The Marathon Thread - been bitten by the running bug or just crazy?

[theimage13]

I've got six weeks to gear up for a 10k. I think mainly what worries me is getting a cold between now and then. For some reason I always get sick when I train hard. Any ideas on avoiding it?

Don't train AS hard?

Serious suggestion. I used to work for a newspaper (hundreds of miles of travel a week + long days on your feet with a bunch of gear). For the 14 months I worked there, I also went to the gym 3-4 days a week before work. Nothing so strenuous that I couldn't move afterward, but enough to stay in shape. And in that year plus, I never got so much as a minor cold. Hence my suggestion to train, but just not like a total beast. Obviously everyone's different and your results may vary!

[sentient02970]

Doing yet another 100 mile relay tomorrow (4th year in a row for my team and this event). After chemo I'm expecting it to be slow as death for me but I LOVE this race. It is such a beautiful way to see the state in all its glory (covered bridges, farmland on both sides of the roadway, small little towns..). Weather is expected to be perfect. I run the first leg (3 mile trails) then we hit the road and I run two other legs (one is around 6 miles and the other 6.7 or so, don't care). That last 6.7 leg is all uphill through the mountains, oh boy. I hope to survive and be back on here after. We shall see. Psyched anyway.

[theimage13]

Doing yet another 100 mile relay tomorrow (4th year in a row for my team and this event). After chemo I'm expecting it to be slow as death for me but I LOVE this race. It is such a beautiful way to see the state in all its glory (covered bridges, farmland on both sides of the roadway, small little towns..). Weather is expected to be perfect. I run the first leg (3 mile trails) then we hit the road and I run two other legs (one is around 6 miles and the other 6.7 or so, don't care). That last 6.7 leg is all uphill through the mountains, oh boy. I hope to survive and be back on here after. We shall see. Psyched anyway.

I think I said this on the last page, but it bears repeating: you're kind of fucking awesome.

Also, thanks to the nearly shin-breaking fight I got into with some rigging gear last week, I haven't so much as jogged in a little bit. I felt like a sloth already, then I read about your adventures and really feel like a lazy bum.

[sentient02970]

Thanks I had fun but my quads are shot so I'm hobbljng through my vacation in Colorado now. No if you have shin issues its totally OK to take it easy...its not lazy. Run/jog when you feel better! Enjoy the break.

[REPLICA]

I found that I have two exams the day after Atlanta Marathon… SO. I am going to try to register for the Greensboro marathon since it is two days before my exams and I won't have to drive hundreds of miles and I'll have time to study. I think some of the people from the running club here on campus are doing the Greensboro marathon/half marathon too.

[theimage13]

I found that I have two exams the day after Atlanta Marathon… SO. I am going to try to register for the Greensboro marathon since it is two days before my exams and I won't have to drive hundreds of miles and I'll have time to study. I think some of the people from the running club here on campus are doing the Greensboro marathon/half marathon too.

Ah, just pre-record your own notes and listen to 'em during the run and drive!

(before you hit me: kidding)

[hellospaceboy]

I went for a REALLY long run today just so I can listen to Hesitation Marks in peace...

[REPLICA]

So… I probably qualify for the "or just crazy" portion of this title. I know I have Greensboro coming up soon (30 days to go) and my longest run since coming back to school has been a 7.3 miler this past weekend. It seems that I almost never get to train properly for the fall races. I told my running club I was going to go for it and they are pretty supportive, so we'll see what happens.

[REPLICA]

Greensboro Marathon - 5:11:33. I started to get blisters on my feet at MILE 9. SO. I now have blisters on my feet, one that is a little bigger than a penny. I PR'ed my Half distance though, 2:09:55 (by five seconds). Got beer and food and now I am listening to NIN's EVERYTHING!! I SURVIVED EVERYTHING.

[hellospaceboy]

I ran the Jacksonville Bank Marathon yesterday, and broke the 4 hour barrier!!! I came in at 3:58:32, and even though my leg started cramping up pretty bad at mile 22 I felt fantastic!
This was my 2nd marathon and my time improved by over 30 minutes

EDIT: I meant to add that I managed to avoid hitting the wall! It killed my last 3 miles on my first marathon, so I did everything I could to dodge it this time. Made the entire experience a very enjoyable one.

[REPLICA]

i ran the jacksonville bank marathon yesterday, and broke the 4 hour barrier!!! I came in at 3:58:32, and even though my leg started cramping up pretty bad at mile 22 i felt fantastic!
This was my 2nd marathon and my time improved by over 30 minutes

edit: I meant to add that i managed to avoid hitting the wall! It killed my last 3 miles on my first marathon, so i did everything i could to dodge it this time. Made the entire experience a very enjoyable one.

excellent job!! You did great!

[hellospaceboy]

^^^
Thanks!

[Dra508]

I ran the Jacksonville Bank Marathon yesterday, and broke the 4 hour barrier!!! I came in at 3:58:32, and even though my leg started cramping up pretty bad at mile 22 I felt fantastic!
This was my 2nd marathon and my time improved by over 30 minutes

EDIT: I meant to add that I managed to avoid hitting the wall! It killed my last 3 miles on my first marathon, so I did everything I could to dodge it this time. Made the entire experience a very enjoyable one.

Wow, that's awesome. How did you shave so much time off?

[hellospaceboy]

Wow, that's awesome. How did you shave so much time off?

Thanks! I was much more strict about my long distance runs leading up to the race than the first time around. I knew better what to expect I guess.
Also, when I got to mile 8 I accidentally caught up to the 3:45 pacer team, and that was the point when I would have naturally start to slow down, but I decided to try to keep up with them. I manage to follow them till mile 20, and from there I had exactly one hour to run the last 6 miles and still finish under 4, and 10 min/mile IS my comfy pace, so it wasn't that much of a stretch.

Speaking of training: I keep a running diary, and I just went over my 2013 logs: last year I ran 807.75 miles (1299.5 km) and went running 159 times! Not too bad!

[theimage13]

All right runners, I need some advice.

I want to run. Really, I do. I love the simplicity of it; the convenience of it, and I feel great mentally when I'm running. But I can't actually do it. Three runs in four days - none longer than about two miles - and my knees feel absolutely wrecked. I can run longer distances with longer breaks between them, but I want to be able to run several times a week. I'm a pretty thin (read: not very muscly) person, and admittedly, my modest lifting routine at the gym doesn't actually include any leg exercises at all. I'm going to guess that I need to change that, but are there specific muscles that I should be targeting to help with knee pain? I seem to remember someone telling me that hams and quads were crucial because of the way they work with the ligaments in your knees - any idea if I'm on the right track there?

[cahernandez]

All right runners, I need some advice.

I want to run. Really, I do. I love the simplicity of it; the convenience of it, and I feel great mentally when I'm running. But I can't actually do it. Three runs in four days - none longer than about two miles - and my knees feel absolutely wrecked. I can run longer distances with longer breaks between them, but I want to be able to run several times a week. I'm a pretty thin (read: not very muscly) person, and admittedly, my modest lifting routine at the gym doesn't actually include any leg exercises at all. I'm going to guess that I need to change that, but are there specific muscles that I should be targeting to help with knee pain? I seem to remember someone telling me that hams and quads were crucial because of the way they work with the ligaments in your knees - any idea if I'm on the right track there?

This is LOADED with good information: http://www.runnersworld.com/beginner...s-my-knee-hurt

In other words, your problem has no easy answer. I'd say that you may have a tracking problem (which I do have at the moment, actually) because your leg muscles are not developed. Also, you have to build up your running distances gradually, and allow yourself breaks. I typically swim one day, run one day, and cycle every day (I bike-commute to work).

Your hips have to be strong for serious running, your hips and your knees are very much connected. Look into doing hip abduction and hip adduction exercises. Like you said, hamstrings and quads have to be strong too.

The article talks about body mechanics, I went to a PT who looked at my gait, this may be expensive, so you could have a friend film you on a treadmill and then look at the video in slow motion...there are several things that a gait analysis could show you, but the most important one (I think) is if you're striking with your heels or with the ball of your feet. Striking with your heels is a no-no and something that could cause you knee pain. If you're landing with your heels when you run, you have to change your pose. Lean slightly forward and exaggerate the motions of running (ie. lift your knees higher when they go forward, and almost hit your butt when your leg goes behind you). Look up 'pose running' videos on YouTube. It will be tougher to run on the balls of your heels specially if you're not used to it, your calves would have to be strong for this. It's easier to run on the ball of your feet while running barefoot, although if you're going to go there, you will need to transition really slowly, otherwise you could hurt yourself.

If all this does not work (you still have knee pain), maybe you have flat feet. Try a good brand of over-the-counter insoles (Super Feet is a good brand, will run you about $50). If this does not work you will need to see an orthopedist for custom insoles (which are more expensive and not covered by most insurances). I know it because I've been through all of this. Good luck!

ps. I would also recommend you shoes with not a ton of support (but not minimal support either). I use these http://www.nike.com/us/en_us/c/runni...unarglide-plus

[hellospaceboy]

All right runners, I need some advice.

I want to run. Really, I do. I love the simplicity of it; the convenience of it, and I feel great mentally when I'm running. But I can't actually do it. Three runs in four days - none longer than about two miles - and my knees feel absolutely wrecked. I can run longer distances with longer breaks between them, but I want to be able to run several times a week. I'm a pretty thin (read: not very muscly) person, and admittedly, my modest lifting routine at the gym doesn't actually include any leg exercises at all. I'm going to guess that I need to change that, but are there specific muscles that I should be targeting to help with knee pain? I seem to remember someone telling me that hams and quads were crucial because of the way they work with the ligaments in your knees - any idea if I'm on the right track there?

When I first started running my knees hurt really bad, too. What helped me was when I started running on the grass next to the road instead of the concrete. Wow, it sounds silly now that I wrote it down, but that solved the problem for me.

[theimage13]

Ah, some things I should have added:

I did have my stride analyzed a couple years ago, and started buying shoes based on that. It did help (before I couldn't even run two or three miles in one instance without major problems), so I think I'm on the right path as far as using the appropriate footwear for my gait. As for the suggestion to run on grass - not an option for a good portion of the year because of where I live, and when I'm on tour I'm often limited to hotel fitness centers. Believe me - I'd much rather go trail running than pound pavement!

Yeah, I know that running and knee pain is a huge can of worms and that answers aren't simple. I hadn't encountered any advice on hip abductions as part of my routine; I'll put that on the list of things to try at the gym. Thanks guys!

[nothing8]

So I'm trying to build myself up to running a half marathon this year, but so far whenever I go for a run (usually try to do 10km or more each Sunday) I come home with a brand new injury, or something feels sore every so often. I have been running for about a year now (once/twice every weekend sort of thing), I've been in a few timed events (City2Surf x2, Blackmores Running Festival) and come out of those feeling fine. Any info on how to prevent pain and injury (specifically ankle and knee pain)? It only ever happens every so often that I'll get something unbearable or something that will keep me from running for a bit, but I'd still rather be as injury free as possible.

EDIT: I just had look at the link cahernandez posted which was a great read (bookmarked for future reference), however I would love to hear from anyone else who faces these same problems?

[theimage13]

I wish I could chime in, but just days after posting my question on it, I ended up injuring my leg and pretty much putting running on the back burner for at least a few weeks. Hope you can get into it though! I'd love to do a half myself someday - I don't think I have the patience to do a full marathon (just in terms of not wanting to run that long uninterrupted).

[nothing8]

I wish I could chime in, but just days after posting my question on it, I ended up injuring my leg and pretty much putting running on the back burner for at least a few weeks. Hope you can get into it though! I'd love to do a half myself someday - I don't think I have the patience to do a full marathon (just in terms of not wanting to run that long uninterrupted).

Damn, sorry to hear about your injury!

I may have found a solution to my pain. I decided to head to the chemist the other day and had a look at their compression gear (after having a read of an article about it) and picked up a compression band for my knee and ankle. I used to strap my leg previously whenever I would have pain but this compression band is awesome, it works great in terms of minimising pain and keeping everything together. I wear the ankle one when I go to bed and it definitely helps a great deal. Also stretching for longer periods of time (I'm usually always in a rush so I tend to stupidly skip stretching post workout or I don't hold stretches for as long as I should) has definitely helped me too.

I ran the Colour (Australian spelling FTW) Run yesterday, according to them the course is 5km, but my tracker said it was 5.6km! Either way I managed to clock in at 32 minutes total (even though it is advertised as a 'fun run' me and a few other people decided to take it seriously like it was a proper timed event ) and I also managed to hit the 5km mark in under 30 minutes so I'm pretty chuffed at that. Here's a link to all the stats and whatnot:

http://www.endomondo.com/workouts/294793180/3114357

There's a half marathon event coming up in May this year which I'm definitely going to enter. Which means serious training starts now

[theimage13]

Also stretching for longer periods of time (I'm usually always in a rush so I tend to stupidly skip stretching post workout or I don't hold stretches for as long as I should) has definitely helped me too.

Not for nothing, but I've read a lot that suggests that static stretching can actually be extremely harmful, and that dynamic warm-ups can be much better for you. I know a number of runners who have actually said they started feeling better when they stopped doing "hold for 10" type stretches and started doing things that focused more on range of motion and loosening up your joints.

[Findus]

Not for nothing, but I've read a lot that suggests that static stretching can actually be extremely harmful, and that dynamic warm-ups can be much better for you. I know a number of runners who have actually said they started feeling better when they stopped doing "hold for 10" type stretches and started doing things that focused more on range of motion and loosening up your joints.

A couple of articles on the subject:

http://sock-doc.com/2011/04/stop-stretching/

http://sock-doc.com/2012/09/move_nat...-dont_stretch/

The Sock Doc has a lot of informative videos about injuries and injury prevention:
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheSockDoc

[nothing8]

A couple of articles on the subject:

http://sock-doc.com/2011/04/stop-stretching/

http://sock-doc.com/2012/09/move_nat...-dont_stretch/
The Sock Doc has a lot of informative videos about injuries and injury prevention:
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheSockDoc

I gave both of those articles a read and I have to say I only agree with half of what was said. A quick google search shows that everyone is pretty much divided on the subject to the point that you're better off just doing what leaves you feeling better at the end of the day. I did try NOT stretching before a run the other day and then didn't stretch afterwards and about an hour later I couldn't move and my knee cap felt like it was going to explode. I gave it a day before I tried a light run on the treadmill and again, I never stretched before hand but I did afterwards and I felt wonderful.

It's all good and well to seek advice from the internet and listen to the 'experts' and other people's advice, but at the end of the day you need to do whatever it is that makes you comfortable with yourself and what you're doing

Also, I signed up for that half marathon I mentioned earlier, 3 months of training leading up to it!

[theimage13]

Patellofemoral pain sydrome

Well, at least now I have a diagnosis and know what I need to do to make things better. Not fun to hear "this is a life long problem", but at least it's manageable and isn't really severe. Still...I'd really like to be able to just lace up my shoes and run out the door.

[nothing8]

Patellofemoral pain sydrome

Well, at least now I have a diagnosis and know what I need to do to make things better. Not fun to hear "this is a life long problem", but at least it's manageable and isn't really severe. Still...I'd really like to be able to just lace up my shoes and run out the door.

Damn, sorry to hear that! I just got back from the physio today and he told me what was wrong with me - my quad muscles are super tight and a little bit more on the weaker side of things which is causing my patella/knee cap to run off centre which is causing the crazy amount of pain in my knee! He showed me a couple of exercises to do and what stretches (yep, he recommended stretching ) to do to strengthen everything. Hopefully will be back up and running again starting on Monday!

It also didn't really help my situation having to brace myself in the pit at the NIN/QOTSA show on Thursday, but I'm not complaining

[the duder]

Ran a 5K yesterday; first time running since my last 5K in September. Hilly course and a bit cold but still mustered a 20:13, good enough for 5th overall and 2nd in my age group (30-39). Afterward I hopped in the pool and cruised a nice, steady 2,050 yards to try a little "active recovery" - that and I'm set to swim my first ever masters' meet next weekend so I don't wanna miss any pool time, as that's my true passion.

[REPLICA]

Ran a half down at Morehead City, NC last weekend - time of 2:16:45 because of blisters. I had two of my wisdom teeth taken out today and I have to be ready to do a 5er next Sunday. I have Knoxville full marathon at the end of the month, so that'll (hopefully) be my seventh.

[elevenism]

Wow, holy synchronicity Batman. I just went to Allsups (a chain of gas stations in the southwest,) to refill our giant mugs with sweet, sweet cherry vanilla pepsi and gatorade for mom and Lorien.
And there i ran into a caravan of people coming from fucking iowa to run a marathon in new mexico. THen i came home and saw this thread.

I only run if something's chasing me

[nothing8]

So, I went out today with the intention of running 14km and going home. Then this happened: http://www.endomondo.com/workouts/311766406/3114357

Now I told everyone that if I could raise over $500 for Movember last year, I would run a half marathon. I ended up raising $1,001 and somebody made a joke that I should run a full marathon now, to which I told him "No" I would have loved to have run the full 42.2km but I'm definitely not ready for that just yet.

Pretty proud of myself. My first half marathon distance and it's just for training! I bundled both my City2Surf training (14km) and half marathon training together!

I might give it a week before I attempt something like this again. At least I know I'll most likely be able to run the half marathon within the time limit if I can keep that pace up (which I would like to knock back to a straight 6 minutes/km, ideally 5:30/km). The best part is, I know I'm able to run the distance this is all AFTER I went to see the physio 2 weeks ago about my knee problem. Feels as good as this cold bath