The Running Thread - 2018

[PCFriar80]

QOTD: We have discussed what are some of the must haves for running in past QOTD's and have had some great answers. Today, lets talk about a purchase you made that turned out to be a bust. What was wrong with it and what made you buy it in the first place?

The 2017 Disney 1/2 marathon "I did it" Car magnet. There was nothing wrong with the magnet itself, but the race was cancelled so I really didn't "do it".

 

[YawningDodo]

ATTQOTD: Those New Balance shoes that looked and felt great...until I couldn't get the heels to stop slipping and it contributed to the stress reaction in my shin last week.

Funny that this was the QOTD since I was going to just put the final conclusion of that chapter in my own training journal...but good news! I called the store I bought them from (the one that's a 6+ hour day trip from here), and not only can I get store credit (the shoes are used, so no direct refund), but they'll let me do the return by mail! I'm still out the cost of another pair of shoes in the short term since I still need to drive to the nearer store and get another replacement (hopefully this weekend), but next time I'm over that way to visit friends or what-have-you I'll have a $125 credit toward an additional pair for the rotation, or whatever other equipment I might want from them at that point. Figure even once I pay shipping it's still not much more than I'd lose on gas, plus my time has to be worth something, you know?

 

[KSellers88]

ATTQOTD: ProCompression socks. They made my calves feel trapped when I ran. LOVE to sleep in them though, so does that really count as an answer?

 

[Bree]

ATTQOTD: I was going to say nothing until I read Sarah’s response. Yup. That stupid flip belt. It constantly shifted and just ended up being a sweaty wet blob of ickiness around my waist.

 

[tidefan]

Which version do you have? I got an Apple Watch series 3 back in June and it has been awesome. I check it against MapMyRun from time to time and it is right on. I don’t use a 3rd party app as there weren’t any that I really liked, so I just used the Apple Workouts app. I’m glad I did that. Once I got used to it, it’s really good for what I need.

Also, I don’t run with my phone (nowhere to put it), so it has been great. I think I’ve seen people say that if you want to track in a 3rd party app to use a bridge like RunGap that ports your Apple workout over. Your issue could have been with the Nike app rather than the watch.

ATTQOTD--

Still, I would say the biggest bust in terms of running purchases has been my Apple Watch. It's a fine gadget for everyday duse, but it has really failed me in terms of run tracking. I used to use the Nike app to track my runs on my phone. Unfortunately, thne app on the phone and the app on the watch cannot seem to get it together. I have a devil of a time even starting a run on the watch app if I have the phone with me too (I push the start "button" on the watch face and it does nothing. I have to mash it 10-15 times before it will start. Not an issue when I leave the phone at home though. No amount of deleting and reloading the apps on both devices seems to fix it....). Also, the GPS tracking is poor and I've quickly grown out of the basic level of information it provides. If I got it first, I'd probably just wear my Vivoactive everyday. But my fiance bought me the Apple watch, so that's what I wear to work. It looks goofy to wear two watches all day!

Wh

 

[run.minnie.miles]

ATTQOTD: A pair of purple headphones that I hated wearing. Thankfully I didn't spend too much on them. I basically also regret buying any shortsleeved running shirts. Tanks or long sleeves all the way!
(Also.. is my roller a dud? I'd have to use it to actually know...)

 

[avondale]

ATTQOTD: Fortunately I can't think of too many things that I've bought for running that have been a total bust. The best answer is probably my search for something to hold water. I knew I didn't want to carry a bottle in my hand, and I felt like those hip-belt bottles look silly and insufficient. I got a waist-level belt hydration reservoir. It wasn't horrible, but the way the "straw" part worked just wasn't good and it was hard to dry out between uses. I realized a hydration vest was the way to go, and I've been happy with that ever since.

 

[StacyStrong]

Does anyone who uses runkeeper know if there is a way to filter out walks from showing in your average pace? If not, I might stop using runkeeper to track my offday brisk walks because they are messing up the line of sight into my pace.

Also, I've changed up how I'm training and it's definitely going better. Slowly, but surely.

 

[huskies90]

QOTD: We have discussed what are some of the must haves for running in past QOTD's and have had some great answers. Today, lets talk about a purchase you made that turned out to be a bust. What was wrong with it and what made you buy it in the first place?

ATTQOTD: I love running with as little as possible, which is why I never ran with my phone. The exception: I like to run with music. With no phone and no desire to carry anything bigger than an iPod shuffle, I needed corded headphones which I hate. I found a Sony "headphone mp3" which basically looks like a bluetooth headphone but the mp3 player is built into the earpiece. I loved the concept (and sound quality), but the earpieces with the mp3 built in were a bit too heavy and uncomfortable so unfortunately, this product got a few wears, then put back on the shelf in favor of the iPod shuffle.


I now use an Apple Series 3 watch with LTE which I love because I can use bluetooth headphones (yay!! no cords!!!) and I can stream music. As I have stated before, I have had the watch since Xmas and I have never had any issues. It has worked flawlessly tracking me and I have never had issues with performance. I am thinking those who have had issues had a Series 1 or 2. I am glad I waited for the 3.

 

[kbenson13]

Which version do you have? I got an Apple Watch series 3 back in June and it has been awesome. I check it against MapMyRun from time to time and it is right on. I don’t use a 3rd party app as there weren’t any that I really liked, so I just used the Apple Workouts app. I’m glad I did that. Once I got used to it, it’s really good for what I need.

Also, I don’t run with my phone (nowhere to put it), so it has been great. I think I’ve seen people say that if you want to track in a 3rd party app to use a bridge like RunGap that ports your Apple workout over. Your issue could have been with the Nike app rather than the watch.


Wh

I totally think my issue is with the app! But having said that, I think the GPS tracker is in the watch and it's definitely not as accurate as my Garmin. The fitness tracker (HR monitor) also doesn't seem as robust. In any event, I'm much happier tracking my runs with the Garmin.

Edit--For what it's worth, mine is a Series 3 I got for Christmas last year!

 

[TheHamm]

Does anyone who uses runkeeper know if there is a way to filter out walks from showing in your average pace? If not, I might stop using runkeeper to track my offday brisk walks because they are messing up the line of sight into my pace.

Also, I've changed up how I'm training and it's definitely going better. Slowly, but surely.

Yippie for change and improvement!

If you are looking to filter out a non-running activity (say, walking a dog), you could classify it differently in the 'activity' field and those would show up differently. In the iPhone version, if I pick the 'me' category on the bottom left, I can see my stats, and there is a little drop down scroll to sort all activities vs. running vs. walking. I do not think you can retroactively change the categories, so you would need to just live with the irritation of it being less than accurate now and know it will be more useful as you collect more data.

If you are running/walking within the same activity, you can program your intervals in the workout screen and when you finish, you can view your pace per segment for that activity. I do not think it tracks changes between an interval activity- for example if you program that segment 1 is a 90 second interval in segment 2 is 0 seconds and you repeat it 12 times it will give you the pace for 24 segments but not compare all of the 90 second segments. Nor do I think you can easily compare yesterday's 90 second segments from today's.

Good Luck!

 

[TinkerBellLiz]

QOTD: We have discussed what are some of the must haves for running in past QOTD's and have had some great answers. Today, lets talk about a purchase you made that turned out to be a bust. What was wrong with it and what made you buy it in the first place?

ATTQOTD:

I let a salesperson talk me into a pair ASICS shoes for this past Star Wars half because I was looking for extra cushioning. My legs hurt so badly after the half I could barely walk. I need stability shoes and these weren’t (my fault for not checkin first!) but worse, most of the tread has worn off with less than 90 miles! Sadly I can’t even wear them for every day because they hurt my feet.

So, is there a shoe with cushion AND stability? I wear Misuno Inspire for under 4 miles and Brooks Adrenaline GST for up to 8 miles. Friends have suggested Hoka but I know nothing about them.

Thanks for any help. I started 12k training today and will go from that race straight to half marathon training.

 

[StacyStrong]

Yippie for change and improvement!

If you are looking to filter out a non-running activity (say, walking a dog), you could classify it differently in the 'activity' field and those would show up differently. In the iPhone version, if I pick the 'me' category on the bottom left, I can see my stats, and there is a little drop down scroll to sort all activities vs. running vs. walking. I do not think you can retroactively change the categories, so you would need to just live with the irritation of it being less than accurate now and know it will be more useful as you collect more data.

If you are running/walking within the same activity, you can program your intervals in the workout screen and when you finish, you can view your pace per segment for that activity. I do not think it tracks changes between an interval activity- for example if you program that segment 1 is a 90 second interval in segment 2 is 0 seconds and you repeat it 12 times it will give you the pace for 24 segments but not compare all of the 90 second segments. Nor do I think you can easily compare yesterday's 90 second segments from today's.

Good Luck!

Whaaaaaaat?!? You're amazing lol. I downloaded a separate interval timer because I didn't know you could do it in runkeeper. Thaaaaank you!!!!!


Does it ding or something after every interval?

 

[SarahDisney]

ATTQOTD:

I let a salesperson talk me into a pair ASICS shoes for this past Star Wars half because I was looking for extra cushioning. My legs hurt so badly after the half I could barely walk. I need stability shoes and these weren’t (my fault for not checkin first!) but worse, most of the tread has worn off with less than 90 miles! Sadly I can’t even wear them for every day because they hurt my feet.

So, is there a shoe with cushion AND stability? I wear Misuno Inspire for under 4 miles and Brooks Adrenaline GST for up to 8 miles. Friends have suggested Hoka but I know nothing about them.

Thanks for any help. I started 12k training today and will go from that race straight to half marathon training.

I used to wear the Saucony Guides. Not super cushioned, but some cushioning, they're stability shoes, and they lasted me around 400 miles. If you have a running store near you, I'd say it's worth going in and trying them on to see if the cushion feels okay for you.

 

[Chaitali]

I used to wear the Saucony Guides. Not super cushioned, but some cushioning, they're stability shoes, and they lasted me around 400 miles. If you have a running store near you, I'd say it's worth going in and trying them on to see if the cushion feels okay for you.

I use Saucony Guides as well and I like them. They have a decent amount of cushioning and are in the stability shoe category, but they only last closer to 250 or 300 miles for me.

 

[Slogger]

ATTQOTD: part 2.....don't throw me under a bus when I say this, but...........................

I really think I regret purchasing the Race Dots bib magnets.

They stick together, they got me in trouble at airport security, and they would cause wardrobe malfunctions anytime I was sitting and tried to stand up.

Probably operator error, but they just don't seem to work for me.

 

[TheHamm]

Whaaaaaaat?!? You're amazing lol. I downloaded a separate interval timer because I didn't know you could do it in runkeeper. Thaaaaank you!!!!!


Does it ding or something after every interval?

It does make noise after each interval. I haven't tried it in awhile, it was great when I was somewhere with headphones, ok in my pocket without a lot of other noise around, not so great in my pocket with lots of traffic. I didn't like run/walk so I did not fight with the sound level too much.

 

[TheHamm]

ATTQOTD: all of my purchase regrets come in the form of shoes and shorts. The 'give it a workout' return policy at athleta has resulted in me trying all of and returning most of their running bottoms with shorts. I wish other retailers were as generous with their returns- I can walk around at home with the tags on, but I'm not going to know it rides up or cuts into my thigh until I take it out for a spin!

 

[Keels]

ATTQOTD: Not exactly a thing, but the biggest spending waste was my first Tri coach. She did nothing for me that I couldn’t have done by following one of the various sprint Tri plans online and solicited feedback from my fellow Tri friends. The only thing she did was act like a real B and treat me like garbage on race day.

Of course, had I done my research instead of just going with the person that everyone liked and said was nice, I would’ve realized immediately that she’s one of those “those who can’t, teach” people and that I should be concerned about taking training advice from someone that consistently fell short of her own personal goals and often couldn’t complete races.

I did learn a lesson about coaches and coaching theory though - and I’m lucky that I found my current coach who is AWESOME. I can’t wait to get back to training because he really pushed me out of my comfort zone and made me feel like a 70.3 wasn’t as far off as I thought it was.

 

[KaitlynJ]

FlipBelt. that thing slid all over the place. I started with it on my waist and ended the run with it under my chest area. Not for me.

ATTQOTD: Exactly this. I had the same experience with the FlipBelt, it rides up like crazy as soon as I start moving. I'm much happier with a $10 generic SPI belt from Amazon.

Also, yesterday's ATTQOTD: I've never really stressed out before a race before. I usually sleep just fine the night before, unless it's just an issue of it being earlier than I normally go to bed. Which is funny because I tend to have anxiety about LITERALLY EVERYTHING ELSE. But races, not so much.