The Running Thread --2025

[drlorilovesdisney]

I've been using Nuun tablets for awhile. I like them for some flavoring plus electrolytes and they have very few calories. Recently, they have revamped the flavors in the box I usually get: fruit punch, strawberry lemonade, grape, and tropical. The new flavor versions are not as good in my opinion - in particular, they totally ruined "tropical", which had previously been my favorite.

I may branch out and try some other flavors.

But does anyone have suggestions for a different brand with similar characteristics?

• flavored
• has electrolytes
• no caffeine
• few calories - but not the "zero calories" sort of thing, which usually means super sweet because of artificial sweeteners. The current Nuun I use has some artificial sweeteners, but I don't feel like it's over the top. I can't do a lot of artificial sweeteners.

I like Gnarly Hydrate powder. It has slightly more calories (30) and tastes great.

 

[camaker]

August was a very good training month for me. After one of the hottest Julys on record for NC, last month was the 5th coolest August on record. What a refreshing change! There were actually days when it was truly pleasant to run.

While I can still feel residual twinges in my hamstring, my running volume was back to normal and my pace is slowly coming back, although that's probably as much down to the cooler temps as it is to injury recovery.

I'm at the point now where I feel like I can register for my fall marathon. I decided to change up the race, though. While I'd really prefer to run the Emerald Isle Marathon, I'm going to shift to the RDC Marathon. Emerald Isle would require 2.5-3 h driving each way and a couple of hotel nights at the beach. With RDC I can roll out of bed and drive to the starting line in 30 minutes. The convenience factor is just too tempting.

At any rate, here are my August numbers:

August Training Summary
Running Miles: 162.51
Running Time: 34:24:44
Average Pace: 0:12:46/mile
YTD Mileage: 514.42
Walking Miles: 12.59

 

[Guidman]

August Running
184.37 miles

On the topic of running shoes, we had a Skechers rep demoing shoes at our club run on Saturday. I tried out the Aero Burst. While Skechers doesn't come to mind first for running shoes, but this was actually a really good shoe. I can speak for how it felt for 12 miles, but it had a ton of cushioning and felt nice at various paces (it's a pretty cheap shoe too). You should at least be able to run faster than Tony Romo or Brooke Burke in them.

 

[fatmanatee]

Not sure if this has been posted here but this is a fantastic medal:

 

[marty3d]

Not sure if this has been posted here but this is a fantastic medal:

View attachment 1000813

Ok - added to marathon bucket list!

 

[Tomaso12]

question for the group; been trying to google this but haven't seemed to find an answer....

lately I have been trying to focus more on Zone 2 (or 3 ) -- last few weeks after a few hundred meters I seem to be getting an annoying ache in my right ankle which eventually develops in slight cramp in the calf. right foot also seems 'noisier' then the left. it's worse at slower speeds, is better at faster speeds, gone when sprinting. Also seems to go away when running up hill (>4% slope). sometimes running uphill solves it for the rest of the run, but not always. no issues once I stop running...i'm thinking it might be form related (forward lean) -- but can't seem to sort it out. Also tried to alternate which side of the road i run on to see if that makes a difference -- not much, but flatter / no crown does feel better.

any tips/suggestions on getting into / maintain form...especially at slow speeds? or what else this could be?

 

[camaker]

question for the group; been trying to google this but haven't seemed to find an answer....

lately I have been trying to focus more on Zone 2 (or 3 ) -- last few weeks after a few hundred meters I seem to be getting an annoying ache in my right ankle which eventually develops in slight cramp in the calf. right foot also seems 'noisier' then the left. it's worse at slower speeds, is better at faster speeds, gone when sprinting. Also seems to go away when running up hill (>4% slope). sometimes running uphill solves it for the rest of the run, but not always. no issues once I stop running...i'm thinking it might be form related (forward lean) -- but can't seem to sort it out. Also tried to alternate which side of the road i run on to see if that makes a difference -- not much, but flatter / no crown does feel better.

any tips/suggestions on getting into / maintain form...especially at slow speeds? or what else this could be?

I'll let others chime in on the running mechanics that may be interacting with your ankle. My question is, have you looked at your shoes and how many miles you have on them? When my shoes get to the end of their usable lifecycle for running, I can tell from the otherwise unexplainable aches and pains in my ankles and/or knees that pop into my running.

 

[jmasgat]

@Tomaso12 Not sure what it is, but you mention it impacts calf as well as ankle. Have you tried doing any soleus (lower calf muscle) and ankle stretches? Could just be muscle tightness.

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

Not sure if this has been posted here but this is a fantastic medal:

View attachment 1000813

That is cool, and matching up the cutout with the actual opera house makes for a great photo.

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

Pertinent to absolutely nothing else.... some of you have seen me complain comment on my lack of merch from the 2022 Dopey, one of the coollest things I've ever done.
I did manage to buy a 2022 Marathon magnet, but within about 18 months of being placed on my truck, it had faded to about how it looks now (see photo).
So what to do? Make my own magnets. I found images on the interwebs and printed them on adhesive vinyl, which was then applied to magnetic vinyl sheet and trimmed to size. Now I have some retro magnets for my 2009 and 2011 races, back before I thought of buying anything other than a mug. Plus I have a 2024 Dopey magnet I found on ebay that will be repurposed into a 2022 Dopey. To hold all of it is a magnetic white board that should be good for a few more years before reaching capacity.
I know this is the very definition of 1st world problems, but I like the different designs and colors and this will brighten up the wall of my garage.
YMMV. Thanks for reading.

 

[rick1zoo2]

Race wrap up: Today we did the Bird-In-Hand half marathon, which is located in Amish-land PA. The race itself was well organized, there was a big pasta, pizza, and pie dinner last night at bib pickup, along with a 5k. The highlight, of course, was the shoofly pie. I believe there were more than 2000 runners.

Not much to report as for both of us it was not a great race. The nice, low 50 temperatures from last week were replaced by a very muggy 71 degrees, 91% humidity, 69 dew point at race-time of 7:30 am. I think it was 80 by the time we finished. Also, there were many hills on the course which made it very tough. I did a lot of walking and just glad to have finished.

If you might remember from April, we also did the companion Garden Spot Village Half Marathon also in Amish-land PA. This qualified me for the highly coveted road apple award, which you can see me proudly displaying along with the medals made from real, used horse-shoes. I think the road apple award may need to be kept in the garage as I don't think there was enough lacquer applied to the real road apples.

 

[Naomeri]

Race wrap up: Today we did the Bird-In-Hand half marathon, which is located in Amish-land PA. The race itself was well organized, there was a big pasta, pizza, and pie dinner last night at bib pickup, along with a 5k. The highlight, of course, was the shoofly pie. I believe there were more than 2000 runners.

Not much to report as for both of us it was not a great race. The nice, low 50 temperatures from last week were replaced by a very muggy 70 at race-time of 7:30 am. I think it was 80 by the time we finished. Also, there were many hills on the course which made it very tough. I did a lot of walking and just glad to have finished.

If you might remember from April, we also did the companion Garden Spot Village Half Marathon also in Amish-land PA. This qualified me for the highly coveted road apple award, which you can see me proudly displaying along with the medals made from real, used horse-shoes. I think the road apple award may need to be kept in the garage as I don't think there was enough lacquer applied to the real road apples.View attachment 1001953View attachment 1001954View attachment 1001955View attachment 1001956View attachment 1001957View attachment 1001958

I think running through the corn tunnel would freak me out a little But it looks like a beautiful race

 

[rick1zoo2]

I think running through the corn tunnel would freak me out a little But it looks like a beautiful race

It gets warm in the 'corn tunnels', no air flow! And yes a lot of great things to see. There were also a lot of Amish families out in their driveways to cheer and manning the water stops.

And for some reason, camels...

 

[Erika10021]

Prior to the race, I was so proud of myself, I did the DopeyBadger training plan for this half marathon, mostly as prescribed, and was very excited to have a half marathon that felt good. The temps were higher than originally expected so I adjusted my time goals down. My goals going into it this morning were 1) no injury; 2) finish and 3) sub 3:00 finish.

I stopped drinking the race-provided gatorade and stopped eating at mile 10 because my stomach was massively rebelling against anything except for water. And even then, my stomach wasn't sure about the water. I was pretty sure everything was going to come back up but managed to finish without puking.

I did manage to finish the race without injury but it was my worst showing for pace. The heat, humidity and hills were more than I was prepared for. Good thing I had such good runs last weekend or I would be super discouraged.

 

[avondale]

Pertinent to absolutely nothing else.... some of you have seen me complain comment on my lack of merch from the 2022 Dopey, one of the coollest things I've ever done.
I did manage to buy a 2022 Marathon magnet, but within about 18 months of being placed on my truck, it had faded to about how it looks now (see photo).
So what to do? Make my own magnets. I found images on the interwebs and printed them on adhesive vinyl, which was then applied to magnetic vinyl sheet and trimmed to size. Now I have some retro magnets for my 2009 and 2011 races, back before I thought of buying anything other than a mug. Plus I have a 2024 Dopey magnet I found on ebay that will be repurposed into a 2022 Dopey. To hold all of it is a magnetic white board that should be good for a few more years before reaching capacity.
I know this is the very definition of 1st world problems, but I like the different designs and colors and this will brighten up the wall of my garage.
YMMV. Thanks for reading.

I honestly wish that more places would make the car "stickers" that are actually the static-cling window thingies (can't think of what to call them). You put these on the inside of your car window to be viewed from the outside. I hate having the outside stickers that gradually fade, crack, and peel off. (I realize that the downside is that they aren't so bright when viewed through the window.) I am in the process of trying to remove some these faded, cracked, and peeling stickers, but it's really annoying because the parts that are still stuck are REALLY stuck, even with Goo Gone.

I found a place online that would let you make your own static-clingers, but then I couldn't find images of the correct size and resolution for what I wanted and eventually gave up. I'm interested in both race-related ones but also for my alma mater schools.

 

[SheHulk]

Prior to the race, I was so proud of myself, I did the DopeyBadger training plan for this half marathon, mostly as prescribed, and was very excited to have a half marathon that felt good. The temps were higher than originally expected so I adjusted my time goals down. My goals going into it this morning were 1) no injury; 2) finish and 3) sub 3:00 finish.

I stopped drinking the race-provided gatorade and stopped eating at mile 10 because my stomach was massively rebelling against anything except for water. And even then, my stomach wasn't sure about the water. I was pretty sure everything was going to come back up but managed to finish without puking.

I did manage to finish the race without injury but it was my worst showing for pace. The heat, humidity and hills were more than I was prepared for. Good thing I had such good runs last weekend or I would be super discouraged.

Don't beat yourself up... that abrupt uptick in temp + humidity was brutal this weekend (I'm also in east PA)! Today we're back down to a high of 73 today with dew point steadily dropping. You just never know what the day is going to give you.

 

[Stitch&Co.]

It gets warm in the 'corn tunnels', no air flow! And yes a lot of great things to see. There were also a lot of Amish families out in their driveways to cheer and manning the water stops.

And for some reason, camels...

The camels are surprising. Looks like a fun race though.