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I am feeling pretty frustrated - having started to up my weekly milage again after various setbacks this year (I was aiming for three runs a week), I was knocked sideways by a cough/cold (not covid - tested a trillion times) and haven't been able to run since 14 December – even going for moderate dog walks is leaving me feeling a bit short of breath. Hopefully I will finally get over it in the next week and I can restart (again) and try to get back to where I was heading in December. It is all very frustrating as I had been looking forward to getting out for some long runs over the Christmas break.
@johndoh Yeah it can be annoying. You see yourself with linear progress stretched out into the near future - no bumps, no glitches and no setbacks. And then...
Just do what you can when you can and 'build back betterer' (that really is joke 😛 ).
It's mildly annoying but not really life changing. It's supposed to be fun and if we wring the joy out of it by being too target fixated, there seems little point and I'm the world's worst for target fixation.
Get better and start plodding around for FUN!
Yep agreed - either way I should be better than I was at this time last year. Hopefully!
Don’t forget it’s Spine time. Fun run started today and the main event tomoz.
What’s everyone entered for next year?
Couple of ultras: Sierra Nevada in April (in Granada), and Ehunmilak (Basque country) in July. 100 and 168km approx., respectively.
Couple of ultras: Sierra Nevada in April (in Granada), and Ehunmilak (Basque country) in July.
Nice, I imagine the weather will be better than Lakes In a Day in October! 😉
Stunning weather and I see a Strava feed full of long runs. 18 for me this morning, all off road to avoid the icy roads. Absolutely beautiful running conditions.
Horrible in West of Scotia this morning, sideways freezing rain.
Had a good start to the year, 30 miles, a tough hill walk on Tuesday, and a couple of kettlebell sessions too, so struggled a wee bit this morning.
Good to get back in the groove, entries to my target race open tomorrow, fingers crossed.
Feel a bit silly posting this with the discussion about ultras and 4 min miles going on up there but it does say beginners in the thread title so here goes.
I was a reasonably fit cyclist, capable of 100 mile road rides until the end of last year until some medical problems mean I can't really ride at the moment, in a desperate attempt to retain some fitness and get some exercise and after a lot of umming and arghing and procrastination I have decided to take up running.
Currently on week 2 of couch to 5k and running for a grand total of 90 seconds 6 times, with a 2 min walk in between and I'm suffering a lot with lower leg pain. It was calf muscles in week 1 that I have now found out how to stretch out and the pain has moved to just below the knees at the front this week. They hurt especially when going up or down hill. Is it a case of just using muscles I haven't used for a long time (if ever) and it will get better with time or should I just accept that running is not for me and continue my rapid progression to couch?
Any advice would be gratefully received.
It's always one of the hardest decisions to make, when to push through a niggle, and when to accept other more than a niggle.
I'd be tempted to push on with yours tbh, as you say, you've not really ran before, and just keep an eye on it.
Have you got some nice cushioned shoes? The impact of starting running later in life can be helped massively with decent shoes IME.
Best of luck, as you say, this thread is for everyone. 👌🏻
im looking forward to doing a season (hopefully, touch wood) of fell races. I've joined Barlick Fell Runners and will join the FRA in a bit. Anything in the 3- 10 mile range. Some good races if we take in Dales, Calderdale and the local races. I'll start upping the training in a few weeks, with intervals etc. Just need to stay injury free. Can't wait
Nice, I imagine the weather will be better than Lakes In a Day in October!
Dunno, I tried to do the second race back in 2018, but they had to suspend after we'd only done 55km due to a massive storm - it really was quite scary up high with lightning striking about 500m away... And the Sierra Nevada in April could be pretty snowy, too. Still, all part of the fun I guess 🙂
Is it a case of just using muscles I haven’t used for a long time (if ever) and it will get better with time or should I just accept that running is not for me and continue my rapid progression to couch?
As above, it’s tough to decide what is a problem and what is not.
Certainly some discomfort is to be expected, new muscles and new impacts will do that. When discomfort turns into pain, particularly prolonged pain, is when to stop.
To minimise, make sure you’re not going to fast as, if you have some running fitness it’ll be easy to do so. Also try and run on soft surfaces, that’ll help with the impact.
Jonno - I would be my house that your issues stem from weak glute muscles. Although your calves/knees may hurt, it may not be the cause of the pain.
In my opinion, by far the best videos in the net are Jeff Cavaleres Athlean X on YouTube.
Try this, and then the videos within
I’d be interested to know if this helps so keep us posted
Currently on week 2 of couch to 5k and running for a grand total of 90 seconds 6 times, with a 2 min walk in between and I’m suffering a lot with lower leg pain. It was calf muscles in week 1 that I have now found out how to stretch out and the pain has moved to just below the knees at the front this week. They hurt especially when going up or down hill. Is it a case of just using muscles I haven’t used for a long time (if ever) and it will get better with time or should I just accept that running is not for me and continue my rapid progression to couch?
I had similar recently. New to running too and thought it was IT band issues. Tried a few new stretches and the pain moved to below my knees, and kept moving from inside to outside.
I was doing some hilly runs and not fully warming up. Over Christmas I tried some flater routes and made sure to do a 10 min walk first, then a few stretches before running slowly for the first few mins. Still have some pain but no where near as much.
Now I'm back at work the pain has come back a bit so putting it down to sitting at a desk on cheap chairs all day.
Thanks for the comments, plenty to think about. Probably guilty of trying to run to fast and have been running on a tarmac cycle path so it's hard ground, would love to do trail runs but it's a boggy mess out there at the moment so have been avoiding it.
Have a pair of asics gel trainers, they were bought a few years ago (last time I procrastinated about running) but never used, they feel fairly comfy but weren't advised by an expert or anything.
My runs have been fairly flat so far but thinking about it I did try a hill the run before the pains started. I'm just finding it hard to take it slowly, desperate to get that feeling back that I'm missing from cycling.
I started March 2020, and found it difficult, just is. Toward the end of this year I decided to make more effort to do slow runs. Had to say to myself slower than that, and that, slow down again, slower. But been struggling the last month or so with lower leg/ankle pain even just plodding along. So mixed it up today and did some intervals running as fast as I could, just based on feel, no timing element to them before slowing right back down to a plod (despite 'sod the plod' coming to mind). On the plus side, made it much more enjoyable and less focus on lower legs. On the negative, aching hips/buttocks! Best to enjoy it and not just make it a test of endurance every time.
I will mostly be catching up with the races I missed because of the pandemic or breaking my ankle last year. 2022 has to be better than the jobbie sandwich that was last year as far as racing goes. On the plus side I have 5 halfs and a marathon this year and haven't had to pay for any yet.
First 20-miler of the season done, the last one of those I did was back in Feb 2020 when I remember listening to a podcast talking about the fatality rate from the new coronavirus disease…
Nice work Captain, I managed a 15 on the hill last week with a view to 20 in a few weeks time. At my current pace more jogging than running.
Before I go and buy either a Petzl or Silva of some description that has a good balance of lumens/burn time/weight.
I'm in the market for a head torch, it's to be used (on occasion) for running in the Scottish Highlands/Lakes in all seasons (snow permitting).
Priorities are
Build quality
Battery not too badly affected by cold weather
Long burn time, enough to get through a Spring/Autumn night
Enough light for "jogging" on technical terrain with some occasional sighting for nav/scary noises in the dark.
I'm currently using a now no longer used on the bike Lumenator that I have a head torch harness for, but it's a bit on the weighty side.
I'll pay for build quality/reliability over being a bargain.
I'm guessing NAO+
I've got a NAO+ which is pretty good. Recently got a fenix hp25 (link) though and it make the NAO+ seem pretty rubbish. Pretty hefty if you're carrying it but feels light on the head as it's so well balanced. Kicks out a huge amount of light and it's properly regulated unlike the NAO+ which dims noticeably.
I also found running slow difficult to do. In a way its more of a mental challenge. Due to bike fitness, if I run slow it feels really slow and way too easy but been doing more of this at the start of a run and it does help warm up properly. I've not properly pushed myself yet as I know my knees and hips are not use to the new movement of running.
Planning to build up to a half marathon by the end of the summer so need to get into a more regular routine as well as 2 or 3 rides a week.
Before I go and buy either a Petzl or Silva of some description that has a good balance of lumens/burn time/weight.
i really like my actik core.
may not have the burn time you want but the core batteries are tiny (3xAAA), could be stashed in a pocket or you can use AAA's instead.
I was a reasonably fit cyclist [...] I have decided to take up running.
I'm in the same boat. I too have tried to start running. Having cycled everywhere for 20+ years and never ran anywhere, I have good stamina but sooo many niggly pains whenever I run.
My experience (still very much a work in progress):
I started with really short runs (2k ish) then worked up to 3, 4, 5, 8k ever a month or so. I always want to run flat-out, though. I probably should have listened to what plenty of people said about going slow.
I still don't know whether I should be doing longer / shorter strides, leaning further back, bending my knees more, heel strike vs forefoot strike etc.
It's easier to concentrate on form / minimising impacts when you're not sprinting. So slower is probably better for joints, at least until I can learn what my form should be like and 'lock into' a usable gait.
After pounding the streets for a couple of months, I ran up a hill (off road) the other day and OMG it felt so much better! Because it was uphill I was running at somewhere near my cardio-respiratory limit which felt good. Trail running somehow seems gentler on my joints, perhaps because I have to think about where / how I'm placing my foot on the ground. Plus, it was much more like what I want to ultimately achieve - long trail runs.
I wish there was a resource for the experienced cyclist taking up running. Anyone got any tips?
It was several years into my running before I managed to enjoy steadier runs. I used to think that unless a run was moderate to hard it had no benefit, but that's completely wrong, and training in the zone of neither easy nor hard gets you tired without significant gains in fitness. Slow runs are great for adaptation and recovery, but take discipline.
Race on Saturday was fun for the first half - Country to Capital, 43 miles from Wendover, over the Chilterns on a mix of trails and road, then onto the canal to Paddington. I had a perhaps ambitious goal of knocking over 10 minutes off the course record, which didn't entirely go to plan. Little video from the end here:
I've just been made aware of the 100km Anglo Celtic Plate race in April which forms the GB trial race for the 100km World Champs in August in Germany. If I'm ever going to snag a genuine GB vest this is probably about my best chance, so I'm going to throw my hat into the ring 🙂
Fair play @turboferret , may as well try for it!
I’ve just booked a 25km trail race in July, figure it should slot nicely into training being 2 months before my ultra. Im not there to race as such though!
Started the year a lot stronger than last year which is a good start! Going to aim for consistent time running weekly until ramping things up towards summer. Might try for a couple other shorter trail events if I fancy any in the southwest.
I’ve always found running slowly real difficult, it’s so easy to settle into that average comfy pace! Would like to start paying a little more attention to my runs so I can get the best training from them. Where do I start though?!
What is it specifically you prefer about the Fenix? It does look a bit heavier than what I was hoping for but still lighter than what I have.
i really like my actik core.
may not have the burn time you want but the core batteries are tiny (3xAAA), could be stashed in a pocket or you can use AAA’s instead.
I'll take a look at that, I think you can buy spare batteries for the Nao too.
Went with this for a head torch https://www.myfenix.co.uk/product/fenix-hm65r-t-trail-1721
On paper has the right balance of weight/lumens/burn time and an additional battery would be 50 grams.
Anyone got any running plans for the weekend?
I scuppered mine yesterday giving a pair of Salomon S Lab twin skin style shorts a last chance short run to make sure I didn’t get on with them. Turns out the run wasn’t short enough and removed enough skin from somewhere personal and hairy that I’m not even sure Zwift will work this weekend so my plans now consist of a ritualised spite filled burning of the aforementioned shorts.
Barstad things.
@piemonster, these are good and cheap from decathlon. No chafing and keep everything where they should be. https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/men-s-breathable-running-boxers/_/R-p-121488
Plans this weekend are:
Short morning run on the ice his morning and then XC racing this afternoon.
Sunday will be a slow long-ish run, a half or so I reckon.
First race since March 2020 for me tomorrow!
The Brass Monkey half marathon in York. Been following a Ben Parkes plan so be interesting to see how I get on since I’m planning to use his marathon plan for Edinburgh this year.
Anyone running Feel the Burns in Selkirk tomorrow?
Myself and TrollingZooFighter will be.
Today I will be mainly manspreading, I’ve no need for any further burns thank you
Cheers @Lunge, I actually have some of those from a previous recommendation on here, possibly from you.
I don’t get on with them as well as you seem to, but they are ok. I’ve still to find any kit as good as X Bionic, I just wish the would tone down the absurd techno babble nonsense in their marketing department.
Surrey League XC yesterday went reasonably well, despite the legs still feeling the previous weekends 43 mile race in them. Started fairly steadily and gradually moved through the field a little bit, feeling like I could have done another lap of 2 (3 for the race) without too much bother. Probably means I didn't wring as much out of myself as I could have done, but considerably more enjoyable than haring off at the start, blowing up and then going backwards feeling like death! Solid 20th and 5th scorer for the club, so not unhappy. Need to start building the mileage up now
XC racing for me as well, sneaked a top 50 and 2nd for the club (in truth, I should have caught him as he only finished 3 seconds ahead). The vomit as I crossed the finish line suggested I did a reasonable job of emptying the tank. A late decision to switch to 15mm spikes meant a shorter warm-up than usual which didn't help, though the extra grip certainly did.
Did a very gentle, ice cold 15 miler yesterday which felt much harder than the pace and elevation suggested it should have. The bacon sarny in the cafe at the end has rarely tasted better,
Right, a slightly sensitive subject.
I get terrible runners stomach/trots when I run in evenings. Mornings are fine, lunch time is fine, but evenings are not good.
At best it's a gurgly stomach and wind, at worst I need to find somewhere discrete to squat/find a pub to pop into, the latter of which happens far more regularly than is ideal.
The usual internet solution of don't eat before you run (I don't, I eat lunch around 12:30pm and generally run around 6 or 7pm no food is taken in the afternoon) and don't use gels (I don't) have not helped.
I also try to "empty the tanks" before leaving the house.
Anyone got any other remedies or am I destined to be the runner that knows where every toilet stop is within a 10 mile radius of my home?
@stox how did you get on at Brass Monkey? I did it as a marathon pace run before London a couple of years ago and felt great, then injured myself before the marathon so it was a bit a waste 😀 Great race though.
@teaandbiscuit Not too bad thanks, 1:27 was the target and I ended up running 1:26:52 (previous PB was 1:29:00 in March ‘20). So I Knocked over 2 mins off my PB.
Considering this time last year I was still looking for sub 90 I shouldn’t moan.
I ought to have been over the moon but I was more disappointed than anything else as I found it really hard going from mile 8 and couldn’t keep my pace under the 6:40/mi that’s I’d been aiming for. I could / should have taken another minute off really. Easier said than done.
I got under the target time because I ran the first 6 miles quick and banked the time. That wasn’t a mistake … well not completely. I intended to go out quick , just maybe not as quick and not for 6 miles but I got running with a lad from my club and went with it until he pressed on and I eased off a bit.
These are my splits .. by mile 6 I was averaging 6:22/mi so yes too fast but then all of my focus was on keeping my average below 6:40/mi ! The second half was Really hard work 🤢 and I’m gutted that those mile splits were over 6:40. Great race. Well organised. Not easy getting a place!
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A race of two halves! Well done. Having done that, what pace strategy would you use next time?
@lunge - I've never had the problem quite that bad (though on occasion have had to get creative!) I found that running on a nearly empty stomach is bad for me and a glass of water or a snack before a run helped. Not likely to be a magic solution but easy to try!
A race of two halves! Well done. Having done that, what pace strategy would you use next time?
Run the second half faster 😂😂
Seriously it’s something I need to work on. I think if I’d stuck to 6:40/mi pace from the off I may have struggled. The 1:27 was always a big ask but I was basing it on my Cambridge 2020 performance where I also struggled mentally and physically in the second half.
I need to work on my endurance …. I am
Struggling in the second half of my half marathons when I’m aiming for these kind of times. If anybody has any pointers I’d love to know how I can improve on that.
I just need to factor that into my training, and do some strengthening (weights) exercises too.
Run the second half faster 😂😂
Good plan!
I find this really useful: https://runsmartproject.com/calculator/
If you type in your 5k pace (or whichever distance) it'll show you the times you should be able to hit if you're equivalently trained.
My 10k pace is actually slightly faster than my 5k pace, my half marathon is 2 mins behind and my marathon is about 15mins slower 😀 I'm lacking the aerobic endurance from mileage and clearly need to be like a few others on this thread and log an extra thousand (or two) miles per year!
@teaandbiscuit thanks….
If I put my BM half time in (it’s the only race I’ve done in over 12 months) it’s spitting out 18:56 5k which I reckon I can do. I think I’ll be having a good go at parkrun in the next week or two so I’ll see how it compares.
It’s showing 3:01 for a marathon. I’m aiming to go sub 3:05 end of May .
Although by mile 9 of BM I was never running another half ever again let alone going through with my marathon plan 😂