The Running Thread - 2019

[KingLlama]

I swear to goodness I'm not a stalker but I was thinking the other day that you were such a funny guy and you seemed to have disappeared. I'm glad you are back! Go get 'em, almost everybody here has started over at some point.

If we're being honest, this sounds EXACTLY like what a stalker would say.

 

[avondale]

Hey @roxymana.....I've got a distance for you. Come down to DC/Northern Virginia and run the Marine Corps 17.75k with me in the Spring.
Bonus perk=running it gets you automatically into the Marine Corps Marathon.

That isn't an easy race - talk about hills! I did that for my MCM entry in 2017. I hadn't even thought about the fact that new distance = new PR at the time.

 

[avondale]

Mid-Mountain Marathon race report.

The good-did my first marathon in a decade. It’s beautiful(which is one of the reasons why I live here), and ITS OVER!

The bad-I barely finished and I am dropping out of the 50 miler in November. I don’t see any reason to press ahead with it, when I doubt I’ll finish. I don’t even care to drop back to the 50 or 30k either. I can start running shorter distances with my partner and our daughter and swap out the long runs for hikes with them and put more time into strength training and diet for now. I have also found myself getting short tempered at work, which is not something I am known for.

Anywho, to my abbreviated race report. As the race started we headed away from the Mid Mountain trail which we were pointed directly at, and on to a road. We made about a mile paved loop around Silver Lake Village in deer valley to thin out the herd before we hit the single track.

About 10 miles in I felt great, and fought off the thought that I might even pr versus my road marathon. At mile 14 the dream slipped away, and as I passed the course cut off my time that I thought would probably finish in slipped ways as well. I barely made it over the finish line at 7:00:38. My feet and ankles felt like they were gonna explode.

The final aid station at the top of the bobsled run was handing out ice water soaked bandanas, which temporarily dulled my pain, but as I began the final short climb my mind drifted back to how I wished I was done.

I would like to say I am disappointed in myself, but about 2 years ago when I started my business I said I would revisit the marathon at WDW. Well, we had a surprise baby last year. My business failed this year, and I cancelled the WDW marathon trip for next year...but I completed the trail marathon, we head to DL in less than 4 weeks, and am making a whole lot more money at my real job than ever before and will only see more when the third restaurant comes online next year, so silver linings all around. Except that I have also gutted our budget to be more responsible adults, so, I guess...aluminum linings all around. I think we are doing great for two people who were various times in our lives were not expected to live too much longer.

View attachment 427331
Photo of me near the finish line at the Utah Olympic Park.View attachment 427332
Bonus babby photo.View attachment 427333
The medals for the trail series this summer Voltron themselves together.View attachment 427334View attachment 427335
The trail series also came with a sweet soft shell coat. I am telling myself now that I won’t run it next year, but if I did they just sew the new year on it, so you don’t buy a new one. It will come in handy this winter since I have been wanting to buy a new soft shell, even though the old one doesn’t need replacing.

I didn’t take any pictures, as I was busy trying to stay ahead of pace and then trying to just finish upright. At any rate since I had run all but 2 miles of it in training runs I had taken pictures then.

Note-claimed elevation gain for the race was 3800 feet. I told a coworker that “unless there is 2000 feet on that 2 miles I haven’t run, it ain’t 3800 feet.” Strava is claiming 2300 and garmin 2800. So lies, lies, lies all around.

Way to stick with it and finish. 2300, 2800, or 3800 feet...I wouldn't have been upright at the end of 26 miles of that! You always amaze me with how you casually eat up the elevation gains that I wouldn't even consider racing on.

 

[Professor_Cookie]

Way to stick with it and finish. 2300, 2800, or 3800 feet...I wouldn't have been upright at the end of 26 miles of that! You always amaze me with how you casually eat up the elevation gains that I wouldn't even consider racing on.

Thanks! What amazed me is I was behind someone who had flown up from Tampa a day or two earlier. Her lungs had to have been about to explode since the average altitude was 8200 feet.

ETA-there was a dude running in blue plastic flip flops. I remember passing by a strap on the ground with about 3 miles to go imagining how is feet felt and how possibly bloody they were from the rocks.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

Welcome back and thank you for the honest post.

Do not forget: we are all in this together. Define we and all and together however it works for you.

That's why I love this community. We're not afraid to be honest about our struggles. Speaking for myself, I know I can share my running struggles here and get the kind of response I need. Sometimes I need a swift kick in the rear. Other times I need a keep holding on. They can vary.

I've realized recently that I need to figure out what the next step is for me in running. The more I think about it, the more it comes down to a where do I go from here. Maybe part of my issue is that a nasty summer cold necessitated modifying a goal race this coming September to just get through the race and move on to Dopey next year. For whatever reason, I just feel listless in running right now. I have one race in September, then Dopey in January, and Star Wars Rival Run next April. But after that I'm not sure if I want to continue.

That said, I should continue. The only thing that consistently gets me to exercise is the "threat" of a race. A race helps me destroy all the excuses as to why I should skip exercising that day.

I appreciate this thread and community because these thoughts have helped me to figure out my current malaise. I think some of it deals with me needing to decide what comes next. Not in a bad way, but now that I have finished a marathoner, I need to reevaluate what I want out of this. I've accomplished so many things in running that I once believed were impossible. I need to either find a new running goal or make peace with where I'm at and appreciate it for what it is.

 

[Kazrak]

I had stayed away from this thread because it just kind of stung, you know? I didn't feel like reading about everyone's races, progress, etc. But over time I realized that I need this thread again. So that's why I'm back.

If you read all of this, bless your heart.

Welcome back.

Welcome back and thank you for the honest post.

Do not forget: we are all in this together. Define we and all and together however it works for you.

Preach.

I'm good with everyone, except people who love Duffy. They're out.

I gotta say - I have no idea whatsoever what the appeal of Duffy is. I don't object to people liking him, but...really, I just don't get it.

That said, I should continue. The only thing that consistently gets me to exercise is the "threat" of a race. A race helps me destroy all the excuses as to why I should skip exercising that day.

I've seen what happens to my running if I don't have a race pending.

If you follow my journal, there's entries like "Monday: C25K week 3 with younger son, slow." Slow means running pace around 13:30, average pace around 16:00. Because that's about what younger son can manage.

If I'm not planning on a race, that's all I do. Three days a week of coasting on early C25K cycles. Maybe 30 minutes of running a week.

This is why I'm planning 3 WDW half marathons next year. (Okay, it's why I'm planning two of them. The third is because my daughter's running that one and I'm going with her.)

I appreciate this thread and community because these thoughts have helped me to figure out my current malaise. I think some of it deals with me needing to decide what comes next. Not in a bad way, but now that I have finished a marathoner, I need to reevaluate what I want out of this. I've accomplished so many things in running that I once believed were impossible. I need to either find a new running goal or make peace with where I'm at and appreciate it for what it is.

I came here initially to see what was going on with the virtual queue for SWRR2019 registration, but the people are why I stayed. I managed a PoT-level corral for SWRR, with the people here cheering me on virtually.

Now...I'm not saying a full marathon is in my near future. But it's not completely out of the picture either.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

I gotta say - I have no idea whatsoever what the appeal of Duffy is. I don't object to people liking him, but...really, I just don't get it.

I always referred to him as Duffy the Invisible Disney Bear since he was never at the dedicated meet and greet that was set up for him in Disney California Adventure. I think Disney misread his popularity in Tokyo as something that would translate in the U.S. Unlike say Chip and Dale, there is not an established backstory that tells guests who Duffy is.

This is why I'm planning 3 WDW half marathons next year.

Ironically enough, I went from contemplating retiring from racing following the cancellation of 2018 runDisney events in California to Dopey as part of my first marathon. It was an unusual journey to say the least.

Now...I'm not saying a full marathon is in my near future. But it's not completely out of the picture either.

I spent years assuring people that I would never run a marathon for a variety of reasons. It took time and a variety of different race and training experiences to break down the mental barrier to attempting the marathon. I respect any runner who concludes that they never want to sign up for the marathon and finds their bliss in running whatever distance they choose. And if they do decide to tackle the marathon, I'm more than happy to encourage, cheer, and offer what I learned from that process. It's very much an individual decision.

 

[Kazrak]

I spent years assuring people that I would never run a marathon for a variety of reasons. It took time and a variety of different race and training experiences to break down the mental barrier to attempting the marathon. I respect any runner who concludes that they never want to sign up for the marathon and finds their bliss in running whatever distance they choose. And if they do decide to tackle the marathon, I'm more than happy to encourage, cheer, and offer what I learned from that process. It's very much an individual decision.

I need to get through a half marathon at pace before I can consider a full. My last two halfs were 'my leg muscles started twitching at 10 miles' and 'Star Wars Half that involved half an hour of pauses for photos'.

I've got a local half planned for New Year's Eve, and I'm not really worried about photos for Princess Half next year. I should be able to get a solid run from one of them.

 

[Dis5150]

Alright, so here we go.

I have intentionally stayed away from this thread for several months. I had run several races over the past three years, and lost around 90 pounds in the process. I finished the Dark Side Half last year, but just barely (cramps). Decided I'd never do another half, or at least not until I got the cramps situation figured out. Kept running, primarily 5's and 10's, with no issues. Signed up for another half this past Spring. Trained okay for it, with minimal cramping issues. Was having the race of my LIFE until Mile 9, when everything flared back up again. Essentially had to walk the last three miles. That race depleted me like nothing else. I sat for 30 minutes on a bleacher afterwards, unable to move or even lift my head. It was brutal.

Additionally, about 50 yards from the finish line, a guy who I'd seen throughout the race (we were going at nearly exactly the same pace) collapsed in cardiac arrest. I didn't know until several days later that he'd actually survived, thankfully. But that image, and the images of people scrambling over the rails to get to him, have haunted me ever since.

So I just stopped running. Didn't do anything for about three months. Not only was I still a bit shaken by that whole experience, but my calf muscles still felt very weak. I also realized that all the training for the half had really warped my eating habits, so I actually GAINED weight through that whole experience. And now, without any running/walking at all, it got even worse.

It's been four months now, and I'm ready to lace them back up. I'm done with half marathons, and I'm okay with that. I don't have anything to prove. I'm perfectly fine with doing 5's and 10's the rest of my life, and focusing on fitness, not on medals. I "ran" a local one-mile fun run two weeks ago, and while I was slow as molasses, it felt good just to cross a finish line again.

Tonight, I start my training plan again. I'm starting from scratch, training for a 5k in November. I could probably run the thing tomorrow, but I need to fall in love with running again, so I'm starting at square one. Baby steps, and hopefully having a more balanced view of the whole thing.

I had stayed away from this thread because it just kind of stung, you know? I didn't feel like reading about everyone's races, progress, etc. But over time I realized that I need this thread again. So that's why I'm back.

If you read all of this, bless your heart.

I completely understand. I'm glad you are back. I just signed on today for the first time in I don't know how long. I haven't run a step since Dark Side back in April and feel like such a failure. I have all my medals hanging in my office at work where I see them every day and think that I am not even that same person anymore...

Hoping to get back to running next month sometime. I still plan to run the Little Rock Marathon but will drop back to the half if I can't get up to speed in time in my training.

I stopped coming here and reading because it makes me feel guilty and like I am making excuses for not running but honestly my life is just too busy right now. But I feel like you guys are all real friends and I've missed ya! I will try to be better about checking in here, whether I am running or not.

 

[steph0808]

116 days.

That is how long my run streak lasted. I experienced some left hamstring tightness/soreness during my one mile run on Monday and decided to pull the plug on my streak and treat yesterday as a no-run day.

I had been thinking about ending it for a week or so, after my last race of the summer occurred earlier this month, and the hamstring soreness reaffirmed my belief that I need to focus on quality over quantity (though really I was adding three 1-mile runs/week to my plan, so not a ton).

But my body was done with that streak, so it is over. I'm surprisingly chill about the whole thing.

I am going to continue to try to hit my step goal (7500) on days that I don't run, so that streak is still going, as of now!

With the kids back to school and daycare on a regular schedule now, I am also going to get back to strength training and eating healthier!

Total Days: 116
Total Mileage: 372.87
Total Time: 62 hours 59 minutes 25 seconds

 

[huskies90]

I also realized that all the training for the half had really warped my eating habits, so I actually GAINED weight

This is actually a topic I was going to bring up here because I experienced the same thing training for the marathon last January. I was eating quite a bit during training (I was hungry all the time!!) and then when the miles started to drop after the race, it felt like my body kept storing fat in anticipation of the long miles. I definitely gained weight thru the Spring and it felt like I could no longer just outrun my fork like I always could in the past. I had to radically change my diet this Summer and do more rigorous strength training adding muscle to burn the excess fat. Now I am actually in better shape than I was at this time last year. Marathon training for Dopey starts for me in a few weeks. How do you all manage the food intake vs the miles run in training and then what is the best way to avoid gaining weight post race come next January?

 

[TheHamm]

WHAT IS YOUR NEXT RUNNING EVENT, WHEN IS IT, AND WHY ARE YOU RUNNING IT?

I'm late to answer, thank you for your patience.
My next registered event is Wine and Dine. I am running it because I have a Disney problem and I thought I would be able to sneak in a trip without the family and run near (not with) a girl friend. Now it is a family trip with DH and Kids races.

I am holding off on registering for a September race. Originally it was due to family conflicts, but now that those are sorted, I am having a hip issue. I've taken a week off running and it does not feel better, but I am at a loss as to what else to do. It does not hurt during running, but definitely after. Other than take it easy another week and do more yoga, I have no plan. Blerg.

 

[PrincessV]

How do you all manage the food intake vs the miles run in training and then what is the best way to avoid gaining weight post race come next January?

I gain weight following my marathon every year - only a few pounds, but I do feel like my body is stuck in an assumption that we'll still be putting in big miles and needs to hang on to every crumb. I don't generally care enough to do anything about it until mid-summer, for some reason, so I have no advice on that.

During marathon training, and especially Dopey training, I track calories in and out - left to appetite alone, I won't take in enough calories to fuel the extra running. Tracking what I burn helps me remember to load more calories in.

 

[dis_or_dat]

I also gain weight during training - probably about 3-5 lbs. But my diet is pretty atrocious. I usually eat a healthy dinner with the kids (role model!) around 5:30pm and then after they go to bed, I'll get a second dinner of In-n-Out/Taco Bell/Shake Shack.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

I need to get through a half marathon at pace before I can consider a full. My last two halfs were 'my leg muscles started twitching at 10 miles' and 'Star Wars Half that involved half an hour of pauses for photos'.

I understand that. One of my barriers to the marathon was discovering how much I really "hated" running around mile 10 or 11 of my long runs while training for the half. I could "tolerate" it for a couple more miles, but why on earth would I even attempt to tolerate for another half marathon? All at once?

I'm not really sure why it went away, but in my training runs for Dark Side 2018, I found that "hatred" had dissipated and after Dark Side 2018, I realized that it was now or never for the marathon.

Now I also strongly advocate that you listen to your body in terms of if and when a runner decides to tackle the marathon. I hemmed and hawed about signing up for my first half marathon before my little sister finally forced me to register because she wanted to run a half as well. I spent much of that first training cycle reminding myself that I chose to sign up for this and I should not blame my little sister. Truth be told, she kept bugging me to register because I told her I wanted to run the Disneyland Half. So it wasn't her fault at all. But I also knew that for the marathon, I had to register entirely because I wanted it for myself.

Now because I ran the marathon when I was ready to, I believe I had a much better experience.

 

[IamTrike]

I usually struggle with my weight. Even when training fairly high milage I found that my weight is static at best. I think it's a combination of two things.

1. Running makes me hungry and thirsty (it's really easy to drink a lot of empty calories) .
2. I tend to overestimate the impact of the calories that I've burned and allow myself to eat poorly after long runs

I have to be fairly diligent about what I eat and drink ( even running 30-40 miles a week) if I want to lose weight when I'm running.

 

[KingLlama]

I also gain weight during training - probably about 3-5 lbs. But my diet is pretty atrocious. I usually eat a healthy dinner with the kids (role model!) around 5:30pm and then after they go to bed, I'll get a second dinner of In-n-Out/Taco Bell/Shake Shack.

Not all heroes wear capes.

 

[DopeyBadger]

How do you all manage the food intake vs the miles run in training and then what is the best way to avoid gaining weight post race come next January?

I first always ask myself what is my goal? It's to be healthy and to be fast. If I'm healthy and fast, then I'm fine with whatever number is on the scale. So I usually assess my weight in that view. I don't necessarily have a number I need to hit. Rather I want my weight to be able to support my goals of being healthy and fast.

I'm a calorie in and calorie out type (although healthy choices matter). Based on my ability to lose/gain/maintain weight, I'm pretty sure my BMR is around 1750-1850 calories. So if I'm looking to maintain weight, then I'm usually just eating whatever my caloric burn from exercise is + BMR.

Example:

Burned 2400 calories running and cycling via Garmin and TrainerRoad information.
1800+2400 = 4200 calories to be consumed to maintain weight.

To lose weight at about 0.5 pounds per week, then I'd aim for a 50 calorie reduction (4150).
To lose weight at about 1.0 pounds per week, then I'd aim for a 100 calorie reduction (4100).

I try to walk a very fine line of losing weight and making endurance gains when I'm training for an event. It's hard to do it and when I've tried to be too aggressive is when I usually end up with skeletal injuries.

To avoid being hungry, I tend to eat foods that are high on the satiety index (although to be fair it just so happens I was eating these foods already and only recently learned about this). Oatmeal, eggs, oranges, apples, carrots, brown pasta, whole grain bread, and popcorn are all common items I eat on a daily basis. So 100 calories of these foods leave you fuller than 100 calories of other foods (like candy, doughnuts, chips, etc.). Link Link Link

When it comes to post-training, I do expect to gain some weight as my body isn't necessarily in "racing mode" anymore. But I reduce calorie intake to try and match my reduced training volume. But dropping from 4200 calories consumed per day down to 2000 calories per day is always a harsh adjustment. Just like my sole day off during training (Monday) is always a hard day to match in/out.

 

[avondale]

Two things here that I don't understand.

I'm a calorie in and calorie out type (although healthy choices matter). Based on my ability to lose/gain/maintain weight, I'm pretty sure my BMR is around 1750-1850 calories. So if I'm looking to maintain weight, then I'm usually just eating whatever my caloric burn from exercise is + BMR.

Example:

Burned 2400 calories running and cycling via Garmin and TrainerRoad information.
1800+2400 = 4200 calories to be consumed to maintain weight.

A general rule of thumb that I've seen in many places is that a runner burns about 100 cal per mile. So for a marathon race, a runner might burn, say, 2600 - 3000 cal. Obviously there is some variation according to weight, fitness, conditions, etc.

Are you saying that on a not unusual training day for you, you burn significantly more calories through exercise than a marathon? This seems amazing.

Or are you just using this as some type of benchmark that you can compare to from one day to the next to tell which day is a hard day vs easy day?

To lose weight at about 0.5 pounds per week, then I'd aim for a 50 calorie reduction (4150).
To lose weight at about 1.0 pounds per week, then I'd aim for a 100 calorie reduction (4100).

Usually one has to have a deficit of 3500 cal/wk to lose a pound per week. You've got a deficit of 700 cal/wk according to these numbers. I can't argue with your empirical data of what has worked for you, but I'm wondering how this works out.

I wish I could have a deficit of 100 cal/day and actually lose a pound per week! I can hear my body fat laughing at this idea.

 

[run.minnie.miles]

I know we did something similar long ago, but how about a little round of "would you rather" for today's QOTD?

If anyone has been "lurking" or hasn't participated in the thread for a while, be sure to jump in today!

QOTD: Would you rather run...
1. Without a watch or without music/podcasts?
2. A race with 20 people or 20,000 people?
3. In a cotton tshirt or cotton socks?
4. In 110F or -10F temperatures?
5. In high humidity or high winds?