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Beach & soft sand running - is it in your program?
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I live near a couple of beaches where I run with our dogs from time to time and am looking at increasing this along with regular road running as part of an overall plan to improve my 5-10km running for sprint & std distance triathlon. I've a reasonable amount of experience doing this just for enjoyment but am interested to hear from anyone who works in a structured way or has soft-sand elements in their program. I'm not talking about sandhills, just regular flat beach running and I average 30km on the road weekly - not a high-miler but regular. If you have a minute and can offer some advice: what do you do? How does it fit in your weekly run routine etc? Do you wear shoes or not?
(Searched the forum but couldn't see much - feel free to direct me to a thread if there is one)
Thanks!
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Re: Beach & soft sand running - is it in your program? [PT] [ In reply to ]
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Quote:
...I average 30km on the road weekly - not a high-miler but regular.
Perhaps not directly addressing the "how to, shoes or not" element of your post, but....

I've never found "soft beach sand" running useful or recommended (unstable surface poses hazard for injury). Best to up your weekly volume on solid surface(s) - road, hard-packed beach, trail, etc. Also, for more predictable workouts, you might want to leave the dog at home.
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Re: Beach & soft sand running - is it in your program? [Brushman] [ In reply to ]
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Many years ago, for no good reason, I did a bunch of running in soft sand over the course of a couple weeks. It took prob a month before my knees and ankles quit hurting.

Running in soft sand routinely is probably a good idea. The sand would allow your joints to move in unexpected ways and that would strengthen them. But I figure that it's something to ease into slowly. The body hates change.

So as long as you go into it smarter and with more moderation than I did, you'll probably be good. Frankly, encouraging someone to something smarter than I did, really does not set the bar very high.

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Re: Beach & soft sand running - is it in your program? [Brushman] [ In reply to ]
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Brushman wrote:
...you might want to leave the dog at home.

Depends on the dog (and the workout). I had a 70 lb mixed breed, that was build like a dingo and loved to run long distances. I took him on nearly every training run less than 10 miles when it wasn't hot. He'd run at my side the entire run, never got squirreled or stopped...just ran at my pace. Maybe not the norm...dunno.
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Re: Beach & soft sand running - is it in your program? [Tom_hampton] [ In reply to ]
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Joe Bonness does all his run training on the beach...
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Re: Beach & soft sand running - is it in your program? [Dirt fighter] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks guys, appreciate the thoughts. Didn't know about Joe Bonness...man, that's some record he's got. Not in that league myself but it is interesting if he does all his running on the beach.

WRT the dogs; they're whippets and so running is probably their favourite time of day. Its not as efficient due to the extensive neighbourhood territorial protocols they observe but the disappointment I would face if I left them at home......I'd never hear the end of it.

Will also take it steady. I've run on the beach before and know that the extra work can take a while to adapt to - but it also brings extra strength and durability if done carefully over time. Let's see .
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