Questions from last night...
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| Sun, 05-08-2005 - 11:36am |
I know there are a few runners here so maybe you all can help me....
Firstly, without being too gross, is it okay to spit at races? I generally run on a trail with my husband so I only have to worry about him. I did not spit last night but wasn't sure of the etiquette.
I am REALLY sore today. My knees are pretty tender. I usually run on a trail and the race was on city streets. Might that be why? I noticed that during mile 4 last night my back was starting to hurt and it's definitely sore today. Any tips to speed up recovery?
I preplanned today to be a rest day... is that a good idea for the future? My intent is to do full body weights tomorrow with some cardio intervals and do a short run on Tuesday. I'm wondering if I might need more rest time.
I felt kind of sick last night after the race was over. Granted, the post-race food was pizza and donuts... food that I love but doesn't fit into my generally very clean diet. I felt sick to my stomach and had a few... ummm... intenstinal problems and wondered if this is normal.
Last night was my first night running 5 miles. My long runs have generally been about 4 miles and usually by the end, I'm tired but could probably go further. Last night, it was so much harder. I'm thinking that it might have been because I usually run in the morning and this race didn't start until 8 p.m. (which is close to my usual bedtime!). I think my nutrition wasn't all that good either as by the time I hit mile 5, I could have EASILY just sat down. I had a veggie burger and strawberries about 2.5 hours before the race.
My head hurts today. I'm excited about having done my first race but the head is definitely feeling it.
I realize this is kind of long and if you got this far, thanks for reading it. I'm just trying to learn about my body for future races and training.

i think a lot of the answers to your questions is just "listen to your body" - definitely rest today and as long as you feel you need to recover. the thing about running and races is that you'll learn what works for you, what makes you feel better or worse. so maybe next time you'll need to do something different with your nutrition or whatever.
i don't know about spitting etiquette, i would think that as long as you don't hit anyone else, you do what you have to do. unless we are talking about something that could affect other people's race (which spitting obviously does not) i think racing is not the time for etiquette.
as for your stomach, it's not unusual for your stomach to be queasy after a very hard exertion - have you ever seen those people who cross the finish line at a marathon and start puking? did you eat the pizza and junky food? if so, it was probably too heavy for you post race. definitely make sure you cool down all the way before you eating anything, especially anything heavy.
as for your head hurting, you are probably dehydrated. drink some gatorade.
the difficulty could have been the pressure of the race, the different surface than you were used to, the course could have been hillier than you were used to, or it could have just been an off day for you. as you run more and race more, you'll get to know your body better.
also, you might want to start working on your form, now that you are running farther distances. it might not have mattered when you were running shorter distances on the trails, but now it may be catching up with you running farther on the road. beginner runners tend to have very inefficient and extra "poundy" form. we waste way too much energy and we pound our body with more impact than necessary. your best bet is probably to meet with a running coach for a session or two, but some general tips that i've picked up from running magazines is to focus on moving forward, not bouncing up and down. focus on hitting the ground with your heel and rolling all the way through to push off with your toe. all your energy and force is going into moving your legs forward and pushing off the ground, minimize any side to side movement and minimize arm movement. if you focus on your form, you will probably find yourself going faster for the same energy exertion and you will hit the ground softer. also, if you can multitask, focus on your breathing too, taking deep breaths from the belly - most runners breath in a 2-2 pattern while on hard runs or long races -> in on the left and right footstrike, out with the next left and right footstrike (or right then left it doesn't matter, the point is just breathe in for two footstrikes, out for two footstrikes). you can try it and see if it works for you.
for now, just be proud that you finished! yay you!
i went running last night and i thought of a couple more things. i paid attention to my breathing - i realized i was breathing at about 4-4 at the start and then most of the run at about 3-3. i only got to 2-2 when i was on a really hard hill or sprinting. that made me realize i probably need to push a bit harder throughout
Except for the salt (which I didn't eliminate completely) and caffeine, it's pretty much how you eat.
As a former racer, please do not spit unless you are 100% sure that nobody is behind you. Plus, you mess up your form and cadence when you spit. Save the juice for the run :)
Congrats on the first race!!!
Paula
I did pay attention to my breathing a few times last week but have no clue what it was like at the race except that it was labored.
I saw quite a few people doing a walk/run combo and they were going faster than me. You might have a point about it being quite effective... but I wanted to be able to finish the whole thing without walking, even if my time was slow. Now that that's out of the way, I am amenable to trying lots of things.
I don't know if you remember my training/tapering plan, but I was doing on longer run (to train for endurance) and two shorter runs (to train for speed). I'm going to continue with this plan, except to alternate the runs. One week I'll do two short and one long and the next week I'll do two long and one short. Also, the first two miles of my route are uphill so it's definitely not like I'm running on a flat surface.
Yep, I wore my trail runners because I was afraid to switch shoes so close to the race. We've got a specialty running store here in town and I may pay them a visit when I decide what I want to do next.
I was talking a gal at work today who's run marathons before and she was telling me that the latest theory is that people are most definitely morning or afternoon exercisers. I guess there was a study and certain people performed consistently better in the morning or the evening regardless of nutrition, rest and energy. I think I'm definitely a morning person.
Even if I did feel miserable afterwards, I definitely learned a few things for next time!
Oh, for the next race: New shoes before a race are a good thing! New shoes make you run faster ;)
Paula