kruser

I have to respectfully disagree with this. Amino acids (proteins) are used to build and repair all the tissues in you body. Bones, skin, cartilage, muscle are all tissues built and maintained by protein. Maybe fat shouldn't be taken into account, but to say that only muscle benefits from protein consumption, or only benefits in a special way is incorrect. Also, water weight is important because you need to be properly hydrated for any metabolic process to occur effectively and efficiently.

This is what Vibram is know for (other than the five-fingers) -- the durability of the soles of their shoes. Several running shoe companies (Merrel for instance) use Vibram to make the soles of their shoes. I have a pair of the "everyday" vibrams that have last me about 4 years and they're just starting to wear to holes. I do a lot of walking as well and wear them 99% of the time I'm out and about. Over the course of 6+ years I have replaced my running vibrams once. Admittedly, I don't run in them any more, but I did use them as a main shoe in my rotation for two years. Now I always use them for lifting and shorter distance/easy runs. You have no reason to fear for the durability of these shoes! Only make sure to transition properly to avoid injury!

Hey Brekketechie! First let's start with the fundamental question of "What is protein?" I recently realized (when I went vegetarian myself) that I had no idea what protein actually is. Simply put, proteins are chains of amino acids. I can hear you now, "Great. Grand. Wonderful. Amino acids, that means less than 'protein' to me!" Here's the great thing, you can find all the amino acids you need in whole foods - fruits, vegetable, and grains. The usual counter argument to this is the whole "complete vs. incomplete" protein misunderstanding. True, animal protein contains every amino acid in one chain that you body requires in adequate doses; however, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables contain all the amino acids you need and it is still very easy to get excess protein on a vegetarian diet as long as you are consuming enough calories to meet your daily needs because your body does something very cool with proteins -- and this is the important part. When proteins are digested, they are broken down into their individual amino acids, then reassembled/rearranged as needed and sent off to where the body needs to repair, rebuild, and/or create new tissue! What is very hard to do is not get enough protein in any kind of diet, which can really only be done if you are not getting nearly enough calories in your diet. I did a lot of research on this and wrote up a source article about Understanding Protein. I have links to all my sources, which are many and varied! Also, you might be very interested in the Rich Roll Podcast. Rich is an Ultra endurance athlete who is vegan. Two episodes you will find particularly interesting (they're about nutrition and go into protein) are episodes 162 with Michelle McMacken, M.D. and 150 with Dr. Garth Davis All that being said, the recommended daily allowance for protein is .6 to .8 grams of protein per kg of bodyweight, which is not a minimum but an optimal amount (yes, there are higher RDAs for athletes, but you mentioned the desk job) set to cover everybody's unique body and situation. I hope this helps!

A likely issue (sorry, not much data to go on above) is that you're eating a lot more fiber than you use to. Since you recently switched to a vegetarian diet, you a likely getting an increase in the amount of fiber in your diet - which is a great thing! However, this can be upsetting to the stomach/intestines as they learn to process the fiber from the plants you're eating. This is also the reason you may be a little more flatulent than usual! If this is the reason, extra water will help and time will fix it... eventually. Just make sure you're not running a fever. If you are, your body is likely fighting something and a visit to the doctor is probably a good idea. The Dragon Reborn's response is great in detailing everything, so a big thumbs up there!

Hey ch3! I know I may upset some people around here with this response... but here goes: First let's start with the fundamental question of "What is protein?" I recently realized (when I went vegetarian myself) that I had no idea what protein actually is. Simply put, proteins are chains of amino acids. I can hear you now, "Great. Grand. Wonderful. Amino acids, that means less than 'protein' to me!" Here's the great thing, you can find all the amino acids you need in whole foods - fruits, vegetable, and grains. The usual counter argument to this is the whole "complete vs. incomplete" protein misunderstanding. True, animal protein contains every amino acid in one chain that you body requires in adequate doses; however, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables contain all the amino acids you need and it is still very easy to get excess protein on a vegetarian diet as long as you are consuming enough calories to meet your daily needs because your body does something very cool with proteins -- and this is the important part. When proteins are digested, they are broken down into their individual amino acids, then reassembled/rearranged as needed and sent off to where the body needs to repair, rebuild, and/or create new tissue! What is very hard to do is not get enough protein in any kind of diet, which can really only be done if you are not getting nearly enough calories in your diet. I did a lot of research on this and wrote up a source article about Understanding Protein. I have links to all my sources, which are many and varied! Also, you might be very interested in the Rich Roll Podcast. Rich is an Ultra endurance athlete who is vegan. Two episodes you will find particularly interesting (they're about nutrition and go into protein) are episodes 162 with Michelle McMacken, M.D. and 150 with Dr. Garth Davis All that being said, the recommended daily allowance for protein is .6 to .8 grams of protein per kg of bodyweight, which is not a minimum but an optimal amount (yes, there are higher RDAs for athletes, but you mentioned the desk job) set to cover everybody's unique body and situation. I hope that helps!

Hey Sarah! First let's start with the fundamental question of "What is protein?" I recently realized (when I went vegetarian myself) that I had no idea what protein actually is. Simply put, proteins are chains of amino acids. I can hear you now, "Great. Grand. Wonderful. Amino acids, that means less than 'protein' to me!" Here's the great thing, you can find all the amino acids you need in whole foods - fruits, vegetable, and grains. The usual counter argument to this is the whole "complete vs. incomplete" protein misunderstanding. True, animal protein contains every amino acid in one chain that you body requires in adequate doses; however, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables contain all the amino acids you need and it is still very easy to get excess protein on a vegetarian diet as long as you are consuming enough calories to meet your daily needs because your body does something very cool with proteins -- and this is the important part. When proteins are digested, they are broken down into their individual amino acids, then reassembled/rearranged as needed and sent off to where the body needs to repair, rebuild, and/or create new tissue! What is very hard to do is not get enough protein in any kind of diet, which can really only be done if you are not getting nearly enough calories in your diet. I did a lot of research on this and wrote up a source article about Understanding Protein. I have links to all my sources, which are many and varied! Also, you might be very interested in the Rich Roll Podcast. Rich is an Ultra endurance athlete who is vegan. Two episodes you will find particularly interesting (they're about nutrition and go into protein) are episodes 162 with Michelle McMacken, M.D. and 150 with Dr. Garth Davis All that being said, the recommended daily allowance for protein is .6 to .8 grams of protein per kg of bodyweight, which is not a minimum but an optimal amount (yes, there are higher RDAs for athletes, but you mentioned the desk job) set to cover everybody's unique body and situation.

The best thing a new runner can do: run SLOW! Why? Because this helps you build you base mileage and injury resistance! Running slow promotes a loooooot of physiological adaptations that will only multiply with time. There's a lot to be said about base training, I have done some writing on the matter and some on basic injury prevention. Also, don't list to others when they call it "jogging" because you're "too slow". That's a load of crap. There's walking, and there's running. By definition running is "is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground". Keep up the great work! Dream big, work hard!

I have a lot of races lined up and I'm hoping for another big year. My primary goals are to hit 2:45:xx (or better) in the Boston Marathon, win the Wausau Marathon (won last year with a time of 2:58:51), and come within striking distance of breaking 2:40:xx at the Twin Cities Marathon (current PR is 2:50:17). I would also like to break 1:20 at the Red, White and Boom! Half Marathon in July (that will be extremely weather dependent more than anything else!). Best of luck to everyone in 2015!

Great job! No feat (sorry, had to!) is too small! I'm a runner and stretch almost daily after my runs and I can barely get to my toes on a good day! Keep up the hard work!

Congrats Capt! Keep up the hard work!

That's great! Keep up the hard work!

Kat - How did things turn out? What did you end up doing? For anything half-marathon and below, I would say you can do at least the full distance in training. But that also completely depends on your training history and the amount of time you have available to train before the race. For a ten miler, I would say you could get up to 12 miles two weeks before the race itself, given you have enough time to progress your mileage that far. I'm surprised that the schedule only went to six and would definitely have expected at least an eight mile run. I hope things worked out well for you!

I live in Minnesota, so I'm no stranger to the cold either! I really like tactical hoods. They are a pull-over hood with a face mask (think Scorpion or Sub-zero in Mortal Kombat). They are very warm and since you breathe through the front mask, it keeps the mask warm, helping to warm the air when you breathe in. Here's an example of one. You can find them on Amazon pretty easily. Hope that helps!

A good training program will work in both aerobic and anaerobic running. Aerobic running will be the majority of your mileage throughout a training cycle (this is generally seen as "easy" running), and plays a predominant role in base building, which should be the first phase of any training program. This time will focus heavily on volume at an easy, aerobic pace, and will likely have some moderate paced workouts sprinkled in to add variety to help avoid overuse injuries and set you up for quality training to come. As your training program progresses, you will likely have one or two days that are hard workouts, one which is speed work (anaerobic) and one to train at your anaerobic threshold -- you'll flirt with anaerobic running here, but it won't be as hard as speed work. Another day will be a long run and any other days will be easy, active recovery miles. Aerobic running is used to build endurance and a foundation which to base quality work. This will also help improve your injury resistance (to running related injuries) PerAduraAdAstra is correct that specificity is important. Martial arts will not help you become a better runner. It will help build injury resistance by strengthening your muscles and help you become a more well rounded athlete (the explosive movements could help with sprinting). Just the same, running will not help your Taekwon-do training, but it will help build endurance, and again, make you a well rounded athlete. Please do not take that to mean you should give one up. Specializing in a sport at a young age (making an assumption here) should not be done, since that is a great way to burn out and/or get an overuse injury. Being diverse in you athletic endeavors is the best way to find what you are truly passionate about and make sure you can keep training consistently!

First, everything that applies to experienced runners still applies to you. The big thing is a SLOW transition. You need to be concerned more about the strength of your achilles tendons and your calves. By running barefoot, you will be putting far more stress on these (and your ankles) than you are used to. Like Dawsy said, if you want to run barefoot, start by walking barefoot whenever possible and/or get vibrams. Since you are a new runner (Yay!), I would recommend doing a short warm up and cool down jog in vibrams/barefoot before setting out out on a run and seeing how your legs feel after that. Try 5 to 10 minutes on each end of a run. The next step (after two to three weeks, or after you no longer feel any discomfort after your runs) would be to do a full run, at an easy pace, and make it your shortest run of the week. Pay close attention to what your body is telling you. You want to make sure you are fully recovering between these run so you do not tear or pull a muscle or tendon. That could significantly set your training back. Slowly progress by adding mileage to this run, then adding another run. The key is a slow progression and being patient. Make sure you are feeling recovered between barefoot runs, that you are not experiencing severe calf pain, etc when going out on a new barefoot run. Runs in between should be done with your regular running shoes. You will also want to strengthen your calves and the muscles in your feet. A couple of good exercises for this are: Calf Raises: Start with no weight other than body weight. On the edge of a stair, place your feet so the edge of the step is between your arches and toes (around the "big" knuckles of your toes), slowly lower yourself so your heels are below the step. Then raise yourself to your tip toes. Try to do without holding on to something. Do a couple sets of 10 to 15 reps. Progress by standing on one leg. Toe Yoga: This will help strengthen the muscles in your feet. Press your four small toes into the ground while lifting your big toe, hold for two seconds, then reverse so you are lifting your four smaller toes and pressing your big toe into the ground. Lift your big toe and reach it across your "index" toe, hold, then move it back and press into ground, repeat. The great thing about the toe yoga is that you can do it while doing just about anything -- sitting watching tv, standing in line, at work, etc...