Platypus' Beginners Guide to Running

Update on what I've been up to since last post:

I've Dropped "structured" running completely (still doing bits and pieces for cardio) and have been hitting fitness bootcamp hard with my wife. Three early morning gym based sessions a week @ 05:30 before work, and also outdoor sessions in the evenings two nights a week plus Saturday mornings.

Did my second OCR (Muscle Acre 10k) http://www.muscleacre.com/ ...That was fun apart from my wife dislocating her shoulder, I sent her off to hospital while I completed the course (no sense both of us sitting in waiting room for hours lol).


My Waistband has gone from tight in 34" trousers (January 2016) to loose in 32" (first time in 32" waist in about 4-5 years).

No idea what I weigh though, I'm more interested in how I feel and what I can do.

Right now at the age of 42 I'm Feeling like I'm in the best shape of my life.
 
Completed my first ultra yesterday, squamish 50miler. All I can say is holy ****, that was humbling. Makes a sub-3 marathon seem like a walk in a park. This was a particularly tough ultra,about 12000ft of climbing g, and what God up must go down,which was the biggest challenge. Descents were extremely steep,rocky, tree roots, and offer d in rulemaking you slip and slide,trip, tumble adversely suffer, for hours and hours. I would keep rushing for an uphill to stop the figure of the downhills. Moreover, the downhills were slower than the uphill adding to the frustration. A very humbling experience watching people fly down the descents. You would really have to live in the mou gains to have any hope of doing really well on such a course. Endurance wide i held up,the last 1.5miles were on a flat road And i cruised at sub-8 pace.

I think I need to signup for a flatter and faster 50miler next time to get some contrast. I ran the first half with a TH friend who is very experienced, with a recent 50m PR of 8hours and change. He said he is in better shape than then but he finished in 12.5 hours, I came at 11:31.
Even more insane is that some people are out today to th the 50k after the 50m yesterday.I can barely stagger to the toilet.
 
Well done on your 50 miler, given the terrain in BC I'm not surprised there was a lot of climbing involved. Best of luck with the recovery and give yourself enough time but then you'll know that anyway.

It's been a while since I last posted so I've done a few road races of distances up to 7 miles, quite enjoyed them when they're not too hot but don't feel like I've quite got my speed back yet (such as it was). Also I've been doing a few shorter track runs recently before the season ended yesterday which have gone reasonably well, I'm down to 10:45 for a 3km so that's some progress although still about 2 minutes away from what the winners were doing. I'm hoping to get in one last half marathon before the end of October and then try to get a decent amount of miles in over the winter while it's cooler but I'm also looking forward to the XC season starting again.
 
Seem to have developed an IT band issue according to google doctor, only ran 3 times in last two weeks (and 3 footy games) and in excruciating pain the day after each. Worrying with half marathon this month.
 
@dp must have had some nice motivating scenery for the Squamish/BC 50m - seems it was 20C and lucked out if avoided rain.


Protein - Do folks monitor their consumption ? there seem to be few referencess looking back through the thread.

Across run/bike/swim I probably do the equivalant of 10K a day, but recently realised although I consume carb's, I am maybe neglecting protein,
sedentary is apparently 0.8g/Kg/day, and here ,for example, suggests for ~10K 1.2g/Kg/day, so that would be ~90g per day for me,
which makes 300g of chicken say - I could typically be at 50% of that ... um - food for thought .
 
jpaul said:
@dp must have had some nice motivating scenery for the Squamish/BC 50m - seems it was 20C and lucked out if avoided rain.


Protein - Do folks monitor their consumption ? there seem to be few referencess looking back through the thread.

Across run/bike/swim I probably do the equivalant of 10K a day, but recently realised although I consume carb's, I am maybe neglecting protein,
sedentary is apparently 0.8g/Kg/day, and here ,for example, suggests for ~10K 1.2g/Kg/day, so that would be ~90g per day for me,
which makes 300g of chicken say - I could typically be at 50% of that ... um - food for thought .
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Nope, in fact, I pay very little attention to my diet. I know I'd probably run better if I did, but enjoying eating Curry, Pizza and beer too much. I do eat a fair amount of Chicken and Cheese so hopefully, that helps the protein a bit.
 
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jpaul said:
@dp must have had some nice motivating scenery for the Squamish/BC 50m - seems it was 20C and lucked out if avoided rain.


Protein - Do folks monitor their consumption ? there seem to be few referencess looking back through the thread.

Across run/bike/swim I probably do the equivalant of 10K a day, but recently realised although I consume carb's, I am maybe neglecting protein,
sedentary is apparently 0.8g/Kg/day, and here ,for example, suggests for ~10K 1.2g/Kg/day, so that would be ~90g per day for me,
which makes 300g of chicken say - I could typically be at 50% of that ... um - food for thought .
Click to expand...


Scenery was fantastic in that area, although while runnign I didn't take too much of it in. The race is mostly through dense forest for starters, and I had to constantly look at the ground because the traisl were just a minefield of rocks and tree roots. Some sections were so steep people would-go down backwards for example. There was one aid station (quest University) that someone the next day said had amazing views to the mountains, but I was totally blanking that out since I was really focused on eating and getting my gear sorted for the next0 miles. . I went back the next day and sure enough, amazing views of mountains! Weather was great, nice and cool in the morning. In the afternoon it was hot when exposed to the sun but that wasn't common.




I am not too worried about the amount of protein. When exercising you certainly need more than being sedentary, but the average western diet has far more protein than required even for moderately active people. Don't forget that there is protein in a lot of food, from milk, oats, nuts , beans, peanut butter, and even just vegetables. So you can get Haroun 4-8g from eating a portion of potatoes, 3-4 form portion of spinach. Broccoli and sweet corn also have an OK amount. Peas have a lot of protein. Throw in any cheese or deli meat etc and you will probably find you are eating way over 120g a day if you have a typical main meal with a portion of meat.
 
Interesting reading this thread, I have been running a couple of years, but I am finally actually starting to train harder now, managed 22 miles so far this week (4 runs) and I want to try keeping the distance up week by week.

Reading some of you guys are doing 85 miles a week is insane!

I am just eating normally really, don't monitor any food etc, just have a banana before i go running :)

May enter a half soon, but currently furthest i have ran is around 7 miles so i would need to increase that :)

Will keep an eye on here.
 
Daaaavvveee said:
Interesting reading this thread, I have been running a couple of years, but I am finally actually starting to train harder now, managed 22 miles so far this week (4 runs) and I want to try keeping the distance up week by week.

Reading some of you guys are doing 85 miles a week is insane!

I am just eating normally really, don't monitor any food etc, just have a banana before i go running :)

May enter a half soon, but currently furthest i have ran is around 7 miles so i would need to increase that :)

Will keep an eye on here.
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When you increase your distance make sure you allow for cut-back weeks. So build for around 3 weeks and then the 4week you cutback to say 70% of the peak. The next week you repeat your peak week distance, and oyl the week after do you increase again. No (or minimal) intensity runs while building, and just keep a close eye on how your muscles and joints feel. Depending on age, weight and prior fitness you should be able to creep p to 50 mpw, and then you have to be more careful and see how it all works out.

I used to think 85mpw was insane when I stared at 20mpw but its all relative. I think the people doing 130MPH are insane, they probably think the people doing 160mpw are insane. I find getting to 70MPH during a training cycle relatively straight forward without trying. 20 mile long leaves you at 50miles over 6 days. I like to add a 13-16mile middle-long run. One of my quality runs will typically be around 1 miles once I have added a warmup and a cool down/easy miles it finish, e.g. 3 easy, 6 miles at lactate threshold, 3 miles easy. Throw in 1- general aerobic runs at 10 miles and you are mostly there. That all sounds a lot but once you have got used to running doesn't feel special. I did 10 miles this morning as an easy run, was just so much fun enjoying the cool morning air. Got back home in time to help with the kids breakfast and take them off to daycare.

Just don't chase the miles for the sake of doing miles.If you have a goal in mind then you following a training plan then the miles will build up naturally to rech the training objectives. If ou enjoy running lot you will find yourlef going out 6-7 days a week for 60-90 minutes and not thinking much of it.





For you half marathon, just sign up. If you an run 7 you can run 13 with little training. Increase your long run by about 1 mile a time, follow a similar pattern to the volume so every few weeks you cut that back down. Soon you will find yourself at 10 or 11miles, and that is all you need to do for your first. Running longer distances mostly comes down to a mental issues. Going form 7 to 13 seems huge, but adding 1 mile is relatively easy, so break things down in to easier steps. Start your long runs real slow and relaxed,
 
D.P. said:
When you increase your distance make sure you allow for cut-back weeks. So build for around 3 weeks and then the 4week you cutback to say 70% of the peak. The next week you repeat your peak week distance, and oyl the week after do you increase again. No (or minimal) intensity runs while building, and just keep a close eye on how your muscles and joints feel. Depending on age, weight and prior fitness you should be able to creep p to 50 mpw, and then you have to be more careful and see how it all works out.

I used to think 85mpw was insane when I stared at 20mpw but its all relative. I think the people doing 130MPH are insane, they probably think the people doing 160mpw are insane. I find getting to 70MPH during a training cycle relatively straight forward without trying. 20 mile long leaves you at 50miles over 6 days. I like to add a 13-16mile middle-long run. One of my quality runs will typically be around 1 miles once I have added a warmup and a cool down/easy miles it finish, e.g. 3 easy, 6 miles at lactate threshold, 3 miles easy. Throw in 1- general aerobic runs at 10 miles and you are mostly there. That all sounds a lot but once you have got used to running doesn't feel special. I did 10 miles this morning as an easy run, was just so much fun enjoying the cool morning air. Got back home in time to help with the kids breakfast and take them off to daycare.

Just don't chase the miles for the sake of doing miles.If you have a goal in mind then you following a training plan then the miles will build up naturally to rech the training objectives. If ou enjoy running lot you will find yourlef going out 6-7 days a week for 60-90 minutes and not thinking much of it.





For you half marathon, just sign up. If you an run 7 you can run 13 with little training. Increase your long run by about 1 mile a time, follow a similar pattern to the volume so every few weeks you cut that back down. Soon you will find yourself at 10 or 11miles, and that is all you need to do for your first. Running longer distances mostly comes down to a mental issues. Going form 7 to 13 seems huge, but adding 1 mile is relatively easy, so break things down in to easier steps. Start your long runs real slow and relaxed,
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Thanks for that, some ace info!

I tend to do most my running on my lunch break at work. I will have to try sticking a mile on the end on Monday.
I think i may have to do 3 runs a week at work and 2 at home, as its easier for me to do longer runs at home......Hopefully anyway ;)
 
I use my lunch for runs quite often, or use to till work got busy for me again. If your loose with your definitions of an hour break, you can get a 5-7 mile run in including showing after. I also made a deal with my boss that when I was on a training plan for an actual event I may take longer lunches but just make back the time before/after/another day.

I've been pretty lax again since my race in July so trying to pick myself up again. Couple of weeks ago I crossed paths with people doing the ridgeway challenge which is an 86 mile ultra. One day maybe.....though I should probably aim for a full marathon first (and they won't let you enter if you haven't posted a marathon time in the year prior to the race).
 
Any triathletes in the house?
I can consistently run 19 minute 5ks and 44 minute 10ks but off the bike I struggle to pick the pace up at all...
Last Saturday at Lanzarote 70.3 got off the bike feeling awesome, 2:53 for the 90k ride and started running fine but every time I tried to pick the pace up nothing happened :D

What kinda training do I need to incorporate into it all with my target being Copenhagen full ironman next august?
 
NoNameNoNumber said:
Any triathletes in the house?
I can consistently run 19 minute 5ks and 44 minute 10ks but off the bike I struggle to pick the pace up at all...
Last Saturday at Lanzarote 70.3 got off the bike feeling awesome, 2:53 for the 90k ride and started running fine but every time I tried to pick the pace up nothing happened :D

What kinda training do I need to incorporate into it all with my target being Copenhagen full ironman next august?
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I did a sprint tri last year. It was ok, I'm ok at swimming and weak on the bike, compared to the other people that were there, I came in the top 50% over all, my run was in the top 25%, Transitions were slow! It was good overtaking some of the people on the run that when past me on their crazy expensive carbon tri bikes. I remember my legs feeling like jelly when I got off the bike, the change in movement felt odd. I'd like the idea of doing a 70.3 one day, but don't know if I've got the hours available to train for it. There's a few people in my running club that have done Ironmans.

If you're running 19min 5k's your 10k should be closer to 40m. What was your HM time in the 70.3? I'm guessing around the 1:40-45 mark.
 
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I think I could push my 10k down a little if I tried harder... I seem to lose my way mentally lol... Maybe I need to find a sub40 runner to try and keep up with.

Exactly my point on the 70.3, it took me 2:02 to do the run. Legs felt OK still but I just couldn't get them to go any faster! Hot out here though mind. I set myself a sub 6hr target and when I knew a 2hr run would do it for me I guess I didn't have a mad urge to push too much more?
 
NoNameNoNumber said:
I think I could push my 10k down a little if I tried harder... I seem to lose my way mentally lol... Maybe I need to find a sub40 runner to try and keep up with.

Exactly my point on the 70.3, it took me 2:02 to do the run. Legs felt OK still but I just couldn't get them to go any faster! Hot out here though mind. I set myself a sub 6hr target and when I knew a 2hr run would do it for me I guess I didn't have a mad urge to push too much more?
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Sounds like you've got used to running short and fast, you've probably got a strong cardial system, but your muscles can't keep up over the longer distance. I'd suggest adding more long slow runs to your training. Keeping your HR down to zone2-3 Half Marathons distance in the 1:50->2h region probably. It should feel easy, with is an odd feeling as you think this can't be doing me any good. My Wife is a 2hr Half marathon runner but maxes out at about 24mins on 5km
 
Itchytrigg said:
I use my lunch for runs quite often, or use to till work got busy for me again. If your loose with your definitions of an hour break, you can get a 5-7 mile run in including showing after. I also made a deal with my boss that when I was on a training plan for an actual event I may take longer lunches but just make back the time before/after/another day.

I've been pretty lax again since my race in July so trying to pick myself up again. Couple of weeks ago I crossed paths with people doing the ridgeway challenge which is an 86 mile ultra. One day maybe.....though I should probably aim for a full marathon first (and they won't let you enter if you haven't posted a marathon time in the year prior to the race).
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Yeah I can lunch for as long as is needed, just need to hit my 7.5hour work time.

Just finished for the week now on 24.5 miles. That's most likely my PB for it, will just try keeping it up to around that, just have to stay motivated to do it
 
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