Ran a 10k - Official Thread (4 Viewers)

[tri-man 47]

Do you guys have stretching routines that you do?  All the stretching I know well is upper body.  I do a bit of hamstrings and calves before I start and spend 5-10 minutes after I am done doing the same, but I feel like I should be doing more.  I just don't know the proper way to go about it and what I should include.  TIA.

I'd suggest that, over time, you give attention to the feet, ankles, and calves.  That's where a number of issues can arise.  You can stand on the edge of a stair and raise yourself up and down to keep the calves stretched; you can stand on one leg in a Superman-type of pose to work everything in the ankle as you fight to keep your balance; you can roll a tennis/racquetball under your foot to help avoid plantar fasciitis.  

 

[Brony]

At the advice of my ortho PT,  I do dynamic stretching before a run and it's quick and easy.  All of these are gentle stretch for 1 or 2 seconds and repeat 8-10 times per leg. Not enough evidence to say what benefits there are:

Lateral stretch

Standing pirformis stretch

Leg swings  

Standing Pull knee up to chest (grab knee cap/shin)

Standing grab ankle up to butt

Lunging calf stretch

 

[Juxtatarot]

I have four pairs of earbuds and two iPods that are either completely broken or poorly working.  I wonder how long I can handle running without music.

 

[SteelCurtain]

I have four pairs of earbuds and two iPods that are either completely broken or poorly working.  I wonder how long I can handle running without music.

I now almost exclusively run using the speaker in my Iphone.  However, it should be noted that I run in a pretty rural area, so I don't have much traffic noise to deal with.

 

[gianmarco]

I have four pairs of earbuds and two iPods that are either completely broken or poorly working.  I wonder how long I can handle running without music.

I've been running the last couple months without music and I'm really enjoying it.  I don't even have to bother with headphones or if music stops or anything.  Just enjoying the outside and listening to my breathing, etc.  Not sure I'll go back.

 

[SteelCurtain]

Some guys here stretch more than others.  I gave up stretching before a run long ago (I believe @MAC_32 is the same) and just use the beginning of my run as a warmup.  If I'm going to stretch, it's afterward and I don't do it all the time.  If I run a longer distance (i.e. 7+), then I'm more likely to stretch.  I tend to do my stretching in the shower, working on hamstrings and calves. 

This is me. 

Never stretch prior to run as muscles are cold. You'll see every single one of my warmup miles is over 9 min mile as that is my "stretching" as I get the legs moving.  I try to stretch after running but often forget or the kids/life takes over the second I walk into the house. 

I really think stretching is huge for prevention of injuries.  If something is tight, I work on stretching it.  For example, last week, my piriformis was in pain.  I spent literally 2 minutes stretching it after each of my last two hard runs and now its completely fine.  As I get older, I recognize the importance of stretching more and more. 

 

[Juxtatarot]

I've been running the last couple months without music and I'm really enjoying it.  I don't even have to bother with headphones or if music stops or anything.  Just enjoying the outside and listening to my breathing, etc.  Not sure I'll go back.

I think I'll be OK outside for a while too.  Nice to hear the birds chirp and stuff.  If I have to treadmill run again, though, it might be too much.  

 

[MAC_32]

I mix it up more than I used to, when I wouldn't run without music. 

I'll only listen to tunes in the woods if it's a longer run.  I always wear them on easy road runs because otherwise I get too bored.  And I couldn't imagine a dreadmill run without it.  I also wear them to start hard workouts, but as I fatigue I yank them out.  I don't remember when it happened, but my connection got lost towards the end of a hard workout some time ago and rather than trying to fix it I decided to just focus on completing the workout.  I have no clue if I am actually faster or not, but I feel like I am accomplishing more without music once I get to that intangible point.  When I'm not longer listening to the music - it's just noise.  So when I get to that point, which is different day-to-day, I take out the headphones.

Basically, it's rooted in distraction.  If the music is distracting then I won't listen to it.

 

[gianmarco]

I mix it up more than I used to, when I wouldn't run without music. 

I'll only listen to tunes in the woods if it's a longer run.  I always wear them on easy road runs because otherwise I get too bored.  And I couldn't imagine a dreadmill run without it.  I also wear them to start hard workouts, but as I fatigue I yank them out.  I don't remember when it happened, but my connection got lost towards the end of a hard workout some time ago and rather than trying to fix it I decided to just focus on completing the workout.  I have no clue if I am actually faster or not, but I feel like I am accomplishing more without music once I get to that intangible point.  When I'm not longer listening to the music - it's just noise.  So when I get to that point, which is different day-to-day, I take out the headphones.

Basically, it's rooted in distraction.  If the music is distracting then I won't listen to it.

Yep.

The last couple races where I wore music, I yanked it out after 2 miles and just shoved it in my pocket.  I needed to listen to myself to focus and get a feel for how I was doing. 

Then, I started getting annoyed fiddling with it under a hat or just in general and found myself pulling them out during regular runs.  Finally gave up and gave it a shot without and I've found that I enjoy the runs more and don't feel distracted (is my earbud slipping, do I want to listen to this song now, should I keep one out so I can hear stuff around me, etc.). 

 

[Juxtatarot]

I now almost exclusively run using the speaker in my Iphone.  However, it should be noted that I run in a pretty rural area, so I don't have much traffic noise to deal with.

I have a Windows phone without an unlimited data plan (don't ask).  Maybe I'll have to break down and get an iPhone eventually.  I thought about going the Spotify premium route and download the music but I couldn't figure out how to pair one pair of earbuds that only works out of one ear with the stupid phone.  I don't think the battery life playing music would last long either.

 

[Juxtatarot]

I've never raced with music before and doubt I ever will.  I'd be so annoyed if anything malfunctioned.  Plus it's nice to listen to the surroundings, spectators and other runners.  I also like to hear the breathing rate of others.  And hear the footsteps behind me.

 

[ChiefD]

I've been running the last couple months without music and I'm really enjoying it.  I don't even have to bother with headphones or if music stops or anything.  Just enjoying the outside and listening to my breathing, etc.  Not sure I'll go back.

This is the first year I have ever run with music all the time. Spotify has changed that for me. I can listen to all kinds of stuff now. And at this point, I'm not sure I could do another long run without music. When you are slow like me and out there for 3 hours, I need something to take my mind off the pain.

 

[Brony]

I now almost exclusively run using the speaker in my Iphone.  However, it should be noted that I run in a pretty rural area, so I don't have much traffic noise to deal with.

I do something similar.  It's hard to describe but essentially looks like this. 

 

[MAC_32]

I've never raced with music before and doubt I ever will.  I'd be so annoyed if anything malfunctioned.  Plus it's nice to listen to the surroundings, spectators and other runners.  I also like to hear the breathing rate of others.  And hear the footsteps behind me.

If it does then forget about it.  The time and energy to try and figure out what's up quite simply isn't worth it.

I was an exclusive music listener while racing until the failed marathon in 2016.  Hell, before I had streaming music I went to youtube before a 5K, searched for three songs I wanted to listen to in order, then had the video play while racing.  When that song ended I clicked the back button to get to the next video.  D-U-M.

But when my body fell apart sometime between mile 20 and 22 in the '16 marathon I took them out.  And I noted how much the crowd support helped as I hobbled through the rest of that race.  Since then I just adjust based on the race.  I could see doing something like Chicago or Boston in full without music.  But smaller races?  It depends.  I won a sparsely spectated 10K in October by almost a minute.  I listened to tunes until I got to crowd support with about 3/4 mile to go.  Otherwise I was completely by myself with nothing of substance to look at or listen to.  The Toledo Marathon being smaller I ended up in small groups that steadily decreased in numbers once the half split at mile 8.  I'm not sure how by myself I actually was, but I barely saw anyone from miles 17-22.  And the only reason I started seeing people then was because I slowed down due to my own problems.  So I ended up listening to music up until that intangible distraction point sometime shortly after hitting the wall.  But I turned music off rather early in the frigid 5 miler on Thanksgiving mainly because there were thousands of other runners to compete against - in that setting the music was just noise.

Maybe some day I will race in full without music, but if there isn't much going on around me I think it helps keep me focused - until fatigued enough anyway.

 

[ChiefD]

I've never raced with music. I plan to race the Carmel Marathon with music. The plan is to load in my normal stuff for the first 20 miles, and then the rest of the playlist will be songs that bring me good memories.

Basically songs that remind me of the kids, or songs they have picked out for me over the years, songs my wife likes - stuff like that. I'm hoping that mental boost will help with a little extra energy that last 6 miles.

 

[gruecd]

All you guys who run without music....serial killers, I swear.

 

[gruecd]

I've seriously had a couple of times where I've started a run and then realized that my bluetooth headphones were going to die soon because I forgot to charge them.  Back to the house I went for a quick 30-minute top-off before heading back out.

 

[SFBayDuck]

Stretching - I walk for a bit to warm up, then do some dynamic stuff like leg swings (side to side and front to back), dynamic calf stuff, drop into a lunge and do hip rotations (like an 80s aerobacizer), and some arm swings and circles. I usually have to stop again to stretch my calves after 5-10 minutes as they are just always tight. Sucks in a race,  good thing I’m not doing 5Ks.

I used to stretch after every single run, typical static stuff. I do so every once in awhile now, usually just hammies and calves, but I spend a lot more time rolling the muscles in the evening now and think that’s more beneficial. 

Music - I’m a podcast guy, music just to mix it up, for 95% of my training runs. Almost never during races though, although I usually carry an old iPod shuffle or something just in case I feel like I need it. And I use the Jaybird Run wireless earbud, just the right one. They do have issues with the left one staying connected (Bluetooth problem), so I’d look for something else if you like both buds in for tunes. 

 

[Juxtatarot]

If it does then forget about it.  The time and energy to try and figure out what's up quite simply isn't worth it.

I can't fully explain this, but the idea of racing while carrying along a phone/iPod and earbuds that I'm not using would irrationally annoy me to large degree.  It would be a constant reminder of something gone wrong and would fester negativity in my mind.  It's bad enough for something like that to happen on a training run.

I've never felt bored in a race, even running by myself. 

I actually dislike the crowd support of large races.  My favorite part of the Chicago Marathon (assuming I'm racing OK and not nearing a bonk) is a stretch in the mid teens when the crowds are sparser.  I like small groups of spectators (and if I'm running alone I'll thank them if they cheer for me) but wall to wall people is just too much after a while.

 

[Ned]

All you guys who run without music....serial killers, I swear.

Zip it, pansy.  

Spoiler

I'll cut you

 

[gruecd]

Zip it, pansy.  

Spoiler

I'll cut you

Just saying.  All y'all should be on some kind of government watchlist or something...

 

[pbm107]

Music/podcasts for only treadmill runs for me, when I'm out running I want to be disconnected.  I can't imagine listening to something during a race.

 

[gruecd]

I actually dislike the crowd support of large races.

Well then you'll love Carmel, especially down around  mile 17-18...

 

[SteelCurtain]

Training runs -- I usually listen to something.  Easy runs are usually podcasts.  Hard/interval runs is music as I can't really concentrate for a long stretch of time.

Races -- I never listen to anything.  I like to hear the sounds of the race and keep tabs on how I'm breathing, etc.

 

[MAC_32]

I can't fully explain this, but the idea of racing while carrying along a phone/iPod and earbuds that I'm not using would irrationally annoy me to large degree. 

Oh, I get it.  It's probably weird to everyone else, but I physically carry my phone.  It was weird at first, but I actually adapted to it kinda fast.  Maybe it's been fixed in recent years, but the arm bands they used to sell are too small for new phones.  So when I got a new one I started carrying and it's become the habit ever since.  So when I'm done listening to music I just yank out the earbuds and stuff them in my pocket.

But all of that would be drastically different if I were a watch runner and/or had my phone in an arm band.

 

[ChiefD]

Well then you'll love Carmel, especially down around  mile 17-18...

So......as far as the Carmel course is concerned, anything we should all know about potential rough spots on the course? I mapped it out on Map My Run, and it looks a heck of a lot hillier than I expected.

Looks like the first 6 miles or so are downhill, but then it looks like 3 miles uphill, then a short downhill, followed by another 3 miles or so uphill. Then from miles 16 ish to 22 ish it looks like a net uphill.

Or am I just seeing things? 

 

[Brony]

Music during training and races for me.  It's part of the overall experience for me, like cigars and golf. 

In a race, you can look around and see that a good mix of people have headphones and a lot that don't.  I don't think either is strange - do what you want. As long as you are out there participating, it's all good.  Well, unless you have gloves on when it's above 40 degrees.  Then you should be banned. 

 

[Juxtatarot]

So......as far as the Carmel course is concerned, anything we should all know about potential rough spots on the course? I mapped it out on Map My Run, and it looks a heck of a lot hillier than I expected.

Looks like the first 6 miles or so are downhill, but then it looks like 3 miles uphill, then a short downhill, followed by another 3 miles or so uphill. Then from miles 16 ish to 22 ish it looks like a net uphill.

Or am I just seeing things? 

There is a little crappy elevation chart on the website.  They should have used a different scale unless they wanted to make it look flatter than it is!  It does appear to be less than ideal.

 

[MAC_32]

Well, unless you have gloves on when it's above 40 degrees.  Then you should be banned. 

Me, as of today

 

[gruecd]

There is a little crappy elevation chart on the website.  They should have used a different scale unless they wanted to make it look flatter than it is!  It does appear to be less than ideal.

The hills are NOTHING 

 

[Juxtatarot]

The hills are NOTHING 

I just looked at your Strava elevation chart from last year.    

Edit:  I guess it's not THAT bad.

 

[tri-man 47]

All you guys who run without music....serial killers, I swear.

Never have ...well, when I started running, never had a choice since it pre-technology.  I couldn't imagine running with music at this point!

@Juxtatarot, I tend to agree about crowd support being too much at times.  I believe the problem is that an active crowd can create too much stimulation, which in turn raises the heart rate.  My out-of-nowhere HM PR several years ago was on a flat trail with virtually no spectators.  My two best marathons (Big Sur and the small Texas Marathon) were also rather void of many spectators.  

 

[Zasada]

I have a TV set up in front of the treadmill so I watch YouTube videos for maximum distraction.  Even then, it's hard to not constantly look down at how much time I have left.

Running outside I used to go with music but lately it's been 100% audiobooks.  

For the Vegas HM I went with a specific playlist of music.  Worked great.

For Houston, I went with an audiobook for the first half and then music for the second.  The audiobook was a mistake.  Couldn't hear it half the time because of all the external noise (cheering, bands, megaphones, etc).  The bluetooth earphones I use are great because they still let outside noise in but it basically means audiobooks are out in noisy environments.  I won't go with the in-ear kind because I still want to be able to hear cars/people around me.

Future short races (HM or shorter) I'll stick with a custom playlist.  Longer, I'm not sure.  

 

[-OZ-]

I mix it up more than I used to, when I wouldn't run without music. 

I'll only listen to tunes in the woods if it's a longer run.  I always wear them on easy road runs because otherwise I get too bored.  And I couldn't imagine a dreadmill run without it.  I also wear them to start hard workouts, but as I fatigue I yank them out.  I don't remember when it happened, but my connection got lost towards the end of a hard workout some time ago and rather than trying to fix it I decided to just focus on completing the workout.  I have no clue if I am actually faster or not, but I feel like I am accomplishing more without music once I get to that intangible point.  When I'm not longer listening to the music - it's just noise.  So when I get to that point, which is different day-to-day, I take out the headphones.

Basically, it's rooted in distraction.  If the music is distracting then I won't listen to it.

Same, although not right now.

I just got one of those run belts, love it. I can't run now without the phone in case the boys need me.  I'll vary it up between podcasts and Pandora. 

On the cycle trainer I need music. On the actual bike I can go either way. 

 

[-OZ-]

http://www.uberman1.com/#our-story-1

So who's in? 

For 2020, maybe, kinda... That's fall break this year, we're hitting the beach. So that's my excuse. 

 

[The Iguana]

No music for me when I run currently. Got the Garmin with music thinking I might give it a go but I rather like listening to the ambient noise - both in the gym and outside. If I am alone in the gym, I will put something on the tv and turn it up. 

By all accounts from a coworker that used Carmel to qualify for Boston a few years the course is pretty flat, like most all of northern and central Indiana. 

 

[The Iguana]

Went to the indoor track at the Y tonight for the first time. Forgot to look up how to do manual laps on my watch before going (have figured it out now that I am home, lol) and couldn't get a gps signal in the building - not sure how well it would work for such a small loop anyway...

Anyway... That was fun and I was moving along. I know I did over 5 miles - should have been close to 5.5 - in just about 40 minutes. HR compared to other runs would agree. Anyway, I'll definitley be doing that again as weather/darkness/work dictates. Pretty fun stuff.  

 

[gruecd]

I just looked at your Strava elevation chart from last year.    

Edit:  I guess it's not THAT bad.

It was 433 feet of TOTAL elevation change.  Literally not one specific hill that was memorable.

 

[gruecd]

It was 433 feet of TOTAL elevation change.  Literally not one specific hill that was memorable.

Perhaps I exaggerated a bit when I said that none were memorable....I do remember one little hill going up into a subdivision around mile 7, some rollers around 9-11, a little down-and-up underpass thing around 15, an overpass at 19, a little ramp up onto the Greenway at like 23.5, and then a little uphill into the finish.  I'm as big of a hill wuss as anyone, and honestly NONE of these are anything to worry about.  It's a very fast course.  

 

[ChiefD]

It was 433 feet of TOTAL elevation change.  Literally not one specific hill that was memorable.

Just for fun I looked at strava, and when you click on a guy in our group you can see a comparison to yourself. So I did that for a couple of you guys and just looked at the yearly elevation gain for 2019. 

Me: 15,459 ft

@Juxtatarot - 5,348 ft

@pbm107 - 8,402 ft

@MAC_32 - 8,491 ft

@JShare87 - 1,201 ft    

@gruecd - 5,558 ft

@gianmarco - 7,260 ft

@Zasada - 19,888 ft

@SFBayDuck - 40,948 

Any of you guys who say Kansas is flat can suck my noots.

 

[MAC_32]

Kansas and Ohio are pancake flat.

Kansas City and Cleveland are not. 

 

[ChiefD]

Kansas and Ohio are pancake flat.

Kansas City and Cleveland are not. 

Yep.

 

[gianmarco]

Just for fun I looked at strava, and when you click on a guy in our group you can see a comparison to yourself. So I did that for a couple of you guys and just looked at the yearly elevation gain for 2019. 

Me: 15,459 ft

@Juxtatarot - 5,348 ft

@pbm107 - 8,402 ft

@MAC_32 - 8,491 ft

@JShare87 - 1,201 ft    

@gruecd - 5,558 ft

@gianmarco - 7,260 ft

@Zasada - 19,888 ft

Any of you guys who say Kansas is flat can suck my noots.

To be fair, it should be calculated as elevation per mile to get a better representation.  Reordered from lowest to highest

@JShare87 -- 1201/273.1 miles = 4.4 ft/mile (still )

@Juxtatarot -- 5348/471 miles = 11.3 ft/mile

@gruecd -- 5558/423.9 miles = 13.1 ft/mile

@pbm107 -- 8402/286.5 miles = 29.3 ft/mile

@MAC_32 -- 8491/254.2 miles = 33.4 ft/mile

@ChiefD -- 15459/344.3 miles = 44.9/mile

@gianmarco -- 7260/158.2 miles = 45.9 ft/mile

@Zasada -- 19888/237.6 miles = 83.7 ft/mile

@SFBayDuck -- 40948/296.1 = 138.3/mile (another )

ETA -- Duck has more ft/mile than the first 6 of you COMBINED.

Should include some more

@SteelCurtain -- 12133/412.2 = 29.4 ft/mile

@bushdocda -- 5492/226 = 24.3 ft/mile

@JAA -- 2224/107.7 = 20.6 ft/mile

@-OZ- -- 5364/208.8 = 25.7 ft/mile

 

[gianmarco]

I'm sure you guys have seen the 3 mile loop from my house that I do that looks close to a rectangle sometimes.  My wife has now made that her running route regularly because of the hills on that route and will just keep doing laps and typically runs 6 or 9 miles of it.  It has about 220 feet of elevation over 3 miles (74/mile).

As a result, she's currently at 174.6 miles for the year and 11,250 feet of elevation, or 64.4 ft/mile. 

It's no joke and her HR keeps trending down too and I have a feeling she's going to absolutely destroy her next race as a result compared to what she's done in the past. 

 

[Juxtatarot]

Of course, some of us have more treadmill and indoor miles than others in those averages.  Just saying.

 

[gianmarco]

Of course, some of us have more treadmill and indoor miles than others in those averages.  Just saying.

Yeah, but you're only running those at 6:36 min/mile paces.  Again, just not impressed.

 

[-OZ-]

I'll assume many have the same circumstances, but if I take one route, I'll hit ~11'/mile elevation. Super flat, this includes the Greenway and bike / running path by my house. 

But if I want to hit hills, they're there, I just have to actively seek them out. There's one "mountain" a couple miles from the office which is fun, but the road is gravel which makes going downhill fast a different experience. 

 

[bushdocda]

I avoid hills except for when I intentionally don’t. 

 

[JAA]

Do you guys have stretching routines that you do?  All the stretching I know well is upper body.  I do a bit of hamstrings and calves before I start and spend 5-10 minutes after I am done doing the same, but I feel like I should be doing more.  I just don't know the proper way to go about it and what I should include.  TIA.

No streching before, stretching after.  I read a study which showed results that stretching before didnt help.  Even plyometrics didnt show anything.  The recommendation was jog warmup.

 

[JAA]

I have four pairs of earbuds and two iPods that are either completely broken or poorly working.  I wonder how long I can handle running without music.

impossible

I am so not looking forward to my IM bike and run portions without music.  The run specifically is brutal.  I totally hated that in my HIM run this past year.