The Running Thread - 2020

[dtrain]

Interesting article about stretching: https://www.outsideonline.com/2408467/case-against-stretching-flexibility-research

I don't stretch, it's never done anything for me. I'll do some knee bends, jumping jacks or other little warm ups before starting a run though. Are you guys into stretching?

 

[flav]

Why do feet smell and noses run?

 

[sky13]

Question: there is a 5k I’m thinking about that’s a women’s only run. For women on the boards, have you ever done one of these? Would you recommend it?

There's a race here that's a women's only run. And another race that I'm fairly sure is women's only - I actually did this one in 2017 but can't remember if there were any men running in it at all.

Honestly, it doesn't matter to me whether it's a women's only run or open to all... I sign up for races either because it's a tradition (there's a race here that I sign up for every year), I like the shirt, I have friends who are doing the same race, or it fits within my running schedule and I want to have a race to aim for. Oh and also special fun races (like I signed up for a 12k which is in the local zoo next run, and includes entry to the zoo). The women's only part of the race is incidental and I don't remember it being a huge factor in my decision to do that run in 2017 (hence why I can't even remember if it was really only women there)...

 

[jmasgat]

Interesting article about stretching: https://www.outsideonline.com/2408467/case-against-stretching-flexibility-research

I don't stretch, it's never done anything for me. I'll do some knee bends, jumping jacks or other little warm ups before starting a run though. Are you guys into stretching?

A little dynamic stretching/range of motion before a run is helpful to me. I will also try to do a post-run stretch because it makes me feel better, although sometimes I skip it and sometimes I do yoga instead. As usual, it's a "listen to my body" kind of thing.

 

[CDKG]

January Miles: 65.7
Average Pace: 13:26/mile

Taper, WDW Marathon weekend (5k, 10k, Marathon, DATW) and recovery. January was not a typical running month...at all. I had a great time attending Marathon Weekend! But, the marathon itself was a challenge. My average pace is almost 2 min/mile slower than typical as a result.

I ended the month by starting something new, PT. I’ve had glute, hip, piriformis, sciatic, hamstring, nerve issues in my right leg off and on for a few years. My symptoms worsened over marathon training and I knew glute weakness was a contributing factor. But, I wasn’t sure where to start. It felt good to have a trained expert identify my specific weaknesses and design a program to address them.

I will begin February by entering a new age group on Monday. I will continue my PT and get back into training mode for my two March races (Hot Chocolate 15k and St. Paddy’s Day Half). Then it will be time to make some decisions about Marathon Weekend 2021!

 

[Baloo in MI]

Monthly Totals:
53 running (basically Dopey and a shake down run)
39 walking

I remain on a running shut down through February. I am trying to adjust to going on walks as opposed to runs. PT starts up again as we work on my hip. Good news the pain I was feeling just walking up stairs or doing high knees is gone. So the active rest is paying off. am happy with this decision. I am healing up and can look forward to running soon, maybe the weather will get better by then. Who am i kidding; what is worse than February weather in Michigan? March of course!

 

[steph0808]

January Totals
Miles: 56.23
Avg Pace: 10:47
Avg HR: 158
Total Time: 10:16

A few short runs before the marathon and then only 4.5 miles afterward since I took two weeks off. Slowly getting back into it, but trying to figure out what to do. I'd like to do more of other things (swimming, lifting), but that would involve joining a gym and actually going.

Also - can anybody inform me of their Nuun usage? I was just looking into it and am confused by all the different product lines! I am hoping to get up and do some early morning runs this year - less than 5 miles in distance - and don't always feel like eating before them (I usually eat a PB sandwich before I run).

 

[Professor_Cookie]

Interesting article about stretching: https://www.outsideonline.com/2408467/case-against-stretching-flexibility-research

I don't stretch, it's never done anything for me. I'll do some knee bends, jumping jacks or other little warm ups before starting a run though. Are you guys into stretching?

I go through phases, and I can’t tell if it helps or hurts either way.

 

[DopeyBadger]

@DopeyBadger usually pulls this data and runs the analysis

@opusone actually use to put it together for me back when I ran Dopey. He tried to teach me back in 2015, but converting PDF to Excel has always eluded me as something I could do easily. I just spent the last two hours on it and made little to no meaningful progress.

 

[C.beara]

Are you guys into stretching?

I am, but only afterwards. I just feel so wobbly after a run if I don’t stretch, if that makes any sense.

Also - can anybody inform me of their Nuun usage?

I like the caffeine lime flavour for morning runs before breakfast. I also really like the fruit punch flavour when I don’t want the caffeine. I personally find nuun very “light” like I don’t feel like I’m drinking lots of sugar (Powerade) or a heavy/thick liquid. I also like that they’re kind of carbonated. And the tablets are easy to split if you have two smaller bottles you use, or just to even make it dissolve faster.

 

[cburnett11]

I expected this number to be a bit lower because I had a marathon and recovered some towards end of month. I highly recommend the Louisiana Marathon (Baton Rouge) if anyone wants a January marathon and can't make the WDW races. Typically I would've been at marathon weekend, but we had a wedding we needed to attend. The Louisiana Marathon was the following weekend and was great.

January Summary
Total mileage: 184.21
Total time: 26:53:26
Average pace: 8:46/mile
Average HR: 129 bpm

 

[DopeyBadger]

January 2020 Training Summary

Running duration = 13:24 hours
Running mileage = 93.3 miles
Average Pace = 8:37 min/mile (about 20-30 sec/mile slower than the last three months)
Average HR = 129 (65% HRR; 5-10 bpm lower than last three months)
Indoor Cycling duration = 17:45 hours
Indoor Cycling mileage = 275 miles
Indoor Cycling average power = 159 watts (about 30 watts lower than last three months)
Indoor Cycling average Normalized Power = 160 watts (about 36 watts lower than last three months)
FIIT4 Strength = 4:18 hours
Total Training Time = 35:27 hours

Well the Disney Marathon did not go how I dreamed it would. But time to move on and re-evaluate again and prepare for the next challenge. I've spent the entire second half of January in recovery mode. So there's some volume in there, but the effort has been very very low. Just trying to evaluate the condition of my quad which was my limiting factor on race day. I'm still undecided on what comes next. I've got two paths I'm considering in front of me and I'm just taking it day by day to see which path calls to me.

 

[steph0808]

I am, but only afterwards. I just feel so wobbly after a run if I don’t stretch, if that makes any sense.


I like the caffeine lime flavour for morning runs before breakfast. I also really like the fruit punch flavour when I don’t want the caffeine. I personally find nuun very “light” like I don’t feel like I’m drinking lots of sugar (Powerade) or a heavy/thick liquid. I also like that they’re kind of carbonated. And the tablets are easy to split if you have two smaller bottles you use, or just to even make it dissolve faster.

Thank you! Especially for letting me know the tablets are easy to split in half! Thst was one of my concerns. I don't know if I can down 16 ounces right before running.

 

[StacyStrong]

January Totals
Miles: 56.23
Avg Pace: 10:47
Avg HR: 158
Total Time: 10:16

A few short runs before the marathon and then only 4.5 miles afterward since I took two weeks off. Slowly getting back into it, but trying to figure out what to do. I'd like to do more of other things (swimming, lifting), but that would involve joining a gym and actually going.

Also - can anybody inform me of their Nuun usage? I was just looking into it and am confused by all the different product lines! I am hoping to get up and do some early morning runs this year - less than 5 miles in distance - and don't always feel like eating before them (I usually eat a PB sandwich before I run).

I drink a lot of nuun.

I put the Sport line in my water for Medium-long runs and use the immunity tablets whenever I feel slightly under the weather as a boost. I like immunity in both hot and cold water

Sometimes I’ll just drink the sport nuun for no reason (at home) other than wanting a flavored drink that isn’t packed with calories. Realistically it’s just electrolytes and water with a little sugar so it’s no worse than just randomly having a Gatorade or Powerade to drink.

I haven’t tried rest or vitamin yet, but plan on it.

I’m a fan of the citrus based flavors - orange, lime, etc. I hate stuff like fruit punch.

ETA - I would definitely not use it as a fuel/meal replacement. It doesn’t have any significant calories or carbs in it to replace eating before a run. Nuun Performance MIGHT but I’ve never used it.

 

[avondale]

Thank you! Especially for letting me know the tablets are easy to split in half! Thst was one of my concerns. I don't know if I can down 16 ounces right before running.

I use Nuun sport as a recovery drink (for electrolytes) for runs less than about 1 hour; I also use it as an electrolyte drink during tennis matches.

I don't generally worry about getting the water-to-Nuun ratio exactly right. When I use it after a run, I just plop it in one of our drinking glasses, which is probably 12-ish ounces. When I put it in my tennis water bottle, that's about 20 oz. It just tastes stronger or weaker.

As the other person said, it's pretty easy to break the tablets in half, but I generally only do this in order to slip the halves into the narrow neck of a store-bought bottle of water.

I feel like Nuun overhauled its various lines and flavors in the past 6 months or so. I get the grape sport flavor and the mixed pack of strawberry lemonade, tropical, mixed fruit, and grape. Honestly, these don't taste much like their supposed flavors to me - the last iteration was more true to taste in my opinion. I wouldn't drink them just for a nice-tasting drink, but if you're tired/hot/thirsty, then they are fine.

I also wouldn't suggest Nuun before a run if you're looking for calories, since they have almost none. But I don't worry about not eating in the morning for a run about 1 hour or less; I just drink about 12 oz of plain water before that sort of run.

 

[flav]

I’m a little biased here because I just about always choose Disney. I really enjoy W and D weekend and will be back for the fourth year in a row this November. A couple reasons are we can make a long weekend with only limited school days missed for my daughter because our local schools are closed on Election Day. This year we can go Thurs night to Wed night with Veterans Day and she only misses a Fri/Mon. Of course that doesn’t matter with a solo trip. What is nice though is the weather, up north winter is coming and early November is a great way to get a last minute trip of warm sunshine. I would add a fourth night and just take a day to do nothing but relax. You will have earned it.

I did the NYC marathon in 2016 and it was an epic experience, so if you have an opportunity to do it and can afford it, I say go for it! As to whether or not to bring family along - if the teens are interested in all that NYC has to offer then absolutely bring them along. But I know that teens can sometimes be a bit, ahem, apathetic, so if they aren't excited about seeing NYC then just go solo and have fun. There are so many things to do there - I have been 3 times over the last few years and there is still stuff I haven't done!

Thank you both for giving me your perspective. Once I allowed myself to plan/price both with the intention of booking a trip and that I put it down in writing on this thread, the need for that racecation calmed down a bit because it was no longer fuelled by the insatisfaction of the last one.

So, @BigEeyore, I entered the NYC lottery this morning and did two « pay later » hotel reservations.

One is on Staten Island. It would be ok if I go solo: Free parking, cheaper rate, go to Manhattan on Saturday by Ferry and straight to the start on Sunday. It would be less practical if the rest of the family is with me because of the longer commute.

The other hotel is near Central Park. I do not know what we would do with the car and it is more expensive. But of course, once I mentioned the NYC Marathon to my DD, they both declared that they wanted to spend Halloween there!

And if I don’t win the lottery, there is no way that I am paying for a Guaranteed international entry via travel provider... Then, Wine and Dine, here I come! I agree with all the reasons you listed @Dopey 2020

Super excited!

 

[CDKG]

Also - can anybody inform me of their Nuun usage? I was just looking into it and am confused by all the different product lines! I am hoping to get up and do some early morning runs this year - less than 5 miles in distance - and don't always feel like eating before them (I usually eat a PB sandwich before I run).

Legacy Nuun Ambassador here!

Nuun Vitamins - Just like the name suggests, this product contains vitamins (not a lot of electrolytes). This product promotes hydration by encouraging you to drink more water because it tastes great! I always start my work day with one and have a second in the evening with dinner.

Nuun Sport - This is your electrolyte replacement drink...without all of the sugar found in Gatorade or Powerade. Nuun Sport with the black lid also contains caffeine (derived from green tea). I will frequently use half and half (half a tablet cherry limeade with caffeine and half a tablet strawberry lemonade) during my runs. If I need a second water during my run, I reach for a watermelon (no caffeine). I also like to follow up drinking alcohol with a Nuun Sport to counteract the dehydrating affects. Or...you can make a cocktail out of your nuun and hydrate while you dehydrate! (They have several recipes on their website...I love a nuunarita!)

Nuun Performance - This is a powder intended for strenuous exercise over 90 min. It contains both electrolytes and some carbs. I started my long runs during marathon training with a scoop of strawberry lemonade with caffeine!

Nuun Immunity - This product contains vitamins and herbs that promote a healthy immune system. It does contain turmeric, so it may stain your glass. It is great in cold or hot water (like a tea). It can be used for recovery and anytime you immune system needs a boost like during cold and flu season or travel.

Nuun Rest - This is nuun’s newest product and the only one where a serving is not 16 oz per tablet/scoop. One tablet is for 4-6 oz of water. Nuun Rest is good cold but better as a hot tea. It is good for recovery and promoting... rest. It does contain magnesium which does not desolve in water. So, don’t me surprised if you find sediment in the bottom of your cup.

Let me know if you have any other questions. I enjoy sharing the #nuunlove !

 

[SarahDisney]

January Totals:
Run Miles: 58.27 mi
Time: 12:07:38 hours
Avg Pace: 12:29 min/mi

Non-Running:
10 barre classes (9 barre3, 1 FlyBarre)

One of my goals for 2020 is to try a new workout every month ... this month was Flybarre. It was good, but I'm more of a cardio person, so I got bored with the strength training after a while (my usual barre class, barre3, is more of a cardio/barre/mindfulness mix).

 

[BigEeyore]

One is on Staten Island. It would be ok if I go solo: Free parking, cheaper rate, go to Manhattan on Saturday by Ferry and straight to the start on Sunday. It would be less practical if the rest of the family is with me because of the longer commute.

The other hotel is near Central Park. I do not know what we would do with the car and it is more expensive. But of course, once I mentioned the NYC Marathon to my DD, they both declared that they wanted to spend Halloween there!

I hope you get in! I would definitely recommend staying near Central Park - when you get finished you don't want an hour + commute back to your hotel!

 

[Run4DisneyFun]

Jam miles: 55.7.

Only ran on the treadmill this month as I recover from a bit of runner’s knee. On the bright side, I am almost all the way through the Clone Wars season 6!