Running tips ? As in not getting hurt.

Roger,

Absolutely right. A friend and I are working with a national class marathoner in Uruguay who had a former coach try to totally change his running style and it physically destroyed him. I expect it’s going to take  another 3-4 months to get him healthy and strong enough to train normally again.   It always hacks me off when I see this!

BJ

Today’s fatigue should tell you why I urged patience, a moderate pace, and spreading out your runs. Glad all is well!

BJ

Hi Katharina

Fwiiw: if Sue and I have to miss a day or two out of our cycle (virus, day walk, whatever), we sometimes halve the distance we run for the next few days. We creep up on the distances very slowly. And we love our rest days (1 out of every 3).

Cheers

@BJ I am hearing you better now …;)

@Roger that makes sense. I am not going for three days now ( off work and I will NOT run at home with the number of mountain lions here..) and then if I feel good Monday  I will run but ease into it.

Thanks!

Katharina,

As you can see from Roger’s post, he and his wife are doing what I suggested in terms of frequency. They are simply running a 6 days out of 9 cycle instead of 5 out of 9.

BJ

They are simply running a 6 days out of 9 cycle instead of 5 out of 9.

Yes, but we would have reservations about running 6 days straight then not running for 3 days. MUCH prefer the 2/3 cycle for us.

Cheers

Roger: Agreed, see below! It’s why I suggested spreading out the running days over the 9 day period.

Katharina: Since you cannot run on the weekends at home, think about running Monday, Tuesday, off on Wednesday, run Thursday and Friday, off on the weekend, then running again on Monday and Tuesday. That would be 6 instead of 5 days  over the 9 day cycle, but you have 2 days of rest before days 5 and 6. That should be doable if you don’t push the pace.

@BJC sounds good. Thanks!

Progress…

Because of the long weekend I did not run Fri, Sat, Sun. I did some core exercises at home and tried doing chin ups …did two but not even close to three; it’s been years since I even tried.

I ran the 2 miles yesterday, but took it easy-like. No stopping but it was demanding enough to finish the whole thing. Today was great; slow at first and then got going at a decent pace and pushed myself a bit more on the way back.

So far all good as far as not having any joint pain. Feet are good too :)

Tomorrow I will enjoy the off day.

Glad it’s good so far!  How hilly is your route? I should have asked that before.

BJ

@BJ

The trails are quite hilly. The one I have been doing starts flat for a very brief distance then up, a bit flat, quite a bit up but not very steep, tiny bit down, tiny bit flat , up pretty steep, flat and then back in reverse.

So far so good. I did not run yesterday and I ran well today. The days I know I am going to run I sure seem to pay really close attention to what I eat, so that I have enough but not so much to bog me down. I think  I have lost some  weight but I don’t own a scale so who knows. Joints, feet and back are all good :)

Sounds like you’re off to a great start Katharina.

IMO scales are a waste of time, especially if you are training, i go by how clothes fit and how i feel, but then i’m fat so maybe it’s denial ;)

Sounds like it is going well.  If you feel good, just keep on doing what you are doing. Consistency is the key.  If you are feeling fatigued on a day you are going to run, try to keep the effort on the hills the same as on the flats, rather than keeping the same pace. You’d be amazed at how slow elite runners go when they are not feelng it!

The days I know I am going to run I sure seem to pay really close attention to what I eat, so that I have enough but not so much to bog me down. 

We are just back from 5 days in our Alps. Going up Mt Jagungal (a favourite) I was really, really dead. Sue was racing off ahead of me. Eventually she stopped and fed me some chocolate and a bar. It made a huge difference! I was just out of energy. So … EAT!

Cheers

I always run on a empty tummy

If i’m doing over 15km then i’ll usually take a flapjack or something to nibble at, but for anything under 15km i really can’t get on running with anything in my tummy.

First it makes me feel bloated
Second i tend to have to poop, it must be the running motion, as i don’t have the same problem with hiking.

@Mark

I run at 10 am, which means I have been working for 4 hours by then. I try and eat some form of protein and some carbs around 5 am ( small amounts; maybe an egg and half an apple or 1/2 a bar or some oats or some tempeh). At 9:30 I grab another bite of something, similar to breakfast. I don’t think I could work and then run without fuel. Volume is what I try and keep low because that would bog me down so higher calorie ( protein plus carbs) is what I am trying to do. Oh, olive oil too :)

Dinner is where I seem to pack most of my veggies these days.

I am no nutritionist and this is just what seems to feel right and work for me right now.

@Roger, @ BJ noted! Thank you, Katharina

If it works for Katharina then it works.
Agreed, it’s going to be tough doing 4 hours in the morning without eating.

I’ve experimented with food and running at different times, doing the same route and timing myself.

Slowest times were in the morning when i ran after breakfast, the pace was about the same as usual but after i’d added time for the 2 poop stops it was my slowest :o

99% of my runs are under 20km though, so i’m sure if i start going much further i’m going to have to start thinking of eating more.

Today was probably my strongest run to date. I am a little tired now but nothing hurts.

@Mark

you run a lot more miles than I do…Everything would be different for me at 20 km.

As far as going to the bathroom….by the time I head out on the trail I am all good ;)

“Everything would be different for me at 20 km.”

Not necessarily. If you worked up to it slowly, you would very likely feel fine, a bit more fatigued, perhaps, but not wasted or anything like that. With proper training, you can run up to 18-20 miles without any big difference in how you feel, beyond a bit more fatigue. Beyond that distance you will be running in a glycogen depleted state, and things get much harder. For most people anyway. Highly trained and/or gifted runners will have an easier time of it.

I know I am cluttering the forum with my own personal thing here. Thanks for indulging me and maybe someone else may read and give it a try? :)

Today was slow. I ran the same amount of time but did the shorter loop.

@ BJ so I cut on effort but kept moving

@Tom you are probably right about my running more miles…I may do more here and there but can’t see 20k in my future at this point.

I have an older Iphone and yesterday just for kicks I downloaded and older pedometer app. Somehow it decided for me that my goal is 10,000 steps. It seems to count them ok, if anything it misses a few here and there. By 10:40 yesterday morning I was at 14,500 steps and by the time I got home just over 20,000. I guess I walk a lot, which is good :)

This is as much gadget as I am going to use, since I already have the phone on me anyway.

Back to walking.

I know I am cluttering the forum with my own personal thing here. Thanks for indulging me and maybe someone else may read and give it a try? :)
Backpacking and trail running being what what they are, it is all about personal experience. No clutter at all.

Cheers

I think it’s fantastic that you’re sticking with it, are you starting to enjoy the runs yet?

When i first started i couldn’t run for more than 1 min, i’d have to stop and gasp for breath, i was determined to get fitter but can’t say as i remember looking forward to or enjoying runs at that stage.

Now if i don’t run a couple of times a week i can feel it, physically and psychologically.
I’m still unfit and soooooooo slow, but i do really enjoy my runs now.

I started with a pretty strict program, but being on-call with my job it was difficult to keep to it, then i found if i missed say 2 days i’d try making them up the following week, which would make me miserable.

Now i just run when i can and when i feel like it, if i feel good i’ll run longer, if i feel tired or sore then i’ll run shorter.
Mates keeping telling me to enter races or marathons, i’ve got absolutely zero interest in either, i run 100% to get fitter and because i enjoy it, because of the times i run and the areas i can gor 10 runs without seeing anyone else, i can’t imagine having to run with hundreds of other people, sounds like an absolute nightmare to me.

Been poking through my memory banks for any advice or mistakes i’ve made that might help you, only things i can think of are:

1/ Don’t tighten your running shoes up too tight

I’ve found this can flare up plantar fasciitis for me

2/ Try not to run in the same shoes all the time

I’ve found that if i use 1 pair of shoes i start getting pains or injuries, so i try to rotate the shoes i run in, i’ve got pretty much one extreme to the other, one run i’ll wear my thick soled Hoka’s, another my fairly minimalist Inov-8 TrailRoc 255, i’ve also got some Salomon’s and other shoes i put into the rotation.
Sounds crazy i know, but i’ve found if i run with just one pair i get various aches pains or injuries with them, if i rotate them nothing

3/ Careful with your stretching
I’ve had problems with my knees for years so i’m prone to problems, but i’ve found that by removing the usual Quad stretch from my stretch routine (after a run only) i’ve had zero problems with my knees

Hope that’s at least some help

Cheers

Mark

Katarina, glad you are sticking with it. It can take awhile to to make something a habit, in excess of two months. I just went back through your posts to keep me fresh as to your goals and experiences so far. Am I right that you are not breathing through your mouth?  If not, If you could explain your thinking, it would be helpful.  Thanks, BJ

@BJ

When I am exerting myself I only breathe with my nose, which forces  me to take deep breaths even when I am running. I know everyone else says to breathe with both nose and mouth, but ever since I mountain biked all over  I  figured out that when I breathe with my mouth I get less oxygen and both tire quicker and get more sore. The way I do it I get my heart rate up, breathe deep and slow and am able to keep my heart rate steady . When I did a stress test with the cardiologist he asked me the same question but he agreed that I figured something out that seems to really work for me. It’s been my technique for making it up mountains for years. If i feel like panting I just slow down enough until deep breathing does the job. It’s allowed me to not need a break. I think it is also why I was able to run 20 minutes straight on my first run in 30 years.

@Roger, thanks for the encouragement :)