The Official Thread for Runners

[ERCougar]

I'm impressed - how many 10 mile repeats did you do?

Truthfully - I wonder about this myself sometimes. And I get superstitious about what effect my shoes may be having on my calf muscle issues. I'm thinking I might try something similar just to see what happens. After all, it won't be worse than having an injury and not being able to run, will it? I've already got that!

I'm convinced that my latest injury is due to me over-changing my stride. I was a heel striker before the change and became more of a forefoot striker after the change. The symptoms of my issues seemed to be very similar to what people experience when they over do hill training, which led me to believe that I needed to pull back a bit and try to mid-foot strike. Essentially, I'm finding a middle ground between injuries (stress fracture from heel striking and achilles/muscle issues from forefoot striking). I'm hoping that my new and improved running method is what will allow me to increase my miles to marathon training distance and keep me from getting injured in the process. We'll see.

I definitely think it's worth a shot, especially if you're starting over building up miles. I love the MT10s. I've been running in the various models for 2-3 years now and it's easily my favorite shoe to run in. Gives you a nice feel of the ground without the dorkiness of the VFFs (plus, a little more protection from road stuff). Kinvara's are considered semi-minimalist, but really, they feel really big and bulky next to the MT10s, and you don't get the same feedback, which is why I'm suspicious that they contributed to my ITBS, particularly given that I had just replaced them and gotten all of the new "injury-preventing" cushioning. It's an N of 1, but I'm starting to really wonder.

[FN Phat]

Against!
And if youre on a bike, With.
I hate it when people don't follow these rules, especially the bike one. It's really dangerous.

exactly why i asked. I was on a run (I can say run for the first time because my fat ass was sprinting for a portion when I was being chased by a pitbull and American Bulldog) Sunday evening when I motorist stopped and asked why I was running against the flow of traffic. I live in the country so it is not uncommon for folk to have lenghty conversation in the middle of the road. I explained that I was always under the impression that while walking/jogging/running you go against and if on the bike go with. The ol' man mentioned that he was a retired police officer and that I was wrong. I said thanks for the heads up, ran on the same side of the flow of traffic until he was out of sight and then shifted to the other side of the road for the remaining portion of my fat man stumble/jog. The thing is, the old man got me second guessing myself. Thanks for the clarification/confirmation.

[Surfah]

exactly why i asked. I was on a run (I can say run for the first time because my fat ass was sprinting for a portion when I was being chased by a pitbull and American Bulldog) Sunday evening when I motorist stopped and asked why I was running against the flow of traffic. I live in the country so it is not uncommon for folk to have lenghty conversation in the middle of the road. I explained that I was always under the impression that while walking/jogging/running you go against and if on the bike go with. The ol' man mentioned that he was a retired police officer and that I was wrong. I said thanks for the heads up, ran on the same side of the flow of traffic until he was out of sight and then shifted to the other side of the road for the remaining portion of my fat man stumble/jog. The thing is, the old man got me second guessing myself. Thanks for the clarification/confirmation.

Yeah you need to run with a stick in your neighborhood. I too got chased by a dog on a run while visiting you. Then some old lady flagged me down to help her remove a log that had wedged between the blade in her riding mower when she ran over it. I must have tuckered that dog out though because when I ran back to your house the dog barely lifted its head off the porch he was laying down on. I think that was the first and last time I attempted running there.

[FN Phat]

Yeah you need to run with a stick in your neighborhood. I too got chased by a dog on a run while visiting you. Then some old lady flagged me down to help her remove a log that had wedged between the blade in her riding mower when she ran over it. I must have tuckered that dog out though because when I ran back to your house the dog barely lifted its head off the porch he was laying down on. I think that was the first and last time I attempted running there.

ha! That is exactly what I did. I left the stick at an undisclosed location so that I can pick it up right before I hit the same house again. You know when you leave the neighborhood and take a right? I think that is the way that you went when you almost passed out. After the s-curve there is a house with a huge front yard. The two dogs were running through the yard and didn't bark. I never heard them until the bulldog growled at me on the road. I have never ran so fast in my life.

[Surfah]

ha! That is exactly what I did. I left the stick at an undisclosed location so that I can pick it up right before I hit the same house again. You know when you leave the neighborhood and take a right? I think that is the way that you went when you almost passed out. After the s-curve there is a house with a huge front yard. The two dogs were running through the yard and didn't bark. I never heard them until the bulldog growled at me on the road. I have never ran so fast in my life.

Might have been the same dog. I took that right and basically from a house before the S just to about the next T was a full on sprint.

I forgot I almost passed out. I think that was from being upside down trying to get under the mower after my 400m dash. I felt awful. I thought I was going to blackout right there in that ladies yard.

[MarkGrace]

exactly why i asked. I was on a run (I can say run for the first time because my fat ass was sprinting for a portion when I was being chased by a pitbull and American Bulldog) Sunday evening when I motorist stopped and asked why I was running against the flow of traffic. I live in the country so it is not uncommon for folk to have lenghty conversation in the middle of the road. I explained that I was always under the impression that while walking/jogging/running you go against and if on the bike go with. The ol' man mentioned that he was a retired police officer and that I was wrong. I said thanks for the heads up, ran on the same side of the flow of traffic until he was out of sight and then shifted to the other side of the road for the remaining portion of my fat man stumble/jog. The thing is, the old man got me second guessing myself. Thanks for the clarification/confirmation.

I remember police or other safety peeps telling me that when I was a kid. Never made sense to me.

[bluegoose]

I got chased by a couple of dogs 3 weeks ago on my morning run.

I was out on a quiet country road and had taken a side trip into an undeveloped business park with exactly one way in or out. When I finished my 2 mile out and back there were two dogs guarding the exit. One was a German Shepherd and one was a mid size terrier of some sort. Fortunately I saw them coming early enough that I was able to grab a couple of sticks. The German Shepherd growled and barked a bit but backed off when I yelled and swung the stick at him. The little terrier was much more persistent and followed me for about 150 yards, barking and nipping at my heels whenever I turned my head away from him for even a second. One of my swings with the stick grazed him enough to scare him away eventually.

I love dogs, but wouldn't have felt a bit bad if I had been able to connect with one of those wild haymakers that I was swinging.

[BigPiney]

I got chased by a couple of dogs 3 weeks ago on my morning run.

I was out on a quiet country road and had taken a side trip into an undeveloped business park with exactly one way in or out. When I finished my 2 mile out and back there were two dogs guarding the exit. One was a German Shepherd and one was a mid size terrier of some sort. Fortunately I saw them coming early enough that I was able to grab a couple of sticks. The German Shepherd growled and barked a bit but backed off when I yelled and swung the stick at him. The little terrier was much more persistent and followed me for about 150 yards, barking and nipping at my heels whenever I turned my head away from him for even a second. One of my swings with the stick grazed him enough to scare him away eventually.

I love dogs, but wouldn't have felt a bit bad if I had been able to connect with one of those wild haymakers that I was swinging.

That would probably have been enough for me to return with my car and a baseball bat. One of the two would do the job.

[lambdacoug]

That would probably have been enough for me to return with my car and a baseball bat. One of the two would do the job.

It's why I run with pepper spray. I f*ing hate the dogs while out running.

[Surfah]

Our stake center is out in the country (super random location, not close to anyone). There is a runner I have passed on the roads out there numerous times. He runs with his shirt off and a large metal pipe. It looks like a giant relay baton.

[MarkGrace]

I'm glad I run in the city. Only have to worry about getting hit by cars.

[bluegoose]

Kinvara 3s are on sale today at amazon for $54.95 with free shipping for prime customers.

[Pheidippides]

Kinvara 3s are on sale today at amazon for $54.95 with free shipping for prime customers.

Hurry because this won't last. The Kinvara 4 comes out in a couple of weeks.

[BigPiney]

Kinvara 3s are on sale today at amazon for $54.95 with free shipping for prime customers.

Ran 5 miles in mine last night. Holy crap, my calves were screaming. Guess I need to slowly phase in the minimalist shoes.

[bluegoose]

Ran 5 miles in mine last night. Holy crap, my calves were screaming. Guess I need to slowly phase in the minimalist shoes.

I never do consecutive runs with my kinvaras and I rarely use them on my longer weekend runs over 9 or 10 miles. They have been great for the shorter runs and for speedwork, but I've always had the thought in the back of my head that if I use them too much or too frequently that I could get myself into trouble. So far so good, though, as I have avoided injuries of any kind in over a year.