DW Runners

Hi all!

I'm new here, and quite new to running actually, so joined you guys to get inspired! I'm 27 and used to love running in high school, and this year have decided to take it up again. I enjoy exercise and last year attended the gym - however, I'm a web editor with an additional day job AND I'm working on a novel, and found that I just didn't have to time to spend long hours in the gym. However, I now live near a large park which is perfect for running.

Am also going to attend a weekly 5k in my area next week, sounds fun! Hoping to run a few charity 5k races this year too, possibly 10ks if I'm able to. I'm already very slim so not doing this for weight loss, but mainly to keep toned, fit and healthy.

So...just thought I'd stop by and say hi! Any tips for newbies would be greatly appreciated!

Hi, runners! *waves timidly*

I just started running...four weeks ago? because I discovered that running abates symptoms of my spouse-creature's mental illness, and so I'm running to keep him running (he's a long-time distance runner, high school cross country and track, etc., but has lost a lot of his running self-discipline).

I have worked from not being able to run 0.5 mi without taking a break to *almost* hitting 2 mi, which has been really exciting for me. I'm hoping to run a 5k in late March, as sort of a milestone for myself.

On the down side, I have noticed lately that running/exercise walking is causing me pain in the backs of my knees, in a line across the back and also somewhat down the muscle on the back inside. I am probably horribly wrong, but the feeling I'm getting makes me feel like I'm overextending/locking my knees at some point in my stride.

How do I fix this? Are there stretches for those muscles? Any advice on where to find out if I need to change my running stride (and how the h*ll to do that?)?

Thanks!

Hi everyone. Just a general question regarding running etiquette: how does one behave when being attacked by dogs? Ok, in truth, I wasn't attacked, just chased (in a friendly, non-aggressive way).

Lately, I've been running in the morning before work, which I guess coincides with my neighbor's dogs' outdoor schedule. Problem is, my neighbor releases his dogs (pit bull and golden retriever) into the early morning darkness without a leash or human supervision. The dogs just run (I liken it to Hound of the Baskervilles +2). Anyway, the dogs usually run alongside, jump, and get underfoot, but are otherwise pretty harmless. There's a major highway near my house, and while I do worry that they might run out into traffic, they never seem to wander quite that far. My question is, how should I approach my neighbor? He's barely an acquaintance and lives several houses away, so we're not on speaking terms of any sort. Plus, when he lets the dogs out, he goes back inside the house and shuts the door. Is it weird for me to knock and inquire about the dogs' ownership? Has anyone else been in a similar situation? I despise conflict especially between neighbors, but spending my AM runs tripping over canines is really not ideal.

How goes it - off to a running start in 2012, or finding it hard to get going?

As some of you know, I ran my 8th marathon on Sunday! I made my goal of a sub-3:30 with a time of 3:29:13, and my race report (with photos) is on my journal: NO OBLEM, or: Houston, we have a PR. Incidentally, this race was the day after the Olympic Trials marathon, and it was pretty amazing to be a spectator and watch the best American elites competing on a very viewer-friendly course.

I wasn't going to tell anyone, because it's semi-harebrained, but as you probably know, it's hard not to talk about running, so: I've signed up for a ½-marathon in April D:

(More background: I've been wanting to get in shape for a ½-marathon for about five years now, but I never put in the amount of training needed, and finally had to accept I'm never going to be in shape to sign up for a ½-marathon. However, I'm not above run/walking distances, and I wasn't really in shape for the first five 10Ks I signed up for, but don't regret running a single one of them. So why not just sign up, and see how it goes? I'm hoping to make it in 2½ hours, but if it takes me 3 hours, it takes me 3 hours…).

I know fast runners don't need to worry about nutrition during ½-marathons, and some don't even take fluids, but I'm going to be on my feet for 2½ hours, maybe longer, so I'm thinking I'm better off paying a bit of attention to this.

Ideally, I'd like to go completely natural and organic, but as a first-timer, maybe I'm better of just buying commercial sports drink and not have to worry about ingredient proportion.

Still, wanted to hear if any of you had experience with making your own sports drink?

A year ago I posted:

Since December's about over, I figured it would be a good time to think about/imagine/dream/plan goals for 2011.

Any running-related goal is valid, whether it's to run a 100-mile ultramarathon or to run 2 miles in a row. It can be to complete a distance, or race a distance, or attain a speed, or run a certain number of miles per week, month, or year. No judging anyone else on their speed or their slowness. These are all personal goals, relative to where we are now and where we want to be.

Feel free to put your goals in comments, or to post them in your own journal and link them here. This is mostly a placeholder and reminder so you can come back in a year and see how well you succeeded!

So, how did you do? Did you achieve your goals? Did events conspire to prevent you? Did you completely punt on them? What have you learned about yourself and about running through your successes and failures?

What are your goals for next year?

Hi Runners,

It's been a while since we had a Weekly Monthly Update...

Hope all is going well with you. I've managed to not post 2 race reports in the last month and I'm gearing up for the Silvesterlauf (New Year's Eve Run) here and then no races until March. How is the training going? How was/is your season? Any good tips for surviving the cold and dark winter here in the northern hemisphere?

(In case anyone's still interested, I managed to finish the Frankfurt Marathon in 4:16 after hitting the wall hard around km 34. Until then, I was exactly on track for my goal of 4:10. This was still an improvement of 12 minutes over my first marathon, but I was feeling so good in the first 27 km, that the utter misery of those last 8 really took me by surprise.)

How goes it?

Northern hemisphereans: Is weather/lack of light becoming an obstacle to getting out there?

Yay: I ran a half-marathon yesterday!
Boo: My right foot now hurts whenever something presses on the arch (e.g. wearing a shoe) or when I try to walk. Massaging the arch and stretching it have no discernible effect.

Question for runners: do y'all have any advice on what might be causing this pain or how I can deal with it? Most importantly, if I ignore it and run through the pain for the first 10 minutes, will it go away and let me keep running?