The Running Thread - 2019

QOTD: I was wasting some time on YouTube earlier this week and came across a video of a guy who ran a marathon without training at all! A day or two before the marathon he was buying shoes, fuel, ect for the race. Spoiler alert, the guy finished. My question for today is, if someone you knew signed up for a marathon without attempting any training would you encourage them to run it or try to talk them out of it?

I'd encourage them not to run. Why be a part of something which more likely than not will lead to an injury of some sort? That said, if they ignore the friendly advice and go ahead anyway, I'd find a GoPro and follow them all the way along the course. Imagine how much great footage you'd get of someone doing something dumb which you could use to either upload a soon-to-be-viral video, upload as a cautionary tale, or maybe even both. ;)
 
ATTQOTD: Well, I value my opinion ;) , and have experience, so I would feel okay saying something, i.e. make them aware of what the marathon entailed, ask them about their understanding/expectations. I wouldn't discourage them unless I knew their physical condition really couldn't support it. It's one thing to do something that is a stretch and will physically tax you, it's another to be stupid and wreck your body.


So I learned a few new words this week.....enthesopathy, periostisis, along with the better known "stress syndrome". It all boils down to either I had a stress fracture in my left femoral neck, which is now healing, or else it got close, but not quite. Who knows. Bottom line, the usual strengthening/stretching, and I can probably start running in 2- weeks. The bone scan I had picked up a few other random things that don't bother me, so yeah, it's a ***** getting old. And I should be non-radioactive by now, in case I want to cross the border.

On a related note, has anyone ever tried rolfing? (the technique, not the acronym, and certainly not the definition that means vomiting !)
 
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Happy belated birthday @rteetz !

Yesterday’s question: well yea... I think doing Dopey is crazy. But it’s also a good crazy and fun! I wouldn’t consider training for a full or half crazy though...

Today’s question: I would be real with them. I wouldn’t blow sunshine up their bottom. I’d tell them what to expect and then tell them good luck. And I’d be cheering for them!
 


I would be real with them. I wouldn’t blow sunshine up their bottom. I’d tell them what to expect and then tell them good luck. And I’d be cheering for them!
This to me is key. I had a much better first marathon experience because experienced and far more accomplished runners than me told me the truth. No sugarcoating it. They probably spent more time telling me about the challenges I would face during the marathon than in telling me what it would feel like to finish the marathon.

I knew from experience that I in order to give me my best opportunity for success on marathon day, I needed to head in to the marathon confident and optimistic that I would succeed. Yet @DopeyBadger wisely made sure to temper my positive thinking with reality so I would not suddenly fall apart when the wall hit.

While I did not know exactly what the wall would feel like when I hit it, I had some vague ideas. And the very people who described what various portions of the marathon would feel like also helped me develop strategies to help me endure my way through the race when it became difficult. So while I spent a majority of my first marathon running by myself, I did not run the race alone as it were.
 
ATTQOTD: I would depend on how well I knew them. A friend or family element I would tell them what to expect and explain why they might want to put it off until they trained for it. An acquaintance or someone I worked with (that didn't fall into the friend category) I would probably just do the “wow, good luck. Let me know how it goes.”
 


I've been looking for a 10k for DW, so she can have a current PoT for the half during MW in 2020. What sites do you use to find races?

runningintheusa.com

Then I use historical weather from weather underground to see if I can find a race over the last 5 years on the date it's being held this year with the best/most consistent weather.
 
Question for NRC+ iWatch + iPhone users:
I will be receiving an Apple Watch 3 for Mother’s Day. I plan to keep running with my iPhone X and have always used Nike Run Club on it. What combination of settings do you use for Half and Full Marathon? Power Saving mode on both? Awake on Hand Raise off? Do you need to start the App on the iPhone or just on the watch?

Also I am thoroughly confused with all the apps: Is Activity required? Is Health required? Is Motion Tracking required? Is Workout required? I paired my future watch and now my phone keeps track of my steps... How much battery does this all chew?

Only two weeks to figure it all out... I guess that’s what tapering is for! TIA
 
Question for NRC+ iWatch + iPhone users:
I will be receiving an Apple Watch 3 for Mother’s Day. I plan to keep running with my iPhone X and have always used Nike Run Club on it. What combination of settings do you use for Half and Full Marathon? Power Saving mode on both? Awake on Hand Raise off? Do you need to start the App on the iPhone or just on the watch?

Also I am thoroughly confused with all the apps: Is Activity required? Is Health required? Is Motion Tracking required? Is Workout required? I paired my future watch and now my phone keeps track of my steps... How much battery does this all chew?

Only two weeks to figure it all out... I guess that’s what tapering is for! TIA
I don't use NRC but do use Apple Watch and runKeeper. I also have the 3 but with cellular. During my training and races I still typically have my phone with me though.

I don't use power saving mode. I definitely have health and activity stuff activated. The workout app is default and is on the watch no matter what.

For a marathon the watch will make it through but don't expect to also use it the rest of the day. I believe I was around 20% battery after the marathon.
 
Yesterday's ATTQOTD: My parents/siblings may think I'm a little crazy but they know I love running so they are very supportive. Now if I signed up for Dopey I might get some extra comments.

Happy Birthday @rteetz It feels like forever ago that I turned 21! Enjoy your first legal weekend!

Today's ATTQOTD: It would probably depend on the person. I think people can (and do) run/walk a marathon with little to no training. Will it go great? Probably not but maybe that would be some motivation for their next race. Now if it was my husband, I'd probably (ok definitely) make my opinion a lot more known because the result would directly effect me and my family. But he's the only one I would say anything to.
 
QOTD: I was wasting some time on YouTube earlier this week and came across a video of a guy who ran a marathon without training at all! A day or two before the marathon he was buying shoes, fuel, ect for the race. Spoiler alert, the guy finished. My question for today is, if someone you knew signed up for a marathon without attempting any training would you encourage them to run it or try to talk them out of it?

ATTQOTD: I thought about some this morning, and my initial response was to try to talk them out of it. Then the twisted part of me said, nope let them go for it for a few reasons. I want to see if they can actually do it for one. Knowing how painful running a marathon can be when trained I would like to see how that person would hold up during the marathon and the following day. I feel like there is a high level of entertainment possible. I do not wish for someone to get a serious injury for doing something foolish, but watching them struggle going up and down a flight of stairs the next day would give me a good laugh.

I would tell them it is way harder than they think. Even people that train for the marathon, I tell them they can do it but expect it to be harder than they think. The marathon remains the hardest thing I have ever done, both mentally and physically and I wanted to run it. I trained for it. Mile 14-25 I was questioning all life decisions. So to take it on as a whim, I would be like John and I would want to video tape the footage for later.

ATTQOTD: I certainly have friends and family members who think I'm crazy for running at all, let alone multi race challenges like Rebel Challenge or Goofy/Dopey. Ultimately, I've concluded that in order for someone to understand why we do this, they need to experience it for themselves. And many choose not to.

Exactly. In my normal every day life, I will only consistently hit the 10,000 steps number if I go for a minimum 30 minute run. So when people comment that I'm crazy, I just remember that exercise is not crazy and makes my quality of life better.

If I knew them well and/or they asked me my thoughts I would be very honest. I had a tremendous first marathon experience in large part because I had appropriately prepared for it. On the other hand, I had a very difficult first half marathon experience that nearly resulted in me never running again. While I was physically prepared enough to finish that race just fine, I was so poorly prepared mentally that I nearly destroyed that simple goal of finishing.

It helps if people know what they're getting into. It helped me tremendously to bounce ideas off people in this community in terms of addressing mental preparation before the marathon.

I fully confess to being one of those runners who finds a great deal of motivation in the medals. For a long time, I put up with and tolerated training because I had to train in order to finish. I have since come to realize that training does more than just prepare me for the physical demands the race will ask of. Perhaps more importantly training helps me to truly enjoy the race day experience, especially at Disney races.

I was talking about this with my future step daughter. She is 13 and has a weight problem. She keeps saying she wants to run, and do a Disney 10k (she is a Disney lover and we told her if she commits to training that she can do a race). She tells me it’s easy for me cuz I’m a runner. I explained that I once lived like her, down on myself, eating junk, being afraid to change my life. I told her that sitting in the couch and eating seems to be easier but it really isn’t because living that lifestyle does such damage to your mind that it really isn’t an easier life. I said running for an hour a day is the best decision I have ever made for myself. And now that I can’t run I notice a big difference. Riding my bike helps but it isn’t the same.
 
I've been looking for a 10k for DW, so she can have a current PoT for the half during MW in 2020. What sites do you use to find races?

Being in Michigan, I use RunMichigan.com. I realize you aren't, but there may be a specific site for you that's more local--Google is your friend! Coolrunning.com is another. If you were looking for a half, I would suggest halfmarathons.net. You might still check that one because often races will be a series of distances, and you might find a 10k.
 
Question for NRC+ iWatch + iPhone users:
I will be receiving an Apple Watch 3 for Mother’s Day. I plan to keep running with my iPhone X and have always used Nike Run Club on it. What combination of settings do you use for Half and Full Marathon? Power Saving mode on both? Awake on Hand Raise off? Do you need to start the App on the iPhone or just on the watch?

Also I am thoroughly confused with all the apps: Is Activity required? Is Health required? Is Motion Tracking required? Is Workout required? I paired my future watch and now my phone keeps track of my steps... How much battery does this all chew?

Only two weeks to figure it all out... I guess that’s what tapering is for! TIA

So I have a Apple Watch3 and used NRC on it for a while. When the 3 was first launched i noticed that NRC was kind of buggy. I had it auto-pause or the app just die in the middle of 2 different long runs. I've since switched to just using apples native fitness app. For me I don't do anything to tweak the settings for battery life.
I can't remember the process but you have to setup your iphone in the Nike App once you do that you only launch the App in one place.

Being in Michigan, I use RunMichigan.com. I realize you aren't, but there may be a specific site for you that's more local--Google is your friend! Coolrunning.com is another. If you were looking for a half, I would suggest halfmarathons.net. You might still check that one because often races will be a series of distances, and you might find a 10k.

hmmm hadn't heard about runMichigan before.
 
I was talking about this with my future step daughter. She is 13 and has a weight problem. She keeps saying she wants to run, and do a Disney 10k (she is a Disney lover and we told her if she commits to training that she can do a race). She tells me it’s easy for me cuz I’m a runner. I explained that I once lived like her, down on myself, eating junk, being afraid to change my life. I told her that sitting in the couch and eating seems to be easier but it really isn’t because living that lifestyle does such damage to your mind that it really isn’t an easier life. I said running for an hour a day is the best decision I have ever made for myself. And now that I can’t run I notice a big difference. Riding my bike helps but it isn’t the same.
One of the reasons I attempt to encourage anyone who asks me about running is because I would never have attempted this if not for the various people over the years who encouraged me, many of whom I either met once at a Disney park or have only interacted with in this community. But all these people share one thing in common. Encouraging yet honest.

One of the things that helps me the most is to view training sessions leading up to the race as steps. I'm training for a half marathon in September. So when I feel tired at mile 2, I tell myself that I do not need to run 13.1 miles today, I only need to run 3. Then as I'm more consistent in my training, the 2 miles are second nature.

For me the marathon was the most difficult race I've ever experienced mentally, but in a weird way, I've had 2 half marathons that actually felt more difficult than the marathon. Now, in all honesty, I made a series of decisions leading up to both of those more difficult half marathon races that shortchanged my preparation in one way or another. Had I not learned from those mistakes in training for the marathon, I'm certain that the marathon would have been far more difficult and may well have resulted in me either being forced off the course by the sweeper or me voluntarily dropping out and concluding that the marathon is not for me.

I don't believe running is ever actually easy. While it can become easier to run a certain number of miles at a certain pace, it is never easy to actually get out there and make the sacrifice of time. Yet I've found that every time I choose to run over choosing to stay home and sit on the couch (which is almost always what I would have done if I had not run), I feel better. Sometimes when I go out for my run, I feel tired, various body parts hurt, and I want to go home and relax. Yet if I go out and run, I find that when I get home, I'm tired, those various body parts hurt differently, and I feel much better.
 
One of the things that helps me the most is to view training sessions leading up to the race as steps.
I think that's one of the hardest things for people to get. Both my kids run XC in school and they both have wanted to do Disney or other races. I usually build training plans out for them that build from where they are to the distance they are racing. In both cases for their first non XC races they skipped a lot of the training runs, and as a result the races were much harder than it should have been. I think it's been a learning experience for them. Just because the workouts are only 1 or 2 miles and that seems easy it doesn't mean you can skip them. They are part of building a foundation that lets you run longer. I think they felt if they weren't running hard, they weren't doing anything so it wasn't a big deal to miss the workouts.

I also struggle with training plans. When we're travelling or vacationing the people around me are usually like "why are you running". My problem is if I miss one workout it becomes much easier to miss the next. So I have to be really diligent with and stick with a plan.
 

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