The CAG Runners Thread (all experience levels welcome)

Probably did around 3~4 miles today (didn't take my GPS watch) with some friends. Pace felt like it was somewhere in the sevens.

I can only run without music if I'm in a group. Running is my least favorite part of exercising, so I do everything I can to forget that I'm actually doing it.
 
[quote name='usickenme']That's a lot time to be in your head.[/QUOTE]

Heh. I think I consider the running itself as a form of escapism, so it's just nice to not really have much to think about. I just kind of take in the run itself, not having to worry about all the little chores and tasks and things I need to work on when I'm done.

Granted, maybe if I was doing that much running as you are, I'd change my mind.
 
For me the music helps quiet my mind more as well. When I run without I'm more apt to still be thinking about work and other stress.
 
[quote name='Temporaryscars']I did five miles today and I watched a movie on my iPad. It really helped keep my eyes off the distance counter.[/QUOTE]

I hope you were on the treadmill
 
[quote name='Temporaryscars']I did five miles today and I watched a movie on my iPad. It really helped keep my eyes off the distance counter.[/QUOTE]

[quote name='usickenme']I hope you were on the treadmill[/QUOTE]

Maybe he was riding the bus. :razz:
 
phew... 16 miles on the treadmill in 2 hr. 6 min 9 sec (7:53). Mentally tough one.

Glad I had the Walking Dead to catch up on.
 
[quote name='usickenme']phew... 16 miles on the treadmill in 2 hr. 6 min 9 sec (7:53). Mentally tough one.

Glad I had the Walking Dead to catch up on.[/QUOTE]


This is coming from someone currently in week 3 of couch to 5K but....How do you feel after runs like that? Normal? Does your body adjust? Because I think I'd be about ready to die after i finished.
 
[quote name='usickenme']phew... 16 miles on the treadmill in 2 hr. 6 min 9 sec (7:53). Mentally tough one.

Glad I had the Walking Dead to catch up on.[/QUOTE]
jesus
 
[quote name='bhk']This is coming from someone currently in week 3 of couch to 5K but....How do you feel after runs like that? Normal? Does your body adjust? Because I think I'd be about ready to die after i finished.[/QUOTE]

well right after, I am pretty spent. But as soon as I eat and hydrate. I feel better. After an hour..pretty much normal with some slight leg fatigue. That's why it is super important to get some food/ drink in you after a run. Chocolate milk is the best.

BUT I do have to build up to it. After I've had some time off or when I start a new training cycle, the first few long runs are more painful. Tired/ sore the next day. When that doesn't happen, I know I'm getting in shape.
 
u, do you ever come down from the mountains to race? I'd think doing your training at a higher elevation would give you a pretty decent advantage.
 
[quote name='bhk']This is coming from someone currently in week 3 of couch to 5K but....How do you feel after runs like that? Normal? Does your body adjust? Because I think I'd be about ready to die after i finished.[/QUOTE]

Ten miles is my longest so far and my experience mostly echoes the above. Spent after, ok after some Gatorade and food, maybe a little sore the next day.

I started with couch to 5k about this time last year and felt the same as you. You just gradually build up endurance as you stick with running and eventually distances that sound impossible right now will feel easier than even the little run walk intervals your ob currently. When I was doing those early weeks even three or four miles seemed awful, now five miles is my standard easy run and I've done several 6-10 mile runs and will probably do a half sometime. Maybe this fall. The big local one is coming up soon but I decided to skip it since the vasectomy would have wrecked my training to close to it.
 
[quote name='usickenme']well right after, I am pretty spent. But as soon as I eat and hydrate. I feel better. After an hour..pretty much normal with some slight leg fatigue. That's why it is super important to get some food/ drink in you after a run. Chocolate milk is the best.

BUT I do have to build up to it. After I've had some time off or when I start a new training cycle, the first few long runs are more painful. Tired/ sore the next day. When that doesn't happen, I know I'm getting in shape.[/QUOTE]

I find that after I run long distances at slower speeds, my legs tend to really hurt after even to the point of having to hobble a bit. Then again, I'm a bit of a noob at this point.

Mile sprints don't really impact me all that much at this point. I'm talking four or more miles.
 
So I've been running between 8 and 12 miles daily but my left shin started hurting a few days ago. The day after I noticed it acting up the pain was too much for me to run on at all. I wound up getting sick so I took a few days off anyway. Started up again today and felt fine until tonight some time after my run. Shin splints? How long should I stay off it? I really didn't want to lose my edge, I was making real progress. I guess elliptical and swimming will have to do for now
 
[quote name='Rumors']So I've been running between 8 and 12 miles daily but my left shin started hurting a few days ago. The day after I noticed it acting up the pain was too much for me to run on at all. I wound up getting sick so I took a few days off anyway. Started up again today and felt fine until tonight some time after my run. Shin splints? How long should I stay off it? I really didn't want to lose my edge, I was making real progress. I guess elliptical and swimming will have to do for now[/QUOTE]


Ice and stretch the calf. Strengthen the muscles with toe raises. (Seated, feet flat on floor, slowly raise your toes up keeping the heel on the ground. You should feel it in the shin. Calf raises work too- youtube them)


[quote name='Temporaryscars']I find that after I run long distances at slower speeds, my legs tend to really hurt after even to the point of having to hobble a bit. Then again, I'm a bit of a noob at this point.

Mile sprints don't really impact me all that much at this point. I'm talking four or more miles.[/QUOTE]

Actually that make perfect sense. You've trained your "fast-twitch" muscles to work efficiently with all the fast running you've done. But when you run slow, you are recruiting those "slow twitch" muscles which haven't built up any endurance (yet). The intensity of the fast runs is too great for the "slow twitch" muscles to be stimulated optimally, so they lag behind. The intensity of the slow runs is too low to recruit the fast twitch muscles you've built up.

This is way variety of pace is the SINGLE best thing a runner can do to improve.
 
[quote name='usickenme']



Actually that make perfect sense. You've trained your "fast-twitch" muscles to work efficiently with all the fast running you've done. But when you run slow, you are recruiting those "slow twitch" muscles which haven't built up any endurance (yet). The intensity of the fast runs is too great for the "slow twitch" muscles to be stimulated optimally.

This is way variety of pace is the SINGLE best thing a runner can do to improve.[/QUOTE]

Ah, ok, I see what you're saying. I was under the impression that I was using the same muscles, just at different speeds and lengths of time. I just started doing more slow distance so it would make sense that I haven't yet broken them in and would explain the pain.

Luckily, I have decided to do a long distance run on Wednesday AND Saturday instead of just Wednesday. I have to say, I think I enjoy the longer and slower runs. I feel like I get way more out of them as opposed to the fast miles (and I'm not talking just in regards to calorie burning).

I average around 6.5 mph on my slow runs.
 
Thanks! I still do the quick runs on some days to get weights in, but I just enjoy the slow runs more.

But, with that being said, yesterday I ran a mile in 6:52! Couldn't believe if, espc since I'm just coming off a bad case of food poisoning.

No clue if that is an impressive time or not, but when I started up again back in November it took me 12 minutes to run a mile. That's quite the improvement.

Today is my four mile day. Lets see how I do.
 
I'll probably never do it again, but I'll always have that time.

Did four miles today but it didn't go well. That's what I get for eating a crappy breakfast and not hydrating beforehand. I also had some pretty bad leg pain. They just felt very stiff.

I also don't get the whole reeking of ammonia thing after a long run. I smell like bleach.

usickenme, how much outside running do you do vs inside on a machine?
 
I am currently doing about 50 miles/ week. I run about 30 inside/ 20 outside. The main reason is that I live in a windy area and I hate the wind more than anything else. It's rough this time of year.


In summer, I am usually only inside about once every 1-2 weeks.
 
Finally went out last Saturday a month after my car wreck. My lower back still has some pain, but there were no jolts/shocks or anything out of the ordinary during my run. Before the run, I just had the same dull persistent pain, and it's the exact same now. I was worried I'd wake up on Sunday and have to deal with renewed pain intensity, but it didn't happen. I didn't exacerbate it, which is a very welcome result.

Did my 5K route and ran a 26:21, which I count as fantastic given the circumstances. Basically since the beginning of this year, between multiple weeks of the flu and then this stupid car wreck, I've woefully behind schedule. The fact that I'm only a minute slower than my best makes me feel pretty good. I never got winded and the post-run soreness cleared up within two days. I wanted to keep it easy and light for this one, but I'm really happy with the results and feel really motivated.

I'll probably try a longer run the next time I head out, while still trying to not overdo it. I'd like to think within a month that I'll be recovered and can handle longer, faster runs. Time change this weekend also means post-work runs are viable once again. Exciting.
 
[quote name='Temporaryscars']50 a week? Amazing. You must have to have some pretty impressive calorie intake. Do you eat anything special in prep for a run?[/QUOTE]


usually I don't. The fact is most people have enough calories in their bodies for up to 1 1/2 hr workout. That takes care of most of my runs.

If I am doing something really high intensity, I drink a sports drink during.

For long, long runs (16-20+ miles). I like to eat a complex carb the morning of (oatmeal) and I usually have a high carb snack the night before. In the summer months, I do eat a gel or two during if I'm feeling a little low. For some reason, colder temps don't make me as hungry. Also, on warmer days, I bring water with me if there won't be any nearby. But I prefer to plan to routes near places I can duck in and snag a drink. The #1 thing I do after long/hard runs is eat a little something right after or better yet, drink some chocolate milk.

As far as general nutrition, I suck. I still eat plenty of crap but I supposed I do better than a lot of people. My thought is, if I am going to eat badly, at least I am going to make it myself.
 
Finally got back out there--needed to take a few more days post-vasectomy than I planned due to having a bit of reaction to the stitches and then got swamped with work late last week.

Distance: 3.00 mi
Time: 25:40
Avg Pace: 8:33 min/mi
Elevation Gain: 45 ft
Calories: 367 C
 
I ran 8.1 miles today @ 7:54 pace. It felt super easy. Having a bit of a low-key week because I have a 5k on Saturday (3/16).

I'm really excited to see where I am fitness-wise.
 
Got another solid 3 miler in today. The two weeks off seems to have mostly healed up my foot (feel some tightness, but no pain yet) so I'm being conservative with getting back up to 5+ miles in hopes of not aggravating it again.

Distance: 3.00 mi
Time: 25:25
Avg Pace: 8:28 min/mi
Elevation Gain: 434 ft
Calories: 368 C
 
[quote name='dmaul1114']Finally got back out there--needed to take a few more days post-vasectomy than I planned due to having a bit of reaction to the stitches and then got swamped with work late last week.

Distance: 3.00 mi
Time: 25:40
Avg Pace: 8:33 min/mi
Elevation Gain: 45 ft
Calories: 367 C[/QUOTE]

What's the recovery time on that?

[quote name='usickenme']I ran 8.1 miles today @ 7:54 pace. It felt super easy. Having a bit of a low-key week because I have a 5k on Saturday (3/16).

I'm really excited to see where I am fitness-wise.[/QUOTE]

Wow, that's really amazing. What would you say your average mph is? I really hope I can get to that point.

I'm getting there though. On Saturday I did six miles which is farther than I've done thus far. Once I get used to that I'll push it up to seven. Hopefully at some point I'll be able to do them faster.

New time on my mile though. Yesterday I did one in 6:50.
 
[quote name='Temporaryscars']What's the recovery time on that?
[/QUOTE]

10 days or so of no serious exercise, heavy lifting etc. was the doctor's orders.

I only had aching/pain the first day after numbing wore off. Then I was a bit sore for the next week or so (especially if I had to be on my feet a lot). After that, no pain and just took a bit longer for the incision to heal up better since I had a little bit of a reaction to the stitches when they started dissolving--nothing major at all--just left it raw so I took another 5 days or so before getting back to running as I didn't want to get sweaty until it was healed up more. At the 2.5 week mark now and have been back to normal pretty much for a week or so. Just still a small scab as the skin grows back around the incision, but no pain, soreness, bleeding etc. for over a week.

So not bad at all, and highly recommended for guys who don't want kids or already have all they want. Much less invasive procedure vs. having your girl get her tubes tied.
 
I've been working on my speed with shorter runs. Managed a single mile in 6 minutes flat a couple days ago. Have also had a few 1.5 - 2 mile runs with an average pace of 6:20 to 6:35 in the past week.

I can't maintain that pace for anything over 2 miles though. Even that is really pushing it. Ideally, my ultimate goal would be 6 miles in somewhere between 30 - 40 minutes.

Once I get above two miles my pace drops to 7:30. Five miles, and I'm down to 8:30. Eight miles and I'm done, it's 8:30 - 9:00 the rest of the way.

Hoping Mr. 16 Miles @ Sub-8:00 Pace can bestow some wisdom on me. :pray:



Also, dmaul, you're braver than I. :lol:
 
[quote name='blindinglights']

Hoping Mr. 16 Miles @ Sub-8:00 Pace can bestow some wisdom on me. :pray:


[/QUOTE]

first, I second dmaul recommendation. It's a nice thing not to worry about.

Your endurance is lacking. Longer runs will help. If you are looking to do a 10k (6.2 miles). A 6 flat mile translates to an approx. 43 min 10k given your current fitness.

a 4X a week schedule that would help would look like this.*

day 1 Interval- 4-6 X .5 mile in 3-3:15 min with equal rest. Starting out do a few, then decrease rest, then add to the total number of intervals, then decrease time. (alternate workout is 2-3 mile workouts @ same pace). Always do at least a mile warmup EASY.

day 2 Easy- 5-8 miles all at 7:45 to 8:30 min pace. Start with less distance, then add more.

Day 3 Tempo- 3-5 miles @ 6:25-6:40. Warm up with 1 mile @ 8-8:30 pace then go faster. Start with the 3 miles and every 2 weeks add a mile. Then try to hit the faster end of the pace range.

Day 4 Long run - 8-15 miles @ 8:00- 9:30 mile pace. Start with less distance then add more. I personally like to hold a distance for 2-3 weeks then make a big jump, so weeks 1,2,3 would be 8-9 miles then I would jump to 11-12.

If you did this for 12 weeks, you would be in great shape to try to tackle your goal (although you would be closer to 40 min). You would do this workout for 3 weeks, then take are rest week where you run 4-5 days a week 4-7 miles EASY for a total of 3 segments. The other days of the week could be rest/ cross training but always take the day before your long run off.

After 8 weeks I would try a 5k at goal pace to see where you are.


* this is an agressive schedule but if are currently running 8 miles, you should be able to handle it.
 
Let me just start off by saying thanks for the plan, I'm definitely going to give it a try!

I do have a few questions:


[quote name='usickenme']then take are rest week where you run 4-5 days a week 4-7 miles EASY for a total of 3 segments.[/QUOTE]


I'm not sure what you mean here. Do you mean three 3-week cycles of your plan, with each fourth week being a rest week, or are you talking about something else when you say segments?



Also, I'm pretty active beyond running. I'm usually at the gym 4-5 days a week doing calisthenics/weight circuit workouts, swimming roughly 5km a week, rock wall climbing, and playing basketball (if you want to call it that :lol: ). Do you think I should wake up early and knock out the running first thing since I usually go to the gym in the afternoon or should I be saving the runs for the afternoon and switching my gym time to early morning? Truth be told, I really dislike running, so I lean towards just getting up and getting it over with but I didn't know if there's an ideal time for your body to be doing large amounts of cardio like this.

Thanks again for the help.
 
yeah

3 weeks of the the plan above then 1 week of easy running 4 days a week.

so 12 week plan = 3 segments of 4 weeks= 3 "plan" weeks and 1 rest week.

---
as for time of day. Afternoons are better for intervals and tempo work. Mornings are good for the other runs. I wouldn't do anything else the day of the long run and not do any leg work on interval and tempo days.

Honestly if you are swimming that much you could probably drop Day 2 (easy) to every other week. I wouldn't drop it completely as specificity of training will be needed to take your running to the next level.

---
It might be beneficial to find a 10k for the final goal "test". Races are fun and can provide an extra boost. Make sure it is a flat course!

---


Feel free to hit up this thread or shoot me PM if you have questions and let me know how it is going.
 
Blah, 5k this morning. I've been slightly sick for the last few day but I ran anyway. 18:24 was my time. I'm in better shape but the cold took too much out of me.

Better luck next time
 
Damn, what time do you do when healthy? I'd be thrilled to get a 5k under 25 minutes. :D

Got a solid 5 miles in just now. Will take a while to get use to running in warmer weather again as the heat got to me a bit and it's only 75.

Distance: 5.00 mi
Time: 45:17
Avg Pace: 9:03 min/mi
Elevation Gain: 122 ft
Calories: 608 C
 
usickenme, who made you sick? Lol. Anyway, great time, even when you don't factor in the fact that you were, indeed, sick.

dmaul, that's pretty solid. I do about that as well. I'll be running six in a few one...but I'm procrastinating.

Guess I'll pull the shorts on and start stretching...find something good on netflix.
 
Thanks guys, I was hoping to be in the 17:30-17:45 range. Last year I ran 17:32 and I've been training harder this winter. I think my son got me sick...kids will do that.

I hear you about the weather. It was 76 here in Denver yesterday and I really felt it.
 
Did four miles yesterday at 34 minutes. I felt like I could have done it faster, but that's not my goal.

Mile today, mile tomorrow and then six miles on Saturday. I injured my foot last Saturday. I thought it might have been my old injury that took me out of the game last time, but it seems to have healed.
 
Went out last Saturday in the morning to do another 5K course. It was abysmal, taking me 27:42. I felt awful the entire time.

Went out on Tuesday after work and ran the same course, and again felt abysmal. Finished in 28:45. Just...awful, ugh. I felt great for the first half, and shrugged off the inner thigh soreness (which I know is leftover from Saturday), but the second half was slow with a lot of stomach pain. Ugh. Really disappointed in myself.

Heading back out on Saturday morning since that gives me time to recover. Might do some light elliptical stuff tonight/tomorrow and/or light a few weights.

Beginning of this year just has been awful. :[ Flu killed me for weeks and then a car wreck. Ah well, nothing I can do except push myself harder.
 
After the two abysmal 5Ks, I ran a 5 mile today in 42:45. Felt great the whole time. Hoping this means the last two were flukes. Planning on going out early this week to do a 3 or 4 mile race, and then try for some real distance next weekend.
 
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