The Running Thread

[daft twat]

Dude I just ate cold pizza....for breakfast!! Plus I didn't have the base you did going into vacation.

We're the same nutritional nightmare. You'll be fine. I won't run it if you pull out, and I really want to run it. You can do this, you fucking skin tag.

[verb_to_trust]

Ok. Long run tomorrow to try and salvage the week. I did do tons of hiking.

[daft twat]

Did Queens/Navajo and Bristlecone Trail in Bryce today. 4 miles. Arches tomorrow. Probably the same. Dinosaur day on Monday and then 4 miles or so in Rocky Mt. NP before heading home.

[washing machine]

How many of you truly disconnect when running? I gave up music a long time ago and in the beginning it felt liberating and meditative. I never looked back, but eventually I realized that with my running app giving me constant updates, I still wasn't letting go. I would obsess over pace or starting each interval at exactly the right moment. I'd try to achieve that perfect, symmetrical map on my tracker. Running became about the record of the run rather than the run itself. Not to mention the physical weight of my device on my arm.

Anyway, I haven't run in a long time but will probably start back up next week and do it old school. Stopwatch and good ol' pen and paper journal recording of my time and distance. Anyone still do it this way?

[verb_to_trust]

Did Queens/Navajo and Bristlecone Trail in Bryce today. 4 miles. Arches tomorrow. Probably the same. Dinosaur day on Monday and then 4 miles or so in Rocky Mt. NP before heading home.

I was at Bryce last April. Utah is the shit.

[verb_to_trust]

How many of you truly disconnect when running? I gave up music a long time ago and in the beginning it felt liberating and meditative. I never looked back, but eventually I realized that with my running app giving me constant updates, I still wasn't letting go. I would obsess over pace or starting each interval at exactly the right moment. I'd try to achieve that perfect, symmetrical map on my tracker. Running became about the record of the run rather than the run itself. Not to mention the physical weight of my device on my arm.

Anyway, I haven't run in a long time but will probably start back up next week and do it old school. Stopwatch and good ol' pen and paper journal recording of my time and distance. Anyone still do it this way?

My watch is something I wish I'd leave behind more. I push myself to meet pre run expectations and it becomes a task rather than an activity that brings me joy. When I think about the marathon I know I could get through it but don't see the point unless I can meet a sub 4 hour time (which to me seems a very modest expectation). Why should it matter to me though? I don't know, but it does.

[washing machine]

I'm a big fan of intervals, which is the only reason I even want a watch. I envy those of you who can just...run. That's my goal.

[verb_to_trust]

Yeah I don't really use that feature but it would be vital for me to have it if I wanted to really focus on interval work.

[washing machine]

I wonder if I just need a fitness tracker? Seems like a good way to track my progress over time while focusing on the run. Are there many reliable ones out there in the $30-$50 range that have a stopwatch and distance tracking feature?

[verb_to_trust]

Maybe something that tracks your steps would be cheaper but my crappy Garmin forerunner was still over $100.

[washing machine]

Yikes. I'm seeing plenty on Amazon and other shops between $30 and $50, but it's hard to tell what I am looking for, having never used one.

[verb_to_trust]

I wonder if a Fitbit might work?

[washing machine]

Probably, but there's got to be knock offs that are just as good for a fraction of the price.

[run2death]

Shoes, shorts, Garmin and sunglasses. That’s it 80% of the time for me. I typically don’t start thinking about a shirt until it gets below 50 degrees outside or I’m at the gym. I listen to music on treadmill runs and occasionally on long 20+ runs. I also bring music on my 100-degree+ runs, where it helps me veg out and I can totally disconnect. When I do bring music, I typically listen at a low volume, so I can still hear my breathing pattern.

I’m a slave to the watch still and it’s probably getting worse. I know that my speed will leave me soon, I’m 44 and fear the day when sub-7s are behind me. I’ll also admit to being fairly competitive.

That’s not to say that I don’t find true joy in running. Even with being tethered to that stupid Garmin, I’m able to appreciate the now and that connection with the ground and nature that, for me, only really comes with running.

[verb_to_trust]

5 miles in 91 degree 50% humidity heat. It was a disaster. Last week I cranked out 14 at only a little slower pace.

[run2death]

We had a rare dose of humidity here today. I wanted to die on my morning run.

[washing machine]

Got out and ran today. First time since last October. Felt good afterwards but man am I out of shape.

If my daily runs are always done in humidity, that means I'd smoke y'all on your own turf...right?

[verb_to_trust]

It's dumb to run in humidity but I do it all the time. I need to get my ass up in the morning but I don't.

[run2death]

If my daily runs are always done in humidity, that means I'd smoke y'all on your own turf...right?

Hmmm... I’ve heard some mixed things actually. My sister who lives in San Antonio actually hates running here. She says it’s impossible for her to cool down because sweat/moisture doesn’t linger on the skin. I also know an elite woman in Houston who does exactly what you suggested. She gets in drier climate and feels unstoppable.

I think the Ethiopian Highlands where a lot of the elite Africans train is fairly humid. They primarily train there for the altitude, but maybe they also get a boost from the humidity when they race in a dry climate.

[washing machine]

I did have one of the best runs of my life when I ran the Vegas half marathon...