Platypus' Beginners Guide to Running

Well I went along to the doctor yesterday (fortunately managed to get an appointment with the one who specialises in rheumatology) and he had a good prod, squeeze and stretch of my foot.

He said it wasn't a Morton's Neuroma which he said is very distinct for him to feel and I'd have certainly felt it too while he was examining my foot. He's not sure what the problem is but to make it easier to see what it might be I've been for an xray this morning. No running for me for a few days until the results come back but hopefully just something minor which will heal fairly quickly and I can get back to running.

My training is very much just gentle running, nothing special at all. I have been upping my distance and doing so fairly gradually but maybe it was a little too quick so when I'm back I'll take it nice and slow again and hopefully be ok.

My trainers (Brook's Adrenaline GTS 16) were fitted for me at a running shop after gait analysis and they feel lovely on my feet and when running. I've only had them since April and haven't hundreds of miles in them so hopefully they still have plenty of life left in them.

I shall have a bit of an investigate of the different lacing options (a quick google gave me this link: https://runrepeat.com/top-10-running-shoe-lacing-techniques) currently is either the heel slipping or flat foot method (I've not looked closely enough to see what the exact difference is but they look very similar) for no reason other than that's how I always lace my shoes and have done for years as I find it allows me to loosen specific sections of lace nicely but having seen that site I will definitely look in this more, particularly on my right trainer which I do find tricky to get totally comfortable!
 
Probably nothing important then. When you runa lot you start to get these minor niggles, you just have to be aware of them and back-off the running so they fade a little.

It is probably good to try and massage and foam roll your legs frequently. Many problems come abut by very stiff calf muscles. there are tendons that run from the toes all the way up to your hips, and problems with your feet can sometimes relate to tightness in your calfs. When there is too much tension then you can get mircotares, or joints don;t move freely enough. Running naturally tighten many of the tendons, they act like a spring so a stiffer spring stores more energy and lets you run more economically. But if it gets too tight then it can cause issues. Don't do any static stretching, but some dynamic stretches can help.

The only there suggestion is allow for recovery weeks, so build volume slowly over a 3 week span but then the 4th week cut back down to what you were doing around the 1st week, then carry on again. Doesn't need an exact schedule, so look at your calendar for holidays or busy work schedule where a shorter runnign week would be preferable.
 
Well I did the 10-mile Great South run this morning in 1hr 23mins 19seconds. I didn't manage to hit my 8min/mile target but it's still a PB for me.

My legs hurt now :D
 
D.P. said:
Probably nothing important then. When you runa lot you start to get these minor niggles, you just have to be aware of them and back-off the running so they fade a little.

It is probably good to try and massage and foam roll your legs frequently. Many problems come abut by very stiff calf muscles. there are tendons that run from the toes all the way up to your hips, and problems with your feet can sometimes relate to tightness in your calfs. When there is too much tension then you can get mircotares, or joints don;t move freely enough. Running naturally tighten many of the tendons, they act like a spring so a stiffer spring stores more energy and lets you run more economically. But if it gets too tight then it can cause issues. Don't do any static stretching, but some dynamic stretches can help.

The only there suggestion is allow for recovery weeks, so build volume slowly over a 3 week span but then the 4th week cut back down to what you were doing around the 1st week, then carry on again. Doesn't need an exact schedule, so look at your calendar for holidays or busy work schedule where a shorter runnign week would be preferable.
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Thanks, that's really helpful advice, I would like to increase my distance a bit more but felt this would be a big set back, hopefully after a week of resting up it'll be ok when I go back to running later this week. I'll start gently and make sure I'm very slow in my increasing work and add in recovery weeks. There's so much more to running than I ever appreciated!
 
Running really rewards the patience, consistent long term training. Years of gradual increases will improve performance and reduce injury risks You need to have a ling term perspective, for example my current Marathon cycle hasn't gone quite he way I wanted and although decent I pulled back quite a lot of workouts to avoid injury. i know this might cost me a little in my race in November, but it fishing a few minutes slower is not a big price to pay and will mean I have stronger when it comes to my races next year. And you often don;t have to cut things back that much to make a big difference in recovery. E.g., a hard workout can be replaced with an easy run of the the same distance or more, runs can be cut short by 20-30% leaving you feeling way fresher but still having done a nice bit of exercise The inverse also applies, if you feel amazing and strong then by all mean push for that extra couple of miles, a few extra hill repeats etc.

Very easy when you are just starting out to keep pushing too hard, and you an get addicted to the big gains in performance without realizing you are over training. I fell victim to this repeatedly when trying to pick up running.



Anyway, the worst symptom of my cold left by Thursday so i have been out doing some general aerobic runs (7-13 miles). Still feeling fatigued form the cold and sore throat/runnign nose so keeping pace down. Hoping to get some better workouts done in next week but otherwise taper will start at the weekend.
 
D.P. said:
Running really rewards the patience, consistent long term training. Years of gradual increases will improve performance and reduce injury risks You need to have a ling term perspective, for example my current Marathon cycle hasn't gone quite he way I wanted and although decent I pulled back quite a lot of workouts to avoid injury. i know this might cost me a little in my race in November, but it fishing a few minutes slower is not a big price to pay and will mean I have stronger when it comes to my races next year. And you often don;t have to cut things back that much to make a big difference in recovery. E.g., a hard workout can be replaced with an easy run of the the same distance or more, runs can be cut short by 20-30% leaving you feeling way fresher but still having done a nice bit of exercise The inverse also applies, if you feel amazing and strong then by all mean push for that extra couple of miles, a few extra hill repeats etc.
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That's really useful insight thank you. My current long term goal is to run 3 half marathons next year with people who have been supportive over the last couple of years as I've lost 6stone and taken up the running, so there's no rush for me to increase my distance quickly.

D.P. said:
Very easy when you are just starting out to keep pushing too hard, and you an get addicted to the big gains in performance without realizing you are over training. I fell victim to this repeatedly when trying to pick up running.
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I think this is exactly the issue I've had, I found I was getting fitter and much more able and felt good for longer runs but it seems my poor little feet (or foot at least) wasn't quite ready for it. Slowly and surely from here on in! :)
 
Posted this in another thread but decided to share here:

On Sunday I'm running my first organised (Accrington) 10k. I started running a little over a month ago, I'm not a gym goer but I am a cyclist who hasn't done anything much all year

I started doing a short couple mile route. I'd run as controlled as I could until I felt I couldn't, then walk a few meters then carry on running. When I could do it without walking I added extra distance on. Now I'm doing ~7.5 miles in one go more or less. Running slow, but it's controlled and I'm not stopping to walk.

Sunday should be interesting. Goal is just to complete, but really I want to get under an hour which will be great given how long I haven't been running.

Here's my last 3 efforts (same routes more or less, Strava not sure on mileage haha):

https://www.strava.com/activities/1243705153
https://www.strava.com/activities/1234897401
https://www.strava.com/activities/1228558046

I could cycle 100 very hilly miles and think little of it, running is completely different, but I'm enjoying the challenge and surprised how quickly I'm taking to it.
 
Dup said:
Posted this in another thread but decided to share here:

Here's my last 3 efforts (same routes more or less, Strava not sure on mileage haha):

https://www.strava.com/activities/1243705153
https://www.strava.com/activities/1234897401
https://www.strava.com/activities/1228558046

I could cycle 100 very hilly miles and think little of it, running is completely different, but I'm enjoying the challenge and surprised how quickly I'm taking to it.
Click to expand...

Nothing wrong with those times fella, the sub hour is almost guarenteed. I started running while waiting for my fractured wrist to heal after a bit of advanced tree hugging at Bike Park Wales, so feel your pain coming from cycling, it's very different but equally enjoyable and addictive and has added so much more to my riding.

Have done a few races now and I know now to start slower, run at a pace my body likes instead of the watch and don't over hydrate / carb load before. You should soon start to see very big gains time wise but don't try to force it too hard, my biggest gains have come from long slow runs where it barely feels like I'm breathing ( I don't always record those ones) and saving the big effort for races or hill reps when I felt the need to punish myself. Good luck with the race.
STRAVA
 
Can anyone advise what's the best way to reduce my 5k time? I've slowly been upping my distance and can now do 5k without stopping in 36 minutes. I'm running twice a week (I lift weights the other five days) and after reading a few tips online I've split my running into a speed day and a normal distance day.

This morning I did 4 x 800m @ 9kph with 400m rests in between. I plan to increase this to 5 intervals then 6.

On Saturday I've been running 5k non-stop. I could run a lot further with some 30 second breaks but I'm not sure what's the best way to train (breaks or no breaks).

Can someone point me in the right direction? I'd like to do a park run before Christmas but I'd like to be running sub 30 minute 5k's before then (if possible).
 
Kris_90 said:
Can anyone advise what's the best way to reduce my 5k time? I've slowly been upping my distance and can now do 5k without stopping in 36 minutes. I'm running twice a week (I lift weights the other five days) and after reading a few tips online I've split my running into a speed day and a normal distance day.

This morning I did 4 x 800m @ 9kph with 400m rests in between. I plan to increase this to 5 intervals then 6.

On Saturday I've been running 5k non-stop. I could run a lot further with some 30 second breaks but I'm not sure what's the best way to train (breaks or no breaks).

Can someone point me in the right direction? I'd like to do a park run before Christmas but I'd like to be running sub 30 minute 5k's before then (if possible).
Click to expand...


You need to run a lot more than twice a week. Add a day, keep that for a month, add another day and hold, try to build up to 5 days. Have you longest run go well beyond the 5k mark, eve if you have to take some wlakign breaks. Cut the speed workout, wont be doing anything much for you at this stage except increasing injury risk.


If you really cared about times then the weight lifting should be cutdown to 2-x a week and concentrate on the legs, pistol squats, leg curls, donkey kicks, hip adductors, leg press etc. Upper body mass will slow you down a lot and excess muscle will burn through oxygen. Of course depending on your goals you might want to compromise.

Also, ignore setting yourself up with any hard goals like a certain time by certain date. All you can do is train around your current fitness and see what race time that happens to be.
 
Dup said:
Posted this in another thread but decided to share here:

On Sunday I'm running my first organised (Accrington) 10k. I started running a little over a month ago, I'm not a gym goer but I am a cyclist who hasn't done anything much all year

I started doing a short couple mile route. I'd run as controlled as I could until I felt I couldn't, then walk a few meters then carry on running. When I could do it without walking I added extra distance on. Now I'm doing ~7.5 miles in one go more or less. Running slow, but it's controlled and I'm not stopping to walk.

Sunday should be interesting. Goal is just to complete, but really I want to get under an hour which will be great given how long I haven't been running.

Here's my last 3 efforts (same routes more or less, Strava not sure on mileage haha):

https://www.strava.com/activities/1243705153
https://www.strava.com/activities/1234897401
https://www.strava.com/activities/1228558046

I could cycle 100 very hilly miles and think little of it, running is completely different, but I'm enjoying the challenge and surprised how quickly I'm taking to it.
Click to expand...

all looks good. don;t worry about walking, a lot of that is just mental anyway and will go away naturally in time.
 
Well I’ve signed up for my first park run 5k.
Hoping a bit of a structured race will be enjoyable.

Got out tonight and did 3.5 miles. Felt great after 3 but was looping back home and didn’t want to over do it.

My times are incredibly slow and it does make me wonder if my garmin is miscalculating. If I log by my phone then it’s around the pace I’d be expecting based on previous paces and treadmill runs.
Hoping a park run will help confirm one way or the other.

If the speeds are accurate then I’ll just carry on as I am. I’d rather increase distance at my pace and work on speed after rather than trying to bring it down too soon.


Need to get some healthy snacks too. I’ve been trying to cut down my weight and so counting calories. Today I ate around 1500 but after my run I’m at around 900. I’ve had an apple and some wheetabix but wouldn’t mind some other suggestions. Ideally something which has a decent shelf life and whilst I know they’re great I’m not the biggest fan of nuts!
 
Treadmills are much easier than runnign outside. I tend to set the incline to 2% although i know studies indicate there is no need until you are going closer to 6min/mile pace. Th problem with phone GPS is sometimes it can be noisy and will add extra distance so the pace looks faster.

the best bet is a timed race now and then, or measuring some routes accurately using one of the online mapping tools.
 
BlastRadius said:
Nothing wrong with those times fella, the sub hour is almost guarenteed. I started running while waiting for my fractured wrist to heal after a bit of advanced tree hugging at Bike Park Wales, so feel your pain coming from cycling, it's very different but equally enjoyable and addictive and has added so much more to my riding.

Have done a few races now and I know now to start slower, run at a pace my body likes instead of the watch and don't over hydrate / carb load before. You should soon start to see very big gains time wise but don't try to force it too hard, my biggest gains have come from long slow runs where it barely feels like I'm breathing ( I don't always record those ones) and saving the big effort for races or hill reps when I felt the need to punish myself. Good luck with the race.
STRAVA
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D.P. said:
all looks good. don;t worry about walking, a lot of that is just mental anyway and will go away naturally in time.
Click to expand...

Thanks guys, much appreciated. I've only run solo so I'm joining someone tonight for a semi-decent run and then that's me until the race. An ex experienced friend is also doing the race (and the reason I'm doing it as I ran my mouth) so will be interesting to compare notes.

For someone who wouldn't have set foot in a gym a few years ago and conquered that stigma, this is another big thing for me. I'm not big or unfit (in fact I'm about 12-13st and 5'11) but anxiety/confidence wise I've come a long long way.
 
Marvt74 said:
Well I’ve signed up for my first park run 5k.
Hoping a bit of a structured race will be enjoyable.

Got out tonight and did 3.5 miles. Felt great after 3 but was looping back home and didn’t want to over do it.

My times are incredibly slow and it does make me wonder if my garmin is miscalculating. If I log by my phone then it’s around the pace I’d be expecting based on previous paces and treadmill runs.
Hoping a park run will help confirm one way or the other.

If the speeds are accurate then I’ll just carry on as I am. I’d rather increase distance at my pace and work on speed after rather than trying to bring it down too soon.


Need to get some healthy snacks too. I’ve been trying to cut down my weight and so counting calories. Today I ate around 1500 but after my run I’m at around 900. I’ve had an apple and some wheetabix but wouldn’t mind some other suggestions. Ideally something which has a decent shelf life and whilst I know they’re great I’m not the biggest fan of nuts!
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I tend to run 3-4 10k runs a week, its just on my lunch break at work as I run with the same guys.
For the morning I eat Overnight Oats, I think its around 50g oats, then put 200g fat free yogurt on top and then frozen fruit on top of that.
I make it the night before then just take it to work with me in the morning.

Then through the morning I tend to eat an apple or 2 and a banana about an hour before the run :).

Again not sure if that's the best method, but it works for me.
 
Cheers, i think my issue is i'm trying to get my weight back down after going from 15st to just over 17, through being lazy and not running and also a new job where i literally leave house, drive to work, sit at desk, drive home and sit around. My average must be about 2000 steps a day if i don't consciously do something extra.

So on the way in i tend to have an apple and banana, then for dinner i'll have leftovers from previous nights tea (today is sweet potato curry and rice) and then for tea i'll have whatever we make. Think tonight is steak and asparagus/brocoli.

So with cutting out unhealthy snacks i'm probably about 200 for breakfast and then 500 for dinner and tea leaving me around 1200. That feels fine for me on most days given my fairly sedentary day, but on days where i do exercise i'm conscious it's not enough even if i feel ok.

I did find last night that it was much easier running at night (around 9pm) than in the morning as i'll be out running within about 5 mins of waking up so not properly woken up.
 
To increase all round fitness and help your running I can't recommend HIIT Circuit Training highly enough.

There are loads to do and it can take as little as 20mins work, this helps your recovery time, strength, power and stamina. It will help in terms of injury prevention for high impact activity like running.

Simple body weight movements too, nothing complicated.

Oh and eat eat eat :)
 
Did another 3miles this morning and definately found it more work than Tuesday night. My knee also seems to be feeling a bit off which i've never had before. I know my trainers are pretty old now and whilst they look alright they're definately not as supportive as they once were.

Given i've finally got my Vitality membership sorted i'm gonna head to Sweatshop after work and pick up some new ones now i have 50% off.

Then got the park run on Saturday. The only structured running i've done before this are a few hashes in Brazil and Malaysia and a few years ago for charity a group was organised to run for 2 hours around a track. But it wasn't properly timed or distances tracked. So this should be interesting.
 
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