The Running Thread - 2020

[MissLiss279]

Hello all, I have been MIA for a few months. It was a busy summer. Bought a new house and moved. Then I had to sell the old house. Throw a vacation in the mix and last week my dad passed away unexpectedly.

My running and biking stayed consistent until about a month ago when I started having knee and ankle pain in my right leg again. I’m pretty sure the knee is IT Band based on the symptoms. The ankle is just the same issue I dealt with all last year. It all comes down to me being tight. I have started a stretching routine, hoping that helps.

I am looking for a new treadmill. The roads around the new house are very narrow and I don’t feel that safe running in the dark or once snow comes. Anyone have a treadmill they LOVE? I am looking at the Nordictrack 2450 but all the reviews I look at says their customer service is terrible if there is an issue.

I am thinking of signing up for the virtual marathon weekend race to get my motivation back. I am hoping to become more consistent on here again now that life may finally be settling down a bit.

I hope everyone has been doing well.

Sorry to hear about your dad.

I have a NordicTrack 2450. I got it in January. It has gotten a lot of use. So far so good. I haven’t had any issues, and have not had to contact customer service. I remember reading those reviews and how the displays sometimes have problems, but I haven’t had any problems yet, and hopefully I won’t.

 

[GreatLakes]

QOTD: How many miles do you get out of your running shoes? How do you decide when it's time for a new pair? (Bonus: What shoe are you currently running in?)

My usual training shoes (Mizuno Wave Riders) were usually between 450 and 500. I just switched to the Wave Shadow because I wanted less drop and a slightly lighter shoe. I suspect I'll be sacrificing some of the mileage for that.

Racing Flats I usually only get about 125 out of and trail shoes I'm still on my first pair so I'm not sure yet.

 

[Waiting2goback]

Sorry to hear about your dad.

I have a NordicTrack 2450. I got it in January. It has gotten a lot of use. So far so good. I haven’t had any issues, and have not had to contact customer service. I remember reading those reviews and how the displays sometimes have problems, but I haven’t had any problems yet, and hopefully I won’t.

Thank you all for the kind words about my dad!

I have read tons of good things about the 2450. I am not even sure I care about the screen. My problem with buying a treadmill without trying it is, I had one at the last house. It took forever to speed up and slow down when adjusting speeds for run/walk. And I found that the belt would "skip". I don't know if that's the right word but there were times my knee would hyperextend because it didn't feel like the belt was keeping up with me. At the gym I never had those issues on a treadmill. Belt always stayed consistent on the speed and it adjusted quickly to changes in speeds. I figured by going with a commercial level home treadmill, with the more powerful motor, I wouldn't have those issues?

 

[Herding_Cats]

Well. My lack of motivation is about to bite me in the butt. When our half got cancelled/turned virtual a couple weeks ago, I stopped running. All of the back-to-school, baby's first-birthday-party, soccer games 4 days a week and juggling the practice schedules on top of that, a sick 3rd grader.......something had to give and it was the running. Well, I THOUGHT I had deferred my registration to next year. And so did my SIL. Until Tuesday afternoon when we both got emails explaining procedures for the virtual and when to expect our shirts/medals to be shipped and confirming our shipping addresses. She emailed the race director and got a response back right away, and he said her registration was marked as "no response." I emailed a few hours later and have NOT gotten a response. So I'm assuming I'm "stuck" in the virtual option this year. Goodbye $86. Basically, if they didn't get a response on the form (which we both did) you were automatically switched to the virtual option. So now I haven't run in almost 2 weeks, and mentally feel obligated to do a half in about 10 days.

 

[PrincessV]

Anyone have a treadmill they LOVE?

First, I am very sorry for your loss.

About treadmills... I'll rehash my belief that if you're looking for longevity, less is more. I bought a ProForm treadmill in 1997 that's still working and refuses to quit! It's simplistic: a pretty loud motor, no fancy screens, just old-school digital readouts for distance/speed, one button to start and stop the readout, a slider to turn it on and adjust speed, and three manual adjustments to incline the deck. I'm convinced that its lack of fancy stuff is why it's lasted so long. Compared to the newer, fancier treadmills I've used in hotels and gyms, the ride is a bit less cushioned, but mostly it's just louder than the new ones. I'd think even a simplistic new one is probably quieter nowadays.

 

[PrincessV]

QOTD?: How long do the benefits of a final long run (and the training leading up to it, of course) last?

Here's what I'm getting at... I was going to turn the WDW Marathon into a 50K. With it canceled, I'm trying to decide whether or not I want to do it on my own at home. If I do, I have the benefit of picking the perfect day to do it... or do I?? I'm in FL, so any given day in Jan/Feb could be below freezing, or above 80 - and I'm only likely to have a few days notice to prepare. So, say I train for a race date of Jan. 9: my final long run would have been Dec. 19. But Jan. 9 winds up being the hottest Jan. day on record - no way am I going to attempt a 50K that day! So what's my next-best option, given that I can probably only use a Sat or Sun? The following weekend would wind up being a 4-week taper, and 2 weekends later would be 5 weeks out from my longest training run - what would I do for training in that case? I need to have options worked out ahead of time to feel comfortable!

 

[MissLiss279]

Thank you all for the kind words about my dad!

I have read tons of good things about the 2450. I am not even sure I care about the screen. My problem with buying a treadmill without trying it is, I had one at the last house. It took forever to speed up and slow down when adjusting speeds for run/walk. And I found that the belt would "skip". I don't know if that's the right word but there were times my knee would hyperextend because it didn't feel like the belt was keeping up with me. At the gym I never had those issues on a treadmill. Belt always stayed consistent on the speed and it adjusted quickly to changes in speeds. I figured by going with a commercial level home treadmill, with the more powerful motor, I wouldn't have those issues?

My old treadmill, the belt had definitely started to slip, and get that weird jerky feeling that is not quite right. On this new one, I think I have had a couple weird jerks, but not that often and I think just a weird glitch?? I really like that I can just press the numbers for the speed I want versus having to continually push a lever to get to the speed I want with no quick changes. It does take a little bit of time to get up to speed - but I am also used the OrangeTheory treadmills that have almost an instantaneous (not quite but really fast) switch in speed - the NordicTrack is not as fast as that, but it’s okay.
I did assemble it myself, and sometimes when it goes to the bottom incline -3% or up the the higher inclines +10%+, it makes a popping noise. I’m guessing this has to do with my assembly. I had a hard time putting on the control panel, and maybe something in that process torqued the base a little??

 

[Waiting2goback]

First, I am very sorry for your loss.

About treadmills... I'll rehash my belief that if you're looking for longevity, less is more. I bought a ProForm treadmill in 1997 that's still working and refuses to quit! It's simplistic: a pretty loud motor, no fancy screens, just old-school digital readouts for distance/speed, one button to start and stop the readout, a slider to turn it on and adjust speed, and three manual adjustments to incline the deck. I'm convinced that its lack of fancy stuff is why it's lasted so long. Compared to the newer, fancier treadmills I've used in hotels and gyms, the ride is a bit less cushioned, but mostly it's just louder than the new ones. I'd think even a simplistic new one is probably quieter nowadays.

I don’t want any of the screens and stuff. Sadly most of the ones I’m looking at with the more powerful motor have them. The other model I’m looking at is the Sole TT8 doesn’t have the screen and it has good reviews. My problem is, that is the brand of the one I hated in my last house.

 

[Waiting2goback]

I really like that I can just press the numbers for the speed I want versus having to continually push a lever to get to the speed I want with no quick changes.

This is one of the main reasons I want this machine. I haven't come across any others in this price range that do that!

 

[huskies90]

QOTD: How many miles do you get out of your running shoes? How do you decide when it's time for a new pair? (Bonus: What shoe are you currently running in?)

ATTQOTD: Wow. I am surprised how few miles you all get out of your shoes. I think if I only got 200-300 miles, I would give up running. lol. JK. I am a very neutral runner so my shoes seem to wear very evenly which I think gives me some longevity.

I have been all in on the Asics Nimbus for years. In the last few years, I bought six pairs of the 19's, four pairs of the 20's and I just got three pairs of the 21's. I am on my last pair of the 19's. I have gotten at least 650 miles on each of them with a few going over 700 miles and honestly, even the ones over 700 miles still look/feel pretty good and probably could still be worn but I retired them when they hit 700.

I, too, have a step rotation similar to others:

My last pair of 19's have 630 miles on them and I only use them for short runs.
My current daily runner is pair one of the 20's which has about 400 miles on it.
And pair 2 of my 20's I use for longer runs and races which currently has about 115 miles.

As for my thoughts on the Nimbus, I love this is shoe because it is so comfy and I have had zero, foot, leg, or any other issues wearing them for many years and many miles which is why I am sticking with them indefinitely. I agree the 19's had a very tight toe box. The 20's were basically the same shoe but the toe box was slightly larger which helped. I have only done a few break in runs with the 21's and the toe box is sufficiently wide on this shoe but the shoe feels a bit heavy which I am not crazy about. I thought about skipping the 21's but I got a nice 15% birthday coupon from Asics and since I only buy shoes that are on clearance and the 22's are not there yet, I went with the 21's which I got for $68 each.

 

[run.minnie.miles]

ATTQOTD:
For the marathon, I thought my longest run 3 weeks before was perfect. I'd think if your race was more than 3 weeks after, I'd try to get a semi-long run 2 weeks before? That's tough!

 

[Baloo in MI]

@Waiting2goback So sorry for your loss. Good to see you on the thread though!

 

[flav]

@flav I loved Nimbus as well, but the 19s were awful and I heard 20 and 21 were worse. But maybe 22 is better? I'm using Glycerins now, which are ok, but I prefer to go back to Nimbus. Glycerins seems to only give support until 150-200 miles but with Nimbus I could easily put over 500. Are you using the 22's? How do they feel? I like a wide toe box.

With one exception, all my Nimbus have been 19, 20 or 21. They are all similar. I do buy half a size bigger than my first pair which gave me a black toenail. I sometimes have purchased the men version that has a bigger toe box but less of a height drop. Waiting for a sale on the 22 to answer your question

 

[KevM]

Also how am I just learning about this now?
https://runsignup.com/Race/PA/Philadelphia/Gritty5K

To anyone interested, today would be a great day to sign up for this. It’s Gritty’s 2nd birthday. I also admit a bit of an ulterior motive to reminding people of this, because it’s also The 2nd anniversary of the greatest tweet in Twitter history.

 

[SheHulk]

To anyone interested, today would be a great day to sign up for this. It’s Gritty’s 2nd birthday. I also admit a bit of an ulterior motive to reminding people of this, because it’s also The 2nd anniversary of the greatest tweet in Twitter history.

View attachment 527932

OMG it's my dad's birthday too and he is a huge Philly sports fan. I don't think he knew this. Also, maybe fittingly, it's Jim Henson's birthday.

 

[KevM]

OMG it's my dad's birthday too and he is a huge Philly sports fan. I don't think he knew this. Also, maybe fittingly, it's Jim Henson's birthday.

Yeah, it probably is fitting that it’s Jim Henson’s birthday. When I first saw Gritty two years ago I compared Gritty to Sweetums and wondered how long it would be before Disney tried suing the Flyers.

 

[nekonekoneko]

Philly, seeing Gritty for the first time: "that's so messed up!"

The rest of the world "yeah, that is messed up"

Philly, "Don't you dare be dissin on our Gritty!"

 

[SarahDisney]

Gritty is a huge jerk (I probably can't use the word I really want to use on the DIS).

I love Gritty.

I contemplated signing up for the virtual 5k but decided I'd rather wait to do it in person where I could wear my Rangerstown 5K shirt to annoy Gritty (and also possibly get killed).

 

[KevM]

Philly, seeing Gritty for the first time: "that's so messed up!"

The rest of the world "yeah, that is messed up"

Philly, "Don't you dare be dissin on our Gritty!"

Haha. Yep I wasn’t big on Gritty for the first couple of hours. Then the penguin got involved and I was all in on Gritty.

 

[KevM]

Gritty is a huge jerk (I probably can't use the word I really want to use on the DIS).

I love Gritty.

I contemplated signing up for the virtual 5k but decided I'd rather wait to do it in person where I could wear my Rangerstown 5K shirt to annoy Gritty (and also possibly get killed).

Such a massive jerk (using the pg term) in the most positive way.