Cross Training: Running

[NikW]

Got a PB again this week of 23.33, it will start to get harder now 
Today was the longest run so far at 20.1km in 1hr47 Looks like an under 2hr 1/2 is on the cards all going well

I managed a 40sec PB at Wokingham Half yesterday, 1:44:03. Last few miles felt very hard work so doubt I'll be much faster at MK - think you need to stop slacking and make sure you beat me round Rich 

[L CC]

I've been banned.

Absolutely NO running or anything high impact

I'd say it was fun while it lasted but that would be a lie.
Unfortunately nothing is as free-of-charge and doable-from-your-front-door as running, but if anyone has any suggestions, I'd love to hear them. Other than cycling, which even if off-road with drops, does not really count as cross training.

[mike]

swim? Dull as hell but quite good for getting some solo 'thinking time'.  What about brisk walking with a backpack?

[L CC]

Swimming is allowed, encouraged even, but neither free nor doable from my front door. It doesn't really burn enough calories, either (does it?)  I'm fairly sure the physio (& my hip & knee) would object to walking with a pack, but I'll ask her next week.

[NikW]

Have you though of speed/race walking? It's supposed to be low impact but can still be pretty cardio and can be quite fast.

Like this (but maybe not those shorts).

http://youtu.be/wct-I9UgOpg

[mattc]

Swimming is allowed, encouraged even, but neither free nor doable from my front door. It doesn't really burn enough calories, either (does it?)  I'm fairly sure the physio (& my hip & knee) would object to walking with a pack, but I'll ask her next week.

I think swimming is one of those sports that CAN burn tons of energy, once you're reasonably good at it (I'm not, but most people are, I suspect).

"aggresive walking" is sort of medium-impact. I know I can walk 30 miles without problems, but an hour's running (or less) has been problematic ever since I broke my ankles (years and years ago). YMMV. Good luck

[L CC]

I think swimming is one of those sports that CAN burn tons of energy..

otherwise sedentary people put on a swimming regime gained weight, compared to those given other exercise to do.

I fear that'd be me. Running never made me hungry, but cycling and swimming do.
I might investigate the leisure centre here in Fetfud. I could maybe run round the pool...

Can you get waterproof mp3 players & headphones?

[trixie]

I think swimming is one of those sports that CAN burn tons of energy..

otherwise sedentary people put on a swimming regime gained weight, compared to those given other exercise to do.

I fear that'd be me. Running never made me hungry, but cycling and swimming do.
I might investigate the leisure centre here in Fetfud. I could maybe run round the pool...

Can you get waterproof mp3 players & headphones?

Speedo aquabeat waterproof MP3 - I came across someone using these at the early morning swim session.

[DrMekon]

Did my first run (5.5km) in my Vivabarefoot Neos today. I could feel a lot (a bit too much on a flinty path), and I now have a sense of what my big toe is for. I've been doing the 100up drill for a while, and managed not to fall into heel striking at any stage. Really enjoyed it, but can feel it in my calves.

[RichForrest]

I managed a 40sec PB at Wokingham Half yesterday, 1:44:03. Last few miles felt very hard work so doubt I'll be much faster at MK - think you need to stop slacking and make sure you beat me round Rich 

Think the weather was a factor today, bitterly cold and rain turning to sleet after the ride run.
You came in 4.58mins before me 
Managed 1.54.02 after stopping to have a pee just before the start of the climb up to the finish.

Rich

[NikW]

I managed a 40sec PB at Wokingham Half yesterday, 1:44:03. Last few miles felt very hard work so doubt I'll be much faster at MK - think you need to stop slacking and make sure you beat me round Rich 

Think the weather was a factor today, bitterly cold and rain turning to sleet after the ride.
You came in 4.58mins before me 
Managed 1.54.02 after stopping to have a pee just before the start of the climb up to the finish.

Rich

That was the worse weather I've raced in yet. I kept on pace first 5 miles then just went into survival mode as my blood gave up going anywhere near my muscles in case it got any colder. At least you had the sense to dress right, I was freezing by the end. Soaked to the skin uphill into a bitter northerly and what did they give us - a bottle of water!

I was a good 5 mins behind target and managed under 1:45 on the same corse last year so reckon you'd have easly beaten 1:50 on a normal day.

Nik

[NikW]

Milton Keynes half?

I was running in the Goring 10k yesterday and thanked my lucky stars I'd not entered a race longer than that. Too cold for just a shirt and shorts, I carried on through the finish line straight back to the changing area to get warm!

Yes the MK Half, bumped into Rich at the start him dressed in jacket, layers, hat and longs - me shorts, T-shirt and a refusal to believe the weather forecast. I'm told the windchill was down to minus 4 by midday.

I'm glad I didn't do Goring instead though as I'd have ridden not driven and really, really wouldn't have fancied cycling back afterwards!

[Gus]

being a fat git who have taken up running, I find it easier and easier. I got a program from a certified trainer
and I have worked my way up to 10 km without stop last sunday. 

[mattc]

What is it about racing in the rain that seems to dissolve brain cells? Isn't it obvious that cold_wind + rain => cold bodies after 40 minutes+ ?!? Has Audaxing turned me into a worrying old woman?!?

I've been reading some reports from the "Hard riders" time trials run on Sunday, mostly about an hour in duration - hardly anyone seems to have dressed for the weather. Perhaps for once riders should follow the continentals; "Cover the knees below 15 degrees"! I once had to give a rider some gloves at an April event before pushing him off.

You'll all catch your death I tell ya!!!

[Lady Cavendish]

For me, this isn't cross training and its very much my main sport. I've been injured for a year (something a bit rare called nodular fasciitis- tumours on a tendon in my foot). I'm seeing a surgeon in 10 days and I might get my sport back very soon

I've been a cyclist for a year in the meantime. Been interesting reading back through this thread seeing cyclists using running as x training- a new concept to me lol. I'm an endurance runner and do very long events.

Who is in for what races next? I hope I might be back running marathons and ultras by the end of the year.

[simonp]

Swimming is allowed, encouraged even, but neither free nor doable from my front door. It doesn't really burn enough calories, either (does it?)  I'm fairly sure the physio (& my hip & knee) would object to walking with a pack, but I'll ask her next week.

Swimming burns calories dependent on how hard you work and how long for. If you swim at a leisurely pace then it won't burn all that many calories but swim hard and it burns plenty - the issue might be how long you can practicably swim for. I struggle to swim front crawl for much more than half an hour.

[mike]

I struggle to swim front crawl for much more than half an hour.

same here, but mainly because of boredom.

[DrMekon]

I'm an endurance runner and do very long events.

Who is in for what races next? I hope I might be back running marathons and ultras by the end of the year.

I'd love to hear more about your experiences of doing ultras.

In  your experience, does audaxing tell you much about how to cope with ultras and vice versa?

[NikW]

I'm very much being a runner at the moment with cycling on the back burner. I thought the 'cross' bit in the subject referred to all that muttering to myself when I loose my rhythm waiting for a chance to cross the road.

Banbury Run 15 mile next for me then the Compton Challenge 20 and the MK Marathon at the end of April. I'm most looking forward to Compton with hills and variety and countryside.

I'd really like to be an ultra runner but I don't like pain at all and am allergic to bits of me breaking, bleeding and falling off. Just started reading Dene Karnezes 'Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner' - I suspect him of embellishing the truth for literary effect in places but still a good read so far. I might yet succumb to run/walking a LDWA 'ultra' if I survive MK and Abingdon marathons intact.

[DrMekon]

The major attraction of running for me is you can do a decent session in an hour, in pretty much any weather. It hardly seems worth getting the bike out for less than two (not to mention washing the damn thing every so often, and all the kit).

What's gotten me back in to running is the realisation 2 hours+ a day on the bike isn't sustainable if I move jobs, whereas nipping out in lieu of lunch is.

[NikW]

Those intrigued by the barefoot running thing might want a look at this 15 minute TED talk by Born to Run author McDougall (it's not new so you might already of seen it):

http://www.ted.com/talks/christopher_mcdougall_are_we_born_to_run.html

I'm not at all convinced he's got his evolutionary history right but I still find him quite inspiring.

"We are the biggest sissies in the jungle. Every other animal is stronger than we are — they have fangs, they have claws, they have nimbleness, they have speed. We think Usain Bolt is fast — Usain Bolt can get his ass kicked by a squirrel.” (Christopher McDougall)

[Rich753]

I think I'm just going to have to learn how ultra runners tape their feet and look after them generally. That seems to be a large part of the skill of going long.

This might not be necessary.

I've done a bit of what you might call ultra-running - 30+ mile events, won some - and apart from black toenails (occupational hazard) my feet have been fine.  Ran in walshes which were minimalist before anyone coined the term. Keep off the road as much as possible, run long in peat and mud and crap, no problem.

[DrMekon]

Having only done 5km in my vivobarefoots, I did 7km one day, and set off to do 10km the next. Got to 5km and my left foot said no. Seems like I've given myself some peroneal tendonitis - certainly that's where the dull ache is. It's been 4 days, and my ankle still feels too achy and weak to run comfortably on, despite liberal use of ibuprofen gel (but probably too much time on the half-pipe at the skate park).

It's achy enough that if I did run, I'd be hobbling slightly. However, it's not so bad that I can't get decent air at the skatepark. Should I rest and not worry, or should I be doing these exercises?

http://www.summitmedicalgroup.com/library/sports_health/peroneal_tendon_strain_exercises/

I knew I was meant to build up slowly, but the 5km and the 7km felt brilliant, so I got cocky.

[Lady Cavendish]

Some people suffer badly with feet, others not so much.

However, I do have to say that running 30 miles (kind of a long marathon) and running 100+ miles are completely different in regards to what happens to your feet. When you get into running that distance, you do need to be looking after them really.

Having said that I love 30 mile races. Kind of go off a touch slower than marathon pace and try and hang on! Most of the events I have won have been 30-40 milers I think.

[Rich753]

Some people suffer badly with feet, others not so much.

That is my feeling too, on  a long run there are many pain-points that can make life so miserable you just want to pull out - thighs/calves cramping, chafing of various sorts, sunburn, iffy digestion etc - that taping of feet is only a part of the challenge.