The Running Thread—2023

[accm]

Need advice and suggestions from group. My oldest DD is training for her first HM at MW and I want to get her a hydration belt to start using. She’s only 4’10” and while I’m no giant, I have no clue what might be a good for her to try. Any thoughts/suggestions would be appreciated.

I've tried a couple of hydration belts, and have hated both of them. I found they were too loose around my waist, and would move around to the point of being annoying. I use a handheld bottle now for shorter ones, and a vest for longer hotter runs.
Best bet though is to have her try it out, and remember that it'll feel different with the weight of the water, so ideally buy it from somewhere where you can return after trying it.

 

[accm]

Well, thank you all for the bad influence. I just spent almost $1500 on a Garmin. I ordered the Epix pro gen 2 in the 42mm, and can't wait to get it so I can try it out. I wish I could've seen it in person soon, but living in the great white north, I would've had to drive for 4hrs to get to a store that carried them.

 

[kps7795]

No specific suggestions on belts.

When I bought mine, I was at REI and tried a couple of them on and walked around the store shopping to see how they felt. It gave me a better idea than just a 30 second trial. FWIW I settled on a 16oz Nathan belt with a pocket for gels/chews. It nests perfectly in the small of my back.

This is the same one that I use. I like the way that it feels in the middle of my back rather than the hydration belt that I used when I first started running which had two bottles on either side of my waist. For me, it was rather annoying having an uneven distribution of weight.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EWJIVX8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

FWIW, this is the hydration belt that my 17 y/o DD uses. She likes it and doesn't want to switch.

https://www.amazon.com/Upgraded-Run...7547088&sprefix=hydration+belt,aps,116&sr=8-5

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

I must have bought the medal and just forgotten that part. But you're right, no need for earbuds! I think my favorite part was the church spraying "holy water" on the runners. Sadly I was NOT seeded early -- I think I was M! But the start area for me was walking distance to where I was staying and an easy MARTA ride back.

I’m Baptist, yet I always get sprinkled with the holy water. I’ll take all the blessing I can get.

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

No specific suggestions on belts.

When I bought mine, I was at REI and tried a couple of them on and walked around the store shopping to see how they felt. It gave me a better idea than just a 30 second trial. FWIW I settled on a 16oz Nathan belt with a pocket for gels/chews. It nests perfectly in the small of my back.

I use a Nathan belt to hold my phone and whatever else I choose to carry. As you said, it nestles in the small of my back, and I barely notice it. I do use some black duct tape on the belt webbing to “lock down” the belt after I get it adjusted so that it doesn’t loosen up.

 

[jmasgat]

I use a Nathan belt to hold my phone and whatever else I choose to carry. As you said, it nestles in the small of my back, and I barely notice it. I do use some black duct tape on the belt webbing to “lock down” the belt after I get it adjusted so that it doesn’t loosen up.

I also use Nathan belts. There is a technique I found online where you can fold the loose ends of your belt up in such a way that they they "lock" the belt in place. I'll have to look for that again and see if I can find it. It worked pretty well (my current belt seems to do fine without that)

 

[FFigawi]

ATTQOTD: I use Liquid UV, Skratch, LMNT, and hydration tabs from ORS and Stealth. One of them is in my water bottle most of the day, especially the black currant tabs or the tropical powder.

 

[accm]

Got 0.25 mi into my run today before giving up. Between the 147 T+D, and the amount of smoke in the air this morning, I could barely breath, even with a significantly slower pace. I'll hop on the treadmill once my boys are in bed.

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

Nothing like a car running a stop sign and crosswalk that you are in to boost your adrenaline and screw up all of your pacing on your run. I am sick and tired of people who don't understand that Stop does not mean slow roll. Last week a truck stopped at a stop sign and just as I was crossing in front of it decided to start up again. I came within 6 in of being plastered on the road to which the guy responded "Oh sorry I made a mistake."

So a friendly reminder to all my fellow drivers. Please stop completely at stop signs.

Preach!

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

After doing a lot of reading, I have finally concluded that I did not strain a quad muscle, but instead have meralgia paresthetica, i.e. a pinched nerve. Common causes: obesity, diabetes, and tight clothing. Not yet, not yet, and I will categorically deny everything.
However, I had been wearing a pair of drawstring shorts and I think that is what did it. I went to drive around my son on the basketball court and the nerve pinched under the snug drawstring. Total fluke that it happened in the first place. Just dang.

So I went to non-drawstring shorts, anti-inflammatories, and a lot of stretching. After a month of not running because I thought it was a muscle strain, and determining that running wasn't going to cause any damage, I did 3 miles yesterday. The pain and discomfort ebbed and flowed during the run, and at the 3 mile mark I stopped and stretched for a moment and the pain diminished.

So this is no fun, but it should pass and get better. I didn't run today but plan to be back at it tomorrow afternoon, training for a half in August.

And hopefully no one else gets similarly bitten by their attire.

 

[Grabnar]

Got 0.25 mi into my run today before giving up. Between the 147 T+D, and the amount of smoke in the air this morning, I could barely breath, even with a significantly slower pace. I'll hop on the treadmill once my boys are in bed.

I just got back from a 2.5 week combined work trip and vacation to Europe where the weather was 65F in the morning and like 85F in the afternoons. Now I'm in HTX where the T+D is 161 at 4:28a. I'm going to try and ease back into running here, please send me your coldest thoughts

 

[nancipants]

Ugh, I started feeling sick last night (fever, chills, achy all over). Woke up feeling slightly better, but I can tell I’m sick because my resting heart rate shot up 10bpm. No running for me today.

 

[Grabnar]

Ugh, I started feeling sick last night (fever, chills, achy all over). Woke up feeling slightly better, but I can tell I’m sick because my resting heart rate shot up 10bpm. No running for me today.

Fingers crossed it passes quick! Get well soon!

 

[jmasgat]

Reasons to be grateful when you start your run in 99% humidity.....

--You know it ewill help you run slower paces
--You live in an area where there are mature trees in the neighborhoods where you run
--You have a Garmin, so if you decide to "follow the shade" you can get your run distance right.
--People with their lawn sprinklers set for morning....and yes, I will run through them all
--Cold watermelon waits for you when you're done. The ultimate post-run treat.

 

[Naomeri]

Well, I had my first DNF today. It was at the Hy-Vee Twin Cities Women’s Half Marathon and basically everything went wrong. I was under-hydrated, over-tired, and the field was very tiny, with no one but me being slow. Also, it was 65°F and 88% humidity. So that meant that by mile 3 I was DFL (dead bleeping last, for anyone who doesn’t know) and I mostly couldn’t even see the people ahead of me.

There was no crowd support whatsoever (except the adorable little girl at the water stop halfway through mile 5). The course was a double loop, and I got passed by ladies 1, 2, & 3 on their way to the finish before I hit mile 7 (which is where my grandparents were waiting with my gear)

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

Well, I had my first DNF today. It was at the Hy-Vee Twin Cities Women’s Half Marathon and basically everything went wrong. I was under-hydrated, over-tired, and the field was very tiny, with no one but me being slow. Also, it was 65°F and 88% humidity. So that meant that by mile 3 I was DFL (dead bleeping last, for anyone who doesn’t know) and I mostly couldn’t even see the people ahead of me.

There was no crowd support whatsoever (except the adorable little girl at the water stop halfway through mile 5). The course was a double loop, and I got passed by ladies 1, 2, & 3 on their way to the finish before I hit mile 7 (which is where my grandparents were waiting with my gear)

Ouch. Sorry to hear about that.

Time to mentally put it behind you and focus on the next race. (Yeah, I know, a total platitude, but it applies.)

I'm heading out later this afternoon for my second run of the weekend (Friday counts as weekend, right?) and we'll see how it goes with T+D= 161

 

[Grabnar]

Time to mentally put it behind you and focus on the next race. (Yeah, I know, a total platitude, but it applies.)

"Past performance is no guarantee of future results" cuts both ways.

Everyone can have a bad day or a bad run or a bad race; doesn't mean that the next one will be the same. The most important step you can take is the next one.

 

[WillRunForPizza]

Well, I had my first DNF today. It was at the Hy-Vee Twin Cities Women’s Half Marathon and basically everything went wrong. I was under-hydrated, over-tired, and the field was very tiny, with no one but me being slow. Also, it was 65°F and 88% humidity. So that meant that by mile 3 I was DFL (dead bleeping last, for anyone who doesn’t know) and I mostly couldn’t even see the people ahead of me.

There was no crowd support whatsoever (except the adorable little girl at the water stop halfway through mile 5). The course was a double loop, and I got passed by ladies 1, 2, & 3 on their way to the finish before I hit mile 7 (which is where my grandparents were waiting with my gear)

Sounds like really tough conditions for your race

 

[Naomeri]

Ouch. Sorry to hear about that.

Time to mentally put it behind you and focus on the next race. (Yeah, I know, a total platitude, but it applies.)

I'm heading out later this afternoon for my second run of the weekend (Friday counts as weekend, right?) and we'll see how it goes with T+D= 161

"Past performance is no guarantee of future results" cuts both ways.

Everyone can have a bad day or a bad run or a bad race; doesn't mean that the next one will be the same. The most important step you can take is the next one.

Sounds like really tough conditions for your race

Yeah, it wasn’t a great race. Of the 200 people who started it, 5 (including me) DNF’ed, all on the slow end of the spectrum. 2 of the slightly older ladies I talked to in the “corral” before the race ended up not finishing, and one of them has done 50Ks before, so it wasn’t just casual runners dropping out.

If this race had been 2 weeks earlier, I would’ve killed it; 2 weeks ago it was 48°F and I had an amazing 11 mile run that set a new 10 mile record for me, according to Strava. I also think I got more crowd support on that run than I did today—2 different people at 2 different spots cheered me on for no particular reason

 

[avondale]

Well, thank you all for the bad influence. I just spent almost $1500 on a Garmin. I ordered the Epix pro gen 2 in the 42mm, and can't wait to get it so I can try it out. I wish I could've seen it in person soon, but living in the great white north, I would've had to drive for 4hrs to get to a store that carried them.

I think it's good that I didn't know about this version of the Epix before I got mine. I do love it, though. Hopefully you will, too.