The Annual Running thread – beginners/ultras/whatever

Vassos Alexander speaks about the Dragon’s back race in his most recent book. It’s called ‘Running Up That Hill’.

I’ve only just started it but sounds tough so far!

Not a fan of HR training. too many variables to monitor and when you get odd readings you question them for that reason.

I remember receiving a yellow number years ago for GNR. Thought nothing of it until I warmed up and realised I was in the elite start. Me and a hundred or so fast lads with a rope separating us from about 20000 runners all wanting to get to the front! That was a fast first mile!!!

Tired of all this ultra stuff. Lets have a break and watch one of the most talented runners of the last century run one of the best 1500m races ever (according to Seb Coe) If its too long skip to 4:20.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBw2uRzHASg

Steve, – I’ve watched the one from last year, but not the 2012 edition, so will have to look that up.

Franko, – Might have to get a copy of that as it would interesting to read about his feelings.

My leg / groin strain has caused me to abort a run today – properly painful, hobbling to even walk….

Looks like a pause from running for now 🙁

Just got back from a few days down in Dorset, partly to check out a few bits of the bike and run courses for the Jurassicman triathlon. The bike was a bit grim due to the weather, but Wednesday was an absolutely lovely day for a bit of a slow plod along the SW coast path. Started from Swanage, “ran” 4 miles then turned round to head back. The full run is from Swanage to Lulworth cove, which is going to be interesting after a sea swim and ~112 miles on the bike. All went well until I took a dive infront of a group of pensioners…

First Parkrun in 6 months tomorrow. Ours has been closed due to digging up the park but it’s back tomorrow and in perfect time to build some speed up for next weeks Birmingham 10k. Hoping for sub 21m, realistically if it’s then 23m I’ll be chuffed.

How did your 3 Peaks go djglover? I snuck in just under 3:40 which I’m very pleased with. It’s definitely a race that would pay back some specific training of the kind I never bother to do!

Culzean castle 10k today, lovely day for it. 👌🏻

22k up and over the Moors from Thuscross to appletreewick and back today 👍

Weather looks flipping marvellous 😜☺️

sub-3:40 is a very respectable time indeed Spin, well done. I’ve decided that fell running isn’t really my thing, I’m better off sticking to road at least for racing. A new parkrun PB for me (there was some grass!) while half the club were out all day on the 3P.

Thanks Captain, and well done on your parkrun PB. I took about 17 mins off last years time and had a much better race. I can see what I’d need to do to go quicker but it’s not the kind of thing I have much interest in at this point so I’m content with that.

Heh. Looks like I probably beat you last year (3:54) but I I’m sure I wouldn’t have done yesterday!

Bloody cold out on the moors earlier 😤🗣🗣

dont be moanin about the cold

twas 32c in the shade on my 10k this morning- unfortunately where i was running there was no shade .

Heh. Looks like I probably beat you last year (3:54) but I I’m sure I wouldn’t have done yesterday!

Yup I was 3:56:56 last year.

Tonight’s run was lovely 👍👍☄️ Bluebells out and the sun was shining 💥💥

Here are a couple of pics from my 22k around Thuscross/Barden Moor/Dacre/Thuscross..

Nice.

Just started using an app on the Garmin watch to build up to running 5k. Week 3, day 1 tonight. Finding it hard so far. Never have been great at running, but I’m determined to break 10k by year end.

Likewise, I’m doing a couch-to-5k, apparently my cycling muscles are irrelevant to running. So far, my impression is that running itself is rubbish, but I quite like the feeling of having stopped running.

I quite like the feeling of having stopped running.

That never goes away!

So far, my impression is that running itself is rubbish

🤣

🤫 don’t tell everyone 🤪

So far, my impression is that running itself is rubbish, but I quite like the feeling of having stopped running.

Yeah, that never stops. Every now and again you do a run, for me it’s normally a 5k in the sun, which you love every step, but that is so rare. It’s the buzz at the end of the run that keep you putting your shoes back on.

I’d agree…… then a few weeks back I hit a point where I felt I could just run. It just got ‘easy’ (but it doesn’t because then you just run faster and it’s not easy anymore……)

Since then – bloody pulled calf muscle again. Has now been 4 weeks since I last ran any distance and I’m ready to start back again. Slowly.

It just got ‘easy’ (but it doesn’t because then you just run faster and it’s not easy anymore……)

Didn’t Greg Lemond have something to say about that?

I quite like the feeling of having stopped running.

That never goes away!

I ate some crackers and then didn’t go for the run tonight. I quite like the feeling of not starting running. I’ll be on it tomorrow though.

I’d agree…… then a few weeks back I hit a point where I felt I could just run. It just got ‘easy’

Oh yeah, that happens too, put me in my best kit on a cool, sunny morning and ask me to run at 4 hour marathon pace. I will smile and keep going almost as long as you want (OK, within some reason…) and will have a whale of a time.

But then an hour later you get home, load the run to Strava, look at your pace and your heart rate (or some other such metrics) and in the back of your mind think “well, I could do that quicker then”, or “I didn’t go very hard did I, will try more next time”. And in an odd way, that thought diminishes the end of run feeling. So next time you go a bit harder and a bit faster and you don’t enjoy the run as much, but you enjoy the post-run much, much more. That for me is what I keep chasing. Oddly, trail running I don’t feel like I chase it as much but on the roads I definitely do.

I’ve started running again, after a poor years worth of running and biking last year (2nd child arrived, time disappeared).  I’m using the Nike + Run Club app on my phone, following the “Getting Started” plan.  I like it as it assumes a greater level of fitness than Couch to 5k, but builds more slowly than what I would do left to my own devices.
First fast run last night – Tempo for 7 mins.  I think I went a bit too fast, 4:30 per km.  That’s not too short of my previous best 5k time, but I wouldn’t be able to keep that pace up for 5km at the moment!
4 x 400 m intervals next, but I might skip those and just go for a run on the hill instead.

Disagree with the above, after a while I got to the point where I genuinely enjoyed running. Probably took a year or two of gently increasing mileage/frequency before I was good enough at it. Basically feels like I can run “forever” at a steady pace with no real stress. Keeping a reasonably high cadence helps with this. “Forever” is relative of course, I’m no ultra-runner and mostly run for an hour or so at a time.

I have absolutely no difficulty in running easily most of the time. Save the effort for specific workouts.

It’s an odd one – I’m not training for anything, on bike or foot, so no need to smash myself to pieces but something in me makes me ‘want’ to. So that running easy idea never really happens.

I had a couple of days off last two days. Monday was shit but weather was lovely yesterday am so i thought I’d grab the bike and go for a road ride out to peaslake for a pork and leek slice and then back. No plans or aspirations, just being on the bike. But I found myself as always on the rivet almost the whole way round (and did set PB’s up Staple Lane, Farley Hill Road, and a couple of others) and got home cooked.

I know that doing everything in Z3/4/5 probably isn’t overall achieving much and i should take time to stop and look at the clouds more often….. but it feels like cheating!

Had anyone got any advise on getting analysed for new running shoes? I’ve never had this done before and we have a local shop that charges £20 or free if you buy their shoes (which are pretty much all RRP) . Looking online I am pretty sure I need a neutral shoe as I am a supinator so might just chance getting something from SportShoes. Reading around things, it seems the view is that the gait analysis isn’t all its cracked up to be and that you need to address the underlying issues of over-pronation through exercise and strengthening and (according to Nike at least), it’s more about getting shoes that are comfortable. How do people pick their trainers?

Never been on a treadmill to have the analysis, all I’ve done is buy a pair of shoes and run in them.

I see these sessions going on in Runners Need and the like and am not 100% sure that they do anything/know what they’re doing.

I’d be more inclined to go to a specialist with no affiliation to Brand/Shop then take along what you’ve been given and show it to them, see what they say..

How do people pick their trainers?

Narrow it down to roughly the kind of shoes you want (cushioning, stability and terrain being the main considerations) then try on a few and pick the one that’s most comfortable. Accept that you’ll buy a few that just don’t work for you (Nike Lunar Glides, Asics Superion in my case) but also that they are the exception. You’ll also find that once you find a model that work you will often just keep going back (Asics Cumulus in my case).

Or do what a lot of my running mates do and just buy some Nike Pegasus, you won’t go far wrong with them at all.

How do people pick their trainers?

Hmm.. I chose SalSpeedX3’s when they first came out, got all excited and bought 3 pairs because they were on offer at Snow and Rock.

I’m still using them now and this must be 3 years later..

I did have a couple of issues when I first ran in them I’ll be honest. For a start the heal box is high and very foam padded.. this lead to me running on my ball/toes and that made my calves hurt, then I just ran through that and adapted my placement to suit.. all been fine since and they’re a great trail shoe and can be thrown in the wash with aplomb to clean them..

However..

I have recently bought ON Cloudventure Peaks (pic earlier in this thread) Completely different cut and fit and yet I’m loving the shoe.. If you tried to compare them with the SalSX3 the only similarity is that they fit on your foot to save your foot getting wet.

Comfort, thats the thing. Definitely you’ll go through a phase of assessment and wish/wonder what other shoe would fit better/nicer/not make your legs or feet hurt, but the only thing I’d say is give the ones you’ve chosen a chance. Your body will adapt to what ever it’s given to run in and there are tomes of marketing crap out there to get confused in reading.

Enjoy the plod.

Thanks chaps. Sensible advice. My current pair of Sauconys are knackered and old so I’m looking forward to a bit of bounce and less weight. I’m not a high mileage runner but want something I can do 10ks and halves in. I need t<span style=”font-size: 12.8px;”>o</span><span style=”font-size: 0.8rem;”> get off t’interweb and get trying on I think.   </span>

As above really, try on different shoes and assess which are the most comfy.

It’s all well and good going to get a gait analysis if the only shoes they recommend are not suited to you / don’t fit properly / are not comfortable.

Neutral is probably a good place to start and as you’ve used Saucony before maybe look at some neutral Sauconys to get an idea of what is available.

As you get many iterations of shoes it might also be worth looking for some older discounted versions of whatever it is you fancy and seeing if they are suitable for you? You can then think about getting the newer version when the time comes if they work but you wont have lost a lot if they don’t.

Oh and what might seem comfy walking round a shop wont necessarily be any good when out running – Saucony Kinvara 4 were horrendous on my calves so I ditched them. I use Adidas Adios 3’s now as they really suit my feet and running but a lot of people don’t get on with them as they are narrow(er) compared to other shoes which doesn’t suit their feet. I took a chance on some Adios 2s at £40 and they just felt right so I stepped up to the 3’s when they wore out (and they were also no longer readily available). I get through 3 to 4 pairs a year but always go for the discounted older season colours.

As Lunge says, once you’ve found some that work you tend to keep going back to them.

Find a brand that fits you and then order them off the internet everytime you need some new shoes.  For me, that’s Nike for road shoes (size 9) and Inov-8 for trail shoes (size 8.5).  Sportsshoes.com always have Inov-8s cheap and the Nike online store always has discounted models.  Never pay full price for a pair of running shoes!

This website is useful for knowing what’s out there:
https://www.runningshoesguru.com/

Gait analysis is a waste of time.  When I first started running again 15+ years ago I had it done and was sold some massive, heavy ASICs monstrosities with a torsion bar and all that jazz, with about 16mm of drop.  They caused me no end of pain, especially on my arches.
Now I run in lightweight, relatively minimal shoes with an 8mm drop.  My favourite road shoes are Nike Zoom Streak which weigh 180g, but can be worn for quite long distances as well (10k+)!  I don’t weigh much though, heavier people might not like them.

I also don’t have much time for the gait snake-oil though no doubt some have special requirements due to injury or other reasons. It’s not a bad idea IMO to have a couple of pairs of shoes (or more, over time) so you can change from one day to the next and also to break in new shoes gently when the old ones fall apart. Maybe less of a factor for the 1-2 runs per week crowd.

+1 Nike Pegasus, probably the best shoe ever. Ran in them since they came out over 30 yrs ago. Arthritis means I run in Hokas now but would love to be able to still train in them.

Interesting story: I worked in a.running shop when I was at Uni (the job kept me in discounted running gear) and picked up a pair in lieu of wages one day. Put them on and went for a 10 mile run with Benson Maysa (World HM champ and sub 60 minute runner) Hoofed it around for the 10 and they felt like slippers. Happy days 🙂

Did the 10-mile London West Tough Mudder on Saturday. I have run nowhere for about 15-odd years, so was concerned about muscle strains, not cardio fitness. Whilst the water features were fun, particularly the ice bath, the walls were not so great for this emaciated cyclist torso, I really enjoyed the slow running through the forest and up and (to a lesser extent) down the hills.

Ran it with my ultra-running sister, who’s doing the South Downs this weekend, and I have to say I the soft muddy running was great. Muscles were sore at the end, but I’d recovered by Monday, just fine – enough to spend three hours on a bike in Zone 3/4 and race last night E12.

I’ll probably do some more, perhaps with the dog, but am always wary of injury. Off-road trail running looks much easier on the joints. And I’m near the Great Park, so plenty of choices.

Was never out of breath, even up the hills, and of course I climb like a whippet 😉