The Running Thread—2023

[Zutroy]

As someone who ran almost 10 miles on Saturday in very similar conditions, it wasn’t going to be a nice day for a race. And I’m not sure where you’re getting your temp info from, but it was 69° and 80+% humidity when I woke up at 5:30 to see the race cancellation email. I was at the Capitol to get my gear bag when the 3:30-3:45 marathoners would’ve been finishing, and it was HOT in the sun, and I’m sure it would’ve been worse on the asphalt as opposed to the nice grass where the gear bags were.

Start time for the 10-miler was 65 degrees. Absolutely no safety reason to cancel it. Even the marathon wouldn’t have been a problem until the 6-hour mark. Disney would never have a race again if these conditions were considered dangerous.

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

ATTQOTD: 2017 (is that right?? It feels so long ago!) WDW Half. The one canceled the night before due to incoming storms with a cold front. I was already in bed when I started getting the text messages from friends who were out at dinner wen the news dropped. I handled it… not well lol! It was to be my first Dopey: I’d trained well, felt good, had the first 2 races done - I was not a happy camper. A couple friends staying at the same resort said they might DIY the half around our resort area - we all agreed to sleep on it, take advantage of not needing to be up so early, and see what the next day brought. We wound up doing 13.1 around the Wyndham, Hilton, and Waldorf Bonnet Creek resorts, including stops for pics with staff, other runners doing the same, a visit to an arcade, an elevator ride in a parking garage, and a quick game of giant checkers. It was a blast! We even staged our own post-race medal “PhotoPass” shoot with an rD Mylar as backdrop. It may not have been “official,” but it actually made my first Dopey extra special.

Great creative solution to the situation. Love the photo backdrop idea as well.

 

[GuinnessRunner]

So thought I would share my "I'm an idiot" moment of the week from my run this morning. I set off to do my run this morning of 1 mile warm up, 6 miles @ marathon tempo, 1 mile cool down. I program my runs in TrainingPeaks so that it uploads them to my Garmin and I don't have to think about pace. Just listen to the beeps to tell me too fast, too slow or just right. As I get going my watch keeps beeping that I'm behind pace and it's killing me because I feel like the effort is harder than it was last week, but some how I'm slower! I glanced at the pace but didn't think anything about it. Finished the run feeling pretty drained but happy to get it done.

Got home and realized the issue. When I build the structured runs in TrainingPeaks it bases pace off a % of my threshold pace. Earlier in the week I had gone in and updated a few metrics and fiddled with a few others and it never dawned on me that by updating them, it also altered my threshold pace, and therefore the paces for every programmed workout I had coming up! So the reason I felt like I was struggling more is that I was running the tempo miles about 30 seconds per mile too fast. Feel better about the run now, but dumb that it never dawned on me until well after the run. Now to go back in and readjust the paces on all my upcoming workouts so as to not repeat this mistake!

 

[nancipants]

I got home from vacation yesterday. I only ran twice, ooops.

The weather has cooled down some in Orlando so it won’t be 75 when I run anymore, yay! Just in time to start Princess half training.

 

[Guidman]

Had a small, local half marathon north of Pittsburgh yesterday (Buffalo Creek Half). It's a point-to-point that's downhill or flat most of the way so it's fast course. It was rainy for the first few miles and the course goes on a trail for from miles 2-10. It's crushed gravel mainly and it held up fine despite being wet. I faded a little off the pace I had starting at mile 9 but finished in 1:28:33. It's fun, enjoyable race. The foliage was absolutely perfect all along the trail.

I'll try to get the legs back now, I have a 10 mile race in two weeks.

 

[avondale]

Start time for the 10-miler was 65 degrees. Absolutely no safety reason to cancel it. Even the marathon wouldn’t have been a problem until the 6-hour mark. Disney would never have a race again if these conditions were considered dangerous.

View attachment 803905

I did not plan to run any of the Twin Cities races. But to stir the pot...if I HAD registered for one of these races, it would've been because I was expecting cool to maybe moderate temperatures and would not have trained for hot temperatures. As a 5 - 6 hr marathoner, looking at a T+D of 86 + 66 = 152 at 1pm...I would not have made this. If I had tried to run at race pace, even with a starting T+D of 128, I would have been in serious trouble. If there wasn't much shade, then it would have been even worse.

I am affected by heat and humidity much more than others, and I know that about myself, so hopefully I personally would have given up any time goals and been very conservative. I've had three marathons turn into death marches because the temperatures got into the 70s F (and I was not the only one suffering). But there are lots of other people who would have been much more adversely affected than they expected.

I can definitely see why people are very disappointed not to do the race, but I do think it was a very responsible decision. It would have been pretty dangerous and it's a good point others mentioned that they would have needed far more hydration supplies, medical supplies, volunteers, and medical folks than they probably had ready to go.

I haven't paid enough attention to the timeline of when they made the decision and announced it, but a late decision for safety is better than not making that decision. If the race had been held and they had a catastrophic number of people with heat stroke, aid stations ran out of liquids and ice, medical stations were overwhelmed, etc. etc., and it came out that they thought about canceling but didn't because it was only X hours ahead of time, how would that have played?

 

[Naomeri]

I did not plan to run any of the Twin Cities races. But to stir the pot...if I HAD registered for one of these races, it would've been because I was expecting cool to maybe moderate temperatures and would not have trained for hot temperatures. As a 5 - 6 hr marathoner, looking at a T+D of 86 + 66 = 152 at 1pm...I would not have made this. If I had tried to run at race pace, even with a starting T+D of 128, I would have been in serious trouble. If there wasn't much shade, then it would have been even worse.

I am affected by heat and humidity much more than others, and I know that about myself, so hopefully I personally would have given up any time goals and been very conservative. I've had three marathons turn into death marches because the temperatures got into the 70s F (and I was not the only one suffering). But there are lots of other people who would have been much more adversely affected than they expected.

I can definitely see why people are very disappointed not to do the race, but I do think it was a very responsible decision. It would have been pretty dangerous and it's a good point others mentioned that they would have needed far more hydration supplies, medical supplies, volunteers, and medical folks than they probably had ready to go.

I haven't paid enough attention to the timeline of when they made the decision and announced it, but a late decision for safety is better than not making that decision. If the race had been held and they had a catastrophic number of people with heat stroke, aid stations ran out of liquids and ice, medical stations were overwhelmed, etc. etc., and it came out that they thought about canceling but didn't because it was only X hours ahead of time, how would that have played?

Yeah, the low temps for that weekend were slightly higher than the average highs.

They made the decision in the very early morning hours and sent out the email shortly before people would’ve been waking up/getting out the door. Honestly, I don’t think there was any time to cancel that would’ve made everyone happy, but they’re refunding everyone and giving us guaranteed entry to 2024 (which is especially good for the 10 Milers, since that’s a lottery unless you do the challenge)

 

[*DisneyDreamer]

Does anyone have any recommendations for good gear (such as a light vest) that they like for running in the dark? With the time change approaching, it will soon be getting dark here around 4:30-5 pm. I’m running the Fairy Tale Challenge in February and really want to be better prepared and trained this time, which either means resorting to a treadmill during the week (which I don’t have at home) or running in the dark. I’m not looking for anything fancy or expensive, just something simple that I can use for 30-45 minute runs twice a week.

Thanks!

 

[Grabnar]

Does anyone have any recommendations for good gear (such as a light vest) that they like for running in the dark? With the time change approaching, it will soon be getting dark here around 4:30-5 pm. I’m running the Fairy Tale Challenge in February and really want to be better prepared and trained this time, which either means resorting to a treadmill during the week (which I don’t have at home) or running in the dark. I’m not looking for anything fancy or expensive, just something simple that I can use for 30-45 minute runs twice a week.

Thanks!

Noxgear
https://www.noxgear.com/tracer2

Nothing else comes close to the visibility imo. They also have a chest mounted light too, and it's all USB-C rechargeable so you're not wasting AA/AAA batteries.

 

[MissLiss279]

I have a Noxgear Tracer vest (not this rechargeable one, but the previous one that uses replaceable batteries). It’s on sale right now, but still not cheap.
https://www.noxgear.com/tracer2

 

[MissLiss279]

I have a Noxgear Tracer vest (not this rechargeable one, but the previous one that uses replaceable batteries). It’s on sale right now, but still not cheap.
https://www.noxgear.com/tracer2

I also have friends that have cheaper versions from Amazon. I don’t know specifically which ones though.

 

[Herding_Cats]

Does anyone have any recommendations for good gear (such as a light vest) that they like for running in the dark? With the time change approaching, it will soon be getting dark here around 4:30-5 pm. I’m running the Fairy Tale Challenge in February and really want to be better prepared and trained this time, which either means resorting to a treadmill during the week (which I don’t have at home) or running in the dark. I’m not looking for anything fancy or expensive, just something simple that I can use for 30-45 minute runs twice a week.

Thanks!

Noxgear Tracer. Quite a few people in here have them, and they're good for being visible to drivers. Now, I think last year (possibly 2 years ago) they came out with the Tracer 2, which I believe is plug-in/rechargeable instead of relying on batteries (although if you already have rechargeable batteries this isn't an issue) I have the original model (Tracer360), and I've used it 7 or 8 times for ~40-60min runs in the last 2 years and have yet to change the batteries. You may be able to find a used model for <$30. They also have a little flashlight that goes in the buckle for *you* to be able to see where you're going. They also usually do a black friday sale.

Like @MissLiss279 I know someone who has like a $10 amazon one, but I don't know what brand.

 

[Grabnar]

I have a Noxgear Tracer vest (not this rechargeable one, but the previous one that uses replaceable batteries). It’s on sale right now, but still not cheap.
https://www.noxgear.com/tracer2

Yeah I struggled with the price for a bit but didn't want to be hit by another car so I ponied up

Bones cost more than $50 was my logic

 

[Naomeri]

Seconding (or is it fifthing by now?) the Noxgear. I also got the lamp attachment since I live in a place where streetlights are a myth invented by city folks and it’s amazing.

I used to have a different chest lamp, with a reflective strap and a flashing red light on the back, but switched to Noxgear after my own grandma almost ran me off the road in our neighborhood

 

[flav]

I second the Noxgear Tracer 2. Almost every time I wear it there is a car who pulls over to ask me where I found that thing because they see me so clearly!

ETA: Our family has one Tracer 360 (non rechargeable batteries) and multiple Tracer 2. I find that the batteries (3xAAA) don’t last in the Tracer 360.

Also, after reading this thread, I decided to buy the Tracer lamp. It will be delivered to my hotel in NYC next weekend as I don’t want to risk duties and border handling fees.

 

[Sara W]

I got my Noxgear on sale last year and I love it. It’s much more comfortable than anything else I’ve used. I even wore it to walk the dog last night.
I need to look into the chest light! I have a light that goes into my Flipbelt, but then I lose that storage for water. It got dark on me at the end of my run last night and I was so terrified I’d bite it on the terrible sidewalks.

 

[*DisneyDreamer]

Looks like it’s pretty unanimous! Thanks for the information!

 

[Bree]

I have a Tracer360. Mine uses batteries, but they last a very long time for me.

I have lights that clip onto my shoes as well.

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

Seconding (or is it fifthing by now?) the Noxgear. I also got the lamp attachment since I live in a place where streetlights are a myth invented by city folks and it’s amazing.

I used to have a different chest lamp, with a reflective strap and a flashing red light on the back, but switched to Noxgear after my own grandma almost ran me off the road in our neighborhood

> after my own grandma almost ran me off the road in our neighborhood

So many questions now.....

 

[Naomeri]

> after my own grandma almost ran me off the road in our neighborhood

So many questions now.....

I live with my grandparents, my grandma knew I was out running in the neighborhood (which is a grand total of 1 road and 3 cul-de-sacs, so she was almost guaranteed to be passing me), and she went out to run an errand and when she passed me, she was really close to me, instead of moving over to the other side of the road like she normally would for a pedestrian. When I (jokingly) gave her crap about it when I got home, she said she never saw me, so I obviously needed a night-running gear upgrade.