Do you run?

I'm a hack when it comes to running, but enjoy it. Fell out of it for a while, but now slowly working back into it. Would love one day to run a mountain race. Got up to 5K barefoot a few years ago, but my feet are pretty soft these days. Enjoying it again for the paybacks other than the physical.

Do you run?

I was running 5k 3x per week before I broke my ankle in December. I'm hoping to get back into it but it's taking forever to heal. I tried to run last week but all my tendons around that ankle still hurt and it was a disaster.

I ran XC and track in high school and loved it. My genetics don't allow it today. My ortho would put a contract out if I did. With a new hip and knee in the last three years plus some other knife work, he says boat yoga plus walking 2-6 miles a day is enough. Glad you can do stil do it.

Yes and no. We play basketball and tennis, we walk miles and miles, and when other exercise isn't available we use the treadmill. However, we don't jog on streets or do mountain races. Two reasons. One is cars win over runners like rocks do over scissors. The other is knees and ankles. Pavement and hard surface is just too rough on them for me to do that much running.

I used to run. I can't now. I might be able to run again if I had a meniscus tear repaired on my left knee. I already did it on my right knee but it still is far from 100%.

Not being able to run is one of the very few regrets of my life. I started running again in my 30's and ran a lot into my 40's. I really enjoyed racing.

I was pretty much a mid-pack runner. I could place in my age group if the fast folks didn't show up. The times I recall were best 10k of about 39:00, Half Marathon around 1:30:00 and my best Marathon was 3:14:10. I was training to break 3 hours in the marathon when a hamstring injury sidelined me. In my mid 40s, I never recovered fully and never regained that level fitness again.

I did run on 50k trail race. I enjoyed it. It is much different than road racing.

Take it easy as you start to run again. Patience in training is super important and not something I was terribly good at.

If I am late for the apero and know my rose wine will warm, I think I would run. Except for this dramatic situation no way I would run. I am in favor of a slow life

L.

I'm genetically not built to run. Have chicken legs and the accompanying smaller joints. Was an avid soccer player in my teens on softer turf. So I walk and ride a bike usually an hour a day, unless boating. Also do a fair amount of swimming with fins (scuba diving). No joint problems so far, like to keep it that way.

Ted

Used to be lightweight jogger. Now I'm a hardass walker when we aren't up north in the boat. My back and joints thank me in my advanced years. I do remember the endorfins, though.

Ran almost every day for 35+ years. One knee replaced the other operated on. Not recommended I run now. When I commented to my orthopedic surgeon that running had ruined my knees his response was that I should walk through the cemetery and complain about my knees to my friends who hadn't make it to 70 years of age.

Greetings,
Only when I eat at Taco Bell...

I ran at least 5miles 3x a week but that was many years ago. Too many years of softball wreaked havoc on my feet, ankles, knees, etc.


Now I run from running.

Sounds like we should get together on the Cajun Rose to convalesce and do rehab laps.

I lost a decade to plantar fasciitis brought on by standing in one place at work all day then coming home to stand in the darkroom for another 4 to 8 hours. It got so bad I had to kneel in the gravel to push our daughter on a swing at the playground. That was over 10 years ago.

Found a Chiropractor who did Active Release Technique, which simply put, breaks up scar tissue in muscles and tendons while those muscles and tendons are moved through their full range of motion. Hurt like the dickens, but he gave me my life back in 5 sessions over 2 weeks.

All the health care workers where I live told me I'd never walk without orthotics again, but I was running 5K barefoot within a couple years of getting my feet worked on.

As a letter carrier with 550 houses on my route I walk up to 10 miles a day, 5 days a week, so my background level of fitness is pretty good. The hard part is easing into running as Dave suggested so injuries don't keep me from walking my route.

Thankfully, genetics seem to be on my side, so far...

I run 3 to 5 miles per day depending on how I feel. I have other problems that the running keeps at bay.

I run, although not so often anymore. I used to do marathons when I was young. Not with competitive times but just to finish. I have one running speed; it's the same for 50 metres or 50 kilometres.

AusCan said:

... Not with competitive times but just to finish. I have one running speed; it's the same for 50 metres or 50 kilometres.

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When I dare to dream, that's pretty much what I aspire to...

Little bits of what I've read or seen in documentaries about human evolution make me think only some of us are really meant to be runners.

Apparently there's a portion of mammals brains concerned with cohesive group size, and ours is large. When compared to other animals with known group sizes and extrapolating out for our brain, it's guesstimated our average group size before agriculture was about 150 people. In a group that size people could specialize according to their physical or cognitive abilities.

I saw a documentary about Kalahari Bushmen who still practiced Persistence Hunting, where 4 or 5 of them would keep a large antelope on the move for hours during the blistering midday African heat. The Bushmen could sweat and breath as necessary when they ran. The antelope couldn't sweat and couldn't pant heavily when it ran because its breathing was locked into its running gait when going fast.

For the last push, one Bushman who was the runner in the group took off alone to pursue the antelope until it was basically dead on its feet. The Bushman just walked up to it and plunged a spear in its side.

It's a gift to have the body and ability to run well.

MurrayM said:

Apparently there's a portion of mammals brains concerned with cohesive group size, and ours is large. When compared to other animals with known group sizes and extrapolating out for our brain, it's guesstimated our average group size before agriculture was about 150 people.

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Memory is slipping...it was primates brains; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunbar's_number

MurrayM said:

I saw a documentary about Kalahari Bushmen who still practiced Persistence Hunting, where 4 or 5 of them would keep a large antelope on the move for hours during the blistering midday African heat. The Bushmen could sweat and breath as necessary when they ran. The antelope couldn't sweat and couldn't pant heavily when it ran because its breathing was locked into its running gait when going fast.

For the last push, one Bushman who was the runner in the group took off alone to pursue the antelope until it was basically dead on its feet. The Bushman just walked up to it and plunged a spear in its side.

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I sort of do that same thing. I'll push the grocery cart around and around the supermarket till my dinner can no longer escape from me.....

Ted

I don't run, but I do row a sliding seat boat I built years ago.

It works me head to toe without impacting my joints, they still seem to work good, haven't taken any of them in for a lube job or ball joint r & r. And it gets me on the water, a good thing all its own.

I get to sit down for a good workout and see where I have been!

And +1 for chiropractic therapies, they saved my mobility without surgery after damaging my spine.

cardude01 said:

I was running 5k 3x per week before I broke my ankle in December. I'm hoping to get back into it but it's taking forever to heal. I tried to run last week but all my tendons around that ankle still hurt and it was a disaster.

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I broke my ankle in December also Cardude01. Did mine snow boarding. How about you? I had surgery where they put in a plate with 6 screws so now when people say I might have a screw lose, I assume they are referring to one of those. I started back running in April and it hasn't been to bad but I have not gotten back to 5 or 10 K's yet.

My ankle hurts a little most of the time but it's more annoying than anything else.

Hope you continue to heal and are able to get back to running soon.

Our daughter broke her ankle last year and recently ran a 10k, but then again, she's 15 and heals up quicker than us old timers!

I got tackled and someone stomped on my ankle. Long story.
My break was not as bad as yours. I actually broke a leg bone right above the ankle. The doc said it is the healing of all the tendons that's causing me problems.

It's getting better, just taking way longer than I figured.

cardude01 said:

I got tackled and someone stomped on my ankle. Long story.
My break was not as bad as yours. I actually broke a leg bone right above the ankle. The doc said it is the healing of all the tendons that's causing me problems.

It's getting better, just taking way longer than I figured.

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My doc said it will be about a year before I am normal again.

NEVER in almost 75 years.

I was talking to an old family friend last weekend-- he's a 76 year old French Canadian MD who has always been full of energy.

He said I was still looking fairly fit (we haven't seen each other in a few years) and I said I had been running/jogging 3x per week before I broke my leg but haven't been lately because of the pain. He looked at my leg and ankle, then said I was just whining and I should just get out there and run through the pain. [emoji30]

So that's what I've done the past few runs. It hurts for a little while when I start up, and hurts afterwards for a few hours, but I'm taking Alieve and just ignoring it now.

cardude01 said:

...He looked at my leg and ankle, then said I was just whining and I should just get out there and run through the pain. [emoji30]...

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At some point he's probably right, in that sometimes you have to provoke change, but you'll have to be hyper vigilant not to over do it!!!

MurrayM said:

At some point he's probably right, in that sometimes you have to provoke change, but you'll have to be hyper vigilant not to over do it!!!

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As a former runner (the key being "former" due to injuries) I agree with Murray. Take it easy, build slowly.

Two important suggestions. The first is to be able to differentiate between the pain that signals that you are doing damage, vs the normal muscular pain. I wasn't terribly good that that as I let my goal setting get in the way of common sense.

Second important suggestion is to not increase your base mileage too much, too fast. If you have heard of the "10% rule", ignore it. Instead, start with no more than 15-20 minutes several days/week. If that means you are only running 2 miles at a time, that is OK. Keep doing the same mileage for 3 weeks at a time. Then you can add some distance and again keep that for 3 weeks. Increase slowly but never add more to your weekly mileage than 1 mile for each days/week that you run. So if you run 3 days/week, never add more than 3 miles to your weekly mileage and hold it there for 3 weeks.

Take it easy on the NSAIDs. If you are taking it for pain, reconsider. If you are taking it to reduced inflammation, you likely aren't taking enough. Check with your doc.

Good luck!

dhays said:

As a former runner (the key being "former" due to injuries) I agree with Murray. Take it easy, build slowly.

Two important suggestions. The first is to be able to differentiate between the pain that signals that you are doing damage, vs the normal muscular pain. I wasn't terribly good that that as I let my goal setting get in the way of common sense.

Second important suggestion is to not increase your base mileage too much, too fast. If you have heard of the "10% rule", ignore it. Instead, start with no more than 15-20 minutes several days/week. If that means you are only running 2 miles at a time, that is OK. Keep doing the same mileage for 3 weeks at a time. Then you can add some distance and again keep that for 3 weeks. Increase slowly but never add more to your weekly mileage than 1 mile for each days/week that you run. So if you run 3 days/week, never add more than 3 miles to your weekly mileage and hold it there for 3 weeks.

Take it easy on the NSAIDs. If you are taking it for pain, reconsider. If you are taking it to reduced inflammation, you likely aren't taking enough. Check with your doc.

Good luck!

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Thanks for the advice. I'm taking it slowly for sure-- this week I alternated walking and jogging. I'm not much of a runner like you and Murray and others. It's more of a jog, and even when I was "in shape" I would only go about 3-4 miles at a time.

What's better for pain? I do have some swelling also.

cardude01 said:

Thanks for the advice. I'm taking it slowly for sure-- this week I alternated walking and jogging. I'm not much of a runner like you and Murray and others. It's more of a jog, and even when I was "in shape" I would only go about 3-4 miles at a time.

What's better for pain? I do have some swelling also.

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Check with your Doc as the NSAIDs can be rough on your organs. However, in general the effective dosage of ibuprofen or naproxen for inflammation is about 2x the effective dose for pain. In other words, increasing the amount of medication won't help more with pain, but taking twice the recommended OTC dose for pain is normally the effective dose for inflammation. The problem is that taking that much is hard on the body if done long term. I admit to having done it when recovering from various injuries, but I'm not terribly bright.

The safest treatment is RICE, Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation. After a run, use ice for 10-15 minutes on the areas that are painful or inflamed. Not only is it effective, it is safe.

[emoji106][emoji106][emoji106]

dhays said:

The safest treatment is RICE, Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation. After a run, use ice for 10-15 minutes on the areas that are painful or inflamed. Not only is it effective, it is safe.

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A big bag of frozen peas (kept just for this purpose) is great for conforming to curvy body parts

To be clear...I am not even close to what one would call a natural born runner!!!!