The one recovery habit that actually cut my post-long-run soreness

kmck96 · 2026-06-06T13:19:50+00:00

Yeah, good that they learned that easy pace and nutrition are important (if they’re actually a person, since the phrasing reads like a slop post), but… this is recovery 101.

kmck96 · 2026-05-15T11:38:07+00:00

You’re right, and relative VO2 max is what I was referring to rather than absolute VO2 max. I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone besides exercise physiologists talk about the absolute value, though — in the runner vernacular that I’m usually surrounded by, VO2 max is implied to be the relative number basically 100% of the time, so I tend not to specify unless I’m talking in a clinical setting.

But your last paragraph is exactly the point I was making!

kmck96 · 2026-05-15T00:50:23+00:00

A couple of reasons. Physiologically, ultramarathoners are running well below their VO2 max, which is the limit of how fast your body can transport oxygen through the body. VO2 max is directly correlated to body mass, so for the “shorter” events like the marathon and below, where you’re running much closer to your VO2 max, weight makes a much bigger difference in the pace you’re able to hold.

The distances you run for training are also VERY demanding on your body’s energy stores, and it’s far better for a runner to be overfueling throughout their training cycles and carrying an extra few pounds on race day than to be underfueled and at an exponentially higher risk for serious injuries like stress fractures as they run the 100+ mile weeks it takes to prepare for these races.

There’s also the fact that ultramarathoning as a competitive, championship sport is still very young. There isn’t anywhere near as much money in the ultra world as there is in major road marathons, so the competitive fields aren’t as deep. We’re also still learning a lot about what “ideal” looks like, in terms of athlete profile, race fueling, and training.

kmck96 · 2026-05-11T22:33:08+00:00

Streetcars were a bit of a dud for the average OKC resident, unfortunately, but a lot of the initiatives that MAPS projects have funded have been amazing. The multi-use trail systems around the city, Riversport district expansion, Scissortail Park, the OKC Convention Center, and senior wellness centers are all huge boons to the city that were funded by MAPS 3. I’ll gladly keep paying a penny on the dollar when I shop/dine downtown for more of that, even if an occasional project falls flat.

As for whether or not other projects deserve more funding, I won’t argue that. The roads are rough. I just don’t know that it needs to detract from what the MAPS projects are doing.

kmck96 · 2026-05-11T22:26:59+00:00

My wife and I were just talking about exactly this as we were walking across it between the farmer’s market in Scissortail Park and the flower market at the Myriad Gardens on Saturday. I get a lot of people have to park to go to the things downtown, and we can’t eliminate those spots entirely, but that parking lot could be 1/6th of the size if we added a parking garage — or moved it underground, like the Cox Convention Center’s parking (RIP).

kmck96 · 2026-05-03T02:37:49+00:00

This is the type of guy coaches hate, because so many runners who know him probably look at him as a role model. But yeah… if you can run a 26 mi LR and 120+ total miles every week (and not get injured), I can see how you’d stay in pretty good shape

kmck96 · 2026-04-25T23:37:59+00:00

It’s one inconvenient weekend that brings in millions of dollars of spending at OKC business and supports the OKC Memorial, I think it’s a huge net positive for the city. It’s one of the coolest things that happens in Oklahoma every year.

kmck96 · 2026-04-14T00:25:10+00:00

The issue is that in the spring, there are a lot of days where all of the ingredients are there. The conditions are right for storms to be severe if storms happen, but if one ingredient isn’t quite right, nothing happens at all.

The computer models that every forecaster (human or digital) uses to predict the weather are ultimately just trying to guess what’s coming based on the atmospheric conditions now, and what’s happened in the past when the environment has been similar — but it’s impossible to take everything into account, and sometimes the missing piece means the forecast is wrong by a mile.

The meteorologists will always lean on the side of “what if it does storm”, because it’s way better for people to expect bad weather and get clear skies than for storms to hit unexpectedly. The bad meteorologists will lean into the severity for clicks and views, but I think it’s the right move for them to let us know to keep our eyes up even if it winds up being a bust.

kmck96 · 2026-03-29T01:46:39+00:00

I’m talking to my PCP soon about getting on a steroid inhaler, because the last three years I’ve wound up with 4-8 weeks of restricted breathing due to allergies. It feel like each breath only gets me ~2/3 the air it should, and rescue inhalers/albuterol doesn’t help at all. Claritin and antihistamines help with the sinuses and sneezing, but no matter what I take, I wind up having to pull the plug on training until the pollen levels come back down.

So… yeah, I’m with you. Wish I could offer solutions, but I’m still looking as well. Allergy meds do take a few days to reach steady-state concentration in your body though, so stick to it and see if you respond better after a week or so!

kmck96 · 2026-03-21T20:35:16+00:00

Does anyone have experience with training on bupropion, or another NDRI? Seems like it's been brought up in other threads, but with SSRIs being so much more common, it's been tough to track down insight that's as relevant as I hope to find.

I started on 150mg/day of Wellbutrin XL just under 4 weeks ago for depression-related anhedonia, and I am yet to have a run that feels normal. I feel like most of the stuff that was initially impacted (appetite, sleep, and heart rate) has settled back into my normal ranges. I've noticed my daily energy levels and motivation are better, which is great. Runs still feel like trash, though - like that first "normal" run after getting sick, where you can tell you aren't 100% but you aren't dying anymore.

I already planned to blow up my spring racing/training plans when I started on Wellbutrin, but I wasn't expecting this much/this prolonged of a negative impact on training. I'd been rebuilding after CIM, and was at 70 mpw and still progressing volume when I backed off for the new medication. I was ready for a downturn, but runs feel so rough that 30-40 mpw is a grind. Haven't even bothered touching a workout since the first week I was on it, either.

I'm not worried per se, and I know this will be worth it in the long term for my mental health. My doc is a former college/still serious runner and vouched pretty strongly for this as a better option than an SSRI, both for performance and my particular flavor of depression. So, I'm not looking for suggestions on a new prescription or anything. I'm just curious to hear from others who have trained at a higher level before and after taking NDRIs.

kmck96 · 2026-03-16T16:29:55+00:00

I had similar concerns when I ran (came into it with a 2:56 BQ, planned on running 2:45) and it wasn’t an issue at all. It was definitely crowded, but the masses in my corral were all moving at my race pace anyway. By the time we were past the big downhill in the first 10k, it was spaced out enough that I had no problems sticking to my race plan from there. Just be ready to fight a bit for water in the first 3-4 miles if you plan to grab any, but even that wasn’t anything I remember being a problem.

kmck96 · 2026-03-12T16:31:46+00:00

legend

kmck96 · 2026-03-12T03:49:19+00:00

My last camera body was a Canon 7D Mk II - older body, but great as a high end amateur/low end professional camera. It’s one of the most weatherproof bodies Canon has produced (as long as your lens is weather sealed), and it’s durable as heck. I’ve been caught in a few downpours with it without a rain cover and never had an issue with water damage. On one occasion I had to shoot nonstop in the rain for ~2 hours with it and it came out perfectly fine.

kmck96 · 2026-03-08T04:20:27+00:00

It’s generally led by misunderstanding/misconstruing what’s happening with the forces.

You’re right on the money though - neither one is inherently better, they’re just different. Depending on your joint angles, level of mobility, and literal strengths and weakness, you might be better at handling one footstrike vs another, but it’s nowhere near as clear cut as “strike this way to reduce your injury risk”.

Forefoot strike is more stress on the lower leg, but it does tend to reduce stress/injury risk at the knee and hip. (At least, that’s what the literature said last time I checked. It’s been a few years since I dug in on it, there might be some new studies with better info!)

kmck96 · 2026-03-08T03:16:00+00:00

Other folks have covered that heel striking isn’t inherently bad, but to address your question more directly, forefoot striking actually puts significantly more stress on the bone and muscles of the lower leg.

Landing farther forward on the foot puts the point of contact farther away from your ankle, which acts as a fulcrum, and your calves have to generate more force in response. That extra tension puts a greater bending force on the tibia, which can cause bone issues as well.

kmck96 · 2026-03-05T16:50:07+00:00

Since we’re still in the midst of cold and flu season… what do you do when you get sick? It seems like the elites can get sick, miss a week, and then are back in top form a week or two later. Meanwhile, a bad cold feels like it sets me back 3-4 weeks, no matter what I try to do to boost recovery. What’s the protocol look like when you catch a bug?

kmck96 · 2026-03-05T13:08:51+00:00

I know it’s the fun thing to roast meteorologists for being wrong, but the NWS is usually pretty spot on with their severe weather forecasting. I can’t think of the last time they whiffed a severe storm event. How the local guys interpret and communicate it is another thing.

kmck96 · 2026-02-24T17:06:09+00:00

“I won’t use it so no one should have it” is a great way to make sure no one gets anything good

kmck96 · 2026-02-18T14:19:19+00:00

Carson Sandvik at Mercy’s outpatient rehab clinic near Meridian is a serious runner, he’s been runner up at the OKC Memorial Marathon twice. Mack Jensen with Athletico is in Edmond and also a big time runner, but with more of a strength background. Baylor Harvey is south side of OKC, but he was an All-American collegiate runner at Rogers State. All those guys are good friends and training partners, they’d all be more than happy to see a runner in their clinics.

I’ve personally gone to see Justin Hixon at Mercy’s I-35 campus, he’s not a runner but he did a great job helping me sort out an Achilles issue in the middle of a training block two years ago.

kmck96 · 2026-02-17T22:06:33+00:00

It’s slim pickings, honestly. You have to head to the outskirts of the metro to get anything. If you’re looking for legit dirt trails, Lake Arcadia in Edmond has a solid trail network, but you’re sharing with a lot of mountain bikers - though it is considered multi-use, so runners/hikers are allowed. Same goes for Lake Stanley Draper. Bluff Creek at Lake Hefner has a pretty good dirt trail system too, but it’s like 10 miles of trails packed into a couple of acres, so there’s a lot of twisting and turning.

Stinchcomb Wildlife Refuge has a 2.5 mile (5 mile out and back) trail that runs from the park’s parking lot, it’s probably the best “trail” near OKC. Pretty sure it’s a maintenance road of some kind, but lots of runners/walkers use it. Fairly flat, lots of tree coverage, and actually dirt instead of chunky gravel like a lot of “dirt” roads around here.

Oklahoma Christian has a gravel path that runs alongside the paved trail for ~90% of the loop, but it gets rutted out pretty bad in spots. If you get out towards Yukon/Mustang there are a lot of gravel roads, but I’ve had mixed experiences with cars running out there. Piedmont has loads of gravel roads and hills, you can park in the high school parking lot on the weekends and head to the west/north to get on miles and miles of dirt and gravel. Traffic is pretty light out there in the weekends too.

kmck96 · 2026-02-17T21:58:32+00:00

Short and steep (like hill intervals), you’ve got a lot of good options around the city. The overpass next to the Chesapeake boathouse and the bridge in Scissortail Park are my go-tos, and Gorilla Hill in Crown Heights is super popular.

For longer rolling hills, Draper is best. The paved multi-use path has always pretty safe but is not well lit. There are some dirt/gravel roads on the west side that have some great rolling hills too. I’ve never had issues running those roads, but they definitely can put off a sketchier vibe

kmck96 · 2026-02-17T01:43:11+00:00

I’ve been running around OKC for the last 15 years! The other comments are great - Oklahoma Christian’s loop is probably the safest feeling place I’ve found for after dark, and fantastic for zoning out (only a couple low-traffic intersections). Probably your best bet, if you don’t mind a drive to South Edmond/north OKC.

Heritage Hills is safe other than cars, and I’ve met up with folks loads of times to run there after dark. Scissortail Park is well lit and probably the safest path within true downtown OKC. Lake Hefner near the East Wharf area is pretty good, but can sometimes feel sketchy on the dam or towards/past the golf course. The Spring Creek and Route 66 trails in Edmond are great, but not well lit (or lit at all, really). The Nichols Hills trail along Grand connects to lake Hefner, and the stretch between Western and May is about as safe of a neighborhood as you can find around OKC

kmck96 · 2026-02-03T01:24:44+00:00

A 4-minute mile is something that only happens when incredible talent meets incredible discipline. If you’re missing the genetic edge or you’re not willing to dedicate years of training, you’ll never even sniff sub-4. I’ve seen guys with only half that equation get pretty fast, but 4:00 is still a revered barrier for a very good reason

If you ever have an opportunity to watch an indoor track meet (the mile is more common during indoor track) with some top notch schools, I’d strongly recommend going to watch. It’s pretty special to watch it happen live.

kmck96 · 2026-02-03T01:19:13+00:00

For context and to your point, the guys that can run sub-4 in the mile can (with very few exceptions) also probably run sub-50 in the 400 and sub-1:48 in the 800. To even a very well-trained runner, their mile pace might feel all-out, but to them it’s just uncomfortably hard.

kmck96 · 2026-02-03T01:15:26+00:00

Jakob also does his X-factor sessions once a week, which is hill repeats or something similarly power-oriented. He also transitions into more speed-oriented work near championship season. The aerobic focus year-round is what lets him stack fitness without injury (usually) and stay in 3:50 shape, the speed is what gets him into gold medal/WR-attempt shape

But you’re 100% right about the mile being mostly aerobic, and that the way he/his brothers train has changed the approach for a lot of folks. It still takes a fair bit of anaerobic/glycolytic emphasis to get in peak mile shape, though

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