Platypus' Beginners Guide to Running

This might shock you but I use a hat and gloves for that purpose :p

Seriously though I have a dirt cheap running beanie from Amazon which was about £8 for two.

Think my gloves are Salomon running gloves. Although I’ve also used Karrimor ones which were equally as good.

The main thing for me is for them to be lightweight as I quickly warm up and usually end up taking them off.
 
I generally never use gloves. Find they get too hot very quickly, I've some tops with long sleeves and thumb holes so I tend to hide my hands inside the sleeve then "release" when warm enough :)

Hat wise, normally only bothered by rain where I'd use any old baseball cap to keep the rain out of my eyes.

I should have prefaced this with, I prefer the cold to the heat so generally not that bothered by running in the cold. Snow running is fun :)
 
i dont think the choice of hats and gloves is that important. I also find head bands to be better, wrap around your ears when the cold wind is biting but breathable at the top of your head.

Any old woolen hat will be fine. Gloves, any soft shell running/ hiking/ skiing glove is fine as long as it is not cotton. I have loads of pairs picked up in sales, lots of Head ski gloves from costco etc. Good to have a choice of different thicknesses.



i also find it useful to run with pockets so the hat and gloves can be stashed, especially this time of year. Starting with temps near freezing but +10 by the the end makes it difficult to keep a good temperature.

Wind is also a bug factor in cold hands. If i do an out an back i might need gloves running in to the wind but not with the wind behind.
 
Well running at 30is definitely harder than I remember it being at 20!

I decided to start couch to 5k and picked week 4 to start (stupidly) as I'm fairly active and thought it would be easy. I was wrong. It probably didn't help that the last 5 minute run was uphill and it started to halestone.

Does running start feeling easier after doing it consistently for a couple of months or do you just get used to the feeling of dying?
 
DanTheMan said:
Well running at 30is definitely harder than I remember it being at 20!

I decided to start couch to 5k and picked week 4 to start (stupidly) as I'm fairly active and thought it would be easy. I was wrong. It probably didn't help that the last 5 minute run was uphill and it started to halestone.

Does running start feeling easier after doing it consistently for a couple of months or do you just get used to the feeling of dying?
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sounds like you are running too fast. you should run at a comfortable pace where it is easy to have a full conversation. You have to slow down for hills, even if that means walking.

I also wouldn't skip the first 4 weeks. While you may have the fitness and general active life to make week 5 seem manageable, one of the mist important aspects of running jn very gentle increases kn training stress and giving time for your body to adapt. Especially starting out after a long break, you need to let your muscular-skeletal system adapt. Bones need to get stronger, ligaments strengthened and tightened. A lot of these changes take 6-12 months to achieve.

so really you just have to be patient and slowly build from a very easy level. This might mean the first 4-6 weeks seem to easy, but that is perfect. Running rewards the patient and consistent athlete. There are no short cuts (beyond weight loss).

and yeah, dont be afraid to walk hills or even take walking breaks on the flat. No shame in that. Every pro will do that when it makes sense. Im a sub 3 marathon runner and ultra runner - in September i ran 200miles with 75,000ft of climbing - yet i still walk moderate steep hills when running on roads.
 
D.P. said:
sounds like you are running too fast. you should run at a comfortable pace where it is easy to have a full conversation. You have to slow down for hills, even if that means walking.

I also wouldn't skip the first 4 weeks. While you may have the fitness and general active life to make week 5 seem manageable, one of the mist important aspects of running jn very gentle increases kn training stress and giving time for your body to adapt. Especially starting out after a long break, you need to let your muscular-skeletal system adapt. Bones need to get stronger, ligaments strengthened and tightened. A lot of these changes take 6-12 months to achieve.

so really you just have to be patient and slowly build from a very easy level. This might mean the first 4-6 weeks seem to easy, but that is perfect. Running rewards the patient and consistent athlete. There are no short cuts (beyond weight loss).

and yeah, dont be afraid to walk hills or even take walking breaks on the flat. No shame in that. Every pro will do that when it makes sense. Im a sub 3 marathon runner and ultra runner - in September i ran 200miles with 75,000ft of climbing - yet i still walk moderate steep hills when running on roads.
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I suppose I wouldn't go in the gym and lift twice what I normally do without a gradual build up so why I did it with running, I have no idea. I think if I slowed down any more than I already was, I'd be quicker walking.

I'll probably start from the beginning and gradually build up so I don't get burnt out too easy. I plan on running every other day but I do weightlifting workouts on the other days so I'm very aware of needing to rest and recover.

I just didn't think I'd feel so unfit starting out!
 
Virtual half today, 2nd fastest time for me and best since 2016 which is around when I lost some interest in running & work life took over.

Pretty happy with 1:33:20, head wind was so draining...think if it'd been a real event with other runners and a crowd in places I'd have been closer to my 1:30 PB, but I'm happy and now going to go stuff my face all day.
 
Finally did my first 10 miler for a long long time.

Have had a fairly unhealthy weekend and was always aiming to do the distance today. Was all ready to go when my wife decided she wanted McDonald’s for dinner. That then seemed to drain all my energy for a few hours.

Set off and at about 1.5miles I felt awful. I had a base layer on with a waterproof coat and was overheating a lot. When I wear something waterproof and a base layer I always seem to suffer unless it’s sun zero. I need to learn to dress better.

Stripper the base layer off at the side of the road and tied it round my waist. Took around 5 minutes of taking it easy and then started feeling better. Had plenty opportunities to to bail early and actually had to find routes to extend the run to hit 10 miles but glad I did and would say I finished strong with the last mile being my fastest.

Not sure what’ll happen now with the Pendle Ultra in February with the lockdowns kicking in but I need to train properly now until I hear otherwise.
 
SPG said:
Fair play running after a maccy D nasty stuff.
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Yeah, wasn't ideal. The came home and had a massive roast :D

Checked the website for the Ultra event, seems they've reduced entries massively to allow it to go ahead. I could really do with trying to set myself some kind of 3 month plan rather than just winging it each week. I doubt i'd stick to a rigid schedule but sometime to base progess on might be ok.

I've just joined a gym too, hoping that i can get a bit more strength work done which i find always helps my running, although the goal there is mainly to benefit my paddleboarding (Core/back/shoulders)
 
Week 6 done on the coach to 5k app. It threw up an “optimised run” in the middle making 4 runs in week 6 instead of 3. All of them with only a single walking break in the middle. I’ve also noticing the walking break is getting later into the run. It started off midway in 1st run, and 4th run it was at 2/3rd mark, forcing me to run longer to build up stamina.

Still doing it though, including last night when it was rather breezy!
 
Yep, did a 8k last night and 10x20sec hill repeats with 40 sec walk down at the end, felt really strong. Always the case after rest day Monday though :)
 
Anyone reccomend a long sleeve (winterish) top? I'm not a huge fan of 100% polyester but even Nike seem to have stopped doing cotton blends these days. My favourite Dri fit cotton top is nearly due for the bin too :(
 
Begbie said:
Anyone reccomend a long sleeve (winterish) top? I'm not a huge fan of 100% polyester but even Nike seem to have stopped doing cotton blends these days. My favourite Dri fit cotton top is nearly due for the bin too :(
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My absolute favourite is this Ronhill one, although it's 100% polyester

https://www.sportsshoes.com/product...-pWlwjF186CSY9CNKjhoCzFIQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds


I also have a GORE one, but less of a fan, but that's only 90%

I tried a cheaper TCA one from Amazon, but the sleeves are really long.
 
Had my last running session last night. Not going to carry on with it, but might get in touch occasionally for the odd session. Really good being pushed to that extreme, which i probably wouldn't do on my own.

I'm curious to explore more "virtual/remote" coaches, where i'd be accountable on a weekly basis for certain sessions/distances, rather than getting to a Sunday and thinking "i could probably have done with doing an extra 10 miles this week"
 
Just coaching sessions.

I block booked 5 before lockdown started, it's certainly been helpful and it pushes me to my limits and it's good to get pointers on my form, but ultimiately i can do those same sessions myself if i wasn't so lazy. So really i need need someone remotely keeping tabs on me and giving me abuse for being lazy!
 
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