling' joke) out of 10 in the rain is more of a hit than a miss.

 

[Disney at Heart]

Does anyone ever just have a bad run? Like you don't feel right from the start, your pace is off, and you can't even finish your planned distance? I had been working back up to my pre-summer 10 mile runs, and as storms had passed through and there was a light rain, I decided to give it a go last night. Made it 9.11 miles and if I had tried to go any further, thats what someone would have been calling. Ugh. I had hoped I hadn't fallen off so bad sticking to shorter runs outside, or treadmill runs over the summer. Oh well. At least I have almost two months before my HM.

Yes, of course, bad runs happen for lots of reasons. Here are some of mine:
1) Health: Once I was supposed to do 6 miles; by 1.5 I felt like I was going to die. It was the beginning of a stomach virus that lasted DAYS!
2) Mental/ emotional: I lost a best friend to cancer once on a Wednesday and ran a 10k on Saturday. During the middle of the race, my legs got so heavy (like my heart) that it was hard to lift them and I thought, "I just don't want to do this." I barely finished.
3) Sore "runner things": Achilles, IT band, hips, etc.
4) Weather: Heat and humidity, rain, cold
Other times, like @jmasgat there is no rhyme or reason. I love the first "cool" run in the fall that feels great. I'm still waiting for it.

 

[hauntedcity]

Does anyone ever just have a bad run? .

How about today? I woke up late feeling BLERG, so I got a late start running. I have a hard stop when I have to be back home, so I shortened my route, figuring I'd run about 25 minutes instead of 30. Even so, I stumbled about 2 minutes/mile slower than normal, and even with the shorter route, I ended up taking much more than 30 minutes, making me late for work.

I'm just glad I got through it, and I can mark it off the training calendar!

 

[TheHamm]

As @LSUlakes is walking all of those miles today, he suggested I take my proposed QOTD and use it for Today, and propose others keep it going through Sunday. So, here it is:

Question of the Day:
There have recently been several admonishments to be seen while running. Our friends in the southern hemisphere are getting more daylight hours but many of us fewer. Do you modify your time, route, gear or anything else based on the quantity of daylight available?

ATTQOTD: Over the summer I had been exploring new routes with the aims of fewer hills and more drinking fountains. I have learned these also have fewer lights and are less traveled than my well lit, hilly route. I think I will likely be returning to the more lit, more hilly path for weekdays and maybe saving the other route for weekends. Also, they will likely turn off the drinking fountains soon so that removes part of the appeal. I was surprised to see more than one runner holding a flashlight in their hand while running last week. I do NOT think I could do that. I did try to attach my bike light to my waist band and found that while it is fine for biking, I cannot stand it while running. Ditto for the headlamp.

Follow up on business: I found it hard to ask anything for the first 6 months of lurking. Does anyone newer to the board wish to volunteer for Wednesday? If not, I will nominate someone after 1:45 pm Eastern (because I will be sitting in a meeting at which I will multitask). Also, volunteers for Thursday & Friday?

 

[hauntedcity]

Question of the Day:
Do you modify your time, route, gear or anything else based on the quantity of daylight available?

The only difference is if I bring some light (headlamp or footlamps). Other than that, I'm a morning running who has to get up early to make it to work on time. Evening hours are too busy with after-school events for my kids.

 

[camaker]

As [B][U]Question of the Day:[/U]
There have recently been several admonishments to be seen while running. Our friends in the southern hemisphere are getting more daylight hours but many of us fewer. Do you modify your time, route, gear or anything else based on the quantity of daylight available?[/B]

ATTQOTD: The best time for me to fit my runs in is after getting home from work and before dinner. As a result, as the daylight hours wane I end up doing more and more runs in partial to complete darkness. In order to stay safe during those dark runs I have two main strategies depending on the length of the run.

For short runs, generally less than 8-9 miles where I don't need to carry water I wear a Noxgear Tracer360 vest so others can see me and a Black Diamond headlamp so that I can see where I'm going.

For longer runs, I wear a hydration pack and have found that the Tracer360 doesn't work well with it. In order to stay safe and visible for those runs I've got two Nathan strobe lights that I clip onto the front and back of the hydration pack. I generally set the front light to solid and have the back light flashing. The Black Diamond headlamp still comes along so that I can see where I'm going.

The only route modification I'll do is to avoid the local park that closes at sunset and stick to the roads with sidewalks.

 

[AntimonyER]

My running during fall and spring is dictated by my children's sport schedule. They practice at a great park with a well lit running path, so darkness is no issue. I actually prefer the dark as the early evening sun and Temps are less than desirable in S. Georgia.

 

[Bree]

ATTQOTD: I have a small LED flashlight that throws off tons of light if I’m running on the sidewalk outside the gates of my neighborhood that’s not well lit. I don’t go out there that much right now due to the bear activity. It’s so dark I wouldn’t be able to see one until I was up on top of it! We get bears inside our neighborhood (one was here last night), but at least we have streetlights. I saw someone with these and they look really neat https://knucklelights.com/. I also have a Tracer 360 vest that I use on some of my long runs.

 

[HomeiswhereMickeyis]

Race Report:
I ran the Turtle Krawl 5k on Saturday. Overall it was a great race! They had pace signs for you to line up at to try to organize runners, but I still had a lot of walkers to weave through the first quarter mile. One thing I loved was at each turn they had volunteers to make sure people stayed on course but instead of them just standing there the race provided them with fun signs to hold! My favorite was where you could see part of the course straight ahead but had to turn and the guy there had a sign that said "course shortcut maps $10".
I knew signing up for an early September race in central Florida meant hot and humid, but this was right next to the beach so I figured there should be a breeze... yeah no. It was still, hot, and humid. I went too fast on my run portions making me need longer walk breaks so I know I could've done better if I had paid attention better. Still I got not just a racing PR, but a Garmin PR too! Finish time was 51:10.
After the race they had ice cold washcloths, massages (which I wanted to do, but laying down sounded awful at the time lol), muffins and fruit. The line for the food was so long I actually just asked the person at the back of the line what it was for because I couldn't see the front of it! Still they had plenty and were actually trying to give it away during the awards ceremony. One cool thing they do is they have an award for the exact middle finisher. Based on previous years my A goal time would've put me around that time so I stuck around just to see what time got that award (not me) and I won a giveaway they had for a nights stay at the beach!
Overall this was a great race that I would definitely recommend!

 

[HomeiswhereMickeyis]

ATTQOTD: As it gets cooler and darker I move my runs to the morning. It's getting darker but I'm still waiting for the cooler...

 

[PrincessV]

Does anyone ever just have a bad run?

Yep, BT/DT! Bad runs happen, so I just chock them up to "not my day" and move on. Nothing to worry about, unless they all start feeling that way!

Question of the Day:
There have recently been several admonishments to be seen while running. Our friends in the southern hemisphere are getting more daylight hours but many of us fewer. Do you modify your time, route, gear or anything else based on the quantity of daylight available?

ATTQOTD: I continue to use my usual routes in winter - I just add a headlamp for dark runs because there are some stretches of sidewalk without lights and I like to see where I'm going. I don't worry much about being seen, as the bulk of my routes are on empty sidewalks. The one small stretch of road with no sidewalk is only driven on by residents of the street, who are all retired... I've found that I'm WAY better off with them not seeing me. When I've lit myself up, they inevitably saw the light/reflections and drove right at me! When they can't see me, but I can see and avoid them, they maintain their line and pass by safely. In general, I trust my own wits and observation over any car's driver and make a point of avoiding possible collision by just staying out of their way.

 

[Slogger]

ATTQOTD: Yes, I can do more runs in the evening once the temperatures cool off and will also switch up my long runs from a weekday to a weekend.
Once winter sets in, I hit the treadmill for a while but typically hit hibernation mode in late December and January. Gives my body and mind a nice break.

 

[FFigawi]

Question of the Day:
There have recently been several admonishments to be seen while running. Our friends in the southern hemisphere are getting more daylight hours but many of us fewer. Do you modify your time, route, gear or anything else based on the quantity of daylight available?

Nope. I try to start my runs in the dark as much as possible to take advantage of the relatively cooler temperatures. I'll only begin starting later once the worst of the heat and humidity are gone.

 

[gjramsey]

ATTQOTD: Most of my runs are early, early morning, so I don't make any adjustments there. If I do run in the evening I will wear my Tracer 360 vest for the runs, since the number of cars on the road are infinity higher than 4:30am.....

 

[roxymama]

Does anyone ever just have a bad run? Like you don't feel right from the start, your pace is off, and you can't even finish your planned distance? I had been working back up to my pre-summer 10 mile runs, and as storms had passed through and there was a light rain, I decided to give it a go last night. Made it 9.11 miles and if I had tried to go any further, thats what someone would have been calling. Ugh. I had hoped I hadn't fallen off so bad sticking to shorter runs outside, or treadmill runs over the summer. Oh well. At least I have almost two months before my HM.

The answer is that everyone has bad runs. Except maybe superheros. We are human and it is going to happen. But it's the good runs that make you temporarily forget the bad ones...until they happen again.

Some bad runs are caused by specific things we can learn from and change and others makes sense that they are bad if they are in a really hard training week by design that is building up to a peak before a nice taper and are supposed to be hard; but others are just...bad...for no reason.

As @LSUlakes is walking all of those miles today, he suggested I take my proposed QOTD and use it for Today, and propose others keep it going through Sunday. So, here it is:

Question of the Day:
There have recently been several admonishments to be seen while running. Our friends in the southern hemisphere are getting more daylight hours but many of us fewer. Do you modify your time, route, gear or anything else based on the quantity of daylight available?

Follow up on business: I found it hard to ask anything for the first 6 months of lurking. Does anyone newer to the board wish to volunteer for Wednesday? If not, I will nominate someone after 1:45 pm Eastern (because I will be sitting in a meeting at which I will multitask). Also, volunteers for Thursday & Friday?

I run outside at night way more in the summer because of the longer periods of daylight. I'm not in an area very conducive to dark night running. Even with headlamp to find my way around the pothole craters, I don't feel safe. So late fall and winter = treadmill on weekdays.
In the summer on weekends I like to run outside earlier in the day to get the coolest possible weather. In the cooler months I take the opposite approach and wait for the warmer parts of the day often after lunch when my kiddo is napping.
Oh and I have to carry water on long runs or use my house as a water station once the water fountains turn off!!!!
And long socks...winter = long socks. Cold ankles are no fun.

I'll volunteer for Thur or Fri if no other takers.

 

[KaitlynJ]

ATTQOTD: Daylight hours don't really impact my running at all. I have a headlamp and reflective gear from Ragnar, and I actually enjoy nighttime runs. But I'm fortunate to live in a very safe neighborhood. I know not all runners (especially female runners) have that luxury.