The Running Thread--2024

[Dopey 2020]

Catching up on the new thread before February gets here this year
I feel lucky after reading the last several posts, 10 marathons in and I’ve only ever had a toe nail turn a light shade of purple for a week or two, then back to normal, knock on wood.
2024 goals - check one off. Just back from MW with Dopey #5 complete and a new marathon PR. Hopefully I can check the rest off this year -

Continue at least 100 miles/month streak
more core strength training
find and sign up for more races

Last year saw consistent running but only 2 Disney race weekends. I need to get a bunch of local or destination races on the calendar. I can always find something I want, I just need to commit and register

 

[pluto377]

Just saw this in Publisher's Weekly

RunDisney book

I'm intrigued

 

[Scootin'By]

Just saw this in Publisher's Weekly

RunDisney book

I'm intrigued

I'm intrigued to, but I don't know if I want to spend another $20 on runDisney. I mean, they squeeze enough out of us already, don't they!

*grumbles and goes to place pre-order*

 

[garneska]

Got the results of the MRI. I have not seen the dr yet, i do that next week. To me they don't look good. I have two tears in the medial meniscus. A complex tear in the posterior horn and a large tear in the posterior root. That was finding number 1. The second was moderate osteoarthritis of the knee with some bone on bone action in the outside top part of me knee (one the sections i always complain about). finally a bakers cyst and a ganglion cyst of the gastrocnemius.

I have no idea if that is surgery yet but it does not sound very good.

 

[The Expert]

Damn. I'm so sorry @garneska

 

[dis_or_dat]

Sorry to hear the news @garneska

 

[Kerry1957]

@garneska Although the news doesn't sound good, it may not be as bad as you think or require immediate surgery. My MRI 18 months ago also found tears in the meniscus, osteoarthritis, and a bakers cyst (but no ganglion cyst). I also had IT band issues.

The sports medicine doctor did not recommend cortisone, and the orthopedic surgeon did not recommend surgery. Neither advised me to curtail my running. Instead I did stretching exercises for the ITB, and took meloxicam for a few weeks and the pain went away and has not returned (except for very occasional and short-lived flare-ups lasting only a day or two). Now, of course, every knee is different. My meniscus tears were literally decades old, and I was not getting much (if any) bone on bone action. The long-range plan is back to Meloxicam while it works, then cortisone while it works and then surgery as a last resort before I quit running. My hope is that this progression will take years to play out (and I recently turned 66)

My hope and prayer is that you and your docs can find a non-aggressive treatment plan that works for you.

 

[garneska]

@Kerry1957 thanks for that. Right now it looks dismal but have to hear what the dr says. Going to keep hoping for no surgery. Yeah meloxicam has been helping a lot.

 

[kps7795]

@Kerry1957 thanks for that. Right now it looks dismal but have to hear what the dr says. Going to keep hoping for no surgery. Yeah meloxicam has been helping a lot.

I'm so sorry about what you're going through. I hope that you have a speedy recovery.

 

[Bree]

Got the results of the MRI. I have not seen the dr yet, i do that next week. To me they don't look good. I have two tears in the medial meniscus. A complex tear in the posterior horn and a large tear in the posterior root. That was finding number 1. The second was moderate osteoarthritis of the knee with some bone on bone action in the outside top part of me knee (one the sections i always complain about). finally a bakers cyst and a ganglion cyst of the gastrocnemius.

I have no idea if that is surgery yet but it does not sound very good.

Oh my gosh. I’m sorry you are dealing with this.

 

[Disney at Heart]

@garneska Sorry to hear the results about your knee, but as @Kerry1957 said, all may not be as bad as you think. Prayers that you will heal quickly and completely. Hope your mom is improving. We missed you and Mr. Garneska this past weekend.

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

Trying to hop back into the thread this year! Hi everyone!

Considering Dopey 2025, so trying to get my head wrapped around that. I’ve been a very consistent runner - just slow. I’ve been good about strength and want to keep that up - but trying to figure out how to balance running, strength, and adequate recovery.

Read through the HARM method and see if it works for you. It got me through a Dopey 2 years ago and the Goofy last weekend.

 

[flav]

Read through the HARM method and see if it works for you. It got me through a Dopey 2 years ago and the Goofy last weekend.

@Mr_Incr3dible do you mean the R.I.C.E. (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) or M.E.A.T. (Movement, Exercise, Analgesics, Treatment) and no H.A.R.M. (Heat, Alcohol, Running, Massage)? Or something else?

 

[jmasgat]

@Mr_Incr3dible do you mean the R.I.C.E. (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) or M.E.A.T. (Movement, Exercise, Analgesics, Treatment) and no H.A.R.M. (Heat, Alcohol, Running, Massage)? Or something else?

Nah....he (jokingly...or not) means Half Assed Running Method

 

[Naomeri]

@Mr_Incr3dible do you mean the R.I.C.E. (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) or M.E.A.T. (Movement, Exercise, Analgesics, Treatment) and no H.A.R.M. (Heat, Alcohol, Running, Massage)? Or something else?

He’s got his own training method —check his signature

 

[flav]

@Mr_Incr3dible do you mean the R.I.C.E. (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) or M.E.A.T. (Movement, Exercise, Analgesics, Treatment) and no H.A.R.M. (Heat, Alcohol, Running, Massage)? Or something else?

Ok, thanks @jmasgat and @Naomeri I went to @Mr_Incr3dible signature and read it. Consistency is key

 

[PrincessV]

If anyone can understand this weird situation, it’s this group!

After more than a decade of pretty continuous training for multiple half’s and a full/Dopey each year, I’m now dialing back, have nothing other than a fun 10K in April on the calendar, and… don’t know what to do with myself lol! I simultaneously feel so free - I could do ANY kind of exercise on any given day! - and paralyzed by the unknown - WHAT am I going to do for exercise each day?! Right now, I’m not running at all: I developed a pretty painful case of knee bursitis that I’m seeing if time off will improve. I tried a 30 minute walk the other day and was reminded that I started doing short run-walk intervals long ago because continuous walking is really painful on my hips and back (thanks scoliosis.) Indoor cycling is limited, too, because it also doesn’t play nicely with my back. I think the next week+ will be mostly a mix of ballet, Pilates, yoga, and strength training. Maybe I’ll find some Zumba classes on YouTube - do people still Zumba?!

Anyway, I’m already missing running, so I look forward to getting back to it at lower mileage. Have any of you dialed back from long distance to mid-distances? Did you use a different kind of plan, beyond just reduced mileage? I know I don’t technically need to “train” for a 10K a this point, but I also really like having a “plan” in place so I don’t have to think every day about what I want to do. Also, I really enjoy checking things off.

 

[garneska]

@PrincessV i like hiking. That is probably my next favorite thing for exercise. i am interested in the ideas you get since i am probably having to take some time off. Unfortunately hiking is probably not going to be on my approved activities list. i am prepping myself to getting back to swimming. I don't love it but it might be my best cardio workout i can do.

 

[GuinnessRunner]

@PrincessV I think you hit on it when you said just having a plan for yourself. I used to really suffer when I didn't have a race on the upcoming schedule because without the structure of the training plan, I would flounder and there's not a lot of other cardio I like (although I do enjoy Peloton rides but have dropped my subscription because I wasn't using it enough). So I've learned to simply put a base "plan" on my training calendar during those times now. I put down the proposed workouts for the next month, just like I would for training plan. I try and vary the distances a bit and intensity so I have variety in there. For the first couple of weeks it always feels weird because the time/mileage is so much lower than what I was doing during marathon training, but after a week or two, my mind adjusts. So essentially I am just tricking myself into feeling like I'm still "training" I think the real key for me during those times though is the variety aspect. Throwing something in 1-2 times each week that isn't just the same easy run really helps keep me engaged even if the duration is much shorter than it would be during a true training cycle.

 

[PrincessV]

@PrincessV i like hiking. That is probably my next favorite thing for exercise. i am interested in the ideas you get since i am probably having to take some time off. Unfortunately hiking is probably not going to be on my approved activities list. i am prepping myself to getting back to swimming. I don't love it but it might be my best cardio workout i can do.

I LOVE hiking and wish I lived somewhere I could do it! All I’ve got are flat suburban sprawl and beaches.

Im not a fan of swimming either, though I’m sure I’ll do some once it warms up enough here. If it helps, I have a little routine I do when the summer heat sends my “running” to the pool:

a few minutes warm-up of slow swim laps with a kickboard/noodle (my pool is tiny, so they’re not long laps at all)
3:00 of pool running intervals - :30 sprint/:45 recovery
Swim 2:00 - I mix it up with a different stroke per lap
Repeat for however long I want my workout to be
a few minutes cool down laps with the noodle

It helps defeat the tedium of pool running and also gives the rest of my body some work.

Hang in there!