Platypus' Beginners Guide to Running

iMacMart said:
So I do about 15 odd miles a week and as the nights are now so dark can anyone recommend a chest light so I don’t break my neck and people can see me coming, I don’t like head torches just clothing and a tracking watch so a chest light is my best approach... thanks
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Have you considered reflective jacket/gilet - first and fore most ?
For my usual running route I know where the multi-use pavement pot-holes are,
motorists would be picking me out to cyclists/pedestrians in advance, but cyclists have lights anyway, and, you need to call out to pedestrains to say which side you will pass
... most gilets seem to have white reflective bands (like police garments), and I am currently trying to decide if the rest of the garment is best in flouro yellow/orange/pink, to help at dusk too. Proviz stuff looks very fragile so I have ruled that out (also discussed in an earlier gd threaad).
if you are actually running on the road, towards the traffic, you need the good reflective gear anyway.
 
ShiWarrior said:
Good luck !
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Thanks, I needed it! Forgot how bad the hills are and went out WAY too fast so was struggling from about mile 8 and had to walk the last hill. 1:54 which considering my lack of training of late, is probably quicker than I deserved.

I feel bad now, so really really looking forward to the DOMS tomorrow.
 
jpaul said:
Have you considered reflective jacket/gilet - first and fore most ?
For my usual running route I know where the multi-use pavement pot-holes are,
motorists would be picking me out to cyclists/pedestrians in advance, but cyclists have lights anyway, and, you need to call out to pedestrains to say which side you will pass
... most gilets seem to have white reflective bands (like police garments), and I am currently trying to decide if the rest of the garment is best in flouro yellow/orange/pink, to help at dusk too. Proviz stuff looks very fragile so I have ruled that out (also discussed in an earlier gd threaad).
if you are actually running on the road, towards the traffic, you need the good reflective gear anyway.
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Yes got a reflective yellow running jacket, hat & gloves, I try to mix my routes up so I don’t get bored.... tend to stay off the roads as I don’t trust anyone at night :)
 
iMacMart said:
Yes got a reflective yellow running jacket, hat & gloves, I try to mix my routes up so I don’t get bored.... tend to stay off the roads as I don’t trust anyone at night
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for off road/pavement does the kalenji have the lumens/directionality ? to see footfall.

for yellow jackets, and after recently had feedback from drivers who encounter me (used same system for run/bike) I am getting a better jacket that meets eu standards 1150 eg https://janheine.wordpress.com/2011/07/25/pbp-preparation-reflective-vests-and-rapha-jersey/
also more 'reddy' for dusk.
 
Any recommendations for trainers for off-road running? Just around the edges of farmers fields (it's a footpath, do I am not going to incur the farmer's wrath...) - looking through various reviews and just getting confused... Mudclaw 300 looks great, but is perhaps a bit excessive for a bit of mud?

Bored of dodging cars and being blinded by headlights now, want to expand my routes and encounter new exciting things.
 
iMacMart said:
Is that verbal feedback? :)
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one (short-sited) female range rover driver at dusk,
lady with a pink fluorescent top much more conspicuous who said my fluo yellow was not up to the mark,

moreover, running on pavement on nsl unlit road, get to see cyclist with lights/flu-yellow, but they do not get picked up by motorist as far out as a proviz top -
hence researching better tops/gilets

... but yes for off-road you don't need to be seen (apart from the poor guy in france with the hunters)
 
Bloodrayne said:
Any recommendations for trainers for off-road running? Just around the edges of farmers fields (it's a footpath, do I am not going to incur the farmer's wrath...) - looking through various reviews and just getting confused... Mudclaw 300 looks great, but is perhaps a bit excessive for a bit of mud?

Bored of dodging cars and being blinded by headlights now, want to expand my routes and encounter new exciting things.
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I have a pair of these for light trail running, gravel tracks, there also fine on tarmac. I did a marathon and all my marathon training in them.

https://www.sportsshoes.com/product/bro1112/brooks-caldera-trail-running-shoes/

I think Brooks also do a model called the Cascadia which are a little more aggressive on the tread. Also had a pair of Muzuno Wave Kazan's in the past but prefer the Brooks

I have a pair of Inov8's as well but they only get used when I know it's going to be really muddy/boggy
 
neilw said:
I have a pair of these for light trail running, gravel tracks, there also fine on tarmac. I did a marathon and all my marathon training in them.

https://www.sportsshoes.com/product/bro1112/brooks-caldera-trail-running-shoes/

I think Brooks also do a model called the Cascadia which are a little more aggressive on the tread. Also had a pair of Muzuno Wave Kazan's in the past but prefer the Brooks

I have a pair of Inov8's as well but they only get used when I know it's going to be really muddy/boggy
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Thanks - confirms that the Inov08s were perhaps a bit overkill; how did you gauge that the Brooks were for you? The footpath gets muddy and slippy over winter (if it rains enough) so I'd want something with a fair bit of grip, but have no idea how to effectively judge how much grip I would need - nor how to tell from pictures if grip is sufficient...

Sadly I live in the sticks so don't have a well-stocked shop near me, perhaps it'll be a reason to venture into civilisation and actually see these things in person.
 
I have a hilly half marathon next Sunday that I am planning on pb'ing.

Thoughts on taper over the coming week? Was planning on maintaining frequency of runs (6/wk), reducing volume (35%) and reducing speed work to 400m reps.

Input welcome, cheers
 
Bloodrayne said:
Any recommendations for trainers for off-road running? Just around the edges of farmers fields (it's a footpath, do I am not going to incur the farmer's wrath...) - looking through various reviews and just getting confused... Mudclaw 300 looks great, but is perhaps a bit excessive for a bit of mud?

Bored of dodging cars and being blinded by headlights now, want to expand my routes and encounter new exciting things.
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Altra Lone Peaks are great for this kind of thing.

The problem with the more dedicated mud shoes is thy are really bad when doing anything that isn't deep soft mud. You run a high injury risk if you cover firmer ground, let alone any dirt roads, paved areas, gravel. They are really designed for short x-country races on courses pretty much designed to be a mud bath.


A more regular all round trail shoe will be OK in the mud but you will slip occasionally. Just slow down a little and be light on your feet through the trickier sections.
 
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The Darkness said:
I have a hilly half marathon next Sunday that I am planning on pb'ing.

Thoughts on taper over the coming week? Was planning on maintaining frequency of runs (6/wk), reducing volume (35%) and reducing speed work to 400m reps.

Input welcome, cheers
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Taper should have started 1 to 2 weeks pack if this is a really a goal race. A 20% reduction each week over 3 weeks, so the week of the race you are doing about 35-40% over the same time period (e.g. Monay to friday/saturday).

Frequency is good to keep up but it helps to add a rest day or 2 unless you think the legs are very well rested. It tends to be good to have a rest day 2 days before the race, then a short shake out run the day before.

No speed work at all. Keep the runs at your normal easy pace, but it can be good to add some miles at intended goal pace, up to 10 seconds a mile faster for a mile or 2, or some fartlek style 1 or2 minutes at goal pace with slow acceleration and deceleration. The distance of each run should reduce a bit, so Monday likely the longest run until race day.

There are no fitness or physiological gain you can make, and doing anything like a workout will just lower your performance as your muscles wont recover. The training volume that your did 3-6 months back is where the race day performance will have been defined. During taper you can't do anything to gain performance, but you want your running to try to mitigate any negative effects of reduced training. The main thing is muscles can get stiff and flat as muscle fibers recover, but you need that recovery. So frequent shorter runs that often include race pace sections avoid overly stiff legs on race day. The goal of anything fast is just to make sure your legs can turnover smoothly at goal pace.
 
Just started running again after around 18 months off so going all the way back to Couch to 5k so I don't hurt myself. I'm 43 now so a little worried about hurting my knees if I train too much.

I got up to running 10k a few times previously but stopped when I no longer had a goal. I'm a little worried I'll do the same now as I'm generally very good a keeping things up when I have a goal. Once that goal is achieved I tend to stop. I'm not interested in running a marathon or anything but do want to keep things up, just for general health and being outdoors.

I may sign up for a 10k in Feb so I have something to work towards. After that though I'm a little lost what to do.
 
D.P. said:
Altra Lone Peaks are great for this kind of thing.

The problem with the more dedicated mud shoes is thy are really bad when doing anything that isn't deep soft mud. You run a high injury risk if you cover firmer ground, let alone any dirt roads, paved areas, gravel. They are really designed for short x-country races on courses pretty much designed to be a mud bath.

A more regular all round trail shoe will be OK in the mud but you will slip occasionally. Just slow down a little and be light on your feet through the trickier sections.
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They look good; I've never looked at trail running shoes before but there's such a massive variation it's quite daunting! Particularly when you're not running up mountains/through dedicated muddy tracks but looking for something that could switch between the occasional bit of hard terrain before moving on to grass/mud tracks.

I wanted something with a bit more grip than my road shoes, and am happy to accept being a bit slower due to the changes in terrain, but it was just something that hit the right balance between grip and being okay to run on roads with.
 
Bloodrayne said:
They look good; I've never looked at trail running shoes before but there's such a massive variation it's quite daunting! Particularly when you're not running up mountains/through dedicated muddy tracks but looking for something that could switch between the occasional bit of hard terrain before moving on to grass/mud tracks.

I wanted something with a bit more grip than my road shoes, and am happy to accept being a bit slower due to the changes in terrain, but it was just something that hit the right balance between grip and being okay to run on roads with.
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The Lone peaks are fine on the road, but make more sense used off the road. When I train for ultra I use L Lone peaks and many runs are 50-50 trail and road. I have a new pair of Alrra Olympus, these have vibram soles but slightly less aggressive lugs, also more cushioning and a higher stack height. These should make for good mixed training shoes, they wont be very fast or responsive but comfortable for high volumes and reasonable grip on mud.

Altra shoes have a wide toe box so are very comfy
 
Thanks again - anything that is okay on the road is fine (so won't be slippy, and won't wear down quickly), it'd be literally 500m on a 2.2k loop initially - I could drop the road section entirely and change the loop, but that would mean running back the way I came as opposed to a nice little circuit, and always handy to be able to run to the off-road bit as opposed to needing to change shoes between the two.

I'm not going to be breaking records no matter how much running I do so your two recommendations are really welcome.
 
Lone Peaks and Olympus are really fine on the road, they last a long time as well. These will work much better than a dedicated mud shoe from innov8.
 
A very different weekend of running for me - The first Sussex XC League match at Stanmer Park Brighton. I hadn't raced in the XC league before with my only experience being the XC relays at Goodwood in October, the relays being much shorter at 4k (I think) and the League match billed as 8k actually came in over 9k. The single hardest piece of running I've ever encountered, 3 laps the first being a short lap with reduced incline quickly took toll on my weak old man legs leaving me flailing after lap 2 and dropping back through the pack, only a late downhill sprint saved the race for me gaining dozens of places in the last 1k with 3 blitzed in the last 100 metres from 20 metres behind which felt chuffing amazing. In the end I finished placed 137 of 230 in 40:04, the winner was a chap called Tom Evans in 29:59, you may have heard of Tom Evans, he's the Hoka One One and Redbull sponsored Ultra runner who won the recent Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc CCC and finished 3rd at the 2017 Marathon Des Sables - he looked like he wasn't even trying. I originally thought I might break the top 100 here but having had experience now I know I am lacking endurance, strength and stamina :-) Something to work on.
 
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