The Running Thread - 2019

I am no stranger to running on a calorie deficit. You really need to focus on calories burned, because the rest of your stats will be less than great. But once you hit your goal and level off, it won't take long to see the improvements in your pace and stamina.
 
I don't really have anyone I can talk to about running stuff, so excuse the upcoming ramble/splurge of information!

I'm running the W&D in November, and just signed up for the Princess in Feb. I'd ultimately LOVE to do a Dopey, but I work with a college/university, and there are 2 weeks I absolutely can't take off work: the first week of school in August and in January. And the WDW Marathon weekend seems to always coincide with the first week of school. So, I think I'm going to do the Memphis TN St Jude Marathon in December as a sort of placeholder. It will be my first full marathon, if I can manage it.

I've done the Disneyland Heroes Half (RIP) and the Star Wars half in Nov 2017 and April 2018. In April of 2017 I was at about 220 lbs and decided to use RunDisney as a goal to help me lose weight. I ended up getting down to 160. I stopped running after the Star Wars half, and saw the scale creep back up to 185. So, I started running again in March with the same tactic: W&D to motivate me to lose weight. I'm back down to 170, and hopeful that I'll hit 160 by August.

I started reading "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running" by Haruki Murakami and was really enamored with the idea of running every day. I tried to start last week, but probably overloaded myself, as my calves and shins started to hurt in what I can only guess was a warning that shin splints would soon follow. I backed off and didn't run Wednesday through Sunday, and then picked it back up this week. I ran 4 miles this morning to cap off my 5 day streak, and I feel great. I ordered a Hypervolt massager, and was VERY skeptical (so much so that I was ready to return it in a week if I didn't see results), but I'm shocked to say that it has definitely helped. Still trying to figure out the best way to use it, but Wednesday I was feeling a fair amount of tension in my calves post-run, and I used the thing and was almost immediately 100% relieved.

Anyway, ultimate goal is to be running a 10k every weekday morning, with a long run on Saturdays leading up to my first marathon in December. No real time goal, but my current stats are fastest mile 7:30, fastest 5k 27:01, fastest 10k 59:50.

Back to Haruki Murakami... in the book, he mentions interviewing an Olympic marathoner and asking what he assumes has to be the dumbest question the Olympian had ever been asked: "Do you still struggle with the desire to get up in the mornings and go running." The Olympian scoffed and said something along the lines of "every day."
 
May:
Total Miles - 138.69 mi
Total Time - 19:41:39
Average Pace - 8.31/mi
Avg HR - 144

Did not expect to get that many miles this month. About 25 miles more than April. SInce Summer has hit with a vengance in the last couple of weeks, I need to work on slowing down.
 
So sorry for your loss @apdebord . That was a heartbreaking story.

ATTQOTD: In the summer, I run earlier in the morning or later at night. Still haven't made the effort to get up super early to run. I'm thankful spring is still somewhat here in Texas. I'm not ready for 100+ degree days. Every. Single. Day.
 


Hi everyone,

First time posting in the runDisney forum, and relatively novice runner here. Started running for the first time about five years ago, which dipped off for a couple of years (thanks second kid and crazy schedules!) but have been getting back at it in 2019. I've done a few 5Ks, and am aiming to bump that up to a 10K race coming up in August. Last night was my first time doing an "easy run" as I start on sticking to an actual training plan as opposed to just go run 3 miles several times a week and see if you can improve your pace. Staying at a 14-15:00 pace took more focus than I would've thought, but I managed it.

I started reading "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running" by Haruki Murakami and was really enamored with the idea of running every day.
I've been doing some looking online, but this post prompted me to ask here – are there any good books folks can recommend for me? I'm not necessarily looking for a book on training or inspiration to run, but really more about the science behind running. Certainly appreciate any suggestions!
 
Last edited:
Hi everyone,

First time posting in the runDisney forum, and relatively novice runner here. Started running for the first time about five years ago, which dipped off for a couple of years (thanks second kid and crazy schedules!) but have been getting back at it in 2019. I've done a few 5Ks, and am aiming to bump that up to a 10K race coming up in August. Last night was my first time doing an "easy run" as I start on sticking to an actual training plan as opposed to just go run 3 miles several times and week and see if you can improve your pace. Staying at a 14-15:00 pace took more focus than I would've thought, but I managed it.


I've been doing some looking online, but this post prompted me to ask here – are there any good books folks can recommend for me? I'm not necessarily looking for a book on training or inspiration to run, but really more about the science behind running. Certainly appreciate any suggestions!
If you’re looking to get into marathons one day, Hansons marathon method is great! For 5k-10k check out Daniels.
 


Hi everyone,

First time posting in the runDisney forum, and relatively novice runner here. Started running for the first time about five years ago, which dipped off for a couple of years (thanks second kid and crazy schedules!) but have been getting back at it in 2019. I've done a few 5Ks, and am aiming to bump that up to a 10K race coming up in August. Last night was my first time doing an "easy run" as I start on sticking to an actual training plan as opposed to just go run 3 miles several times a week and see if you can improve your pace. Staying at a 14-15:00 pace took more focus than I would've thought, but I managed it.


I've been doing some looking online, but this post prompted me to ask here – are there any good books folks can recommend for me? I'm not necessarily looking for a book on training or inspiration to run, but really more about the science behind running. Certainly appreciate any suggestions!

Another great one I've read recently is called "Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen." It's a narrative about discovering this "hidden tribe" but goes into what makes us want to run, how we can run better, etc.
 
Hi everyone,

First time posting in the runDisney forum, and relatively novice runner here. Started running for the first time about five years ago, which dipped off for a couple of years (thanks second kid and crazy schedules!) but have been getting back at it in 2019. I've done a few 5Ks, and am aiming to bump that up to a 10K race coming up in August. Last night was my first time doing an "easy run" as I start on sticking to an actual training plan as opposed to just go run 3 miles several times a week and see if you can improve your pace. Staying at a 14-15:00 pace took more focus than I would've thought, but I managed it.


I've been doing some looking online, but this post prompted me to ask here – are there any good books folks can recommend for me? I'm not necessarily looking for a book on training or inspiration to run, but really more about the science behind running. Certainly appreciate any suggestions!
I recently read “Good to Go” by Christie Aschwanden and it was good. I also liked “The Sports Gene” by David Epstein.
 
May was a transitional month for me. Coming off a pretty light April, my goal was to start easing back to higher volumes and see if I could get back to running 5 days/week. My next big goal race is the Space Coast Marathon the weekend after Thanksgiving. I want to re-run an old @DopeyBadger 5 day/week training plan to shoot for a PR there. I really felt in much better shape when I was running 5 days/week right up until I had a shin issue and my PT strongly advised dropping to 4/week. I haven't been happy with my conditioning since, so I'm going to step it up and see what happens. In the meantime, I'm going to use another @DopeyBadger half marathon 5 day/week plan over the summer to "pre-condition" for the start of the marathon plan in August. The first couple of weeks of that plan have gone well, with the exception of needing to drop a tempo run back to an easy-ish run due to high temp and humidity last night...

The only hiccup right now is self-inflicted. I love playing Ultimate Frisbee, but have largely given it up due to the stress the continual sprinting and cutting puts on my joints. A friend at work captains the Corporate League team for our company, though, and has been trying all season to get me to come out and play with them. I finally gave in for their last game of the season a couple of weeks ago. It was a blast and felt great. I was a little rusty but I've still "got it". Unfortunately, sprinting for a couple of hours in 0 drop soccer cleats has led to a major flare up of achilles tendinopathy at the insertion point. It's hard to walk when I get up after sitting for a while. The good news is that it loosens right up and feels good while running. Hopefully it will settle down soon.

At any rate, here are my May totals. They should go up significantly next month.

May Training Totals:
Total Running Miles - 90.10 mi
Total Running Time - 16:23:53
Average Pace - 10:55/mi
 
Fun Friday QOTD: Any of you brave souls at DL currently or planning on going in the next 7 days? How about after Galaxy's Edge opens at WDW, how soon after opening are you going to go?

ATTQOTD: Not at DL, and wont see it at WDW until June of 2020 :(
 
Public Notice:

I am leaving for Punta Cana tomorrow morning and will be out for the week. I've been told WiFi works there, so I will do my best to check in and post. If someone would like to ask the QOTD before I do, feel free to do it. Have a great weekend everyone and good luck with yalls races!
 
I have listened to a few running-focused audiobooks, and I have enjoyed all of them.

Running For My Life - Lopez Lomong
Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen - Christopher McDougall
My Year Running Dangerously - Tom Foreman
 
I started reading "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running" by Haruki Murakami and was really enamored with the idea of running every day. I tried to start last week, but probably overloaded myself, as my calves and shins started to hurt in what I can only guess was a warning that shin splints would soon follow. I backed off and didn't run Wednesday through Sunday, and then picked it back up this week. I ran 4 miles this morning to cap off my 5 day streak, and I feel great. I ordered a Hypervolt massager, and was VERY skeptical (so much so that I was ready to return it in a week if I didn't see results), but I'm shocked to say that it has definitely helped. Still trying to figure out the best way to use it, but Wednesday I was feeling a fair amount of tension in my calves post-run, and I used the thing and was almost immediately 100% relieved.

Anyway, ultimate goal is to be running a 10k every weekday morning, with a long run on Saturdays leading up to my first marathon in December. No real time goal, but my current stats are fastest mile 7:30, fastest 5k 27:01, fastest 10k 59:50.

I'm also on a running streak (day 35, I think), but my goal is to do at least 1 mile a day. Four days a week, I do 4+ (following my normal training plan), but the other days, I only do 1 or 2 miles at a super easy pace.

Personally, I like a more defined marathon training plan, which varies the distance ran and includes speedwork and rest days. I worry that you will break down (not necessarily physically, but just get mentally drained being "forced" to do 6 miles every day). Or that you run 6 miles at the same pace all the time, not slowing down appropriately to reduce overuse or getting faster with speedwork. Especially since you said you ran several days in a row last week too hard and your shins and calves were hurting.

The McMillan running calculator can also spit out decent predictions for your current fitness level - https://www.mcmillanrunning.com/. A 59:50 translates to a 4:40 marathon, according to that.
 
Born to Run was literally life changing for me. After dealing with PF for years I adopted some of the principles in this book and have been pain free ever since. I'm not necessarily doing the barefoot thing, but I always wear shoes with minimal support, and so far that keeps everything stretched out by allowing the foot to work as nature intended. For running, I use something with a little more cushion, but I look for shoes with a zero drop heel and that keeps my PF pain under control. Before reading the book, I was at the point where my doc wanted to give me cortisone shots, but not only did that sound painful, it sounded like a temporary fix. So I can't recommend this book enough.
 
Fun Friday QOTD: Any of you brave souls at DL currently or planning on going in the next 7 days? How about after Galaxy's Edge opens at WDW, how soon after opening are you going to go?
ATTQOTD: STAR WAAAAARRRRRSSSS!!!!!! Ahem. Yes, I'm pretty stoked. :) No DLR for me,but I'm watching the proceedings closely. I'm about 90% sold on attempting opening day at WDW: hotel reservation is made, but I really need more details on how WDW is going to handle crowds, camping, etc. before fully committing. Also, weather. I have no interest in sitting through a tropical storm all night to get into GE, so we'll see. ;) I have reservations in late Oct. to take advantage of EEMH, if it's still needed by then; we'd rather hit it at night, but if that's not looking possible, EEMH it will be. And if things somehow aren't completely insane and GE can be entered midday without a long wait, we'll probably head over for some day trips through fall and winter.
SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

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