Platypus' Beginners Guide to Running

[Martynt74]

Yeah, i was close. Was awake in bed Saturday morning debating whether to go and ultimately figured i'd be annoyed if i didn't force myself to get up. Also googled it and the results seemed to be that as long as symptoms were above the neck it was safe to run. So i got up and went out.

Actually felt ok during the run, it was when i got home that i felt the symptoms worsen. Spend the weekend feeling like i was hungover without the benefit of being drunk!

 

[Flukester]

Also who's Dan Bailey?

Whoever they are they always give me Strava Kudos which makes me feel bad as i never do the same

Haha, oh that's me... I just give Kudos to anyone who appears on my feed and has put some effort in

I usually run at lunch break at work, where most the people here just sit and gorge on pasties and not even get out of chair

 

[The Darkness]

Needed some shoes for mud and general off road fun. I have a wide foot and also get pain on top of foot if they are too tight. Found some inov8 mud claw 275 heavily reduced in price and gave them a go.

Just got back from an easy recovery run to break them in. Rained constantly and heavily overnight so fields and tracks were thick with mud. All i can say is they didn't slip at all. My confidence grew with them as the run progressed and they didn't show any signs of slippage even when jumping obstacles.

Hugely enjoyable experience!

They were a bit hard on the small section of tarmac i needed to cross though. Will try some longer ones over the holiday and report back. No pain thus far but it was only 5 miles.

 

[Blackvault]

Well with 2018 drawing to a close I'd like to reflect on my year.

Stats
571km ran, which equals around 70 hours of running.
396km walked (lunch/hiking/run&walk) and totals 85 hours.

Averaged 10.8km of running a week (1hour 19mins).
The shortest month of running was 3.29km in March while injured with the longest December at 87km.

Milestones

• Completed my first non-stop 5km run in February with a time of 35:53. I was super happy having been able to run 3.5miles non-stop since taking up exercise in October of 2017.
• Completed the 5.5km leg of the Belfast marathon for work in May.
• Set multiple 5km PBs out running with the current PB of 27:13 in the Belfast Citi Inspire race.
• Attempted a nonstop 10km run in September and brought the PB down from 1:08 to 1:04.23 this weekend.
• Longest run was 12.7km set on Saturday.
• Stopped needing the run/walk sessions, early in the year.

Went hiking for the first time and climbed Slieve Donard having never really been walking in the Mournes before. Likewise with Cave Hill, which overlooks Belfast city, all in preprartion for Snowdon, in the cold, wet and foggy weather.

I've definitely noticed that I've got fitted since taking up exercise back in October 2017, where previously I probably couldn't have run the length of myself due to a sedate lifestyle so if anything can be taken from this year is that I've improved in being more active in this past year than in the past 30!

Looking ahead to 2019 - In no particular order.

Don't get injured. Twice during 2018, I couldn't even walk, and one injury resulted in me going to A&E to get x-rayed it was that bad. This was around March and while I only logged 3km that month. Over the course of the year I've been listening to my body, so that's the priority aim for next year.

Haven't really joined any local running clubs or taken part in many parks runs (only the one) so for me running at the moment it is more a lonely endeavor, primarily because I feel I'm that slow due to high heart rates and unfitness I'd slow people down. However, I'm going to try and turn that around, and be more social in my running, not that I don't always say hello to anyone I pass out on the streets of Lisburn.

Run More. Contradicting my point about not getting injured but I'd like to try and aim for 500miles/805km if possible and I think it might be manageable, but I know when to take it easy and it is not the complete be-end-and-end-all if I don't meet the target.

Aim for a sub one hour 10km. This might be tough for me, to stick at 5:59min/km for the duration, as my exhaustion levels, even doing 6:30mins 10kms is pretty high but we'll see.

I'm also going to enter more races, with my first 10km scheduled for 2nd February, with no other expectations than completing it. I'd love to be aiming to complete a half, but I think that's maybe a goal for 2020, so therefore more 10kms spread across the year will do.

Obviously I've mentioned in past posts about having stupidly high heart rates and chest busting runs, so I've scheduled a doctor's appointment on the 3rd January no less to get the ball rolling on investigations to ensure there isn't anything fundamentally wrong with my heart or that I'm not doing damage to it while running for 30-60mins at 200 + bpm.

Try and make the Strava group a bit more active. Not sure how to do this, given we are spread around the world. Maybe a virtual run session once a month? Maybe a local meet up, come to Northern Ireland

I'd like to thank everyone for their advice over the past year, and the kudos and kind comments on Strava and look forward to the coming year.

 

[Martynt74]

Some good improvements there. Hitting sub 1hr should be doable with your 5k time as long as you can build up to it.

As for me it’s been an up down year. I started the year training for my first half and doing quite well. In mid February I did a 10 mile run on a Thursday and then went to the Lakes for a week walking each day a few days later. Felt like I never recovered from that and didn’t run much until the half in early April. Not helped by mixing/pouring concrete by hand on my own for 8 hrs the day before the race. Ended up with a 2:17.

Stopped running for a bit after that to recover and then started getting into a decent routine in May/June. Then moved house in July and spent 3 months doing DIY and no running at all.

For motivation I signed up to the Manchester marathon in April 19. Having lost pretty much all stamina over those 3 months and putting on a bit of weight.

Since then I’ve been averaging around 15miles a week and trying to push closer to 20 most weeks. I must be eating loads though to compensate as I’ve not actually lost any weight!

December has been decent with a couple 8 milers and today I’ve just got back from doing 11 miles. Which felt awful at the time as I wasn’t feeling it at all and had only had a small bowl of porridge, plus obviously the Christmas excesses. But from a time point of view it wasn’t awful. Especially as I had to walk quite a bit as some of the hills were brutal.

Apparently for the year I’ve done 320 miles over 80 runs. Which is decent enough.

Like you. For 2019 I’m looking to increase volume a fair bit and start building up my long runs to get ready for the marathon.

Also want to make a lot more effort to drop around 15kgs.


@D.P. would you say it’s a decent idea to target 26 miles with a mix of running/walking and buying up the running part. Just to get my body used to the distance? Or just stick to building up my runs.

 

[MM-Seat]

Not sure where best to put this.

I started running early last year but, pulled out after knee issues which I suspected was from cycling.

I haven't cycled since July and I've noticed in last few weeks that the bones around my knee is tender and feels like a painful bruise if I find the right spot. Today, the pain is excruciating when I step down. Almost like no stability in knee.

Any indications what's going on before I go to the physio?

 

[Martynt74]

I think physio is probably the only option. Maybe GP if you might need a scan.

I occasionally get pain in my knee and like you it can feel like a bruise if I poke in the right spot but it’s never been as bad as yours.

 

[MM-Seat]

I think physio is probably the only option. Maybe GP if you might need a scan.

I occasionally get pain in my knee and like you it can feel like a bruise if I poke in the right spot but it’s never been as bad as yours.

I used to suffer with shin splints and then got some properly fitted running shoes which sorted the problem but, have perhaps shifted the problem up my leg?

 

[Martynt74]

Doesn’t feel like that should be the case. Did you have any pain during cycling?

Also did you stretch post run? That’s a big thing for me I’m bad at. Maybe get a foam roller and roll your thighs as some knee problems can develop from the quads.

 

[Blackvault]

Some good improvements there. Hitting sub 1hr should be doable with your 5k time as long as you can build up to it.

As for me, it’s been an up-down year. I started the year training for my first half and doing quite well. In mid-February, I did a 10 mile run on a Thursday and then went to the Lakes for a week walking each day a few days later. Felt like I never recovered from that and didn’t run much until the half in early April. Not helped by mixing/pouring concrete by hand on my own for 8 hrs the day before the race. Ended up with a 2:17.

Stopped running for a bit after that to recover and then started getting into a decent routine in May/June. Then moved house in July and spent 3 months doing DIY and no running at all.

For motivation, I signed up to the Manchester marathon in April 19. Having lost pretty much all stamina over those 3 months and putting on a bit of weight.

Since then I’ve been averaging around 15miles a week and trying to push closer to 20 most weeks. I must be eating loads though to compensate as I’ve not actually lost any weight!

December has been decent with a couple 8 milers and today I’ve just got back from doing 11 miles. Which felt awful at the time as I wasn’t feeling it at all and had only had a small bowl of porridge, plus obviously the Christmas excesses. But from a time point of view, it wasn’t awful. Especially as I had to walk quite a bit as some of the hills were brutal.

Apparently for the year I’ve done 320 miles over 80 runs. Which is decent enough.

Like you. For 2019 I’m looking to increase the volume a fair bit and start building up my long runs to get ready for the marathon.

Also, want to make a lot more effort to drop around 15kgs.


@D.P. would you say it’s a decent idea to target 26 miles with a mix of running/walking and buying up the running part. Just to get my body used to the distance? Or just stick to building up my runs.

Thanks for the encouragement, Dan

Pouring concrete before a race, flip that sounds extreme but a 2:17 sounds very decent considering the run up (pun intended) to the race.
Best of luck with the Manchester marathon. I hear that it is one of the flattest in the country, so it should be a good one for you. Will it be your first marathon?
Finally good luck with the weight loss goal. Sounds like it might be the biggest goal for the immediate future?

My first run of the year was a little 5kmer around the block and boy did it hurt. My poor calves were super tight and 3 stop and stretches later and they still weren't better. Not a great start to the year but maybe I'm taking a few newbies out on Thursday so hopefully that will be a nice and slow easy session.

 

[Martynt74]

I'm not Dan

Yeah it wasn't ideal. It also included a 1 mile walk to a rental place around half way through to hire a cement mixer which i then had to push home as they had no trucks available to deliver it. I then had to push it back after the half marathon

Yes, first marathon and will hugely increase my longest run which was the half i did last April. I have read that about it being flat. Am hoping the fact i run around hills at home will put me in good stead. Blackpool was also flat which was nice.


The weight loss goal is already going down the pan! Yesterday we went for a short dog walk at the beach. Ended up getting a large latte and a panini from cafe nero. Then got home and saw a post from my local saying yesterday was the last day they were open for a while and they needed to finish all the cask ale so to get down for cheap beer so went and had a few pints. Then my daughter asked me to pick up a pizza she'd ordered from the takeaway, but they put mushrooms on it so they made her the right one and i ended up eating the original! Today i have leftover Chinese from NYE!

Try and get a foam roller for after your runs, i used mine after my 11 miles the other day and it's hugely helped my recovery. I'm aiming to improve my flexibility as well by using that most nights.

 

[D.P.]

@D.P. would you say it’s a decent idea to target 26 miles with a mix of running/walking and buying up the running part. Just to get my body used to the distance? Or just stick to building up my runs.

In general no. marathon training almost never includes long runs of 26 miles because they are not really that effective and are counter productive because of the required recovery time. Aerobic and endurance benefits are maximized in runs 1.5-2.5 hours (most of my runs are of that length). As you go longer the injury risk starts to increase but most of all you start gaining less benefits but the recovery time increase quite a lot. For a well trained athlete, they would gain much more doing 20 miles one day and 8-10 the next, rather than 26 miles and a rest day.

for beginners there is a big psychological barrier in running 26 miles if they have never done that in training. However, you have to realizie that even as a well trained athlete you can never simualte race day Marathon during training. Even if you cover 26 miles, the pace is vastly slower, 2 to 3 minutes a mile slower. Even when I do a very hard run, somehtign like 4 mile easy, 14 at race pace, 4 easy, this ends up being far less stress than the res day effort yet still takes a week or more to get back to hard training.

Instead you have to rely on the training, and have faith in the method.


More important than the length of your longest run is your total weekly running volume and miles run during the training cycle. I would concentrate on getting this as high as possible without injury. Within the cycle have some long runs of 18m, 20m, and maybe 21m. No more, and spaced a couple of weeks apart. As you build up to these distances it is perfectly fine to add walking breaks. In fact, within the marathon walking breaks would eb a great way to make sure you can finish strong. Just i wouldn't use walking breaks in training to hit arbitrary distances.


For reference, last summer I did a 58 mile ultra marathon, but my longest run was about 22 miles. When trainign for Marathon I do a fair amout of long runs, and longer than most people, but I rarely go over 22 miles

 

[Martynt74]

Excellent. Thanks for that. My plan was to do as you say and build up to around 20 miles as i figure when you can run 20 miles, what's another 6! But then wondered if it was worth walking the extra, but i guess not.

My plan is to average around 25 miles a week i think. It feels like it's realistic rather than telling myself i'll do a lot more and then fail to hit the targets. I'm pretty comfortable running around 6-8 miles now, so it's just a case of increasing the long runs at a gradual pace by adding an extra mile or 2 each week.

 

[Blackvault]

I'm not Dan

Yeah, it wasn't ideal. It also included a 1-mile walk to a rental place around halfway through to hire a cement mixer which I then had to push home as they had no trucks available to deliver it. I then had to push it back after the half marathon

Yes, first marathon and will hugely increase my longest run which was the half I did last April. I have read that about it being flat. Am hoping the fact I run around hills at home will put me in good stead. Blackpool was also flat which was nice.


The weight loss goal is already going down the pan! Yesterday we went for a short dog walk at the beach. Ended up getting a large latte and a panini from Cafe Nero. Then got home and saw a post from my local saying yesterday was the last day they were open for a while and they needed to finish all the cask ale so to get down for a cheap beer so went and had a few pints. Then my daughter asked me to pick up a pizza she'd ordered from the takeaway, but they put mushrooms on it so they made her the right one and I ended up eating the original! Today I have leftover Chinese from NYE!

Try and get a foam roller for after your runs, I used mine after my 11 miles the other day and it's hugely helped my recovery. I'm aiming to improve my flexibility as well by using that most nights.

Damn! Don't know why I thought you were Dan.

Flip, as if a half marathon wasn't hard enough, all that walking and concreting, well played then

Sure the diet starts today... or tomorrow...

I usually do use the foam roller, but I didn't use it on NYE, which probably is why I was feeling it on NYD's run. I'll not be as silly to not use it again.

 

[Ian_Eb]

Isn't it funny how everyone starts posting here again in the new year

For my part, I think 2018 was the year with the most "Firsts" so far.

• First Marathon (London 2018)
• 109 Active Days
• 6333 m Elevation
• 121 Hrs Total
• 738 Km of running

So far this year I have the Chester Marathon in October and I think that is all for now. Will probably add the Alderley Edge 10 k again (As long as it isn't quite as warm!)

Will also be trying to actually get out on the bike as well as just running.

 

[Blackvault]

Isn't it funny how everyone starts posting here again in the new year

For my part, I think 2018 was the year with the most "Firsts" so far.

• First Marathon (London 2018)
• 109 Active Days
• 6333 m Elevation
• 121 Hrs Total
• 738 Km of running

So far this year I have the Chester Marathon in October and I think that is all for now. Will probably add the Alderley Edge 10 k again (As long as it isn't quite as warm!)

Will also be trying to actually get out on the bike as well as just running.

Let us hope we can keep the thread going this year. I noticed the other day it has been going for 10 years!
Congrats on the first marathon and being London as well. Did you actively train for it in the hope you'd get selected via the lottery, or were you part of a charity team that had guaranteed entry?

Best of luck with the Chester marathon, it should be good to see your progression on Strava

 

[Ian_Eb]

I had been thinking of doing a marathon for some time. I had a mental thing in my head that kind of said "Before you are 50".

My wife was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis in 2017 and I applied to a number of Arthritis related charities on the off-chance shortly before the 2017 event. One of them came back the week after and said I had a place. That was when I realised that I would have to actually do it and also raise the money.

This time round, it is because I wanted to do it (Weird, considering the fact that I said "Never again" when asked about 30 mins after finishing)

Would love to be able to improve on my time, so lets see how the next 9 months go...

 

[D.P.]

I always get that "never again" feeling for about an hour after a marathon, perhaps even a ay or 2 if it was really hard . The memory of the pain fades and determination to beat your time usually triumphs. Harder efforts can take weeks to mentally come round.

 

[D.P.]

Excellent. Thanks for that. My plan was to do as you say and build up to around 20 miles as i figure when you can run 20 miles, what's another 6! But then wondered if it was worth walking the extra, but i guess not.

My plan is to average around 25 miles a week i think. It feels like it's realistic rather than telling myself i'll do a lot more and then fail to hit the targets. I'm pretty comfortable running around 6-8 miles now, so it's just a case of increasing the long runs at a gradual pace by adding an extra mile or 2 each week.

25mpw would be at the low end, typically you would want at least 35-40mpw over say a 6 week average at peak training, with a long run in 16-20miles being about half your running.

I wouldn't focus on volume itslef, it should just be a byproduct of the underlying training. Just slowly increase volume but paying attention to your body. Running more days per week is usually the safest way to increase volume, and as a beginner it provide increases stimuli vs fewer longer runs (as you get better longer runs with more rest can work well). More frequent running also helps with weight loss.

 

[Martynt74]

Would love to be able to improve on my time, so lets see how the next 9 months go...

I think that's the benefit of doing something for the first time. Whilst i have an idea in my head of a target time. I'll just be happy to get round!

My goals at the minute are

Best Case - Sub 4:00 - This assumes i can lose the weight i need to get around 90-95kg and training goes well. I think it's doable (if optimistic)

Actual Goal - 4:22 - I'd like to stay under 10min/mile which puts me around this point. I think this is a realistic number based on current runs but depends on how i cope with the increased distance and how things pan out. I have found that generally when i increase distance i keep a steady pace so am hopeful.

Worst Case - 4:50 - I think i'd be disappointed to go slower than 11min/mile. But as mentioned above i don't really know how i'll cope with the distance and how fatigue will hit me.