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That's a bit crap @alanf, sorry to hear that, hope it's not as bad as you fear.
I too have a tight calf, though I have a week extra to recover for Manchester. I can see the next 2 weeks involving a lot of massage, a lot of foam rolling and not much running...
I did a decent parkrun on Saturday, PB round my local and sub 17 for the first time and calf was fine. I then did a steadyish 9 on Sunday and I could feel a bit of tightness but nothing to stop me running, just a usual niggle. Yesterday got about 1.5 miles into steady club run and it just went, got really tight and a few sharp jabs seemingly worse uphill. It did ease off a bit, but the next hill it was back to the same. Got home and rolled and iced it and elevated it, but when i got back up it was rock solid and unwilling to play nicely. This morning it is still tight and a little painful when walking so I will be amazed if I can get it back by Sunday... Got to try though, training has been too long to write it off yet...
Your extra week may be a godsend.
@stevious - you cycling too? My hips are a mess at the moment, tight/overworked gluteus medius full of trigger points which basically need ironed out before I can even strengthen them properly. Contributes to hip/knee/low back pain 🙄
Had a good run this morning around the boundary of Centre Parcs Winfell in the pissing rain 😁 Hips/knees weren't too bad but had foamed rolled the TFL a bit beforehand to try and relax it a bit and let glutes do their job, seemed to work...
This morning it is still tight and a little painful when walking so I will be amazed if I can get it back by Sunday… Got to try though, training has been too long to write it off yet…
I hear you, far to much goes into these events to give up just yet.
I'm going to spend a fair amount of time on the turbo over the next 2 weeks, zero impact on the calf and keeps some level of movement up.
@stevious – you cycling too?
Yep but not loads - maybe 3-5 hours a week and mostly just cruising about. Just about the only exercise I've managed with consistency over the past couple of years has been core work and yoga though so I *think* I'm fairly balanced there. I do have pretty short hamstrings so might benefit from giving them a bit more attention.
First interval session since the beginning of summer here, enjoyed it too in a masochistic way 🙂 Wasn't a particularly hard session, did 3x1' then 6x30", with a minute jogging between efforts. Still, a decent way to get back into speedwork.
Best news for last: channelling my inner @lunge, new shoes:
They're even brighter in real life!
Had my first go at XC yesterday, NYSD at Acklam. Was great fun and so cheap.
@j4mesj4mes it’s a great event … I was there spectating (couldn't run it yesterday). Well done .. it’s hard work isn’t it!
Small world! I'm the one with the snazzy shoes
I was pretty much stood where that was taken .. just next to the funnel that took you up to the finish.
Just Been through my pics and one of your Bedale club mates snook into a picture but you didn’t make it.
I was only trying to catch my club mates (NYMAC) on camera
Managed to run a 5k without stopping. Knee felt tight, but no pain. Fitness is awful. Took over 27 minutes. I feel like a different person now with running, a far cry from sub 20's 5ks and sub 3:30 marathons.
Has anyone ever been about 30% slower after an injury and made it back faster and stronger?
Interesting discussion about weight/cross-training.
I don't really do any but suspect that it might have some modest benefits. But it's really hard to find a solid answer to the question of how much good it's likely to do. I'm probably going to do a little bit of plyo/core work when I get into running again over the winter. I'm over 50 and not getting any stronger (and unlikely to get any faster either). I'd like to slow down the inevitable decline though....
Managed to run a 5k without stopping. Knee felt tight, but no pain. Fitness is awful. Took over 27 minutes.
Mate, that's still faster than me.
😀
Went for a shoe fitting this morning at Run 4 It in Dundee. Pretty pleased with the service - they spent more time chatting through what kind of stuff I'm running on and talking through injury prevention than focusing on shoe marketing guff.
Was interesting that they gave the same warm-up advice as my physio friend did. Time will tell as to whether the shoe recommendation was good (got some Hoka One Ones as they felt the nicest).
Has anyone ever been about 30% slower after an injury and made it back faster and stronger?
Too often. Upped the walking mileage when I couldn't run, which really helped the time on feet capability as I built up to running again. First time back running a normal 50 minute circuit took 70. Got back to 50 minutes over a month without really trying too hard other than making sure i carried on with a 3+ mile walk every day i didn't run.
Mate, that’s still faster than me.
It's all relative. Can I have your biking fitness, please?
It’s all relative. Can I have your biking fitness, please?
Careful what you wish for, I've not been riding half as much lately.
We should get a ride in - if you managed to sort your tubeless woes in the end.
We should get a ride in – if you managed to sort your tubeless woes in the end
Yes, I did. Let's sort something out.
Back to running, I need to get new trail running shoes. My old Inov8 Roclites are pretty tired and tatty now. Considering going back to the Speedcross. Does anyone know if they still have the big inner midsole support?
Little bit annoyed. I'm week 9 (final) C25K, yesterday went out and did the prescribed 30min run, loved it! Afterwards and this morning patella pain when walking 😒
I'd been working a big database project for work all weekend that was really stressful, and completed it last night before the run (the run was the reward). So maybe in my excitment I went a bit too hard on the back of that, only 9min mile though. Weird as I've been fine all the way through the other weeks, then this out of nowhere. So I guess I'll need to sit it out now for a week or so
Yesterday was London Marathon, I set out with a silly ambitious goal of 2:19, which I knew was a long-shot, and I knew would be painful if it went wrong, and it didn't disappoint!
This was our little 2:20 group who were working very well together, the guy in the red and green vest of Aldershot and Farnham District AC is Joe Morwood, Steph Twell's husband and a very classy runner. Everyone was well motivated and the splits were tight until well past halfway.
Half split of 1:09:49 was a PB for the distance, so a bold strategy....
Things started to go downhill with about 10k to go, and I could tell as the heart rate was climbing higher and earlier than I've had before. Our group had dwindled to 3 as one guy had disappeared off ahead and several had dropped off the back, and soon after that it was a solo shuffle to the finish.
This shows how things started to go awry
I was haemorrhaging time towards the end and the final 3k were incredibly hard, I was on the edge of cramping and my vision was disturbed, so I very much knew that a complete physical meltdown was very close.
Very much my pain face here on the Embankment, willing the end to come as soon as possible.
Crossed the line in 2:23:06, a PB by 2 seconds, but quite the 4 minutes I was hoping for, but a PB none the less.
9th out of the mass start, 27th overall, 4th M40 - 2 vets on the elite start and 1 was in my group who I couldn't quite cling onto towards the end.
I'm sure I could have gone considerably quicker by setting my sights slightly lower and running even splits, but where would be the fun in that....
@turboferret amazing effort and even more amazing time! Well done.
I can’t comprehend running a marathon at that pace. Just insane!
Ridiculous run TF, brilliant work.
@turboferret - absolute class sir. Unfortunately my race didn't happen as I managed to completely blow my calf at Finsbury parkrun on Saturday morning (but that's another story entirely). I was watching just after the tower bridge turn at mile 13 (and then the other side at 22) and the group you were in looked like it was in fine shape at half way. I was glad to see you were still showing good form when you passed me at 22. That's a super ambitious time to go for and kudos for the effort put in. When you get into the territory of disturbed vision it is an awful place to be but great work for pushing through and getting the pb. I sense it is on borrowed time.
Hopefully, if my deferral goes through I will be back next year. I just need to get the calf sorted and strong again. 9th from the mass start is phenomenal.
Extra 20% off Nike sale items nike.com for members makes Wildhorse 7 £61.58 so might take the plunge based on what people have said about this shoe on here.
Tempted by those, look amazing! I need some trail shoes.
Didn't it get mentioned the grip was poor in wet?
@mattcartlidge I need some running shoes since my Salomon Speedcross have no tread left. New Speedcross GTX have gone insanely expensive (£140, I think I paid perhaps £80). Anyway, how do I get 20% off Nike? Just sign up?
@Superficial I was a member from buying school 'shoes' (Air Force 1) for my daughter, email arrived this morning saying use code OCT21 for 20% off sale items so yeah I guess join and then use the code. Previously looked at the wildhorse but beyond my usual tight budget without this saving but my Asics now have 5 holes across the pair so need new shoes.
Thanks for the quick reply, I may have to give them a go.
My next question is about Achilles tendinitis, or probably tendinopathy which I have self-diagnosed. apparently this is common in age 30-40 athletes so I don't feel too bad. My left achilles is stiff in the morning, and it's tender when I press it, but it's not painful in use so it's not even really that bothersome. The trouble is, it's been this way for months and I don't want it to get worse (obviously ideally I'd like it to get better!).
I ride ~100 miles a week (mainly commuting) and don't really want to stop that. I've never really done much running, but I have lots of trails around me and would like to be able to run them comfortably. My winter fitness regime was supposed to include some trail-running (my friend wants to do the OMM next year...) but will I make the tendon worse?
Is there anything I can do? Heel lift orthotics? Stretches? Go see a physio? Or do I just have to rest it for a bit?
Cracking effort Tubroferret. I can only imagine how hard those last few KM must have been after holding that pace for so long!!
@lunge - as owner or tester of ever shoe on the market - do any of the speedy, carbon plated ones you've tried have removable insoles? I've got really high arches so things like the Nike Vaporfly with glued in, flat footbeds would probably cripple me.
but it’s not painful in use so it’s not even really that bothersome.
Then I would ignore it and carry on. I have written about this on here before and my own experience of it over many years. IME they can become tender or swollen for many reasons and if you are training without pain I would be tempted to ignore it. It is one of the only injuries that I would suggest this for, just ensure you warm up before any running. Pain should be your guide. even if it is tender to run on you can often scale back your hill and speed work and this can be enough but I (and a lot people I have trained with) have lived with intermittent tendon "discomfort" and carried on and it has got better even when continuing to train. Use your judgement however, if it is very painful during training then stop but its common to be tender when warming up, pain free when running then stiff afterwards.
Ice will help but i would avoid stretching or massage etc. IME massage makes it much worse and never heard of anyone who had good experience once you let people start to prod it etc.... Also I would avoid NSAID's or pain killers as they can mask problems.
Still recovering from my achilles issue and currently up to 4 mile runs taking it steady (circa. 9.15 pace). Just been out today for a shorter (2.5 mile) run but pushed a little harder and was quite pleased with 8.26 pace with 160ft of elevation gain.
I might even get back up to my target of longer (10 mile) runs at 9 min mile pace this side of Christmas if the injury continues to heal.
Awesome effort tf, i can't help but think the extra air resistance from the beard might have held you back
@turboferret - thanks, I'm motivated to get back to it and seeing the marathon rather than being a part of it was extra motivation. I need to be sensible though and not try and rush back. Fortunately I haven't planned any events post marathon and was going to pick and choose what I wanted to do, so I can now just focus on getting things back in shape and not worry about pushing myself towards anything specific.
For those looking at the Nike trail shoes, also have a look at the Terra kiger as they a decent trail/off-road offering and some colours are also in the sale.
Warmed up properly and wore my new shoes and managed a few km with zero pain this morning. Hopefully can keep this up for a few months now!
@turboferret - crikey, that's a fast marathon. I reckon I might manage that time for a half marathon. You mentioned that the group was 'working together'. Do you feel much drafting benefit in groups like that when running or is it largely psychological?
Well done TurboFerret, that's really fast. I made it across in 5 hours 30 mins. It appears training more than 18 miles once really is a good idea. (I purchased several of your excellent battery holders in the dim distant past of DIY LED lights. But feel OK now.
@dashed, I pretty sure the NB FuelCell Elite V2 have a removable insole. In fact I know it has as a few reviewers have said you need to add double sided sticky tape to stop it moving. They’re proper fast shoes too.
The Saucony Endorphin Pro’s don’t strictly have one but they stuck in one easily comes out with a bit of heat and very minimal effort.
None of the Nike shoes do, not sure about Adidas. Worth noting that the arch is very high in the Vaporfly’s, and I think I’ve read the same about the Alphafly’s too so maybe don’t rule them out without trying them on. Nike have free returns and will let you run in them and still get a full refund.
@dashed - the Adidas adizero adios pro (originals at least) have a stuck in insole too. Not sure about the V2 but I would think they are likely the same. The other problem is getting hold of them.
More shoe chat, Pegasus 38’s are £60 ish with the code OCT21, https://nike.app.link/D7RVRYUE9jb
Infinity React 2 for £70 as well, both very good training shoes.
https://nike.app.link/fLOnc62E9jb
@stevious there is certainly a benefit to sitting behind a group tucked in - not as pronounced as on a road bike, but the faster you go, or the windier it is, the more noticeable it is. What was interesting was that one of the guys in the group who was very keen to go sub 2:20 and was shouting at us if our pace dropped below target, did zero turns on the front. I spent a fair amount of time at the front, which might have cost me a bit of time, but it's not all about the finish time at the end of the day, it's the whole experience which counts.
@Wally, thanks for your custom, that seems like a very long time ago now!
I would recommend training, it does help 😀
What was interesting was that one of the guys in the group who was very keen to go sub 2:20 and was shouting at us if our pace dropped below target, did zero turns on the front.
Ha, I think I've met that guy at sportives.
Cheers Mr Ferret
A good weekend for me - still recovering from an injury and slowly upping the distance. I thought the route was about 4.6 miles (previous post-injury max distance was just shy of 4 miles). I was beginning to tire a bit by the end which wasn't a surprise as it turned out it was a 6.12 mile run. I have no idea how I managed to do that but very happy to have completed it in under an hour (just) with no signs of the injury flaring up. Still hoping to be back up to 10 mile runs before Christmas.
I've said on here that I'm the opposite of Lunge, Turboferret and a few others on here: I'm not good at going fast, I'm good at going slow for a long time. The last year's been targeted to one event for me - the Lakes in a Day ultra: 50 miles, 4,000m of ascent, the full length of the Lake District north to south.
Won't write up the full blow-by-blow here, but had a decent day in relatively tough conditions. Visibility was low and we were in the clag for High Pike, Blencathra and the whole of the Helvellyn ridge. Navigation was tricky - there's not a huge amount needed but you can save some energy if you're following a better line, obviously - and the ground was just wet enough for the rocks and grass to all be greasy underfoot. After Ambleside the course gets a little less wild, but there's still 1,000m of ascent in the last 30km so it's not a walk in the park.
I moved well over the first stage, had an awesome run down Hall's Fell off Blencathra, navved well and made decent steady progress to Grisedale Tarn and up onto Fairfield, and paired up with a bloke moving at a similar pace to me as we descended to Ambleside. We stuck together from there, through the last two sections, both having problems with our knees (ITB issues, not insurmountable but annoying) and just sticking to jogging where possible but mainly fast hiking - trekking poles are a saviour!
I think I'd said on here, my last 50 miler I finished in just under 23hrs, but that was a decade ago now, out in the Pyrenees, and so I had no context for an estimated finish time. I'd set my goals as:
Bronze - don't miss any time cutoffs and just finish
Silver - Sub-23hrs
Gold - 20hrs
Happy to say that even with being slow over the last sections, I finished in 19:02:04, so very very happy with that (though my knees and thighs disagree with me this morning!)
Anyone else completed the C25k? Where did you go from there?
I like the idea of sticking with a structured plan so I don’t overdo things too quickly as I progress. Any recommendations for plan?
There’s this Nike Run club half plan I was considering. https://nikerunning.app.link/dr6gWOlclkb
It seems to progress at about 1 mile per week, mixed with speed and recovery runs