re: ******OT Health & Fitness Thread******

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So, any running questions I'm happy to try to answer. In return I will certainly be asking weight lifting questions. I'm thinking of adding equipment and need some help.


Thanks for bringing your wisdom into this thread Runningdog. I am very glad you decided to say hi

I've taken the last week off due to being on the road and supervising crews in the field for 14-18 hrs a day. Have just been too sore and tuckered out to lace em up. This week I'm back to my home office and can start grinding again.

This is a common issue and to a degree leads to frustration with newish runners. I've found that you have to set aside a time each day to run. You, in essence, have to be selfish. For me it is 6:00 a.m. Otherwise, it is easy to skip a day here and there, which impacts your fitness.

I've been battling a hammy for a while now and understand how it can really impact your running. How many months before it completely heals? I have a buddy that was an athlete in college tell me it could take a year unless I stop running completely for a month or so (which I refuse to do)

Hamstring injuries are notoriously slow healing. Not only that, I've found they reoccur or are aggravated just when you think you are over them. Stretch, stretch and stretch. As the season warms, I've found getting a pool to do my post run stretching has served to reduce muscle soreness. As for taking time off, a tweaked hamstring is the cost of doing business. A hamstring that shuts you down with pain merits going to see a PT.

I'm currently hoping for a half marathon in the fall, I think I could grind out the distance now but I don't want to finish in the bottom of the pack

1/2s are a fun distance. Try a 15k first. You can easily run a 1/2 off of a bi weekly 9-10 mile long run. I like 1/2s because the distance is long enough that some true distance training and planning is required. But in racing a bunch of them I didn't get as "beat up" as I did marathoning. If you are looking for an early fall 1/2, the Philadelphia Distance Run is the classic 1/2 race we were all judged by. Great race, flat, fast, fun, scenic and fantastic crowds. I would make the 1/2 an event type race. Treat your significant other to a trip at the same time.

to your 40-50 miles a week, how many miles per run and how many off days between runs? Is it hilly where you are? What is your warm up? What is your cool down? Do you stretch any before or just after? What stretches do you do and which ones are best?

I don't do "off days" per se. I'm on maintenance right now. I run 6 miles per day with a long run of 9-12 miles on Saturday. My off days are days on which I back off the pace. My training bible for many years has been Jack Daniels book. I've had coaches who were HRM centric, but I'm not a heart rate training guy. I have 8 stretches I perform every day. I stretch after I run. As I said l like to get in the pool after I run. I walk for a mile or 1&1/2 after each run. I normally run the first mile about 45 seconds slower than the average pace for the entire run. This morning I ran 8 first mile with a 7:15 avg pace. Sunday's are an "off day" for me since I run long on Saturday. After I lift, I walk 3 to 3&1/2.

I almost got my first 100 mile month last month but fell a few miles short when I took a 6-7 day stretch off while traveling

I love to run when I'm traveling. Some of my favorite runs have been on road trips. For example, I was in Illinois one morning out running on a country road. The road had long slow hills. The morning was perfect. I ran by a couple of dairies. The corn fields were sublime. Just a great 10 miler!

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