CP running thread

[taco.vidal]

Originally Posted by mrkajz44

Now for a question of my own. I see to have an issue with the first 8-10 minutes of my runs. I'll feel very tired quickly and my pace is much slower than in should be. However, once I make it past 10 minutes things pick up and I feel good.

I'm trying to improve my times for 5-7k, so having a bad first 1/3 is obviously hurting my ability for strong times. Any suggestions? I think it might be a warming up issue - is the solution to just warm up for 5-10 minutes at a very slow speed before I start my "real run"?

It could be many things but my first is guess is that youre running too fast for your current fitness/ability.
Are you using a HR monitor? Are you tracking youre paces with a GPS watch or your phone.
If you run the same 5 to 7km route, do you have times youve done it under hard effort versus any easy effort? Or a recent 5km race result?

[Oling_Roachinen]

It's warm up. Need to get your heart race up and your muscles loose.

Assuming you're well rested with proper nutrition, there's not really a concern for your glycogen levels running in a 5 KM, so running/joggng a good 15-20 minutes a half hour before your actual race is beneficial. And not even a light jog or brisk walk, you should be breaking a sweat. Along with stretching to get loose, and running in spot before the race to keep that heart rate up right when you start. It's a bit counter intuitive but you're exactly right in that if it takes you a 1/3 of the race to warm up, your time is going to be hurting significantly. I know for my best 5 KM, I warmed up longer than I did running the actual race, and not even all that much slower.

That's what works for me, but realize that other people have different warm up methods and you'll need to find what works for you. But I would strongly agree that it's your warm up that's holding you back if you're actually aiming for a 5KM PBR.
https://therunningbug.com/fitness/be...efore-your-run

Begin with a 10-minute warm-up jog that gradually builds intensity. Start slowly and run five minutes easy, five minutes steady and then a few minutes close to your race pace. You can’t afford to feel rusty at the start of these races and sessions - you need to be ready to roll straight away.

You should now be ready to complete some drills and strides. Aim to complete these over a 10-20 metre area and jog lightly back after each effort.

Strides are the final step and really help to hit your pace in the first mile. Find a 60-70 metre area where you run several sets, focusing on good technique. Start at 60 per cent max speed, run the second lap at 70 per cent, the third at 80 per cent and the fourth lap quicker than race pace.

Even if you're not racing, the same principle applies if you're trying to get your best 5 KM.

[Wormius]

Well. That wasn’t a horrible start, except for the unforeseen slush/ice cornices along the pathway and the cold head wind. Did 8.4km with a couple of walks of shame up some hills around Panorama. Same route about 6 months ago during my “peak”, and heart rate was averaging 150bpm and a pace of 4:43, today was 185bpm and a pace of 5:53. Otherwise not too different from last seasons start at the end of last April.

[Cowperson]

Originally Posted by Wormius

Well. That wasn’t a horrible start, except for the unforeseen slush/ice cornices along the pathway and the cold head wind. Did 8.4km with a couple of walks of shame up some hills around Panorama. Same route about 6 months ago during my “peak”, and heart rate was averaging 150bpm and a pace of 4:43, today was 185bpm and a pace of 5:53. Otherwise not too different from last seasons start at the end of last April.

Spring is less painful if you run through the winter. (j/k).

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by Cowperson

Spring is less painful if you run through the winter. (j/k).

I tried! Winter running just isn’t for me, at least trying to work It into my schedule and staying safe running at night with all sorts of blobby ice chunks uneven snow.

I think I am going to just get a gym membership for the winter months next year.
Kind of wondering about some treadmills that you can program with something like Google maps to allow you to run a favorite route. I think Zwift is the equivalent for biking.

[Slacker]

Originally Posted by mrkajz44

Not sure what distances you are planning on running for Spartan, but I've found the number of hydration stations they have on the run is plenty of water already. The sprint and super definitely do not require a water pack. Adding the water pack just adds weight and makes the obstacles more difficult without providing much benefit as there are already several water stations on course.

EDIT: Now that I've seen you already bought one my advice is a bit moot, but I'll leave this here for others if they are thinking the same thing

I’m doing the Spartan beast in Montana and I believe it’s 21 kms with hills. My thought is to carry additional gels and other stuff to survive a 4-6 hour race.

I have two races in April (Light it up and Eyeball the wall) before the big race and I would like to get used to the hydration pack.

Thank you for your answers!

[RatherDashing]

Originally Posted by Slacker

I bought myself a 2.5L hydration pack and my question is mostly related how to ease into running with one.

Oh I see. I'd just work into it slowly, try going for a few shorter runs with the pack lightly loaded. You'll likely have a few places where the pack either rubs (causing chafing) or bumps against your body (causing bruising). It's surprising what a soft flask or strap can do after bumping against your chest for two or three hours! After a few runs you should be able to cope with it.

Also try to make sure you don't hunch your shoulders forward when running with your pack. I try to consciously roll my shoulders back every few km when running with a pack. If you can't keep your shoulders back, try adjusting the straps on your pack.

[mrkajz44]

Originally Posted by Slacker

I’m doing the Spartan beast in Montana and I believe it’s 21 kms with hills. My thought is to carry additional gels and other stuff to survive a 4-6 hour race.

I have two races in April (Light it up and Eyeball the wall) before the big race and I would like to get used to the hydration pack.

Thank you for your answers!

Ah, okay - if you're doing the long one then I could understand the need for water, though I still think its optional. I've only done one of the long ones, but managed without a hydration pack and just wore a belt where I could bring gels and some electrolyte pills. It did limit me to taking the gels / pills at the water stations though.

Good luck with the race! I wouldn't mind hearing about how it went. The long one I did was at Sun Peaks and I really didn't like it as we basically sumitted 3 mountains - it was more of a hard hike than a race. Curious to see what other Beasts are like to see if that was a one off or not.

[GP_Matt]

With a 2.5 L pack it will be tempting to add more things to the bag that seem like a good idea but will never actually be used. Also,, don't fill it full of water if you don't need that much water and make sure to squeeze the air out to prevent too much sloshing around.

[Slacker]

Originally Posted by mrkajz44

Ah, okay - if you're doing the long one then I could understand the need for water, though I still think its optional. I've only done one of the long ones, but managed without a hydration pack and just wore a belt where I could bring gels and some electrolyte pills. It did limit me to taking the gels / pills at the water stations though.

Good luck with the race! I wouldn't mind hearing about how it went. The long one I did was at Sun Peaks and I really didn't like it as we basically sumitted 3 mountains - it was more of a hard hike than a race. Curious to see what other Beasts are like to see if that was a one off or not.

From what I've been reading in the Spartan Race group in Reddit, it's not a grueling race, but a moderate one.

The five of us who are going are not very fit, so this will be a challenge for all us. We are doing the Open division, we can help each other.

What I can't gain on upper body strength, I'm making it up with endurance and researching the obstacles and how to pass them. I'm also working on my burpees

My goal is to complete the trifecta, but it is pretty funny to do the distances backwards.

I will post details after I do the race!

Thanks everyone for the advice

[Wormius]

The sucky thing about running right now is the lazy dog owners fecal remains surfacing. I think dodging these and pools of water were responsible for my slow pace today.

[mrkajz44]

So thanks for all the advice on my (lack-of) warming up for my runs. It's still a bit weird for me to do, but the first 10 minutes of my run I don't actually consider part of my run, its just the warm-up. I'm only on the clock for distance after 10 minutes and I'm seeing much better consistency in my pace over my 5-7km runs now. I still seem to go faster on the back half of the run, but I only have so much time that I can dedicate to warming up!

[Oling_Roachinen]

Negative splits, where the second half of the run is faster than the first, is a very common strategy or occurrence. Multiple world records have been completed using it for 5 KM to marathons.

http://running.competitor.com/2016/0...ace-day_152209

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by mrkajz44

Now for a question of my own. I see to have an issue with the first 8-10 minutes of my runs. I'll feel very tired quickly and my pace is much slower than in should be. However, once I make it past 10 minutes things pick up and I feel good.

I'm trying to improve my times for 5-7k, so having a bad first 1/3 is obviously hurting my ability for strong times. Any suggestions? I think it might be a warming up issue - is the solution to just warm up for 5-10 minutes at a very slow speed before I start my "real run"?

Just imagine that there's a zombie hoard behind you.

Fast zombies, not the slow ones.

[Slacker]

Originally Posted by Shazam

Just imagine that there's a zombie hoard behind you.

Fast zombies, not the slow ones.

Man, those 28 days later zombies were something else!

Saturday is my first 10k race of the year, the Light it Up Calgary. I’m looking forward to complete it injury free.

[Wormius]

Anybody ever end up wit uneven wear in their shoes? My left shoe is wearing inside around my ankle and my right shoe is wearing at the heel. I don’t know if it’s important, but it’s getting to be where it’s going to be uncomfortable. And is there anything that can be done to fix it? Like gluing in some moleskins or something soft to make up for it?

Icing a sore knee - does this actually do anything long lasting or is it jut temporary relief?

And lastly, running up hills... what’s the best way to land and take off? On your toes and foot stays pretty horizontal, or whole foot angled with the slope of the hill? I am finding landing and taking off on the toes a bit more comfortable and less stress on the Achilles, but maybe I should be stretching there more.

Side note - I feel somehow jilted when a run feels faster than it actually turned out to be.

[RatherDashing]

Originally Posted by Wormius

Icing a sore knee - does this actually do anything long lasting or is it jut temporary relief?

Icing should reduce inflammation in the knee by increasing blood flow to the area. So you should recover a bit faster.

Is your knee sore from running? If you're getting sore joints, and uneven wear in your shoes, you might have a weird hitch in your stride.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by RatherDashing

Icing should reduce inflammation in the knee by increasing blood flow to the area. So you should recover a bit faster.



Is your knee sore from running? If you're getting sore joints, and uneven wear in your shoes, you might have a weird hitch in your stride.

It think it was aggravated by the running. It was feeling a bit tweaked from a non-running related fall over Xmas (tight/sore when sitting cross-legged). It didn’t feel any worse than that during my previous 3 runs. Today wasn’t really any faster or anything, just a different route, a bit longer but probably more steep sections. No problems during the run, just after resting and watching TV it is hard to walk on, especially stairs. The relief from the ice was short lived.

[TheSutterDynasty]

Originally Posted by Wormius

It think it was aggravated by the running. It was feeling a bit tweaked from a non-running related fall over Xmas (tight/sore when sitting cross-legged). It didn’t feel any worse than that during my previous 3 runs. Today wasn’t really any faster or anything, just a different route, a bit longer but probably more steep sections. No problems during the run, just after resting and watching TV it is hard to walk on, especially stairs. The relief from the ice was short lived.

I warned you!!

March 26th:

Originally Posted by TheSutterDynasty

6 months is a long time!

Obviously if you've been active in other ways then it'll speed the whole process up, but there's a specificity component. Running is a tough thing to adapt to, and to jump in to 40+ minutes of it (or more) increases your risk of injury substantially.

The best runners aren't the ones that go the hardest, they're the ones that can run for a long period of time without getting injured. That's why there's such an emphasis on long, slow miles. They are the least hard on the body but keep you running. Of course HIIT gives you better gains, but more than 1-2 speed workouts a week will get you injured in a hurry.

[Wormius]

Yeah. I didn’t think I was overdoing it. Next year I am definitely getting a gym membership for the winter.

I will take some time off. My goal is at least 4x a week with no recovery pains. I started off pretty strong last spring/summer and there were no problems, except the heat & smoke.