What are your best bang-for-the-buck running tips?

don't let yourself get fat

chunkey monkey wrote:

don't let yourself get fat

This ^ and the converse: Lose weight if you are fat.

Here's a tip: stop ruining good threads to make yourself feel smart. No one cares.

And a legitimate running tip: race as often as you can. It's fun and you'll get fit faster than if you just worked out alone.

Azaleas wrote:

Here's a tip: stop ruining good threads to make yourself feel smart. No one cares.

And a legitimate running tip: race as often as you can. It's fun and you'll get fit faster than if you just worked out alone.

I can understand how you like to suckle on the tit of ignorance, but at some point you must be weaned.

Today might just be that day.

xcplayer wrote:

You're just digging yourself into a hole here. You're wrong; OP is right. Get over it.

So you're not a sock, you're a freshman in high school.

That might be even worse...

There was no reason for this thread to get filled with hateful posts. Yet, it still happened.

Azaleas wrote:

And a legitimate running tip: race as often as you can.

Let's add another stupid 'tip' to the list the OP has already started.

dfsdasffdsa wrote:

There was no reason for this thread to get filled with hateful posts. Yet, it still happened.

They weren't intended to be hateful.

They were intended to point out some misinformation.

Misinformation that, instead of being accepted as such when called out, was erroneously defended.

By all means, please prove to me how rinsing your legs with cold water in any way compares to an ice bath.

Please explain how chocolate milk provides more protein than regular milk.

Or how running on dirt will magically alleviate injuries.

Just go ahead and throw that stuff right out there.

1. In with the good air, out with the bad air.

2. Alternate one foot in front of the other.

3. Visit the bathroom before starting a run or race.

4. One long run is better than two short runs (flame on).

5. Eat some carbs soon after you finish.

Long run Saturday; race pace run Sunday.

Progression runs (dropping 10-15 seconds each mile) rule.

Hills. Hills. Hills.

gregmacd wrote:

So, you believe a golf ball bounces the same height when dropped on either asphalt or dirt? It would have to if you want to support your theory that both absorb the same amount of energy. Of course, you'll never try this, because you have no balls.

Drop a golf ball in the sand, it doesn't bounce at all, does that mean you should run all your runs in the sand?

i have wrote:

Let's add another stupid 'tip' to the list the OP has already started.

Hey look, it's the guy who doesn't actually have any advice but has still posted 5 times in this thread.

i have wrote:

By all means, please prove to me how rinsing your legs with cold water in any way compares to an ice bath.

Please explain how chocolate milk provides more protein than regular milk.

Or how running on dirt will magically alleviate injuries.

Just go ahead and throw that stuff right out there.

1. Doesn't compare but isn't a terrible idea. Not everyone has a cold tub.

2. It doesn't but it tastes a hell of a lot better.

3. It doesn't but would you argue against saying someone who runs all their miles on dirt will be less likely to be injured than someone doing all their runs on concrete?

The OP made a good iniital post, albeit with some serious over simplifications and psuedo-science but there was no need to attack in the way you did.

i'd say for the love of god, run easy on your recovery days.

so simple, so ignored, you see it on every team with every group and it's the one thing so many people screw up because ''i felt good'' or ''it felt so easy'' bs...run easy and run fast on workout days

Caffeine is supposed to help you better absorb carbs post-workout.

My tip is to think outside the training box. The key to improvement is finding a new stimulus that will promote strength and cardio development. While there are lots of great books on training and lots of great coaches, runners tend to acclimate to training patterns and lose the benefit. Mix it up. Do longer tempos. Do more sprints. Do a true fartlek (lots of different speed variations over a short course). Do more drills/plyos.

-The caffeine in chocolate is so minimal that it does not provide any of the benefits.

-Rising your legs is cold water to make them feel better is a placebo. But if it work for you...

-It is dumb to train almost exclusively on a surface that is very different from the surface you will race on.

1. Avoid Letsrun scientists

RPS wrote:

-It is dumb to train almost exclusively on a surface that is very different from the surface you will race on.

Curious what you would suggest for those racing on the track.

Dennis Reynolds wrote:

Curious what you would suggest for those racing on the track.

Don't most people who race on the track do their workouts on the track? He's not saying that you should run all or even most of your mileage on the surface you'll be racing on, just that you shouldn't train exclusively on a different surface. I agree with this.