Sports & Fitness The Running Thread (All Abilities)

Good distance and time @duarnerek

Great tip about the compression shorts, might see if I can get hold of some. I do run in skins since that calf niggle, but they're not particularity compresive up the top. The yoga is really keeping me get more aligned and listen and feel what the body is doing.

 

Hi @Propagate whilst you are carrying this injury or problem maybe try for firmer surfaces. Sand might be soft however having so much give it will be taxing musculo-skeletal elements even further perhaps impacting on healing.

Avoid concrete if you can, however tan bark trail or firm gravel or even bitumen might be favoured till you sort out your hips.

 

Interesting, cheers @Player I'll head back up to the boardwalks on Wednesday, they're firm but being elevated timber have a little give.

 

Not sure if you have access to an Alter-g machine - reduced gravity running. This is what got me moving after my accident. Also Clinical Pilates.

 

Never heard of one @Heinz57 I do have a stinking cold, green cess pit of a backyard pool though! Could maybe do some water resistance running? I think hypothermia may be an issue though.... ;-)

Although I think the Yoga may have contributed to it initially, perhaps overstretched the hip muscles, I think it is now helping somewhat. Will see how the next few weeks go.

How's your running coming along @Heinz57 are you managing to get out? Did you start on the app?

 

Anyone been to Running Science in Rozelle, Sydney?
I've booked in a 1hr assessment for tomorrow to get form analysed to see if it's been contributing to my previous injuries.
Runners Clinic
Might grab a pair or 2 of shoes while I'm there, gonna be a bit of a hit to the wallet but better than spending on smokes and alcohol...

 

I has a running assessment done a couple of years ago along with a few others in our local running club. Did prove useful for a couple of things, however, a couple of the people who had some changes suggested to their technique got a few injuries in the following month or so. Just something to be mindful of if they suggest major changes to form.

 

Yeah, I've read about if you change your natural form it can often do more harm than good.
I just want to get an opinion and clarification of my anatomy, which I know is not perfect for a runner/sprinter, but have to work with what I've got.
I am training for sprints, so not quite as repetitive as long distance running, which may result differently to form changes if required.

 

Be very interesting to hear how you get on @Ace in the Hole

I fared a little better today, hip niggle came on around 5k ish but not too bad, so every lap I did 10x2 side-side paces, (don't know what they are called), and that seemed to relieve it and I'd get another 2-3 laps with no issue before it crept back on. Did that every few laps and pulled then pin at 7.5k before it took hold.

Hopefully turning a corner.

 

Keep working on it Prop.

I''l update my results after the assessment.
Got all sorts of bad **** going on.
Mild valgus knee, toe out/heel whip, splayed feet causing pronation on contact...
Still aiming to run a low 11s 100m next year in my early 40's.

 

My original goal was Melbourne marathon this year, (first go at marathon distance and only started running in January this year), That's not going to happen, this body is not responding well to ramping up too quickly ;-)

So, current new goal is to run my first Marathon Distance 42k, (route yet to be determined), on 4th Feb 2018 which will be my 42nd birthday!

 

Yeah, it's tricky ramping up too quickly when training for a marathon. It's best to build a base of easy consistent running for about 3 months, then slowly ramp up from there (no more than 10% increase per week).

 

For what it's worth, during my sprinting years I spent a lot of time stretching and attending stretching classes which in retrospect was wasted energy. I would have been far better off employing that time on self massage, typically with a baseball or tennis bal. Just my two cents ..

 

Unfortunately no 'body' responds well to ramping up too quick(unless you were super conditioned in previous years...) Injury is one of the main reasons why so many quit on running and i can guaranty you the number one cause of injury is breaking the 10% rule as per @mrdobalina above.

Your pain creeping back simply means your injury is still there and any wrong move can step you back to point 0.
If your pain is sharp(as opposed to discomfort) ,take it easy for a week or two and get back to a 100% and then build up again. Don't start from where you stopped mileage wise.
Your mind will hate it but your body will love it and you will come back to it a lot stronger and much better conditioned. Also might be good to see if your other activities are making things worse!

 

Not sharp pain, dull pain that gets worse as the run continues (been pulling the pin before it gets too uncomfortable).

Indeed the mind HATES it.....

Built up nice and slow initially from 0k to 10+12k over 5 months or so, with relatively few issues aside from the disc (which is an old injury to begin with), played nice in the 12-15k range for a while with the hip giving out once at 13k on a 15k run, (too much concrete) then it came good. Then it went again with no warning at 7k (concrete again) but I stupidly kept going and finished the run (my first 21k). It's not been right since. My own fault.

My biggest run since then has been 7.5k and it's taken 3-4 weeks to get back to that. I'll be staying under 10k until the point at which I'm pain free at the 10k point still then slowly build back up from there. Concentrating on good form at the moment and keeping the pace off.

Feels like it's coming good, was really looking forward to a run today but yesterday' Yoga class was handstand day! I have to say, a 41 year old man pulling hand stands in a room full of nice, supple young ladies is quite a site! I had great fun but my lower back does not agree this morning.....

My other activities are definitely making it worse, (maybe not worse, but certainly holding up recovery), but it's a juggling act as they are helping elsewhere. I'm so much more flexible and strong from the climbing and yoga, and my heads in a great place since the yoga too but it is definitely at the expense of my hips. They're so tight that even the basic yoga hip opening moves are uncomfortable. I'll keep the k's off until the muscles come good from the Yoga and everything should come together nicely at some point (if I haven't fallen apart by then).

 

Great run this morning, heaps of stretching first, back loosened off nice and I just went out for a cruisey 5k around the oval, pulled up before anything started niggling. Felt good, kept good form and a super consistent 4:50/4:51 minutes per k. Heaps of stretching afterwards and hip feels fine.

I think that will be the key for the next few weeks, slow, steady and pull up before any niggles take hold.

 

Went hard during yesterdays run. Great weather for it(11-12 degrees) even though it was as bit windy which made the run a fair bit harder but maintained sub 4 minute/km pace for the whole of the run.
The new Mizuno's are pretty comfy but one really annoying thing about them is how loud they are. Even if i grab them by hand tap them on the ground, they still make like an echoing thump. Annoying since i'm a pretty silent runner but the legs are feeling so much better.
Also upped my carb intake(made some homemade eggless pasta! ) this week which seems to have made a big difference in my last run as i was able to push harder for longer.

Hope the Hip is coming along better @Propagate

 

Sub 4's - that's awesome @paulF

I had a ripper run this morning! Had a real good stretch before hand and was cursing the torrential rain through the office window all morning, it broke just long enough for me to take a punt on staying dry.

I hit the oval but it was a quagmire (obviously), so threw caution to the wind and headed off down the bike path.

I kept the seed off again and really watched my form, every few k's I did the scissor strides and that really seemed to help.

Before I knew it I'd hit the turn around point and headed back the office for a comfortable 10k with little to no issues. I was aware of the hip but it didn't eventuate into anything, so I'm very pleased.

Kept the pace steady at 5 minute k's and interestingly enough, pulled up for my third fastest 10k at 50:35, (my fastest is 49:46. I haven't done many 10k's and when I have I've set out to go as fast as I can for them and only once gone sub 50 minutes, each time I've been smashed at the end too. This one was super cruisey, smooth and "relatively" easy, pulled up at the end barely winded and feeling good yet almost as fast as my PB!

I'm stoked with that, I guess the training has been paying off.

 

Thanks for the support. My running has been rubbish due to selling our PPOR but we are moving to Southbank where there is a weekly park run so will give that a go. Also nice flat track for exercise

Meanwhile I recommend the alter g AlterG Anti-Gravity Treadmill - Australian Distributors if there is one near you. It's like moonwalking!

 

@Propagate congrats on your run! But... running 10k at your pb pace when you're still recovering from an injury rings huge alarm bells to me. Why so fast?

You're wanting to build up to a marathon in feb 2018? Now seems like the perfect time to invest in base running. Totally ignore your pace and run to your aerobic heart rate. I'm guessing this may be something like155bmp max (you'll need to do the calc from your max hr). Keep training within this zone and it teaches your body fuel from fats instead of sugar and will improve efficiency (lactate removal and energy production). Maintain this hr and watch your pace improve..

Ditching the pace is hard to do and requires a big ego adjustment.. I've swallowed my pride and let people holding quite a bit more weight pass me. The results are worth it.

Can read more here.. Aerobic base training: Going slower to get faster

You're stretching before running? Is that static (stationary) or dynamic? Studies show static stretching when your muscles are cold can do more harm than good.. I reckon yoga alone (with lots of leg specific stretching) may be enough?