The Running Thread -- 2022

[sandam1]

Looking for some creative suggestions...

For thank you gifts. The physical therapy assistant that I've been working with for over a year now is transferring to a different office at the end of the month and I would like give him something as he has gone above and beyond to help me out and get me through some of the tough times. He is a Disney fan, but NOT a runner.

And looking ahead, I have a list of other people that I would like to thank for all of their help in relation to Dopey in January. My first thought was some Dopey merch from the Expo, but I don't want to take that away from any other runner. Beyond that thought, I'm kind of stumped.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Budget is around $10-20 each.

 

[Kazrak]

I'm starting to look at Christmas gifts (and birthday because my house has 3 birthdays less than 3 weeks after christmas) and I have a watch question because Black Friday is only 2.5 weeks away.

DS2 is getting serious about running. He's almost 15. Was #5 on his XC team this season (his team finished 7th at state finals) and he's seriously considering switching from baseball to track this spring because there's a pretty good chance that he could run in college, at least at the D3/4 level. (Him switching is a big deal because DH and I are both baseball coaches at his school.) Right now he has a FR35. I'm considering "upgrading" his watch (because combo xmas/bday gifts are definitely a thing hah!) and am looking for some input. I have compared stuff on the websites, and at this point it's going to come down to what's going to be the best value for the cost.

I want something for him that has a "track run" option, which means FR55, FR245/255/745/945 or a Fenix 6 or 7. Looking at battery life, the FR55, 945, and Fenix all will supposedly go 2wks on a charge without GPS, and the fenix and 945 are the winners on GPS battery life.

Pricewise today it looks like on amazon I would pay
FR55: $170
FR245: $205
FR255: $359ish
FR745: $389 (renewed) or $439
FR945: $351
Fenix 6pro: $389
Fenix 7: haha NO

Are the higher model numbers worth the additional cost? Less cadence lock? More accurate GPS? Is battery life the only "real" benefit?

I went from a 35 to a 235 for the larger screen and more data at once, but the 55 isn't quite as limited as the 35 was.

It looks like the x55 series is claiming two-week battery life, and the x45 is one-week?

I'm now eyeing a 255 to replace the 235 due to battery aging, but I only use it for running instead of as a primary smartwatch. (I've got a Fitbit Sense 2 for that, but the GPS - as with most non-Garmin ones IME - is garbage.) I also don't care about on-device music. Things that I like in the 255: improved multi-GPS, extra sensors (compass, gyroscope, altimeter, thermometer - although I've heard there are altimeter issues), and a larger screen.

 

[WillRunForPizza]

Looking for some creative suggestions...

For thank you gifts. The physical therapy assistant that I've been working with for over a year now is transferring to a different office at the end of the month and I would like give him something as he has gone above and beyond to help me out and get me through some of the tough times. He is a Disney fan, but NOT a runner.

And looking ahead, I have a list of other people that I would like to thank for all of their help in relation to Dopey in January. My first thought was some Dopey merch from the Expo, but I don't want to take that away from any other runner. Beyond that thought, I'm kind of stumped.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Budget is around $10-20 each.

I think Disney ornaments make good gifts for people who celebrate Christmas. It does work better for end of November than mid-January, though! Or maybe a mug or something? Most people drink hot beverages.

 

[sandam1]

My belated October running report:

 

[Naomeri]

A marathoner in Thailand got some pretty special swag in a recent race. Story link

 

[lookingforsunshine]

marathoner in Thailand got some pretty special swag in a recent race.

This woman is living my dream. She has 28 dogs. I love her.

 

[Livelovedance]

Looking for some creative suggestions...

For thank you gifts. The physical therapy assistant that I've been working with for over a year now is transferring to a different office at the end of the month and I would like give him something as he has gone above and beyond to help me out and get me through some of the tough times. He is a Disney fan, but NOT a runner.

And looking ahead, I have a list of other people that I would like to thank for all of their help in relation to Dopey in January. My first thought was some Dopey merch from the Expo, but I don't want to take that away from any other runner. Beyond that thought, I'm kind of stumped.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Budget is around $10-20 each.

I think Disney ornaments make good gifts for people who celebrate Christmas. It does work better for end of November than mid-January, though! Or maybe a mug or something? Most people drink hot beverages.

I was also thinking an ornament if you know that they celebrate Christmas. It’d be nice if you could buy a Dopey ornament and have it personalized, kind of like what they do in the malls at Christmas time (I know Disney does that too but idk what the pricing is).

Mugs are also a great choice, even if they don’t drink hot beverages sometimes people use them as pen/pencil holders.

 

[Livelovedance]

A marathoner in Thailand got some pretty special swag in a recent race. Story link

Wow! I don’t know what’s more impressive, running 19 miles holding a puppy in your arms, or owning 28 dogs and 30 cats lol.

 

[lookingforsunshine]

Another QOTD:

I am going to Anaheim for 8 days next Wednesday for a conference. I’m staying near the convention center (Hampton Inn). Can I run outside there? Any route recommendations?

 

[xjillianpaige]

Another QOTD:

I am going to Anaheim for 8 days next Wednesday for a conference. I’m staying near the convention center (Hampton Inn). Can I run outside there? Any route recommendations?

skip the run. go to disney.

 

[fatmanatee]

Congratulations! I can't wait to hear about the race. Are you going to give us a race report?

Oh wow, I feel like others here do a really good job of covering all the details for their race reports, much better than I could, but I can add some stuff on what I liked and didn’t like about the race:

- The race atmosphere was incredible, I’ve never seen anything like it. You start on the Verrazano Bridge and it takes a few miles to kick in but after that it’s almost a nonstop adrenaline rush. Somewhere in Brooklyn leading up to Williamsburg, I think it was Fort Greene, there was a point where the path narrows and it feels like the crowd is on top of you on both sides, it was wild, and no bottleneck. It happened again at mile 24 in Central Park, a spot where everyone really needed it because obviously at this point we’re all running on fumes.
- If you ever wanted to experience entire blocks of people belting Rihanna songs as you ran by this is the race for you. They said it was the biggest block party in the world and after doing it I have to believe it.
- Also this might sound strange but I was a pile of nerves around finishing and had bought ummmm… quite a bit of merch, and I did not want to be faced with the possibility of having to return that stuff. Same weird feeling I have about buying “I did it” merch before doing it. The gear is very nice, I now have a couple of new long sleeve layers for winter runs and more appropriate running shirts for races. Retiring the generic Under Armour training shirt I’ve used for the last few years that got soaked 30 min into this race.
- I need to talk about the bridges because i KNEW about the bridges, I was worried about the bridges, I went into the city once late in training (I live across the river in Jersey City) to do a bridge route to sort of prep but I wasn’t remotely prepared for it. The run starts with a climb that lasts about a mile, so your legs are already feeling it ten minutes in. The Queensboro bridge was probably just as bad and that one was 14 miles later. At this point everyone was walking to conserve energy, it wasn’t worth grinding that hard when you have ten miles to go. It was also otherwise a much hillier course than either of the prior two marathons I’ve done and I think if I were to do this again, I’d probably train along the route in NYC for my longer runs or go to Central Park, my usual route is way too flat.
- Two complaints, one is NYRR’s fault and one isn’t. They couldn’t do anything about the weather, which wasn’t great on any level (hot, humid, AND a bit rainy), but they didn’t have cups for a few stations in the middle. I’m salty about this part bc I def hit a wall way earlier than expected, had a bit of a panic bc I knew I had to hydrate often with how hot it was and once I missed my section hydration stop my focus wasn’t on the race. I ended up darting off to a bar to grab a stack of pint cups (sorry, whichever bar this was), left a bunch for others who were waiting for help, and ran with it for about 4 miles until I was able to swap it for a water bottle. I’ve heard from others that they also had issues with gatorade being stocked up but I didn’t see anything like that. My guess is that people were taking more cups out of precaution with the heat, but maybe they should stock up more in case we get another 75 degree day?

Anyway, that complaint aside, it was fantastic, would definitely train a bit differently if I did it again. Ive been thinking this might be a good time to take a break from marathons and focus on improving my time on shorter distances. I’d like to get another WDW Marathon in at some point, was itching to snatch a spot for 2023 until it became increasingly obvious that it might not be a good idea (lol). And 2024 is really not far away, not sure how Ill feel about committing the time to training for something like this starting in 9 months. For now on the RD side I’m definitely doing 2023 Springtime and hoping to hit a DL weekend in 2024 (Star Wars themed please?), we’ll see what happens otherwise.

(By next week I’ll probably change my mind)

 

[steph0808]

On the watch thing, I just bought a Garmin Fenix 6s to replace my at-least-6-years-old-but-probably-8 Forerunner 235. Battery life was terrible, and once in a while, it would shut down randomly and erase that day's data (really messed up my step streak!).

I love the Fenix 6S - HOWEVER - GPS is terrible. The instantaneous pace is terrible as a result (telling me 12 minutes/mile when I'm running 10, etc.), and my runs are measuring short. I did a half marathon on Sunday and it measured at 12.97. I KNOW that is wrong because I've run that race at least 6 times, and I'm always right at 13.1 with my Forerunner 235. I looked at others on Strava and they measured right on or even long.

I'm really not sure what to do. I love the look and the capabilities of the Fenix 6s (the white band and rose gold bezel don't immediately scream smartwatch, and that's nice, because I wear my Garmin for everything), but I have a Garmin for running, and the run tracking is seriously starting to p!$$ me off. And I bought it because I want to start swimming more after Dopey, and now I'm worried that swim tracking (indoors) will be off as well.

I am considering returning it to Amazon, but I'll probably contact Garmin first and see if they had any idea on fixes. But I've read similar problems on the Forerunner 255, so I don't know what to do.

 

[Jillfo]

Another QOTD:

I am going to Anaheim for 8 days next Wednesday for a conference. I’m staying near the convention center (Hampton Inn). Can I run outside there? Any route recommendations?

Yes, I've run in that area several times. Katella Avenue, Harbor Avenue, Disneyland Drive, around the convention center.

 

[jmasgat]

I am considering returning it to Amazon, but I'll probably contact Garmin first and see if they had any idea on fixes. But I've read similar problems on the Forerunner 255, so I don't know what to do.

The GPS chipset on the Fenix 6 is different from the one that is on the 255/955/Fenix 7, and from what DC rainmaker has said, the newer chipset is definitely improved.

@Herding_Cats There is always a temptation to "buy up" thinking that all those added features will be useful. But I think there's enough feature content in the 255, coupled with better battery life and latest GPS chipset. If you were going to spend the money, I would go for that and forget the Fenix 6 or the older X45 models.

 

[Marebear_runs]

Probably a long shot, but does anyone have any experience running Revel Big Bear? I’m doing the half marathon this weekend and it looks like it will be 18 at the top and near 60 at the end. There’s a big snow storm now so I’m worried about slippery conditions at the start too. Has anyone done this race (or maybe another downhill one) where there’s drastically different weather along the way? Im guessing some of the other revel races may have similar issues. I’m planning on some throw away items but figuring out how to dress is breaking my brain!

 

[steph0808]

Decided to break out the 235 again and see what it gave me.

.08 miles, 9 seconds per mile, and 22 feet of elevation difference over the course of a 5-mile run (fenix 6s is the 5.01 run)

I'm going to do 13 tomorrow and will check out the difference then, too! But I'm thinking that jmasgat is right and I need the 255!

 

[DopeyBadger]

Decided to break out the 235 again and see what it gave me.

.08 miles, 9 seconds per mile, and 22 feet of elevation difference over the course of a 5-mile run (fenix 6s is the 5.01 run)

I'm going to do 13 tomorrow and will check out the difference then, too! But I'm thinking that jmasgat is right and I need the 255!

What do the GPS traces look like?

 

[steph0808]

What do the GPS traces look like?

They look very similar. Start/end/turnaround points all in similar locations based on reviewing the satellite view.

Tracing isn't great on either watch (both have me going off into the woods or creek at least once when I definitely didn't leave the trail!)

255 (first photo) shows a more consistent pace than the Fenix (second photo) on the map.

 

[flav]

.08 miles, 9 seconds per mile, and 22 feet of elevation difference over the course of a 5-mile run (fenix 6s is the 5.01 run)

I still don’t understand why two apps (NRC and Strava) on the same phone with the same GPS give a 5% difference… Imagine two different watches

 

[Livelovedance]

Oh wow, I feel like others here do a really good job of covering all the details for their race reports, much better than I could, but I can add some stuff on what I liked and didn’t like about the race:

- The race atmosphere was incredible, I’ve never seen anything like it. You start on the Verrazano Bridge and it takes a few miles to kick in but after that it’s almost a nonstop adrenaline rush. Somewhere in Brooklyn leading up to Williamsburg, I think it was Fort Greene, there was a point where the path narrows and it feels like the crowd is on top of you on both sides, it was wild, and no bottleneck. It happened again at mile 24 in Central Park, a spot where everyone really needed it because obviously at this point we’re all running on fumes.
- If you ever wanted to experience entire blocks of people belting Rihanna songs as you ran by this is the race for you. They said it was the biggest block party in the world and after doing it I have to believe it.
- Also this might sound strange but I was a pile of nerves around finishing and had bought ummmm… quite a bit of merch, and I did not want to be faced with the possibility of having to return that stuff. Same weird feeling I have about buying “I did it” merch before doing it. The gear is very nice, I now have a couple of new long sleeve layers for winter runs and more appropriate running shirts for races. Retiring the generic Under Armour training shirt I’ve used for the last few years that got soaked 30 min into this race.
- I need to talk about the bridges because i KNEW about the bridges, I was worried about the bridges, I went into the city once late in training (I live across the river in Jersey City) to do a bridge route to sort of prep but I wasn’t remotely prepared for it. The run starts with a climb that lasts about a mile, so your legs are already feeling it ten minutes in. The Queensboro bridge was probably just as bad and that one was 14 miles later. At this point everyone was walking to conserve energy, it wasn’t worth grinding that hard when you have ten miles to go. It was also otherwise a much hillier course than either of the prior two marathons I’ve done and I think if I were to do this again, I’d probably train along the route in NYC for my longer runs or go to Central Park, my usual route is way too flat.
- Two complaints, one is NYRR’s fault and one isn’t. They couldn’t do anything about the weather, which wasn’t great on any level (hot, humid, AND a bit rainy), but they didn’t have cups for a few stations in the middle. I’m salty about this part bc I def hit a wall way earlier than expected, had a bit of a panic bc I knew I had to hydrate often with how hot it was and once I missed my section hydration stop my focus wasn’t on the race. I ended up darting off to a bar to grab a stack of pint cups (sorry, whichever bar this was), left a bunch for others who were waiting for help, and ran with it for about 4 miles until I was able to swap it for a water bottle. I’ve heard from others that they also had issues with gatorade being stocked up but I didn’t see anything like that. My guess is that people were taking more cups out of precaution with the heat, but maybe they should stock up more in case we get another 75 degree day?

Anyway, that complaint aside, it was fantastic, would definitely train a bit differently if I did it again. Ive been thinking this might be a good time to take a break from marathons and focus on improving my time on shorter distances. I’d like to get another WDW Marathon in at some point, was itching to snatch a spot for 2023 until it became increasingly obvious that it might not be a good idea (lol). And 2024 is really not far away, not sure how Ill feel about committing the time to training for something like this starting in 9 months. For now on the RD side I’m definitely doing 2023 Springtime and hoping to hit a DL weekend in 2024 (Star Wars themed please?), we’ll see what happens otherwise.

(By next week I’ll probably change my mind)

Thank you for sharing! I’m fascinated by these majors and would love to build up the courage to apply to participate in one. Bucket list item for sure! I wish I knew someone I could run with and participate in a huge race weekend like this with, but at I run/walk and I know that makes it harder to find a running group or partner.

Congratulations on your incredible accomplishment!