The Running Thread - 2020

[camaker]

That's been my problem. I have been so timid about running since my injury for fear of getting reinjured. Most recently I was complaining of my knees. They still burn, but I am now starting to winder if it is just the old age as opposed to an injury. This is what I struggle with now. I feel someone on a run and I examine, "injury or old age pain?" I am the same way as you, I have just accepted I will always have pains.

I played soccer for 20 years and was never heavy until I got to college. I never had injuries until my 40's. This is all new to me.

I transitioned from soccer to Ultimate Frisbee in college and played for 15-20 years as an adult until knee surgery sidelined me. The mental game of dealing with old injuries is the hardest. Every time my right hamstring starts to hurt or I have pain in the surgically repaired knee, I have those thoughts of "is it coming back? Is this the start of what ends my running for good?" So far, knock on wood, all those thoughts have been unfounded, but they make me a little more conservative when it comes to taking a day off to rest an issue that seems to be emerging.

 

[jmasgat]

Lately my pain has been in my hips. Like, can't it stay in one spot please so I can figure it out?

This the bane of my existence. Seems like it's always a new thing, which makes it frustrating to get a handle on and resolve. I ran at WDW last weekend and now have a nagging knee "thing"--a very mild issue which is probably just a mildly strained ligament or tendon (which as I get older, is the hardest thing to shake). The truly annoying part of this is that I never have had knee issues, I never had a problem training, and yet here I am. And these days it takes 8+ weeks for something to truly go away--time that I am not willing to give it.

It all feels like a giant body-sized version of Whack-a-mole!

 

[The Expert]

I'm having decision paralysis. Coming up on the end of my recovery plan post-marathon and I need to figure out what's next. I know I want to do at least the 10K and Full next January (possibly Dopey), so I'm hoping to come up with a series of races to keep me training and motivated through the year, rather than quitting and picking up from zero as I normally do.

In April, there's a local race with a 5K, 10K, Half and Full. I was considering the Half but then read something about how training for different distances can improve your overall performance, so now I'm thinking one of the shorter runs would be better. In July there's another local race with 5K, 10K and Half options. I did like doing the Half in mid-November leading up to my full this year, so I'll probably look for one in the late fall again.

So, I toss it out to the collective runner mind... what should my plan be for training in 2020?!

 

[Waiting2goback]

I transitioned from soccer to Ultimate Frisbee in college and played for 15-20 years as an adult until knee surgery sidelined me. The mental game of dealing with old injuries is the hardest. Every time my right hamstring starts to hurt or I have pain in the surgically repaired knee, I have those thoughts of "is it coming back? Is this the start of what ends my running for good?" So far, knock on wood, all those thoughts have been unfounded, but they make me a little more conservative when it comes to taking a day off to rest an issue that seems to be emerging.

This the bane of my existence. Seems like it's always a new thing, which makes it frustrating to get a handle on and resolve. I ran at WDW last weekend and now have a nagging knee "thing"--a very mild issue which is probably just a mildly strained ligament or tendon (which as I get older, is the hardest thing to shake). The truly annoying part of this is that I never have had knee issues, I never had a problem training, and yet here I am. And these days it takes 8+ weeks for something to truly go away--time that I am not willing to give it.

It all feels like a giant body-sized version of Whack-a-mole!

Yep. Now I feel better knowing it isn't just me and I will just keep running and deal with the issues. I guess the fact that stuff keeps moving is a good sign. If it stayed in one place it might mean an actual injury.

 

[Waiting2goback]

 

[StacyStrong]

I didn’t start running until 29 and didn’t start seriously training until 30. I turned 31 this past Monday. I’ve only ran 3 races so far. I’ll be pretty upset if I can’t continue to PR!

 

[Deffenm]

ATTQOTD: I use training plans when I am training for a race such as Hal Higdon or slightly modified version based on my schedule. For PR's I have not been running very long so right now all of my races are PR's as I pick a different distance each time, however I do try to PR everytime I run different distances on my Garmin watch.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

ATTQOTD: PR Resets. I started running in my mid to late 30s and remain very slow not quite 10 years later. Maybe I can push myself to run faster, but every time in the past when I have pushed myself to go faster, I usually wind up seriously hurting. As a result, I've taken the approach of since I do this for fun (or really just a different experience of going through the Disney theme parks), then I will not care about time. In the case of Dopey, I actually celebrate personal worst times because it means that I finished with plenty left in the tank for the marathon.

I"m not saying time does not matter. It can be helpful to push us to keep getting out there. I am saying that I think we'll better enjoy the experience when time is placed in its proper context. In my case, I keep getting out there by accepting my lack of speed, but understanding that in my case, slow, steady, and injury free so far equates to finishing the goal race happy, healthy, upright, and injury free. Which means that I am able to get back out there again for the next race.

So, I toss it out to the collective runner mind... what should my plan be for training in 2020?!

My reasoning for Dopey as part of my first marathon was that in the back of my head, I always knew that the marathon might be a one time only deal. I also feared that if I finished the marathon I might want to run Dopey, but since this might be a one time only deal, I convinced myself to try Dopey. I believed that the lead up races would have minimal impact on the marathon provided I approached them properly.

I literally ran Avengers 2017 on just 3 weeks training. Not my brightest running idea, but it got me across the finish line on race day and helped break down a few of the mental barriers that always had me saying never going to happen when asked about the marathon. In April 2018, I ran all 3 Star Wars Dark Side races, mostly for Star Wars, but also as a test to see how my body felt the day after the half and as to whether or not I might want to attempt the marathon in the future. I felt fine so I went for it. I too have a tendency to race, then rest back to ground zero only to pick it back up again when I have a race on the horizon. To hopefully prevent this from occurring with Dopey, I registered for the runDisney virtual 5K 2018 series to keep me going until Dopey training started. Than in mid June, I signed up for an early September Half in order to test a @DopeyBadger training plan to see how I responded to. Despite a miserable race day on my end due to my own issues, his plan worked to perfection and helped expose a series of race mistakes I had been making for years that might have proved disastrous in my first marathon. After that race, I focused exclusively on Dopey training.

 

[rteetz]

My first post marathon run today felt great. Easy 3.5-3.6ish miles in the cold and snow. Gearing up for RnR NOLA. Undecided how I want to run that one. I could go for time but I also just might want to enjoy it since it’s my first time in NOLA.

 

[KSellers88]

My first post marathon run today felt great. Easy 3.5-3.6ish miles in the cold and snow. Gearing up for RnR NOLA. Undecided how I want to run that one. I could go for time but I also just might want to enjoy it since it’s my first time in NOLA.

RnR NOLA is a great race and so much fun! I ran it last year (not for time) and it is super flat and fast so if you want to try for time, it would definitely be a good place to do it! I love all the RnR races, they are very well organized and the medals are almost as good as Disney.

 

[rteetz]

RnR NOLA is a great race and so much fun! I ran it last year (not for time) and it is super flat and fast so if you want to try for time, it would definitely be a good place to do it! I love all the RnR races, they are very well organized and the medals are almost as good as Disney.

Yeah I have heard it’s very flat and a good place for time. I’m also a big fan of enjoying races and if there is on course shenanigans that might sway me to not go for time.

 

[bovie]

Race report:

While y’all were running Disney, I ran Some Like It Cold in Knoxville. Drove down the night before even though it was a 9am start. I got a great Priceline Express deal. Grabbed some dinner at the hotel, and around that time got a pretty bad headache. Took some Advil and a shower, which helped some, and tried to go to bed. Didn’t rest particularly well.

Woke up the next morning without a headache but still feeling generally crummy. i grabbed an English muffin with cream cheese and an egg from the hotel buffet and drove to the race! It was just a few minutes away.

The course was looped and offered 5k, 10k, and half options. For the half, I’d run five loops. I stashed my baggy of Huma gels near the start.

It was the opposite of a Disney race. Instead of a long walk to corrals, there were a hundred runners and someone saying, “On your mark...”

I ran the first mile at a 13:30 pace. It felt pretty good, but I wanted to be conservative, and I realized it was getting hot, so I slowed to a 14:00 for the next mile. Around miles 3-4, my left 2-4 toes started hurting and going numb. I was wearing newish shoes, and in retrospect they'd never quite felt right. Since it was a looped course, I wound up switching them at mile 5.

By this point it seemed so hot! I know that it was much warmer in Orlando. Reminded me of last year’s marathon. By the second half of the race, I was walking a lot but running when I could. I took a gel with each lap, so 2.5 miles ish. I drank a cup or three of water each time. They had an awesome spread of real food, but I didn’t try it.

By the last lap, I was struggling. An older guy who’s bib said ”BQhopeful” talked to me at the last station and said something like “your endurance is amazing.” Very kind considering my half time was likely close to his full. I wound up finishing in 3:34. My worst half time by considerable margin.

In a lot of ways, this race kinda stunk. But at the day of the day, I got to run, and that’s something to be thankful for. If anything, it lights a fire to bunker down and make the next one better.

Really didn’t think this would be so long! If anyone made it this far, thanks for reading.

 

[Professor_Cookie]

I'm having decision paralysis. Coming up on the end of my recovery plan post-marathon and I need to figure out what's next. I know I want to do at least the 10K and Full next January (possibly Dopey), so I'm hoping to come up with a series of races to keep me training and motivated through the year, rather than quitting and picking up from zero as I normally do.

In April, there's a local race with a 5K, 10K, Half and Full. I was considering the Half but then read something about how training for different distances can improve your overall performance, so now I'm thinking one of the shorter runs would be better. In July there's another local race with 5K, 10K and Half options. I did like doing the Half in mid-November leading up to my full this year, so I'll probably look for one in the late fall again.

So, I toss it out to the collective runner mind... what should my plan be for training in 2020?!

Red Bull 400 at the Olympic Park in June!

 

[baxter24]

ATTQOTD: In terms of PRs, I really don't know. My PR half was almost three years ago. I came close to it November 2018 so I think I can do it again. I do need to come up with a new proof of time for whatever runDisney races I want to do in the next year or two so I'm going to try. Pretty much most of 2019 was dealing with an injury and coming back from it so hopefully I can focus on getting back to PR times in races in 2020.

 

[jennamfeo]

they are very well organized and the medals are almost as good as Disney.

Maybe it's different on the West Coast, but I would disagree with both of those things (I have ran RNR Vegas and RNR AZ.)

 

[camaker]

they are very well organized and the medals are almost as good as Disney.

Maybe it's different on the West Coast, but I would disagree with both of those things (I have ran RNR Vegas and RNR AZ.)

I ran RnR Raleigh before they exited the area and I found them to be nowhere near the organizational level or quality of Disney.

 

[Kerry1957]

ATTQOTD: PR Resets....I ran a bit in my 20's and then took the next 30+ years off starting again 3 years ago at age 59. I ran my first ever half marathon at 59 and my first ever marathon at 60.

I found my old bibs in a box with the dates and times written on the backs so I have my "young" PRs (5Ks and 10Ks). Athlinks actually had a couple from the early 1980's.

I pretty much ignore them and now track my "old timer" PRs.

My cure for my post-Disney Marathon malaise is to run this Saturday at the F3 Half Marathon. It starts in Soldier Field and runs along Chicago's lakefront. Temps should be in the low 30's so that will work out well as long as we don't get too much snow.

 

[The Expert]

Red Bull 400 at the Olympic Park in June!

That looks intense!

 

[michigandergirl]

I do need to come up with a new proof of time for whatever runDisney races I want to do in the next year or two

Me too.

 

[Professor_Cookie]

That looks intense!

It’s not so bad, if you pace yourself. One of our Bartender’s technically qualified for finals but they wouldn’t let her run since she passed out after finishing her heat and ended up on O2.