ILX running running thread

i enjoyed running today. i think the cold works for me. it was maybe 25-28F and not windy. no rain/snow on the ground. nice. not sure how far i went but i was at it for about 45 min, which is good for me.

23:50 for the 5K on Sunday!! That's 60.9% on the age graded time.

Just scrolled back up to see your other times and -WOW- that's an awesome improvement!

And yay for Jeff too! Loads of time for training there, just try and get out for the odd run to keep things ticking over for now so you're ready to start running more consistently when the weather gets nice (can't wait for that).

Thanks! I am confident that I can get down to 22 mins at some point. I am also up to 88kg too - that's 15kg gain since I was ill last yr.

The 10K is not going so well though :( Still haven't cracked 54 mins.

If you can get a regular long slow run in, then you put the endurance that builds together with your 5k speed, you will smash your PB, no worries.

Yes, I can run 1-2 hours no problem, but it's just pacing it right. I find I'm setting out too slow in the 10K.

I have a hard time with 8 and 10 K's. Before a race I just stand there thinking that I'm going to have to run hard for the next 40 to 50 min and it just makes me nausous. Even though I do it frequently in training.

i can't believe how athletic you all are
well, i can believe it, but in a gazillion years i will never be that athletic.
kudos.

I'm really not athletic at all. Just incredibly stubborn when it comes to stopping running once I start and have pretty high pain threshold. I have seen my fitness improve though, my 5K time dropped from 28 min to 23 min after just 3 months of solid running.

My weight really depressing me right now. I'm 10 pounds heavier now than I was at the beginning of December and showing no signs of losing it or even stabilizing.

I really wouldn't worry about your weight too much if you're going into marathon training...

i've definitely seen my fitness improve just in the short <6mo that i have been at this. i ran (slowly, but steadily) for 45 min yesterday! for me that is a huge deal. i couldn't have jogged for 10 min. a year ago. i wasn't overweight, i was just a noodle.

Solid progress that. How are the legs feeling today?

fine! for some reason it was virtually effortless. maybe b/c i took a few days (weekend) off.

i was sweaty, but not in pain. that's how it should be, right?

i see now that this post could be taken out of context.
pardon me.

Haha! Feels amazing running after 2 or 3 days off. Any longer and you can start feeling stale, but a couple of days of recovery is just the best. I'm trying to go out 5 or 6 days a week at the moment here though, feels like my legs are permanently aching and heavy.

i start to feel stale if i go anymore than 1 day between runs but maybe that's because i don't go as far as the rest of you? like now i haven't run since saturday and i'm dreading how weird it's gonna feel for the first few min when i go this afternoon.

Ran 4 miles last night. My motivations for running is weird. I haven't ran in a week because of weather, but then last night I decide to run in a blizzard. Does not compute.

Hi running types.

I've been making a vague attempt at getting some exercise this year and I started off by getting a Wii Fit and I was doing the jogging on the spot exercise but after a few days I got really bad pains in my feet, like I'd bruised the bones, so bad I could hardly walk on my left foot for a couple of weeks.

http://www.patient.co.uk/images/I76_L.JPG

According to this picture I fucked up the area around where the metatarsals meet the cuneiforms.

I have flat feet, could that have something to do with it? Or do I just run like a spazz? Or is it cos I haven't run for years and my bones aren't used to it or something? My feet are still a little sore now and it was 4 weeks ago now.

Hay runners. There was an interesting article in Nature magazine this week w/ new findings wrt running technique and injury and stuff. Bummer you all probably can't read the whole thing but it does give ya a nice little summary. (Can't really say if it helps ya, Colonel.)

Woah, that looks like an interesting piece, thanks rabes!

Col. Poo, would have thought that any sort of bruising would have gone by now, so maybe it's a ligament-y thing? Jogging on the spot is sort of an odd motion for the body to do imo, you've got to be bolt upright or you've got to lean right back or something to do it, so it's going to put lots of weird forces through strange bits of you. How long did you do it for?

It wasn't even for that long! Started off about 5-10 mins a day for 3 or 4 days, found that quite easy, went up to 15-20 mins for 2 days and then I couldn't put weight on my left foot. My right foot had the same pain in the same place but not as severe.

Figure I may as well jump into this running thread as well.

Have just finished reading Born To Run, which also gets mentioned in the article. Got a bit annoyed with the style it was written in, but if you just want to geek out on running, it's fine. Gets right into that whole discussion on the advantages of minimal shoes/barefoot. Made me want to try those FiveFingers things, if only to freak my wife out with.

I haven't read Born to Run yet, I have it on preorder from Amazon so it will be arriving sometime mid-year in paperback (I have this thing about not paying double price for hardcover books when there's so much good stuff to read already in paperback). I'm familiar with the concepts therein, though, I imagine, as I really prefer more lightweight/minimal shoes whenever possible. Try to wear light, neutral shoes for most training, avoid the extra cushioning, support, motion control and all that nonsense. I've also been running in the FiveFingers a bit lately, picked up a pair a few months back. I use them 1x/week for speedwork, usually about 3-4 miles and I'm good. They do kill your shins/calves for a while until you get used to using them properly (i.e., adjusting your footstrike and knee bend to provide your own cushioning to your body), but I think they're really great. Have to use BodyGlide on my feet, though, to avoid blisters from a couple rubbery seams on the inside...

Started off about 5-10 mins a day for 3 or 4 days, found that quite easy, went up to 15-20 mins for 2 days and then I couldn't put weight on my left foot.

Weird one, cos that sounds like a gradual enough progression. I still say that running on the spot is bad juju. Give your feet a chance to recover then stick some Poison Idea on yr shuffle and get your arse outside.

Not that Poison Idea are some sort of ideal of good health btw. I just know I have 'Plastic Bomb' on standby for when I'm really flagging.

Okay I don't know what I'm on about here either.

Yes, running on the spot is not advisable in my experience. We have a wii fit thing and my achilles and calves feel tight even after a short run. I always sort of feel on tiptoes which might explain this. I can't imagine it causing top-of-the-foot injuries though, but it's possible I suppose. I have had metatarsal injuries 2 or 3 times in the past (mainly through being kicked or stood on) and they can be really, really painful, and take months to disappear completely. Hope it soon goes - Colonel Poo!

Had a nice run along the river before work this morning -only 3 miles, but it's so good to start the day with the running buzz. I'm definitely a morning runner - I always do my best times in the morning.

I definitely agree that a couple of days off to recover makes all the difference, but any more than 2 or 3 and I start to feel cranky and sluggish. It's mental as much as physical. There are certain times that I HAVE to run or I feel just *wrong*, for example Saturday mornings.

I'm back to running 4 or 5 miles every other day now. It doesn't feel that great, but it's coming back to me. My feet are hitting the ground really hard though, I wonder if it's time for new shoes. I really want to make it through the messy winter with these though.

I have 366 miles on my current shoes.

That's not too bad. Rotate 'em onto your feet once a week, using a fresh pair on the other days, that way you save your legs running in a beat-up pair all the time but can still get some life out of 'em.

Austin Marathon's tomorrow for me. My girlfriend's doing the half and she is under the weather big-time. It'll be an interesting race, for sure...

Good luck ilxor!

So how did it go then?

It was really nice, actually. My girlfriend ran about 2:30 in the half -- a bit on her slow side, but she's been under the weather a lot lately. I stayed with her for the first 11 miles, then we split and I caught up to the 5:00 marathon group around the halfway mark. Kept them in sight until around 16 miles, took a bathroom break at 16 (there was a big line so I lost the pacing group) then another bathroom break at mile 21. Stayed at 5:00 pace but the bathroom lines set me back a good bit; finished around 5:20 instead. Austin needs more than 1-2 toilets every 2 miles with 14,000 runners, really. Good race, though. Was sore Monday, feeling good Tuesday so far so I'll take a short 1-2 mile spin this afternoon and then get back into my training regimen later in the week. I already have a few races lined up for March, April, May -- a 30k trail race (18.6 miles) near the end of each month. Really excited!

Aw, well done and congrats to both of you! You're doing really well to get back into running straightaway too, I'm normally having to walk down the stairs backwards for a few days afterwards.

Yep, I had to go sideways up and down until this morning. I'm all better now (or at least I feel that way outwardly)...

awesome run, definitely back into this again now the life-threateningly slippy winter roads have thawed

i honestly like the somewhat cold weather way better than sweltering heat.

I don't mind the cold as much as the lack of sun. If I wake up early enough to run, it dark. If I run after work, it's already 7 pm by the time I'm home and ready to head out.

man i LOVE running in the dark
running in bright sun makes me feel like i'm under a spotlight

no daylight and non treacherous surfaces are a definite pro when it comes to running

man i LOVE running in the dark
running in bright sun makes me feel like i'm under a spotlight

^ OTM.

Best part is starting a run before sunrise, then watching it come up as you're finishing a couple hours out on the trail with just a headlamp and a bottle and so forth. Very invigorating (and a hell of a way to spend Saturday mornings).

My ideal running time would be from 10 AM to noon every day.

6:30-?, in the shower by 8 is tops for me
i am a revolting morning person

i can't run for 2 hours

I don't frequently, but that would be my ideal window, regardless of how long I want to run.

I'm sort of a morning person. Some days I'm in work at 6:30 am. Maybe I'd some one paid me to run, I would do it earlier.

i am still having trouble with my achilles tendon, sadly. anyone else have this problem?

night running in the softly falling snow is a+

went running today for first time in a week, cramped up after 1.25 miles and had to stop :/