OT - Running

[Markyboard]

Good work Dave! And don't feel bad, your recovery run is my normal run, about 4.25 miles 3 days a week. I'm still at it but it never gets easier. My doctor pointed out that I have a sunken in chest (there's some fancy name for it) that may account for why my breathing is so labored. First time I ever heard this but maybe it makes sense. Anyway this is a challenging time of year in DC. Today was beautiful, dry and crisp at 6:30am when I typically run. Tuesday was quite different - extremely humid at the same time - killer when there's little oxygen in the air- or so it seems. Oh well, I'm now at my all time low adult weight record.

[Justin Havu]

Got a couple of 5K races coming up. Working on getting back my sub-30 time from a couple years ago. It's hard to run outside for me due to my agoraphobia getting in the way.

[Joe P]

Dave - very impressive. I'm at 180. ha-ha!

 

May - June Little League kills me every year, no time.

 

But that's over and now I am back to clicking off 5 milers with the wife.

 

Marky and Justin, keep running!

 

Joe

[Dave Ferris]

Very close to my goal of running 1700 miles for the year. I'm at 1693 with today and tomorrow to go. Waiting for the rain to subside a bit before I head out. I'll probably do an easy recovery of 4 today and get over the 1700 mark tomorrow. I ran a tad up the steep trail yesterday and the legs are still feeling it this morning. It had been awhile since I was up there.

 

In any case I'll be up from last year's total of 1167. Which was sort of my recovery year from the radiation for prostate cancer. Even though I felt fine my strength was not quite there last year. Tomorrow, 12/31, will be the two year anniversary of my last radiation treatment.

 

I don't know if I've got it in my legs to get back to 2000 miles a year - like I did 18 years in a row from ages 38 to 56 (63 now) - but I'm going to try and average 35 miles a week for '17 and see how that works out. That would put me around 1825.

 

I would like to start doing the steep trails by my home in the Verdugo Mountains reguarly again. I highly miss running trails and I'm really burnt out running on the street - hassling with cars, trucks and traffic lights. Even though I go to great lengths to map out routes that have the least amount of contact with cars, I still encounter problems it seems too often.

 

People just drive so fast and reckless around here it's insane !! And fairly certain it's not my imagination but there are just more cars then ever, everywhere !

All it takes is one semi-close encounter and it spoils the whole run for me. When I was younger I would just let it go. Now I get more agitated, more often and it stays with me longer. So staying off the streets as much as possible is probably my #1 goal for '17. I'd say 98% of my runs were on the road this year.that's WAY too much !

 

I still don't feel I'm at the level I was at before I started the treatments in Oct. '14. I'm running a good 2 to 2.5 minutes slower, per mile, then I was prior to the radiation. I'm not sure it will ever come back but at 63 , running for over 35 years and close to 60K miles total run , I take the attitude of -- it is what is and I'm just thankful to still be out there grinding away every day.

 

Do feel a little guilty in that I haven't been on the Potts mountain bike since Sept. 16. But just in this groove of running everyday or at least 6 days a week.

 

Hope everyone had a good year with regards to your fitness.

[Joe Muscara]

After avoiding a lot of this thread for however long it's been around, I have to admit that I've started running sometime the middle of last year. I had been walking, I've never been a runner, but I was walking about as fast as I could without breaking into a run. I finally said screw it, and started running a bit. I go about 6k. That started out as all walking and I'm still trying to get that to be all running. I've had a few setbacks like shin splints and other "minor" injuries. Before the shin splints, I could do 3k running straight, but now I'm working back up to that. As you guys probably already know, how well I can run depends on how much and how well I've slept, what I've been doing, etc. It's an interesting process.

 

This all really kicked off because I got an Apple Watch in the fall of 2015 and I've become obsessed with "closing the rings." The Activity app tracks stand hours, exercise minutes, and active move calories. I'm on a 290+ day streak of closing all three rings. My doctor was blown away when I told her I do "cardio" seven days a week. I have to - how else can I get those calories burned?

[TommyBoy]

Ended the year a little over 2400 miles. I burn around 800 calories each run and I noticed the total calories burned this year was 280,000. At 3500 calories a pound that means I'd weigh roughly 80 pounds more than I do had I not run at all this year!

 

What I take from that is that I eat like a horse!!!!

 

Happy New Year all and keep on running. It gets easier the more you run for sure!

[Dave Ferris]

Whoa Tommy. Man that's outstanding !

 

I'd have to go back and look through my "Jerome" logs going back about 24 years ago, and go up through age 39 into my late my 40s but I don't believe , even in my prime, I ever got up to 2400 miles for the year. That's around 46 miles a week average. That's a lot of running ! Congrats. Do you do races ?

 

Joe- yeah man just maybe alternate walking and running till those shin splint issues go away. Maybe concentrate on time as opposed to miles. Just make sure you have good supportive running shoes, not cross trainers or some other BS shoes they market as ok for running.

 

Jeff Galloway , along with many, has a good and sensible program for beginning runners. A huge part of running is restraint and common sense.

[Joe Muscara]

Thanks, Dave. I've been going to a localish store for the running shoes, so I should be good there. Part of what happened was I had bought my last pair last January and I guess they were a bit worn by fall when I had started running in earnest.

 

I will check out stuff by Mr. Galloway.

[Joe P]

.As you guys probably already know, how well I can run depends on how much and how well I've slept, what I've been doing, etc. It's an interesting process.

 

How well or how badly you feel sometimes can't be identified. Rest, food, whatever, sometimes you feel awful, and sometimes you feel great and there is no explanation for either. It's a mystery (this coming from a BSME, Joe!). Most of the time you feel the same, though.

 

Joe, stick with it. It is the best gift you can give yourself (quote from Kara Goucher).

 

My feeling is, if you can run, you should run.

[Joe Muscara]

.As you guys probably already know, how well I can run depends on how much and how well I've slept, what I've been doing, etc. It's an interesting process.

 

How well or how badly you feel sometimes can't be identified. Rest, food, whatever, sometimes you feel awful, and sometimes you feel great and there is no explanation for either. It's a mystery (this coming from a BSME, Joe!). Most of the time you feel the same, though.

 

Joe, stick with it. It is the best gift you can give yourself (quote from Kara Goucher).

 

My feeling is, if you can run, you should run.

Thanks, Joe - I'm a BSME, too. I'm only not running right now because there's a strong line of storms that might be headed this way. I'm lucky enough that I can postpone my daily run to after they blow over.

[Markyboard]

After avoiding a lot of this thread for however long it's been around, I have to admit that I've started running sometime the middle of last year. I had been walking, I've never been a runner, but I was walking about as fast as I could without breaking into a run. I finally said screw it, and started running a bit. I go about 6k. That started out as all walking and I'm still trying to get that to be all running. I've had a few setbacks like shin splints and other "minor" injuries. Before the shin splints, I could do 3k running straight, but now I'm working back up to that. As you guys probably already know, how well I can run depends on how much and how well I've slept, what I've been doing, etc. It's an interesting process.

 

 

Joe- almost the exact same story here from a number of years ago. One thing I found over the last 2 years is not to stop in the winter months; it's just to difficult to start over again in the Spring time with the shin splints and such. As I've said before it never seems to get easier for me over time although I also have good and bad days for no apparent reason. I thought the cold weather (25deg F) would be easier on my breathing but I had to take a walk break after about a mile the other day and every mile thereafter. :idk

 

Oh well, if you're out there don't beat yourself up too badly. At least you're out there. That's what I keep telling myself.

[Joe Muscara]

I'm lucky in that most days it doesn't stay below freezing here if it gets that low at all. I can wait out the temp a little if I need to. I've already made it through summer, I have enough gear to keep going through winter.

 

One of the hard parts for me is that I don't like to be cold. I tend to overdress for the start of the run because it's cold out there, and I sometimes end up wearing too much for when I've warmed up. Today was one of those cases. We had a couple of strong storms blow through and cool everything off. I checked outside and it felt chilly so I dressed for that. Part of the way through my run, I was too hot. I need to get better at suffering through the colder start of the run so I'm not overdressed for when I've warmed up.

 

Dave it looks like Galloway might have invented the "Couch to 5k" thing that's so popular now? I think I need to incorporate that into what I'm doing because I don't think I'm progressing with my run vs. walk time.

[Joe P]

One of the hard parts for me is that I don't like to be cold. I tend to overdress for the start of the run because it's cold out there, and I sometimes end up wearing too much for when I've warmed up. Today was one of those cases. We had a couple of strong storms blow through and cool everything off. I checked outside and it felt chilly so I dressed for that. Part of the way through my run, I was too hot. I need to get better at suffering through the colder start of the run so I'm not overdressed for when I've warmed up.

 

Joe,

The rule of thumb is "dress for the second mile".

 

You'll get better at it. When me and my wife were doing the Philly Half last November, man the analysis we went through that morning! Undergarment yes or no? Okay yes. What type? And on and on. Gloves?

 

We were cold before we started for like an hour getting through security and finding our corral, but had a great race and wound up dressed perfectly.

 

But even after 20+ years and thousands of miles I still get it wrong sometimes. Generally, I think it is better to start cold than to be overheated later.

 

Weather is always a factor but find an excuse to go, not an excuse to bail.

 

Joe

[Joe Muscara]

Thanks, Joe. The "second mile" tip is a great one. I will remember that.

 

I never bail. I've gotten obsessive about doing this. I may even be doing it too much. But I have to get those calories to "close the rings" on my Watch, so I'm going to do something! I've even waited all day for it to stop raining, and when we were in NY last month, I ran on the hotel dreadmill all three days because it was sub-freezing outside.

 

I never bail.

[Joe Muscara]

P.S. I just got my wife to do one of those "Couch to 5K" apps. Today was her first day. She hated it. The jogging stints were killing her, and she was totally winded after each one and for a while after she got home. She's never liked running, but she seems to be willing to give this a shot. I'm really hoping she gets to the point where we can do this together. We used to walk together until she had some problems a year ago. But I do feel a little about getting her to do this, yet good, too.

[Joe P]

Joe, good to hear you never bail!

 

I can vouch for running with the wife. We have a great time. It's funny, she is in such better condition than me and could leave me in the dust no propblem, yet whenever I run with her my mile times are significantly slower. I think it's because we talk a lot - which is a good thing! I hope Mrs. Muscara finds a way to like it.

[Joe Muscara]

I hope Mrs. Muscara finds a way to like it.

I don't think my mom will start running anytime soon. She's 87. We will see about my wife*.

 

Funny about your times together. We shall see what Lori and I do when she gets there. I have to be careful because she doesn't like to be pushed, nor feel like my expectations of her are too high. She makes me walk a fine line between encouragement and leaving her the hell alone!

 

Meanwhile, I've discovered that I need to be better about warming up and using walk intervals. I seem to be doing better balancing those in right now. I'm just doing them "by ear" but I feel like when I do it right, I run more overall.

 

*She didn't change her name.

[TommyBoy]

Whoa Tommy. Man that's outstanding !

 

I'd have to go back and look through my "Jerome" logs going back about 24 years ago, and go up through age 39 into my late my 40s but I don't believe , even in my prime, I ever got up to 2400 miles for the year. That's around 46 miles a week average. That's a lot of running ! Congrats. Do you do races ?

 

Joe- yeah man just maybe alternate walking and running till those shin splint issues go away. Maybe concentrate on time as opposed to miles. Just make sure you have good supportive running shoes, not cross trainers or some other BS shoes they market as ok for running.

 

Jeff Galloway , along with many, has a good and sensible program for beginning runners. A huge part of running is restraint and common sense.

 

Thanks Dave! No races for me - I have never been fast and I don't like to push myself for better times. I seem to get injured every time I do that. I am unbelievably consistent. I average around 49 miles a week and the 7 mile times are usually within a minute of each other. Extremely hot weather or more recently, very rainy weather might result in an anomaly of 5 minutes but normally I'm within a minute of my total time each run and often within 5 seconds. I guess the body does what the body does!

 

I only wear Nike Pegasus 32 (now Pegasus 33) shoes and get new ones every three months. The best thing I ever did was to purchase, at my wife's strong suggestion and over my own strong objections, really good running shorts and shirts. I used to run in cotton t-shirts and shorts. I bought a Lululemon running shirt and one pair of their shorts and after one run I bought seven pairs of each. The sweat disappears, they never smell, you can wear them a second time in a row if you have to (important for me because of heavy work travel) and they last forever. Best investment I ever made and I would have never done it on my own.

 

I've been using CBD oils for pain management (I know, controversial) and I literally run pain-free now. I don't take a single big-pharm medication, don't drink alcohol and my BP is 110/70. I can't recommend running enough to everybody I meet and trust me, I am not the prototypical runner! I was 6'2 and 240 pounds and walking to the fridge used to be an ordeal! It was hard work but once you're there it takes 50 minutes of your day and you can eat what you want and enjoy life.

 

Off my soap box now. Have a great week everybody!

[Joe P]

The best thing I ever did was to purchase, at my wife's strong suggestion and over my own strong objections, really good running shorts and shirts. I used to run in cotton t-shirts and shorts. I bought a Lululemon running shirt and one pair of their shorts and after one run I bought seven pairs of each. The sweat disappears, they never smell, you can wear them a second time in a row if you have to (important for me because of heavy work travel) and they last forever. Best investment I ever made and I would have never done it on my own.

 

 

I'm gonna try those shirts and shorts! I've used microfiber against cold and it's like a miracle fabric the way it deals with temperature and sweat. Thanks for the tip!

[Joe Muscara]

Another day of me getting lucky.

 

More often than not, it seems like I manage to get windows of it not raining here when I need to run. When I woke up today, it was pouring. By the time I was ready to run, it had stopped. The streets were wet and I wore a cap in case it started up again, but it didn't.

 

In other news, yesterday was a great run and I probably ran more than I ever had. Today was harder. I'm not sure if I'm still recovering a bit from yesterday, or if it's just other factors that cause day-to-day variability. Still, I was able to run longer segments than I probably have been not too long ago.

[Joe Muscara]

Today, I'm unlucky as I just heard some storms rolling in. I'm killing time while I wait for them to pass.

 

I wanted to ask you guys some questions about your running. How often do you run? How far, and for how long?

 

I broke the 5k barrier the other week (I had been running the distance, but not straight through before that) and I'm running about 6k every day. It takes me around 38 - 40 minutes, I think. Depends on the day, of course.

[Joe P]

Joe,

Congrats on the 5K barrier.

 

During the warm weather I run as often as possible. Everyday if possible. 4 or 5 miles usually and once a week I'll go longer to 7 or 8. How far depends on how I feel, what I did the day before, what I want to do the next day, weather, darkness etc...

 

If I'm prepping for a half marathon the mileage increases pretty dramatically.

 

In the winter, I do 5K on the treadmill 4 days a week. 5K is about all I can stand to do on that thing.

 

Regards,

Joe

[Markyboard]

I run the same route - 4.25 miles (just under 7K) 3 times a week and some times 4. I need at least a day of rest in between to not over exert my knees and back. No marathons, competitions or fun runs for me; I'm a lone runner and I prefer to start early, usually before 6:00am. Used to be 3:00am-ish when I was working.

 

I'll use the treadmill at the rec center when it's really bad outside; icy roads being the number 1 impediment. Fortunately that's only happened 2x this winter so far. This week I had one morning where it was a comfortable dry 22F degrees with no wind. I'll take that any day over the summer months here in DC. Light to medium rain wins out over the treadmill as long as it's not cold.

[Dave Ferris]

Normally 6 miles. If I'm feeling good at the end , I'll run down to the Verdugo park and back to make it a little over 7. But I have to be feeling strong because it's uphill coming back.

 

Recovery runs (1 or 2 days a week) are usually 4 but Monday I only did 2.5 as I ran 11.34 on Sunday in just under 2 hours . I had planned on 4 but my legs wouldn't do it. I never push things, always listen to my body. I'm certain that's why I've been able to stay in the game so long.

 

On weekends, depending on gigs, my long run is 8 -10 miles. I'd like to start bumping that up again to the 12 - 13 mile area. Since I've slowed down SO much and it's really hilly around me, a 12 miler would take me around 2:10 on my normal road courselonger on trails. I used to do them in 1:40 to 1:45 but then age became an extenuating factor.

 

When everything is right, I try to run 6 days with one day of total rest. If I have a nagging injury or I feel something not quite right, I'll take more days of recovery.

 

I used to run with people from 2 different running clubs at least 2-3 times a week. Now it's rare when I hook up with other people. It's just me and my 3 yr. old Border Collie Lacey. She's with me on every run.

[Justin Havu]

Before my agoraphobia got really bad, I was doing between 3 and 4 miles, 3x a week, with one long run (between 6 and 8 miles) once a week, and only if it's above 50F degrees, as I cannot stand cold weather.

[Joe Muscara]

I can't stand cold weather either, but I've gotten a bit used to it. I also have a bunch of cold weather running gear such as long tights, long sleeve shirt, gloves, and if it gets really bad, a hood! The trick for me is figuring out how much to wear. Yesterday and today I misjudged and overdressed a bit. Today it got warmer because I ran later.

 

60° and up I wear shorts. A lot of people who know me would be surprised by that because I never wear shorts and I usually think below 70° is chilly. But not when I'm running!

 

Thanks for all the reports so far. I'm curious where I go next with this. I didn't make the full 5k today for some reason, but I'm not worried about it. I know some days are easier than others.

[Joe P]

Joe,

Look for a 5K to enter or better yet a 10K. In running it is necessary to have goals.

Regards,

Joe

[Husker]

Skimmed over this thread with interest - great to see so many folks keeping up with their fitness. I've always run two or three miles a few times a week, but never considered myself a "runner." I'm more of a "plodder." A few years ago, I thought I should challenge myself to train for a marathon. I had never so much as run an organized 5K when I ran my first marathon. I was slow (I'm fairly certain I saw a tortoise pass me around mile 18), but I finished. I've run two more since, improving my time each race. I actually got to where I enjoyed the training, especially the long (15-20 mile) runs. I enjoyed just listening to music, with no one bothering me, no emails to answer, no decisions to make, etc. Very peaceful in its own way - just have to focus on putting one foot in front of the other.

 

I registered for another one in May, but got sidelined with an ankle problem. Just had surgery yesterday which will hopefully resolve the problem. I hope to be able to run again by summertime.

 

[Joe P]

Good luck with the ankle, Husker.

 

I would love to do a full marathon but right now I don't have the time for the training. I've done two halfs, though, and I know I have a full marathon in me. Maybe after my kids get in high school.

 

Keep running!

[Markyboard]

Good luck with the ankle, Husker.

 

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