The Running Thread - 2019

[broadsheet]

Uggggh trying not to freak out over my half marathon tomorrow morning. I can do this, right?

 

[avondale]

Uggggh trying not to freak out over my half marathon tomorrow morning. I can do this, right?

You got this! Once you get moving, you'll keep warm in spite of being wet. If you're comfortable with it, wear a hat with a brim to keep the rain out of your eyes. Make sure you put Body Glide (or whatever you use) everywhere. I'd suggest planning to bring a complete change of clothes (warm clothes) if possible so you can get out of your cold, wet clothes right away after the race. Good luck! Once you're done, you'll feel so accomplished for having pushed through despite the bad weather!

 

[YawningDodo]

@LSUlakes I have a race to add; I think it got missed earlier:
June 8 - YawningDodo - Governor's Cup Half Marathon (finish)

Meanwhile, the Ice Breaker's online registration period apparently got pushed back to March 11, so I still can't officially add that to the calendar.

But in brighter news, today I finally got my butt outside for a subzero run. To be specific, it was -14*F when I checked the weather prior to getting dressed; it may have warmed up to -13 or -12 by the time I got out there. Real short run (it was kind of...miserable...) but I got out there and did it! As much as anything else it was a learning experience about gear. Speaking of which, can anyone recommend a lightweight, moisture-wicking face mask? My current face mask is neither of those things and it was a big contributor to my discomfort.

I kept wondering throughout the run "why is there snow on my sleeves? It's not snowing." And then I realized that what I was seeing was my sweat wicking through the layers and freezing when it reached the outside air. Lesson learned: I had too many shirts on and was overheating...and the mask/balaclava was a terrible culprit as well. Makes for an interesting post-run selfie, though.

 

[jmasgat]

Wow. You are hardcore. No recommendation for a mask--when I've used my balaclava, it fogs up my glasses. Maybe a wool buff? Would be warm and breathable.

 

[YawningDodo]

Wow. You are hardcore. No recommendation for a mask--when I've used my balaclava, it fogs up my glasses. Maybe a wool buff? Would be warm and breathable.

That's why I'm not wearing sunglasses in the photo--I put them on and they immediately fogged up, so I ditched them in the car. Couldn't find my ski goggles this morning or I would have used those instead.

And thanks for the suggestion! I had to look up what a wool buff is, and that does look like it might work better.

 

[keahgirl8]

Hey everyone! I got away from running for a while, but I have fallen back in love with it again. I just completed the Princess 5K and 10K, and I'm planning to do all 3 races next year. I think what I'll do is just continue half training, picking up where I left off mileage-wise. That way, I am always ready for a 10K or half. I've missed this thread!

 

[txdisneygrl]

Woodlands Half race recap: First off, my goal was 2:44:59 and I am ecstatic to report I finished in 2:38:19!! 2 years worth of POT here I come.

All concrete road running here, but at least they closed all lanes of traffic so runners had lots of room. I am an interval runner- always have been and I adjust between :30/:30 and :30/:60. Crowds forced my buddy and I to run for about the first 3/4 mile straight through. First two miles were significantly ahead of a comfortable pace for me and caused mile 4-5 to be a major struggle as I worked to get back to and maintain a comfortable pace for me. Got it straight and an awesome runner's high plus some very familiar spectators got me through to mile 10.5. The last chunk was a slog, but I was determined not to blow my goal and quit. Weather was decent, mid 50s, but humidity was high. All in all a great race experience. Not as sore as I'd feared after also which is good because Star Wars challenge is in 4 1/2 weeks.

 

[broadsheet]

Little Rock half marathon recap:

This is the race with the crummy forecast. Backstory: this was only my second half marathon ever, and the last one was in 2013. I took quite a hiatus!

My goal was to finish under 3 hours but really, I just wanted to finish with pride and dignity intact, haha.

This race is local to me and it’s really well done - great crowd support, even in the crummy weather. It was basically misting and upper 30s the entire race. That wasn’t bad, apart from the giant puddle I stepped in around mile 2. The bad part was the wind, and the fact that we had to run into it for quite a bit of the race. It also hailed at one point!

But like I said, the crowd was great and on the course I enjoyed: a beer, candy, orange slices, grilled pineapple, and even a splash of holy water from a priest. I lingered but ultimately did not get a mimosa that was offered around mile 10.

I was feeling pretty good until about mile 11 - my IT bands were aching on both sides. I was doing 60/30 intervals so took a few extra walk breaks. Then we turned a corner at about mile 12 and went straight into the wind and uphill. I walked that part until we turned away from the wind.

Then the end was downhill - it coincides with the marathon course and at mile 26 they hand out free full size lipstick! I took two. Then I made it past the finish line at the same time the first female marathoner was finishing. I burst into tears, got my medal (plus a challenge medal for doing two earlier 5ks) and got the heck out of the cold.

Final time: 3:06.34 - not my goal but a PR by about three minutes. I’ll take it.

The medals as always were great! The half one glows in the dark

 

[Professor_Cookie]

Little Rock half marathon recap:

This is the race with the crummy forecast. Backstory: this was only my second half marathon ever, and the last one was in 2013. I took quite a hiatus!

My goal was to finish under 3 hours but really, I just wanted to finish with pride and dignity intact, haha.

This race is local to me and it’s really well done - great crowd support, even in the crummy weather. It was basically misting and upper 30s the entire race. That wasn’t bad, apart from the giant puddle I stepped in around mile 2. The bad part was the wind, and the fact that we had to run into it for quite a bit of the race. It also hailed at one point!

But like I said, the crowd was great and on the course I enjoyed: a beer, candy, orange slices, grilled pineapple, and even a splash of holy water from a priest. I lingered but ultimately did not get a mimosa that was offered around mile 10.

I was feeling pretty good until about mile 11 - my IT bands were aching on both sides. I was doing 60/30 intervals so took a few extra walk breaks. Then we turned a corner at about mile 12 and went straight into the wind and uphill. I walked that part until we turned away from the wind.

Then the end was downhill - it coincides with the marathon course and at mile 26 they hand out free full size lipstick! I took two. Then I made it past the finish line at the same time the first female marathoner was finishing. I burst into tears, got my medal (plus a challenge medal for doing two earlier 5ks) and got the heck out of the cold.

Final time: 3:06.34 - not my goal but a PR by about three minutes. I’ll take it.

The medals as always were great! The half one glows in the dark

Excellent job! Wind is for the birds.

Running me would probably sneer at the lipstick. Sitting me thinks it would be funny to smear the lipstick on like Steve bucemi in Billy Madison and get the finish line photo that way.

 

[Slogger]

Congrats @txdisneygrl for crushing your goal at Woodlands Half.

Congrats @broadsheet for completing your Little Rock Half. Great medals and extra credit for making it through the not great weather.
Did you know wind is a four letter word?

 

[michigandergirl]

I just posted a race recap over in my training journal for the Winter Trail Fest 5 Miler.

Hightlights include:
1. A knee deep water crossing
2. Amazing finisher medal
3. Surprise 3rd place age group finish

 

[Kerry1957]

@YawningDodo, I do not have a rec for a facemask, but I can recommend the Smartwool balaclava if you want to try that style. I also have a race swag buff that works pretty well. When I ran the Chicago lakefront HM in January the temps were -14 F when I got up and about 0 during the race and I wore both. The balaclava with a Smartwool beanie on top was too much and I pulled down the balaclava to sort of make another buff out of it. Chapstick was given out pre-race and I'm glad I liberally applied it.

 

[CDKG]

Hot Chocolate 15k - Seattle Race Recap

This morning I ran my 6th Hot Chocolate 15k in Seattle. The race begins and ends at Seattle Center, so I opted to use public transportation (light rail/monorail). It’s the slow way to go, but $11 round trip versus $15 for event parking and the benefit of stress free travel as compared to driving alone are more than worth the extra time!

Someone at DATW mentioned they were surprised to hear the Seattle Hot Chocolate was in March, because that made him think of spring. Nope, no spring here! While it was sunny and dry, it was a cold 30 degrees at the start. My goal was to improve on last year’s time (1:41:25), something I have managed to do every year. A one second improvement would count, but I was hoping to for a sub 1:40.

This is a hilly course. One big hill (up Aurora Ave) and several smaller hills. Due to the viaduct and Battery Street tunnel closure last month in conjunction with the opening of Seattle’s new tunnel, some adjustments to the course needed to be made. The bulk of the course remains an out/back on Aurora. However instead of turning around at 46th, we continued past the Woodland Park Zoo and turned around just past 72nd, on the west side of Green Lake.

2018 course - 823 ft elevation gain:


2019 course - 783 ft elevation gain:


One of the best things about running at Disney is that it is flat. I really dislike hills! They always slow me down and today was no different. I wasn’t sure what kind of performance to expect out of myself today, but I just tried to keep a consistent relatively hard effort. I’m a marathoner after all, I can handle a little 15k with hills, right?

0-3.1 miles - 34:25 (11:05/mile)
3.1-6.2 miles - 1:07:21 (10:51/mile)
6.2-9.3 miles - 1:38:18 (10:33/mile)

Wow! I guess the past year I spent working on endurance (while throwing “speed” completely out the window) worked! If there is a Hot Chocolate race near you, I highly recommend it. It is always a fun race with excellent swag!

3/3 - CDKG - Hot Chocolate 15k (1:41:25 / 1:38:18)

 

[Professor_Cookie]

Hot Chocolate 15k - Seattle Race Recap

This morning I ran my 6th Hot Chocolate 15k in Seattle. The race begins and ends at Seattle Center, so I opted to use public transportation (light rail/monorail). It’s the slow way to go, but $11 round trip versus $15 for event parking and the benefit of stress free travel as compared to driving alone are more than worth the extra time!

Someone at DATW mentioned they were surprised to hear the Seattle Hot Chocolate was in March, because that made him think of spring. Nope, no spring here! While it was sunny and dry, it was a cold 30 degrees at the start. My goal was to improve on last year’s time (1:41:25), something I have managed to do every year. A one second improvement would count, but I was hoping to for a sub 1:40.

This is a hilly course. One big hill (up Aurora Ave) and several smaller hills. Due to the viaduct and Battery Street tunnel closure last month in conjunction with the opening of Seattle’s new tunnel, some adjustments to the course needed to be made. The bulk of the course remains an out/back on Aurora. However instead of turning around at 46th, we continued past the Woodland Park Zoo and turned around just past 72nd, on the west side of Green Lake.

2018 course - 823 ft elevation gain:
View attachment 386143

2019 course - 783 ft elevation gain:
View attachment 386144

One of the best things about running at Disney is that it is flat. I really dislike hills! They always slow me down and today was no different. I wasn’t sure what kind of performance to expect out of myself today, but I just tried to keep a consistent relatively hard effort. I’m a marathoner after all, I can handle a little 15k with hills, right?

0-3.1 miles - 34:25 (11:05/mile)
3.1-6.2 miles - 1:07:21 (10:51/mile)
6.2-9.3 miles - 1:38:18 (10:33/mile)

Wow! I guess the past year I spent working on endurance (while throwing “speed” completely out the window) worked! If there is a Hot Chocolate race near you, I highly recommend it. It is always a fun race with excellent swag!

3/3 - CDKG - Hot Chocolate 15k (1:41:25 / 1:38:18)

Aurora? I’m sure it’s easy to tell the runners from the “working girls.”

 

[Waiting2goback]

 

[Jules76126]

Congrats to everyone who raced this weekend!

 

[LSUlakes]

Good morning folks! Hope everyone had a great weekend and I apologize for my absence. QOTD: Anyone doing anything for Lundi or Mardi gras today or tomorrow? How about this past weekend?

ATTQOTD: TO be very honest here, I hate parades so I did not and am not doing anything in that regard. We also have work so at most we will just talk about with the kiddos and maybe watch a live feed.

 

[rteetz]

QOTD: Anyone doing anything for Lundi or Mardi gras today or tomorrow? How about this past weekend?

It’s Fat Tuesday tomorrow or Paçzki day in our neck of the woods!

 

[Dis5150]

ATTQOTD: Nope, didn't even know it was time till you mentioned it! I am a bad southerner.

 

[run.minnie.miles]

ATTQOTD: I think the big celebration of Mardi Gras is definitely a southern thing. Growing up, we would maybe have a special meal, but nothing too crazy. Tomorrow will basically just be another day for us.