The Running Thread - 2020

[DopeyBadger]

Question: How do you all determine how much improvement is reasonable? I feel like there is a rule of thumb on how much mileage to add a week so you can calculate backwards to determine how long it will take to get to a distance, but I am unaware of any analogous speed calculation. I can imagine that taking a minute off a time is easier for slower speeds, is there a percentage improvement one could expect? Is this all just silly?

Depends on how long you've been training for, what kind of training you've done in the past, and what training you plan to do in the future. And whether the final assessment on whether something "worked/improved" is based off a single race with uncontrollable variables (mainly weather). A Hansons video I watched back in 2015:

If you're doing things right, and it's early in your training journey, then the hope is to see something on the order of 2-5% improvement. The more/longer you've been training though (regardless of your pace) the harder the gains come.

 

[FawnJD]

ATTQOTD: I'm running the Marathon this weekend!

Question: How do you all determine how much improvement is reasonable? I feel like there is a rule of thumb on how much mileage to add a week so you can calculate backwards to determine how long it will take to get to a distance, but I am unaware of any analogous speed calculation. I can imagine that taking a minute off a time is easier for slower speeds, is there a percentage improvement one could expect? Is this all just silly?

I'm also interested in this question!

 

[Professor_Cookie]

Attqotd; not for me, I cancelled and it was the right decision financially and we may be looking at a condo we can actually afford here tomorrow, that and the film fest starts in 2.5 weeks so I have to start organizing that when I can.

ETA- I was followed by Mike McKnight, winner of the Triple Crown of 200 milers today. Stoked.

 

[surfde22]

QOTD: Which of you lucky folks are heading to WDW for marathon weekend and what races are you running?

No Marathon for me this year. Hoping to convince my wife let me go for Dopey 10 in 2023. We're planning a trip for October, and my wife isn't the type to go multiple times in a year. She says it will be a few years before we take our son again, but I don't think she realizes the WDW 50th anniversary is next year, so we'll definitely be going sooner than she thinks. Then I hope to convince her to let me run Dopey in 2023, even if that means a solo trip for me.

 

[Chasing Dopey]

ATTQOTD: MO... Just plain missing out. Although the temps don't look great this year. My sister and brother in law are heading in tomorrow for Dopey, so I'll be living vicariously through them! BEST OF LUCK TO EVERYONE!

I'm been away from the boards for a while, and wanted to take part more this year. I hate to come in and drop a bomb, but I do want to know what folks here think about Club runDisney. The reaction elsewhere has been... strong.
https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...-to-every-mile-by-introducing-club-rundisney/

 

[Dopey 2020]

QOTD: Which of you lucky folks are heading to WDW for marathon weekend and what races are you running?

DW and I will be on the first flight out in the morning and heading to AKL and then the expo to kick off my first Dopey!

 

[mtnmjd]

ATTQOD: Seriously bumming about not going this year. Did my first Dopey last year and loved every single second of it. (Well maybe not those wake up calls).

Good luck to all those running this week!!! Have a great time. Especially to those running their first fulls and first Dopeys (first of any distance for that matter) you've got this! Trust your training!

 

[ANIM8R]

QOTD: Which of you lucky folks are heading to WDW for marathon weekend and what races are you running?

No MW for me...so that means one less Perfectly Dopey. So bummed.
Already suffering from FOMO. This will be a tough week...I may have to stay away from these boards. No, that's not going to happen - I'll just experience it vicariously through everybody else! Good luck runners! Stay well.

 

[Chaitali]

No marathon weekend for me this year since we're doing Star Wars instead. But I look forward to hearing about it from everyone and living vicariously through everyone who's there

The Club RunDisney thing is so weird. The prices are really high, and if I'm reading it right, it doesn't include any race registration fees, right? I hope that the priority corral placement just means that they'll get put in the first non-POT corral.

 

[Bree]

Running Goofy with the Goof Troop Roving Road Party (TM)!!!!!

I am going to the expo sometime tomorrow for bib pick up though. I have appointments on Thursday and need to do some house remodel stuff Friday morning and don’t want to miss the Dis meetup at HH!

I might sell fake cheese to runners to raise money for Club Disney so I can have that special bib and make people wonder if I paid for my corral. If it wasn’t going to be so dang hot I could have pedaled Mylar blankets on race mornings too. (All sarcasm, BTW)

 

[JulieODC]

Running my first marathon this weekend!

 

[Novatrix]

ATTQOTD: Skipping this year mostly because I wanted to save vacation days for Star Wars and partly because by going a week later I could experience festival of the arts. Ended up working out fantastically, since training work wanted to send me for will be later that week so I get 9 days in Fl for one vacation day! (Only found out 3 weeks ago, so was ecstatic.)

Rooting all you racers on, whether you're doing the 5k, 10k, half or full. Not those Goofy and Dopey people, though. They're beyond hope.

 

[flav]

ATTQOTD: We are installed for MW! I run Dopey and my DD12 runs the 5k and 10k with me.

 

[Smilelea]

No MW for me either this year. Lots of FOMO going on, though.
My next runDisney is W&D And then probably nothing until MW 2022.

Looking forward to hearing about everyone’s experiences these next few days and seeing pictures! Good luck to everyone!

 

[PrincessMickey]

ATTQOTD: Goals: My main goal is it be more consistent. I didn't run as much as I wanted to during the summer so fall didn't start off as planned.

ATTQOTD: Run time: Currently I work nights so I usually run when I wake up around 3pm, mornings for me but afternoons for everyone else. During the summer I would try to run in the morning when I got off work but that didn't always go well as I would have to wait a bit for the sun to come up and then I wouldn't be motivated to go back out the door. Next week I change shifts for the year moving to swing shift so I'm hoping to run around 9 or 10 in the morning before work. I run outside and hate to run in the dark so hopefully this will work for me.

ATTQOTD: MW: No marathon weekend for me so I will be fomoing from the couch with my wine while trying to keep up with the text group.

 

[JClimacus]

ATTQOTD: No MW for me, but I'm now considering Wine and Dine 2020

I've been away from this board for a long time. Since Fall 2017 I've been dealing with arthritis and the possibility that my running career was over. Hanging around this board just made me depressed - not because of the people here, who are great, but because I was facing never being able to join in.

My last runDisney event was Star Wars Darkside 2018. I ran the half in a lot of pain and hobbling because of the arthritis (in my right hip and left knee.) Since then, through a lot of trial and experimentation, I've found I can still run if I manage things right. Gone are the 40 miles/week training schedules. But if I restrict myself to 20 miles/week or less, the joints seem to cooperate. I make up the training with a lot of time on the elliptical. My typical week is now:

Tuesday: 1 hour on elliptical
Wednesday: 1 hour on elliptical and 4 mile run
Thursday: 1 hour on elliptical
Saturday: 1 hour on elliptical and 8 mile run
Sunday: 1 hour on elliptical and 6 mile run

I've changed my running style so I land on my forefoot and absorb the shock with my quads instead of my joints. The elliptical is a great quad workout and they are now much stronger than they've ever been.

One of the pleasant things I discovered is that it is the cumulative mileage that leads to joint pain, not the length of any individual run (at least for me). If I ran five miles five times a week, I'd soon be in a lot of pain even running a 5k. But I could do ten mile runs without pain as long as I kept the weekly mileage under 20. I've run two half marathons over the last couple of months using this approach, and finished both without joint pain - my first half marathons since Star Wars 2018. I even ran the second one pretty fast (1:48), which isn't that much slower than when I was running 40 or 50 miles/week. There are no PRs in my future, but I'm so happy I can still join in on the fun. Life without running was looking bleak.

I know I'm on borrowed time because arthritis is progressive, but I've still got some miles in the old bones. Anyone else learning to deal with arthritis - it isn't necessarily the end of your running world. There are ways you might be able to work around it.

And I just heard yesterday my son and his friend are planning on Wine and Dine 2020. I've never done that weekend, so I'm thinking about it...

 

[LSUlakes]

Hi all! New here, but not to RunDisney! Wanted to jump in before the year totally takes off!

ATTQOTD1: Health goal is to remain healthy and not get injured. Running goal...do my first full marathon and do it sub-4 hours in March and get a BQ time in September.
ATTQOTD2: Early morning always. My run team works out at 6am. Also, my work schedule can be unpredictable so I can't rely on evening availability and energy!
ATTQOD3: Sadly no marathon week for me, but I'll be there for Princess and Star Wars!

Welcome to the thread! Hope you enjoy our little piece of the disboards and we look forward to your answers and discussions!

 

[LSUlakes]

QOTD: So most folks go with some sort of rule on how many miles on a pair of shoes before they get a new pair. The numbers range depending on the individual. Today I wanted to ask another shoe life question. Regardless of miles on the shoes, how old would you let a pair of shoes get before you get new ones? Would you answer change if you had a certain % of miles on them plus age?

ATTQOTD: I asked this as I have a pair of shoes that are about 2/3 of the way done mile wise, but the shoes are almost two years old. Also I was 25-30 lbs lighter when I first used them. (Yes I gained a LOT OF WEIGHT!!!!) I've done two runs this week or .75 miles and 2 miles and my shins are acting crazy. My thought is the shoe could be the problem but it is probably more to do with running again and its just my shins are sore. I think I could eliminate one variable by getting a new pair which would probably be better suited for my current weight and more of a trainer type shoe. I've also been told that overtime, even if the shoe has not been used, the material breaks down some... or in a way that they do not perform as intended. Curious about everyones thoughts.

 

[JClimacus]

ATTQOTD: "Eliminating a variable" seems a smart thing to do. When it comes to running and injuries, better not to take the chance. That said, I have Hokas that are a few years old without much mileage on them and I use them occasionally. They don't appear to have deteriorated, but that's an entirely subjective impression.

 

[FFigawi]

QOTD: So most folks go with some sort of rule on how many miles on a pair of shoes before they get a new pair. The numbers range depending on the individual. Today I wanted to ask another shoe life question. Regardless of miles on the shoes, how old would you let a pair of shoes get before you get new ones? Would you answer change if you had a certain % of miles on them plus age?

I keep my active shoes for some combination of 6-9 months and 350-400 miles. My inactive ones, like my old racing flats for example, I'll keep longer because they don't get much wear or use on a regular basis. I have never seen any science to prove this, but I feel like the foam in my shoes loses some of its shock absorption and bounce after a while.