ILX running running thread

I read marathon times and am overwhelmed and wonder about the experience of the end.
The situation that seems most accident-prone in conditions of low visibility is a car making a right turn when cross-traffic is unexpected or blocked from view preceding the turn.

I'm doing my fourth 10k, after five years of no running and no exercise. It took me about 15 training runs before I stopped feeling like every step was a punishment, but unlike any pervious time I'm finally, sort of, getting into it - I feel good after each run and look forward beforehand, until it comes time to actually set out. I'm using various incentivising techniques - finding new routes, improving my times - though they won't work forever. When not actually running I fantasise about longer distances - I've done 12k already so couldn't a half marathon be in reach? But this morning's 5k was not what I would call enjoyable.

Same, also did a fourth 10K over the weekend after years of being very careful with running. My colleagues motivated me to sign up for the local popular race that takes place 3rd December, so I'm now officially training. I'm excited and a little apprehensive. Not because of distance, it's a short city race. If I don't slip during the race and my weak spots (right-hand hip / adductors area) continue to feel better during training, I will be happy. It's also a nice start to the end-of-the year and holiday season.

In my experience, going from 10k to 20K is a significant leap, especially if the race isn't flat. If you can run 10k, you'll manage, but it will be a slow ordeal, with a risk of abandoning in the second half (blisters, stomach etc). You can continue training over 10-12k until you have packed up endurance, you're regular and it feels comfortable. You can run 15k a couple times to get a feel of a longer race, but you will know internally when you're ready to attempt 21K.

Wow I started this thread over 16 years ago. Still running but I’ve had a lot of ups and downs. I should recap some of them. Running at 44 is certainly different than running at 28.

thanks nabozo - I think internally at the moment my brain is writing cheques my body can't cash.

go for it jeff. at 50 my peak performance is way behind me but given I never tried very hard back then I'm happy enough with how things are going so far.

10k race in 49 mins, pretty happy with that, it's my best time over > 6k since starting again two months ago. I maybe could have gone marginally faster but there were hardly any distance markers so I didn't know what pace I was running, and strava fucked up so I still don't know.

Running at 44 is certainly different than running at 28.

No kidding. I'm in one of my periodic recovery phases... I've had major issues with IT band pull/knee caving, such that when I tried to run it felt like I was hardly hitting the ground with the ball of my foot. A few weeks ago I started doing a forgotten exercise — lunges with a hand weight — and it's definitely improved my stability, so that running feels like running again. My average pace gets a little slower every year, though.

Another 44 year-old runner here. I'm having such a weird/frustrating relationship with running right now. The last few years had me running like a robot, every other day no matter what, running 200 kms per month sometimes. Ended up getting an injury but got back in. The past couple monthes I've got really tired with running, got lazy on my routine, almost didn't run at all in August, now trying to get back into regularity but the motivation is hard to find. And yet, whenever I find the will to go, I enjoy it very much and I even improve. I have just set new Personal Records for 10 and 15 kms in my last two runs despite only going because I felt I somehow had to. Probably would have beaten my best semi today too if I had enough time. I should feel reinvigorated but instead I'm just hoping it will rain massively on Tuesday so I have an excuse not to go. I dunno, it's weird.

https://i.imgur.com/ZHFMh4Z.png

2013 through 2016 were going great! PR after PR until I ran myself into a stress fracture. Not deterred, I recovered and set a half PR in 2017 on the way to running myself into another stress fracture. Followed by couple of years of mediocrity, unable to establish any sort of consistent running.

Then in 2020/2021 I felt even worse, no energy, unable to do more than a run/walk. Well it turns out that if you are severely anemic, it is very difficult to run. Didn't get that worked out until late last year and it has taken until now to get back up to where I'm doing double digit mileage and hitting closer to my old easy pace on long runs. In hindsight, I shouldn't feel too bad for my pitiful 2021, I was determined, but my body was not functioning.

As for running at 44, everything just takes longer. First mile is always slow, takes longer to warm up, takes longer to build up mileage, have to be super conservative with aches and pains. However, I'm seeing improvement. It just takes time. IDK if I'll ever touch any of my PR's again, but just that I'm able to get out there and run for a couple of hours feels great.

And dont forget to take injury prevention seriously as you get old. There are things you can do that really help and ime they also add some variety to your workouts.

And dont forget to take injury prevention seriously as you get old. There are things you can do that really help and ime they also add some variety to your workouts.

I was out for a few months there due to a stress fracture in my foot along with plantar fasciitis. Then over the course of a week and a half my foot improved significantly, responding well to very gentle intervals of what can best be described as shuffling. I ended up taking a little trail run vacation over the weekend and it was glorious. Running on Navajo sandstone is like having a dance with god in fucking heaven.

I ran 15k for the first time, felt pretty good. I was only planning on 12 but I took a wrong turn which added 1k and I thought eh why not.

Despite slippery wet snow underfoot (and rain for the second half) I ignored the good advice upthread (get comfortable running 10-12-15k) and did a half marathon. Legs were definitely sore in whole new ways I've never experienced for the last 3k, and aching for the rest of the day, but I'm glad I did it. Might sign up for a race later next year but I'll dial my regular running back to 5-10k for now.

I know this probably isn't impressive but I did a 2.25 mile run outside today and my heart rate I think peaked at 165. usually by the end its like 180 and I feel I'm gonna pass out. fitness!

Long slow runs are great for building fitness (and improving heart rate): run a bit longer distance than you usually would but at a fairly comfortable sedate pace

I went for my second run since the marathon in July a couple days ago and felt great but had to cut it shorter than I wanted as the dog was not coping. She was fine, just did not want to keep going. Hoping she builds back up to the place of smoking me every run!

update:
Dog smoking me every run

Trying the Hansons marathon plan which is running 6 times a week for average cumulative 70km's. Meant to keep the heart rate low which leads to the inevitable smoking by the dog. Going late at night when everyone in my town is asleep so she can run off leash along the ocean channel. It's a lot of sprint/stop/sniff and she is now probably the happiest animal in this entire town. It's the highlight of my day now and a great way to get yourself falling straight asleep as you hit the pillow afterwards

I know quite a few people from my club who've used the Hanson plan. It's not worked for all of them but the majority have done really well off it

I was doing pretty well with my running running until last week when a horse broke my ankle in a manner that required surgery and extensive hardware and now my running running is fucked for the foreseeable future

Ortho is all no you’ll be able to do stationary bike on low resistance in like a month so there goes my cardio fitness, enter jello body

Does the ortho think your ankle will eventually recover for running running purposes?

That’s unclear at the moment. My biggest issue is that I need excellent dorsiflexion for my all-consuming pastime/physical activity which is equestrian sports. I jump big things while perched on a horse’s back, which requires quite a bit of ankle strength and flexibility so as not to topple off :(

Really sorry to hear that quince

Thank you. I never really loved running running but it was my go-to for cardio. The other options just aren’t as simple and accessible, right? Rowing machine, exercise bike require a gym. . . what else do people do when injured?

Not a perfect answer but swimming is an awesome low-impact workout if you have access to a pool. I find it super boring so am very proud when I can overcome that hurdle and swim for an hour.

Oh duh swimming! I would be able to do that one the incisions are healed. But damn there is a lot more overhead than there is with running. Like finding a pool, for starters.

Running for me is hard to enjoy but just getting it done is so easy. Shoes on, out door, back in 30 min.

sorry you're having such a rough time, quincie. I know it's a hassle, but I'd recommend going to a gym (if you have a reasonably accessible one in your area) once you're strong enough to get around. I broke my big toe last year and couldn't do any running or much walking for five weeks, but I held onto most of my aerobic fitness by hitting the gym six days a week, alternating between swimming, stationary bike, and Zero Runner (elliptical type machine) workouts. I made a point of exercising roughly the same number of hours per week I typically run, and I even simulated my interval and tempo runs on the bike. my biggest complaint getting back into running was sore quads and glutes, but easy runs felt pretty much normal after a little more than two weeks, and I was back to my base level of fitness after about two months. for the first week of my injury I also fast walked a mile and a half a day on crutches, which fucking sucked tbph. in the beginning I was seriously bummed out at the prospect of losing three years of running progress, but cross-training at least took my mind off my fears of withering away. obviously a broken ankle is a lot more serious than a broken toe, but I hope you can find a good way to transition back into running over time

fwiw I've read that aqua jogging is the best way to maintain fitness after an injury, but that requires a deep pool and probably a special belt, so it definitely isn't the simplest option

That's good advice. My approach is usually to do nothing and just go into a deep depression, desperately hoping that I can eventually get back my fitness.

i'm a bit down as i have a chesty cough and haven't run in nearly two weeks but that's nothing on being destroyed by a horse, that sucks.

(maybe i'm a wuss but i googled and it seems a bad idea, i've gone on my low budget bike trainer a couple of times)

for the first week of my injury I also fast walked a mile and a half a day on crutches

Dear god in heaven I seriously cannot even fathom this. Even just about ten minutes of work with the PT when I was in the hospital (lap around the ortho floor, practicing stairs) was exhausting and left me with the most amazing core soreness--like, my ribs and obliques were just killed, not to mention my shoulders. I have a knee scooter now, which is much easier but also cumbersome to get around a very small house with lots of furniture.

My approach is usually to do nothing and just go into a deep depression, desperately hoping that I can eventually get back my fitness.

Yeah I'm afraid this will be me. Doesn't help that at 50 and perimenopausal, I'm already on the downward cliff of muscle mass and bone density.

I reached out to an aqua PT center (didn't even know there was one in town until I looked) and will plan to start there as soon as ortho says OK. In the meantime, he says three to six months before return to riding.

Thanks for the good wishes and for sharing injury experiences, it is helpful for sure.

For any beginning runners perusing this thread, I got the None to Run app and it has really worked well for me. It's an alternative version of the couch to 5k that ramps up more slowly and with a somewhat different strategy. It felt good to me to work through the weeks (3 runs per week) and see progress without it being overwhelming.

Left to my own devices, I just suck at sticking with running. I need someone to just tell me wtf to do and I'll do it.

I started the c25k thing this morning. It was hellish. I ride my bike a lot, so I thought I was in decent shape.

Nooooooope. Running felt kinda like being a big box of pots and pans rolling down a flight of stairs. Ordered some decent shoes. Will try it for a couple of weeks and see how it feels.

i think the c25k needs a week zero where you just walk around in the kit to get used to it all, work out places and times and how you're going to time the various bits.

Consider None to Run (N2R)—it was specifically developed for people who started C25K and found it discouraging at first. I was also a pretty fit person and found my first attempts at running were WTF this is so much harder than I thought!

I'm getting to grips with the fact that some runs will just feel awful for no discernible reason - though the cold i have at the moment certainly doesn't help. But how was the run i've just done 18 seconds faster per k than the one two days ago even though they felt equally awful?

I'm convinced that the both the feeling and the result of any individual run is completely subject to the whims of the Gods for any given day

It's a fun little part of getting into running: how will I feel today? Oh, terrible? Great!

17 years in, it never really gets better. It almost always sucks. But it sucks in a familiar and consistent way. Hey there old friend, nice to see you again. Let's suffer together for a few hours.

cool, i'm glad i picked such an uplifting new (er sort of) hobby!

i've signed up for a half marathon in may. hope i get some less awful runs in before then.

I often think half-marathon is the best of all distances

If by best, you mean worst, maybe. It just hurts so bad. 10 mile hard tempo followed by a 5K race. But all distances are bad in their own special way.

I do love running though. It's an interesting relationship we have.

Running is sheer happiness. My body is letting me run so I'm getting my feelings back and a bit of ambition with spring around the corner and the first flowers in bloom on my running path today. Since I last posted here I did my 7.3K city run (fun, temperature was 2 degrees, decent time) and I've been running 2-3 times a week. The 9k that was my long train run is now the short one, and I'm starting to think of extending the new long one (I haven't measured it yet, something like 12k). I should start to time myself too. But right now, I'm just enjoying it.

Running IS fun! And if it isn’t, just chill and walk for a while. That has increasingly been my approach as I deal with aging and the increasing injuries that involves. It’s great to train and get faster but it’s also just nice to be outside, on one’s feet and moving.

Yeah half-marathon is pretty much perfect, up to 25 maybe 30 is fine, but after that I'd get bored I think. I don't have the patience for running about 3.5 hours for a full marathon. Maybe I'll still do one someday just for the sake of it.

Agreed. I'm thinking of signing up for the next half marathon in May, it will be the 10th anniversary of me running my first (and then I ran another directly after). It's a comfortable distance because it's long enough that time does not matter too much. I wouldn't be able not to set myself the objective to run faster than in 2014, although that might be a challenge, as the first half of my marathon was way faster than the second. It was a whole different race, going from blissful to "uh oh" at km 25 to horrible at km 32.

Trying to come up with pun type names for a team we're entering in a relay competition. Anyone got any suggestions?

Google suggests things like Scrambled Legs, Chafing the Dream etc

Code Brown

Shin Sprints
Plantar FASTiitis