Platypus' Beginners Guide to Running

So I finished the Snowdonia Trail Marathon yesterday. What a race!! Felt strong and fairly good up until around mile 14 and then my legs started to feel quite heavy and I knew that it was going to start going up very soon from around mile 18 or so. The trail became very technical from around mile 16 or so, had a slight wobble on my ankle but it stabilised fine and pretty much behaved for the rest of the race so that was good news. The race was waymarked by tape dangling from trees and one left turn was blocked by a fallen tree and a few people had gone right rather than taking the left. took the right myself but was called back thankfully by a couple of guys behind me and shouted ahead to those in front of me. Only ran around 30-40 metres ahead so no major issue thankfully.

Then we move onto what I'd like to call the second half of the race, from mile 18 the race elevation changed dramatically and it was pretty much a 5K walk/climb/bouldering/run where you can style quest to the top. A lot of this just wasn't runnerable at all and along with the rain made for a pretty grim 5K at the time but looking back it added to the race and I did enjoy it but a reece of the route beforehand would have been a god send! Eventually approached the top (around 80m away from the actual summit) and then it was time to start making my way down. Thought this bit would have been a good time to make progress and start running again but started to suffer with a sharp pain in my left knee as the elevation going down was putting to much pressure on my legs, over 900ft of drop in the first mile down on paths pretty much made of slate / small rocks etc. So did what I could and just did stop/start running/walking until I could find some kind of rhythm and the pain started to ease a little. Approaching the bottom when it started to even out a little more eased the pressure a lot and managed to get more running done and having come across part of the route on a walk the day before I knew exactly what I had left to do, onto the road and a left turn onto a field and then it was onto the cheers of the crowd for a good strong finish.

Felt absolutely spent and exhausted afterwards, wasn't long before I headed back to the hotel for a hot shower, food and water before relaxing the rest of the day. All in all a great day, a great race and certainly one I'll be doing again in the future. Given that I sprained my ankle 7 weeks ago and had to take a whole month off training and then only run a maximum of 10K before the race after that I'm pleased with how the race went and did better than I expected too.

Finished it in 5.41.49 in the end. 134th/409 Runners.

Strava link for anyone interested.

Strava
 
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toasteh said:
downloaded that an mapmyrun. Gonna go for my first session tonight, hopefully it'll be enough walking that I don't keel over halfway :p
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Running should be comfortable and fun (most of the time). Not every run is a race so ignore the pace and time and enjoy yourself. Apps like mapmyrun are great but they have a tendency to make beginners try to "beat their time" or "get faster with every run". That tends to burn you out and leads to injury. Once you can cover the 5K then you might enjoy going to ParkRun and getting a timed 5K run without the stress or expense of a race. Use that to gauge fitness every now and then and then ignore what your paces/speed/times are for you everday runs.
 
IndigoGorilla said:
So I finished the Snowdonia Trail Marathon yesterday. What a race!! Felt strong and fairly good up until around mile 14 and then my legs started to feel quite heavy and I knew that it was going to start going up very soon from around mile 18 or so. The trail became very technical from around mile 16 or so, had a slight wobble on my ankle but it stabilised fine and pretty much behaved for the rest of the race so that was good news. The race was waymarked by tape dangling from trees and one left turn was blocked by a fallen tree and a few people had gone right rather than taking the left. took the right myself but was called back thankfully by a couple of guys behind me and shouted ahead to those in front of me. Only ran around 30-40 metres ahead so no major issue thankfully.

Then we move onto what I'd like to call the second half of the race, from mile 18 the race elevation changed dramatically and it was pretty much a 5K walk/climb/bouldering/run where you can style quest to the top. A lot of this just wasn't runnerable at all and along with the rain made for a pretty grim 5K at the time but looking back it added to the race and I did enjoy it but a reece of the route beforehand would have been a god send! Eventually approached the top (around 80m away from the actual summit) and then it was time to start making my way down. Thought this bit would have been a good time to make progress and start running again but started to suffer with a sharp pain in my left knee as the elevation going down was putting to much pressure on my legs, over 900ft of drop in the first mile down on paths pretty much made of slate / small rocks etc. So did what I could and just did stop/start running/walking until I could find some kind of rhythm and the pain started to ease a little. Approaching the bottom when it started to even out a little more eased the pressure a lot and managed to get more running done and having come across part of the route on a walk the day before I knew exactly what I had left to do, onto the road and a left turn onto a field and then it was onto the cheers of the crowd for a good strong finish.

Felt absolutely spent and exhausted afterwards, wasn't long before I headed back to the hotel for a hot shower, food and water before relaxing the rest of the day. All in all a great day, a great race and certainly one I'll be doing again in the future. Given that I sprained my ankle 7 weeks ago and had to take a whole month off training and then only run a maximum of 10K before the race after that I'm pleased with how the race went and did better than I expected too.

Finished it in 5.41.49 in the end. 134th/409 Runners.

Strava link for anyone interested.

Strava
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Congratulations on a fantastic trail run! Some serious elevation there on rough terrain. just look at the Strava Calorie count:D you seemed to maintain some good speed on some of the uphills. Its totally normal to hike up the steep hills, and down the steep. If you watch the pos doing races like hardrock/Western states/Mont blanc then they will run on the easier ups and down only. The energy exertion running uphill will completely negate any time saving when you getting to less hostile terrain for running.

It doesn't seem like you did a lot of specific trail running for this so that make it even more impressive. Getting the leg strength and being able to cope with the downhills takes some decent training time.
 
D.P. said:
Running should be comfortable and fun (most of the time). Not every run is a race so ignore the pace and time and enjoy yourself. Apps like mapmyrun are great but they have a tendency to make beginners try to "beat their time" or "get faster with every run". That tends to burn you out and leads to injury. Once you can cover the 5K then you might enjoy going to ParkRun and getting a timed 5K run without the stress or expense of a race. Use that to gauge fitness every now and then and then ignore what your paces/speed/times are for you everday runs.
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i'm not fussed about pace/time atm, just using it to see how distance etc progresses as I work my way through C25K. Also useful to get an idea for how far 5k actually is when it comes to route planning.
 
D.P. said:
Congratulations on a fantastic trail run! Some serious elevation there on rough terrain. just look at the Strava Calorie count:D you seemed to maintain some good speed on some of the uphills. Its totally normal to hike up the steep hills, and down the steep. If you watch the pos doing races like hardrock/Western states/Mont blanc then they will run on the easier ups and down only. The energy exertion running uphill will completely negate any time saving when you getting to less hostile terrain for running.

It doesn't seem like you did a lot of specific trail running for this so that make it even more impressive. Getting the leg strength and being able to cope with the downhills takes some decent training time.
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Thank you. :) And there were plenty of people walking and at points as you say it's actually quicker to hike up the hills anyway and do the running when you can.

In terms of training the idea was to fit in more trail based stuff but then spraining my ankle 7 weeks ago put that idea to bed. Was just all about getting running again and then hoping the legs held out on race day. Definitely got a good taste for it though and looking for similar races to do again next year. Plenty to learn training wise from the experience and plenty to be getting on with too.
 
Itchytrigg said:
Well done IndigoGorilla! Sounds like the pain was worth it!
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Just about!! Been out for just under 4 miles this evening as find running again the week after seems to help. Running down hill still hurts my left knee though and my hamstrings and quads are in bits. Will be using my foam roller a lot this week and already booked into for a sports massage next Tuesday, that's going to be fun. :D
 
Anyone know any decent timer apps?
At the moment, I'm doing 5 minutes running, 1 minute walking. Rinse and repeat for 3 miles.
I'm using the basic timer app on my iphone, but it's a bit of a pain having to keep getting my phone out of my pocket to keep changing the timer.

Is there an app out there that will keep roatating between 5 to 1 minute?
 
DEL 707 said:
Anyone know any decent timer apps?
At the moment, I'm doing 5 minutes running, 1 minute walking. Rinse and repeat for 3 miles.
I'm using the basic timer app on my iphone, but it's a bit of a pain having to keep getting my phone out of my pocket to keep changing the timer.

Is there an app out there that will keep roatating between 5 to 1 minute?
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Search for "runtastic timer". You can set any workout/rest periods and the number of sets/reps for it. It gives you audio cues too.
 
I'm getting closer to my sub 20 5km target, dropped another 20 seconds off my PB. Ran 20:13 at ParkRun. On a flat course I would have done it I think. I felt really good and conditions where near perfect. I'm going to try and get it by the end of August.

I think a few extra long runs, some core work and a few more speed sessions should do it.
 
Andyt_uk said:
Search for "runtastic timer". You can set any workout/rest periods and the number of sets/reps for it. It gives you audio cues too.
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Thanks for the heads up, I'll check it out.

Got a question about my knees as well, been running for about 6-7 weeks, 2-3 times a week and I've been a fair bit of knee pain, mainly noticable after I finish running.
I went along to a running shop and they recorded me on a treadmil, in the end I walked away with a new pair of running shoes.

I've taken them out on 2 runs so far, they're really bloody comfortable, but I've not noticed any change in knee pain. Should I be expecting an immediate change or is this a more gradual thing?
 
DEL 707 said:
Thanks for the heads up, I'll check it out.

Got a question about my knees as well, been running for about 6-7 weeks, 2-3 times a week and I've been a fair bit of knee pain, mainly noticable after I finish running.
I went along to a running shop and they recorded me on a treadmil, in the end I walked away with a new pair of running shoes.

I've taken them out on 2 runs so far, they're really bloody comfortable, but I've not noticed any change in knee pain. Should I be expecting an immediate change or is this a more gradual thing?
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If you have been running to the point of pain then you may have damaged something. The pain wont go away immediately, you may be best to take a week or so away form running and then slowly get back in to it with your new running shoes. Also make sure your runs start-off very slow, maybe even walking, and finish the same way. Avoid running downhill until you are stronger.

You shouldn't get knee pain when running, so if you do something is wrong and you should make adjustments. What is natural is for the calve muscles to get stiff due to DOMs.
 
I was thinking of doing some fell or cross country this winter so decided to get some cheap off-road shoes that I saw for £25. Tried them out tonight on a 5k and my god it was like running with anchors on my feet! The run was noticeably harder.

I got back and weighed them. One of these shoes weighs the same as a pair of my normal ones! It's like running wearing 4 shoes.:D
 
What shoes did you buy? And did you try them out on the road or go off-road in them? I find my off-road shoes all feel horrible on the road but really come into their own when it's trail and fell. Use Inov-8 Roc-lites and Mudclaws myself.
 
Hi guys,

I am going backpacking next year and I have (perhaps stupidly?) decided that rather than a big pair of boots or your average joe trainer. Something like a trail running shoe would be best suited for all the walking I will be doing.

Now, I don't envisage many big climbs and I am not a runner, but I am just looking for a relatively light weight, solid and comfortable trainer to wear. I am going to Singapore, Bangkok, Tokyo, Beijing and Australia if that matters.

Doing a bit of research, something like the Saloman Speedcross 3 could be what I am looking for? I've heard for Saloman it's recommend to go a half size up, this correct?
 
340g is a lot for a shoe but it won't.be so bad once you've been off-road with them. If you do get into the off-road running I recommend Inov-8 as plenty of shoes to choose from, weights are lower (200-300g) and last season's colourways are usually a lot cheaper than rrp.
 
Biz.Kid09 said:
Hi guys,

I am going backpacking next year and I have (perhaps stupidly?) decided that rather than a big pair of boots or your average joe trainer. Something like a trail running shoe would be best suited for all the walking I will be doing.

Now, I don't envisage many big climbs and I am not a runner, but I am just looking for a relatively light weight, solid and comfortable trainer to wear. I am going to Singapore, Bangkok, Tokyo, Beijing and Australia if that matters.

Doing a bit of research, something like the Saloman Speedcross 3 could be what I am looking for? I've heard for Saloman it's recommend to go a half size up, this correct?
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For a lot of the long walks I was doing a few years back, 15-20miles/day over 3-4 days at a time, I was wearing my Brooks Cascadia 8's. Really comfy as they suited my feet. Best off trying a few pairs in a shop if you can. For me, I usually find that the Salomans are a tad on the narrow side, especially for my wide feet
 
Visited a local running shop last weekend and got fitted with a new pair of Adidas Supernova Sequences. I'd been mainly running in my trail shoes but on the road which was a pretty bad idea. The difference with these new shoes seems to be huge, not sure if its just the marketing of the boost material but it does seem to be easier.

Just a short 2.6km at 5:30min/km this morning to see what they're like before stepping up the distances later this week.
 
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