The Official Thread for Runners

[BigPiney]

I have always hated running in the mornings, and I never have felt as good in the morning as I do in a late afternoon run. THe last 2 weeks I have been getting up and consitantl;y running in the morning and it has been better than in the past. I make sure that I get up and get some water in me nad some food. THis morning it was a banana, other mornings it is a plum or peach. With some food and water in my system that is usually enough to trigger a trip to the bathroom to get rid of everything in my descending colon. I would much rater do this now, than have to try adn find something while on a run. So I plan on 15 minutes from the time the alarm goes off till I am actually out the door and can start my walk for a few houses before running.

I find that getting that 100 calories in me and water really helps when it comes to having a good morning run. Today was a good day for me, though I have had many of the bad days. The key is powering through and finishing like you did, and then when it is the next day to run, doing it. This is when you will really improve and it all becomes a habit, because even if you feel like crap or you had a crappy day last time you still get out there and do it.

Also you had asked about dealing with dogs a couple of days ago and I forgot to respond. I told a story here somewehre about getting attacked by a dog and owner last year about this time. My wife used to carry pepper spray, which if I saw more dogs would be a good option. I try and avoid the areas wehre the dogs will be, like hte rez, and stick to safer routes. Picking up rocks or pretending to pick up rocks will usually cause most dogs to back off.

Right now my wife has a fear of cats, so she won't run in some areas unless I am with her. But not little cats, she saw a bobcat a few weeks ago and is afraid of running into that or a mountain lion, so she has been avoiding the foothills near us.

[Moliere]

I told a story here somewehre about getting attacked by a dog and owner last year about this time.

[lambdacoug]

Thanks for the responses. I did finish the program, which is time based, so that made it easier. I live in a typical suburban area and I'm clearly cynophobic, thanks to several childhood experiences reinforced by my time in Chile. I've got pepper spray, but still. Anyway, I haven't really focused much on nutrition, I guess that is a piece of the puzzle I need to start paying attention to if I'm going to run longer distances. Hydration is not a problem for me as I've always got my tall glass of ice water at arms length at my desk.

[BigPiney]

If I am going to be out longer than an hour or an 1:15 I start thinking about bringing water and food. And going those distances I like to make sure that I get some calories in me before hand, at least a half hour to fifteen minutes.

[OhioBlue]

I run exclusively in the early mornings. I'm up at 5:!5 and after a dynamic stretching warm-up (which hopefully also aids any necessary flushing of the system) I'm out the door. I don't eat or drink anything except for on occasion before long runs or tempo runs--maybe a piece of toast with honey or half a banana.

I'm sure I'd have more energy to run during lunch or in the evening, but honestly I've found early morning is the only way I can be consistent day in and day out. I didn't love it at first, but quickly adjusted, and now I really enjoy it. Getting up that early means I'm running a large portion of the year in the dark, and there's just something about feeling like I'm the only one out there, the isolation is oddly meditative and calming. By 6:45 or so I'm done with my run and any lifting and post-run strength training/stretching and for the rest of the day I know I got my workout done.

[ERCougar]

I run exclusively in the early mornings. I'm up at 5:!5 and after a dynamic stretching warm-up (which hopefully also aids any necessary flushing of the system) I'm out the door. I don't eat or drink anything except for on occasion before long runs or tempo runs--maybe a piece of toast with honey or half a banana.

I'm sure I'd have more energy to run during lunch or in the evening, but honestly I've found early morning is the only way I can be consistent day in and day out. I didn't love it at first, but quickly adjusted, and now I really enjoy it. Getting up that early means I'm running a large portion of the year in the dark, and there's just something about feeling like I'm the only one out there, the isolation is oddly meditative and calming. By 6:45 or so I'm done with my run and any lifting and post-run strength training/stretching and for the rest of the day I know I got my workout done.

This.
I love running in the morning when no one is out.
I don't know how people who run at night get to sleep--I'm too wired.

[Joe Public]

This.

Thirded.

[Dwight Schr-ute]

Question for all of you Knight runners, if you run exclusively at night, considering that almost all races start at the crack of dawn, do you feel that your training time has an effect on your race time?

Like ER, I run in the morning. The reason that I run is because it's something that I can do in the dark before my family is awake. If I wanted to exercise after work, I'd just go for a bike ride.

[lambdacoug]

So I've been using various apps for tracing my runs. I've used My Tracks, MapMyRun and currently RunDouble. I'm not too impressed by the accuracy of these, it seems the pace information is loosely correlated to my actual pace and the number of trees lining the streets around here. I'm wondering if there is a better, and by that I mean more accurate and reliable, means of tracking this information. I've seen the Garmin runner's watches in the running store, but the price tag is a tad steep at ~$200 for the low end. I'm somewhat partial to Garmin because they are a local company. With my birthday and christmas coming up, I'm looking at getting something like this. Are these devices with the extra outlay of cash? Is the accuracy better than the GPS sensors in a smart phone?

[ERCougar]

I use mapmyrun, usually if I'm in a new area or I'm trying a new route, either riding or running. I use it exclusively to keep me on track or from getting lost, so I don't know how accurate the gps is.

If you're going to do this long term, get a watch. You just can't match the convenience. Garmin is the gold standard and my 305 is going on 3-4 completely trouble free years. It seems expensive, but that's a buck a week. I never run without it.

[Eddie]

Thirded.

Fourthed?

I love running in the morning. It's quiet and peaceful. Less traffic. Always cooler. Even in the winter - there is nothing like running on fresh snow (so long as there is no more than an inch or two)

I don't ever eat before running and most of the time I forget to even drink a glass of water. If I'm on a super long run - like 15+ miles - I might take some water with me. And I'll take a small granola bar to eat partway through the run if I'm doing 18-20 miles or more.

I use mapmyrun, usually if I'm in a new area or I'm trying a new route, either riding or running. I use it exclusively to keep me on track or from getting lost, so I don't know how accurate the gps is.

If you're going to do this long term, get a watch. You just can't match the convenience. Garmin is the gold standard and my 305 is going on 3-4 completely trouble free years. It seems expensive, but that's a buck a week. I never run without it.

I recently had some trouble with my 305 and it was like I was lost. I'm not sure how to run without it. I love the pacing. I love knowing that as long as I know how far I want to run the watch will keep track of it and I can change my route whenever I like. I love being able to do intervals wherever as it tracks the distances. I honestly can't imagine running without it anymore. This is the one piece of running equipment most important to me. More important than the clothes, shoes, etc.

[lambdacoug]

I use mapmyrun, usually if I'm in a new area or I'm trying a new route, either riding or running. I use it exclusively to keep me on track or from getting lost, so I don't know how accurate the gps is.

If you're going to do this long term, get a watch. You just can't match the convenience. Garmin is the gold standard and my 305 is going on 3-4 completely trouble free years. It seems expensive, but that's a buck a week. I never run without it.

I'm definitely on board with the cost over time, and it isn't really a problem budget wise, but if I'm going to spend it I want to do some research on it first. I've been reading reviews online for a few days and I appreciate the added info from your experience. I'm leaning towards a 410, I think I'll probably get one after my first 10k as a reward.

[Moliere]

Sometimes you have bad days when you can barely finish a run. Sometimes you have great days when you feel light as air. Today (er...tonight) was a good day. I planned on 6 miles @ around 9/min pace and ended up doing 6.2 in 54:28. The best part is that I felt great after the run. I wasn't breathing very hard and was feeling like I could have kept that pace for a half marathon. I also found that when I don't listen to music, I have a much easier time keeping pace. All my splits were within 10 seconds of each other.

It's nights like tonight that make running fun and addicting.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/214529664

[OhioBlue]

Sometimes you have bad days when you can barely finish a run. Sometimes you have great days when you feel light as air. Today (er...tonight) was a good day. I planned on 6 miles @ around 9/min pace and ended up doing 6.2 in 54:28. The best part is that I felt great after the run. I wasn't breathing very hard and was feeling like I could have kept that pace for a half marathon. I also found that when I don't listen to music, I have a much easier time keeping pace. All my splits were within 10 seconds of each other.

It's nights like tonight that make running fun and addicting.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/214529664

Right on Moliere. Love those magical runs when it all just feels good.

[lambdacoug]

Sometimes you have bad days when you can barely finish a run. Sometimes you have great days when you feel light as air. Today (er...tonight) was a good day. I planned on 6 miles @ around 9/min pace and ended up doing 6.2 in 54:28. The best part is that I felt great after the run. I wasn't breathing very hard and was feeling like I could have kept that pace for a half marathon. I also found that when I don't listen to music, I have a much easier time keeping pace. All my splits were within 10 seconds of each other.

It's nights like tonight that make running fun and addicting.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/214529664

There is an app called runtempo on android that is supposed to modify the music to a constant bpm to match a target pace. I've never used it, but its an interesting idea.