Soldato
I'm not saying I can't run in the cold with appropriate clothing. I'm saying it's not as enjoyable.
Platypus' Beginners Guide to Running
- Thread starter platypus
- Start date
I'm not saying I can't run in the cold with appropriate clothing. I'm saying it's not as enjoyable.
Man of Honour
Can't say that the weather is filling me with joy at the moment either. I even briefly considered a treadmill the other day 
Associate
This is 100% me at the moment, really sucking my enthusiasm to get out. I might just suck it up and use the gym treadmill more.
Congrats, it's always nice to see the progress, long may it continue
Associate
Managed 10K yesterday morning and when I got in, the thermometer said -0.6 and I couldn't feel bits of me!
Soldato
First track session tonight. Gonna die!
The plan is 18 x 400m with 60s off. Sounds brutal.
The plan is 18 x 400m with 60s off. Sounds brutal.
Associate
Is that one lap followed by one min rest?
I feel your pain if it is!
I feel your pain if it is!
Soldato
I think so, presuming it's a 400m track.
I sort of think I need to do longer intervals for marathon training (1km-1.5km) but they have a different session each week and I've never used interval training with running before so it'll be beneficial anyway I'm sure.
I sort of think I need to do longer intervals for marathon training (1km-1.5km) but they have a different session each week and I've never used interval training with running before so it'll be beneficial anyway I'm sure.
Permabanned
I have a friend who runs Yasso 800's for his marathon training when he does his track work.
The idea is that if you're aiming for a 4 hour marathon then you run 800m of the track (two laps) in 4.00 minutes. Or if aiming for 3.15 then run the reps in 3.15 minutes and so on. It seems to work for him but I'll be honest I don't know the science behind it.
Permabanned
Managed to get out for a 10 mile run this morning in the Peak District. Ran with my mate who is a fair bit quicker/fitter than me as a motivation to keep me going.
10 miles and 2200ft of elevation, knackered now but no plans for the evening so time to rest now.
10 miles and 2200ft of elevation, knackered now but no plans for the evening so time to rest now.
Far better the cold than the heat. Winter is really the best time to train, the summer is just about survival waiting for things to coll down here.
In general yes, longer intervals are more useful for marathons. I typically start at 800m and build up to a mile. many plans will start at 400m and build up Don't worry about the specific rest times etc., the main thing is you should have just recovered before the next intervals, if you haven't recovered enough to do the interval at the specified intensity then you are wasting training. If you need 2 minutes to recover, so be it.
Permabanned
Having seen you mention the temperatures and humidity that you have to run in sometimes I'm not surprised you prefer the winter. How's your running going at the moment?
running is going well but training is interrupted a lot right now. Got a bunch of good 70 mile weeks in before Christmas, then had 2 weeks of vacation and work travel, got back in with a nice 80 mile week then lost some time with heavy snow, got back in to good running but then was sick a few days, and just spent the last 4 days skiing in Utah again. Its all good, when i am running it is going very well and the time away helps recovery any muscle and joint issues form the previous training cycle, plus most fo my breaks have been active, e.g. Sunday I did a big ski tour with 7000ft of climbing (and still did 6 miles on the hotel tread mill afterwards. Also managing to get some good 20 mile long runs in even on my shorter weeks, that helps a lot to preserve endurance
Had a red-eye flight home so didn't really get a single hours worth of quality sleep so doubt I will run today but otherwise I have about 5 weeks of open training before another ski trip. If training goes well I have a half marathon planned of the end of Feb to test pace for a sub-3 Marathon attempt end of April.
Had a red-eye flight home so didn't really get a single hours worth of quality sleep so doubt I will run today but otherwise I have about 5 weeks of open training before another ski trip. If training goes well I have a half marathon planned of the end of Feb to test pace for a sub-3 Marathon attempt end of April.
Soldato
Tough first session at the track. The main floodlights were broken so we were practically running in the dark. Also, the track was icy so grip was an issue! I think I might invest in some cheap spikes for track use.
Managed to do 16 x 400m before I gave up. Didn't want to annihilate myself straight away. Was fairly consistent with 74-77s for 400m which isn't bad considering the seconds lost trying not to stack it on the bends.
Managed to do 16 x 400m before I gave up. Didn't want to annihilate myself straight away. Was fairly consistent with 74-77s for 400m which isn't bad considering the seconds lost trying not to stack it on the bends.
So I had a gait analysis done last night to try and stop some of the knee pain I've been getting after running. Been told I've got 'moderate' pronation - most places seem to have shoes for mild or heavy pronation but nothing much in between. Any recommendations?
Soldato
Well, you have two options as far as I can tell, others may chime in.
1. Go for a neutral shoe with cushioning and see how you get on.
2. Go for a "stability" shoe aimed at over-pronators and see how you get on.
What shoe do you have now that gives you pain? I would sap shoe types and see.
In general you should try to run in a neutral shoe. Stability shoes try to contort your feet to land in a way that naturally they don't want to go , under the assumption that the biomechancis are better if you land in a more neutral position after forcibly being corrected. This sometimes works for some people, for others it can make it worse.
I think there is a high chance you had a stability shoe that simply wasn't helping you, but if you had a neutral shoe then by all means try a stability shoes.
There are other things to check, e.g. what is your cadence? If you have too low a cadence it is likely you are heal striking, a mid-foot strike is both more optimal and reduced injuries. But again, there is reasonable large range of cadence that works well for different people.
Other things to look t is training. E.g., are you making sure your easy runs are easy enough? It is actually very hard to run your easy runs easy enough, its quite an awkward pace and doesn't feel natural initially. Can you have a full on conversation with a friend, take your phone with you and call someone when running, you shouldn't struggle to speak. When running hard for intervals or whatever, make sure you are well warmed up, try some dynamic stretching, and don;t spend more than 10-20% f your time running hard. If you want to run hard try doing hill repeats instead of a track workout, you get the same power requirements but reduced impact forces. Even better is do do hill repeat on a treadmill because it absorbs some of the impact and you don't have to worry about the downhill.
Increases in weekly volume or ratio of hard workouts will also increase injury risks. When increasing volume its useful to reduce hard workouts. You don;t want to increase volume by more than about 10% a week, and you need to hold that increase for a few weeks before increasing again.
Make sure you run with a good form, head up high etc., not hunched over.
Core and leg strength are also important for good running. Do a google search. If you have certain muscles weak then you can run with bad form which can cause pain or injury.
Lastly, rest, recovery and diet are important. Alternating harder and easier days helps recovery, and you need a good night sleep after a harder or longer run. Diet needs to be balanced, you need plenty of carbohydrates for running but some fats and protein as well.
sounds good. Don't annihilate yourself, you risk injury and if you over do then you will have a longer recovery time which will reduce your training effectiveness. Its all about making balances. E.g., running a 30 mile LR could be great for improving endurance but you wont be able to do much training in the next days. 18-20 miles gets you a lot of the benefits and you can get more training done in the week. With intervals you want to take the next day a little easier but hopeful can then do a nice General aerobic or even long run etc the day after that.
Current shoes are Nike Free 5.0, which from what I can tell online are about as supportive as my ex-girlfriend...
Not too savvy on things like cadence, I'm capable of holding a conversation as I run so I don't think I'm overexerting myself.
Not too savvy on things like cadence, I'm capable of holding a conversation as I run so I don't think I'm overexerting myself.