Coming back to running (hopefully!)

A comfortable place for anyone and everyone to talk about running

danziggirl
Tom Longboat
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Location: Courtice Ontario

Coming back to running (hopefully!)

Postby danziggirl » Fri Sep 06, 2013 10:11 am

Hi everyone! Had a long (but not planned) rest from running. I have found it really hard. I seemed to have lost my love of it - but I think it's coming back now. As I am getting older have decided to try running Sat/Sun/Tues/Thursday only so I have 3 days a week off. Running 5km 3 times a week and a longer one over the weekend. Am only up to 7km last weekend but to me that felt amazing! This weekend will try for 8km. (Can't believe I used to run marathons!).
Pauline

Boston 2008
10 km 2008 48.39
Scotiabank Marathon 2009 3.56.32 PB + BQ
Half Marathon 2007 1.50.00
5 km 2005 23.42
Around the Bay 2008 2.49.22

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booboo
Percy Williams
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Location: yyc

Re: Coming back to running (hopefully!)

Postby booboo » Fri Sep 06, 2013 11:21 am

I'm in this boat too.

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Nicholas
Site Admin
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Re: Coming back to running (hopefully!)

Postby Nicholas » Fri Sep 06, 2013 11:27 am

booboo wrote:I'm in this boat too.

Does that make it a Canoe? Good to see...keep posting.
Nicholas

Events in 2018
Walking, Yoga, Soccer scrimmages and whatever else I can do
Hip replacement on September 10....now doing a variation of the None to Run plan

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Jo-Jo
Kevin Sullivan
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Re: Coming back to running (hopefully!)

Postby Jo-Jo » Fri Sep 06, 2013 8:15 pm

Yep...in this boat too.
At this rate...we won't need a canoe...we'll need a ship :lol: :lol: :wink:
Technophobe Extraordinaire
"Princess" J0-JO...The Awesome Running Machine.
"a precious, unique and quirky individual"...definition given by a Toronto Cop
An Ever Loyal and Devoted Official Doonst Fan.
"In the midst of winter, I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer" -Albert Camus
"Keep Going. Never Give Up." Spencer

danziggirl
Tom Longboat
Posts: 216
Joined: Fri Feb 20, 2009 5:58 pm
Location: Courtice Ontario

Re: Coming back to running (hopefully!)

Postby danziggirl » Fri Sep 06, 2013 9:24 pm

Nice to know I'm not the only one!
Pauline

Boston 2008
10 km 2008 48.39
Scotiabank Marathon 2009 3.56.32 PB + BQ
Half Marathon 2007 1.50.00
5 km 2005 23.42
Around the Bay 2008 2.49.22

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Jwolf
Kevin Sullivan
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Joined: Fri Jul 29, 2005 10:02 pm
Location: Vancouver

Re: Coming back to running (hopefully!)

Postby Jwolf » Fri Sep 06, 2013 9:46 pm

Welcome back!
Support me in my fundraising for the Boston Marathon, Boston Public Library team:
https://www.crowdrise.com/o/en/campaign ... iferwolf11

runfbrun
Tom Longboat
Posts: 499
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Re: Coming back to running (hopefully!)

Postby runfbrun » Mon Sep 09, 2013 2:07 pm

I WAS in this boat in January. Was a struggle running 3k, and I couldnt believe I had done 10k races before. FWIW, it is amazing how quickly the body adapts. Stick with it! :)

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Robinandamelia
Jerome Drayton
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Location: Bradford, Ontario
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Re: Coming back to running (hopefully!)

Postby Robinandamelia » Mon Sep 09, 2013 2:20 pm

Welcome back!!

danziggirl
Tom Longboat
Posts: 216
Joined: Fri Feb 20, 2009 5:58 pm
Location: Courtice Ontario

Re: Coming back to running (hopefully!)

Postby danziggirl » Mon Sep 09, 2013 2:36 pm

Thanks for your support everyone! And it certainly helps to know I am not the only one who has had this problem.
Pauline

Boston 2008
10 km 2008 48.39
Scotiabank Marathon 2009 3.56.32 PB + BQ
Half Marathon 2007 1.50.00
5 km 2005 23.42
Around the Bay 2008 2.49.22

Dstew
Bill Crothers
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Re: Coming back to running (hopefully!)

Postby Dstew » Mon Sep 09, 2013 11:36 pm

After two Boston marathons and twice winning my age group in the Sports series in the 5 Peaks Race series I eventually had to stop running or even jogging for a year due to a number of chronic injuries and accumulated damage. How hard could it be to come back. An easy half marathon in the spring of 2012, a hard 5 k race to remind me about speed, a trial marathon in the fall and then this late spring, qualify for Boston again. Memories of past glory combined with ego and vanity was not able to overcome age and general wear and tear on the body and the spirit. After the fall marathon, 2 - 3 days of resistance training, spinner bike, the odd elliptical instead of a run and abandoning ambitious goals and objectives and replacing that with health and fitness and fun as priorities. I ran the spring marathon and actually had fun training and running the race with a 3:50 finish or about 20 minutes over a BQ time but I literally had the t shirt that said been there and done that so it was very good. Got a little greedy as I thought I could train and run 10 K races and go for arbitrary but ambitious objectives but the mind and body put an end to that. Plus a couple of brutal training runs that at one time I would have been proud to have endured so much punishment but now it just seems silly.

The good news is that running can be a ton of fun without having to follow a schedule or plan. The other day I went to some local trails during a thunderstorm and ran through as many puddles as I could. I felt like a kid and there was a certain degree of spiritual freedom from that. Maybe your mind and body have a few or even many more races left but my advice is to really listen to your body and put your ego on the shelf. My next thing is to see if I can run a marathon next June 1 without following a training plan or regime. There will be a ton of "cross training" over the winter and there will be some long runs that this time will be time based rather than distance when I feel like it because I have never really trained that way and want to see what it is like.

It is my opinion that there are times where we set up all of these great expectations for ourselves and make the sport much more complicated than it needs to be. I am attempting to return to a simpler time when I ran hard on the days I felt like running hard, easy on other days or would extend a run [now within reason] or shorten it without too much guilt or shame. Where because it is a nice day today, even though it is my rest day I will go out and because it will be too cold and rainy tomorrow, I may not run. I appreciate the need for schedules, etc when fighting to reach goals and dreams but I see you have already run Boston so it is okay to give yourself a break and just enjoy running.

danziggirl
Tom Longboat
Posts: 216
Joined: Fri Feb 20, 2009 5:58 pm
Location: Courtice Ontario

Re: Coming back to running (hopefully!)

Postby danziggirl » Tue Sep 10, 2013 7:49 am

Well, Dstew, your message put tears in my eyes! You have inspired me to just forget the past - been there, done that - and realise I am 60 this month and I should be having fun with this running thing. It will not dominate my life like it did in the past and I will enjoy my runs now because they are for me and not for a training schedule. Thank you soooo much!
Pauline

Boston 2008
10 km 2008 48.39
Scotiabank Marathon 2009 3.56.32 PB + BQ
Half Marathon 2007 1.50.00
5 km 2005 23.42
Around the Bay 2008 2.49.22

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NewFinnLoper
Jerome Drayton
Posts: 4335
Joined: Tue Oct 17, 2006 5:57 pm
Location: Winnipeg

Re: Coming back to running (hopefully!)

Postby NewFinnLoper » Tue Sep 10, 2013 9:39 am

danziggirl wrote:Well, Dstew, your message put tears in my eyes! You have inspired me to just forget the past - been there, done that - and realise I am 60 this month and I should be having fun with this running thing. It will not dominate my life like it did in the past and I will enjoy my runs now because they are for me and not for a training schedule. Thank you soooo much!


YES! Have fun with it or you won't stick to it...

I, too, have struggled with sporadic injuries that keep me from running regularly...When I am able to get out and run I count it as a blessing. I am not training for anything right now...I am just running...

Oh and the puddle thing...totally do it!!!! I love running in the rain and splashing through puddles...
22 halfs (PR 1:42:02) :)
5 full (PR 3:48:21)
...and a smattering of adventure and trail races thrown in for good measure!
--------------------------
All running is on hold until further notice .... :0(

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Jo-Jo
Kevin Sullivan
Posts: 28747
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Re: Coming back to running (hopefully!)

Postby Jo-Jo » Tue Sep 10, 2013 9:41 am

danziggirl wrote:Well, Dstew, your message put tears in my eyes! You have inspired me to just forget the past - been there, done that - and realise I am 60 this month and I should be having fun with this running thing. It will not dominate my life like it did in the past and I will enjoy my runs now because they are for me and not for a training schedule. Thank you soooo much!


Pauline...I turned 60 in March :D
I have devoted this year to lots of hikes with my aging dog...and getting into a weight/core strength routine.
I didn't run once in 8 months...and I didn't miss it. Mind you...it's not like I curled up in a little ball and ate bons bons :lol: :lol:

I got back to running about a month ago...and I'm enjoying it...but not putting any pressure on myself. I'm doing the Army 5km...as a leisurely stroll...I don't want to race it......but I want to participate :D

I'm under a lot of stress in my personal life these days and I suspect that getting back to running will be good for stress release...when I run I don't think much about anything so it's a little vacation for my at times over active brain :D
Technophobe Extraordinaire
"Princess" J0-JO...The Awesome Running Machine.
"a precious, unique and quirky individual"...definition given by a Toronto Cop
An Ever Loyal and Devoted Official Doonst Fan.
"In the midst of winter, I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer" -Albert Camus
"Keep Going. Never Give Up." Spencer

danziggirl
Tom Longboat
Posts: 216
Joined: Fri Feb 20, 2009 5:58 pm
Location: Courtice Ontario

Re: Coming back to running (hopefully!)

Postby danziggirl » Tue Sep 10, 2013 10:13 am

I moved about 3 years ago after having the most awesome running track - Ajax Waterfront. Now I seem to enjoy it more if I drive 10 minutes down the road into the country and run down those roads - but can only do that on the weekends. Also I have 2 grandchildren now 5 and 2. If they come over for the weekend everything else goes to pot but hopefully now they are getting older it will be easier to leave them with Grandad. Also changed my job 9 months ago so I get home at 6.15-6.30 and am ususally too tired to run then so I am trying to get out a couple of mornings at 6am. I know I will never get back to my previous "form" but now I am going to run for fun and get something out of it for me. At first I found I was actually scared of running - don't know why. I guess I thought I would be disappointed with myself. I tend to put a lot of pressure on myself with time etc. - not going to do that now!

Thank you everyone for all your support. Glad I decided to re-join this group!
Pauline

Boston 2008
10 km 2008 48.39
Scotiabank Marathon 2009 3.56.32 PB + BQ
Half Marathon 2007 1.50.00
5 km 2005 23.42
Around the Bay 2008 2.49.22

DougG
Jerome Drayton
Posts: 7036
Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2005 9:55 pm
Location: Barrie,ON

Re: Coming back to running (hopefully!)

Postby DougG » Tue Sep 17, 2013 3:16 pm

Hi guys :-H
I thought I'd poke my head in and say hi. I too have not been running much in the past year. I haven't been cycling either :? I went out with the cycling club a grand total of 1 time. It's been a number of things, including minor injuries and health "stuff". In June I was going to try again, and even bought a new pair of shoes, only to have a setback. I returned the shoes.
A few weeks ago I started again, going 20 min at a time 3 or 4 times a week. I am pretty much a beginner again; on Saturday I ran 5km for the first time since January. What a struggle. :oops: I bought new shoes (again), but this time I kept them..lol
I' m not over my health problems (I got some news that was both encouraging and concerning today), and injuries will always be there, but right now I am running for the fun of it. I may try the Base Borden Army run next month, but without any pressure of a time goal. Right now I see a sunny day and want to get out for a quick run!
I've been checking the board every so often to see how everyone is doing. I will *try* and stick around for awhile.

As you were. :P
2014
injured
2013
Snowflake 10k....stopped at 5k
Rest of the year a write off because of injury.
2012
Snowflake 10k Jan 1 done
Run 4 Kids 10k Jan 7 done
Harry's Spring Run Off 8k. April 8 a disaster, but I finished
Centurion 50k at Horseshoe Valley (cycling) done
Centurion 50 miler at Blue Mountain (cycling) done.....barely!
Snowflake 5k, Dec 16 - done
2011
Harry Rosen 8k. April. done
Rotary 5k fun run. May. done
CANI 10k. June. done
Canada Day 10k. July. done
Barrie Waterfront 5k. Aug. done
CANI 10 k. Oct. done
Base Borden Army Run 10k. done

danziggirl
Tom Longboat
Posts: 216
Joined: Fri Feb 20, 2009 5:58 pm
Location: Courtice Ontario

Re: Coming back to running (hopefully!)

Postby danziggirl » Tue Sep 17, 2013 3:38 pm

Great to hear from you! I find even getting out and running a little gives you the encouragement to go again. When I first started back 2-3km was a struggle. I find running 4 times a week - Tues/Thurs 5km Sat/Sun 5km plus a longer run seem to be working for me. I have Lymphoma and think sometimes I feel tired because of that or am I using that as an excuse? My goal was to run 10km and I am going to run that on Saturday this week. I don't feel that I will go above that. My marathon days are over! Good luck with all your running and you should be proud you kept your running shoes this time - that's certainly a step (no pun intended) in the right direction.
Pauline

Boston 2008
10 km 2008 48.39
Scotiabank Marathon 2009 3.56.32 PB + BQ
Half Marathon 2007 1.50.00
5 km 2005 23.42
Around the Bay 2008 2.49.22


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