Platypus' Beginners Guide to Running

BIGWEB said:
I’m annoying myself now.

I don’t seem to be able to push myself and keep in zone 5 for long any more.

Tried to run a fast 5k Today and it just didn’t happen. Avg HR was 162 and max 171.

Couldn’t bring myself to run any quicker and my time was 23.20. I ran a 21.31 6 months ago (I was dragged round by a faster runner) 3 years ago before I took a break I could sub 20 but would feel sick afterwards.

I’m consistently running 3 or 4 times a week following a Garmin coach plan. I feel like i’ve lost my ability to put myself in the hurt locker.

what’s the answer? New gear? Or work out a way to stop being a pussy?
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What caused you to take a break 3 years ago? How long have you been back running? Have you had any injuries?

I know I took a 6 year break and when I came back I pushed too hard to get back to where I had been and suffered recurring calf problems. Now I'm much more cautious, but to the extent that I've still not really pushed myself with any serious high intensity work for any sustained period.

Any chance worries about possible injury are holding you back? Otherwise maybe you've kept a good base fitness but just need longer for your body to adapt back to running regularly?

I'm interested in this topic though, as my slow running has been going really well and I'm just starting to throw in one reasonably intensive session each week, usually a few hill sprints. But definitely also feel I'm not able to push a level of high intensity for as long as I would like. Although I'm pretty sure in my case it's because I need to slowly build that high intensity aspect back up.
 
I've never really enjoyed running that much before. I go through phases with it I suppose.

I've always been into lifting weights etc.

Whenever I have decided to run in the past it's just been to trim down for summer after a bulk in winter.

Saying this I used to run a lot when I was younger. I was a 37min 10k runner when I was 18-19. At this time I was about 12 stone and 6' tall where I am about 15 stone and 6'2" now.

I would say now I've got the running bug far more than I have ever had it in the past and I've knocked the heavy weights on the head for the first time since I was 15 due to the number of niggling injuries I was picking up.

I also tore my MCL in May last year playing football so I have decided at 37 years old to stop playing :(

I think I would like to just get quicker and be faster than my friends. I'm not fussed about running 18 min 5k. If I can get back under 20mins while still doing some lighter weights I will be happy.

For instance, I have set my Garmin coach plan to breaking a 45 min 10K in 10 weeks. I'm hoping that isn't too far fetched when I did a 47min in Jan.

I also don't really want to lose a load of weight either. I'm reasonably happy with the way I look. I'm about 96kgs now I wouldn't want to go below 90kgs
 
Know what you mean about motivation and I most definitely prefer weights myself and never really ran properly before, but with everything going on right now, best option I have for weight loss.

Being so new and bad at this, I still have plenty of motivation as lot of progress to be made but imagine it will wear off once I start to catch up to proper runner's averages.

I've actually signed up to a running event in September thats quite hard and probably a bit stupid for someone in my shape, but definitely feel more motivated knowing I'm not just running for numbers. Even if it gets cancelled like a lot of things in the future, at least it was there to keep me going, maybe worth doing the same?

I can only dream of getting down to 90kg at the moment, that's when I start to show a six pack or at least did in my teens :D
 
I was signed up to do a marathon in May but it's been cancelled.

That's why I have changed my plan to a 10k plan as I the long slogs aren't enjoyable and not sure I should be out and about on Strava on 2hr+ runs at the moment.

I would have to be around 87kgs to have a 6 pac now I think but I'm not that bothered any more

Me and a couple of the lads are working towards a 10k race just between the 3 of us in June and annoyingly the short stumpy one of the group is killing me on times currently :D

Its soul destroying seeing my mate put sub 21 min 5K's in and I'm about 2 mins slower.

I just need to give my head a wobble and put my HR in Zone 5 for a prolonged period of time next quick run I suppose
 
Feel better knowing you run better than me? :p

Never good to get discouraged looking at other people, just be better than yesterday and all that.

MyMyRun is being a pain today, had the HR strap hooked up and it's refusing to show me anything past my basic snapshot from a run earlier without asking to upgrade. All other runs have been fine and had the HR hooked on yesterday for a walk, showing me lots of extra info from then. Now it won't even show me elevation, just a glitch or they expect you to start paying once you hook up accessories?
 
That was my next question, since I'm not paying I don't have any attachment to MapMyRun, just first thing I happened to download.
 
Yeh I'm pretty sure Strava is the most used one anyway. I think premium is only £4 per month too if you want any more stats.
 
Ah ffs, looks like I can't link this heart rate monitor with Strava as they stopped Direct Sensor Pairing last year, just my luck!
 
No, they basically said it's too hard for us to code to work reliably well, so use someone else's app and sync the data! Basically, use Wahoo's app to record your run and sync it in to Strava for the stats and social :)
 
Yeah I already seen that and downloaded both, so I basically just run with Wahoo app then it syncs to Strava after I'm done and I can analyse it there better? I don't need to run Strava alongside Wahoo during the run?
 
Alright cheers, makes sense if little convoluted!

Still finding it a little odd that MapMyRun was working just fine yesterday on a walk with HR and showing all the usual data and displays everything through the web from today, just not in the app where it won't even show me my elevation.

EDIT: So test "run" today on my walk with Wahoo and then onto Strava but looks like latter isn't showing the elevation data? Just my luck :D
 
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Went out for a run on Wednesday and felt like the worst run I'd had in ages. Even an 'easy' pace felt like I was running the final stages of a marathon, pretty much from the outset.

Tonight went for another run and just felt good the whole way round, even threw in an extra detour up a local hill in almost darkness and set a PB to the top.

Strange what a difference 2 days can make.
 
Well looks like I've ran the fastest 5k this year (and some before that!) at pace of 10:15 per mile and average BPM of 156, which according to usual calculators, is 83% of my max. Zone 4 out of 5 I believe which is where it's supposed to be?

I know it's nothing impressive but good enough for my weight and keep working on it from here. Basically where I start to die is when elevation gains start to hit after mile 2 and I have to start walking as my HR gets into 90% and I'm literally gasping for air.

Also as for my MapMyRun problem turns out it was just app syncing issues, reinstalled it and shows me everything just fine, only asks to upgrade if I want to view HR zones.

EDIT: @ic1male Think you wanted to see my struggling HR with a monitor? Enjoy :D

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Hills kill heavier runners.

I’ve been doing hill sprints to try and get over my lameness on hills but physics is physics....
 
Yeah. That’s where I’ve found the biggest difference since losing ~15kg

There’s a hill near me that finishes just as I hit the first mile. It always used to be I’d be around 10:15 pace and then pick up speed after that which would bring down an average. But now I’m hitting that first mile in around 9:15 and feeling much better at the top.
 
One flipside is that my calves are starting to get some serious size and definition back, even getting hints of muscle separation in the thighs. Helps that I lost a few kg this week so hopefully keep heading that way.

Actually tempted to run a flat 5k to see if I can do it non stop, part of the route is an old railroad track that goes on for miles so easy to do.

Hasn't rained around here for quite a while too so if it doesn't by next run, I'll be christening my Asics as the surface is getting quite hard so trail trainers are redundant and just provide less cushioning.
 
So I started C25K in December, completed the 9 weeks by the first week of March (II've been cycling/MTB for a couple of years so had some pre-existing fitness) - this week was a bit of a 'recovery' week at 11.5km over 2 runs, but starting from next week I'm going to concentrate on upping my mileage. Prior to last week I'd done 18, 22, and 25km weeks over 3 runs, with a 10km and an 11.5km run the 2nd and 3rd week. I'll be upping that to 4 runs, starting at 20km for 2 weeks, then 23km for 2 weeks, and so on. Will include 1 shorter (3km) run at about race pace, my current 5km pb is 25:39 @ 5:07 /km pace so will aim for 5:00 /km on the 3km runs, planning on staying at 3km for 6 weeks before going up a bit on those. Then a longer/slower run (6:00-6:30 /km pace), starting fairly short at 6.5km but increasing every 2 weeks or so.

I've lost a bit of motivation the last week or so but if I have a nice goal and set schedule to run to it'll help. I want to get used to running a decent mileage per week, this should see me at 35km a week within 10 weeks.

Might do a hill repeat session in place of one of the runs every few weeks but I'm hoping a 3km run at a solid 5:00 /km or faster pace will be enough speed work.

Current goals are a sub-25 min 5k, and to be able to run 10k or 15k without a second thought. Would love to go on to be able to regularly run a HM/20k.
 
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