The Running Thread - 2016

[LSUlakes]

You are right about how hard it is. I'm working on it...work in progress. And the cookie cakes that were just delivered to my work are not going to make it any easier. I'm trying not to pre-reward myself for going running later tonight. Struggggggle! 15 more minutes and I'm free of the temptation.

I know how you feel. We have vendors / subs drop off donuts, chick fil a, boudin, hog head cheese, cracklings, cake.... The struggle is real to stay away from the Cajun stuff. The donuts trip me up here and there, but not as bad. I'm a sucker for cookie cake from the Great American Cookie Factory. Luck for me I hate the mall and I never go there to get any.


Edit* I am so hungry now!

 

[dis_or_dat]

ATTQOTD: I tend to eat what I crave and that really depends on where I am in my cycle (sorry if that's TMI for the guys here). The week before my period starts, I need salt and red meat (and sometimes chocolate). I'll even pour salt into my hand to eat. Hmmm, that sounds unhealthy. I've recently started trying some vanilla soy milk after a run, but I know the carb: protein ratio isn't as good as chocolate milk. I do try to eat well the week leading up to a half and cut alcohol 2-3 days beforehand. Since I abstain before a race, I'll try to make up for it that night!

 

[baxter24]

I know that diet does play a big role in training but that doesn't mean I stick to it. Generally, I feel like I eat okay but I know I could eat a lot better. I am currently a stay at home mom so the temptation to snack is hard because I feel like all my three kids do is constantly ask for food!

My go to meal after a long run is nachos from Tijuana Flats. Lately my long runs have been on Sunday's and kids eat free that night at Tijuana Flats so that makes it fate right?!?

 

[Waiting2goback]

I would be afraid it would fly off during an upside down ride! I don't ride anything that goes upside down though, so no worries about that for me!

I held onto the ribbon, not the medal at first, which is why I got hit. The only way the medal was falling out of that ride is if I went with it!

I've been medal smacked on Tower of Terrror also. It's another ride to watch out for if your gonna ride it with your medal.

I wore it on Tower of Terror as well but I tucked it into my shirt so it wouldn't fly up, I had learned from RnR. But after running 10 miles in the heat and humidity, keeping in mind I was a brand new runner and not used to these distances, I was more concerned about getting sick on that ride.

Looking at the discussion about medals clanging together got me thinking:
Would anyone else be interested in a Goofy or a Dopey challenge where you only got the challenge medal and shirt and not all the individual ones?
What if it saved you a couple of bucks on registration?
It's a little bit risky, because if you DNF on the marathon, you have nothing to show for the previous efforts.
I'm not trying to push this or suggesting it would happen, just curious.
I would be all for it. I don't wear the shirts that often (although I can't bring myself to get rid of them).
The medals are nice, but after the initial thrill, they just hang there, destined to be throw away by my survivors at some point in the (hopefully not near) future.

This one is hard to explain for me. I don't run the races FOR the medals, but I still like the medals. So if I was getting up early for all those races I would want all the medals. I will eventually hang them up when I have a house of my own. And while they just hang there I know they will give me motivation and remind me of all the stories that went along with them.

This is a very interesting question. First, I don’t think I’m at a place in my running where diet plays a major role in meeting my goals. My goals are not peak performance-based, being more along the lines of “let’s see what I can do in a marathon when trained” along with, perhaps, some small incremental goals in my half marathon times.

Ultimately, I think a lot of it comes down to whether you “live to run” or “run to live”. In my mind, “living to run” entails tailoring your lifestyle around running performance, setting priorities around running goals and making lifestyle changes to meet them. On the flip side, to me, “running to live” is more along the lines of making running a piece of the lifestyle puzzle, using running to enhance enjoyment of life but not making it a driving factor. There is, of course, a continuum between the two, and individuals may fall anywhere on it. I think we can all identify folks on here that fall in various places on the spectrum.

I consider myself to be somewhere in the middle, but definitely shading towards the “run to live” side. Personally, I want to enjoy my running, not feel like it’s a job. It has, and continues to, help with maintaining weight loss. I tend to view running as a bit of a “calorie sink”. I run not only to pursue general fitness and enjoyment, but also to allow myself to enjoy the foods I love in moderation. As such, I don’t really use the reward system with myself, as I tend to rebel against things like that and say “screw it, I want it”. I think that’s why the niche diets never worked for me, because I found myself craving the things I wasn’t allowed. I found my success with calorie counting where I could eat anything I wanted as long as I can work it into my caloric budget for the day. That’s not to say there aren’t splurge weekends or trips here or there, they are just limited. So, I guess that’s a very long-winded way of saying I don’t change my diet when training and I don’t tie my indulgences to running-based rewards, as I don’t want to create a negative feeling towards running if I don’t meet a set goal.

I feel the same way. I will never be an elite runner. I have some goals I would like to achieve, like a BQ, possibly an ultra, and maybe a triathlon as well. Will I light the course on fire, no. But I still want to prove to myself I can do these things before I get to old.

QOTD: I know diet is extremely important to achieving my goals. I was VERY diligent about my diet when I first began running. I lost 30 lbs initially. Then I went for my physical that year and my doctor couldn't believe my transformation in such a short time. He told me if I never lost another pound I would be perfectly healthy. So, I eased up. But, I need to get back in that frame of mind. I want to lose another 30 lbs. I think if I do, assuming my surgery and recovery go well, I can eventually get my BQ.

On top of all that, I feel better when I eat well. I used to crave ice cream, pizza, cookies, etc... Now I just don't feel good when I eat that stuff. I eat tons of fruits and veggies, eggs, chicken, and water. I don't get sick often either. As for rewards, I don't do rewards. I don't stress out if I have a cookie anymore, because I know I will burn it off when I run. I don't stuff my face with junk anymore so a cookie here and there is nothing. One thing I do crave when I run in heat and humidity is chips. I think its because of the salt. It just tastes so good. But overall, I don't reward myself. To me the reward is running and being healthy.

 

[Waiting2goback]

 

[DopeyBadger]

QOTD: How much of a roll do you think diet plays into achieving your running goals? Does your diet change based on training? Since we are talking about diet, what type of food or drink is your guilty please that you will reward yourself with after a hard workout/race/successful week?

I've been on both sides of the nutrition aspect. I used diet and exercise to lose weight. And in total lost ~85 pounds from my heaviest. I was running, and in the beginning restricting calories watching what I ate. But I felt there was still some weight to lose and no matter what I did in terms of restriction/running I couldn't lose it.

Then I started Hansons to really push myself to reach my running goals. But at the same time decided to take the mindset of less calorie restriction and actually eating more food/calories (just more healthy food). I went from:
-cereal to eggs and oatmeal
-peanut butter to lunch meat to crock pot chicken
-yogurt to apple
-added two bananas
-removed the peanuts
etc.

I dropped another 10-15 pounds to be down in total about 100 pounds from my heaviest. But I noticed that this last set of weight loss seemed to be a lot more fat loss and muscle gain.

Here's my current diet:


Breakfast and Lunch are almost this everyday, but dinner is variable. Based on a rough BMR (that's not personally calculated but merely a calculator online) I burn around 1800 calories just by existing. In addition, my current training runs based on Garmin data burn between 1000-2000 calories per day (1000-1500 for weekdays). So between existing and running I burn 2800-3800 calories per day. Since I'm not necessarily trying to lose weight, I need to try and stay at or above this number right now. I believe this diet change in combination with the Hansons has concurrently played a very big role in my dramatic decrease in race times over the last year.

I also do reward myself once a year. Not a alcohol drinker, but I love myself a good apple fritter doughnut from the local bakery. Just can't resist..... Yes, I consumed both in less than 2 days.... There is a reason I weighed 100 more pounds than today...



Otherwise my reward is meeting my running goals. The time I cross the finish line matters more to me than the extra cookie or ice cream cone.

 

[keahgirl8]

My anti scratch method is to wrap up the medal in its own ribbon. The sock method sounds more foolproof though.

I usually wrap them in paper towels. I love this idea!

This is a very interesting question. First, I don’t think I’m at a place in my running where diet plays a major role in meeting my goals. My goals are not peak performance-based, being more along the lines of “let’s see what I can do in a marathon when trained” along with, perhaps, some small incremental goals in my half marathon times.

Ultimately, I think a lot of it comes down to whether you “live to run” or “run to live”. In my mind, “living to run” entails tailoring your lifestyle around running performance, setting priorities around running goals and making lifestyle changes to meet them. On the flip side, to me, “running to live” is more along the lines of making running a piece of the lifestyle puzzle, using running to enhance enjoyment of life but not making it a driving factor. There is, of course, a continuum between the two, and individuals may fall anywhere on it. I think we can all identify folks on here that fall in various places on the spectrum.

I consider myself to be somewhere in the middle, but definitely shading towards the “run to live” side. Personally, I want to enjoy my running, not feel like it’s a job. It has, and continues to, help with maintaining weight loss. I tend to view running as a bit of a “calorie sink”. I run not only to pursue general fitness and enjoyment, but also to allow myself to enjoy the foods I love in moderation. As such, I don’t really use the reward system with myself, as I tend to rebel against things like that and say “screw it, I want it”. I think that’s why the niche diets never worked for me, because I found myself craving the things I wasn’t allowed. I found my success with calorie counting where I could eat anything I wanted as long as I can work it into my caloric budget for the day. That’s not to say there aren’t splurge weekends or trips here or there, they are just limited. So, I guess that’s a very long-winded way of saying I don’t change my diet when training and I don’t tie my indulgences to running-based rewards, as I don’t want to create a negative feeling towards running if I don’t meet a set goal.

I think you and I are a lot alike. I enjoy running. That's why I do it. I'm not trying to win a race. Most of the time, I don't even have a time goal really. I might have a general goal, but I'm not married to it. I eat healthy most of the time, but if I want to indulge every now and then, I do it. I do eat dessert every day, but that is not why I run. Eating is not a running reward for me. The only thing I really worry about food-wise before a run is whether I am eating enough and whether I am eating something that will make me sick.

 

[wendybeth75]

Hello All! I have a general running question. I keep getting a blister on the outer left tip of the toe next to my pinky toe. This is the kind of blister that spreads under my toenail causing me to lose it, in fact it is currently only halfway grown back. I've tried taping my toes together to no avail. I had thought perhaps I was curling my toe under, but I'm not so sure. I am currently training for the Urban Bourbon half in Louisville (Oct) and he GSC. As my long runs get longer the toe issue is more pronounced. Any advice or tips would be very welcome.

 

[FFigawi]

Hello All! I have a general running question. I keep getting a blister on the outer left tip of the toe next to my pinky toe. This is the kind of blister that spreads under my toenail causing me to lose it, in fact it is currently only halfway grown back. I've tried taping my toes together to no avail. I had thought perhaps I was curling my toe under, but I'm not so sure. I am currently training for the Urban Bourbon half in Louisville (Oct) and he GSC. As my long runs get longer the toe issue is more pronounced. Any advice or tips would be very welcome.

Have you cut your nails short? Do you use Body Glide or another anti-friction agent? Have you tried the Injinji socks designed to keep your toes from touching each other? Maybe tighten the laces in the toe box of your shoes to keep you foot from sliding around? I can't guarantee any or all of these will work, but they're the first things I recommend to people when they get blisters on their toes during long runs.

 

[CheapRunnerMike]

ATTQOTD: I tend to eat what I crave and that really depends on where I am in my cycle (sorry if that's TMI for the guys here).

Until you said something about TMI I just figured you were talking about riding a bike. Most of us guys are pretty oblivious.

And you just had to post that fritter picture again, didn't you @DopeyBadger...now I really need to get to Wisconsin, although I probably need to run there in order to burn one of those things off

 

[LSUlakes]

Hello All! I have a general running question. I keep getting a blister on the outer left tip of the toe next to my pinky toe. This is the kind of blister that spreads under my toenail causing me to lose it, in fact it is currently only halfway grown back. I've tried taping my toes together to no avail. I had thought perhaps I was curling my toe under, but I'm not so sure. I am currently training for the Urban Bourbon half in Louisville (Oct) and he GSC. As my long runs get longer the toe issue is more pronounced. Any advice or tips would be very welcome.

A few things could be causing the issue. The first that comes to mind is that your shoe may be to small or to big causing your toe to rub against the shoe and making the blister. So the expensive option is more shoes, the other is perhaps the nail needs trimming. you mention the toenail falling off, usually this is a sign on high mileage and toenails being to long. So perhaps its a combination of those things. Hope you are able to solve the problem soon.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Until you said something about TMI I just figured you were talking about riding a bike. Most of us guys are pretty oblivious.

And you just had to post that fritter picture again, didn't you @DopeyBadger...now I really need to get to Wisconsin, although I probably need to run there in order to burn one of those things off

I guarantee it is worth every extra mile that I have to run to burn it off. It's crispy outside, soft inside, sugary, chunks of apple, and possibly a touch of cinnamon. It's downright amazing. You actually have to call ahead to order one because they are either all spoken for every morning or they sell out between 5-5:15 am (at least every time I've tried to get one).

 

[LSUlakes]

QOTD: Not to long ago we discussed what to do for warming up and cooling down before races and hard workouts. Below is a bit from the book "The Little Red Book of Running" by, Scott Douglas. I thought I would share the information with everyone and ask if you agree or disagree with what it says. Would you consider changing your routine based on this info?

Warm-Up
"The need to prepare your body for fast running is intuitive. What might not be so obvious is what makes a good work-up. A job of 1.5 to 3 miles is the first step, but not the only step. On the jog, start slower than you usually do on a typical runs. This is really the day to gradually bring your body to life. By the end of your warm-up jog you should be moving fluidly and faster than you were at the beginning without any real increase in effort.
Follow your warm-up jog with some dynamic stretches, like leg swings and skipping. Right before fast running, these are better than static stretching at preparing your muscles to work hard. Then do 4 to 8 striders of 80 to 100 meters, building into running faster on each one. Don't worry this this fast running will detract from your workout; it will better prepare you to do the first couple repeats at the right intensity with the right range of motion.
If your workout is repeats of 2 minutes or more, after your last strider, run 30 to 60 seconds at the pace you want to hit on the first repeat; on the track running for 200 meters at that pace is convenient. This longer bout will prepare your internal plumbing systems to work at a high rate starting on the first repeat. take a couple minutes of active rest between this run and the first repeat of your workout."

Race Warm-Up
"Except for marathons, where you don't need much more than some easy jogging and stretching, use your standard hard workout warm-up for races. Time things so that you finish your striders about 10 minutes before the start. Then do this: Run for 60 to 90 seconds at your tempo run pace. Finish this run about five minutes before the start; jog and move lightly as needed and possible to stay loose.
That little burst at tempo pace will prepare your body to work at a higher metabolic level, which will mean that launching into race pace won't be such a shock. This little trick picks up on the observation most runners make that the second repeat of a hard workout often feels much easier than the first one.
If you're properly trained, you should have no concern that warming up fairly aggressively will detract from your race performance."

Cool-Down
"The reason to do something other than plop yourself down under a tree after a hard workout might not be as obvious as the rationale for warming up. But cool-downs are important.
To see why, think of a graphical representation of a workout. You move from being sedentary to light activity to harder activity to a peak of activity-the meat of the workout, like 800-meter repeats. At that peak, your body's internal processes are working at a high rate. A good cool-down brings them back down to their normal state gradually, and your body thanks you by being better able to handle the next days of running.
To gradually bring your body down from the metabolic peak it reached during your workout, jog 1 to 3 miles. Follow that with gentle stretching, either dynamic or static, to encourage continued blood flow to the muscles that were recently working hard. This will help to continue to remove waste products and reoxygenate the muscle tissues."

ATTQOTD: I thought the .5 mile to mile I was doing before a 5k to half was enough, followed by some stretching, but after having read this I believe I should follow this a little more. The cool down part is something that often got skipped post race, and usually after a workout as well. For some runners, an additional 2.5 to 6 miles is a lot more miles than normal, but I think trying to adopt some of what is mentioned above would be a good practice. I tried it out before my race on Wednesday with a warm-up of 1.75 miles and a 1 mile cool down afterwards and my legs felt ready to run again on Thursday if I had a planned to run. So, for me I will continue to include this in my race day plan, as I see benefits from doing so.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

My warm-up before speed work is about 1.5 miles at varying efforts. I do not warm up at all for runs at an easy to moderate pace. My warm-up for something between a moderate pace and speed work is a brisk walk with knee raises and the like.

My cool down after speed work is generally a 1.5 mile jog. My cool down for all other runs is a walk, varying in speed and including knee raises and a few lunges.

I have almost totally abandoned stretching for my legs. I get injured when I stretch, whether I am warm or not before I start.

 

[Barca33Runner]

ATTQOTD: I still do very minimal warm-up for most of my runs. I know it's not the best idea, but I am rarely running full effort so I feel like some of my run could be considered warm-up on most days and I just don't think of it that way. Generally, I think this information seems reasonable. I think it is geared toward runners slightly more competitive than I, so I don't necessarily feel bad about not jogging 1.5 to 3 miles before my races; although Disney does give me a pretty good chance to achieve this with the distance from the staging areas to the starting line.

 

[RunDisneyDad]

ATTQOTD: Sounds about right to me. Like has already been said, I'll ease into moderate/recovery runs and more or less maintain that pace. For speedwork/tempo's I definitely feel the benefit to warming up in the range mentioned. The warm up helps me feel comfortable when I start hitting the faster paces and also helps mentally ease me into the fact I could be feeling miserable at some point during the faster portions of the run. I also like the cool down because it just feels soooo much easier than the middle portion of the run.

 

[dis_or_dat]

@wendybeth75 Whenever I start to get a small blister forming, I put some moleskin over the area to prevent it from getting worse. Obviously, you want to fix the cause of the problem (others have much better advice), but maybe the moleskin (or something similar) could be a quick bandaid in the meantime?

ATTQOTD: Never used to do warm up or cool down, but after reading Hanson's and using @DopeyBadger 's advice, I've added them to all my runs. However, I've shortened them to 0.5 for warm up and 0.75 for cool down due to time constraints (0.75 warm up for speed session and maybe strength when I get to it). Probably need much more, but better than nothing, right? Haven't done dynamic stretching or strides yet. Too scared to do strides before a race though, I feel like that's so much expended energy! I was kicking myself for running a mile right before Tink (left the hotel late and didn't anticipate bag check was so far from the corrals or how large an event Tink was - made it to my corral at the end of the National Anthem), but I guess it was a good warm up! I like to do static stretching after a run if time permits, since I think it helps with my tight achilles/calves/PF.

 

[croach]

ATTQOTD: I always a 1-2 mile warm up for speed work but not before races. I do dynamic stretches and strides before shorter races but not the 1-2 mile warm up. And usually some cool down running after all runs. So I'm kind of a weird combination of those things listed.

Here's a good article on dynamic vs. static stretching. I didn't know this for a long time but makes sense.

http://www.runnersworld.com/race-training/dynamic-stretching-better-before-training-and-racing

 

[roxymama]

ATTQOTD: Generally my training WU & CD are never more than .5 miles each. Race mornings I'll go a mile+ since that's how far my in-laws are from most Chicago race starts BUT I'm not like doing it for speed...it's just a way to get to the start corrals.
Maybe if I try to do some 5k PRing next year I'll focus more on ways to maximize my speediness but for right now I'd tire myself out running 3 miles before a 3.1 mile race. Might as well just sign up for a 10k in that case.

 

[gjramsey]

ATTQOTD: Only warm-ups and cool-downs I do are for Speed work and tempo. WU is usually 2 miles to 20 minutes, and will include some surges or strides near the end. For speed work, I will also do some dynamic stretches between the warm up and starting the workout. CD will be between .5 and 2 miles.

For a 5k and sometimes a 10k race I will do some small amount of strides and dynamic stretches. I have never done a cool down run after a race