Platypus' Beginners Guide to Running

platypus · 3 Apr 2007 at 14:07

TripleT said:
If anyone is interested in Nike+ trainers...

On the JJB Sports website you can get 20% off any Womens Nike+ trainers by entering the promotional code ZEST07 and 10% off Mens & Womens by entering the code CARD07 (obviously use ZEST07 if you're buying Womens ). Starts tomorrow.

Just thought I'd mention it if anyone was thinking of buying any.

Thanks for the links TripleT & MOT, Do you know if this is a permanent offer TripleT? (If so I'll add it to the links section).

platypus · 12 Apr 2007 at 11:53

GordyR said:
Fantastic thread Platypus!

Running has never been my thing, I have only ever used it to aid fat loss, even then I sway more to the dietary side of fat reduction.... But anyway, you may have just inspired me to take it more seriously.

Good job mate!

Thanks Gordy. I sincerely hope you get the inspiration to take it up more seriously

Edited a few links, still working on a few more training plans, just awfully busy with the Paris/London business coming up.

platypus · 17 Apr 2007 at 09:39

Mad old tory said:
Figured it might be a good idea to get this going as a log like the weights thread above. I'm wondering what the best route to take it once I can run for 30mins comfortably. Was thinking two 30min runs, one run where I start adding a bit more time building towards maybe an hour and one interval run. Does that sound like a sensible progression?

Are you aiming for a marathon MoT?

platypus · 17 Apr 2007 at 09:46

HangTime said:
I'm wondering if this is the issue I get. Basically for the last 2-3 years my shins feel really stiff if I run, or even if I walk very briskly for more than 10mins or so.

I never/very rarely used to get this when I was younger, so I figured it was just down to me doing very little exercise and having gained a fair bit of weight.

My hope is that if I start doing a bit of jogging (with stretching beforehand) that I'll be able to make it go away. I do walk a fair distance each day (30mins each way between the station and work) but this obviously isn't enough to restore the flexibility.

A good excercise to build the calf muscles (aswell as I can explain it) is: Stand against a wall, and keeping the left leg straight, lift yourself up by standing on your toes of your right foot and repeat 10 times. Swap legs, rest for a minute and repeat. Do it three times (you'll be surprised how tiring it is). It's basically a calf step but without the gym machine.

If you do this on a daily basis, and build it up (I do 3x50 reps) you'll get the strength you need in your calf muscles.

platypus · 17 Apr 2007 at 09:48

jamie2497 said:
Whenever i run for more than 15 minutes something in my abdomen starts to really hurt, feels like a stitch but the more i keep running the worse it gets. Had it for over a year now and my Doctor is useless! I lost a lot of weight like 1.5 years ago, went from 16 stone to 10 stone but i can't see how that would affect it.
I really want to be able to run a marathon but this is really stopping me from getting anywhere.

The only advice I could give here Jamie is that you seek medical advice elsewhere, ask your GP to refer you. Good luck with doing that marathon

platypus · 19 Apr 2007 at 16:54

Mad old tory said:
Not sure really, I'm running atm to improve my fitness and to be able to run if that makes any sense. I'd love to do something like the Great North Run and then perhaps make the step upto a marathon. Thing is though, I'd like to have good all round fitness rather and involve a weight routine into my exercise which would probably not be ideal with marathon running.

Well, if you want to you could give me an idea of what you're looking to do in terms of sessions/week, and at least aim for a goal (eg a half marathon at some point), and I could knock up a schedule for you?

platypus · 20 Apr 2007 at 12:49

Mad old tory said:
Would probably be running three times a week, as I'll hopefully be starting to do 3 weights sessions a week and would need a rest day. Think half marathon would be a good thing to aim for, did one about 5/6 years ago, but it took me 2hrs45mins and walked most of it
Edit: There's a half marathon in Windsor on the 30th Sept which would be a good thing to aim for I think.

I will throw something together this evening or tomorrow for you MoT, bit too busy to do it at the moment

platypus · 23 Apr 2007 at 15:10

wohoo said:
I have started running half marathon distances now, and im feeling ok ish after them, problem is my times are rubbish, currently 1hr 54.

My plan is to run 3 times a week, but im not sure how often to to run the full distance, once,twice a week?

Reasonably pleased with my progress so far tbh, its taken me 4 month to achieve what i have, to think i couldnt even run 2 miles in jan.

Don't aim to run the distance once a week, aim to do upto 10 miles once a week maximum, then try and taper towards a race if possible.

platypus · 25 Apr 2007 at 12:18

What problem does your gf have specifically? I use a mueller patella support for my left knee, but it might not be appropriate for your gf's needs.

platypus · 26 Apr 2007 at 12:39

PaulStat said:
Sorry i'm not sure I know what you mean by 'specifically'? Basically after 10 mins or so of running for x mins walking x mins one or both of her knees start to ache. So the x mins running get's reduced instead of increased and the walking gets increased instead of reduced.

In her own words:

"it starts to feel like its grinding, really heavy and puffy. although not any problems i can see on the outside....

its like when walking normally you cannot feel joints moving but you know they are, i can feel my knee joints. and the more i jog the more i feel until it starts to hurt."

Sorry - what I meant was she should probably get it checked out by a physiotherapist, as I can't diagnose something like that

Especially as she gets the pain when walking. As you said it feels like its grinding, it sounds to me that she needs medial support shoes/trainers, but its not something I'd want to say for definite.

I had my knees looked at recently because I was getting sharp pains, and found out that it was something that was simple to take care of, just lengthy, so I have regular physio on my left knee which will come to a finish at the end of may, but its worth it.

platypus · 27 Apr 2007 at 12:06

Chrisp7 said:
I looked at the website in London and there are some shoes that cost £30 there, Worcester is expensive! I assume they dont charge for analysis in most running shops then?

The price of shoes really is irrelevant. I'm currently enjoying £55 trainers, and I tried several pairs on that cost over £100, but because I went to a good shop they weren't trying to push those onto me.

If you get a shop that charges for analysis, move on. They're clearly more concerned about making a profit and will probably recommend the most expensive shoes, regardless of whether or not they are suitable for you.

Also, make sure you can try the shoes on outside, jog up and down a little, even sprint a bit to see how they feel.

platypus · 1 May 2007 at 15:13

PaulStat said:
Well I got my new shoes , apparently I was over prenating(sp?) anyway very happy with them.

One thing I have noticed though, if i'm just walking around in them it makes my right leg have pins and needles as I think the arch support is putting pressure on a nerve or something.

If i'm running in them however, I don't get any such problems.

Over-pronation is the most common complaint, and is easily addressed with fitted shoes, so good job there

The pins and needles could be a result of just getting used to the new shoes - if it carries on much longer go back to the shop and see if they can take a look at it.

platypus · 14 May 2007 at 14:50

lemonkettaz said:
When i go running i come back and my left calf seems to be tight.. is there anything i can do when i get back that will ease it?

Calf raises (30/day, increasing to 100/day) will strengthen your calves which should help. In addition to this, do you stretch your calves at all before and after your main run?

Bony Maloney said:
I have been running short distances 3 times a week for a year now This is a fantastic thread platypus, very informative.

Glad to hear

platypus · 24 May 2007 at 09:08

Skiddley said:
What about how to best avoid other common problems? Splints etc..

Thats a bloomin good idea, will get on it!

platypus · 20 Jun 2007 at 14:45

Thanks Chris, added.

platypus · 3 Jul 2007 at 17:56

Nope fusion, as long as you don't overdo it to begin with you should have enough time to train for it. Make sure you're not pushing things, maybe if you post your planned/current routine we could have a look at it?

platypus · 9 Jul 2007 at 14:58

Sorry Fusion, not really had chance to reply. The Serpentine club's site is an excellent resource, and if you can follow their plan without over stretching, give it a go.

One thing I would say is to be careful - its a 17 week plan for a reason! However, a half marathon isn't quite in the same league as a marathon, in that if you cut a few corners in marathon training then you'll be in real trouble. What I'd suggest is to take one of those weeks where you're doing 2 mile runs, and replace them with a mix of 2,3 and 4 mile runs to get you used to the distances quicker. Hope that helps, and please let us know how you get on

platypus · 29 Aug 2007 at 15:15

It will help you build your body to a certain extent, depending how you do it Mekral. It will shed pounds like nothing else, enabling you to tone up, and if you do a certain amount of weights a week you'll do fine.

If you want to bulk however, running isn't for you.

platypus · 30 Aug 2007 at 12:46

Congrats Paul, a good time too

platypus · 11 Sep 2007 at 10:38

I think what you're after Carlazai is Fartlek. It's a Swedish word meaning speed play, and is used to increase aerobic capacity.

It's much more helpful to follow then just going out and trying to blast out 3 miles.

After a warm up, try something like:

Warm up - easy run for 5 to 10 minutes
Steady, hard speed for 2 km.
Rapid walking for about 5 minutes – recovery.
Easy running interspersed with sprints of about 50 – 60m, repeated until a little tired; Start of speed work.
Easy running with three or four "quick steps" now and then (simulating suddenly speeding up to avoid being overtaken by another runner).
Immediately, fast pace for 1 minute.
Repeat until time is up (eg repeat for an hour).

Bob Baldaro (running coach) said:
A fartlek session can be either the easiest or hardest thing you do all week. It’s a Swedish term meaning ‘speed play’, and it basically consists of fast, medium and slow running over a variety of distances.

Here’s how a typical fartlek session would work. After a steady warm-up, simply pick a landmark – for example a tree, lamp-post, or phone box – and run to it hard, then jog until you’ve recovered. Then pick another landmark, run hard to that, recover and so on.

There doesn’t need to be a set structure to the run. For your first quick burst you might choose a target that’s just 100m away and sprint to it flat out. Then for the next hard run you’ll see something 800m away and stride towards it at your 5K race pace.

It’s entirely up to you how hard or easy you make the session. Unlike track intervals, fartlek doesn’t require you to set a distance to run, or a time to recover. A watch isn’t necessary (although in the absence of landmarks you can use one to pick different times for your hard sections), as you listen to your body to determine your recoveries. After a hard spurt, jog until you’ve got your breath back, the lactic acid has drained from your legs, and your heart’s stopped thumping. Then go again.

If you want to add a bit of specificity, short, fast bursts will help you sharpen your pure speed, which is most important for races like 5Ks and 10Ks. Longer periods of speed help to raise your anaerobic threshold, which improves your speed endurance – ideal for 10-milers and half-marathons. In reality, though, both of these components contribute to good race performances at any distance from the mile to the marathon, so it’s best to mix and match the length of the bursts.

If you want to add an unexpected element to fartlek training, run with a friend and take it in turns to call the next fast leg.