The Official Thread for Runners

[Pheidippides]

That book has started a craze that, as more major shoe companies start making their own versions of vibrams, I predict will lead to a surge of injuries among runners. I'm not saying the whole book/idea is crap--of course it's not; just that a lot of people will think "hey the Tarahumara did it so can I" and "running minimally shod is so ultra-cool" and they'll buy their vibrams and start running every day in them and BAM injury.

I say this in part because I've already seen it happen a few times. People new to running, who read the book and got sucked into all the hype out there and the running-shoes-are-evil mentality. Never having run for longer than 10 minutes in their lives to that point and away they go. Or another lady who thought she could buy some VFF and keep her current training schedule, and was shocked a week later to have serious foot/ankle/calf problems.

.02

OB, you are spot on. I have read a ton of literature that recommends midfoot striking as the way to go, but I've also read even more that says not to jump into it all at once or else you will get injures. I personally like the Newton running idea - good shoes made for that sort of stride - and may eventually move there. But, valid or not (and it should be obvious that I agree with the general concepts), the theory of barefoot running has produced a crazy fad and with it crazy people who just aren'y willing to do it right. I can match your experiences with friends of my own who have done the same thing. One friend missed a marathon completely because of stress fractures. Heck, I spent an entire childhood mostly barefoot and I'm taking my time (and really only doing it for form training, at least for now).

[bluegoose]

That book has started a craze that, as more major shoe companies start making their own versions of vibrams, I predict will lead to a surge of injuries among runners. I'm not saying the whole book/idea is crap--of course it's not; just that a lot of people will think "hey the Tarahumara did it so can I" and "running minimally shod is so ultra-cool" and they'll buy their vibrams and start running every day in them and BAM injury.

This.

I'm not saying that the craze is total bunk, but I am also firmly not on the minimalist bandwagon. I wish that i had more time to devote to talking about it, but I dont right now.

Mainly I just think that its a fad that is too new to be taken seriously and will eventually die out or at least die down.

[Sea Chicken]

I went down hard this morning. It was foggy and slick out. The roads weren't too bad, but the sidewalks were really slick. There was a stretch where I couldn't run on the road and I was literally five feet from the end of the sidewalk and I went flying. I somehow landed on my ankle and had to turn around and limp home.
I had run every day except Sundays so far this month (year). I think my streak will end on Monday.

[Pheidippides]

I went down hard this morning. It was foggy and slick out. The roads weren't too bad, but the sidewalks were really slick. There was a stretch where I couldn't run on the road and I was literally five feet from the end of the sidewalk and I went flying. I somehow landed on my ankle and had to turn around and limp home.
I had run every day except Sundays so far this month (year). I think my streak will end on Monday.

Ouch! Hopefully you heal up quickly.

Day two of running with my new stride today. I have a lot of muscle work to do (my calves are on fire!) but so far so good. It feels so much smoother. Running with good posture has fixed about 60% of the issues I was seeing. A few additional tweaks have helped the rest.

I'm having my wife take some video of me sometime next week for me to analyze, so I can really see if there is a difference. But at least my shadow looks better. And I'm much smoother and faster - running at a 6:30 pace isn't exactly effortless yet, but it's a nicer to look at I'm sure.

[Moliere]

I found out my race strategy for my 5k. Last night I tired to run 2 miles at a pace that is faster than usual for me. I wanted to have 7:45 splits* and figured I coudl do that since I've gotten down to 8:08 splits on 3 mile runs. After the first mile I was gassed and I only had a split of 7:47. I pushed through the second mile and ended up with a split of 8:01 but I was dead at that point.

I think my problem was that I pushed too hard the first 1/2 mile. In the past I've found that when I start off at about a 8:15 ro 8:30 pace I can usually press it a bit on the second and third mile more than I can if I start out too quickly. I have no idea why this is, but my body (and mostly my lungs) seem to do better if I give them some time to warm up.

So my race strategy is going to go out at a 8:15 pace and then try to drop it down below 8:00 for miles 2 and 3. We'll see how it goes.

*I realize these splits are pretty bad compared to those who run a lot but I'm honestly not a distance runner. However I do want to be able to run in the 22 to 23 minute range of a 5k at some point in the near future. Hopefully I can get there by continuing to just run and workout.

[Sea Chicken]

I found out my race strategy for my 5k. Last night I tired to run 2 miles at a pace that is faster than usual for me. I wanted to have 7:45 splits* and figured I coudl do that since I've gotten down to 8:08 splits on 3 mile runs. After the first mile I was gassed and I only had a split of 7:47. I pushed through the second mile and ended up with a split of 8:01 but I was dead at that point.

I think my problem was that I pushed too hard the first 1/2 mile. In the past I've found that when I start off at about a 8:15 ro 8:30 pace I can usually press it a bit on the second and third mile more than I can if I start out too quickly. I have no idea why this is, but my body (and mostly my lungs) seem to do better if I give them some time to warm up.

So my race strategy is going to go out at a 8:15 pace and then try to drop it down below 8:00 for miles 2 and 3. We'll see how it goes.

*I realize these splits are pretty bad compared to those who run a lot but I'm honestly not a distance runner. However I do want to be able to run in the 22 to 23 minute range of a 5k at some point in the near future. Hopefully I can get there by continuing to just run and workout.

Keep in mind the when the gun goes off, you are going to have an adrenaline rush and start out a lot faster than you had planned. I would guess your first quarter mile will be at about a 7:00 pace.

[Moliere]

Keep in mind the when the gun goes off, you are going to have an adrenaline rush and start out a lot faster than you had planned. I would guess your first quarter mile will be at about a 7:00 pace.

I've thought about that and am thinking of consciously slowing myself down. I ran the 400m in high school and although it is a sprint, it's not a sprint like the 100m. When I first started running the 400m I would push too hard at the beginning and come down the last stretch totally gassed. Then I learned that if I got out of the blocks fast just to get my speed up and then coast a bit I would save some energy for the final push and reduced my time by a couple seconds.

I think I'm going to have to do the same with this race. Or maybe with the adrenaline the faster pace at the beginning won't hurt me. I guess I really don't know until I try all the different methods, but based on last night I can't do a 7:00 pace for 1/2 mile and finish the race strong.....at least not yet.

[Sea Chicken]

Still injured after crashing and burning on the ice last Saturday. This will be my first zero-mile week since 2007. I'm starting to go through withdrawl.

[Moliere]

So I struggle to run 2 miles at 8:00 pace (I was trying for 7:45) and then last night I run almost 6 miles at 8:25 pace It's amazing what a difference backing off just a bit will do to my ability to run far. I'm trying to find the pace at which my body will recover enough to allow me to run forever (or 10 miles or so). I probably could really use a heart monitor to help in this quest.

[happyone]

Still injured after crashing and burning on the ice last Saturday. This will be my first zero-mile week since 2007. I'm starting to go through withdrawl.

That sucks - I get antsy if I skip a day

Some observations from last nights walk

- on one leg of my route, there are two bank temprature signs with in a quarter mile of each other - last night there was 6 degrees difference between them 32 - 38. There is another sign a couple of miles away that split the difference - 35

- for some reason when there is snow out people don't pick up after there dogs. There are some spots on my route that you have to be careful where you step.

- Are white miniture schnauzers that rare? People have stopped me 4 or 5 times in the last few weeks to ask what breed of dog Otis is.

- I hate it when my shoe comes untied while I am jogging
.

[Pheidippides]

So I struggle to run 2 miles at 8:00 pace (I was trying for 7:45) and then last night I run almost 6 miles at 8:25 pace It's amazing what a difference backing off just a bit will do to my ability to run far. I'm trying to find the pace at which my body will recover enough to allow me to run forever (or 10 miles or so). I probably could really use a heart monitor to help in this quest.

The price of garmin 305s has dropped quite a bit over the past couple years....

[old_gregg]

The price of garmin 305s has dropped quite a bit over the past couple years....

i've actually been looking into getting one with the cadence sensor for my bike (and i suppose the occasional and awful days when i run). is the 305 better than the 405? the 305 is ridiculously cheap right now, like <$120.

[bluegoose]

i've actually been looking into getting one with the cadence sensor for my bike (and i suppose the occasional and awful days when i run). is the 305 better than the 405? the 305 is ridiculously cheap right now, like <$120.

I don't know that it is better than the 405, but at $120 it is a screaming deal. When ewth8ter tipped us all off on the costco deal of $150 a few years ago I was totally thrilled it was such a good deal. If mine went down today I would buy another without hesitation. I use it on the bike and for running, btw.

[Moliere]

The price of garmin 305s has dropped quite a bit over the past couple years....

Very tempting especially since my GPS on my iPhone went crazy last night. I run both Endomondo and Nike at the same time. Nike stopped after I finished listening to my first album and I'm still not sure why Nike set it up to do that. I forgot to start it again after putting on some new music. Endomondo just went crazy, which I only noticed when it gave me a 4:45 split on mile 5 .

I might just do it, but I'll wait until my tax refund comes through. I'll let me wife get new leather couches and I'll get a watch

Is the 405 better? The 305 seems really big.

[BigPiney]

The price of garmin 305s has dropped quite a bit over the past couple years....

They have and they are well worth it. Best equipment I have ever purchased.

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-Forerunner-Receiver-Heart-Monitor/dp/B000CSWCQA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1296230680&sr=8-1"]Amazon.com: Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS Receiver With Heart Rate Monitor: Garmin: Electronics@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51lHg9ZcN7L.@@AMEPARAM@@51lHg9ZcN7L[/ame]

I would love a 405 in case any one is looking at presents for me.