The Running Thread--2024

[jmasgat]

The public pool opens this month too! YAY! I'm interested to hear about aqua-jogging if anyone does that. Is it as simple as "running" under the water? Should I be in waist high water or more like neck-high? Should I stay in one place or try to move forward in a line?

I have done this when I have had an injury (usually a stress fracture) that makes it impossible to run or do other weight bearing activity. I bought a buoyancy belt that has a tether which I could clip on to a lane marker in my gym's pool--I was in the "open" side of the pool in the deep end. The water would have been 4.5ish feet, so shoulder/neck high. I needed to be treading water--anything shallower than that and it wouldn't have worked. It would have been like the scene in the movie The Holiday where Kate Winslett and Eli Wallach were power walking across the pool--not what I needed. Then I did running workouts--sometimes steady pace, sometimes intervals. It was possible to get an aerobic workout.

It was a useful rehab activity. Wouldn't say I loved it, but it served a purpose.

 

[WillRunForPizza]

The public pool opens this month too! YAY! I'm interested to hear about aqua-jogging if anyone does that. Is it as simple as "running" under the water? Should I be in waist high water or more like neck-high? Should I stay in one place or try to move forward in a line?

As @jmasgat said, you'll want a belt to keep your feet from touching the ground, or keep your head above water if the pool is deeper. I borrowed one of these from a neighbor.

You're moving your legs in a running motion, but not actually running, which is why it's good for a lot of injuries. You will move some if you don't have a tether - I was using my parents' backyard pool, so I just kind of jogged in circles around the deep end. You could go up and down a lane too.

A few tips I learned from trial and error:

• It might take a couple of tries to figure out where/how tight to cinch the belt.
• Do a shorter duration than you would running. Water resistance is no joke.
• Probably not an issue in summer, but don't try it in cold water. You will spend the next hour afterwards shivering.

 

[camaker]

May was a good, solid month of running, starting out slowly as I was tapering for a marathon mid-month. The New River Marathon was my 16th marathon and was run up in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Boone, NC. I was a little disappointed in my performance at the time, running a 4:37:55 when I thought I'd be able to go sub-4:30. I realized after writing my race report, though, that I'd completely failed to account for the altitude difference in both my goal and my performance assessment. I do all my training around 250-300' above sea level. The race was run 3,000-3,500' above sea level and I'd never run at an altitude like that before. Based on what I've been able to find about the effects of altitude on running performance, I think my time was probably right where it should've been, all things considered. At any rate, it's time to get ready for the slog of summer running now and here's the summary of the month before it gets summer-y:

May Training Summary
Running Miles: 135.53
Running Time: 24:19:04
Average Pace: 0:10:55/mi (down from 12:00/mi in January)
YTD Mileage: 685.90 mi

Other
Walking Miles: 30.10
Rolling 12mo Miles: 1,491.99 mi

 

[marty3d]

May Totals:
130.9km / 78.5 miles

Good month overall - ran a half marathon and just missed out on a B POT. Should be able to use this one for C placement in Dopey 2025 which I'm perfectly happy with. I think I'm coming to the realization that if I want a B POT in the future I need to find a reasonably flat (and cool) 10 miler.

 

[The Expert]

I realized after writing my race report, though, that I'd completely failed to account for the altitude difference in both my goal and my performance assessment. I do all my training around 250-300' above sea level. The race was run 3,000-3,500' above sea level and I'd never run at an altitude like that before.

As someone who used to live at 4500 feet and now lives at 1000 feet, I can tell you altitude is no joke! We went back for a visit a few weeks ago and even just walking around town it took a few days to get acclimated. It works in my favor for Florida races, though!

 

[azrivest]

May 2024 totals

Had my second highest mileage month ever. My month officially ended yesterday with the end of my training cycle and my first half marathon race this year. My HM finish was good enough for a C-POT for the marathon but I fell short of my goal of <2:15. I gave it my all. I don't think I could have done any better and I'm proud of myself for that.

Distance: 216.21 km/134.38 miles
Duration: 26h32
Cross training, including yoga: 7h16

 

[kps7795]

May 2024 Totals
Running Distance: 112.58 miles
Running Time: 19:41:29
Traditional Strength Training Time: 9:33:32
Core Training: 00:49:57 (I REALLY need to re-dedicate myself to getting in my core workouts before I feel the effects)
Pilates/Yoga: 1:11:12
Elliptical: 5:35:45
Plyometrics: 1:41:39

 

[PrincessV]

The public pool opens this month too! YAY! I'm interested to hear about aqua-jogging if anyone does that. Is it as simple as "running" under the water? Should I be in waist high water or more like neck-high? Should I stay in one place or try to move forward in a line?

I do a fair amount of pool running in summer, just trying to reduce heat stress here in FL. And I do all of the above! Mixing things up helps with the tedium. Some details:

I do have a flotation belt, but I find it bulky and cumbersome. It also barely keeps my chin above water, which I do not understand. But I accidentally discovered that a pool noodle works just as well tucked under my arms, either in front of my chest and behind my upper back.

I’ll use either of those floatation methods in the deep end and can stay in place, do circles in one direction and then the other to mix it up, move forward to a pool edge before turning around and traveling back, and will do some of each in a session. Again, anything to keep my brain engaged!

I’ll also travel the length of my small pool, which means half of it with my feet touching bottom, and then go back.

I’ll also do fast/slow intervals, AND will add in some swimming laps. So a workout might be 5 mins of :30/:30 intervals in the deep end, freestyle swim 2 lengths, 5 mins of running in circles, breast stroke 2 laps, 5 mins of intervals from wall to wall, backstroke 2 laps, etc.

The hardest part of pool running for me is getting my heart rate up: adding the swim laps helps a lot with that. And I’ll add that pool running for me feels like a lot of not doing much of anything… until I get out and my legs feel like rubber. You’re getting a lot more resistance under water than it seems!

 

[pluto377]

May miles
32

Getting back to normal. Trying to do a streak for June, at least one mile running or walking per day. 3 days down, 27 to go. Hoping this will help my base fitness and then I hope to hold steady through the summer.

@flav condolences to you and your family on your loss

 

[DisneyParrothead]

As someone who used to live at 4500 feet and now lives at 1000 feet, I can tell you altitude is no joke! We went back for a visit a few weeks ago and even just walking around town it took a few days to get acclimated. It works in my favor for Florida races, though!

I now live at 7200 feet elevation and Disney races are just amazing. I complain about the altitude and hills here, but they both serve me well.

 

[kps7795]

Can I please ask a pacing question for those who have used an Apple Watch and a Garmin? I was doing an interval workout this morning (8x200) and my goal pace was 7’06”. This might be just an Apple Watch problem, but my pace was showing as being around 7’30”/7’45” at the halfway point and proceeded to show me a faster speed as I continued for the duration of the interval until my watch indicated that I was running too fast. Nevertheless, my pace felt like it was a consistent speed.

I know that AW has a similar issue with mile splits in which it will calculate my pace differently as I progress through my run. Is this an Apple bug or does Garmin do something similar? If that is the case, how do you know your pace and how to run at the appropriate paces?

I’m hoping that this is just an AW issue and I’ll be done with it once I get my Garmin later today.

 

[GollyGadget]

Can I please ask a pacing question for those who have used an Apple Watch and a Garmin? I was doing an interval workout this morning (8x200) and my goal pace was 7’06”. This might be just an Apple Watch problem, but my pace was showing as being around 7’30”/7’45” at the halfway point and proceeded to show me a faster speed as I continued for the duration of the interval until my watch indicated that I was running too fast. Nevertheless, my pace felt like it was a consistent speed.

I know that AW has a similar issue with mile splits in which it will calculate my pace differently as I progress through my run. Is this an Apple bug or does Garmin do something similar? If that is the case, how do you know your pace and how to run at the appropriate paces?

I’m hoping that this is just an AW issue and I’ll be done with it once I get my Garmin later today.

I can’t speak to Apple Watch but garmin has an instant pace and a lap pace. The instant pace isn’t super accurate and I find that it lags a bit.

 

[Professor_Cookie]

Speaking of altitude, trying to sort out some downhill training for Revel BCC. Did a six mile loop up through the back of the Olympic Park yesterday. The switchbacks down the service road along the bobsled track necessitated putting the brakes on hard due to how steep they were. Haven’t done this run since about October of 2020. Had a blast. Surprised at my average pace because the uphill was walking.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Can I please ask a pacing question for those who have used an Apple Watch and a Garmin? I was doing an interval workout this morning (8x200) and my goal pace was 7’06”. This might be just an Apple Watch problem, but my pace was showing as being around 7’30”/7’45” at the halfway point and proceeded to show me a faster speed as I continued for the duration of the interval until my watch indicated that I was running too fast. Nevertheless, my pace felt like it was a consistent speed.

I know that AW has a similar issue with mile splits in which it will calculate my pace differently as I progress through my run. Is this an Apple bug or does Garmin do something similar? If that is the case, how do you know your pace and how to run at the appropriate paces?

I’m hoping that this is just an AW issue and I’ll be done with it once I get my Garmin later today.

The interval length is too short to be reasonably reliable using GPS for Apple or Garmin. A 200m rep at 7:06 pace is a 53 second split. You're better off looking at the raw time of each interval after it ends and evaluating performance based on the split itself and not the pace output. For Daniels R pace, I aim for a +/- 1 second. So aim for 52.0-54.9 seconds. Ideally you run the same stretch of 200m repeatedly as this will give you the best comparison amongst splits (i.e. same start and end location). For me personally, I recommend finding a flat stretch of uninterrupted road to do these types of splits on rather than a track as the track will inflate your performance. Pre-measure the distance with Google Maps and find non-moveable markers on the route. Such as a mailbox, a tree, or the beginning of a drive way. Then just run that same stretch over and over with the recovery rep being the jog back from finish to start.

But you're not going to get good feedback mid-split as to whether you should speed up or slow down. Just see how split #3 was. Was it inside 52.0-54.9 seconds? Then try the same effort for split #4. If too fast, try slowing down. If too slow, try speeding up. I use this methodology for any split that is less than 2 min in length. Any rep over 2 min, I use Garmin's lap pace. I never use instant pace.

 

[kps7795]

Speaking of altitude, trying to sort out some downhill training for Revel BCC. Did a six mile loop up through the back of the Olympic Park yesterday. The switchbacks down the service road along the bobsled track necessitated putting the brakes on hard due to how steep they were. Haven’t done this run since about October of 2020. Had a blast. Surprised at my average pace because the uphill was walking.

That looks really cool. Good luck in your training.

 

[The Expert]

Speaking of altitude, trying to sort out some downhill training for Revel BCC. Did a six mile loop up through the back of the Olympic Park yesterday. The switchbacks down the service road along the bobsled track necessitated putting the brakes on hard due to how steep they were. Haven’t done this run since about October of 2020. Had a blast. Surprised at my average pace because the uphill was walking.

WOW that road is pretty serious! Nice work!

 

[steph0808]

May Totals

Running
Runs: 16
Miles: 90.78
Time: 16:06:22
Avg HR: 145
Avg Pace: 10:41

I just...running...ugh. I haven't felt great running. My legs are sore when they never used to be, and I feel like I'm running harder for slower paces. I usually feel better after I run, but it's just different. I have newer shoes, but maybe I need to get a different model.

I'm also p*$$ed at my Fenix 6s half the time because it doesn't accurately track my pace (too many trees/shade/clouds cause it to say I'm running 3-4 minutes/mile slower and it never seems to correct itself). So I'm running what I know to be 8.5 miles on a trail I've run hundreds of time just for my Garmin to show 8 miles. Ughhhhhh.

Walking
Walks: 15
Miles: 13.78
Time: 4:33:56

Dog's happy, I'm happy.

Strength Training
Sessions: 3
Time: 0:57:34

Reallyyyyyyy slacking here. So much softball.

 

[WillRunForPizza]

I'm also p*$$ed at my Fenix 6s half the time because it doesn't accurately track my pace (too many trees/shade/clouds cause it to say I'm running 3-4 minutes/mile slower and it never seems to correct itself). So I'm running what I know to be 8.5 miles on a trail I've run hundreds of time just for my Garmin to show 8 miles. Ughhhhhh.

Does Garmin have an option to correct the distance after a run? Apple Watch doesn't, but I can correct it on Strava when I have that issue.

 

[kps7795]

The interval length is too short to be reasonably reliable using GPS for Apple or Garmin. A 200m rep at 7:06 pace is a 53 second split. You're better off looking at the raw time of each interval after it ends and evaluating performance based on the split itself and not the pace output. For Daniels R pace, I aim for a +/- 1 second. So aim for 52.0-54.9 seconds. Ideally you run the same stretch of 200m repeatedly as this will give you the best comparison amongst splits (i.e. same start and end location). For me personally, I recommend finding a flat stretch of uninterrupted road to do these types of splits on rather than a track as the track will inflate your performance. Pre-measure the distance with Google Maps and find non-moveable markers on the route. Such as a mailbox, a tree, or the beginning of a drive way. Then just run that same stretch over and over with the recovery rep being the jog back from finish to start.

But you're not going to get good feedback mid-split as to whether you should speed up or slow down. Just see how split #3 was. Was it inside 52.0-54.9 seconds? Then try the same effort for split #4. If too fast, try slowing down. If too slow, try speeding up. I use this methodology for any split that is less than 2 min in length. Any rep over 2 min, I use Garmin's lap pace. I never use instant pace.

Thank you, Billy. It was absolutely frustrating because almost all of my intervals were too fast (if my Apple Watch is to be believed, of course). There was a VERY brief moment where I was proud because I could run a 6'46" interval, but I understand that this goes against the purpose of the workout and will not benefit me in the long term.

There is an anal part of me that was contemplating using a measuring wheel to get the 200 meters precisely, but I think that I'll stick with Google Maps. I am curious though...why would the track inflate one's performance?

 

[DopeyBadger]

Thank you, Billy. It was absolutely frustrating because almost all of my intervals were too fast (if my Apple Watch is to be believed, of course). There was a VERY brief moment where I was proud because I could run a 6'46" interval, but I understand that this goes against the purpose of the workout and will not benefit me in the long term.

There is an anal part of me that was contemplating using a measuring wheel to get the 200 meters precisely, but I think that I'll stick with Google Maps. I am curious though...why would the track inflate one's performance?

Remember, in my opinion, it's ok to go too fast on the R split. Just don't let them become sprints, and stay consistent with them within a workout. So if scheduled for 53 seconds and you do 8 reps of 50.5 seconds, then you're fine. But if you do 5 reps of 50.5 and then 51.0, 52.0, 54.0, 55.0, then that's when you'll have issues. When fatigue forces a slowdown on these super quick paces is when you're most at risk for injury. So swallow the pride, end the workout early, and then make sure to aim for slower splits the next time around.

A measuring wheel is unnecessary. By sticking with mailbox to tree (or whatever), then whether it's 190m or 210m is irrelevant for what you're working on. Then it's just the raw split to split variance that you're comparing because the start/finish is static. Your watch simply becomes a stop watch and that's enough.

A track inflates performance because that's their whole point. They're more responsive than asphalt, or dirt, or grass, or concrete. They're also flat. A road has an uneven surface that requires different stabilization from your muscles. So if you plan to be a road racer, then you'll get the best pace feedback and most road ready running from road speed workouts. Track workouts have their place too though, as long as you're using them properly and keeping a cautiously evaluating eye on the data that comes from them.