The Running Thread - 2016

[Slogger]

Hi! I'm Ashley.

Until last weekend, I described myself a sprinter and "I can't even run a mile"

Then I decided on Friday night that "screw it" I'm going to run a 5k for the animals tomorrow. So I ran a 5k on Saturday (10:55 Mile, 33 minute finish)....and I think I caught running fever.... crossing that finish line having pushed myself so much felt awesome!

Anyhow, running fever, yes because, since then I signed up for two more 5k's (that I actually plan to train for, and not just chug a gatorade beforehand and hope for the best. hahaha) for this summer AND I convinced a few friends that we just have to run Disney, because I now apparently love running and I already love Disney. 3 days, three races booked (well, plane tickets for disney, since princess marathon isn't open yet).

Hope to post in this thread a bit now

[And if anyone has recommendations for shin splints, send them at me. 0 to 3.1 miles in a 4 year old pair of running shoes was not kind to my legs....]

Hi Ashley...welcome to the Running Thread.
Good luck with your running fever, sounds like you are hooked.

Shin splints.........4 year old shoes..........I'm no expert but I would suggest a new pair of shoes would be a good first step.

 

[Baloo in MI]

QOTD: With the recent events happing, have you considered a change to your plans for a upcoming trip (Running or just a vacation)? Are you less likely to go to a large scale event because of it?

It is a horrible incident, hard to imagine that someone could hate that much... But I am going!

QOTD (yesterday); pets: All I have are cats. The only time they run is to their food bowl or when they spontaneously need to jet through the house (almost always when I am trying to sleep).

 

[Baloo in MI]

Yes! I absolutely love watching anything about adventure racing and keep holding out hope Mark Burnette will someday bring back the Eco-=Challenge.

I second that! I loved watching the Eco-Challenge. Heck, if it did ever come back The Running Thread should field a team!

I have a race to add.
My younger daughter and I run run 4 5k's each year, one for each season. Time for the Spring race: June 10 - Baloo in MI (and daughter!) Kona Strawberry 5k (NG/whatever pace she sets!). Hope I can keep up.

 

[keahgirl8]

Holy Humidity was yesterday's long run a wet one.

Not alot of mileage on tap for me this week but a two mile road race on Wednesday evening (going to be a scorcher) and a 2 mile race on Fathers Day morning so looking forward to pain...and fun of course =)

Ugh. Humidity is the worst. I thought I was going to pass out or melt into a puddle for my first Disney race.

QOTD: If you have a pet, do you take it out for runs with you? Do you adjust your pace to accommodate your pet? How far do you run with your pet?

ATTQOTD: I have a beagle and have tried to take her out for a run, and well it did not go well. So I do not run with my pet.

I love my dog. LOVE her....but no. That would not be a wise idea.

HEAT... are we Floridians allowed to start complaining yet?! For the first time so far this summer, the heat got to me Sat. I had a heat index of 89 at 6am... yes, that would be BEFORE sunrise. 90% humidity. It was, fortunately, pretty cloudy, but with about a mile to go, I got the rapid pulse, dizziness, etc. that always means I'm flirting with heat trouble, so I slowed down and walked a decent chunk to finish. Got into the AC, pushed fluids, took a cool shower and felt better after a couple hours. Apparently it's time to start pushing electrolytes every day, not just during runs, again.

You absolutely can. Florida heat is awful.

I had my doctor's apt this morning. I went a little worse than expected. I will admit, I almost cried in the appt. First, the good news. If I keep running this year and the tendon snaps the recovery and chances of fixing it are the same as they are now. So, I could technically run this year and do all my races if I wanted and then just have the surgery in the fall. I have a brace, which I put on before I got on the computer. There is no way I can run with this thing on but I can wear it all the other times to keep the ankle as strong as possible until surgery.

Now for the bad news. He is going to fix the tendon and then on the top part of my foot on the opposite side he has to take a chunk of the bone out and insert a screw. Apparently my ankle is twisted more then the average person, which is causing the tendon to break down. By doing the other part of the foot it will loosen the tendons that are causing my ankle to be more twisted and it should align my foot better and hopefully prevent the tendon from breaking down again because if it keeps happening it can't be fixed multiple times and it will put a stop to my running life. But, he said he can't guarantee I will be able to run again. I am hoping that is just that conservative crap to prevent being sued type talk but still stinks to here. Just when I finally found something I love to do to hear it might be gone was not fun. And he did say I may not be able to do the marathon distance anymore. I suppose that's fine, except that I won't get to ever do Boston. I'll still do Dopey though because you can walk that if needed.

The recovery will have me off my feet at least 3 weeks before moving to a walking boot for a few weeks. I can resume riding a bike after 2 months and attempt to try running again in 3 months. They will call me to schedule the surgery tomorrow but he said most likely the end of July. I didn't want to wait until the fall. I may need to move by then and doing it on crutches will be less than fun. Plus this way I get to be home for a month during the summer with the kids.

But, I get to run my upcoming 10k's and run with the kids for their 5k. And I figure during the 2 months I can't do anything I will do upper body stuff, like P90X as I have neglected that for a while. I had to stop it because I couldn't do a lot of the balance moves cuz it hurt. I will also use the extra time to do a lot of my reading so when I can get back to exercising I will have a plan in place. I need to become even more focused about losing weight though. I have to think losing an extra 20-30 lbs will only help the wear and tear issue.

So, it looks like Boston in 2017 is out for sure. The charity spots fill up before I will be able to try running again so I can't commit to it this year. I have a feeling with the help of PT and maybe having the new alignment that I will get there eventually but for now it's off the table.

Sorry if some of this didn't make sense. I'm not in the best mood right now and kind of typing as I think out loud.

I'm so sorry. It's really hard being injured and not knowing what the future will hold for your running. All I can offer is virtual hugs and support!

ATTQOTD: I don't yet run with our puppy. She is going to be a year old in a couple weeks, and I know you're not supposed to run with them until they are older, although in reality I doubt that my slow run/walk pace would be too much for her for a couple miles. I'd like to run with her, but she's kind of a spaz, and I don't know how she'd behave on leash... usually when you start running while she's on leash, she zig zags and goes crazy and I'd need to get her to learn to stay with me whether I'm jogging or walking. I think she'd be a good running companion, though... she's got a lot of energy. She is an Australian Cattle Dog/Labrador Retriever/German Shepherd Dog mix.

Here she is at Covered Bridges pre-race pasta supper last weekend.

What a beauty!

ATTQOTD: don't run with my dog even though she is hyper and it would help wear her out. She has a focus problem - squirrel! and she would make me crazy trying to meet every person and dog.

This was on Twitter today though, so good timing -

http://www.runnersworld.com/general-interest/dog-man-duo-sets-new-mile-record

This is my dog! She loves to run, but she's too fast. Plus, she'd just come to a dead stop to smell something and I'd trip over her!

This! For me too! I can run really fast for my run portion and walk fast on my walk portion. But if I increase my run time, both are slower. Honestly, I think I am happy keeping my intervals the same if I can keep increasing my speed during the run portion.

That's how intervals work! I like feeling good at the end of a run, and I don't care how long my run interval is.

View attachment 175380

There were so many quotes I could have used today. This one is fitting though. @huggybuff- I am going to give it all I have. I just hope you do too, even if you have to do it by yourself. Your legs may be heavy, you may be scared or nervous, but when you cross the finish line you will never regret giving it all you had! We will support you if your friend doesn't.

That's all we can do. The thing I have to work on is giving it all I have. My best at that moment has to be enough for me.

Thank you so much for your kind words of support. I really appreciate them! The main reason I want the BFF to go is for accountability. It's way too easy for me to let my fears keep me at home on race day. I've missed a handful of races the past couple of years because I've undertrained and not wanted to face my shortcomings at the starting line. I think as long as I keep up with the training I will get out there whether I'm alone or not.

This may sound obvious, but just don't undertrain. Keep your race in mind and use that as motivation to get out there and train.

Good morning folks. A little late getting to todays QOTD due to a Dr appointment. Dr has given the all clear for DW and I when we are ready to have our second! Very excited nothing was wrong. May be a little to much info out there...

QOTD: With the recent events happing, have you considered a change to your plans for a upcoming trip (Running or just a vacation)? Are you less likely to go to a large scale event because of it?

ATTQOTD: NO is my answer.

Nope. I can't live my life that way. If I did, I never would have gotten on a plane after 9/11.

We just got our doggy DNA results yesterday and we thought our guy was an Australian Shepherd mix but it turns out it is Australian Cattle Dog...along with German Shepherd, Husky, Lab, and some unspecified sport mixes.

Here he is at his first race, he even got an age group award:

View attachment 175517

Your dog has such a sweet face! Very kind eyes.

Hi! I'm Ashley.

Until last weekend, I described myself a sprinter and "I can't even run a mile"

Then I decided on Friday night that "screw it" I'm going to run a 5k for the animals tomorrow. So I ran a 5k on Saturday (10:55 Mile, 33 minute finish)....and I think I caught running fever.... crossing that finish line having pushed myself so much felt awesome!

Anyhow, running fever, yes because, since then I signed up for two more 5k's (that I actually plan to train for, and not just chug a gatorade beforehand and hope for the best. hahaha) for this summer AND I convinced a few friends that we just have to run Disney, because I now apparently love running and I already love Disney. 3 days, three races booked (well, plane tickets for disney, since princess marathon isn't open yet).

Hope to post in this thread a bit now

[And if anyone has recommendations for shin splints, send them at me. 0 to 3.1 miles in a 4 year old pair of running shoes was not kind to my legs....]

Hello, Ashley! Welcome to our club of crazies! I would guess the shin splints came not only from the shoes, but from lack of training. Rest up, back off the pace, and maybe run on the treadmill instead of pavement for a bit if you can. The first time I ran on pavement, I had shin splints, even though I had been running for months on the treadmill.

Thanks to everyone above for the advice!!!!

I bought new shoes roughly an hour after I ran across the finish line! I was going to buy some the night before (when I decided to run the 5k) but thought that a pair of not broken in shoes may have been more damaging.

When the guy at the running store asked to have me run on the thread mill to video tape my feet...I was pretty sure I was gonna die. That 5k wiped me out. I'll be better next time with training though


I got a ton of blisters too. Those are apparently the socks I'm wearing.

So I left the running store with $200 in gear for my feet.

The plan is to start my 18 week 10k training on Friday. Hoping my legs/muscles/body will be restored enough by then

$200? That's only the beginning. lol

 

[huggybuff]

This may sound obvious, but just don't undertrain. Keep your race in mind and use that as motivation to get out there and train.

Yes, that's always my goal when I start out. I tend to peter out about 2/3rds of the way through training for various reasons. I'm trying to head that off at the pass this time around!

 

[Anisum]

QOTD: If you have a pet, do you take it out for runs with you? Do you adjust your pace to accommodate your pet? How far do you run with your pet?

When I was growing up I had greyhounds and I wasn't much of a runner. Though to be fair they weren't either unless they saw something to chase. Right now though I don't have any pets. I tried to run with my aunt's massive poodle the last time we were watching him but he wanted to both hog the sidewalk and run next to me so it didn't work out great.

QOTD: With the recent events happing, have you considered a change to your plans for a upcoming trip (Running or just a vacation)? Are you less likely to go to a large scale event because of it?

No. I think the past year or two has shown that these things can happen anywhere and that while it's important to be aware of your surroundings and take precautions while travelling. It's also important to realize if you live your life in fear you'll never really do anything and there is so much to do out in the world!

So I left the running store with $200 in gear for my feet.

$200 isn't a bad start but there will be more. Once you get further along, as it sounds like you will since you're doing 10k training and already have a Disney race planned (I was the same way) you'll discover the need for fuel while you're running and desire something to track your pace (if you don't have something that does that already) and it will only go down hill from there. Welcome to the madness!


Also on a side note @LSUlakes my run on the 26th is for July not June. I may have put in the wrong date when I asked.

 

[camaker]

Yes, that's always my goal when I start out. I tend to peter out about 2/3rds of the way through training for various reasons. I'm trying to head that off at the pass this time around!

Training is important, no doubt about that. But I would suggest not letting "under trained" be the deciding factor on getting out to the starting line. "Under trained" is an incredibly subjective, individual term that can range anywhere from "unable to complete the distance safely" all the way to "perfectly capable, but not performing at an optimum level". You can learn a lot about what you are capable of from running a race somewhat under trained as long as you're self-aware enough to know that you're not going to hurt yourself in the attempt. Letting adherence (or lack thereof) to a training plan dictate whether you're going to get out there on race day is letting your fear hold you back. Get out there and surprise yourself!

 

[LSUlakes]

QOTD: What was the last book (or magazine if no books) you purchased that is running related?

ATTQOTD: Over the weekend I got "The Little Red Book of Running". I am only a few pages in so far, but I do like the information in it thus far.

 

[LSUlakes]

This week we have the following folks with races!

18 - @disneydaydreamer33 - Run for Refugees 5K (NG / N/A)
18 - @bumbershoot - Rock 'n Roll Seattle Half Marathon (NG / N/A)
18 - @camaker - Race 13.1 Roanoke (2:05:00 / N/A)
18 - @DopeyBadger - Hot2Trot 10K (Top 5 / N/A)

Good luck to each of yall this weekend! If you would like to revise your goal, or are no longer running the race, please let me know and I will make the appropriate adjustments. Also, after the race, let us know how it went!

 

[opusone]

QOTD: What was the last book (or magazine if no books) you purchased that is running related?

Hansons Half Marathon Method - bought and read it last fall for my Star Wars Dark Side training

 

[Barca33Runner]

QOTD: What was the last book (or magazine if no books) you purchased that is running related?

I get Runner's World but have never bought or read a running book. I realize it makes me a terrible person, but I've never really been much of a book reader.

 

[camaker]

QOTD: What was the last book (or magazine if no books) you purchased that is running related?

Not big on running-related books. I'm more of a sci-fi/fantasy or espionage reader/listener. Runner's World magazine does have a prominent place in my bathroom reading rotation, though.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

QOTD: What was the last book (or magazine if no books) you purchased that is running related?

Runner's World

 

[DopeyBadger]

This week we have the following folks with races!

18 - @disneydaydreamer33 - Run for Refugees 5K (NG / N/A)
18 - @bumbershoot - Rock 'n Roll Seattle Half Marathon (NG / N/A)
18 - @camaker - Race 13.1 Roanoke (2:05:00 / N/A)
18 - @DopeyBadger - Hot2Trot 10K (Top 5 / N/A)

Good luck to each of yall this weekend! If you would like to revise your goal, or are no longer running the race, please let me know and I will make the appropriate adjustments. Also, after the race, let us know how it went!

Super excited! Good luck to the rest of you racing this weekend. May you all have the races you hope to. This will be my 1st non-Dopey challenge 10K, so I'm excited to see what I can do in a small (50-100 people) local race. My goals:

1) Top 5
2) Top 3 Age Group (30-39) so I can get a bubble head fireman trophy for my daughter
3) Finish my 10K faster than my mother and BIL (if he runs) finish their 5K. The 10K has a head start of 15 min. My mother is going for a 28 min 5K, and BIL for a 26 min 5K. This means I need to finish in 41-43 minutes to beat either of them. It will be a fun spin on the run if I can see them up ahead and just that extra piece of motivation to catch them.

As of right now, I feel in good condition to hit a solid time and the weather looks agreeable (66-70 with a dew point of 56).

 

[surfde22]

So I left the running store with $200 in gear for my feet.

Only $200 in gear. I feel like I can spend at least twice that without even thinking about it.

But, welcome to the club. And for shin splints @opusone has good advice. That exercise works the muscles on the front of your shins and should help resolve the shin splints. Also, lots and lots of ice.

 

[PrincessV]

ATTQOTD: I subscribe to Runner's World, but the last running book I read was Meb for Mortals. It was okay; not earth-shattering, but informative and well-written. My favorite running-related book so far has been Running with the Kenyans, by Adharanand Finn. Gorgeous, gorgeous storytelling!

 

[surfde22]

QOTD: What was the last book (or magazine if no books) you purchased that is running related?

The one and only running related book I've ever purchased is Hansons Marathon Method. Not much for reading running books

 

[dis_or_dat]

ATTQOTD:

Hansons Half Marathon Method - bought and read it last fall for my Star Wars Dark Side training

@opusone is my dark side twin! I got the same book - but doing the Light Side this year! So excited for the Rebel Challenge - by the way the Rebel Challenge and Half races are still available.

The only other running book I've read is Born to Run. I love reading, but don't typically read advice books.

 

[RunDisneyDad]

ATTQOTD: I picked up Lore of Running from Half Priced Books. Haven't read it yet though.

My favorite running book is Born to Run, I got my hands on it right after I finished the 2014 DW Marathon and it totally changed my perspective (in a good way) on running.

 

[CheapRunnerMike]

QOTD: What was the last book (or magazine if no books) you purchased that is running related

Same as @opusone, Hansons. I'm not a huge fan of reading running books either, rather a good novel...Carl Hiaasen/Tim Dorsey-type Florida madcap, or Lee Child/Brad Thor always works for me.

I have read a few triathlon bios, and my favourite was I'm Here To Win by Chis McCormack. He's a bit of a blowhard, but was a phenomenal athlete as well as a great character and storyteller.