ILX running running thread

belated lol @ map's story. wild sheep are one of the perks you miss out on when you run almost all your races in bland suburban neighborhoods

I had a pretty good first 5K of the year this morning. my goal was to finish in under 18 minutes, but my first mile fell so far short of my target pace (thanks to a plodding half-mile-long uphill stretch) that I was ready to settle for 18:30 or so. but I sped up a lot after cresting the hill and managed to finish in 17:35. I was in front of the pack for most of the race, but a 14-year-old boy overtook me about half a mile before the end, and I had little confidence in my ability to out-kick him. but he ended up taking a wrong turn into the parking lot leading up to the finish line, and I finished about 10 seconds before him. according to my watch, my splits were 5:58.4 / 5:39.1 / 5:38.1 / 0:27.4

I had a bit of slump in my performance last fall after I took a shitty, stressful, physically demanding customer service job. between work and running, I was sleeping poorly and losing about a pound a week, and my race times kept falling short of my training PR. even the easy runs often sucked — a couple miles in I'd begin to feel drowsy and weak with occasional bouts of lightheadedness. I still have the same shitty job, but I've at least adjusted my diet and sleep schedule somewhat, and I haven't had too many bad runs lately

in terms of training, I started the year running about 35 mpw with one weekly 3.5 mile tempo run, increased my mileage to 40 mpw toward the end of January, and added a weekly interval workout a couple weeks ago. I'm kindasorta following Jack Daniels's 40-50 mpw 5K plan but I can't really see myself sticking to it. I'm not too thrilled with his focus on mile-pace 200-400m reps and his inclusion of a marathon-pace long run every two or three weeks. I'll probably end up doing what I did last year and cycling between 400m/600m/800m/1000m intervals at a slightly slower pace, maybe throwing in a few hill workouts later in the spring. still not really sure what my end goal is, but I'd like to get my 5K time well below 17:30 before the summertime, and I'd like to try a 10K at some point

Wow, that's fantastic. Well done. I can only dream of a sub 18 5K although am slowly getting closer - ran a 5 mile race in sub-30 (just) last week.

Have quite a few 5 and 10K races coming up in the next few months. 10Ks can be quite tough as you're running at not much slower than 5K pace but obviously for twice as long. Sounds like you'll be ok though from the mileage you're putting in each week.

so this barefootsprinter guy on instagram has convinced me i need to get into my toes and feet. i'm a muscular heavy guy so it makes sense that my feet and toes need to engage and articulate when i'm running. even when i run on my toes i notice i roll inward (especially on my right leg) and my toes and foot are like wincing away from doing the work they need to do. this is what has led to some tendonitis, i'm pretty sure. i'm also eyeing minimal shoes, it's time for new ones anyway.

anyway, it's finally summer which means i need to do runs in the morning instead of later in the day. so my whole routine is switching up. this morning was a run to the gym (1 mile), then 30 mins of yoga, then a run back. running back after waking up my legs and feet like that was wild. i noticed i had a lot more awareness of how i was striking and the direction i need to head in with my toes and feet. i should probably do some mobility work on my lower body but it's hard to know what i really need.

Has anyone experienced problems with control over their ankles and feet and gait in general? I think I may have a permanent injury that cannot be detected by x-rays but that makes my running gait weird and makes it difficult for me to maintain my balance and control the motion of one leg such that a bulldog that happens to come charging can make me fall. But I don't feel any pain so I have a hard time explaining it. I detect it especially when I am tired. If I am not, I can maintain what I think my gait and motion should be.

the best thing would have been if she liked to run around the reservoir named for her and wore sunglasses at daybreak

If you have an injury, you have an injury and should find someone with the expertise to diagnose it.

If no injury, my PT and others I've read online would prob say you need to build up you single-leg strength over a few weeks and see if you notice any change. In general, it should really boost your stability and decrease the likelihood of using the wrong part of your joints, which leads to injury. I've done so over the past 6 months and recurring knee problems have almost completely disappeared.

There are a million single-leg workouts available online.

I started jogging (walk/jogging, to be accurate) again back in April. I've always been very stop-start about running because I kept running into injuries that would sideline me for a season. In particular, I used to have huge problems with shin splints and then later, piriformis syndrome (which just FUCK THAT). Anyway, I've eliminated those problems by finding stretches that work for me, and thus far, I've been running for two months injury free! Typically, I just do 1 mile/day, but have incorporated a few 2 miles on a few weekends. Now I'm pushing my daily jog to more of the 1.25 1.5 mile range and I find that I'm able to run for longer with fewer and shorter walk breaks.

For reference, it's been at least 3-4 years since I've attempted any running at all. This is the first time I've ever done it where I've felt like I was making improvements over time.

Glad you aren't getting injured! Now that I'm older when I go back to running after a break I ramp up as slowly as possible... half-mile runs to start, only adding a quarter or half mile a week. Round it out with a couple miles of walking.

A month post-COVID my lungs still hurt so I'm waiting another month or two before trying to resume running. Also need lose about ten pounds.

wtg peace man, that's encouraging.

oh no, i have become a vibram 5 fingers guy, radicalized into natural footism by this instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/thebarefootsprinter/. honestly though i have noticed my little toes are basically bent inward and completely immobile, did a lifetime of wearing too-narrow shoes do that? i am also doing foot strength and mobility exercises now - it makes sense to me that when my body gets heavier from weight training and my feet don't get any corresponding training, they start to do bad things when i run, which i believe leads to the tendonitis i've been experiencing. so i'm going to try mobility and strength for my feet.

i really like the 5 fingers (i got these https://us.vibram.com/shop/shop-all-products/mens-fivefingers/bestsellers/v-alpha-mens-M71.html). i do my first (short) run in them tomorrow, to the gym and back.

i did 2 miles on a wood chipped trail in the vibrams and 😬 it's intense! i like it though, i'm going to stick with it and hope i develop some thicker skin on my soles, because i absolutely feel more engagement across my feet and it's harder to slip into bad habits. 3 miles on the same trail this weekend.

Haha, well done.

There a lady in her 60s in my club who runs with them. She's got a road pair and a trail pair.

I looked at the trail pair and thought "Yeah, fuck that.". But she absolutely loves them.

I don't think running barefoot is necessary although I have seen it done. I am convinced that something is wrong with my right ankle but despair of ever finding it. The best thing about running is that it requires no attention and induces no anxiety. Things seem to come at you at a pace you can handle if you don't have people around and don't feel the need to pass them or aren't waiting for them to pass you. For a short while anything seems possible.

yeah i love that feeling. definitely why i shy away from competitions and prefer running in places where i will encounter few people.

i also feel inspired about 'things that are going on in my life' and have 'great ideas' when i'm running

finally made it back to the wood-chipped trail for 3 miles in the vibrams. my feet have actually toughened up a little bit but that mix of medium-small river-washed loose rock on the trail is just painful enough to keep my gait short, my time a few minutes slower, and my endurance on edge. not an issue on concrete / asphalt.

i think i'm going to take a step or two back from ultra minimal and get a pair of altras for trails.

good to hear everyone's doing well, and map do let us know about your altras cos i really need to get some new shoes and definitely want something with a minimal amount of drop (currently running in a pair i must've had for ten years or something - zero cushioning left in them but i don't really care about that, but they are starting to look v. beaten up and shabby). really struggling to get out and run though - doing a pretty physical job all day long and the hayfever tablets i'm taking are making me drowsy as hell, so i just feel completely zapped when i get home.

i've had altras before (lone peaks from 2018-2019 iirc) and didn't care for them much tbh - they had a stiff collar that dug into my achilles tendons and idk the fit was weird somehow and they were pretty ugly. also the outer toebox started busting open several months in, which is always an issue for me no matter the shoe, but it happened a lot earlier than usual. i see people wearing altras EVERYWHERE now though. the company started in utah iirc (now they're based somewhere else), so there's hometown pride involved i'm sure, but my friend (who is crazy and runs ultras and 100ks multiple times a year) claims that they are higher quality now after they switched production to a higher-rated factory in china, no idea when that happened.

i'm also really interested in vivobarefoot trail shoes but i can't tell if they would offer more protection than the vibrams against loose, sharp rock. it seems likely. i wish i could try them on. they're also kinda expensive.

I got some of the new altra lone peaks and I like them quite a bit, I am becoming a barefoot shoe guy as well, one step away from raw red meat diet guy

the lone peaks are zero drop not barefoot, they're quite cushioned and comfortable, but I got some xeros for walking/running but I'm still quite a ways off from running in them. Even in the altras I'm not running too much, only short trails

I'm thinking about getting one of those foot activation mats, I'm going insane

lol welcome

When I need new running shoes, I go to 6pm.com and sort by my size and price low to high, then choose the cheapest pair in a color that I like. Saucony often have nice cushiony and light pairs for $30-45.

Yeah, I usually buy last year's model of shoes as they're generally half price or less once the new ones come out (as long as you don't care about which colours you get)

Did splash out for Alphaflys, Vaporflys and Tempo Next% in the sales earlier this year though (all half price) and they're all pretty awesome for road racing. Have got PBs in all three and my 5K PB is now down to 18:08 and fairly confident I can dip under 18 if conditions are good

and thus far, I've been running for two months injury free!

Spoke too soon here. Lower back pain started last Saturday. This is a new one for me. Probably going to have to take a few weeks off from running and google up some physical therapy exercises.

I know this will make me sound like a petulant child, but I just need to vent here: it's so incredibly frustrating that I'm trying to do something to improve my quality of life and it has seemed to be working really well. And I've been taking the time to actively warm-up for 15 minutes beforehand and stretch afterward. But maybe something I was doing was wrong. Or maybe it's entirely unrelated and I just picked up something heavy wrong without thinking about it. And now it feels like I'm back to square fucking zero. I went for a walk this morning just to keep moving, but it's nowhere near as rewarding.

it's the absolute worst feeling.

picked up new altra lone peaks yesterday, went up the canyon and did a quick 4 mile thing today - much happier with some sole and cushion.

Super happy to finally crack 38 minutes for 10K this morning with a PB of 37:53

Was slightly hilly course and quite windy so reckon there's some more to shave off.

After scaling things back to just walking for over a month, getting my lower back in shape with core-strengthening physical therapy exercises, and being very, very, very patient, I began to incorporate small stretches of jogging back into my walking routine. 1/3 mile, every other day - taking things very slowly. I'm happy to say that the back problems seem to be a thing of the past.

But after about two weeks of these baby steps, now I have a small quad strain! Possibly came from trying to add body-weight squats into my pre-run routine? It's bothering me enough that I feel like I have to completely stop running again and just add more recovery things into my daily physical therapy routine.

This is fine. Good times. Just going to keep it going until I get there. Running was really, really nice back in April/May/June. For the first time in my life, I was hopping out of bed in the morning looking forward to running, instead of thinking of it as a chore that I had to do in order to lose weight. I'd like to be able to get back into it without fucking myself up again. Preferably before the winter weather sets in.

pretty much this. stopped about a year ago with left knee problems. realised a month ago that my left knee was no longer hurting. about 5 gentle jogs later it is again 8(

in a boot

Following the last update, my back pain came back, which led to an urgent care visit last weekend. Turns out that I have a disc condition that requires an orthopedist.

😱 xp

What have you done forks?

And hope you get yours sorted peace

Just talked to the orthopedist this morning! She basically said it's no big deal and everyone my age has some degeneration and arthritis. The other doc had made my situation sound a lot more worrisome than it is. I get to check in with an actual physical therapist (instead of just youtubing it, like I have been), but I should be okay in the long run. I'm still just sticking to walking for the time being, but I'm fitting it in twice a day.

xp - torn plantar, been walking on it for months! orthopedist said a boot is the only reasonable plan forward.e

I'm training for my first 5k. I've been back to running about a month and I'm consistently running/jogging at least 5k each run, albeit at a slow pace. I've started working in some intervals. My first goal is just to get my time under 30 mins, but I think that's very much within reach. Today I did a total of 4.5 miles, including three intervals of running a half mile at a consistently sub-10-min-mile pace. Plan to do intervals every two or three runs and gradually increase the distance on those intervals until they cover the full 5k.

I'm feeling pretty good in my runs so far. Wondering if something more ambitious, like a 25 min 5k, is in reach? It's in November fwiw.

Hope you're both soon on the mend xps

man alive - doesn't sound unrealistic. Would suggest introducing some long, slow runs into your routine once a week. Maybe start by aiming to continuously run for 60-75 minutes but at a much slower pace than you'd normally run at

boot continues. anybody else done this for plantar? I'm concerned i'm torturing myself for no reason/payoff as nothing's getting worse but neither is it improving.

I had PF and invested ~ $50 on a pair of smartfeet. Took a couple weeks off, wore the insoles and problem was solved.

It takes a long time x10 for that shit to clear up, sorry :(

For PF I've had good luck in the past with those spiky rubber balls, running my foot back and forth over one while I sit.

yeah, i did that and the ice water bottle and daily stretching and all the other stuff. The theragun on the sole/heel helps a little. sigh.

I went to PT some time ago for a calf issue and told the therapist that I also had a sharp pain on the back of my heel, and that I must have banged it on something. She rolled her eyes and said no, you didn't bang your heel on anything. She knew it was PF, and administered some treatment (maybe it was the theragun?) on my heel that pretty much cleared it up immediately. Was pretty amazing. I asked if I could buy one of those for home use and she kinda laughed and said no, that's probably not a good idea.

she's wrong imo! they're inexpensive and effective with no downsides for use that i know of.

Might not have been a theragun, I recall it was something that was warm and vibrated. Maybe it was an actual vibrator! Might explain why she didn't think I should get one. In any event, it worked a charm, the only time I've ever seen quantifiable results from a PT session.

Just talked to the orthopedist this morning! She basically said it's no big deal and everyone my age has some degeneration and arthritis. The other doc had made my situation sound a lot more worrisome than it is. I get to check in with an actual physical therapist (instead of just youtubing it, like I have been), but I should be okay in the long run. I'm still just sticking to walking for the time being, but I'm fitting it in twice a day.

― peace, man, Wednesday, August 31, 2022 1:15 PM (two months ago) bookmarkflaglink

It took over a month to get an appointment with the physical therapist, but when I did, she basically confirmed that I was on the right track with the limited core exercises that I had been doing and added a couple of others. Since then, I've been walk/running three times a week (MWF) while keeping up with my twice-daily walking schedule every other day. It's been going GREAT with no recurrence of injury for the past two months. I've been adding the running back in more slowly and cautiously. I basically do a warm-up walk for 15 minutes, then switch off between running and walking - 1-minute run, 1-minute walk, 1-minute run, etc. In the past few weeks, I've been adding 2-minute running segments onto the end of that cycle each week. So I've been increasing my activity, but very slowly, making sure not to overdo it.

One thing that I've been facing this year is running in cold weather. In the past, I would just pack it in during the winter months, or switch to a treadmill. Looking back to the treadmill days, in the basement gym at my office, those were such dire times! I really hated treadmill running, particularly in that dungeon-like condition. So I bought myself some long-sleeved base layer shirts and a warm reflective hat and have been sticking to my routine as the weather dips into the 30s. If it gets too cold, I'll throw on a pair of gloves and I'm perfectly comfortable! Lip balm is key on these days though.

One thing that I've wanted to do for years is the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Run. It's a 10k that, like it says, goes over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in Maryland. It just took place again this past weekend. I've never been in shape enough to do a 10k. A lot of people do walk it, but I'd prefer to join as a runner. Anyway, hoping that can be a goal for next year.

That sounds fun. Do you get to stop at the gift shop in the middle?

I ran my first ever 5k last weekend and did it in 28:53, which was my best 5k time to date. Not an easy run - the first almost mile of it was upward sloped.

I think I prefer my lone meditative trail runs to races, don't like the feeling of a bunch of people running around me, thinking about whether they are or will pass me, etc. I also got really embarrassed by the people cheering. That said, it was kind of nice at the end, talking to the other runners, feeling of "we all did a (moderately) hard thing together." And it gave me something to train for. So maybe I'll do another in the spring.

Yeah, I don't think of myself as someone who would normally want to enter a race and participate in something with thousands of other people. In this case, the lure is the beautiful view. I drive over the bridge a few times a year, but don't get a chance to look out my window.