The Running Thread—2023

[nancipants]

I love https://www.junkbrands.com/. I first got one at expo for W&D last year. They’re very lightweight. I end up wringing mine out and putting it back on, it hold so much sweat!

That's one of the ones that I have, but I must not be wearing it low enough on my forehead.

 

[RuntheMouse]

That's one of the ones that I have, but I must not be wearing it low enough on my forehead.

I wear mine pretty low, I sweat ALOT! If you find some others you end up like please share!

 

[nancipants]

I can't comment about headbands, but I really like this new running hat that I got from Trailheads. It's lightweight and has holes in the top. I sweat like a fiend and this works to stop the sweat getting into my eyes.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00WKX19PA/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I was actually wondering if a hat would help. I know they can trap heat, but I have some Disney hats with mesh.

 

[Herding_Cats]

I just got a couple of junk headbands for work. I got the "big bang" and I don't think I'll run in them because of the double layer. I prefer running in Bondibands (although I don't know what they would do for sweat) because most headbands squeeze my head too much (junk headbands are borderline.....hoping they stretch out a little)

 

[SheHulk]

I have an unrelated hair/headband question:

I have some headbands I like for running, but now that it's super hot, I find that sweat just keeps dripping down my face into my eyes and it's not fun! I saw an ad for the gym wrap and thought about trying it, but wanted to ask if any of you have recommendations for sweatbands that you like that keep sweat out of your eyes and don't heat up your forehead too much.

I'm not a heavy sweater, but I like the old-school terrycloth ones from Nike or Adidas. They are heavy with sweat when I wear them on the hottest days, and I don't have anything running down my face so I assume they are doing the absorptive trick.

 

[Naomeri]

I have an unrelated hair/headband question:

I have some headbands I like for running, but now that it's super hot, I find that sweat just keeps dripping down my face into my eyes and it's not fun! I saw an ad for the gym wrap and thought about trying it, but wanted to ask if any of you have recommendations for sweatbands that you like that keep sweat out of your eyes and don't heat up your forehead too much.

I use these visors and I love them. They are absolutely soaked (including the bill) after a long, hot run, but it doesn’t drip down my face during the run, and my head sweats like mad.

 

[MissLiss279]

I have an unrelated hair/headband question:

I have some headbands I like for running, but now that it's super hot, I find that sweat just keeps dripping down my face into my eyes and it's not fun! I saw an ad for the gym wrap and thought about trying it, but wanted to ask if any of you have recommendations for sweatbands that you like that keep sweat out of your eyes and don't heat up your forehead too much.

I like my Bondi Bands. If the sun is out I also wear a Sparkle Athletic (headsweats variety) visor over the top of a Bondi Band and I think they mostly work.
I also carry runningluv’s attached to my hydration pack to help sop up sweat. (They also work as a nose wipe.) It looks like they aren’t currently being made. Pretty much they are terry cloth-like with a little loop on the end that you can wrap around your thumb or loop through something else to hold it in place.

 

[nancipants]

I use these visors and I love them. They are absolutely soaked (including the bill) after a long, hot run, but it doesn’t drip down my face during the run, and my head sweats like mad.

Ah! Visors! Why didn't I think of that.

 

[WillRunForPizza]

Also a fan of visors - definitely look for the quick-drying type.

 

[kps7795]

I was actually wondering if a hat would help. I know they can trap heat, but I have some Disney hats with mesh.

As fellow Floridian, I was also concerned about the hat trapping heat. However, I fortunately haven't found that to be the case with this hat.

 

[DopeyBadger]

I know that I can get myself in trouble for focusing on individual runs in a week instead of having a broader focus on weeks of training let alone months of training, but I was hoping that someone can help me understand the potential impact of D+T on my running. I am focusing on base building in Zone 2 keeping myself below VT1 without concerning myself about pace or distance. Regardless, I still look over my run data because I'm curious if I'm seeing any improvement.

My runs this week were all 30 minutes long. I was reviewing the data last night following my run and noticed that my paces this week were 11'53", 11'37" and then 12'09"/MI. The respective dew points+temperatures were 137, 138 and then 142 last night. Is it generally considered to be a big jump going from 137/138 to 142? I'm trying to reconcile why my pace slowed down and I'm wondering if it can be attributed to the increased D+T. At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter because my focus is keeping my heartrate below VT1 during this basebuilding period. But, I am still curious the effects of D+T.

I concur with others. The difference between T+D of 137/138 to 142 is at most about 0.5% according to the adjustment chart. So that would take an 11:45 to an 11:49 (negligible in the big picture). Thus, T+D alone is unlikely to be the sole explantation in the differences. However, it's important to remember that we don't all react the same to changes in temperature/dew point. And when the change in T+D occurs relative to other recent runs matters too. For instance, if you've consistently been training in 100-110 T+D and then you see a T+D of 160, you're likely to see a massive fade compared to the adjustment chart. You lack proper heat acclimation. If instead however, you had been consistently training in 140-145 T+D and see the same T+D of 160, then you're more likely to be closer to the adjustment chart.

When it comes to the T+D adjustment chart, think of it more like a cap than a set goal. If the scheduled pace was 10:00, and you had a T+D day of 150 with an estimated adjustment to 10:27, it doesn't mean you have to run 10:27 and if you don't it's a failure. Rather, it means aim for 10:27 as the absolute fastest to go for that day, but be ok with going slower. Just don't go faster.

In addition to the other suggestions for other possible explanations, it's important to remember that T+D is just a single tool in a toolbox of lots of tools. Other considerations for how a run may feel (or why the effort between two runs is equal but the pace is slower) can be explained by how sunny it is (solar radiation), how windy it is, how hilly one course is versus another, whether you trained hard the day prior, whether you went binge drinking last night, whether you ran last night and are running this morning, etc.

Make sure you don't get too zoomed in on the little details and miss the bigger picture. Don't overact to any one run or the data from it because you're never as bad as your worse day, and your best days only come around every once in a while. At the heart of your question is whether you're seeing improvements during your base building over the summer. It's hard to evaluate the data because of the change in T+D (summer brings heat). But if you zoom out to the 2-3 week data sets with pace adjusted by T+D on similar run courses, then you can generate a graph like this that can track those changes in a zoomed out manner.





The more the power trend line shifts down and to the left, the fitter you are compared to other points in time. You'll see fluctuations in the data from one run to the next, but bigger picture when comparing weeks or months to each other is when you see the line moving and can measure the progress. The above information is correlative to my race performance. More often than not, when the trend line is further down/left is when I race faster. Not always, but more often than not.

 

[PrincessV]

I have an unrelated hair/headband question:

I have some headbands I like for running, but now that it's super hot, I find that sweat just keeps dripping down my face into my eyes and it's not fun! I saw an ad for the gym wrap and thought about trying it, but wanted to ask if any of you have recommendations for sweatbands that you like that keep sweat out of your eyes and don't heat up your forehead too much.

As a Floridian, I swear by Headsweats visors. I even wear them in the dark in the heat because nothing else works as well for keeping sweat out of my eyes.

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

I have an unrelated hair/headband question:

I have some headbands I like for running, but now that it's super hot, I find that sweat just keeps dripping down my face into my eyes and it's not fun! I saw an ad for the gym wrap and thought about trying it, but wanted to ask if any of you have recommendations for sweatbands that you like that keep sweat out of your eyes and don't heat up your forehead too much.

I also have thin moisture-wicking hats and I try running without them when I'm not in the sun and, like you, wind up with sweat in my eyes.

I bought these for $11 on Amazon and they seem to work well.

Braylin Men's Headbands, 3-Pack Headbands for Men​

 

[sandam1]

I sweat - a lot - and even with a headband, I usually also carry a sweat towel (the ones that they give out at the end of the runDisney races work). I also have a Sqoosh band that is easier to carry, but it does tend to get too wet to work if I'm on a really long run.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/sQoosh?ref=shop-header-name&listing_id=624475032

 

[jmasgat]

Back from my 13.1 mile "race". Did it at a local rail trail (Paint Creek), which worked out really well--plenty of parking, bathrooms, water, mostly shaded. Only negative is that it's not a paved trail (but packed dirt/crushed whatever), and it has been so dry around here that there were solid bike tire ruts, but fortunately, they didn't cause me any footing issues. Not much crowd support, just this guy....(or actually, gal, since she apparently had a clutch of eggs)

I wanted to run it "uptempo", and I did. I left my watch running and tried not to look at the mile splits. I stopped 3x for gel/water for 1 minute each. I also stopped one further time for 30 sec and had a 20sec stop for a busy road on the way back. I had a few moments of "you can stop, you know. It's not a real race and you don't have to do this", but I kept going and didn't give in. The nice thing about doing your own "race" is you get to stop exactly at the distance. So 13.1 miles exactly in a final time of 2:03:16 (Net run time of 1:59:26 ish). Apparently, I've still got some pep in my step, even without what I would call "serious" training, so I am pretty chuffed (I love this word).

Post-run treat of Iced Latte, Lemon Pound cake from a nearby coffee shop, along with a traditional post-race PB and banana on toasted homemade bread.

So I have closure on my half buildup plan, and now a week off and straight into NYC marathon training. I have my data point for fitness and can now determine what I want to do with the NYC race.

 

[azrivest]

Congratulations on the great time @jmasgat That's an awesome character stop

 

[SheHulk]

Back from my 13.1 mile "race". Did it at a local rail trail (Paint Creek), which worked out really well--plenty of parking, bathrooms, water, mostly shaded. Only negative is that it's not a paved trail (but packed dirt/crushed whatever), and it has been so dry around here that there were solid bike tire ruts, but fortunately, they didn't cause me any footing issues. Not much crowd support, just this guy....(or actually, gal, since she apparently had a clutch of eggs)

I wanted to run it "uptempo", and I did. I left my watch running and tried not to look at the mile splits. I stopped 3x for gel/water for 1 minute each. I also stopped one further time for 30 sec and had a 20sec stop for a busy road on the way back. I had a few moments of "you can stop, you know. It's not a real race and you don't have to do this", but I kept going and didn't give in. The nice thing about doing your own "race" is you get to stop exactly at the distance. So 13.1 miles exactly in a final time of 2:03:16 (Net run time of 1:59:26 ish). Apparently, I've still got some pep in my step, even without what I would call "serious" training, so I am pretty chuffed (I love this word).

Post-run treat of Iced Latte, Lemon Pound cake from a nearby coffee shop, along with a traditional post-race PB and banana on toasted homemade bread.

So I have closure on my half buildup plan, and now a week off and straight into NYC marathon training. I have my data point for fitness and can now determine what I want to do with the NYC race.

Was that a snapping turtle??!?! They are so mean and aggressive, especially when they have a nest!! Glad you got out of there with all your toes still attached.

Great job on the virtual race. Getting the mojo to run it hard when nobody is looking is tough.

 

[Naomeri]

Back from my 13.1 mile "race". Did it at a local rail trail (Paint Creek), which worked out really well--plenty of parking, bathrooms, water, mostly shaded. Only negative is that it's not a paved trail (but packed dirt/crushed whatever), and it has been so dry around here that there were solid bike tire ruts, but fortunately, they didn't cause me any footing issues. Not much crowd support, just this guy....(or actually, gal, since she apparently had a clutch of eggs)

I wanted to run it "uptempo", and I did. I left my watch running and tried not to look at the mile splits. I stopped 3x for gel/water for 1 minute each. I also stopped one further time for 30 sec and had a 20sec stop for a busy road on the way back. I had a few moments of "you can stop, you know. It's not a real race and you don't have to do this", but I kept going and didn't give in. The nice thing about doing your own "race" is you get to stop exactly at the distance. So 13.1 miles exactly in a final time of 2:03:16 (Net run time of 1:59:26 ish). Apparently, I've still got some pep in my step, even without what I would call "serious" training, so I am pretty chuffed (I love this word).

Post-run treat of Iced Latte, Lemon Pound cake from a nearby coffee shop, along with a traditional post-race PB and banana on toasted homemade bread.

So I have closure on my half buildup plan, and now a week off and straight into NYC marathon training. I have my data point for fitness and can now determine what I want to do with the NYC race.

Great job!

 

[nancipants]

Amazing job @jmasgat!

 

[FFigawi]

Well done @jmasgat