What are /r/artc's favorite Products & Services?

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Goal: Build to 40-50 mpw by end of 2018; get comfortable with speed work

Plan: Summer of Malmo (i.e. run more, sometimes (comfortably) hard, have fun)

Total: 36 running miles; Acute-to-Chronic ratio: 0.88, but realistically probably 0.90-0.95 because of the hiking miles. Still well below injury zone so that’s good.

Thoughts: Malmo week 4 (down week) complete! This week is my adding-a-double week, pretty exciting!

• Going to finish with 220 miles for the month, including a taper
• Two big lessons: more specificity is needed in training for mountain races, and 18 weeks is too long a training cycle for me
• Bring back strength training!
• Got a very low-key village 10k on Monday. Going to go out at T pace and then try to pass people in the second half.
• Definitely this one. Lovely trails and beautiful views.
• Race report coming soon, but thisis how much fun I was having at the finish line!

Check the video off of the Tom (tinman) Schwartz website. If you are really curious and want to know from the primary source then the video is a worthwhile investment and not that expesive ($32).

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Here's a link from Jay Johnson who produced the video:

ttps://gumroad.com/l/bmZF

A couple thoughts (nothing conclusive):

1. I differentiate between easy pace and recovery pace. Personally recovery pace is whatever it needs to be. Easy is more prescribed but based on HR.
2. In his middle distance guide Joe Rubio (paraphrased) says yes you can run too slow, but in the introductory / mileage building period don't worry about it. When you're actually closer to race season then it matters.
3. OTOH I just listened to Nate Jenkins on the Marathon Running Podcast and he says get the miles and build your aerobic house, pace doesn't matter. IIRC he didn't let himself run faster than 8/mile and if his brother or friend wanted to run with him then they'd run 10 @ 10+/mile.

Those guys are both coaches and I don't know of any physiologists that have an opinion (or better yet a study) on this.

2 random unrelated questions:

1. So I’ve only started following the pro/elite scene recently, and I’ve been wondering -- how come most professionals (BTC, NOP, NAZ elite, etc) don’t/are not allowed to (?) make their training public, while others (mainly in the trail/ultra world) do make their training public, at least Strava-wise. Surely it’s not the sponsor, right? -- Hoka for example sponsors NAZ elite and ultra runners like Sage Canaday, Tim Tollefson, Jim Walmsley etc.

2. You all made me really curious about the R8 from the overwhelming number of positive reviews. What does everyone like so much about it? What magical things can the R8 do that my cheapo Amazon Basics foam roller can’t do? Top 3 reasons you decided to upgrade to the R8?

Happy Holidays, meese! 6 hours of driving down from Asheville (back to FL) on Saturday. Good fun. Running a 4-5miler tomororw night and then a 10miler Sunday morning. Pretty stoked to be back in FL for a couple of more weeks before I make the next roadtrip up North!

Not a big fan of Matt Fitzgerald, but The New Rules of Marathon and Half-Marathon Nutrition has some good information in it.

This reminds me of Cookie Clicker. I had my computer overheating for several days straight as a few hundred Portals and Time Machines were making millions of cookies a second before I had to fight off the Grandmapocalypse. I eventually shut off my computer out of stress.

sure is. either sit in a chair or the ground, bend your foot close to you and pull your toes back. you can also rub the plantar while stretching it. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/plantar-fasciitis/multimedia/foot-stretches-to-prevent-plantar-fasciitis/img-20008230

Tracksmith is doing spend $250, get a $50 gift card.

Amazon (as of 3 PM PST 11/20) has Double Expresso Clif gels 24 ct for 17.

These are what I have. They're very comfortable, and allow you to hear the road around you. They don't cut out very much or for very long when they do.

ExpressVPN has a 30-day free trial, too. Maybe a good option if people will just use it for the next couple of days. You have to cancel and request a refund from their support chat before your 30-days are up, but it was really easy for me and took maybe 10 minutes.

I use these they are similar to the old Saucony Ulti-mitts that got discontinued. They convert from mittens to just gloves and are nice in a range of temps.

I just got these that are still deeply discounted on Amazon.

I like them a lot and use them both for running and for when I'm in the lab working. Pretty good at blocking out noise and have decent sound quality. Plus, they're inexpensive right now!

I have this one from Amazon. I don't remember paying that much. It's solid but my butt hates the seat. People around here were selling used spin bikes for nearly the same price so I bought it new.

Amazon says I ordered these a year ago:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01G8JO5F2/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

$29 and I've averaged about 2 hours per day of use for that time. Still going strong.

Crap. My fenix 5X died in the middle of the night. I used this charging cable for the first time just before. I wonder if all these reviews are fake. I guess that's what I get for trusting amazon.

FR 945? Fenix 6? 6X? I anticipate using it for a 100 miler next year, so I'm tempted to go for the 6X. But I'd love to have a smaller watch... The advertised specs of the 6 would get me across the finish line on a 100 miler, but I'm skeptical because my 5X never lasted more than 20 hours in GPS mode.

Hopefully a silly question.

Some of my fell shoes are perpetually wet if I’m doing a midweek run in the hills. It’s boggy in Scotland - went into knee deep mud in places yesterday. They started to smell quite bad and living in a studio it’s not a pleasant feeling!

I got a shoe dryer with “ozone” function from Amazon: link. They did amazing job in 90ish minutes in total after a complete wash in the sink! Smell a bit mossy, but much more pleasant and dry.

The drier is barely warm and shoes don’t get hot. Not sure ozone function does more than just go brr brr more. The instructions are not great anyway.

Any risks in using the shoe dryer long term? Alright to use with fancy (PEBA, Endorphin Speed) foam?

Not necessarily for October, but because I just remembered it and it's an excellent true story: <em>The Ghost Runner: The Epic Journey of the Man They Couldn't Stop</em>.

From the Amazon description:

>The mystery man threw off his disguise and started to run. Furious stewards gave chase. The crowd roared.

>A legend was born. Soon the world would know him as "the ghost runner," John Tarrant, the extraordinary man whom nobody could stop. As a hapless teenage boxer in the 1950s, he'd been paid L17 expenses. When he wanted to run, he was banned for life. His amateur status had been compromised. Forever. Now he was fighting back, gate-crashing races all over Britain. No number on his shirt. No friends in high places. Soon he would be a record-breaker, one of the greatest long-distance runners the world had ever seen.

I just want to be better and energetic and run all the miles and be happy with it. But, you're right. I'll play it by feel this weekend and ease up on intensity to be safe.

I bought the entire Broken Earth trilogy on Amazon by N.K. Jemisin. I'm so stoked to finally break into the fantasy genre for personal reading, and Jemisin has quite the accolades so it should be good. They're arriving today!

Amazon! This one actually. Amazon was quite the goldmine of moose related apparel and truth be told I almost ordered this instead. But then I figured that just because I'd proudly flaunt those antlers doesn't mean everyone else would too.

I managed to find a mask at a ski shop that has little holes over the mouth and a flap for the nose, so breathing is a lot easier but it still keeps my face warm. Still restricts breathing a little, but it's a lot better than normal balaclavas. I'll see if I can hunt down an Amazon link or something.

Edit: I think this is actually the exact same one I have.

Yes. It's a book by Matthew Walker. I think it would actually be a good artc book even though it barely touches on exercise.

Amazon link: Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams https://www.amazon.com/dp/1501144316/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_z9RTBb1QNY26H

Yeah something like a 12 oz quickdraw isn't going to make a huge difference in pace, especially for a training run: https://www.amazon.com/Nathan-NS4859-Speedshot-Running-Bottle/dp/B06XHC6NMD

Races, in non-COVID times, take the gel 20-30 seconds before an aid station and grab a water there.

Better late than never. I've been dealing with PF since May, but have continued to do high-ish mileage without my PF getting any worse. So, can't fix it for you, but some days it doesn't hurt at all.

Things I've noticed:

• Sleeping in a brace makes a big difference. I use one like this and I can definitely tell when I wear it and when I don't.
• I've isolated one pair of shoes that's worse for it than others. I still wear them some because I'm stubborn but probably shouldn't.
• I use a foam ball (but golf ball or lacrosse ball work just as well) to massage the bottoms of my feet at night. When I get lazy with this, it gets worse. When I'm consistent, it does better. Pretty solid correlative data!
• Foam rolling my calves and hammies seem to help too. Everything's attached, so any tightness creates more tightness other places. Also strengthening my Achilles with eccentric heel drops may or may not help, but it seems to be better. Plus, you know, bulletproof Achilles are always a good thing.
• Not drinking for a bit will definitely help. Alcohol inhibits your muscles' ability to heal and grow. But obviously that's totally up to you.

Hope that helps!

Received a package today from /u/user/Show_me_your_budget . A whole bunch of awesome things!

A sweet shirt to go in to the rotation, some new socks to try out and some new gels. The gels arrived at the perfect time as I just discovered my previous gels were discontinued so I'm looking to try out a bunch of new ones to see what works. Can't wait to try them all. Thanks so much /u/user/Show_me_your_budget!

The first version of his book was definitely a lot less detailed compared to the current edition, which I think was due to publisher constraints at the time he wrote it. The current one was a pretty comprehensive rewrite with a lot of additional content included, and I think is definitely worth checking out! At under $25 for the paperback on Amazon, it's a great value. You can also get a personalized hardback copy directly from his site for $40 if you want to be a little fancy.

Yesterday I was going through my shelf and picked back up Running Rewired by Jay Dicharry. I remembered that I really like this book. I find his reasoning and suggestions very compelling. But the reason I never implemented his routines is because they all require gym equipment that I don’t readily have available, which is a big disappointment.

I’ve been talking to my mother about aging and the need to keep up flexibility, balance, etc. seeing her age gracefully in spite of chronic illness, and seeing how important not just fitness but full-body fitness has been in her life, inspires me to want to do more. Things like yoga, more strength and flexibility training than I do now. But whatever I choose has to be convenient and not rely on gym equipment!

You might want to check this stuff out at the grocery store. It works way better for me than melatonin pills and has been a game changer the night before the race.

Oh definitely. I also think it's interesting that Fred Lebow, who wasn't even a particularly good runner himself (I can relate), was also a big player in the marathon boom. Not as much on a national scale like Shorter and Rodgers, but as far as making the NYC marathon what it is, and the influence it had across the country. He was certainly an odd duck, though.

When it comes to women's running, I have this great book First Ladies of Running which I also highly recommend, but of course since we are talking about marathons, I shouldn't neglect to mention Joan Benoit Samuelson. Although she's borderline on "historic" because as of 2019 she was still up there in the age group awards and running faster over age 60 than I will ever run :)

With excitement for the great pro fields at some of the upcoming fall marathons -- let's have some fun.

Who are some of your favorite historical runners -- people who are not currently competitive?

I'm rather partial to Emil Zatopek. His absolute grit and determination was just extraordinary. And his whole life story is fascinating (I recommend the book Today We Die A Little, which is one of my favorites on my shelf of running-related books). (I think I've mentioned this before, maybe years ago, but if I had my twin boys today rather than 14 years ago I'd seriously consider naming them Emil and Eliud.)

Pinkminitriceratops already gave good advice, so I just have a few add-ons.

• The book Fixing Your Feet is a great resource for all things related to foot care for endurance sports. It has a very comprehensive guide to methods of blister prevention and care.
• Squirrel's Nut Butter is an alternative to 2Toms and Body Glide that has worked well for me.
• I have calluses on my big toes that I think are similar to the ones you described. Getting into a regular routine of gently exfoliating them with a pumice stone when I shower and then applying some moisturizer has been helpful for ensuring they don't get unreasonably thick and cause potential issues. That could potentially be helpful for your situation. Since you've experienced blisters underneath your calluses in the past, you probably already know how challenging those can be to manage.

I've been wondering something similar. I've seen some articles and this book I haven't read yet on the topic, but it isn't clear to me how much hormonal IUDs/pills/etc. change the standard advice.

Plus a lot of the advice doesn't seem very practical--the main point is often that some phases are better for peak performance. But I can't exactly choose which phase I'll be in on race day, so I don't see how that's particularly useful.

This is a bit overkill for what might be a one-off blister, but the book Fixing Your Feet is a really comprehensive resource guide for all things related to foot care for runners in case you get more blisters or encounter other foot issues in the future.

As u/zebano already said, the main recommendation is to drain it, clean the area, and then cover the blister. Ssomething like KT tape with a small dab of lube like Bodyglide or Squirrel's Nut Butter right on the blister roof to prevent it from sticking to the tape works well. Here's the book's instructions for draining a blister:

1. Use an alcohol wipe to clean the skin around the blister.
2. Sterilize a pin or needle with a flame by heating with a match (avoid soot on the tip). Use it to lance two to four puncture holes. Move the needle side to side to make the opening larger so it will not seal up. Making a single large hole increases the possibility of the blister roof shearing off as you continue running or hiking.
3. Make the puncture holes on the sides of the top and bottom of the blister where ongoing foot pressure and gravity will push out additional fluid, generally to the back of the foot and toward the outside. Make at least two holes.
4. Use pressure from your fingers to push out the fluid and blot it away with a tissue.
5. Clean and dry the skin before doing further blister care. The outer layer of dead skin should not be removed.

If that doesn't help, then make an offering of at least one pair of Vaporflys or equivalent super shoes to the blister gods and pray for your foot's safety. ;)

Looks like the Endorphin Speed V3 are on their way (in July?) and the 2s are heavily discounted:

https://smile.amazon.com/Saucony-Endorphin-Speed-Running-Shadow/dp/B093ZRYJ83/

That link looks uber-legit to me. Colors are limited but $96 for a pair of Speed 2s (size 8.5 fwiw) is a major score in my book.

The main path to getting faster is through doing runs with structured intensity (e.g. 3min repeats at 5k-10K effort, 10min repeats at 15k-HM effort, continuous threshold runs, etc). That could could come in the form of doing a structured 5K/10K/HM plan (see Daniels' Running Formula (link) or Faster Road Racing by Pfitzinger (link) if you want plans to refer to), but it doesn't have to. Also, running fast is a skill, so incorporating strides into your running routine will help with the neuromuscular recruitment side of things and help you feel more comfortable at faster paces.

>I love the Charles River paths for long runs! How far up do you go? I've just recently started going up further west than Watertown and it gets really pretty and wooded out there. Is Battle Road part of the Minuteman bike path? I keep meaning to try running out there but somehow I've never got around to it.

I have a variety of loops along the Charles (6-miler, 8-miler, 10-miler, 12-miler). I'll be hitting 15 to 16 miles once I get into the thick of half marathon training this fall. I usually follow it from the Watertown end toward the city.

Battle Road isn't part of the Minuteman Bikeway, but it is part of Minute Man National Historical Park. It's an out-and-back that's mostly hard-packed dirt. I highly recommend checking it out! A lot of elite runners in the Boston area log miles there.

I host a very niche podcast talking about runners in the town I live in. This past week I interviewed Maggie Guterl, fairly successful marathoner, and ultra marathoner in her own right. You can check it out here if you want.

Inspired by the recent discussion of handwritten training logs... A friend of mine journals in the "One Line a Day" book. Each page corresponds to a day, and there's space to write a quick entry for five different years. I wasn't really interested in the book before because I suck at journaling, but now that I think about it, it would probably make a really cool training log! The book is pretty small so there'd only be space for a quick summary of each day's training (if I do get this book, I'm not going to ditch my spreadsheet), but I think it would be a really neat way to track progress over the years.

Anyone have creative self-timing solutions for track workouts and/or time trials?

I'd love to be able to do track work/TTs without having to look down at my watch so often. Yes, I realize I could just run by feel and not check splits every 200/400m, but that's not happening.

I'm thinking maybe something like this on the top of a stick to put it at about eye level at the start finish line? https://www.amazon.com/LeisureLife-Multifunction-Countdown-Accurate-seconds/dp/B015UB0QAW

I wear a headlamp and this armband. Getting hit by a car seems like a worse look than looking like a hobbyjogger.

I got this strobody one from amazon. I decided to go cheap(ish) since I wasn't sure if I'd even like a massage gun. It's a little noisier than I'd like but the battery life is really good. I can't compare it to any of the higher end ones, but for $90 I'm happy with it.

Thank you!! I'm both a heavy sweater and very cramp prone...they're probably related. So I take cliff bloks with added sodium and for this race I also used fast chew salt tabs for the first time. You can either chew them really fast or let them dissolve over time. They don't taste great. Plus I salt-loaded on pretzels the day before. I got through without any serious cramps so it seemed to work!

Definitely worth a try if you're also suffering with cramps in hot weather.

So, my shoes arrived today, and while it is bad news for me, the good news for you is that they are women's sizing! Check out this link. They may appear to be men's sizes only but try adding them to your shopping basket and you should see that they show up as women's Freedom ISO!

I can't recommend this suitcase enough for week-long trips. I traveled every week for work for a year or so (including flights, road, etc.) and this thing still looks brand new. Having stand rollers vs. spinners gives more room inside the bag while still remaining small enough to be a carry-on. The bag also comes with a lifetime warranty.

To keep the stink out, use a plastic bag (like the laundry bag from the hotel) and place your shoes, stinky clothes in it.

I travel for work quite a but usually just bring a carry on and my goals in buying a suitcase were the same. I ended up with the one in the link below because it has a zippable area where I put two pairs of running shoes and gear. Or one pair and winter run gear.

The real test was after a long MP workout in the Ozarks, in August, the rest of my clothes didn't stink when I got home. I do plastic bag them up within that compartment though.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004TNOAXW/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1

Optimum Nutrition, been using it for 5 years now, both lifting and running. Does the job, cheap-ish, tastes well enough.

I throw mine in a PEET boot/shoe dryer when they are wet: https://www.amazon.com/Peet-Dryer-Original-2-Shoe-Electric/dp/B001J4HQ76/ref=asc_df_B001J4HQ76/?tag=hyprod-20&amp;linkCode=df0&amp;hvadid=167126206764&amp;hvpos=1o1&amp;hvnetw=g&amp;hvrand=3204609919286880609&amp;hvpone=&amp;hvptwo=&amp;hvqmt=&amp...

The longer they stay wet/damp the less funk they pick up.

Also, I'd try rinsing them out really well in a utility tub or outside with a hose of clean water, then drying them.

Louisiana Cajun Seasoning is rock solid on anything, highly recommended.

Our go-tos are that, Season Salt, and your basic Chicago/Montreal Steak Seasoning. Put them on anything and they're all great.

You might be dealing with some pelvic instability? (Common for runners) I use this trochanter belt some (I call it my old lady belt). Might be worth checking out since it is relatively cheap? I definitely can feel the difference in my hips when I've been able to spend some time in it.

More info on its use.

Hang in there PP.

Saltstick has chewables, 10 calories each, and you can get them in rolls, like life savers. (https://www.amazon.com/SaltStick-Fastchews-Chewable-Electrolyte-Replacement/dp/B017DS748M/ref=pd_sim_468_3?_encoding=UTF8&amp;psc=1&amp;refRID=GB9CE1JVBJVFMC20JA37) I've been using them all summer, alternating with salt stick capsules, and been very pleased.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PVXN7SS/

These are surprisingly good. The fit isn't terrific, but they're warm, they've held up well, and they don't look cheap.

And you can't beat the price.

I assume that sizing would be an issue for just purchasing the men's shorts? Perhaps the Aeroswift would be a (rather pricey) alternative, since I think those are available as splits for women in 2" inseam. Or maybe boy's sizing would be doable for the Challengers?

If you have a Graco car seat I would highly recommend the Graco Relay. It comes with the click in car seat adapter and I've seen the price dip well under $200. I have a Bob double jogger now and I'd put the quality right up there with Bob.

I bought a Petzl Reactik+. It has worked really well so far. The automatic reactive lighting is nice because it helps not blind you when it reflects off something close by and saves battery life. The non + version of that light is a little cheaper, but I wanted the bluetooth connectivity and phone app for it.

My only issue with it is I've accidentally hit the power button with the light in a bag once or twice and found it dead. Now I just remove the battery and put it back in if I'm worried about that.

Hello fellow Oregonian! Here in Eugene it got up to 430 air quality index ... that's "Hazardous"! Crazy bad smoke.

I've run up to 150 air quality index (I ran 18 miles in the orange zone.) Made me cough a few times during the run, and I felt like I could feel it impinging slightly on my performance. It wasn't pleasant, but wasn't super bad.

Today I went for a run in this half-face respirator! I looked like a Fallout character, and it was pretty tough breathing through, but it worked for a 1 hour easy run and the air quality was perfect! I wouldn't try running harder or much longer with that thing though.

I'd be surprise if your running form has actually gotten worse. You really don't need that much flexibility to run with good form.

https://www.amazon.com/Anatomy-Runners-Unlocking-Potential-Prevention/dp/1620871599

I'd give this book a read - it includes self assessments to determine whether your range of motion might be impacting your running stride, along with exercises to help correct any issues.

I haven't seen anyone in this thread, but my Facebook feed is full of Seattlites talking about living in "Under the Dome". Maybe it's time to break out the headphones Bane mask that was being discussed on Slack a few days ago?

(Note: Bane masks are a terrible, terrible idea. Don't do this.)