I thought it was a great article, and I like the format. I'll start running today because of it.
How to Start Running
151–160 of 165 posts
Re: How to Start Running
#152Earlier quoted context omitted.
> 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.
The meh was because many, many runners who do static stretching do train at a higher volume than what the poster felt was a lot and do so without injuries. One data point from someone who only runs five or six times a week not getting injured says only that his approach probably wasn't unusually destructive. > "Also, as impressed as you might be with yourself for running some unspecified distance more often than some…
> It's pretty common to run twice a day on university cross country teams
> it can be done regularly for years without leading to an injury.
[1] http://www.runnersworld.com/stretching/does-stretching-preve...
Re: How to Start Running
#153Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes I get it, and it does not matter, I'm just grumpy. The point I'm trying to make is that for an amateur runner, the distance of a marathon is a performance that require LONG time preparation and discipline, and maybe even talent. Not everyone is capable of completing this distance by foot. Not a runner myself, but I have 2 _very_ athletic friends that completely failed this distance with the most unexpected injuri…
Ah, as we like to say, the marathon is two halves, but the second half doesn't begin till mile 20. It is a distance that demands respect. You are right, it is a completely different beast than the half-marathon. About your two friends: I'm at the point, fortunately, where I can complete a marathon at will. But racing it is a different thing altogether. I'm going to guess that, given you say they are very athletic, th…
Yes, my friends (who are not really runners) both expected to compete and probably finishing around 3:30 - 4:00 but aborted about 3/4 into the race
I have competed in 4-6 hour races in other sports. Trust me I will never show up unprepared again ;) longest most painful days of my life
Best of luck with your future marathons - maybe I'll give it a go one year
Re: How to Start Running
#154Earlier quoted context omitted.
I agree. I found that Vibram Five Fingers and other "minimalist" and thin "zero drop" shoes are the best thing between my feet and the ground. They promote a natural foot strike (e.g. it hurts if you heel strike).
I used to own some Vibram Five Fingers, but are prefer proper barefoot these days.
> I used to own some Vibram Five Fingers, but are prefer proper barefoot these days.
Where do you run? How did you build up your soles? I run on NYC sidewalks and in parks and my feet wouldn't last more than a few hundred yards before I stepped on glass, gravel, or chestnut or sweetgum pods.
Re: How to Start Running
#155I have taken running more seriously over the past year and cannot emphasize finding a running group more. Committing to run with others will build it into a habit. I have written about my experiences with running here http://aviadas.com/blog/2016/02/09/10-things-i-learnt-going-...
Re: How to Start Running
#156Earlier quoted context omitted.
The meh was because many, many runners who do static stretching do train at a higher volume than what the poster felt was a lot and do so without injuries. One data point from someone who only runs five or six times a week not getting injured says only that his approach probably wasn't unusually destructive. > "Also, as impressed as you might be with yourself for running some unspecified distance more often than some…
> It's pretty common to run twice a day on university cross country teams That's what percentage of the population, again? "Meh" to anyone who wasn't on their university cross-country team is just damn rude, no matter what factoids you're trying to get across. That sort of casual condescension toward strangers must go over really well at parties. > it can be done regularly for years without leading to an injury. Nobo…
You're attributing malice that just wasn't there. The anecdote was meh, not the person or the drive behind it.
Honestly, I find your personal attacks and comments about how you believe I perceive myself to be the only nasty behavior on this thread.
> If you don't care for my anecdote, fine. Your own's even less relevant to most people.
I disagree. Maybe this analogy can make where I'm coming from clearer:
There are certain postures that are easier on the back than others when digging with a shovel. Imagine you have a single data point from someone who grew some vegetables in their backyard and did a bit of shoveling every weekend and a single data point from someone who worked as a tree planter in Ontario for three consecutive summers and spent long hours every day digging and planting.
I believe that neither would be scientific or conclusive, but that if all else were equal, then knowing how the posture/technique that worked for the tree planter would be more useful. I would go with that until encountering problems or taking on something more demanding than what the tree planter did.
Re: How to Start Running
#157I 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…
”Seven years ago Steve Way weighed 16 1/2 stone and had high-blood pressure, a 20-a-day habit and an addiction to takeaways and chocolate. So, like many other people, he began running to get fit. Only he didn’t stop. And 26,000 miles later – more than the circumference of the globe – and at the grand age of 40, he has been selected to run the marathon for England at next month’s Commonwealth Games.”
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/may/31/great-britain-c...
Re: How to Start Running
#158So 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…
> (1) ... Contrary to the article, many people do need to fix their "natural" form I'll second that. I'm not a natural athlete. I have very poor kinesthesia (our 6th sense). I accidentally walk into doorframes as I try to pass through. It wasn't until my wife told me that I realized my originally learned running pattern was bad for my joints.
I'm curious about the downvotes. Is it in poor taste to share personal experience?
Perhaps I should clarify: I used to step too long while running, landing on the heel. With shorter strides, I feel much better afterwards.
Re: How to Start Running
#159Earlier quoted context omitted.
> It's pretty common to run twice a day on university cross country teams That's what percentage of the population, again? "Meh" to anyone who wasn't on their university cross-country team is just damn rude, no matter what factoids you're trying to get across. That sort of casual condescension toward strangers must go over really well at parties. > it can be done regularly for years without leading to an injury. Nobo…
You're attributing malice that just wasn't there. The anecdote was meh, not the person or the drive behind it. Honestly, I find your personal attacks and comments about how you believe I perceive myself to be the only nasty behavior on this thread. > If you don't care for my anecdote, fine. Your own's even less relevant to most people. I disagree. Maybe this analogy can make where I'm coming from clearer: There are c…
Besides the fact that data (which I have cited and you have not) beats any anecdote, your analogy is awful. For one thing, since I happen to know people in the tree business, I can assure you that the pros use equipment the amateur isn't likely to have. It's a different activity. Second, people are broadly similar when it comes to how their bodies will handle tree planting. There's no huge difference in speed and resulting stresses on the body. What's likely to injure one person is likely to injure another, even if one is twenty and fit while the other is fifty and overweight. By contrast, few runners will ever be operating in the same milieu as someone who's competitive at the college level. Most have never been capable of it, and almost none once they've passed forty. Injury risks are most definitely not comparable across the two groups.
You're an outlier. You should be proud of that, and clearly are, but you want to have your cake too. You want to believe, contrary to the evidence I've cited, that your outlier's experience is relevant for people who have never had the benefit of working with professional coaches and trainers, for whom any likelihood of that is decades behind them, who might have struggled with all sorts of mid-life health issues before they took up running. That's the typical beginning runner who needs to know this stuff. They're ill served by your willingness to hold forth without benefit of relevant experience or familiarity with the actual science of the matter. Was there ever any rational expectation that your anecdote - which is the only thing you offered, in contrast to what you were supposedly answering - would help anyone else avoid injury? If not, then why did you feel the need to speak up?
Re: How to Start Running
#160Earlier quoted context omitted.
I used to own some Vibram Five Fingers, but are prefer proper barefoot these days.
> I used to own some Vibram Five Fingers, but are prefer proper barefoot these days. Where do you run? How did you build up your soles? I run on NYC sidewalks and in parks and my feet wouldn't last more than a few hundred yards before I stepped on glass, gravel, or chestnut or sweetgum pods.
Cambridge (Cambridgeshire), then Singapore and now Sydney.
I pretty much only wear shoes either for social events, or when I am leaving the house over noon: the pavement and streets are too hot, and I would burn my feet.
You can train up against gravel, if you are hardcore enough and care enough. (I didn't bother.) Even rough concrete used to be a bit painful, but I got used to that.