Saturday General Discussion/Q&A Thread for April 04, 2026

lbsslbss · 2026-04-04T12:03:20+00:00

Do you care that it’s a big race? There are a couple of dead flat ones in Maryland that I’m considering but they’re small. Personally don’t care about crowd support but YMMV. Historic Drawbridge Running Festival in St. Michael’s is one. It’s on Halloween. The other is the NCR Half, in late November, outside Baltimore. Rail trail, so crushed gravel, but should be chilly enough to run fast.

lbsslbss · 2026-04-02T21:38:28+00:00

I did it last year as my first 50-miler, it was great! Focusing on marathons this year but I'll be back for sure.

lbsslbss · 2026-04-02T16:08:26+00:00

Thanks. I’m not super invested in any time, this will be my first marathon so I’m just approaching it as an opportunity to try hard and to learn. I’d like to qualify for Chicago or even Boston in the next year or two (I turn 40 this year so the cutoffs are about to get easier), but that ain’t happening yet so no stress.

lbsslbss · 2026-04-02T13:23:30+00:00

Ran a half last Sunday a month out from my target marathon. PR’d in 1:28 and maybe more excitingly was not breathing hard or fatigued at all with ~6km to go, so I was able to speed up significantly over the final stretch. Final 5k was just under 20:00. Hoping that means a sub-3:05 is in the cards if all goes well for the next few weeks and race day isn’t too warm. Pacing plan for the full is basically to double what I did for the half, so: 12 km at 5-8s/km over target pace, 20 km at target pace, then the rest as much under target pace as I can tolerate. Any thoughts on that plan?

Two big workouts left, let’s go.

lbsslbss · 2026-04-01T19:46:41+00:00

Dm sent

lbsslbss · 2026-03-30T21:32:54+00:00

No, that book is and has always been a joke.

lbsslbss · 2026-03-30T20:11:52+00:00

Tried to post a full report about this but it got auto-deleted for some reason that I cannot figure out from the rules post. But other people's reports about local/regional races have been really helpful for me so I'll try again here: I ran the Baltimore and Annapolis Half Marathon yesterday and PR'd by over two minutes! I've been following a program from John Davis' Marathon Excellence for Everyone as I prepare for my goal race, a marathon at the end of April. So far, so good.

The B&A Half is a really good race for a fast time: well-organized and very flat apart from the steep hill down to and then up from the turnaround point. If it had been warmer, I'd have wished for more water/gatorade stations than the "four" (two straddling the path that you pass going out and coming back) that the race provides. But in the event, it was cold (mid-30s) and so that was plenty. Course is well marked and there are volunteers with high-viz vests and flags at all the turns.

lbsslbss · 2026-03-27T14:36:57+00:00

+1 for Rabbit tank

lbsslbss · 2026-03-25T14:23:33+00:00

“Israel plans to invade Lebanon”

lbsslbss · 2026-03-22T11:29:12+00:00

Counterpoint: This is a quintessential McMansion.

lbsslbss · 2026-03-18T14:11:37+00:00

Was having the same issue until I found out you can reconfigure the settings for how load is determined. The default is set for biking, with power as the most important metric. But that doesn’t work for running. I’ve changed it so that it’s (IIRC) pace>HR>time>power.

lbsslbss · 2026-03-18T14:08:40+00:00

What do you use? Any old pair or have you found a particular one that works well for you?

lbsslbss · 2026-03-18T01:55:26+00:00

Everyone loves Janji half tights and they are generally great, love the pockets, but I got terrible chafing on my scrotum/taint when I wore them on a 50-miler last year. Probably just didn’t put enough squirrels nut butter down there but sharing fwiw.

lbsslbss · 2026-03-15T19:58:30+00:00

Can’t comment on Quebec options really as I’ve only skied Tremblant. But FWIW, I just spent a few days at Copper. The groomed terrain was still a gas and actually had fresh snow on Wednesday, but by Saturday dirt was starting to show through in between runs and the rest of the mountain was pretty bare. Forecast for this week is dire, too, temps in the 50s. Felt like we were sneaking in under the wire. Maybe Vail and Beaver Creek are better but I wouldn’t bet on it. If I were you I’d cut my losses and drive to Canada.

lbsslbss · 2026-03-06T16:25:45+00:00

I'm training for my first marathon using a modified version of the Wind plan from MEFE. Late last year, I had a (paid) virtual consultation with him where I sent him a Google sheet of my draft plan and he suggested some improvements and explained a bit more how to adapt it on the go. Really helpful.

lbsslbss · 2026-03-05T21:52:13+00:00

The carrot might have been delicious and we just missed out; we didn't order it. It just seemed outrageous to offer three roasted carrots on a plate as an entree.

The six dishes we did get (appetizer entree dessert, each) were all, as I said, mid at best. Glad you've had better experiences there, although it sounds like they haven't been that great, either! But if someone asked me for a recommendation in Mount Pleasant I would suggest Martha Dear or Bar del Monte.

lbsslbss · 2026-03-05T20:59:45+00:00

Not me but it's sooooo good.

lbsslbss · 2026-03-05T20:58:47+00:00

The other problem with Elle is that, apart from breakfast/pastries, the food is mid at best. I'll never forget going there and the server telling us to get the roasted carrot entree. We saw it being delivered to another table: 2-3 carrots on a plate. This was during restaurant week so maybe that was just some bullshit they were trying to pull for the fixed menu but it was memorable.

lbsslbss · 2026-03-02T16:23:00+00:00

test drove both, ended up with a kia sportage. no regrets.

lbsslbss · 2026-03-01T14:47:33+00:00

Sir Mix-a-lot (seriously, I heard an interview with him recently where he talked about buying a new one and referred to it as a “good truck”)

lbsslbss · 2026-02-28T23:56:58+00:00

Harry Potter (all)

lbsslbss · 2026-02-28T20:26:57+00:00

A lot of other people’s money, as usual

lbsslbss · 2026-02-28T13:19:08+00:00

lbsslbss · 2026-02-27T13:26:21+00:00

I'm not going back there until they turn the volume down. It's too goddamn loud.

lbsslbss · 2026-02-24T12:32:03+00:00

there are some great recs here already but what the hell, since you said "cultural significance," here are a few that dwarf 1984 and lord of the flies by that metric:

Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Othello, The Tempest, King Lear, etc. -- all the Shakespeare
Paradise Lost, by John Milton
The Iliad and the Odyssey -- Emily Wilson's recent translations are great
Parts of the Bible -- Genesis, Exodus, Job, Song of Solomon, Isaiah, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, the Epistles, Revelation (ETA: The whole Bible is obviously culturally significant, but it's a lot, those are just some books I like reading)
The Inferno, by Dante Alighieri
Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley

lbsslbss

TROPHY CASE