Random Running Questions

Swashbuckler

Sunny Dayz wrote:

I'm planning to follow Hal Higdon's half marathon novice 2 plan for a half I have at the end of the summer. Week 9 of the plan has a 10k race for the long run that week. It has 10m the week before and 11 mile the week after as long runs. I'm not sure if I'll be able to do a 10k race that weekend (as in there might not be one available for me to race). What should I do in place of the 10k race? Should I try and race a 10k on my own, which is never really the same as an actual race. Should I do my lsr as 10k or should it be longer?

Where are you based and what date?

skyblue46

Sunny Dayz wrote: »

I'm planning to follow Hal Higdon's half marathon novice 2 plan for a half I have at the end of the summer. Week 9 of the plan has a 10k race for the long run that week. It has 10m the week before and 11 mile the week after as long runs. I'm not sure if I'll be able to do a 10k race that weekend (as in there might not be one available for me to race).
What should I do in place of the 10k race? Should I try and race a 10k on my own, which is never really the same as an actual race. Should I do my lsr as 10k or should it be longer?

How far would you be able to travel. There is hardly a weekend over the summer without a 10k somewhere.

http://lindienaughton.blogspot.com/p/calendar.html

Sunny Dayz

Swashbuckler wrote: »

Where are you based and what date?

Midlands. I think there is one on that weekend in Roscommon but not sure if I'll be able to get someone to mind the child. I'm trying to plan out what to do if we've no minder. I wouldn't mind only the child is well capable of running 10k but usually can't enter due to insurance.

OOnegative

Anybody have advice on salt replacement post run? I am an above average sweater(evidence below) when running & this level occurs from 5-15+ miles. Not a fan of sugary sports drinks and have been just using a ZERO tablet with water lately. Keep the manhood jokes to minimum please!!!

shotgunmcos

I used to drop a ZERO tab of electrolytes with caffeine into the bottle and neck that but its a bit naff. Now I just get a salty boiled egg or a handful of salty mixed nuts. I use a High 5 recovery Shake with coconut milk after long runs.

skyblue46

Not great with links but there are a couple of suggestions from Baby75 within the last few pages of the novices thread for some homemade isotonic drinks which she picked up on a sports nutrition course.

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057867517&page=38 Post #557

hot buttered scones

Dioralyte is good if you can get it over there. Cheap too and does the trick.

OOnegative

shotgunmcos wrote: »

I used to drop a ZERO tab of electrolytes with caffeine into the bottle and neck that but its a bit naff. Now I just get a salty boiled egg or a handful of salty mixed nuts. I use a High 5 recovery Shake with coconut milk after long runs.

When you say the ZERO tab was “naff”, do you mean there’s no benefits to having one or the egg/peanuts are just a more natural way of replacing the salt?

aquinn

OOnegative wrote: »

Anybody have advice on salt replacement post run? I am an above average sweater(evidence below) when running & this level occurs from 5-15+ miles. Not a fan of sugary sports drinks and have been just using a ZERO tablet with water lately. Keep the manhood jokes to minimum please!!!

You have lost a lot of weight!

Would you run with dialorite and mix it with water to have it with you when you run or that's not sufficient?

That is a lot of sweat B.

OOnegative

aquinn wrote: »

You have lost a lot of weight!

Would you run with dialorite and mix it with water to have it with you when you run or that's not sufficient?

That is a lot of sweat B.

Camera adds ten pounds A!!! I’ll have to start bringing something with me with salt in it instead of just relying on the abundance of water fountains over here.

RIGOLO

You could try making a home made electrolyte drink.. Just add a few ingredients , salt, sugar citrus and flavour to some water and gulp it down . Your stomach may tolerate that better. 
My how we have complicated things, now its all electrolytes drinks , in single use plastic bottles polluting the waters, based on expensive marketing campaigns by overpaid sports stars, selling products with questionable benefits and some questionable ingredients...
Thankfully I remember the days coming in from a long run, grabbing a glass bottle of milk, adding a spoon of table salt  and a spoon of honey (when the bees were plentiful) at feeling none the worse. It still works.

shotgunmcos

OOnegative wrote: »

When you say the ZERO tab was “naff”, do you mean there’s no benefits to having one or the egg/peanuts are just a more natural way of replacing the salt?

Yes more natural and tastier too.
If I can't wait 5 minutes for an egg I have peanut butter on toast or a rice cake. (Usually have it anyway while waiting and then eat the salty egg too)

One thing to watch with that sort of sweat loss (what is normal anyway?**) is flooding yourself with water only can cause an electrolyte imbalance. In fairness that would be near complete glycogen depletion too so the end of a long run. So its more than just salt you need. The potassium, magnesium, calcium and sodium requirements are in everyday food.

You couldn't go too far wrong with adding some banana onto your peanut butter and wholewheat toast and drink a pint of milk with your salty egg!

OOnegative

shotgunmcos wrote: »

Yes more natural and tastier too.
If I can't wait 5 minutes for an egg I have peanut butter on toast or a rice cake. (Usually have it anyway while waiting and then eat the salty egg too)

One thing to watch with that sort of sweat loss (what is normal anyway?**) is flooding yourself with water only can cause an electrolyte imbalance. In fairness that would be near complete glycogen depletion too so the end of a long run. So its more than just salt you need. The potassium, magnesium, calcium and sodium requirements are in everyday food.

You couldn't go too far wrong with adding some banana onto your peanut butter and wholewheat toast and drink a pint of milk with your salty egg!

Suppose everyone has there own kind of normal, some consider mine hugely excessive but it’s normal for me. You could well be only something with flooding myself with water though, looking at my water intake lately it’s rather OTT even given the sweating. Regarding potassium intake, i’d eat two bananas a day to combat that. Thanks for the input, gave me plenty to consider. Loving the salty egg suggestion to!!

nowaynever

Any races in or around the Kilkenny city area on Saturday 30th of June?
Minimum 10k, thanks.

TFBubendorfer

nowaynever wrote: »

Any races in or around the Kilkenny city area on Saturday 30th of June?
Minimum 10k, thanks.

The closest to Kilkenny is the Waterford marathon: quarter-marathon, half-marathon, full marathon, on 30th June

nowaynever

TFBubendorfer wrote: »

The closest to Kilkenny is the Waterford marathon: quarter-marathon, half-marathon, full marathon, on 30th June

Ah yes, that might do the job alright. Thanks!

BetsyEllen

So I’m a newbie runner and I’m in the second to last week of a couch 2 5k which I do with a running club.
In 2 weeks I’m starting the 5k-10k.

I’ve done 5ks in the past but never anything longer (well maybe 6k) and doing a 10k would honestly be as big an achievement to me as running a marathon.
I’m not doing it to lose weight as I’m a normal and healthy size, it’s just to keep fit and keep myself busy and to achieve a goal.

However I am struggling a little and tonight was particularly difficult.

I could improve my diet so I’d like to know what kind of foods I should be eating to help my performance, especially on the days I’m running.
I run at 7pm and have my dinner straight after.

As I said before, this isn’t about weight loss, purely about feeling good/fueling my body well to run better and myself to the magic 10k in a few weeks

All advice welcomed, thank you

quickbeam

I'd say the pace you're going at could be a factor more than your diet. Best advice I got when starting out by doing C25K was to slow down. Like *really* slow!!! As slow as you need to in order to complete each running section.

On the other hand, I deliberately did C25K on my own. I can see how much more difficult that advice would be when doing it with a running club when there's pressure on to keep up with the others. So, either, don't be afraid to fall behind the others, or ask whoever is leading the run to slow everybody down.

Speed will come eventually. But for now, the best thing you can do is just complete the distance in whatever time it takes.

Regarding food, just eat a good healthy balanced diet with as few processed foods as possible and you should be fine. I should imagine that it's only when it comes to long distance stuff that specific diet requirements would be advised to keep going.

RIGOLO

as a newbie runner your body is still adapting to the running schedule . If as you say your not overweight then theres nothing much wrong with your diet. The less processed food the better, jut stock up on as much fresh stuff fruit etc and when you want a snack pick the thing that needs peeling and not unwrapping.. Cut out the tea and coffee on the days your running, if you  drink them. Also reduce any dairy on the day of your training, see if it makes a difference..  
Sometimes its about trying different things and finding out what works for you .As others have said, slow down your pace, let your body adapt to the increase in running,  try to eat extra healthy on the day of training, have a decent scnack about 4 if your running at 7 . 
And dont get too worked up about it , your new, your off to a great start already moving from 5k to a 10k , your in a club, its just going to take a bit of time.

ariana`

Ok, this is completely random so i couldn't think of anywhere else to post it, it actually may also border on ridiculous so please forgive me if it does

So the photos that go up on social media after races - well i have had the unfortunate experience of seeing quite of a few of them featuring myself recently and over the past few years and one thing they all have in common is in every single one I have one foot planted firmly on the ground from heel to toe. And herein lies the query as I see photos of other runners and quite often there is only part of a foot on the ground - for example the front foot is mid-air and the back foot is already pushing off and they're on their toes so to speak - or even there is no foot on the ground and they are mid-air which makes for a class photo.

I'm not sure if i'm explaining this very well but i'm wondering is it just a coincidence down to the split second that the photos are taken at or is it a form/turnover issue whereby my back leg should be pushing off a bit quicker?

OOnegative

ariana` wrote: »

Ok, this is completely random so i couldn't think of anywhere else to post it, it actually may also border on ridiculous so please forgive me if it does

So the photos that go up on social media after races - well i have had the unfortunate experience of seeing quite of a few of them featuring myself recently and over the past few years and one thing they all have in common is in every single one I have one foot planted firmly on the ground from heel to toe. And herein lies the query as I see photos of other runners and quite often there is only part of a foot on the ground - for example the front foot is mid-air and the back foot is already pushing off and they're on their toes so to speak - or even there is no foot on the ground and they are mid-air which makes for a class photo.

I'm not sure if i'm explaining this very well but i'm wondering is it just a coincidence down to the split second that the photos are taken at or is it a form/turnover issue whereby my back leg should be pushing off a bit quicker?

https://youtu.be/b6UAYGxiRwU

Ah no in all seriousness, i’m the exact same in race photos, looks like my foot is stuck to the road in most I see of myself. Coincidence i’d like to think on both our parts, i’m more worried about smiling than gurning like a raver on a bad trip!!

Goose76

RIGOLO wrote: »

as a newbie runner your body is still adapting to the running schedule . If as you say your not overweight then theres nothing much wrong with your diet. The less processed food the better, jut stock up on as much fresh stuff fruit etc and when you want a snack pick the thing that needs peeling and not unwrapping.. Cut out the tea and coffee on the days your running, if you  drink them. Also reduce any dairy on the day of your training, see if it makes a difference..  
Sometimes its about trying different things and finding out what works for you .As others have said, slow down your pace, let your body adapt to the increase in running,  try to eat extra healthy on the day of training, have a decent scnack about 4 if your running at 7 . 
And dont get too worked up about it , your new, your off to a great start already moving from 5k to a 10k , your in a club, its just going to take a bit of time.

Why? Caffeine is a known performance enhancer (hence why there are caffeine gels for long distance running). I understand that pounding a cup of coffee right before a run isn't a good idea (hello unwanted poops:rolleyes:) but if you regularly take in caffeine why would you cut it out on days that you run?

Swashbuckler

Hmm I'm not sure. I don't think both feet should be planted at the same time

Edit just saw one foot

RayCun

Your foot should land underneath you, forefoot first*, your heel comes down to meet the ground and then push off. Your foot acts as a spring, compressing and expanding to drive you up and forward. It shouldn't spend long on the ground, just a fraction of a second, because then you aren't getting the spring effect. Also, if your foot is planting in front of you, you will tend to roll through it rather than spring. Try to increase your cadence, thinking about taking more steps for the same speed (but remembering to pick your feet up too)

All of this is strictly in the "do as I say, not as I do" category


* okay, there are arguments about this

Kellygirl

While we are discussing form, what are people’s thoughts on chi running courses?

Swashbuckler

RayCun wrote:

Your foot should land underneath you, forefoot first*, your heel comes down to meet the ground and then push off. Your foot acts as a spring, compressing and expanding to drive you up and forward. It shouldn't spend long on the ground, just a fraction of a second, because then you aren't getting the spring effect. Also, if your foot is planting in front of you, you will tend to roll through it rather than spring. Try to increase your cadence, thinking about taking more steps for the same speed (but remembering to pick your feet up too)

Cheers Ray. That's an excellent, simple explanation. Makes a bit more sense to me now anyway.

MY BAD

What's your opinion guys on racing two 5km races 5 days apart? And secondly what would you think of using xc spikes for a 5000m race on a track?

Testosterscone

ariana` wrote: »

Ok, this is completely random so i couldn't think of anywhere else to post it, it actually may also border on ridiculous so please forgive me if it does

So the photos that go up on social media after races - well i have had the unfortunate experience of seeing quite of a few of them featuring myself recently and over the past few years and one thing they all have in common is in every single one I have one foot planted firmly on the ground from heel to toe. And herein lies the query as I see photos of other runners and quite often there is only part of a foot on the ground - for example the front foot is mid-air and the back foot is already pushing off and they're on their toes so to speak - or even there is no foot on the ground and they are mid-air which makes for a class photo.

I'm not sure if i'm explaining this very well but i'm wondering is it just a coincidence down to the split second that the photos are taken at or is it a form/turnover issue whereby my back leg should be pushing off a bit quicker?

RayCun wrote: »

Your foot should land underneath you, forefoot first*, your heel comes down to meet the ground and then push off. Your foot acts as a spring, compressing and expanding to drive you up and forward. It shouldn't spend long on the ground, just a fraction of a second, because then you aren't getting the spring effect. Also, if your foot is planting in front of you, you will tend to roll through it rather than spring. Try to increase your cadence, thinking about taking more steps for the same speed (but remembering to pick your feet up too)

All of this is strictly in the "do as I say, not as I do" category


* okay, there are arguments about this

Just to add to this. Form is one aspect for sure but the other aspect which tends to get overlooked here tends to be muscle power. This is where the likes of plyometrics etc play a major role in training. Ground contact should be minimal but only if the muscles have the power to generate enough force.

To train this can be as simple as bounds etc or as complex as explosive weight movements

Here is a good demonstration from the Lydiard Foundation which is good place to start in relation to this;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VgxsEfeDqk

It should be noted though if you are doing this sort of work the key is to do this fresh. Trying these fatigued is going to dramatically increase your injury risk. This is why these should only be attempted after a shorter recovery run or pre session (after warm up)

Murph_D

Kellygirl wrote: »

While we are discussing form, what are people’s thoughts on chi running courses?

I bought the book. Read it up to the point where the force of the universe was pulling you through the race.

I may be cynical, but didn’t read further.

dna_leri

Mellow Yellow 26.2 wrote: »

What's your opinion guys on racing two 5km races 5 days apart? And secondly what would you think of using xc spikes for a 5000m race on a track?

Up to you whether you can trash your body twice in 5 days but don't trash the track.
Don't wear XC spikes on a synthetic track, you will damage the surface. 
Get something like these (max 5mm)
http://www.elverys.ie/elverys/en/Elverys/Running-&-Fitness/Running/Accessories/All-Accesssories/Ultimate-Performance-5mm-Running-Spikes/p/000000000001032379