The Running Thread - 2018

[FFigawi]

Something I've done in the past is compare percentile finishes from year to year. For example, let's say there were 1700 runners this year and you finished in 800th place.

800/1700 = 47%

Now look at how many people finished in 2017, let's say it was 1950.

1950*0.47 = 917th place (just round if decimal).

Now look through the 2017 results for the runner who finished in 917th place. What time did they finish in?

Let's say your time was 2:20 in 2018 at a 47% finish and the 917th place runner in 2017 was a 2:16 finish. This would lead me to believe that this year's course was about 4 min (or 2.9% (4 min/140 min) more difficult than last year. Do the last 3-4 years and you get a general idea at the baseline time for the percentile finish and the ebbs and flows to more challenging weather condition years from others.

Using this method has a few assumptions:

1) The race course is the same.
2) We assume that the population of runners from 2017 to 2018 is roughly equal. No real good way to prove this one way or another, but as long as there was nothing special differentiating the 2017 pool of runners from the 2018 pool of runners, then in most cases this is a safe assumption.
3) No extenuating circumstances influenced the pools time other than weather. Example, no train crossed the course forcing people to stop or it wasn't black flagged and many entries weren't recorded, etc.

Doing this helps isolate the actual race day conditions as a variable for how difficult the course was from one year to the next.

Geeez. Whatever happened to #NoMathMonday? @Keels will not be pleased.

 

[Keels]

Geeez. Whatever happened to #NoMathMonday? @Keels will not be pleased.

Thanks for the tag.
My brain exploded and now I am dead.
RIP Keels.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Geeez. Whatever happened to #NoMathMonday? @Keels will not be pleased.

Thanks for the tag.
My brain exploded and now I am dead.
RIP Keels.

And here I thought it was #NoMathAnyday!

 

[Sleepless Knight]

Geeez. Whatever happened to #NoMathMonday? @Keels will not be pleased.

Thanks for the tag.
My brain exploded and now I am dead.
RIP Keels.

And here I thought it was #NoMathAnyday!

This reminds me of an old Calvin and Hobbes cartoon in the newspaper where Calvin decides that math is actually a religion and declares himself to be a math atheist so schools can no longer teach him math.

 

[camaker]

Thanks for the tag.
My brain exploded and now I am dead.
RIP Keels.

Wow. I guess the only question left is whether zombie @Keels finally signs up for Dopey and spends it chasing @roxymama trying to eat her brains. My guess is yes, but she is ultimately unsuccessful due to @roxymama’s adrenaline-fueled pace keeping her out in front. All is not lost for zombie @Keels, though, as she is able to sneak up behind @rteetz during his post-race face painting session for a snack.

 

[rteetz]

Wow. I guess the only question left is whether zombie @Keels finally signs up for Dopey and spends it chasing @roxymama trying to eat her brains. My guess is yes, but she is ultimately unsuccessful due to @roxymama’s adrenaline-fueled pace keeping her out in front. All is not lost for zombie @Keels, though, as she is able to sneak up behind @rteetz during his post-race face painting session for a snack.

Great....

 

[Sleepless Knight]

Wow. I guess the only question left is whether zombie @Keels finally signs up for Dopey and spends it chasing @roxymama trying to eat her brains. My guess is yes, but she is ultimately unsuccessful due to @roxymama’s adrenaline-fueled pace keeping her out in front. All is not lost for zombie @Keels, though, as she is able to sneak up behind @rteetz during his post-race face painting session for a snack.

But won't @rteetz be safe from zombie @Keels because he isn't actually doing the post race face painting session?

 

[SarahDisney]

But won't @rteetz be safe from zombie @Keels because he isn't actually doing the post race face painting session?

Don't say such things. We can't let @rteetz think this face painting thing is optional.

 

[Keels]

Don't say such things. We can't let @rteetz think this face painting thing is optional.

Yeah, it's not.

 

[rteetz]

Don't say such things. We can't let @rteetz think this face painting thing is optional.

We shall see about that...

 

[Waiting2goback]

QOTD: Which do you find to suck more, a cold during the winter or summer cold?

ATTQOTD: Summer colds! I'm not supposed to get sick during the summer, so when I have one I am very angry about it! I feel like I could sleep all day and had such high expectations for this week!

On a personal side note I watched my first Star Wars film in theaters this weekend. I dont know why people are so down on Solo as I really enjoyed it! I still need to watch the Last Jedi... Also watched Ratatouille on Sunday and thought it was a good little movie as well.

I'm going with winter. When it's freezing out and you get sick it's already hard enough to stay warm and now you through a cold in top of it.

I probably won't see Solo in the theater, like I didn't do Rogue One in the theater. But yes, Ratatouille is a good movie. When it first came out on DVD my oldest would watch it over and over. I haven't seen it since she grew out of that phase but I remember liking it.

 

[camaker]

Don't say such things. We can't let @rteetz think this face painting thing is optional.

Yeah, it's not.

If we let @rteetz get the idea face painting is optional, @roxymama might start thinking Dopey is optional, too!

 

[rteetz]

If we let @rteetz get the idea face painting is optional, @roxymama might start thinking Dopey is optional, too!

That is definitely not optional for @roxymama

 

[flav]

@LSUlakes could you please add the following:
November 11 - flav - Demi-Marathon des Microbrasseries 21k Bromont (1:59:59 / NA)

 

[Waiting2goback]

 

[SarahDisney]

People who wear actual, dedicated running sunglasses: (I know people have recently mentioned both Goodr and Knockaround, but I'm open to other affordable options)
How's the visibility when the sun is directly in your eyes?
I'm perfectly happy with my sunglasses, except that I run basically directly into the sun on a semi-busy very winding road, and it's hard to see if there are cars coming at me. So while I'm not particularly looking for new sunglasses, if I can find ones that solve the visibility issue, it might be worth it.

 

[FFigawi]

People who wear actual, dedicated running sunglasses: (I know people have recently mentioned both Goodr and Knockaround, but I'm open to other affordable options)
How's the visibility when the sun is directly in your eyes?

I wear ones from Rudy Project and have never noticed an issue running or biking into the sun. The lenses are very easy to change, making it easy to choose different tints or darkness factors based on the outdoor conditions.

 

[KingLlama]

Running randoms....

-That callus came off, and the pain(which I worried was more internal than external) went away with it. Running completely pain free for the first time in a loooooong time.

-Treated myself to new shoes a week ago. As much as I wanted to be adventurous and try something new and exciting, I stuck with the updated Brooks Dyads. They've been my workhorse this whole time, didn't want to fix what wasn't broken.

-Am I stupid for charting out the races I want to do for the next 11 months, and going ahead and creating a weekly training schedule for them? It's pretty amazing how my training schedule includes some shorter races that match EXACTLY the distance I planned on doing for my long run that week anyway. That's a sign, right?

-How comfortable is everyone running alone in unfamiliar cities? I'll be on a work trip in November, and found what looks to be a great route in the city where I'll be(right along the river). But I know zilch about the city, so I'm unsure how safe and runner-friendly it is. It's Milwaukee, so maybe @rteetz can chime in.

-Okay, that's four more things than any of you cared to hear from me today, so I'm out.

 

[LSUlakes]

The post race face painting of @rteetz and @roxymama Dopey run are definitely NOT optional! The only real question regarding this matter is guessing projected finish time and what cool paint job the young man will get. Maybe my 4 year old who loves Disney princess can help out lol. I'm a little out of the loop on this topic, so when its decided when and where the face painting is going to take place, please let me know as I would like to witness to such greatness!

 

[LSUlakes]

QOTD: Summer running topic: Do you use sunscreen to protect your skin during your runs in the summer?

ATTQOTD: I will apply if my run will last past 8:30 AM or start before 5:30 PM. I have already had 2 spots of skin cancer removed and probably have additional spots I need to get checked out soon that are of some concern. I burn easily so I don't mess around with it.