Running Shoes and Marathons

[Serif]

Run a half before a full. A full marathon is a true physical and mental battle that you probably won't be able to understand fully in 6 weeks.

Fuck that, my first race ever was a full. HARDCORE 4LYFE

I've heard from friends about the epic size of the Nashville race and was contemplating going up for the half marathon. After finishing the ING I realized I was hooked, loved races, and immediately began looking for future runs. It probably depends on my school work load though. But not being a local Nashvillian(?) and new to running, how does one go about racing in a city 3 hours away? Drive there really early or a motel room usually necessary? I guess if the packet pickup is going to be the day before a motel room is necessary...

I can probably provide one more rooming at my parent's house, I live 20 minutes away from Nashville.

That is a PROBABLY, I already had to convince my parents that Tyche is a friend of a friend. Not some one I met off of an internet forum who is wanting to bang my mom, haha...

There were 2 deaths in NYC ING marathon last year. Looks like tehre was about 40,000 participants. Before that, there wasn't a death in the NYC marathon since 1994. There have been a few heart attacks though. Again, get screened.

I read it somewhere, you are 7-7.5 times more likely to have a heart attack during a marathon.

[Azkarin2]

I can probably provide one more rooming at my parent's house, I live 20 minutes away from Nashville.

That is a PROBABLY, I already had to convince my parents that Tyche is a friend of a friend. Not some one I met off of an internet forum who is wanting to bang my mom, haha...

Thanks for the offer. But with it costing a $100 bucks and my graduation soon after, I think I'm going to stay in town and celebrate. Enjoy the race though, Nashville is one that I want to do so I'll probably be up there the following year.

[Stromgarde]

Ran another 4 miles today, wasn't half as sore at the end as I was yesterday. I'm using Saucony shoes at the moment, and despite the treads not being worn out too badly, there's still something that feels wrong about them, like they aren't padded enough.. although I'm sure running on a paved track doesn't help. I'm going to keep running 4 for the rest of the week, and try for 8 on Saturday after which I'll drive to the next city over to go to a running shoe store I found over the internet earlier today. I have a pair of old running shoes I wore the soles through that I plan on taking with me that I hope will help with picking out a good pair; see attached.

[Serif]

I would recommend not running everyday but at low mileage I think you will be fine. Just make sure you get plenty of rest and nutrients.

Most shoes you will be looking at a specialty store will last you 400-500 miles. My friends usually get a kick out of when I say yeah I got 476 miles on these bad boys, first pair of shoes.

[chiyio]

I wouldn't be running in those shoes. Running shoes don't actually last all that long, they'll be worn out long before they really *look* worn out.

It's not the tread that you need to worry about, it's the ability of them to absorb shock, and that will happen long before the tread looks very worn.

As for the marathon, I'll agree 6 weeks is way too short, you'll likely injure yourself. For some general training tips, don't run two days in a row, give your legs time to recover. Mix in some biking or other cardio. For your first marathon, you only need to build your "long" runs up to about 16-18 miles, you'll be able to push out a marathon after getting to that level. You'll be very sore the next few days however, heh.

Good luck with the running, it's very addictive. I started about 8 years ago and have never been able to stop

[Stromgarde]

Yeah, like I said, they're old and really worn out, I haven't used that pair for years but I figure it might be useful to bring them to the specialty store if for nothing else than to establish wear patterns. Anyway, if I want to go for the half marathon by memorial day, what should my weekly schedule look like? M run 4mi > T bike 45min~1h, repeat until big run on Saturday? Or maybe reverse to do two days of running in addition to the big run on Saturday?

[Tyche]

I'd pick 3 days of the week to run, maybe four if you want to make one a VERY SLOW recovery jog. Don't run your long runs at your race goal pace. Run it about 45 seconds slower. If your goal is to run the half averaging 10 minute miles, do your long runs at 10:45. Don't jump in head first...If you're doing about 15 miles a week now, do maybe 17 next week. Gradually build it up, because if you get overyly ambitious, you're just going to hurt yourself. I'm absolutely serious, listen to this advice, it's vital. I don't give a shit if you just ran 15 miles this past week and felt like you could have done 25 miles and been fine. It's a mirage. Your body isn't going to adjust to a sharp increase no matter how good you think you feel. Gradual and slow increases. Your longest run (probably 2 weeks before the race) should probably be no longer than 10 or 11 miles. You don't have a lot of time. Make sure the week of the race, you take it very easy so that your legs aren't fried, very slow paces and add in a rest day. If you can complete a 10 mile run 2 weeks before the half, you'll be fine. Don't get race day jitters and blow your glycogen stores in the first 10k. Think of it as a nice easy 10 mile warmup followed by a 5k race. Finish strong and you'll feel a lot better in the following days.

[Stromgarde]

I think I'll use the exercise bike tomorrow and Thursday, do 4 miles Friday and then 8 on Saturday for this week, and see how I feel on Monday. As far as exercise bike/off days go, how long should I be on the bike for? Usually I try to aim for 9~10 miles in half an hour, should I just keep the pace and up the time?

[Tyche]

No need to focus on distance as much as cadence. Stay at around 90 rpm at a very low resistance. Pushing the heavy gears doesn't do you any favors on days you are trying to get in some recovery. Find a very comfortable and conversational resistance and just spin quickly for about 45 minutes. Keeping your cadence high is probably the most important aspect when spinning for a runner. It'll probably seem easy at first with the low resistance, but you'll be sweating by about 20 minutes deep.

[Talus]

One thing I really like for recovery (and just as a supplement to running in general) is yoga. I do hatha, and it's great for flexibility, balance, core strength, etc.

[Wintermute]

Out of sheer curiosity, do any of you guys doing long-distance runs ever mess up your knees? I always hear about joggers messing up their cartilage.

Or does the right pair of running shoes really absorb that much impact?

[Serif]

Out of sheer curiosity, do any of you guys doing long-distance runs ever mess up your knees? I always hear about joggers messing up their cartilage.

Or does the right pair of running shoes really absorb that much impact?

I have ran since I was a Junior in HS and played Basketball since I was 4.

I have hurt my knees more in Basketball more than I have in running.

That was a bad example, but if you run properly you shouldn't get injured. The only thing that sucks about being a marathon runner, 2-4 marathons a year. Your life expectancy drops to absolute shit usually.

Oh and a good rule about upping your run per week. Don't go over 10% but I usually say fuck that, once my muscles have become accustomed to running a certain bit doesn't take them that long to be able to do it again easily.