The Running Thread—2023

I had some significant knee issues 18 months ago (old meniscus tears, ITB, and arthritis all converging on my knee).
I was just attempting to run when my issue started, so I am guessing its something that was there and trying to run aggravated it. I ended up having the surgery/scope done and was told the tear was worse than the MRI showed but I still had enough of whats needed to run without pain. He also found some arthritis under the knee cap and cleaned that up while in there. So, only one knee makes strange sounds now lol. I'm impressed you kept running with the tear! I could barely walk once i heard it pop for several days and limped until I had surgery two weeks later.
Do you guys take regular glucosamine/chondroitin supplements?
Based on context here, this is taken for the knee issues? I am going to need to google this for research to see if it could help moving forward. Any negative long term effects of these to other systems? I usually avoid taking anything until I absolutely must, especially if it does anything to the cardiovascular system these days.
 
Shoes- I go by feel. I don't go by mileage because I don't track it. But seeing that nearly everyone else does makes me think maybe I should... I have two new pairs of sneakers on the way so maybe I'll start with those.
I never used to track miles. But now I find it helpful if I start feeling “off” anywhere on my foot or elsewhere I can look at my shoe mileage and either rule that out or say oh I have 300+ miles on these. Maybe that’s why my foots been bothering me lately.
 
Do you guys take regular glucosamine/chondroitin supplements? I know there isn't a whole lot of objective evidence about their efficacy, but they make a big difference for me. I had meniscus tear surgery in 2019 and the surgeon told me I was missing cartilage around half of my right kneecap. I've taken glucosamine/chondroitin on and off since.
I do not. I have looked into it but when i look at the research it has not actually proven to do anything. I am convinced it is placebo and since i am cheap i refuse to buy it. Back in Sep i was about to try it though because nothing was helping.

@LSUlakes if you find research pointing to the contrary please let me know.

I was also taking advil at night because of that knee pain and yet my pain never got better. I assume because i was only taking it once a day and Advil's half life does not support that. Hence the meloxicam helping my knee pain. though i still get knee pain. It actually was hurting a bit after my run on Sunday.
 
I’ll chime in on knee talk, though I probably don’t have anything useful to add… I have a small meniscus tear that 90% of the time keeps itself in line, but occasionally pops out to say hi. Everything else in my knee looks “great” so surgery was ruled unnecessary and when it does fall out of place, an ACE bandage, tape, compression sleeve, or ignoring it works fine until it goes back into hiding. That said, I started having pretty significant bilateral knee pain for no apparent reason some months ago - in the patellar tendons. Especially bad with stairs and switching between run-walk intervals. In a bizarre twist, my primary doc mentioned it in convo with the now-retired sports med doc under whom she did her residency and who I had seen in the past for an ankle thing - he remembered me and said he’d take a stab at the situation… long story short, he suggested I ditch my Altras for a 8-10mm drop shoe and see if that changed anything - and IT DID! Knee pain GONE. Instantly. And it’s stayed gone for 3 weeks and counting while wearing shoes with some drop. I haven’t tried going back to the Altras, or putting heel lifts in them to retrofit, but I will down the road. For whatever reason, and he lost me in the “it’s all connected!” Explanation, I need some heel lift to reduce strain on my pateller tendons during push off and braking.

Anyway, sometimes all it takes is a change of shoe!
 
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@PrincessV, I once tried a shoe with minimal drop and i could not do it. I was trying to run only a few miles in them to adjust slowly to it. I could not do it. Too much pain every where. I know some people swear by the minimal drop but I think it has to do with your personal body alignment. My body said no :).

I still do not know what is wrong with my knee but it comes and goes. Usually rears its ugly head for about 6 weeks and then miraculously disappears. This happens a good once or twice a year. This past time it started in Sep 2021 and it did not go away until Sep 2022. I was pretty miserable. That is why this past marathon was to keep the knee from getting angry with me. Note it is not pain free. I just sit at a more 85% tolerable most of the time and not worth doing something about. Last year, i was ready to try the glucosamine.
 
ATTQOTD I track every mile on every pair of shoes with a set goal of 400. Usually stick to only shorter runs after 300 and rotate in a new pair. After that it goes by feel, usually getting the 400 and then they go to the pile of trash them in the yard shoes, though I did have one pair make it over 500
 
Do you guys take regular glucosamine/chondroitin supplements?
I don't take this supplement either, but perhaps I should reconsider.

My case may be a bit different in that my fairly significant meniscus damage occurred a while ago. A while ago means 1974 playing high school football. The tears were first diagnosed a few years later on a then brand new piece of technology while I was working at my first hospital; a NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) machine. We know them today as MRIs and they now use more radiation intensity than radiation frequency. Never have had surgery as the orthos I know and trust said odds were 50% better, 25% about the same, and 25% worse.

The downside of a 45+ year old injury is that arthritis has set in. Everything was still pretty cool until I ramped up my mileage for marathon training and my IT band started getting angry with me. I barely stretch before a run, never stretch after a run, and it finally caught up to me.

If the meloxicam had not worked the next step was cortisone injections which I really wanted to avoid. Thankfully I've been pain free for a bit over a year, but I really feared my running days were over.
 
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ATTQOTD: I usually retire shoes from running at 650km. That is also when they start being less comfortable for longer runs.

I take newer shoes for longer races. For example, right now I have a pair at 650km that I keep for the 5k at Springtime surprise and that I will leave there at the end of that (slow pace) race. I have a pair at 125km and one at 25km in rotation. I choose the pairs that I will want to use at Springtime Surprise. I know that I will need a new one for the 59.2k Ottawa Challenge (2k+5k+10k+42.2k) at the end of May because the other ones will have too much wear to be used for the Marathon.
 
ATTQOTD: I also track my mileage. I usually get about 280 to 300 miles before they get retired to dog walking shoes. I have different shoes in my rotation and so after about 250 Miles, they will drop down to short runs only. I have retired shoes early if I start feeling more aches and pains than normal but this tends to happen more with some of my winter running shoes where I’m not consistently using the same model each year. Don’t know if the cold running does more damage to the shoe but they Don’t tend to last as long.
 
@PrincessV, I once tried a shoe with minimal drop and i could not do it. I was trying to run only a few miles in them to adjust slowly to it. I could not do it. Too much pain every where. I know some people swear by the minimal drop but I think it has to do with your personal body alignment. My body said no :).
The weird thing is that I’ve been running in Altras for years with no problems at all. Outside of running, I’m in Birkenstocks or Crocs, or in my house I’m barefoot - so low or no drop pretty much 100% of the time. No clue why now my knees want a little heel lift!
 
QOTD: How do you judge when it's time to retire a pair of running shoes? Do you go by feel, appearance, or miles on your shoes?

ATTQOTD: I go with mileage. Typically a range of 350-400 miles before they are turned into yard shoes or tailgate shoes.
ATTQOTD: My garmin tracks it for me--so easy! I never knew this until I poked around in the app. LOL! 🤣 I used to try and calculate using miles in my head (typically 400 miles for me). But I train in the Brooks Ghost (love them!) but race in the Nike Vapor Fly or Saucony Endorphin Pros. After each run (training or not), the usage moves. Makes it so much easier for me to sort it out. Pic for reference.
 

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QOTD: What do you take with you on your runs? Do you bring more or less if its a race or long run?

ATTQOTD: For runs 4 miles or less it's just my GPS watch. More than 4 miles I take my hydration belt with me and bring 1-3 bottles depending on distance. Long runs and races are more of the same. I've run two marathons with my phone, which I really dislike taking with me. One was 2014 Boston based on what happened the year before and not having a phone. The other time was 2019 Disney because I was seriously concerned I would not finish due to being under trained and didnt want my wife to worry where I was.
When I start running again, the above will be the same. I like my Garmin, but will also have the apple watch and my emergency meds incase my heart starts making little graphs like in my avatar picture. Fingers crossed that doesnt happen because that opens a huge can of worms.

Edit to add I forgot GU for anything over 13 miles. Totally forgot about those life savers!
 
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ATTQOTD:
All runs - phone, house key or car key, Garmin if I remember it
Short runs (45-55 mins) - all of the above + handheld bottle of Nuun in hot weather, water in cool weather, Tailwind if running before breakfast
Long runs (6+ miles) - all of the above + enough gels to take one every 45 minutes, extra Nuun tabs (I refill my bottle from fountains in parks), lip balm
Races - all of the above + ID, credit card, $20 bill, inhaler, sunscreen

I add a personal protective device if running in the dark. ETA: and a headlamp
 
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ATTQOTD:

All runs: handheld Nathan water bottle (I live in Florida), in which I carry a honey stringer waffle for emergencies, sunglasses (if I'm not already wearing them), keys to the community pool for emergency potty breaks, and my airpods case (airpods go in the ears, obviously). Phone goes in my pocket.

For races, all of the above except replacing pool keys with car keys, along with extra fuel.

I started running at night after my sun goes to bed so I'm probably going to start carrying pepper spray (unfortunately) and some sort of light.
 
ATTQOTD: My answer varies a little depending on the time of year I'm running. To start with the basics, all runs have me taking my Garmin, Apple Watch and Aftershokz headphones.

From there it varies based on distance.
Spring, Fall, Winter <10 miles: Nothing extra
Spring, Fall, Winter 10-16 miles: Water/Propel for hydration

Summer <7 miles: Nothing extra
Summer 7-9 miles: 500mL water/Propel for hydration
Summer 10-16 miles: 1 L water/Propel for hydration
 
So an update of my Firefox browser has caused all text on the Dis boards to be in bold font. Swell. It seems like everyone is posting very emphatically, LOL.

ATTQOTD: depends on the time I expect to be out.

For runs of 70 minutes and less, I just bring my running belt to put my car key and phone in.

For runs more than 70 minutes, I wear my hydration vest. Since I'm mostly running on trails these days, I carry a lot with me besides my hydration. This includes: car key and phone, like before; small first aid kit; ACE bandage for possible ankle sprain; foil emergency blanket; GPS satellite SOS communicator. If there is possible rain, then a hat, also.

If I'm going more than 90 minutes, then I have some sort of nutrition. I usually do these runs wearing shorts with pockets, and the pockets carry the nutrition.
 
So an update of my Firefox browser has caused all text on the Dis boards to be in bold font. Swell. It seems like everyone is posting very emphatically, LOL.

I was wondering if I was going crazy or my eyes going bad, but I have the same thing lol. Things I put in bold look exactly the same as normal font so I dont know if I am typing in bold or not anymore lol. It's driving me a little crazy at the moment.
 

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