The official running thread™

[Scary_Turtle]

thoughts on a knee brace?

I still have this discomfort despite mostly resting. I find my knee guard helps a bit, do you guys thing running with a knee brace on to reduce or prevent injury helps?

I have one for my ankle/knee and they make me feel better even if they do nothing else other put my mind at ease its doing something positive.

I do a knee stretch https://www.self.com/gallery/best-stretches-for-knee-pain its the 6th one and it helps relieve the pressure behind the knee cap. Feels amazing.

Unfortunately the problem is generally not the knee but something else, for me it was hip strength and just doing 40 reps a side per day fixed a few issues and I haven't need my braces.

 

[Claymore]

I'm quite pleased; I managed a PR on the 21K at the Fred Morrison half on Sunday, beating my previous time by about 16 seconds. It was a bit over 21,5km, which screws up timing a little; 300m doesn't sounds like a lot, but at over 6 min/km for me, that's an extra 2 minutes, and when I'm chasing seconds, it's that much tougher.

 

[Steamy Tom]

I have one for my ankle/knee and they make me feel better even if they do nothing else other put my mind at ease its doing something positive.

I do a knee stretch https://www.self.com/gallery/best-stretches-for-knee-pain its the 6th one and it helps relieve the pressure behind the knee cap. Feels amazing.

Unfortunately the problem is generally not the knee but something else, for me it was hip strength and just doing 40 reps a side per day fixed a few issues and I haven't need my braces.

jirre i feel uncomfortable looking at that picture...

 

[Scary_Turtle]

I'm not a doctor, all I can share is my experiences. Don't know what kind of discomfort you have, but I know that we started running at a similar time.

Yeah, I had plenty of niggles and stiffness at first. Heel, Achilles, calf, knee, ankle. Figured out the side knee pain had to do with my IT band that was just working too hard too soon.

I was so proud to see the gains I was making that I just wanted to go faster. What an idiot I was.

So I took a week off. What enabled me to run largely pain free for the past couple of months is the following:

I just started running slower. Easier, focusing more on form and efficiency. Foot strike, heel lift, butt in, shoulders relaxed, arm swing, head straight. YT videos helped a lot in this regard.

And stretching! (Must admit, I am lazy with strength exercises, can definitely improve there).

And not approach every training run like it's a race.

Yes, my average pace has dropped considerably, and sometimes I feel like I stay too much in my comfort zone, but I'm running pain free for longer distances.

Agree with this 100%, I was the same run hard all the time. Changed to slower runs and where 6min/km were the norm but after doing many long runs 5:30min/km became norm and I can sustain 4:30min/km in a 5km now.

I only run fast once a week (time trials), one recovery run 6min/km, a tempo run (1km easy, 2km fast, 3min easy, 2km fast, 3min easy, 2km fast and easy till the end), and 2 long runs.

 

[L-Dog]

Any trail runners here ? Need a recommendation on a good trail running shoe. Currently use a Asics Gel Nimbus 21 with an specially made inner but I assume for trail a good neutral shoe will be fine.

 

[Agent_Smith]

Any trail runners here ? Need a recommendation on a good trail running shoe. Currently use a Asics Gel Nimbus 21 with an specially made inner but I assume for trail a good neutral shoe will be fine.

Your Gel Nimbus 21's are your road shoes I assume (as they are what I use). My trail shoes are Saucony Peregrine 8's. Pretty happy with them. Otherwise if you want to stay with ASICS, look at the Gel Fuji-Trabucos.

 

[gifs]

Any trail runners here ? Need a recommendation on a good trail running shoe. Currently use a Asics Gel Nimbus 21 with an specially made inner but I assume for trail a good neutral shoe will be fine.

Most important thing with trail shoes is that they fit comfortably. Only way to find out is to try them on.

 

[L-Dog]

Thanks my running shoes are also mostly for long runs so are 2 sizes to big, what is the general rule of thumb for trail shoes 1 size to big?

 

[gifs]

For long trail runs I have found that I need space for my toes. That does however come with the drawback that on the downhills your toes can take a beating if your foot slides forward into the toebox. To counteract this you need a shoe that fits snugly around the midfoot, so that your foot cannot slide forwards. This approach works for me.

 

[Agent_Smith]

One size up on trail works for me. I also wear nice thick socks to minimize toe impact.

 

[Claymore]

I just use my previous pair of road shoes on the trail.

 

[roskii]

Any trail runners here ? Need a recommendation on a good trail running shoe. Currently use a Asics Gel Nimbus 21 with an specially made inner but I assume for trail a good neutral shoe will be fine.

Couldn't be happier with my Salomon Sense Ultra Pro's (2x pairs). I rotate with my existing 2 pairs of Sense Ride's (which I did UTCT 100km 2018 in). There has been some tearing on the side of the toe box (same issue with Sense Pro 2's), however the Ultra Pro's have reinforced this area and I've had no issues after 700km on the one pair so far.

I wouldn't suggest going up a full size for trail (max half a size). Go and see what works for your foot. My Sense Ride's have a smaller toe box so I wear thinner socks. For my Ultra's I use thicker mohair Balega's.

If you in Joburg, I recommend going to Salomon Nicolway. The team are clued up and will match you up with the right pair.

Yes the Sweatshop has a great team too but the amount of runners that come back complaining about their 'recommended Asics', I can't say I trust them completely.

 

[ShaunSA]

Another week of no running. I seriously need to get my butt into gear!

PR tomorrow and Sunday is a 10k trail run. Looking forward to this one.

 

[Snyper564]

This year has been a mess for running for me, atleast trying to keep fit at the gym hoping to hit the road this afternoon or tomorrow. Will see what I can still log on 5km...

 

[Scary_Turtle]

feck looks like I have tendonitis and have possibly torn my short adductor muscle.

More test tomorrow and if its bad probably to some kind of doctor next week.

 

[Sepeng]

snip

Great post!
Also why I stopped with Strava; it's a great tool on it's own and the social aspect can provide much needed motivation. But like many social tools I felt I always I had to be putting my best foot forward so every run had to be faster and longer than the last.
Using the Nike app now and I love the coaching they give which basically boils down to: take it easy especially in the beginning, not every run has to be about the time or distance, do a systems check every so often in terms of your form etc. And no-one else sees it but me so even if I just want to do a 20 minute run I can without feeling judged. Basically what you've been doing.

 

[Steamy Tom]

feck looks like I have tendonitis and have possibly torn my short adductor muscle.

More test tomorrow and if its bad probably to some kind of doctor next week.

thats cr@ppy have been suffering with a on and off injury also for 3 months or so it is the worst when you are trying to remain motivated/disciplined.

 

[Snyper564]

This year has been a mess for running for me, atleast trying to keep fit at the gym hoping to hit the road this afternoon or tomorrow. Will see what I can still log on 5km...

At my absolute physical peak at 89KG



Today's run at 102kg, I havent run since April and I am finally getting back into the swing of things again. The above is the goal!



See you guys more often!

 

[Agent_Smith]

Doing my 4th Cpt Marathon on Sunday (only because a friend of mine is doing her first marathon and I said I'd get her through it) and then I think that will be me done for the year. I feel jaded and not lus to run any more. I might do the odd trail here and there but for the most part, Saturday and Sunday mornings will be mine to spend as I please.

 

[Steamy Tom]

Doing my 4th Cpt Marathon on Sunday (only because a friend of mine is doing her first marathon and I said I'd get her through it) and then I think that will be me done for the year. I feel jaded and not lus to run any more. I might do the odd trail here and there but for the most part, Saturday and Sunday mornings will be mine to spend as I please.

just for the year?