The Official Thread for Runners

[SteelBlue]

Race #2 in our local Summer series. A hilly 4 miler. This week I tried not to look at the watch and instead focused on staying near a couple of guys from work who are fast. I went 27:16 (and more importantly beat the guys from work). I'm very happy about that average pace and I have no idea how I did that compared to last week. I think sometimes it's a good thing for me not to look at the watch and just go by feel. I feel so good right now, I just hope I can stay healthy through St. George. I don't have a very good track record with such things.

[Slim]

A bee stung me on the shoulder during my run this morning. It happened on mile one of five. I finished the next four miles though. Couldn't let the bee win.

[PaloAltoCougar]

Race #2 in our local Summer series. A hilly 4 miler. This week I tried not to look at the watch and instead focused on staying near a couple of guys from work who are fast. I went 27:16 (and more importantly beat the guys from work). I'm very happy about that average pace and I have no idea how I did that compared to last week. I think sometimes it's a good thing for me not to look at the watch and just go by feel. I feel so good right now, I just hope I can stay healthy through St. George. I don't have a very good track record with such things.

Day-um, SB, that's really cranking. It's also a bit depressing, frankly. Yeah, I know I'm old and only now getting into real shape for the first time in decades, but I ran a 10K this morning at just under a 9:00/pace and don't think I could do much better than that. But I'll take pride in that while standing in awe of the real runners in this thread like you and several others. Nice work.

A bee stung me on the shoulder during my run this morning. It happened on mile one of five. I finished the next four miles though. Couldn't let the bee win.

I wonder if this was the same one that stung MBN. That's really a mean sumbitch.

[SteelBlue]

Day-um, SB, that's really cranking. It's also a bit depressing, frankly. Yeah, I know I'm old and only now getting into real shape for the first time in decades, but I ran a 10K this morning at just under a 9:00/pace and don't think I could do much better than that. But I'll take pride in that while standing in awe of the real runners in this thread like you and several others. Nice work.

I'm not a good runner by any stretch, but I have improved a lot this year. The more I do this, the more I'm convinced that improvement in running is all about consistent miles and staying injury free. You'll be shocked at how much faster you are next year by keeping up your current routine and avoiding the injuries by pushing too hard too soon.

[SteelBlue]

Had a really weird experience last night. Went out to do some easy miles in the cool of night and about 2 miles in I started to feel my hands swelling up. In the past I've had a couple incidents where I develop some hives while running. It's always been fairly mild and I usually notice the feeling only in my hands. I'll get home, take a shower and the hives are gone within 20 minutes.

Last night at about mile 5 I caught a glimpse of my arm under a street light and was horrified. It looked like I was 80 years old, all wrinkled with one giant hive. The other arm looked the same. I noticed my lips and tongue starting to feel a little itchy and numb. I was headed toward home at this point and my breathing was fine, so I just kept plodding along.

When I walked into my house a glance in the mirror was pretty scary. My face was swollen and not very recognizable. I was covered in large hives from the bottoms of my feet to my scalp and itching like never in my life. I popped 2 benadryl and hit the shower. Within 20 minutes it was all gone but it was a miserable 20 minutes. No idea what caused it. The only thing I can think of is that each time it's happened I had eaten just before the run. Anyway, if that were to happen every time I ran I'd retire in a hurry.

[PaloAltoCougar]

Had a really weird experience last night. Went out to do some easy miles in the cool of night and about 2 miles in I started to feel my hands swelling up. In the past I've had a couple incidents where I develop some hives while running. It's always been fairly mild and I usually notice the feeling only in my hands. I'll get home, take a shower and the hives are gone within 20 minutes.

Last night at about mile 5 I caught a glimpse of my arm under a street light and was horrified. It looked like I was 80 years old, all wrinkled with one giant hive. The other arm looked the same. I noticed my lips and tongue starting to feel a little itchy and numb. I was headed toward home at this point and my breathing was fine, so I just kept plodding along.

When I walked into my house a glance in the mirror was pretty scary. My face was swollen and not very recognizable. I was covered in large hives from the bottoms of my feet to my scalp and itching like never in my life. I popped 2 benadryl and hit the shower. Within 20 minutes it was all gone but it was a miserable 20 minutes. No idea what caused it. The only thing I can think of is that each time it's happened I had eaten just before the run. Anyway, if that were to happen every time I ran I'd retire in a hurry.

I experienced that a couple of times long ago, and was told it was "exercise-induced hives." I have no idea what caused it, but one theory was (and I blush to admit this) the Jack-In-The-Box seafood salad I was eating a lot of at that time. It contained all manner of man-made ingredients, including a faux crabmeat substance made up of stuff they gathered from the sea floor, compressed into solid strips and applied some red striping to create the appearance of crabmeat. My doc thought my bod might have been reacting to that. I never ate another, and I haven't been bothered since. But taking a Benadryl before heading out was also recommended as a means to avoid future occurrences.

[PaloAltoCougar]

Question about the Disney Half, and organized long runs generally: do you wear earphones and listen to tunes as you run in big event runs? Disney's pre-race instructions "advise" against wearing them, as it may block out important announcements or potential dangers. I'm thinking I wouldn't use them until I get through the parks and am heading out onto the mean streets of Anaheim. I didn't used to listen to music, but as my distances have increased, zoning out to some good music has really helped. So do I take or leave the iPod?

Oh, and until recently, I couldn't find ear buds that would stay in, and wasted a fair amount of money on various earphones that didn't work. So I was running with a cheapo headband set...until I found some custom made jobs. They injected some foam in my ears, and made some soft plastic earpieces that fit snugly but very comfortably. Finally.

[Pheidippides]

Question about the Disney Half, and organized long runs generally: do you wear earphones and listen to tunes as you run in big event runs? Disney's pre-race instructions "advise" against wearing them, as it may block out important announcements or potential dangers. I'm thinking I wouldn't use them until I get through the parks and am heading out onto the mean streets of Anaheim. I didn't used to listen to music, but as my distances have increased, zoning out to some good music has really helped. So do I take or leave the iPod?

Oh, and until recently, I couldn't find ear buds that would stay in, and wasted a fair amount of money on various earphones that didn't work. So I was running with a cheapo headband set...until I found some custom made jobs. They injected some foam in my ears, and made some soft plastic earpieces that fit snugly but very comfortably. Finally.

Everybody uses iPods. This race I'm specifically trying not to. All races advise against it, but nobody listens. Or, rather, everybody does.

[PaloAltoCougar]

Everybody uses iPods. This race I'm specifically trying not to. All races advise against it, but nobody listens. Or, rather, everybody does.

Other than an understandable desire to be submissive and obedient, why won't you pack your iPod this time? I want to soak in the Diz magic in the parks, and perhaps Angel Stadium so I won't tune in, but out on the streets, I want entertainment and motivation that comes from my running mix.

[Pheidippides]

Other than an understandable desire to be submissive and obedient, why won't you pack your iPod this time? I want to soak in the Diz magic in the parks, and perhaps Angel Stadium so I won't tune in, but out on the streets, I want entertainment and motivation that comes from my running mix.

You've hit part of it - the magic of the race itself. But don't think that magic is only in the parks and Angel Stadium - there will be some magic on the streets as well. Both Disney magic and regular ol' race magic, as there always is in a race this size. Over the course of the many races I've run, I've started to regret the little things I miss in races with my headphones in- the little kid reading my name off my bib and cheering me on, the out-of-tune high school band, a crowd sort of like what you see on the Alp d'Huez, only if they'd all smoked marijuana first.

The other part of it is a zen thing. While my marathon PR was made precisely when an Anthrax song hit at the right moment in mile 5, there's a music to the run itself. My last half marathon was on a trail with parts along a beach, and there was a great rhythm to the sound of the crunchy gravel and the seagulls overhead with the sun just peeking over the treetops, my breath coming regularly and in sync with my stride. That's a sound no amount of Metallica can ever produce, and it can throw me into a zone that is hard to reproduce.

This time I will carry my iPod but hook my earphones into my armband and leave them there unless I really need something.

[PaloAltoCougar]

You've hit part of it - the magic of the race itself. But don't think that magic is only in the parks and Angel Stadium - there will be some magic on the streets as well. Both Disney magic and regular ol' race magic, as there always is in a race this size. Over the course of the many races I've run, I've started to regret the little things I miss in races with my headphones in- the little kid reading my name off my bib and cheering me on, the out-of-tune high school band, a crowd sort of like what you see on the Alp d'Huez, only if they'd all smoked marijuana first.

The other part of it is a zen thing. While my marathon PR was made precisely when an Anthrax song hit at the right moment in mile 5, there's a music to the run itself. My last half marathon was on a trail with parts along a beach, and there was a great rhythm to the sound of the crunchy gravel and the seagulls overhead with the sun just peeking over the treetops, my breath coming regularly and in sync with my stride. That's a sound no amount of Metallica can ever produce, and it can throw me into a zone that is hard to reproduce.

This time I will carry my iPod but hook my earphones into my armband and leave them there unless I really need something.

Great explanation, and I totally get it. I'm hoping/expecting to derive a lot of energy from the runners and onlookers, not to mention the fact that I'll be running the longest distance of my life. I'll bring the iPod, and have it cued up to a motivational short list of tunes, but hopefully I won't need to go to that whip (unless I need something to distract me on the ride to the ER).

[Moliere]

Oh, and until recently, I couldn't find ear buds that would stay in, and wasted a fair amount of money on various earphones that didn't work. So I was running with a cheapo headband set...until I found some custom made jobs. They injected some foam in my ears, and made some soft plastic earpieces that fit snugly but very comfortably. Finally.

I tried many different types of earbuds as well until a friend pointed me to these:

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-PMX80-Sport-Behind-Earphones/dp/B001GT185K/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1313207373&sr=8-6"]Amazon.com: Sennheiser PMX80 In-Ear Sport Series II Behind the Head Earphones: Electronics@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41fL2uDZTeL.@@AMEPARAM@@41fL2uDZTeL[/ame]

I went away from inear earbuds since they seemed to really make my breathing seem loud and it was distracting. With these earphones, they sit loosely on the ears so I can hear my music but also the other sounds around me and my breathing isn't amplified. They also stay in place and when I'm done running and walking it in I can just pull them down and hang them around my neck.

[Pheidippides]

I tried many different types of earbuds as well until a friend pointed me to these:

Amazon.com: Sennheiser PMX80 In-Ear Sport Series II Behind the Head Earphones: Electronics

I went away from inear earbuds since they seemed to really make my breathing seem loud and it was distracting. With these earphones, they sit loosely on the ears so I can hear my music but also the other sounds around me and my breathing isn't amplified. They also stay in place and when I'm done running and walking it in I can just pull them down and hang them around my neck.

I use these; they have been magic for the better part of two years. Cheap, easy.

http://www.google.com/products/catal...ed=0CH8Q5Q0wAQ

[SteelBlue]

I rarely listen to music on my runs anymore. I was starting to get some ringing in my ears following runs with music and it scared me. I started running sans iPod and have learned to really like it. PAC, when I did my marathon a couple years ago I brought the ipod but there was so much to see and hear with all those people on the road I ended up not listening to it at all. I'm not even bringing it this year.

[OhioBlue]

I ran a 5k this morning; this marks exactly one year since my first race (I did the same race again today) and a year and a couple months since I started running. I ran it in 22:17 but apparently due to hassles with Provo City and the streets we were on, it was long by a couple tenths and change (3.35 miles). Adjusted I ended up with around a 6:40 avg pace and had it been an actual 5k my time would have been a 20:40. I ended up 10th overall and took home 1st in my age group.

I'm pretty excited about this one and hope people don't mind me sharing. What makes it even more fun is that I had no idea what would happen today; for the last ten weeks I've been running all easy pace runs as I prepare for a half marathon in Nov. Literally the only times I've ever been under a 9 minute/mile pace in the last 2.5 months are the handful of strides I've run here and there at the end of a run. Without any other speedwork, I didn't know if I'd be able to run fast today, but chalk this one up to the value of consistent mileage and an improved aerobic base.

Or maybe it was the shoes. It was after all my first race in those miraculous Kinvaras. Either way, I'm one happy camper today and feel like my training is being rewarded.