August 2021 Monthly Running Challenge
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Thanks, @martaindale and @Tramboman !quilteryoyo wrote: »I hate to ask this question again, because I know that it was in this discussion earlier in the month, but I can't find the responses. I want to get a hydration vest. If you use a vest, which one do you use and/or what would you recommend? OR, if you know what page the answers were earlier, let me know and I'll go back and check it out.
@quilteryoyo I use an Ultimate Direction "Scott Jurek" model. But really, that's not relevant to you. I've seen requests for hydration vest recommendations come up repeatedly on my trail running groups and, like shoes, it depends. What's right for one might not be right for another. Brands I've seen mentioned most are Ultimate Direction, Nathan, Solomon, and Camelback. Any of those might be right for you.
Instead of looking for a recommendation for a particular model, I suggest you see what features are available and decide which of these you need. Questions to ask are:
How long will I be running with this? (long runs require more water and gear, and therefore more storage, whereas shorter runs can use a more minimal vest - you don't want a vest sized for a weekend expedition if you're running short runs)
Will I be running trails or pavement? (trails can take more gear than pavement)
Do I want to carry my water in bottles in front, or in a bladder in back...or both?
Do I want it to be adjustable to wear over layers when it starts getting cold?
How much water do I need it to hold? Plan on a little more than that.
Do I use trekking poles? (Some vests have loops for carrying these when you're not using them)
What's my budget?
Then start looking at models available and see what they offer. Start the process of elimination and narrow down the options. Color is a valid criteria. One place to get a good idea of what's out there is REI, but there are other websites. If you have a local running store or sporting goods store, get in your running outfit and try them out. See if they'll let you take a run around the parking lot. See what their return policy is. What feels great in the 5 minutes you try them on might not feel great fully loaded with water, several miles in to a hot, sweaty run.
Good luck on your search!
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Sorry about your HM, @quilteryoyo .1
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I’ve not had plantar fasciitis but have had a lot of foot issues recently, and in chatting with my osteo/physio, I have learned that a lot of foot pain and tightness stems from tight calves, including plantar fasciitis. Try rolling/massaging and stretching your calves and see if that impacts your foot pain. Good luck and speedy recovery!6
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Thanks for the suggestion @martaindale ! I was thinking about an old railroad bed that was made into a running/bike trail that is about an hour away, Tweetsie Trail. I think @Teresa502 has run there before.2
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Thanks @7lenny7 . I did go to the closest Fleet Foot last week, but they don't keep any in stock, so couldn't try any on. I will check out the REI website with those qualifications in mind.
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6.5 mile run with an average pace of 9:12 min per mile.
August cumulative:
47.9/100 miles
4,230/10,000 feet of elevation6 -
Just under 6 miles today (walk/run intervals), for a monthly total of 42. The 60 mile goal is in reach.
It was stinkin' hot. 90F and humid. Suffocating really. I purposefully waited for the heat of the day. It made for an awful run (and walk) but I'm better for it, and more importantly it made me slow down.
In spite of the heat my run intervals are getting longer and I can feel my stamina improving. Looking forward to the day when I can spend several hours on the trail again.ContraryMaryMary wrote: »... in chatting with my osteo/physio, I have learned that a lot of foot pain and tightness stems from tight calves, including plantar fasciitis. Try rolling/massaging and stretching your calves...
That is absolutely correct. Anything wrong with one part of the kinetic chain can affect any other part. I know I should get better about the whole picture but unfortunately I'm not.
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Distance Log:
Aug 2: 4.17 miles
Aug 4: 4.80
Aug 6: 5.94
Aug 9: 5.74
Aug 11: 2.75
Aug 16: 5.86
Aug 18: 3.58
Aug 20: 5.75
Total: 38.59/60 miles4 -
August 1 – 6.33
August 2 – 5.35
August 3 – 5.28
August 4 – 5.27
August 6 – 6.04
August 7/8 – 5.01
August 9 – 4.83
August 11 – 5.59
August 12 – 4.08
August 13 – 5.15
August 14 – 5.52
August 16 – 6.02
August 17 – 3.11
August 18 – 8.02
August 20 – 6.01
Back in town and even though it was still warm and humid this morning, when I finished the run at least the air seemed cooler than when I was in Florida. I felt no relief there after the run!
@quilteryoyo – I’m so sorry that your HM is now virtual but I’m glad that you are pressing forward and not using that as an excuse to back off! Your hard training is going to pay off! Unless you run on the Tweetsie Trail in Johnson City/Elizabethton or on the Creeper Trail in Abingdon, you are probably going to have a hilly route. I know you have been training on roads so you probably don’t want to run on technical trails like at Bays Mountain. Since it won’t be an official race with road closures, you will have to be careful of traffic - you probably want an area with decent sidewalks. Have you run any around the town of Greeneville? Does it have good sidewalks? If you want to come to Kingsport, I can easily find a 13-mile route for you. Are you running it on the same day that he AF half was scheduled? Maybe I could join you for part of it. (I think it was last month that we discussed running vests.)
Good to “see” you back with us @7Lenny7!
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@quilteryoyo so sorry about your race.
I second the advice @7lenny7 gave about hydration vests.
Some days running is great and I have literal mountain-top experiences... and then other times I sleep wrong and can't run because my neck and shoulders are all messed up. Maybe it was all that looking up I did yesterday when my kids were on the zip lines at that money-sucking amusement park. They had fun though Today I made it 2k but even with ibuprofen and a hot shower and shoulder rub, it hurt worse when I was running. Maybe tomorrow. Oh well!6 -
Nice run @sweetdaisy13 .
@7lenny7 I love that you purposefully waited for the heat of the day so you would slow down. I hope you continue to be able to run further and further without another PF flare up.
Nice run @Teresa502 . I was thinking about the Tweetsie Trail. I have run some in Greeneville. They do have sidewalks, but they aren't the best for running. A lot of the ones down town are brick and they aren't level. Sometime, I trip just walking on them. And, it is REALLY hilly. I'm looking to see if there is an in person HM somewhere close by that I could run the same day - 2 for 1? The only one I have found so far is a $90 entrance fee at this point. I don't think it's worth it, even though running my very first HM solo seems a bit of a let down. I'll look into the Creeper Trail. Thanks for the offer about running part with me in Kingsport. I'll let you know what I decide. And, I do plan to go ahead and run it on 18 Sept - the day of. That's when I'll finish up my HM plan. Might as well do it then.
@polskagirl01 I'm glad the kids enjoyed the money-sucking amusement park. I hope your shoulders and neck feel better tomorrow.
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8-1 7k measy (between moderate and easy)
8-2 rest
8-3 7k measy
8-4 7k easy
8-5 rest
8-6 7k measy
8-7 7k moderate
8-8 7k measy
8-9 rest
8-10 4k easy
8-11 4k moderate
8-12 rest
8-13 6k measy
8-14 4k measy
8-15 7k easy
8-16 rest
8-17 4k easy
8-18 5k treadmill
8-19 rest
8-20 4k measy
August Total: 80k
August Goal: 150k
Sunny, low 70s F, and humid today. Had too much going on in my head to do justice to running.
When you pop in here claiming your December 2021 mileage, what accomplishments will you have made?
PUT THE FUN BACK IN THE RUN!
Return to a good running weight of 175 lbs (second attempt)
2021 Races:
6/26 Direction Up 5k, Solon, OH 31:48 chip; 31:59 Garmin; 53d overall; 2d male 65 and over
7/17 Run of the Ox 5k, Mantua, OH 32:19 Garmin; 44th overall; 3d place male 60 and over
9/18 5k Run and Roll, Aurora, OH5 -
Hey, I signed up for a yoga class! It's an Intro to Yoga class. 6 sessions over 6 weeks for $60. The yoga instructor is also a PT who works with sports and fitness issues so I'm hoping this is a good fit for me. I've been wanting to try yoga and this seemed like a good deal.
@polskagirl01 I went back a few pages to read some posts and came across your race report. WOW! That was some vertical in that race, I'm impressed!Hey @7lenny7 how's Cody 🐕🦺 doing these days?
The good news is that Kody is doing very well for a 13 year old lab! The unfortunate news is that he's a 13 year old lab.
The old man was very active until my PF problem started around the first of the year. In November and December he was still doing great hunting birds (actually had one of his best years). With the onset of my PF, neither he nor I were getting much exercise. I could barely walk a couple of blocks without pain so I wasn't taking him out for his exercise and my wife wasn't interested in taking him out. In the time I was down, his physical ability started to deteriorate somewhat. Joint pain, partial laryngeal paralysis (can't control his larynx as well as he used to) and a bit of arthritis. His nervous system has also deteriorated a bit so that he doesn't always know where his feet are. All normal things for an aging lab.
He also lost most of his hearing last summer. At first I thought he was just being a grumpy old man and ignoring me, but when I realized he could no longer hear me open up his food bin, I figured out what was going on. Thankfully I have him trained for hand signals as well as voice commands.
I'm taking him on walks now when it's cool enough but it's been way to hot to take him running. With his laryngeal paralysis the heat has a greater toll on him and I won't run him until it gets below 60.
His 20 mile days are over, but I still have hope that once the temperature drops I can get him back into shape and doing what he loves, running and hunting. It will just be shorter runs, and he when we hunt I'll only let him hunt a few fields a day. His heart is certainly up to it, but the erosion of time can't be put off forever.
Here's a photo from our hunting trip last December
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@7lenny7 Hugs for Kody He's a beautiful dog.0
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@7lenny7 I hope you enjoy the yoga class. I've thought about it, but haven't signed up for anything yet. Bless Kody's heart. I hope he is able to get in some good walks/runs/hunts once the weather cools. He's beautiful.2
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Sorry about Kody @7lenny7 But I know exactly how you feel. I have had two labs, both made it to 13 years. But both had hip dysplasia, and it got so bad that they couldn't move. They stopped eating and we finally had to put them down. So I have vowed to never get another lab (or probably any other dog). They are the best dogs, but going through that loss is like losing a child. Just too hard for me.5
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@7lenny7 It’s so good to see you and Cody back! Re: plantar fasciitis - mine went away when I started doing rocker squats to cure unrelated shin issues. Since the rocker squats also stretch the back of the ankle and calf, that’s probably why.2
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Sorry about Kody @7lenny7 But I know exactly how you feel. I have had two labs, both made it to 13 years. But both had hip dysplasia, and it got so bad that they couldn't move. They stopped eating and we finally had to put them down. So I have vowed to never get another lab (or probably any other dog). They are the best dogs, but going through that loss is like losing a child. Just too hard for me.
I'm with you.1 -
My husband and I have an upcoming 5k which would be our first in person race since you-know-what. Assuming we do it, since supposedly our entire state has 6 ICU beds left and 96 people wanting ICU beds.
So anyway yesterday we went down to train on the course, which we used to do all the time and haven’t done in a while due to time constraints. It’s got quite a hill compared to where we have been running and we figured we should get the bad news sooner rather than later - how out of shape are we? The answer is, between running not very much due to time and heat, and training on mostly flat terrain, it’s pretty bad. Over a minute per mile slower than last time we ran it, and we had to take a walk break in the middle due to the stifling heat. We have another three weeks to try to improve the situation but honestly it’s gonna be pretty sad. Oh well!
Speaking of the heat, I have a little plug-in app for Strava which automatically adds the local weather conditions and temperature to my run descriptions. I’m not sure what weather station it connects to, but usually it’s wildly optimistic compared to what the app on my husband’s watch reports. So we check the station, it says it’s 94 with a heat index of 115 or some horrifying number, we cook our tiny brains running, and then Strava later tells all my followers, “Oh, it was 80 with a heat index of 82!” Dude, in what universe. Anyway, yesterday it was the reverse - Strava reported a heat index of 98 and torrential rain! Well, yes to the heat (in fact down by the lake where we were the heat index got up to 104) but the rain, which caused flash flooding, didn’t happen until we were done and driving home, and of course the temperature dropped when it started raining. So we don’t get bragging rights for running in an actual boiling lobster pot. It was the sort of rain where you can’t get in your front door without getting soaked. Husband says to me, “I was going to take a quick shower to rinse the salt off before we ate lunch but now I don’t see the point!”
We did get thunder and lightning and light rain during our cool down walk, which then became a cool down rapid trot back to the woods so we could cut through them to the parking lot. The light rain and stiff breeze were actually pleasant, but I try to avoid running in lightning. I know it’s still possible to get struck by lightning in dense woods but it seemed less likely than on the open driving range, which is where we were when the rain started.
Apart from the weather it was a beautiful run which reminded me why we used to run there all the time. We saw three separate sets of does and fawns, a red tailed hawk catching a chipmunk, two herons, a skink, and we heard a great horned owl in the woods. Also, the scent of the woods in the first rain for a long time was amazing.
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