Runners
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Quick update: reached week 13 of my 20 week program and was starting to feel sluggish and worn out. Spent some time trying to figure out what's going on being diet, overtraining, heat, etc. and couldn't quite put my finger on any one issue. The heat and humidity was intense for about two weeks, air conditioner was broke and needed repair which affected sleep and recovery so thought that must be it.
Temperatures cooled down, air conditioner was fixed and was starting to rest better, but still was feeling a bit tired after each training session. Decided to take a few days off and relax which helped some while also making the decision just to run for this week with a goal of 5-10km's per day to see if things got any better. First two days were ok, but today was a breakthrough day. After close examination of my shoes the other day, I noticed that they were worn and needed replacing. Today's run on new shoes and I feel like a million bucks...(maybe not that good, but much better than I have been feeling.)
I appreciate more and more everyday how you guys slug it out and put in the effort. It's not easy and always a million things to consider when things just don't go right, but when they do, how much enjoyment can be had.
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@Nik shoes definitely make a difference. I was running with shoes about a half-size to a size smaller than I should, just going based on my normal shoe size. When I got new proper fitting shoes it made a world of difference.
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@alexxedge I’m a half size up in running shoes and had done the same as you. I need the extra room for pounding the pavement and discovered after too long of a time. Major improvement by upsizing.
@Nik Different brand or model? Conscious decision to look for a lower drop? Hope the recovery is going well and would like to hear how you’re dealing with the strain. Time off, stretching, different runs…
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@goosehd different brand. Didn’t seek out the lower drop, just went off immediate comfort of the upper.
What read about recovering from a strain like mine is to strengthen the strained muscle through cross training and then once ready to run go back to the old shoe and slowly transition to the new shoe. So I’ve been biking and lifting weights with an emphasis on single leg exercises. Back running now working through the strain. Rest is ok for a bit but an injury like mine is partly about weakness, so to prevent that injury long term I have to strengthen the muscle, and there’s no harm in starting that quite soon after injury. Rest and stretching are currently seen as slightly overrated in the healing process. Strength training and cross training are the best bets. It’s surprising because it goes against received wisdom, but makes sense to me when I think about it that to heal the injury I have to activate the area, not ignore it. -
New shoes. Now I have a race shoe for trail ultras (orange hokas), a slow trail shoe for training (navy), and then a slow road shoe (black), and a tempo road shoe (white).
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Another week of running and making progress again. The training program I am using is progressive in nature and a great template to better my overall conditioning wth the caveat of interpreting the intensity levels correctly. I was at running at too high of a level for where I was in my overall conditioning and started to move backwards in my training and recovery.
Changing my shoes helped tremendously as well as backing off in intensity and running at lower HR zones during my training runs. I'm sleeping better, running better, faster, and lower heart rates again. Overall I'm pleased with how my summer training has been going, but anticipate that I won't be able to compete in the race I have been eyeing this fall. I was hoping to run a 50km trail run, but may settle on the 25km race instead. This is the same race that I ran with the family last year called the Fat Ass Trail Run with 5, 7.5, 12.5, 25 and 50 km's races throughout the day. If the family is interested in running again this year, everything may go out the window and decide to run with them.
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What's your longest run so far @goosehd ? I claim that if you could go out and run 25km now then you would be able to finish the 50km, especially if you set the goal as finishing and not at any specific pace. Worst case scenario you drop out early. It can be fun to head out on a run that you don't know you'll be able to finish
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@Nik Around 18-20 km's, but I was finding that around 15 km that I would have to take a walk break or two, my times started to drift, and my heart rate would get harder to control. Started doing the food thing every 45 minutes which did help some. Also was during the heat of the summer which may have been a factor.
Just finished a run in 65F temperature and loved it. 10km just under an hour and still feel fresh.
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@Mister_Brue yeah doing 31 miles on saturday and 21 on sunday for a total of 84 that week meant didn't have the energy to party as much as I might have otherwise liked to. I was worn out but also in a good satisfied way. It is nice being around friendly faces in that state and I didn't want to miss it, so was definitely fun to be there.
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Thank you @Mister_Brue yeah calf is healing up. Still can't do faster pace stuff, but not much need to with another 100 miler in two weeks.
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Nope. Just South Downs Way and Autumn 100 with Centurion. Was only planning SDW but my buddy signed up for Saddles 100 in Arizona and I couldn't make it to that so wanted to do another race around the same time. Him and I doing Paris Marathon and Eastern States 100 next year. Might also try to get some stones and will enter lotteries for Western States and UTMB. You?
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I’m looking forward to being able to see all the other runners and I don’t mind an out and back.
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Track ultra not something I've considered yet, still enjoying trails the most. And Autumn 100 will be my first spurred race.
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Autumn 100 mile ultramarathon starts at 9am British time this Saturday 12 October. I’m bib 262, here’s a live gps tracker if anyone’s interested.
https://live.opentracking.co.uk/A100-2024/
Going to be cold, some big puddles but mostly dry. I’m getting excited. -
Centurion Autumn 100 mile Ultramarathon
5th out of 252 starters.
Went out fast. Had the usual struggle before halfway point. After 50 miles was able to catch some people on hills, then on the last leg forced more carbs in and just ran my own race.
The 4 out and back spurs/legs were fun because it meant seeing all the other runners out there. Must have said/heard ‘well done’ about 200 times. Centurion organised a great race again, would recommend.
Some thoughts about kit and nutrition: waterproof socks work well for when you have to step in standing water. Same strategy again of mostly tailwind drink and sometimes water supplemented by gu gels worked well. Eating a gel every two miles is tough and I couldn’t manage it the whole time but it does keep the engine running.
Also I got stung by a bee towards the beginning.
Gear was satisfy running techsilk and cloud merino followed by arcteryx norvan tights and iron heart fleece western for the final cold 25 miles. Shoes were hoka tecton x 2 the whole time with two sock changes. No blisters.
Most importantly: these extended endurance events use up my whole body, including my lungs, heart, and brain. At times I got emotional and had little whimpers of almost tears. I imagined everyone I love alive and dead with me pushing me forward. I felt them with me through the race. I did not do this on my own.
For any strava users here's a link to the activity https://www.strava.com/activities/12641853197
Two 100 mile belt buckles
