MFP Runner's Club

Thanks for all the advice about recovery. I do a lot of stretching, I take a nap, and I do the feet up on the wall thing too. Today I did an hour of treading water. My neighbor is a track coach, and he said that it helps runners to get their legs back. It really did help!

Another great tip! So much wonderful information! You guys are amazing.:flowerforyou:

I have not tried the pool yet but a couple of my neighbors who are regular marathoners swear by the pool. One of them is not a "swimmer" so she uses a kick board to kick up and down the pool for 20-30 minutes.

Oh yeah, swimming is great too!! When I go to the Y to run, I use the treadmill and then swim. REALLY helps a lot w/ recovery!! :bigsmile:

Got in 8 miles today really early this morning! Felt great to be able to do so well by myself. I def find it really easy to run with the group so I was proud of myself for running the whole time. It is such a pleasure to run in the morning: beautiful scenery, nice light, friendly awake people not in a rush! Def enjoyed it!

Hi guys, I've been lurking but haven't done much posting lately.
I'll catch you up to date on me, you know I had the week before last when I went to the dr so I took it light and last week got back out to run. I ran 4 miles Monday (sore and stiff), ran 5 miles Weds at the track and felt better and then On Thursday I ran 6 miles and felt really, really good. So, I took Friday off to prepare for a longer run on Saturday and I ran 10 miles.

I started having a little foot pain around mile 3 but I ran through it and felt pretty good the rest of the run but as the day went on yesterday by Sat. night, it was hard to walk on my right foot. I should have taken an Ibuprofen or something and that probably would have helped. I had a small amount of swelling, so I alternated ice and heat and it feels SO much better today. I did just get a new pair of running shoes and it was first run in them so that could have something to do with it too. The pain is hard to describe because I know what Plantar fasciitis pain feels like but this is sore to the touch on the side of my foot down low below the ankle. I honestly have just been having a mental battle with myself because I get so depressed when I hurt, and every pain I wonder- "is this normal, is this serious, can I run through it, will I make it worse?" does anyone else do this? then you know what I do, which is NOT something I would advise, i get to a point like last night while I was in pain and threw myself a pity party worrying that I couldn't train like I want to, that I started eating and eating and eating. And of course I woke up this morning feeling horrible about that! Ok, I'm sorry for the long post, I plan on running an easy 4 miles in the morning. I feel so much better when I run and it doesn't hurt, it's when I hurt and can barely walk that depression sets in...
So, my question is how sore are you guys normally after a long run? do you sometime have trouble walking, or are stiff? Thank you for all the tips, I'm going to be using them!!

Kechie- you are awesome and such a wonderful experienced runner that we are lucky to have on here!
Guster girl- Congratulations on meeting your fundraising goal and thank you so much for all the advice on how to raise some $$$
Christine- I am glad that you weren't hurt too badly, I love dogs but am terrified of running into a pack of big dogs and being bitten
Thalli- WOOHOO 18.5 miles, girl you are right there!!! Awesome, awesome
Raymond- always nice to see you posting on here and thank you for all the good advice you give us
Becky and Kelynn- I hope that you both are feeling good and congratulations on getting your runs in
And to Leash- I love reading your positive posts, you always inspire and motivate me to keep trucking along!!
And to everyone else- Happy Running :flowerforyou: I love hearing what you are all up to!

good morning, I had a really good 4 mile run this morning so I am feeling better!! Hopefully my foot will stay pain-free and then I will really feel good. Happy Running :flowerforyou:

Good morning -- it's Monday -- blah!:grumble:

Got in 12 miles yesterday -- but they were the hardest 12 miles ever! It was 87 degrees and humid! I did take a water bottle this time and hid it -- which would have been helpful if I hadn't guzzled the whole bottle -- which ended up giving me cramps. I also missed the window on eating -- so I went out running at 4:30pm after drinking one protein shake all day. (no wonder I was dragging!) I hope to one day get this eating/hydrating thing down....I have a dream!

Thanks for all the posts about recovering after a long run. I have no good advice -- we end up going for a Slurpee after we run. Then it's home to shower and stretch. Sometimes I can stomach food -- but mostly I just have a very light snack. We get home around 8pm so it's not long after I return that I'm heading to bed. I really need to get in a good routine that will help my muscles recover. When I run in the mornings, I make a protein shake smoothie with a banana. Yummmm -- and I can definitely tell a difference in my recovery.

WW -- hope you continue to feel better! I am so nervous I will get hurt before my race -- I'm anxious and obsessive about any little pain....so I know all about the pity party -- i have thrown them for myself too! Just keep on taking care of yoursel!
Gustergirl -- great job on the solo 8 miles!
Laine -- keep it up and it will get easier. And I'm not sure what I love about running. I think it's the after effects more so than the actual running. I enjoy my long runs with my friend where we talk about everything (and occassionally solve a world problem or two :laugh: )

Enjoy your day!:flowerforyou:

I hate running by scary dogs! I'm glad you weren't hurt!

Today I ran 18.5 miles (my most ever!) The marathon training is getting tough! My legs are really tired and sore now. Hopefully they'll feel better soon.

18.5 miles!!! <jumping up and down> GO GO GO :drinker:

Let's all share some post "long" run recovery tips.

After my "long" run I lay down on the floor and put my heels on the wall. According to Runner's World, this keeps all of the blood from rushing to your legs after you finish a long run.

What do you do after a "long" run to start recovery?

Bear in mind that I've only done one full marathon - but any run over 12 miles I head straight to an ice bath. For me that means one small bag of ice in a cold tub of water. Then I would sit in the water for around 15-20 minutes. In the tub I would drink my post workout drink of choice - for me that means a blueberry smoothie. A lot of runner's swear by ice baths - it really does stop any inflammation before it has a chance to set in. Despite soreness on long run day - I always felt 100% by the next morning.

No running for me today. I am gonna take the week off from running. I think I over did it 2 weeks ago and just want to get back to pain free running. I think I won't be able to do the McGuire mudrun at the end of Sept either. I will have to find a worthy runner to take my spot on my team. Really bummed about that.:frown:

Everyone who is running. Have a great run. and to everyone that is not running due to injuries, get better soon! :drinker:

I hate running by scary dogs! I'm glad you weren't hurt!

Today I ran 18.5 miles (my most ever!) The marathon training is getting tough! My legs are really tired and sore now. Hopefully they'll feel better soon.

18.5 miles!!! <jumping up and down> GO GO GO :drinker:

Let's all share some post "long" run recovery tips.

After my "long" run I lay down on the floor and put my heels on the wall. According to Runner's World, this keeps all of the blood from rushing to your legs after you finish a long run.

What do you do after a "long" run to start recovery?

Bear in mind that I've only done one full marathon - but any run over 12 miles I head straight to an ice bath. For me that means one small bag of ice in a cold tub of water. Then I would sit in the water for around 15-20 minutes. In the tub I would drink my post workout drink of choice - for me that means a blueberry smoothie. A lot of runner's swear by ice baths - it really does stop any inflammation before it has a chance to set in. Despite soreness on long run day - I always felt 100% by the next morning.

I like the idea of an ice bath. I may start using it when I start doing longer runs. It would definitely help with the shin splints/tendonitis.

A little under 3 for me today.

I may not be a long runner yet but I find that putting my feet in ice after longer runs is instant relief and keeps my feet from feeling so tired later in the day.

If you can't stand an ice bath, I would suggest taking a hot shower and then gradually reducing the temp of the water until it is cold...plus it's good for the skin so bonus

WW- glad to hear you're up and running again- awesome job!

I just love seeing the discussions on here- I learn so much about topics that I never even knew I needed to know about :laugh: :noway:

Since I'm newer to running, maybe you could give me some pointers about my "eating window". I am on week 8 of couch to 5k and this past week was the first time I really started to feel like I was dragging big time on my runs (about 2.25 miles at this point). I eat lunch at 1:00 (usually fruit, yogurt, a salad, maybe a granola bar- about 350 calories) and then I have a snack (usually soy crisps) at about 3:00/3:15. At about 5:00 I have half of a protein bar (100 calories) and then by 6:00 I'm out running... dragging lately :ohwell: It has been warm and humid, but I really just feel blah when I'm running.

Last Monday was the hottest, most humid day of the summer, and I went out and did my run fine. But, I also didn't get my afternoon snack in that day (that was the day we had a squirrel get into our apartment and I was in the hallway for hours, and then had to clean up the whole apartment, change quickly, and head out for a run- I was wiped and thought I would do horrible, especially given the weather, but I felt the best that day out of any:noway: Could skipping the afternoon snack have had a positive effect on my running?:huh: ). I know there's no magical answer, but you all are more experienced than me, so I'm wondering if anything stands out to you as something I'm doing wrong, or should try doing differently?