The Running Thread - 2019

[LSUlakes]

Non-running related question, but a travel question. Any of you fine folks flew with Copa airline? Looking for feedback if the savings are worth it. It's roughly a $1,000 cheaper to fly with them to Punta Cana.

 

[gjramsey]

ATTQOTD: I usually start my runs way too early. Based on my weekday workouts, I will adjust my start time to have all of them finish around 5:25 or so. Most of my workouts now-a-days are around 1 hour, but I have started before 4 before. Most of the time I try to get up between 15 and 30 minutes before the start and drink a glass of oj.

On the weekend runs that start at 6, I will sleep in to around 5, and leave for the run about 5:45.

 

[KevM]

I don’t run in the mornings during the work week. I already get up at 4:30 to be in at work for 6. Even to just get a 3 mile run in I’d have to wake up about 3:30, which isn’t happening.

I do run in the mornings on the weekends though. As for that routin, it depends on the season. I’ll generally get up around 7, have a light breakfast and be running for 8. If it’s hot out though, I’ll get up around 7 and go for the run first, then eat when I get back.

 

[Mr. Drauer]

Quick Race Recap - Town of Celebration Marathon and Half Marathon. January 27, 2019.

I did the half marathon here for the second year in a row. It is a fairly small field (maybe 500 marathoners and 1500 - 2000 half marathoners) and the course winds through the Town of Celebration and is a pretty good course. It is super flat and there are a few sections where you run on boardwalks through the wetlands which are pretty nice. They have pretty good race swag - last year was a 5th Anniversary Race throw blanket which is super soft, and this year was a 6-pack cooler, bottle opener, and race hat or visor. After the race there is a party downtown with food from several of the local restaurants including The Coumbia. Each runner gets a card at the finish and you can get two (or more) of each from the venues. It includes 2 beers and 2 mimosas as well.

This recap can be summed up in one word: RAIN!

The local forecast was pretty consistent all week leading up to the race that it was going to rain. There was a system off the south coast of Florida that was going to climb up the state and rain for a while. There was a consensus from all the local TV weather folks that Sunday was going to be a washout. I went to be Saturday night around 10 and the radar was clear, so I hoped that maybe, like nearly every other day of the year here, that the weather forecasts would be off.

Woke up Sunday at 5:00, checked the radar on the phone, and the entire peninsula of Florida was dark green and yellow. Awesome. Got ready, and decided at the last minute to grab a poncho, even though I thought that might be uncomfortable and hot. The temperature was a crisp 50 degrees, and nothing on the forecast called for any warmer temps throughout the day. It was raining steady when I loaded the car and left. It was raining steady as I drove down the toll road to Celebration. It was raining steady when I parked and got out to go the start area at 6:30. It was raining steady waiting in line for the bathrooms and at the start line for the National Anthem. The race started at 7:00, and it was raining steady. Runners had really gone all creative, as i saw plastic shopping bags on shoes, shower caps on top of hats and visors, garbage bags, ponchos, jackets, and mylar blankets. Running the first couple of miles, the rain remained steady though many runners dropped their ponchos and garbage bags along the route. There were some puddles in places but overall it wasn't terrible. Moving into mile 4 in the hospital parking lot, the sun had come up and the wind picked up considerably. There were gusts of 15 to 20 mph, and it felt like it was raining sideways in some places. Moving past the water station at mile 5, we headed up Celebration Blvd which parallels I-4 up to World Drive. It was only 1 lane, and we were running on the inside lane with traffic coming towards us on the other side of the road. The problem here is that this was the low side of the road, where the water was draining, making it so that the 3-4 feet of road next to the curb was puddled with a couple inches of water. This left only about 5 - 6 feet of road to run in, and at points this made for some crowding. Some fantastic people were happy to pass on the inside and splashed those runners next to them as they passed through the standing water areas. The wind coming off I-4 kicked up pretty good here too. And it was still raining steadily.

After mile 7 we headed off-road onto the first boardwalk area, which meanders through the forested wetlands. It is a pretty cool path. The wood boardwalk was not really slippery and I had no problem keeping my pace up. This area is actually right through the wetlands where some people have proposed that Disney expand World Drive to connect to the new areas of property that they recently purchased for mitigation. The first boardwalk is a little more than a mile, and then there are a couple more towards the end of the race. Miles 9 - 11 go through the Artisan Park area, and the first part overlaps the runners who have already come through those miles as they cross back and head towards the finish. In this steady rain, it was slightly demoralizing to see those runners who have already done these miles pass by you in the opposite direction. Still, we soldiered on and hit these miles in the continuing rain and worked back toward the downtown finish area. Coming through mile 12, we had two more boardwalks and a couple of sidewalks that meandered around retention ponds. The last area before the downtown finish is where the marathon course splits for its second lap around, and the half turns toward the finish. I saw a few runners who were turning left to do their second lap, and I could not imagine having to do it again in this rain to finish the marathon. So I made my way around the pond and hit the main street to the finish. Despite the rain, there were plenty of people cheering on the finishers. I finished in 2:26:07, not quite the 2:15 I was hoping for, but in the weather conditions, was completely acceptable.

After some beers, we got changed into dry clothes and had some brunch and drinks at the restaurant next to the finish line as we watched the runners come in. It did not stop raining, and by the time we left, was raining harder for the drive home. In fact, it did not stop raining until about 5:30 this morning. Some kind of January record for the Orlando area apparently. So I'm not sure that I have ever been that wet, despite wearing the poncho, which I did not have any problems with comfort wise. My phone pouch stayed pretty dry, and my tracking app and the music worked throughout. I saw plenty of people with smartwatches tapping at them trying to get them to work and complaining that something was wrong but that can happen I guess. Either way, I went home and dried off and warmed up. We will regroup and work towards Princess next month.

 

[jennamfeo]

QOTD: For my morning run folks out there. How early do you start your runs? How much time do you give yourself from waking up to starting your run? What is your routine?

Running in the morning is the best thing for my life routine. I have to leave the house by 7:35 to get the kid to school and me to work, so I am up at 4:45 usually when I need to run. I have everything I need set out the night before, then I put my clothes on and literally head out the door right when I wake up. It's hard to get used to and I just started a new training plan so I am not in the swing of things again just yet. But the easiest way to make it happen is to put your feet on the ground the second your alarm goes off. It's my favorite way to start the day.

 

[Disney at Heart]

Agree with PrincessV:

How early I start depends on the time of year/weather: in summer, I aim to be starting about 30 minutes before sunrise, but in winter I'll sleep later and head out when the temp is a bit warmer, say 9-9:30am.

Like @Miranda and @jennamfeo I need to have everything laid out and ready because like @GollyGadget I don't want to give my brain a chance to talk me out of it.
I also have a treadmill at home, which is great for weekday morning runs in the winter. I just don't run much in the afternoon/evening anymore.

 

[huskies90]

QOTD: For my morning run folks out there. How early do you start your runs? How much time do you give yourself from waking up to starting your run? What is your routine?

ATTQOTD: I am literally starting to doze off as I read all these responses. I am not a morning person and would probably stay up all night before getting up at 4:30AM!!

I usually get up at 7AM and get into work around 7:45AM every day. If I did switch to morning runs I would probably do it in a way that I would get up at the same time or no earlier than 6:30AM and then just get into work later. I have an advantage of only having a 4 mile commute so I could do it.

But I am a mid day (lunch time) or after work runner and doing it during or after work is easy since I have lockers/showers in my office. And when I do run after work, I do it from the office and shower there before heading home because if I wait until I get home, I am already in relaxed mode and can't get motivated to get back out.

 

[dis_or_dat]

@LSUlakes dont know anything about Copa, but be aware that more affordable airlines like easyjet, wow, frontier, spirit etc nickle and dime you over every little thing. So I’d go over it with a fine toothed comb.

ATTQOTD: baby dis_or_dat wakes at 4:50am(!!!!) and wants to be nursed immediately, so I’d have to wake up at 2:30am to do a run. No thanks!

 

[Baloo in MI]

Forgot all about it, thanks.

I am not saying I will watch it no matter what either. But if I decide to I need a plan. But why are you protesting?

I am just being bitter. I am a Saints fan.

 

[Guidman]

ATTQOTD: I run after work during the week but on the weekends my running club starts at 8:30 for our morning runs (7:30 in the summer). I usually get up and hour and a half before that. In the summer, I’ll usually do some miles before our start time just to beat the heat.

 

[cburnett11]

QOTD: For my morning run folks out there. How early do you start your runs? How much time do you give yourself from waking up to starting your run? What is your routine?

25 minutes to wake up and be ready to leave my house. If I'm doing easy miles, I'll just run from my house. So that's a pretty quick turnaround from bed to run. I have 3 days/week during marathon training where I will run at a park or somewhere besides my neighborhood. My earliest day would be Thursday for tempo runs. During marathon training, this could start at 5am or maybe even a few minutes earlier if I need to be at work "on time". It's basically almost 2 hours of running on a workday, and I drive 10 minutes each way to my spot. So it's pretty early, but not @gjramsey early. lol

So my runs can range from 5am to 7am starts. It varies based on day of the week and mileage.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Wanted to give a S/O to our DIS runner @canglim52 who doesn't post much on the Running Thread but does in my journal. He ran the Celebration HM this past weekend and finished in 5th/1333 finishers with a new PR of 1:24:33. I can attest he's come a long way from Oct 2016 when he was gearing up for his first 10k. His fitness then was around a 50 min 10k or a 1:50 HM. It was fun to go back and look at his 5k repeats of 400-1200 meters at 7:43 pace where he was absolutely struggling. And now, a HM in 6:25 min/mile pace. Well done man and keep up the hard work! You've earned every bit of it.

 

[Kazrak]

QOTD: For my morning run folks out there. How early do you start your runs? How much time do you give yourself from waking up to starting your run? What is your routine?

Running during the week: alarm goes off at 6:45, take my blood pressure, take my meds, get dressed, goal is to be out the door at 7:00. (Sometimes missed because younger son ignores his alarm so I have to go roust him.) My running belt and shoes are next to each other in the closet; the belt has a house key and an asthma inhaler. Back around 7:30 or so, and I need to shower and get breakfast before leaving for the shuttle at 8:15.

Saturday runs: alarm goes off at 7:30, sometimes I'm already awake by then. Take my blood pressure, take my meds, get dressed, fill my water bottle, grab a gel or equivalent for starting energy, load anything else I need for the run in my belt, out the door 7:45 or so.

 

[AntimonyER]

ATTQOTD: I love running in the morning. Sadly, my morning runs are few and far between. On weekdays, I get up at 4am, and out the door by 4:30, to make my hour commute to work. So no go there. Saturday or Sunday WOULD work, but wifey likes cuddle time in the mornings (since I am gone before she wakes up on weekdays), so I promised her I wouldn't run in the mornings on the weekend. So my only morning runs are on holidays/vacations or race day. When I do run in the morning, I like to get started before or right at dawn, something about running as the sun comes up just feels right to me. Hop out of bed, get dressed, grab a granola bar or something, and drive 15 minutes to my morning run spot. Time from alarm to first step: 30ish minutes.

 

[OldSlowGoofyGuy]

ATTQOTD: Almost always a morning runner. I try to hit the road as soon as the sun is up. I will adjust during the winter to give it some time to warm up. I try to get up about 1.5 hours before sunrise, usually no alarm required. I have to have coffee, food, time to get un-stupid.

 

[gjramsey]

So it's pretty early, but not @gjramsey early. lol

I was very happy to not have any runs on Strava during this training cycle called a "Night" run.....

 

[Baloo in MI]

ATTQOTD: I am so impressed by all you morning running people! I am an early morning runner wannabe; I absolutely suck at getting up early. Ironically on the days that I do get up and go, I really enjoy the run once out the door. But from alarm going off to walking out the front door I am not reliable... I am still in a return to running program and PT so right now I have the added excuse of the evening commitments. Once I am cleared I do plan to run in the morning more (easy to say now).

 

[Jules76126]

Non-running related question, but a travel question. Any of you fine folks flew with Copa airline? Looking for feedback if the savings are worth it. It's roughly a $1,000 cheaper to fly with them to Punta Cana.

My coworker just flew them over Christmas. He had an awful experience. They overbooked the flight and were going to bump him and his wife along with 12 other passengers. The issues was they were bumping them for four days and didn't plan on providing any type of compensation. My coworker has a 8 month old baby, so he basically said that was unacceptable and was able to get on the flight. Turns out the airline was bumping them so flight attendants and pilots could fly home. My coworker said he would never fly them again. Now this was at Christmas so busiest time of year to fly, so your experience may be different.

 

[cburnett11]

I was very happy to not have any runs on Strava during this training cycle called a "Night" run.....

Always love seeing your really early Strava runs!

 

[FFigawi]

QOTD: For my morning run folks out there. How early do you start your runs? How much time do you give yourself from waking up to starting your run? What is your routine?

I try to base it on the distance and the weather. For short runs, I'll start between 530-6. For longer runs or runs in the heat, I try to be on the road by 5. The humidity is higher then, but it gives me an hour or more before the sun comes out.

Non-running related question, but a travel question. Any of you fine folks flew with Copa airline? Looking for feedback if the savings are worth it. It's roughly a $1,000 cheaper to fly with them to Punta Cana.

Never flown with Copa, but I've been on several other Latin and South American carriers and never had any problems. Most had older planes but rather good service on board.