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Running Nerds Unite

^^ Thanks so much for the advice hun!! <3
Everything is coming along really nicely with my running; my fitness is increasingly rapidly, my muscles are building endurance, my breathing is more controlled. Everything except these darned stomach cramps!! :!

My sister also told me to be aware of my arms when running, so I try to keep them at relaxed 90 degree angles next to my body, and I try to not move them about too much. Sometimes when I'm going up a hill I'll pump them a bit more, or at about the 8-9km mark when I'm starting to hit the wall they'll flail about a bit. But apart from that I think they're okay? I will definitely be aware of it though.
Thank you!!

Any more golden tips ThaiDie?? Please share! I'm like a knowledge sponge at the moment =D
And I agree, you should definitely get back in to running :) Let us know how you go if you do start it up again!
 
Make sure you're breathing correctly as well. When you take a deep breath, your stomach should puff up. People tend to puff up their chest when they take a deep breath, which isn't making full use of the diaphragm.


It's really noticeable when you're lying on your back. You can see your stomach rise and fall with each breath. With the stomach going out and in is how you should be breathing when you're running.
 
Aw, N3o, it sounds to me like you are doing everything right with your arms... and yes, they do tend to flail a bit when we get tired :) I wish I had great tips for you, lol, I am no expert or guru, just an ex- high school cross-country athlete!! Trust me, if i had a vault of great advice, id be sharing it with you because you sound so passionate! You probably know just as much if not more than me considering the great distances you are acheiving. I couldnt image racing 10k!!! Brave girl you are.

If I ever do get up the motivation to start running again, i will let you know how it goes! I think im hesitant to, because I know I am not even CLOSE to as good of shape as I used to be! It sucks when I used to be able to run a mile in 6 min (which is nothing earth shattering, but it was fast for me!) and now I struggle to complete one in 10! you know, just discouraging! but yeah, we'll see how it goes :)

if I dont talk to you before Sun (i believe that i when ur race is?) I wish you THE BEST OF LUCK and I'll have a little silent N3o cheer in my head! hehe. Races are so exciting!
 
^^ Thank you so much ThaiDie!!! <3
I have unfortunate news about my race today :(
I couldn't compete because I have shin splints (medial tibial). Boooooo.
I'm devestated because I've been feeling GREAT in training and I was so pumped for it! But I have another event NEXT Sunday, which I'm more looking forward to that this one that I missed, so I wanted to avoid further injury. I think it was for the best, sitting this one out.

But still......devestating :(

Hopefully next weekend I'll kick ass :D

Also, please don't be discouraged or daunted by the fact that you aren't in the same shape as you used to be! Although I totally know what you mean because I was the same way for a long time. But once you get back in to it, you'll remember all the good things you used to love about training.

I hope you decide to go for it lovely!

Carl Landrover said:
Make sure you're breathing correctly as well. When you take a deep breath, your stomach should puff up. People tend to puff up their chest when they take a deep breath, which isn't making full use of the diaphragm.
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That is a fantastic tip Carl, thank you. I do have a tendancy to hold in my stomach all the time (even when I'm singing, which causes me problems with that too, but that's a whole different story! 8) :D)
I will definitely try to keep this in mind.

How's your training going??
 
Thanks for the encouragement sweets :) And you are absolutely right, allowing that to hold me back is really just counterproductive. I'll never get better if I don't make that first move. I've promised myself I will AT LEAST jog a mile tomorrow, just to get back out there and get some pavement under my feet.

I am sorry to hear you were unable to compete :( But shin splints are fuckin TERRIBLE, I never got them much but once I did and GOD it was hell. I think you did the right thing by taking it easy. Now your next race will go much better :D I know its hard to sit out though when you're all pumped to run though, but just remember you are doing the best thing both for your body and your race time.
 
ThaiDie4 said:
Thanks for the encouragement sweets :) And you are absolutely right, allowing that to hold me back is really just counterproductive. I'll never get better if I don't make that first move. I've promised myself I will AT LEAST jog a mile tomorrow, just to get back out there and get some pavement under my feet.
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That's great hun!! Let us know how you go! <3
 
n3ophy7e said:
That is a fantastic tip Carl, thank you. I do have a tendancy to hold in my stomach all the time (even when I'm singing, which causes me problems with that too, but that's a whole different story! 8) :D)
I will definitely try to keep this in mind.

How's your training going??
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Sorry to read about your race, at least you got another chance next week. Actually, on a slightly similar note, my girlfriends mom and sister decided to do a tri in September instead since it's half the price ($50 vs $100), so I'll have a lot more time to prepare now, if I can go on that date. I'm thinking about doing a 5k race right by their house on July 4th though. Little worried since it's usually a very fast race and I'd have to run well to even finish in the top 100.


That breathing tip is really important. I've practiced using it for a while, but sometimes when I'm really tired (like today!) I can forget about it, which makes me even more inefficient and struggle even more.


I'm just happy if I make it outside for a run. Working and running is starting to take it's toll a bit as my quads/hamstrings were exhausted/flat/heavy today. My calves and upper body felt fine at least, and my friend and I got 3 different compliments, as opposed to the normal amount of 0, so I guess it wasn't all bad. :)
 
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can't believe i missed this thread . .

i'm pretty big into running. right now i'm predominantly training for distances from 400m to 5k, and i'm competitive locally but see a lot of room for improvement. i'm currently at 60-70 mi/wk, with 4-5 good workouts (depending on races) and one long run of 14-20 mi every week (most of my workouts are posted over on the daily workout thread). it's very rare that a day goes by where i don't do at least an easy few miles.

for me, running is part passion, part addiction and part obligation. sometimes i do it because i love it, but sometimes i do it because i just know i can't not do it.
 
^^ You run 100km a week?? That's a rather large amount of km. Are you training for marathons or something?

Carl Landrover said:
That breathing tip is really important. I've practiced using it for a while, but sometimes when I'm really tired (like today!) I can forget about it, which makes me even more inefficient and struggle even more.
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CARL!! You are a lifesaver!! Your breathing tip has helped me immensely! I have asked the same stomach cramps question on a couple of running forums, and no-one came up with that answer. And it's solved my problem!

I ran in my 8km race yesterday and during the training runs last week and in the actual race, I put in to practice your breathing technique. And I didn't get a stitch! Well, until I started getting tired at about the 6km mark and I went back to my old chest-only breathing, and I got the stomach cramps IMMEDIATELY! But I focussed on abdominal breathing again, and the cramps went away within a couple of minutes (whilst still running).

So, Carl, thank you SO MUCH!!!!! <3
 
the longest i actually race is 10km . . and i don't really like to do that. my main focus is on races between 800m and 5k.

the mileage is pretty high, but not ridiculous relative to many serious runners. it's also a little mis-leading, as most days i don't just go out and run 20km non-stop. rather, it's a 5k warm-up, 5k worth of intervals (interspersed with 5k worth of recovery jogs), and another 5k on the cool-down. even my rest days can be 15-20km . . but that would be over about 90 - 120 minutes.
 
right now my goal races are in late august/early september (1 mile and 5k), so i'm doing some local track meets to train and get a little racing experience.

then it's basically road and trail races through late fall.
 
I think I might run a 5k on the 4th, but I'm doubting myself. Plus, I missed the early entry so it's an extra $7 bucks to enter. (Ha, I'm such a cheapskate sometimes! ;))

That blow to the head last Monday cost me a bit of blood and I worked alot this week so I barely ran at all. Feel like I got set back a bit when I was thinking I'd be nice and ready for the race.

I guess it doesn't matter since I haven't raced for a while and it's been 2.5 years since I raced a 5k, but it's a really competitive race and I didn't feel like getting destroyed too badly. It's right by my girlfriends house too, which I think is adding to my apprehension in signing up.


Anyone have any runs of interest lately? I saw 2 skunks on a skunk date on Friday night on a 3am run.
 
^^ How's your training going Carl?? lol @ "skunk date" =D
3am run?? Whatchu doin' out that late boy?

I was planning on competing in a 10km race this Sunday but I've been sick with a virus for all of last week, and it's still festering as a bacterial infection in my chest this week so I haven't been training very much. I've done a few good interval running sessions this week, inside on the treadmill (it's the middle of Winter here so I can't run outside while I'm sick!) and I've been doing some good weights sessions too but still wouldn't be up to the 10km race this weekend.
Booooo :(

Next time :)
 
Eh things haven't been so great.

Didn't run that 4th of July race because I was a few minutes shy of working a 14 hour day on July 3. Mucho disappointment.

Was ok with running when I just had work, but now I'm taking a summer class. Between work and school (commute, class time, homework) I've just been drained. Somewhat of a cold too. :(



Huh, I complain a lot. :\
 
^^ I hear ya man.
Since I've been exercising a lot (like, every day, with the odd rest day here or there on which I do weights anyway) my immune system has gone to shit. I've just recovered from a cold 2 weeks ago and have another one a'brewin' tonight :(

Sick again dammit!! :!

I am looking and feeling pretty damn good when I run though =D
 
n3ophy7e said:
I am looking and feeling pretty damn good when I run though =D
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Me too! =D

Which is why it's so disappointing that I've been cutting back.


IIRC, your immune system does get weaker during training, but once you adapt it becomes stronger than it originally was. Or something like that.
 
^^ Okay cool, thanks for the info man :)
Try not to feel too bad about cutting back on the running lately, everything goes in cycles so I'm sure you'll be able to get back in to it soon.

I need to buy new running shoes because my shins won't allow me to run in my current ones anymore! :!
 
I'm currently training for three 1/2 marathon events later this year. I've been hampered by a broken big toe that happened back in late March. Although my surgeon hasnt given me the green light, I have run 5 miles each of the past 2 Sunday mornings with only a small blister (wore the wrong socks) to show for it and no toe pain. Otherwise I blast away on the elliptical for 45 mins 2-4 days a week which is in addition to mountain biking and Krav Maga workouts (which is how I broke my toe originally).
 
n3ophy7e said:
I've done a few good interval running sessions this week, inside on the treadmill (it's the middle of Winter here so I can't run outside while I'm sick!)
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i think intervals are about the only thing i like doing on the treadmill. i really like the way i can just dial in a pace and my legs have to keep it (and since TM's are faster than running, it's a pace i usually couldn't maintain over the same distance on the track). unfortunately, i fuck up a lot of treadmills that way.

and i definitely feel you on the winter lung problems. i get bronchitis nearly every damn year that way.
 
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