The Running Thread -- 2022

[avondale]

Race Report: Philadelphia (Dietz & Watson) Half Marathon
November 19, 2022

A Goal: sub-2 hours
B Goal: PR (previous PR 2:05:08)
C Goal: nothing; really it was sub-2 or bust

(Skippable) Background: Was running with a friend who was going to pace me to a sub 2-hr half. He doesn't live here, he hadn't been registered for the race, but when I asked him (impulsively) if he would pace me ~someday~ he agreed and a few days later asked when my next race was. I had been thinking this was more of a future thing: my current PR was 2:05:08 and that had been a huge leap from my previous PR of about 2:15, but he is a Man of Action and said No Time like the Present so we were set for this November. I asked Billy for a somewhat aggressive training plan to get me ready -- as I said this friend was traveling here just for me and I didn't want to disappoint him. The pressure was on me today, at least in my mind. Training went fine, I hit all my paces in my workouts, but really had no idea how this was going to happen.

Freezing cold this morning. Forecast was high 20's and it felt cold. For all of you interested in how people dress for races in cold weather, I wore bike shorts and a very thin long sleeve layer with a short sleeve shirt over it. I did have throwaway sweats however. We left my apartment about 6AM for a 7AM start. It's a little less than a mile from my place to the start area, and we walk/jogged that but there was a wall of people waiting to get through security. It took us a while to get through the line but one good thing was that there were a lot of porta potties outside the secure area so we were able to take care of that with a short wait before getting on line. The hold up seemed to be that they were looking in every gear check bag and then putting a wristband on the bag to indicate it was checked. That took a lot of time and surely slowed the line way down. Don't know if they will choose to do that tomorrow for the full. Still we had time to check our gear check bags and get in the corrals no problem.

They started the wheelchair athletes on time, I'm pretty sure, but there were staggered corral starts after that. No idea why they took so long in between each corral but when it's freezing it's not ideal. Anyway everybody was in good spirits. The announcers mentioned our National League Champion Phillies and our (almost) undefeated Eagles and the crowd was in good spirits. Eventually we were set off and it was now or never for my sub 2 hours.

I am a "warmer upper" and it takes me a few miles to get comfortable at race pace. I told my friend but he really wasn't having any of that. I had told him that my problems achieving PRs is mostly mental, I just decide I can't do something before the race starts, or I just quit on a pace when it gets hard, and I miss my goals. So he was determined to just get me on a steady pace and stay there. I decided my strategy should be just to follow him and not look at my watch AT ALL. The first 7 miles are pretty flat and scenic (City Hall, Constitution Center, Independence Hall, South Street) and I was feeling good although the pace felt very aggressive compared to my normal half pace. I had no idea how I would hold this for the whole race.

View attachment 719970

Photo: Me & friend looking happy before the hills

The wheels started coming off mentally and a bit physically at the first hill at mile 8-9. The hard (for me) pace had taken its toll and I got very fatigued on the hill (it's my weakness) I complained a little to my friend (he was prepared for this, I told him to ignore me if I complained) and he gently encouraged me to get in a rhythm with my breathing again when the hill was over. I continued to complain quietly, knowing there was another hill coming up within a mile. The pace still felt so fast but I didn't look at my watch. That next hill really killed me. I pretty much actually whined at my friend and said I needed to walk a little on the next hill (this turned out to be my slowest mile by over a minute, maybe a minute and a half). I could tell my friend was getting a little worried about our goal at that point. The race has a little loop in Fairmount Park here, and at the end of the loop you can see people coming into the loop (where you already were) at a higher elevation. I was so mentally shot that I believed that the people I was looking at were a future part of the race instead of the past, and my heart sank. How can I climb another hill to get where they are? It was such a relief to realize that, no, we were actually heading into a downhill and then a very flat Kelly Drive finish near the river.

That last 1.5 miles were so hard. It was the most I had ever given in a half marathon by far. I decided to look at my watch: We were definitely going to make it! I was totally gassed and slowed tremendously and really wanted to walk but now I know what it feels like to really give it all you got in the race. I had nothing left when we crossed that line. Fun fact for folks running the full tomorrow: about 200 yards before the finish there is a street sign (that is just there all the time, not for the race) that says WRONG WAY. It does not apply to you. I was in such a mental blur that for a half second I almost stopped and turned around because I must be going in the wrong direction.

Official finish time: 1:57:41. I still can't believe it! And as a bonus, it turned out that my friend had taken me out a bit too fast because my Garmin also gave me an unofficial PR in the 5k, 10k, and half marathon all today! I am so thankful to him for coming out here and doing this for me. And putting up with my whining mid-race. I'm very sore already but it's totally worth it. And anybody who is on the fence about running this weekend, it's a truly great course and a great race.
Edited to add that I thanked Billy in a DM, but once again, I've progressed so much with his plans I just want to publicly thank him too

Wow! What an amazing race! That's a huge PR! Congratulations!!!

 

[avondale]

Staying on the subject of cold weather running attire, I could use some advice.

I've only been training for races since I signed up for 2020 Star Wars, and being in Central Texas, I haven't had a run in this weather before. I would like to get in a long run this weekend, but the weather tomorrow is supposed to be 40-45º F, light rain, and winds 5-10 mph, gusting to 15 mph. (Which is a little better than today's weather at least.)

I typically run in shorts and a tech tee. Last weekend it was cloudy and around 50º and I was comfortable running in a runDisney long sleeve tee. I run a 3-mile loop with my car parked along the route, so I can stash supplies/extra clothes there (very important for hydration in the summer!). Any advice would be appreciated!

OK, to me the key part of this is "light rain". If it's really going to be light, like a mist or heavy sprinkle, then I'd wear a long sleeve shirt, shorts (I wear bike shorts always), and a baseball cap with a brim to keep the rain out of my face. And I would plan to gradually get soaked. I suppose with your car nearby, you could change your shirt every time you go by and you wouldn't feel so wet.

If the rain is heavier than that, then I'd start to consider a rain jacket only because the temperature and wind are on the cold side. You won't stay dry with a rain jacket (because you'll sweat inside), but you'll be warmer because you'll be trapping your body heat more. In that case, I would go with a short-sleeve or tank top inside the rain jacket and still the shorts and hat.

But that is me...I like to run cold. I also don't mind being wet if I know ahead of time so I can plan for it. My personal issue is when it gets TOO cold and TOO wet. About the only safe conditions I won't run in are temperatures in the 30s F and heavy rain - there's just no way to be comfortable in that to me. Colder so that it snows is fine - I'll run in that. Warmer and heavy rain is fine - I'll run in that. (Unsafe: lightning storms, some kinds of freezing/ice weather.)

 

[opusone]

I just can't find gloves/mittens that keep my hands warm. As I type this, I see an ad on my screen for rechargeable heated gloves from Weston. Maybe I need to look into those?

I had the same issue for many, many years. I tried more than 15-20 gloves over the years, and my hands were still always cold (really poor circulation). I purchased these Smartwool mittens a couple years ago, and now run down to 10°F weather with comfy hands:

Smartwool Cozy Mitten https://a.co/d/d1DpMEA

Are they windproof?

No, they are not; however, I have been running with them in Chicago for the past year or two with plenty of wind at times, and my hands (which get colder faster than most folks hands) were still cozy.

A quick update on my run this morning... it was 26°F with 22 mph constant winds (with gusts higher) for a feels like of 12°F. I wore the Smartwool mittens I discussed above, and I could slightly feel the wind for the first 0.5-1 mile as my hands warmed up. After that, they were completely comfortable and even got sweaty for the last half of my 10 mile run.

Again, I have very poor circulation, and my hands easily get cold, so I would only recommend these gloves if you have trouble finding warm enough gloves/mittens. I hope this helps as it took me forever to find the right pair of running mittens.

 

[GuinnessRunner]

Well done @SheHulk! So great when the hard work pays off!

 

[The Expert]

AMAZING @SheHulk -- congrats on the huge PR!

 

[MissLiss279]

A quick update on my run this morning... it was 26°F with 22 mph constant winds (with gusts higher) for a feels like of 12°F. I wore the Smartwool mittens I discussed above, and I could slightly feel the wind for the first 0.5-1 mile as my hands warmed up. After that, they were completely comfortable and even got sweaty for the last half of my 10 mile run.

Again, I have very poor circulation, and my hands easily get cold, so I would only recommend these gloves if you have trouble finding warm enough gloves/mittens. I hope this helps as it took me forever to find the right pair of running mittens.

Nice! Thanks for the update!

 

[opusone]

Chapek out, Iger back in!!!

 

[SheHulk]

Chapek out, Iger back in!!!

really?

 

[jmasgat]

really?

OT response: Yes---but don't expect any wondrous changes at the parks. It's all about pleasing the investors, and with Disney+ experiencing larger than expected losses, ESPN still murky and the stock price down after the last investor's call, they are unlikely to want less profit out of their cash cow.

And now....off for a very cold run..

 

[kps7795]

Race Report: Philadelphia (Dietz & Watson) Half Marathon
November 19, 2022

A Goal: sub-2 hours
B Goal: PR (previous PR 2:05:08)
C Goal: nothing; really it was sub-2 or bust

(Skippable) Background: Was running with a friend who was going to pace me to a sub 2-hr half. He doesn't live here, he hadn't been registered for the race, but when I asked him (impulsively) if he would pace me ~someday~ he agreed and a few days later asked when my next race was. I had been thinking this was more of a future thing: my current PR was 2:05:08 and that had been a huge leap from my previous PR of about 2:15, but he is a Man of Action and said No Time like the Present so we were set for this November. I asked Billy for a somewhat aggressive training plan to get me ready -- as I said this friend was traveling here just for me and I didn't want to disappoint him. The pressure was on me today, at least in my mind. Training went fine, I hit all my paces in my workouts, but really had no idea how this was going to happen.

Freezing cold this morning. Forecast was high 20's and it felt cold. For all of you interested in how people dress for races in cold weather, I wore bike shorts and a very thin long sleeve layer with a short sleeve shirt over it. I did have throwaway sweats however. We left my apartment about 6AM for a 7AM start. It's a little less than a mile from my place to the start area, and we walk/jogged that but there was a wall of people waiting to get through security. It took us a while to get through the line but one good thing was that there were a lot of porta potties outside the secure area so we were able to take care of that with a short wait before getting on line. The hold up seemed to be that they were looking in every gear check bag and then putting a wristband on the bag to indicate it was checked. That took a lot of time and surely slowed the line way down. Don't know if they will choose to do that tomorrow for the full. Still we had time to check our gear check bags and get in the corrals no problem.

They started the wheelchair athletes on time, I'm pretty sure, but there were staggered corral starts after that. No idea why they took so long in between each corral but when it's freezing it's not ideal. Anyway everybody was in good spirits. The announcers mentioned our National League Champion Phillies and our (almost) undefeated Eagles and the crowd was in good spirits. Eventually we were set off and it was now or never for my sub 2 hours.

I am a "warmer upper" and it takes me a few miles to get comfortable at race pace. I told my friend but he really wasn't having any of that. I had told him that my problems achieving PRs is mostly mental, I just decide I can't do something before the race starts, or I just quit on a pace when it gets hard, and I miss my goals. So he was determined to just get me on a steady pace and stay there. I decided my strategy should be just to follow him and not look at my watch AT ALL. The first 7 miles are pretty flat and scenic (City Hall, Constitution Center, Independence Hall, South Street) and I was feeling good although the pace felt very aggressive compared to my normal half pace. I had no idea how I would hold this for the whole race.

View attachment 719970

Photo: Me & friend looking happy before the hills

The wheels started coming off mentally and a bit physically at the first hill at mile 8-9. The hard (for me) pace had taken its toll and I got very fatigued on the hill (it's my weakness) I complained a little to my friend (he was prepared for this, I told him to ignore me if I complained) and he gently encouraged me to get in a rhythm with my breathing again when the hill was over. I continued to complain quietly, knowing there was another hill coming up within a mile. The pace still felt so fast but I didn't look at my watch. That next hill really killed me. I pretty much actually whined at my friend and said I needed to walk a little on the next hill (this turned out to be my slowest mile by over a minute, maybe a minute and a half). I could tell my friend was getting a little worried about our goal at that point. The race has a little loop in Fairmount Park here, and at the end of the loop you can see people coming into the loop (where you already were) at a higher elevation. I was so mentally shot that I believed that the people I was looking at were a future part of the race instead of the past, and my heart sank. How can I climb another hill to get where they are? It was such a relief to realize that, no, we were actually heading into a downhill and then a very flat Kelly Drive finish near the river.

That last 1.5 miles were so hard. It was the most I had ever given in a half marathon by far. I decided to look at my watch: We were definitely going to make it! I was totally gassed and slowed tremendously and really wanted to walk but now I know what it feels like to really give it all you got in the race. I had nothing left when we crossed that line. Fun fact for folks running the full tomorrow: about 200 yards before the finish there is a street sign (that is just there all the time, not for the race) that says WRONG WAY. It does not apply to you. I was in such a mental blur that for a half second I almost stopped and turned around because I must be going in the wrong direction.

Official finish time: 1:57:41. I still can't believe it! And as a bonus, it turned out that my friend had taken me out a bit too fast because my Garmin also gave me an unofficial PR in the 5k, 10k, and half marathon all today! I am so thankful to him for coming out here and doing this for me. And putting up with my whining mid-race. I'm very sore already but it's totally worth it. And anybody who is on the fence about running this weekend, it's a truly great course and a great race.
Edited to add that I thanked Billy in a DM, but once again, I've progressed so much with his plans I just want to publicly thank him too

Congratulations on a great race and that AWESOME PR!!! I can only imagine how proud you are of yourself and rightfully so.

 

[GollyGadget]

really?

From the mouse himself: https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/th...nts-robert-a-iger-as-chief-executive-officer/

 

[mmm_texas]

OK, to me the key part of this is "light rain". If it's really going to be light, like a mist or heavy sprinkle, then I'd wear a long sleeve shirt, shorts (I wear bike shorts always), and a baseball cap with a brim to keep the rain out of my face. And I would plan to gradually get soaked. I suppose with your car nearby, you could change your shirt every time you go by and you wouldn't feel so wet.

If the rain is heavier than that, then I'd start to consider a rain jacket only because the temperature and wind are on the cold side. You won't stay dry with a rain jacket (because you'll sweat inside), but you'll be warmer because you'll be trapping your body heat more. In that case, I would go with a short-sleeve or tank top inside the rain jacket and still the shorts and hat.

But that is me...I like to run cold. I also don't mind being wet if I know ahead of time so I can plan for it. My personal issue is when it gets TOO cold and TOO wet. About the only safe conditions I won't run in are temperatures in the 30s F and heavy rain - there's just no way to be comfortable in that to me. Colder so that it snows is fine - I'll run in that. Warmer and heavy rain is fine - I'll run in that. (Unsafe: lightning storms, some kinds of freezing/ice weather.)

Thanks for this! It ended up not as bad as the forecast, just very intermittent light rain, so not at uncomfortable as I had feared. I did wear the long sleeve tee and shorts.

 

[GreatLakes]

If anyone is in the market for new fitness devices there are a lot already on sale. DCRainmaker puts together lists and here is the current one.

 

[jpeterson]

If anyone is in the market for new fitness devices there are a lot already on sale. DCRainmaker puts together lists and here is the current one.

I realized today that I had $200 in my home office allowance still available and picked up a pair of Airpod Pro gen2s!

 

[michigandergirl]

Congrats @SheHulk !! That is a massive PR - you crushed it!!

 

[kps7795]

If anyone is in the market for new fitness devices there are a lot already on sale. DCRainmaker puts together lists and here is the current one.

One that he hasn't added to the list yet is Shokz OpenRun and OpenRun Pro. If you sign up on their mailing list, you get a coupon code for $40 off.

 

[Naomeri]

Question for cold-weather runners who use Shokz: how do you keep your ears warm? I’m having trouble coordinating a hat or ear band while wearing my Shokz since they aren’t flush at the back of my head

 

[Herding_Cats]

Question for cold-weather runners who use Shokz: how do you keep your ears warm? I’m having trouble coordinating a hat or ear band while wearing my Shokz since they aren’t flush at the back of my head

I tip the "band" of my shokz up so it's above my headband. It's not *as* comfortable as when I use them for "normal" wear, but I pretty much hate running in silence, so it's a compromise I'm willing to make.

 

[WillRunForPizza]

Question for cold-weather runners who use Shokz: how do you keep your ears warm? I’m having trouble coordinating a hat or ear band while wearing my Shokz since they aren’t flush at the back of my head

I actually do the opposite of @Herding_Cats and let my ear band push the back of the Shokz down so it's sitting kind of on my neck. Also not perfect but it was working okay for me.

 

[GuinnessRunner]

I actually do the opposite of @Herding_Cats and let my ear band push the back of the Shokz down so it's sitting kind of on my neck. Also not perfect but it was working okay for me.

I do the same. Can't say it's the most comfortable with a benie on, but works. Although I hadn't thought of the "tip it up" method and may try that this week to compare.