February 2020 Monthly Running Challenge

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Replies

  • quilteryoyo
    quilteryoyo Posts: 6,477 Member
    @Camaramandy648 Glad your kids are starting to feel better. I hope they get back to normal soon!

    Today I played doubles tennis for 1.5 hours. Now that I have been running, I don't feel like this gives me much cardio, but I enjoy it and it's a great XT activity.
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
    autumnblade75 wrote: »
    PastorVincent wrote: »
    @autumnblade75 Yeah, I really think it sounds like you would be better off replacing your drink with a product like TailWind or SkratchLabs Sport Hydration Drink Mix.

    I'd been talking about Gatorade. As a replacement for water. It ticks all the boxes - hydration, electrolytes and fuel. This sounded like "But Not Gatorade, Ew."
    PastorVincent wrote: »
    autumnblade75 wrote: »
    So, aside from hydration, electrolytes (salt) and fuel (sugar) what exactly am I failing to understand that I should be demanding from my sports drink? Yeah, caffeine would be nice, but it's not like I can't get that as a stand-alone either.

    So I currently use Scaps (salt pills) + Propel (a Gatorade product) + gummies, so I might not be the person to answer this. :)

    TailWind, Skratch, are just premixed and correctly done, easy street. I plan to try Skratch though the less thinking I do while I run the better. :)

    Gatorade is also premixed and would let me to less thinking while I run, but if I was reading you correctly, is inferior to TailWind or SkratchLabs Sport Hydration Drink Mix? Because they do something unspecified somehow better than Gatorade? I'm still considering mixing my own salty Kool-Aid here, because I can then control how much sugar per hydration. Personalization, right? And definitely keeping the costs down.
    rheddmobile wrote: »
    @autumnblade75 The cadence advice commonly given to runners doesn’t remain valid at slower speeds. 12+ minute pace at 170 cadence is hard because it’s not meant to be that way! Run at a natural cadence and don’t overstride and it will sort itself out. I swear I’ve seen more women who have read some dumb cadence article on the internet saying to aim for 180 - one poor soul looked like she was prancing in place pretending to be a pony. You don’t need to artificially increase your cadence.

    I didn't address this before because it made me irrationally angry. If I didn't recognize that a cadence of 170 was going to be too much for such a slow run, I wouldn't have had to go to such lengths to avoid All My Favorite Parts of Running to attempt to test this Go Slower thing everyone keeps telling me about. When I'm faster, I have a 180 bpm playlist. It's too fast right now. I Don't have a 160 bpm playlist. I don't like to go that slow, and it hadn't been necessary since 2012 when I increased cadence gradually until my hips stopped hurting. I thought I knew something about cadence.

    It's day 3 of the insomnia. I tried for a nap for 3 hours, and I feel worse than before. I am angry and angsty and would like to go for a run. It is a rest day and it would be good for me to Not Run. I'm trying to research replenishment, and all the articles seem to indicate that no-calorie beverages are ideal for fueling, which I know cannot be correct. Hydration and electrolyte replenishment, fine. But what's the taboo against drinking calories intentionally for fueling?

    Shoot, I’m sorry, I assumed you were trying to increase your cadence to 170!

    I never use music when running outside, for safety reasons and also because I like natural sounds, so trying to sync a playlist isn’t something I have experience with.
  • Avidkeo
    Avidkeo Posts: 3,208 Member
    ContraryMaryMary wrote: »
    Avidkeo wrote: »
    ContraryMaryMary wrote: »
    So, following @PastorVincent’s lead, I’ve recruited a running coach. I’m hoping for big things (a full set of new PBs, to be precise).

    Woooo that's exciting! BTW I'm up your way on Tuesday, in town for Elton John! Staying in Newmarket.

    Oh. Awesome. Elton John is an amazing performer. Also, if you want to run in the Domain on Tuesday sometime, let me know.

    And yes, Jelly Belly. Best jelly beans available. Should be in your local supermarket and dairy. They're much smaller than Pascals jelly beans but have a stronger flavour and so many more flavours. Go buy some now.

    Yeah I got to see him in New Plymouth about 12 years ago. I can't wait! Def keen for a run, but probably going to be in the middle of your school run, aiming to be out around 8am I think. We are literally just up for the night then traveling home the next day.
  • ContraryMaryMary
    ContraryMaryMary Posts: 1,780 Member
    Avidkeo wrote: »
    ContraryMaryMary wrote: »
    Avidkeo wrote: »
    ContraryMaryMary wrote: »
    So, following @PastorVincent’s lead, I’ve recruited a running coach. I’m hoping for big things (a full set of new PBs, to be precise).

    Woooo that's exciting! BTW I'm up your way on Tuesday, in town for Elton John! Staying in Newmarket.

    Oh. Awesome. Elton John is an amazing performer. Also, if you want to run in the Domain on Tuesday sometime, let me know.

    And yes, Jelly Belly. Best jelly beans available. Should be in your local supermarket and dairy. They're much smaller than Pascals jelly beans but have a stronger flavour and so many more flavours. Go buy some now.

    Yeah I got to see him in New Plymouth about 12 years ago. I can't wait! Def keen for a run, but probably going to be in the middle of your school run, aiming to be out around 8am I think. We are literally just up for the night then traveling home the next day.

    Shame. Next time!
  • PastorVincent
    PastorVincent Posts: 6,668 Member
    @Autumnblade75 - Gatorade has something like 1/3rd of the electrolytes, 1/2 the carbs, and so on. TailWind, Skratch Labs, and the like are all designed for the endurance sports and are more properly proportioned for it and have a wider spread of electrolytes than just sodium and none of the dyes and etc that Gatorade adds purely to make their product look good.

    Gatorade is not at all in the same category as the other things we have been talking about. It did START this whole industry, but it is not the best choice anymore. The industry has gotten smarter, while Gatorade went more into the mainstream drink market and away from sports nutrition despite the marketing.

    As someone up-thread said, races are even beginning to phase Gatorade out now for Nunn.

    It is up to you, we are just giving you advice that we all learned from our personal experience of going through what you are. If you want to stick with Gatorade, go forth and drink. If you want something that might work better then there are other options that is all we are saying. :)

    Your call, drink what you think works for you :)
  • shanaber
    shanaber Posts: 6,423 Member
    A comment on cadence and music playlists. If you use Spotify there are running playlists for all different cadences. Granted you have to like the music on the playlist but you can save them and take out what you don't care for and make it your own. Just do a search on 'Running'
  • TheMrWobbly
    TheMrWobbly Posts: 2,541 Member
    When you said "in town for Elton John" @Avidkeo it sounded like you were popping round for tea. Say hello to Reg for me if you are.

    I'm with you on the slow pace @autumnblade75 and my 'easy pace' on the plan is a 12 minute mile which is my morning walking speed. I with stick with my 10+ minute miles and keep increasing the mileage once a week and some steady runs the other three days.

    It's a bit dreich out there this morning! ☔

    exercise.png
  • autumnblade75
    autumnblade75 Posts: 1,661 Member
    rheddmobile wrote: »
    Shoot, I’m sorry, I assumed you were trying to increase your cadence to 170!

    I never use music when running outside, for safety reasons and also because I like natural sounds, so trying to sync a playlist isn’t something I have experience with.

    I'm sorry for having a hissy fit about it. Like I said, irrationally angry.

  • autumnblade75
    autumnblade75 Posts: 1,661 Member
    edited February 2020
    PastorVincent wrote: »
    @Autumnblade75 - Gatorade has something like 1/3rd of the electrolytes, 1/2 the carbs, and so on. TailWind, Skratch Labs, and the like are all designed for the endurance sports and are more properly proportioned for it and have a wider spread of electrolytes than just sodium and none of the dyes and etc that Gatorade adds purely to make their product look good.

    Gatorade is not at all in the same category as the other things we have been talking about. It did START this whole industry, but it is not the best choice anymore. The industry has gotten smarter, while Gatorade went more into the mainstream drink market and away from sports nutrition despite the marketing.

    As someone up-thread said, races are even beginning to phase Gatorade out now for Nunn.

    It is up to you, we are just giving you advice that we all learned from our personal experience of going through what you are. If you want to stick with Gatorade, go forth and drink. If you want something that might work better then there are other options that is all we are saying. :)

    Your call, drink what you think works for you :)

    Thank you for the thorough answer. I'll try to logic this through if I ever manage to sleep so I can think more clearly. Right now my brain is stuck on 1/2 the carbs - but twice the calories? Which are all from carbs?

    *I continued to ponder this while I showered - I'm thinking in terms of per dollar, rather than per serving, because don't you dump your powdered mix into your water before you start running? So, I'd be aiming for a mix just at about the same concentration of carbs as the Gatorade, anyway - 180 calories being a little more than 1/3 of what I'd expect to burn in the hour I'd take to drink the 32 oz. of Gatorade...
  • LoveyChar
    LoveyChar Posts: 4,336 Member
    @polskagirl01 Going back to an older conversation we had where we were talking about weight gain during taper down of Marathon training, well I learned something new and interesting last night...

    You said you gained 5 pounds nearing Marathon and I made a comment that it was probably muscle. Well because I am anxious, I read everything I can during restless nights and last night I read about how our bodies store glycogen. Well when you are in training, your body doesn't have much of an opportunity to store glycogen but on the the taper down, that's when you're body basically starts recouping glycogen stores lost in weeks of long runs. When it's doing this, it's also storing with it...water!!! I read that it's not uncommon to gain 1-3 pounds per week in the taper down. So...!!! I had to share because it was kind of an epiphany moment for me. You may have already known this, but I did not... interesting...
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
    edited February 2020
    i've tried other drinks but i have found gatorade causes less gastrointestinal distress. ymmv
    i did like skratch
    at the same time for long runs i usually do water and chews. currently using gatorade chews (see above). i often run with my dogs and share my water with them.
    sports drinks are for before and after or during a race
  • PastorVincent
    PastorVincent Posts: 6,668 Member
    LoveyChar wrote: »
    @polskagirl01 Going back to an older conversation we had where we were talking about weight gain during taper down of Marathon training, well I learned something new and interesting last night...

    You said you gained 5 pounds nearing Marathon and I made a comment that it was probably muscle. Well because I am anxious, I read everything I can during restless nights and last night I read about how our bodies store glycogen. Well when you are in training, your body doesn't have much of an opportunity to store glycogen but on the the taper down, that's when you're body basically starts recouping glycogen stores lost in weeks of long runs. When it's doing this, it's also storing with it...water!!! I read that it's not uncommon to gain 1-3 pounds per week in the taper down. So...!!! I had to share because it was kind of an epiphany moment for me. You may have already known this, but I did not... interesting...

    Yeah, if you are seriously training for a marathon, during training your body is in a perpetual state of trying to catch up to the madness of what you are doing to it. During training your body is run down and behind on repairs and maintenance. This is why your marathon plans almost universally have a taper in them. Often 1-2 weeks long. This allows the body to catch back up and be ready for race day. You will also find that the week or 2 after AFTER a marathon many people continue to put on weight, especially if they subscribe to the long recovery mantras that some people spout.

    Here is the hard honest fact. The weight "gain" during a tapper is not really weight gain. (assuming you are not pigging out of course :) ) - it really is your body and the scale getting back in sync. The weight you stabilize at on the scale is a more correct number than the one you thought you were at. It still is a bit fuzzy since no single reading really matters, but it is more correct. :)

    And, as with all things dealing with humans, everything is flexible and variable. General truths are only true in general and YMMV and all that. :)
  • LoveyChar
    LoveyChar Posts: 4,336 Member
    PastorVincent wrote: »
    LoveyChar wrote: »
    @polskagirl01 Going back to an older conversation we had where we were talking about weight gain during taper down of Marathon training, well I learned something new and interesting last night...

    You said you gained 5 pounds nearing Marathon and I made a comment that it was probably muscle. Well because I am anxious, I read everything I can during restless nights and last night I read about how our bodies store glycogen. Well when you are in training, your body doesn't have much of an opportunity to store glycogen but on the the taper down, that's when you're body basically starts recouping glycogen stores lost in weeks of long runs. When it's doing this, it's also storing with it...water!!! I read that it's not uncommon to gain 1-3 pounds per week in the taper down. So...!!! I had to share because it was kind of an epiphany moment for me. You may have already known this, but I did not... interesting...

    Yeah, if you are seriously training for a marathon, during training your body is in a perpetual state of trying to catch up to the madness of what you are doing to it. During training your body is run down and behind on repairs and maintenance. This is why your marathon plans almost universally have a taper in them. Often 1-2 weeks long. This allows the body to catch back up and be ready for race day. You will also find that the week or 2 after AFTER a marathon many people continue to put on weight, especially if they subscribe to the long recovery mantras that some people spout.

    Here is the hard honest fact. The weight "gain" during a tapper is not really weight gain. (assuming you are not pigging out of course :) ) - it really is your body and the scale getting back in sync. The weight you stabilize at on the scale is a more correct number than the one you thought you were at. It still is a bit fuzzy since no single reading really matters, but it is more correct. :)

    And, as with all things dealing with humans, everything is flexible and variable. General truths are only true in general and YMMV and all that. :)

    Thank you for this information, knowledge is power!!! I won't feel so disappointed if I gain a little. Yes, my body has never worked harder than it has in these past several weeks, never. No pigging out here, I'm too nervous. I'm not even stepping on the scale until Sunday, though. What is YMMV?
  • PastorVincent
    PastorVincent Posts: 6,668 Member
    LoveyChar wrote: »
    PastorVincent wrote: »
    LoveyChar wrote: »
    @polskagirl01 Going back to an older conversation we had where we were talking about weight gain during taper down of Marathon training, well I learned something new and interesting last night...

    You said you gained 5 pounds nearing Marathon and I made a comment that it was probably muscle. Well because I am anxious, I read everything I can during restless nights and last night I read about how our bodies store glycogen. Well when you are in training, your body doesn't have much of an opportunity to store glycogen but on the the taper down, that's when you're body basically starts recouping glycogen stores lost in weeks of long runs. When it's doing this, it's also storing with it...water!!! I read that it's not uncommon to gain 1-3 pounds per week in the taper down. So...!!! I had to share because it was kind of an epiphany moment for me. You may have already known this, but I did not... interesting...

    Yeah, if you are seriously training for a marathon, during training your body is in a perpetual state of trying to catch up to the madness of what you are doing to it. During training your body is run down and behind on repairs and maintenance. This is why your marathon plans almost universally have a taper in them. Often 1-2 weeks long. This allows the body to catch back up and be ready for race day. You will also find that the week or 2 after AFTER a marathon many people continue to put on weight, especially if they subscribe to the long recovery mantras that some people spout.

    Here is the hard honest fact. The weight "gain" during a tapper is not really weight gain. (assuming you are not pigging out of course :) ) - it really is your body and the scale getting back in sync. The weight you stabilize at on the scale is a more correct number than the one you thought you were at. It still is a bit fuzzy since no single reading really matters, but it is more correct. :)

    And, as with all things dealing with humans, everything is flexible and variable. General truths are only true in general and YMMV and all that. :)

    Thank you for this information, knowledge is power!!! I won't feel so disappointed if I gain a little. Yes, my body has never worked harder than it has in these past several weeks, never. No pigging out here, I'm too nervous. I'm not even stepping on the scale until Sunday, though. What is YMMV?

    Your Mileage May Vary - Used originally in advertisements about how far cars can go on one tank of gas or whatnot, but has morphed into a general expression meaning your results might be different than mine or the norm to some degree.
  • RunsOnEspresso
    RunsOnEspresso Posts: 3,218 Member
    mbaker566 wrote: »
    i've tried other drinks but i have found gatorade causes less gastrointestinal distress. ymmv
    i did like skratch
    at the same time for long runs i usually do water and chews. currently using gatorade chews (see above). i often run with my dogs and share my water with them.
    sports drinks are for before and after or during a race

    And for me gatorade sloshes around in my stomach but Nuun endurance doesn't. I can tell a difference when I run in Wisconsin versus Arizona. In AZ I definitely need something during, especially when it's 100+ and dry out. This time of year? Not so much (although still dry AF).
  • quilteryoyo
    quilteryoyo Posts: 6,477 Member
    @TheMrWobbly You can walk at 12 minute miles?! That's amazing. I thought I was doing great at 15 minute miles.
  • Tramboman
    Tramboman Posts: 2,482 Member
    2-1 7k easy + yoga
    2-2 11k slow
    2-3 7k easy + resistance bands
    2-4 rest + yoga
    2-5 7k slow + resistance bands
    2-6 7k slow + yoga
    2-7 rest + resistance bands
    2-8 7k easy + yoga
    2-9 8.2k moderate
    2-10 7k moderate + resistance bands
    2-11 rest + yoga
    2-12 7k moderate + resistance bands
    2-13 7k slow + yoga


    February Total: 75.2k
    February Goal: 140k

    January Total: 161k

    Low 30s F, light snow, and no wind. Had about 4 inches of snow overnight, and the footing was bad. Most places had about half an inch of snow on top of a couple of inches of slush.

    Next year when you pop in here claiming your December 2020 mileage, what accomplishments will you have made?

    Return to a good running weight of 175 lbs
    Run at least 4 5k races
    Get a 5k PR
    Average at least 138k per month, to meet my Run the Year pledge of 1,020 miles

    Run the Year Team: Pavement Pounders

    4-25-2020 Shine the Light 5k, Twinsburg, OH
    5-23-2020 Race for the Parks 5k, Hudson OH
    6-20-2020 Freedom Run 5k, Aurora, OH
  • TheMrWobbly
    TheMrWobbly Posts: 2,541 Member
    quilteryoyo wrote: »
    @TheMrWobbly You can walk at 12 minute miles?! That's amazing. I thought I was doing great at 15 minute miles.

    I may have stretched it a bit, I peak at 12:09 with the average for 5k being 12:31 a mile. No time to dawdle when you are catching a train.

    exercise.png


  • autumnblade75
    autumnblade75 Posts: 1,661 Member
    PastorVincent wrote: »

    If you want fewer electrolytes and less fuel, then drink Gatorade or dilute the drinks that are specifically engineered to give you exactly the right proportions and amounts your body needs and undo most of their advantages.

    Let me simplify it this way:

    Modern-day Gatorade = mainstream drink. Colorful and popular as a regular drink. Kids love it. :) (at least mine does)

    TailWind, Skratch, etc = Endurance sports drinks - only advisable for endurance sports use.


    I think your real problem is that you are trying to both optimize to lose weight AND build fitness for a marathon.

    These goals can not both be focused on at the same time. I really think you need to pick one to focus on. If you pick weight, then you will struggle to reach marathon fitness level. If you pick fitness then some weight will come off, but nowhere near as fast.

    In general - endurance sports are horrible weight loss plans. You can lose weight by doing them. I personally have, but it is not a get thin fast plan - it is very much a long game. Often a very long game.

    If you continue to try and do both I think you are going to continue to be frustrated.

    I want... You know what? I have no idea if I NEED any electrolytes. This was about fuel. And I still can't find anyone else saying that I should attempt to replace more than 35% of the calories I'm burning, as I'm burning them. So, no, I really am not worried about "specially formulated to work at this specific concentration." The only advantage I'm looking for is Fuel. I have no intention of trying to stick to their "optimized" schedule for electrolyte delivery, since it clashes with my hydration plan. I already nailed down hydration. It's 2 oz every 6 minutes. The Gatorade seems to deliver not a whole lot too many extra carbs per oz than the recommendation if I keep to the hydration plan I already have customized to me. Forget the whole thing. I already suggested that I'm struggling because I'd like to try to lose weight at the same time. As far as I have been concerned, this is all hypothetical hinging on the assumption that fueling might be beneficial. Even though I don't really think that's my problem right now, I do acknowledge that it will become relevant SOON. And there are a limited number of long runs for fine-tuning.
  • LoveyChar
    LoveyChar Posts: 4,336 Member
    @janejellyroll I'm staying off the scale the week after, for sure. I don't even want to know...

    @Camaramandy648 It's on Sunday! Nice job on all of your running! And I agree with you 100% on the fueling situation...just get out there and run and experiment slowly and it will all come together but overanalyzing is a huge waste of time.

  • shanaber
    shanaber Posts: 6,423 Member
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    @LoveyChar Everyone is different, but it's not uncommon for me to see 5-8 pounds *more* on the scale a week after a marathon. I'm very prone to water retention anyway, but it's like my body goes a little off-the-rails because it can't figure out what it's supposed to do. After a week or so, everything is back to normal. For context, I always do a pretty active recovery - I don't know if that makes a difference.
    @janejellyroll - yep your body has some amount of inflammation after a race, especially a HM or marathon or longer, where it needs to repair itself. Initially there may be dehydration but over the recovery period your body needs the extra water.

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