Platypus' Beginners Guide to Running

SoliD said:
Anyone on here use a footpod for running power? Trying to help my missus out as I use power religiously for cycling but since we've moved its quite hilly and she's struggling with pacing.

She has a fenix 5s so has the option for the garmin pod, thinking it'd help her ensure she's getting the workout she needs no matter the incline or weather.
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The regular garmin footpod doesn't provide any power information. You want something like stryd. But TBH, they are all a bit pointless. You can;t directly measure power when running, so everything is just an estimate based on acceleration.

Then there is the fact that there isn;t much you can do with power when it comes to running. You aren't going to stare at your watch constantly, and there is no science to dictate how to train based on power.



I run a lot of hills, sometimes getting over 25,000ft in a week. Never once did I think a power meter would be any use at all. What you want is heart rate. HR is far more important to runner, and provides an accurate measurement of the work done. Keep your HR in the right zone regardless of the hill. This inevitably means walking once the slope goes beyond a certain angle.

With low angled hills the effort should be the same, you just slow down. Make sure cadence stays high, reduce stride length
 
How's your recover going @D.P.? Pretty much all healed?

25,000ft sounds so scary, but then you think of something like the Barkley when it's double that in 2.5days!
 
Marvt74 said:
How's your recover going @D.P.? Pretty much all healed?

25,000ft sounds so scary, but then you think of something like the Barkley when it's double that in 2.5days!
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Rib is fine now. I am running close to normal volumes but still don't feel recovered. A lot less endurance, slower paces.
My Race had 38,000K up and 41,000ft feet down, done in 46hrs.

The thing is once you get to more than say 300ft on a mile you basically are hiking. gentle slopes in a marathon are a bigger challenge in my opinion as you still have to run them fast! I had far more issues withe the 41,000ft downhill than going up. Even at the end of the race I was moving quickly past day hikers, but crawled down the mountains , literally on hands and knees sometimes! getting to the finish line my legs loosened up and I was putting down a sub 7-minute mile after running 106 miles and no sleep in 60 hours. It is crazy what you body can do
 
Last three weeks I have seemed to have shaken off my whatever it was problem in my right leg which I am pleased with.

Just been out today for 8 mile run AVG pace 8:57 I fancy building back up to the 20 mile runs soon.

On another note anyone got any recommendations for running gloves and a running jacket for the rain?
 
bingham67 said:
Last three weeks I have seemed to have shaken off my whatever it was problem in my right leg which I am pleased with.

Just been out today for 8 mile run AVG pace 8:57 I fancy building back up to the 20 mile runs soon.

On another note anyone got any recommendations for running gloves and a running jacket for the rain?
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gloves: any cheap soft shell glove works, nothing special. even cheap wool gloves are fine. on the coldest days s pair of basic ski gloves can add a layer of comfort if ypu suffer cold hands.

rain jackets is a little harder. you have to realise that any jacket that is water proof wont wo breathable enough and you will simply get wet from the inside. Therefore the best approach is something super breathable but not water proof. i use a Patagonia Houdini. you will get wet, but it keeps off the wind . kind of acts like a wetsuit.

in really atrocious weather a goretex shell slong with forcing a very very slow pace will be OK. personally i deal with getting wet and run harder to keep warm
 
Gloves wise, i just picked up a Karrimor pair from Amazon, they're about £8 and i like them. As DP says, they're much of a muchness, although i like thinner ones i can take off and stick in a pocket as a warm up.

I've recently been looking at running jackets too. I've found running high up on the top of hills etc that it's a lot windier due to the exposure. The main thing for me is finding one where the hood is a good fit and allows me to look sideways without just seeing the inside of the hood! I read a review of one which had lots of toggles to get a tight fit but then forgot which brand it was!


Got just under 9 miles done last night. It's funny how runs break down. I'd not long had tea and felt a bit full/sick but forced myself out. The first 2 miles were unpleasant and i debated cutting it short, then it got to around 4 miles in and i felt great and had a good rhythm and built on from there with my last 4 miles getting faster with each mile :)

Also forgot how much worse you feel the next day when you do a longer run late on. Didn't get home till around 10:30, so showered, then watched a bit of tv whilst i stretched then went to bed. I normally have at least 3-4 hours of moving around before i go to bed.
 
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Loving Parkrun! I ran my 5th this morning, placed 68/590 with a time of 22:50.

Early stages are a little crowded, so it can take a little time to find gaps to push through. I found myself pacing with others, then jumping onto the next guy who was running past quicker.

On the end straight, most people run the normal pace to the finish line but I always try sprint it, usually picks off a few more places just before the finish. Attempted this today and I was catching the next guy and was going to get past, he turns to look behind and sees me sprinting and he shoots off :( I couldn't outrun him.
 
Weird. I’ve found most people do a sprint finish.
To the point that it’s even a named segment on Strava.

I got 8 miles in this morning. The first two were far too fast and I felt exhausted. Glad I went by the canal though as initially had thought about going up some hills.

Think I might be coming down with something too which doesn’t help.
 
Marvt74 said:
Weird. I’ve found most people do a sprint finish.
To the point that it’s even a named segment on Strava.
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I don't even know how these get named. On Strava for me it's called "Parkrun final 100 metre dash!" and I do see people sprinting but I seem to pass people on that section, so maybe those around me have already exhausted themselves throughout the run.

Speaking of names though, someone here seems to have a section during their Parkrun called "Oh ****! I need to poop" aha, I wonder how that name came about.
 
Leg problem back again out for 10 mile run today but it seems worse having to stop 3 or 4 times now within a mile right foot starts to curl over so it not like I can fight to not stop. It's strange because I have run about 42 miles without any issues but annoyingly it seems to come back and when it does it worse then previous but after a while it disappears :/

Will have to go back to the doctors and try to carry on their course of finding out the problem it got mighty frustrating.
 
I've put off cycling lately with the ludicrous weather and to be honest, sharing the roads with cars at night just doesn't seem worth it, what with the number of lunatics about.

So off I went to Lincolnshire Runner, a fantastic shop I can highly recommend to anyone in the area. The staff are all enthusiasts and gave me great advice. I had my gait analysis there and settled on a nice new pair of Hoka one ones. Whilst there I wanted a new set of headphones and the guys advised a pair of Aftershockz Trekz, which I'm pleasantly surprised with, being able to hear my music and my environment whilst doing so, they proved their worth already when I dodged a car backing out.

I think the bike will be garaged for the winter now and I'll stick to my feet.

What is the go to, reasonably priced, fitness tracker/music wristwatch? The armband+phone is annoying.
 
RoboCod said:
What is the go to, reasonably priced, fitness tracker/music wristwatch? The armband+phone is annoying.
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Just picked up a Garmin forerunner 245 music for £225 off eBay for this very reason - though look at the specs and consider the 645 (Garmin pay) or the vivoactive 3/4 (touchscreen, more smartwatch-y than fitness tracker). Not sure about the offerings from Polar or other brands, but they might do something similar also.
 
Why is it smart watches aren't built with USB charge ports? Kind of annoying I need a dedicated charge station and can't just plug in whilst I'm sat on the sofa, still wearing the watch in the evening. A minor nuisance but it seems a bit daft and probably the main reason I stopped wearing my old fit bit.

E: it looks like I can possibly clip the Garmin charger on whilst the watch is still being worn?
 
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Expensive/difficult to waterproof USB and the standard is overkill for a watch.

I do not really rate the vivoactive series tbh, would be better off with a samsung/ applewatch the touch screen is cralp, was glad to get rid of mine when i got the fenix5+

Another PB for park run this weekend, not really my focus (middle aged marathon training) and i am finding 5k too short now, if you asked me that 5months ago that would have not been the answer.

Cycling is restricted to a trip down the river on the commuter bike, hate riding in winter on the roadbike :)
 
RoboCod said:
I've put off cycling lately with the ludicrous weather and to be honest, sharing the roads with cars at night just doesn't seem worth it, what with the number of lunatics about.

So off I went to Lincolnshire Runner, a fantastic shop I can highly recommend to anyone in the area. The staff are all enthusiasts and gave me great advice. I had my gait analysis there and settled on a nice new pair of Hoka one ones. Whilst there I wanted a new set of headphones and the guys advised a pair of Aftershockz Trekz, which I'm pleasantly surprised with, being able to hear my music and my environment whilst doing so, they proved their worth already when I dodged a car backing out.

I think the bike will be garaged for the winter now and I'll stick to my feet.

What is the go to, reasonably priced, fitness tracker/music wristwatch? The armband+phone is annoying.
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Look at refurbished garmin watches on Amazon. They have the full warranty of a new garmin watch, and will look like new, but our silly cheap.
 
RoboCod said:
Why is it smart watches aren't built with USB charge ports? Kind of annoying I need a dedicated charge station and can't just plug in whilst I'm sat on the sofa, still wearing the watch in the evening. A minor nuisance but it seems a bit daft and probably the main reason I stopped wearing my old fit bit.

E: it looks like I can possibly clip the Garmin charger on whilst the watch is still being worn?
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Smart watches have specific requirements that USB doesn;t fullfill.

Depending on your watch there are a few solutions. Garmin Fenix 3 has a charging port on the side of the watch so you can do exactly as you say, sit ona sofa and charge the watch but this only makes sense in long ultras. The Garmin Fenix 5/6 and Garmin 935/945 have a charging port on the back so you can't wear the watch, but you can charge tyhe watch while being active. This again useful for long ultras. Watches like the Garmin 920 you can't charge while an activrty is running. I am not too clued up on the 645/245 watches but you are probably right that you can put the charge cradle under the watch.


But you should also consider the the battery life. I get over 24 hours running on my 935, and wearing it 24/7 I charge it every 10 days or so. I did a 46 hour ultra marathon in September and just charged the watch a little when eating/sleeping.

these watches charge at about 1% a minute so going without your watch for an hour every 10 days is not a big deal.
 
Kirkly Hall 10 Mile run for me tomorrow, feeling quite confident in it, aiming for 1:30 - 1:40 given my 10K pace is between 00:52 & 00:55. Just need to get the blood sugars correct tonight and in the morning
 
Foot seems to be worse rolling over more frequent now (bend over and goes inwards) can feel it about to go forcing me to stop 4 to 5 times in a mile.

Doctors next week definitely pursuing this until the end now frustrating times.
 
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