The Running Thread - 2018

[huskies90]

ATQOTD: It depends who I am with and what time of year. Hot weather and with my wife/family, we would skip AK. If I was by myself, I probably would skip MK but I would at least watch the fireworks from my monorail resort.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Attqotd: Animal Kingdom as we’ve had bursts where we don’t visit that park for over a year. We like it but we like the others better.

 

[JulieODC]

Definitely skipping DHS - I felt like we wandered in circles looking for something, ANYTHING to do on our January trip.

 

[LSUlakes]

Fun Friday:

Currently in the process of planning a quick trip for MNSSHP in September, so I’ll cheat a little and say I’d skip Magic Kingdom. I really like doing the after hours party thing at MK with shorter wait times and extra things happening. I’ve also still only been to Pandora once and while Toy Story land doesn’t check all the boxes for me, I’d still like to see it.

I will be there in Septmber for the same reason. Our party date is 9/14. Park days from 9-11 to 9-15. Crowd levels are low!

 

[cburnett11]

ATTQOTD: Hollywood Studios would be skipped. I used to skip AK, but it has grown on me and is a good place to go if it's crowded because there plenty of places to get away from the masses. Hollywood Studios, not so much.

 

[jennamfeo]

ATTFFQOTD: I am going to put them in order of skipping.
1. BYE AK. Once I watched a little boy poop in the dining area right by where we were sitting and the family saw the poop, acted like it wasn't the kid's fault, and then left without doing or saying a thing about it. I mean, that pretty much sums up my feelings on AK.
2. Epcot. I know that DATW is super fun. But the rides are meh. The drink choices can be meh. I'd be okay without always going there.
3. Hollywood Studios. Y'all, three words: TOWER. OF. TERROR. Something I can't ride at Disneyland anymore. Something that I love dearly with all my heart.
4. Magic Kingdom. There is just something so magical about MK & DL that I love. They will both be my favorite parks and if I only had one day with no hopper at either place, it's MK & DL all day.

May Totals:
Miles Ran - 60.7
Total Time - 11:04:44
Average Pace - 10:57/mi
Miles Biked - 26.5
Total Time - 2:05:26
Yards Swam - 3300 yds
Total Time - 1:14:03
PR - 10k: 1:01:51
AG Award - 3rd place in 10k

May included a taper week, a race that kicked my butt, a PR at said race and 3rd place in my AG, and two weeks of recovery that included a lot of biking and swimming. I'm two weeks into my next training cycle that goes until September when my next race is! My weight goals got derailed at the end of May and I want to just blame a super fun Memorial Weekend for that.

 

[Jules76126]

June is going to be mostly a rest month with a trip to Europe. I am scared to think how many pages this thread will grow while I am away!

I am also going to Europe this month for two weeks and I am with you the catch on this thread will be tough

 

[Sleepless Knight]

I meant therapy in that I have learned I do some of my best thinking on the road. I work out my issues and generally, once I am home, I am able to let them go. There is nothing cheap about it.


I go into a race with a, "I'm going to finish this race no matter what" kind of attitude. So when something goes wrong I adjust my expectations on time and just do my best. If you do your best and cross the finish, you can always be proud of yourself.


Thank you. You were one of those first people on that TOT thread supporting my running and I'll never forget it. Thank you!

I think your attitude of finish no matter what is a great one to have. I think it's great to set goals. It's even better to work towards them. And it might be even more important to keep everything in perspective.

I don't think beating yourself up over finishing, but not reaching a desired time goal helps you. It's good to examine what didn't go right and how you can fix it going forward if it's within your control, but keep it all in perspective. If running has helped you become a better person outside of the run, then you already had a very successful race. Even if your time doesn't show that.

ATTQOTD: I would probably skip MK. I love the park, but the original and better version called Disneyland is much closer to home. I would definitely miss things like Mickey's PhilharMagic and yes, Carousel of Progress though.

Plus, this would probably force me to spend an entire day in AK and explore it more plus check out the shows like Finding Nemo that I've threatened to watch each of my last 3 visits to Walt Disney World, but got distracted by other parks instead. There's currently enough Star Wars to hold my interest in Hollywood Studios (and this is before Galaxy's Edge opens), and Epcot is my 2nd favorite Disney park ever behind Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom.

 

[Keels]

I always skip MK. Always.

 

[KSellers88]

May:
115 miles
9:48 Average Pace (easy miles month after my half marathon PR in April)
160 Average HR

ATTQOTD: This will be unpopular, but Epcot. I have just never been a big fan and love some of the rides in the other parks too much to give them up.

 

[kbenson13]

ATTFFQOTD: While I love all 4 parks I'll have to go with the majority here: assuming (a) I had 3 full days (and not partial/travel days) and (b) I didn't have a Park Hopper, I would skip Hollywood Studios. I really love that park but there is still too little to do to make it a whole-day affair. AK is also not a full day affair, but I like more of the rides there so I would pick it over DHS for now. But if I really had 1 full day and 2 partial/travel days, I would probably skip the MK and take a partial at DHS. It's a tough decision but while there is a LOT to do at MK, there are fewer rides that I'd miss not getting to experience.

So is posting monthly mileage a thing around here? I see a lot of people doing it...

 

[jmasgat]

June is going to be mostly a rest month with a trip to Europe.

I am also going to Europe this month for two weeks and I am with you the catch on this thread will be tough

Count me in with the traveling crowd. Heading to Italy on Tuesday for two weeks of cycling, food, wine, hiking. Glad that marathon weekend registration is not til July.

 

[HomeiswhereMickeyis]

ATYQOTD: Always have a backup plan. ...and a backup plan to the backup plan etc.

ATTQOTD: Hollywood Studios. There's no way I could get a full days worth out of that park right now and more importantly there isn't a whole lot of good food there which is a huge priority for me at Disney.

 

[Disney at Heart]

ATTFFQOTD: While I love all 4 parks I'll have to go with the majority here: assuming (a) I had 3 full days (and not partial/travel days) and (b) I didn't have a Park Hopper, I would skip Hollywood Studios. I really love that park but there is still too little to do to make it a whole-day affair. AK is also not a full day affair, but I like more of the rides there so I would pick it over DHS for now. But if I really had 1 full day and 2 partial/travel days, I would probably skip the MK and take a partial at DHS. It's a tough decision but while there is a LOT to do at MK, there are fewer rides that I'd miss not getting to experience.

So is posting monthly mileage a thing around here? I see a lot of people doing it...

ATTQOTD: Yep, I'd skip HS right now because so much is closed and there isn't enough to just "look at." I can't wait for the Pixar area (soon!), Mickey/Minnie ride, and Star Wars to open up, then I might change my mind.

To those who don't like AK ... If you look at number of rides and restaurants only, AK also doesn't have as many as some parks, but I enjoy walking around the paths and watching all the animals, and my favorite show is Festival of the Lion King, so once I ride all the rides, there is so much other stuff to do! And within about the past year, we got a baby elephant, baby gorillas, baby tigers, and baby hippos, so I love that Disney is able to keep the animals coming! Not to mention Pandora! So I love AK.

And yes, posting monthly mileage is a thing. Keeps us accountable! Makes us proud when we've done well, makes us rededicate ourselves for the next month when we've been slack.

May
112.02 miles
19.87 hours
10:38 pace

 

[sylkai]

ATTQOTD: At the moment, Hollywood Studios. Which pains me, but there's just not quite enough there? But after Galaxy's Edge opens this becomes harder. I might say Animal Kingdom except I haven't done Pandora yet and really should explore it more. I've done Epcot a lot but ...I like wandering around the world. And possibly drinking. And Magic Kingdom is just pure happiness, even if I do have a slight preference for Disneyland over it.

Is cheating against the rules? Because I'm totally cheating and adding on Park Hopper. (This is a lie, on my most recent 2 day trip for Star Wars I didn't have Park Hopper and just did Epcot and MK.)

May mileage! Strava says I ran 169.5 miles in 30:57, for an average pace of 10:57. My highest mileage month ever, brings my yearly total so far to 770.9mi.

 

[Miranda]

ATTQOTD: Yep, I'd skip HS right now because so much is closed and there isn't enough to just "look at." I can't wait for the Pixar area (soon!), Mickey/Minnie ride, and Star Wars to open up, then I might change my mind.

To those who don't like AK ... If you look at number of rides and restaurants only, AK also doesn't have as many as some parks, but I enjoy walking around the paths and watching all the animals, and my favorite show is Festival of the Lion King, so once I ride all the rides, there is so much other stuff to do! And within about the past year, we got a baby elephant, baby gorillas, baby tigers, and baby hippos, so I love that Disney is able to keep the animals coming! Not to mention Pandora! So I love AK.

And yes, posting monthly mileage is a thing. Keeps us accountable! Makes us proud when we've done well, makes us rededicate ourselves for the next month when we've been slack.

May
112.02 miles
19.87 hours
10:38 pace

I could spend all day riding the safari and watching the animals in the 2 walking path things, especially the tigers and the gorillas. The only backstage ticket thingy we've done so far has been the Backstage Safari at AK.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

And yes, posting monthly mileage is a thing. Keeps us accountable! Makes us proud when we've done well, makes us rededicate ourselves for the next month when we've been slack.

May
112.02 miles
19.87 hours
10:38 pace

Speaking of keeping ourselves accountable and rededicating ourselves, here are my miles for May.

6.86 miles. That's all. I took a planned running break after getting from back Disney World and Dark Side race weekend and then threw in a few days at Disneyland with my nephews in mid May and then took some time off running to recover from that. This week started with lofty intentions, but very poor execution. Let's see if I can at least finish the week off strong and start the new month off strong.

 

[huskies90]

@LSUlakes please add the following races for me. Thank you!!

4/29/18 - Huskies90 - Cheshire Half Marathon (1:47:00 / 1:49:21) This race was my POT for the Disney Marathon
6/3/18 - Huskies90 - Iron Horse 10K (48:00/TBD) This is my wife's POT race for the Disney Half Marathon and I am running it, too. It is also my first 10K ever so I have no idea how fast I will run it. I also registered as a Clydesdale. Does anyone know if races typically do a weigh in when they have this option? I am teetering around 200 lbs right now down from 206 lbs. I ran so many miles in May (for me), I dropped some weight.

 

[LSUlakes]

So is posting monthly mileage a thing around here? I see a lot of people doing it...

It is a thing. last or first day of the month you can post as much or little detail as you wish. If you swim or bike, you can make a separate line item for those activities as others here do those as well.



BTW: 22.02 Miles for me sigh

 

[r2chewbaccad2]

Ottawa Race Weekend Recap

This year over 33k runners and 200k spectators participated in the biggest multi-distance race event in Canada.

The Ottawa Race Weekend hosts two International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) Gold label events: the Scotiabank Ottawa Marathon and the Ottawa 10K.

Where to stay
Most hotels downtown Ottawa were partners with the organization and had a two nights stay requirement. Because of that, we choose to be 3km away, to park the car and to taxi/Uber for the weekend. I had planned to eat in the room kitchenette on Saturday anyway. And some nice runners offered me a lift to the half Sunday morning!

Expo
Well organized. Every runner was receiving shirts and bibs in a red string backpack. So they were recognizable everywhere in town.

Vendors included all brands of shoes, watches, apparel and many local products and races. No running skirts with pockets though.

Common for all races
I would describe the theme of the weekend as “Very Canadian “.

Shirts and medals for all distances featured a maple leaf The color of the shirts and the size/spinning of the medals varied.

The courses were pretty much flat the entire way. All departed in the same area and had the same 3k finish around the Rideau Canal. That means that the half-marathoners met the full marathoners towards the end.

The supporters were EVERYWHERE along the courses. The medical staff and patrols were also continuously present. Super energy, thanks to all!

The food given at the end included a bagel, a protein bar, a banana, ketchup chips and a juice box. There was beer coupons attached to my bib but I did not use them.

Photo package are available for purchase.

Fortunately, the forecasted thunderstorms never happened and the weather was ideal for running over the entire weekend with mostly grey skies, relatively low humidity and cool temperatures.

And, personally, I did the warmup and cool down routines that we so conveniently discussed in this thread for all my races!

Challenges
Two challenges were offered:

The Voyageur Challenge (like a Canadian explorer in his canoe with a traditional knitted belt): 5k+10k+halfMarathon

The Lumberjack Challenge (like a lumberjack going in Canadian woods with his axe and checkered shirt): 2k+5k+10k+Marathon

The price of a Challenge equalled the sum of its parts but provided some extras: A long sleeve tech shirt, a medal, separate bag check, opened corral choice, bragging rights and multiple fun occasions.

I choose to run the Voyageur Challenge so my medal is a canoe paddle. Here are my swag and bling:

View attachment 325577

5k

I arrived early to familiarize myself with the surroundings. I witnessed the start of the 2k full of families. I saw many arriving by bike and checking them in/out. I found real bathrooms and air conditioning in the Ottawa City Hall (super important when running a challenge). I checked-in my stuff for the next race.

I was going to push that race so, after my warmup, I took place in the first corral. And at 4PM, I ran my race!

PR at 00:24:52.8

It was my first officially timed 5k race without my DD10 so I had based my goal on my Nike App best 5k was (24:51) but that doesn’t take tangents into account. For equal comparison my Nike App now tells me that I crushed this and my new unofficial best 5k is 24:45. So it is a real PR and I am so so proud of it! I am in the 9% overall, 4% women and 3% age category. What a great confidence and self-image boost!

10k
During the two hours between the races, I had to get my medal, pickup the provided food, take a few pictures, get my bag, wash-up and change clothes in the bathroom, drink, eat, stretch, charge my phone (just in case), rest, check my bag and warmup.

My goal was also to push that race so I got behind the 50min bunny in the second corral. There was a bit of crowding at the beginning and I got a few elbows but the all came with (Very Canadian) apologies.

I got into the rhythm and everything was going peachy until I fell during the 5th km. I did not get hurt and continued running right away but, the rhythm was broken, I slowly ate into my buffer and finished in 00:56:58.2. I have to learn from this and find a “recovery from when something goes wrong “ strategy.

Half
New morning, new race day!

I was already getting alerts that one my friend running the marathon had started and was doing well. That set a positive mood.

My goal for the half was to run a conservative pace and have fun... I wanted to leave the weekend happy. Had I wanted to run that one fast, I would not have registered to a challenge.

So I lined up behind Ruben the 2h10 continuous pace bunny and talked with my fourth corral neighbour Wonder Woman.

I followed that bunny for half the race, walking the water and electrolyte stations and catching-up when needed. The mid-race fruits, chews and sponges stations put some distance between us as planned.

I took the time to take a few pictures when it was nice, to high five some kids, to read the supporters signs and by the time we merged with the marathoners, I had a smile that I kept until the end.

@LSUlakes thanks for updating my goal/results:

26 - flav - Ottawa 5k (24:5x / 24:53)PR
26 - flav - Ottawa 10k (54:50 / 56:59)
27 - flav - Ottawa Half Marathon (2:25:00 / 2:15:20)PR

Overall Challenge placement is in the first third overall and the first fifth women and age category wise.

The next morning
I woke up Monday morning and assessed soreness, energy and satisfaction levels. I asked myself... Could I go slowly run a Marathon now with the proper training? Well, yes. So Dopey is not out of the question one day, oups.

Ottawa Race Weekend Recap

This year over 33k runners and 200k spectators participated in the biggest multi-distance race event in Canada.

The Ottawa Race Weekend hosts two International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) Gold label events: the Scotiabank Ottawa Marathon and the Ottawa 10K.

Where to stay
Most hotels downtown Ottawa were partners with the organization and had a two nights stay requirement. Because of that, we choose to be 3km away, to park the car and to taxi/Uber for the weekend. I had planned to eat in the room kitchenette on Saturday anyway. And some nice runners offered me a lift to the half Sunday morning!

Expo
Well organized. Every runner was receiving shirts and bibs in a red string backpack. So they were recognizable everywhere in town.

Vendors included all brands of shoes, watches, apparel and many local products and races. No running skirts with pockets though.

Common for all races
I would describe the theme of the weekend as “Very Canadian “.

Shirts and medals for all distances featured a maple leaf The color of the shirts and the size/spinning of the medals varied.

The courses were pretty much flat the entire way. All departed in the same area and had the same 3k finish around the Rideau Canal. That means that the half-marathoners met the full marathoners towards the end.

The supporters were EVERYWHERE along the courses. The medical staff and patrols were also continuously present. Super energy, thanks to all!

The food given at the end included a bagel, a protein bar, a banana, ketchup chips and a juice box. There was beer coupons attached to my bib but I did not use them.

Photo package are available for purchase.

Fortunately, the forecasted thunderstorms never happened and the weather was ideal for running over the entire weekend with mostly grey skies, relatively low humidity and cool temperatures.

And, personally, I did the warmup and cool down routines that we so conveniently discussed in this thread for all my races!

Challenges
Two challenges were offered:

The Voyageur Challenge (like a Canadian explorer in his canoe with a traditional knitted belt): 5k+10k+halfMarathon

The Lumberjack Challenge (like a lumberjack going in Canadian woods with his axe and checkered shirt): 2k+5k+10k+Marathon

The price of a Challenge equalled the sum of its parts but provided some extras: A long sleeve tech shirt, a medal, separate bag check, opened corral choice, bragging rights and multiple fun occasions.

I choose to run the Voyageur Challenge so my medal is a canoe paddle. Here are my swag and bling:

View attachment 325577

5k

I arrived early to familiarize myself with the surroundings. I witnessed the start of the 2k full of families. I saw many arriving by bike and checking them in/out. I found real bathrooms and air conditioning in the Ottawa City Hall (super important when running a challenge). I checked-in my stuff for the next race.

I was going to push that race so, after my warmup, I took place in the first corral. And at 4PM, I ran my race!

PR at 00:24:52.8

It was my first officially timed 5k race without my DD10 so I had based my goal on my Nike App best 5k was (24:51) but that doesn’t take tangents into account. For equal comparison my Nike App now tells me that I crushed this and my new unofficial best 5k is 24:45. So it is a real PR and I am so so proud of it! I am in the 9% overall, 4% women and 3% age category. What a great confidence and self-image boost!

10k
During the two hours between the races, I had to get my medal, pickup the provided food, take a few pictures, get my bag, wash-up and change clothes in the bathroom, drink, eat, stretch, charge my phone (just in case), rest, check my bag and warmup.

My goal was also to push that race so I got behind the 50min bunny in the second corral. There was a bit of crowding at the beginning and I got a few elbows but the all came with (Very Canadian) apologies.

I got into the rhythm and everything was going peachy until I fell during the 5th km. I did not get hurt and continued running right away but, the rhythm was broken, I slowly ate into my buffer and finished in 00:56:58.2. I have to learn from this and find a “recovery from when something goes wrong “ strategy.

Half
New morning, new race day!

I was already getting alerts that one my friend running the marathon had started and was doing well. That set a positive mood.

My goal for the half was to run a conservative pace and have fun... I wanted to leave the weekend happy. Had I wanted to run that one fast, I would not have registered to a challenge.

So I lined up behind Ruben the 2h10 continuous pace bunny and talked with my fourth corral neighbour Wonder Woman.

I followed that bunny for half the race, walking the water and electrolyte stations and catching-up when needed. The mid-race fruits, chews and sponges stations put some distance between us as planned.

I took the time to take a few pictures when it was nice, to high five some kids, to read the supporters signs and by the time we merged with the marathoners, I had a smile that I kept until the end.

@LSUlakes thanks for updating my goal/results:

26 - flav - Ottawa 5k (24:5x / 24:53)PR
26 - flav - Ottawa 10k (54:50 / 56:59)
27 - flav - Ottawa Half Marathon (2:25:00 / 2:15:20)PR

Overall Challenge placement is in the first third overall and the first fifth women and age category wise.

The next morning
I woke up Monday morning and assessed soreness, energy and satisfaction levels. I asked myself... Could I go slowly run a Marathon now with the proper training? Well, yes. So Dopey is not out of the question one day, oups.

I too ran the Ottawa half last weekend. I was stuck in the middle of/behind the very large 2:15 pace group along the narrow path beside the beautiful Rideau canal. When I got the chance, I skipped a walk break to stay ahead of the group. I was on a PR pace for the first 10 miles but ultimately couldn't maintain it. I finished at 2:14:22. It was a beautiful course in a beautiful city, with lots of crowd support. We actually ran in 2 Canadian provinces, Ontario and Quebec.

I thought I was the only Californian who ran this race, but this morning on my run through Sausalito, CA, I saw a biker wearing the red and white Ottawa marathon shirt. Small world!