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  • The Annual Running thread – beginners/ultras/whatever
  • lotto
    Free Member

    Do you think good socks make much of a difference to your running experience?I wear the cheapest ankle socks from Sports Direct. Never had any issues but wonder if anything better would be good  for foot health etc.

    dashed
    Free Member

    If it ain’t broke… I’d not mess around with socks if they work for you.

    lunge
    Full Member

    If what you’ve got works then keep using them.
    I swear by these Decathlon running socks if you want to try something different.

    Fresh Goods Friday 696: The Middling Edition

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    notmyrealname
    Free Member

    Due to getting increasingly frustrated with the crappy weather and finally being injury free, I’ve decided to try and get back into some running.

    Plan is to start off nice and easy with the couch to 5k programme and, fingers crossed, I’ll be able to build it back up and stay injury free. I think the killer last time was going too long and too fast too quickly. Typical newbie error!

    Nobeerinthefridge
    Free Member

    Best of luck buddy, sounds like you know what you’re doing, enjoy. 🙂

    turboferret
    Full Member

    This weekend I’ll be conducting a recce of the Capital Ring on my MTB. I’m going for the unsupported record so want to make sure I know of the available water stops and hopefully get familiar with the route to avoid too many navigational issues. There was a new record set at the weekend, unsupported, so I’ve revised my plans to ensure I’m also unsupported. It must be quite galling for the previous record holder as the new guy has actually run slower and a shorter overall distance through better navigation (all those tiny stretches where you’re going the wrong way really add up).

    The actual run pencilled in for Thursday next week 🙂

    root-n-5th
    Free Member

    @tutboferret. Best of luck with it! 78 miles is a very long bike ride for me so that is quite some challenge. Hope you make a video of it. What time are you hoping for?

    I’ve got 34km to go in my 100km challenge. Easy 10km today and might try to finish in style tomorrow with a 25km trail run from Headley Heath. Strap on knee is proving excellent.

    lunge
    Full Member

    78 miles unsupported is a huge run, good luck turbo!!!

    I’ve got a charity virtual half marathon today, 300 or so other people all setting off at various points around the UK at 12pm. Going to run an old favourite route along the canal from Wolverhampton into the centre of Birmingham, no fast time in mind as I find it hard to push on when on my own, but a solid first half and a faster second is the vague plan, anything under 1:45 will do me. Hoping to find an open pub or 2 when I arrive in Town.

    Nobeerinthefridge
    Free Member

    Great stuff guys!

    turboferret
    Full Member

    The goal is around 10 hours, averaging about 4:40/km moving with a bit of stoppage time to fill water bottles along the way. I think the challenge will be to keep the pace under control so that my GI system keeps working normally so that I can keep fuelled. If I go too quickly then my stomach pretty much shuts down so I won’t be able to get calories in. Run out of energy and it’ll be a very slow painful finish.

    I’ll take my GoPro and a few spare batteries to document my endeavour. I’m not quite sure how I managed to record nearly an hour of footage during my Greenway run – that means that I was waving the camera around for over 1/4 of the time I was running!

    notmyrealname
    Free Member

    @turboferret that’s a hell of a run. In fact that would be a fairly big day out on a bike for most of us. Good luck with it!

    I’ll stick with my 2.6 miles of running/walking not moving like an arthritic pensioner today. That’s a win in my books 😀

    lunge
    Full Member

    Bloody lovely half today.
    13 miles on the canals, lovely temperature and just a very pleasant run.
    Plus the pub was open about 10 metre from where I finished.
    Not a bad time either given I had a backpack on.

    dashed
    Free Member

    Christ! 78miles at 4:40/km?? That only marginally slower than I can run 10!!! Mentalist 😉 Good luck!!

    Just starting to get back out myself after torn ligaments in my ankle. Pretty quick recovery thanks to some help from a physio (fellow running club member), but legs feel bartered after only 3 weeks off. Need to ease back into it gently I think!

    mogrim
    Full Member

    Grim run here this morning – too hot and I might have had too many beers last night 🙂

    Still, it cleared the cobwebs so I suppose it wasn’t a complete failure.

    dovebiker
    Full Member

    Do you think good socks make much of a difference to your running experience?

    If you start getting into ultra distances, the wrong socks and blisters can ruin your day. Years of wearing badly fitting shoes day to day means my little toe is slightly tucked under it’s neighbour and I can get blisters between my toes. Injinji toe socks have eliminated them for me – I’ll quite happily do 50km off-road without trouble.

    ta11pau1
    Full Member

    @turboferret that’s a hell of a run. In fact that would be a fairly big day out on a bike for most of us. Good luck with it!

    I’ll stick with my 2.6 miles of running/walking not moving like an arthritic pensioner today. That’s a win in my books

    that’s why I love this thread – doesn’t matter if you’re just starting C25K, or are 6 months into your running career and proud of running 12k, or are running up scottish munros most weekend, or are doing 125km runs around London for fun 😀

    All are welcome. 😀

    I can manage 4:40 pace for about 3k, maybe a bit more. Mental.

    Another 6km staple trail run tonight, I’m guessing it’s a good sign when your you’re running at your normal pace, look at your HR (via a chest strap) and think it could be mis-reading as it’s lower than normal, but then realise it’s not?

    I’m steadily increasing my weekly km’s – 21 last week, 18 so far this week, doing a biggish mtb ride tomorrow as I’ve not ridden for 3 weeks and I’m off oop north t’peak district on Thursday (going to try and sneak in an 8k trail run from langsett up north america to the split and back around the reservoir, if my legs will let me after 1.5 days riding!) but should still hit 23/24km running this week.

    Nobeerinthefridge
    Free Member

    that’s why I love this thread – doesn’t matter if you’re just starting C25K, or are 6 months into your running career and proud of running 12k, or are running up scottish munros most weekend, or are doing 125km runs around London for fun 😀

    Absolutely bang on sir! The most supportive, positive, un-STW thread on here. 😊

    chomp
    Free Member

    well given the news that grass roots sports is on the horizon I figured I’d better actually try to move at more than a walking pace before I start playing football again . . . .

    wow – I only did a mile (didn’t want to overdo it given my 45 year old legs haven’t done any fitness work in the last 3-4 months) and had to slow to walking pace 3 times!

    To make it worse (or better, as I have an incentive now) my kid came along with me and was happily chatting away at our pace, while I was doing my best not to puke

    What a wake up call that was – it wasn’t really a surprise, but I did think I’d make the mile loop without walking to be honest.

    Best thing was, I felt great afterwards (once I’d got my breath back and had a shower) and my mental state this afternoon has been about as good as it’s been at any time during lockdown.

    Going to get my arse back in gear now, and try to get out daily (I do kinda hate myself for being lazy, but unless I have an sporting incentive I’m terrible)

    root-n-5th
    Free Member

    Done it. 100k in 6 days finished off with a proper trail run in the Surrey Hills of 25km today. Furthest I’ve ever run today and really enjoyed running my mtb routes. Not fast but took it easy to conserve energy and legs. Much respect to those who run long distances!

    loum
    Free Member

    Nice one root.
    Targets are great, and then hitting them is even better.

    mogrim
    Full Member

    Absolutely bang on sir! The most supportive, positive, un-STW thread on here.

    Definitely, and I have no hesitation in telling people on other running threads to ask their question here – I know any answer here will be positive and encouraging, even if I don’t necessarily agree 100% with it.

    So love-in done, my run report 🙂 22km in La Pedriza, which is part of a national park to the north of Madrid. It’s famous for its granite outcrops and lunar landscapes, but that’s only part of its charm. It’s also the source of the (frankly crap) river Manzanares that runs through Madrid, the only capital in Europe with a non-navigable river 🙂 Still, while it’s not a huge torrent by anyone’s standards it’s still definitely a river, and the valley it runs down is a beautiful pine forest with bracken floors and a lot of dust… It’s also definitely a mountainous region, so those 22km were good for over 1,100m of climbing. I made the stupid mistake of going with someone faster than me, and suffered accordingly. All good fun though, and thoroughly recommended if you’re ever in Madrid.

    root-n-5th
    Free Member

    @loum Cheers. 115km week. Won’t be doing it again for a while but has peaked my interest in a proper ultra. Maybe build up to it for next year. Really like the idea of the challenge being to finish rather than get a fast time as those race efforts don’t ‘arf take it out you. Only managed this week by running.at low intensity.and keeping heart rate below 149bpm.

    lunge
    Full Member

    Good weekend of running here.
    Did a Half on Friday as mentioned above, reasonable time and felt good all through the run.
    Got up Saturday morning with the intention of doing 4 gentle miles after the days before’s efforts. Turns out my legs felt awesome so a gentle 4 turned into quite a hard 10.
    Sunday comes along and I’m going out on the bike with a few friends, but need to throw in a quick run first to keep up my streak (114 days as you asked…). 4 miles done, again, quicker than planned as legs felt food. Then went and did 50 miles in the bike, not quick and not mega hard.
    And now, finally on Monday, it has kicked in. I am sat at my PC and can barely keep my eyes open. I want to eat everything, my legs hurt…and tonight it’s intervals at the running club.

    I don’t know why I do this to myself!

    Nobeerinthefridge
    Free Member

    Superb all! Well done Roots, lunge, chomp and mogrim!

    I’ve not been running much, but it’s the time of year for other stuff, couple of mountains last week, 2 big days on the bike and a wee 6am bootcamp this morning, it’s good to mix it up, I think running really helps on the hill days and the biking, and those days in turn help my running.

    I’m keener to get some full body fitness stuff done, most of us runners do very little upper body stuff, need to work on that.

    turboferret
    Full Member

    Recce done, a nice day out. Quite lumpy south of the river. Wish I’d sorted the dragging front brake beforehand! Map on watch certainly essential if you aren’t familiar with the route as the signs are pretty hit and miss in places.

    A lot of the success will lie in the prep – unsupported means only getting water from public water sources ie taps, not shops/cafes/pubs. Scoping these all out in advance is essential. I discovered that a couple of the taps along the Union Canal/Rive Lee require a British Waterways Key, so I bought one of these. The bonus of everything being on Strava is being able to analyse previous efforts and see where they stopped. Still a couple of long stretches without taps that I’ve located so I’ll have to carry more fluids than I’d like, or risk running dry.


    Fryent Country Park looking south to Wembley


    The first of several signs making it clear just how far you have to go!


    Springfield Park just before hitting the River Lee at Warthamstow Marshes


    One of the less obvious water sources that you really need to know about in advance near London City Airport


    Up in Eltham


    Water in Beckenham Place Park


    When your watch strap breaks and you end up holding it along with your grip 😀

    I was using my Edge 820 for navigation until the battery unexpectedly died after about 5 hours. I think I need to revise backlight settings if I’m going to use it again, but it spent quite a lot of time ‘recalculating’ which must have chewed through battery too. My Fenix 5S finished with 5% battery (although rebounded to 14% an hour later) so won’t last 10 hours, my Fenix 3 finished with 25% battery so is borderline for the main endeavour, I think I’ll have to consider the option of charging mid-way with a little external pack.

    I had pencilled the attempt in for Thursday, which is going to be relatively cool, however the legs didn’t feel particularly fresh this morning and my HR was a little higher than I would expect for a slow trot, so I’ll play it by ear in terms of recovery. No point in rushing this as there is no deadline so it would be a bit foolish to run when I wasn’t fresh.

    dashed
    Free Member

    TF – can you borrow a full sized Fenix 5? I think their battery life is about double the 5s. I find mind chews through the battery on long days hiking in the hills and wish I’d gone for the chunkier 5.

    johndoh
    Free Member

    So I didn’t manage to get out on Thursday as I was still feeling stiff so finally managed to find time to go on Sunday – just the same three mile circuit as I did last week but took a full minute off my time and my legs feel much fresher today than they did for the few days after the last run so hopefully I will get out again midweek and build on it.

    notmyrealname
    Free Member

    That looks like a great day out @turboferret

    Out of interest, did you have any issues with the footpath ssections at all? I can jump on to the trail just down the road from work so wouldn’t mind this as a midweek rideout some time soon.

    turboferret
    Full Member

    @notmyrealname I wasn’t in any hurry on Saturday, and I was aware that I was riding illegally for significant portions, so was extra considerate. I still had 2 guys giving me grief for riding on paths – one in Highgate Wood (which you have to be pretty determined to get into given these gates)

    another on Wandsworth Common but apart from that, it was a nice loop. I can share a GPX file of the entire route if you like

    ta11pau1
    Full Member

    British fell runner climbs 78 peaks in 24 hours

    Just seen this in the news – 78 peaks, 153km and 12,000m of elevation gain in 24 hours.


    @turboferret
    your next challenge? 😁

    lotto
    Free Member
    ta11pau1
    Full Member
    lotto
    Free Member

    Think it may well be another 20 odd years before that effort is bettered. Amazing.

    turboferret
    Full Member

    @ta11pau1 that’s an impressive achievement for sure! Not convinced London would be the best place to train for fell running though, so I might pass 🙂

    lunge
    Full Member

    Can I once preach to the converted about the joys of club runs and I guess running in general?

    I had a crap day at work yesterday, nothing was worked, felt generally uninterested and p’ed off with everything. Just felt crap.
    Then I looked out the window and saw rain hurling down. I love running in the rain, but hate leaving the house in it.
    But I dragged myself out and ran the mile to the club. My legs felt terrible, I debated turning round again. Today was not my day.
    Arrived and saw very few people there, which means that the group I normally go with has merged so I’m either in a group faster than I wanted or a slower one. I’ll go with the slower group, don’t want to hold others up. Fast club mate thinks differently, “come with us lunge, it’s too wet to go fast, you’ll be fine with us”. OK, fine, some pain will likely help clear my head anyway.
    An hour later, having somehow knocked in a 6:03 mile along the way (only 1, and it was downhill!), I arrived back at the club absolutely soaked to the bone. I’d chatted rubbish for an hour and run faster than I have for a while and felt exhausted and beaten up. But I felt so good.
    I felt 100% better in my head. My wife said it looked like the weight of the world had lifted off me when I returned home.
    So, like you need any encouragement, if in doubt, run. You’ll feel better by being out there, even if the hardest step is the one out of the door.

    notmyrealname
    Free Member

    @turboferret thanks for the offer of the GPX, I’ve nicked it off your Strava!

    It looks like a really interesting route, no way I’d ever be able to run it but riding it shouldn’t be a problem.

    Rona
    Full Member

    lunge – I’m new to this thread, and to running in general so, for me, you’re preaching to the not quite converted! I do need encouragement – and this tale was encouraging – thank you. Glad it brought a good end to your day.

    I just finished couch to 5k (for about the 4th time!) a few weeks ago, and this morning I ran uphill for the first time – got home feeling pretty chuffed. When I say ran, I really mean shuffled as slowly as humanly possible without breaking into a walk! – but we all have to start somewhere – right?!

    lunge
    Full Member

    Rona, that’s awesome, C25K is a great way of getting started. We all start by shuffling, and even now 4 years into my running journey, I still feel I shuffle up hills! But it does get easier, well, it either gets easier or you go faster, either works!

    I read a book, I think by Vassos Alexander, that basically said if in doubt, run, as you always feel better after a run. Feel tired? Run. Feel a bit low? Run. Can’t make a decision and you keep fretting about it> Run. And he is absolutely right.

    turboferret
    Full Member

    @notmyrealname the strava one will include several intended and unintended minor diversions this should be more useful: Garmin Course It does take a tiny diversion around Harrow School, to get to a tap, otherwise I’d have a 34km gap between stops :O

    Rona
    Full Member

    lunge – thanks for the encouragement – very much appreciated.

    Also, will look up this author – sounds interesting – thank you for that too.

    I read some advice on this thread a while back …

    When you get to half way ask yourself “can I hold this pace for the rest of the distance?” If the answer is “yes”, you’re not going hard enough. If the answer is “no” you’ve gone to hard. The answer you want is “maybe”.

    I just looked back and it turns out you posted it. This has been working for me – not from the halfway point as yet, just for the last 5 minutes of a 30-min run, but it has helped me to try to push a wee bit harder and find some confidence with a little more speed and a slightly greater stride. It’s all good!

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