Ran a 10k - Official Thread (5 Viewers)

[pbm107]

I ran a 3x2000 at a ~6:15 pace, so I theoretically should be able to hit that pace if the temperature was not a factor.

Two problems

1) I was pretty spent at the end of each of these intervals, so not sure how this will translate. In fairness, I had done shorter and faster workouts 2 days before all my at pace workouts, so I'm banking on having fresher legs for the race.

I wouldn't be concerned about being spent at the end of these intervals, I'm not sure if I could sustain my 5K pace for a 3X2000. Sounds like a really tough workout and you didn't even have the benefit of running on a track. I suspect that you'll be faster than 6:15 pace, good luck.

 

[Terpman22]

Have never ran any race at all. Have been running some long/longer distances lately (6 mile mins, no more than 9 miles, just trying to shed a little more weight), coming up with some sort of nagging injuries, thinking here would be a good place to get some advice.

So first off, my left leg is kind of "on the hip" slightly wrong, so when I walk/run, the left foot/leg kind of goes "in" at a little bit more of an angle. Think you look down at your feet, they both should kind of point the same direction and my left one points more toward the inside of my right foot. Not the biggest of deals, I have had this my whole life with no problems, but I'm 43 now and maybe this is the cause of some light "runner's knee" lately. A little bit of yoga I have found helps get my "leg on right" if you will. Currently on a 2 week hiatus. Bought one of those knee brace/strap things that go right below your patella, seems to help a lot.

More concerning at least to me, is some acute achilles tendonitis in the other leg/foot. I don't really feel anything at all, but when I do stretch the calves out, this one sort of feels a very slight burning sensation, right at the base of my right heel, slightly above.

I guess my question is "how concerning is the achilles tendonitis, and besides resting in, what can you do?" I also bought a sort of sock/compressiong sleeve that sorta helps, I just don't want to be dealing with this "forever" when I go on runs moving forward.

Any responses are appreciated! I think I'd like to try a run/race this summer sometime but also want to be healthy healthy first before so.

You’ve got a unique physiology (we all do) so a PT is a best bet to check you out.

But here’s 3 cents You create some space and perhaps find some relief for the knee with rolling or stick upstream and downstream and I see a lot of recommendations for a move where you lean back on a wall and do toe raises to engage strengthen the tibialis & quad and it helps relieve runners knee. I also like a lax ball or similar behind the knee and squeeze. Seems to free up more space. Google couch stretch if you want to see stars from stretching your hip flexors and quad, may help with upstream tensions.

Achilles/low heel pain is something I work with doing a lot of calf rolling and foot rolling on a lax ball. And it’s usually much less of an issue if I do a decent warmup before running.
Good luck Terp.

Thanks for this response! I have a decent foot rollers and whatever "bigger" roller I bought years ago. Gonna work on these. Really need to just dive into the yoga a lil more tbh I think to get the left leg "hitched on the hip right" if that makes sense.

 

[Dr_Zaius]

From the virtual 5k, I had read that if you can do an interval workout of 5x1000, you should be able to run the full 5k at this pace (which is exactly what i did for the virtual race, but on a net downhill). I ran a 3x2000 at a ~6:15 pace, so I theoretically should be able to hit that pace if the temperature was not a factor.

I agree with pbm that this seems like a tough workout. FWIW, I have a round trip path near my house that is 2.5K, and I feel like if I do a time trial training run on that I can pretty much double it to get my 5K race time due to taper plus race day bonus. As far as the temperature penalty, if you do online calculators they will say only a few seconds penalty for a hot 5K, which seems a little optimistic to me, but having run them in 80+F I will say that it's definitely not more than 10-15 seconds total in my opinion. You'll feel the heat by mile 3, but it's nothing like you would feel for an hour+ race in warm conditions.

@xulf mile 1 is all about running smart, mile 2 is all about focus, and mile 3 is all about embracing the suck. You're gonna feel warm mile 2 and not good mile 3. The key to a well run 5K is being mentally prepared for those two barriers then over coming them anyway by not slowing down.

This is good advice. I consider 5K my best distance (and the race equivalent calculators back it up), and mentally mile 2 focus is so key. Your body will naturally want to slow down because the effort has to go up and the finish line still feels far away. I find you either want to count on checking your pace a few times or give yourself a milestone to check against your goal time. The key is to not accidentally let 1/4-1/2 mile go by where your pace drops, because there's not enough time to make it back up. The last 1/2-1/4 mile is a DBAP time - there's a big voice telling you to slow down and cruise in, and you need to have the embrace the suck mentality to max the effort out at the end all the way to the line.

 

[Dr_Zaius]

More concerning at least to me, is some acute achilles tendonitis in the other leg/foot. I don't really feel anything at all, but when I do stretch the calves out, this one sort of feels a very slight burning sensation, right at the base of my right heel, slightly above.

I battled achiilles tendonitis for a while, and rolling and eccentric heel drops are what seemed to do the trick for me. The key with the drops is to not do anything too harsh when you're injured as you don't want to make it worse, but the strengthening and stretching of the calves will eventually take some of the pressure off of the achilles. In the meantime, I would be careful about any sort of explosive movements (e.g., darting across a road to beat a traffic light or something), and it's also not a bad idea to change up your running surfaces a bit if it's possible.

 

[Terpman22]

More concerning at least to me, is some acute achilles tendonitis in the other leg/foot. I don't really feel anything at all, but when I do stretch the calves out, this one sort of feels a very slight burning sensation, right at the base of my right heel, slightly above.

I battled achiilles tendonitis for a while, and rolling and eccentric heel drops are what seemed to do the trick for me. The key with the drops is to not do anything too harsh when you're injured as you don't want to make it worse, but the strengthening and stretching of the calves will eventually take some of the pressure off of the achilles. In the meantime, I would be careful about any sort of explosive movements (e.g., darting across a road to beat a traffic light or something), and it's also not a bad idea to change up your running surfaces a bit if it's possible.

Yeah, tbh the pain in the achilles is like a 1.5/10 if that, and only when I actually stretch it out. Ran "2 miles" on a treadmill yesterday, wearing this achilles brace/sleeve all the time for the time being, seems to help. I will look into strengthening the calves more! It's all a first for me, put " ALOT" of mileage in the last couple years running sometimes 100 miles a month and never had any issues until I literally turned 43 in April and that week I started feeling a little something in both spots. Appreciate the response!

 

[caustic]

More concerning at least to me, is some acute achilles tendonitis in the other leg/foot. I don't really feel anything at all, but when I do stretch the calves out, this one sort of feels a very slight burning sensation, right at the base of my right heel, slightly above.

I battled achiilles tendonitis for a while, and rolling and eccentric heel drops are what seemed to do the trick for me. The key with the drops is to not do anything too harsh when you're injured as you don't want to make it worse, but the strengthening and stretching of the calves will eventually take some of the pressure off of the achilles. In the meantime, I would be careful about any sort of explosive movements (e.g., darting across a road to beat a traffic light or something), and it's also not a bad idea to change up your running surfaces a bit if it's possible.

Yeah, tbh the pain in the achilles is like a 1.5/10 if that, and only when I actually stretch it out. Ran "2 miles" on a treadmill yesterday, wearing this achilles brace/sleeve all the time for the time being, seems to help. I will look into strengthening the calves more! It's all a first for me, put " ALOT" of mileage in the last couple years running sometimes 100 miles a month and never had any issues until I literally turned 43 in April and that week I started feeling a little something in both spots. Appreciate the response!

Similar pain has crept into my achilles as well. After a run last week, my right one started to burn at the exact location you mentioned. I immediately switched to a softer surface (nearby trail instead of pavement) and have been icing it after each run. That's taken care of it for the most part, and I'm hoping that more rolling and heel drops can get it back to 100%.

 

[Terpman22]

More concerning at least to me, is some acute achilles tendonitis in the other leg/foot. I don't really feel anything at all, but when I do stretch the calves out, this one sort of feels a very slight burning sensation, right at the base of my right heel, slightly above.

I battled achiilles tendonitis for a while, and rolling and eccentric heel drops are what seemed to do the trick for me. The key with the drops is to not do anything too harsh when you're injured as you don't want to make it worse, but the strengthening and stretching of the calves will eventually take some of the pressure off of the achilles. In the meantime, I would be careful about any sort of explosive movements (e.g., darting across a road to beat a traffic light or something), and it's also not a bad idea to change up your running surfaces a bit if it's possible.

Yeah, tbh the pain in the achilles is like a 1.5/10 if that, and only when I actually stretch it out. Ran "2 miles" on a treadmill yesterday, wearing this achilles brace/sleeve all the time for the time being, seems to help. I will look into strengthening the calves more! It's all a first for me, put " ALOT" of mileage in the last couple years running sometimes 100 miles a month and never had any issues until I literally turned 43 in April and that week I started feeling a little something in both spots. Appreciate the response!

Similar pain has crept into my achilles as well. After a run last week, my right one started to burn at the exact location you mentioned. I immediately switched to a softer surface (nearby trail instead of pavement) and have been icing it after each run. That's taken care of it for the most part, and I'm hoping that more rolling and heel drops can get it back to 100%.

Nice, glad to hear something working. Really got to get some sort of ice pack maintenance going. I drink a crap load of water, so thats not the issue for me. I must admit I'm "very" annoyed at this little nagging slight injury. Feel its more mental for me "is my achilles going to pop?" vs actual pain. I can prob go run 7+ miles today and not feel a thing during or after the run, just until I actually stretch it out. As advice given upthread, its most likely I need a bit more strength in the calf.

 

[tri-man 47]

This month’s challenge (Along with making Gru hard) is pull-ups. Set your monthly goal and GO GET IT!

Well, I'm in, but this'll be a true challenge. As you know, @-OZ- , I couldn't get to 100 with May's kettlebell swings as the glute didn't cooperate very well throughout the month. Hopefully I can make good progress on the pull-ups (something I've intended to do, so thanks for the nudge) without doing damage.

 

[gruecd]

@xulf mile 1 is all about running smart, mile 2 is all about focus, and mile 3 is all about embracing the suck. You're gonna feel warm mile 2 and not good mile 3. The key to a well run 5K is being mentally prepared for those two barriers then over coming them anyway by not slowing down.

WRONG!

Mile 1 is all about pacing with Galen Rupp - this running **** is sooooo easy. Mile 2 is to mildly pull back as you have an inkling that you may have started out a shade fast, but hey things still feel ok. Mile 3 is the grim realization that you're an idiot and a HR of 220 isn't sustainable. The last .1 is reserved for vomiting.

Then, of course, is the recovery 12 pack of Yuengling. Success!

Unless you’re doing 75 Hard, then no Yuengling for you!

 

[xulf]

Hometown 5k
6:11/6:15/6:21

This was my first "race" attempt at this distance outside of the virtual one we did during covid. There was a closer race today, but i chose this one hoping for more people to help push my pace -- based on the results from the last few years at the closer race, i would have won by a few minutes.

This had the option for a 5K, 10K, or Half. It looked like maybe half were doing the half and the rest were at the shorter distances. They did have 5-6 pacers for the HM, which I found surprising based on the field size.

Nobody wanted to start up front other than me and one other guy who was running the half, which he finished at a 5:47 pace. He took off and I was behind him, then he pulled away from me.

At the same time, I pulled away from everyone else and didn't have anyone near me for the rest of the race...it turned into a solo run more or less, which kind of sucked. Although, on the back of the out and back it was nice to get some cheers.

The big issue happened at 1.15 miles where they set up the 5k turnaround. At first, I didn't even notice it because I wasn't looking for it. Then I asked what it was as I was running by and they said it was the 2.5k. At first i wondered if i missed a turn, but realized that wasnt the case, this was a straightforward course. I stopped and let them know that was wrong as I just passed the 1 mile marker, and they said they must have been given the wrong coordinates (great).

After this interaction I kept going and just turned at 1.55 miles since there was no turnaround. Coming back, I saw the crew moving the sign/cones. I tried to yell at runners that there was no official turnaround, but they gave me weird looks.

Anyway, my watch had me at a final distance of 3.05. I clearly ran to 1.55 to turn, so I feel like I ran the whole thing. Mile 1 felt great with all the adrenaline. Mile 2 sucked because of the turnaround issue and I had to scramble to make up time. Mile 3 could have been way better, but there was literally nobody even near me.

19:05 strava time, chip time was 19:10. Strava probably paused for a few seconds during my non moving time when yelling at the crew.

Post race i waited for 5 minutes and still nobody else came through, so i left. 2nd place was 26:53 - not sure how far they ran though since the turnaround may not have been set up.

TLDR - tried to find a bigger race to not solo run and win. Ended up solo running and winning. Its hard giving it all when nobody else is running with you. I am 100% certain I can cut time off this and get to <19:00.

 

[gianmarco]

Hometown 5k
6:11/6:15/6:21

TLDR - tried to find a bigger race to not solo run and win. Ended up solo running and winning. Its hard giving it all when nobody else is running with you. I am 100% certain I can cut time off this and get to <18:00.

FYP

Oh, and congrats, la-di-da, yada.

 

[pbm107]

TLDR - tried to find a bigger race to not solo run and win. Ended up solo running and winning. Its hard giving it all when nobody else is running with you. I am 100% certain I can cut time off this and get to <19:00.

Sucks that you had to deal with a messed up course, I agree that with a little competition you’re a sure thing for sub 19.

 

[Dr_Zaius]

19:05 strava time, chip time was 19:10. Strava probably paused for a few seconds during my non moving time when yelling at the crew.

Congrats on the big time PR!

Sorry you're too fast for everyone and the race was not set up by the brightest bulbs in the room.

 

[tri-man 47]

Hometown 5k
6:11/6:15/6:21

This was my first "race" attempt at this distance outside of the virtual one we did during covid. There was a closer race today, but i chose this one hoping for more people to help push my pace -- based on the results from the last few years at the closer race, i would have won by a few minutes.

This had the option for a 5K, 10K, or Half. It looked like maybe half were doing the half and the rest were at the shorter distances. They did have 5-6 pacers for the HM, which I found surprising based on the field size.

Nobody wanted to start up front other than me and one other guy who was running the half, which he finished at a 5:47 pace. He took off and I was behind him, then he pulled away from me.

At the same time, I pulled away from everyone else and didn't have anyone near me for the rest of the race...it turned into a solo run more or less, which kind of sucked. Although, on the back of the out and back it was nice to get some cheers.

The big issue happened at 1.15 miles where they set up the 5k turnaround. At first, I didn't even notice it because I wasn't looking for it. Then I asked what it was as I was running by and they said it was the 2.5k. At first i wondered if i missed a turn, but realized that wasnt the case, this was a straightforward course. I stopped and let them know that was wrong as I just passed the 1 mile marker, and they said they must have been given the wrong coordinates (great).

After this interaction I kept going and just turned at 1.55 miles since there was no turnaround. Coming back, I saw the crew moving the sign/cones. I tried to yell at runners that there was no official turnaround, but they gave me weird looks.

Anyway, my watch had me at a final distance of 3.05. I clearly ran to 1.55 to turn, so I feel like I ran the whole thing. Mile 1 felt great with all the adrenaline. Mile 2 sucked because of the turnaround issue and I had to scramble to make up time. Mile 3 could have been way better, but there was literally nobody even near me.

19:05 strava time, chip time was 19:10. Strava probably paused for a few seconds during my non moving time when yelling at the crew.

Post race i waited for 5 minutes and still nobody else came through, so i left. 2nd place was 26:53 - not sure how far they ran though since the turnaround may not have been set up.

TLDR - tried to find a bigger race to not solo run and win. Ended up solo running and winning. Its hard giving it all when nobody else is running with you. I am 100% certain I can cut time off this and get to <19:00.

Great job! To run such a fast time while running solo and having to tell the volunteers how to set up the course? Super impressive.

 

[tri-man 47]

@BassNBrew , I trust we'll get a race report for your latest epic, day-long, undertrained adventure?

 

[bushdocda]

Hometown 5k
6:11/6:15/6:21

This was my first "race" attempt at this distance outside of the virtual one we did during covid. There was a closer race today, but i chose this one hoping for more people to help push my pace -- based on the results from the last few years at the closer race, i would have won by a few minutes.

This had the option for a 5K, 10K, or Half. It looked like maybe half were doing the half and the rest were at the shorter distances. They did have 5-6 pacers for the HM, which I found surprising based on the field size.

Nobody wanted to start up front other than me and one other guy who was running the half, which he finished at a 5:47 pace. He took off and I was behind him, then he pulled away from me.

At the same time, I pulled away from everyone else and didn't have anyone near me for the rest of the race...it turned into a solo run more or less, which kind of sucked. Although, on the back of the out and back it was nice to get some cheers.

The big issue happened at 1.15 miles where they set up the 5k turnaround. At first, I didn't even notice it because I wasn't looking for it. Then I asked what it was as I was running by and they said it was the 2.5k. At first i wondered if i missed a turn, but realized that wasnt the case, this was a straightforward course. I stopped and let them know that was wrong as I just passed the 1 mile marker, and they said they must have been given the wrong coordinates (great).

After this interaction I kept going and just turned at 1.55 miles since there was no turnaround. Coming back, I saw the crew moving the sign/cones. I tried to yell at runners that there was no official turnaround, but they gave me weird looks.

Anyway, my watch had me at a final distance of 3.05. I clearly ran to 1.55 to turn, so I feel like I ran the whole thing. Mile 1 felt great with all the adrenaline. Mile 2 sucked because of the turnaround issue and I had to scramble to make up time. Mile 3 could have been way better, but there was literally nobody even near me.

19:05 strava time, chip time was 19:10. Strava probably paused for a few seconds during my non moving time when yelling at the crew.

Post race i waited for 5 minutes and still nobody else came through, so i left. 2nd place was 26:53 - not sure how far they ran though since the turnaround may not have been set up.

TLDR - tried to find a bigger race to not solo run and win. Ended up solo running and winning. Its hard giving it all when nobody else is running with you. I am 100% certain I can cut time off this and get to <19:00.

Daaaamn!! (Chris Tucker voice)
Great job and keep doing what you are doing !! (my voice)

 

[Zasada]

19:05 strava time, chip time was 19:10. Strava probably paused for a few seconds during my non moving time when yelling at the crew.

Post race i waited for 5 minutes and still nobody else came through, so i left. 2nd place was 26:53 - not sure how far they ran though since the turnaround may not have been set up.

TLDR - tried to find a bigger race to not solo run and win. Ended up solo running and winning. Its hard giving it all when nobody else is running with you. I am 100% certain I can cut time off this and get to <19:00.

Geez, BMF. Holy cow, what a fantastic run. Gratz on the PR and the overall win! All in spite of a poorly organized/marked course.

 

[BassNBrew]

@BassNBrew , I trust we'll get a race report for your latest epic, day-long, undertrained adventure?

Possibly. @gruecd is keeping me busy with 2 a days and pissing every 15 minutes.

Here's some spoilers.

1. At the start line reading 10 pages of FBG best ball draft material for the betterment of a fantasy football skills.

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2. I'm so fat that when the shuttle driver (hour ride to the start) was telling people they had to have 14 people on every van, he looked at me and said you're so big you might have to take two seats.

3. I was passed by a carton of milk.

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4. One of the 47 trestles I crossed.

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5. I was texting Gru at the midway point and his comment was have fun with the second workout today.

 

[gruecd]

Formal 15-week training plan for Berlin starts on Monday. Legs haven't really felt good in forever, and lately I've been solidly on the fence between giving up on marathons completely and trying to get myself back in shape to take one last shot at another sub-3. As of right now, I'm gonna go with the latter, and I'm gonna start working with my coach again. He knows where I'm at fitness-wise, and he knows he's gonna have to bring me back slowly with workouts and really any kind of quality, as I really haven't done anything of the sort for a long time, and all my legs seem to know right now is long, slow distance.

My loose plan right now (subject to change) is to shoot for 3:10 in Berlin, do something in the spring, and then go for broke next November in Indy.

 

[Juxtatarot]

I decided to make a goal to go the whole summer without turning on the air conditioning.

I don’t think it will be too bad. I’m not at home most days. I was home some Saturday when it reached 90 outside and I was fine. With all the windows open a nice breeze can go through.

I see a lot of advantages. Heat acclimation should help for summer running, I’ll get a lot of fresh air, and I’ll save some money. Mostly, though, I think it will be a fun mind over matter challenge.

Think I can make it?

 

[ChiefD]

I decided to make a goal to go the whole summer without turning on the air conditioning.

I don’t think it will be too bad. I’m not at home most days. I was home some Saturday when it reached 90 outside and I was fine. With all the windows open a nice breeze can go through.

I see a lot of advantages. Heat acclimation should help for summer running, I’ll get a lot of fresh air, and I’ll save some money. Mostly, though, I think it will be a fun mind over matter challenge.

Think I can make it?

No.

 

[Terpman22]

I decided to make a goal to go the whole summer without turning on the air conditioning.

I don’t think it will be too bad. I’m not at home most days. I was home some Saturday when it reached 90 outside and I was fine. With all the windows open a nice breeze can go through.

I see a lot of advantages. Heat acclimation should help for summer running, I’ll get a lot of fresh air, and I’ll save some money. Mostly, though, I think it will be a fun mind over matter challenge.

Think I can make it?

No, but also, where do you live?

 

[Juxtatarot]

I decided to make a goal to go the whole summer without turning on the air conditioning.

I don’t think it will be too bad. I’m not at home most days. I was home some Saturday when it reached 90 outside and I was fine. With all the windows open a nice breeze can go through.

I see a lot of advantages. Heat acclimation should help for summer running, I’ll get a lot of fresh air, and I’ll save some money. Mostly, though, I think it will be a fun mind over matter challenge.

Think I can make it?

No, but also, where do you live?

Suburban Chicago.

 

[Terpman22]

I decided to make a goal to go the whole summer without turning on the air conditioning.

I don’t think it will be too bad. I’m not at home most days. I was home some Saturday when it reached 90 outside and I was fine. With all the windows open a nice breeze can go through.

I see a lot of advantages. Heat acclimation should help for summer running, I’ll get a lot of fresh air, and I’ll save some money. Mostly, though, I think it will be a fun mind over matter challenge.

Think I can make it?

No, but also, where do you live?

Suburban Chicago.

Oh yeah man. Good luck! I know Chicago has that annual crazy crazy heat wave!

 

[gianmarco]

I turn on my AC to 75 Hard.

 

[bushdocda]

I decided to make a goal to go the whole summer without turning on the air conditioning.

I don’t think it will be too bad. I’m not at home most days. I was home some Saturday when it reached 90 outside and I was fine. With all the windows open a nice breeze can go through.

I see a lot of advantages. Heat acclimation should help for summer running, I’ll get a lot of fresh air, and I’ll save some money. Mostly, though, I think it will be a fun mind over matter challenge.

Think I can make it?

My wife would murder me and others.

 

[gruecd]

I decided to make a goal to go the whole summer without turning on the air conditioning.

I don’t think it will be too bad. I’m not at home most days. I was home some Saturday when it reached 90 outside and I was fine. With all the windows open a nice breeze can go through.

I see a lot of advantages. Heat acclimation should help for summer running, I’ll get a lot of fresh air, and I’ll save some money. Mostly, though, I think it will be a fun mind over matter challenge.

Think I can make it?

I think you're a clown (with all due respect)

 

[Dr_Zaius]

Our thermostat is at 76 usually, which is a compromise with the family as I would have it at 78 if not for them, or potentially even turn it off. To me the only real rough time to go without AC is at bed time during a heat wave. It can take until 2AM or so for the upstairs to really get cooled off, and it's tough to fall asleep if it's 80+ in the room.

 

[gianmarco]

Our thermostat is at 76 usually, which is a compromise with the family as I would have it at 78 if not for them, or potentially even turn it off. To me the only real rough time to go without AC is at bed time during a heat wave. It can take until 2AM or so for the upstairs to really get cooled off, and it's tough to fall asleep if it's 80+ in the room.

We actually do 77, and I'm fine with a little higher if a fan is on. Now we drop it to 74 at night so the Mrs. can sleep better, but I would similarly be fine with 78-79 the entire time.

 

[SteelCurtain]

I decided to make a goal to go the whole summer without turning on the air conditioning.

I don’t think it will be too bad. I’m not at home most days. I was home some Saturday when it reached 90 outside and I was fine. With all the windows open a nice breeze can go through.

I see a lot of advantages. Heat acclimation should help for summer running, I’ll get a lot of fresh air, and I’ll save some money. Mostly, though, I think it will be a fun mind over matter challenge.

Think I can make it?

Its fine on one day, but when the heat wave last 3-5 days, it gets to be too much.

Why are you doing this? For fun?

 

[SteelCurtain]

Ran a 6.5 mile trail "race" which had 3,500 feet of elevation. The first 3 miles had 2,500 feet. It was essentially up and down a ski mountain. It had four major hills. One stretch of 0.3 miles had a 40% grade and was about 800 feet of elevation.

This is all about prepping for the R2R2R I'll be doing with @gruecd and @Zasada in October.

My goal in 2023 is to do 15,000 feet of elevation a month. (For comparison, I did 10,000 feet a month last year.) I'm pleased I'm at 86,000 feet thus far in 2023 which puts me ahead of plan. I will also do several longer hillier hikes this summer as I try to make it so I don't embarass myself in the Grand Canyon.

 

[caustic]

Reading up on nutrition and I have a couple questions:

Google produces some wildly different recommendations as to when you should bring water/gel on a run, and how often you should take a gel. What methods do you all follow? So far I haven't used either during a workout, but with my runs getting longer and the weather getting warmer, it may be time soon.

I see that pre-workout coffee/caffeine is popular, and there are supposedly quite a few benefits. Lots of gels have low doses of caffeine as well. This seems counterproductive for aerobic training though, no? When I tried drinking coffee before one of my runs, I had to go significantly slower to stay in the proper HR zone. Maybe my morning coffee is just too big.

 

[tri-man 47]

Reading up on nutrition and I have a couple questions:

Google produces some wildly different recommendations as to when you should bring water/gel on a run, and how often you should take a gel. What methods do you all follow? So far I haven't used either during a workout, but with my runs getting longer and the weather getting warmer, it may be time soon.

I see that pre-workout coffee/caffeine is popular, and there are supposedly quite a few benefits. Lots of gels have low doses of caffeine as well. This seems counterproductive for aerobic training though, no? When I tried drinking coffee before one of my runs, I had to go significantly slower to stay in the proper HR zone. Maybe my morning coffee is just too big.

I don't think you're doing the distances that call for gels yet. But it can be smart to bring fluid of some sort, such as with a Nathan handheld bottle.

 

[tri-man 47]

I decided to make a goal to go the whole summer without turning on the air conditioning.

I don’t think it will be too bad. I’m not at home most days. I was home some Saturday when it reached 90 outside and I was fine. With all the windows open a nice breeze can go through.

I see a lot of advantages. Heat acclimation should help for summer running, I’ll get a lot of fresh air, and I’ll save some money. Mostly, though, I think it will be a fun mind over matter challenge.

Think I can make it?

It could be tough. But one thing you could do is put a window fan in an upstairs room and have it blowing out overnight ...have a window open downstairs, and pull in the cooler night air. Older homes often had a big attic fan for this purpose.

 

[Juxtatarot]

Why are you doing this? For fun?

Not “fun” as much as an interesting experiment.

 

[ChiefD]

Reading up on nutrition and I have a couple questions:

Google produces some wildly different recommendations as to when you should bring water/gel on a run, and how often you should take a gel. What methods do you all follow? So far I haven't used either during a workout, but with my runs getting longer and the weather getting warmer, it may be time soon.

I see that pre-workout coffee/caffeine is popular, and there are supposedly quite a few benefits. Lots of gels have low doses of caffeine as well. This seems counterproductive for aerobic training though, no? When I tried drinking coffee before one of my runs, I had to go significantly slower to stay in the proper HR zone. Maybe my morning coffee is just too big.

When I was running a lot more I hardly ever took gels once I figured out I really didn't need them for half marathons or less. For my first half or two I think I probably took some gels but soon learned that they were unnecessary for me at that distance. If I did my nutrition right during race week I had more than enough stores in my body to get me through.

Liquids are a different matter - especially this time of year. As the weather warmed up I would carry water if I was running anything over ten miles. Or gatorade. Or whatever your drink is of choice. If you can choose something you can easily get on race day. They usually hand out water or gatorade. So drink during training what you will drink on race day.

If you are going to carry something on race day, you might think about Tailwind. Has calories so can supplement you that way and rehydrate you. Plus there are many flavors to choose from.

If you do decide to try gels, I'm a big fan of the Honey Stinger orange gels.

 

[TripleThreat]

I decided to make a goal to go the whole summer without turning on the air conditioning.

I don’t think it will be too bad. I’m not at home most days. I was home some Saturday when it reached 90 outside and I was fine. With all the windows open a nice breeze can go through.

I see a lot of advantages. Heat acclimation should help for summer running, I’ll get a lot of fresh air, and I’ll save some money. Mostly, though, I think it will be a fun mind over matter challenge.

Think I can make it?

Don't see why not. I haven't used an A/C in years. The 3rd or 4th night in the 90s can get old.... Lots of fans in my house.

 

[-OZ-]

I decided to make a goal to go the whole summer without turning on the air conditioning.

I don’t think it will be too bad. I’m not at home most days. I was home some Saturday when it reached 90 outside and I was fine. With all the windows open a nice breeze can go through.

I see a lot of advantages. Heat acclimation should help for summer running, I’ll get a lot of fresh air, and I’ll save some money. Mostly, though, I think it will be a fun mind over matter challenge.

Think I can make it?

I decided to make a goal to go the whole summer without turning on the air conditioning.

I don’t think it will be too bad. I’m not at home most days. I was home some Saturday when it reached 90 outside and I was fine. With all the windows open a nice breeze can go through.

I see a lot of advantages. Heat acclimation should help for summer running, I’ll get a lot of fresh air, and I’ll save some money. Mostly, though, I think it will be a fun mind over matter challenge.

Think I can make it?

No, but also, where do you live?

Suburban Chicago.

Bah, Chicago summer is like late fall
We didn’t have AC in Detroit until I was in college. I’m pretty sure dad used my college funds to pay for it after I went ROTC.

 

[Juxtatarot]

I decided to make a goal to go the whole summer without turning on the air conditioning.

I don’t think it will be too bad. I’m not at home most days. I was home some Saturday when it reached 90 outside and I was fine. With all the windows open a nice breeze can go through.

I see a lot of advantages. Heat acclimation should help for summer running, I’ll get a lot of fresh air, and I’ll save some money. Mostly, though, I think it will be a fun mind over matter challenge.

Think I can make it?

Don't see why not. I haven't used an A/C in years. The 3rd or 4th night in the 90s can get old.... Lots of fans in my house.

Remind me where you live.

 

[Sand]

I decided to make a goal to go the whole summer without turning on the air conditioning.

I don’t think it will be too bad. I’m not at home most days. I was home some Saturday when it reached 90 outside and I was fine. With all the windows open a nice breeze can go through.

I see a lot of advantages. Heat acclimation should help for summer running, I’ll get a lot of fresh air, and I’ll save some money. Mostly, though, I think it will be a fun mind over matter challenge.

Think I can make it?

I'm gonna make a guess you're single...

-------

On my end a 140 mile week on the bike. More than I can remember doing in forever. All that was at intensity - the last ride was pretty tough. Add on a long walk/hike yesterday and I hit about 11 hours.

Sadly on my Saturday ride my bike decided to break down. I believe it's just the cabling getting out of whack. My shop is so backed up that it's a two week time to fix. Geez. Good thing I have a gravel bike now. I'll be showing up to group rides with 43mm tires. If anyone slows down I'm just going up and over. (dammit, we don't have monster truck smilie?)

 

[BassNBrew]

Our thermostat is at 76 usually, which is a compromise with the family as I would have it at 78 if not for them, or potentially even turn it off. To me the only real rough time to go without AC is at bed time during a heat wave. It can take until 2AM or so for the upstairs to really get cooled off, and it's tough to fall asleep if it's 80+ in the room.

We actually do 77, and I'm fine with a little higher if a fan is on. Now we drop it to 74 at night so the Mrs. can sleep better, but I would similarly be fine with 78-79 the entire time.

This is me. I like it warmer but everyone else wants 64 degrees so I sleep in a hoodie under a weighted blanket to stay warm.

Why are you doing this? For fun?

Not “fun” as much as an interesting experiment.

Supposedly you sleep better in cooler temps. You may be giving up some recovery benefit and a few days off your lifespan.

 

[xulf]

This year my wife turns the AC to 66 at night to sleep. She and my youngest daughter run super hot. My oldest daughter and I run cold and are in sweatshirts and/or blankets.

Can't wait for the 30% increase is electricity!

 

[MAC_32]

I decided to make a goal to go the whole summer without turning on the air conditioning.

I don’t think it will be too bad. I’m not at home most days. I was home some Saturday when it reached 90 outside and I was fine. With all the windows open a nice breeze can go through.

I see a lot of advantages. Heat acclimation should help for summer running, I’ll get a lot of fresh air, and I’ll save some money. Mostly, though, I think it will be a fun mind over matter challenge.

Think I can make it?

No way - I have major sleeping problems when it's humid.

 

[MAC_32]

Reading up on nutrition and I have a couple questions:

Google produces some wildly different recommendations as to when you should bring water/gel on a run, and how often you should take a gel. What methods do you all follow? So far I haven't used either during a workout, but with my runs getting longer and the weather getting warmer, it may be time soon.

I see that pre-workout coffee/caffeine is popular, and there are supposedly quite a few benefits. Lots of gels have low doses of caffeine as well. This seems counterproductive for aerobic training though, no? When I tried drinking coffee before one of my runs, I had to go significantly slower to stay in the proper HR zone. Maybe my morning coffee is just too big.

Warning - word vomit wall of text ahead.

Less is more and practice what you'll do race day - I want to carry as little as possible at all times. When I marathon train during the summer I set up a mini aid station in my garage. 32 oz hydroflask filled with ice and water, wet cloth in the beer fridge, two small bags of pretzels, two small bags of fruit snacks, and a couple honey jam sammys. I never eat all of it, but better to have it ready and not need it than the opposite. First lap I remove my hand held from the freezer (frozen solid) and am off on my way - it begins to melt after about 20-25 mins and on those especially hot days it's polished at about 50 as I finish lap one. I grab the wet cloth as I re-fill and just let it soak on my neck as I work through the transition. I empty all of the water from my hydroflask (not the ice) into the handheld and grab whichever of the foods I may need then put the cloth back in the fridge and head back out. This is the most difficult lap as I want to start drinking water quickly, but I also don't want to run out too soon and the trade off to that is luke warm water when I start drinking (blegh). My goal is to go as far beyond 40 mins as possible before re-filling in front of lap 3. At this re-fill I unload the (mostly still) ice from the hydroflask then bang on the door to get a wife or kid to re-fill it for post run grab whatever food I need then head back out. Since I'm starting with ice this time I can usually make it further before the water becomes luke warm, but it also helps that I know I don't need to go as far as lap 2. After all, anything near 2 hours in these conditions is a win.

All that said, while I am a data nerd I am much more run by feel than most of my contemporaries. I'll review effort after, but generally the only time I monitor during is if I am doing an extended high effort workout like a tempo. Otherwise I try to defer all of my over-thinking to when I am also not running.

 

[MAC_32]

Much like this time last year I find this issue fascinatingly hilarious because I can do dynamic movements like russian speed lunges, pistol squats, single leg rdl's, etc at about 90% effort without issue. Try running though? Instant discomfort. But as I wrote above since I was smarter this year I think this will be short term instead of 6-8 weeks.

Still, how does just increasing time on feet for 4 weeks lead to this...

Age

Also,

The kids and other coaches (correctly) sassed me when I started showing up to practice with a porch rocker. I'd work with the kids through stairs and whatever middle distance workout we had planned for that day then when it was time for high jump practice it was time for my chair. I obviously couldn't get away with calling our 13 yo 'old man' anymore, but my back was much less problematic as I rocked along to the high jumping. Could used a cold beverage though.

But anyway, the weeks of harassment were worth it this week. When I set out for that jog Monday afternoon and everything on my left side hurt I was keenly reminded of being on the shelf this time last year. I'll never forget that old man shuffle I did from the van to my oldest when I picked him up from golf cause my back said nuh-uh, you're not walking tonight. When I set out for the run that set off that time bomb I pressed on anyway. This time? Quickly tapped out and quietly made my way to the gym. Backed off the upper body weights to about 80% of norm and mixed in some core. Next day stuck to lower at about 90% and was the same. Then today I went for that jog I intended to 2 days ago and while my left side still isn't 100% everything during and after's been fine.

So while I'm getting slower and fatter maybe I am getting wiser with age. Naaahhh...just lazier :rocks:

My update - still trying to avoid the DL, but my body may force my hand. Calf tightened up on me at the end of a SoS run Saturday. Ice after helped, but it was still there the rest of the day and into Sunday. Since it was not any worse I went for a short recovery run. The run was fine, but after 20 mins on ice it became problematic once I stood up through the rest of the day - more than just tin man walking. Today has been a lot like the rest of Saturday as it is 'there' but not bothersome.

I am going to take at least one more day off then hope I can settle into a normal 4 weeks and use a July vacation to get healthy. Although as this point I don't remember what healthy is.

 

[tri-man 47]

Man, what is it ...four of us with calf issues in various stages? @Zasada , @Juxtatarot , @MAC_32 , and me? Weird.

 

[MAC_32]

Man, what is it ...four of us with calf issues in various stages? @Zasada , @Juxtatarot , @MAC_32 , and me? Weird.

I'm just too old to be as active as I am April and May then try to sustain fitness on top of it. None of my recent problems (calf, back, hip) are new- they're just a result of too much stress. This year is not as bad as last because I tapped the brakes more, but clearly still not enough.

 

[ChiefD]

Man, what is it ...four of us with calf issues in various stages? @Zasada , @Juxtatarot , @MAC_32 , and me? Weird.

I find that not running is easier on the legs.

 

[Juxtatarot]

Man, what is it ...four of us with calf issues in various stages? @Zasada , @Juxtatarot , @MAC_32 , and me? Weird.

Luckily my calf seems to be healed. Or, at least, it’s not painful or sore.

 

[Zasada]

Had a virtual appointment with my PT yesterday and refreshed a plan to get back to things. Going to try some short runs starting later this week, and nothing more than one every three days to start. I have a few weekends up north soon, and trails are always easier on my calf than streets. So will try to keep things very light until then.