ILX running running thread

ugh, giant iphone fail just now which will prompt a plea in the ILX zing thread.

the summary was: i just need to get used to running with stop lights, and to stop thinking so much about my pace/distance. i loved the trail because it was a straight shot, no stops, and i could meaningfully track my improvements. a big part of running to me is just keeping track of my stats. i can have a decent run and feel physically good afterward, but if i can beat some sort of new personal distance or time or pace record, that's what really drives me. i have to just get used to running for the sake of running, i guess.

Ooh. Sorry to hear. That's happened to me before.

As for keeping track, why not use a running watch or a fitness tracker?

i have a running watch but it also seems to think that i'm cutting across city blocks. one time i ran 4 miles in real life and the watch calculated that i had run 2.75 miles at about a 5 minute pace

Oh, that's bizarre. The GPS is messed up, eh?

Z S which trail was that? I don't know how easy it is for you to get to southwest DC but I jog around there and feel pretty safe. The C&O canal towpath is also nice & flat with some shade.

the metropolitan branch trail. esp. between the noma and rhode island stops, where i live, it's dicey. i'm thinking about just running on a treadmill at work, although that wouldn't be much fun. but at least it would be a consistent temp every day.

Last time I was in DC I ran a route similar to where the Cherry Blossom 10 miler goes. It was kind of awesome, there was like no one around.

Just got back from 13 slow, then very slow, miles in DC heat. Not so bad in the shady woods of Rock Creek but man did my pace fade about 7 miles in. Really wish I had a swimming pool right now.

man, you guys in this heat. Too macho for my blood! (sexy, though)

stay safe and hydrated, alla youse

I'm absolutely soaking wet after my runs this week. It looks like I jumped in the lake. I get home and stand in front of Carl and a puddle of sweat begins to form at my feet. My shoes squeak. I weigh myself and I usually lose 4 to 5 pounds of water weight after most hard workouts. It's quite unpleasant.

18 miles on tap tomorrow, my longest run since October. Thankfully it's only going to be 82 with a dew point of below 70.

The average here is between 85 to 90 degrees. There is very little shade and it usually feels hotter.

When I do 18k runs, the dehydration is pretty horrible. No matter how much water I consume, my mouth always ends up super dry. And I have to wipe my forehead and eyes to avoid sweat from going in them and it stinging.

#runnersproblems

yea the eye sweat was killing me, ive ran the last 2 days. mabye gotta get a headband

I always have to run with a headband. Otherwise I can't see because of the sweat.

Wow, I'm impressed with you guys. If it gets close to 80 F I'm having a hard time running. The sun seems to drain all my energy.

I ran every day in May as an experiment; it was kinda horrible at times, but pretty enjoyable over all. I'l admit that I was tempted to stop already on day three, but then the lizardbrain pride took over. Will never again go for a jog after leg-day at the gym, however. Deadlift + squats + running = just awful, and probably not at all helpful I wasn't tempted to keep the streak going, however, and ended up not running all that much in June. Still, after a break I'd gotten noticeably stronger and I've had some pretty good runs lately, including personal bests on 10K and 5K. Did my fourth half-marathon distance last weekend (22K, to be android-gps-precise) and my first one where I didn't stop to stretch or rest or walk at ALL. Really happy with how well that turned out, since I recall with dread the first time I did that distance: my hips hurt for two weeks. Now I could easily have gone for a run the next day. The last four or five kilometers were damn hard though -- though it turned out I'd actually sped up a bit during those, seemingly just because I wanted to be home.

In May I tried a 25 minute 5K at one point, and missed it by two seconds. Last week I went out on a rather hillier 5K with no plans of going fast and ended up at 23m:24s. Hooray! How the hell people are able to do sub-20 minutes, I have no idea. Tbh, I've never really trained for speed though, but am thankful that it kinda comes automatically after a while.

Running with a GPS is working wonders for my motivation, as I repeatedly find that some of the worst-feeling runs turn out to be among my best. I'm really terrible at understanding how fast I'm running sometimes, so I get really tired and think it's just a bad day, then find out it's actually been a really good one. Hint to self: if you're breathing heavily, you're going fast.

I run 6 days a week now, Friday being my rest day. And it is a glorious rest day, especially coming after a speed workout on Thursday.

Sub 20 5K is one of my goals for this year. 21:32 is my current PR, but that was last December. In a recent 10K race, I ran the 1st 5K in around 20:50 and the second 5K in 22:09. Pretty sure I could suffer through a 5K now in under 20.

Racing requires a strange mindset. To summon the wherewithal to run as fast as you can possibly run for a certain distance. It's very uncomfortable. In training, I rarely run a sub 7 minute pace and if I do, it is no longer than 1/2 mile repeats. And that is hard as hell to do. No idea how I can manage to do it for 10K on race day. I just try and disassociate.

Yeah, that one attempt at a fast 5K taught me that. I felt like I had no idea what kind of pace I should set from the get-go, so I keep wondering if I'm going too fast to keep it up, or too slow to get a decent time. I guess that's when a gps-watch (and perhaps pulsebelt) might come in handy.
I'm still pretty new to running, but I've tended to go for slow longer runs over short ones, and whenever I go fast, I can't help but marvel that this is something people are willing to do frequently. It just kills me. Was surprised to find how much weightlifting actually helped on my speed -- I didn't expect that at all. Hills too are much easier this year than last.

Been telling myself to start doing interval training once a week, but so far I've found excuses not to do it. Instead I just take occasional speed bursts on longer runs; it's actually a good way to kinda wake up when the going's getting tough.

Oystein, speed intervals/hills will help you gain speed. Lifting (though be careful not to do it too much) also increases speed. But you're right that by merely running and doing stuff like fartlek or psuedo fartlek routines, you also gain speed, but maybe slightly slower?

I burn easily, so if I wear a headband I would have a large white spot on my forehead while the rest of my face would be red.

Plus, it's nice that I get some colour for a change, instead of being pasty white. Because of this, I usually run with a tank top (no sleeves!) just to shoot two birds with one stone. That's one nice thing of living here!

18 miles was good today, probably the best at that distance I've had. Felt string and definitely had 8 more miles in my legs.

Can't run in heat at all...when I'm in training (sob) and it's >20 degrees out I'll wait until late at night to run.

wrt racing: you learn to race by racing imo, and it's never exactly fun. You do need to work out a pace in advance and stick to it as best you can. Intervals/fartlek/etc. are not optional if you want to get faster.

God, I am as unfit as I've been in at least 10 years :( Come August I hope to get back for reals.

Six more miles today puts me at 56 for the week. Biggest week ever.

16 miles of trail running in Brussels:

http://media.dailymile.com/photos/691199/4ee8717bce71075bc7854af7ea91f443.png

That looks pretty.

Did you take your camera to your run or were those taken at different times?

I ran with my phone. Which I don't normally do but I was afraid of getting lost in an 11,000 acre forest in a foreign land.

Running in the forest is great. Even walking in it does wonders for me.

How'd you like it? Enjoy your trip.

that looks like a lot of fun! bet the weather was nice, too. I've been running again for ten weeks now, and I don't think I've gone out in temps lower than 90F/32C yet. on the bright side, I've finally worked up to where I can run for about an hour at a pop now, which makes suiting up and heading over to the trails feel worthwhile. success!

That's awesome, f. Running in colder weather is easier (note, not necessarily cold weather) and probably a lot more enjoyable, so you're in for a treat.

yes, definitely looking forward to more moderate temps, which should arrive here in about... three months. I love post-daylight saving night runs when the temps are in the 40s and the trails are basically deserted.

also thanks! my patient buildup of distance had the desired effect of no injuries!

that's how it's done! good job!
i have been slowly trying to run again after a long period of walking/biking. my hips feel kinda weird, but otherwise it's pretty fun.

People from London (I think there are some of you in here, right?) Does anyone know if a hill that I could do 45 second hill repeats on? Also someplace that I could run 18 continuous miles without having to stop too much.

Parliament Hill looks like it could work, but it's quite a ways to Hampstead Heath from my hotel.

probably you could get a nice long loop around kensington gardens/hyde park/st. james park?

It would take about 4 1/4 loops around Kensington/hyde park to get in 18 miles, not counting the mileage I would run there and back. That's probably where I will head, maybe throw in some running along the Thames.

add in st. james continuing east from hyde park and you might only need to do two loops... I remember there being green space all the way to the Thames?

runs in London and the forests or Europe sound/look awesome. Jealous!

How's this for exotic:

http://vimeo.com/m/69691848

I have a feeling the video makes it look easier than it is. Just a hunch.

would like to try high-altitude running to see what happens (hopefully not a blinding headache and unconsciousness)

How high, hazel?

I've been at 3200 metres (which, I believe, is on the lower end of 'high altitude'). Some people I was with got a little sick, but most didn't (I didn't). It also might just be a matter of how long it takes your body to adjust.

Personally, I think I would train a bit if I ever do the full-blown trail in something like Machu Picchu, not only because of the elevation, but because it is pretty taxing on the legs (steep!).

Highest I've ran is about 8000 feet. I didn't have too many issues. I actually found myself out of breath more when I was just sitting around.

I've been hiking in the Rocky Mountains at around 2mi/3km and didn't suffer from any ill effects (I usually go running at basically sea level... maybe 500ft above). But Manaslu in that video, for example, has trails apparently around 3.2mi/5km. I assume most of us would start to feel the effects that high up, especially since cardiovascular fitness doesn't aid adaptation to high altitudes... it either gets you or it doesn't.

The thing that is killing me here in Brussels is the long hills. Like a good incline for at least a mile. Not steep at all but it wears on you.

Normally my runs are pancake flat.

yeah, I encounter that biking places here in Austin and it wears you down real fast.

I've been hiking in the Rocky Mountains at around 2mi/3km and didn't suffer from any ill effects (I usually go running at basically sea level... maybe 500ft above).
― erry red flag (f. hazel), Monday, July 29, 2013 Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I want to go to the American side next!

The places I run in Los Angeles are pretty flat, for the most part.

In San Francisco, I once cycled from Embarcadero to Sausalito via the Golden Gate Bridge. Boy, was that a workout. Though I don't think I was that in shape back then.

Can't imagine how one trains for that Himalayan thing. I guess if you've got ultra-racing experience, then hang out in that area for a few wks prior to the race?

so I am scheduled for a 15-moole training run tmrw and the charger for my garmin watch has been packed up and put in a storage unit for moving purposes. Can bring my iPhone on the run but is there a reliable GPS app that anyone recommends? Really just need something to track the distance, timing the run isn't a big deal.

15-mile, that is

I use the garmin app as my backup. It's not great but it tracks mileage and then you can upload straight to garmin connect. Then you can export the tcx file and do what you want with it.

Runkeeper is very accurate and very good. Basic version is free.

I use the free Endomondo -- works really well on an Android at least. Have had a couple of times where the gps has gone haywire and claimed a 3-second mile, but those are rare and I assume more the phone's fault than the app.