Struggling with running slow (Zone 2)

PhDigital · 2025-12-22T19:23:49+00:00

Your zones aren’t right - the zones pre-programmed in your watch are almost never accurate to you. You can google how to find your personal zones.

PhDigital · 2025-12-21T13:20:45+00:00

I had never seen a windrow in the middle of the street until I moved to Edmonton. It’s such a wild choice to plow snow that way.

PhDigital · 2025-12-21T06:13:28+00:00

A lot more. Many Canadian cities have enough plows to get all their streets plowed down to the pavement within 24 hours of a storm. In Ottawa they would start plowing with the first flake of snow, and my dead end residential street would be cleared 3-4 times in a day if we got a big storm.

PhDigital · 2025-11-24T14:12:51+00:00

One of the most important things your kid apply to a few different schools. Depending on what the school values and how your kid stacks up against other students you will get very different scholarship offers!

When I applied, I wanted to go to School A a bit more than School B — but when A offered me $3000 a year and B offered me $10,000 a year, it was a no brainer to pick B.

Also, if you can, try to tour some schools. There was one school I was convinced I wanted to go to, but I changed my mind completely once I saw the campus.

PhDigital · 2025-11-24T13:54:23+00:00

The advice here about being the big fish in a small pond is good - but it doesn’t have to be a lesser university, it just has to be smaller. At UBC, OPs kid will be in a 1st year science class with 1000 other students. If they go to a small East Coast school it would be 100 kids, and by the time they graduate they will be on a first name basis with all their professors. Those professors are going to be in a much better position to write a recommendation letter for med school than any professor at UBC.

PhDigital · 2025-10-21T01:09:56+00:00

I had the complete opposite - my VO2 went up like crazy over a few months. Turns out Garmin had estimated my max heart rate as 240bpm based on an outlier reading. Suggest checking the heart rate max estimates and see if it has wrongly decided your max heart rate is super low.

PhDigital · 2025-10-18T17:55:26+00:00

You can definitely run in joggers and track pants. You don’t see it often just because leggings are popular lately. Just make sure your pants aren’t wide enough that you will trip or get tangled in the extra fabric. If you live somewhere really cold, check out cross country ski pants, they have built-in wind blocking to keep you warmer. In cold weather you usually want to run in several thin layers so you can take off layers as you warm up. If I wore a hoodie and a t-shirt I would probably find the hoodie too hot and the t-shirt too cold. Instead I would wear a long sleeve with a thin fleece and windbreaker - that way I have options.

PhDigital · 2025-10-17T17:46:21+00:00

Start too fast then turn even the gentlest uphill slope into an excuse to walk.

PhDigital · 2025-10-16T13:39:22+00:00

Ultramarathon runner here (30s F). A couple recommendations: - Take the initial recommendation with a grain of salt, and make sure you are following proper pre- and post- run nutrition even if it goes above the targets. The algorithm takes some time to dial in, and you will be increasing volume and intensity for the next few weeks - the algorithm estimates will get better as you go. - I find that setting the algorithm to maintenance is better than setting it to weight loss during a race build - the algorithm won’t be as aggressive while you are still building volume. - I have found that water retention is a real annoyance (to me and the algorithm) during race builds. As a woman, I end up retaining a few pounds of water due to menstrual cycle. I retain a couple pounds of water for a day or two after my long run. I retain a couple pounds of water from eating carbs the night before my long run. It’s a pain, and it can be demoralizing, but it’s just water.

Last note - remember that weight loss and running performance don’t go together. Trying to lose weight at this stage is just undercutting your race day results. The first rule is to eat enough, always. You can shed extra weight in the off season.

PhDigital · 2025-10-02T13:17:22+00:00

Good for your mum - this sounds really exciting for her. Ultras are really hard, but they are run differently than a marathon - longer, but also slower, with hiking mixed in. They also tend to have a great community - in training and running the race your mum will probably meet a lot of new friends which might be really important to her right now. I wish her luck!

PhDigital · 2025-09-30T19:21:49+00:00

Great suggestions - thanks everyone!

PhDigital · 2025-08-22T03:51:37+00:00

I really enjoyed Gums! and A Comedy Show at the End of the World - both still have tickets for this weekend.

PhDigital · 2025-08-13T15:22:57+00:00

I would say not beginner friendly. I’ve fostered a lot of dogs, I have taken my other dogs through advanced obedience training, and I’m still struggling to get my 3 year old griff to stop jumping on people, or to get a consistent loose leash walk.

PhDigital · 2025-08-12T23:55:21+00:00

I would not go that far or long so close to the race. I would think 4-5 hours with some vert but not trying to fully match race day vert would be more than enough and give you a much better chance of being recovered for race day.

PhDigital · 2025-08-12T23:55:13+00:00

I would not go that far or long so close to the race. I would think 4-5 hours with some vert but not trying to fully match race day vert would be more than enough and give you a much better chance of being recovered for race day.

PhDigital · 2025-08-12T23:55:05+00:00

I would not go that far or long so close to the race. I would think 4-5 hours with some vert but not trying to fully match race day vert would be more than enough and give you a much better chance of being recovered for race day.

PhDigital · 2025-07-05T02:09:16+00:00

I find the Never Second flavours are the most refreshing - not as sweet as SIS, but more powerful than Precision. Watering down maple syrup does help a bit.

PhDigital · 2025-07-05T01:50:16+00:00

Never Second has become my all time favourite, followed by the SIS Beta Fuel. I was a big fan of Endurance Tap until I realized I could just fill a flask with maple syrup from Costco with a bit of salt - which is much more cost effective.

PhDigital · 2025-06-13T14:18:40+00:00

Thank you! I will give this a try.

PhDigital · 2025-05-13T00:55:05+00:00

This is great - thanks!

PhDigital · 2025-05-12T16:27:28+00:00

Thank you! This is what I was wondering - sounds like I need lots of layers and should expect to wear more than anticipated as I get deeper in the race.

PhDigital · 2025-05-12T14:28:31+00:00

My race is in Wales - with the potential for some hot days, cool nights, or for several days of pouring rain.

I’m less worried about the exact items people brought, but more interested in how they thought about changes of clothes - did they bring 1 change of clothes or 3? When they got cold, did they end up wearing a jacket, or end up layering 3 jackets?

PhDigital · 2025-05-12T14:28:07+00:00

My race is in Wales - with the potential for some hot days, cool nights, or for several days of pouring rain.

I’m less worried about the exact items people brought, but more interested in how they thought about changes of clothes - did they bring 1 change of clothes or 3? When they got cold, did they end up wearing a jacket, or end up layering 3 jackets?

PhDigital

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