The running thread

[PrahaGold]

Hey everybody,

I've just started running (literally just back from my first run) and I thought this would be a nice place for fellow runners to gather and socialise, motivate each other, ask and answer questions, post personal records and present a "safe haven" for anyone who has just started/wants to start.

I've thought about joining another forum for this but the general tone of discussion in most sports related forums is... well, not particularly my cup of tea.

Personally, I'm using the 'Couch to 5K' app, but this morning I think it didn't work properly; in the plan it said that the first run would consist of a five minute warm up, followed by intervals of 60 seconds running and 90 seconds brisk walking. However I quickly found out that this was not accurate, as the run times were far longer and so were the brisk walk intervals. It didn't seem longer (actually the entire run was not as difficult as I had expected; I was out for about half an hour, warming up for about five minutes and then jogging more than half the time), but rather it was actually much longer than it was supposed to be. When I was standing in front of my front door again, the voice had just told me to start my second run. Is something wrong there? I'm absolutely sure that I had chosen the right run beforehand so I really don't know what went wrong.

I hope this thread will be off to a good start. Happy running!

 

[tarallucci]

I love jogging! I would never stop whenever I start a session... I think my best time has been 1 hour straight at a moderate pace. I don't use apps usually, sometimes I've used S Health but most of the times I just look the watch.

It's been forever since my last run though, I am riding the bike lately and then I don't like going outside with adverse weather.

Great thread, I wanted to make one about this too.

 

[PrahaGold]

Hey tara,

Nice to see a runner on here! Are you planning to take it back up again? I ride the bicycle too, but only to and from work (which makes for about half an hour daily; not enough to excuse not doing any other sort of exercise).

About the app: Yes, I'm usually not too big on apps either - especially since most of them want to know so much about one - but after reading the overwhelmingly positive reviews of C25K, I thought I'd use it as the jump start I need. In the long haul I was hoping to achieve the ability to run for half an hour straight at a moderate pace (and then abandon any apps), just to get that bit of a workout in my life, improving my lung capacity and endurance and stop being out of breath after climbing only three sets of stairs. And to be honest, a certain individual named Claire Underwood played a significant role in my motivation as well...

One question though: when does that transition usually happen when a run stops being a pain and starts to actually be fun? (Runner's high?)

 

[tarallucci]

It's always been a pleasure for me, I've never seen it as something boring, even when I began that it was a bit more difficult to do just 15 minutes and I was feeling pain in the shins (I was probably wearing the wrong shoes). In my case the further motivation was seeing the results, weight loss, being able to reach a certain distance, going gradually from 15 minutes to 60 minutes and feeling better in general.

Years ago when I was running regularly I went down to weighing 67kg, it almost had become an addiction. That was when I asked myself "do you want to be a bear or a twink?" LOL. Now I'm somewhat more relaxed about it and 20kg overweight, which I don't mind because the fat is fairly well distributed

As of recently I'm just focusing on keeping myself in shape doing some exercises at home, half hour of mountain bike mostly uphill during summer and random labors. Avoiding to go past the 100kg. But I would really love to resume running, maybe with someone else...
Riding the bike is good for the leg muscles but my ass starts to hurt after a while. Actually looking at the app my last session was on the 20th of August 2015, 45 minutes, not bad lol. They updated it and I thought I had lost all the records.

I admit that keeping track of your activity with the app is cool, especially if you're on a diet and measuring food but I'm not really interested. I can listen to some music at most but I am old school and don't even bring the smartphone with me every time.

 

[mikemizanin729]

Yes, I enjoy running. Cardio makes me feel good, as does working out.

 

[PrahaGold]

^ Absolutely. Couldn't wait to go again this morning. It was snowing, my hands were freezing and at times I thought I'd collapse, but the exhilaration was completely worth it. Strangely, it's not the running intervals that get to me, it's the walking. Every time my voice coach announces that it's time to slow down, I actually feel disappointed, because I wanted to continue running. This morning I secretly did an extra round of running... Don't tell her. ^^

 

[tarallucci]

Done 1 hour walking today. I hadn't even opened the application and it counted the steps.

It's been a bit of a non-exercise because I was with someone. When I'm alone I can set the pace and goal, just another story.

 

[PrahaGold]

@tara: More power to you, perhaps you could get back into running. Either way, I'm rooting for you!

Just finished my last run of week 1 and still wondering how this will ever prepare me for forty minutes of straight running (or run 3 of week 5 for that matter). I do notice however that my legs can take much more than my lungs, perhaps it's time to cut back on the cigarettes.

What I have noticed however, is that I think I'm somewhat clumsy looking and my feet make a kind of "thud" sound when they hit the ground and I believe my technique may not be quite right; each time I start my first run, there's a short bout of pain (not very strong) in my feet. As I have mentioned earlier, Claire Underwood from 'House of Cards' is a major motivation/inspiration for me and I'd like to adjust my technique to match hers. I've tried looking for a video of one of her running scenes but couldn't find any, so if any of you have Netflix, you could watch the third episode of the first series (or start watching the series altogether; you won't be disappointed, I promise!) where one of her morning runs gets a significant amount of screen time. Her steps are light and "springy" if you know what I mean. She looks elegant and flexible. Is this something I should already be worrying about now? I would like to learn the correct technique right from the start so any tips would be welcome. I've already googled a bit about this and there's a big debate among runners about whether to land on one's heels, balls (of the foot obviously ) or mid-foot. Can anyone give me some pointers on how not to look like such an clumsy elephant?

 

[tarallucci]

Friends and family know that I'm a runner and often ask me they want to go jogging together. This time it was my godmother.
Do you know what happens when we actually go? They come up with all kinds of excuses after a while. "I can't take it", "I got bored", "you keep going I'll reach you later" ...

Smoking surely doesn't help. About the technique and pain I cannot provide a professional suggestion but it was like that for me too at first and I don't have any problem anymore. I'm sure you're using the correct shoes already, basically whatever known brand of trainers is good.
My heels rarely touch the pavement, the contact is with the tip of my feet for the most part, especially when the pace is faster, and the mid-foot.

You don't have to be too hard on the feet, the movement of your legs needs to be fluid and relaxed. Think of it as if you had to gently push yourself away constantly from the spot you're currently in. You don't have to apply force downward and your chest has to slightly lean forward.

The only time that I make noise with my feet is when I run downhill, because I'm a bit heavy and also try to stop the run a bit. Otherwise I would gain momentum and crash somewhere

I know this description sucks but it's the way I do it and I hope it helps

 

[PrahaGold]

Thank you tara, I'll keep watching my technique. But I suppose it might be a bit early for me. As I understand it takes some time to get used to running and develop a comfortable way of doing it. Perhaps it's just normal to look like a duck in the beginning. Someone who had asked the same question in a runners' forum had someone suggest to run barefoot (just shortly at home, not outside) to notice how the feet would naturally break the hits and then try to run like that with shoes on.

"Think of it as if you had to gently push yourself away constantly from the spot you're currently in."

So basically what you're saying is that every step would be a tiny "jump"?

 

[72-Jay]

I used to like to go hiking & sometimes jogging, just being out on trails itself was nice, but the physical activity felt good too.
Anymore its not that I don't like it its that, hiking would be hard, and jogging...well I simply can't.

 

[tarallucci]

It looks like that watching someone run but I wouldn't say a tiny jump, the less you can stress feet and legs. Running is just a faster walk for me actually, the only things that change are the speed, less contact with the feet on the ground and that I raise my knees a bit more.

I've just watched a video where they advise against leaning forward and recommend to land on a flat foot. I do otherwise but maybe it's better if you listen to the professionals

 

[PrahaGold]

Yes, well the pros seem to be bickering about this even more than the laymen. Though it's usually a mid-foot versus ball debate; a heel-strike is hardly ever considered correct running form. My next run is on Sunday, I'll try to not focus on my feet this time but rather on the light "jumps", the gentle pushing off the ground, keeping my back straight, shoulders down and very slightly lean forward.

As for the going downhill part: I do the exact same thing! There's a small park near my place where I usually arrive mid-warming up and start my first run and when I go downhill I run very flat footed which probably wakes the entire neighbourhood. Just too terrified to fall over.

 

[PrahaGold]

Well, well. Just finished week 2 run 2 this morning and I'm positive that my lung capacity along with my muscles is improving; compared to the first run of week 2, I felt the running intervals were much easier to complete.

Although I do notice that my technique is not improving; my feet still hit the ground with quite some force and I notice that I just can't seem to adjust this. In theory it all sounds very nice and reasonable enough but as soon as I start running, my feet just do their own thing and my ankles are as of now telling me just that. They hurt a bit (not swollen though) and I'm wondering if I should rest a few more days before my next run? I'd rather not to be honest as I want to continue improving myself. When running I notice that keeping my toes curled up helps a bit, but my heels still strike the ground every time, it just seems to happen naturally.

I hope someone (tara? ) can help me. Anyhow, I'm off to clean the mud off my shoes now. I should have known better than to stray from my mantra of always staying on my side of the river...

 

[tarallucci]

This last sunday I did one hour non-stop for a total of 10 kilometers. How fast was the pace in meters per seconds? I suck at mathematics... it seems pretty amateur anyway but I'm sure I could do better if I ran regularly.
I almost hit the ground at the beginning of the session. The application kept harassing me after every km with an unconvincing pronunciation: "1km done... 50 something more minutes to go" ... it's useful but not after every single km and I want to enjoy music. I can't find where to disable this in the settings.

There is definitely something wrong with your approach. My ankles didn't hurt at all after 6 months from my last session. I just felt some tension, not even pain, on my achilles tendons and on the lower shin area, as expected. It sounds like you are stomping, imagine you are running on the eggs and you don't want to break them lol, don't raise your knees all the way up... the steps need to be morbid. I don't know, it comes naturally to me. I should see the way you run to better understand the problem.

It's ok if your heels touch the ground, it's just that most of the push comes from the mid-foot so you don't have to tiptoe like Willy

Take a break if the pain doesn't go away before the next run, we want to avoid an injury.

 

[PrahaGold]

Thanks tara! And great going!

Perhaps it won't be all bad if my ankles are still a bit hurtful tomorrow; maybe that will make me run more carefully. Maybe my strides aren't small enough and my foot lands in front of my body instead of under it. From what I understand, this is the most common mistake among newbies. I will try taking short strides next time. I have also read an interview with a professional runner who was a stomper and he said that his physician gave him the tip to listen to his own steps and try to make them as silent as possible which eventually taught him proper running technique. Stay tuned!

 

[PrahaGold]

Well, my past two runs have been cancelled. My ankles were still somewhat hurtful and after receiving the advice to not run when my body tells me not to, I've decided to rest some more. Unfortunately this will probably mean that I will have to repeat week 2 altogether, since I'm not confident at all that I will still be prepared properly for week 3's somewhat steep curve (week 2 has one running for 90 seconds at a time, week 3 starts with 3 minute running intervals). I'm very much afraid that this additional rest time will kill my discipline though, as I tend to fall back into doing nothing rather easily.

 

[offthewall14420]

No running for me. Lot's of hiking up steep trails. Idiopathic osteonecrosis of hip. It's painful to have tiny pieces of femur break off get ground up in the joint.

I requested to stay awake during replacement surgery and made it about half-way. They were pounding in the femur socket then sawing when i told Dr. Feelgood to knock me out. They wouldn't give me anymore drugs. After surgery I woke up and my BP was still low, still no more pain meds. OMFG that was painful. Hurts to remember.

 

[tarallucci]

Hey Praha, any updates?

I did an intense mountain bike session this past Tuesday. One hour all uphill (except coming back obviously), my heart was thumping but just because I hadn't gone that steep road in a while. It's always hard to reach the top alive either way.

Then the man of my dreams passed by and I was done, he took my little breath left away. Seeing him was the main goal all along by the way.

Today, over 8 kilometers walking. Sometimes the application counts the steps alone and other times it doesn't, it's asking me to uninstall lol. I love doing this whenever I don't work and have enough energies... I wish I could learn and practice other sports as well, like tennis.

Have you considered another activity that might not be taxing or as taxing as running on your body? I don't know, aerobics maybe.

 

[Hidden Element]

I love running been using nike+ app for a while racked up some decent miles on it now. Tend to arravge about 4 miles a run in about 30 mins. Been fousing on weights lately. But cardio to me is so much easier