Platypus' Beginners Guide to Running

Any of you lot use mapmyrun?

My garmin footpod has stopped working so I've started using it for a training log. Basically uses googlemaps to record the distance of a run and you can enter height, weight etc, time your runs and work out estimated calories and speed.
 
Quick post to thank platypus for the intitial post.

I've just come back from my first session in the Couch to 5K plan. Feel like poop but happy that I managed to get through it without being found dead in a ditch half way. :)
 
Idoru said:
Quick post to thank platypus for the intitial post.

I've just come back from my first session in the Couch to 5K plan. Feel like poop but happy that I managed to get through it without being found dead in a ditch half way. :)
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Nice one! It gets easier believe me, just stick with it and take it steady :D

Did my first 10k race this morning, the Wellness 10k over at Crystal Palace. Finished in 52mins 30secs which I'm pretty happy about as I was aiming for 55mins. The race seemed pretty poorly organised though, first lap seemed pretty different to the second lap (assuming I didn't make a wrong turn, no one told me I did anyway :p) but good fun nonetheless. Started off too slowly and then overdid it trying to claw it back meaning I was pooped on the second lap and had to walk for a couple of stretches (about 3 mins in total).

All good experience though and I reckon as long as I start ramping up the training a bit a sub 2hr half is on in September.
 
Got myself some fitted road running shoes (Asics gel fountation 8 for those that care =/) from a nice shop in glasgow, (http://achillesheel.co.uk/ if you want to add it to the list of places to buy) guy who served me seemed very helpful and I'll need to start running again as it's been a long time since I've went out for one.
 
Just been for a run (been a while xD, I have had a 20 min run on treadmill with em) and the difference is night and day with fitted shoes.

Sadly however I've got really painful blisters on the insides of my feet and this stopped me from running about half an hour in (planning to run ~50 mins, took 50mins in total anyways) could this be due to laces being too tight and should I be alright next time I go in em (I'd have thought I'd have broken them in with lots of walking in them)?
 
The Craig said:
Just been for a run (been a while xD, I have had a 20 min run on treadmill with em) and the difference is night and day with fitted shoes.

Sadly however I've got really painful blisters on the insides of my feet and this stopped me from running about half an hour in (planning to run ~50 mins, took 50mins in total anyways) could this be due to laces being too tight and should I be alright next time I go in em (I'd have thought I'd have broken them in with lots of walking in them)?
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Where exactly on your foot?

A decent pair of socks works wonders in blister prevention and if you are prone to blisters in a particular area you could try something like bodyglide on the area before putting your socks on. Vaseline also helps but doesn't last as long. Compeed is also good in protecting hot spots before/after a blister, just make sure the area is clean before using as they are intended to remain in place until they fall off so you don't want to be trapping any crap under them.

You can tape over areas prone to blistering but this requires a bit of experience else you end up in a worse situation.

I find keeping feet nice and soft using scholl creams works wonders together with decent socks.
 
So on the arch. I get hot spots there when running quickly and my shoes are a little lose. Body glide usually sorts this.

I swear by Hilly socks, and use mono skins. They also do ankle socks. They aren't cheap, so have a good dig around the web for the best deals but I think they're worth it.
 
After a few weeks of running in old trainers, I finally managed to get to an independant running shop to sort out a proper pair of shoes, but unfortunatley my experience was far from ideal.

I popped into Up and Running in Liverpool, hoping to get some advice, probably a gait analysis and come out with some cheap, but at least well fitted, shoes. When I mentioned I was a begginner looking for some advice/analysis I was told, rather bluntly, "20quid, unless you commit to buying your shoes today". No initial conversation or advice, just a demand for 20quid before they would do anything. Now I had already noticed their shoes were rather overpriced (my wife's shoes were £40 more expensive in there, but I expected to pay more from a specialist), and had no idea if they even had any shoes in my price range at that point, so I certainly wasn't going to commit to buying something on the day without having any idea of what was available!

I can understand they probably get some people messing them about, and I'm all for supporting the specialist, but to be perfectly honest their attitude stunk, so I walked out and certainly won't be returning. If they had explained the costs with a slightly less blunt approach than "20quid unless you commit to buying today", then I'd have probably stuck around and bought something. I'd explained I was a begginner looking for some advice, but all they seemed to care about was getting some cash out of me. Very disappointing.

I've had a butchers on their website and it looks like Up and Running are quite a large franchised chain, so I think I'll see if I can find an independant place nearby that I can use instead. If the other Up and Running stores have a similar attitude to the Liverpool one, then I'd recommend shopping elsewhere.

So the long and short of it is i'm still running in my ancient old trainers, they'll have to do for now!

Edit: Sorry, forgot to say thanks for the thread, it's very enlightening for running numpties like myself :)
 
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That's a bit naff Beep. I can kind of see where they are coming from with people turning up, getting the free gait analysis, finding what fits and then clearing off to buy the shoes for less mail order. That said, there are certainly nicely ways to mention a £20 charge.

Are you sorted out for shoes yet? Not sure where you in Cheshire but I've got my last two pairs of running shoes from Bourne Sports in Stoke : http://www.bournesports.com/ I have found the shoes cheaper on line but I'm happy to pay a little for the use of their treadmill, advice and the ability to try a number of pairs back-to-back.
 
firstborn said:
How's everyone coping with the warm weather? Heart rate higher so have dropped the pace a little for the long easy runs, other than that all remains the same.
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I struggled big time on sunday, I'd done 5 miles on Saturday and was hoping to do 8 on Sunday but only managed 3! In hindsight I should have kept Saturday's run a lot shorter. Did some speedwork tonight and itw as ok tbh, finding I have to go out a bit later but it really doesn't cool down that much anyway.
 
firstborn said:
How's everyone coping with the warm weather? Heart rate higher so have dropped the pace a little for the long easy runs, other than that all remains the same.
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Drowning!

Just had a couple of weeks in Spain on holiday but took my trainers. Even running at 8am or 9am it was high 20s, so only did about 15k to 20k over the two weeks between 4 runs.

Went out from home on Monday night (about 7pm) for 11k and looked like I'd run through a river when I got home - my t-shirt was horribly soogy - yuk!
 
#Chri5# said:
That's a bit naff Beep. I can kind of see where they are coming from with people turning up, getting the free gait analysis, finding what fits and then clearing off to buy the shoes for less mail order. That said, there are certainly nicely ways to mention a £20 charge.

Are you sorted out for shoes yet? Not sure where you in Cheshire but I've got my last two pairs of running shoes from Bourne Sports in Stoke : http://www.bournesports.com/ I have found the shoes cheaper on line but I'm happy to pay a little for the use of their treadmill, advice and the ability to try a number of pairs back-to-back.
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I'm still using my manky old trainers :) They were running shoes back in their day, so it's not the end of the world, but I do need to sort some proper ones out sooner rather than later.

Thanks for the link, I'll have a butchers. I'm more than happy to pay a bit more to a specialist, but only if the service they give is actually good :) I was planning on giving NatterJack in Liverpool a try when I get chance.
 
#Chri5# said:
Went out from home on Monday night (about 7pm) for 11k and looked like I'd run through a river when I got home - my t-shirt was horribly soogy - yuk!
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Aye, only find I can wear them for 3 or 4 days beofre washing now :D

Perhaps we should all follow government advice and stay indoors....

Tempo session for me tonight. Must try and not swallow so many flies this evening.
 
i did a run on thursday and friday(so much for rain) and was quite hot, did 3 miles each day and was quite happy with times considering i just got these new insoles from my physs and gettting used to them.

i do in my runs 1.5 x2 with about 30-1 min "rest" (not really a rest though) between each 1.5 mile, as i training for forces, and such they stop during 1.5mile then have to do 1.5mile back best effort.

i managed 10:20 first 1.5mile, and 10:47 on last 1.5 mile, quite happy cosidering i was soaking wet, and hilly route.

aiming for 9 mins each way, which i can do on tredmill but so far no luck on my hilly route yet.
 
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