The Running Thread - 2016

[BuckeyeBama]

Yeah, last year Galloway started recommending reducing the running and walking intervals and the walks should be no longer than 30 seconds. He says you get the benefits of the walk break most in that first 30 seconds and that walking longer causing you to increasingly slow down. Of course, I also think he likes to switch things around periodically just to keep the program fresh.

I hated walking intervals, but started using them a few years ago. My experience: If I want to finish the run feeling strong, I do 1 minute walk intervals. If I want to push myself hard (PoT race situation), I stick to 30 second intervals. My ability to keep each run interval at the correct pace is easier if I keep the walk interval to 30 seconds.

So - relaxed run/race = 1 mile run, 1 minute walk, rinse/repeat. PoT race or race training = half mile run, 30 second walk, rinse/repeat. They both have me walking 1 minute for each mile run, but the later allows me to stay more aggressive during the run portions without too much surging. Because the walk break is shorter, I get right back into my stride immediately. I finish with a better time, but am more tired (because of the pace, not the walk intervals).

So, you might ask, why not always run with only a 30 second interval? Because I like to "disappear" into my runs. I can't do that when my run interval is that short.

 

[MommaoffherRocker]

Thanks everyone for answering my shoe question! I asked at the running store and they said go a 1/2 size to a full size up. The problem is I have big feet, if I go bigger I am going to have to order online. I wanted to see other opinions before ordering so I had a better chance of not having to return them.

 

[opusone]

QOTD: What are some things that you have done or do, that you think are more difficult than running a marathon (or your longest race distance)?

Probably doesn't count since it is still an athletic event (and included a marathon), but... Ironman Wisconsin

I also did a mini-training session with the Navy SEALs for 3.5 weeks between my junior and senior year in college, and needless to say, that was grueling.

 

[croach]

ATTQOTD - swimming! It was so much harder them I expected when I started training for my first triathlon. I was out of breath after 25 meters. And then open water swimming - very intimidating. I want to try to do more tris but swimming is not my friend.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

QOTD: What are some things that you have done or do, that you think are more difficult than running a marathon (or your longest race distance)?

Well, I spent years in the 10th Mountain Division of the US Army, so my list would be long. But I'll start things off with my mountain training. I participated in several exercises that had me so tired that I was crying while I was moving forward - forcing myself to pick up one foot and put it down for hour upon endless hour in conditions in which humans are not meant to operate. The mental part was the hardest. You really can keep going long past the time when your body demands that you stop if your mind is strong enough.

 

[Dis5150]

Very low mileage this month - 42.3
I expect it to go way up this month as I start the Higdon Marathon training plan.

My race Saturday got rescheduled to this coming Saturday, May 7th, due to severe thunderstorm warnings/lightning. It didn't actually storm during the race time but was pretty bad Friday night. They rescheduled mostly due to all the debris/branches down on the race path.

ATTQOTD: I have to agree with @MommaoffherRocker on the pregnant/childbirth answer. Hardest but best times of my life.

 

[ebradley23]

Total Running Mileage - 105.30 miles
Total Running Time - 17:47:32
Avg. Running Pace - 10:08

I had some super slow runs this month. The race with IR was my slowest time ever because I was with a slower group this year. I also took it very slow on my 20 mile run since it was the first time at that distance since my marathon in November.

 

[ZellyB]

QOTD: What are some things that you have done or do, that you think are more difficult than running a marathon (or your longest race distance)?

ATTQOTD: Chemo

Congrats on the move @LSUlakes I hate moving!

 

[FFigawi]

Was looking into London a couple weeks ago. I've heard it's difficult to get into. How many times have you tried?

This will be the fifth time I've thrown my name in the hat. Even though I used my Iraqi mailing address in hope of getting the sympathy pick, I'm not optimistic.

Looks like the thread had a good amount of action over the last few days. I am behind on reading but did skim through. Congrats to all the racers this past weekend. I will update the OP soon... After loading / unloading and then trying to unpack, I feel like I ran a marathon. Moving is an overrated experience. I do have to say I love the new house. Its gonna take a while for everything to find its place, but its a work in progress.

Glad the move went well. When are we invited over for the housewarming party?

QOTD:

What are some things that you have done or do, that you think are more difficult than running a marathon (or your longest race distance)?

Becoming an agility judge was more difficult than running a marathon. It's not physically difficult at all, but the other requirements (mental stress, rules memorization, course design, ability to see and make calls on the spot, etc.) are pretty tough. In addition, I'm quite sure that IMFL will be as strenuous and challenging as Comrades.

 

[GreatLakes]

Did all of the weekend races that were predicted to be wet end up dry? I did the Flying Pig 3-way in Cincinnati this weekend and was prepared to get soaked but ended up running without any rain at all. Saturday was weird because it rained before my 10K, between my 10K and 5K, and all day after my 5K but during the races it was not raining at all. It was like someone shut off the valve just enough to do the races. Sunday had some rain before the start but it stopped about 30 minutes before the day and ended up being a nice, sunny day in Cincinnati.

How about the rest of you who were concerned?

 

[DVCFan1994]

I have been dreading this post for days as I had a rather disappointing 43.78 miles. My goal for the month was 75 as I try to ramp up the mileage but I underestimated how much doing P90X would take out of me when I started it up again this month. I was so sore from doing both it caused me to miss more runs than I wanted.

Now, I am running into a different problem. I have been in pain the last few runs. At first I thought it was my sneakers having run out of mileage but I am wearing my other pair that has about 250 miles left and it isn't helping. My shin hurts when I run and my hip hurts all the time. It's like a burning pain. So, I am wondering if it is this IT band issue I hear so much about.

Anyway, my goal for this month is to make it over 100 but I am concerned about this. Several weeks ago we talked about motivation and I said I have my own forced motivation with numbers for my goals. My yearly mileage goal is 1277 and given my shortages the last 2 months this brings my monthly average up to roughly 130 miles a month for the rest of the year to meet my goal.

I am going to switch from P90X to P90X3 though. I think the workouts being 1/2 as long will help a little. They are also more core focused, which is my weakest spot. Sorry to vent, I am just frustrated. I had such big goals for the year and it isn't going as planned, as usual.

I'll echo @croach and say it does not quite sound like the It band issues that i have had. Mine have also been at the knee as well, although the band does attach at the knee and the hip, so it is possible. Sometimes we need to adjust our goals. What is worse, not making 1277 miles this year, but hitting a revised achievable number, or pushing through pain and injuring yourself bad enough that you have months with far lower mileage? I would seek out a good sports medicine doc, UMass has some. Just be clear that is what you are looking for, because some are within larger general ortho practices. Better yet, call the podiatrist you liked and see if they have a name of one they'd suggest. I have pushed through pain and forced far worse injury, and it is a crappy place to be. I had to take all of the summer of 2014 off and it stunk. It stinks to have to adjust mileage goals downwards, but its better than the alternative of no mileage at all.

 

[SunDial]

QOTD: What are some things that you have done or do, that you think are more difficult than running a marathon (or your longest race distance)?.

ATTQOTD - swimming! It was so much harder them I expected when I started training for my first triathlon. I was out of breath after 25 meters. And then open water swimming - very intimidating. I want to try to do more tris but swimming is not my friend.

Now swimming was my sport 40+ years ago. I swam competitively for 6 years. Practice most every evening. Summer time practice morning and evening. It would be common to swim an easy couple of miles during each practice.

Back then there was a open ocean swim called The Galt Ocean Mile swim. In Fort Lauderdale FL there was a string of condo's called Galt Ocean. There was one time I saw a black silhouette on the bottom of the ocean floor that was much larger than me. Just kept on going.

After 38 years I got back into swimming. A little work on strengthening muscles and I was able to swim a half mile in 10 minutes during my first Sprint Tri 1 year ago.

 

[Chasing Dopey]

You people are nuts!

Total Miles: 63.3
Average Pace: 10:15

That's actually not that bad. It includes the taper before Dark Side, the challenge, and a few days extra off before easing back into training. I just did a 10 miler today as part of a pre-Dopey training build, then I'll ease back off and start the actually Dopey training. I don't run on consecutive days (yet), so I'll never get the kind of numbers some of you freaks- I mean awesome people- have.

@Waiting2goback That's a total bummer, as all running injuries are. If you're feeling it at the hip, you want to check for knots in your glutes, and the muscles around your hip. I do want to say a few words about P90X, and strength training in general. That program has produced some outstanding results for a lot of people, and has the kind of following it does for good reasons.

However... You want to evaluate whether or not those exercises are what you should be doing for running. It also matters when you're doing them. I do my lower body strength training after my short runs. That way, I'm sure to get 48 hours of recovery (when you actually get stronger) before I run again. (I do upper body and core on the off days.)

I'm a BIG believer in getting strength training in, and not just for the legs, so I think you're doing the right thing by going after all of it. That hip is likely a weakness somewhere, and that shin can also be the result of weak hips. So I would check out some good running strength programs, give yourself plenty of rest after lower body work, and make sure you're attacking the right thing. Finding a good PT who wants you to keep running is also a good idea.

Don't push it, and don't lose heart! Through my own injury odyssey over the past year I have learned: Whatever it is, it can be fixed!

 

[PrincessV]

My shin hurts when I run and my hip hurts all the time. It's like a burning pain. So, I am wondering if it is this IT band issue I hear so much about.

I have chronic IT Band problems and this really doesn't sound like ITBS. ITBS nails the outside of the knee and the pain feels like a large knife is lodged into the knee joint. I've had a burning pain in my other hip and it was found to be bursitis, so that's a possibility. Unfortunately, another possibility is a stress fracture, so really - best to get checked out. Is the shin and hip pain on the same side? Could be one trying to compensate for the other. I understand the frustration; hang in there and heal!

I have a question, When you buy running shoes how many sizes do you go up?

Depends on the shoes, but in most brands and models I wear a 7 in running shoes, while I wear a 6 or 6.5 in street shoes, so 1/2 a size to a full size up, generally speaking.

Of course, I also think he likes to switch things around periodically just to keep the program fresh.

Oh good, I'm not the only one who thinks this lol! FWIW my happy spot is a 45 sec walk interval, no matter how long I make my run intervals. I like to take my time slowing down from run to walk, so I'm probably only really walking 30 of those 45 seconds, whereas at a 30 sec interval I wind up only getting 15 secs of walking, which isn't enough recovery for my asthmatic lungs.


QOTD: What are some things that you have done or do, that you think are more difficult than running a marathon (or your longest race distance)?

ATTQOTD: Physically, childbirth was a 1000 times harder than a marathon! I swore I'd never give birth again, and I haven't... I was ready to run another marathon at mile 24 of the first one lol! Mentally/emotionally, a very difficult divorce was way harder than training for and running a marathon.

 

[ZellyB]

Oh good, I'm not the only one who thinks this lol! FWIW my happy spot is a 45 sec walk interval, no matter how long I make my run intervals. I like to take my time slowing down from run to walk, so I'm probably only really walking 30 of those 45 seconds, whereas at a 30 sec interval I wind up only getting 15 secs of walking, which isn't enough recovery for my asthmatic lungs.

That happy spot is a big deal. Not everybody fits neatly into a set interval and I love playing around with intervals to find out what works best. We've been working more on concentrating on gliding in/out of the run and in/out of the walk, so I know what you mean that your actual time walking is less than the full interval.

 

[ebradley23]

For anyone who is interested, the lottery for the London Marathon opened this morning. Unlike New York, they don't charge you money to enter which is why I'll keep trying, futilely thus far, to get into this race.

Thanks for the heads up. I went ahead and put mine and my husband's name in the hat. We'll be up a creek if we both get selected, because we would have to scramble for childcare. Since it's not likely either of us get selected, I'll deal with that if the time comes.

 

[Miranda]

Regarding the question about running shoe size... I... uhhh... only have a running shoe size. I don't own any other kinds of shoes except a pair of hiking boots.

 

[michigandergirl]

75 miles for April - not too bad for not running during spring break and battling a stomach bug. I would like to shoot for around 100 miles in the next few months.

QOTD: I think losing a loved one is harder than a marathon...

 

[DVCFan1994]

ATTQOTD: I have never run a marathon, so I don't know for sure. But, I am guessing as some other ladies have said, a 41 week high risk pregnancy capped off with 20 hours of labor will have been harder. What I am banking on with the marathon, is it will have the same short-term memory effect as childbirth in that I swore I wouldn't do it again, but did because I forgot how bad it was. There was no forgetting after the second child And thus I have two children...JK, I would have had three but DH was happy with the first two

 

[ebradley23]

ATTQOTD: Having a kidney stone. Worst pain ever. I have a very high tolerance for pain too.