Running Advice - Prioritize Volume Over All?
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Anonymous
Your first paragraph made me smile! I haven’t been a decent runner in years, but I do remember that I surprised myself on a 10k race by finishing in my fastest time after having run far less than is usually recommended before a race. I did, however, do regular weight training (which I wasn’t doing previously). I don’t know if this is the proper approach though! I just know that it worked for me. Have you also checked out your running form to make sure it’s not slowing you down? That is what happened to me over time. I just could not go faster on a run unless I was full on sprinting, so no middle ground pace and I could either shuffle or sprint (although I felt like I was working very hard when shuffling, as if I was maximizing the movements/biomechanics of my body). I stopped running entirely, bought barefoot shoes to walk around in, and could finally feel my hamstrings for the first time in years. I had a profoundly impactful realization that because my hamstrings were both weak and really tight, my running form had devolved as a result. I watched a bunch of YouTube videos on form, walked around in our backyard for months, trying out different versions of basically the high knees warm up but also trying to imitate the forms I saw on YouTube, and slowly but surely relearned/taught my body how to run properly. I also started doing active hamstring and hip flexor stretches to decrease the tightness that was, in conjunction with my weakness, holding up my leg from properly raising up high enough. My cadence count went way up, I ran faster when I started again, I finally understood what it feels like to fully activate your hamstrings while running (for me I have to say “pull up high with hamstring, small V (the angle at the back of my knee), swing knee, drop leg”), and my knee that has been hurting for a decade no longer hurts. I also feel very dumb for not studying my form years ago. I had taken my form for granted when I was young so it didn’t used to need intentional adjusting and accountability. Form matters an extra amount if you gained weight from your normal weight, which also happened to me in my form devolving era. Anyways, sorry to write so much on this. I just wanted to share my anecdotal running improvement experience as a non-competitive runner in a similar life stage to yours! |
Anonymous
This is OP here. I never ran before, I was quite the couch potato for the first half of my life so I wouldn't have a good idea of what good form is but I really relate to the 'I shuffle or I sprint' feeling. I have also had extremely tight hamstrings my entire life (never able to touch my toes, even as a kid). And I have always felt like I'm not lifting up my feet enough. Even when I walk I sometimes do that dreaded thing we yell at kids for for dragging feet across the ground (my kids do this!). A lot to think about here thank you very much! I have been focusing so much on mileage just to like, get used to being on my feet for a longer amount of time to get through this half but this sounds like an excellent thing to think about over the winter to set myself up for success in the spring. |
Anonymous
I'm going to start by seconding this person. Then I'll reply separately to tell you what I would do in your shoes. |
Anonymous
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OK, OP, you're off to a great start. I suspect that you are overthinking AND getting too much information from Instagram.
I'm not sure I caught this, but how often are you running? Let's say four days. I would keep three days easy -- easy according to YOU, so let's say 13:30. That's fine. On one of the days, start playing around with speed. A great way for beginners to start adopting some speedwork is "fartlek." Head out for an ordinary run, let's say 4 miles. Do your first mile slow to warm up. Then, start picking out landmarks to "sprint" to. (Sprinting is relative, too ... just run at a pace that feels hard, but you won't injure yourself. You don't need a watch.) Sprint to a tree, then jog for a while. Then sprint to a mailbox, then jog for a while. Do this over the course of your middle two miles. Then jog for the final mile.) The next week, do the same thing: Three runs at easy pace (sounds like you are already doing a weekly long run, and that is great). One run with speedwork. I'd do fartlek for a few weeks. Once your body is getting the hang of it, you could go to a track or a marked trail and start doing some quarter-mile intervals at a "fast" pace. Another thing that will help you in your race is just getting some experience. Start trying to "pick people off." Pick someone up ahead who looks like you could overtake them. Then do it. Then pick a new person. Repeat, repeat. Practice finishing with a little burst of speed. It's fun! |
Anonymous
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Me again. I reread your posts. I think it's possible you're running too much. Are you still biking?
Running is very trendy with fitness influencers right now. Some of their tips are bound to be bad. When you said you were looking at 7 or 8 hours of running -- that sets off an alarm for me. I'm older than you and have been running for a long time. I probably run about 4 hours per week. Two 30-minute runs and two hour-long runs. I don't have any more time than that. |
Anonymous
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I'd do speed work if I was trying to increase my speed. (Sounds obvious, right?) I did weekly track work for that- 1-1.5 miles warmup, 2.5-3 miles of laps (like 10-12 400's or 6 800's), mile of cooldown.
But if I were trying to increase my distance I would focus on that, not speed. You can't focus on both at the same time. So if you're trying to get faster, keep your distance the same and hit the track once a week. If you're trying to go longer, do an increasingly longer run once a week. |
Anonymous
| Also make sure you're not just doing junk miles. Don't run every day. Seriously. Run 3-4 times a week and do something else on the other days- weights, the bike, the arc trainer. When people tell me they are running every day, that makes me worry for them. |
Anonymous
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Flat feet + running hours each week + half marathon = arthritic knees by 60
Sorry to be harsh, but you haven't said anything about how you plan to avoid longterm damage. Ask any runner over 60. I'd wager all PPs are in their 40s. |
Anonymous
Why do you feel the need to spread false information. Please cite the peer reviewed studies that support your claim that distance runs leads to arthritic knees. If you can’t cite it, don’t spread bullshit you heard from your aunt 20 years ago. |
Anonymous
You skipped over the flat feet part of the equation. Likely OP is a heel strike runner, since she had a very detailed post with no mention of gait. I think OP is unaware she may have poor gait. |
Anonymous
| Two things…First of all. Congrats!!!! Pat yourself on the back and give yourself some grace. Second, even just doing what you are doing if you simply found a late fall race where the temp at start time was below 60 you would see a massive improvement. Did you know that a study looking at 1.8 million marathoners over a 10 year period showed that the optimal temperature was 43.2f!! Why are you trying to PR in the summer? Even if you do focused heat training and your body adjusts to increase your plasma volume, improved vascular function, and better thermal tolerance at the cellular level, you will absolutely run slower as the temps increase. You add in high humidity…game over for your PR chances. You need to account for a significant decrease in performance. Think 8% worse. Don’t try for a PR in the summer |
Anonymous
I have worked very hard at improving my gait actually and am not a heel striker thanks very much. I also have gotten inserts to help with my flat feet. Ironically I have actually had LESS problems with my feet after increasing my running. And no problems with my knees. |
Anonymous
Sorry I didn't see this and both your responses were really helpful. No I haven't been biking, have really eased off everything and have been sitting around wondering how on earth people find time to exercise as much as they say! I have yet to manage that many hours and have been feeling insufficient so this type of 'real people don't do this' is exactly the kind of reality check I needed. I was doing a lot of concentrated speed work over the summer, 400s and 800s on a track for the 10k. But figured I needed to shift to distance for the half so have been doing much less speed work and more just increasing mileage. |
Anonymous
More misinformation. There’s nothing wrong with being a heal strike runner. |
Anonymous
ok. Don't be mad at yourself when you realize too late that I was right. |