The Running Thread

[ergative]

I finally got my running tights and new shoes, and had a lovely run on Saturday. I tied my personal best in terms of route-length (3.77 miles) and walking breaks (got 2.25 miles in before the first walk-break). BEHOLD MY PROWESS.

Now, of course, the weather has decided that since I'm prepared for cold it will throw wet at me, and it's been raining for two days.

[WidgetWoman]

My running partner is finally ready to do workouts with me again (she ate an unholy amount of dental floss and had to don the cone of shame and take it easy for a few weeks while stitches healed), so that's great! But oh, those few weeks without her to urge me on is tough. I can feel the effects of my slothiness. I'm trying to work back to my 5k a day. It works sometimes.

[spork]

I accidentally ran 6 miles, 1.5 miles more I intended, because of crossing paths with two people in the neighborhood with whom my wife regularly runs. I ran with them on their route after starting mine and then had to retrace the mile I had already run by myself. Physically I was wrecked for the rest of the day.

[traductio]

Never has the weather been as perfect for running as it was this morning. It was unseasonably warm (65 F / 17ish C), sunny, the leaves in full fall mode. Yesterday was crummy, and tomorrow will be crummy, but today felt like a gift. I ran 10km, the third time I've done that distance, having built up to it all summer.

(Now I am drinking an amazing, super snobby microbrew beer, the pretentious kind that I'd make fun of my friends for drinking. It's fantastic.)

[Parasaurolophus]

The weather's kind of inclement, so I'm converting back to rowing while it's still possible.

[ergative]

It's getting dark very early here, and so I have had limited opportunities when the weather, light, and work obligations allow me to get out. Yesterday I managed to get out, and the weather was beautiful, but I just wasn't feeling it. I didn't even get three miles, and the bandaid I'd put on my foot to protect a delicate spot came off, so I re-plumped my blister from last time. I'm worried that I won't be able to sustain this form of exercise over the winter, but with the gyms closed it's all I have.

[ergative]

It's getting dark very early here, and so I have had limited opportunities when the weather, light, and work obligations allow me to get out. Yesterday I managed to get out, and the weather was beautiful, but I just wasn't feeling it. I didn't even get three miles, and the bandaid I'd put on my foot to protect a delicate spot came off, so I re-plumped my blister from last time. I'm worried that I won't be able to sustain this form of exercise over the winter, but with the gyms closed it's all I have.

I haven't run since my previous post, but today the weather and work and daylight all cooperated, and wow, my conditioning has evaporated! I lost count of the number of times I had to take a breather over my less-than-three mile route, and my knees were complaining in a way they haven't complained in a while. On the plus side, my sore heel didn't really act up very much. Either the enforced rest was good for it, or else properly stretching my ankles and feet beforehand was effective.

[pink_]

Everyone! Be kind to your running selves!

Here is swelterville, it's been COLD in the mornings when I have been out. And that's been a nice change, but it's still way too humid for November. I'm doing a virtual relay on Saturday which will have me knocking out about 14 miles (I have two legs to run, but my Masters bones will handle this better if it's done in one long run vs two). And that will be the longest run I've done in a while (I've run a couple 13.1s in October). I'm not trying to go fast. I just want to cover the mileage. Virtual races just aren't something I get too excited about. I'll also do the virtual Peachtree 10k, but mostly I signed up for it because I thought ATC did a great job with the Olympic Trials, and it put them way down in a fiscal hole when they had to postpone Peachtree this summer.

But my SI joint is cranky from all this WFH, and my shin is niggling in the spot that always niggles. So after Saturday, I might walk for a couple days to reset things a bit.

But don't beat yourself up for being "out of shape" whatever that might look like for you. It's a pandemic. It's the most stressful election of our lifetimes. There's a depression. You're doing what you can every time you even get out the door. That's enough. Nobody is keeping score.

[larryc]

I am 59 and began running for the first time in my life a year ago. I run 2-3 miles, 2-3 times a week. Usually I take one or two long bike rides as well.

I have tried to run a few times before and always gave up pretty quickly. The difference this time is that I downloaded one of those Couch to 5k apps. You launch the app and a voice comes on and says "Run for sixty seconds" and you think shit I can do that. Then you run for 90-second intervals, and then for a few minutes, and so one. The increases from week to week are quite gradual, though once or twice I repeated a week. In about two months I was able to run a 5k.

The other thing that keeps me going is having an audiobook that I love, that I do not allow myself to listen to unless I am exercising.

[ergative]

Pink_, you are very right. It's just that I was making such great progress, working up slowly the way larryc describes, and it's a little disappointing to see it go away.

Larryc, I have listened to so many audio books while running/walking! Currently working my way through Charles Stross's Laundry Files series, which is fun and lively and fast-paced. I don't prevent myself from listening except when exercising, though. THe weather is too uncooperative for that, and in these days there's no point in denying myself escapist pleasures. But I am a huge fan of audio books now.

[Sun_Worshiper]

Fully recovered from a small injury and feeling great. I have run three times this week and may get in another tomorrow morning.

[babbinacara]

My running partner is finally ready to do workouts with me again (she ate an unholy amount of dental floss and had to don the cone of shame and take it easy for a few weeks while stitches healed), so that's great! But oh, those few weeks without her to urge me on is tough. I can feel the effects of my slothiness. I'm trying to work back to my 5k a day. It works sometimes.

Late to this but laughing so hard. Who could swallow dental flo.....ooooh.

[spork]

6 miles today. Temperature was below freezing. Wore the right amount of layers. It was much more comfortable than the running at 75 degrees at dawn that I was doing over the summer.

[pgher]

I had a big trip in October, after which I kind of sloughed off. I got up Thanksgiving morning, and in the park by my house, they were setting up a turkey trot. I thought, why not? So I did the 5k. Great way to start the day, and a good way to get motivated to get going again. I'm not quite back to my previous routine, but getting there. It's hard for me to get motivated to go out in the cold mornings and I'm not real excited about running in the dark in the evening, but I've done both in the past week. My ideal is to run at about 4 pm, when my schedule works out.

[traductio]

I'm good for 5k twice a week lately. It's so dark here -- pitch black by 4:30, and we've seen the sun once in the last three weeks. So, so gray, and the temperature hovering right below the freezing point.

I'm fuelled by sheer stubbornness.