The Running Thread -- 2022

[pluto377]

December miles- 85.4
2022 miles- 700.54

Made sure to clear 700 on my New Year’s Eve run! A little disappointed with the total as last year was 759. But I had a far more consistent year, except for February so it’s all good.

2023 plans- 800 or more miles, marathon weekend, sign up for dopey 2024. I don’t have anything on my race calendar yet so I need to put some thought into that.

 

[fatmanatee]

This came up in one of the threads talking about fueling so I’m obligated to provide a review of the SiS gels, which were provided at the NYC marathon but I didn’t try them then bc I didn’t want to mess with my routine at the time. Well now I have! I tried the raspberry flavor in the middle of my run today. My main reason for giving them a go is that I’ve been staying away from sugary stuff lately and this is the rare gel that doesn’t have sugar. So it’s good in that respect, it also didn’t cause any issues with my stomach.

However, it kinda tastes a little like cough medicine lol. I bought a variety pack so I’m going to be trying all sorts of flavors but there’s a good chance I won’t stick with this one for the long term. On the plus side there’s basically no aftertaste, which I’ve found to be a problem with other gels (this might be because it’s more liquidy than the typical gel). It’s also a bit bulkier. This is less a problem for me now bc I started running with a base layer with a pocket so it’s not swinging against my thigh.

Anyway there’s my rousing review, I’ll be back if I find one that actually tastes good.

 

[surfde22]

This came up in one of the threads talking about fueling so I’m obligated to provide a review of the SiS gels, which were provided at the NYC marathon but I didn’t try them then bc I didn’t want to mess with my routine at the time. Well now I have! I tried the raspberry flavor in the middle of my run today. My main reason for giving them a go is that I’ve been staying away from sugary stuff lately and this is the rare gel that doesn’t have sugar. So it’s good in that respect, it also didn’t cause any issues with my stomach.

However, it kinda tastes a little like cough medicine lol. I bought a variety pack so I’m going to be trying all sorts of flavors but there’s a good chance I won’t stick with this one for the long term. On the plus side there’s basically no aftertaste, which I’ve found to be a problem with other gels (this might be because it’s more liquidy than the typical gel). It’s also a bit bulkier. This is less a problem for me now bc I started running with a base layer with a pocket so it’s not swinging against my thigh.

Anyway there’s my rousing review, I’ll be back if I find one that actually tastes good.

I love the apple one. It’s so good and is my go too fuel. I tried the cola one but the caffeine in it seems to have a weird after taste. Lemon lime, tropical, and orange are pretty good too. Avoid salted strawberry though. Way too salty, and that’s from someone that can barely taste salt in a lot of foods.

 

[fatmanatee]

I love the apple one. It’s so good and is my go too fuel. I tried the cola one but the caffeine in it seems to have a weird after taste. Lemon lime, tropical, and orange are pretty good too. Avoid salted strawberry though. Way too salty, and that’s from someone that can barely taste salt in a lot of foods.

Apple, lemon lime, tropical, and orange are among the ones I’ll be trying (along with cherry and something called tutti frutti???), I’m most optimistic about orange because I’ve generally had decent success with citrus flavors. Never tried cola, I know that GU has a cola flavor but I’ve mostly assumed that it tastes like flat coke.

 

[avondale]

I got a Garmin Epix (Gen 2) for Christmas. So far, I like it very much. I'm going to try to write about it in my training log in another couple weeks. The dual-band GPS is pretty amazing.

 

[steph0808]

December Running Totals
Miles - 140.8
Time - 24:09:05

Did peak week for Dopey and then started tapering the week before Christmas. Felt good!

2022 Running
Miles - 1,256 miles

Hit my goal of 2022 km in 2022!

 

[dis_or_dat]

A year late but here we go :

December
Running:
total miles: 116.14
avg pace 8:28

Hiking
total miles: 43.04
elevation gain: 12,821 ft

2022:
total miles: 1,628.15
Avg pace: 8:25

 

[flav]

December 2022 totals
Distance: 162km (100mi)
Average pace: 6m45s/km (10:50/mi)
YTD: 2042km on 2022km

Family total distance run (mostly 3 persons) 5935km

Busy December, busy 2022.

All happy things for a month as crazy as the year itself.

 

[DopeyBadger]

December 2022 Training Summary

Running duration = 24:37 hours
Running mileage = 163.1 miles
Average Pace = 9:04 min/mile (about 100 sec/mile slower than marathon PR)
Average HR = 126 (19 bpm less than marathon)
Strength Training = none
Total Training Time = 24:37 hours

December was just a holding pattern month for me. No real training of substance, and just maintaining a good base before getting prepared for the Spring season.

2022 Year Training Summary

Running duration = 350:49 hours
Running mileage = 2453 miles
Average Pace = 8:35 min/mile (about 70 sec/mile slower than marathon PR)
Average HR = 128 (17 bpm less than marathon)
Strength Training = 38:29 hours
Total Training Time = 389:19 hours
Total Mileage covered in running and walking = 3740 miles

2022 was a good year. I was able to get in a good volume of running similar to 2016 and 2017 (2500 miles) while remaining relatively injury free. While I didn't hit the times I was aiming for in pretty much any of my races, I'm still happy with 2022 because of staying healthy. The highlight of the year was running with my daughter in her first 5k. We did a total of four this year, and already have four on the calendar in 2023. She continues to enjoy running and mixing it with her passion of dressing up and cosplaying. Looking forward to 2023!

 

[kps7795]

ATTQOTD: Mostly, I’m thankful to be able to run. I had some severe hip/knee pain earlier this year but was able to remove that with a new warm up routine and some strength exercises.
I’m also very thankful that I got to run with my mom for her first half marathon. That experience is something we’ll both cherish for many years.

Could I possibly ask what warm-up routine and strength exercises you used that eliminated your knee pain? I ran last night for the first time since my painful Goofy experience. The first mile was glorious, but then I started feeling pain in my left knee which unfortunately reminded me of how I finished the marathon. Fortunately, my foot was pain-free and I'm hoping that the knee pain is just residual swelling from the battering that it sustained in 1 1/2 marathons over the course of a weekend. Nonetheless, I'm open to anything that might prevent this from happening again in the future.

 

[GollyGadget]

Could I possibly ask what warm-up routine and strength exercises you used that eliminated your knee pain? I ran last night for the first time since my painful Goofy experience. The first mile was glorious, but then I started feeling pain in my left knee which unfortunately reminded me of how I finished the marathon. Fortunately, my foot was pain-free and I'm hoping that the knee pain is just residual swelling from the battering that it sustained in 1 1/2 marathons over the course of a weekend. Nonetheless, I'm open to anything that might prevent this from happening again in the future.

I highly recommend you go see a PT. My knee/hip thing was the result of a whole chain of things that were caused by weak glutes. I certainly don’t have the knowledge or expertise to deduct if what you’re experiencing is the same thing.

With that disclaimer out of the way my warm up is:

1. Walking knee hugs
2. Walking quad stretches
3. Hip circles
4. Lunges
5. Balance on one leg, stick the other out and reach for the ground (I’m sure this has a name but idk it)
6. Hamstring sweeps
7. Skips

I’m meant to do these for 50m each and jog in between. I did do that when I was still recovering but I’ve definitely cut down on the warm up as time passes.

Again, my knee pain was because of hip and glute issues so the strength focused on that. It started with clamshells, bridges, and hamstring stretches. It grew into a few other exercises like hip lifts, reaching forward while balancing on one leg, and single leg squats.

I sincerely hope this helps! Knee pain is no fun at all.

 

[Bree]

Could I possibly ask what warm-up routine and strength exercises you used that eliminated your knee pain? I ran last night for the first time since my painful Goofy experience. The first mile was glorious, but then I started feeling pain in my left knee which unfortunately reminded me of how I finished the marathon. Fortunately, my foot was pain-free and I'm hoping that the knee pain is just residual swelling from the battering that it sustained in 1 1/2 marathons over the course of a weekend. Nonetheless, I'm open to anything that might prevent this from happening again in the future.

Definitely see a PT. Knee pain can be a multitude of things. Golly Gadget’s exercises are completely different than what I do. I had a glute that did not fire at all. Seriously. It did nothing. I had IT band syndrome from it and was also was diagnosed with piriformis syndrome. I’ve been doing my rehab for over a year now and have had no issues

ETA: The swelling should be of concern.

 

[PrincessV]

+1 for knee pain can be from a gazillion different reasons. Dr. Google likes to assume everyone has weak glutes and suggests that’s the issue for all… I am the polar opposite - glute and rear-chain dominant - and need more focus on my quads and adductors. I also am extremely sensitive to any kind of lateral bias in shoes and running surfaces: even the mildest stability shoes will aggravate my IT Bands, to say nothing of cambered roads/sidewalks. AND add in some meniscus erosion for a little medial knee pain, just for fun! In my experience, knee pain of one of those things Dr. Google really fails at.

 

[WillRunForPizza]

Yup, go see a PT. If you can find one who's running focused, great, but mine hates running and was still super helpful Definitely also check in with your insurance company to see what they cover - mine was pretty good and surprisingly I didn't even need a referral, which was convenient. But as others have said, knee pain could have any number of causes that may or may not actually originate with your knee, so you really need a professional to tell you what you're facing.

 

[kps7795]

I highly recommend you go see a PT. My knee/hip thing was the result of a whole chain of things that were caused by weak glutes. I certainly don’t have the knowledge or expertise to deduct if what you’re experiencing is the same thing.

With that disclaimer out of the way my warm up is:

1. Walking knee hugs
2. Walking quad stretches
3. Hip circles
4. Lunges
5. Balance on one leg, stick the other out and reach for the ground (I’m sure this has a name but idk it)
6. Hamstring sweeps
7. Skips

I’m meant to do these for 50m each and jog in between. I did do that when I was still recovering but I’ve definitely cut down on the warm up as time passes.

Again, my knee pain was because of hip and glute issues so the strength focused on that. It started with clamshells, bridges, and hamstring stretches. It grew into a few other exercises like hip lifts, reaching forward while balancing on one leg, and single leg squats.

I sincerely hope this helps! Knee pain is no fun at all.

Thank you all for your feedback. It is appreciated. Fortunately or unfortunately, I had already been doing most of those exercises as part of my pre-run warmup already. BTW, the balancing on one leg and reaching for the ground is called one-legged deadlifts (I've neve liked that name since it's only partially similar to a deadlift, but oh well).

Nonetheless, I was ready to see a PT or even go back to the orthopod that I saw last April because of my stress reaction. I figured that I would give it one more run and see what happened so that I would have more information. I hadn't felt any pain leading up to last night's run, so I was encouraged. Best part is I did a run-walk for three miles without any pain. Of course, my wife rolled her eyes and she reminded me that she told me that it would likely resolve itself with rest. Life living with an MD. This experience makes one reflect on the amazing things that the human body can do in healing itself.

 

[Naomeri]

I thought I was going to freeze to death today! But I finished my virtual Marathon Weekend half in 1°F (feels like of -11) weather. I also knocked over 5 minutes off my Half PR and finished under 3 hours!

 

[WillRunForPizza]

I thought I was going to freeze to death today! But I finished my virtual Marathon Weekend half in 1°F (feels like of -11) weather. I also knocked over 5 minutes off my Half PR and finished under 3 hours!

Congratulations!

Also, eep!