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How to Start Running

nytimes.com

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Re: How to Start Running

#131

Post by notacoward »

xiaoma wrote: post #113
notacoward wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Dynamic" means you keep moving. All of your squats, lunges, jogging in place, and so on are dynamic. "Static" means you hold a position. Your classic runner's stretch is static, as are the various "hold your toes" stretches in any position. The danger is only with static stretches prior to exercise , which can lead to over-extension and injury. The benefit of dynamic stretching before exercise is still kind of debat…

> That minimal approach has kept me out of trouble despite running more even than most other runners - consistently five or six days a week in every kind of weather . Meh. I ran thirteen times a week for years, quit for years, started again overweight more than once to slim down again and have done many 5 hour + mountain runs on the wrong side of 30. I've generally done static stretching both before and after running…

  > I ran thirteen times a week for years

  > Take easy days and easy weeks
Something doesn't quite add up here. Also, as impressed as you might be with yourself for running some unspecified distance more often than someone else while you were in your twenties, it doesn't change the fact that most runners go out every other day at most. Every distribution has its outliers, and your "meh" was unnecessarily dismissive.

Re: How to Start Running

#132

Post by notacoward »

xiaoma wrote: post #125
js2 wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe. I think it depends on the runner. I had success with the Run Less Run Faster for a couple races, and I know a lot of other runners who've had good success with it to. And I did qualify the point with "to achieve your goal". If your goal is to BQ and you can achieve that on 40 miles a week, then why run 80 miles a week? I can't argue with your second paragraph at all. All the mountain runners I know are beasts.…

What is BQ?

Boston Qualifier.

Re: How to Start Running

#133

Post by jschwartzi »

thrownaway2424 wrote: post #130
megablast wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You just explained why. Drivers aren't going to hear or see you, so you have to pay more attention to avoid them.

Yeah but victim blaming isn't helping the situation. Drivers create a dangerous streetscape. They need to own responsibility for that. Harping on headphones, cyclists without helmets, or "distracted walking" is not a positive response.

We should consider it personally as far as our individual risk assessments go, but it should never be a talking point, because it makes it seem like drivers shouldn't be responsible for paying attention.

Re: How to Start Running

#134

Post by bcook »

bliti wrote: post #4

I used to be overweight and could not run to the door even if my life depended on it. Five years later and I run no less than 5k a day from Monday to Friday. Resting during the weekend. Do run events every other month or so on Sundays. How did I do it? I started with the couch-to-5K program[1]. That led me to diet and eat better. Did my first 5k four months later. Then a 10k three after that. Running is not for every…

Regarding "some people are naturally better..."; it took me ~4 months, "running" 4 days a week, to be able to jog a 3 mile (~5K) run in ~30 minutes. My age then was 28.

My friend, who never worked out in any way, woke up with a hang-over and decided to join some friends for a competitive, cross-country 10K... he came in first. He was 22 years old, IIRC. His father is a dedicated marathon runner (qualifies for Boston Marathon), so that partly explains it.

Re: How to Start Running

#135

Post by JeremyNT »

notacoward wrote: post #11

So much bad advice. (1) Actually it does matter how and where (relative to your body) you land your foot. Contrary to the article, many people do need to fix their "natural" form and/or get shoes that help them avoid pronation, both to avoid injury and to increase the enjoyment that will help them stick with it. (2) Similarly, the article's advice about stretching is way out of date. It's now consensus that static st…

Do you have some citations on 1 and 2?

I started running a few years ago, and noticed that there is a massive amount of cargo culting and folklore surrounding technique and training regimens. I ended up just discarding it all and doing what felt right because I found it impossible to filter through the noise. If these things have been properly studied and documented, I'd like to see it.

Re: How to Start Running

#136

Post by jschwartzi »

tomp wrote: post #73
js2 wrote: post #14

As someone who's already run 900 miles and four marathons year-to-date, I'll add some hard won advice: 1) Do not be in a hurry. Most runners do way too much way too soon. You will likely get injured. You gain aerobic capacity in a matter of weeks to months. But soft tissues, tendons, ligaments, bone density... those takes years to adapt. 2) If you're getting injured, something is wrong. You're doing too much too soon…

How about the front squat? I've heard it's better for the back, balance and arm training... how about its impact on running?

Just practice good form with the bar, whatever you do, and concentrate on making progress rather than setting goals. People who set unrealistic goals get hurt.

Re: How to Start Running

#137

Post by rlonstein »

GFK_of_xmaspast wrote: post #112
GFK_of_xmaspast wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They also promote stress fractures.

For the doubters, here's an article: http://regressing.deadspin.com/the-scientific-case-against-v... and here's a study: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24357642

Interesting findings. I've heard it before but hadn't seen the study.

Personally, I found that I have less pain in my shins and knees wearing minimalist footwear than I did wearing various other kinds. I only run 400-500 miles per year and rarely longer than 10 miles, most are 4-6 mile jogs, and I only do one long run per week. I do several other activities for exercise. Maybe it's a matter of intensity.

Re: How to Start Running

#138

Post by rsync »

neilsharma wrote: post #116

I've been running about 8-10 miles/week for 15 years now, but have never been able to expand beyond that very much without excessive knee pain, foot pain, and muscle loss (I weightlift a lot too). There was a period of about a decade in which I had to wear custom-molded graphite orthotics (~$300) during most of my waking hours because my feet were supposedly "flat". Two podiatrists said that I'd need to wear them the…

"After a few months, I started wearing shoes without arch supports to force my feet to adapt. Managed to get rid of my foot pain within 2 months :)."

This demonstrates a truism that we should all become familiar with: If you brace a body part, the body part being braced will become weaker. Orthotics are a brace that hold up the arch of your foot. Your arch will get weaker.

"Sprinting any amount hurts, and I have to avoid all hills (going up is fine, the descent is killer)."

I cringe to offer up personal anecdotes or helpful tips, but on the outside chance that it is helpful, you might try running downhill on toes only - no heel at all. It's a bit odd looking, but it's worth playing with.

Re: How to Start Running

#139

Post by bliti »

bcook wrote: post #134
bliti wrote: post #4

I used to be overweight and could not run to the door even if my life depended on it. Five years later and I run no less than 5k a day from Monday to Friday. Resting during the weekend. Do run events every other month or so on Sundays. How did I do it? I started with the couch-to-5K program[1]. That led me to diet and eat better. Did my first 5k four months later. Then a 10k three after that. Running is not for every…

Regarding "some people are naturally better..."; it took me ~4 months, "running" 4 days a week, to be able to jog a 3 mile (~5K) run in ~30 minutes. My age then was 28. My friend, who never worked out in any way, woke up with a hang-over and decided to join some friends for a competitive, cross-country 10K... he came in first. He was 22 years old, IIRC. His father is a dedicated marathon runner (qualifies for Boston…

Now apply that to software and interviewing. Its mind blowing to think of an interview being like that cross-country 10K and your group of friends being in it and being judged against the guy who came in first without trying. Life sure is funny.

Re: How to Start Running

#140

Post by bcook »

bliti wrote: post #139
bcook wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Regarding "some people are naturally better..."; it took me ~4 months, "running" 4 days a week, to be able to jog a 3 mile (~5K) run in ~30 minutes. My age then was 28. My friend, who never worked out in any way, woke up with a hang-over and decided to join some friends for a competitive, cross-country 10K... he came in first. He was 22 years old, IIRC. His father is a dedicated marathon runner (qualifies for Boston…

Now apply that to software and interviewing. Its mind blowing to think of an interview being like that cross-country 10K and your group of friends being in it and being judged against the guy who came in first without trying. Life sure is funny.

Well, something I quickly learned while running; I am trying to improve my life directly, not by comparison.

I am not a conquerer of worlds. :) Strange that being "average" is virtually a sin... Life is funny (or fucking awful, depending).

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