Random Running Questions

Finglas Flier

TomD101 wrote: »

Hi guys, I was logging in here to post the same query. I ran on Monday and at 19 miles my right hamstring went into severe cramp where I had to stop completely. At 20 miles my left hamstring also seized up. I couldn't stride at all and it ruined the last quarter of my race where all I could do was shuffle for a mile then stop with cramped hamstrings and repeat for the last 6 miles.

Funnily enough this was my third DCM and two years ago the exact same thing happened. I put it down to undertraining the last time and I ran all of my training runs on the training programme this time to the required pace and distance. I have not had one cramp in the intervening two years in my hamstrings until Monday which was the exact same thing as two years ago.

I am pretty sure I pre-hydrated properly and I drank at every water station.
I actually felt pretty comfortable pace-wise throughout until the cramps came.

Any thoughts on what I might have done to cause it are appreciated. I feel fairly gutted that I missed my goal time by so much (15 mins) having ran the first 3/4s to plan and trained hard over the last four months.

Thanks guys
Tom

Happened to me two years back. But had just had a Barium e-ray a few days before hand and that stuff ran through me for the next few days.

Now from about three days before a marathon I usually but a mix of electrolytes dissolve able tablets into my water when drinking in the lead up to runs. No clear evidence as to what causes cramp...but some things seem to help more then others...

Dubgal72

Thargor wrote: »

Really struggling to get out since the clocks went back, zero motivation at all and haven't actually done any running since last weekend, going to force myself this evening but there's just something horrible about going out in the dark and the cold. Also Bray Head and the Cliff Walk are out of bounds in the dark so I have to put up with concrete, boring housing estate views and traffic fumes instead of fresh air and peace and quite and nice views. Cant get out on the bike in between runs for the same reasons aswell. Anyone the same way or got any tips for winter running for a novice?

Hi Thargor, if you can't get out at lunchtime as FD suggested, what about a morning run? Nothing like seeing the sun come up as you run the cliff walk. Bray R unners meet at Killians for winter training at 7pm on Thursday, it will be concrete etc but you will have good company

DubOnHoliday wrote: »

I run the the cliff walk in the dark, thanks to my LED Lenser.

I have a chicken living inside me. You are a special kind of brave

DubOnHoliday

Dubgal72 wrote: »

Hi Thargor, if you can't get out at lunchtime as FD suggested, what about a morning run? Nothing like seeing the sun come up as you run the cliff walk. Bray R unners meet at Killians for winter training at 7pm on Thursday, it will be concrete etc but you will have good company

I have a chicken living inside me. You are a special kind of brave

Having the head torch opens up a whole new running world. In saying that I would not recommend ladies running the cliff walk on their own at night, I've come across some strange individuals at times there. I just run faster.

Neera

Can anyone recommend a good starter sports watch. I use my phone a the moment to track my distance and pace but find that the armband I'm using is not great and once the screen goes off I have to wait for the prompt every 10 minutes to tell me how I'm doing.

Been looking at the Garmin Forerunner 10,15 and 25 but not sure which would be the best - the all appear to do the same thing albeit some have HRM which I'm not too fussed about!

any other brands I could look into??
Cheers!

Firedance

Neera wrote: »

Can anyone recommend a good starter sports watch. I use my phone a the moment to track my distance and pace but find that the armband I'm using is not great and once the screen goes off I have to wait for the prompt every 10 minutes to tell me how I'm doing.

Been looking at the Garmin Forerunner 10,15 and 25 but not sure which would be the best - the all appear to do the same thing albeit some have HRM which I'm not too fussed about!

any other brands I could look into??
Cheers!

These are all the same watch, the 15 is upgrade of the 10, the 25 is the upgrade of the 15. To be honest I bought the 10 as my first watch and its great, but, you might get into HR training sooner than you think and then you'll have to upgrade. I'd recommend going with the 15 with HR monitor.

Neera

Firedance wrote: »

These are all the same watch, the 15 is upgrade of the 10, the 25 is the upgrade of the 15. To be honest I bought the 10 as my first watch and its great, but, you might get into HR training sooner than you think and then you'll have to upgrade. I'd recommend going with the 15 with HR monitor.

Great, thank a million Firedance!!

DubOnHoliday

Neera wrote: »

Great, thank a million Firedance!!

If you wait a few weeks on Black Friday, Amazon always have great deals on Garmins, I think they had FR10s last year for under 80 Euro.

Neera

DubOnHoliday wrote: »

If you wait a few weeks on Black Friday, Amazon always have great deals on Garmins, I think they had FR10s last year for under 80 Euro.

Good thinking - never thought if that! Will definitely hold off until then!

ronn

Thargor wrote: »

Really struggling to get out since the clocks went back, zero motivation at all and haven't actually done any running since last weekend, going to force myself this evening but there's just something horrible about going out in the dark and the cold. Also Bray Head and the Cliff Walk are out of bounds in the dark so I have to put up with concrete, boring housing estate views and traffic fumes instead of fresh air and peace and quite and nice views. Cant get out on the bike in between runs for the same reasons aswell. Anyone the same way or got any tips for winter running for a novice?

I work shift and do a lot of late night running around bray and I've never incountered any nuts late at night and I'd be up lord Meaths or bray head or down the seafront,
Try the park in shankill, it's tarmac and the part near the road is light up a little bit, its usually busy with walkers and joggers early enough in the evenings,
I wouldn't venture to far into the back of it if you were on your own though,

aoboa

10k races in March or early April?
Best calender to check?

JohnDozer

aoboa wrote:

10k races in March or early April?
Best calender to check?

What part of the country are you in?

IvoryTower

the run ireland calendar is the only one I check, if there's any more let me know!

JohnDozer

Can't post links but the Running in Munster website is quite good for Munster races. The lindienaughton site is good too for Ireland but broken at the minute I think. And the events page of the athletics Ireland website. Plus runireland of course...

hot buttered scones

http://corkrunning.blogspot.ie/p/calendar.html

Excellent resource for races in Munster, Wexford, Kilkenny.

Thargor

ronn wrote: »

I work shift and do a lot of late night running around bray and I've never incountered any nuts late at night and I'd be up lord Meaths or bray head or down the seafront,
Try the park in shankill, it's tarmac and the part near the road is light up a little bit, its usually busy with walkers and joggers early enough in the evenings,
I wouldn't venture to far into the back of it if you were on your own though,

Im not asking because Im worried about being mugged or raped

Its just grim running in the dark, its already a chore in the Summer, in winter its something I actually despise, not as bad as a hellhole like a gym but still grim, maybe I will start running the cliffwalk with a headtorch. Doing laps of that hole of a park in Shankhill would be even more depressing than housing estates in Bray tbh. Wish we had firm flat sandy beach to run on like on the West Coast instead of the boulders and gravel down the seafront.

aoboa

JohnDozer wrote: »

What part of the country are you in?

Whoops - that would have been useful.
Dublin ideally but can travel.

IvoryTower

Thargor it sounds like you dont really like running!

DubOnHoliday

Thargor wrote: »

Im not asking because Im worried about being mugged or raped

Its just grim running in the dark, its already a chore in the Summer, in winter its something I actually despise, not as bad as a hellhole like a gym but still grim, maybe I will start running the cliffwalk with a headtorch. Doing laps of that hole of a park in Shankhill would be even more depressing than housing estates in Bray tbh. Wish we had firm flat sandy beach to run on like on the West Coast instead of the boulders and gravel down the seafront.

Join a club and this becomes a non issue. I know because I joined up with one a few months ago in the area and that in itself gets me out running more with groups of like minded people. We train twice a week, there are groups at all abilities to suit.

Maximus Alexander

Yeah, I don't think I'd bother if I thought it was a chore. If you're only doing it for health reasons there are probably more effective / enjoyable ways of doing that.

Thargor

IvoryTower wrote: »

Thargor it sounds like you dont really like running!

More depressing to sit on the couch all evening having not exercised though so what can you do? If it was a nice evening I could shoot down the coast or over the Sally Gap on the bike and properly feel the burn but once the evenings close in it all gets a bit S.A.D

IvoryTower

You could look at other sports to take up? Or as above join a running club, very social and they will bring you on loads, you might not see it as a chore then, more of a social life!

Thargor

Nah I have to be able to hop on the bike or pull on my runners and go in the evenings, other sports require organising/equipment/travel like a second job and they dont really burn calories or tire you out like you need either. I might have a look at the Shoreline gyms to get me back to when the clocks change again, I live near the one in Bray. Thanks.

libelula

I ran in 'that hole of a park in Shankill' at the weekend and absolutely loved it
It was a newish spot for me though, so I was happy out with new shiny things to look at. The trees are just stunning this time of year.

As for running in the dark, I'm in a village in Sligo, so am limited to doing laps of it, the main road is just too dangerous to go on. Gets darn boring, so I generally stick to a couple of lit parks in town, or even do a lap and a zig zag of it where it's well lit.

dna_leri

libelula wrote: »

As for running in the dark, I'm in a village in Sligo, so am limited to doing laps of it, the main road is just too dangerous to go on. Gets darn boring, so I generally stick to a couple of lit parks in town, or even do a lap and a zig zag of it where it's well lit.

The lighting in cleaveragh park is great to have this year.

libelula

dna_leri wrote: »

The lighting in cleaveragh park is great to have this year.

Fantastic spot altogether! Without it and the IT I'd be lost. Literally

Dubgal72

Neera wrote: »

Can anyone recommend a good starter sports watch. I use my phone a the moment to track my distance and pace but find that the armband I'm using is not great and once the screen goes off I have to wait for the prompt every 10 minutes to tell me how I'm doing.

Been looking at the Garmin Forerunner 10,15 and 25 but not sure which would be the best - the all appear to do the same thing albeit some have HRM which I'm not too fussed about!

any other brands I could look into??
Cheers!

Ahem, just saying this really quietly but you can manage with an ordinary stopwatch and an app like mapmyrun. I used to - still do sometimes - work out a route on mapmyrun and just go run it. I used to use the kitchen clock, now sometimes I use my stopwatch. Most times I just go and run. Nice and easy like, but just go and enjoy and run

Ps you really don't need an electronic prompt to tell you how you are doing, your body is the best judge of that

The Black Oil

The novices thread for the marathon was great to read. I hope to join next year's one, don't fully understand some of the jargon. :P If I keep running normally (5-10k) will I be OK when the training plan starts next summer?

Drizzle, glasses (down own contacts) and street lighting don't make a good combination. Almost walked into a wall after I had finished tonight.

scotindublin

Any tips/techniques for running downhill? Don't find the up hill running too bad.....just feels like I am very heavy footed in the downhill stretches.

TFBubendorfer

scotindublin wrote: »

Any tips/techniques for running downhill? Don't find the up hill running too bad.....just feels like I am very heavy footed in the downhill stretches.

Lean slightly forward, imagine yourself being perpendicular to the road.

Take small, quick steps rather than long ones.

Don't look at your feet, instead look three steps ahead of you.

scotindublin

Thanks will give that a go next time out.

TFBubendorfer wrote: »

Lean slightly forward, imagine yourself being perpendicular to the road.

Take small, quick steps rather than long ones.

Don't look at your feet, instead look three steps ahead of you.