Happy Boston weekend to everyone! Good luck to everyone running! (I know the race is Monday, I will mention it again then too!)
The weekend should be chill. We’ve had a ton of rain the past couple days so if the back feels up for it, I might try to do some light gardening. Not actually planting anything yet, but cleaning up in preparation. Also some housekeeping, physical therapy, and prep for next weekends huge blowout plant swap extravaganza. And continued planning for my kitchen project. Going to take a week off in May to make some significant headway and that means I gotta start getting things together …
Really wish I could run! The back is making progress but still just focusing on walking with minimal pain. One day …
So as someone who just threw out my lower back yesterday and *still* tried to go out for 13.5 miles this morning, what has your recovery timeline been like? Any tips for stretches or exercises to strengthen my lower back? I seriously can’t run right now and I’m furious.
Oh no! I’m sorry! I think it really depends on what happened but one thing I didn’t realize at the start of this is that it’s a muscle injury and muscle injuries take average 4-6 weeks for recovery. I’m doing so much better now (today is 3 weeks) but I certainly couldn’t run. But I could hardly stand up or walk when it first happened so I wouldn’t have tried running then. I recommend seeing a PT — they’ll be able to check for any other structural involvement and also do some massage and manipulation to help the muscles relax. They can also reassure you that everything is normal and give you exercises to do so you get better and don’t go crazy. Otherwise, it’s just rest and patience. I didn’t have a lot of relief with NSAIDs but I did with alternating heat and ice on my back. Spent a lot of time laying down which yes the first week I was really depressed. But you have to rest, you can’t muscle through this (or any, really) injury. Good luck!!
Thank you! Mine is definitely muscular but doesn’t sound as bad as yours. I’m able to walk with the aid of ibuprofen but even without, I can change positions with minimal pain. I’m just kicking myself because I’ve never had to abort a long run and I only made it about a mile before weighing the risk of getting too far from home and possibly causing worse issues. I’m a stickler for routine and my monthly half was supposed to be this weekend!
I will be running Gunpowder Keg tomorrow morning--anyone else going to be there? I'm taking suggestions for snacks that I should bring to share. I'm already bringing oatmeal chocolate chip cookies but could pick up more stuff tonight (pickles? vodka? both?).
After that, I intend to be a potato for the next week before starting to work on breaking 1:45 in the half at the beginning of June. I think the fitness is there, but I need to force myself to run enough 7:50s in training that my brain starts to believe it's doable. I think if I could do a couple of 10ks at 7:50 pace in training, I'd feel pretty good about breaking 1:45 on race day. Just gotta make myself actually do that.
Not sure what my plans are for Sunday, but on Monday, a good friend of mine is coming into town so I'm going to go hang out with him for the day, which is going to be awesome. Should be a nice week!
If it makes you feel better (hopefully not worse) the biggest thing I did to make me believe I could do a sub 1:45 half is believing in the magic of race day. I’ll admit I hadn’t done more than 5k at my goal pace before this last race, I’m just too lazy for speed work.
Good luck tomorrow! My suggestion for the aide station contribution would be those mini rice cakes.
That actually does make me feel better. I have a friend who is willing to pace me for a half as well as for some training runs at that pace, which would help! Having a friend there serves two purposes: peer pressure, and distracting me from the pain.
Given the option of more miles or speedwork I’ll take more miles it’s a real enigma of my laziness. Though I have started putting some baby steps of speedwork in my plans the last 6 months and I probably do them about half the time now but I still hate them.
> I’m just too lazy for speed work.
Are you me? Every once in a while I say to myself, "I'm never really gonna be faster if I don't do speed work." And then I do speed work, hate it with a passion and it's just too much work. I would rather do 7-8 miles at an easy pace than do 5x any interval you want to choose.
Good luck tomorrow! It’s a pretty small race but hopefully it’ll go well. They were calling for volunteers and of my back were in better shape I would’ve considered it. Pickles are always welcome, and cold sodas. I don’t normally drink soda, but let me tell you I thought nothing could ever taste as good as a post-50k root beer good lord 🤌 Someone offered it to me and I didn’t want to be rude, and then I was wishing I had a few more.
Thanks! It looks like nearly 200 people are signed up?? About half of those are running the 25k and the other half are running the 50k. Of course there's no guarantee that everyone actually shows up.
I'll try to pick up some pickles today. Maybe sodas too (spindrift would be great), but those are a little harder to carry in. We'll see!
It did!! I was slow af (just over 7 hours), but given that I just ran a fast marathon 27 days ago, I will take any finish. My legs are…hmm, what’s the technical term again…fucked, but it was so worth it.
Traffic on the way home is horrendous, so I am not yet well fed, but I’ll get there. Thanks for the well wishes! My shower once I get home is gonna feel *amazing*.
You make a good point…but I also want to get home to a shower and my dog. I’ll request a burrito or sandwich stop if we pass anything that looks good though! Tonight definitely calls for multiple burritos. Or maybe quesadillas, if I want to mix it up. Or some fried chicken. Yummmm.
Now I’m finally starting to feel hungry.
Ha! I will get an extra one, and it may or may not make it home for the doggo before I eat it myself. I’m gonna need, like, at *least* three dinners tonight.
Getting ready for my ultramarathon trip this weekend and right now it looks like perfect running weather (50s and overcast) on Sunday during the race and perfect pool weather (80s and sunny) on Monday when I'm swinging through Vegas on my way back and this forecast better hold up!!!
Thank you! I have barely thought about the actual running and have mainly been concerned about how to get from CA to UT in time as I am the only one in our group who really drives!
I didn’t do last week’s 8 mile long run. I’m scheduled to do a 10 mile this weekend, so I think I’ll aim to do at least a 9 mile long run tomorrow. If I can make it to 10 miles, wonderful. If I can only do 9 though, I won’t be mad.
Speaking of mad, I know my mother is going to be very agitated when I visit her in the hospital later. Apparently, she managed to fall out of bed around 4AM this morning. Don’t worry, she was evaluated and was deemed to not have any injuries resulting from the fall. What I can’t wrap my head around is the fact that she fell from a bed that has side rails. Or the fact that her fall was caused by her reaching for something on her rolling table which I always place close to her and on her right side (her strong, dominant side) before I leave the hospital at night. I dunno, these were issues I didn’t think she/I would have to deal with for another 20 years. She’s also starting to get annoyed with her roommate but is refusing the offer of a room transfer, so I have no idea how to please this woman.
She kept complaining on Monday that her head and back were itchy due to not being bathed since she was admitted. Well of course the hospital staff couldn’t give her a proper bath; she’s a fall risk! Anyway, I guess physical therapy on Wednesday went really well because that evening, the hospital staff offered her an assisted shower. She refused. I just…I can’t wrap my head around this. It’s like you said: she seems to be determined to be unhappy.
It does sound like she's determined to be grumpy, and I would offer that she's having a hard time facing her own mortality. I mean, a heart attack is a big wake up call and can be a lot to deal with. I wonder if there's any staff/social workers who could just chat with her? Hopefully as she does her PT and gets better she will be less grumpy. I sympathize that that's super annoying to deal with.
I wanted to get someone to talk to her, but that plan semi-back fired. I had requested if anyone from psychiatry or psychology could talk to her, thinking they could give her a much needed psychotherapy session. A psychiatrist did come, but instead of cognitive behavioral therapy, she got prescribed an antipsychotic instead. She’s been panicky about getting transferred to the psych unit ever since 🙃
And I would have to agree with the having a hard time facing her own mortality bit. She’s still in her 60s, so she’s a bit young for this. One fortunate clarification: it was a brain bleed, not a heart attack. While either scenario is pretty frightening, what’s cool about the brain is that in cases where the damage is pretty minor (as is my mother’s case), the brain can kinda rewire itself to make up for the damaged bits. Injured heart muscle doesn’t do that. So I know she’ll fully recover. The journey to get there is just gonna be a rather, er, trying one.
I definitely needed a spreadsheet on this. This is a new type for me (backyard ultra) so lots of gear related to my personal aid station, plus having to figure enough food as they are only providing water and sports drink. Added on to that is the required camping gear for the night before for me and crew. Lot more logistics than the typical ultras I've done.
Well I just sprinted home two blocks in a monsoon from yoga...that was fun!
Stressed about lots of work stuff and my taxes, though I made a bit of progress on the taxes last night. I wasn't AS screwed as i thought, but still made a few errors, oh well.
Looking forward to the trip to Delaware this weekend, though i also know i could have used a weekend here to do work, but that's OK. Weather looks sunny and not too hot, at least at 7 am.
Brand new runner here, only in my third week of getting used to the practice. Currently doing two (short, only about 30 mins) runs a week and long walks the other cardio days. I plan to do that for two more weeks just to get my body used to it then upping the frequency to 3 runs a week for the foreseeable future. I’m WAY too out of shape for even C25K so for now I’m running until I can’t then walking, keeping my heart rate 145+, and just make sure to peak my cardio and get used to running. The other 4-5 days of the week my walks are more Zone 2/3, staying between 110-145bpm.
Yesterday I signed up for my first 5k race (Beat The Blerch) in September, so I officially have a goal!! I’m excited, I’ve never been much of a runner but I want to try it before my body gives out on me. Working on overall fitness goals and am most excited about running, but want to take it carefully so I don’t burn out or hurt myself. Binging ultramarathon documentaries on YouTube, lol don’t think I’ll ever get there but it’s fascinating what the human body can accomplish.
Anyway, just a lurker saying hello, and hope to see you on the trails!!
Gotta be honest, I may be having a mental breakdown. I am dealing with some pretty painful runners knee. Can’t run at all without it flaring up and it’s stressing me the hell out. Just worried my upcoming half in June and the Philly marathon all the way in November. I know I have plenty of time and I have a great coach guiding me through some strength training and cross training at the moment but you hear the horror stories of people dealing with this for months and months.
Are you going to a PT? Runner's knee is a catch all term for a variety of things and the people who deal with it for months and months are probably not seeking medical help when they should! Highly recommend a PT to help. I know it sucks to be injured (currently also dealing with a back injury, and have had terrible knee issues previously) but a medical pro who deals with athletes is a godsend!
I reached out to a reputable PT office near me two days ago and have not heard back unfortunately. I’m going to reach out to a few more and see if I can get looked at ASAP. My work actually provides a PT on site every Wednesday for those who need it (I work a utility job) but I’m not sure I’ll get the proper attention from him with a handful of other people waiting in line to get looked at as well.
Oh that's good! I'm so used to people saying they don't intent to see a PT :P I hope you find one with availability soon. It might be worth seeing the work PT in the meantime, they might be able to give you some short term ideas for relief.
Hey! I have been going through this as well. Started around November last year but then cooled off a bit after I started cycling more and running less. Recently over the past two weeks ish it has came back to the point I have to walk. I noticed it started happening after my mileage on pavement increased so it might have to do with my running form.
However!, I noticed that while trail running, I don't really feel it and I'm able to run longer and basically like normal.
good luck to all running Boston as well as Jersey City this weekend!
weekend plans are mostly last-minute London stuff:
one more long run (aiming for 7-8 miles) this weekend. weather looks decent enough either day.
laundry and packing.
trying to figure out a shakeout run to attend. found a few but some of these sound like they're gonna be big productions, either sponsored by a running gear brand and/or more of a big pre-race party vibe. I'm following some London running clubs on Instagram too to see if anything more local/low-key comes up. that's what my wife and I did in Berlin last year. obviously, we can just do our own thing too but it's fun to join running clubs in other cities while traveling :)
What's up Weekend Thread!?
Got 4-5mi on the dock for this afternoon. Then lasagna and hanging out with the family this evening.
I signed up for a trail 10k race sometime last year since I got a free entry from volunteering at it last year. Considered the 25k but opted for the 10k. I'm going to treat it more as a long run effort and chill, since I raced a 10k last weekend. Should be a fun event, even though it's supposed to rain almost an inch tomorrow.
Sunday I'm going to try and squeeze in another 4 or 5 miles before the family gets up. Trying to get more miles in.
I've been a little off of my running schedule for the past week or two (work stress), but maybe I'll get back to it this weekend! It's less a matter of no time and more a matter of low mental energy.
S.O. and I are still caring for the foster dog of a few weeks ago. Her name is Misty, she's a heeler mix and an absolute cutie but also a bit of a menace when she wants attention and no one is giving it. We have no immediate plans to adopt her, but I am mostly enjoying having a dog in the house!
I've been having a great time in pottery. Last week I threw my biggest ever bowl, four pounds of clay! It was a little bit thick, but relatively even. This week I will probably have to glaze some pieces - I keep on putting it off because I don't want to give up too much of my limited wheel time, but my backlog is growing and will soon become unmanageable.
I am also finishing up my taxes (relatively simple this year, thankfully) and trying to figure out Financial Stuff (TM). I'm lucky to be coming at things from a relatively privileged position (no debt, decent savings), but am completely new to retirement savings. I managed to open a Roth IRA and contribute before this year's deadline, so...progress, I guess!
Aww Misty, she sounds like a heeler! Haha nice of you guys to take care of her for now. Pottery sounds so fun, I love hearing your updates. Congrats on your giant bowl!
Have a 10k and Half Marathon coming up in late April and early May. For those in the GVR, I'm referring to Sun Run and BMO Marathon/Half Marathon respectively. Starting to taper this week. Honestly don't like how they like to bunch all the races in a short timespan. Feel like I can't max out performance when the two events are 2 weeks apart.
The Milwaukee Marathon is tomorrow! I will be running the 5K portion. I was hoping to shave a few minutes off my previous time and I'm still gonna try. But overall, I'm gonna have fun, I'm gonna be kind to myself and I'm gonna do the damn thing.
I’m doing my first marathon Sunday and not too sure of how to go about it. I did a 1.24 half a month ago so I’m wondering whether to go for the sub 3 potentially blowing up and ending up significantly slower or just going for something like 3.05-3.10 which I feel is quite achievable. What time to go for ?😂
If you have the mileage and long runs in, there's no reason you can't do sub-3 with ease. If you're worried about blowing up, just do a negative split. Then you can always pull back and continue at a slower pace if you need/want to without having overreached.
No running until my toe gets better.
I have a new B.A. Paris book to start. And I'm baking chocolate cupcakes for my friend's birthday. I have an idea on how to turn two big atlas' (that we removed from our library collection) into a bar cart. I'm going to sketch that out today and go to either Habitat for Humanity Re-Store or the Home Depot for supplies. It won't be a lost weekend without running, but it will be a less happy one for sure.
I loved that book! For the longest time, it was *the book* that I measured all other thrillers against. I don't know if you read "Never saw me coming" by Vera Kurian. It was her debut and it came out in 2021. That is the other book that I find myself using as a benchmark.
Volunteering at a trail race this weekend, which means course marking tomorrow, and aid station on Sunday. Unfortunately this means I won't have the opportunity to do a long run on the weekend 😔
As for other fun stuff, we are going to see a stand up comedy show on Saturday.
I have moderately increased my distance, and gone from treadmill (lots of rain recently) to hilly outdoors. My Garmin watch is telling me things like “Overreaching” and 4 days recovery time.
Does it sound right that increasing distance by about 50% and going on hills should trigger this? I have gotten more sleep, but otherwise feel ok.
I prefer to run long runs Saturday so I have a few days off until running again on Tuesday but now it's supposed to rain *all* day... flip it with Sunday cross train? Decisions, decisions...
I recently moved from a major city with an 18 mile long dedicated running/biking trail to a small town where I mainly run on small back roads.
Really missing my trail and the ease/mindlessness I could run such long lengths with. Anyone else ever make a similar change and have any tips?
Doing a 6.5 mile road & trail run tomorrow!
Nervous because this will be my furthest race and the last time I ran that far I did have to stop and walk a bit. I know my body will be pushing itself because its actual race day but its still giving me butterflies. Goal is to run it under 1:15...
Doing a 10 mile race tomorrow!
Im preparing for my first half marathon on the 28th, I did a 10 mile run to practice 2 weeks ago but slightly tapered off since then, went in vacation and life has been busy. I basically have 2 weeks until my half marathon, should I just do some speed work and interverals in between? I haven’t really followed a plan, I did a 9 mile race in October and it was my first race ever, I’m not fast just like the challenge and mental clarity, and I want to get in shape.
Idk regardless I’ll do my best and know I can finish even if my pace has to slow, but would like to be more optimal, and honestly would like to improve my speed
I got some MRI results today. My MCL has a grade 1 year, happened 5 weeks ago. ACL and meniscus are both good. I have a huge bone bruise on the bottom of my femur. Doctor said in 2 weeks I will be good to start running again. What would be the best method to ease back into it without causing anymore issues?
I'm running a local 5k that helps fund adopting police dogs in my area. The course is in a beautiful cemetery and I'm really excited for it. It's my first race in over 10 years.
have managed to do 3 runs this week (24km in total yay!)- did a run yesterday which went surprisingly well, managed to get in the top 10 of a segment on strava for the first time ever so i'm dead chuffed and i'm convinced this is the peak of my running journey.
probably won't run this weekend as i've a uni assignment due monday and have been finding writing it really hard. hope everyone's having a more exciting weekend :)
I am getting ready to do my long run early this morning, then I get to hang with my dad. We will grab breakfast and go for a walk. Supposed to be beautiful today. I will run him around grocery shopping and we will cook lunch together. He was not feeling well past couple days and he is finally perking back up . I was invited to go see MJ the musical this.afternoon. So excited! And my friend wants to hang out tonight. Somewhere in there the laundry and meal prep will happen. I really enjoy these days where the weather is nice to stay out and play all day. Hope everyone has a good day!
Had my April half planned for this weekend. I maintain 35 mpw and do 1-2 half marathons every month, sometimes official but mostly for fun. I jumped out of bed half awake yesterday after a nap and threw out my back. When I went for my run this morning I couldn’t even make it a mile. I’m fuming and feel pissed at myself for being careless. I live in Boston and nothing is better than running during marathon weekend. I’m going to be grumpy while I watch the race on Monday :/
I’m still feeling frustrated from the half I was trying to run. I twisted my ankle in the middle because there was a child on the course and I moved quickly and landed badly. Had to take a DNF. I have been trying to rehab it but it means my fall marathon plans are no more.
Oh no! I'm so sorry to hear. Have you had a PT take a look? Unless you broke it, I imagine a fall marathon is still doable. A couple years ago, I sprained both my ankles within 6 weeks of each other in April and May, and still trained for and ran an October 50k. But definitely get a medical pro to take a look and make sure nothing else is involved. With one of my sprains, my PT referred me for rads because it was bad enough that he worried about a bone chip.
Hi all,
I currently live in the upper Midwest and have my whole life. I will be moving to Texas in the middle of summer, and I want to continue running but the heat scares me. I have really not been in heat higher than 100 for most of my life. So what’s the best way to get acclimated for running? I know I will have to be up early to beat the heat. Would it be best to just not run outside for the summer and then work my way there during the winter? Any advice is welcome.
It will still be muggy, humid, and warm even in the mornings during summer. Take it slow to acclimate. You can always switch to running indoors on a treadmill if you find yourself struggling. The good news is if you do get accustomed to running when its hot you'll feel so much faster when its cool/cold!
People run in hot climates but there's definitely precautions to take and you will need time to acclimate. And you'll probably opt for the treadmill a lot, which is okay. Running early is great to avoid the sun but it will still be very humid and hot (usually more humid in the morning than afternoon). Other folks run at night, like sunset into the dark when it is hotter but usually drier. It's kind of personal preference. Just build up slowly, walk when you need to, stay hydrated, wear sunscreen, listen to your body. Summer running sucks :)
Longest ever run on Sunday, 18km easy pace in preparation for my first ever half marathon, average pace 04:16min/km 6wks out which makes me really hopeful for my goal pace of 03:50 - 04:00min/km for the race itself
I am trying (and probably failing) to keep the weekend low key. I have dinner tonight with a couple of friends/mentors to ask them relationshippy/marriage questions. I'm excited about it. They've been married for 25+ yrs and have 4 kids and a couple of grandkids running around. They are one of those couples who has seen some stuff but always cling to each other when stuff hits the fan. They've also know me for years and the wife is close with my girlfriend and her kid. I know they will have awesome advice. Saturday I am going to try to run 8 miles and the girlfriend wants to help me clean/organize the garage so that will be fun. I also need to find some kind of appropriate side dish for the Mexican rice I want to serve Sunday.
I bet 1000 euros against 100 euros that a 30 year old can't improve his cooper (12 min run) result from 2450 meters to 3000 meters in 6 months. He wasn't a runner when he was younger so this is his all time best. He's also not fat, so he can't gain any simple boost by losing weight. He has all the time in the world to run as much as possible. To me it seems impossible and that's why I made the bet. Is it just free 100 euros or not?
Happy Boston weekend to everyone! Good luck to everyone running! (I know the race is Monday, I will mention it again then too!) The weekend should be chill. We’ve had a ton of rain the past couple days so if the back feels up for it, I might try to do some light gardening. Not actually planting anything yet, but cleaning up in preparation. Also some housekeeping, physical therapy, and prep for next weekends huge blowout plant swap extravaganza. And continued planning for my kitchen project. Going to take a week off in May to make some significant headway and that means I gotta start getting things together … Really wish I could run! The back is making progress but still just focusing on walking with minimal pain. One day …
Glad to hear your back’s improving. You’ll be back on the road (or trails? I forget which you prefer running) soon enough!
So as someone who just threw out my lower back yesterday and *still* tried to go out for 13.5 miles this morning, what has your recovery timeline been like? Any tips for stretches or exercises to strengthen my lower back? I seriously can’t run right now and I’m furious.
Oh no! I’m sorry! I think it really depends on what happened but one thing I didn’t realize at the start of this is that it’s a muscle injury and muscle injuries take average 4-6 weeks for recovery. I’m doing so much better now (today is 3 weeks) but I certainly couldn’t run. But I could hardly stand up or walk when it first happened so I wouldn’t have tried running then. I recommend seeing a PT — they’ll be able to check for any other structural involvement and also do some massage and manipulation to help the muscles relax. They can also reassure you that everything is normal and give you exercises to do so you get better and don’t go crazy. Otherwise, it’s just rest and patience. I didn’t have a lot of relief with NSAIDs but I did with alternating heat and ice on my back. Spent a lot of time laying down which yes the first week I was really depressed. But you have to rest, you can’t muscle through this (or any, really) injury. Good luck!!
Thank you! Mine is definitely muscular but doesn’t sound as bad as yours. I’m able to walk with the aid of ibuprofen but even without, I can change positions with minimal pain. I’m just kicking myself because I’ve never had to abort a long run and I only made it about a mile before weighing the risk of getting too far from home and possibly causing worse issues. I’m a stickler for routine and my monthly half was supposed to be this weekend!
First long run of my training plan tomorrow.. 50 minutes straight! Gonna see if I can do it! Training to get to a 10k under 1hr10mins !
Go you! Build up little by little and be consistent. You got this!
You can do it! I am doing my long run this morning. Have a busy day so need to get it out of the way.
I will be running Gunpowder Keg tomorrow morning--anyone else going to be there? I'm taking suggestions for snacks that I should bring to share. I'm already bringing oatmeal chocolate chip cookies but could pick up more stuff tonight (pickles? vodka? both?). After that, I intend to be a potato for the next week before starting to work on breaking 1:45 in the half at the beginning of June. I think the fitness is there, but I need to force myself to run enough 7:50s in training that my brain starts to believe it's doable. I think if I could do a couple of 10ks at 7:50 pace in training, I'd feel pretty good about breaking 1:45 on race day. Just gotta make myself actually do that. Not sure what my plans are for Sunday, but on Monday, a good friend of mine is coming into town so I'm going to go hang out with him for the day, which is going to be awesome. Should be a nice week!
If it makes you feel better (hopefully not worse) the biggest thing I did to make me believe I could do a sub 1:45 half is believing in the magic of race day. I’ll admit I hadn’t done more than 5k at my goal pace before this last race, I’m just too lazy for speed work. Good luck tomorrow! My suggestion for the aide station contribution would be those mini rice cakes.
That actually does make me feel better. I have a friend who is willing to pace me for a half as well as for some training runs at that pace, which would help! Having a friend there serves two purposes: peer pressure, and distracting me from the pain.
I'm far from a 1:45 half at the moment, but I also find that encouraging! I can't usually be bothered to do structured speedwork.
Given the option of more miles or speedwork I’ll take more miles it’s a real enigma of my laziness. Though I have started putting some baby steps of speedwork in my plans the last 6 months and I probably do them about half the time now but I still hate them.
> I’m just too lazy for speed work. Are you me? Every once in a while I say to myself, "I'm never really gonna be faster if I don't do speed work." And then I do speed work, hate it with a passion and it's just too much work. I would rather do 7-8 miles at an easy pace than do 5x any interval you want to choose.
Good luck tomorrow! It’s a pretty small race but hopefully it’ll go well. They were calling for volunteers and of my back were in better shape I would’ve considered it. Pickles are always welcome, and cold sodas. I don’t normally drink soda, but let me tell you I thought nothing could ever taste as good as a post-50k root beer good lord 🤌 Someone offered it to me and I didn’t want to be rude, and then I was wishing I had a few more.
Thanks! It looks like nearly 200 people are signed up?? About half of those are running the 25k and the other half are running the 50k. Of course there's no guarantee that everyone actually shows up. I'll try to pick up some pickles today. Maybe sodas too (spindrift would be great), but those are a little harder to carry in. We'll see!
That's a good turnout for BRRC and a lot of folks on those trails!
Yeah, I'm excited! This means it's less likely that I get lost, since I will have lots of people to follow.
I got my first HM in 2 weeks and am gunning for 1:45. Definitely feeling the nerves.
I hope by the time you see this you’re well fed and happy and proud of yourself! Hope it went great!
It did!! I was slow af (just over 7 hours), but given that I just ran a fast marathon 27 days ago, I will take any finish. My legs are…hmm, what’s the technical term again…fucked, but it was so worth it. Traffic on the way home is horrendous, so I am not yet well fed, but I’ll get there. Thanks for the well wishes! My shower once I get home is gonna feel *amazing*.
Why are you in traffic? It’ll take you just as long to get home, so pull over and eat the burrito now. Then when you get home you have another.
You make a good point…but I also want to get home to a shower and my dog. I’ll request a burrito or sandwich stop if we pass anything that looks good though! Tonight definitely calls for multiple burritos. Or maybe quesadillas, if I want to mix it up. Or some fried chicken. Yummmm. Now I’m finally starting to feel hungry.
Your dog called, she says get her a burrito on the way home.
Ha! I will get an extra one, and it may or may not make it home for the doggo before I eat it myself. I’m gonna need, like, at *least* three dinners tonight.
Getting ready for my ultramarathon trip this weekend and right now it looks like perfect running weather (50s and overcast) on Sunday during the race and perfect pool weather (80s and sunny) on Monday when I'm swinging through Vegas on my way back and this forecast better hold up!!!
Yay good luck!! That forecast is amazing, crossing my fingers for ya
Thank you! I have barely thought about the actual running and have mainly been concerned about how to get from CA to UT in time as I am the only one in our group who really drives!
Good luck can’t wait to hear how it goes!
This time, hopefully less falling than the last time I went ultra 🤠
I didn’t do last week’s 8 mile long run. I’m scheduled to do a 10 mile this weekend, so I think I’ll aim to do at least a 9 mile long run tomorrow. If I can make it to 10 miles, wonderful. If I can only do 9 though, I won’t be mad. Speaking of mad, I know my mother is going to be very agitated when I visit her in the hospital later. Apparently, she managed to fall out of bed around 4AM this morning. Don’t worry, she was evaluated and was deemed to not have any injuries resulting from the fall. What I can’t wrap my head around is the fact that she fell from a bed that has side rails. Or the fact that her fall was caused by her reaching for something on her rolling table which I always place close to her and on her right side (her strong, dominant side) before I leave the hospital at night. I dunno, these were issues I didn’t think she/I would have to deal with for another 20 years. She’s also starting to get annoyed with her roommate but is refusing the offer of a room transfer, so I have no idea how to please this woman.
It sounds like your mom is just determined to be unhappy, sorry you have to deal with that.
She kept complaining on Monday that her head and back were itchy due to not being bathed since she was admitted. Well of course the hospital staff couldn’t give her a proper bath; she’s a fall risk! Anyway, I guess physical therapy on Wednesday went really well because that evening, the hospital staff offered her an assisted shower. She refused. I just…I can’t wrap my head around this. It’s like you said: she seems to be determined to be unhappy.
It does sound like she's determined to be grumpy, and I would offer that she's having a hard time facing her own mortality. I mean, a heart attack is a big wake up call and can be a lot to deal with. I wonder if there's any staff/social workers who could just chat with her? Hopefully as she does her PT and gets better she will be less grumpy. I sympathize that that's super annoying to deal with.
I wanted to get someone to talk to her, but that plan semi-back fired. I had requested if anyone from psychiatry or psychology could talk to her, thinking they could give her a much needed psychotherapy session. A psychiatrist did come, but instead of cognitive behavioral therapy, she got prescribed an antipsychotic instead. She’s been panicky about getting transferred to the psych unit ever since 🙃 And I would have to agree with the having a hard time facing her own mortality bit. She’s still in her 60s, so she’s a bit young for this. One fortunate clarification: it was a brain bleed, not a heart attack. While either scenario is pretty frightening, what’s cool about the brain is that in cases where the damage is pretty minor (as is my mother’s case), the brain can kinda rewire itself to make up for the damaged bits. Injured heart muscle doesn’t do that. So I know she’ll fully recover. The journey to get there is just gonna be a rather, er, trying one.
Tapering down so not much running this week. Now it is time to obsess over next weekend's weather and my pack list.
I've got my race-day kit bag set already, but you know I'm going to unpacking, checking, and repacking that thing several times next week!
Do you have a standard pack list for races you're traveling to or do you come up with a new one each time? I confess I am a spreadsheet nerd.
I definitely needed a spreadsheet on this. This is a new type for me (backyard ultra) so lots of gear related to my personal aid station, plus having to figure enough food as they are only providing water and sports drink. Added on to that is the required camping gear for the night before for me and crew. Lot more logistics than the typical ultras I've done.
Well I just sprinted home two blocks in a monsoon from yoga...that was fun! Stressed about lots of work stuff and my taxes, though I made a bit of progress on the taxes last night. I wasn't AS screwed as i thought, but still made a few errors, oh well. Looking forward to the trip to Delaware this weekend, though i also know i could have used a weekend here to do work, but that's OK. Weather looks sunny and not too hot, at least at 7 am.
The storms are wild! So much rain. Good luck racing this weekend!
Brand new runner here, only in my third week of getting used to the practice. Currently doing two (short, only about 30 mins) runs a week and long walks the other cardio days. I plan to do that for two more weeks just to get my body used to it then upping the frequency to 3 runs a week for the foreseeable future. I’m WAY too out of shape for even C25K so for now I’m running until I can’t then walking, keeping my heart rate 145+, and just make sure to peak my cardio and get used to running. The other 4-5 days of the week my walks are more Zone 2/3, staying between 110-145bpm. Yesterday I signed up for my first 5k race (Beat The Blerch) in September, so I officially have a goal!! I’m excited, I’ve never been much of a runner but I want to try it before my body gives out on me. Working on overall fitness goals and am most excited about running, but want to take it carefully so I don’t burn out or hurt myself. Binging ultramarathon documentaries on YouTube, lol don’t think I’ll ever get there but it’s fascinating what the human body can accomplish. Anyway, just a lurker saying hello, and hope to see you on the trails!!
Yes to the ultramarathon docs!!! :)
Gotta be honest, I may be having a mental breakdown. I am dealing with some pretty painful runners knee. Can’t run at all without it flaring up and it’s stressing me the hell out. Just worried my upcoming half in June and the Philly marathon all the way in November. I know I have plenty of time and I have a great coach guiding me through some strength training and cross training at the moment but you hear the horror stories of people dealing with this for months and months.
Are you going to a PT? Runner's knee is a catch all term for a variety of things and the people who deal with it for months and months are probably not seeking medical help when they should! Highly recommend a PT to help. I know it sucks to be injured (currently also dealing with a back injury, and have had terrible knee issues previously) but a medical pro who deals with athletes is a godsend!
I reached out to a reputable PT office near me two days ago and have not heard back unfortunately. I’m going to reach out to a few more and see if I can get looked at ASAP. My work actually provides a PT on site every Wednesday for those who need it (I work a utility job) but I’m not sure I’ll get the proper attention from him with a handful of other people waiting in line to get looked at as well.
Oh that's good! I'm so used to people saying they don't intent to see a PT :P I hope you find one with availability soon. It might be worth seeing the work PT in the meantime, they might be able to give you some short term ideas for relief.
Hey! I have been going through this as well. Started around November last year but then cooled off a bit after I started cycling more and running less. Recently over the past two weeks ish it has came back to the point I have to walk. I noticed it started happening after my mileage on pavement increased so it might have to do with my running form. However!, I noticed that while trail running, I don't really feel it and I'm able to run longer and basically like normal.
good luck to all running Boston as well as Jersey City this weekend! weekend plans are mostly last-minute London stuff: one more long run (aiming for 7-8 miles) this weekend. weather looks decent enough either day. laundry and packing. trying to figure out a shakeout run to attend. found a few but some of these sound like they're gonna be big productions, either sponsored by a running gear brand and/or more of a big pre-race party vibe. I'm following some London running clubs on Instagram too to see if anything more local/low-key comes up. that's what my wife and I did in Berlin last year. obviously, we can just do our own thing too but it's fun to join running clubs in other cities while traveling :)
There will be a parkrun local to wherever you’re staying on Saturday morning if that suits your shakeout needs?
I'm tapering for Connemarathon, so this weekends long run is only 12k. It's not that long since a 12k run would have been a major undertaking for me.
What's up Weekend Thread!? Got 4-5mi on the dock for this afternoon. Then lasagna and hanging out with the family this evening. I signed up for a trail 10k race sometime last year since I got a free entry from volunteering at it last year. Considered the 25k but opted for the 10k. I'm going to treat it more as a long run effort and chill, since I raced a 10k last weekend. Should be a fun event, even though it's supposed to rain almost an inch tomorrow. Sunday I'm going to try and squeeze in another 4 or 5 miles before the family gets up. Trying to get more miles in.
Birch Bay (WA) 30K Run this Saturday The weather looks amazing for it. Sunshine in the forecast. First race of my season.
Hey good luck! 🥳
Thank you 😀
I've been a little off of my running schedule for the past week or two (work stress), but maybe I'll get back to it this weekend! It's less a matter of no time and more a matter of low mental energy. S.O. and I are still caring for the foster dog of a few weeks ago. Her name is Misty, she's a heeler mix and an absolute cutie but also a bit of a menace when she wants attention and no one is giving it. We have no immediate plans to adopt her, but I am mostly enjoying having a dog in the house! I've been having a great time in pottery. Last week I threw my biggest ever bowl, four pounds of clay! It was a little bit thick, but relatively even. This week I will probably have to glaze some pieces - I keep on putting it off because I don't want to give up too much of my limited wheel time, but my backlog is growing and will soon become unmanageable. I am also finishing up my taxes (relatively simple this year, thankfully) and trying to figure out Financial Stuff (TM). I'm lucky to be coming at things from a relatively privileged position (no debt, decent savings), but am completely new to retirement savings. I managed to open a Roth IRA and contribute before this year's deadline, so...progress, I guess!
Aww Misty, she sounds like a heeler! Haha nice of you guys to take care of her for now. Pottery sounds so fun, I love hearing your updates. Congrats on your giant bowl!
Have a 10k and Half Marathon coming up in late April and early May. For those in the GVR, I'm referring to Sun Run and BMO Marathon/Half Marathon respectively. Starting to taper this week. Honestly don't like how they like to bunch all the races in a short timespan. Feel like I can't max out performance when the two events are 2 weeks apart.
See you in May! 10k sounds like a great training run for the half, just take 'er easy. Nobody's setting PRs in the crowds at the Sun Run anyways.
The Milwaukee Marathon is tomorrow! I will be running the 5K portion. I was hoping to shave a few minutes off my previous time and I'm still gonna try. But overall, I'm gonna have fun, I'm gonna be kind to myself and I'm gonna do the damn thing.
I’m doing my first marathon Sunday and not too sure of how to go about it. I did a 1.24 half a month ago so I’m wondering whether to go for the sub 3 potentially blowing up and ending up significantly slower or just going for something like 3.05-3.10 which I feel is quite achievable. What time to go for ?😂
If you have the mileage and long runs in, there's no reason you can't do sub-3 with ease. If you're worried about blowing up, just do a negative split. Then you can always pull back and continue at a slower pace if you need/want to without having overreached.
No running until my toe gets better. I have a new B.A. Paris book to start. And I'm baking chocolate cupcakes for my friend's birthday. I have an idea on how to turn two big atlas' (that we removed from our library collection) into a bar cart. I'm going to sketch that out today and go to either Habitat for Humanity Re-Store or the Home Depot for supplies. It won't be a lost weekend without running, but it will be a less happy one for sure.
Oh.. no. I read Behind Closed Doors several years ago (4+) and to this day I hate red painted rooms.
I loved that book! For the longest time, it was *the book* that I measured all other thrillers against. I don't know if you read "Never saw me coming" by Vera Kurian. It was her debut and it came out in 2021. That is the other book that I find myself using as a benchmark.
Volunteering at a trail race this weekend, which means course marking tomorrow, and aid station on Sunday. Unfortunately this means I won't have the opportunity to do a long run on the weekend 😔 As for other fun stuff, we are going to see a stand up comedy show on Saturday.
I have moderately increased my distance, and gone from treadmill (lots of rain recently) to hilly outdoors. My Garmin watch is telling me things like “Overreaching” and 4 days recovery time. Does it sound right that increasing distance by about 50% and going on hills should trigger this? I have gotten more sleep, but otherwise feel ok.
Go by feel versus the watch. When you feel run down AND the watch says overreaching is the time to get real rest.
6 weeks out from first marathon! Finishing up a 32 mile week this morning with a slow 14 mile run. 245 lbs and feeling every ounce of it.
Long run for flying pig potentially lol. I haven’t signed up yet but kind of want to.
I prefer to run long runs Saturday so I have a few days off until running again on Tuesday but now it's supposed to rain *all* day... flip it with Sunday cross train? Decisions, decisions...
I recently moved from a major city with an 18 mile long dedicated running/biking trail to a small town where I mainly run on small back roads. Really missing my trail and the ease/mindlessness I could run such long lengths with. Anyone else ever make a similar change and have any tips?
Doing a 6.5 mile road & trail run tomorrow! Nervous because this will be my furthest race and the last time I ran that far I did have to stop and walk a bit. I know my body will be pushing itself because its actual race day but its still giving me butterflies. Goal is to run it under 1:15...
Doing a 10 mile race tomorrow! Im preparing for my first half marathon on the 28th, I did a 10 mile run to practice 2 weeks ago but slightly tapered off since then, went in vacation and life has been busy. I basically have 2 weeks until my half marathon, should I just do some speed work and interverals in between? I haven’t really followed a plan, I did a 9 mile race in October and it was my first race ever, I’m not fast just like the challenge and mental clarity, and I want to get in shape. Idk regardless I’ll do my best and know I can finish even if my pace has to slow, but would like to be more optimal, and honestly would like to improve my speed
I got some MRI results today. My MCL has a grade 1 year, happened 5 weeks ago. ACL and meniscus are both good. I have a huge bone bruise on the bottom of my femur. Doctor said in 2 weeks I will be good to start running again. What would be the best method to ease back into it without causing anymore issues?
I'm running a local 5k that helps fund adopting police dogs in my area. The course is in a beautiful cemetery and I'm really excited for it. It's my first race in over 10 years.
have managed to do 3 runs this week (24km in total yay!)- did a run yesterday which went surprisingly well, managed to get in the top 10 of a segment on strava for the first time ever so i'm dead chuffed and i'm convinced this is the peak of my running journey. probably won't run this weekend as i've a uni assignment due monday and have been finding writing it really hard. hope everyone's having a more exciting weekend :)
I am getting ready to do my long run early this morning, then I get to hang with my dad. We will grab breakfast and go for a walk. Supposed to be beautiful today. I will run him around grocery shopping and we will cook lunch together. He was not feeling well past couple days and he is finally perking back up . I was invited to go see MJ the musical this.afternoon. So excited! And my friend wants to hang out tonight. Somewhere in there the laundry and meal prep will happen. I really enjoy these days where the weather is nice to stay out and play all day. Hope everyone has a good day!
That sounds like such a lovely, pleasant day. How nice of you to spend time and take care of your dad. Hope it’s a great time :)
Will be doing my longest long run (32 km planned) tomorrow! Counting down to my first marathon (BMO Vancouver marathon) ;)
Good luck!
Had my April half planned for this weekend. I maintain 35 mpw and do 1-2 half marathons every month, sometimes official but mostly for fun. I jumped out of bed half awake yesterday after a nap and threw out my back. When I went for my run this morning I couldn’t even make it a mile. I’m fuming and feel pissed at myself for being careless. I live in Boston and nothing is better than running during marathon weekend. I’m going to be grumpy while I watch the race on Monday :/
I’m still feeling frustrated from the half I was trying to run. I twisted my ankle in the middle because there was a child on the course and I moved quickly and landed badly. Had to take a DNF. I have been trying to rehab it but it means my fall marathon plans are no more.
Oh no! I'm so sorry to hear. Have you had a PT take a look? Unless you broke it, I imagine a fall marathon is still doable. A couple years ago, I sprained both my ankles within 6 weeks of each other in April and May, and still trained for and ran an October 50k. But definitely get a medical pro to take a look and make sure nothing else is involved. With one of my sprains, my PT referred me for rads because it was bad enough that he worried about a bone chip.
Hi all, I currently live in the upper Midwest and have my whole life. I will be moving to Texas in the middle of summer, and I want to continue running but the heat scares me. I have really not been in heat higher than 100 for most of my life. So what’s the best way to get acclimated for running? I know I will have to be up early to beat the heat. Would it be best to just not run outside for the summer and then work my way there during the winter? Any advice is welcome.
It will still be muggy, humid, and warm even in the mornings during summer. Take it slow to acclimate. You can always switch to running indoors on a treadmill if you find yourself struggling. The good news is if you do get accustomed to running when its hot you'll feel so much faster when its cool/cold!
People run in hot climates but there's definitely precautions to take and you will need time to acclimate. And you'll probably opt for the treadmill a lot, which is okay. Running early is great to avoid the sun but it will still be very humid and hot (usually more humid in the morning than afternoon). Other folks run at night, like sunset into the dark when it is hotter but usually drier. It's kind of personal preference. Just build up slowly, walk when you need to, stay hydrated, wear sunscreen, listen to your body. Summer running sucks :)
Longest ever run on Sunday, 18km easy pace in preparation for my first ever half marathon, average pace 04:16min/km 6wks out which makes me really hopeful for my goal pace of 03:50 - 04:00min/km for the race itself
I am trying (and probably failing) to keep the weekend low key. I have dinner tonight with a couple of friends/mentors to ask them relationshippy/marriage questions. I'm excited about it. They've been married for 25+ yrs and have 4 kids and a couple of grandkids running around. They are one of those couples who has seen some stuff but always cling to each other when stuff hits the fan. They've also know me for years and the wife is close with my girlfriend and her kid. I know they will have awesome advice. Saturday I am going to try to run 8 miles and the girlfriend wants to help me clean/organize the garage so that will be fun. I also need to find some kind of appropriate side dish for the Mexican rice I want to serve Sunday.
Can't go wrong with black beans. Especially with some chopped white onion and if you like it (I do!) cilantro. Or maybe some tamales?
Black beans could be solid. Might consider it.
I bet 1000 euros against 100 euros that a 30 year old can't improve his cooper (12 min run) result from 2450 meters to 3000 meters in 6 months. He wasn't a runner when he was younger so this is his all time best. He's also not fat, so he can't gain any simple boost by losing weight. He has all the time in the world to run as much as possible. To me it seems impossible and that's why I made the bet. Is it just free 100 euros or not?