The Running Thread--2024

[Marebear_runs]

GT-2000s? I was in Asics for years when they switched to GT-2000s, and I also came down with a mother case of ITBS in those shoes. Took years to get over that injury.

Interesting. When I got more into running and visited a running shoe store for the first time rather than just buying the shoe that had the colors that most interested me, I bought the GT-2000s. Guess what? I had IT band issues. I don't know that it was the shoes fault and likely just more running by me, but it is interesting that in my sample size of two we both had ITB issues with the GT-2000. I've been a Brooks Adrenaline fan since then.

I can’t swear to it, because it’s been so long, but they were definitely the mid-level ASICS stability shoe which I think is the GT-2000? It took me nearly a year and lots of PT to be able to run more than a half a mile without pain. My PT blamed the shoes. Not the Asics specifically, but the stability features of it, because it forced my leg into an unnatural (for me) position that caused my IT band to chafe against the joint when running.

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

I did my first 5K in ages this past weekend. Why? I dunno. I wanted to see if I could beat my last known 5K PR, which was from ten years ago. And I did! Beat it by nearly half a minute and managed a sub 9-min/mile pace. As I told my son, for me it was a three-mile sprint. I can train harder, but I'm lung-limited and can't breathe harder, so this PR will probably stand for a long while.

Also, my son ran it with me, as did a high school buddy.
Son: "I haven't been running and I don't know if I'll be able to keep up, or even finish"
Buddy: "My back has been hurting. I'm not sure how I'll do".
Naturally they both finish well in front of me. My son finished 3rd in his age group! And my friend finished 4th in our age group.

Next up is to find a flat-ish half marathon to try for a Disney qualifying time.
Oh, and now my son wants to run some more, and has said to sign him up for the half in Jan 2025!

 

[DisneyParrothead]

Today will be my first run since Princess. I had strained each hip flexor at different times, between Christmas and Princess, so I needed a break to let them rest. I started strength training last week, and now I have a 30-minute run on the dock today. My first run back from a break is always a struggle, so my goal is just to get it done.

 

[RuntheMouse]

Today will be my first run since Princess. I had strained each hip flexor at different times, between Christmas and Princess, so I needed a break to let them rest. I started strength training last week, and now I have a 30-minute run on the dock today. My first run back from a break is always a struggle, so my goal is just to get it done.

You’ve got this! Congrats on being well enough to run!

 

[DisneyParrothead]

You’ve got this! Congrats on being well enough to run!

Thanks! I had a lot going on too after moving. Now I think it's a good time to get back to maintenance mode.

 

[Naomeri]

This winter weather is too darn weird for me. I should not be hot running in shorts and a tank top on March freaking 12th in central Minnesota!! I had to cut my run yesterday short because I (foolishly) wore a t-shirt and got overheated.

 

[The Expert]

This winter weather is too darn weird for me. I should not be hot running in shorts and a tank top on March freaking 12th in central Minnesota!! I had to cut my run yesterday short because I (foolishly) wore a t-shirt and got overheated.

Seriously weird! While you were sweating it out in a t-shirt, I was snow blowing our walk and drive multiple times to fight off the 18 inches of drifting snow we got here at virtually the same latitude in Vermont. Yet today it's supposed to get up to almost 60!

 

[jmasgat]

For those of you that set up alerts for RD race availability.....do you use more than one channel? Do you find one app to be more accurate? timely?

After my miss with W&D (and my inevitable regret of not getting the 5k), I am thinking of subscribing to something (I do not bother with any of these channels currently.) I prefer not to patronize X, but don't know how good the other channels out there are relative to this specific need only.

 

[Naomeri]

For those of you that set up alerts for RD race availability.....do you use more than one channel? Do you find one app to be more accurate? timely?

After my miss with W&D (and my inevitable regret of not getting the 5k), I am thinking of subscribing to something (I do not bother with any of these channels currently.) I prefer not to patronize X, but don't know how good the other channels out there are relative to this specific need only.

I chose to use D iscord (DisBoards censors this name) because I already had it, and the alerts are timely. I was able to snag a DL yoga spot off their alerts.

 

[Naomeri]

Seriously weird! While you were sweating it out in a t-shirt, I was snow blowing our walk and drive multiple times to fight off the 18 inches of drifting snow we got here at virtually the same latitude in Vermont. Yet today it's supposed to get up to almost 60!

I don’t think we’ve gotten 18 inches of snow all winter

 

[Herding_Cats]

For those of you that set up alerts for RD race availability.....do you use more than one channel? Do you find one app to be more accurate? timely?

After my miss with W&D (and my inevitable regret of not getting the 5k), I am thinking of subscribing to something (I do not bother with any of these channels currently.) I prefer not to patronize X, but don't know how good the other channels out there are relative to this specific need only.

I feel like what Naomeri said, and Telegram are the 2 that people have the most success with.

 

[The Expert]

I don’t think we’ve gotten 18 inches of snow all winter

Neither had we -- definitely not all at once like this.

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

For those of you that set up alerts for RD race availability.....do you use more than one channel? Do you find one app to be more accurate? timely?

After my miss with W&D (and my inevitable regret of not getting the 5k), I am thinking of subscribing to something (I do not bother with any of these channels currently.) I prefer not to patronize X, but don't know how good the other channels out there are relative to this specific need only.

I downloaded and set up the Telegram app when I missed the original signup window and was trying to get a bib later when the races would periodically open up. Set it up to send you alerts when races open. No, I'm not the person to tell you how to filter it to be useful-but-not-annoying. Other lessons learned:

1. Have your app(s) open and your rD page with your profile open and ready.
2. The "race open" and "race closed" alerts can be a second or two apart. But, that may or may not mean that the sign-up page is no longer taking applications
3. If using the Telegram app, there will be a sign-up link in the notification (I think I'm remembering that correctly)
4. Put things like your credit card number on notepad so that you can cut-n-paste. A large part of the challenge is how quickly you can work through the sign-up page. If you have your rD profile populated, some of the info will already be there, other data isn't. As you make sign-up attempts, you'll get faster at going through the page.
5. Have the race sign-up page open and ready to go in case I'm misremembering about the link in Telegram. You are in a race (the race before the race) against everyone else.
6. If you get to the end of the sign-up, and the page is letting you hit enter/submit and doesn't block you, keep doing it. As nearly as I can tell, it means you made the cutoff for the line and are in the active queue. Experience by myself and others on this forum indicate that if you just keep clicking on the "submit" button, it will eventually go through. One person reported that they kept doing so for appx 30 minutes until it finally went through. After hearing that, I persisted and was able to get mine to "take" after around 15 minutes.
7. In the meantime, you may have received a "queue is closed" message from Telegram. But if you are in that able-to-submit loop mentioned above, ignore the closed message and keep going.
8. I mostly work from home, so I keep my personal laptop on a side desk, apps and signup pages up and ready to go. When an alert comes in, I immediately spring to action (insert mental image of Batman and Robin headed for the Batpoles). Again: this is a race, so move at all due speed
9. The races opening up seems to come in waves. I can only speculate that at some time a few months after the regular signup has closed and deals made with the charities, that the people at rD go back and see what they need to do to finish selling all the available bibs, and that in the process of them doing so, we see the races peridically open and close.
10. Again, the races open and close in moments most of the time. That said, I have seen where a race opened up and stayed open for like 30 minutes. Why so long? I don't know; I simply started applying and was happy to get in.
11. Main lesson learned: have multiple alerts in place and block out your calendar to be part of sign-up the moment regular sign-up opens. Be on it when sign-up opens and you'll usually get in.

There are also the charities. I did not have all the extra $$ to spend on the fund-raising and a bib, but they wind up with people who sign up and never raise the required dollars. So some of the charities are then trying to sell their extra bibs in the last month or two before a race. For one of the races, I was able to pick up a bib at cost (and also made a donation because it was a good cause).

As always, YMMV. Good luck

 

[DisneyParrothead]

I'm in Colorado Springs and they're predicting snowmageddon tonight and tomorrow. Weather .com keeps wafting between 5-8" and 6-12" over night, with another 5-8" or 6-12" tomorrow. My work normally has donuts Friday morning and we have them this morning. Thankfully I have a treadmill, but tomorrow could be a yoga day too.

 

[Cabius]

Does anybody have experience with no-tie shoelaces (Caterpy or similar)?

I've seen a bunch of ads for them, and they seem interesting, but I don't know if they're too lose, too tight, etc.

Any recommendations, for or against?

 

[LorrieAnn5]

Does anybody have experience with no-tie shoelaces (Caterpy or similar)?

I've seen a bunch of ads for them, and they seem interesting, but I don't know if they're too lose, too tight, etc.

Any recommendations, for or against?

LOCK LACES (Elastic Shoelace and... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007DLVLDY?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
My husband bought these and stopped using them after a few days. He used them for his work sneakers. He's used to a very light tie, and he said there was constant pressure on the top of his foot the entire day.

 

[superchime]

Does anybody have experience with no-tie shoelaces (Caterpy or similar)?

I've seen a bunch of ads for them, and they seem interesting, but I don't know if they're too lose, too tight, etc.

Any recommendations, for or against?

I love Caterpy laces (the ones with bumps over the entire lace). When I was having issues with pain on the top of my foot, they helped a lot. I love that I can fine tune the lacing to make the tops loose and still keep the laces tight near my ankles. Bonus points for not needing to adjust the laces every time I put on my shoes.

 

[nancipants]

I love Caterpy laces (the ones with bumps over the entire lace). When I was having issues with pain on the top of my foot, they helped a lot. I love that I can fine tune the lacing to make the tops loose and still keep the laces tight near my ankles. Bonus points for not needing to adjust the laces every time I put on my shoes.

I've been considering trying these. My absolutely least favorite thing about running is tying my shoelaces. I know, it's stupid, but that's how my brain works. Probably because I run in the morning and I expend the most energy while getting ready by tying my shoelaces.

 

[The Expert]

Anybody done the Boston 10K? I got an email saying registration opens next week and the race is June 23 -- probably hot + humid but I DID survive Peachtree! It is about a 3.5 hour drive, but if it's worth doing, I may give it a go. It says limited to 10K runners so I feel like I have a decent shot at getting in.

 

[jmasgat]

Anybody done the Boston 10K? I got an email saying registration opens next week and the race is June 23 -- probably hot + humid but I DID survive Peachtree! It is about a 3.5 hour drive, but if it's worth doing, I may give it a go. It says limited to 10K runners so I feel like I have a decent shot at getting in.

Not done it, but looking at the course, it's okay. It's an out and back up Comm Ave. The first mile-ish (til you get to Mass Ave) is residential/boulevard and nice (I used to live on Comm Ave when I was a grad student and my sister spent recklessly!) The rest of Comm Ave up to BU is very commercial/urban. You will be on about 1/2 mile of the marathon course (from Kenmore Sq to Hereford) on the way back. It does not go down Boylston St/cross the marathon finish line, unlike the 5k (which I am running in next month).

If my plan to move back to Boston this year works, I expect I will sign up for the Challenge next year (5k/10k/half in November). This year, I just did the 5k since I'm volunteering at the Marathon.

@xjillianpaige Have you done this one?