2013 Running Thread

moni731

Goldlining, thanks for the advice. I have never really timed a run. I have a couple of routes and just go by the over all time (3 miles= about 35 min on a good day).  I can relate with the 'piss poor' run today, Fredntan! Hope you are feeling better. The weather here is horrid, over 100, humid, and so smokey you can see the ash! Walked over 50% today. Ahhh, tomorrow.....

goldlining

Hugs Fredntan -- you will have a better outing another day, but you got out there!

claireinaz, I have two pairs of five finger shoes but don't run in them. I like the weird hobbit feet. (It is my students who look at ME as the weird-shoed one, though I only wear them for lab days not lecturing.) I did downgauge from Adidas Ride to Adidas Boston. Lighter but still have some cushion. Not as much weight to drag along with me means I am less tired and faster. Got the lighter-shoe idea from someone here. The 15K was the first long run in them and I had no noticeable foot fatigue let alone pain. In fact, I think I had less leg fatigue as a result of the lighter weight.

RunFree16

Claireinaz, I think goldlining's report is helpful.  It does make a difference what kind of feet you have.  Some people do fine and swear by those very light shoes but others get injured.  If you have been wearing very supportive shoes and especially if you've also been wearing orthotics or other inserts, it would take a while to strengthen your foot and ankle muscles. I went to a lecture by John "The Penguin" Bingham, former Runner's World columnist and co-author of Running for Mortals and Marathoning for Mortals (two excellent books).  He said a real transition to minimalist shoes should take a year!  While that may be extreme, if you do want to get minimalist shoes, I would alternate very short runs in those with runs in your tried-and-true shoes for quite a while and only gradually extend the runs in the minimalist shoes.

Anonymous

Good morning ninjas,

thank you for all the info and advice.  I injured my knee over 10 years ago and I attribute it to bad shoes when I was running a lot more. I was talked into a meniscus repair by a shady orthosurgeon who actually did a bunch more surgery on my knee that I had even agreed to!  He's no longer practicing as you can imagine.  Anyway, I realized that what I should have done was change shoes first to see if that resolved the problem.

I've read articles on the idea of "barefoot running" (or almost barefoot running) and a lot of it makes sense. My shoes are pretty light already--I don't wear orthotics or anything like that and so far knock wood don't have foot or knee problemss.  My vasque trail runners feel okay for now since I'm running less than two miles at a time but I hope to work into a few more miles in the future. I wish I had more lofty goals of running a 10K but right now I feel that just working back into running is enough for me.  I had a bucket list once that included running a half-marathon.  That was a long time ago.

I'm going for a run today, before the rain comes.  Looking forward to it and then following with a session of bikram yoga to loosen up those hips and lower back 

firstcall

ok....shoes.....An important topic for runners, for sure.  Since most  of you are women, I will point out that the female foot is different than the male foot.  Generally the forefoot is a little wider than the hindfoot, more so in the female.  The problem is  that as running became more popular, most of the shoe companies just took their male shoes, and made them smaller and colored them differently and called them women's shoes.  From what I can see the shoe that has the best forefoot/hindfoot proportions for the gynecoid foot is made by Saucony.  Although I'm not female, I have a wider forefoot too, so I use Saucony myself, and I've been very happy with them. 

Barefoot running, or minimal shoes.  I think barefoot running makes a lot of sense, but I agree, you have to transition to it slowly.  If you have always been shod, you will not be able to safely run barefoot for long distances until you properly condition to do so.  I have a pair of the five finger shoes.  They're ok, but not as good at exercising the intrinsic muscles of the foot as barefoot is.  I regularly do a little barefoot running, generally only a mile or two (which is a short run for me).  One thing that barefoot running does, is it teaches you to get off of your heels.  For years we have been taught (incorrectly) that we should do a heel strike when we run.  A heel strike is what transmits a lot of force up to your knee and hip.  If you run barefoot, you won't do a heel strike because it hurts.  I mostly use my five fingers at the gym, because they get all bent out of shape if I run barefoot on the treadmill, or if I'm outside and the surface is not smooth or safe.  If you want to try barefoot running, start on a smooth surface, and just do a short run for awhile and then you can  gradually increase it.

AryaS

I had chemo yesterday and today I went for a three mile walk with my husband. My feet wanted to run!

Of course, then I came home and took a three hour nap!

Last October I ran two half marathons a week apart, now I'm exhausted after a three mile walk but I will return to fight another day!

So glad this thread is here. You all inspire me.

Anonymous

Awesome advice, ladies (and gent, I believe!).  The heel strike issue was what made most sense to me: extra energy used. I live in No. Az, where I've watched and ran in a few runs on our tribal lands with our American Indian runners. They barely pick up their feet and can run for miles and miles.  In fact, I'm cnsidering signing up for a 5K being held on a local reservation in honor of Louis Tewanima, who was an Native American gold medal olympic runner back in the day, and used to run 50 miles (I should say in 1 day) from his home village just to watch trains come and go!

Anyway. I made it to 2 miles today and for that I'm happy.  No soreness at all, anywhere.

Congrats AryaS for exercise after chemo. It will help more than you know and always made me feel like I was flipping a big old middle finger at the little c, even if I was exhausted after.

Claire in AZ

fredntan

they worked us like dogs today at the hosp. then me and friend went out. I did fast walking, she ran. I did three miles with stretching after. time for bed. do it all again tomorrow

wing48

I had my first chemo on Wed and pretty much lost all of Thursday. I'm planning on my 30 minutes of walk today do or die! I'm still not allowed to run, but walking is just fine.

Morningsun1

I definitely over did it last week with two consecutive 4+ miles/day jogging last week and had some knee pain. Took Ibuprofen and rest and pain seems to be gone. Yesterday I did slow jogging in my driveway for 35 minutes and feels no knee pain today. Need to build up the distance for my 5-miles on Sep. 8. Happy Friday everyone!

wing48

Happy Friday to all!

alaskamama

Claire (and others)--I loved the book Born To Run by CHristopher McDougall

http://www.amazon.com/Born-Run-Hidden-Superathletes-Greatest/dp/0307279189/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377298540&sr=8-1&keywords=born+to+run

I read it about two years ago and it really changed my running. It changed my beliefs about myself, the human capacity, and running, to be more precise. I went from a sort of lazy, not-believing-in-myself runner to winning races (turning 40 and being "masters" helped, as does living in Alaska where we have like 40 entrants, not 4000!) and I was on the cusp of doing some ultrarunning ... was going to do a 33-mile mountain run August 10 with a few friends ... when the cancer hit. But I know I'll get back to it!

Back to the point: I highly recommend Born to Run. There's a LOT about footwear, heel-strike vs. toe-strike, and barefoot running, but the book does not prosletyze and it has a good story line. It's a fun and fascinating read on many counts, in my view!

Happy trails...

Anonymous

Hubby and I inadvertently ran a hour today instead of our agreed on 30" because we took a wrong turn on a trail in Sedona...but it was kind of fun.  So far my hips and knees are holding up. I wonder if I'm actually making them stronger too.

Decided to hang onto my shoes for right now as they feel good and don't seem to be detrimental to running. I'm actually looking forward to trail running tomorrow. I like the inspiration I get here. Will have to look into the book that Alaskamama recommended.

Claire

Morningsun1

Went for my slow run/walk. Ran the first two miles, walked one, ran for another, and then some more walking until one hour was up. Keep my fingers crossed and hope for no knee pain tomorrow.

wing48

So my first weekend after chemo had me talking two 2 mile walks on Saturday, a three mile walk (with hills) on Sunday and a 2 mile walk last night. I don't expect to get clearance to run until mid September (8 weeks out of surgery) and then that's only if I am feeling up to it as the chemo goes.

RunFree16

Wing48, that's wonderful!  I bet walking, and running when you're able, will be a real help with chemo on so many levels.

Anonymous

Ya'll are amazing. Keep walking and running...!

Morningsun1

Did another 4 mile run/walk Tuesday. My legs and body were less tired during the 4th mile than during the first 2 miles (walked the 3rd). I was running faster in the 4th mile. Why is that?

RunFree16

TammyT, I don't know why, but it's often true with me that I feel better later.  It gives me hope when I feel like a dud early on, and it was one of the key insights that enabled me to become a distance runner.  That's not to say it's a great idea to go out and run 15 miles when you've been running 4!  But it's great to know that I don't need to quit when I start out tired.

Anonymous

I think it's amazing that you can run 4 miles at all, Tammy.  I was tired yesterday at 1.5, and that's all I had time for anyway before I had to go to work. My legs were so heavy...and last week in Sedona I felt like I could run forever. I guess physiology, enough sleep, hormones, etc all come into play.

I have signed up for a 4 mile run in two weeks and I am going to run and or fast'walk it all.  Walking fast isn't a problem for me--it's the running part that I need a lot more practice on!

My hubby runs with me and so does our dog, so it's nice to have company at times. But I also remember the solitude of running alone, and I used to write my best papers in my head in grad school when I ran longer times and distances. I hope for that again.

Claire

Morningsun1

Thanks, Claire. I am almost 6 months further out from my BMX and recon than you are, i bet you will get there within 3 month!

Runfree, I don't think I will make 15 miles anytime soon, maybe never :-)

I did 4.5 miles today, ran most of the way and only walked a little over half a mile.

Have a good rest of the weekend and happy running, everyone.

lovestorun

Weekend report.  This weekend I joined 3,000 women in my community for a 4-mile charity race that benefitted the breast care center where I received my care. It was an unforgettable and splendid morning.  I wish that you all could have been there to witness the power of community and collective spirit.  Ages ranged from under 10 to over 80 (86 I think).   The race features a "motivational mile" where people can honor a loved one touched by breast cancer with a banner.  As I ran past, all I could think was that there were far too many banners.

I hope this post finds each of you well and if you are needing motivation or encouragement, 3,000 women just dug deep on a hot, humid morning in honor of you. 

All best to everyone on this board. You are an amazing group.

RunFree16

Lovestorun, thank you!  That sounds so moving and powerful. 

I ran a 4.2 mile race yesterday, quite spontaneously because two friends were doing it.  It's Run Your Buns Off in Bristol, NH, by Newfound Lake.  You run 4.2 miles because that supposedly burns 420 calories, which is how many calories are in a sticky bun from the bakery that sponsors the race.  It was a fundraiser for an arts education scholarship for students from a local high school.  I haven't been running much the past month and had decided not to do the race, but I'm glad I did.  We went quite slowly--a runner in an unofficial hiatus (me), a former runner with a hip replacement, and a non-runner/swimmer doing a triathlon the next day.  Flat course, pretty, decent sticky bun at the end.  It reminded me that if I just go slowly, I can go farther than I have been going, and it was a great way to get myself back on the road.

Anonymous

I love the latest postings. Congrats to the race-runners!

I ran 3.1 miles today, first time in years, first time since I was dx. It was hard--humid and hot--but I did it. It's hard to describe how good I felt when it was over and I knew I had run that far.

Tammy_M43

Lovestorun, that must have been amazing! Runfree, well done!



It has motivated me....I'm still nursing a sore hip but I'm determined to succeed. I'm back to a 20 minute walk/run with the blessing of my new physio who is attached to the city's top sports centre...I think I'm now under the best care possible to meet my goals...

Morningsun1

Congrats, lovestorun and runfree. Claire, that was great, you more than doubled your distance! I sat on my behind all day playing bridge today, but it was a fun outing with dh. We did walk for 45 minutes while waiting for the next session after dinner :-). Will try to get on the trail a bit tomorrow. Hope you hip gets better, _M43 night, all. .

firstcall

Its official, I signed up for Boston again.  No, I am not a fast runner.  I'll recap a little for those of you who are new.  I was signed up to run in 2012.  I have never been fast enough to qualify, but have run with the medical group in the back of the pack.  Little did I know when I signed up for the 2012 race, that I'd be recovering from surgery and in chemotherapy.  I continued to run while in chemo, but slowed down quite a bit.  I decided that I would go and run what I could of the marathon, after all I had already paid the fee and was all signed up, but then it ended up being a 90 deg day so I took a deferment to 2013.  So this year  (2013) I ran, and again didn't get to finish because of the bombing.  They offered entries (for a fee) for 2014 to those of us who ran but didn't get to finish because of the bombing.  So....third time is the charm, right?   Well, I paid the $325 entry fee and I'm committed to running it in 2014.  Who is running with me?  One thing it does, it keeps me running by signing up.  If I think about slacking off, I think about how hard marathon day will be if I don't prepare.  They just announced that they increased the size of the field to 36000 runners for 2014.  I'm guessing that they will add another wave.  They have been running three waves of 9000 runners in each wave, and they increased it by 9000 runners, so I'm guessing that means they are adding a 4th starting wave.  Whatever they do, I'm sure I'll be starting in the back of the pack. 

Also, I think I'm going to organize some Saturday runs through our running club.  It helps to keep each other going. I've been thinking about doing that, but I hesitate because I can't make it every week.  But I think if I get a group going, others can help keep it going.  We have about 250 people in our running club, but so far we just do a quarterly event.  I'm sure if I put the word out, we'd have a good group to run a weekly run with. 

Hope everyone is doing well, and having a good holiday weekend. 

goldlining

Well, I survived a very hot Disneyland Half. It was 21C when I left my hotel at 4:30am, and went up and up and up. There were, like, 7 corrals and I was in D, but it was full and I had to start with E, at 6am. I think there were extra water stations laid on because every time I turned around, I was being handed a paper cup with water or powerade, but hydrate as I did, I was still a little dehydrated. I finished in 2:54. Avg heart rate 167, up to 180, so that's what I need to fix to get faster. Cool bath soak, compression knee socks and a walk around both parks to ward off stiffness. A 5-hour flight tomorrow isn't ideal, but them's the breaks.

I was tallying up the little pins on my lanyard and figured this was my 8th runDisney half, starting with the one the weekend after I got the mammogram recall, my first half marathon of all. Then I did another while waiting for the lumpectomy, another 10 weeks after the mastectomy, another 6 weeks post DIEP: two each year, and a coast to coast bonus medal, for the past 4 years. They have cheered me up and given me things to look forward to, and some lovely bling too.

Morningsun1

Wow, you ran a half marathon 6 weeks after DIEP? I couldn't even walk for one mile without taking many breaks at that time. You must be a very young super healer and in great shape. Cheers, goldlining!

RunFree16

Cheers to you for completing a very hot race, goldlining!  I have such a hard time running when it's hot and humid.  I've been hearing about the heat from my southern CA forum friends, as it's out of the ordinary for them especially with the humidity.  It's so moving how your half-marathon history is now all wrapped up with your BC history.  Running is our secret weapon.