The Running Thread--2024

[avondale]

ATTQOTD: After the challenges I had with injury and tired legs the 2nd half of last year I decided to dial it back a bit and focus on weight loss and establishing a new PoT in a half in the spring race season. I'll reassess after that, but I already have an ultra on the calendar for the fall season. So far, 2024 looks like this for me:

January: Dopey Challenge
March: Tobacco Road Half Marathon (tentative)
April: Flying Pirate Half Marathon (tentative)
October: Cape Fear 24h Challenge

So far after a bunch of responses, I think you win for best names of your prospective races.

 

[FFigawi]

Also November - Space Coast half marathon. Not sure of the registration fee yet, and will be easier to get into than Wine and Dine. I would have to get a hotel. The time cutoff is like 6 hours for the half so it would be very easy for me to do as a training run. Plus, I think a friend of mine might be running it.

Not to mention Space Coast south course has an amazing array of beer, booze, and food offerings

 

[nancipants]

Not to mention Space Coast south course has an amazing array of beer, booze, and food offerings

I’m not big on alcohol but gimme pancakes and bacon please.

 

[LilyJC]

ATTQOTD:

January: All DLR 1/2 weekend runs
February: Surf City 1/2
Fairytale Challenge
April: Springtime Surprise Challenge
May: OC 1/2
La Jolla 1/2 (really don’t want to do this one but deferred from last year)
September: Halloween 1/2 Challenge for sure, maybe the 5k?
Surf City 10
October: Long Beach 1/2 (least favorite 1/2 ever, but we do it every year to complete the Beach Cities Challenge since we love the first two)
November: Revel Big Bear 1/2

I thought we didn’t have much going on this year run-wise until typing this out.

 

[LilyJC]

For those doing LA Marathon for the first time (I forgot to quote the messages), it is such a great race! Definitely one of my absolute favorites although I did it when it was Stadium to the Sea. The race support is the best of any I’ve done here in SoCal, and so fun it’s on St. Patrick’s Day again. Will love to hear your thoughts about this course and overall experience!

 

[StarGirl11]

Race Season as of Right now:
Disneyland 1/2 weekend (complete)
Princess 1/2 weekend
Vintage Park 1/2 Marathon
Grandmas Marathon
Halloween 1/2 Marathon (hopefully)
Some yet to be determined marathon in the fall
Katy Turkey Trot 10k

And maybe something else along the way but for now that’s what I got.

Also I had an exciting moment this morning when out training with Achilles. So when I was doing the DL race weekend I noticed on the flat I was clicking about a 9-10 minute mile but because of obvious Disney things I wasn’t sure if it was accurate because I couldn’t track it on my watch. This morning was the first ride back post race (trainer gives some time off) so first time I got to actually check if the speedometer was being accurate and if I’m actually faster than I realize or if I need to invest in a GPS computer for the chair and well…


(Mind you this is hilly)

Y’all this was my fastest time over that distance ever.

To say the least I’m starting to actually get excited for Grandmas.

 

[gosalyn_mallard]

ATTQOTD:

January: All DLR 1/2 weekend runs
February: Surf City 1/2
Fairytale Challenge
April: Springtime Surprise Challenge
May: OC 1/2
La Jolla 1/2 (really don’t want to do this one but deferred from last year)
September: Halloween 1/2 Challenge for sure, maybe the 5k?
Surf City 10
October: Long Beach 1/2 (least favorite 1/2 ever, but we do it every year to complete the Beach Cities Challenge since we love the first two)
November: Revel Big Bear 1/2

I thought we didn’t have much going on this year run-wise until typing this out.

Wow - what an amazing schedule!

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

Did my first long run since dumbo... I felt good kept a 14 to 15 min pace.

 

[marty3d]

Did my first long run since dumbo... I felt good kept a 14 to 15 min pace.

did my first 10k since DL today and was reminded of how much I hate treadmills….

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

did my first 10k since DL today and was reminded of how much I hate treadmills….

I have such a hard time doing anything longer than 5k on a treadmill and I have treadmill with ifit so I can have preprogrammed stuff on it to make it better. so I feel ya. Weather was good in Colorado today... 40s and sunny is like perfect running weather.

 

[marty3d]

I have such a hard time doing anything longer than 5k on a treadmill and I have treadmill with ifit so I can have preprogrammed stuff on it to make it better. so I feel ya. Weather was good in Colorado today... 40s and sunny is like perfect running weather.

Tomorrow is supposed to get up to 40. If it does I might try a long run. still have another 2 weeks before I get into my half marathon training plan so will try to stay away from the treadmill for now if I can. I couldn't agree with you more. Max 5k.

 

[Marebear_runs]

ATTQOTD:

January: All DLR 1/2 weekend runs
February: Surf City 1/2
Fairytale Challenge
April: Springtime Surprise Challenge
May: OC 1/2
La Jolla 1/2 (really don’t want to do this one but deferred from last year)
September: Halloween 1/2 Challenge for sure, maybe the 5k?
Surf City 10
October: Long Beach 1/2 (least favorite 1/2 ever, but we do it every year to complete the Beach Cities Challenge since we love the first two)
November: Revel Big Bear 1/2

I thought we didn’t have much going on this year run-wise until typing this out.

Ooh, let me know how La Jolla is. I was considering signing up and possibly might still, but I don’t know I’ll be up for another hilly course so soon after Big Sur. I’d like to do it someday, though!

I was really surprised how much I disliked Long Beach half. I cannot imagine doing the full course. It looked absolutely miserable. I can’t do Surf city this year and have no desire to do LB ever again unless it’s for Beach Cities but I think I’m going to try to volunteer. They were very woefully short on volunteers at aid stations last year.

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

A question for @DopeyBadger or anyone else who might know. Pardon the longish setup to the question.

I did an Atlanta half in '09 and was maybe a mile or so from the finish when here came the marathon leaders with the motorcycle escorts. So they were running a little over 2x as fast as I was and finished in a little over 2 hours. I remember looking over and the one runner had a "beard" of foam down his front. And since then, marathon times have continued to drop, even though it seems that for some of the 2-hour attempts, there have been pacers to block the wind and people running alongside with drinks. Regardless, running that fast for 2 or even 2.5 hours is still amazing to slow me.

I say that to say that as I was reading through all of DB's links to fuel and glycogen replenishment (thank you!) a lot of of the depletion thresholds seem to be time-related. So are some of these elite runners finishing so fast that they aren't hitting the time-dependent thresholds? Or are they managing to take in enough carbs during the race while maintaining those insane paces? If so, how do they manage to consume enough? Gels like Maurtens? Other stuff? Otherwise I picture spilling more water/electrolyte than they drink.

I've been looking online, but haven't found good answers. (Why am I asking? Just curious as to the nutritional physics of it all.) Thanks.

A final note. I didn't feel much like eating after the MW full, but it looks like I ought to be making myself eat a bit more than I did. On the one hand, I was hungry, but just didn't feel like eating all the much. In the future, I'll make sure to do so as part of recovery.

 

[Blue Caterpillar]

A question for @DopeyBadger or anyone else who might know. Pardon the longish setup to the question.

I did an Atlanta half in '09 and was maybe a mile or so from the finish when here came the marathon leaders with the motorcycle escorts. So they were running a little over 2x as fast as I was and finished in a little over 2 hours. I remember looking over and the one runner had a "beard" of foam down his front. And since then, marathon times have continued to drop, even though it seems that for some of the 2-hour attempts, there have been pacers to block the wind and people running alongside with drinks. Regardless, running that fast for 2 or even 2.5 hours is still amazing to slow me.

I say that to say that as I was reading through all of DB's links to fuel and glycogen replenishment (thank you!) a lot of of the depletion thresholds seem to be time-related. So are some of these elite runners finishing so fast that they aren't hitting the time-dependent thresholds? Or are they managing to take in enough carbs during the race while maintaining those insane paces? If so, how do they manage to consume enough? Gels like Maurtens? Other stuff? Otherwise I picture spilling more water/electrolyte than they drink.

I've been looking online, but haven't found good answers. (Why am I asking? Just curious as to the nutritional physics of it all.) Thanks.

A final note. I didn't feel much like eating after the MW full, but it looks like I ought to be making myself eat a bit more than I did. On the one hand, I was hungry, but just didn't feel like eating all the much. In the future, I'll make sure to do so as part of recovery.

I think many of them use "bottles". They are prepared by each athlete with whatever works for them. The elites have designated tables to pick up their bottles from what I gather during races at the water stations. I think I remember des and karas podcast talking about at some time. Of course they could be doing something totally different....

 

[DopeyBadger]

A question for @DopeyBadger or anyone else who might know. Pardon the longish setup to the question.

I did an Atlanta half in '09 and was maybe a mile or so from the finish when here came the marathon leaders with the motorcycle escorts. So they were running a little over 2x as fast as I was and finished in a little over 2 hours. I remember looking over and the one runner had a "beard" of foam down his front. And since then, marathon times have continued to drop, even though it seems that for some of the 2-hour attempts, there have been pacers to block the wind and people running alongside with drinks. Regardless, running that fast for 2 or even 2.5 hours is still amazing to slow me.

I say that to say that as I was reading through all of DB's links to fuel and glycogen replenishment (thank you!) a lot of of the depletion thresholds seem to be time-related. So are some of these elite runners finishing so fast that they aren't hitting the time-dependent thresholds? Or are they managing to take in enough carbs during the race while maintaining those insane paces? If so, how do they manage to consume enough? Gels like Maurtens? Other stuff? Otherwise I picture spilling more water/electrolyte than they drink.

I've been looking online, but haven't found good answers. (Why am I asking? Just curious as to the nutritional physics of it all.) Thanks.

A final note. I didn't feel much like eating after the MW full, but it looks like I ought to be making myself eat a bit more than I did. On the one hand, I was hungry, but just didn't feel like eating all the much. In the future, I'll make sure to do so as part of recovery.

Kipchoge consumes a ton of carbs in race. Back when Maurten came to be and they sponsored him, they were initially in the 90-100g carbs/hr range, and that was unheard of at the time. The number used to be sub-60g, but then they found a mixed product of differing sources of carbs allowed things to not be saturated and could see benefits by more. But the Maurten hydrogel made it more feasible to push the limit even higher. Last I saw in his latest attempt they've gotten the number even high to around 120-130g carbs/hr (but don't quote me on that as it's from memory).

The Maurten drink is isotonic at 4.2g/oz liquid which is unlike most other products. So that enables an ability to consume more. They do have a few special programs for their elite athletes when I chatted with the head nutritionist at Maurten some years ago.

 

[SarahDisney]

QOTD: What's on your 2024 race calendar? Any big goals?

ATTQOTD:
Completed: Disneyland 5K

Upcoming: ????
Nothing on the calendar as of yet (... I haven't even started running again yet). I'd love to do Wine & Dine but there's no way I can make it work with some other scheduling things. I don't know yet if I'm interested in local races. So most likely the Disneyland 5K will be my only race of 2024.

 

[FFigawi]

I think many of them use "bottles". They are prepared by each athlete with whatever works for them. The elites have designated tables to pick up their bottles from what I gather during races at the water stations. I think I remember des and karas podcast talking about at some time. Of course they could be doing something totally different....

You’re entirely correct. They have tables along the course with their bottles waiting for them. The bottle for each athlete is in the same location on each table, making it easier for them to grab theirs and not someone else's.

On the topic of carbs, @DopeyBadger is right (as always) that athletes are taking in more carbs now than in prior years. Working with a nutrition/hydration coach, even a lowly middle-of-the-pack guy like me has moved from 50-60 g/hr to the 80-100 range. Takes some training, but it works.

 

[xjillianpaige]

I think many of them use "bottles". They are prepared by each athlete with whatever works for them. The elites have designated tables to pick up their bottles from what I gather during races at the water stations. I think I remember des and karas podcast talking about at some time. Of course they could be doing something totally different....

So I actually was pulled at last year's Boston from my fuel stop to work at the Elite's fuel stop around mile 22, so I can speak to the logistics. There are tables set up and their fuel is pre-packaged how they want it and set up at the stops they want (so they can choose not to take fuel at one of the stops). A lot of them will mark theirs with someone to make it obvious/easy to grab. I saw a lot of Maurten gels attached to a water bottle and a ribbon on the water bottle or tape to mark it or even pipe cleaners twisted together to form a handle. Volunteers cannot touch the fuel beyond putting it on the marked spot on the table, and then the elites grab it as they run by, volunteers cannot hand the fuel to them.

 

[xjillianpaige]

QOTD: What's on your 2024 race calendar? Any big goals?

My plan includes...
Pittsburgh half marathon: I have extended family there and have a fondness for the city. Looking forward to running across the bridges! There's a sizeable hill late in the race so I doubt I'll be in PR territory. Goal is just to enjoy it!

Soldier Field 10 Miler: Will be my first 10 miler and first time running along the lakefront in Chicago. Looking forward to the atmosphere and a PR!

Nothing planned for the fall. I'm torn between repeating local races with easy logistics vs. longer drives for new-to-me races. Depending on my mood, I change my mind!

ATtQotD:

Right now this is the plan

January was the Disneyland 5k + Dumbo Double Dare Challenge
March: New Bedford Half Marathon (No Goal that I'm aware of unless my coach comes up with something, will likely just be a half marathon to gauge fitness going into Boston - this is a good pre-Boston race)
April: Boston Marathon (Goal Race - Marathon PR and likely my retirement from marathoning - at least for the foreseeable future)
November: Wine & Dine Half Marathon (No Goal - might just be my dad's first half marathon and I'll get coast to coast)

 

[Marebear_runs]

So I actually was pulled at last year's Boston from my fuel stop to work at the Elite's fuel stop around mile 22, so I can speak to the logistics. There are tables set up and their fuel is pre-packaged how they want it and set up at the stops they want (so they can choose not to take fuel at one of the stops). A lot of them will mark theirs with someone to make it obvious/easy to grab. I saw a lot of Maurten gels attached to a water bottle and a ribbon on the water bottle or tape to mark it or even pipe cleaners twisted together to form a handle. Volunteers cannot touch the fuel beyond putting it on the marked spot on the table, and then the elites grab it as they run by, volunteers cannot hand the fuel to them.

I remember reading there was an Olympic hopeful last year who was DQ’d because his coach handed him his water bottle.