Running!! - Cross Country, Track, and Casual

[AlexanderTheAwesome]

Pokébeach Running Thread
Hello! Welcome to the official Running Thread. I've created this thread to bring the runners (both competitive and casual) together! This place is going to be a place where you can discuss anything you like that pertains to running! This can include, but is not limited to; Personal Records, recent events, Personal Goals, Strategies, Recent/Not-so-recent Races, Your School, or professional athletes!

I'd also love to make this a personal archive for PB's runners' Personal Records. As well as this, I'm implementing a badge like system:
​

Track Runner - Sprinting

Track Runner - Distance

Cross Country Runner

Non-Competitive Runner

Runs for a Middle School

Runs for a High school

Runs for/in College

Runs out of College/Not in College and Runs Competively

Used to Run​

With this, you will be able to tell what kind of runner the person is just by looking at the badges they have next to their name, they will also have their records or achievements in a spoiler box. I will manage this thread as often as I can and if you want anything added do not PM me, Post in this thread.​

I'm not very competitive, but I enjoy running, what qualifies as an achievement?
Anything! Maybe you recently completed your first 5k, or ran your longest distance yet, if you feel accomplished you deserved to be recognized! Don't be afraid of what other people will say! Be Braggy!

Can I tease people I know about their records or accomplishments
Please refrain from such behavior, even if you do mean it jokingly. I don't want anyone to feel discourage from posting in this thread because you made them feel like they aren't fast//competitive enough.

Can I update after every race or congratulate people?
I encourage updates and congratulations, however make this a means for discussion. I highly advise not to post "Congrats" or "Ran XX Time today at XX Race". Instead, comment on the person's race and tell a short story of how your race went!

This Thread seems to be dying a little!
Alas, running is a sport and thus has a season, meaning that there will be times where less and less people post because there are just not things to talk about. Worry not, I will bump this thread when running season starts again.

I used to run but not anymore, can I post my past achievements?
Yes, you certainly can, I want this thread to appeal to as many people as possible, so post your past accomplishments if you wish!

PB's Runners Archive:
(Hint: Click = Profile)

AlexanderTheAwesome

Spoiler

PR's:
Mile - 4:41
800m - 2:07
400m - 0:56
5k (3.1 mi) - 17:19
Longest Distance Run in one go - 18 miles

Currently a sophomore in High school and have my Freshman Track Varsity Letter, and my Freshman and Sophomore Cross Country Varsity Letter (Hopefully will be a four year Varsity letter for both sports). Runs on the Varsity Cross Country and Track Team for my High School.

Qualified for the District Championships as a Freshman for the 1 mile in Track
Qualified for the Regional Championships as a Sophomore for the 5k in Cross Country

Uralya

Spoiler

3200m - 10:38.8 indoors
1600m - 4:29 outdoors, 4:43.12 indoors
800m - 1:57.42 outdoors, 2:06.68 indoors
400m - 52.87 secs
5k - 16:34 on roads, 16:55 on grass, 16:22 (slightly shorter grass course)
Longest Distance Run - 14 miles
Total summer 2014 mileage - 493 miles

Finished fourth in the eighth grade 800m with 2:16 at a Meet of Champions (basically Region), won three races that season
Won the slower heat of my freshman district 800m with a 2:07
Qualified for CC Region in 2014 (junior)
Qualified for Track Area 5/6 in 2015 (junior)
Qualified for Track Region 1 in 2015 (junior)
Hold 800m school record

SotS

Spoiler

Short Bio:
I use running mostly as a form of exercise. I certainly love the feeling of it while actually running, but my stamina is absolutely horrendous, so... Don't have much of an achievement list, haha. Think the best I've ever made is like, a half mile before having to stop and walk for a minute. Though it certainly beats out what I was doing before: nothing. Early in the year I started to put on some weight and had some health realizations (nothing serious, but more of a "shoot, what am I doing"). After that it was pretty easy to get moving!

MtheW

Spoiler

3200 - 10:47
1600 - 4:52
800 - 2:08
5K - 17:35
8K - 29:48
Summer Mileage: 522

I ran my pr 8k at our home meet this year, it was a really good race. It was hard to control my pace in the first mile, I usually run a 5:46 first mile on the dot but I ended up running a 5:18, I had to really slow it down. However, after that it was fine and I found a good pace. My feet felt like they were on fire when I finished, I had to get my shoes off asap! A teammate of mine set our school record at the meet, at 26:19, so that was cool too. Fun times. This is actually my last year of competitive (college that is) running. I have decided to quit, because I'm transferring to a new school next year, and I want to pursue choir instead. I will continue to run and compete in local road races though!

RogueChomp

Spoiler

1600 - 5:23
5k - 19:11

I'm on JV at my school, and an alternate for Varsity. Ran since 7th grade.

SheNinja

Spoiler

3200m - 13:04
5k - 22:06

 

[Uralya]

Thank you for this thread <3

I have my records in my bio, but for the post's sake:

1600m - 4:40
800m - 2:03
400m - 55 secs (after a seven mile run)
5k - 16:34 on roads, 16:55 on grass, 16:22 (slightly shorter grass course)
Longest Distance Run - 14 miles
Total summer 2014 mileage - 493 miles

Currently a HS Junior in one of TX's most competitive districts, and as such my times currently are just below qualifying for anything past District, though that will hopefully change. I have a letter from Freshman/Sophomore Track and Sophomore/Junior CC (sucked freshman year there).

Finished fourth in the eighth grade 800m with 2:16 at a Meet of Champions (basically Region), won three races that season
Won the slower heat of my freshman district 800m with a 2:07
Qualified for Texas CC Region 1 in 2014

 

[SotS]

I use running mostly as a form of exercise. I certainly love the feeling of it while actually running, but my stamina is absolutely horrendous, so... Don't have much of an achievement list, haha. Think the best I've ever made is like, a half mile before having to stop and walk for a minute. Though it certainly beats out what I was doing before: nothing. Early in the year I started to put on some weight and had some health realizations (nothing serious, but more of a "shoot, what am I doing"). After that it was pretty easy to get moving!

Unfortunately, with cooler weather rolling in as does the loss of motivation. What do you, the more serious runners, do in the autumn and winter months? Grin and bear it? Indoor on a treadmill or something?

 

[AlexanderTheAwesome]

After that it was pretty easy to get moving!

yeah running is like that a lot. Even when you start running longer distances it becomes more like that "oh man I don't wanna do that" feeling. But once you start your run it really becomes a lot easier!

Unfortunately, with cooler weather rolling in as does the loss of motivation. What do you, the more serious runners, do in the autumn and winter months? Grin and bear it? Indoor on a treadmill or something?

It really depends. Because you are not so serious, I might recommend doing a different form of exercise over the winter. Have you considered "gym" style exercise? Just do things like sit ups to strengthen your core (if you want to run well, core training is a large part of it), pushups, etc. If you have access to a gym I highly recommend lifting weights if you are focused on the getting fit aspect.
Don't overdo it though, only lift three times a week maximum to reduce muscle strain and allow for healing (if you want more detail on this ask)

For me personally, I like to train my calf muscles and thighs during the winter on the machines (no arm strength lol), to improve my endurance and speed.
I also own a treadmill, so it is very easy for me to say "use a treadmill!" However, I have found most serious runners don't enjoy treadmill training one bit. However, if you aren't going for much more than a mile I'm sure you can do it for that time period.

Most of my Cross Country Friends just grin and bear it and go outside (their stopping point is 25-ish? degrees) in the snow!! I hate this. I also have access to an indoor track and would much rather do some sprint work on that than have to run in the snow.

tl;dr Get into a good gym with a treadmill/weights/indoortrack

Hope I could help you out her

 

[Uralya]

Unfortunately, with cooler weather rolling in as does the loss of motivation. What do you, the more serious runners, do in the autumn and winter months? Grin and bear it? Indoor on a treadmill or something?

In autumn and winter, I use tights, warm-up pants and windbreaker jackets (with 1-2 shirts underneath if necessary) and go outside. Treadmills are nice, but the lack of scenery and the fact that the pounding is only slightly less on the feet than the rebound of a sidewalk are enough to steer me away from them mostly. I am an absolute enemy for indoor running tbh just because of the force it puts on your legs compared to that of grass or roads.

Aside from that, what Alexander said is a nice way to get things out of it for you. Couldn't have said it better

 

[AlexanderTheAwesome]

Regional meet this Saturday hoping to break 17 for the 5k!
(It's at the same course I ran 17:19 a month and a 1/2 ago)

 

[Uralya]

Regional meet this Saturday hoping to break 17 for the 5k!
(It's at the same course I ran 17:19 a month and a 1/2 ago)

Good luck. If it's at the same course, running a faster time should be easier than usual since you know it well

On my side, I qualified for my regional meet today via district. I ran a 17:29, which isn't my best, but it was a tough course and my team pulled on through as a pack to edge out the next team by four points (places). This is all thanks to a super-freshman we have running a 16:17 PR and getting inside the top ten for the district.

 

[Uralya]

Just returned home from my regional meet in Lubbock. I ran a 16:22, and I'm proud of that, but being in a 6A division means that it was only good for 82nd place and not good enough for state x.x and to top it all off, the super-freshman rung up a 15:30.

How do you guys handle cramps or loss of focus around the 1.5-2.5 mile marks? That's been a problem for some of my team throughout the season.

 

[Blui]

I run for umpiring and for kicks, because of this I don't have any times (I don't bother with that stuff). I've been a bit out of business for a bit because of some knee and hammy problems though. When running for umpiring I'll get around 20km on that day, unless I get unlucky and only do one.

I'll try to get some times down soon, but it probably won't be for a while :/

 

[MtheW]

MtheW: (will put images here when I figure out how, got confused :/ I run xc, distance track, and at college)

Dang Uralya, I'm just a little bit slower than you at just about everything haha. That and I'm older :/ oh well. I have summer mileage on you though!

3200 - 10:47
1600 - 4:52
800 - 2:08
5K - 17:35
8K - 29:48
Summer Mileage: 522 (I run a lot, slower, and lots of two-a-days. It's the only thing I've got on most of my teammates haha.)

I ran my pr 8k at our home meet this year, it was a really good race. It was hard to control my pace in the first mile, I usually run a 5:46 first mile on the dot but I ended up running a 5:18, I had to really slow it down. However, after that it was fine and I found a good pace. My feet felt like they were on fire when I finished, I had to get my shoes off asap! A teammate of mine set our school record at the meet, at 26:19, so that was cool too. Fun times. This is actually my last year of competitive (college that is) running. I have decided to quit, because I'm transferring to a new school next year, and I want to pursue choir instead. I will continue to run and compete in local road races though! So hopefully I can keep you guys updated on my exploits : D

 

[AlexanderTheAwesome]

Yeah I didn't do so hot at the regional meet because I was burned out from the week before training to qualify.
Regardless, I was glad to have run there as it's really hard to qualify!

Will update The system tomorrow

 

[Uralya]

@MtheW: It's okay, you have very respectable times yourself! You probably also have less competition not living in Texas or California like I do - times like 4:30 or 10:00, which would get a trip to state in some places, don't even get past district in parts of the states I mentioned. Also, how do you feel about summer mileage? My 493 was the highest on my team by a couple dozen for some reason.

@Alex: That's a nice way to look at it, enjoying the competition despite not performing how you would have liked. Such is how a lot of my team felt during region last week - we knew that we had very slim odds of making it to state even at our best performance levels, but even the ones that had troubles of some sort while running enjoyed coming so far. You're only a sophomore too, so you have more to look forward to than a lot of regional qualifiers.

 

[AlexanderTheAwesome]

@MtheW
Omg 522 makes me want to throw up, I don't really run long distances during training I usually just run faster shorter distances (my long runs would only be 11 or 12 miles as compared to 14 or 15 for everyone else), but my splits are a lot faster per mile, I'm built for shorter distances as compared to the other really good guys on the Cross country team (at least my coach recognizes it lol)

 

[MtheW]

@Uralya: My 5k time actually did qualify me for the state meet in high school, haha : p also, not sure what you're asking when it comes to the summer mileage. I do have to say that I don't know anyone else that has to run as much as I do just to keep up with my current level of fitness :/ I haven't improved my times in a while, but I run a lot. I might start running shorter distances faster to improve my 5 mile (8k) time. None of my teammates have ever ran as much as me, but the ones who are faster than me have a lot more natural talent (they can run low to high 16's in the 5k, and comparable times for other races.) I'm more built to play football or to wrestle (which I really enjoy and did for 9 years).

 

[Lugia123]

(No sprites XD)

I don't actually run at all at the moment but after reading this thread I have become a bit interested. I am somewhat wondering about a lot of things like how to start. I probably should have posted this at a better time since I live in the northern hemisphere.

 

[RogueChomp]

I run:
Track Long Distance
Cross Country
For Highschool

Times are pretty bleh.
Mile: 5:23 (but probably less since I haven't run a timed mile for a while)
5k: 19:11 (probably could be in the 18:00s but eh, in the JV races I don't know who to pace with so I go slower than I should. My main problem is pacing correctly to get certain times during the actual races)
I'll probably post 800 m and 400 m times later, do not really remember off the top of my head.
I'm on JV at my school, and an alternate for Varsity. Been running since 7th grade. So yeah.

 

[AlexanderTheAwesome]

(No sprites XD)

I don't actually run at all at the moment but after reading this thread I have become a bit interested. I am somewhat wondering about a lot of things like how to start. I probably should have posted this at a better time since I live in the northern hemisphere.

Well, just post your questions here and hopefully we can help!

 

[Lugia123]

The one in my post. That one is how do I start?

 

[Haunted Water]

I run every now and then. Back in high school, if I had the endurance, I would've had the speed to be one of the school's greatest cc athletes in long time. Now since I've started conditioning for Basic Military Training, I have seemed to even out the whole speed - endurance ratio. Not bad, but I wish I could've kept my speed. I'm always running though. I'm like the Doctor.

 

[AlexanderTheAwesome]

The one in my post. That one is how do I start?

First things first you are going to need a good pair of shoes. Most people ask "Well, what's a 'good' pair of shoes?"
This varies between people. A "good" pair can either be:

A) A pair you are most comfortable in (usually used for beginning runners)
B) A top of the line shoe​

I've been running for awhile so I'm a B. I currently run in the Brooks GTS DNA. Brooks is basically the Nike of distance running, everyone knows who they are and they are pretty top of the line. The problem with this is that if you buy a pair of these straight off the shelves they can run you $100+ which is pretty steep for a new runner. However they are INSANELY comfortable. I recommend if you would like to invest in a good pair of shoes going to a specialty shop and seeing if they can recommend based on how you walk, which is what some specialty stores can do. Mine is very good about this and can diagnose almost the perfect shoe for everyone, and it will be different depending on who you are. I was given the GTS to test and they were perfect. (D!ck's is not a specialty store).
I would recommend buying a new pair of athletic shoes you would feel comfortable running long distances in (or if you own them, great!), which don't have to be totally expensive ($25 can be a good deal on running shoes for beginners).

Next you need to decide how far you can run in one go. This is up to you, I can't help here. Then gradually increase that amount every 1-2 weeks (you should be running a minimum of 5 days per week to improves at a steady rate). If you get up to like 10 miles, obviously you aren't going to run that every day. Maybe you run 5 miles at a faster pace than usual, or do 7 miles with some uphill stuff. Of course, always take an easy day (For example if the farthest you can go is 10 miles, your easy day should be at the same pace your 10 miles would be at, but instead only running 3-4 miles), this allows your body a recovery day while still maintain a good fitness level. I would highly recommend putting your off day(s) after the easy day.

Let's say you start at farthest of 1 mile or 2 miles. Every 1 or 2 weeks I would say increase it by a 1/4 of a mile or a 1/2 of a mile (1 to 1.5 to 1.75 to 2 to 2.5 etc. whatever is comfortable for you).

I say you should attempt to join (if you're in school) a running club or your school's Cross Country/Track team. This puts you on a tight schedule of routine which is very important for beginners as they will quickly lose motivation. If you aren't on those teams, try running a local 5k race or 10k. They are lots of fun for all skill levels.

Try looking up proper running form, this is relatively important but not super important if you aren't going to be Uber competitive about it.

If I left anything else out or are still curious let me know.