The Running Thread - 2018

[Sleepless Knight]

ATTQOTD: I've found that full recovery from race weekend varies depending on a variety of factors. My longest distance is a half and I have never run faster than 3 hours and 5 minutes. The only time I was fully or mostly trained and ran "just" the half, I was able to resume normal training albeit at a slightly slower pace 2 days after the half and normal speed 4 days later. Since that time, I've added multi race challenges which generally mean that I need to slow down substantially. For anywhere from 2-7 days after the half, I'm in a slow and steady keeps the exercise going mode until I feel like I'm ready to resume my normal training load. I've learned enough to know that if I have the next race scheduled and need to be training for it, that all my prior training is not lost if I take it easy for a few days.

 

[mrsg00fy]

Has anyone ordered shoes from runningwarehouse. com? Had ok luck?

They have my current shoes on (mega?) sale for $60... weird to get the exact same color?

I have ordered my favorite shoes from them on mega sales before. At the really low prices I bought several in same color. I usually will switch out a pair of the colored laces to tell them apart. No issues. Made a return once. Painless. Look for coupons too

 

[FFigawi]

@FFigawi- John, it was nice meeting you in person. Thanks to you and @Keels for putting the meet up together. I didn't get to say bye to you Monday. We have a great group of people and it was nice meeting everyone. Hope to see you all again at a future race.

You're welcome! It was great to meet you and everyone else too. See you at another one in the future.

 

[LSUlakes]

I cannot speak to other charities, but I once attended a Team in Training organizational meeting and that is exactly what it is - soliciting donations to subsidize your race. As I recollect, you had a choice of several races. Local races required a minimum fundraising threshold and significant travel required a much higher threshold. Donations up to the threshold covered your expenses (entry fees, flight, hotel) and beyond that the money went to the charity. If you did not solicit the minimum requirement you would be personally responsible for covering the difference.

The organizers were not shy about this and neither were many of the attendees. For some it was simply a way to have an expenses paid trip to a nice location.

That was not how the charity I ran for worked. We had some perks, but nothing like that. We had to raise the minimum, and then race entry, travel, ect came out our own pocket.

The minimum is now $5,000 plus the entry fee. However, the average last year per entry was something like $11,000 raised. Even if you qualify for Boston on time, but want to run with the charity you are still required to raise the minimum. People around here don't really have a hard time raising the money. They do big fundraising events many times in the form of silent auctions and usually get the prizes donated. Marathon Monday is such a big deal around here that people usually have no problem donating, which is nice. Still too rich for my blood.

Looks like the next time I run Boston would be because I BQ. I just dont think I could raise much more than $7,500. It would be a risky move to sign up for $10,000 or more. Major props to those who are able to raise that much! I also believe that Boston charities go through a detailed process to get in, and the funds for some of the ones I researched are well explained on where they are going to be used.

Hello... leaving Disney and feeling bummed! Had a great weekend but def carried some mixed emotions. I signed up for the 1/2 in early “17, had never run in my life but started. My motivation took me to 6miles and I gave up. Had no idea what I gave up on until I stood at the finish line this Sunday watching and listening to such inspirational people cross that finish line. I stood there watching & cheering - super proud of my BF for working through his challenges this year and crossing that finish line. So disappointed in myself for not listening to his support & encouragement when I gave up.
Met some very supportive people at the meet up Monday. I’m looking forward to 2018. I’ve set new goals for myself I want to accomplish. I’m tired of being disappointed in myself and having no confidence. I want to start running again, I want to drop 50lbs and feel happy with myself. I’m signing up for a 10K for June.
My BF told me you guys have been a great group of support for him and I was hoping to find some positive vibes from you all!
Thank you
And congrats to all those who ran dis this wkend!

Welcome to the thread! I think you will find some useful information here and well as a lot of motivational people. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. If you have a question you would like to submit as QOTD, just send me a PM and I will post it for you. Can you tell us a little about your training? Maybe if you gave us some details, like mile per week, and longest run leading up to race day, we can help you with a plan for your next run.

 

[FredtheDuck]

Has anyone ordered shoes from runningwarehouse. com? Had ok luck?

They have my current shoes on (mega?) sale for $60... weird to get the exact same color?

I have had great experiences with them. They’re awesome with returns and exchanges, too. Not weird to get the same color. I just got my NB model on sale in the same color as my old (and now retired) ones from runningwarehouse. Google around and you can always find 10 pct off, too.

ETA: Billy recommended setting price alerts for the models @MoanasPapa and I wear. Both of us had a pair in rotation go on sale last week, snagged thanks to the price alert.

 

[Z-Knight]

My girlfriend wants to run a 5k with me...she has had knee issues before so she wants to be careful. The first step is to get her proper shoes, but after that I am looking for a recommendation on 5k plans and also on what to so to help her avoid injury. Can anyone give me some advice? I want her to start with a run-walk method, i believe.

 

[Ariel484]

My girlfriend wants to run a 5k with me...she has had knee issues before so she wants to be careful. The first step is to get her proper shoes, but after that I am looking for a recommendation on 5k plans and also on what to so to help her avoid injury. Can anyone give me some advice? I want her to start with a run-walk method, i believe.

Either Galloway or Couch-to-5K.

 

[FredtheDuck]

My girlfriend wants to run a 5k with me...she has had knee issues before so she wants to be careful. The first step is to get her proper shoes, but after that I am looking for a recommendation on 5k plans and also on what to so to help her avoid injury. Can anyone give me some advice? I want her to start with a run-walk method, i believe.

How fun! I used Active’s Couch to 5k app to get to my first 5k. I loved it enough to recommend to my mom when she went for her 5k, too.

 

[Z-Knight]

Either Galloway or Couch-to-5K.

How fun! I used Active’s Couch to 5k app to get to my first 5k. I loved it enough to recommend to my mom when she went for her 5k, too.

how many runs per week are those plans

 

[FredtheDuck]

how many runs per week are those plans

C25k is three days a week. All in the 30 min range. Starts out more walking than running and gradually shifts intervals until the runner is running 30 minutes.

 

[Z-Knight]

cool, thanks...I'll check out the app/plan

 

[Baloo in MI]

ATTQOTD:
Recovery Time for me does really depend on the distance. For a marathon I am sore the following day but then begin to feel better pretty quickly. I am usually fatigued for many days. I have found that resting for a few days and then switching from runs to walks and bike rides for the remainder of the first week and then slow, easy runs in the second week I feel pretty back to normal.

@LSUlakes here are my Dopey results:
5K - 34:29
10K - 51:01
Half - 1:57:23
Full - 4:21:03

 

[Z-Knight]

btw, for the couch to 5k, can elliptical be substituted for some runs? would you get the same benefit?

 

[LSUlakes]

My girlfriend wants to run a 5k with me...she has had knee issues before so she wants to be careful. The first step is to get her proper shoes, but after that I am looking for a recommendation on 5k plans and also on what to so to help her avoid injury. Can anyone give me some advice? I want her to start with a run-walk method, i believe.

Couch to 5k is a solid option. It starts off east enough, leaving you feeling confident and wanting more. Then a few weeks in, it will get a little challenging, but once you get through that week, the rest seems to get easier as you feel confident about what you have already accomplished.

 

[FredtheDuck]

btw, for the couch to 5k, can elliptical be substituted for some runs? would you get the same benefit?

IMO, no, you wouldn't get exactly the same benefits. I find the elliptical to be a little easier than running (I used it a lot to get cardio in while recovering from a knee injury), both aerobically and on the joints. The resistance/rhythm of an elliptical are different than running. So I'd worry that someone substituting elliptical training was going to be underprepared and/or disappointed to find that running is more physically taxing than elliptical work. I will say that elliptical is better than nothing, for sure, but I'm not sure I'd consider it a stand-in for running. Again, just my opinion, others may have different experience!

 

[LSUlakes]

QOTD: for those who have been running for a few years in the group, what single piece of advice would you have given to yourself when you first started out (if that was possible) that would have had the biggest impact? Would that advice change if you were giving it to someone else thats just starting out?

ATTQOTD: I would tell myself and other new runners to just stick with it. Extended time off makes getting back to it difficult and not worth the rest. This is true unless the reason for time off is a injury. I am kicking myself for basically doing little to nothing all of 2017. I finally started feeling better yesterday, and was on facebook when the "my memories" came up. I saw a picture of my family and I the day before the WDW marathon at Hollywood Studios, and then another picture from 6 years ago. Then I kinda looked at myself and realized I was inching closer to the bigger version of myself 6 years ago, and the time for excuses was over. Running 2 miles yesterday was way more difficult than I recall. One Day at a Time!

 

[Ariel484]

btw, for the couch to 5k, can elliptical be substituted for some runs? would you get the same benefit?

I agree with @FredtheDuck that it's not quite the same - she'd get the cardio but it doesn't simulate the pounding of running well enough. I had an injury leading up to last year's PHM and switched from running to biking/elliptical for the last 2 weeks of training. From a cardiovascular standpoint I felt fine during the races, but my feet/legs/knees were suffering during the end of the half. Granted, that was as a result of zero running, so I'm not sure how much she'd lose substituting elliptical for SOME of the runs.

 

[Mickey Momma]

ATTQOTD: Training a body to run can take months and years, not days and weeks. Keep some type of record of your running stats (through Excel, Garmin, Strava, etc.) and compare large chunks of time to see improvements instead of comparing one week to another. In short: trying to go too hard too fast will only lead to injuries and a "I'm not cut out to be a runner" mentality.

 

[FFigawi]

QOTD: for those who have been running for a few years in the group, what single piece of advice would you have given to yourself when you first started out (if that was possible) that would have had the biggest impact? Would that advice change if you were giving it to someone else thats just starting out?

I'd tell younger me to start with a shoe fitting. I had serious IT band problems during my first year of running until I had my gait analyzed and changed shoes. I'd recommend this to anyone starting out, not just me.

 

[camaker]

QOTD: for those who have been running for a few years in the group, what single piece of advice would you have given to yourself when you first started out (if that was possible) that would have had the biggest impact? Would that advice change if you were giving it to someone else thats just starting out?

Slow down! PRs are for race day, not training runs. Establish a good balance of easy paced runs to build a strong cardio base with tempo and long runs to work on speed instead of running every training run as hard as you can.