Cyclists with a "Running" Problem

[Lexx]

So i took an effort at the #mymile this weekend. Went for a little warm up and the heart rate was up quite a bit...I am guessing post comrades fatigue etc... Was feeling a bit nervous about the attempt but gave it a full go. By 1200m i could barely move my legs but persevered and managed to make it to the magical mile mark in 5:09....and literally collapsed on the floor! Was going for the sub 5..but hey..pretty happy with the effort.

 

Afterwards - went straight into head cold and allergies. Been sneezing non stop since then and the nose has been pouring...not for the faint hearted i say!

I think I will try it today. Did a slow 9km run on Saturday, but jeez, the legs felt heavy and slow.

[Hacc]

After reading the last couple of posts, I've decided to also aim for next year's down run.

Silly thing is I pulled my calve last weekend on a 10k run, and I could only start walking on it again on Friday

Welcome to the wonderful world of ultra running! Once you're in there is no turning back 

[Hacc]

My first year of Comrades (2014):

I started running in Jul 2013, but real training started in November ( that means 7 months of running...)  

I completed one 21km (2:14). Continued running in December, slowly building up the kms. Ran my first marathon in Jan 2014 (4:38) and in 2014 I ran my first Comrades. The key to finishing my first Comrades: Consistency!

I ran 21km+ every weekend from Jan to May. Average weekly kms were 60 to 70km per week. 

Like previous comments, take it easy to avoid injuries. I didn't put any time pressures on myself as Comrades is really far and I didn't know what to expect. 

[Stretch]

I think I will try it today. Did a slow 9km run on Saturday, but jeez, the legs felt heavy and slow.

 

ja everything felt heavy - think we discount the impact that comrades has on your body...so while we feel fine, we are actually still recovering

[Lexx]

ja everything felt heavy - think we discount the impact that comrades has on your body...so while we feel fine, we are actually still recovering

Excatly. And saturday nigh my wife and i went out to diner and we order a bottle of wine. Jeez after the second glass I was feeling lekker light headed. Ha ha. The perks of being fit lol

[Jackes]

Thanks

During which months did you run your PBs?

 

 

Not to sure, but we did not chase any PB's, not during last year, definately not this year.   Our only objective was to pace ourselves in such a manner to not get injured and to finish Omtom and Comrades, even if it was just 1 min inside cutoffs.    There was NO heroics in any of our training runs.  An injury (which you border on most of the time with the training km's), can derail everything, ask even Caroline.

 

The marathon was our first and only qualifying marathon in November last year and the 21 was end of January FWIW.

Edited June 19, 2017 by Jackes

[Jackes]

ja everything felt heavy - think we discount the impact that comrades has on your body...so while we feel fine, we are actually still recovering

 

Yup....

 

http://www.nedbankrunningclub.co.za/News/DisplayNewsItem.aspx?niid=1335

 

Perhaps one of the most frequently made mistakes by runners after the Comrades marathon is to get back on the road too soon. The post Comrades recovery is a slow and deliberate process and cannot be hurried.

However the damage that Comrades does to the body is deeper and more long lasting than many runners realize and recovery may not be complete.. A hard Comrades damages the legs but it also taxes the immune system severely. It drains the body of strength and leaves it weak and open to illness and sickness.

 

I believe in taking a decent two week break after the Comrades and then running gently and without any racing at all until the spring returns to my legs. This usually happens around the first week of July ( For a May Comrades) I return to proper training and racing in mid August.

[Stretch]

Yup....

 

http://www.nedbankrunningclub.co.za/News/DisplayNewsItem.aspx?niid=1335

 

Perhaps one of the most frequently made mistakes by runners after the Comrades marathon is to get back on the road too soon. The post Comrades recovery is a slow and deliberate process and cannot be hurried.

However the damage that Comrades does to the body is deeper and more long lasting than many runners realize and recovery may not be complete.. A hard Comrades damages the legs but it also taxes the immune system severely. It drains the body of strength and leaves it weak and open to illness and sickness.

 

I believe in taking a decent two week break after the Comrades and then running gently and without any racing at all until the spring returns to my legs. This usually happens around the first week of July ( For a May Comrades) I return to proper training and racing in mid August.

 

so no mile PB attempts 13 days after comrades then.....    

[Pulse]

Welcome to the wonderful world of ultra running! Once you're in there is no turning back 

Thanx Hacc

 

I've actually always been a runner (more than a cyclist, and absolutely cannot swim), but have taken a little break for the last 16 years - last Comrades was in 2001.

 

Hopefully I'll get back up there again soon

[Andrew Steer]

Lindsay Parry reckons three proper weeks off training... I'm going moggy though, going to go for a short easy trot later.

 

Carpet, 1 year is plenty enough time to build up for a Comrades... my wife just did her first having built up over a year, but from very little sporting background.

 

Most important thing though, build it up super slowly. You are really fit, so will feel fine out on the road, but trust me, the legs take months to get ready for the training load. You shouldn't really run more than 6km's (start at shorter distances even 3/4/5) in the first two months and I would say not more than 3 times a week too. Make sure you are recovering properly between each run. After those two months even then only up the mileage very slightly 1 or 2km's per run. You can though then start doing one slightly longer weekend run. Try stretch after every run... it's a pain in the bum, but it's a very necessary evil.

 

I would also suggest maybe visiting a Bio early on - cycling will have given you some rather large muscle imbalances - your quads will be stronger than your hamstrings, your glutes will likely be weak for running, you will have weak stabilizer muscles etc - getting an idea early on as to where you need work will make life a lot easier, and I am sure prevent some injuries. Injuries are the biggest hindrance to training and can cost you huge chunks of training time. Especially considering you have some worries heading in with your lower back.

 

Lots of good advice on here, lots of people who have gone through the steep learning curve of getting running. All the best, and welcome to the club 

[Jackes]

How was IM?

[Lexx]

This must surely be the busiest thread ha ha ha.

[Jurgens Smit]

...

Most important thing though, build it up super slowly. You are really fit, so will feel fine out on the road, but trust me, the legs take months to get ready for the training load. You shouldn't really run more than 6km's (start at shorter distances even 3/4/5) in the first two months and I would say not more than 3 times a week too. Make sure you are recovering properly between each run. After those two months even then only up the mileage very slightly 1 or 2km's per run. You can though then start doing one slightly longer weekend run. Try stretch after every run... it's a pain in the bum, but it's a very necessary evil.

 

 

 

This is the absolute best advice there is. Even after all of you guys told me to start slowly, I misjudged how ready I was and ran a 10k Trail race at a pace I wasn't ready for.

 

Had me down and out for about 3days.

 

Currently I'm doing 3 runs a week(along with my cycling training) of 1 hilly run / 1 run off the bike / 1 flat faster run.

 

Attempting my mile pb next week and my first longish training run this week.

[Jackes]

Dumb question, but I think I am over looking something.

 

My wife switched over from her Garmin FR15 to her new FR230.  Where our calories burned was always close to each other, she now is burning less than 2/3's of mine on the same run.  I checked that her personal info is correct, what else is there that determines this and makes such a difference now on the new watch?

 

Can it perhaps be the Max HR?   But as far as I know this is also generated by the garmin itself?

[Andrew Steer]

Dumb question, but I think I am over looking something.

 

My wife switched over from her Garmin FR15 to her new FR230.  Where our calories burned was always close to each other, she now is burning less than 2/3's of mine on the same run.  I checked that her personal info is correct, what else is there that determines this and makes such a difference now on the new watch?

 

Can it perhaps be the Max HR?   But as far as I know this is also generated by the garmin itself?

My wife burns way less calories than me on runs... way easier lugging around 57kg's than 87kgs 

Edited June 19, 2017 by Andrew Steer

[Stretch]

Dumb question, but I think I am over looking something.

 

My wife switched over from her Garmin FR15 to her new FR230. Where our calories burned was always close to each other, she now is burning less than 2/3's of mine on the same run. I checked that her personal info is correct, what else is there that determines this and makes such a difference now on the new watch?

 

Can it perhaps be the Max HR? But as far as I know this is also generated by the garmin itself?

I set up my zones.. I'm guessing that will impact on calories burned