The Running Thread - 2019

[Slogger]

The Tokyo question is a doozy.....but I think I'm with @FFigawi that a race would offer me the opportunity to see parts of the city.

 

[TheHamm]

Thank you for your opinions, and for not telling me both options are ridiculous! So far in my web searching during less than stellar meetings, it seems their races all start later in the day. I may have to enlist the help of our local staff to find a race if I go that way.

Tokyo Disney without a doubt. Are you going to have a chance to get out of Tokyo at all while you're there? Rural Japan is beautiful! I spent 2 months over there in the Sendai area in college and got to go up to Hirosaki for a cherry blossom festival. Parts of the countryside are just breathtaking.

I'm only in Tokyo for the airports. I have never been to Sendai, but have spent lots of time in Japan. Most of my work is in Shizouka and will spend a few days in Hyogo this trip, so I have the country side down! I always recommend Japan as an easy to visit non-English speaking trip to friends and family- too bad it is so expensive!

 

[Neon Cactus]

Tokyo Disney! You can still put on the miles while you walk around the park!

 

[IamTrike]

My 'would you rather' is crazy and based on a real decision I need to make.
Would you rather try to find a race to run in Tokyo or go to Tokyo Disney for 6 hours before getting on a plane to come home. My co-workers think both are crazy, I am curious as to what people who love running and love Disney would pick. Also, in either case you would be on your own, no family, friends, and definitely no taking co-workers.

And yes, sight seeing would also be fun and in your answer you can pick that, but not for the 'would you rather' part. {because I have been to Tokyo a lot and seen the sights but no theme parks, and love the Ghibli museum but it is not available for my one day}

Tokyo Disneysea was hands down my favorite Disney park globally (Haven't been to Shanghai though). Because you're talking about also doing a race I'm assuming you have 6 morning hours. Unless it's afternoon hours or the race is a Marathon I'd do DisneySea. I would just be cautious that people start arriving well before the park opens.

 

[avondale]

And after a couple of days of slightly better air quality where I managed to run (not great air, but at least tolerable)... the haze came back with a vengeance today.

I looked out the window at work and realised I couldn't see the buildings that I can usually see from the window. It looked like there was mist or fog in the air... just that it was smoke rather than mist or fog.

Apparently flights got cancelled again at the tiny airport here. We have a huge international airport which has some sort of guidance system so they are OK, but the tiny airport doesn't have this guidance system so flights apparently can't operate there when visibility is poor.

So once again I couldn't run outdoors today. Though at least I managed to get on a treadmill at the gym, so got a quick run in.

This haze is really derailing my Wine and Dine training plans - was trying to extend the distance of my long runs (currently around 10k but was planning to increase), but don't think that's going to happen as long as the haze keeps up! Doing long runs on the treadmill will be really difficult, firstly due to being bored out of my mind, and secondly because treadmill etiquette means that I shouldn't monopolise the treadmill if someone is waiting for it...

Is it easier to get a stationary bike at the gym? @DopeyBadger has recently been translating some of his running into biking for the same purpose of improving fitness and endurance. Although boredom is still a factor!

 

[jmasgat]

Sitting here darning a few holes in my running socks (that probably dates me right there) and I was wondering.....

Lighthearted QOTD: Do you have a favorite piece of running gear that you will do whatever it takes to prolong its useful life? What have you done to keep it going?

The only thing I have at this point that I will rue the day when it wears out is a pair of Adidas 2011 Boston Marathon 3/4 tights. So far they are still going, but some of the trim stitching is falling out. I have already started looking for a suitable replacement.

 

[OldSlowGoofyGuy]

Lighthearted QOTD: Do you have a favorite piece of running gear that you will do whatever it takes to prolong its useful life? What have you done to keep it going?

Not so much a favorite piece of gear but more out of frugality. I run in cheapo drug store sunglasses (usually Foster Grant). They can last anywhere from 6 months to 3 years. They lead a tough life: stored in the console of the truck, thrown to the ground at the end of almost every run when I forget that I propped them on top of my visor, traveling in a running shoe (I know, gross) for 'away' races. When they break, I will repair them in any way possible to save spending another 20 bucks. My current pair has one earpiece with a floral wire hinge. They broke again yesterday; I'll try to epoxy them back together.

 

[camaker]

Sitting here darning a few holes in my running socks (that probably dates me right there) and I was wondering.....

Lighthearted QOTD: Do you have a favorite piece of running gear that you will do whatever it takes to prolong its useful life? What have you done to keep it going?

ATTLQOTD: For this one, I’m going to have to go with a big ol’ nope. I’m firmly from the Diablo and Borderlands schools of running gear. I run in the best gear I can find and afford, but constantly have my eyes open looking for gear that would constitute an upgrade. When something better shows up, it’s an immediate swap out. I’m still waiting to see the gold glow when that legendary pair of running shorts shows up in an Expo or running store loot drop!

 

[Baloo in MI]

ATTQOTD: Not sure if this counts because I do not wear them anymore, but in high school I ran on a mile relay team and we all thought it would be cool to buy the same socks. Yeah, I know... But I actually still have that pair. They sit in my bin of running socks and other gear. Everytime I clean that bin out I pick them up and think I should get rid of these, and then I keep them. They are old, threadbare and stretched out. Not wearable, but I will keep them anyway.

 

[flav]

My 'would you rather' is crazy and based on a real decision I need to make.
Would you rather try to find a race to run in Tokyo or go to Tokyo Disney for 6 hours before getting on a plane to come home. My co-workers think both are crazy, I am curious as to what people who love running and love Disney would pick. Also, in either case you would be on your own, no family, friends, and definitely no taking co-workers.

And yes, sight seeing would also be fun and in your answer you can pick that, but not for the 'would you rather' part. {because I have been to Tokyo a lot and seen the sights but no theme parks, and love the Ghibli museum but it is not available for my one day}

Disney Sea in a heartbeat! I can run some other days.

 

[flav]

ATTQOTD: No. Not so far.

 

[flav]

Living another new experience linked to running my first Marathon: Spectator management!

For shorter distance it was: Surprise me or else I’ll see you at the finish.

The tracking apps will help a lot but the runner being aware that people are trying to see them at a given point is a must... Cannot be looking for a handful of family members spread over 42.2km!

 

[FFigawi]

Lighthearted QOTD: Do you have a favorite piece of running gear that you will do whatever it takes to prolong its useful life? What have you done to keep it going?

I have a few in this category: my WISH racing shirt, my red sparkle skirt, and my Rudy Project sunglasses. I only wear the skirt for special races and am very careful to give it a rinse and hang dry to keep it in decent condition. Yeah, I know it’s easy to buy another one, but this one has been through a lot with me thus far.

 

[Figment1990]

ATTQOTD: I have a shirt that is from a race that I didn’t even get to run but which is the perfect fit (so far) and perfect weight that I love wearing it for races. Yes I know it’s taboo to wear the shirt without running the race but I actually have done so well when I wore it I decided it’s reverse luck and just went with it.

Actually all of my running skirts fit into this question too. I have the hardest time finding shorts that fit my shape comfortably and look at least somewhat decent and the running skirts I bought several years ago from athleta are my absolute favorite and I’ve yet to find good replacement.

Can I also say my iPhone SE? I love to run to music but want to be able to change it whenever I want so I hold my phone. I had the iPhone 4 forever and refused to give it up for the newer bigger phones. Now I have the SE which was the same size. It’s dying and cracked but I do not want to have to get a new bigger one or an Apple Watch (verizon guy tried to sell me on that solution).

 

[StarGirl11]

My 'would you rather' is crazy and based on a real decision I need to make.
Would you rather try to find a race to run in Tokyo or go to Tokyo Disney for 6 hours before getting on a plane to come home. My co-workers think both are crazy, I am curious as to what people who love running and love Disney would pick. Also, in either case you would be on your own, no family, friends, and definitely no taking co-workers.

And yes, sight seeing would also be fun and in your answer you can pick that, but not for the 'would you rather' part. {because I have been to Tokyo a lot and seen the sights but no theme parks, and love the Ghibli museum but it is not available for my one day}

When I was still hoping to get into Tokyo I was planning to do a single day at TD before the race. One day for Tokyo Disney, one afternoon to spend time shopping and doing a bunch of fan stuff for non Disney stuff in Tokyo. I would have been flying home Monday so day after wasn't an option for me.

And yeah I just got the rejection thus the 'I was still hoping'. This comes as frustrating for me since 1) the only reason I was in the lottery was someone didn't program the charity website very well and 2) as whatever the heck is going on with me medically seems to be on a slow crawl of a decline with the gait problem becoming more common I'm wondering if there's a way to stop this and how long I have to do Tokyo before I start running into serious problems with their pace due to a lack of disabled program for non chair or visually disabled atheletes. Its already affecting my races (early starts, corral placements, etc.) Heck my Boston attempt isn't through normal means its through their adpative program (fingers crossed for paperwork to go through). I can still keep the pace requirements but as I have no clue where this is going long term I don't know if that will always be true or if theres no way to nullify it out I will have to try and start saving for a racing chair in the long term.

I maybe over thinking it. I honest to God hope I am. But I also had a drop attack for the first time in I don't know how long to be honest last week. As said the gait problem seems to be either happening more frequently mid run and at times not moving out as I warm up. That's not even starting on my 'lets randomly lean to a side' problem. My gut says despite the meds attempt and partial improvement its still slowly getting worse.

Sorry about going off I just needed to vent for a minute.

 

[QueenFernando]

Hi all- new to this group. I have done a ton of Run Disneys in the past incl challenges. I am not good at training- like at all. But I have committed to doing the *GASP* Dopey in Jan. How do you all stay motivated. I moved to Dallas last year and its so hot I have to do treadmill training. How do you all stay on track and motivated! I know there are a gazillion training plans out there so not looking for those- just the how to stay motivated and stick to a plan. Anyone else on the struggebus??

I'll agree with the other people that have said having a specific training plan is key for me to stay motivated. Looking at you @DopeyBadger! His plans are specific to my fitness and lifestyle. If it didn't take both of those elements into account I don't think I could stick with it. I love running and how it makes me feel, but if I were to attempt a plan that was too difficult I would get discouraged and quit. Conversely, if I didn't have a plan that pushed me a bit I wouldn't be seeing the improvements I've had and get discouraged for that too. It's really about finding a balance that fits your life and deciding that's what you want.

 

[garneska]

@dis_or_dat did you get your acceptance? i know you were way under so you got in but was wondering how soon you got your notification. I looked at the BAA website and it sounds like they did have more qualifiers than they have spots, so i am still waiting. I am hoping to hear something by tomorrow, worse case i am thinking by wednesday. I am hoping I don't have to wait through the weekend.

@canglim52 did you get your acceptance?

 

[TheHamm]

Sitting here darning a few holes in my running socks (that probably dates me right there) and I was wondering.....

Lighthearted QOTD: Do you have a favorite piece of running gear that you will do whatever it takes to prolong its useful life? What have you done to keep it going?

The only thing I have at this point that I will rue the day when it wears out is a pair of Adidas 2011 Boston Marathon 3/4 tights. So far they are still going, but some of the trim stitching is falling out. I have already started looking for a suitable replacement.

I have gotten to a point in my life where I do not mend much. I do go on ebay about every month to look for a used pair of my favorite (and therefore discontinued) Patagonia winter running tights.

Can I also say my iPhone SE? I love to run to music but want to be able to change it whenever I want so I hold my phone. I had the iPhone 4 forever and refused to give it up for the newer bigger phones. Now I have the SE which was the same size. It’s dying and cracked but I do not want to have to get a new bigger one or an Apple Watch (verizon guy tried to sell me on that solution).

I am also on team small phone. I bought a back up SE when they were clearancing them out for about 3 days in January. It is hard enough to find women's clothing with functional pockets, a giant phone is not going to help my frustration. Also, the little phones fit in my hand so much better!

When I was still hoping to get into Tokyo I was planning to do a single day at TD before the race. One day for Tokyo Disney, one afternoon to spend time shopping and doing a bunch of fan stuff for non Disney stuff in Tokyo. I would have been flying home Monday so day after wasn't an option for me.

And yeah I just got the rejection thus the 'I was still hoping'. This comes as frustrating for me since 1) the only reason I was in the lottery was someone didn't program the charity website very well and 2) as whatever the heck is going on with me medically seems to be on a slow crawl of a decline with the gait problem becoming more common I'm wondering if there's a way to stop this and how long I have to do Tokyo before I start running into serious problems with their pace due to a lack of disabled program for non chair or visually disabled atheletes. Its already affecting my races (early starts, corral placements, etc.) Heck my Boston attempt isn't through normal means its through their adpative program (fingers crossed for paperwork to go through). I can still keep the pace requirements but as I have no clue where this is going long term I don't know if that will always be true or if theres no way to nullify it out I will have to try and start saving for a racing chair in the long term.

Sorry about going off I just needed to vent for a minute.

This sounds incredibly frustrating. I hope the charity website is improved for the future as I do not see much ADA-like activity happening in Japan.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Is it easier to get a stationary bike at the gym? @DopeyBadger has recently been translating some of his running into biking for the same purpose of improving fitness and endurance. Although boredom is still a factor!

@sky13 if you do have access to a stationary bike, this is what I've learned from personal experience thus far.

1) Make sure you're doing a structured routine on the bike. I use TrainerRoad and highly recommend it. I've seen far better performance management/gains using a structured routine than simply getting on the bike and putting in time.

2) The effects on the heart are different between running and cycling. Running increase the size of the left ventricular which in turn increases stroke volume. Your heart can beat less and transport the same amount of blood/oxygen throughout the body (more efficient). It's a critical adaptation to becoming faster/maintaining running performance. I've seen personal evidence in my resting HR data and running Garmin VO2max data.

Evidenced in this graph which displays my running Garmin VO2max value (black line) and resting HR data (blue line):



In periods of high running activity, my resting HR falls. In periods of high cycling activity in the absence of running, my resting HR rises. It wasn't until running was added back in did my resting HR drop back down again. I believe this is be evidence of the increase in stroke volume and efficiency of the heart muscle.

3) From my personal data, it would appear the adding in cycling as a replacement of running in order to yield the same level of running performance would follow this formula for me:

Take normal amount of running
Subtract out the amount of running you can no longer do
In order to have the same level of fitness with run+bike+strength you need to do 2x the duration you use to run.

Example:

-I use to average 7 hours of running per week.
-I now average 4 hours of running per week.
-In order to have the same level of running fitness as when I did 7 hours of running per week, I now need to do 14 hours of run+cycle+strength. So that would work out to 4 hours running + 10 additional hours of structured cycling and strength work.

The succinct conclusion here is that running and cycling are not 1:1. A 60 min run can't be replaced by a 60 min cycle to yield similar running results over the long term.

@dis_or_dat did you get your acceptance? i know you were way under so you got in but was wondering how soon you got your notification. I looked at the BAA website and it sounds like they did have more qualifiers than they have spots, so i am still waiting. I am hoping to hear something by tomorrow, worse case i am thinking by wednesday. I am hoping I don't have to wait through the weekend.

@canglim52 did you get your acceptance?

I was reading on letsrun that the data is suggesting a cutoff between 1-2 min under BQ. Anyone with a "Week 2" application would likely know their acceptance in the middle of next week based on the timeline in the past. They were still approving "Week 1" applications as of yesterday. A lot of assumptions were made to come to these conclusions, so it's far from rock solid.

 

[camaker]

I was reading on letsrun that the data is suggesting a cutoff between 1-2 min under BQ. Anyone with a "Week 2" application would likely know their acceptance in the middle of next week based on the timeline in the past. They were still approving "Week 1" applications as of yesterday. A lot of assumptions were made to come to these conclusions, so it's far from rock solid.

That lines up with my "back of the napkin" calculations. I looked at the last few years and the progression of the cutoff time and calculated that if the current trend in time improvements continued and was relatively linear, we should be looking at a cutoff this year somewhere around BQ - 1:23 or so. Definitely not a definitive number. Just an estimate. But I'm interested to see how close that calculation comes to reality.