Platypus' Beginners Guide to Running

price/construction look good ... quite long though ? I got some Nike dri-fit shorts of similar length ... found you get more friction/wear above knees, if it rains too, there's more to dry and drag.

Has anyone got a calf roller ? (I'll look in decathlon) not worth it ?
have a tear in the, apparently 3 calf muscles, so cross-training, and web is throwing that up;
I'm thinking a small diameter jar with hot water would be good, or, rolling pin.
 
For calves, i never find foam rollers to get the spot, better with a golf/tennis ball.

I finally managed to get my sub 25 minute 5k. It was slightly cheating though as i ran up hill for 3 miles with about 480ft of ascent, and then decided to run back at pace and got it, ended up with about 200ft of ascent for the downhill as took a different route. Ended up at 24:22 and held back slightly to avoid it being really difficult to beat. I could've definitely managed it on the flat given that i was a little tired from the uphill start of the run and then ended up comfortably under the 25 min mark, so don't feel it's completely cheating.

Just need my sub 2hr half and i'll be quite happy with my times. Don't think i'd overly push it to hit any other milestones.
 
Not shabby, for now my running goal is not to give up :p

Also question for heavier runners, how long do trainers generally last you for? I know general consensus is 300 to 500 miles but being on a far heavier side than most runners and my Brooks approaching 200 mile this August, they aren't feeling as "springy" anymore.
 
neoboy said:
Not shabby, for now my running goal is not to give up :p

Also question for heavier runners, how long do trainers generally last you for? I know general consensus is 300 to 500 miles but being on a far heavier side than most runners and my Brooks approaching 200 mile this August, they aren't feeling as "springy" anymore.
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I usually aim for 250-300. I tend to start feeling it in my knees/calves when they're starting to wear out. I find if i replace them early then i can still use them as a backup pair for if it's miserable weather or i'm off down the canal and it's muddy but i don't want my trail shoes.

My last pair did seem to last a little longer which i put down to weight loss. My current New Balance ones also still feel decent even at 210 miles whereas i'm definitely usually getting to a point when i can feel them being less springy.

So far my Asics GT2000 seemed to last the longest.
 
I do have those Mizuno Wave Riders I got super cheap so may start introducing them after the summer period and reserve Brooks for worse weather conditions.

My Merrells did have the sole peel after little use, but thankfully Amazon refunded them so as it stands I don't have any trail trainers at the moment.

EDIT: Clearly I've been missing out on a can of Tango as my preworkout, 10k is finally back under an hour at 59:20 :D

Also seems my running has inspired a few others, friend of mine just finished last week of C25K training plan before her first 5k this week so will be coming along with her as encouragement.
 
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You will get the best feel for how "done" your current Brooks are by going for a run in your new shoes. When you go back to the Brooks you should be able to tell right away if they have had it or if there's still a bit of life left in them.

The 300-500 miles is a very general guide as there are a huge amount of variables both in the shoes and the runner. After you've gone through a few pairs you will know where your shoes usually fail so you can better watch out for it. For example, mine usually first go when the upper separates from the midsole at around 500 miles:

43RLbqe.jpg


I also had a pair of Asics that would cause knee pain after a couple of kms, so that was quite obvious that the foam had gone in them.
 
jpaul said:
price/construction look good ... quite long though ? I got some Nike dri-fit shorts of similar length ... found you get more friction/wear above knees, if it rains too, there's more to dry and drag.

Has anyone got a calf roller ? (I'll look in decathlon) not worth it ?
have a tear in the, apparently 3 calf muscles, so cross-training, and web is throwing that up;
I'm thinking a small diameter jar with hot water would be good, or, rolling pin.
Click to expand...
Yeah, they are a bit long but it's never been an issue for me.

You can use a normal foam roller for calves but as Marvt74 said, I've found a tennis ball or something similar is a bit better. Please don't use a glass jar! You wouldn't want it to break while you are pressing your leg into it! Just get a cheap roller from any sports store will be fine. There's no great science to a foam roller really. A rolling pin is probably not a bad idea in the meantime although you'll have to use it like a stick roller rather than a foam roller.
 
In all honesty, apart from being a little dusty from the compact gravel I run on, Brooks still look just about new! Uppers still have the original shape and the sole is barely worn.

Even when they reach their mileage and lose that bounce can probably continue to wear them as general "kickabout" trainers.
 
dwarf said:
You can use a normal foam roller for calves but as Marvt74 said, I've found a tennis ball or something similar is a bit better. Please don't use a glass jar! You wouldn't want it to break while you are pressing your leg into it! Just get a cheap roller from any sports store will be fine. There's no great science to a foam roller really. A rolling pin is probably not a bad idea in the meantime although you'll have to use it like a stick roller rather than a foam roller.
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OK - Indeed, finger massage is pretty good ... with some deep heat camphor cream.
.... Often difficult to establish why injuries occur - current contender is swimming pool closure and the recuperative effect that has on muscles
 
Ow ow ow

I'd forgotten that i'd booked some sessions with a running coach just before lockdown hit so hadn't actually used any, bar the initial assessment. Had my first one today involving hill reps. There's definitely a benefit for someone like me as i'd have given up about halfway through!

Was a Pyramid session. So for anyone who's not head of them. Find a shortish steepish hill. This was probably only around 40m long, Garmin doesn't seem to have picked up any ascent and just shows my whole run as being flat. It wasn't!

1 Minute run up and down
1 Minute Rest
2 Minute run up and down.
1 Minute Rest
3 Minute run up and down
1 Minute Rest
4 Minutes run up and down
1 Minute Rest
3 Minute run up and down
1 Minute Rest
2 Minute run up and down.
1 Minute Rest
1 Minute run up and down

The main difficultly and benefit of having the coach there, was that she timed me on each "lap", so worked out it took me ~22 seconds to get up and down the hill on the first session, so that then set the pace for later sessions so i'd get shouted at as i started slipping a little, especially on the 4 minute set and was starting to get a few 25 second laps, and so made me work harder to get back down to 22 seconds.


I also decided to run there as a warm up which was around 3 miles, which felt fine, but the 3 miles back home was a bit of a struggle. I also need to organise myself a little better as i pushed myself quite a bit on Monday and Yesterday which didn't leave me in a great position.
 
No thank you, I still get murdered by even smallest hills :D

Don't think I'll start any hill work until I get under 100kg. Right now just glad that increasing mileage hasn't hammered the body too much and as long I can keep 10k and 5k under hour and 29 minute mark respectively, I'll be a happy chappy.
 
Marvt74 said:
The main difficultly and benefit of having the coach there,
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what did they say about technique ? someone filming you/commenting would be interesting too.

Nice to see the egalitarian selection of runners for London Marathon ... why not hold a draw ?


dwarf said:
, mine usually first go when the upper separates from the midsole at around 500 miles:
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I'd be returning shoes that did that, but I always use trail shoes, so maybe they're more resilient there.
wear on the tread/loss-of-grip, and shock absorption, are my reasons for discarding shoes, but, loss of shock absorption, is usually establishd by comparing comfort with the next pair.
 
jpaul said:
what did they say about technique ? someone filming you/commenting would be interesting too.
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Technique is apparently decent, although a lack of hip mobility and not enough extending backwards during my stride, which is likely linked to hip mobility. Also lack of using arms to drive forward and sometimes being a little stiff in the shoulders.

There's a few coaches out there that'll do an assessment for £30-£40. I think they're probably worth it.

Huge mistake last night. After that hill rep session on Wednesday, i woke up yesterday with my glutes and quads aching. Met up with a local running club, thinking i'd hang around the back and just get a nice slow 4-5 miles in. Turns out they'd planned a "technique" session, which was small amounts of running and work on balance and glute strengthening.

I'm having a deserved rest day today!
 
Seems the London marathon has moved to be Virtual. I'd be pretty annoyed with that if i was an entrant and would hope most people can get a refund. You sign up for something like that for the experience on the day. Not just to do a long training run.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-53695789

Also was reading the above. Is it poor of me to think that she should be running more than that if you're training for a marathon? That's less than 10 miles a week!
 
So a friend of mine in Romania lives close to this town and they have their own trail style marathon over there as they happen to be surrounded by beautiful mountains.

https://www.brasovmarathon.ro/

No English option but Google Chrome can translate the gist of it, actually eyeing up the the "easiest" one which is 9k run with 369m of elevation. It's normally ran in April but with the virus this year it's been pushed back to October so thinknig to try for next year.

Too crazy?
 
Marvt74 said:
Seems the London marathon has moved to be Virtual. I'd be pretty annoyed with that if i was an entrant and would hope most people can get a refund. You sign up for something like that for the experience on the day. Not just to do a long training run.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-53695789

Also was reading the above. Is it poor of me to think that she should be running more than that if you're training for a marathon? That's less than 10 miles a week!
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All entrants can carry over their place to 2021/2022/2023 as well, so not so bad.

I agree that mileage seems very low!
 
neoboy said:
So a friend of mine in Romania lives close to this town and they have their own trail style marathon over there as they happen to be surrounded by beautiful mountains.

https://www.brasovmarathon.ro/

No English option but Google Chrome can translate the gist of it, actually eyeing up the the "easiest" one which is 9k run with 369m of elevation. It's normally ran in April but with the virus this year it's been pushed back to October so thinknig to try for next year.

Too crazy?
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Not crazy at all. It’s a lot of ascent over a short distance so I imagine there’ll be a lot of hiking which you do anyway.

Plus it’s always better to have an event to train for. Keeps you motivated.
 
Marvt74 said:
Not crazy at all. It’s a lot of ascent over a short distance so I imagine there’ll be a lot of hiking which you do anyway.

Plus it’s always better to have an event to train for. Keeps you motivated.
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Well, the best time from previous results is just over 40 minutes apparently, frankly be happy if I can do that in under an hour!

There are smaller hills I can start training on near my route but need to really work on that weight loss, lugging 112kg up a hill is gonna destroy my calves in no time!

Also as my running inspired few others, took my friend on her first 5k today since she was on last week of C25K training. Had to just about drag her for last KM but she did it without any stops. Already talking about improving her time so she can join me on some of my regular runs so suppose nice to have been an inspiration to some, even if I'm barely a runner by usual standards :D
 
Managed to run my first half marathon today (2 hours and 25 mins). It was a spur of the moment decision and i had to work out how far i needed to run mid workout.
 
neoboy said:
Well, the best time from previous results is just over 40 minutes apparently, frankly be happy if I can do that in under an hour!

There are smaller hills I can start training on near my route but need to really work on that weight loss, lugging 112kg up a hill is gonna destroy my calves in no time!

Also as my running inspired few others, took my friend on her first 5k today since she was on last week of C25K training. Had to just about drag her for last KM but she did it without any stops. Already talking about improving her time so she can join me on some of my regular runs so suppose nice to have been an inspiration to some, even if I'm barely a runner by usual standards :D
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Excellent. That's always a boost to your self esteem. I laugh when people don't want to come for a run with me because i'll be "too fast". However on the flip side i have some friends who don't run at all and could probably just go out and run 5k in around 22 minutes without even trying. Those are the people i hate!

I think an hour could be optimistic. 370m is around 1200ft of ascent. On a typical run where i'm up in the hills i would expect to do that over around 10 miles at least, so to do it over 5 miles is gonna be pretty tough. It's definitely do-able and i imagine it'll be a great race, but just don't get hung up on times :)


I'm debating entering the Ultra version of this

https://theedgerace.com/?fbclid=IwAR13lKDjhqwHyLPjpbJM0HKrqb5RXpHWYfU0oeWe855xI1FhH3o_kgArvJI

I imagine it's a great route, my only concern is that there's currently no return travel arranged to get back to the start. What do people do in those situations? It's not like it's in a heavility populated area!
 
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