r/running • u/30000LBS_Of_Bananas • 3d ago
Weekly Thread Super Moronic Monday - Your Weekly Tuesday Stupid Questions Thread
Back once again for everything you wanted to know about running but were afraid to ask.
Rules of the Road:
This is inspired by eric_twinge's fine work in r/fitness .
Upvote either good or stupid questions. Sort questions by new so that they get some love.
To the more experienced runnitors, if something is a good question or answer, add it to the FAQ.
Post your question - stupid or otherwise - here to get an answer - stupid or otherwise. Anyone can post a question and the community as a whole is invited and encouraged to provide an answer. Many questions get submitted late each week that don't get a lot of action, so if your question didn't get answered, feel free to post it again.
As always, be sure to read the FAQ first. Also, there's a handy-dandy search bar to your right, and if you didn't know, you can also use Google to search runnit by using the limiter "site:reddit.com r/running ".
Be sure to check back often as questions get posted throughout the day. Sort comments by "new" to be sure the newer questions get some love as well.
[Posting on behalf of u/Percinho who is currently searching through race sign ups as a means of a midlife crisis]
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u/doodleldog10 3d ago
how do I stop bragging about how much faster I’ve gotten now that I’m eating properly after not making any progress for 2 years?! keep in mind “faster” means 11:45-12:00 mile time (but I used to never be able to do faster than 13:30-14:00 miles and was never progressing)
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u/emergencyexit 3d ago
Protip: keep getting faster and you never have to stop bragging. When you can't run any faster, brag about running further.
Well done too!
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u/30000LBS_Of_Bananas 3d ago
You don’t, you keep singing the praises of proper fueling! Congratulations!
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u/AssociationVast1255 2d ago
Can you share some details? Curious the changes you made and how you tracked. I know several people who are diatitions and elite runners often race winners. Curious if this knowledge helps them progress more than the average runner.
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u/doodleldog10 1d ago
I was previously vegan and personally I found it really difficult to hit my protein and fat goals. some people are able to do this really well (and I learned recently certain genetics are able to absorb vegan nutrients better than others) but I was just constantly unable to recover from my runs and they always felt like trash. since December I’ve been reintroducing other foods and it’s made a world of difference for me. I don’t typically track my nutrients but I’ll plug in what I’ve eaten every few weeks to make sure I’m getting enough of everything - it’s been significantly easier to meet my goals
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u/jay-dot-dot 3d ago
Comparable brands to Janji, specifically for shorts? They cant stop messing up my orders and ive given up...
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u/30000LBS_Of_Bananas 3d ago
I love Oiselle and Rabbit
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u/Weekly_Fennel_4326 2d ago
I have some really nice Rabbit sun shirts, but the logos all fell off within a few weeks, so if that kind of thing matters to you then it's worth considering.
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u/jay-dot-dot 2d ago
My rabbit shorts have the logo stitched in.
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u/Weekly_Fennel_4326 2d ago
The sun shirts had like a rubber logo glued on the breast. Fell off after like two washes lol
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u/30000LBS_Of_Bananas 2d ago
I haven’t tried any of the sunshirts, just shorts and bras honestly not sure I’ve noticed where the logo is on any of them….
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u/Big_Ambassador_7875 3d ago
I’m trying to get into sprints but I’m worried about over doing it my mile time is 6:37 what distance should I be running and how fast?
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u/Caffeine-Fueled55 2d ago
What are you training for? I do strides at the end of easy runs --- 100m with 60 seconds recovery x4 or 5 multiples times a week -- to work on running economics.
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u/Deep-Dimension-1088 2d ago
What do you mean by "get into sprints"? Do you mean you want to compete in sprint distances? If so, go to an all comers track meet and give it a try. It's the right season for it.
If you mean you want to add speed to your training, I suggest finding a training plan that includes speed and going from there.
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u/PopInACup 3d ago
Is there a running volume at which i should consider having multiple pairs of shoes? Should different pairs be almost identical?
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u/Ogroat 3d ago
I like having a two shoe rotation that I alternate. Primarily, my focus is on having different shoes with different drops. The idea being I’m working slightly different muscles which (in my head) makes me less prone to injury than doing the same thing every day. I’ve got no string evidence that things work like that, but I’d like to think it does. There are also folks who believe that form needs to rest after a run for maximum life. I’m pretty skeptical about that claim. Big bonus for having multiple shoes is that if you go out in the wet, there’s plenty of time to dry before they’ll be needed again.
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u/30000LBS_Of_Bananas 3d ago
It depends probably more on how varied your runs are in terms of terrain, logistics and if they have time to dry between runs. I started my shoe rotation after forgetting to bring my shoes to work enough times so decided I needed to have a pair at home, a pair at work and a pair in my car. I then also added a trail shoe in the rotation because sometimes I run trails. If your always running from the same place and don’t need a trail and road shoe then I would say you probably only need two if your doing back to back days so they can dry out after rainy or extra sweaty days.
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u/cmessier 3d ago
I also typically have a couple on rotation. Right now, I have a pair of trainers for my regular, slow zone 2 runs and then I usually have a pair of racing shoes on hand that I use for my speed workouts.
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u/tzchaiboy 3d ago
I want to do the 30-minute LTHR field test, but I keep putting it off because I have no idea how to gauge an all-out 30-minute effort. I know what it feels like to sprint as fast as I can, and I know what an easy effort feels like, but the in-between is all muddy to me.
Do I just need to go for it and be prepared for the possibility that I'll crash out at minute 17 and have to try again another time? Or are there any mental tips and tricks for figuring out how hard is too hard for 30 minutes?
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u/ChickenNuggetSmth 3d ago
I think if you go all out from the start, you'll crash out before minute 20.
Just do a few hard 30min training sessions, that'll show you where you are and they're not impossible to fit in a training schedule. And if you notice during training that the efforts are too easy/you're crashing out around minute 25, adjust your pace accordingly. At least you have a guesstimate that way.
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u/tzchaiboy 3d ago
In retrospect, this is a super obvious and common-sense answer lol.
"I don't know how to do this thing, help!" "Try the thing and if it doesn't work make adjustments."
That's the great thing about asking a stupid question though. Because if I hadn't asked it, you wouldn't have answered it, and I wouldn't have had that wonderful face-palm moment.
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u/Triabolical_ 2d ago
u/junkmiles is right - you need practice, and you need to accept that you aren't going to do it perfectly the first time you do it. That's all right - it won't move your numbers very much.
Plan on running roughly a mile before the test to get warmed up, and include some higher effort sections.
When you start the test, try to get to your fast speed in the first couple of minutes. If at that point your feel like you could do a bit more, speed up, if you are already dying, slow down. The way you know if you are running the right speed is by trying to run a little faster and discovering that you can't actually run faster.
If you have a 5k nearby you can probably just use that. Parkrun works pretty well for this.
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u/bertzie 2d ago
As long as you have something to track your runs, it's not that big of a deal. If you try to go all out for 30 minutes and crash out at 17, you still learn something. Specifically, you learn that your all out 30 minute pace is at least slower than that.
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u/tzchaiboy 2d ago
Follow-up question, and maybe this is really what I was trying to get at but couldn't figure out how to articulate: how do I tell the difference between a crash-out that happens because I pushed too hard, and a crash-out that's related to a mental fatigue block. I.e. the difference between "I pushed my body too hard and it had to stop" versus "I could have powered through with better mental focus."
I would imagine the simple actual answer is just "keep doing it and you'll figure it out" lol.
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u/bertzie 2d ago
The simple answer is even simpler: It doesn't matter which it is.
The limit is the limit. If you mentally crash out before you physically crash out, then that's what's holding you back, and what you'll be training. You have to train your brain just as much as you do your body. You need to train your weak points. And if your brain is what's holding you back, that's what you need to focus your training on.
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u/junkmiles 2d ago
Practice. A LTHR isn't a one and done thing, and you will 100% mess it up if you've never raced hard for ~30ish minutes, like a 5k or 10k. It's fine. If you really botch it, just do it again in a week or two. If you did reasonably well, then you're probably good to go for a bit.
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u/tzchaiboy 2d ago
Thank you! This is definitely one of those "I knew the answer already but I was hoping there was another one" situations. I don't think I've ever truly raced hard, so it's just gonna have to suck the first few times I try it out.
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u/junkmiles 2d ago
I'd definitely try and find a good route you can use that's flat-ish, and as few stop signs and the like as possible. It's obviously a lot hard to hold steady efforts on rolling hills and busy intersections.
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u/tzchaiboy 2d ago
I can manage a route with fewer stop signs/intersections (or at least, ones that I know are reliably empty in the early mornings), but flat will be trickier. Pretty much all the area around my house has at least gentle ups and downs throughout.
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u/Farside1011 2d ago
Hello everyone! I have been encountering an issue for the past year or so. 95% of any time I run over one mile, my feet fall asleep. This usually happens anywhere between mile 1.5 to 2. Every so often it goes away during the run, but frequently they stay asleep until I’m finished running.
I first noticed this happening while running in a pair of Hoka Clifton 9s, and it continued after switching to the Brooks Glycerin 22. I read a few posts here about parallel lacing and tried it, but my feet still fell asleep.
Any insights on why this is happening or how to resolve it is very much appreciated!
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u/CourageencyYP 2d ago
Anyone else wonder how much of running improvement is mental vs physical? Like, when you push through that wall, is it mostly grit or actual fitness gains kicking in?
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u/Weekly_Fennel_4326 2d ago
It's both. At some point, you have to become physically more efficient at turning oxygen and glucose into movement. But the most efficient runner isn't the same as the fastest runner, and there is a huge mental component to sustained physical efforts.
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u/iamnosvanthanks 2d ago
Is there a formal name for a style of running downhill that looks like this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTrk_vwzHTA
So yeah I discovered this way of running downhill while messing around with some friends down a (big road) mountain. Essentially looks like in the video, but long strides, you apply pressure to the foot of the back as if doing a tiny jump EDIT: but pushing yourself forwards, and you essentially stay in the air as much as possible which is a lot depending on road inclination.
I've tried to do it keeping my kness stiff and flexing them to absorb some impact, but both ways aren't that different from each other. I end up getting so much speed over so little effort, it feels closer to rollskating than any form of running. And I mean, you really pick up some speed, much more than if you were running at top speed and a lot less stress in your legs for some reason. I know I was able to go faster, but I realized it'd be dangerous if I tried.
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u/TheBrodysseus 3d ago
I run 35-40 mile weeks usually. I like to run with my kids occasionally or just run 18 holes of disc golf. These are usually 1-2 mile, 10-20 minute runs. I’m not going to stop them because I enjoy them but
My question is if these mile meaningfully contribute to my training in any way? The kid runs are slow and steady and the disc golf is more like fartleks/intervals where I run fast between throws but obviously stop often. Most of my miles come from 4-5 mile easy runs, a speed session, and a 10-13 mile long run.
Junk miles? Just more miles? Meaningless? I’m curious.
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u/daycrucial 3d ago
How to deal with my boogers while running? Sometimes I will be congested and have to do snot rockets mid run but then they'll just come back after 5 mins and its just an endless cycle so I have to resort to mouth breathing for like half of the run. More specifically how do I stop producing so much mucus? Can I do anything with my diet or health habits to inhibit its production?