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Running Nerds Unite

double ewe said:
it's a lot of miles, but it really doesn't eat up nearly as much time as some other sports. a lot of days i do 3-5 in the morning and then another 8-12 in the afternoon, which is really only about 1.5-2 hrs of running. i work and am a grad student, and i don't have a lot of time to do other stuff, but i have all the time i need for running.

my ability to handle high mileage has definitely increased gradually over the years, and came with a lot of injuries. shit's still hard, and there are weeks where i'm just tired all the time, but it's something that's gotta happen.

and i'm no professional. i win a lot of the local races i enter, but i'm more or less at the level of an average-good college runner (i'm 25, started running again at 23).
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Hmm... I haven't heard good things about running twice in a day, but I guess you aren't dead yet.

Guess I'll just cut the mileage down a little bit for the first phase. Probably give myself 2 days off a week too.
 
it's actually a much healthier way to get in the kind of mileage i'm going for (disclaimer: i don't recommend that kind of mileage for sane people). the wear and tear you put on your joints increases exponentially as fatigue increases. so mile 16 is a lot harder on the joints/connective tissue/etc. than mile 6. but if i do 5 easy miles in the morning, my legs are pretty much recovered by the afternoon, and i can do 10 or 12 without a lot of danger. granted, learning to deal with that fatigue is important too, but you only really need to go to that threshold once a week (with the weekly long runs that are more or less a staple of the lydiard method).

the other HUGE benefit to an easy morning run is getting your metabolism/recovery mechanisms going first thing. teaching your body to recover in 12-hour intervals rather than 24 will make you more efficient in terms of both performance and recovery. and personally, an easy am run just makes me feel so much more happy and balanced in my day-to-day.
 
that really makes a lot of sense.

do you do your AM run on an empty stomach?
 
I just did my first run for about 6 weeks, ack what a struggle it was. Lots of fun though!
The weather is way too hot at the moment (middle of Summer) to run even in the early AM, so i'm going to run just as the sun does down.

I'm going shopping tomorrow for a pair of new runners :) woooo!
 
haha, sorry.

i usually do my morning run pretty much right out of bed, empty stomach and half-asleep. only exception is if i'm doing my big workout in the morning, but it's usually just a 20-30 min shuffle to get the legs loose and the blood going.
 
raverchik said:
I just did my first run for about 6 weeks, ack what a struggle it was. Lots of fun though!
The weather is way too hot at the moment (middle of Summer) to run even in the early AM, so i'm going to run just as the sun does down.

I'm going shopping tomorrow for a pair of new runners :) woooo!
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Holy shit hun, I live in Sydney too and yesterday was WAY too hot to be running outside!! Today was slightly better but still pretty humid.
So great you're getting back in to it though. Feels good huh! :)
 
bumpitty bump bump =D

Does anyone else use caffeine prior to a run to enhance endurance?

ive noticed it helps SO much
 
The only form of caffeine that I ingest is tea, but that typically causes me to shit soon after drinking, so I avoid it. I find that 'non-chemical' energy like a banana, apple, or a tablespoon of honey is better before a run.
 
It's common to ingest flat coca cola during a long run - among the IM crowd I find, the caffeine helps kick you along in the final 42 kms of the race.

For me, I run on an empty stomach in the morning, and don't go for a run during the day until 2 hours post eating. Different strokes :)
 
^^ me too.

but doesnt running in the morning on an empty stomach cause your body to eat at the muscle for energy?
 
O.K., nerds.

Quick question.

I don't have a running addiction. I'm running for... health. How often should I run if I want something that I can do sustainably for the rest of my life without fucking up my joints?
 
mgmt&mdma said:
^^ me too.

but doesnt running in the morning on an empty stomach cause your body to eat at the muscle for energy?
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No if you just stick to a maximum of 30 minutes and run at a speed where you are not too out of breath you should mainly burn fat.

I drink L glutamine before my daily 5 mile run though because it prevents the body from going into a catabolic state.

I find running is the best thing in the world for my depression after about 25minutes I start to feel a good high that makes me feel temporarily invincible like I could rip someones head clean off and I feel super happy.
 
bighooter said:
... after about 25minutes I start to feel a good high that makes me feel temporarily invincible like I could rip someones head clean off and I feel super happy.
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A strange combination of emotions! but I certainly know what you're talking about =D
 
TheAppleCore said:
O.K., nerds.

Quick question.

I don't have a running addiction. I'm running for... health. How often should I run if I want something that I can do sustainably for the rest of my life without fucking up my joints?
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If you run correctly (on the balls of your feet instead of hitting your heel first), you needn't worry too much about "fucking up [your] joints". If anything, it will help to strengthen your joints and run more efficiently. You can build up your running by first doing about ... 20 minutes (of running correctly, to ease yourself in), then 25 the next day, then again, then maybe 30 the next. It's a different running experience when you run how we're meant to run. It takes the load off your joints (knees, hips, ankles, shins: which endure a lot of sheer force when your run on your heels) and you can eventually run a lot further with no discomfort.
 
Simply Live's covered some of it. Your form plays a big part in how easily you may get injured by running. Some biomechanics that are poor can be fixed, and other flaws may be harder to fix. The surfaces you run on and your weight can also be determining factors. As far as mileage goes, it isn't something that has to be worried about at this point.

I would say 20-30 minutes of easy daily running should give you the benefits you are looking for with minimal risk of injury due to overuse. Of course there is no problem with taking days off if you want them, or running 40, 50, 60 or more minutes at a time. Go by feel and things should work out.
 
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^^ Thanks a lot, guys! Hmm... I wonder if I've been instinctively running in good form, or if I'll have to make a conscious correction? We'll see.

I'm getting excited to run again. =D
 
I was just going to say: if you want to fix your running form, take off your shoes and run on a padded track to start with. Your form will quickly improve when running barefoot.

I ran with Nike Frees for a while, then moved back to more padded shoes, and my form improved a lot. I feel like it has slowly returned to poor habits, so I''m going to start running shoe-less again.
 
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