The Running Thread - 2019

[OldSlowGoofyGuy]

Thank you soooooo much!!! Just tried them on and they're going to be a key part of my recovery after Dopey. They're really comfortable once they're on. You rock for doing this for our community!! This is just another reason why I love this place so much.

Glad you like them. Congrats on the Dopey!

 

[Baloo in MI]

ATTQOTD: I can't think of a time I have signed up for a race via an Social Media outlet discount. But I have signed up for a few races based on finding them via an app/web (but no discount - that would have been better).

 

[Jules76126]

Finish the Snowflake Shuffle 5K yesterday.

1/13 - Jules76126 - Snowflake Shuffle 5K (NG/31.28)

Recap here - short answer it was cold, but overall very fun.

 

[avondale]

We got almost a foot of snow this weekend, just north of DC. This was 50 - 100% more than the predictions for this storm just 12 hours ahead.

Today was a snow day, of course, as it takes this area awhile to clear that much snow. I thought I'd put on my microspikes and see how one of the local multi-use trails was... packed snow and ice - perfect for the microspikes! It was sunny and just around 32 F. Nice! I saw a lot of parents and kids heading home with sleds and passed a cross-country skier.

I did 4 miles easy, and honestly it was one of the most fun runs I've done in a long time. It felt like a bit of an adventure, with all the snow, and it was also quieter than usual. I also felt like a bit of a bad-a** in my streamlined run gear (I dress lightly) and microspikes while everyone else was tromping around in big boots and heavy coats. I keep thinking I should try trail running, but never have really done so...

Hope you all are also having a good weekend! Looking forward to reading all the race reports coming from marathon weekend!

 

[chuckille]

ATTQOTD: When I see social media discounts for runs near my home, I usually go to the website to check it out and see if it fits into my schedule. At this point, I haven't been able to squeeze any of those races in, but it’s not from a lack of trying.

 

[PaDisneyCouple]

@LSUlakes
PaDisneyCouple Mr. Indian Rock 10k NG/1:00
1/12/19
Temperature: 23
Clouds: nope
Wind: thankfully, nope
Field size: 278
Course type: out and back. On the local Rail Trail. A couple of areas of ice during mile 3 (really 3 and 4)
Happy I got out and ran it. Kept my neck gaiter over my mouth for the first 1/2-2/3 of the race. Helped prevent mouth and throat issues I've had when running in the cold before. 5th race of the 8 race winter series, and the first flat event. 4 of 5 of the others are definite hill-type courses.
There was a bit of congestion during the first 1/2 mile, as they didn't open the gate onto the trail (there to prevent unauthorized vehicles). This meant we had about 2 areas to squeeze through that were maybe 2 people wide each. "Watch the gate!" was heard often.

 

[Miranda]

Finish the Snowflake Shuffle 5K yesterday.

1/13 - Jules76126 - Snowflake Shuffle 5K (NG/31.28)

Recap here - short answer it was cold, but overall very fun.

Good job!

I ended up deciding on Saturday night to DNS. It was just too cold (9F with a feels like temp close to 0) and I could not find all my appropriate winter running things. I also was not looking forward to being possibly run/walking it in those temps for > 40 minutes, as I have no idea these days how fast I can actually run a 5K since all I've been doing is OTF lately.

My running group got a VIP pass so we could park up close and personal to the race, and one of our runners has one of those Sprinter vans, so we loaded up all 9 of us in that and got to park right behind the port-o-potty area about 50 feet from the starting line. We all stayed in the van until they made the call that the race was starting in like 5 minutes. One other group buddy didn't register for the race in time, so we went and got in position to cheer everyone on (we ended up standing right underneath the American flag which we did not realize until the National Anthem started and then that was really awkward standing there directly below it while everyone was facing it). After everyone went through, we hustled over to the Dunkin Donuts to get a coffee and a sandwich before the leaders would be coming back.

We got to see a lot of drama in the Dunkin Donuts! Well ok it was not that much drama. But the Dunkin Donuts was pretty crowded after the start with family members and... bus drivers. Since the non-VIP parking for the race was across the street in an office park and it was a 4 lane road to cross, people had to be bussed from the office park across the road. Well, as we were getting our coffee, probably like 7 or 8 minutes before the leaders would be coming back, John Mortimer, the head of Millenium (local race organizing company and running store) comes running in yelling "WHERE ARE THE BUS DRIVERS!??" Well, they were all in DD either in line to use the bathroom or standing/sitting there drinking coffee and eating donuts. He was super frantic because they'd all parked their buses literally right in the middle of the final stretch of the course. For the couple of others that ran in, they were parked all along that road next to the urgent care where you are coming down hill to the final left turn to the finishing area, blocking all but a thin strip of the road. None of them seemed to be in much of a hurry to get out of the bathroom line or finish eating up their donuts when he was super frantic trying to get them to move the buses before the runners came back! My running buddy and I headed back over to the finish area just as the lead male made that corner... the buses had probably only been moved about a minute or two by then. Close call, since there were about to be > 1700 people coming through there!

 

[Waiting2goback]

Filling in for @LSUlakes who is out enjoying the post-race festivities today, here is your Monday QOTD: have you ever seen a discount offered by a race sponsoring a social media running discussion and decided to enter the race?

I'm asking because the Derby Festival Marathon sponsored last night's #RunChat discussion on Twitter, and I'm interested in finding out if sponsorship like that pays off. Personally, I didn't think $5 was worth it. I'd be more tempted by $25, but to their credit, they made me aware of their race, which I'd never thought much about before.

Not for me. I'm not a huge social media person. I follow a few runners on Instagram but don't use Twitter at all.

We got almost a foot of snow this weekend, just north of DC. This was 50 - 100% more than the predictions for this storm just 12 hours ahead.

Today was a snow day, of course, as it takes this area awhile to clear that much snow. I thought I'd put on my microspikes and see how one of the local multi-use trails was... packed snow and ice - perfect for the microspikes! It was sunny and just around 32 F. Nice! I saw a lot of parents and kids heading home with sleds and passed a cross-country skier.

I did 4 miles easy, and honestly it was one of the most fun runs I've done in a long time. It felt like a bit of an adventure, with all the snow, and it was also quieter than usual. I also felt like a bit of a bad-a** in my streamlined run gear (I dress lightly) and microspikes while everyone else was tromping around in big boots and heavy coats. I keep thinking I should try trail running, but never have really done so...

Hope you all are also having a good weekend! Looking forward to reading all the race reports coming from marathon weekend!

Snow runs are so much fun as long as you can get traction. They do feel like an adventure and they really are so peaceful.

 

[Waiting2goback]

 

[Jules76126]

Good job!

I ended up deciding on Saturday night to DNS. It was just too cold (9F with a feels like temp close to 0) and I could not find all my appropriate winter running things. I also was not looking forward to being possibly run/walking it in those temps for > 40 minutes, as I have no idea these days how fast I can actually run a 5K since all I've been doing is OTF lately.

My running group got a VIP pass so we could park up close and personal to the race, and one of our runners has one of those Sprinter vans, so we loaded up all 9 of us in that and got to park right behind the port-o-potty area about 50 feet from the starting line. We all stayed in the van until they made the call that the race was starting in like 5 minutes. One other group buddy didn't register for the race in time, so we went and got in position to cheer everyone on (we ended up standing right underneath the American flag which we did not realize until the National Anthem started and then that was really awkward standing there directly below it while everyone was facing it). After everyone went through, we hustled over to the Dunkin Donuts to get a coffee and a sandwich before the leaders would be coming back.

We got to see a lot of drama in the Dunkin Donuts! Well ok it was not that much drama. But the Dunkin Donuts was pretty crowded after the start with family members and... bus drivers. Since the non-VIP parking for the race was across the street in an office park and it was a 4 lane road to cross, people had to be bussed from the office park across the road. Well, as we were getting our coffee, probably like 7 or 8 minutes before the leaders would be coming back, John Mortimer, the head of Millenium (local race organizing company and running store) comes running in yelling "WHERE ARE THE BUS DRIVERS!??" Well, they were all in DD either in line to use the bathroom or standing/sitting there drinking coffee and eating donuts. He was super frantic because they'd all parked their buses literally right in the middle of the final stretch of the course. For the couple of others that ran in, they were parked all along that road next to the urgent care where you are coming down hill to the final left turn to the finishing area, blocking all but a thin strip of the road. None of them seemed to be in much of a hurry to get out of the bathroom line or finish eating up their donuts when he was super frantic trying to get them to move the buses before the runners came back! My running buddy and I headed back over to the finish area just as the lead male made that corner... the buses had probably only been moved about a minute or two by then. Close call, since there were about to be > 1700 people coming through there!

Yeah the Dunkins was a little odd. I found that the cold was worse when I finished so we didn't linger. I thought the race was well organized and would definitely do another Millenium event.

 

[FFigawi]

Since it appears @LSUlakes is not making an appearance this morning, I'll cover for him and throw out another question. Here's today's QOTD: what training plan do you use for your "A" race and why? Do you grab one online from Higdon or Galloway? Are you part of the @DopeyBadger crew? Do you have coach? Do you just wing it?

ATTQOTD: For the past 6 years, I've been coached by a friend of mine. I like the ease of having workouts magically appear in Training Peaks and getting the email every evening showing me what I need to do tomorrow and the day after. I also like having someone analyze my data and make adjustments based on what they see to help me maximize my training and minimize the chances for injury. It's why I have used Higdon's plans in the past - they're well tested and proven to get you to the start line upright and ready to go.

 

[McNs]

ATTQOTD last couple of races I have used a Garmin plan, simply because I can send all their workouts to my watch without having to create them. Because I live in a hilly area (making pace based plans difficult) so I use one of their heart rate plans. The plans have worked well for me, so will stick with that for my next race.

 

[Guidman]

ATTQOTD: I wing it. Far from the greatest plan but it gets the job done. Come up with a weekly mileage, what I want my long run to be and back into the rest. They're all usually within a :30 second pace range and I live in a hilly area so pretty much every run will incorporate them somehow.

 

[michigandergirl]

ATTQOTD: I have been using @DopeyBadger plans for that last two years and have had lots of success using them. And as long as I can stay healthy, I'm confident I can continue to improve using his plans.

 

[baxter24]

ATTQOTD: Higdon’s plans have helped me cross the finish line for the past three marathon weekends (full, Goofy, and Dopey) so I think I’m going to stick with him for as long as I can.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Here's today's QOTD: what training plan do you use for your "A" race and why? Do you grab one online from Higdon or Galloway? Are you part of the @DopeyBadger crew? Do you have coach? Do you just wing it?

Over the years, I've used several different varieties: Something I threw together based on practically nothing, Galloway, FIRST, Hanson's Marathon, Daniels 10k, Tom Schwartz, Daniels Marathon and at the moment am using TrainerRoad (for indoor biking). Normally I take the lessons I learned from those plans and apply them to myself. So they're not straight from the book per se, but the principles of those plans are applied. Then when I see some new form of training that I might think may benefit others I give it a try myself first so I can learn the ins and outs of how it feels to do that type of workout. If I find it to be a new useful tool, then I add it to the tool bag for the option of adding it to other plans that I write. I've toyed with the idea of hiring a coach, but haven't found the perfect opportunity in my training sequence to add them in yet.

 

[garneska]

ATTQOD: i am a Dopeybadger plan person. I need a new one for this year but i am still trying to put together my goals so that i can have him do a proper plan.

@FFigawi one of my potential goals is a century ride. i have done metric century but have not moved up to full century.

Like i said i need to get my races together and my goals so I can get a new plan from Billy.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

My husband used a modified Higdon plan this year. He may do use it again next year.

I’ve been winging it but I should do better

 

[KevM]

ATTQOTD: For the halfs I’ve ran, I have winged it. I followed Higdon this year for my first marathon. Not sure who/what plan I will follow for Dopey.

 

[Kazrak]

ATTQOTD: I'm currently a 'wing it' runner. I may look into more formalized training plans after the Star Wars Challenge.