Early Morning Runners -Support Group ( :

Last summer, I started walking.   Then wogging.  Finally jogging/running.   I relished my cool morning workouts. 

Then summer was over and I had to shift my jogging to the 4PM heat and humidity.  It was almost unbearable, but I made it.   Then winter arrived and I had to deal with a host of new issues ----  never been an exerciser, let alone one who ran in the ice and snow, so how do you keep your glasses from fogging up or avoid bronchitis in the cold????    Made it through that too. 

This summer (up until yesterday's close), I taught summer academy but did not have to be there so early as with regular school, so I was able to return to my morning workouts.  HALLELUJAH  ---   I had forgotten how incredible cool, peaceful, and invigorating it is to run in the early morning hours.  It's as if my dog and I are the only living beings.....   I love it. 

My body clock is pretty good at waking me up and I try very hard to just make it happen every day --- for me to be done with my workout in the cooler weather and because my dog needs the exercise, but my friend Tamar who lives in a VERY HOT climate is having a hard time getting up to run. 

How do you make it happen for yourself?  How do you get up and get going???????

Other deep thoughts that cross my mind in the morning.......... 

1) my knees are  beginning to be an issue even with new shoes, stretching, ibuprofen, etc,   anyone here an OT or sports medicine guru?   I know I supinate/walk on the outsides of my feet and that is why my knees hurt ---from being torqued too hard side to side, so what do I do to strengthen whatever quad/ham muscles to stop/help my knees?   
  
2)am I the only person stricken at times with almost emergency bathroom situations while jogging before "voiding"?   
   
3) anyone find now the mp3 player that first motivated you to keep going is now just a distraction from the road and your pace?
      
4) what about runner's etiquette ???  -- I always get out of oncoming car paths -- even if it means running across the road or getting my running shoes wet/dirty, but still the people in this town are hateful.    

5) what about this --- the same routes I have been running (I have a range of 2-5 miles mapped out) are getting too easy/too short/I feel like I could run more, but I like to do a loop, you know?  start at my house, make 4 turns, I am home.  do I just try to pick up my speed (yuck) or do I do two trips?

This is long, but I hope to hear lots of good advice and get a support group going for all us early morning slaves of the shoe!   Are you out there?????

School started and it's really hampering my run time. I've found myself using treadmills (which I really don't like) because I have no time after classes to do so. I'm trying to head out now, so happy running!

I guess everyone is really busy! I haven't been running (except for soccer) so I don't have much to say. Soccer went well on Sunday (I think I posted) and my leg felt great for the next day. Then, a day later, I went for a brisk walk and the muscle felt tight. I stretched, used ibuprophen (IB), and woke up feeling fine. Today I went walking again, and by the end of my probably too long and too intense walk, it was really tight again. Not exactly painful, but definitely noticeable. Ugh. I wish I'd just get all healed so I could get back to running!

I have soccer indoors tomorrow evening and I know it will feel pretty good during the game and maybe a bit sore afterwards. I'll do the ice and IB thing. If I could only remember to keep up with the IB!! I thought I would be writing about the "soccer cure" on Tuesday before walking, because I remembered my IB 2x (Sunday night and Monday morning) and I felt healed before that walk on Tuesday. Oh, and to top it off, after a brisk 45 minutes on Tuesday, I finished on a steep hill, keeping my pace up and TWANG, there went my calf muscle I thought was all better!! So, no hills, no running. Thank goodness I have really learned to enjoy walking! I used to hate it, hate it, hate it. It's all about the fresh air and quiet for me, now, so I look forward to it. Of course, I'd rather be running!!

I hope you all are having better luck than me with your running.

Happy trails!

mkculs, I hope everything gets better! I despise walking now that I know I can move faster if I wanted, LOL.

So I didn't keep up my running for the week prior and POOF! There goes my fitness. I used to be able to run 35+ minutes in a spell if I wanted and put effort into it, but now the max I can do at a time is 10 minutes. I'm disappointed but I'm working back up to it. I think it might also be because I run in a very large and well-loved park...lots of runners there. I'm not used to running with people all around me.

I have a few questions:

1) I lost some of my fitness in a week - can that really happen?!

2) My pinky toe is starting to rub up against the next toe and I have absolutely no clue why. It never did that before, and my feet haven't (god forbid) gotten any larger.

3) I have an armband and a water bottle with me on my runs. I've found that when I don't have anything in my arms (i.e. treadmill) I run easier. Do camelbacks/water belts work better? Do they get in the way?

Thanks, goddess9. I feel good after playing indoor soccer Thursday night, but took off yesterday and today because I have an outdoor game tomorrow. I played goalie on Thurs. and was diving for balls, kinda landed on my one good hip once and it was a bit sore on Fri. but better now. I'm 49; what was I THINKING??????

I hated walking for so many years, it isn't even funny. I cannot get over the change. Maybe it's my age! I still prefer running, but I really enjoy my walks and it will make healing go so much easier! I won't feel the same desperation to run. Also, my "walks" can be pretty vigorous--hiking up some steep hills, moving quickly, etc. I timed myself last week and did a mile in under 14 minutes--about 13.5!! I was so surprised and pleased. But I don't really like to walk that fast; I'd rather do hills and work hard that way.

So who knows when I'll get back to running? I've decided to give core training a chance, since my injuries have mostly been in the core muscles. We'll see how that goes!

Goddess: I don't think you can loose all your fitness in only 1 week of not keeping it up.  But I do think that there are sometimes psychological barriers that we put up if we do "slack off". Just keep moving forward and get back on the horse and you will be fine.  I think that the less stuff that you have on then the easier it is to run so I am not surprised that it is easier to run on a tread mill with out the water bottle, etc. Honestly, I run 90 - 120 minutes and I don't carry water with me. I do hydrate alot prior to the run and make sure I have 2 liters in the car when I return.  I have an ultra small iPod nano and use the clip and clip it to my shorts then i fish the earphone wires inside my shirt so that it does not swing around. It works better than the armband and I find it more comfortable.  I have never used a camelbak, however I have used a fanny pack and two bottles of water when I have run 2+ hours in the back woods with no sources of water. I find them pretty comfortable to run with. Hope that this helps...

Oh, on the pinky toe -- use duct tape to prevent the rubbing. It helps the symptoms but does not fit the root cause...

Mkculs: yeah, like dudette, what were you thinking???? Perhaps the competitive streak in you is alive and well and still pushing forward. That's really cool!!! 

My running has gone in the trash can this week. I had some deliverables at work and pulled 12 - 18 hour days ensuring that it was getting done. We did our dress rehearsal presentation on Thursday and it went well. I wish I could have more balance in all areas of my life... it would be nice. But alas it does not look like it is gonna happen. 

Have a great Sunday women. We are off on a family hike - our first since April when my daughter reinjured her leg... 

Hi all,

made it back from vacation a couple of days ago, had a blast diving almost every day.  Went for an 8 mile run yesterday just to get back into the swing of things, and boy was it a bit tougher than normal.  Everything just felt a bit off, like I hadn't run in ages, even though it was only a week off!  I am going for a short 3 mile run this afternoon and hoping it is a bit easier than yesterday.  Want to get a few more runs in this week before my half marathon on Sunday.  I am hoping I will be readjusted by then.

Goddess, I had a bit of a harder time after a week off, and although SOME was physical, it was really mostly mental.  Keep at it, I am sure you will be back to normal in no time, don't let a little set back ruin all the good work you have done!

Hope everyone is doing well and had a good weekend!

Original Post by cawilder:

Mkculs: yeah, like dudette, what were you thinking???? Perhaps the competitive streak in you is alive and well and still pushing forward. That's really cool!!! 

Yeah, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak!! Still, I'm not sure I know HOW to stop myself from diving :) BY NOT PLAYING GOALIE--oh, yeah. I forgot!

Long walks this week, nothing special. Soooooo busy at school--we start off with 4 weeks of over-kill and then the "regular" schedule kicks in. The teachers and the kids are stressed, but the parents just love it, so we do it. They write the checks, after all!!

Happy trails, people!

WHINE WARNING!! Feel free to skip this post; I already feel sorry enough for myself so your sympathy/pity isn't really necessary :9

Feeling bummed today. Another period-from-hell (PFH) a headache (maybe related to the PFH, not sure), AND I haven't worked out hard in so long!! I'm really missing it. Haven't even played soccer since the 7th--rainouts and school/work-obligations have intervened. I really want to go hiking and might go later, but this stupid headache!!

Poor ol' me!! Am I not pathetic?

OK, now I feel a bit better for making fun of myself!

Hope you are all having a much better day.

Happy trails!

 Added at almost 9 pm CDT: I took a short nap, woke up headache-less, and went for an awesome hike! My day has turned around completely. I have to eat more now, because I burned so much hiking!! How sweet is that??

Toodles!

Hey guys! I just finished the C25K training program and thought I'd join into this forum to keep motivated.

I'm a morning person and love running in the mornings. I started walking, then wogging, now running (amazing that I can call my self a runner!) about 11/12 weeks ago. Shin splints first time out - over did it. Found exercise on runningahead.com that helped then found C25K in a CC post and started it once the splints healed. Now I am hooked. I've signed up for my first official 5K race on Sun 10/26 - my 62nd bday! This from a guy who almost failed PE in HS for being unable to run a mile in under 12 minutes! Tomorrow will be my first post C25K run and I found a trail near my house for my first non-street/sidewalk run.

I got into running in order to increase my cardio intensity and gain flexibility in work out opportunities, e.g. no gym needed. I run on the streets and trails near my house or where ever I am staying. I was blessed with a heart attack in mid march and found that because of family history I needed to work on some cholesterol issues that do not respond to drugs very well - push good HDL cholesterol up as high as possible, triglycerides as low as possible - but do respond to diet and cardio exercise. So I took up running (and eating soy, walnuts, raw pistachio & almonds, and no more than 8 gm sugar/serving).

Oh, I started another topic in Challenges called "Lets run the "Kick the Couch 5K Together" on October 11-12 Challenge" which is part of the Worldwide Festival of Races, where people all over the world are going to run 5k's, 10k's and half mary's at the same time! I thought it would be fun to run a no pressure 5K at my own pace with a ton of other folks! A small group of CC'rs have signed up so far. We've called ourselves "The Mashed Potatoes of Calorie Count"! If your interested
Go to :"Go to :"http://www.worldwidefestivalofraces.com/cgi -bin/home" to register, then Navigate to Races/Teams and select join to the right of our team." to register, then Navigate to Races/Teams and select join to the right of our team.

Wow, really inspiring, bobev!! I'm 49 and am so excited to see someone starting running at 62!! Are you also trying to lose weight?

Congratulations, and welcome.

thanks mkculs. Yes I've been losing weight. Down 60 lbs since peak of 222 8 years ago, 15 lbs since the heart attack in March. I want to lose another 10 to return to HS, Military & Marriage weight that I maintained until 1979!

Great morning for running in North, TX. Cool and clear. I ran on the Trinity Trails near my house and did about 4.3 mi. A little slow, 55:50 min total, but the mp3 I built was screwed up and I wound up walking longer than I had planned. I couldn't hear the queues and had to switch to manual timing and ignore the recording. I think I attempted to record two workouts and messed it up. Will remake it to only one workout.

hey bobev, thats fantastic, and welcome to the group.  Its been a bit quiet around here lately, but hopefulyl everyone will start to get back on track.

mckuls, glad to hear your day eventually turned around, I hate it when I just feel yucky all day.

I did the Sydney Half marathon yesterday and it was aboslutely FANTASTIC!  I did it in about 2:03 (I was aiming for 2 hrs, so I guess I can't be disappointed in that). 

Was going to try to get up this morning and do a short easy run to loosen up, but the bed was just too comfortable.  On a positive note, Spring is FINALLY here in full force.  Its been BEAUTIFUL weather, I ran the half in a tank top.  Another great sunny day today, so will try to run after work.  Just feel like my legs need a an easy run to loosen them up because BOY ARE THEY SORE!

manta, that is awesome! Good weather, great run, how can you top that? What a wonderful way to welcome spring!

We have been having an extended summer here in Wisconsin; really gorgeous! Our early fall is usually nice, and I'm itching to get back to my park. But, the time away from running is for a good reason (as I keep reminding myself). I did my miles the other night on the trails without once triggering my calf pull, so that was pretty neat. Of course, I immediately wanted to run a bit, but wouldn't let myself. So now, keeping myself in check for a while longer is the challenge. I feel like a horse, "chomping at the bit" (and yes, they really do that sometimes!)

I hope everyone else is doing well and enjoying the transition in the northern hemisphere to autumn. Officially it's autumn as of today, or yesterday, or tomorrow--I can't keep it straight!! But I do know our yard is getting pretty leaf-covered already!

TTFN, and happy trails.

woot! woot! woot! pb! pb! pb! I ran 3.35 mi at an 11:31 pace versus 12:05 previous. I used my remade mp3 a 2/5/[1x10]x3 walk/run routine and it worked. I ran on a 1 mi loop in my subdivision and the 1st 10 min run I completed an entire loop as the 10 min expired. I passed hs PE once again! I must have slowed down during the others. Pace was easy to maintain. No probs, although rt ham was a touch tight. Did longer stretch afterward. HR was maintained ok, max 126 during the 1st 10. I walked 90 sec instead of 60 after 1st one - was excited by the time and wanted hr to recover under 100. Remaining runs never exceeded 122. I could probably push higher since max hr is up from stress test (cardiologist agrees) and exertion rate 7. I am HYPED!!!

Never Give UP, Never Turn Back!, Can Do!

Watch out for Manta, everyone...she's on a roll!

Great job, bobev!

I ran my best two miles ever today. First mile was 11:10, second was 10:46. It was hard to keep that pace, but I really wanted it! I can't believe I'm running this fast at 180+ pounds...unbelieveable!

Way to go Goddess! Keep it up!

Original Post by goddess9:

I ran my best two miles ever today. First mile was 11:10, second was 10:46. It was hard to keep that pace, but I really wanted it! I can't believe I'm running this fast at 180+ pounds...unbelieveable!

 Congratulations, goddess! It is amazing what we can do, isn't it? I'm 49 and 191 (today ) and I was outsprinting women on the soccer field all game. They are mostly 40s but the lower end, and nearly all are thinner than me! I cannot believe I can do it, but I do! I keep wondering what I can still do and learn to do, even at this age. My skills have improved, too, and considering I never played soccer, not even in a gym class, until I was 45, I'm amazed! It is a lot of fun to try new things!

wtg goddess!!!  You will be catching up to me soon enough (and maybe even pass me up).

Did some easy runs this week to allow myself recovery time from the half.  I feel like a total addict now (as if I wasn't before), but I think the addiction has changed slightly.  Whereas before I was just addicted to running, now I am addicted to RACING and improving my time.  Geez... just when you think you have beat the running addiction, something new comes up to spur you on. 

Anyway, had my first regular run this morning since the half and I did 5 miles at a 9min/mile pace (well is was like 9:04 min/mile, but still!). 

Been trying to work out what to plan on running next.  If I had the time it would definitely be a marathon, but since I don't I am thinking of a PB in either the 5K or 10K.  Hmmmm....

What a crew! You guys inspire the heck out of me! I guess runners naturally become "analysts" with the way we monitor and plan our runs. It sure is obsessive isn't it! I can't believe how addicting it is.

I ran the 3.5 route I finished c25k on and took almost 2 min off my time. An 11:44 pace. A little slower than Wed but a harder route. More inclines and obstacles (tree branches etc). The 1st 10 min segment was fast, I could feel that I went past 1 mi mark in a little over 10 min, and the 2 mi mark at approx 22:30. I wish my hrm had a way to time incremental's better. Its a Polar F4 and only has current summary and total. So I could only track the last interval and subtract from the total to get the first... I've added a pedometer to my camel pack to see how it matches with runningahead.com mapping distance and they are close. 6980 steps vice 3.5 mi. Its supposed to be about 2000 steps/mi.

I signed up for another 5k fun run/walk with the program I am on at work. The week b4 my birthday, Sat 10/18. A neighbor is going to run both with me. I hope I can keep up with her. Younger and thinner. I will prepare a special race mp3 so I can pace myself and try not to overdo it. I'm thinking I will also start my workouts that way as well. walk around my block as warm up, then start timing when I make the first run.

Did a 5.5 mi run this morning. I'm partially following a runners world runners coach training program. Today was my long run at a slow pace, the plan called for 14:40. I finished it in a 14:58 pace.I didn't follow my mp3. I decided to use longer runs, so I walked for the the first minute than started slow pace jog. jogged for 19 min, walked 1, jogged 28, walked 1, jogged 25, walked 7 back to my car, roughly 72 min worth. Overall felt good.