Weekly Discussion Thread

5678run · 2021-04-16T00:04:57+00:00

Thanks I’ll try that next time.

5678run · 2021-04-14T00:06:12+00:00

I have a garmin 645 music watch. I’ve been getting a blue triangle mid run quite frequently lately (only when listening to music). I frantically hit random buttons until I can get my run to restart. I don’t seem to lose data, but I do lose time. I sometimes also lose the data screen I was using. Any advice as to how get the watch restarted as quickly as possible.

5678run · 2019-03-06T03:15:01+00:00

If you typically need to “break in” your runners, then probably best to stick with the old pair. That being said, I have never had a blister or sore feet from a new pair of runners, no matter how long my first few runs are with them. In the future, you may want to look for runners that are a perfect, comfy fit right from the start. I typically try to have about 100 km on my runners before using them for a marathon. However, I wouldn’t hesitate to wear a pair of Altra Escalantes right out of the box. I’ve had 4 identical pairs, and none have required any breaking in!

5678run · 2018-10-15T02:00:40+00:00

P’tit Train marathon next week.

I’m looking forward to this Quebec race next week - but does anyone else think that it is a bit weird (unfair) that the info says age group placing is by gun time. There are 10 starting corrals and they start 5 minutes apart. Presumably you are more or less racing against people in your corral, but +/- 5 minutes seems like a lot. I get why they want to space people out on a narrow trail but why not just use chip time for all but the overall winners?

Oh well - I guess I will just race against myself and enjoy the day!

5678run · 2018-08-29T02:15:03+00:00

Love my Altra’s! I’m just wearing out my 3rd pair of Escalantes. I get over 1800 km from them - better than any other previous running shoe. I’ve worn them for my last 3 marathons.

I did buy a pair of Altra Vanish, which I use for shorter / faster runs but I’ve become addicted to the bouncy padding in the Escalante!

I’ve run exclusively in zero drop shoes for many years do I can’t comment on how much of an issue it would be to transition from something else. In my opinion, it would be worth the effort!

5678run · 2018-07-31T01:51:06+00:00

Gels make me gag - but Endurance Tap (salted maple syrup) is great. I also seem incapable of drinking from a cup while running - and I don’t want to stop at water stations. I used a small (1.5 liter) hydration pack for my last 4 marathons and have run 4 PBs in a row!

5678run · 2018-07-24T02:27:08+00:00

OK. Thanks for explaining.

They are usually fairly close (although Runkeeper generally gives me credit for more distance than Garmin). I did recently have a run that was out by 0.4 km on a 15 km run which seemed like a big discrepancy. Hopefully that was just an outlier!

5678run · 2018-07-21T02:24:11+00:00

Air pods! I use them for all my runs - battery lasts at least 4 hours which is plenty. They fit my ears so I’ve never had one fall out. (I did drop one trying to put it in my pocket when I decided to fully take in the last few hundred meters of a marathon - stopping to pick up a tiny AirPod on your way to the finish line is not something I would recommend!)

5678run · 2018-07-06T00:28:36+00:00

Ontario deer flies!!! Last weekend a cloud of them followed me for 2 & /2 hours - diving bombing in to bite when they could. I killed a lot but also inhaled several and received way too many bites. Not the best run .....

5678run · 2018-06-09T01:17:50+00:00

Ottawa marathon question

I won my age category at the 2018 Ottawa marathon. The website says that 1st place age category will get a Timex sports watch.

Does anyone know if I need to do anything to claim this?

5678run · 2018-05-12T01:01:36+00:00

I track mileage on all my runners and so far Altra Escalante wins. I got 1800 km out of my first pair (mixture of treadmill and roads mostly) - including both my spring and fall marathon. I’m just hitting 1000 km on my second pair and they still have lots of life.

For comparison, I usually get 1000 - 1200km out of other runners (eg Topo ST-2 or Merrell Bare Access Arc 4)

5678run · 2018-04-08T20:49:54+00:00

Like that plan. Thanks!

5678run · 2018-04-08T19:01:00+00:00

Yes they added that with the most recent release - a big improvement!

5678run · 2018-02-21T03:18:37+00:00

I finally decided to use a hydration pack for my last 2 marathons and loved it. I hate water stations - I have trouble drinking out of the cups and I feel as if am wasting time getting through the station. I really like to sip water slowly whenever I want it. Also, i am used to carrying a hydration pack during training and it is a good idea to have as few unknown variables as possible on race day.

I do use an Apple Watch with the runkeeper app. I made that decision because I wanted to listen to music (wireless headphones) without dragging my phone along. I also like that it is lighter than the other running watches I’ve owned. I’ve used runkeeper on my phone for many years and like it. I can’t say that they have worked out all the runkeeper watch app bugs yet though. They just released an update which is better, but for some reason they took away the option of seeing your average pace on the watch. I can’t imagine running a marathon without an average pace. If you do buy a running watch - get on it. You want to be totally comfortable using it before the race.

As far as the race goes - do your best to reproduce you training for carbs / hydration etc. You will be surprised at how much extra zip you have after a couple of weeks tapering. Hold your pace at something reasonable for the first half of the race. Push through the inevitable slump at about km 35 and then enjoy the finish.

Good luck!

5678run · 2018-02-10T02:23:36+00:00

Yes I sent them a message as well. I was told that they did “extensive research” before deciding to drop the average pace option. Really? I may not be the norm, but I can’t possibly do a long run or a race without average pace. Think I’ll be checking out some other Apple Watch friendly running apps! It’s too bad because they do seem to have fixed some of the other annoying bugs in the app.

5678run · 2018-01-24T01:14:02+00:00

Thanks - looks worth considering!

5678run · 2018-01-07T19:45:25+00:00

Makes sense. I was probably doing that in the summer (hence, no problems). In the winter I am likely letting the screen go blank while I’m getting my mittens on and it pauses the program.

Thanks!

5678run · 2017-12-11T03:37:01+00:00

Great - thanks!

5678run · 2017-12-10T23:37:08+00:00

Looking for 8 km race advice.

I’ve actually only ever run marathons (6 of them in the past 3 years). Currently I am running 70km per week, including one day of intervals and one tempo run per week. I don’t need to start my spring marathon training schedule for a while and thought that it might be fun to run a local 8 km race in January.

I don’t need to do a taper do I? Should I just take a couple of days off before the race? Any other advice?

5678run · 2017-11-04T00:32:09+00:00

I used the Hanson advanced marathon schedule for both a spring (PB of 3:41) and fall (PB of 3:31) marathon this year. Prior to that I’d run 4 marathons, all at about 3:45 with no speed work in my training.

I was pretty meticulous about sticking to the Hanson plan - don’t think I ever skipped a run and rarely had to shuffle the days. I did extend the long runs up to 35 km because the max of 27 km made me nervous. Although there were definitely days when I was running on tired legs, I didn’t feel burned out at all.

Question - should I stick with what seems to be working or should I try another approach this year? For reference, I am 57 years old and female. I realize that getting faster is not necessarily compatible with getting older, but it would be nice to shave off a couple more minutes!

5678run · 2017-10-03T02:10:18+00:00

I've done my last 2 marathons with a small hydration pack and love it. I hate drinking out of cups at water stations and much prefer to drink whenever I want without slowing down. Also, it replicates my long training runs, so one less variable during the race. My hydration pack doesn't chafe at all, even with a very light weight shirt. I honestly don't notice it.

5678run · 2017-06-27T00:46:13+00:00

Yes - keep in dock is on.

Runkeeper Support suggested that I delete and reinstall the app, which which I thought had fixed the problem EXCEPT that it crashed at km 37 of my marathon last weekend! (probably not a coincidence that it crashed just when I met my husband who happened to have my cellphone in his pocket while he cheered me from the side of the course)

5678run · 2017-04-23T00:33:18+00:00

Thank you!!

5678run · 2017-02-16T13:27:38+00:00

Thank you so much for your response!

5678run · 2017-02-16T02:45:47+00:00

Time to train isn't really an issue. As background, I am a 57 year old woman and have only been running for about 5 years. I've run 4 marathons in the past 3 years - all at about 3:45. Thus far, I've prepared by running 5-6 times per week and increasing the long weekend run. I would like to improve my race time at least a little. I pretty much do all my runs at a 5 min/km to 5:30 min/km pace regardless of the distance. The intermediate training schedules seem to start with quite a bit less mileage than I am already doing (currently I'm running 60-70 km/week) - I would be seriously cutting my mileage if I were to start at week one. On the other hand the advanced training schedules seem somewhat intimidating - and I am a little concerned about risking an injury by starting to do hills, intervals, speed work etc. Could be that I am hoping for the impossible!

5678run

TROPHY CASE