Superfuture Running Club

[jaac]

Check out innov8 for lightweight racers jack.

[jackg]

ok thanks for the feedback guys, i'll have to dig a bit deeper and do some more reading.

I think depending on how the body holds up over the next couple of weeks I am going to take the dive and just do the full marathon in may. pretty excited just thinking about it.

any tips in terms of hydration, recovery, energy gels anything else of the sort would be ace. been trying to do a good cool down and stretch after every run, and trying to stretch every night before bed. anyone do hot/cold showers or anything like that?

also been icing anything that feels sore, i play hockey a couple of times a week and the stop start high intensity stuff always makes me sorer than any of the longer running!!

[timber]

Thanks Jackg for adding me to the group - get ready for the slowest new member the running club has ever seen.

I've never been successful in sticking to a routine for more than a couple weeks, so I'm pretty much dragging myself off my edit suite and into the streets for the first time in days/months/years.

[ordo]

Vancouver is a good place to run, even in the rains.

[CHINESEGOLD]

Are you from here Ordo?

[ordo]

Depends on where here is.

[CHINESEGOLD]

Vancouver.

[burgerking]

ok thanks for the feedback guys, i'll have to dig a bit deeper and do some more reading.

I think depending on how the body holds up over the next couple of weeks I am going to take the dive and just do the full marathon in may. pretty excited just thinking about it.

any tips in terms of hydration, recovery, energy gels anything else of the sort would be ace. been trying to do a good cool down and stretch after every run, and trying to stretch every night before bed. anyone do hot/cold showers or anything like that?

Good luck! Full marathons are intense. Mile 18 gets tough.

mmm for post workout when i used to take supplements i would take creatine and glutamine, nothing more (since i never really liked taking supplements anyway). i find the best way to recover is actually prevention. my old track coach used to make us do warm ups and then stretch rather than trying to save it for the end, since it makes the body more limber. however, we would still stretch after our workout as well. something to do with stretching isn't good for the body when your muscles are cold. warm showers also relax the muscles as well.

on another note i gotta start using the endomondo app haha.

[Tobi]

im going to join

[homme.homme]

My game has been slipping! Had a week of yoga and other exercise but back into it. Crappy photo from last nights run, living in the city kinda sucks but I found some new paths...

[homme.homme]

Hey guys any tips for sore neck and shoulders when running? I stretch pre and post run and have been trying to relax my shoulders during but can't help but feel tight and sore at times. Any specific or deeper stretches I can try? Thought the yoga would help but no such luck.

[8080s]

Hey guys any tips for sore neck and shoulders when running? I stretch pre and post run and have been trying to relax my shoulders during but can't help but feel tight and sore at times. Any specific or deeper stretches I can try? Thought the yoga would help but no such luck.

I have this exact same issue, my cervical spine and traps get really sore. I also generally practice yoga after my runs and it doesn't do much for me either.

Vancouver is a good place to run, even in the rains.

I'm going to be spending time up there this summer. If any of you have suggestions on great trails I'd appreciate it.

[ordo]

Hey guys any tips for sore neck and shoulders when running? I stretch pre and post run and have been trying to relax my shoulders during but can't help but feel tight and sore at times. Any specific or deeper stretches I can try? Thought the yoga would help but no such luck.

I have been struggling with this as well - in fact I am off to the chiro/physio/kinesiologist in a few hours. It has gotten to the point where I am not able to sleep from the pain of bicep tendinitis. The problem is I had some ribs out which meant my shoulder was not sitting properly which in turn meant other muscles and tendons tightening to bring the shoulder back into place and pull my shoulder forward. A number of my stretches (such as reaching across my body and pulling the elbow towards my face) made the problem worse as I needed to pull my shoulder back not forward. Anyway, all that to say, even with good form, if your body is out of alignment you as still going to have problems.

I'm going to be spending time up there this summer. If any of you have suggestions on great trails I'd appreciate it.

I spend quite a bit of time running the various trails in Lynn Canyon and the Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve. Here is a PDF map of the Reserve trails which gives a good overview of the area. When the time gets closer I can suggest some good routes depending on how far you want to go and how technical a run you want to do.

[Rob060]

i need to do more hill work. i used to be a real strong climber but haven't run in the hills in a while. i did a couple hilly runs on some dirt trails this week and felt like total shit going up.

[ordo]

i need to do more hill work. i used to be a real strong climber but haven't run in the hills in a while. i did a couple hilly runs on some dirt trails this week and felt like total shit going up.

As part of my program I have been doing hill repeats once a week which entail running at least a half kilometer uphill as hard as you can (until almost throwing up) then light jog down - then repeat 6 times. There is actually a prize for the first person to vomit.

We have also done reverse hill repeats where we run light uphill then as hard as we can downhill which was almost as bad but in a different way. You should try it sometime

I have really noticed a difference in general power on hills now.

Are you from here Ordo?

I am in North Vancouver

[CHINESEGOLD]

I got new shoes. Is it true I should only do a light run to break em' in?

[ordo]

I got new shoes. Is it true I should only do a light run to break em' in?

It is good to have a period where you alternate between your old shoes and your new - maybe take them out for a 4-5km run then do longer runs in your old shoes until your feet have gotten used to the new ones.

[TruMoo]

left toe is heeled. right foot is at 90 percent. contemplating a 20 miler this weekend.

Edited March 23, 2013 by Phongables

[Harry Hood]

I got new shoes. Is it true I should only do a light run to break em' in?

It is good to have a period where you alternate between your old shoes and your new - maybe take them out for a 4-5km run then do longer runs in your old shoes until your feet have gotten used to the new ones.

also just wear them around for a few days

[Rob060]

As part of my program I have been doing hill repeats once a week which entail running at least a half kilometer uphill as hard as you can (until almost throwing up) then light jog down - then repeat 6 times. There is actually a prize for the first person to vomit.

We have also done reverse hill repeats where we run light uphill then as hard as we can downhill which was almost as bad but in a different way. You should try it sometime

going to try to get more days in for repeats. my running schedule and locations are pretty packed and set in stone as it is, so i probably won't be able to do it once a week unfortunately.

going downhill too fast can be bad news though. maybe not as bad on dirt trails but i really screwed up my knee for a while from the impact of taking a downhill section too fast on asphalt. was my first running related injury. for months after that i couldn't run more than 3 miles without a debilitating sharp pain coming into the joint and forcing me to stop. i've always taken downhill sections pretty gingerly ever since.

Edited March 23, 2013 by Rob060

[PAND]

going to try to get more days in for repeats. my running schedule and locations are pretty packed and set in stone as it is, so i probably won't be able to do it once a week unfortunately.

going downhill too fast can be bad news though. maybe not as bad on dirt trails but i really screwed up my knee for a while from the impact of taking a downhill section too fast on asphalt. was my first running related injury. for months after that i couldn't run more than 3 miles without a debilitating sharp pain coming into the joint and forcing me to stop. i've always taken downhill sections pretty gingerly ever since.

Do you zigzag when you're running downhill? I read this is the best thing to do, i fked the top of my leg on a my third downhill during hill climb training... took me out for 8-9 weeks. Finally getting back into it, although it's arduous, it doesn't feel like a relaxing jaunt around the streets of Paris.

Good work for hte people doing marathons, i have decided against doing any; 2 physios i've heard from now have said they're not good for your body. 10km and half marathons are fine for me.

[ordo]

also just wear them around for a few days

This will help but doesn't prepare your foot for the new shoe in the same way that a run on the streets does. It also doesn't break in the shoe for running like running does.

One other thing is I track the distance I put on my shoes to gauge where they are in their lifespan and to make sure I start getting the next pair ready before injury starts to occur. Randomly walking about in them throws of that measurement.

[wurm]

god, this really sucks. my foot wasn't getting better so i went to a clinic. they did an x-ray and saw nothing but said there might be a stress fracture since it was symptomatic of the pain i was feeling. i got pissed at them for a few reasons but eventually they called back and said that it wasn't a stress fracture. then yesterday i went to a podiatrist and got a cortisone shot. feels a lot better now but still can't run....also disappointed that neither place gave me pain killers heh. still can't wait to get back to it.

Edited March 24, 2013 by wurm

[jaac]

Cortisone is pretty serious,overall not a good way to treat things long term. Stress fractures take months to heal and even then when getting back into will still ache in the old spot, if it feels like a deep kind of bruising when you push on the bone it's likely one of those.

re:running down hills fast, try to maintain a steady speed, try to maintain some forefoot strike, feels really weird at first but atleast the force isnt being transferred directly up your leg into your knee cap as it is if your landing on your heels.

Jackg, is your marathon goin to have drink stations with gatorade and water? If so you can plan to goo when you drink, helps absorb it and wash it down (most of them taste pretty gross). Do some reading and also some practice runs with goo's and jels. find what works for you, for marathons i eat one every 45mins. A friend of mine makes his own goo equivalent by mixxing up some kind of simple sugars (maltodextrin normally) with a little electrolytes (gatorade powder) and protein in a drink bottle, its pretty simple and cheap and works just as well as goo's but you have to have the bottle with you in a harness or a hand grip.

Its important to keep your body fueled but if your not used to them or your body is stressed they wont get absorbed (and you will get stomach cramps/spew).

Re food, something light to chew like almonds or seeds are nice way to break up the taste of goo's. You can fit a few into a pouch, some people hate to chew stuff whilst they run though. A muesli bar or a cliff bar is a nice thing to have halfway or so.

Recovery, i normally wear compression stuff after a run or even to bed if it's been a long one. I don't know if its placebo but it helps me feel better the next day. Stretching is so inconclusive and so many different people say different things, just do what works for you, routine is good though. I normally, Jog 5min> Dynamic (leg swings, arm swings etc)>actual run> dynamic stretch/recovery shake>foam/pvc roll out.

Hot showers are ok but just go for a 5min jog to get warmed up before you want to stretch, recovery runs like 2-3k are pretty good.

Good luck. My stress fracture feels fairly solid now so ill sign up soon.

Edited March 24, 2013 by jaac

[8080s]

^^ Good advice overall, but you need to foam roll before you do your dynamic stretches instead of after.

[jackg]

^ thanks jaac. interesting to hear a different perspective. what does everyone else think/do about stretching and recovery?

did 24kms this morning before work and felt really good! longest run I have done yet and held a pretty consistent pace which I am really happy with.

also been getting around these post run which I love!

[jackg]

also foam roll???????

[8080s]

Foam rolling is good pre-stretching for breaking up 'knots' (collagen) in the muscle fibers. Stretching afterwards helps realign everything after the knots have been rolled out. Stretching a muscle before working out can slightly effect performance, as you are basically sending the muscle the message to relax right before you need it to work for you, which is why some people take issue with it. However, the prevailing sentiment seems to be that it's better to take the risk of reduced performance than the risk of injury.

If you have any muscle imbalances (tight hip flexors for instance) rolling and stretching these can relax them enough so that the other muscles are able to work as they should.

Edited March 24, 2013 by 8080s

[ordo]

I use both compression sleeves and a foam roller (and ball as well) for recovery. And boy do I need them.

EDIT - I am also a firm believer in chocolate milk.

[digitalmountain]

Lots of impressive runs this weekend! Hope I can get 8-10k in tomorrow.