The Running Thread - 2018

[Sleepless Knight]

ATTQOTD: no idea. I did walk a mile in 17:22 the other day which was a personal best. No comparison to running but 2 years ago I couldn't walk a mile in 30 minutes so it made me happy.

While at Disney I'm always so discouraged that my fitbit rarely picks up exercise. I might have spent 350 active minutes in a day but I'm always walking such a short distance from place to place and then standing. I cant figure out how walking 25,000 steps doesn't equate to a workout in fitbit land.

Have you checked your settings? Mine tracks consecutive minutes of activity and always logs at least some exercise in Disney.

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.

I had a very tough run on Sunday during the Giant Race Half Marathon. So many times I wanted to call it a day, but I refused to quit. And in spite of everything, I still managed to PR. I've come to believe that an oft overlooked important reason to train is to learn how to push through the bad days just in case they happen on race day.

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.

Great point about learning from bad runs. Even if I hadn't PRed with the Giant Race, I knew that the tough day was teaching me about issues I needed to address before Dopey in January and things to make sure I avoid in the days leading up to Dopey.

 

[run.minnie.miles]

ATTQOTD: I try not to run in the dark anytime of the year #scaredycat But as the temperatures get cooler after work, I hope to get more evening runs in outside, as long as my allergies don't go crazy.

 

[rteetz]

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?

Not really. I usually always run during daylight but I also run where it fits in my schedule which with the new semester I’m still getting used too.

 

[Slogger]

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 would be surprised if any of us didn't have a bad run from time to time.

I frequently have the "don't feel right from the start, pace is off" but not as much of the "can't finish planned distance." Last night I went out for a run and looked at my watch and couldn't believe how slow I was going at the effort I was putting in. Really wanted to bail after 1.5 miles. But I told myself I needed to keep going and felt better over time.

Sometimes it's just not our day, but every now and then it all comes together and we feel awesome.

 

[opusone]

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?

No modifications on times (early morning) or routes, but as with others, I do start wearing my Noxgear Tracer360 vest about this time of year and throughout the winter months.

 

[KSellers88]

ATTQOTD: I cannot run in the dark at my house because we have no streetlights and I there's no headlamp or light bright enough to make me feel comfortable running in that. I run right after I get off work or right at dusk. I'll only run in the dark if I drive to town, but since I live 30 minutes from town and carpool with my husband that does not happen often. I also realize how country this entire answer has made me sound, LOL.

I'll volunteer for a QOTD if needed.

 

[ZellyB]

ATTQOTD: We pretty much always run at the same time (very early AM) since it is what works with our schedules, so it's nearly always in the dark.

 

[Chasing Dopey]

Gotta catch up!

QOTD: Since a minor discussion has been started about our running watches I thought I would be a good question for the day. Do you wear your running watch all day, just to run or anywhere between?

I have the one Garmin for running, and I got (with help of birthday money) the vivoactive HR. That's my all day/sleep/formal watch so I can keep up with my resting HR, as I'm somewhat paranoid about overtraining. It's nice! And a complete activity tracker. Black with a rose gold ring around the face. I've got a few compliments on it and people are always surprised it's a Garmin.

Disclaimer: not running or Disney related.

BLUF: everything is OK.

Yikes, we had a scare today. My wife spent the night with a friend last night. She called me this morning and said 'I think I'm having a stroke. Half my face is paralyzed. I'm going to the ER." The fear was heightened because my MIL had a stroke last month. We managed to get her to the ER fast enough that there was zero permanent damage.

Diagnosis: Bell's palsy, a viral infection that causes a facial nerve to become inflamed and then get pinched where it passes through a narrow corridor of bone, causing paralyze of the face.

Treatment: anti-viral medicine and steroids for the inflammation.

Prognosis: Almost always full recovery.

Give your DW (darling whatever) a hug and a smooch.

I can't imagine that original call. Glad to hear she's going to be fine!

My current thought processes look like, "Well, I'll have the WDW annual pass already, so the cost of doing the Wine & Dine Half next year is just the airfare. And hotel room, because I've used all the DVC points. And the registration. And food. But I'll get to use the annual pass again..."

THIS IS SO TRUE! We overdid it last year, so Wine and Dine will only be our 3rd trip this year. THIRD, people. In a YEAR. And that's being responsible!

Does anyone ever just have a bad run?

Oh, yeah. But I see those as a different kind of practice. A bad race is in my future eventually!

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?

I need to get out early to avoid the heat, so if it's still dark I slap on my Night Runners. Otherwise, no change!

 

[Jules76126]

Once it starts getting dark, I will try and run with DH or at least where we can see each other. If that is not an option, I will hit the treadmill. I also can vary my hours and work from home some times, so those days, I typically run during daytime to avoid the nighttime scaries. I also carry pepper spray on my runs.

 

[avondale]

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: My weekday runs happen after work. When my ending time will be after sunset, then I feel like I need to do something for visibility. Last year, I moved the runs inside to my treadmill. I discovered that I would rather to anything other than that for this winter.

This winter, I'm planning to do my weekday runs after work at the high school track. While the track is not directly lit, there should be enough lights from the parking lot that I can see to run. I won't need to worry about lighting my path, I won't have to worry about being hit by a car, and the track won't have cracks or bumps to trip on. It remains to be seen if: (1) I get bored to death running ovals in the near-dark and (2) how long any snow remains on the track. We don't get a lot of snow that sticks around here, and I have microspikes, but I don't think the school would appreciate microspikes on the track.

I don't have a fear of running in the dark and can use a headlamp, but even with head/tail lamps, I'm worried about crosswalks and visibility. Also bikers on the path and my visibility to them. I also have some concerns about boredom running on the walking trails at night, but that's similar to the track. I'm hoping on the track that if necessary I can zone out a bit to podcasts and such.

 

[TheHamm]

This winter, I'm planning to do my weekday runs after work at the high school track. While the track is not directly lit, there should be enough lights from the parking lot that I can see to run. I won't need to worry about lighting my path, I won't have to worry about being hit by a car, and the track won't have cracks or bumps to trip on. It remains to be seen if: (1) I get bored to death running ovals in the near-dark and (2) how long any snow remains on the track. We don't get a lot of snow that sticks around here, and I have microspikes, but I don't think the school would appreciate microspikes on the track.

I can get to a poorly lit track at the university and was wondering how snow clearing works. The university is the best snow removing organization in town, so much so that I run circles around the football stadium in the winter because that area is always clear and well lit. I am curious if they bother to clear the track as the students have indoor facilities. Probably not?

 

[roxymama]

A road hazard by me that pops up around this time every year is the big ole sticks all over the sides of the roads. Windy City = fallen branches. And the ones that don't fall in the street, people will push them off their lawns onto the edge of the road in annoying piles in hopes that they will get picked up by the street sweepers. Sometimes I run past the same big stick for several weeks. There are people I see who park their cars just behind or in front of said stick...everyday. PICK THEM UP!!!

People....please just put them in your yard waste bins...please!!! I feel like I'm playing hop scotch trying to get around them some days and rolling your foot on them is always anxiety inducing.

Would it be bad to hand these to people on my runs?

disclaimer: roxymama is on her final page of marathon training and may be starting to tip toe into the crazytown that is taper madness a few weeks early

PS don't ask me to pick them up...I don't want to

 

[jennamfeo]

ATTQOTD: I am an early morning runner because if I put it off I usually will just skip it altogether. I have enjoyed these bright, albeit hot, mornings but I am looking forward to enjoy my dark morning runs again. We live in the middle of no where with very little light pollution, so some mornings I could see every single star and planet in the sky. I love it! But when it's dark, I do wear my Tracer 360 vest and I run with my flashlight on my phone.

 

[TheHamm]

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?

No new people dying to pop in by my arbitrary deadline. @roxymama and @KSellers88, thank you for playing! Wednesday and Thursday respectively? This leaves the fun Friday QOTD up for grabs!

Does anyone ever just have a bad run?

Why, of Course! just today! I was so excited to go out on my usually empty track at lunch and enjoy that it is not miserable outside! But it was because there were jerks out there racing each other (the company has a relay race, it is silly, one department has to win, they do time trials) and decided they needed to run the tangents, regardless of other runners or walkers on the track. So they clipped me. Seriously, it is 4 cars wide! So now mad, I look at my slow time and wonder why I thought I should go out. And then decide that instead of an easy 3, maybe I should try some sort of fast/slow pattern. Which I could not maintain. And then I tripped in an engineered pothole. And then I just stopped all mad. Ridiculous part? still my average pace. Felt like garbage. I'll go again tomorrow anyhow with the main goal of 'do not be so mad.'

A road hazard by me that pops up around this time every year is the big ole sticks all over the sides of the roads. Windy City = fallen branches. And the ones that don't fall in the street, people will push them off their lawns onto the edge of the road in annoying piles in hopes that they will get picked up by the street sweepers. Sometimes I run past the same big stick for several weeks. There are people I see who park their cars just behind or in front of said stick...everyday. PICK THEM UP!!!

People....please just put them in your yard waste bins...please!!! I feel like I'm playing hop scotch trying to get around them some days and rolling your foot on them is always anxiety inducing.

Would it be bad to hand these to people on my runs?

disclaimer: roxymama is on her final page of marathon training and may be starting to tip toe into the crazytown that is taper madness a few weeks early

PS don't ask me to pick them up...I don't want to

Go for it!
The winter my outdoor activity was limited to pushing a giant stroller around a snowbound block, I did leave copies of the city ordnance regarding blocking sidewalks on the windshield of cars that made sidewalks impassable. One of the habitual offenders stopped. I felt a bit better. I also said something to someone as they got out of their car and I could no longer continue on the sidewalk because there was no maneuvering a stroller through the 8" of snow off the sidewalk. I have not seen them do it again. I feel crazy new mom won that round. I'm also that person who will call to have tailgaters towed when they park illegally blocking driveways and crosswalks on game day, so I am due to have my house egged.

 

[PrincessV]

@roxymama you reminded me of last year post-Irma: a big oak had apparently gone down and someone chopped the trunk into pieces and placed them by the curb, but realized they couldn't lift one gigantic chunk so there it sat, smack-dab in the middle of the sidewalk, for two months.

 

[JohnFilipoff]

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?

Not really. I use a headlamp and reflective bands during the early morning dark runs. On Interval days, I'll go a little later in the morning as daylight breaks so I can clearly see the road to avoid stumbles during the faster paces. 95% of my runs are in the morning, unless the weather is so bad, then I'll postpone to evening. A little rain is no big deal, however, there is a hurricane coming this week, so might need to alter this week's plan a bit.

 

[GreatLakes]

As @LSUlakes
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?

The only difference for me is bringing my flashing clip-on lights and possibly my headlamp. I have no problem running in the dark.

 

[OldSlowGoofyGuy]

ATTQOTD: I do almost all my runs in the morning, generally as soon as there is enough daylight to make it safe, so the start time shifts later and later. Like @KSellers88, I'm not going out on our country roads with a headlamp. At some point (maybe), the temperature becomes the limiting factor, so even if the sun is up, I might wait around for it to warm up.

Since we were talking about bad runs earlier, here's how you can talk yourself into and out of a bad run, all on the same run:

Today's schedule called for 2WU+5x1@HMT/.25RI+2CD, for a total of 10 miles. Before I started, I had talked myself into wimping out: T+D 145, calf and Achilles hurt, tired from yesterday, no 'A' race on the schedule, etc.

The WU felt OK, so I talked myself into just one of the HMT intervals and the rest can be at easy pace. The first interval went OK, so I talked myself into just one more... until I completed all 5. I nailed all 5 of them! By 'nail', I mean 'did them too fast'. If I end up between un-adjusted and T+D adjusted pace, I consider it a win.

Full disclosure: I did cut the CD short and ended up at 9.4 miles instead of 10. The good news is that I pre-made it up yesterday, by misreading the plan and doing 6 instead of 5.

Lesson learned: sometimes your body lies to you during the first mile. Finish the first mile, then decide if you're up to the rest of the run.

 

[huskies90]

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: I typically run at lunch during the week and in the afternoon on the weekends so I don't modify too much. If I can't run at lunch I will do it right after work and there is only about a 1 month window where it is dark after work. My after work route is through the city so there are plenty of street lights.

No new people dying to pop in by my arbitrary deadline. @roxymama and @KSellers88, thank you for playing! Wednesday and Thursday respectively? This leaves the fun Friday QOTD up for grabs!

I will take the FUN FRIDAY QOTD. And it is going to be FUN so make sure y'all stop by the thread on Friday and/or over the weekend!!

 

[Capang]

Have you checked your settings? Mine tracks consecutive minutes of activity and always logs at least some exercise in Disney.

Mine picks up 10 minutes of consecutive walking I think. So it will show a small walk here or there, but it feels like I should get more than 10 minutes here and 13 minutes of walking there. Just my pet peeve

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?

I ran early mornings all summer and loved it. Now, I'm back to teaching and I have to readjust to running in the evening. Otherwise I'd have to be up and out by 3:30 so that I could be back before my husband leaves for work so my daughter isn't home alone. Although, I'm tempted to take some runs around my street at 3:30 one day a week just to make it easier in the evenings. Soon I will be leaving before the sun comes up and getting home after the sun goes down so either I buy a lamp or light of some sort or head to the treadmill, which I loathe.