ILX running running thread

what i post about when i post about running

Today: 5k in an exhausting 27 mins.

yeah i'm starting this tomorrow, i've made a couple false starts the last few months but time to be less slothful

Hmm, the splints. I've never stretched, and never had too many problems (sometimes heels though). I also feel less limber in the morning. Main thing, I think, is shoes. It's worth paying more ($150/year for exercise is cheap!) to go to a proper place that will analyze your running style on a treadmill, make the right suggestion (ie avoid going to a shitty chain store). Also, if you're used to treadmill / soft surfaces, the road takes a little while to adjust to - your shins are working slightly differently and complaining cos they're not used to it. So make that move slowly, if possible (a park with a dirt track?). Also, when they hurt, stop. It's no good trying to run through it, which can work with other kinds of running pain.

Also, harbls right about stopping if you feel like it - between each 30 min lap of the park, I often stop for a minute or two to drink water, or tighten laces, or just calm down a bit...I meant more that it's better to maintain a steady pace than to run fast for 6 minutes then stop, winded, for a few more, then gallop off again.

I get shin splints sometimes, but I can't really find a correlation between what I'm doing and the pain. A friend (Jeff, who started this thread) recommended that I get a gait test done at a one of these places http://www.fleetfeetsports.com/.

I've read that if your calves get overly strong compared to your shins, that your shins suffer.

W/r/t words of wisdom, I'll just tell you things I have done (I'm at around 6 miles max and usually 10 mpm). 1. Measure distance and time. Being on a treadmill really helped me with this. Or you can use http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/ to measure your distance.

In any case, knowing the distance you run and the time you spent was invaluable for me b/c it helped me to quantify my accomplishments, not to cheat, and to set new goals.

2. I vary my speeds and distances. I read stuff about why doing this is good, and it seems to make sense and it feels good, so I do it. I guess you get to work on both speed and endurance this way.

3. Double espresso. Especially if I'm feeling tired or unmotivated, a shot of caffeine can turn a slogging, annoying jog into a decent run. Also at times when I've been trying to push myself to new goals, this helps. (I read this in a newspaper's health section and I also read something in a Men's Health or somewhere about how a flat Coke is perfect for when you hit a wall on a long run.)

it's good because it is a shot of sugar, so

^ yeah i've never understood this because sugary stuff when you're exercising is so gross, and causes cramps! whatever works.

anyway i've just gotten up to 6 miles (takes me an hour but oh well!) but i have trouble running during the week so i'm doing ok with long runs but not shorter, faster ones! fail.

http://www.doitsports.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=0009w6

I read a magazine article posted in a coffee shop about how caffeine before running can be a good thing.

By the way, the reason I do double espresso instead of a coffee or soda is that it's more concentrated, not b/c I think it contains more caffeine. A minor peeve of mine is when people get all het up about espresso keeping you awake for days, etc.

It's strangely ILX-ish over in that board.

I forgot I started this thread.

Jesse, let's run today. We'll race.

I won't run unless I can track it somehow. Currently I use the Garmin Forerunner 305, but I'm jealous of the smaller 405 these days.

Having said that, I haven't run since 1/4/09 when I ran 2 miles in 19:21. I was so dissapointed in myself I haven't done anything since then. Plus it's been too damn cold.

I have only really done any serious running on the treadmill and I will not be racing you. I will run w/ you, though not today.

OK, I ran. 2.35 miles in 22:21. It was pretty miserable. I think I need to go to an ENT before I do that again.

I want to start running. I'm afraid I'll be one of those guys that gets a heart attack immediately. Oh well. Where to start? There's a gym down the block from me that's only $5 a day. Should I be intimidated by the 'gym people?' Just bought an iPod shuffle. There are lots of nice places to run outdoors here too. Is the 'runner's high' real? Help me get started!

i think the best thing is to just make a start. and don't feel bad if you go slow! i agree with that person up there that said just keep going as far as you can, even if it's just a shuffle.

I've heard this site/program is good for starting out: http://www.c25k.com/

No need to be intimidated by the gym people - they are just there doing their thing and you don't need to worry about being judged. If you're going to run on a treadmill (which I think is good to do sometimes to get realistic assessments of progress, as discussed above) getting an employee to show you how it works could set your mind at ease. They're pretty straightforward, but still.

Also what gem said - just do what you can to begin and if you keep it up, you will be fine. Following a program would be a great idea.

I don't know about runner's high - can anyone speak to that? I've heard that it's the rush of endorphins you get at some point during a hard run, but I don't know if I've ever experienced it.

i did the couch to 5k--didnt get up to 5k but i was doing 2 miles in around 20-25 minutes when i stopped (which is a HUGE accomplishment for someone like me). i think its helpful for the kind of person (like me) who needs concrete goals, times, distances, etc. in order to feel and measure progress. without it i would end up spending a week just sort of running for half an hour at a time and abandoning it because there was no structure. once you complete the c25k you can just go out there and start doing 3 mile runs or whatever. i should take it up again really.

i haven't gotten it recently but i did sometimes get runners high when i was in better shape, like when i was 19. i think you would know if you got it though. it feels like you don't have to try and you could keep going forever, not like the struggle it normally feels like. cruisin'

I have gotten that sort of feeling. I just thought it was supposed to be some sort of euphoria. Maybe my standards for euphoria are too ambitious.

lol people who tell u runners high is like ecstasy are people who have never done ecstasy--its more like "being in a good mood"

yeah

i try to do btwn 3-5 miles every other day & basically track totals by month which helps a lot w/ the structure and measuring aspect

No runner's high for me. It is miserable every single step.

Every winter gets me totally out of the routine and out of shape, but I'm getting started again since the time change, and since the sidewalks haven't been iced over for a couple of weeks. (I know some people get out of bed an hour earlier to go running in the cold just before sunrise, but...no, I run because I *like* it). Right now I'm only running about 3 miles a couple times a week, and I'd like to work up to more regularly running 5 miles again, hopefully approaching 10 in the summer.

I don't think I've experienced runner's high, which I've always thought is because I like to fall into a comfortable groove that I can keep up for a long time, instead of pushing myself so hard I break through some kind of crazy physical barrier...but if it's more "cruising" and less "euphoria", maybe I have!

If what I've experienced is a runner's high, and if that experience is what others consider euphoria, then I pity those people.

I ran 2 miles today in 18 minutes, which is Very Good.

i dunno it's kind of like you feel a switch go off, i really think you would know

also do you guys run in the morning? i can't do it, i always feel so stiff and tired, and if i plan to wake up earlier to run i just end up going back to bed. i'd like to do it in the morning just to get it done but i'm wimpy.

I don't even go back to bed, I can't get out of it in the first place. I ran in the morning when I first started, but I didn't need to be at work very early then, so it was easier.

I don't think I've experienced runner's high, which I've always thought is because I like to fall into a comfortable groove that I can keep up for a long time, instead of pushing myself so hard I break through some kind of crazy physical barrier...but if it's more "cruising" and less "euphoria", maybe I have!

this goes for me the exact same.

i only run in the morning... by the end of the day my energy levels are good enough to cycle home, but not really high enough for a run

yeah i don't mean i run and then get back into bed, i think i meant i go back to sleep and never get out of bed. i guess i'm a morning person but if i don't need to be somewhere i'm just going to sleep. i just need to do it and get used to it but it's easier said than done. thinking about summer though, if it's 95º during the day i should make myself run at 6 am when it's high 70s instead, or else i'll have to wait until it's dark out which is not always the best idea.

Jesse, when are you going to start running outside? I can't do the treadmill, I like running outside too much. I like the heat (whenever it gets here) and the lakefront views. And taking a break at the zoo.

I can't get up early to run, because I already get up at 5:30 to try and get into work by 7:00 am. To get up early would just give me so little sleep I wouldn't be able to run or work. Then I sometimes I don't leave work till 6:30 or 7:00 pm, so it's hard to get the energy to run at night either. I can't run at lunch because I don't have time and normally eat at my desk. So it's mostly weekends for me at this point. Not good for building up stamina.

I should get these today. I'm pretty excited, I'm tired of the wires of my current headphones bouncing everywhere.

I'm going to start when it gets a little warmer and isn't raining. This summer I plan not to wuss out and run indoors when it gets hot like I did last summer.

Those headphones seem pretty cool, but I do a lot of fiddling w/ volume, tracks, etc., so that might be limiting. Wires are the bane of my existence though.

I usually run in the evening right after work. For the past many days I have set my alarm so that I would get up and run in the morning, but I've been hitting snooze. When it gets lovely out I'm going to ride my bike to work which will be a nice change.

Oh, Jeff - why do you have to go to ENT? I'm assuming that means ear-nose-throat.

I prefer to run in the evenings, after work (or after sundown on weekends). I got used to this schedule because I found that during summertime, it was simply too hot to run during the day.

Yeah, figuring out timing is tricky. During the winter, it's too cold to run until the evening, whereas during the summer, early mornings is best (this is NYC). Combined with a job...weekends are the only easy time.

On the runner's high thing: I never feel that euphoric. The two types for me are the cruising feeling when it feels like running is no effort, that you're almost floating, and could go on forever (happens maybe every 5th run?), and the sense of immense well-bring after a run that lasts an hour or two. But no, not ecstasy-like at all.

I'm lucky enough to work a runable distance from home, so I can do it as my commute if I want. Saves lots of time.

Easiest runners high is got from a flat run with a nice tailwind behind you, sometimes you can stop trying and just float along. Is that cheating?

It's a great feeling. Cheating, yeah a little. Do you shower at work?

I have a feeling of great well-being after running too. It turns my mental state around, which is great if I'm depressed or just blah. The hard part is starting running when I'm feeling blah.

Having a shower at work is great. I'm lucky to have a full home-style bathroom at work, which is great for biking in. But I live about 8 miles from my work, so I probably will never run it.

yeah ive gotten to the point where i feel like crap if i DONT run for 3 or 4 days. right, then also i totally sleep and feel better after i've run or exercised in some way. i go late afternoons/early evenings usually

Running fixes drinking.

The two types for me are the cruising feeling when it feels like running is no effort, that you're almost floating, and could go on forever

yeah i get this too. they seem like they last for ages, then you come out of that state and realise it only lasted for 10 mins. agree about the state of well-being post-run though - it seems obvious but my head just feels so amazingly clear after even a 25-min run. i imagine it'll get better as i start running longer, which is great motivation.

i work from home, so i run during the day when no one's around - running at the weekend and having to constantly dodge other runners, cyclists, walkers who love to gawp at struggling runners, is hellish. the ideal is to do it first thing in the morning but i have to beware the procrastination trap and getting to 1pm without doing anything cuz i'm going for a run "in a minute".

used to run with headphones but they were too much of a distraction...running without music is really good actually, you can completely clear your head.

my sinuses can be an issue esp if it's a bit cold, a snotty nose really impedes your breathing but i don't want to be stopping to blow my nose all the time.

Yeah, the "floating" feeling is great, and it happens only every 4th or 5th run for me too. Another thing about the post-run "high" ... do you guys ever hit the pub after running? Not immediately afterward, of course, but after re-hydration, shower, food, etc. There's nothing like the taste of that first beer after a run. It's like the most refreshing drink ever.

Although maybe it's not healthy to drink too soon after running? I don't do it too often though ...

i love beer after a run because the alcohol hits you so fast and you can feel it in your extremities all tingly. maybe just me though.

after rehydrating and shower = don't really count this as after a run

Yeah, it's not exactly "after the run", but it's still during the period of "immense well-being" that paulhw talked about, the one that lasts for an hour or two.

In any case, the beer really does taste different in that situation, and that's what matters to me.

so you replaced your actual feet with green hulk super feet?

(ok I googled it, thx!)

Roll bare foot on tennis ball, concentrating on stretching the arch

I'll report on my race. I was feeling tired and yawning on the way to the race village. Rain was certain, temperature fresh. I was glad to be early with all the preparation steps: getting there, picking up your number, giving your phone and wallet, changing, queuing for the toilet, getting in line. I like the good-humored ambiance, this gathering of people of all ages. I only briefly warmed up and started in the lower middle, block 5 out of 8. I respected my race plan which was to keep some gas in the tank until the peak elevation at km 12. Sure enough, quite a few people were overtaking me until I found my cruise speed. Mildly surprised and amused to see a few people walking on the first uphill.

My favorite part of those large popular races is to spot runners going at a similar pace and mark them out. I was neck and neck with a ponytail young woman for the first 10 km. I slightly overestimated the difficulty of the race and I was almost surprised when I saw the cathedral and we reached the high point. It had been a succession of uphills with no real killer. I overheard someone say behind me it was a mistake to go too fast now and took no heed, mentally told myself my race begins here. The race brutally accelerated. I moved up with a few new "targets" in front. When we came in sight of the lake again (start / finish) I felt pumped up and accelerated again. They were showing the km again and it said 16. It was this wild part of the race with people at very different speeds. I passed under inflated gates very near the finish line but the km still said 18 and I understood I could not maintain my high pace. My feet were starting to hurt too.

I tried to adjust and then, for the first time in the race, I saw a person running with a flag: I hoped it was the 1h45 and sure enough it was the 1h50. I knew she was from block 4 though, they had started two minutes before us. I overtook her at km 19 and tried to give it my all. I passed a guy whose t-shirt said "do visit Rwanda" who had overtaken me in the first km (he overtook me again in the final sprint) and I managed to clench a time just under 1h45.

Feeling happy about my race and hungry for more. Probably I could have pressed more at the beginning, but then it would have played out differently: more painful teeth-grinding at constantly pushing your maximum, less silly heroic fun.
(Sorry about the detailed replay for people who couldn't care less :) )

Thanks for that! 1h45 is my target for this sunday but it's 3 minutes faster than my pb (nb i've only run the distance three times before!) and i've never practised pacing or aiming for a target so we'll see.

& congrats!

Thank you and all the best to you, esp. that extra km :)
My experience of races is also very limited, but essentially the other people are both a distraction and a motivation. I would say focus not too much on time but on your feelings and looking ahead.

Nice job!

Looking at my old races, the last time I ran a half and my PR was all the way back in 2017, 1:35 and change. A very depressing thing about running and aging is before you know it, you have years fly by since your last PR.

I guess I need to do more races and start counting "over 40" PR's.

I’m back to running 3-4 miles at a time recently, may try another 5k in a few months. Any tips for dealing with low/flat arches? The main problem I seem to have running is tightness in the outer calf and thigh (hip flexors) and it feels like it might be related to flat feet but maybe not.

Congrats Nabozo!

Oh yes, I had a question too. My problem is my nipples get inflamed in longer races. I threw away an old running shirt thinking the cotton (or whatever) had become rough, and I applied cream the morning of the race, but I can still feel them. Do people apply tape or what ? Or I have more shirts to throw away.

Or forget the cream and put vaseline maybe

I used waterproof bandages. Basically can’t run any distance without them.

My half marathon went well, apart from having to use the loo at the three mile mark. It was warm and sunny and I'd drunk a whole bottle of lucozade sport pre race, went for a piss twice but started to need to go again while waiting 20 minutes in the crowd for the race to start, and spent the first three miles looking for a loo.

Aside from that interruption I was hitting my target pace for the first few miles but started to drop and by half way I was two minutes down. I tried to up it a bit but didn't want to overdo it, I just didn't know how much I would have left in the tank. But with two miles to go I pushed a bit more and really tried to go for it in the last mile - my splits in the last 4k were 4:53, 4:52, 4:45 and 4:42. Overall average pace 4:59 / total time a fraction over 1h 45 (ignoring toilet break). So just like you said Nabozo, perhaps I could have pushed more at the beginning and had a faster but much more punishing race! I prefer my more comfortable(*) style.

(*) not literally comfortable

Anyone wear recovery slides or something else around the house for support? I am always barefoot at home but have advised to be in some sort of support footwear all the time. Looking at Hokas and Vionics. Both terribly ugly but then so is my surgical scar and puffy cankle

I wear my oofos slides all the time.

Always barefoot at home and wear Birkenstocks 90% of the time outside of the house. I have EHL tendon and nerve problems in both feet and the birks seem to do the trick. Dress shoes or any kind of stiff shoes are 100% painful.

What’s the benefit of those recovery sandals over bare feet?

They relieve 40% of your wallet weight

Lots of support/stability without having to move your orthotics around ten times a day, plus the easy on/off factor. Or so I’m told. It is going to be a major change for me not to be barefoot in the house and patio

I can’t stand being barefoot and they are comfortable.

My calves had been hurting or tense every time I run, so I decided it was time to abandon my stubbornness about low cushioning shoes and get a pair of Brooks Glycerin. No calf pain at all in my first 5k run with them. The fact is that I’m 44 and 200lbs and I need some cushion. I still prefer the feeling of thinner shoes in some ways and I hope to go back to them if I drop some weight.

I’m 44 too! It sucks but it is what we are.

Jeff what is the longest you’ve been sidelined from running due to injury

I got my first sub-22min parkrun since 2017 this weekend. Woo!

Jeff what is the longest you’ve been sidelined from running due to injury

My major injuries have been stress fractures, first in 2016 where I missed 66 days of running and then again in 2017/2018 when i missed 156 days. Not an acute injury, but I missed 101 days in 2021/2022 due to being anemic.

Only 66 for a stress fracture? Damn!

Today is the 4 month mark since the break/surgery. Walking unassisted, but not for much distance and only on flat, even surfaces. One-legging steps. Jumping horses with one stirrups, which lol falls! Including one in the middle of a pond :(

I didn’t think I would miss running, but I do—or at least I miss having it as an option

I caught the 66 day one early enough. Still missed the marathon I was training for that year. Came back strong the next year and was crushing my runs, and ended up getting another one in a different place in the same leg. Missed another marathon. That was the two years I learned that I cannot sustain 70+ mile weeks.

Is there anyone on this earth who can

Yes definitely but genetics must be a huge part of it right? I’m having dinner rn with a friend who ran the Gobi Desert 155-miler. Nuts.