Runners Thread

[gcanyon]

I promised my daughter I'd run the Los Angeles Marathon with her next year. She loves to run and only tolerates the erg.

I'm the exact opposite.

I ran my first 5K in over twenty years yesterday, and found out just how different running is from rowing. My legs are sore! The impact from running is a killer.

I had planned, and still do, to get most of my training in on the erg. But I'm going to have to see how a few more runs go before I know how much running I'll have to do in order to not beat myself to death running the marathon. I row almost daily, generally for 10K to an hour. I'm hoping I can get away with running once a week.

[johnnybike]

Ancho, superb run. Very close to breaking 40 on very little running is a true testament to your fitness and the benefit of cross-training

GC - the first few runs will be a killer, will hurt like hell and generally put you off. You have to just perseve and work through it. Believe me it would be a lot harder if you were not row fit.

Good luck and keep us informed as you work through the various milestones on your training path 10 miler, 15 miler and then maybe a longer run, say upto about 18 with a possible HM race in there somewhere as well.

[ancho]

Ancho, superb run. Very close to breaking 40 on very little running is a true testament to your fitness and the benefit of cross-training
...

Thanks, John. Today my legs are hurting quite a bit...

GC:
I have run my first marathon last november.
I did it doing 2 increasingly longer runs per week, starting at about 2*10k in september, and finishing at abot 2*18k beginning of november, and keeping the rest of my "normal" rowing schedule.
If I remember well, I did 2 >20k runs, 1 10k race end of september and 1 HM 3 weeks before the marathon.
Regarding your erg workouts, you should be quite fit, so you don't have to care much about the cardio preparation, but you must get your legs used to the long distance stuff. As you have enough time to prepare yourself, you should be able to get through it.
Take special care choosing your running shoes (have 2 pairs "ready") and socks, and take care of your feet and knees.
Just for the record: How old are you? What was your previus running background (20 years ago¡!)? If you were used and liked to run, it will be easier.

If you want more details about my marathon preparation, feel free to PM me.

[gcanyon]

GC:
Just for the record: How old are you? What was your previus running background (20 years ago¡!)? If you were used and liked to run, it will be easier.

If you want more details about my marathon preparation, feel free to PM me.

42 years old. I used to run to school (1 mile) every day, because I was late

I also used to jog a bit, up to maybe two or three miles. After that I bicycled quite a bit until I was 25, but gave up running in any way by the time I was 20.

My only goal running a marathon would be to complete (although under 4 hours sounds nice).

So I would be likely to do the minimum running I could get away with. If I run a few 5k successfully over the next few weeks, I'll likely try ten miles or so. If that works, I'll probably go back to a 5k every week or so, and just row. I might do 12 miles once or twice a month before the marathon, just to make sure.

My only real goal in running is to make sure my legs can take the pounding.

[RowtheRockies]

Even though I re-started this thread on the new site I have not been very visible on it. The reason: Because I have been planning on doing a race on 30th April (3 Peaks) for about 9 months and I have not run for 4 weeks due to a foot injury. So I have been a bit down and not wanted to consider running.

However I ran 6 miles on Saturday with no problems, bar a bit of stiffness and I am now considering if I can get myself ready in 3 weeks. Luckily it is the Easter break next weekend and I know I am going to have to fit in a 17 miler (off-road) to have any chance of being fit enough. There is a chance that my foot will become sore again and stop me racing but better that than to start off with no decent miles in my legs.

The thing that gets me coming back is the pure enjoyment of running and I felt just that last Saturday. Rowing never gives me that feeling even though I do enjoy it.

Johnnybike,

That's a bummer about your injury. But do not despair to much. I had a similar experience last year where I had trained solidly for the Pikes Peak Ascent for 6 months but was side lined for 10 days of no running just three weeks before the race when I threw my back out. I was in a real funk about it but did some intense physical therapy and was able to start running again one week before the event.

My wife convinced me to just do the race low key, no watch, no HR monitor and just run for fun. It turned out to be the best advice. Without the watch and HR monitor I had nothing to obsess about and just ran how I felt. My time was only 1 minute slower than my previous slowest time so I was happy.

Bottom line is if you have been training for 9 months all is not lost. Don't set your expectations to high and just run for fun. You will be even better off if you have been rowing over the 4 week down time. I actually am glad I injured my back as it is how I discovered rowing!

Good Luck!

[andyArvid]

My brother and I finished the Zurich Marathon yesterday in 4:03:48.
You can see the results here look for Peterson Andrew and Peterson Timothy. Or you can go directly to Brazilian results where I am both in first and last place.

Before the race my brother and I dropped the 3:30 goal. He had not prepared sufficiently for a 3:30. We settled on a goal of 3:45-3:50 as his best was 3:56. The weather was cold (8°C, 46°F) and rainy (light rain or drizzle).

The first 20 km went well. Basically a fairly steady 5:10 pace slowing down for water stops. My brother passed through the half marathon under 1:50. I was a minute behind since I took a potty break at 20 km. When I caught my brother at 23km he had slowed down a bit but not much maybe 5:20 pace. Unfortunately, my brother stopped at the 26 km water stop and his knee tightened up on him. He had trouble starting running again and we walked for about a kilometer. Finally his knee loosened up and we started running again and we did not stop again till the finish line. Now we were just trying to finish. We slowed down to about 6:00 /km and finally at the end to 6:30/km.

For those in Europe, Zurich is a nice flat marathon, well run and organized. Not too many people (under 8000). We were able to run once we passed the starting line. It must be a beautiful run but all I saw was rain and clouds. Most of the race was along the lake but visibility was poor. My only complaints where that the kilometer signs were small and the finish area was badly planned especially for wet weather. To get to the dry tent you needed to go up and over an overpass. It took my brother 10 minutes to walk down the steps with his knee hurting.

[johnnybike]

RTR - thanks a lot. Very sensible post and really a plan I was thinking about anyway. I do want to do the race but there are a couple of aggressive cut-offs that normally would not bother me but I do need to factor them in , just in case.

Andy, good run, always good to finish and it sounded like you had to ease off for your brother. Running at someone else's pace is always harder.

John

[ancho]

My brother and I finished the Zurich Marathon yesterday in 4:03:48.
...
Or you can go directly to Brazilian results where I am both in first and last place.
...

Andy: Congrats on your marathon, how are your feet/legs doing today?
Hope your brother recovers well, but one question:
If you raced with your brother, why are you the first and last Brazilian? Was your brother in the middle??

[andyArvid]

My brother and I finished the Zurich Marathon yesterday in 4:03:48.
...
Or you can go directly to Brazilian results where I am both in first and last place.
...

Andy: Congrats on your marathon, how are your feet/legs doing today?
Hope your brother recovers well, but one question:
If you raced with your brother, why are you the first and last Brazilian? Was your brother in the middle??

Well, I am american not brazilian but the list is based upon where you live. I live in Brazil , my brother in England. Technically I was the only brazilian resident in the race.

My legs are fine, still a little sore and I have a slight strain in the right calf. Thankfully no blisters, no chafing. I ran for 20 minutes both yesterday and today. I wish I was home, erging would make the recovery go faster.

[Krysta Coleman]

Hey, I have a question for you runner/ergers... I want to start running as cross-training for my erging, and also because a road relay team has asked me to be a back-up for them. I have become pretty addicted to the nice numbers and feedback you constantly get on the PM3 whilst erging so I was thinking of getting one of those GPS watches that tell you pace, distance, etc for running.

Anyone tried one of these? Any recommendations before I make the big purchase? I am looking at a Garmin Forerunner 305, because I want HR data too.

Thanks,

- Krysta

[johnnybike]

PM SteveG on the UK forum, he has just bought one and he knows a bit about running.

HarryB has a 201 and swears by that. If you have a HRM already don't you want to get a 201 or whatever the latest number is?

John

[Yukon John]

Hey Krysta,
Timex also has a pretty good system. http://www.timex.ca/en/bodylink/

I wouldn't mind getting it myself, especially since my last watch broke recently (I can't believe the hammer missed the nail by that much .) Let us know what you get and how you like it! John.

[Godfried]

... especially since my last watch broke recently ...

They don't make things as good as they used to make them in the old days.

[Francois]

Hi Krysta,

I have the Forerunner 201. The major problem I have found is the loss of signal when running under tree shaded areas (which are nice during the hot summer!). It seems that the 305 (and 205) have higher sensitivity, but I remain skeptical. If I were to make such a purchase again, I would get the polar S625x since it doesn't depend on satellites but uses an accelerometer which is quite accurate once calibrated.

Whatever you buy, keep us informed on how you like it!

Cheers!

Francois

[whp4]

Hey, I have a question for you runner/ergers... I want to start running as cross-training for my erging, and also because a road relay team has asked me to be a back-up for them. I have become pretty addicted to the nice numbers and feedback you constantly get on the PM3 whilst erging so I was thinking of getting one of those GPS watches that tell you pace, distance, etc for running.

Anyone tried one of these? Any recommendations before I make the big purchase? I am looking at a Garmin Forerunner 305, because I want HR data too.

Thanks,

- Krysta

I've got a Forerunner 205, had it for about 2 weeks now, I think. My reaction to it is like my reaction to RowPro - better than nothing, frustrating typical PC software with plenty of bugs and a crummy user interface, and using it for a while makes one realize how much better it could have been

The 305 vs. 205 issue is one I wrestled with a bit. I think I have a fairly good feel for what my HR is at a given exertion level from spending all the time on the rower with the HR monitor. The 305 also offers a cadence monitor option if you're interested in using it on the bike. I didn't feel that I would find them sufficiently useful to justify the extra money, and my preferred source didn't sell the 305, so I went with the 205. The two products share a common manual, so I can describe what you get for your extra USD 100 or so.

Heart Rate (bpm) - probably a running average like on the PM3
Heart Rate - Avg - average heart rate for the duration of the current run
Heart Rate - Lap - average heart rate for the duration of the current lap
Heart Rate Zone - current heart rate zone (1-5), default zones based on your max HR and user profile. You can set these manually if you like.

also Cadence values analogous to the first 3 HR stats (no zones).

You can set alarms to signal if your HR exceeds or drops below either specific targets or one of the zones mentioned above. On the bike, you can do the same with cadence.

I'm a little unsure as to the exact functionality provided in the Training Center program (PC) if you have the HR model. My guess is that you can probably graph your HR alongside speed, pace, grade and elevation, as the 205 lets you do speed, pace, grade and elevation. I'll try to jigger up the appropriate XML to test this out. Or maybe I'll row

For the multi-sport athletes in the crowd, both the 205 and 305 have support for different profiles for different sports, switching automatically between sports profiles, etc. It looks like you can have it track you all the way through a triathlon, for example, and you'll have the data split up appropriately, for those who ride and run faster than they swim

Things I've found annoying include, but are not limited to:

1) easy to get one day's data commingled with the next, though not impossible to fix
2) while you can zoom in and out on the map display, you can't pan around
3) if following a course, it seems like the map display changes scale, perhaps to try to fit more of the course on the display, and rarely picks the setting that I want.
4) doesn't directly support GPX format files, making it more difficult to exchange tracks, etc. with things like Google Pedometer, etc.
5) side buttons are a little awkward to push while in motion, though the ones on the front which cause more grief if pushed by accident are easy to push (starting a new lap or stopping the timer)

Bill