Platypus' Beginners Guide to Running

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I ran the marathon in the Nike Vaporflys on Sunday and my legs actually feel pretty fresh afterwards. I was a bit sore with DOMS for a couple of days but feeling back to normal today and just been out for a nice recovery run. It's a stark contrast to last time when I ran in Asics Gel-Nimbus and it absolutely trashed my legs. One of my knees was injured for weeks afterwards and had to stop running for a while. Whatever your opinion is on these super shoes they do seem to be very good at looking after you during a marathon. That alone makes them worth it for me.
 
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I love the VaporFlys, I even bought a pair of AlphaFlys for general training as I love the cushioning and sheer comfort. It's like running on marshmallows, but not in a slow way of course.

Yes they're expensive, but a bit of a no brainer if you do a lot of running. I keep looking out for deals on the Hoka or Adidas equivalents too as a comparison.
 
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I might give them a go.

I'm wondering whether i should get something new for my return to running. My current Hokas have around 270 miles on them which is usually around the point of changing. I didn't think they felt like they needed changing when i last ran in them, but with my ankle, i'm wondering if i should get something with lots of support/cushioning and then just switch between the 2 for a while rather than risking any extra damage.

Also on the shoe front, i was looking at the Saloman Pulsar trainers. They're a trail shoe, but look pretty decent, so i might consider them as a new "holiday" trainer. Whilst trail based, they look like they'd cope pretty well on roads too, although the specs, mention minimal cushioning which goes against the look of the sole!

https://www.salomon.com/en-gb/shop-...MQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds#color=49446&size=30519

On a plus side, tomorrow marks 4 weeks since i did my ankle and it's feeling alright. I've been getting out on the bike a few times a week, and have been doing short jogs on the spot in the house. I can tend to get to around a minute now before i get any discomfort/weakness in the ankle, but that's a huge improvement from even a week ago, so i'm hoping in around a week i can try getting out for short mile long runs each day.

I'm so glad i bought the bike in August, because i'd have been going absolutely stir crazy without that!
 

Dup

Dup

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Can't get over the prices for those shoes! I'm keen but not that keen. Given the abuse my shoes get, I couldn't spent too much north of £100 even though as hobbies go it's not a huge investment.

I've switched to cushioned shoes for the road now, worn Nike Freerun or Brooks Hyperion previously. Got some Pegasus 38 and they help me down the road a bit better, does feel really weird though. Be interesting to see how I feel at the end of the marathon on Sunday, not done any long distance in them yet but I expect to be feeling very fresh given I was fine without cushioning.

Also still using my Saucony Peregrine 10s for trail, absolutely brilliant shoe compared to my old Inov8s. Lakeland has some very rocky sections and for a few days after my feet felt like I was walking on cobbles, but by all accounts it could have been much much worse. I'll likely go for another pair once I've destroyed them.
 
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Also on the shoe front, i was looking at the Saloman Pulsar trainers. They're a trail shoe, but look pretty decent, so i might consider them as a new "holiday" trainer. Whilst trail based, they look like they'd cope pretty well on roads too, although the specs, mention minimal cushioning which goes against the look of the sole!

The Salomon Pulsar is designed to be a racing shoe for light trails. It's stripped down as much as possible so they will lack somewhat in terms of durability, support and protection. It would definitely be a fun shoe to go for but it's not an every day shoe. Personally I'd go for something a bit boring but reliable, like the Nike Pegasus Trail 3 (also an absolute bargain at £65 with code OCT21 at checkout!).
 
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Yeah, i really love the Saucony Peregrines too. I think the only thing i'd want as an alternative would be something with bigger lugs for when it's really muddy, but i'd still want the Peregrines for just general trail runs.

Although i'm learning more and more routes now where i can avoid boggy fields. I know i say it all the time, but it's just really unpleasant whenever your running along feeling great and then suddenly have to cross over a farmers field and have to wade through muddy bog to your calves. The only time i can accept it is when i'm up on the likes of Great Hill/Darwen Moor as the views make up for it, especially on Great Hill when you then get to drop down over Spittlers edge towards Rivington.

However i've mentioned a few times in other threads. We're looking to move to Spain in the near future. My parents live over there so we know the area well and we both work remotely now so can take our jobs with us.

I took these when i was over there last month. Give me trails like this over muddy bog any day :D

zkO3vsL.png

1u4Hxds.png

hXsjBrj.png

l8ZdDD0.png
 
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The Salomon Pulsar is designed to be a racing shoe for light trails. It's stripped down as much as possible so they will lack somewhat in terms of durability, support and protection. It would definitely be a fun shoe to go for but it's not an every day shoe. Personally I'd go for something a bit boring but reliable, like the Nike Pegasus Trail 3 (also an absolute bargain at £65 with code OCT21 at checkout!).

Yeah, it seems that way. It was more due to the looks of it that performance as i'm always on the lookout for something which would look decent with jeans/shorts for any city breaks to avoid packing multiple trainers. Although that also keeps mileage to a minimum so durability isn't too important. Having something trail orientated would be ideal for when i go off road.

Those Nikes in the plain black look decent enough though. It's rare to see a trail shoe which isn't hideous! Sadly the black is still full price. Something to keep an eye on though. I think i'll wait till Black Friday sales and see what's discounted then.
 
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Whoop, managed 90 seconds last night before i gave up due to discomfort building up past the point where it's classed as pain.

I actually put my trainers on and did it outside thinking it'd be better than being barefoot in the house. Not sure if i enjoyed it a bit much as the pace has showed as 8min miles which is a bit fast for me. Going to have another go later but make sure i take it much easier.

My strava is going to make me look incredible pathetic!
 
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That is sounding promising. Don't be tempted to push yourself too far too fast though, or you'll probably just end up being injured for longer. If you want a guide on how to return from injury there's a decent video here with accompanying workout plans.
 
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Oh yeah thanks. I've been struggling to find much in the way of rehab guidance, every time i searched, it was just posts around initial treatment and RICE.

It feels fine today which is promising. The thing i need to be careful of is to focus on form and not alter my usual technique as otherwise i'm going to cause issues in my knee/hips. I could feel some pressure in my left quad last night so was obviously not doing something right. I'm going to go for a walk after work and then i've got a ~20 mile bike ride tomorrow split into 2x 10 sections (to/from watching some footy), so that will be a good test too.

Have been doing bits with a resistance band too with lots of ankle rotations, and i keep intending to dig out the massage gun to dig into my calves as my wife commented that my left calf looks like it's working a lot harder when cycling vs my right one.
 
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Plus it feels like my home office is like a physios these days.

Looking on the floor, there's a bosu balance cushion, foam roller, various resistance bands, 3 spiky balls and the massage gun!

If only i used this stuff more often i might not be injured as much :(



EDIT - Thanks again for those Ben Parkes links, i'm going to try the day 1 of the plan after work. It seems sensible to restrict it to 60 second runs, rather than just aimlessly going out each day trying to go until it hurts.
 
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Ok this is going to sound silly, but I've forgotten how to run.

I've been injured (knee) for around 2 years now, lots of physio and rehab and in finally starting to run again, today was 2.5min walk, 2.5min jog for 15mins on a treadmill - followed by strength exercises etc.

My problem is, through worry of my knee etc I've been over thinking my technique rather than just running!

If you were running in a perfectly straight line, along a perfectly straight line painted on the floor(or middle of treadmill) where should your feet land? I noticed today that my feet would both land pretty much ON the line, but then I started to think maybe my feet should land EITHER SIDE of the line? That really messed up my running and then neither felt natural ha!
 
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I read something a while back that said you run how you need to run and as long as it feels comfortable don’t change it.

I would tend to agree with you that it’d be better for your feet to stand straight rather than coming inside but if it works and is pain free then just go with it.

By thinking about it you’re already overthinking it.
 
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I read something a while back that said you run how you need to run and as long as it feels comfortable don’t change it.

I would tend to agree with you that it’d be better for your feet to stand straight rather than coming inside but if it works and is pain free then just go with it.

By thinking about it you’re already overthinking it.

I'm in my 30s, played football half my life and general running/CrossFit/circuit training the other half and not once thought about how I run.

Now I can't run properly because all I think about is how I run :cry:
 
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Can't get over the prices for those shoes! I'm keen but not that keen. Given the abuse my shoes get, I couldn't spent too much north of £100 even though as hobbies go it's not a huge investment.

I've switched to cushioned shoes for the road now, worn Nike Freerun or Brooks Hyperion previously. Got some Pegasus 38 and they help me down the road a bit better, does feel really weird though. Be interesting to see how I feel at the end of the marathon on Sunday, not done any long distance in them yet but I expect to be feeling very fresh given I was fine without cushioning.

Also still using my Saucony Peregrine 10s for trail, absolutely brilliant shoe compared to my old Inov8s. Lakeland has some very rocky sections and for a few days after my feet felt like I was walking on cobbles, but by all accounts it could have been much much worse. I'll likely go for another pair once I've destroyed them.

I bought Endorphin Pros, carbon plated. I can't get over the difference, it's like cheating.

Did 24.30 at parkrun so that seems my level, plenty more in legs but my insides must be pretty inefficient. That's due to 20 or so years of doing nothing and a few years of smoking(<-- very dumb)

This describes my perfectly. Does anybody know why this happens?

https://www.runnersworld.com/health-injuries/a20832359/whats-causing-my-sudden-abdominal-pain/
 
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Ok this is going to sound silly, but I've forgotten how to run.

I've been injured (knee) for around 2 years now, lots of physio and rehab and in finally starting to run again, today was 2.5min walk, 2.5min jog for 15mins on a treadmill - followed by strength exercises etc.

My problem is, through worry of my knee etc I've been over thinking my technique rather than just running!

If you were running in a perfectly straight line, along a perfectly straight line painted on the floor(or middle of treadmill) where should your feet land? I noticed today that my feet would both land pretty much ON the line, but then I started to think maybe my feet should land EITHER SIDE of the line? That really messed up my running and then neither felt natural ha!

Everybody runs differently. There's even an AI technique called gait recognition that can identify individuals solely based on their unique walking pattern. There's really no definitive right way to run but there are some basics that you want to try and avoid if possible as they are known to cause injury, such as landing with your foot out in front of you or landing with a straight leg.

For example, look at this image:
pmonwoO.jpg
Looks wrong surely? Almost painful! Well, that's actually Joshua Cheptegi on his way to breaking the 10,000m world record. This is just how he runs and changing this would probably create more issues that it would solve.

What you are describing sounds like leg crossover. Everyone does this naturally to some degree but it can become an issue if the crossover is extreme. There are techniques to correct this and if you want to look into this more there's a couple of videos about it here and here.

As you're already running on a treadmill I would suggest you try running barefoot for a few reps. The idea being that it's a lot easier to feel if your form is causing any issues and you should start to naturally correct yourself if it is. You are returning from injury so I would minimise how much you do barefoot as it will put more strain through your body but a treadmill is a lot more forgiving than something like concrete.

Even better would be for a physio to do some gait analysis on you to see if they see any issues that could lead to injury.
 
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Soldato
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As you're already running on a treadmill I would suggest you try running barefoot for a few reps. The idea being that it's a lot easier to feel if your form is causing any issues and you should start to naturally correct yourself if it is. You are returning from injury so I would minimise how much you do barefoot as it will put more strain through your body but a treadmill is a lot more forgiving than something like concrete.

Really? I remember running barefoot on a treadmill once and the rough surface absoluely destroyed the soles of my feet. Was like running on sandpaper! :p
 
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