ILX running running thread

You'll smash sub 19 soon by the sounds of it.

Was supposed to be doing my first race in almost a year last Sunday (a staggered start chip timed one) but didn't feel comfortable driving 30 odd miles in a pandemic just to run a 5 mile race

Joined a running club a few weeks ago and a few from the club did the VLM, so lots of us ran various bits of it with them in support which was great fun despite the awful weather

Ive been running about a mile a day during lunch for the last two months. Can’t say it’s gotten much easier but it’s kind of all I can stand. Don’t enjoy it much, just doing it for the cardio and to get some fresh air.

You'll smash sub 19 soon by the sounds of it.

Was supposed to be doing my first race in almost a year last Sunday (a staggered start chip timed one) but didn't feel comfortable driving 30 odd miles in a pandemic just to run a 5 mile race

Joined a running club a few weeks ago and a few from the club did the VLM, so lots of us ran various bits of it with them in support which was great fun despite the awful weather

― groovypanda, Tuesday, October 6, 2020 1:09 PM (two months ago)

thanks - I managed to run a 5K in 18:53.9 during a time trial a couple weeks after my last post. I've also taken some time off my mile and 10K PRs, and I ran an easy half marathon just to check that off my list. I've been slacking a bit with my workouts though — my weekly mileage has been fairly consistent (I bumped it up to just under 30 mpw), but my plan to fit in one speed workout per week fell apart after about a month, and I'm lucky if I manage one tempo run or interval session every two weeks. I try to make up for it by doing a few strides toward the end of one of my easy runs so I don't lose too much of my fitness, but I know that's a poor substitute for a proper training plan. hopefully I'll be able to get back on track next spring. I haven't had much trouble adjusting to the winter weather so far ― 20-30°F is much more comfortable for me than 80°+, provided that the roads aren't icy and it isn't too windy out.

there was a similar 5K in my county this past fall (staggered start with 15-minute gaps between each wave, masks required and social distancing maintained before and after the race; it would have been a 30-mile round trip drive for me too) but I didn't feel comfortable entering it despite the precautions. ultimately there's no way to avoid close contact between runners in the same heat. there was also a 5K turkey trot in my hometown on Thanksgiving without a single mention of social distancing in the race description; apparently 138 people felt comfortable competing (down from 218 in 2019), but I noped out of that one as well. I doubt I'll be entering until the fall of 2021 when (hopefully) most people will have gotten their covid vaccines.

do you do all of your workouts with your club, or do you do a mix of solo and group runs? I'm also thinking of joining one at some point, but that's another thing I probably won't get around to until later next year due to pandemic paranoia.

That's awesome, well done. I wouldn't worry too much about lack of speedwork - lots of people seem to swear by the 80/20 thing at the moment where 80% of your runs are very slow, easy ones. If you're only managing one speed session every other week that's better than none and you can always step it up when the weather improves. If you're regularly running around 30 miles per week you'll have a good base to build on.

We're in strict lockdown again here so there's no club sessions at the moment. When they are on they're every Tuesday and Thursday night and then there'll be a few different groups of people doing a variety of long runs on the weekend - sometimes I'll attend those but also happy to do solo ones. I'd definitely recommend joining one as as well as the obvious structured training and advice, I've made lots of new running friends and we're in a virtual league competition at the moment which has also been good fun.

I've slowly but surely become a runner in the last year.
I went from not being able to run much more than a couple of minutes before getting puffed out, to drudgingly running for about ten minutes on a treadmill at the gym. But in the last year I've discovered outdoor running, and only this year I've found I really enjoy it.
I ran my first 10km a few weeks ago and yesterday ran 12.5km without really too much trouble.

Now I'm sitting here really wanting to get out there. What the hell? I don't like exercise! I got fitted with a bull's heart that beats only once every 2 seconds so I wouldn't have to exercise. Now I'm getting fidgety, can't wait to go outside and run, but I'm conscious of over-doing it and potentially injuring myself.

No real pains or problems though, other than stiff shoulders after running and the odd painful shin when I start.

Congrats dog latin! :D

Ha, yeah, well done dl!

Although should warn you it's a slippery slope as I ran my first ever 20 mile race last weekend

tell me about that gp, what sort of thing was it?

Just a virtual one for our local league. There's about 10 or so local running clubs in it and usually we'd be meeting up and having actual races but it's obviously all virtual at the moment

You could pick any route you liked just had to finish within 5m elevation of your starting point. Been doing quite a few recently (all varying distances) and it's been fun to go out and actually race those distances rather than just plodding along

gp that's amazing!

i'm kind of amazed at how quickly one can go from being not a runner to someone who will happily run for relatively long distances. the human body is an amazing thing

take it to the Springsteen thread

just signed up for my first ultra, the JFK 50 in November

i'm kind of amazed at how quickly one can go from being not a runner to someone who will happily run for relatively long distances. the human body is an amazing thing

Of course you should keep running as long as it feels good! I guess I'd just repeat the conventional wisdom that there can be problems when you add a lot of distance in one fell swoop (my physical therapist advises not adding more than 10% to your longest run per week).

(And when returning to running after recovering from an injury, I have of course often broken that rule, which probably contributed to my decreased running in the long run.)

Very good advice. And yes the number of times I hear people say "I ran until I injured myself" are too many to count.

tryna get them endocannibanoids
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/10/well/move/running-exercise-mental-effects.html

injuries are a huge drag but i guess they're always a good chance to learn a bit more about your body - where your limits and weaknesses are, maybe your technique is bad or your shoes are wrong, maybe you've got a muscle imbalance that needs addressing? personally i'm struggling with a bad back at the moment and that's mainly due to things outside of running (a combination of doing a lot of gardening recently and just slumping in a bad chair when i'm resting or online), but it's giving me secondary issues in my hips and hams when i run, so i've got some back strengthening and core work to do. was getting some solid weeks in before that though

fwiw I still think runners' high is fake (or at least I experience it so rarely it might as well be for my brane)

definitely a thing for me. there's also a crashing low a ittle later

When I was getting back into running in my mid-30s (15 years ago wtf), I found a good way to limit wear and tear was just to never, ever run on consecutive days. I stuck to this for a few years with good results. Now I do it all the time. And don't get hung up on pace. Make the most of your time outside getting exercise. If you're feeling slow one day, stay slow and you'll have a fast day some other time.

I decided to start running again in January, and since I'm older now I've been ramping up very very slowly... three runs a week, started at half a mile per outing (plus a couple miles walking) and then added a quarter mile to the distance every week. Next week I'll finally hit three miles and feel fine, woo. Once I lose another 5-7 pounds I'll start trying to push my pace a little, right now I'm keeping it slow.

Going slow is underrated, but definitely the best way to get into a consistent pattern imo

seemingly for the first time I was smart enough to start up again in January instead of June, this time I'll be ready for those Texas summertime runs when it's 95 degrees and humid as hell outside.

I think running while overweight has given me really strong legs lol

update: I lost the weight and stepped up the pace! also cutting out morning caffeine dropped my heart rate by like 20bpm during evening runs lol

i'm not overweight but until the pandemic, i used to run to work with a big bag of work stuff on my back every day and that definitely built length strength. so much tougher all round with just a few extra kilos, so full respect to you

xp way to go fhazel!

I have a variety of foot/leg/tendon problems that normally keep me from running, but my housemate also has leg problems, and she and I have started going for runs where we jog in ultra-slow-motion, not going any faster than normal walking pace. It seems to work! I get exercise and my foot doesn't go numb as I'm running. This is an exciting development and I hope I can keep it up.

that's wholesome and rules!

hahaha, I was quietly outraged last night when I ran past a family on the trail and the toddler shouted "jogging!" and the mom was like "yes, he's jogging!" and in my mind I was like "hey now... I'm running!"

One nice thing about running with someone else is I don't get self-conscious about my slow pace and reflexively speed up every time I'm passing someone.

I like a crowded trail because I'm that much more invisible and less prone to doing stuff like that. Running with a friend is hard though, because I want to talk the whole time!

hi runners. i'm also slowly jogging while i recover from some tendonitis, though i've never been fast enough to not be jogging tbh.

good job map + lily dale! :D

reflexively speed up every time I'm passing someone

I really must stop doing this

My physical therapist advised me that it's better to run faster in general. The idea is that if you go slower, your feet are more likely to pivot when they land on the ground, which can exacerbate issues like IT band syndrome. That said, this sort of advice may be specific to certain running complaints, so YMMV (ha).

I really must stop doing this

I can't not do this, it's beyond my control.

Lol

Whenever I'm on a long slow run and another runner overtakes me I have to fight the urge to try and catch up with them

After slowly building up my distance over the past year, I set out on my usual run about a month back and after just ten minutes felt a pop in the back of my right calf and had to limp home.

The initial pain subsided quickly but the lingering pain when I put pressure on the front of my foot doesn't seem to be going away. I'm really unhappy about not being able to run - feel like a total lump. At roughly the same time a varicose vein seems to have decided to go all swelly and horrible, so now I've got pins'n'needles feelings all through my leg and it's extremely uncomfortable and not a little disturbing.

Doctor gave me the usual "rest it for 12 weeks and if it hurts take ibuprofen" spiel, which is only semi-helpful. I miss running so much

Fuucck, sorry to hear that dl

Probably worth getting a physio to look at it as they'd be able to give better advice than a GP. When I did my Achilles I went to a free NHS drop in centre and the physio gave me some daily exercise routines which helped quite a bit.

Ugh that sucks. I'm about to see a specialist about my leg as well, but I'm not looking forward to hearing the verdict as I suspect that what's wrong with it can't be fixed without surgery.

'kin 'ell ☹️

Chinese media confirm that 21 ultrarunners died during a storm at the Yellow River Stone Forest 100k in northwest China. Included in the deceased is elite runner Jing Liang.

We offer our deepest condolences to all involved.

More:https://t.co/7gOD1Ef9A8

— iRunFar (@iRunFar) May 23, 2021

Yeah awful story indeed. Have heard of people dying in ultras before, but the number of casualties there is shocking. be interesting to hear how it went so badly wrong

I saw a doctor today to ask why for the last decade I haven't been able to run without my right calf turning into a block of wood and my right foot going numb. Turns out it's probably something called compartment syndrome, where the sheath around the muscles is too tight. So when they expand with exercise your whole calf tightens up and it pinches off the main artery that takes blood to your foot. I'll have to have a bunch of tests to see if that's really it, and if it is, it sounds like surgery's the way to fix it.

I'd obviously prefer to hear that it's something I can get rid of on my own, but it's sort of amazing to learn that this thing I've just been living with for the past ten years has a name and is fixable. I might be able to run some day!

good luck with that! i had a very mild version of the same thing when i first started running. lots of pain in my calves and lower legs that would disappear again soon after the end of each run. luckily it went away of its own accord - i think in some cases the sheath eventually adapts and expands to accommodate the enlarged muscle. i wasn't struggling with it for ten years though, that must really suck :(

Oh interesting! They didn't tell me it could go away on its own. (Though in my case, if it were going to I think it would have by now.) I basically just adapted to it by swimming instead of running, but it will be exciting to have more cardio options open to me.

has anyone been running any races during the COVID era? I'm new to road racing but ended up completing four 5Ks between May and July. I feel like my strategy is still fairly weak/undeveloped at this point, though: I have a tendency to take off at an overly aggressive pace for the first couple of minutes to keep up with the pack, slow down to an overly conservative pace for the better part of the race, and let loose for the last 800m or so, pretty much always ending with the sense that I've left too much gas in the tank. I also tend to agonize far too long over when to pass people. my goal is always to run more or less even splits (with allowances for hills) with maybe a slight kick at the end, but I never quite manage to execute that properly. even so, my times have been improving with each successive race, and I managed to finish first overall in two races, so I guess I'm not underperforming too badly in spite of my self-criticism

in terms of training, I've been running 30 mpw pretty consistently since the beginning of the year, typically doing one 8-to-10-mile long run and one 3-mile tempo run per week. I tried to throw in a weekly interval session (400/600/800m) and up my mileage to 35 mpw during racing season, but I wasn't very consistent with either of those aims — it's kinda hard to taper for a race on such a strict schedule. since my last race I've kept the tempo run but stopping doing intervals, maintaining 35 mpw and doing a few strides during one of my easy runs so I don't lose too much of my raw speed. when the weather cools down a bit, I'm planning to resume the speedwork (and maybe increase my mileage further?) in preparation for the fall racing season. part of the challenge is motivating myself to do workouts I hate/dread (mile repeats, hills, longer tempo runs) when I'm running solo without a coach or a club to keep me on track. my goal is to run an official sub-18-minute 5K before the end of the year, something I've achieved during a solo time trial but never during an actual race

First place is hard to argue with. Congrats!

I have never trained that systematically for a race, but I was pleased to run my first in ~3 years, a local July 4 four-miler. I'd been on one of my frequent running hiatuses (due to hip issues) up until about a week before. It was hot. After the first mile, I said "okay, I'm not gonna worry about trying to pass anyone, I'm just going to finish," and after the second mile I wished I'd chosen the two-mile option instead. My GPS watch told me my average HR had been five beats above the max, and while I doubt the watch is strictly accurate, it kinda felt that way.