The Running Thread - 2019

[roxymama]

ATTQOTD: I started journaling again this week after some downtime from sharing about running but also after some legit downtime as in not running for several weeks. So I'm still trying to figure out the "get motivated to get back into it and stick with it" camp. In other words I'm all ears to everyone's comments today.
The stuff about making oneself happy to better your relationship with your family and making time for yourself. I feel that one! I'm not the best at that one right now, but I'm listening.
If anyone cares to read my ramblings I started a fresh journal. Also I like to write and when I wasn't running much, I wasn't writing much. Maybe you need an easy "something else" that you can do to make you happy while figuring out the running thing.
https://www.disboards.com/threads/g...15k-fall-training-plan.3760000/#post-60848751

 

[OldSlowGoofyGuy]

ATTQOTD: Regarding exercise and it happening or not happening, we have a silly saying at our house: 'Ann beats Nan'. Translated, this means 'Anything beats Nothing.'

So instead of kicking myself for a 6 miler not happening, I try to get out and do something. A mile or 2, or a walk.

It's a way of focusing on whatever good happened, rather than what didn't happen.

 

[IamTrike]

ATTQOTD:
I think it depends on why you are taking time off. At one point I took a "energy" for managers class at work. It boiled down to, "you need to take out, even if it's just 10 or 20 minutes during the day to try and get some exercise for you. You also need to periodically stand up. Failure to do those things will actually cause you to wind up with less energy and be less productive."
When family stuff comes up it can definitely be hard to get a workout in. There's always something more urgent, but I try and squeeze something in (a walk, treadmill run, pushups/situps/bodyweight lifts) wherever I can.

To circle back on an old conversation we had some time ago, it looks like Garmin has changed their "VO2max" calculation. In previous iterations it acted more like a VO2peak (wherein it was more a current representation of fitness under those particular conditions you just ran in). But they've now included some sort of adjustment for temperature and humidity on the "VO2max" estimation on the Garmin 245. So not quite a true "VO2max" estimation but a step closer in closing the gap on the difference between the two. Additionally, they've changed the "race predictor" from a look-up table (all people with a VO2max of 55 have the same predicted times) to a new calculation that takes into account recent training loads (weekly maxes, single day maxes, etc.) to come up with new race time projections. Interesting changes Garmin decided to make to their new 245 device.

I had read about those changes and when I started playing around with the adaptive coaching I wondered if it would be taking into account temp and humidity. At least on the VA3 it doesn't. It does make sense to incorporate that data. I think the race predictor was off for a lot of people because it didn't include training load

 

[TheHamm]

QOTD: What to do when running just isn't going to happen for a long period of time (or currently taking place) for reasons not related to injury or health?

ATTQOTD:
What I do- get really frustrated and feel like I am doing a terrible job at life and make myself unpleasant to be around.
What I do later and should do from the start- Acknowledge that today is different from yesterday, last month, last decade, etc. and that I would be disappointed if it were not. Acknowledge that some of that difference is very positive and was not what I would have planned, and some of it I am sad to have left behind but that was necessary FOR NOW. I take some time to figure out if I really need one aspect from the past and if it is actually achievable if I were able to change X, Y, Z. Almost every time I decide I like one of the X,Y,Z factors too much to make the sacrifice. And then I decide if there is a portion of that past thing I am happy to make some sacrifices for. Could I have a higher paying, more fulfilling job? Yes. Do I want to be on the road 283 days a year again? Absolutely not. Can I have a job that is the same pay, with less stress, and moderately challenging and still walk out the door at 5pm to pick up my kids? I'll take that one any day. Could I pull off a sub 2:30 half or complete a marathon? I now believe my body could do that if I were able to put in more time training. I would rather get sufficient sleep (because I'd run like garbage and be unpleasant to be around), cook our meals at home , cry with my kiddo who skinned her knee because I couldn't hold her up on her bike, visit my grandparents, and work my moderately challenging, reasonable paying job that allows me to skip out of work here and there to see my kid's art show. I am not willing to trade those things for a faster race. But I still feel crumby that I can figure out how to do really hard things that the general public does not, but I can't figure out how to run more than 2 miles this week. And then I make a list of things that I do that make me happy. I took my kid kayaking every week in June. I took 4 coworkers for a walk at lunch who normally do nothing and are worried about their health. I love cooking with my kid, and I want control over the nutritional aspects of my life. I taught myself how to program a neutron scattering beam to take measurements at set intervals so I could have time to run those two miles this week.

Still here?
what would I suggest to someone else? Assess why you are not doing what you want to do, decide if you can even do that any more, if yes, consider if you want to make the sacrifices elsewhere to get it done, and if no set another objective. If you can, calmly discuss your frustration with your wife, she might see the situation differently than you do but she may also have a work around you did not consider an option. {example- last year my husband agreed to figure out how to do fancy braids so the kids don't always ask me to do them after bath, so I had 30 minutes in which to pack lunches so I could go to bed earlier, so I could get out of bed to run. It worked fine until Halloween and I did Star Wars hair that he cannot seem to get right and now hair is back to me }
There are probably other ways to de-stress, and some may be easier to fit in now until life changes a bit more. It will change again. And again. And again.



Edit: I no longer know how to add gifs. I am going to blame the disboards change.

 

[bananabean]

QOTD: What to do when running just isn't going to happen for a long period of time (or currently taking place) for reasons not related to injury or health?

ATQOTD: I go with extra sleep and lazing on the couch.

 

[PrincessV]

ATTQOTD: I don't advise on this one, because every person's situation is different and, well... personal. But for me, exercise comes before everything other than sleep and food. It's THAT critical to my mental and physical health. I work my schedule to fit it in around other obligations, but it. must. fit. in. The few times in my life when I abandoned physical exertion for long periods of time, I found very unhealthy things to take its place and it was decidedly not good for me.

 

[The Expert]

My dog is 8 and never really was a running companion. She's a Boston terrier/bulldog mix so more of a sprinter and stopper. Tonight I took her for a walk and she was so full of energy. After 15 minutes of brisk walking I was sure she'd want to turn around on our out-and-back, it's pretty hot out, but instead she wanted to keep going and after another minute or two she broke into a little jog! Just fast enough that I couldn't walk to keep up and had to jog. So we jogged at a nice pace for about a mile! She would have kept going but we got to the car. Then she just hopped up into my SUV like it was nothing (in the past when we walked her too long we've had to pick her up to get her in the car). What the heck. 85 degrees out here and she's got the spirit of a puppy suddenly. I had a flash of optimism she will be a new running buddy but given her history it's more likely a one-time thing. I doubt you can expect an 8 year old dog to take up running, right?

I think that's fantastic! I have a 15 year old pup that I adopted about 18 months ago and she has far more energy than the younger dogs we've had. She's done several 5Ks with me, walking. I do think now and then she'd be up for a short weekday run in the right weather, though. One thing to note about the mix you have is that they have that shortened sinus, which makes it easy for them to overheat or not take in enough oxygen during exercise. One of my previous dogs was a pug, and they can go from just fine to in distress pretty quickly. Just keep an eye on her and be sure you always carry water and a collapsible bowl to keep her hydrated. If they do overheat, you can also wipe them down with a damp towel and use alcohol wipes on their foot pads (I usually have a disposable glasses cleaning wipe with me) to help them cool down quickly.

 

[SheHulk]

I think that's fantastic! I have a 15 year old pup that I adopted about 18 months ago and she has far more energy than the younger dogs we've had. She's done several 5Ks with me, walking. I do think now and then she'd be up for a short weekday run in the right weather, though. One thing to note about the mix you have is that they have that shortened sinus, which makes it easy for them to overheat or not take in enough oxygen during exercise. One of my previous dogs was a pug, and they can go from just fine to in distress pretty quickly. Just keep an eye on her and be sure you always carry water and a collapsible bowl to keep her hydrated. If they do overheat, you can also wipe them down with a damp towel and use alcohol wipes on their foot pads (I usually have a disposable glasses cleaning wipe with me) to help them cool down quickly.

Thanks! I wonder if she isn't just finally maturing a little and getting more able to tamp down her exuberance a bit. If I wasn't so dumb about uploading photos, I'd upload a pic of her, but her snout is not as smooshed as you would expect. We picked her out of all her littermates because she had the longest snout of the bunch, by quite a bit, and we were worried about health issues. Whenever people see her they remark how much they love pit bulls, because she has a similar physique to a pit bull and longer snout than a Boston or a bulldog (but shorter and wider than a pit bull's), but as far as we know that's not what she is. I wouldn't be surprised to learn she wasn't half English bulldog as we were told though. Maybe some other bully breed. I believe she's half Boston because she can jump up and kiss DH's nose and he's 6' tall! Plus of course she has that tuxedo pattern. I'd love for her to be an occasional running buddy. I'll try again when we are not under a heat advisory.

 

[Bree]

Does anyone know why the data doesn’t match after exporting treadmills runs from Garmin to Strava? Strava adds in additional moving time even if I never paused my watch to tie my shoe or take a bathroom break. My splits don’t match either. Today it was just a few seconds, but it’s still annoying.

 

[SheHulk]

ATTQOTD: I don't have a lot more to add. I feel that small kids are a lot of work and time can feel like a zero-sum game between you and your partner: Any time you take for yourself means taken away from your partner, or vice versa. I think it's ok to just not run for a while or to, as someone said, just get something in, even if it's short, maybe when everyone is still in bed in the morning or evening. This is such a short time period in the grand scheme of things and it will pass, time will come back. Someday you will look at each other and realize the kids have been quiet for an hour straight because they were playing together without you or reading a book and it will feel like a miracle.

I do want to add, that if this is the kind of problem you can throw money at, you should do that. Looking back I wish I had hired babysitters more often. That extra few hours of babysitting money spent in a week would have gone a long way toward keeping my sanity and fending off that feeling that your identity is being subsumed by tending to a million tiny needs every waking second. And you and your partner can get a little breathing room. If I could change anything that would be it. Your kids don't remember if you spent 4 hours a day with them vs 5 or 6 but it can make a big difference to the adults.

 

[IamTrike]

I do want to add, that if this is the kind of problem you can throw money at, you should do that. Looking back I wish I had hired babysitters more often. That extra few hours of babysitting money spent in a week would have gone a long way toward keeping my sanity and fending off that feeling that your identity is being subsumed by tending to a million tiny needs every waking second. And you and your partner can get a little breathing room. If I could change anything that would be it. Your kids don't remember if you spent 4 hours a day with them vs 5 or 6 but it can make a big difference to the adults.

Ohh that's a good suggestion. I am not sure about where you are but for us the local YMCA includes childcare in the membership. You could take the kids to the Y get a workout in and give your wife some "me" time all at once.

 

[opusone]

QOTD: What to do when running just isn't going to happen for a long period of time (or currently taking place) for reasons not related to injury or health?

I have been on and off running for over 30 years, and here are some of my lessons learned about long periods off which may or may not apply to you:

• Reasons matter: sometimes I get a little burnt out on running, so if this is the reason or part of the reason for not running, it is perfectly fine to take a break. For me, these breaks have lasted from weeks to years in the past. Clearly, the longer the break, the tougher the road back. However, if there is still interest and motivation to continue running, I have learned that I must find a way to make it work.
• If it is guilt about "me" time, then what are the circumstances? Do I have other me time currently? If so, I need to prioritize my me time which may include reducing other activities to make running a priority. Alternatively, if I have no me time currently, that is a big problem... everyone needs their own time. This is when I sit down with my family and discuss the need for everyone to schedule time. Then we schedule everything out such that all can have some time for themselves. For example, my wife may chose tennis drills a couple times a week, book club, and/or a ladies' night out every other week. My children may chose theater, sports, movies with friends, etc. In any case, we schedule it such that we can fill-in/cover for each other, and then we no longer feel guilty when it's our turn. When the kids were smaller, my wife and I would not only cover for each other's me time but also scheduled a babysitter once a week for us each to do our own activities (the cost is well worth the sanity).
• Speaking of scheduling, sometimes all we need is to use our time more wisely. This can include waking up earlier than before, running during lunch, running during children's sporting practices/events assuming you don't need to be an active spectator, or going to bed later than usual. Obviously, if you are already short on sleep, the running earlier/later options are not available.
• Train differently: shorten your runs so you can fit them in here and there. You will still get the awesome benefits and feeling. Also, it can sometimes be fun to try a completely different training plan (e.g. focus on 1 mi/5k/10k speed instead of longer marathon training).

 

[canglim52]

Thanks for all the feedback! I've done okay-ish on most of my long relaxed runs, but I had my second 6mi this past Sunday and the T+D was brutal and the sun was harsh. My last mile was at way too high of a HR. I did a good mix of walking that last bit to try and get it down. Kind of learning as I go and hopefully won't screw anything up in the process getting ready for this 10K.

It happens, especially in the sun! Smart to walk run the easy day, but be careful with time. If your easy day is 45 min, that’s more important than the mileage.

 

[Keels]

I cooked a pastalaya Saturday which is so easy. I like jambalaya, but the kids prefer noodles over rice... I also have work to do on mine, but my uncle cooks the best one ever and I am supposed to have a hangout with him one day to learn how he does it. Need to schedule that one asap!

Pastalaya > Jambalaya ... I SAID IT.

QOTD: What to do when running just isn't going to happen for a long period of time (or currently taking place) for reasons not related to injury or health?

You can only do as much as you can do - when you have a job and a family and a life, there just aren't enough hours in the day to squeeze everything in. When I travel, I usually stay places where I'm "forced" to walk everywhere, or use a rental bike (like CitiBike, BCycles, etc.) to get around. I take my doggos for longer walks. I do Sworkout Workouts in my hotel room, or wherever I'm staying.

Does anyone know why the data doesn’t match after exporting treadmills runs from Garmin to Strava? Strava adds in additional moving time even if I never paused my watch to tie my shoe or take a bathroom break. My splits don’t match either. Today it was just a few seconds, but it’s still annoying.

Mine has been doing that too, but I always figured it was something to do with my Garmin data exporting multiple places (TrainingPeaks, Strava) ... but recently, Strava is showing my run data coming from my Edge bike computer - which makes ZERO sense, so no idea.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

What to do when running just isn't going to happen for a long period of time (or currently taking place) for reasons not related to injury or health?

I have this issue every winter given the demands of my job during that time. If I don't have a race on the immediate horizon, then I don't exercise during that period. So I have no good ideas. I think the best thing to do is make sure you take care of you and your family in the best way that it works out to do that. Maybe it means exercise so you're in a better mood. Maybe it means time off running so you can be there for your wife and kids right now. Whatever the answer is, if you do what is best for your family, it will all work out just fine in the end.

So instead of kicking myself for a 6 miler not happening, I try to get out and do something. A mile or 2, or a walk.

It's a way of focusing on whatever good happened, rather than what didn't happen.

I like this too. I was supposed to go out for a 3 mile run 2 weeks ago. I went to bed really late, slept in, and generally felt lazy on a Saturday. I eventually forced myself to get out the door and walked for about 30 minutes. So while I didn't run, I at least felt like I had defeated the sit around and do nothing idea. I have discovered that I better enjoy my weekends when I attempt to do something instead of nothing.

 

[Professor_Cookie]

Does anyone know why the data doesn’t match after exporting treadmills runs from Garmin to Strava? Strava adds in additional moving time even if I never paused my watch to tie my shoe or take a bathroom break. My splits don’t match either. Today it was just a few seconds, but it’s still annoying.

Strava reads the data differently. Algorithms are different. For whatever reason and/or justification.

 

[OldSlowGoofyGuy]

I eventually forced myself to get out the door and walked for about 30 minutes. So while I didn't run, I at least felt like I had defeated the sit around and do nothing idea....

Newton's First Law of Motion...

 

[Capang]

ATTQOTD: I’m here now. It started in February when I became a full time single mom and didn’t know how to balance work and a child and I had zero energy for anything else. Then it became excuses as to why I wasn’t getting moving. For me, once I start with excuses it just snowballs. I’m finally starting to come back, walks with my daughter, 40 minutes on an elliptical a few times a week, swimming. Honestly I feel like hell when I don’t run or cross train and that is not a feeling I’m ok with. I’m currently at WDW and the constant movement has felt so good. I feel for anyone else currently with that same struggle of motivating oneself or finding the time to get out there.

 

[roxymama]

Possible QOTD that is sort of about running, but not really: Not sure if this has been asked already but what is everyone thinking about future SWGE trips? Are you altering your rundisney plans next year so you can go or so you can avoid it? Are you planning pre-ROTR trip or waiting til after?

I ask because my sister and brother-in-law are getting the itch to visit DL or WDW to see it, but are on the fence about dates. And they said I can tag along when they do. So I'm curious how it's playing into people's choice of when to go. I'm guessing marathon weekend people already know

 

[DopeyBadger]

ATTQOTD: At this moment in time, we plan to rope drop DHS to head to SWGE on 1/14/20 (Tues) and 1/15/20 (Wed) after the marathon weekend races. Those are the last two park days we're there, so we're pushing it as far as we can in our trip in an attempt to diminish the possible crowds. But I'm sure I'm not alone in this strategy. Strategy may change between now and then, and we'll see what happens on Tues to dictate what we end up doing on Wed.