UKC

I find, quite bizarrely, that running slowly knackers me more than tempo type running. It was the same with cycling. Anyone have any ideas why that would be? Boredom? Lack of endorphins? Recruitment of a specific and limited range of muscle fibres (my guess)? I deal much better with varying pace and more faster stuff. Anyone else experience this?

In reply to Yanis Nayu:

I find that running at any pace knackers me out. The slower I run the longer I feel knackered!

In reply to Gone for good:


That made me laugh. There's a certain irrefutable logic to it)))

In reply to Yanis Nayu: In a marathon, slower runners are more likely to hit the "wall" than elite runners - bit ironic really.

In reply to Yanis Nayu:

I've noticed this to some extent. I think the more dynamic movement of covering varied terrain allows your legs and associated muscles more chance of performing the full range of elastic function they're meant to perform. Rather than tensing and repeatedly pounding the same range and group, you get the "preload, extend, absorb, extend" thing going on . As well as spreading the load more evenly. All anecdotal of course but that's my take on why I'm much happier on uneven trail than road.

In reply to Yanis Nayu:

What do you mean by tempo?

It could just be that you're more anearobically fit than you are aerobically fit.

Can you run for 2:30 at your 'tempo' pace? I'd expect you'd feel a lot more knackered at that point.

In reply to Michael Hood:


Think the clue is in the word 'elite'.

In reply to DancingOnRock:


Comfortably hard.


That's quite possible. I was a 400m runner when I was considerably younger. I had considered the fact that it's fatiguing means it's addressing a weakness.


I could probably do a whole 3 minutes...

In reply to bradholmes:

I know what you mean. I find running round corners etc has a nice massaging effect on my ankles and calves. I don't think it's what I'm referring to though, as even with the repetitive action of cycling I had the same thing - I hated the slow, steady, even-effort rides I used to do in the winter.

I think it might be because it uses only slow twitch fibres, and I ain't got many!

In reply to Yanis Nayu:

Going back many, many years to when I ran half decently, my wife also started to train and run half marathon; I found it very hard to accompany her and run at her much slower pace, very tiring. There was no logic to why I found this so hard, but it was so.
Perhaps I am not the only one and the lesson being: Never marry a woman that runs slower than you, though if she ran faster I never would have caught her in the first place.

In reply to Moley:

Same issue as me then. My missus is slower than me as well; I think we're onto something.

In reply to Yanis Nayu:

Do you mean more tired, or stiffer and more achy after the run. When running a bit faster your form is very much likely to be better which might explain it if it the latter. it's pretty hard for me to run properly at 5–5.5 miles /hr and for that reason when increasing my mileage lots I now do more walk/running than I ever used to and feel better for it. The long-slow-run is considered to be essential for distance training according to most instructions, but it seems much harder to do that I would have thought.

In reply to Gone for good:


Haile Gebreselassie used to say that he admired fun runners, and that the reason he ran that fast was because he couldn't stay on his feet for longer than two hours.

In reply to Yanis Nayu:

sounds familiar... i can happily go for a 10km run and keep the pace about 5:20/km and not feel tired or sore the next day, but i've been helping a non-running friend to start running because he signed up for a 1/2 marathon and the best he can do at the moment is 7:30/km and it not only hurts me and my legs to run at this pace, it has also tweaked my back over the last couple of weeks! I think there's a lot to be said for bouncing at speed rather than slow pounding.

In reply to Yanis Nayu:
I've always thought that it's the length of time you are on your feet.
I used to run 25 mile fell races like the Edale Skyline, Marsden Edale etc. no problem, round about 4 hours, recovered within a week.
But when I walked them, I found that knackering, , 8-10 hours, suffered for a couple of weeks.
I could never understand why I was more knackered after standing for two hours at a football match, Than if I'd run 5 miles in half the time.

In reply to Yanis Nayu:

I've heard this explained as every individual anatomy (muscle length, tendons, etc.) resulting in a system with a preferred "resonant frequency" for want of a better term. So if you're working at a cadence that doesn't fit your anatomy, whether faster or slower, it takes more energy and feels more tiring.

Probably can't really be a single frequency, that sounds too simplistic and changing pace would be far harder, perhaps it's something like an optimum frequency for a given effort level. Haven't thought this bit through but there may be something interesting in the approach.

Anyway, I like it as a theory - especially since it means the people I've walked with have had a real excuse for leaving me trailing on every hill I've ever walked up...

In reply to kamala:

I can see the logic in that. I'm interested to see I'm not the only one.

In reply to kamala:

Yes. Everyone will have different natural cadence and stride lengths.

Running slowly burns fat and running quickly burns stored carbohydrate. They're very slightly different processes.

Just have to change your stride length and cadence until they feel natural for your slow run. You might find it easier to take slower paces than normal or maybe shorter paces. Both will result in slower running.

In reply to Yanis Nayu:

Its to do with the amount of mitochondria you have in your muscles which are "firing" at that pace. Because you haven't trained at that pace as much your muscles aren't efficient burning oxygen aerobically at that pace so ironically it feels easier if you speed up. If you were to train more at that pace you would increase the total number of mitochondria you have and in turn this would help you actually run easier at the faster pace as well (due to improved aerobic efficiency). Most runners run too fast on "easy" training runs and miss this benefit. Its like trying to build the higher level of a house without correct foundations (or similar analogy).

In reply to Humperdink:

Cheers. I've developed the ability to run slowly over the last few weeks of posting this, although I do strides after 1 run and run tempo for 10 mins at the end of my shortest run of the week to keep some speed in my legs. I've another few weeks of mainly easy running before injecting some speed; it's been great to string weeks of running together without missing a session and I've felt light and springy and full of energy to boot. And as you say, I hope the adaptations both structurally and metabolically will bear fruit with the speed endurance stuff later on.

In reply to Yanis Nayu:
I'm tired of getting dressed up to the hilt to go riding outside during the winter so I am looking for an indoor spin bike. Would love to hear your suggestions for a good spin bike.
Thanks!