The Running Thread

[ergative]

A few days ago I managed to make to to 2.25 miles (including a couple of (very small) hills!) before I had to stop and walk. Yesterday I barely managed to get through the first mile, and I had to make a lot more stops than usual. It's really funny how my personal capacities fluctuate.

[nonsensical]

A few days ago I managed to make to to 2.25 miles (including a couple of (very small) hills!) before I had to stop and walk. Yesterday I barely managed to get through the first mile, and I had to make a lot more stops than usual. It's really funny how my personal capacities fluctuate.

I notice that too - running is harder if I haven't slept well the night before. It didn't seem to matter when I was using the elliptical at the gym, but running is harder in general, and particularly so when I'm not well rested.

[ergative]

Yeah--I've been doing some intensive online training on a technical skill (which has actually been working really well--I'm learning tons) and by the end of the day I can barely string together a sentence and my backside is reminding me that I really cheaped out when I bought my office chair. I would have thought that this kind of mental exhaustion and physical crampedness would benefit the most from a run--and maybe they do!--but the run itself suffers.

[Sun_Worshiper]

We've had a couple nice mornings here, after a lot of unbearably hot weather.  I went running about a week ago for the first time in several months, and again this morning.  Both runs were hard - I'm out of shape, despite best efforts to exercise from home during the summer.  I'm planning to go again tomorrow morning, and I'm hoping that I'll be back to normal running ability after another few runs.

[traductio]

It is raining again this afternoon (every day now for, what, two weeks?), and it's cool and damp. If it stops raining, it will be excellent for running. If it doesn't stop, then I will stand outside on my driveway, cursing the heavens, King Lear-style.

[Dr_Badger]

I recently started low heart rate running, aided by an inexpensive heart rate monitor (wrist). The goal of low heart rate running is to sustain an even pace while not exceeding a certain BPM.

I'm thinking of keeping my HRM on and wearing it while I work.

It's great training for all of the weird crises that we are facing in higher ed right now.

[FishProf]

I have moved on from Achilles pain to a weird medial knee pain.  Near as I can tell, it is due to tight muscles, but I haven't yet sussed out which one.

Grrr.  And it is perfect fall running weather today.

[ohnoes]

I resisted the virtual races because, well, I don't know.

Turns out that they're pretty great for an antisocial middle of the packer like me.

I love:
starting whenever I want
not having to wait for the big blue box
not getting jammed into a weird pace at the start
being able to follow the training plans I've set
supporting my favorite clubs, races, and charities
converting road events into trail events

[Sun_Worshiper]

Another hard run this morning - my body hates me.  Heating up again so this may be the last one for a week or so, which should give me ample time to recover.

[spork]

I recently started low heart rate running, aided by an inexpensive heart rate monitor (wrist). The goal of low heart rate running is to sustain an even pace while not exceeding a certain BPM.

I'm thinking of keeping my HRM on and wearing it while I work.

It's great training for all of the weird crises that we are facing in higher ed right now.

This sounds like a great bio-feedback anxiety-reduction method.

Rather than deal with people in a store during a pandemic, I'll ask for new shoe advice here. I have congenitally flat feet and wear custom orthotics, which increase heel to toe drop. I have twinges of plantar fasciitis after a severe bout with it five years ago -- I do a lot of calf and achilles stretching and massage to try to keep it in check. Typically I go for a stability or motion control shoe, though I know these terms are mostly marketing gimmicks.

For the last year I've usually worn Brooks Adrenaline GTS 19, which has a 12mm drop and "guide rails" rather than the traditional medial post. They have always felt, well, heavy and somewhat mushy. I also have a pair of New Balance 860v8. They definitely "feel" lighter than the Adrenalines, but seem less stable. I use them mainly as walking shoes. In the past I've run with Saucony Omni, New Balance Fresh Foam 1080, and a few other models. I seem to alternate between New Balance, Saucony, and Brooks -- they seem to produce shoes with toe boxes that don't pinch. It's for this reason that I've never purchased Hoka One One.

Any suggestions?

[spork]

I bought a new pair of shoes -- Saucony Guide 13. Compared to Brooks Adrenaline gts 20, its drop is 4 mm less and it has a quarter inch more foam in the forefoot. The Saucony Omni 19 felt far more clunky on my feet. And the New Balance 1080 was a terrible fit -- a knit upper very tight in the toe box and a new-fangled heel cup that slid up and down a lot, the opposite of what it's supposed to do. Plus it has a lower stack height than the Guide 13s, so less cushion.

[pgher]

I bought a new pair of shoes -- Saucony Guide 13. Compared to Brooks Adrenaline gts 20, its drop is 4 mm less and it has a quarter inch more foam in the forefoot. The Saucony Omni 19 felt far more clunky on my feet. And the New Balance 1080 was a terrible fit -- a knit upper very tight in the toe box and a new-fangled heel cup that slid up and down a lot, the opposite of what it's supposed to do. Plus it has a lower stack height than the Guide 13s, so less cushion.

I didn't have any suggestions because I've only ever bought three pairs of running shoes. How many miles do you put on a pair? I run about 16 miles per week, so I don't feel like I need new shoes very often.

The weather here has been just glorious for running. It had been hot, but now mornings are in the 50s. I find I run faster and feel better. Love it!

[Parasaurolophus]

Well. I've doubled my distance, though the running took a big hit from all the smoke.

[traductio]

Ever since school started (for me -- all online teaching, one extra course; for my kids -- in person, grades 1 and 5, as Covid cases skyrocket) I've found my energy level is down, down, down. I think it's just the sheer stress. So I've cut down the distance I'm running (5km at a go, rather than 8), although last Friday I made it out mid-morning, and the weather could not have been more perfect, and I went 10km.

[spork]

I bought a new pair of shoes -- Saucony Guide 13. Compared to Brooks Adrenaline gts 20, its drop is 4 mm less and it has a quarter inch more foam in the forefoot. The Saucony Omni 19 felt far more clunky on my feet. And the New Balance 1080 was a terrible fit -- a knit upper very tight in the toe box and a new-fangled heel cup that slid up and down a lot, the opposite of what it's supposed to do. Plus it has a lower stack height than the Guide 13s, so less cushion.

I didn't have any suggestions because I've only ever bought three pairs of running shoes. How many miles do you put on a pair? I run about 16 miles per week, so I don't feel like I need new shoes very often.

The weather here has been just glorious for running. It had been hot, but now mornings are in the 50s. I find I run faster and feel better. Love it!

My answer will probably sound like mansplaining, but here goes: I'm probably far out of the norm. I have congenitally flat feet, wear custom orthotics, had a serious episode of plantar fasciitis a few years ago when I was running 30 miles per week, and recently discovered via x-rays that sometime in the past I was running with a fractured metatarsal in each foot. Add to all that some serious chronic medical problems. For the last six months I've been running 12-15 miles per week. I wore the Brooks Adrenaline gts 19s for the last year; at a conservative 10 miles per week that's 500 miles. By outward appearance they look fine, but they have little of their original cushioning and support. Foam gets compressed over time. It's far easier for my feet to torsion medially (pronate) even with the orthotics because the support features of the shoe have degraded.

In the past I've worn shoes for far longer than I probably should have, often 500 or more miles. The podiatrist that I see, who is also a runner and not beholden to shoe company marketing, gets a new pair of shoes every six months. Given my age and medical conditions I'm probably going to start buying a new pair of shoes annually and alternate between more than one pair.

In case it's of interest, the most informative, free of marketing hype reviews of running shoes that I've found are at https://www.solereview.com/. The problem of course is that this site doesn't review every new shoe when it comes to market.