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Is the penguin shuffle in the morning normal? (Read 298 times)

DoppleBock


    If I run in the morning, I usually walk a few blocks 1st.  If I had the time, I would walk a good mile before I started to run.

    Long dead ... But my stench lingers !

     

     

    DoppleBock


      If I sit on my ass at my desk for 2-3 hours without getting up it does not matter if I ran that morning or not - I am stiff.  And no I was not looking at Porn.

       

       

      You shouldn't be sore and stiff all the time--if you are you are doing something wrong. 90% of the time I would suspect I am less sore and have more mobility than 90% of the guys my age. There is a happy medium. As you age, you DO need to pay more attention to the general fitness things besides running that prevent injury, and there is such a thing as too much running at the expense of all else.

       

      Being a little stiff for the first few minutes when your feet hit the floor is not the same as being sore all the time or walking around like a cripple all day long. If that was life as a 40+ year old runner, I'd quit the sport.

      Long dead ... But my stench lingers !

       

       


      Right on Hereford...

         

        Hmm, I have never done stretching, and every time I start to wonder if I should add that, I google "is stretching good for runners" and end up with a list of articles that mostly say it is either worthless or even detrimental to performance (for example, this one: http://sweatscience.com/stretching-is-bad-for-power-and-endurance-running/ ). My daughter is an avid ballet dancer, and she tells me I should certainly stretch, because I can't even touch the ground with my fingertips when standing, while she can put her full palms on the ground, with straight legs. Wish I knew the answer to this one

         

        Note that the article was talking about static stretching. Dynamic stretching is different. You need a certain range of motion, particularly in your hips, in order to run fast and efficiently.

          It may not hurt for you to take a rest day. It's great that you have a streak going. More power to you! But if I don't rest at least one day a week my muscles start to backfire on me too.

          dennrunner


            .... There's a guy in my group who was a 2:36 marathoner and now he's not 60.  He hobbles around town running 9:15 pace and it's just kind of sad to see.  He's not injured, just creaky.  Is that from the 100 mile weeks - I don't know.

             

             

            I'm not sure what you're saying.  Are you saying he is 60 years old (with an accidental "not")? Or are you saying he's not all that old yet?  If you're saying he is 60 years old, then running 9:15 is not all that bad even if (or especially) if he looks like he's hobbling around. If he's still pretty young and is now running 9:15 then, yes, that is sad.  Sad for a 60 yr old, too.  But a daily 9:15 pace for a 60 yr old is pretty decent, even if he was much faster in his younger days.


            Feeling the growl again

               

               I google "is stretching good for runners" and end up with a list of articles that mostly say it is either worthless or even detrimental to performance (for example, this one: http://sweatscience.com/stretching-is-bad-for-power-and-endurance-running/ ).

               

              Saying that stretching will hinder performance when done on race day is not the same as saying it should not be done in concert with training runs.

               

              MTA:  And even if you want to believe the study you posted, it only looked at stretching BEFORE running.  If we took a poll of experienced runners here who stretch, I think you would find most do so AFTER running.

              "If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does.  There's your pep talk for today.  Go Run." -- Slo_Hand

               

              I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills

               

              DoppleBock


                My hips and IT band need some help before I run a speed workout or race.  Getting a good stretch before running fast makes running fast much more comfortable.  If I am racing I like to get a good stretch in the morning way before the race and them a lighter stretch 15-20 minutes before the race.

                Long dead ... But my stench lingers !

                 

                 

                DoppleBock


                  Stretching is not bad.  Overstretching and poor stretching technique is bad for runners.  A stretch should be held at least 30 seconds to actually do anything.

                   

                   

                  Hmm, I have never done stretching, and every time I start to wonder if I should add that, I google "is stretching good for runners" and end up with a list of articles that mostly say it is either worthless or even detrimental to performance (for example, this one: http://sweatscience.com/stretching-is-bad-for-power-and-endurance-running/ ). My daughter is an avid ballet dancer, and she tells me I should certainly stretch, because I can't even touch the ground with my fingertips when standing, while she can put her full palms on the ground, with straight legs. Wish I knew the answer to this one

                  Long dead ... But my stench lingers !

                   

                   

                  TeaOlive


                  old woman w/hobby

                    yup.

                     

                    First thing in the morning I look like I have advanced arthritis.

                     

                    Me too.

                    Luckily, my first mile is usually with my dog who is more interested in stopping, starting,

                    sniffing and all of the things that dogs do.  So it works outSmile

                    steph  

                     

                     

                    TeaOlive


                    old woman w/hobby

                      Do you stretch on a regular basis?

                       

                       

                      This too.

                       

                      I think that I felt much better first thing in the morning and all around really, when I did

                      yoga on a regular basis.  I need to get back to it.   Or at the very least get back to stretching

                      after running.  For some reason this has fallen by the wayside.

                      steph  

                       

                       

                      L Train


                         

                        I'm not sure what you're saying.  Are you saying he is 60 years old (with an accidental "not")? Or are you saying he's not all that old yet?  If you're saying he is 60 years old, then running 9:15 is not all that bad even if (or especially) if he looks like he's hobbling around. If he's still pretty young and is now running 9:15 then, yes, that is sad.  Sad for a 60 yr old, too.  But a daily 9:15 pace for a 60 yr old is pretty decent, even if he was much faster in his younger days.

                         

                        I worded it poorly.  He's 58 or 59.  Heck maybe he's 60.  I'm not saying it's bad, it's all relative and when he's doing it it does not appear he has acheived life-altering benefits from all that running back in the day.  There are other 60 year olds I run with who never achieved his level of success who are now much faster and smoother.  Granted, there are a whole host of factors that could make this the case.

                         

                        zonykel


                          My ankle/Achilles area is stiff in the morning when I wake up. I warm up and cool down for every run. I do not stretch. Unless/until I find a direct relationship between stretching and it's alleged benefit, I'd rather not risk it at this point.

                           

                          I'm aware of a couple of stretching programs. I think one is called active isolated stretching, where the stretches are held for 2 seconds. The other one I'm not aware of a name, but it's proposed by Jay Dicharry. He suggests holding the stretches for 3-5 minutes (the idea is to lengthen the tissue to extend to the range). Regardless of the stretch approach, I would take it easy at first to make sure I don't hurt myself.

                            It's an art finding that line between challenging yourself and adapting, versus breaking down.

                             

                            +1. Maybe I should save this for my future signature. What is interesting is that right when I think I have found that line either life happens or I get better at running. This moves the line again and there I am looking for it again... fun stuff Smile.

                             

                            To the OP,

                            It happens to me too but I wonder, are we calling it normal because it happens to many of us? Why doesn't it happen to some of us?

                            running is somewhat like playing golf to me.   crappy shots all day long, ready to give it up & wondering why I'm trying so hard just to get this stupid little ball into a stupid little hole but then out of the blue comes a monster drive or a long putt that actually gets into the cup.  bingo! that one shot keeps me going for the rest of day no matter how crappy I continue to play & gets me back out again on another day.   strange. -- skyedog

                              It's absolutely normal. My first mile is usually a good two minutes slower than my last mile on any given morning run.  

                               

                              And like Mikey said, it's largely a factor of the workouts/stimuli happening in your training.  Your big bump in mileage is itself a new stimulus for your body.

                               

                              As for stretching, I have found lately that, as Dakota said, it's better to do more dynamic stuff. I find that frequent movement and exaggerated stuff (knees high's, butt kicks - Is that what they're called?) during the days is more important than a stretching session right after the run.

                              "If you have the fire, run..." -John Climacus

                                Penguin Shuffle is kind of how I run to begin with.........so definitely for the first little while in the AM....

                                Champions are made when no one is watching

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