Platypus' Beginners Guide to Running

@blairwmy zone 2 max hr zone is 135, but my pace is slow at this speed So slowly trying to build this up with lots of base work.

Im trying to run 4-5 days per week at moment, though most of this distance is at 6m25/km so nothing too extraneous, it's the tempo/interval sessions that kill my legs so need to work on that
 
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6:25 is pretty much zone 4 for me at the moment.

Doing more if my runs in Garmin Zone 3 now, at around 145Bpm, was previously in zone 2 but that just tracks as recovery runs ans us really slow haha.
 
I'm just back from Beer Lovers Marathon in Liege. It was one of the best things I've ever done. Something that just needs to be experienced. We ran together as a group and finished in 6:44! It's essentially a 42km party with people from all over the world. I spent a good 15 mins talking to a Swedish man dressed as a Crayfish about Crayfish for example. 99.5% of people are in fancy dress. Everyone is really friendly and having such a good time.

I managed to try all 16 beers.

Then once you finish you're straight into the after party is wild, the beer is included in your entrance fee and served in big measuring jugs. Once that finishes if you want to carry on you follow a brass band around the city visiting various bars.

I'd say if you're going to do it and you want to stop at each stop, you'd need to be a sub5hr marathon runner. The pre-event email said the cut off was 6:30 but according to the results the last person was over the line in just under 8.
 
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nutsnut said:
6:25 is pretty much zone 4 for me at the moment.

Doing more if my runs in Garmin Zone 3 now, at around 145Bpm, was previously in zone 2 but that just tracks as recovery runs ans us really slow haha.
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I'd try slow down a little to be honest - doing 4-5 days a week at this level of intensity is likely to lead to overstretching. Like I said, for context I a 19:26 5K runner at this point and my easy runs which is about 75% of my running volume weekly are between 5:50 - 6:15 depending on how I feel / respond on the day. There is zero shame in running slower (but still keep some more intense sessions in!) Zone 4 (but also I wouldn't put too much faith in your watches zone is where your quality work should be happening, not the majority of your running
 
Yeah, i'd say 4-5 times is probably a bit much at such an early stage too. Maybe try and stick to 3 days and just add a walk the other 1-2. Still time on feet, but just gives that little more recovery. Not sure you need intense sessions at this point either. Save those for 2-3 months down the line due to the amount of strain they add to tendons.

neilw said:
I'm just back from Beer Lovers Marathon in Liege. It was one of the best things I've ever done. Something that just needs to be experienced. We ran together as a group and finished in 6:44! It's essentially a 42km party with people from all over the world. I spent a good 15 mins talking to a Swedish man dressed as a Crayfish about Crayfish for example. 99.5% of people are in fancy dress. Everyone is really friendly and having such a good time.

I managed to try all 16 beers.

Then once you finish you're straight into the after party is wild, the beer is included in your entrance fee and served in big measuring jugs. Once that finishes if you want to carry on you follow a brass band around the city visiting various bars.

I'd say if you're going to do it and you want to stop at each stop, you'd need to be a sub5hr marathon runner. The pre-event email said the cut off was 6:30 but according to the results the last person was over the line in just under 8.
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This sounds genuinely awesome, and something i need to add to a bucket list.
 
I also got out last night. I've got a ~13km loop from the front door, which takes me up the mountain, then over the top and down the other side before looping back to the house. It's a slog for ~4km and climbs straight up for around ~350m, but then drops onto some amazing flowing single tracks.

I timed it perfectly and got to the top just around sunset. As you can see in this first picture. My trainers don't tend to last long as the rocks are pretty sharp and just rip them to pieces. I'd love to try some Sportivas or something more suited to mountains, but my foot issues pretty much restrict me to Altras. Although i've heard decent things about Topo and now Keen are making a move into trail running and generally have wide toe boxes.






We're only in this rental for another 2 months, and whilst our house is in a similar area and just the other side of the valley, the hills on my side are a bit more rugged and inaccessible, so it'll be more road/gravel road running for the most part. Having this from the doorstep has been incredible.
 
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Challenge on. I umm and arr about this every year, and then it sells out. Mainly because i'm never sure how my foot will hold up and also because it's unbelievably mountainous.

However i've decided to just go for it and sign up. Worst case i can drop down to the 20k version but at least i've got the main challenge locked in. 10hr cut off means it's walkable, although 2750m of elevation in a marathon is going to be tough!

41K – COSTA BLANCA TRAILS

www.costablancatrails.com www.costablancatrails.com
 
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Damn, that's some elevatrion over that distance! Better to be in it and have a go in my opinion. Races are getting so popular now, FOMO is a real problem.

Due to spearation this weekend is my first not being a parent with no other plan. So like any reasonable person I signed up to the Panopticons 32 mile ultra last minuite. So that's tomorrow sorted :D

Only ~50 people entered so maybe I'll get a decent result for a change. In my category at least.
 
Dup said:
Damn, that's some elevatrion over that distance! Better to be in it and have a go in my opinion. Races are getting so popular now, FOMO is a real problem.

Due to spearation this weekend is my first not being a parent with no other plan. So like any reasonable person I signed up to the Panopticons 32 mile ultra last minuite. So that's tomorrow sorted :D

Only ~50 people entered so maybe I'll get a decent result for a change. In my category at least.
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Worst case scenario you end up in the top 50 which sounds cool :cool:

Never heard of that race, is it new? Looks like a pretty cool course
 
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