The Running Thread -- 2022

[azrivest]

Goals for 2022
1. Run my first runDisney races. Nothing, not even Omicron, can keep me from going to Orlando in Feb
2. Run a 10k in under 1h
3. Continue with my S&C
4. To quote 's 2021 goal, Eat sensibly. I am also a pantry-hovering bug and I'm a bit on the heavy side, which means I'm injury prone. My goal will be to keep a healthy weight to keep myself beating the pavement as long as I can.
5. Run my first marathon

1. Check!
2. Not gonna happen in 2022. I'm going to move this goal to Princess 10k 2023.
3. Check! Wasn't always 100% consistent, but I did S&C during both my half in spring and my marathon in fall training cycles
4. I've started calorie counting again, aiming to lose ~0.5 pounds a week. Don't want to go insane OCD over this however, which I could easily be. I still enjoy the occasional glass of wine or dessert. YOLO
5. Check! So proud of myself

 

[lookingforsunshine]

My two main goals for the year are unrelated to running (they are finish my dissertation & work toward a more whole foods plant based diet— I suppose this one is related to running because I think it will make me a better runner). But my secondary running goals are to finish Goofy, hopefully having fun with it and not having too much pain. I want to do an Olympic distance triathlon— I am registered for Chicago at the end of August. With that I really want to improve my swimming and get lessons. And I want to overall run more miles than I did in 2021. Maybe sign up for Goofy or Dopey 2023 depending on how next (!!!) weekend goes.

ATTQOTD:

This was kind of sad to read lol.
1. I have not yet finished my dissertation. I do not think it will be done by the end of the year but hopefully very early next year.
2. My diet is currently trash. I haven’t had soda since March though so that is a win.
3. I did not finish Goofy. This was not surprising to me.
4. I did finish an Olympic triathlon. I didn’t do swim lessons but had a tri coach over the summer.
5. I am currently 5 miles under my total mileage for 2021 so I will definitely be surpassing this goal by a lot.
6. I am not doing Goofy or Dopey but am happy with my choice to do the 5k, 10k, and marathon. I have been actually training so failing Goofy in 2021 was the wake up call I needed I suppose.

 

[flav]

ATTQOTD: I want to stay healthy and have fun while doing so. That gives me the following sub-goals.
1) Run 2022k in 2022. It is really an engagement to prioritize running.
2) Keep accelerating using a personalized training plan. If BQ is theoretically attainable and in-person racing resumes by October, then go get it!
3) Work on strength and flexibility. That is essential if I want to achieve the other goals and definitively my weakness right now.
4) Eat sensibly. Instead of putting a weight loss, slow eating or sugar reduction goal that I know I will resent, I will try to mostly be consistent and not exaggerate. Food is one of the pleasure of life and appreciating it with moderation is important to me.
5) Keep enjoying this positive running community,

1) On track to run 2022k.
2) I accelerated. Both my 2022 HM and M were PR.
3) Does swimming count as flexibility? If so, great because I trained for a Super-sprint triathlon.
4) Ok, I had written that one in a very wise way. I am ok with moderately indulging.
5) Definitely! Thank you all

 

[The Expert]

For 2022, I want to work running consistently into my regular routine. I tend to do nothing at all and have to start over with each new training cycle, and I'm tired of that frustration.

I'd call this a win. Instead of completely quitting for weeks (or months) after MW, I took about three weeks off then started walking or running 2-3 times a week for 30-45 minutes on the treadmill. Some weeks I got busy and didn't do any, or maybe just one, but I never let it completely go. When it came time to get consistent as my Dopey training approached, it was way easier to roll back into it. I'm VERY happy with this result!

 

[Herding_Cats]

For 2022 I'm still trying to figure out some goals that I will be willing to put the work in for. I want to say "run a sub-30 5k" but I don't know if I'm willing to do the speedwork necessary for it. And for the next few months my focus is going to turn back to weight training (and weight loss, which running has not aided in.)

Realistic goals:
1.) Figure out a way to incorporate consistent running into weight training. SIL and I usually do weight training programs together for accountability, so we will see what we decide on and how running can reasonably fit into that choice. I do not want to lose my running base and have to start over.
2.) Run at least 3 in-person races.
3.) Improve my 5k and half marathon times from last year.

1.) Not yet. I did well with the weight training over the winter and haven't really done any since.
2.) Done. Goofy in January (2 races), SS10k with SIL, 4th of July 5k, Trail HM in September, Turkey Trot 5k next month
3.) Done and done!

Stretch goals:
1.) Run 100+ miles in a month (which is probably almost 23 hours of running...that's a big time commitment for me)
2.) Get my half marathon time down to 2:30
3.) Get my V02max above 42 (I've been stuck at 39 for ages)

1.) Might happen next month? I try not to look too far ahead on my training plan because I'll get anxious about the long runs.
2.) HAHA! Not even close.
3.) I do almost no speedwork runs so my VO2 only really changes after I do one of those. I was briefly up to 42 back in August, went back down to 39 after my trial half where the whole run ended up being in zones 4 and 5....it was awful. And I'm sitting at around 41 these days. Not anticipating it moving since it's nearly treadmill season for me.

 

[pluto377]

2022 goals- stay consistent with training, get faster, add strength training to my routine.

1. I've been very consistent this year, except for February. I always bomb February. (2023 goal- don't bomb February!)
2. I think I've gotten faster, but more importantly I feel better in training. Easy runs are even easier, harder runs are not so hard.
3. Working on this one still. I started a new plan where I go to the gym twice a week during lunch and do the express weight circuit, but it's only been 2 weeks so I can't count it as a win yet.

 

[OldSlowGoofyGuy]

Morning run on the Swamp Rabbit Trail in Greenville, SC.

I needed a photographer. The runner I asked had on a runDisney T-shirt. I forgot to ask if they were on the running forum. If you're the runner that stopped to take a photo, thank you!

 

[Bree]

GFNY Sebring Marathon Race Report

This was an unplanned race. I had been signed up for Chicago for months and then NYC announced they were holding guaranteed entry for 2023 if you ran a virtual marathon within a two week window. Hello, it’s NYC so of course I signed up!!! I missed out on this last year due to surgery and who knows if they were going to do it again. I really didn’t want to run 26.2 by myself so I found this localish race. I knew it would be rough running two marathons in two weeks so I made plans to run Chicago slower than race pace and Sebring at my easy pace.

The advertised race location was Sebring, but it was actually held nearby in Lake Placid. The company also holds cycling events. The marathon and half marathon were on Saturday and the various cycling events on Sunday. The marathon course was advertised as four 6.55 loops (half ran two loops). Fuel and electrolytes were SIS.

Mandatory bib pickup was Friday. No exceptions and they were serious about that. We made plans for a long weekend in our camper, but then hurricane Ian came along and shut down the state park and canceled my reservation with a week’s notice. All the host hotels, Hilton properties and Marriott properties in the area were sold out, but I managed to find a room Friday night at a Holiday Inn.

Friday - There is no easy way to get to Sebring with only one road in and out of the area with a million traffic lights. We ended up leaving an hour later than planned and traffic was a parking lot on I-4 and miserable on that main road into Sebring. A 2:20ish ride took us 3 hours to get to the expo. This company makes you wear a mandatory singlet. No singlet on race day and you can’t start. Take it off during the race and they will DQ you. I was pretty pissed off about that, but the shirt ended up being just fine. We were also given a reusable shopping bag, a large water bottle and a canister of SIS electrolytes. We were also given a bracelet to wear with a phone number to call in case we had an emergency on the course. The expo was just GFNY selling their branded cycling gear and a table with some gels and helmets and bike shoes. We went to the hotel after the expo. It was newer, clean and our room overlooked one of the many lakes in the area. Very little selection for restaurants in the area of our hotel and it was getting late. We drove back into Sebring and ended up at Olive Garden. Food was not great since it’s Olive Garden, but it was edible. Stopped into Publix real quick for a few things then back to the hotel.

Saturday - Start time for the race was 7:15. We got there around 6:10 and honestly could have shown up later. We sat in the truck for awhile. I got my hydration belt on and Tailwind mixed up then headed to the bathroom before the 2 minute walk to the starting line. I forgot to pack bug spray so I ended up being a nice breakfast for the mosquitoes.



It was in the 50’s at race start, but was going to quickly warm up to the high 70’s low 80’s with lots of sun. I made a game plan that morning to try and run my easy pace (10:20ish) continuous for as long as I was feeling good then switch over to run/walk intervals when things got hard. I knew that even though I was feeling fantastic after Chicago that this would be hard on my body.

The start line was self seeding even though the race guide showed otherwise. This was a BQ qualifying race so I went towards the back to stay out of the way of the fast people. Race started on a paved road, but quickly turned onto a section of asphalt millings and dirt. It went back and forth like this the entire loop with large patches of sand too. The loop ran through wooded areas and neighborhoods around a lake. It was very pretty and peaceful. There were plenty of aid stations and a porta potty located at each one along with bonus ones at homes under construction All the aid stations had water, electrolytes, Coca Cola, gels, bananas, pretzels???, ice and first aid supplies. The first mile measured short .10 miles. The second mile was .25 short…..what the heck was going on? I believe at mile 4 it was .55 miles short. They had 4 timing mats. None matched up with their mile markers so the text messages from runner tracking had my paces all over the place.

The first loop was shaded most of the way with a patch of sun here and there. I was being passed left and right, but just kept doing my own thing. I finished the first loop with the course measuring .10 short.

Loop two still had plenty of shade, but much more sunshine and I got passed a couple more times. Finished that loop with the course measuring .20 short.

Loop 3 I was by myself for a long time. The sun was fully out with no shade starting around mile 18. I started catching up with other runners and passing them. The course measured .30 short.

Loop 4 was full blown sun and hot I started passing people!!! I was feeling good, but decided to stop at a porta potty in mile 23 and start 90/30 intervals. I could have pushed myself, but my hips were getting super tight and did I mention it was sunny, hot and humid and I just ran a marathon two weeks ago??? Even at a slower pace I was passing by other runners. I counted 9 runners that I pac-manned in loops 3 and 4….chomp chomp chomp!!!! I finished the the course with my Garmin reading 25.80 miles with an average pace of 10:22 I paused my watch and got my medal and an ice cold towel.



Remember, I was only doing this for my NY entry. My upload to Strava had to show 26.2 or I wouldn’t get in. I hobbled around to get up to 26.33. I wanted some extra thrown in there as a mileage buffer. The finish area had water, electrolytes, bananas and some packaged crackers and pretzels. We grabbed my change of clothes from the truck. I had an ice cold Sprite and a beer. There was BBQ for purchase, but I wasn’t ready for food. We watched the top 3 males and females get their awards (really nice backpacks and bottles of champagne). I cleaned up real quick then we headed home. Traffic was miserable and it took 3.5 hours. I stuffed my face with McDonalds (that vanilla shake was pure heaven) and tried to sleep, but my hips and legs were so crampy and stiff. My husband’s truck has massagers in the front seats so I used them the entire ride home LOL

Official course time 4:28:56 (10:16 mile).
20th overall
7th female
1st in age group

I know they say nothing new on race day, but I experimented with Tailwind the week leading up to the race. I decided to just go for it on race day because I figured it couldn’t be worse than all the other GI issues I’ve been suffering with. No gut bombs!!!! It was super easy to refill my bottle on the course without losing time too

Other than the course measuring short I would run this again as a half marathon. It was well organized and all the race staff and volunteers were so nice and friendly. I didn’t mind running multiple loops and enjoyed the course. They had multiple drones taking video and lots of photographers on the course so I’m looking forward to seeing the videos and photos.

 

[Naomeri]

GFNY Sebring Marathon Race Report

This was an unplanned race. I had been signed up for Chicago for months and then NYC announced they were holding guaranteed entry for 2023 if you ran a virtual marathon within a two week window. Hello, it’s NYC so of course I signed up!!! I missed out on this last year due to surgery and who knows if they were going to do it again. I really didn’t want to run 26.2 by myself so I found this localish race. I knew it would be rough running two marathons in two weeks so I made plans to run Chicago slower than race pace and Sebring at my easy pace.

The advertised race location was Sebring, but it was actually held nearby in Lake Placid. The company also holds cycling events. The marathon and half marathon were on Saturday and the various cycling events on Sunday. The marathon course was advertised as four 6.55 loops (half ran two loops). Fuel and electrolytes were SIS.

Mandatory bib pickup was Friday. No exceptions and they were serious about that. We made plans for a long weekend in our camper, but then hurricane Ian came along and shut down the state park and canceled my reservation with a week’s notice. All the host hotels, Hilton properties and Marriott properties in the area were sold out, but I managed to find a room Friday night at a Holiday Inn.

Friday - There is no easy way to get to Sebring with only one road in and out of the area with a million traffic lights. We ended up leaving an hour later than planned and traffic was a parking lot on I-4 and miserable on that main road into Sebring. A 2:20ish ride took us 3 hours to get to the expo. This company makes you wear a mandatory singlet. No singlet on race day and you can’t start. Take it off during the race and they will DQ you. I was pretty pissed off about that, but the shirt ended up being just fine. We were also given a reusable shopping bag, a large water bottle and a canister of SIS electrolytes. We were also given a bracelet to wear with a phone number to call in case we had an emergency on the course. The expo was just GFNY selling their branded cycling gear and a table with some gels and helmets and bike shoes. We went to the hotel after the expo. It was newer, clean and our room overlooked one of the many lakes in the area. Very little selection for restaurants in the area of our hotel and it was getting late. We drove back into Sebring and ended up at Olive Garden. Food was not great since it’s Olive Garden, but it was edible. Stopped into Publix real quick for a few things then back to the hotel.

Saturday - Start time for the race was 7:15. We got there around 6:10 and honestly could have shown up later. We sat in the truck for awhile. I got my hydration belt on and Tailwind mixed up then headed to the bathroom before the 2 minute walk to the starting line. I forgot to pack bug spray so I ended up being a nice breakfast for the mosquitoes.

View attachment 712827

It was in the 50’s at race start, but was going to quickly warm up to the high 70’s low 80’s with lots of sun. I made a game plan that morning to try and run my easy pace (10:20ish) continuous for as long as I was feeling good then switch over to run/walk intervals when things got hard. I knew that even though I was feeling fantastic after Chicago that this would be hard on my body.

The start line was self seeding even though the race guide showed otherwise. This was a BQ qualifying race so I went towards the back to stay out of the way of the fast people. Race started on a paved road, but quickly turned onto a section of asphalt millings and dirt. It went back and forth like this the entire loop with large patches of sand too. The loop ran through wooded areas and neighborhoods around a lake. It was very pretty and peaceful. There were plenty of aid stations and a porta potty located at each one along with bonus ones at homes under construction All the aid stations had water, electrolytes, Coca Cola, gels, bananas, pretzels???, ice and first aid supplies. The first mile measured short .10 miles. The second mile was .25 short…..what the heck was going on? I believe at mile 4 it was .55 miles short. They had 4 timing mats. None matched up with their mile markers so the text messages from runner tracking had my paces all over the place.

The first loop was shaded most of the way with a patch of sun here and there. I was being passed left and right, but just kept doing my own thing. I finished the first loop with the course measuring .10 short.

Loop two still had plenty of shade, but much more sunshine and I got passed a couple more times. Finished that loop with the course measuring .20 short.

Loop 3 I was by myself for a long time. The sun was fully out with no shade starting around mile 18. I started catching up with other runners and passing them. The course measured .30 short.

Loop 4 was full blown sun and hot I started passing people!!! I was feeling good, but decided to stop at a porta potty in mile 23 and start 90/30 intervals. I could have pushed myself, but my hips were getting super tight and did I mention it was sunny, hot and humid and I just ran a marathon two weeks ago??? Even at a slower pace I was passing by other runners. I counted 9 runners that I pac-manned in loops 3 and 4….chomp chomp chomp!!!! I finished the the course with my Garmin reading 25.80 miles with an average pace of 10:22 I paused my watch and got my medal and an ice cold towel.

View attachment 712843

Remember, I was only doing this for my NY entry. My upload to Strava had to show 26.2 or I wouldn’t get in. I hobbled around to get up to 26.33. I wanted some extra thrown in there as a mileage buffer. The finish area had water, electrolytes, bananas and some packaged crackers and pretzels. We grabbed my change of clothes from the truck. I had an ice cold Sprite and a beer. There was BBQ for purchase, but I wasn’t ready for food. We watched the top 3 males and females get their awards (really nice backpacks and bottles of champagne). I cleaned up real quick then we headed home. Traffic was miserable and it took 3.5 hours. I stuffed my face with McDonalds (that vanilla shake was pure heaven) and tried to sleep, but my hips and legs were so crampy and stiff. My husband’s truck has massagers in the front seats so I used them the entire ride home LOL

Official course time 4:28:56 (10:16 mile).
20th overall
7th female
1st in age group

I know they say nothing new on race day, but I experimented with Tailwind the week leading up to the race. I decided to just go for it on race day because I figured it couldn’t be worse than all the other GI issues I’ve been suffering with. No gut bombs!!!! It was super easy to refill my bottle on the course without losing time too

Other than the course measuring short I would run this again as a half marathon. It was well organized and all the race staff and volunteers were so nice and friendly. I didn’t mind running multiple loops and enjoyed the course. They had multiple drones taking video and lots of photographers on the course so I’m looking forward to seeing the videos and photos.

I would kill for coke and pretzels from an aid station! As long as it was flat coke—no carbonation needed while running

Great job on 2 marathons in 2 weeks!!

 

[Bree]

I would kill for coke and pretzels from an aid station! As long as it was flat coke—no carbonation needed while running

Great job on 2 marathons in 2 weeks!!

I didn’t take anything other than water to fill my bottle, but I thought it was fantastic to offer all that up! They were the best stocked aid stations I have ever personally seen in a race.

 

[GollyGadget]

I ran a 7.5K race on Saturday. You can read about it in my weekly journal update: https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...ss-2023-disney-marathon.3595467/post-64384419

But mostly I just wanted to share how unimpressed my dog is


Happy Medal Monday!

 

[GreatLakes]

Mount Desert Island Marathon Race Report

I loved this race! Three reasons why:

1. I wasn’t running for time.
2. It was pretty ideal marathon weather.
3. It was beautiful!

So I have a few marathons this fall, and to try and not burn myself out, I have decided to take each of them at an ‘easy’ pace. They advertise this race as ‘not easy’ with lots of hills.

Race morning was upper 40s with dense fog and relatively no wind. The night before I had thought about wearing long sleeves, but when I woke up and there was no wind, I knew I couldn’t wear long sleeves - also because it was going to be sunny and 60 by the end. I’m usually okay with pushing up long sleeves towards the end of the race, but the no wind was great to start. I was staying about a block from the start line, so I didn’t have to get up super early, or leave my room really early. I headed out about 45 minutes before race start time (8 am), so I could drop a bag with a jacket and my Oofos. The race is point to point with a shuttle from the finish back to the start. I knew I might cool down and would want to get out of my shoes after the race. I had gloves and a blanket to keep warm until the start. I dropped the blanket at the beginning, but kept the gloves. It didn’t take long to warm up enough to not be cold. It did stay foggy for about the first hour or so of the race.

Before the race I had thought about walking the hills, but was unsure if I really would or not. Although I wasn’t running for time, I didn’t want to take forever to finish. I ran the first few hills, then at a steeper one, I decided to walk. I tried to keep my walk to a ‘power walk’, and then I flew down the downhills. I have been running by power for the last year or so which helps with hills a lot. I had a ‘goal’ power number that I was trying to keep around when I wasn’t walking. This number correlates with a long run pace. I would let the number increase on downhills if I felt like I wasn’t exerting too much effort, and I tried not to ‘brake’ too much on the way down either.
The course was so pretty! It was peak leaf change time in Maine.

The sun did eventually come out and it started to warm up a bit. One section took us past a bay in the shade with a cool breeze. I had to put my gloves back on for a while. When we got back into the sun, and a little farther away from the water, it really felt like it warmed up. But then, a little bit later, we turned South for the last few miles, a nice gentle breeze picked up into my face, and kept me cool for the rest of the race. Great!!

Although the course is rolling hills for the whole race, the first half was more generally downhill, and the second half was more generally uphill. I was feeling tired towards the end, but I was able to keep my power at the level I wanted, but I could tell that I wasn’t running the downhills quite as fast. I did run a few of the gentler uphills at the end, to keep from going back and forth with other runners.

I was very surprised to finish in 4:40ish! My usual ‘easy’ paced marathons are all around 5 hours. So with walking hill, and running down them, I still did great, and felt pretty good at the end too.

Three not so great things with this race:

1. It’s not a completely closed course. We were supposed to run on the left side, and not go too far across the white line - that is where the course was measured. There were a couple sections of the course that were closed, and you could run on either side of the road - and those sections were sooo pretty! The later sections, had a little more traffic.
2. Some of the shoulder running had a little more banked road than I like. I did try and run just inside the white line when there were no cars coming. So this wasn’t ideal.
3. The race had issues with getting the shuttle buses back to the finish line. I think I waited in a line for about 1.5 hours to get on a bus. Bar Harbor traffic can be crazy (including pedestrian traffic), so I can understand that buses might have an issue getting out of there after dropping people off.

Overall great race, and I would love to do it again.
View attachment 711947View attachment 711948View attachment 711949View attachment 711950View attachment 711951

Those pictures are beautiful. I'm attempting to run at least a half in all 50 states and for Maine I have to do one of the three I found near Acadia.

 

[GuinnessRunner]

(Late) ATTQOD: Decided to set quarterly goals with specifics this year to adjust as the year goes along but in general was looking (1) to stay healthy, (2) keep up with strength work and (3) lose some pounds which should help the stay healthy goal. Happy to report that for #1 I give my self a "B" (had a bit of a hip/groin issue late summer but overall much better than years past); a "B-" for #2 (better in getting some done each week but still find it dropping if anything else comes up); and an "A" for #3 (down 22lbs from high point this summer and now within 7 of my goal for January).

 

[kps7795]

(Late) ATTQOD: Decided to set quarterly goals with specifics this year to adjust as the year goes along but in general was looking (1) to stay healthy, (2) keep up with strength work and (3) lose some pounds which should help the stay healthy goal. Happy to report that for #1 I give my self a "B" (had a bit of a hip/groin issue late summer but overall much better than years past); a "B-" for #2 (better in getting some done each week but still find it dropping if anything else comes up); and an "A" for #3 (down 22lbs from high point this summer and now within 7 of my goal for January).

That's great! Keep up the consistent work.

 

[kps7795]

I ran a 7.5K race on Saturday. You can read about it in my weekly journal update: https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...ss-2023-disney-marathon.3595467/post-64384419

But mostly I just wanted to share how unimpressed my dog is
View attachment 713158

Happy Medal Monday!

Pets and teenagers are wonderful for keeping you humble.

 

[GuinnessRunner]

Put my name in the London lottery and got my rejection today. I know it's one of the races with the lowest odds for international runners to get in so wasn't really expecting it. Will leave it on the bucket list for another year and now frees up the spring to look for a different adventure.

Have to go over to Israel for work a few times a year so thinking about the Jerusalem Marathon in March. Long shot, but has anyone here ever run it or heard from someone that has? Just curious about general feedback (and haven't gone to Marathon Guide yet to see if there are reviews yet).

 

[dis_or_dat]

@MissLiss279 and @Bree congrats!!
@DopeyBadger - you can cross off #36 of your 102 goals


ATTQOTD:

No big plans, perhaps another for fun marathon in 2022. Right now I'm just trying slowly to get my speed back.

Did my 2022 marathon and I feel like I was at acceptable speed over the summer.
Plan on doing a 5k with my oldest. Wish I could clone myself so I could do a 1km with my youngest at the same time.

 

[FFigawi]

Put my name in the London lottery and got my rejection today. I know it's one of the races with the lowest odds for international runners to get in so wasn't really expecting it. Will leave it on the bucket list for another year and now frees up the spring to look for a different adventure.

I’m 0-13 with the London lottery. Next year, I’m using the UK address of one of my training partners.

 

[sandam1]

I'm wondering if anyone has a "go to" product to apply heat to an injury/sore area since apparently my body really prefers heat to ice. I'm looking for something that is a reasonable size (large enough to use on my hip or back, but not crazy big or heavy) and that stays warm for a decent period of time.

 

[Herding_Cats]

I'm wondering if anyone has a "go to" product to apply heat to an injury/sore area since apparently my body really prefers heat to ice. I'm looking for something that is a reasonable size (large enough to use on my hip or back, but not crazy big or heavy) and that stays warm for a decent period of time.

a rice sock? I've also seen them made with cherry pits, flax seeds, etc. Microwave it for a couple of minutes and enjoy the heat.

Or just a plain old heating pad?