GWJ 500 Mile Run Club 2014

What's with all these complaints about the cold and such? When I was a kid we had to shower by rubbing snow against our bodies etc. etc.

Seriously, though, I wouldn't make an issue of the cold. Slippery surfaces can be a pain, but I've found sub-zero temps don't affect performance, only my genitals.

Finding comfy clothing is important. You should dress so that you feel a little cold when you're standing still but stay warm on the move. I keep a credit card with me in case I - goddes forbid - sprain an ankle far from home.

Woot! 2% of the way there...

Ugh, I shouldn't look at it that way.

Protip: Make running more fun with Zombies, Run! Seriusly, it's amazing.

Tkyl wrote:

Woot! 2% of the way there...

Ugh, I shouldn't look at it that way.

Only 98% to go, then!

Took yesterday off. Nagging colds suck. In many ways I would just prefer to be knocked on my ass for 2-3 days with horrific sickness, than this persistent feeling of congestion and general low energy.

I am going to try to get a few more miles in after dinner tonight.

TempestBlayze wrote:

Protip: Make running more fun with Zombies, Run! Seriusly, it's amazing.

+1

MothBeHe wrote:

What's with all these complaints about the cold and such? When I was a kid we had to shower by rubbing snow against our bodies etc. etc.

Seriously, though, I wouldn't make an issue of the cold. Slippery surfaces can be a pain, but I've found sub-zero temps don't affect performance, only my genitals.

Finding comfy clothing is important. You should dress so that you feel a little cold when you're standing still but stay warm on the move. I keep a credit card with me in case I - goddes forbid - sprain an ankle far from home.

Well, given that I expect to eventually be running in temperatures approaching -20C, having the right gear is a bonus.

Got 8km in tonight though. Pretty happy.

mudbunny wrote:
MothBeHe wrote:

What's with all these complaints about the cold and such? When I was a kid we had to shower by rubbing snow against our bodies etc. etc.

Seriously, though, I wouldn't make an issue of the cold. Slippery surfaces can be a pain, but I've found sub-zero temps don't affect performance, only my genitals.

Finding comfy clothing is important. You should dress so that you feel a little cold when you're standing still but stay warm on the move. I keep a credit card with me in case I - goddes forbid - sprain an ankle far from home.

Well, given that I expect to eventually be running in temperatures approaching -20C, having the right gear is a bonus.

Got 8km in tonight though. Pretty happy.

That's some serious dedication! I tip my hat to you, sir.

tuffalobuffalo wrote:
mudbunny wrote:
MothBeHe wrote:

What's with all these complaints about the cold and such? When I was a kid we had to shower by rubbing snow against our bodies etc. etc.

Seriously, though, I wouldn't make an issue of the cold. Slippery surfaces can be a pain, but I've found sub-zero temps don't affect performance, only my genitals.

Finding comfy clothing is important. You should dress so that you feel a little cold when you're standing still but stay warm on the move. I keep a credit card with me in case I - goddes forbid - sprain an ankle far from home.

Well, given that I expect to eventually be running in temperatures approaching -20C, having the right gear is a bonus.

Got 8km in tonight though. Pretty happy.

That's some serious dedication! I tip my hat to you, sir. :)

Tonight wasn't too bad. A balmy -6C with no wind.

Figured out how to make my own sheet and input my runs where it would auto add. It's a pain at first but easy once I figured it out. You can copy my sheet and make it your own if you want.

The only thing you have to do is put the formula in your "Total Miles Ran" cell. The formula for me is "=TempestBlayze!A39". TempestBlayze being my sheet name and A39 being where my total sum is. It may be over complicating things but I hope some of you find it useful.

TempestBlayze wrote:

Figured out how to make my own sheet and input my runs where it would auto add. It's a pain at first but easy once I figured it out. You can copy my sheet and make it your own if you want.

The only thing you have to do is put the formula in your "Total Miles Ran" cell. The formula for me is "=TempestBlayze!A39". TempestBlayze being my sheet name and A39 being where my total sum is. It may be over complicating things but I hope some of you find it useful.

Hmmm, I wonder if I could do it so that the distance on my sheet is in a proper distance format (km) and it converts it to the that horrific imperial system you guys use.

Aaaand, done.

mudbunny wrote:
TempestBlayze wrote:

Figured out how to make my own sheet and input my runs where it would auto add. It's a pain at first but easy once I figured it out. You can copy my sheet and make it your own if you want.

The only thing you have to do is put the formula in your "Total Miles Ran" cell. The formula for me is "=TempestBlayze!A39". TempestBlayze being my sheet name and A39 being where my total sum is. It may be over complicating things but I hope some of you find it useful.

Hmmm, I wonder if I could do it so that the distance on my sheet is in a proper distance format (km) and it converts it to the that horrific imperial system you guys use.

Aaaand, done.

Very impressive. Nice to know that people can use the formula and get as simple or detailed as they want. Not only are we running 500 miles but we are learning spread sheets together!

mudbunny wrote:
TempestBlayze wrote:

Figured out how to make my own sheet and input my runs where it would auto add. It's a pain at first but easy once I figured it out. You can copy my sheet and make it your own if you want.

The only thing you have to do is put the formula in your "Total Miles Ran" cell. The formula for me is "=TempestBlayze!A39". TempestBlayze being my sheet name and A39 being where my total sum is. It may be over complicating things but I hope some of you find it useful.

Hmmm, I wonder if I could do it so that the distance on my sheet is in a proper distance format (km) and it converts it to the that horrific imperial system you guys use.

Aaaand, done.

Stole your spreadsheet page. And made it in miles.

So, my half marathon was 13.3 miles. NO FAIR. I blame the lack of a PR on that(or the new hills that appeared)

taer wrote:
mudbunny wrote:
TempestBlayze wrote:

Figured out how to make my own sheet and input my runs where it would auto add. It's a pain at first but easy once I figured it out. You can copy my sheet and make it your own if you want.

The only thing you have to do is put the formula in your "Total Miles Ran" cell. The formula for me is "=TempestBlayze!A39". TempestBlayze being my sheet name and A39 being where my total sum is. It may be over complicating things but I hope some of you find it useful.

Hmmm, I wonder if I could do it so that the distance on my sheet is in a proper distance format (km) and it converts it to the that horrific imperial system you guys use.

Aaaand, done.

Stole your spreadsheet page. And made it in miles.

So, my half marathon was 13.3 miles. NO FAIR. I blame the lack of a PR on that(or the new hills that appeared)

Now to figure out how to make a pretty plot of my cumulative distance with respect to time.

mudbunny wrote:

Goretex socks to keep my tootsies dry.

IMAGE(http://images.mec.ca/fluid/customers/c822/4000-338/generated/4000-338_BK000_view1_1000x1000.jpg)

I used the same brand of gore-tex socks back when I did a lot of winter cycling. I really liked them. You'll need wicking liners for them. I remember them being a little stiff, at least at first.

No outdoor winter running for me since I sprained an elbow badly a couple of years ago during a run on an icy road. The treadmill and all my ipad goodies are keeping me happy. Plus I'm enjoying the Zombies, Run! app that was linked. It's really nicely done.

concentric wrote:
mudbunny wrote:

Goretex socks to keep my tootsies dry.

IMAGE(http://images.mec.ca/fluid/customers/c822/4000-338/generated/4000-338_BK000_view1_1000x1000.jpg)

I used the same brand of gore-tex socks back when I did a lot of winter cycling. I really liked them. You'll need wicking liners for them. I remember them being a little stiff, at least at first.

No outdoor winter running for me since I sprained an elbow badly a couple of years ago during a run on an icy road. The treadmill and all my ipad goodies are keeping me happy. Plus I'm enjoying the Zombies, Run! app that was linked. It's really nicely done.

I wear socks underneath them. And they are very well worn in. I have had them for about 10-12 years now. I originally bought them for my time in the reserves, walking through swamps.

Well, my race schedule for the year has filled out nicely.

Cle Elum Sun Country 4k snowshoe race: Feb 9th
Mercer Island Half Marathon: Mar 24th
Whidbey Island Marathon: Apr 14th
Ocean Shores Olympic Triathlon: July 13th
Grand Columbian Half-Iron Triathlon: Sep 21st

Everything just fell into place with those races.

The half marathon happened to fall at the precise point in my full-marathon training plan where I'm hitting that distance on my long runs.

I did the Whidbey Island half-marathon last year, so it's a nice stretch out to a full (which will be my first).

Mercer Island is about 20 minutes from my front door, having a race I don't have to travel to is a bonus.

Ocean Shores was my first ever tri back in 2010 - it'll be fun to revisit that and compare finish times - hoping to see a significant improvement.

I did the Grand Columbian Half-Iron this last year, and it slayed me - I ended up walking most of the last 7 miles on the run. Hoping to simply cross the finish line without having had to significantly slow down.

P.S. I know I'm not logging miles on the Google doc - I'm unofficially participating. I log all my runs in Fitocracy, and I'm not a fan of double-accounting.

Got the new running shoes and my left ankle hurt one day. Then the next day it was my left calf. This happened to me when I roller bladed and ice skated a lot as a kid so I really wasn't suprised by it. I guess getting new running shoes showed me how bad I was running so I looked it up.

Turns out there is something call Under-pronation and I think I only do it on my left foot. Now to figure out how to correct it...

Different types of pronation

IMAGE(http://www.examiner.com/images/blog/EXID35841/images/Pronation316x278.jpg)

Was thinking about buying $40 insoles but just decided to return the shoes to Amazon. Since I have under pronation, Asics Nimbus or Cumulus seem to be the best choice. I will grab them whenever they go on sale and stick with my old ones. The more you know...

TempestBlayze wrote:

Was thinking about buying $40 insoles but just decided to return the shoes to Amazon. Since I have under pronation, Asics Nimbus or Cumulus seem to be the best choice. I will grab them whenever they go on sale and stick with my old ones. The more you know...

Yeah, that's probably a good idea. There are very few things worse than running in shoes that don't work well for how you run.

I forgot to respond to the underpronation thing. Since you were able to return the shoes, that's great. I know that running stores will generally know which shoes are good for underpronation. Sounds like you figured it out via google. I think that I very slightly underpronate. It's not enough to cause problems, fortunately.

I had a great run today. It was sunny out, and I managed to run 5 miles in 37:11. I didn't even have to use the Double Dragon soundtrack.

I've got a bad chest cold, so I'll be out for a few days. But on the other hand, I'm slowly building back up after being sidelined by a c-section and some other health issues, and already feel much more fit than before I joined.

Tempest: I had my stride checked out a store as well and I ended up with the Asics Nimbus. I've been really happy with them so far. (~100 miles)

Michael wrote:

Tempest: I had my stride checked out a store as well and I ended up with the Asics Nimbus. I've been really happy with them so far. (~100 miles)

A chain store? If so which one does that?

TempestBlayze wrote:
Michael wrote:

Tempest: I had my stride checked out a store as well and I ended up with the Asics Nimbus. I've been really happy with them so far. (~100 miles)

A chain store? If so which one does that?

I think there's only a handful of them in the Wisconsin area, so I don't think it qualifies as a chain. It's probably not as in-depth as seeing a doctor-type running trainer, but they take video of your stride and play it back in slow motion to show you what's going on. http://performancerunning.com/servic... You may not want to come to WI from NY for that, but if you do I'll buy you a beer.

My problem was helped with the running shoes but actually fixed by something else entirely, which was really weird. Because of the way I was heel-striking and pronating I was having issues with achilles tendonitis. I had to back way off of running for a little while though the pain wasn't going away. Then I bought a new pair of casual dress shoes that hurt the hell out the very outside (I guess that would be the shoulder) of the foot on which I had tendonitis issues. I wore them a lot as I had bought them for work, and ended up adjusted my gait unconsciously in order to relieve the discomfort of the dress shoe. Wouldn't you know it? After a certain amount of time I didn't have either problem any more.

TempestBlayze wrote:
Michael wrote:

Tempest: I had my stride checked out a store as well and I ended up with the Asics Nimbus. I've been really happy with them so far. (~100 miles)

A chain store? If so which one does that?

It's possible that not all of their stores offer the service, but I know that at least some Roadrunner Sports stores do so in WA, and they appear to be a national chain.

Felt good running today, and was enjoying the latest 3MA podcast, so I decided to extend my normal 5.1 mile route and ended up doing 8.2. Not too bad.

billt721 wrote:

Felt good running today, and was enjoying the latest 3MA podcast, so I decided to extend my normal 5.1 mile route and ended up doing 8.2. Not too bad.

I bet it was that inspiring news music I put in that pushed you over the top.

Michael wrote:
billt721 wrote:

Felt good running today, and was enjoying the latest 3MA podcast, so I decided to extend my normal 5.1 mile route and ended up doing 8.2. Not too bad.

I bet it was that inspiring news music I put in that pushed you over the top.

I think I listened to that episode on a run too!

Edit: I laughed out loud at that intro when the music came in.

Woo-hoo! First "proper" run of the year. After a few weeks of taking it real easy, I went for my first tempo run. Was aiming for 5 miles at 9min/mile. Turns out that I'm not quite there yet :blush:

Managed a solid 3 miles at that pace before I had to back off for the last two miles. It's early days, and I'll get there, but damn it feels good to push myself.

I just got Neon Yellow Asics Nimbus 14 on sale for $100 at Foot Locker of all places. They are amazingly soft and even through I am just walking around with them right now, I can tell that these are way better for my high arch feet. Can't wait to go for a run with them.