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Ran in Hokas for a few years mainly because I have arthritis in my big toe joints and the thick and slightly stiff forefoot in the most Hokas helped. Many shoes do a larger midsole and some have a carbon plate which means I dont have to run in Hokas anymore for the sake of my toes so gradually moving away from them.
My experience however was quite good and I ran in most of the models. I think the latest version of the Speedgoat is my favourite but all of them (other than the Bondi which I didnt get on with and the Stinson which was ridiculously high) were very good. Good grip and cushioning and much less cumbersome than they look so actually pretty good to run in.
Only downside is that you cant get up any speed so not great for faster paced efforts also the high stack height means you can turn your ankle easily and not great off camber.
Evening all
My trusty Garmin 910XT could do with replacing/repairing.
I’ve had a look at the latest generation of fitness watches, and they all look like they’re all day wearables with a host of new data to worry about (resting heart rates, recovery etc). Im toying with the idea of asking Santa for a new watch, or just trying to bodge a repair.
Do you (personally) look at this new data, or is it just an additional distraction? I don’t wear a watch for anything other than exercise, so I can’t see me getting much benefit, unless it’s a game changer.
I pay attention to my body battery, and also my RHR, sleep monitoring is also handy.
Not a massive need, I just like it.
My garmin forerunner battery is so terrible I don’t think it’d last a day!
Thought a short summary of Lunge's Black Friday running shoes bargains my interest some.
On the Nike app with the code GAME21, all in limited colours:
Alphafly's - £155. Clearly not cheap, but a very good price for that shoe.
Invincible - £98.
Pegasus 38's - £57. Bargain for an every day trainer
Pro-Direct have some interesting options too.
New Balance RC Elite 2, £176
Nike Vaporfly's - £180
The pick for me at Adidas is:
SL20 2.0, £60. I really enjoyed this as a cheap tempo shoe, worth a look
I'll add more if I see any today.
Probably the greatest runner of all time. It was shown in London but not sure yet how to watch it. Cant wait.
Do you (personally) look at this new data, or is it just an additional distraction? I don’t wear a watch for anything other than exercise, so I can’t see me getting much benefit, unless it’s a game changer.
Yeah, I do. I like to keep an eye on RHR. And the step counter keeps me honest. It does mean wearing it 24x7, but that doesn't bother me.
DC Rainmaker has just published his annual guide to sports watches, worth a look:
https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2021/11/best-gps-sport-smar****ches-recommendations-guide-2021.html
Started running again recently after a 15 year hiatus. I'm absolutely loving it!
I did the Scottish Island Peaks Race way back when I was still in school (pre Strava unfortunately) but haven't really run since.
I'm finding my bike fitness has transferred over quite well but it took a few months for the legs to build up and be able to stress the lung properly. Ran a 49 minute 10km during the week there but felt like there was quite a bit more left in the tank.
I've not touched the turbo this year at all yet - much preferring going out for a run around the city in the evenings. I think the best bit about running is how little faffing, driving around and kit there is compared with riding bikes...
What is the suggested distance for a warm up before an effort? I've just been running a bit slower for the first 2KM or so when going out but I feel like this maybe isn't enough?
RE Hokas i asked the question a few months back about what trail shoes to use. I'd never heard of Hoka back then, but now i absolutely love the Speedgoat 4. Grippy everywhere except very soft/muddy ground, very comfortable, and my park run (Lyme Park, a trail run) times came down a bit too. I was using Salomon ones previously which would fall apart after exposure to UV. Im probably not good enough to notice what surfer says about them being restrictive in speed however.
I have some speedgoats. I think they run very well on dry trails. It are terrible in mud and just clag up quickly, increasing the stack height even more. I never noticed them being unstable due to height.
However, my toes run on the outside even on the wide fit. They are not foot shape so I have moved to Altra, which are and no more rubbing.
As for speed, I got a parkrun PB of 15 seconds wearing my inov-8 claw things in mild mud. They are light, but just shows you that the right footwear for the conditions can give you speeeed.
No running for me this weekend - the pavements are lethal out there (top end of Harrogate) and it isn't going to get above freezing all day. Fingers crossed this snow/iced up slush thaws quickly so I can get out on Tuesday.
Still, it's been a great excuse for a lazy weekend, fire burning away, making homemade cherry flapjack, putting Christmas lights up ready for the street's 'big switch on' on 01 December, pottering around making homemade pizzas and later on getting started on Sunday Dinner 🙂
New to this running malarkey, having just completed the Couch to 5K program. Don't currently have the ambition to step up to 10K, 40K etc, but also don't want to lose the progress made so far. How do I go about maintaining current form? Will one 5K run per week be enough to do that? (If I do go outside and get sweaty I'd rather it be on the bike)
Speaking with recent experience of starting (end of this year will be the first full year of me running), I'd say one 5k a week is enough to maintain ability to do one 5k a week, yes 😉
I didn't do the C25K program myself so not sure where you end up after doing it. If you run more frequently than once a week, then dropping to one 5k run a week won't be quite enough to maintain where you got to - depending on how long you intend to run at that reduced level for of course.
You can probably stick to once a week, but some weeks do longer runs, slowly building up to 6k, 7k, 8k, etc, and other weeks, try faster paces - again slowly building up to faster paces.
What is the suggested distance for a warm up before an effort? I’ve just been running a bit slower for the first 2KM or so when going out but I feel like this maybe isn’t enough?
Your 10k time is pretty decent I'd say! Maybe you just need to slow down more than you think - it took me quite a while to realize how slow it's actually possible to run (I know that sounds ridiculous, especially as I'm not fast). Or just need more acclimatising to running?
If I’m doing intervals or tempo type stuff I’ll do 2k ish to warm up - easy running mainly with a couple of short efforts. If it’s just a ‘run’ then I just build up gradually.
What is the suggested distance for a warm up before an effort? I’ve just been running a bit slower for the first 2KM or so when going out but I feel like this maybe isn’t enough?
IME you need to do enough to warm up the legs, then a few progressive sprints or similar to properly activate your legs. It depends a lot on your age, your fitness, and the distance you're aiming at - but as a 50yr old man going for a decent training session I'd want at least 15 minutes of easy running, then a few hard sprint efforts to wake my legs up. If you're younger you could no doubt get away with less of a warm up.
Got a couple hours trail running on Sunday morning, was absolutely beautiful weather in Dursley, trails were mostly in great condition with only a little slop. I definitely need to do more hill work though. If it wasn’t for family plans I would have stayed out longer. I love those days when it just feels right!
Looking like it’s going to be cold this week but will get some miles in for sure
Now I’ve lost some weight its time to start running again…
I’ve got on very well with ASICS GT2000’s before and have been trying to buy a new pair as the old ones have holes in, soles worn out etc.
There’s almost no stock anywhere and what there is is all £100+ - no black friday bargains on those.
Any suggestions on alternatives, or a place to buy I’ve missed (size 46), or should I just stump up and buy some ASICS?
Good advice gents - thanks. I think it's the couple of "sprints" in the warm up bit i'm missing. I'll give that a go next time!
Any suggestions on alternatives
For the last 4 years, all I've done is bought from sportshoes.com, filter out to size and budget, and buy whatever ones are reduced from over 100 quid down to 70ish, at that price range they're all pretty good tbh.
Or have a look at Asics outlet, they're based in the EU, but you don't get hit with charges (well I haven't the 3 times I've used them)
Any suggestions on alternatives, or a place to buy I’ve missed (size 46), or should I just stump up and buy some ASICS?
For the last 4 years, all I’ve done is bought from sportshoes.com, filter out to size and budget
I usually do that but this year I was unable to find anything like a good deal so just went for a new pair of Saucony Guides at full price as the last pair I had were perfect for me - the best shoes I have ever had. I decided it wasn't worth risking a different make for the sake of a 10% discount.
@root-n-5th it didn't, MRT training in in that storm in Galloways on friday night, didn't get home til gone 11, couldn't summon the fortitude on saturday!.
Fair enough. There's always another week.
A very contrasting 3 weeks of running for me.
3 weeks ago: Club XC event at Denbies vineyard. Really looking forward to it as I missed the first match. On the warm up my heart rate hit the roof at an easy pace and I knew it was all over. tried to run but had to stop up the hills. I'm getting it checked out as it happens every couple of months. Could be a post-Covid thing. I don't think it's anything too serious but it feels like my fitness has been instantly halved. Very annoyed to miss that race.I honestly thought I would not be ever running again. That was it. Game over, man, game over. Not a nice feeling.
2 weeks ago: Nonsuch park run. Fuelled by anger and wanting to prove a point to myself the plan was to give it everything from the start. This I did, hit a 3:46 first km and got a PB of 19:15 and 76% age grading to boot. Happier.
This Sunday: Ranelagh Harriers Richmond 10k. I had a feeling I could do it, so I set off with a 3:48km to get some time in the bank. Backed off a bit and sat at 3:56-3:59km, got a Garmin 5Km PB of 19:33, and held on for a 39:33 to get my sub 40 target. Absolutely stoked by that. It was incredibly tough after 7km, my vision went blurry at 9km, but that's a PB of about 4 mins. I'm not doing it again.
Now I can relax. Until the next park run when my next goal is to go 16 seconds faster...
Keep at it. You have good days and bad days. Remember the good days!
@root-n-5th I knew it was a PB, didn't realise it was by over 10%, that's absolutely stonking 😀
Well done, great feeling to finish a race knowing that you've given it your all and reaped the rewards 🙂
I've got my 2nd stinking cold in as many months, taking a few days off running as a result. Getting rather tired of frequent illness, although I appreciate that a heavy cold/light flu pales in comparison to what many others are going through. My next goal is Country to Capital, a 43 mile race from Wendover to Paddington, a mixture of hilly trails over the Chilterns, a bit of road and then half on the Grand Union Canal towpath, on 8th January. The current course record is 4h 55m I think, so I'd be aiming to knock a chunk of that, hopefully I can get some consistent training in between now and then.
Well done roots, that's superb sir!.
Cheers! I hate 10k. @turboferret - The last PB was when you paced me at Nonsuch in 2020. That was a harder course, and this was the first proper flat, road 10K race I've done, but it's a good improvement.
Good luck on the January endeavour. The current record is the following pace I think. Just under sub 3 marathon pace. Should be a walk in down the canal for someone of your talents!
6 minutes 51.63 seconds per mile
4 minutes 15.77 seconds per kilometer
Awesome running Root, brilliant work.
Nice little lunchtime run today. I have been focussing on doing longer runs of late (longer for me is around 6 to 9 miles) but I was a bit time poor today so just did a faster (for me) 3 mile run in 24 minutes. Helped for half of it by a strong tail wind, hampered going back up the hill into the same bloody wind.
Does anyone run in Nike and Asics? I'm looking at a pair of Asics Sonoma 5 Goretex trail shoes and a few places online are suggesting sizing up a half from Nike (I'm a 10.5 Pegasus).
I could probably go a half size down in the Nike if they were wider, anyone able to comment on the fit of the Asics?
Does anyone run in Nike and Asics?
Me, well, I used to, I've moved away from ASICS.
I found little or no difference in length but the ASICS were slightly narrower. I have a feeling though that latter day ASICS shoes are on a different last and may well be shorter and wider, certainly the reviews of the races shoes (Metaspeed) are saying that.
Not sure if that's overly helpful...!
That's what the Internet seems to be saying, might chance the 10.5s. I can always send them back.
I’ve worn Saucony over the last couple of years, firstly Guides and then Ride 13. Tried some Nike Pegasus 38s via Black Friday but didn’t like the fit - especially the heel - so sent them back. Searched the internet high and low for a good deal for Saucony Endorphin Speed 2 but there wasn’t much about but got a bit off via Run 4 it. First run at lunch today - blimey, they’re amazing! I’d say 5-10secs per k quicker, might be a placebo effect partly but well pleased with them.
The Endorphin Speed is meant to be an amazing shoe, I tried it and just couldn't get on with the fit which is a shame as I really wanted to like them.
My latest investment is the Nike ZoomX Invincible. First run yesterday and I can confirm it's like running on clouds, they're so soft and cushioned. They're certainly not a tempo shoe and when I tried to up the pace a little they felt very sloppy, but as a recovery/easy day shoe they will do a job.
Yep, feet are very specific! It did feel very much an all rounder, despite the plate in it. Might look at the shift as a recovery/easy run version.
Expressed my preference for Nike before, generally although Hoka for my dodgy toe problems. I have always liked Saucony. I worked in a running shop in the late 80's when at Uni and we sold them then (think it was the Azura)
In terms of quality of materials and build they were far ahead of brands such as Reebok and Nike at the time. We couldn't get hold of enough of them they sold like hot cakes. I also picked up a pair of the Endorphins in a Sport-shoes sale recently, first pair of Saucony I have had for many years. Like them a lot.
First night back at the club in about a year tonight, fear is kicking in.
2 mile warm up, then 12, 8 and 6 minutes at 10k pace with 2 mins easy pace in between, and then another 2 miles back to start.
Which will be the furthest I've run in that year!.
Need to start somewhere. 🙂
First night back at the club in about a year tonight, fear is kicking in.
How did it go?
Our club run was more than a little tasty last night. 11 miles, 7:20's from the start and a sprint finish for the last mile.
The beer in the club house at the end has rarely tasted better.
Trying my best to keep a focus on running over the winter months (I usually end up not running then restarting in spring). Anyway, I have just found a great tow path run I can do which starts almost right outside the office (in central Leeds) so I am now running twice a week on there (shorter runs on my lunch break so no more than four miles) to supplement my longer weekend runs - the hope is to get my pace back to circa. 8min miles on longer (8 mile +) runs. It was a challenge getting out in it this week though with all the horrendous weather we have had.
What club do you run for @lunge ? I may be wrong but I thought I recalled you were not far from me, Wirral.
Our Wirral AC Monday night runs (10) were similar. It was made clear what you were getting into but after a couple of easy miles the pace got quicker and quicker and the last few miles were very fast indeed. Some quality local lads turned up for that. Our Liverpool Pembroke runs were even better and at the time we had a lot of very quick lads 980's and early 90's) We had a (measured by car) 7.4 mile route from Kirkby stadium, though Aintree, up to Walton Vale then back through Fazakerley. Sub 40 was seen as a decent time and even though I ran inside 39 mins on a couple of occasions I was always in the last few....
Not my running but others - convinced two mates to come out orienteering left night, the local club's regular 1hr evening event. One of them brought another friend with them, so we ran as a four, working on the navigation and having a good chat on the way.
Turned out one of them hasn't run in a year, and had pretty sore feet because his aged trainers are well past their useful life, but everyone really enjoyed it and everyone's coming along next week!
Well, that was interesting.
As expected, I was blowing out my arse on the first effort (12 mins) and I pretty much eased off and ran with a fellow lapsed club member for the rest of the 6 mile run.
Great to be back though and meet club folks I've not seen since pre covid, and it's the kick up the arse I've needed for ages, feels like I'm back in it. I used to be top quarter of the thu night group, not dead last! 🙂
What waterproof running jackets are people using at the moment? i have my eyes on these
https://www.sportsshoes.com/product/ski1439/skins-activewear-jedeye-nano-3l-rain-jacket/#sku-ski1439 https://www.sportsshoes.com/product/sal2990/salomon-bonatti-wp-jacket-~-aw21/#sku-sal2990