Running Nerds Unite

I thought I'd start this thread given that there seems to be a few keen runners here who want to get some info from fellow Bluelighters and it seems to be polluting another thread in this forum and getting a little off topic

Anyway, are you runner? What sort of training have you been doing recently? Any big races coming up? Any nutrition tips, gear tips.. what kind of runner are you, long distance/short distance/middle distance?

Injuries? How'd you recover from them? If it's about running lets talk about it.

I recently ran my first marathon in 3:51:30.. which I was quite happy with. Also have competed in a number of 10km's, 8km's and a half marathon.

My next half mara is in June but I'm recovering from a bout of ITBFS. So have been out of training for a few weeks but hopefully will be fit enough to compete soon. Currently only clocking around 20-30km a week, but should be ok for the half.

About the nerdiest bit of kit I own (besides my Ipod Video which gets strapped to my arm) is my Garmin Forerunner. Tracks all my runs, distance, pace, speed via a GPS transmitter and I can upload the maps to Google Earth. Nice bit of kit! Garmin Forerunner 301.

Lets hear it

Awesome thread!!! I'm a very sporadic runner lol....I do it at best 2-3x a week. Plus I still can't do long distance runs...I'm more of a brisk walk-sprint person.

I'm a bit of a running geek but shin splints for the past year has prevented me running further than I'd like.

Would love a Garmin! But a little too pricey for me. I track my routes with this site: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com they've recently added maps to Australia which is great for the areas with poor satelite pics.

Next event - 5k in June. Wanted to do the 10k but shin splints are getting worse again.

list said:

I'm a bit of a running geek but shin splints for the past year has prevented me running further than I'd like.

Would love a Garmin! But a little too pricey for me. I track my routes with this site: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com they've recently added maps to Australia which is great for the areas with poor satelite pics.

Next event - 5k in June. Wanted to do the 10k but shin splints are getting worse again.

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Ha, I was going to put up the same link. I can be kind of anal about how far I'm running, especially if I'm trying to get an idea of my pace, so that site has been very useful.

Good luck in that 5k and taking care of those shin splints. Those can be quite painful at times. What have you been doing for them out of curiousity?

As I said in the other thread, I just started running again after a half year off. I've run for 5 weeks so far, on week 6 now. I'd like to do a few races this summer, but I don't like to race when I'm not in shape, so I might just wait to do some of the local races that are annually run in the fall. There's a 10k in mid-September that is usually won around 39minutes or so, and if I play my cards right I think I can take it. I've never won an individual race, so I have that as a long(er) term goal, even if it is some dinky road race. I'd have a long way to go to get there though...

For shorter term goals, I just want to hit some shorter marks in the mile and on some home-made courses around here. I'm aiming to just be in sub 6 shape by July (I have no idea where I am now).

ruski said:

About the nerdiest bit of kit I own (besides my Ipod Video which gets strapped to my arm) is my Garmin Forerunner. Tracks all my runs, distance, pace, speed via a GPS transmitter and I can upload the maps to Google Earth. Nice bit of kit! Garmin Forerunner 301.

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Thats a good idea. I used to get the street directory out and map it with a ruler to get an estimate on distance

I run on this trail that used to be a railroad but is now about 40 km of good bking/jogging trail from the rural area into downtown of my city and i usually run 8-10 km on the second day. Its good because each kilometer is marked like i run from km 26 to km 31 and back which is 10 km.

I wish I could run, incase the police were to show up when purchasing 'stuff'!

I jog around the polo field which is the size of ten football fields...lol....pretty big I guess! I do 2-3 rounds at most but I want to get up to at least five rounds. Wonder how long that is (I suck at distance measurement!)

if the polo field is 1000 yards long thats pretty much 1 kilometre so 1 run around it would be about 2.5 or about 1.5 miles

Carl Landrover said:

Good luck in that 5k and taking care of those shin splints. Those can be quite painful at times. What have you been doing for them out of curiousity?

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RICE, physio, podiatrist, orthotics....still no relief. Don't know what to do next. But I can run a certain distance each week without it affecting me too much. 5k is the max I can handle before my legs give up

^^^^Have you tried acupuncture? It has helped me tremendously with pain/sore leg muscles and in my arches. I don't even need to wear wraps anymore ( I needed to wear foot wraps under my special socks and shoes just to engage in strenous exercise early this year.) Now I just put on my socks , rubbershoes and go! It's amazing.

list said:

RICE, physio, podiatrist, orthotics....still no relief. Don't know what to do next. But I can run a certain distance each week without it affecting me too much. 5k is the max I can handle before my legs give up

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I feel your pain, well not shin pain but inflamed ITB pain. Middle distances like that really frustrate me when I'm trying to recover from an injury I can never limit myself to a few k's and always end up making my injury worse.. trying to learn to take it slow.. its hard Especially when I have to reduce 70km weeks down to 20km weeks

Shin splints are a pain (quite litterally) as the condition is an overuse injury and basic rest is normally the only cure.

So you've tried the whole orthotic + shoe approach? Tried any differnet physios?

Are you in Melbourne? I know some really good physio's that might be able to help you out

I have been to 2 physios and would be open to trying more. Yes in Melb, if you wanna suggest some.

Anyway, just bought some Linebreak compression socks and so far they're fantastic! It feels like they've reduced about 90% of the pain.

Anyone else use compression tights or other compression gear?

list said:

I have been to 2 physios and would be open to trying more. Yes in Melb, if you wanna suggest some.

Anyway, just bought some Linebreak compression socks and so far they're fantastic! It feels like they've reduced about 90% of the pain.

Anyone else use compression tights or other compression gear?

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Never used compression stuff, but I've used a ITB strap that seemed to work initially but didn't have much success while the band was actually inflamed.

PM sent re: Physio's/Podiatrist/Shoe store

mmm, 3-4 times a week. 20 or 25k track.
About as good as a lacking in talent 29 year old can be. Do the runs in an hour twenty or an hour thirty for each distance.
Thorough 'running nerd'. Lead developer in a Melbourne company by daylight ... seen decking it along the Main Yarra trail by evening.
Love running, nothing beats it for a sense of control and artifical achievement .

I love running along the Yarra at night. Sometimes I freak myself out because there are some strange people hanging around there, but then I realise that often I have been one of those strange people!

I remember some guy sitting and looking at what appeared to be a newspaper in his underwear along the Yarra, near Dight's Falls ... and it was freezing and too dark to read. I'm assuming that wasn't you list ?

As for nerdy kit, I'm pretty spare, but I love the Forerunner you've bought, ruski, and went off and excitedly researched it as soon as you mentioned it. I think I'll be making that purchase shortly.

I currently own a low-end polar heart rate monitor, and although I don't really like the model (I find it has trouble calibrating my heart rate - heart murmer and a low resting rate, around 44bpm) I do love having a virtual instructor keeping me at 150-165 bpm.

Nutrionally I just try to eat ver low in sugars and reasonably high in carbs/fats. I'm vegetarian and last time I went to the doctor and had a blood test (late last year) I was reported as having the lowest 'bad' cholesterol and the highest good he's ever come across. Guess it must be something good in the diet.

I'm short, only 5"6, and weight around 59k ... when I was 18 I weighed about 75k, though, and am probably about 3-4k under my purely healthy weight now ... but I am terribly addicted to the endorphin rush of a beautiful long run now.


Tips ... ? Hmmm .... well, I don't (and don't have the talent to) run professionally or even semi-so, but for me just enjoying the thought of getting out and pushing myself for an hour and a half three or four times a week is gorgeous. Keep it that way. If it becomes a grind take a month off.

For niggles I find the best thing is a break, as frustrating as that can be. Just rest for a week with no lower body work, and then try again ... slowly.

I usually jog around 3-4 times per week, anywhere from 5km-8km at a time. I would love to go in a marathon one day and have often thought about it but alas, no friends are really that keen on the whole fitness thing hehehe.

I want to start doing more jogs outside but since it's winter now i usually end up jogging on the treadmill which isnt so bad as i can track my distance/speed/time, but i like the outdoors better and feel its better in a meditative sense.

Yea I get that meditative feeling when I"m running. Music helps a lot I can definately run faster during certain more motivatonal songs. I ran 15 km for the first time today I had only done 12 before so I was pretty happy about that. I want to work up to over 20 in the next month or two

mindbodysOul said:

I usually jog around 3-4 times per week, anywhere from 5km-8km at a time. I would love to go in a marathon one day and have often thought about it but alas, no friends are really that keen on the whole fitness thing hehehe.

I want to start doing more jogs outside but since it's winter now i usually end up jogging on the treadmill which isnt so bad as i can track my distance/speed/time, but i like the outdoors better and feel its better in a meditative sense.

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The treadmill is also easier. Get some leg tights/long sleeve tights with good sweat wicking and get the hell outside and put those K's through your legs

Ideal running temperature is 7 degrees celcius (dry bulb temperature, Lore of Running, by Tim Noakes).. so the cold can only be a good thing.

Your marathon training will be your own journey you don't need anybody else to keep you motivated.. trust me its well worth the effort you put in.

Also I was reading recently theres no direct link between endorphin release and excercising, apparently it was an idea that the media cottoned on to at some stage and now its basically folk lore. I've read a few articles that agree with this, all of them medical journals (I'll try and find the links).

Injury update: Went to Physio this morning and the tell tale wear on the outside edge of my shoes shows that the orthotics I've got are actually overcorrecting my foot strike and causing supination (aka clunk foot) which is aggrevating my ITB enough to become inflamed. Ah well, off to the podiatrist tomorrow.

Robzie: Yeah the Foerunner is great, check it out on Ebay.. far cheaper than the stores here and US. You may wanna check www.coolrunning.com.au for reviews on other kit.