Platypus' Beginners Guide to Running
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I have used Asics Gel Phoenix 9 for probably the best part of a year and they are just approaching the end of life (Prob around 700km). The heels look better than the ones you posted
Oh yeah they look fine for the usage they've had and seem to be around £42 on amazon. Thanks, will consider buying a pair. Do they feel nicely cushioned to absorb the impact of each leg landing on the ground?
Blimey, you want me to review them 
1. I find them comfy enough that I have another pair ready to go when these are properly dead
2. I don't get blisters in these, but I used to in my New Balance shoes
3. They don't seem to be too slippy
4. My MTB pedals drip them really well
5. Cushioning wise, they have been good for me (ymmv of course
)
1. I find them comfy enough that I have another pair ready to go when these are properly dead
2. I don't get blisters in these, but I used to in my New Balance shoes
3. They don't seem to be too slippy
4. My MTB pedals drip them really well
5. Cushioning wise, they have been good for me (ymmv of course
)Blimey, you want me to review them
1. I find them comfy enough that I have another pair ready to go when these are properly dead
2. I don't get blisters in these, but I used to in my New Balance shoes
3. They don't seem to be too slippy
4. My MTB pedals drip them really well
5. Cushioning wise, they have been good for me (ymmv of course
Thanks. Sorry, if I'd known that a beginner asking a question or two in the beginners running thread would be too much I would have just asked elsewhere.
Lol, I am just rubbish at word type stuff
Always ask questions though, someone in here will almost certainly know the answer
I would still class myself as a beginner tbh. The trainers for me are a good balance between comfort and cost. Like you, I am poor/have children and so cost is a big driver. I tried Asics and they seemed to fit my feet, so I go and look what they have in stock when we are at Cheshire Oaks.
Always ask questions though, someone in here will almost certainly know the answer
I would still class myself as a beginner tbh. The trainers for me are a good balance between comfort and cost. Like you, I am poor/have children and so cost is a big driver. I tried Asics and they seemed to fit my feet, so I go and look what they have in stock when we are at Cheshire Oaks.
Lol, I am just rubbish at word type stuff
Always ask questions though, someone in here will almost certainly know the answer
I would still class myself as a beginner tbh. The trainers for me are a good balance between comfort and cost. Like you, I am poor/have children and so cost is a big driver. I tried Asics and they seemed to fit my feet, so I go and look what they have in stock when we are at Cheshire Oaks.
I'm not so much poor as just tight, lol
I think it was AndyCr15 that said £100+ shoes would be better. I just didn't want to spend too much at first before I knew if I would even stick with the jogging for longer than a week. But have been doing it for nearly two weeks, I'm enjoying it and so plan to continue. However, I'm hoping a middle ground of around £40 to £50 will get me durable shoes that will give sufficient protection from too much impact shock. My quad pain I had for the first few jogs has all but disappeared now so that's a good sign. But a new thing has cropped up. My knees, or at least somewhere around the knee area and mostly the left knee hurt a little today during my jogging. Hopefully that will go away too.Unfortunately, and someone with better knowledge correct me, but I see this very different to muscle pain, especially muscle pain from starting to run. And again, unfortunately, this is what cheap shoes can have an affect on. I have a very bad knee and sometimes shin splint type pains, but both of these are much better with 'proper' running shoes. You might want to look at getting a knee support to run in (not tubigrip!) I never leave for a run without this one on my right knee.
Most knee issues in running come about by bad running form, or bad training (ramping up volume too fast, too much high intensity).
Contrary to popular opinion, running is not bad for the kneed at all, in fact, the evidence is runnerd suffer less knee problems than the general population because running promotes increased bone and ligament strength.
You are much more likely to have a knee issue if you run with a very low cadence and a heavy heal strike.
Contrary to popular opinion, running is not bad for the kneed at all, in fact, the evidence is runnerd suffer less knee problems than the general population because running promotes increased bone and ligament strength.
You are much more likely to have a knee issue if you run with a very low cadence and a heavy heal strike.
Agreed, i've never had knee pain in around 4 years of running, but have suffered the last few weeks when i went for a run with some fairly bad back pain. It must've completely changed my form and it's taken quite a few weeks to recover.
As for trainers. i think there's plenty options around that price point. Especially if you look on the likes of Sportshoes etc. Many will be a year or 2 old models of the high end shoes, and i'd prefer to aim for that than a current version of a lower shoe if that makes sense?
I think i posted in the weight loss thread, but Brooks do a good online questionaire to give you an idea of what trainer to go for, it'll then recommend something but you can always look for an older model of that shoe (Ie if it says Brooks Glycerin 17, try looking for the Glycerin 15 etc). Running trainers are quite helpful in that they use sequential numbering for the most part!
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Thanks for the thoughts on shoes, shall take a look at Brooks and Hokas, as well as some online stores to see what they've on offer and returns policies. I just want to break out of locking myself into the one shoe so I can take advantage of when a shoes on sale to know it'll be fine for me.
To join in on the "get the older model", this is good advice as generally little changes between iterations presumably so that folks know the fit should remain the same. I think in my Gel Cumulus the only change I've noted between the 14 up to the 21 is at some point they reinforced the top mesh near the toes to prevent it tearing as was quite common, I put my big toe through mine in at least 2-3 pairs but since about 18/19 that stopped happening.
To join in on the "get the older model", this is good advice as generally little changes between iterations presumably so that folks know the fit should remain the same. I think in my Gel Cumulus the only change I've noted between the 14 up to the 21 is at some point they reinforced the top mesh near the toes to prevent it tearing as was quite common, I put my big toe through mine in at least 2-3 pairs but since about 18/19 that stopped happening.
This is still a point of much debate (heel strike = bad) but this has been my experience too. I had pretty bad knee issues until I adjusted my form to land on my forefoot and the knee issues pretty much went away overnight. Although to be fair other issues cropped up elsewhere but none that stopped me running as much as the knee issues did.
Running puts a lot of load through your leg joints, especially on landing (up to 3x your body weight). When landing on your heel you have very little to absorb the shock except the cushioning in your shoe. Pretty much the full force of landing travels straight up your heel bone, through the ankle and up to your knee. However, landing on your fore/midfoot allows the natural shock absorption of your foot arch and achilles tendon to absorb much of the force of landing, and even to store some of this force to aid pushing off. That's my understanding of the theory anyway. There's a better explanation here.
Merlin, for what it's worth, looking at the wear on those shoes you do appear to land quite heavily on the very back of your heel. This would suggest your foot is way out in front of you as you land, whereas it should be more or less underneath you. What worked for me was trying to hit the ground with the ball of my foot, this naturally increased my cadence and forced my foot to land underneath me.
Again, this is just what has worked for me so don't take it as gospel. I'm a very light runner (57kg) so that probably helps me out a lot too.
^^^ That is right.
One of the fundamentals is that when you run then regardless of your landing, you have a force equal to your weight times an acceleration factor that is proportional to the height lf the step.
Whether you land on your heal or mid-foot ypur body hs to absorb the shock, but good shoes and a mid-foot strike help better distribute that shock.
One of the problems if you heal-strike is that there is a tendency to have your knee locked on impact, while a mid-foot strike will let your joints flex better, snd yes ideally your Achilles tendon will absorb some of energy and re-release it on take off.
However, probably one of the biggest factors is that people tend to heal-strike when the cadence is low and the stride is long. To get a longer stride then you have to launch higher off the ground and push off with more force, and like a canon ball, the more force to take off equates to more force upon landing.
So overall a higher cadence is nore likely to result in a mid-foot strike that is better at handling the landing shock, which is itself reduced.
It isn't black and white, instant injury for heal-strikers and blissful running for mid-foot, but it definitely helps, and is faster and more efficient.
This is related to the whole barefoot idea, as essentially there is no way you can ever heal-strike when barefoot.
One of the fundamentals is that when you run then regardless of your landing, you have a force equal to your weight times an acceleration factor that is proportional to the height lf the step.
Whether you land on your heal or mid-foot ypur body hs to absorb the shock, but good shoes and a mid-foot strike help better distribute that shock.
One of the problems if you heal-strike is that there is a tendency to have your knee locked on impact, while a mid-foot strike will let your joints flex better, snd yes ideally your Achilles tendon will absorb some of energy and re-release it on take off.
However, probably one of the biggest factors is that people tend to heal-strike when the cadence is low and the stride is long. To get a longer stride then you have to launch higher off the ground and push off with more force, and like a canon ball, the more force to take off equates to more force upon landing.
So overall a higher cadence is nore likely to result in a mid-foot strike that is better at handling the landing shock, which is itself reduced.
It isn't black and white, instant injury for heal-strikers and blissful running for mid-foot, but it definitely helps, and is faster and more efficient.
This is related to the whole barefoot idea, as essentially there is no way you can ever heal-strike when barefoot.
Actually guys, fortunately it's not my knee, I can feel it on the bone at the top right underneath the knee. It's the same on both legs but more on the left. I can press on the bone and feel it. Like the quad pain when I had it, it feels mildly painful, like a bruise on a small area of or over the bone, but I know it'll clear up.
I've marked on this picture where it seems to be. If I run my fingers around from the front of each leg to the inside, it's there, kind of where the top of the bone feels prominent.
I've marked on this picture where it seems to be. If I run my fingers around from the front of each leg to the inside, it's there, kind of where the top of the bone feels prominent.
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Hmm... Anything like this?
https://centralcoastortho.com/patient-education/medial-collateral-ligament-mcl-injury/
If so, I would be tempted to rest it a bit and speak to doc/physio just make sure it isn't a problem.
https://centralcoastortho.com/patient-education/medial-collateral-ligament-mcl-injury/
If so, I would be tempted to rest it a bit and speak to doc/physio just make sure it isn't a problem.
Cheers Andy, might consider buying a pair of those. And better shoes!
Thanks dwarf. I must admit, when I've run slower at a pace I can sustain longer, my legs don't stride as far apart and are much more under me and the landings are more gentle. I need to stay with that. But I tend to have this habit of not keeping the same pace so I'll speed up at times.
Yeah, my strides have been too long. Can you tell me what cadence means?
Not sure tbh, Ian. Excuse the photos of my left leg, but I've pointed to where I feel it. It's the same for the right leg. It's kind of the top of the bone near where the knee cap would sit in.
Also, if I run my hand down my tibia, I can feel mild bruising there too, so I think it's all just the legs getting used to it, but yeah, I'll take a day or two off.
cadence is how many steps per minute you make. if you have a slow cadence, then you make fewer steps, so to run at a specific pace you have to make longer strides. If the cadence was really low you would have to jump several meters in the air and crash in to the ground. With a high cadence it is like spinning your bike in a low gear, very little stress.
My problem is I got knee injuries elsewhere (weak MCL, almost no PCL, torn minuscus, grade 2(?) cartilage wear etc...) then running on them was not a good idea. Thankfully I've lost enough weight now, it is reasonable.
I guess we have to be careful here as we're not allowed to offer medical advice, right? What I would say, I think that could be where tendons attach to the bone. Soreness will be the jarring of the muscle where it's not used to being pulled at, like shin splints.