The Running Thread - 2021

[shellott-hill]

I've been re-watching the MCU movies (thanks, Binge Mode) ...

Thanks for the spotlight on a new podcast! I have something new to listen to during my runs....and I get to geek out.

 

[camaker]

@camaker i was just looking at the Tobacco Road marathon today as a potential BQ. Though I will be honest thinking of it for 2022 as I am not convinced about races before summer of 2021. I also have no idea what BAA has for plans yet. I am speculating I will need a race in 2022 to sign up for April 2023, no idea what Boston will look like for 2021 or 2022. Dang another year and I get 5 more minute. Please let me know what you think of the race.

The Tobacco Road Marathon is definitely the flattest, fastest marathon in this area and they boast that ~18% of finishers BQ. My half marathon PR is on the course and it’s where I ran my NYC Virtual Marathon time trial PR in October. I’d rate it similar to Chicago in difficulty (more on that later).

The race is very well organized and primarily run on the American Tobacco Trail (ATT) which is an old rail bed that has been converted to mixed “trail” use. The race surface is a mix of asphalt streets, paved greenway and crushed gravel hard pack.

The start/finish line is at the USA Baseball complex in Cary and you start out with 2 1/2 miles of residential streets and gently rolling hills to get to the ATT. As racers reach the ATT, the course splits with the marathoners heading north onto the paved portion of the trail for a ~6 1/2 mile out and back. When that section is completed, the marathon course rejoins the half course for a ~4 mile out and back on the crushed, packed gravel section before heading back through the neighborhood roads to the finish. The portion of the course on the ATT itself is flat or a very mild grade and makes for fast running.

As a comparison to Chicago, it depends on what your preferences are. Course-wise, there are more hills on Tobacco Road, but I think that’s more than balanced by the long straight segments of the ATT compared to the windings of the Chicago course. Tangents are FAR easier to run at Tobacco Road. If you need crowd support or scenery to feed on, Tobacco Road may not be for you, though. Crowd support is almost nonexistent and with great flatness and straightaways come great boredom.

All that being said, Tobacco Road is my go-to PR half and marathon course. When I’m focused on the performance aspects of a race, I find the drawbacks to the course (scenery and crowd support) don’t matter nearly as much as when I’m running a destination race. I hope you end up deciding to give it a go! We‘ll have to get together if you do.

 

[SheHulk]

I think that would be cool And a great reason to go back to DL. I have been loving Binge Mode’s coverage of the MCU. Was just listening to the Dr. Strange episode during my run yesterday. I am hoping they do Lord of the Rings someday, that would be cool!

Jason Concepcion announced recently that he was leaving The Ringer, and joining another podcast production company, but they would finish up Binge Mode MCU. That pretty much dashed everyone's hopes that a Binge Mode LoR would ever happen. Don't know what their agreement was though so maybe someday...

edited to add that I meant I wanted them to re-start or continue in April, as far as the "re-imagining" of those races at WDW. I can't take a weekend to travel to Anaheim but I'd do it at WDW for sure.

 

[SheHulk]

Thanks for the spotlight on a new podcast! I have something new to listen to during my runs....and I get to geek out.

Actually @FFigawi had mentioned the Binge Mode Star Wars season when it started, which got me hooked. They have a Harry Potter season too, which people liked. Plenty of geek out content!

 

[garneska]

@camaker sounds perfect. I am ok with minimal crowd support. what about early wake up and more importantly standing around for two hours before the start? I think at Chicago that was the super benefit, waking up and heading to the start and not standing around like Disney. Will let you know what i decide. The other option at the moment is the Kentucky derby Marathon. Again am thinking 2022. However, one friendly face at an event might swing me

 

[Baloo in MI]

Jason Concepcion announced recently that he was leaving The Ringer, and joining another podcast production company, but they would finish up Binge Mode MCU. That pretty much dashed everyone's hopes that a Binge Mode LoR would ever happen.

That is a bummer!!!

 

[FFigawi]

Actually @FFigawi had mentioned the Binge Mode Star Wars season when it started, which got me hooked. They have a Harry Potter season too, which people liked. Plenty of geek out content!

Their Game of Thrones and Harry Potter seasons are the best, I think, because they are both more invested in those fandoms and have extensive source material to dive into. I do love Jason's nerding out over the Marvel comics from his youth though.

 

[GuinnessRunner]

ATTQOD:

1) Consistency in my strength training/cross training to help keep the injury bug at bay.
2) Get my HM time back below 2:10.
3) Get my weight a little better under control.
4) Be ready for a return to Goofy 2022 and do it for charity.

 

[cburnett11]

Being home all the time, my snacking has gone way up

Work more on mobility. I always say I'll do this, and I do spend some time on it, but I want to work more on flexibility to try and stay injury free

lose 10 lbs (Christmas was not kind but obviously the food was delicious)

Participate in an in-person race

Register for 2022 Dopey

- praise God more

Borrowing all of these comments as they totally apply to my goals for 2021.

I would like to run another BQ time at some point this year... either towards 2022 or 2023 Boston. I've never run the Boston Marathon before, but was healthy and fortunate enough to run BQ times in Nov 2019 and Jan 2020 in hopes of running Boston 2021. I'm guessing that if Boston ends up doing a live race this year, my times and/or the allowed level of registrants will keep me at home. That's okay as nothing is ever guaranteed and it will just give me another chance at a goal race.

 

[cburnett11]

@camaker sounds perfect. I am ok with minimal crowd support. what about early wake up and more importantly standing around for two hours before the start? I think at Chicago that was the super benefit, waking up and heading to the start and not standing around like Disney. Will let you know what i decide. The other option at the moment is the Kentucky derby Marathon. Again am thinking 2022. However, one friendly face at an event might swing me

The Kentucky Derby marathon is not the fastest marathon as there is some elevation in the middle of the race as you run through a park. But in this case, what goes up... must come down and there is some decent downhill coming out of the park. I run the half marathon (miniMarathon) of this every year since I live in Louisville. I'm guessing the half vs. full participation is ~15%/85% split. There is pretty good support on the half course, but I believe when you split off around mile 8 that the course gets a little more barren. I know several people that run the full here, but I've just chosen to run the half as I usually save the marathon distance for more of a destination since I don't run it that often. But if I didn't live in Louisville, I'd probably consider the full course. Somehow that makes sense in my brain.

 

[garneska]

@cburnett11 thanks for the info on the derby marathon. We are kind of in the same boat with Boston. At this point too many people will be in for 2021, that is if they do it. I figure I will have to run another BQ. I am going for April 2023 as my new target so that is a 2022 race.

I know I can BQ again but it was hard and took me a few tries to get there. I know I will have to be selective about my marathon attempts.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

Full Marathon (this is pie-in-the-sky because of the mental hurdle that double digit mileage is for me, and 20+ miles really freaks me out right now, but I know that LOGICALLY, I can train to be able to do it.)

It was a big hurdle for me as well and took me a few years to feel ready to work on conquering that fear. I will only say this. You will know when you are ready to tackle it. And if you decide that you never want to take on that hurdle, that's great too. Running should be something you enjoy and helps make your life better. That does not mean you ever have to run a marathon if you don't want to.

Hey guys I don't know if this is the right place for this but I have a question:
I've been re-watching the MCU movies (thanks, Binge Mode) and was thinking how great it would be if they re-started or just continued the Avengers Infinity Stone type of races they had been doing in Anaheim. Do that for either the number of years that there were stones left, or just start over. I personally would love that and be very excited to do it. I know there are licensing issues with some of the characters. But also there have been *many* more characters introduced to the MCU since then, with more coming. Do you guys think that's a possibility?

Is it possible? Yes. But I do not think it's likely. Avengers race weekend was easily the least popular race weekend at Disneyland. I ran the final Avengers race in 2017 and it was easily the least crowded runDisney event I ever saw. If declining popularity dictated the new direction for the April race weekend at WDW, I do not think Avengers will come back to runDisney unless it's as a one off race weekend theme.

 

[Jules76126]

ATTQOTD:

1) Run more. 2020 was really rough and my running was all over the place. I want to just run more miles this year.
2) Be more Consistent. I am great for a few weeks, fall off For a few weeks and then get back at it. I want to stop that pattern.
3) Run a live race if possible

I am keeping my goals realistic. 2021 is looking like a year of change so wanted some I could stick to. There will be other years for loftier goals.

 

[huskies90]

ATTQOTD: With so much uncertainty in 2021 my running goals are pretty simple. I hope to just continue what I have done for years: stay healthy, eat healthy, strength train several days a week and run several days a week. My 100 mile per month streak is currently at 33 months and I would like to maintain that throughout 2021.

For races, I have ones I am eyeing but I am not making plans until we are sure they are happening. And if the ones I hope to run get canceled again, I will do the same thing I did in 2020 and pivot to live races that are happening. I already know a few smaller Spring races that have approval for now. For Disney races, I already have a DVC reservation for W&D and plan to make a MW ressie next month with the hope registration opens.

As for longer term goals, I would like to take a shot at qualifying for Boston and possibly NYC but I am not committing to anything until we know these races are back and accepting qualifiers. Over the last few years I have continually improved my speed setting new PR’s almost every time out. And with my most recent half marathon PR, I am pretty confident I can do it. I might give it a few more years for the dust to settle with the hope I don’t lose too much speed but can take advantage of a lower qualifying age group.

 

[KSellers88]

ATTQOTD:
1. Run my first race with a stroller and not injure myself or my child (we are still having in person races where I live with social distancing)
2. Make nutrition and hydration more of a priority (working from home really impacts this for me)
3. Get back to running 100 miles per month
4. Run Wine and Dine half in person (pleaseeeeeeeeee!)
5. Maybe tackle a marathon in the fall, BIG maybe

 

[PrincessV]

ATTQOTD: I'm going into 2021 with no goals - there's just too much unknown and I don't want to spend another year being depressed because everything I plan gets derailed. So I'm making no plans and will run as often and as much as I feel like doing, and make some goals along the way if something inspiring comes along.

I did decide to try a January run streak, since I'm not raining for anything. I've never run every day before, and I'm not tied to making it happen, but thought it was a good chance to give it a whirl. We'll see!

 

[PrincessV]

*I’m not sure how much to trust Garmin’s HR. It occasionally gets into cadence lock - which has messed with my VO2max and detraining/maintaining/productive - and then some runs will start really high before dropping into actual HR.

I've mostly given up on my Garmin at this point: it doesn't track distance correctly, and it hates cold weather: if the temp drops below 65, it does all sorts of crazy things with HR! Today, it was 52* and Garmin showed my HR jumping between 160 and 125 on an easy run ( I took a manual read and it was 135.) Another very cold day it had my HR at 210!! (It was actually 140).

 

[michigandergirl]

ATTQOTD: New Year = New Running Goals

1) More consistent running/training all year
2) Lose another 5-10 pounds (I've lost 5 since October, but stalled out around the holidays)
3) Convince more family & friends to participate in MW 2022 with me
4) Keep up with twice a week strength training
5) More yoga

If races resume (spring races are already starting to cancel here), then race goals are:
1) New POT for MW - I have a 10 Miler in September, that might be my only shot (the other 2 halfs I'm signed up for are trail halfs and I am not fast on trails).
2) Half marathon PR in October

 

[Kerry1957]

I've mostly given up on my Garmin at this point: it doesn't track distance correctly, and it hates cold weather: if the temp drops below 65, it does all sorts of crazy things with HR! Today, it was 52* and Garmin showed my HR jumping between 160 and 125 on an easy run ( I took a manual read and it was 135.) Another very cold day it had my HR at 210!! (It was actually 140).

I occasionally have some super high readings on my Garmin Vivoactive 3, but cooler temps do not seem to effect it. It was a bit warmer than average today in Chicagoland (25*) during my trail run, and the HR seemed spot on. The battery does seem to drain a bit faster during below zero runs, although I only attempt them a few times a winter. Maybe you need to trade in your Florida Garmin for a midwest Garmin

 

[r2d2_runner]

ATTQOTD: 2021 Running Goals:

My only real goal for this year is to run consistently and often, and try to get my weekly mileage up a little higher. I have set a goal of 1000 miles for the year but would love to be able to do a little more, perhaps try for 1200 (1200 per month)?

I don't have any races planned, but I've been doing the Conqueror Challenges as something to keep me motivated and that has been fun so I will keep doing that this year. I just finished their Camino de Santiago challenge and I'm now doing their Alps to Ocean challenge in New Zealand.

2020 was supposed to be the year that I ran my first marathon but the race I signed up for was canceled and I chose not to do it virtually because I really wanted my first marathon to be a large in-person race experience. I still want to run a marathon sooner rather than later so I guess I need to decide whether I am going to do a smaller in-person race if there are any near me being run this year, or whether I keep holding out for the big race experience that I originally wanted. For now though I think I will just focus on keeping my mileage consistent so that I am ready whenever I decide to sign up for a marathon. I need to also focus on regular hydration and strength training for this as well!