2014 Running Thread

Thanks Annie, I do know about Jeff Galloway!  I have his marathon book and even chatted with him at the expo when I ran the Disney Marathon in 2012.  But I've never really committed myself to doing walk-run all the way through a race or training run.  This will be a first, if I can do it.  Like Donnabelle, I'm generally pretty competitive with myself about running the whole way, even if I have to slow down.  But I am convinced--in my head at least--that the wear and tear during this half will be worse if I don't take regular walk breaks as Galloway explains.  Thanks for the encouragement!

On the subject of YOU, Annie, reading through six weeks of this thread tells a really inspiring chronicle of your progress!  From running a mile or mile and a half in early April to running the 5K distance on your own many times to running a race, wow!  This is what is so great about running.  And we can do this again and again, take breaks from running and then get the conditioning back.  Stories like yours are really powerful to me. And that is one gorgeous picture of you and your daughter.

Two other things I really liked in my review of the past weeks:  sandpiper's 75 thoughts of runners, which really made me laugh, and stillrunning's dark humor tee shirt that said "Keep your eye on them, they tried to kill me!"  Early on after my diagnosis, I'm not sure that would have made me laugh, but it was a spit-take guffaw when I read it yesterday.

Thanks Goldlining, that's a great story!  This is a point-to-point race, which scares me a bit because it's going to feel like a loooong bus ride.  But I will try to ignore that and think about your experience.  Also I will pack some food!  In my previous half, something funny happened.  I had a slim little plastic tub with two fig newtons in it.  When I opened the tub at about mile 8, I found they had been jostling around in the tub and had been shaken and reformed into about half a dozen chick-pea-sized perfect spheres.  Sort of a physics experiment I suppose--thought you'd appreciate that.  Yes, of course I ate them!

Chickpea Newtons! Definitely eatable! Fig Newtons generally don't appeal to me, but I find during and after a run, I will eat and drink things I would never eat otherwise! I have not warmed to Gu / Clif Shots yet but I do take Shot Blox.  

(I run with so many pockets filled with stuff. I look like Inspector Gadget. I figure I might be able to do a full marathon if I had space to fit another pocket with a sandwich!)

Donnabelle, I live about ten miles from Newfound Lake!  The Disney half will be fun and I think those are great ones to do on a walk-run basis, because lots of people do.  I agree with Goldlining about running in Italy, or at least taking long adventurous walks.  I'm jealous of that trip!  I went to Italy for five days nearly 30 years ago and I've been itching to go back ever since.  My running tourism is coming up too.  I am going to a conference in St Andrews, Scotland, in July, right by the same beach where they shot that famous scene in Chariots of Fire.  Perhaps I'll run there, get it on video, and slow it down!

Goldlining, I love the image of you running with your pockets full of food!  Maybe a sub in a fanny pack?

it had been great to read what everyone is up too. I have been reading but it's been a crazy month with returning to work and I haven't had the time to sit down and post. I hope everyone's training is going well.

While I never thought to add it to our list because I wasn't actually running it, I participated in the Ottawa Race Weekend Family 2k with my daughter, mother, mother-in-law, and my grand-mother. Ok, let's be honest here, my almost 95 year old grand-mother was pushed in a wheelchair It was a fun event yet bitter sweet since I wasn't doing the marathon this year. I ran the marathon last year and it was my last big race since I found my lump three days later. That's ok, I plan on doing the marathon next year and be back better than ever!

I did find some really cool stuff at the race expo that I thought I would share with you. I found a new product that I wish I would have found last year because it would have been great for my bald head. It's a cooling towel by CoolCore (www.coolcore.com). The larger towels made from technical fabric, similar to a running shirt, can easily be worn as a head scarf and it says in place when you run. The great thing about these towels is that they are chemical free and all you need to do is wet them, wring them and snap them and they become cool. As long as they are wet, either with water or sweat, they stay cool and help you stay cool. I'll be honest that I'm not sure where you can pick them up. I bought mine at the expo last weekend after seeing the really cool demo. 

Shock Absorber was also there and I took the opportunity to pick up a new sports bra. The Ultimate Run Bra, the same as a few of us raved about, now comes with a built in heart rate monitor strap. All you need to do is clip on the computer unit from your heart rate monitor and it works just the same as the strap. It is so nice to not have to worry about wearing the strap, it's so much more comfortable. The only thing is that they are about 20$ more. They also may not have made it to stores yet, they were launched at the expo this weekend. For me it was a win-win, I love the bra and I have a heart rate monitor I don't wear because of the strap. Now I can use my heart rate monitor.

My training is going well. I've kept to my schedule pretty well which is always a challenge. I guess I'm just really motivated right now. I'm focusing on the number of runs per week as opposed to milage, that will start going up in a couple of weeks.

Oh oncearunner, that HR monitor bra is such a good idea! I just (2 days ago!) got another Ultimate Run Bra at the Running Room, in a shocking turquoise with pink liner, so now I have three and a 4th would be de trop. (It turned out that my DIEP revision did not change my size, just vastly improved the shape, so all the old ones still fit.) My Garmin 620 watch has the new HR monitor with the accelerometer in it, so not 100% sure the snaps are in the same place anyway. And it makes a difference which way up it goes - discovered I'd put it on upside down on Tuesday (despite the clear L and R markings, duh) and could not get HR readings while I was out.

I think I've seen those cooling scarves at the WDW expos. I carry a microfibre cloth for wiping sweat. It's not a special cooling type but it's versatile and I use it for cooling. I carry it dry to start, just tied around my shirt or bra strap or SPIbelt, and then if I need cooling, I wet it at the water station or from my own water bottle. I can stop the sunscreen from sweating into my eyes, or tie it around my neck (cooling the back of the neck is good to cool the head). I can make it cooler by waving it in the air for a bit. I discovered the magic of a cool cloth in a WDW run when I used the washroom passing through Tomorrowland and took a damp paper towel with me for the sweat in my eyes. It was a revelation! My first purchase was a microfibre rectangle about 18"x40" from a hiking store. Now I have a black Lululemon square bandana-sized so I could put it on like a bandana if I did not look so bad with hats on.

I was just telling my physio today, I need a good running expo for some shopping. I would like a CWX top, to stabilize my shoulders, and nobody carries them here. My stupid breast surgeon that apparently hacked out my nodes with a pickaxe has buggered up my shoulder like nobody's business. It's taped up now to keep it from dropping forward. 

Counting down the minutes until it's time for my after-work run! So glad the run-friendly weather is back!

:-) If they come out with a colour combination that appeals to me that I don't already have, I think it will be hard to resist! I looked at my monitor module and it looks pretty much the standard size. Toys: the reward for running!

Runfree.....You ROCK!

I have not run in some time. Maybe 2 miles a week or 2 ago. I have been walking. Doing a work challenge and trying to get back into the swing of things because I so miss the challenge (s) I issued myself last year as a novice runner...... Anywho .....if ever there was inspiration to be found it is here.........

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/06/02/318...

xoxoxoxo

and happy trails...

Piper

Thanks for all the nice words everybody!  My quads still hurt on stairs but my knees got over their snit by Monday morning.  Oncearunner, that bagel got steadily sweatier and clammier but I hung onto it for a long time, because I thought I might need fuel.  When I got to mile 11, I decided I could finish without it, and I tossed the bagel onto a grassy shoulder.  I picture it being devoured immediately by hungry chipmunks with low standards.

Oh, I totally would have too if I thought I needed it!

Wow princessrn, I have never managed to make myself do a recovery run!  I was thinking about that as I limped around today.  Maybe tomorrow.  Of all the bum luck, my treadmill crapped out last week.  I think it's really dead, but I will try a couple of things before I make a declaration.  Of course it's nice weather to run outside now, FINALLY, but I do like having my treadmill even in summer.

Gold - congrats on breaking 35 minutes for a 5K run.  Still a goal of mine . . .    Your Garmin sounds like a great training tool.  

And yes, isn't it great to be outside again after this horrible winter - it made me realize how much I hate running inside on a dreadmill! 

Welcome JoanQuilts to the happiest thread on BCO! Looking forward to reading your progress in the C25K!

Congrats Runfree on your race! It must have been a pretty run, all Vermonty and everything! 

Welcome Joan. This thread will keep you motivated! Good luck with the training.

I got through my recon surgery last week and am still sore. I am walking as much as possible, but no running for maybe 4 or 5 weeks ( I will live vicariously through you all in the meantime! Get out there and enjoy!