The Running Thread

[jnj2455]

Tale of getting old..

I used to be consistently a night runner through my entire 20s. It was something I looked forward to after work as a means of unwinding. But now, in my early 30s, running at night (630/7pm start) prevents me from falling asleep by 11/midnight and I start a vicious cycle of shit sleep which sometimes takes me a full week to reset.

I've switched over to morning runs but god damn does it take a lot motivation. I am expected in the office by 830/845 when I'm not wfh so if I don't get out of bed by 615 I have to cut my runs short. Not to mention w/ winter approaching it's becoming even harder.

But my bigger issue is how poorly I run in the morning. I'm stiff as a board and have no energy lol. I've resorted to sipping a bit of coffee as I stretch/wake up but running 3 miles feels like an impossible task vs. doing it in the evening when I've been properly fueled and hydrated throughout. And I've noticed my times are consistently slower in the AM than the same runs later in the day.

Would love to hear morning runners chime in with tips.

[cotmfk]

Originally Posted by jnj2455

Tale of getting old..

I used to be consistently a night runner through my entire 20s. It was something I looked forward to after work as a means of unwinding. But now, in my early 30s, running at night (630/7pm start) prevents me from falling asleep by 11/midnight and I start a vicious cycle of shit sleep which sometimes takes me a full week to reset.

I've switched over to morning runs but god damn does it take a lot motivation. I am expected in the office by 830/845 when I'm not wfh so if I don't get out of bed by 615 I have to cut my runs short. Not to mention w/ winter approaching it's becoming even harder.

But my bigger issue is how poorly I run in the morning. I'm stiff as a board and have no energy lol. I've resorted to sipping a bit of coffee as I stretch/wake up but running 3 miles feels like an impossible task vs. doing it in the evening when I've been properly fueled and hydrated throughout. And I've noticed my times are consistently slower in the AM than the same runs later in the day.

Would love to hear morning runners chime in with tips.

I have similar issues to you with morning running. Especially once we started the WFH thing, I hadn't been waking up before 8 am. Similar to you, if I go into the office, I'd have to wake up super early (for me) to get a run in before work. I tried it once about a month ago, and - no joke - I started dry heaving in the first half mile! LOL My body was revolting against me. I am not a morning person. But, I do love to run after work to reset, etc. It is something I look forward to during the day.

Some people are just not morning people.

[JP10]

Originally Posted by jnj2455

Tale of getting old..

I used to be consistently a night runner through my entire 20s. It was something I looked forward to after work as a means of unwinding. But now, in my early 30s, running at night (630/7pm start) prevents me from falling asleep by 11/midnight and I start a vicious cycle of shit sleep which sometimes takes me a full week to reset.

I've switched over to morning runs but god damn does it take a lot motivation. I am expected in the office by 830/845 when I'm not wfh so if I don't get out of bed by 615 I have to cut my runs short. Not to mention w/ winter approaching it's becoming even harder.

But my bigger issue is how poorly I run in the morning. I'm stiff as a board and have no energy lol. I've resorted to sipping a bit of coffee as I stretch/wake up but running 3 miles feels like an impossible task vs. doing it in the evening when I've been properly fueled and hydrated throughout. And I've noticed my times are consistently slower in the AM than the same runs later in the day.

Would love to hear morning runners chime in with tips.

I'm up at 5am to run. Definitely light dinners and I don't eat after 7pm. It's just a mental battle for me. Starts with walking out the door and picking up the pace in my walk for about 3-5mins and some good (loud) music haha. Then I'm off and ya just go. Terrible advice, but that is the only thing that works anymore. I'm typically tight for the first mile, but then My body temp picks up and I start feeling good. I actually prefer mornings vs evenings. Mostly because I like to be empty when I run.

[overcoil]

Minimal to no dessert (sucrose) after dinner if I want to get up early.
I don't worry about meal size as long as I minimize sweets.

If I had coffee I'd drink a bit of black before a run but I won't waste time making coffee.

Right gear and testing new apparel for cold mornings can be a very good motivator.

[JP10]

8.2miles this morning, goal was an hour run, but I was happy with the distance I cover. As I walk into the neighborhood the wife is rounding the corner with the pups, so topped it off with a 1.5mile walk. Action packed morning and I still have yard work on my agenda

[cotmfk]

Originally Posted by JP10

8.2miles this morning, goal was an hour run, but I was happy with the distance I cover. As I walk into the neighborhood the wife is rounding the corner with the pups, so topped it off with a 1.5mile walk. Action packed morning and I still have yard work on my agenda

Yard work is a sneaky tough workout! I get about 8500 steps in every time I mow the lawn! I always knew it was a lot of work, but I didn't realize it's almost my entire day's step goal! haha It does take about 1.5 - 2 hours each time.

[JP10]

Originally Posted by cotmfk

Yard work is a sneaky tough workout! I get about 8500 steps in every time I mow the lawn! I always knew it was a lot of work, but I didn't realize it's almost my entire day's step goal! haha It does take about 1.5 - 2 hours each time.

Yeah I took down one of those tall grass plants - the hurricane blew it side ways and she never came back straight. But off way more then I could chew lol. 6 full yard bags later and 3 hours I was inside on my ass haha

[W///]

Originally Posted by jnj2455

Tale of getting old..

I used to be consistently a night runner through my entire 20s. It was something I looked forward to after work as a means of unwinding. But now, in my early 30s, running at night (630/7pm start) prevents me from falling asleep by 11/midnight and I start a vicious cycle of shit sleep which sometimes takes me a full week to reset.

I've switched over to morning runs but god damn does it take a lot motivation. I am expected in the office by 830/845 when I'm not wfh so if I don't get out of bed by 615 I have to cut my runs short. Not to mention w/ winter approaching it's becoming even harder.

But my bigger issue is how poorly I run in the morning. I'm stiff as a board and have no energy lol. I've resorted to sipping a bit of coffee as I stretch/wake up but running 3 miles feels like an impossible task vs. doing it in the evening when I've been properly fueled and hydrated throughout. And I've noticed my times are consistently slower in the AM than the same runs later in the day.

Would love to hear morning runners chime in with tips.

How far do you run? I used to be same way. Not a runner, and def not a morning person. But I started running 1 mile at a time at the very beginning before work and it felt amazing. I always thought people working out before work was BS but it's truly great. So I started waking up at 5AM, run and get to work at 730. But that usually meant going to bed at 830PM. I can't do that anymore nowadays as my
easy/short runs are up to 5 miles.

In other news, I've signed up for my first marathon: Jan 21st 2023. I'm 6 weeks into the Boston marathon training plan and all is well. it was very helpful to have a solid base going into this. No time goal, but I'd be OK with a 4:30

[JP10]

Woke up and went to the range to hit two bags of golf balls. Got home and felt like running. Ended up running a half marathon - about an hour and 50mins. Wasn't planning on it, just kept on going. Longest run of my life though. Legs are a little noodle like at the moment, but all in all feel pretty good. May have a beer to celebrate lol

[SRod321]

Originally Posted by cotmfk

How frustrating! Sounds like you're on the other side of it now though.

Enjoy running in the Texas heat and humidity!

Yeah I'm here for Pre-MOB. FINALLY running pain free! It feels so good to run normally again. Slowly building the distance back up.

[cotmfk]

Originally Posted by JP10

Woke up and went to the range to hit two bags of golf balls. Got home and felt like running. Ended up running a half marathon - about an hour and 50mins. Wasn't planning on it, just kept on going. Longest run of my life though. Legs are a little noodle like at the moment, but all in all feel pretty good. May have a beer to celebrate lol

nice - that's how I ended up doing my first half marathon (just kept going...)

I've run a few halfs (I run a couple of them every year now). Each time I run one now, it confirms to me that I don't want to run a full marathon. LOL Done with the half, and think - to do this again, right now.... no thanks! Good on people that do them, and people that do ultras.... but it's just not for me.

[JP10]

Originally Posted by cotmfk

nice - that's how I ended up doing my first half marathon (just kept going...)

I've run a few halfs (I run a couple of them every year now). Each time I run one now, it confirms to me that I don't want to run a full marathon. LOL Done with the half, and think - to do this again, right now.... no thanks! Good on people that do them, and people that do ultras.... but it's just not for me.

I think I may try for one - problem is I need to loose some more weight. Have a lot of residual muscle from lifting for years. After the thirteen my legs were feeling it for sure

[W///]

Originally Posted by cotmfk

nice - that's how I ended up doing my first half marathon (just kept going...)

I've run a few halfs (I run a couple of them every year now). Each time I run one now, it confirms to me that I don't want to run a full marathon. LOL Done with the half, and think - to do this again, right now.... no thanks! Good on people that do them, and people that do ultras.... but it's just not for me.

What I like about these longer distances is that you really have to strategize. It's not like a 5 or 10k where you just go out there and run until your lungs burst haha

I usually run 13 or more during my long runs now, and it's just so damn time consuming. And trying to get all the calories in before and after is tough as well.

[JP10]

Told myself I was going for a light jog lol. Temp was great today and legs/lungs were feeling good.

[cotmfk]

Originally Posted by JP10

Told myself I was going for a light jog lol. Temp was great today and legs/lungs were feeling good.

That's awesome - good run!

[floridaorange]

Originally Posted by JP10

Told myself I was going for a light jog lol. Temp was great today and legs/lungs were feeling good.

You just casually busted out 13 miles after recovering from a hernia

[JP10]

Originally Posted by floridaorange

You just casually busted out 13 miles after recovering from a hernia

Lol hernia is still present actually. Have just been running more frequently and not lifting. May push to run longer in a few weeks or so! Would like to do a marathon just to see if I can.

[UncleWede]

I was all worked up to do Santa2thesea Sunday. I'm fat and old-er, so I only do the 5k (they won't let me in the diaper dash, although . . . )

I get to the staging/check-in on Saturday, with my toys for the donation, and they can't find me. Not by first, last or email. Somehow I had forgotten my phone so could pull up the email confirmation, so they wouldn't let me run.

Got home, checked all my stuff, checked the registration site, and I was not registered. It's OK, it was cold/rainy anyways, I didn't really want to run.

[JP10]

Not sure what pain I’m experiencing, but I’m at an all stop on running. Tuesday or Wednesday, towards the last mile of my run, I started getting a cramping like sharp pain in my outer upper calf. No pain under pressure, or in a jump rope like motion. But retracting and extending my leg is painful on each movement.

I took two days off, pain went away, but after 2 miles it came back. I tried googling what I could, but explaining the pain is difficult.

Any ideas? I plan to try again Tuesday so we will see.

[Dlpfcb]

Originally Posted by JP10

Not sure what pain I’m experiencing, but I’m at an all stop on running. Tuesday or Wednesday, towards the last mile of my run, I started getting a cramping like sharp pain in my outer upper calf. No pain under pressure, or in a jump rope like motion. But retracting and extending my leg is painful on each movement.

I took two days off, pain went away, but after 2 miles it came back. I tried googling what I could, but explaining the pain is difficult.

Any ideas? I plan to try again Tuesday so we will see.

Typically this is a muscle weakness somewhere else cause the calves to work harder than they need to. If you can focus on double leg and single leg toe lifts on the edge of a stair first. Then focus on some heavy weights on squats and lunges if you can without pain. Then I would do lots of clam shells and bridges. Strengthen everything in the whole chain. Most issues in running stem from a weakness in the hips or the gluten since they are what starts the chain.

[JP10]

Originally Posted by Dlpfcb

Typically this is a muscle weakness somewhere else cause the calves to work harder than they need to. If you can focus on double leg and single leg toe lifts on the edge of a stair first. Then focus on some heavy weights on squats and lunges if you can without pain. Then I would do lots of clam shells and bridges. Strengthen everything in the whole chain. Most issues in running stem from a weakness in the hips or the gluten since they are what starts the chain.

The frustrating part is In each of those movements the pain doesn’t replicate. I’ll see what I can do and report back. My lower body, at least I have felt, has always been quite strong. This is new for sure

[cotmfk]

Originally Posted by JP10

Not sure what pain I’m experiencing, but I’m at an all stop on running. Tuesday or Wednesday, towards the last mile of my run, I started getting a cramping like sharp pain in my outer upper calf. No pain under pressure, or in a jump rope like motion. But retracting and extending my leg is painful on each movement.

I took two days off, pain went away, but after 2 miles it came back. I tried googling what I could, but explaining the pain is difficult.

Any ideas? I plan to try again Tuesday so we will see.

I'm not the best on recognizing injuries... but I'll try to help. Maybe a muscle strain or pull? Maybe stretching would help?

Worst comes to worst and you can't figure it out, a visit to a good PT would be worth it. I had some muscle imbalances before (to DLPFCB's point) and the PT identified correctly where, taught me how to fix the problem, and it's been fixed now for about 3 years. Best of luck.