Official Strava/Runkeeper Thread

[Easy Mac]

Is there any way to run at lunch at work without being a sweaty mess the rest of the day? I even shower, but I can't get my body to cool down enough after running to stop sweating even after taking a cold shower. With only an hour, its just not enough time to change, get in a decent run (2-3 miles), and shower.

Any suggestions, other than just a shorter/less time consuming run?

I'd love to be able to wake up and go running in the morning, I just have never had what I felt was a good exercise first thing in the morning.

[digamma]

It's all about trying to maintain or lower your core body temperature during or immediately following your run. The most common tip is to be well hydrated before you run. Other tips are:

-wear one of those cool/frozen headbands
-carry a frozen water bottle to either rub on your body or drip on your head
-run slower
-do something to cool down right before you run like have a glass of ice water or eat a frozen banana

Just a few thoughts. I struggle with the same thing.

[Fidatelo]

At my previous job I would run at lunch all the time, and we didn't have a shower. I had an hour, so I did the following:

- no running above about 28 celcius, just too hard to cool down
- 35-40 min run
- 10-15 min cooldown
- switch all clothes (ie even change underwear)
- bring a towel, wet it in the sink, then sort of sponge bath myself
- anti-persperant
- get dressed
- if at all possible avoid contact with others for a good 10 minutes after getting to my desk

And of course wearing sweaters or anything to work was a non-starter, loose 'slacks' and a dress shirt (no tie) was fine. Usually I felt cool within 10-15 minutes and I don't believe I ever smelled funny or anything.

[AnalBumCover]

Back from the Disney Star Wars Half Marathon. It was a very well put together race. It was definitely a fun course to run, through parts of Disneyland and California Adventure, then out to the streets. Parts of the back lot of Disneyland were so congested there was very little room to run.

Once we hit the streets, there were scores of local high school bands and cheerleaders that there was never a dull moment along the course. Even the 501st Legion showed their support!

And not only did I beat the maximum pace requirement, I scored a PR along the way!

I will definitely look forward to more Disney runs in the future.

[timmae]

Originally Posted by AnalBumCover

Back from the Disney Star Wars Half Marathon. It was a very well put together race. It was definitely a fun course to run, through parts of Disneyland and California Adventure, then out to the streets. Parts of the back lot of Disneyland were so congested there was very little room to run.

Once we hit the streets, there were scores of local high school bands and cheerleaders that there was never a dull moment along the course. Even the 501st Legion showed their support!

And not only did I beat the maximum pace requirement, I scored a PR along the way!

I will definitely look forward to more Disney runs in the future.

Awesome stuff! Sounds like a great race... I have a quick 10k (Princess marathon weekend) coming up at WDW next month. I am really looking forward to it now. It probably won't be as exciting as the one you just finished but still should be fun. Congrats!

[Subby]

Had my best month ever in January - yesterday I did a double metric and ended up at just over 1,500 miles for the month! In the Strava distance challenge I finished 338th out of 207,000+ riders and 40th in the US (and 1st in VA!).

Here's the month in rides:

[cartman]

Awesome! Congrats Subby!

I got cleared to start riding again this week, so I'm eager to get back into the saddle.

[Kodos]

Subby -- he always does things in moderation!


Great job, buddy!

[Chief Rum]

Hey everyone, the day job blocks my access to FOFC now, unfortunately. So I post less. But thought I should come on and mention here that I'm running the LA Marathon Sunday morning.

if you want to follow along at any point, my bib # is 18538. For those of you who don't already know, my name is Matthew Kieta.

I should start running at 7 and expect to finish between 11-12.

I'm not super confident on timing, but my goal for Sunday is to just finish it.

[digamma]

Good luck. It's a great course, but getting out of Santa Monica after it blows! Plan for a massage.

[HerRealName]

Good luck, CR. I was just reading about the heat this weekend for the race. It would be nice if they moved up the start time but race planning in LA must be a nightmare.

[Fidatelo]

Good luck, Chief!

[AnalBumCover]

Good luck CR!

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by HerRealName

Good luck, CR. I was just reading about the heat this weekend for the race. It would be nice if they moved up the start time but race planning in LA must be a nightmare.

Yeah heat is a potential issue. The good news is that it probably won't get bad until near the end of the race. By that point, it won't matter what the weather is like for me. I'll already be exhausted haha.

[hoopsguy]

First time in this thread in a couple of weeks.

Subby, I knew you were posting a crazy January but seeing it all on one page drives home just how freakish a performance that was. Great job! From what I've seen on Strava, it doesn't seem like you've been kicking back and relaxing in February ...

Chief, best of luck with the marathon. I saw some of the US marathon trials in LA yesterday and it definitely looked like the heat took a toll on some of those competitors. Hopefully you've gotten plenty of training in warmer weather as part of your prep for this run.

[Umbrella]

Originally Posted by Umbrella

Beginning week 2 of my regimen. I'm hoping it starts to get easier. I went to a running shop, and they analyzed my stride and recommended a stability shoe. I will admit, my knees haven't been sore, which is a first. And I have avoided shin splints so far. But the muscles on the outside of my calves start to burn badly about a mile in. I think it is because these muscles haven't been used before due to my stride, and the shoes are forcing them to work harder. The day off between runs is a lifesaver right now, to let them heal a bit.

This quote was back in 2013. The pain has never gotten better. I don't run much any more, but I am trying a walking regimen. But still the calf pain.

Fast forward to 2016. I go to urgent care with chest pains, and next thing I know, I'm in the hospital. Turns out I had a mild heart attack.

I get out for a follow up with my new doctor (I moved to a new state a couple of months ago). I mention I want to walk more, but the crippling pain means I don't get too far. He thinks my legs aren't getting enough blood flow, so there may be a blockage. Now I get to have some sort of ultrasound to see what's going on in my legs.

TL;DR - Don't ignore pain for over two years. That's just dumb.

[Kodos]

Ugh. Sorry to hear that, Umbrella. I hope they can fix your leg up and allow you to walk without pain.

[Subby]

Just because I am sad this thread hasn't seen any action lately, I thought I would briefly share a ride I did last weekend. The ride was a flèche, which is just a fancy term for a LONG unsupported team bike ride that lasts exactly 24 hours. Anyway, about half the folks who started ended up finishing, including all five members of our team. We encountered the absolute spectrum of weather, including hours of rain, snow, 50 mph wind gusts, and warming sun. There was a decent amount of climbing as our route took us out to the western edge of Maryland, down through West Virginia, back into Maryland, into DC, finally finishing in Virginia.

Hardest part was just managing the low points - when things seemed at their worst (basically after midnight when it was in the 30s) - just keep telling yourself "I'm fine, I'm fine, etc...".

Anyway, knocked it out. Looking forward to the next thing.

[digamma]

That's pretty cool. Are there scheduled breaks along the way?

[Kodos]

You're awesome, Subby! But biking in the cold, snow and rain does not sound fun.

[Kodos]

Also, Alan T seems to have disappeared.

[AnalBumCover]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Also, Alan T seems to have disappeared.

He's still around on Strava. Looks like he fell off the wagon for a short while in Feb, according to Strava. But he's out there now, running about 20+ miles/week.

[HerRealName]

Subby, that ride was amazing. I'm accustomed to seeing neighborhood level maps on Strava, maybe a city level map on a long activity. You don't expect to see most of a state. Congrats on an awesome ride but I have to know... does it bother you that the ride ended at 243 and not 250 miles?

[MizzouCowboy]

I've been following this thread for a long time and it is impressive and inspiring. I've always wanted to get back into running but didn't believe that I could or should since I'd smoked for 30 years. I finally quit that nasty habit on Jan 17, 2015, but I have to admit that I do vape still, and am trying to free myself from that.

This last December I decided that what I was seeing in the mirror was not acceptable and stepped on the scale to find out that I was at 210 pounds. Not a lot for bigger dudes but I'm 5'7" -5'8"ish with a somewhat decent muscular build. A year or so earlier my brother, who was 50 at the time, had quadruple bypass surgery and I knew it was now or never to do something about it.

Fast forward four months later and after a lot of walking, treadmills, ellipticals, weight lifting, eating real food and completely cutting out any soda/fruit drink/sugary drink from my diet and I have lost 40 pounds to get down to 170 as of last Sunday. My goal was 165 (football playing weight!) but I don't think it'll be enough as I obviously don't have the build I did when I was younger.

I want to enter a 5K run so I tried the C25K app but it bored me after a while after nearly killing me at first. I really had trouble running for a couple of minutes. I didn't give up I just tried different things like "running" a 5K on the eliptical fat burn setting and eventually worked my way to where I finally a week ago, - on a treadmill - ran a 5k without stopping in 30:23. 2.5 miles was my wall but I was determined to get through it.

Today I ran my first 5k on the road and did it in 29:14 and felt a million times better than the treadmill.

Here's my member profile on strava, not sure if I like it better than Map My Run though.

Phil Duncan | Runner on Strava

[Kodos]

Nice job, MizzouCowboy!

[AnalBumCover]

Great job MizzouCowboy!

Join the FOFC club on Strava while you're at it.

As for your 5K journey, looks like you got that down. I was going to suggest the Zombies Run 5K training app to keep you interested, but I think it's too basic for the level you seem to be running at right now.

[MizzouCowboy]

Thanks gentlemen!

Can't say I've got the 5k down yet, that last 1/2 mile is crazy rough for me. Hoping I can keep adding some endurance to where I can possibly do a 10k in the future, and who knows beyond that. Just gotta take it one step at a time.

[AnalBumCover]

Originally Posted by MizzouCowboy

Can't say I've got the 5k down yet, that last 1/2 mile is crazy rough for me.

What I meant to say was that you seem to be more advanced in your 5K training than what a C25K plan offers.

[Easy Mac]

I'm pissed I have to stop running for a while. My right knee is acting up on me. My wife (physical therapist) thinks my meniscus is near its breaking point and that I just need to switch to low impact cardio for a while to give it time to heal, or more to avoid tearing it. Been sore to painful for a month, but I think I pushed too hard while running the other day. Felt great when I was running, but within an hour I could barely stand on the leg.

Mainly sucks because I've hit a plateau in my weight loss over the past 6 weeks. I may actually have to start eating better to lose weight, instead of just trying to exercise twice as much to try and compensate for eating poorly.

[hoopsguy]

Been awhile since I checked into the thread.

Subby, I saw that ride on Strava and it looked crazy there. So just to be clear ... 24 straight hours of riding from each team member????

For a running comparison, is that how Ragnar works? I've seen some references to that team run, but my understanding was that there was some level of transitions between team members over a weekend for the Ragnar runs. I haven't been able to establish any kind of a running community locally, mostly because of work + daughter activity schedule in evenings, but at least partly because I haven't made a full commitment to do it. Think that it would be fun to do a Ragnar run with some folks I know, but less enticed to sign up with strangers.

Mizzou - congrats on first 5k, and looking forward to seeing your results on Strava sometime soon.

Easy Mac - serious bummer. I had some knee pain last summer that I worried was meniscus, although it didn't turn out to be any kind of serious deal. Just needed a few weeks of rest, followed by more or less rebooting my distance running with a lot of ice, foam rolling, and more aspirin than I'm used to consuming. Hope that you're able to find a relatively mild transition back to running as well. Eating better sucks

[digamma]

Ragnar is a rotation of 36 legs, with teams of either 6 (ultra) or 12 (regular) runners. So you are either going to run 3 legs or 6 legs over the span of 24-36 hours.

[AnalBumCover]

Ragnar is definitely on my bucket list. Now if I can convince 5 or 11 of my friends to add it to theirs...

[lighthousekeeper]

After decades of running with no ailments, my knee is finally giving me trouble. I'm starting to wonder if I may need to give up running. Some questions for those who've been down this road:

1. For those with knee problems, is cycling a better or worse alternative to running?

2. At what point do you go see a doctor about this? Do you go directly to a knee specialist or see a general practitioner first?

3. Do knee braces actually work?

[cartman]

Each case is different, but here's been my experience:

I can't jog anymore. Even after the surgeries, it doesn't work for me. Cycling has been great. But even then, the knees still give me issues on things like hills. I'm still not back to a decent level riding after my last procedure back in December. Which to me has been a big frustration, considering I used to race in my youth. If I can average 12.5mph on a long ride, I take that as a great day. I used to get pissed if I couldn't average 20mph.

I went to the regular doctor after a couple of episodes of my knee locking up. He sent me to Physical Therapy first, and that did help a bit. But then I had another instance a few months later when I knelt down and heard a pop/crackling sound. It was after that happened when I went to a orthopedic surgeon.

There are varying level of knee braces. Depending on just what is wrong with your knee, there is likely one that would help. If you have ligament issues, there are different braces for that versus cartilage issues.

[lighthousekeeper]

Originally Posted by cartman

But then I had another instance a few months later when I knelt down and heard a pop/crackling sound. It was after that happened when I went to a orthopedic surgeon.

What was the pop/cracking sound?

[cartman]

Originally Posted by lighthousekeeper

What was the pop/cracking sound?

It was something called a Baker's cyst popping. It is a benign cyst that fills with synovial fluid, usually near spots inside the knee where there is a lot of osteoarthritis.

[AnalBumCover]

Well, I'm not exactly the model patient for treating knee pain, but here's what I had to go through.

My first injury was Runner's Knee on my left knee back in 2013. I was basically a newbie runner with high aspirations, and I trained too much, too fast. Runner's knee quickly brought me back to ground level. At this point I had not seen a docter, but self-imposed about 3 weeks of RICE, and very slowly got back into running. I tried different types of braces, but the small knee strap that supported my patella seemed to be the most effective.

Over time, I fully healed, but I think I was still favoring that left knee, and into the next year, I developed some metatarsal pain on my right foot. That sidelined me for another couple of weeks... but we're talking about knee pain here.

In late 2014 through 2015, I started feeling a more dull pain inside my left knee, but it was different from the runner's knee pain I felt in 2013. Climbing stairs and steep inclines were painful. At this point I did see a doctor (a sports medicine specialist, via a referral from my G.P.) because the pain didn't go away with rest. While he didn't see any thing specific in my x-rays, he diagnosed me with osteoarthritis.

After one day of P.T. (I disliked my therapist, she seemed to specialize with teenage athletes with thick skin, and treated me as such), I went home and researched on my own for treating OA.

Bottom line, I am able to continue running, as long as I supplement it with leg strengthening exercises to keep the joint supported. Squats, lunges, etc. will do the trick. If I ever lapse in my running or doing leg exercises, I can feel the pain worsen (i.e. climbing or descending stairs). So it's almost like an incentive to continue running.

On my runs, I wear a knee strap. I focus on cadence and work on mid-foot striking... those things keep the impact on my knee to a minimum. After more intense runs like races or speed workouts, I'll have to ice down and put on a compression knee sleeve afterwards to minimize swelling.

Anyways, it's an ongoing battle for me. Every day I run I'll have to monitor the level of my knee pain. Usually it's low, but I'm very aware that any given moment I'll have to back off significantly. So I try not to push the pace too much, and I keep my runs to within small loops, so if I have to stop I can.

[lighthousekeeper]

Originally Posted by AnalBumCover

and I keep my runs to within small loops, so if I have to stop I can.

wow great advice - that never occurred to me.

[AnalBumCover]

This might be a good time for me to segue into my own ongoing running story.

So my 2015-2016 racing season ended early Feb with the Surf City Half Marathon in Huntington Beach. I wanted to refrain from signing up for any more long races (10k or longer) and use the off season this summer to do some proper base building and Half Marathon training for the upcoming fall season - something I never really did in the past.

The plan was to take a couple of weeks off following the Surf City Half, take a weeklong vacation, and start my base building in March. I built a spreadsheet and planned out 16 weeks of base building, and 16 weeks of Half Marathon training, leading up to the Long Beach Half Marathon in October 2016. It was a really nice looking spreadsheet.

Then came Ash Wednesday on Feb 10. As you Catholics out there may know, Ash Wednesday is the start of the Lent season where you offer to give up a known vice of yours (drinking, smoking, sweets, etc) until Easter Sunday. For me, my "sacrifice" was to run daily, at least one mile, during the entire Lent season. This decision was completely pulled out of thin air. But streak running wasn't unheard of in my circle of running friends - two of my friends had been streaking for going on 100 days. So I figured, why not me? It's just for a few weeks anyways. I'll start my official training after Easter.

This decision however causes a couple of problems with my original training plan. One, I will have to push back the start of my base training to focus on the mile-a-day streak. And Two, I will need to find time during my weeklong vacation to run one mile. Oh, and Three, so much for the short rest period following my last half marathon.

The vacation was the toughest part of the streak, planning in advance on when and where to run so it doesn't interfere with the daily activities, and finding a Plan B if it doesn't work out. Part of my vacation included a 3-day cruise. Running along the deck of the boat was interesting.

As the weeks went on, and Easter approached, I announced to my friends that I would end the streak and move on to my base training. Of course, my friends being who they are, convinced me to continue on... telling me "this IS your base training!"

So the Monday after Easter, I had to make the decision... And I decided to lace up.

Now those "rest" days on my Base Training spreadsheet now include a number "1.0" and I'm continuing my streak, now at 61 days as of April 10.

This will not last forever though. Aware of my aforementioned knee issues, I know I may need to stop if my body has anything to say about it. If/when I reach 75 days or 100 days in my streak, I will again have to make a decision. When my Base Building phase ends in mid-June, I will have to make the decision.

I'm not sure when I will end the streak. But really, If I end it today, I'm okay with that. It's quite an accomplishment I never thought I would ever have done, let alone try.

[Subby]

Originally Posted by Kodos

You're awesome, Subby! But biking in the cold, snow and rain does not sound fun.

It was fun! Eating non-stop is the best.

To answer digamma's question - there are 8 control points where you have to stop and get your card signed by an employee. Each route has its own controls - ours had a diner, a few convenience stores, a McDonald's, an IHOP...you get the idea. We had two big sit down meals but definitely ate at every stop.

Here is what I ate during the ride:

1. Start: Starbucks - coffee
2. Breakfast (TJs diner): 2 pancakes, 2 eggs, 4 bacon, coffee, juice
3. Exxon: 12 oz coke, clif bar, half an almond butter and jelly sandwich, trail mix (m&ms plus mixed nuts)
4. Buckeystown Convenience store: trail mix, half an almond butter and jelly sandwich
5. Half Cup Restaurant: BLT, sweet potato fries, coffee
6. Sheetz: Dr. Pepper, clif bar, trail mix
7. McDonald's: coffee, sausage and egg mcmuffin
8. IHOP: coffee

Also drank about four water bottles worth of NUUN mixed berry electrolyte mix (with caffeine).

As far as mileage - I am missing about 3 miles bc I forgot to start my Garmin at the start and after the 3rd control point, so I should have had 246 miles. And yes, I would have liked to have hit 250.

[Umbrella]

For those lurkers that want to hear something more realistic, here is my story. As noted before, I have some partial blockages in my legs which make walking and running painful. They are not serious enough to require surgery, but it still makes exercising difficult. To add to that, I had a very minor heart attack early in the year, so I am working to get myself in shape.

Today, I just finished a 3 mile run/walk. My goal was to do it in 45 minutes, but didn't quite make it. This is the longest I've gone since I started my on/off Strava adventure back in 2013. My time isn't great, but I finished, and add to that I'm doing it at high elevation (66400-6500 feet).

Most of the participants in this thread could do that in their sleep, but for me, this is a good accomplishment. My next post will be when I can break the 45 minute marker.

[Subby]

That's a great story. Congrats!

[cartman]

Great stuff, Umbrella!

Pro-tip, might want to start a bit lower than 66400 feet

[AnalBumCover]

Umbrella: I've been following along on Strava and I'm mentally high fiving you every time I see your posts pop up on my feed.

[AnalBumCover]

Attention fellow LA/OC area runners: I have a couple of race entries to the Revel Canyon City Half Marathon that I'm trying to transfer. It's on November 12, 2016 in the Angeles National Forest in the city of Azusa, CA

REVEL Canyon City

My buddy recently broke his leg and will be off from training for 4-6 months, and I decided to run the Disney Super Heroes Half Marathon that same weekend.

So we have two entries we're trying to part with, either by transfer or straight cancel. But we need to do it by April 20.

PM me if interested.

[Kodos]

Runner Stages Incredible, Last-Gasp Comeback In 4x400 Relay - Digg

Check this out.

[timmae]

Good thing that running surface has some give to it... oof. What a comeback!

[Subby]

HOLY SHIT FROM THE DIPTHS OF HILLLLL!

[MizzouCowboy]

So I recently entered my first 5k race, the Freedom of Flight 5k on the Runway. It's ran all on the runways, so I'm hoping it will be a good starting race for me -FLAT! The date is May 7th which gives me about 10 more days to prepare.

I'm just not real sure how I should train/prepare for this last week and a half. I had a good weekend of running, doing a 5 mile and a 5k, but it caused me some pain in my left leg (shin splints?). It felt better today and I ran 2.5 miles mostly pain free. My other problem is my left ankle. I turned it pretty severely on Feb 4 and have not really gave it any time to heal. I didn't run on it but I did a lot of walking and elliptical. I actually went to the gym 3 hours after I did it. It feels fine running, but any side to side movement is uncomfortable.

I feel I should keep doing as I have been until a few days before the race and rest the last three days. If anyone can offer some good tips/advice it'd be much appreciated!

[AnalBumCover]

Runway races are the best! I did a Race on the Base at a military air base earlier this year, and it was mostly done on the runways. The wide open space meant you didn't have to weave through the large crowds. And it was flat and fast.

Not much more you can do fitness-wise in 10 days. All you can do now is just keep running easy, and to not push the pace. Just keep the legs fresh at this point.