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GAF Running Club |OT| - Couch to Marathons, All abilities

G

GamePnoy74

Member
So I've been training for the Chicago Marathon, on 9/3 I was attempting a 20-mile training run that day but suffered hip bursitis after about mile 8 and had to stop, though I was still like 1.5 miles away from my car and had to walk it.

Fast forward to today and I haven't run since then. For the time being I've just been mostly doing body strength exercises in the gym (push-ups, plank, dips, pull-ups, air squat/goblet squats, stretching, foam roll, etc). I did a 25+-mile flat road road bike ride yesterday (9/10) and I can still feel a slight tinge in my hip. I'm planning to run 5k this Wednesday to see where I'm at.

That said, I'm figuring out what to do for the remaining weeks until the marathon on 10/8:
- if ok, jump right into a 20-miler this weekend and have a 3-week taper, or...
- build up the distance to a 20-miler the weekend after and have a 2-week taper, or...
- skip the long runs, recover and re-build slowly and just go into a 3-week taper

Longest run I've done so far was an 18-mile hill/trail run/jog/walk in mid-August.

Any suggestions...?

I'm not fast at all, with previous marathons in the 4:30-4:50 range...I'm not looking at a PR this time around as well ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 
F

Fistwell

Member
panda-zebra said:
But race day is race day. A 90 minute half is fast and hard, going out doing that on your own is serious stuff. You'll have the taper on your side and on race day you'll be all over it. I reckon if you ease in for a couple of miles and and do 94/95ish for the first half you'll be in well under 3:15. Good luck!
Click to expand...
Thanks for the kind words. Great time on that semi a cple of weeks ago btw!

GamePnoy74 said:
That said, I'm figuring out what to do for the remaining weeks until the marathon on 10/8:
- if ok, jump right into a 20-miler this weekend and have a 3-week taper, or...
- build up the distance to a 20-miler the weekend after and have a 2-week taper, or...
- skip the long runs, recover and re-build slowly and just go into a 3-week taper

Longest run I've done so far was an 18-mile hill/trail run/jog/walk in mid-August.

Any suggestions...?
Click to expand...
Tough to say. If you're still sore, too much too quick may be the end of you, although that depends on a lot of factors obviously, in particular how old/young. On the flip side, it takes you about 3 weeks to reap the physiological benefits from a long run, so there is not much point to a 20 miler 2 weeks out. It's a tough situation. I would go back out and increase mileage steadily, see how far I could run this weekend without pushing it (run on a 4 or 5K loop, bail if it gets bad). I'd build up mileage this week and next, then depending on how far I got and how I feel, would either cut back on the last 2 weeks (if I built it up to something reasonably big) or just keep it steady (if I did not build it up much and feel fresh). But yeah, it's a tough situation.

Take it easy on race day! Good luck!
 
G

GamePnoy74

Member
Fistwell said:
Tough to say. If you're still sore, too much too quick may be the end of you, although that depends on a lot of factors obviously, in particular how old/young. On the flip side, it takes you about 3 weeks to reap the physiological benefits from a long run, so there is not much point to a 20 miler 2 weeks out. It's a tough situation. I would go back out and increase mileage steadily, see how far I could run this weekend without pushing it (run on a 4 or 5K loop, bail if it gets bad). I'd build up mileage this week and next, then depending on how far I got and how I feel, would either cut back on the last 2 weeks (if I built it up to something reasonably big) or just keep it steady (if I did not build it up much and feel fresh). But yeah, it's a tough situation.

Take it easy on race day! Good luck!
Click to expand...
Thanks for the tips! But yeah it sucks...this is the worst time to get an injury while training for a marathon, having to skip all the long runs and hope for the best.

I'm in my early 40s by the way, been running marathons for the past 4 years. Next year's LA Marathon might be my last one, planning to focus more on cycling and powerlifting (these two mix like oil and water lol) and maybe an occasional half in the mix after.
 
F

Fistwell

Member
I mean, I like running and runners as much as the next guy, but... not gonna lie, that's one weeeeird kink.
713972.gif
Click to expand...
 
F

Fistwell

Member
I'd say depends on the rain? When it's hot and you get a light refreshing drizzle it's heavenly. When it's cold and it starts pouring it's miserable. I've been on the receiving end of both.

parrotbeak said:
I just think you should be running a marathon at the same time if you're going to get the title "Marathon Masturbator"
Click to expand...
... got a nice ring to it. Is there a Guiness world record for this yet? Someone call the London marathon! ;)
 
F

Fisico

Member
TheOnlyOneHeEverFeared said:
Who was it who said running in the rain was great? It's not its complete bullshit.
Click to expand...

It is most of the time, in summer, fall and spring unless it's really pouring.
In Winter if you're not properly equiped it can end up as a freezing hell, but otherwise it's ok.

Ideal weather for running for me would be a 12-15° with rain.
 
B

BrassDragon

Member
Well, I really messed up my foot by running a half marathon with an injury: stress fracture. Now I'll be stewing for a while without running and no marathon this year.

Guess race fever won from common sense... don't do this, GAF.
 
F

Fistwell

Member
Is some spinning or cycling an option at some point? I mean, rest and a big reset is nice too, but... I think I wouldn't know what to do with myself lol.
 
D

Duebrithil

Member
BrassDragon said:
Well, I really messed up my foot by running a half marathon with an injury: stress fracture. Now I'll be stewing for a while without running and no marathon this year.

Guess race fever won from common sense... don't do this, GAF.
Click to expand...

Sorry to hear this, hope you can get back on your feet soon.

Fistwell said:
Is some spinning or cycling an option at some point? I mean, rest and a big reset is nice too, but... I think I wouldn't know what to do with myself lol.
Click to expand...

This. Maybe even swimming or rowing?
 
F

Fusion Pizza

Member
I signed up to a Sprint Triathalon in December. Never done a Triathlon before. Uhhhh Start running lots right lol?

I have access to a pool and I have a bike etc, any points or tips from anyone? Please?
 
R

Red_taiyaki

Member
Fusion Pizza said:
I signed up to a Sprint Triathalon in December. Never done a Triathlon before. Uhhhh Start running lots right lol?

I have access to a pool and I have a bike etc, any points or tips from anyone? Please?
Click to expand...

Is it an open water or swimming pool-based tri? If it's open water, I HIGHLY recommend practicing/training in some. With proper precautions of course!

I tried training for one, then discovered I now have an irrational fear of open water even though I can swim laps for days in a pool. HUZZAH
 
G

Gemüsestäbchen

Member
Did a race last night - wanted to get that 6th 10K race / one per month in, probably last of the summer season as I'll be doing the half-marathon next month.

April: 00:54:24
May: 00:55:10
June: 00:54:29
July: 00:58:14
August: 00:57:54
September: 00:53:55

Coincidentally, was the same race April as Sept., must be a fast track?
I'm really happy with this time - my new PB! - and progression - goes to show... Soon as the weather turns cooler, running is waaay easier! haha

Now getting that mileage up to the half-marathon - pretty hyped!
 
F

Fusion Pizza

Member
Red_taiyaki said:
Is it an open water or swimming pool-based tri? If it's open water, I HIGHLY recommend practicing/training in some. With proper precautions of course!

I tried training for one, then discovered I now have an irrational fear of open water even though I can swim laps for days in a pool. HUZZAH
Click to expand...

It's open water, I've plenty of experience swimming in big bodies of water but I'm planning on going down to the event site and checking it out.
 
L

LostMyNarbles

Member
Anybody have recommendations for a water bottle that keeps drinks cold for a long (IE a few hours) amount of time? Despite being Fall it feels like it keeps getting hotter and hotter here and I had a 90-degree run that nearly killed me so I want to look for a water bottle. I saw this one on Amazon and it has great reviews, but Amazon reviews tend to be a little iffy.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B010W0I7O8/?tag=neogaf0e-20
 
T

tmarg

Member
LostMyNarbles said:
Anybody have recommendations for a water bottle that keeps drinks cold for a long (IE a few hours) amount of time? Despite being Fall it feels like it keeps getting hotter and hotter here and I had a 90-degree run that nearly killed me so I want to look for a water bottle. I saw this one on Amazon and it has great reviews, but Amazon reviews tend to be a little iffy.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B010W0I7O8/?tag=neogaf0e-20
Click to expand...

Those vacuum bottles work, but I'm not sure I'd want to run with one.
 
mdsfx

mdsfx

Member
22 miles done today averaging 8:44/mi, but it was rough. I didn't have 23 in me. I was fine until I hit 15, then my body decided it didn't like running anymore.

I'm trying to figure out why that was so much harder than my 20-mile run and the only two factors were not eating a banana (or anything) today before heading out and that the weather was 15° warmer and sunny.

Welp, either way it's done and I just hope I've trained enough to have a good experience on raceday in 3 weeks.
 
B

barnone

Member
Where do yall buy running shorts at a good price? I will pay for good quality. Last time i purchased was Nike and I've been using these for 7 years!

I wear mens US Size 34 jeans, and online I've seen shorts range from Medium to XXL for me. Should I just go buy in store at Dicks?

Thanks yall!
 
F

Fistwell

Member
mdsfx said:
22 miles done today averaging 8:44/mi, but it was rough. I didn't have 23 in me. I was fine until I hit 15, then my don't decided it didn't like running anymore.

I'm trying to figure out why that was so much harder than my 20-mile run and the only two factors were not eating a banana (or anything) today before heading out and that the weather was 15° warmer and sunny.

Welp, either way it's done and I just hope I've trained enough to have a good experience on raceday in 3 weeks.
Click to expand...
Could be many things, tired, coming down with something, etc. But sounds like you were running out of gas. The average guy has around 20 miles of glycogen in their leg muscles. At 22 miles with no food prior, not completely shocking you'd end up on empty. Good experience to scrape against the wall a bit, now you know how it feels like.

Enjoy the taper! (I know I will!!)
 
mdsfx

mdsfx

Member
Fistwell said:
Could be many things, tired, coming down with something, etc. But sounds like you were running out of gas. The average guy has around 20 miles of glycogen in their leg muscles. At 22 miles with no food prior, not completely shocking you'd end up on empty. Good experience to scrape against the wall a bit, now you know how it feels like.

Enjoy the taper! (I know I will!!)
Click to expand...

It was quite the experience. Next time I'm eating something no matter what. And yep, I'm all about the taper!
 
G

GamePnoy74

Member
I'm deferring my entry to Chicago for next year...long story short my hip still hasn't recovered. =(

With flight and hotel already booked this runcation has now become a foodie trip lol =)
 
F

Fisico

Member
mdsfx said:
22 miles done today averaging 8:44/mi, but it was rough. I didn't have 23 in me. I was fine until I hit 15, then my body decided it didn't like running anymore.

I'm trying to figure out why that was so much harder than my 20-mile run and the only two factors were not eating a banana (or anything) today before heading out and that the weather was 15° warmer and sunny.

Welp, either way it's done and I just hope I've trained enough to have a good experience on raceday in 3 weeks.
Click to expand...

I would never run that long without eating extra before!

My personal rule is
10-15k : Eating as usual no extra
15+ : Eating extra
Half : Eating extra + eating during running
Marathon : Eating even more extra days before, before, eating during running
 
panda-zebra

panda-zebra

Member
Urgh, so it's this 24 hour race on Saturday. I've not got anything prepared, only a shopping list of 5 items, 3 of which are different kinds of fruit and the others are water and gum lol

If it rains I'm fucked, I don't have a waterproof jacket. I only have 1 comfy pair of shoes, the rest are mostly super light racing flats that wouldn't last a couple of hours on a trail. I don't even know where the event is, just the county it's in, and will be arriving very last minute as I don't sleep well away from my own bed. Probably have to get up at 4am.

So not so much a matter of what could go wrong, but if anything at all might go right. But whatevs, sure it'll be "fun".
 
R

Red_taiyaki

Member
panda-zebra said:
Urgh, so it's this 24 hour race on Saturday. I've not got anything prepared, only a shopping list of 5 items, 3 of which are different kinds of fruit and the others are water and gum lol

If it rains I'm fucked, I don't have a waterproof jacket. I only have 1 comfy pair of shoes, the rest are mostly super light racing flats that wouldn't last a couple of hours on a trail. I don't even know where the event is, just the county it's in, and will be arriving very last minute as I don't sleep well away from my own bed. Probably have to get up at 4am.

So not so much a matter of what could go wrong, but if anything at all might go right. But whatevs, sure it'll be "fun".
Click to expand...

YOLO.

Also, good luck! 24 hours of racing seems like way more than I'd ever consider doing. Now granted, I also never previously thought I'd ever run a full so there is that to consider...
 
M

MrOogieBoogie

BioShock Infinite is like playing some homeless guy's vivid imagination
Experimented running with a metronome set to 180 BPM and boy does it feel fast and awkward. It was just for fun, but has anyone done this before to work on cadence?
 
Zoe

Zoe

Member
MrOogieBoogie said:
Experimented running with a metronome set to 180 BPM and boy does it feel fast and awkward. It was just for fun, but has anyone done this before to work on cadence?
Click to expand...

I haven't done it yet, but I definitely want to try. I'd like to set it to music though.

Does anybody know any programs that figure out the BPM of several songs at once?
 
M

midramble

Pizza, Bourbon, and Thanos
MrOogieBoogie said:
Experimented running with a metronome set to 180 BPM and boy does it feel fast and awkward. It was just for fun, but has anyone done this before to work on cadence?
Click to expand...

Is running at 180 bpm really a thing that works? I haven't really read/found the studies on it.
 
F

Fisico

Member
MrOogieBoogie said:
Experimented running with a metronome set to 180 BPM and boy does it feel fast and awkward. It was just for fun, but has anyone done this before to work on cadence?
Click to expand...

How long can you keep up with 180BPM?

Looking at my older stats from 2 years ago I used to always run at 100% for my training, 30-40mn with most of it above 180BPM
I then began to run longer distances at an easier pace (with others) and my race pace kept improving so I never went back to that kind of training.

@panda-zebra : Lol so many red flags you're setting up yourself and you still go with an happy go lucky attitude for what it is an incredible feat, I am honestly amazed!
 
F

Fistwell

Member
Fisico said:
@panda-zebra : Lol so many red flags you're setting up yourself and you still go with an happy go lucky attitude for what it is an incredible feat, I am honestly amazed!
Click to expand...
I suspect he is looking for any excuse to get away from the cruel, cruel mistress that is destiny 2. ;)
 
panda-zebra

panda-zebra

Member
A weekend away from Destiny 2 and not getting that final chest piece I need to make a number go one higher than it sits at is just what I need.

Not planning on running much of it, if I have to stay upright and moving for 24 hours it's going to be a new form of jeffing: walk 4 miles, crawl one, repeat.
 
D

Duebrithil

Member
panda-zebra said:
A weekend away from Destiny 2 and not getting that final chest piece I need to make a number go one higher than it sits at is just what I need.

Not planning on running much of it, if I have to stay upright and moving for 24 hours it's going to be a new form of jeffing: walk 4 miles, crawl one, repeat.
Click to expand...

Get a Vita and remote play the hell out of D2 while you run :p
 
F

Fisico

Member
Managed my "big" training pre-marathon earlier today, didn't push too much and it went well, 37km of bike in 1h and right after (triathlon style) 13.75km running in one hour.

Good feeling overall as I didn't really push myself, never went above 140 BPM during bike, and went steadily from 155 to 175 while running (I started at 13.2km/h and increased steadily up to 14.4km/h before increasing dramatically up to 16.5km/h on the last 5mn for fun)

Makes me even more sad that I wasn't able to do my olympic distance triathlon a few months ago because of an injury, really like this combination of bike and running
swimming is hell though ->

A bit more than 6 weeks to go before the race, can't wait.
 
F

Fistwell

Member
Fisico said:
Managed my "big" training pre-marathon earlier today, didn't push too much and it went well, 37km of bike in 1h and right after (triathlon style) 13.75km running in one hour.

Good feeling overall as I didn't really push myself, never went above 140 BPM during bike, and went steadily from 155 to 175 while running (I started at 13.2km/h and increased steadily up to 14.4km/h before increasing dramatically up to 16.5km/h on the last 5mn for fun)
Click to expand...
Sounds solid, nice work. Had that kind of key workout last weekend, three hours running, first 2 easy (~5min/Km), last hour at goalish pace (ended up around 4:24min/Km avg, aiming at 4:20 to 4:30 on race day depending on feels). Showing myself I could sustain the pace on tired legs was a boost to confidence, even though I started fading towards the end a bit. One week after time trialing a semi, with other workouts sprinkled in and unusually long (for me) weekly mileage, I definitely felt it the next cple of days. Now walking the tight rope of getting enough taper rest while keeping enough intensity to stay (or get!) sharp. Running's complicated.
 
K

kamakazi5

Member
What is the best way to calculate what my max/average HR should be? I bought a HR monitor and feel like I'm staying way too high. For example, my last run where I didn't really hold back, my max HR was 189 and my average was 169 with 50% of the time being over 170. I just don't feel that is healthy although I did only begin running consistently within the last couple of weeks. My overall health isn't terrible although I have high blood pressure which is purely genetic. I take medication for it.

My last run was yesterday and I decided to do my best to keep my HR lower. Anytime I went over 170, I would just walk briskly until my HR went under 150 and then restart again. I ran ~2.5 miles and had to stop like this 10 times. This kept my average HR to 159.

Also, it seems to take forever for my HR to come back down to normal. My resting HR is around 75 but it jumps up very fast into the upper 90's with minimal exertion and after running stays in the 90's even 45 minutes later.
 
F

Fistwell

Member
kamakazi5 said:
What is the best way to calculate what my max/average HR should be? I bought a HR monitor and feel like I'm staying way too high. For example, my last run where I didn't really hold back, my max HR was 189 and my average was 169 with 50% of the time being over 170. I just don't feel that is healthy although I did only begin running consistently within the last couple of weeks. My overall health isn't terrible although I have high blood pressure which is purely genetic. I take medication for it.

My last run was yesterday and I decided to do my best to keep my HR lower. Anytime I went over 170, I would just walk briskly until my HR went under 150 and then restart again. I ran ~2.5 miles and had to stop like this 10 times. This kept my average HR to 159.

Also, it seems to take forever for my HR to come back down to normal. My resting HR is around 75 but it jumps up very fast into the upper 90's with minimal exertion and after running stays in the 90's even 45 minutes later.
Click to expand...
There are many factors to consider, the first of which being that I'm not a health professional, so please don't die or sue or any combination thereof!

Next point is: A lot of HR monitors are on and off wonky. Then, also keep in mind that your HBR fluctuates with different factors, over different time-scales (slow to fast): fitness (cardio-vascular and otherwise), medical condition(s), fatigue, physical exertion, stress.

You can find your max HBR by running really hard (genius insight. You're welcome). I think a typical test involves running laps at increasing pace, for enough time, till you can't even. I'm sure you can google the specifics.

My advice though (again: not a professional!): Don't bother. You just started running, your body will change, adjust and adapt dramatically, if you stick with it. For now, if I were you, I'd run by feels. Don't overdo things on a given run, if you feel like it's a little much, slow down. Don't run too many days in a row at first, give your body time to rest, recover, and adapt. Keep an eye on the HR monitor for reference, to see what it looks like, but I'd encourage you to trust your own feeling of exertion more than your HRM.

Don't die! :D
 
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