Running Nerds Unite

[Jabberwocky]

realised i hadn't updated this thread in yonks!

well, i got a new phone beginning of may which lost my health data and massively reduced my motivation.

since then i've got back on it, lifestyle has been quite bad which has impacted my pace a little. sleep has been awful and tiredness effects me physically. also still drinking too much.

i did the most mentally challenging run i think i've ever done two weekends ago- it was pouring, like i was soaked within the first minute, and i was exhausted having not slept well all week. it was 'only' 10k cos i knew i couldn't hack longer with the weather and tiredness.

then the week after i did 18k, insanely slow, only 2k were below 7 minutes!! i don't know if this was due to not having done a longer run the week before. my knickers were chafing from 8k in which massively impacted my pace. i was honestly considering trying to hide somewhere and take them off but it was quite cold and rainy and the thought of having to take my shoes and leggings off and potentially get caught like that was too much. probably tmi but who cares.

in the weeks i'm managing 3 runs usually, 5 or 6k each. no idea how i got below 30 mins on 5k a few weeks back cos i have been having to push to get below 31!

overall though, since i first started, my average time per kilometer has gone down my a minute so i know i'm improving.

 

[n3ophy7e]

Welp, I have completely dropped the ball!!!
Got my period a couple of weeks ago and got really bad cramps so didn't feel like running. Then my partner and I got a cold so we've both been under the weather for the last week or so, haven't been going to the gym or doing any training.
So I'm wayyyy behind schedule for my half-marathon training for the end of June, but there's another one at the end of July that I can aim for instead. So I'ma pick up my training again next week

my knickers were chafing from 8k in which massively impacted my pace. i was honestly considering trying to hide somewhere and take them off but it was quite cold and rainy and the thought of having to take my shoes and leggings off and potentially get caught like that was too much. probably tmi but who cares.

Honey when it comes to long distance running there's no such thing as TMI :D
Do you have some sports tape you can put on the bits that get chafed?

 

[RDP89]

My training schedule: Day 1: 6 mile run,Day 2: 20-24 mile bike ride, Day 3: 6 mile run Day 4: 20-24 mile bike ride. Day 5: Rest day. Repeat. Truing to get my 6 mile time down in order to run a decent 10 k time in a race. Best average so far over 6 miles was 6:45 per mile. My best 5k pace was 6:04/ mile.

Anyone have any tips to get time down on the longer run? I could up the mileage a little, but not too much as my knees will start fucking up. That’s the reason why I tarted throwing in the road cycling. I usually average between 14-16 mph on bike. It’s also been getting pretty damn hot here already which sucks for running. Gonna have to switch up my runs to either early morning or late night.

 

[Jabberwocky]

Honey when it comes to long distance running there's no such thing as TMI :D
Do you have some sports tape you can put on the bits that get chafed?

haha thanks, i don't have sports tape but i liberally applied aloe vera vaseline before i went out today. then half way through found a spot i could dive into to reapply. no pain!!!

i wouldn't beat yourself up if you've not been feeling well. try to get back on it. i try not to go more than 2 days without at least some form of running, but that can be 3.5km at a snails pace. i'm convinced my legs will seize up if i leave it too much longer but i think that's probably not the case! certainly when you feel sick its probably better not to go cos you risk making it take longer to get better.

@RDP89 i got faster at shorter runs just by increasing my distances, as suggested by @MsDiz . but i am at no where near the level you are at. are you a member of a club?they would probably be able to advise.

did another 18k today, 8 mins faster than last weeks 18k. bit of trouble with my stomach at the start which slowed me, but i think my legs do just get naturally tired which hampers my pace later on. notably i did not die the second i got home, usually i force myself to stretch a little then get straight into bed for a few hours. still got into bed for a bit but not til i'd had a conversation with my boyf and was generally not too wrecked physically.

so, next week i've committed myself to attempting the 20k from mine to my parents.

 

[n3ophy7e]

haha thanks, i don't have sports tape but i liberally applied aloe vera vaseline before i went out today. then half way through found a spot i could dive into to reapply. no pain!!!

Ooooh aloe vera rocks
I'm lucky that I'm a veterinary technician so I just grab a roll of adhesive bandage and use that on the spots that chafe. Lol my dad used to run marathons when I was a kid, he'd use bandaids so I remember him always having bandaids like on his nipples and between his legs and stuff. Stuff only runners would understand hahaha.

did another 18k today, 8 mins faster than last weeks 18k. bit of trouble with my stomach at the start which slowed me, but i think my legs do just get naturally tired which hampers my pace later on.

Man I can't wait til I can do 15-18-20km runs again!! I LOVE those distances When you say stomach troubles, do you mean nausea, or that diarrhoea feeling, or adbominal muscle cramps?

Enjoy the 20k!!

 

[Jabberwocky]

I'm lucky that I'm a veterinary technician so I just grab a roll of adhesive bandage and use that on the spots that chafe. Lol my dad used to run marathons when I was a kid, he'd use bandaids so I remember him always having bandaids like on his nipples and between his legs and stuff. Stuff only runners would understand hahaha.

that is lucky, thankfully the aloe vera really worked but f i decide to push my distances further i'll look into the sports tape. its great your dad set that example for you, i'm having to learn the hard (painful) way.

Man I can't wait til I can do 15-18-20km runs again!! I LOVE those distances When you say stomach troubles, do you mean nausea, or that diarrhoea feeling, or adbominal muscle cramps?

i'm really enjoying having upped my distance- before i was just running round the same park all the time but now i can get out to a local water park that is about 7k away, and i even found a route there that mostly avoids roads.

the stomach issues are cos i have an erosion from a period where i was drinking very heavily on an empty stomach all the time. i've been drinking too much recently and its making the erosion flare up. i had drunk the night before and then downed a load of water before leaving so the erosion was giving me symptoms. really need to get the booze under control, i've eaten nearly a whole tube of antacids between last night and this morning.

i do get that diarrhoea feeling too but thankfully it tends to be after i stop. sometimes straight after i stop which is a bt concerning given i leave a bt of distance to walk at the end as a warm down.... no accidents but its slightly distressing.

 

[n3ophy7e]

My training schedule: Day 1: 6 mile run,Day 2: 20-24 mile bike ride, Day 3: 6 mile run Day 4: 20-24 mile bike ride. Day 5: Rest day. Repeat. Truing to get my 6 mile time down in order to run a decent 10 k time in a race. Best average so far over 6 miles was 6:45 per mile. My best 5k pace was 6:04/ mile.

Anyone have any tips to get time down on the longer run? I could up the mileage a little, but not too much as my knees will start fucking up. That’s the reason why I tarted throwing in the road cycling. I usually average between 14-16 mph on bike. It’s also been getting pretty damn hot here already which sucks for running. Gonna have to switch up my runs to either early morning or late night.

Ewwww I hate running in the heat
Try doing 1 shorter, faster run each week, or doing a HIIT session of interval sprints.
Or an old trick my dad told me (he used to run marathons) pick a course that has a few good steady DOWNhills, so you can gun it down the hill then keep that same pace up.

the stomach issues are cos i have an erosion from a period where i was drinking very heavily on an empty stomach all the time. i've been drinking too much recently and its making the erosion flare up. i had drunk the night before and then downed a load of water before leaving so the erosion was giving me symptoms. really need to get the booze under control, i've eaten nearly a whole tube of antacids between last night and this morning.

i do get that diarrhoea feeling too but thankfully it tends to be after i stop. sometimes straight after i stop which is a bt concerning given i leave a bt of distance to walk at the end as a warm down.... no accidents but its slightly distressing.

I was a hardcore alcoholic for 18 years so I totally understand that babe. Do you take a prescription medication for your stomach problems? I was on esomaprazole for years but my gastro specialist switched me to pantoprazole for some reason (he told me when I was most recently hospitalised for alcohol detox so I was out of it from the valium and don't remember what he said lol).

Also I don't think there's much to be concerned about with the diarrhoea feeling. I've always gotten it after long runs, or really strenuous workouts. I just figured it was from working the body really hard

 

[RDP89]

Ewwww I hate running in the heat
Try doing 1 shorter, faster run each week, or doing a HIIT session of interval sprints.
Or an old trick my dad told me (he used to run marathons) pick a course that has a few good steady DOWNhills, so you can gun it down the hill then keep that same pace up.

Thanks for the advice! Yeah, I think im gonna do some half mile or 1 mile repeats at a fast pace next time.

 

[RDP89]

I’m up to 25 miles on the bike! I kinda want to do a triathlon, but I need to start swimming.

 

[n3ophy7e]

I’m up to 25 miles on the bike! I kinda want to do a triathlon, but I need to start swimming.

OMG I love triathlons!!! Do it! You won't regret it Especially if you're already running and cycling. Are you a good swimmer? Swimming is my strongest leg in the triathlon, by far I love it, I go really hard and get way out in front of the others so I get a good head start, cos the cycling is my weakest leg so the competitors catch up to me, then it's the running leg at the end. Somehow it's a whole different kind of endorphin high than just running alone!!

 

[Jabberwocky]

I was a hardcore alcoholic for 18 years so I totally understand that babe. Do you take a prescription medication for your stomach problems? I was on esomaprazole for years but my gastro specialist switched me to pantoprazole for some reason (he told me when I was most recently hospitalised for alcohol detox so I was out of it from the valium and don't remember what he said lol).

i used to be prescribed lansoprazole but when i got a handle on the drinking problem i had at that time it got better. having 2 years completely off booze and eating reasonably healthily helped. in about a months time i will be moving back with my parents until my house purchase goes through where i won't be able to drink too excessively so i hope i'll be able to give my stomach time to heal and get in a better mindset for not drinking cos once we've got the house my partner and i plan to try for a baby.

doing my 20k tomorrow.... feel a bit nervous but i don't know why cos i did 18s the past 2 weekends and they were alright, if embarassingly slow.

i'm also thinking about cycling just to give my knees a bit of a break, and also its something i can do with my boyf, but not buying a bike til i've got all my house moves done.

 

[n3ophy7e]

All the best for your 20k chinup! Looking forward to hearing how it went


Very very regrettably, I am giving up running for the timebeing. My partner and I are trying for our first baby (YAY!!!!), however because I am 36, turning 37 in a few months, I'm in that age bracket where it may possibly be a little bit harder to get pregnant. SO we're taking every precaution. Hence I've decided that running is too high-impact for trying-to-conceive, and I'm opting for lower impact exercise like cycling, elliptical machine at the gym, walking the dogs, yoga, etc. It sucks cos of all the half-marathon plans I had for this year! But it's sooooo gonna be worth it in the end

 

[RDP89]

OMG I love triathlons!!! Do it! You won't regret it Especially if you're already running and cycling. Are you a good swimmer? Swimming is my strongest leg in the triathlon, by far I love it, I go really hard and get way out in front of the others so I get a good head start, cos the cycling is my weakest leg so the competitors catch up to me, then it's the running leg at the end. Somehow it's a whole different kind of endorphin high than just running alone!!

I’m a decent swimmer, but have never done distance swimming, so we shall see how I do.

 

[RDP89]

All the best for your 20k chinup! Looking forward to hearing how it went


Very very regrettably, I am giving up running for the timebeing. My partner and I are trying for our first baby (YAY!!!!), however because I am 36, turning 37 in a few months, I'm in that age bracket where it may possibly be a little bit harder to get pregnant. SO we're taking every precaution. Hence I've decided that running is too high-impact for trying-to-conceive, and I'm opting for lower impact exercise like cycling, elliptical machine at the gym, walking the dogs, yoga, etc. It sucks cos of all the half-marathon plans I had for this year! But it's sooooo gonna be worth it in the end

What makes you think that running would impact the ability to conceive?

 

[RDP89]

doing my 20k tomorrow.... feel a bit nervous but i don't know why cos i did 18s the past 2 weekends and they were alright, if embarassingly slow.

i'm also thinking about cycling just to give my knees a bit of a break, and also its something i can do with my boyf, but not buying a bike til i've got all my house moves done.

Cycling changed the game completely for me. I was trying to get up to marathon distance running, but too many miles creates bad knee pain for me. The Cycling allows me to get the equivalent of a long, slow run without ruining my knees.

I am now actually much faster running between 3-7 miles than I ever was before. I do one day running, one day cycling, one day running, one day cycling, then a day off. Runs are usually 6-7 miles and biking around 24-25 miles right now. So four days on, one off.

Out of curiosity, how many days a week do you do cardio?

 

[n3ophy7e]

What makes you think that running would impact the ability to conceive?

It is ONLY because I'm in that older age bracket of conceiving that I have any concerns at all, otherwise I wouldn't care. And "they" say that you should avoid high impact exercise, so....
If I was 25 years old I wouldn't even think twice about it. But I'm not :D

I’m a decent swimmer, but have never done distance swimming, so we shall see how I do.

What distances are we looking at here? For the tri?

 

[Jabberwocky]

All the best for your 20k chinup! Looking forward to hearing how it went

i made the 20k, but i didn't make it all the way to my parents. i didn't go the route google said, i.e. what was actually 20k, cos it was like 14k on roads and fuck that. so the route i took was quite a bit longer than i'd anticipated.

i am proud i even made it out cos i was having such bad stomach issues before i left that it delayed my leaving by 2 hours, by which time it had got quite a bt warmer outside. i was also still having muscle cramps from the covid vaccine. but when i've decided to do something, i'm usually very committed.

so i had to call my dad to come and get me about 4k from home, i'd suddenly started feeling extremely nauseous, had an increasingly sore neck and back, and was getting anxious about not having enough water. thankfully i gave up about a 5 min jog from an ice cream farm so got some more water and ice cream while i was waiting for my ride. i was feeling quite nauseous for the rest of the day, i don't think running when you're already having stomach symptoms is the best idea!!

Out of curiosity, how many days a week do you do cardio?

the sad but honest answer is that it depends how many days a week i am too hungover to run before work. usually i do a long run on a saturday, recover sunday, and manage 3 shorter runs in the week. this week i only managed 2. some weeks i get 4 in.

 

[RDP89]

It is ONLY because I'm in that older age bracket of conceiving that I have any concerns at all, otherwise I wouldn't care. And "they" say that you should avoid high impact exercise, so....
If I was 25 years old I wouldn't even think twice about it. But I'm not :D



What distances are we looking at here? For the tri?

Something Olympic distance or right around there. Nothing too crazy. It’s totally contingent on me getting a better bike though, which I can in no way afford at the moment.

Gonna look today for a 10 k running race to register for, as I’m getting pretty good at that distance and I want the challenge of the longer run vs. the 5k. My new best 6 mile pace was 6:36.8/ mile avg. I also did 7 miles at 6:45 per mile. I’ve been steadily bringing my times down lately pretty fast. It’s kind of crazy. My last 6 mile was 17 seconds faster than my previous PR.

 

[RDP89]

i made the 20k, but i didn't make it all the way to my parents. i didn't go the route google said, i.e. what was actually 20k, cos it was like 14k on roads and fuck that. so the route i took was quite a bit longer than i'd anticipated.

i am proud i even made it out cos i was having such bad stomach issues before i left that it delayed my leaving by 2 hours, by which time it had got quite a bt warmer outside. i was also still having muscle cramps from the covid vaccine. but when i've decided to do something, i'm usually very committed.

so i had to call my dad to come and get me about 4k from home, i'd suddenly started feeling extremely nauseous, had an increasingly sore neck and back, and was getting anxious about not having enough water. thankfully i gave up about a 5 min jog from an ice cream farm so got some more water and ice cream while i was waiting for my ride. i was feeling quite nauseous for the rest of the day, i don't think running when you're already having stomach symptoms is the best idea!!


the sad but honest answer is that it depends how many days a week i am too hungover to run before work. usually i do a long run on a saturday, recover sunday, and manage 3 shorter runs in the week. this week i only managed 2. some weeks i get 4 in.

3 or 4 runs a week is not too bad. Especially with a long run thrown in. Congrats on the 20k! That’s a long way to push yourself. You should be proud.

 

[n3ophy7e]

Something Olympic distance or right around there. Nothing too crazy. It’s totally contingent on me getting a better bike though, which I can in no way afford at the moment.

Gonna look today for a 10 k running race to register for, as I’m getting pretty good at that distance and I want the challenge of the longer run vs. the 5k. My new best 6 mile pace was 6:36.8/ mile avg. I also did 7 miles at 6:45 per mile. I’ve been steadily bringing my times down lately pretty fast. It’s kind of crazy. My last 6 mile was 17 seconds faster than my previous PR.

Excellent The Olympic tri distance is perfect.
It's difficult for me to do the mins/mile conversion in my head so I'ma just smile and nod and take your word for it that you're doing great :D