Platypus' Beginners Guide to Running

Been a very lazy boozy weekend. I managed a 5 mile run yesterday and that’s it.
I don’t remember the last time I only did 5 miles in a weekend and think only 17 this week over 3 runs. Crazy that 17 in a week is a decent amount to a lot of people but feels really pathetic for me.

Not sure if there’s been an element of fatigue building up so hoping some downtime has some positives and helps me kick on.


@neoboy good luck with recovery.
 
Just discovered, this South West traverse I'm doing this weekend.
Elevation is 5,750ft eek!!!
At least there's less kit requirement compared to my last one, and I have the hoka tecton x coming which should help immensely.

I'm also down for the Roseland rat race in July, 64 miles for that one ......
 
5700 isn't too bad over 45 miles though. The Howgills marathon was 4700 over 26 miles!

I was chatting to the guy at work that did the Classic Quarter relay on Saturday. He said your run is basically the exact same route!

I was curious about the Tecton X actually. I wonder how effective the carbon plate is on trail shoes, as i wouldn't have thought there'd be enough resistant in the ground to spring off from. Although my understanding of how it works could be all wrong!


I'm stupidly eyeing up this....I've always wanted to do the Lakeland 50/100 but never get a ballot and the 100 needs proof of a similar run. This is still open and would give me ~3 months to prepare for it
www.gbultras.com

Snowdon Ultra 100 - GBultras

DISTANCE 102 MILES ELEVATION 5788M LOCATION SNOWDONIA PLACES 250 CUT-OFF TIME 40 HOURS ENTRY FEE £199 YR WYDDFA ULTRA 100 Saturday 6th September 2025 The Return of the Incredible Yr Wyddfa Ultra 100 Mile Race! With Checkpoints spanning Snowdonia National Park & 5788m of Ascent over 100 stunning...
www.gbultras.com www.gbultras.com
 
Funny you mention that, I've been getting Snowdon ultra in my Facebook ads, it certainly has me interested.

Had a go in the tecton x, had to go easy as I'm still feeling it from the hard half I did on Sunday.
But you can feel the plate for sure, it's my first carbon pair so guess I'm noticing it more.
It really did help push me along, i really didn't feel like going for it, but still managed a semi decent 18.5km, and splits weren't bad as I run up hills more often these days.
They have a lot of cushion for it's weight, but some of that is negated by the plate.
Your toes have enough room to splay, and they follow the track well, giving you s nice stable ride.


These are not for road use as they're hard and will wear you out faster for it, but you can and they do run fast for it.


If you're after a fast trail shoe, I'd highly recommend them.
But if you buy them thinking they're like the speedgoat, I'd look elsewhere.
They're actually similar to my Altra Olympus 4, just lighter and faster which I love.
 
Haha i'll just wave you off into the distance if we're both there!

I'm going to see how i get on with the Lakeland 5 Passes first, that's only 32 miles, but covers around 70% of the elevation of the Snowdon race. My main concern is how i'd manage, i was chatting to a guy who did the Lakeland 100 a few years back and he managed it only doing ~30 miles a week in training.
The benefit of being a more natural athlete i guess, whereas even after 6 years of running and having really good consistency recently i will still struggle on runs that i'd think should be easy. Not that it bothers me, because i still enjoy it and i'm good at not comparing myself to others and accepting i'm not a brilliant runner, but it can get a little frustrating.

I think the Olympus 4's may be my next shoe.
 
Yeah you say it's not bad, but this isn't some hill it's twisty undulating Cornish coast.
It'll be a hard one for sure, but I should be fine.
Not feeling that sore from yesterday's run, so I'm guessing my adjusting to them won't take long, but my run is this weekend so I'll have to use them as my daily's to break them in much as I can.
Yeah running is a funny business, I've had days where it went pear shaped when doing well
That last ultra I was second for a good third of it, until I hit the moorland that got my ankle.

And yes I'll be bringing ankle support along this time, but should be quicker on this one given there's less kit requirement.

Haha you know what, I was then thinking how similar my hokas are to the olympus 4's I'll get a photo you'll see what I mean.
 
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Scary how similar they are, the tecton x are lighter and fit tighter. But the Olympus is more roomy and sturdier.
Both are great options. My speedgoat 4 is more like an armchair, despite being lighter than my Olympus 4 which run faster.







 
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Not be long until it's time for me to replace my shoes. I haven't seemingly had any issues with my Asics (although they were my first pair of shoes so nothing to compare with) so I'm tempted to stick with the same brand and perhaps go with novablasts this time. How do you guys decide when theres so much choice, I don't want to make an expensive mistake or is that part of the fun :eek::cry:
 
I usually go on runrepeat and see how they stack up, along with the usual shoetubers.

Asics are good, but looking old and dated compared to most.
What are you after from a shoe anyway?
 
Comfort I guess, wouldn't say I'm an experienced enough runner to know what I'm looking for in a shoe to be honest. I still feel there's a decent amount of life left in my current shoes (235 miles) but it'd be nice to rotate with another shoe to feel the difference.
 
For comfort, Hoka Clifton 8 is a good choice. And they last as many comfortable shoes don't seem to last five minutes.

Just don't expect to go all that fast in them.

runrepeat.com

Cut in half: Hoka Clifton 8 Review

Hoka Clifton 8 review: Whether it's a long-distance or recovery shoe you're after, I highly recommend the Clifton 8. It's a literal couch to the foot, keeping it cosy and stable. The ride is also buttery smooth, you will roll through seamlessly. And with all the cushion it gives, it's not at all...
runrepeat.com runrepeat.com
 
I may just go with the Clifton 8's, looks like they will be perfect for the longer runs. Not a fan of buying shoes online but seen through your link a pair of multicoloured :eek: ones for under £90, hopefully they'll fit just like my Asics and I'll order the same size.

Would it be worth getting another pair of shoes for faster/tempo runs once I retire my current pair?
 
All depends you far you get into it, having a faster pair is always good, but getting the right pair is tricky.
 
Also worth noting that Hokas tend to be fairly narrow compared to other brands. The New Balance 1080 range are on of my favourites but i found they didn't last very long at all.

In all honesty i think i'm a convert to the Nike Pegasus range, i got the 38's in December and find them really comfy still.
 
Once I found shoes that fit and gave me no issues I had no desire to even try other shoes. I had a pair of Nikes that messed my toes up which took ages to recover properly (as I kept running) so I can’t bring myself to do it again.

I love my asics and till they get way too stupid in price or a new version gets something wrong, it’ll be a monogamous relationship!
 
Yeah, i accept i'm a weirdo, and it's certainly not a logical thing to do. The issue being that there's always the niggle of "maybe those would be better". Especially as there can be big iterations even from one model to the next which might turn it from an ideal show to a nightmare.

I do love my Peregrine 12's though and can see me potentially stocking up on them, and realistically i won't venture away from them even though i sometimes think about it.

Road wise, i think i'd always keep an eye out for cheap Nike/Altra shoes. They both seem to be wearing well.
 
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Martynt74 said:
Also worth noting that Hokas tend to be fairly narrow compared to other brands. The New Balance 1080 range are on of my favourites but i found they didn't last very long at all.

In all honesty i think i'm a convert to the Nike Pegasus range, i got the 38's in December and find them really comfy still.
Click to expand...
See I find them roomy, and that includes my putting a thicker insole in them.
If I was to fault them, I'd say they're boring to run in. By no means a bad thing, just something to take note of.
Wish my run this Sunday would hurry up, haven't been out since Tuesday and adjusting to more carbs has me dying to get out.
I'd have run Wednesday, but the weather down here was rough that day.
 
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Grr... Managed to do something to my knee at the weekend. Stepped down from a style and the was a loud popping noise from inside it somewhere! Massive shooting pains and was unable to put any weight on it, which was a problem at it was still 1/2 mile to the campsite :-(

Spent 3 hrs in A&E and, following an X-Ray and examination, it seems that I haven't broken, ripped, or torn anything, so that's a relief.

Knee brace and no sport type activities for a good few weeks is the current advice though. Maybe I am getting too old for all this :D
 
Ian_Eb said:
Grr... Managed to do something to my knee at the weekend. Stepped down from a style and the was a loud popping noise from inside it somewhere! Massive shooting pains and was unable to put any weight on it, which was a problem at it was still 1/2 mile to the campsite :-(

Spent 3 hrs in A&E and, following an X-Ray and examination, it seems that I haven't broken, ripped, or torn anything, so that's a relief.

Knee brace and no sport type activities for a good few weeks is the current advice though. Maybe I am getting too old for all this :D
Click to expand...
V frustrating.

I'm having to give myself a week or two off as well. Have had a very sore calf and hip flexor for the last month or so.
 
@Ian_Eb don't get me started on knee pain. On my run this weekend, I went flying from some dried hoofprint a cow left, felt my knee twinge so knew I did something, ended up having to walk the last bit as it played right up.

@Martynt74 the elevation ended up being 6919ft, so much for their accuracy.
Good run, but far too much chafing in ones nether regions, so I'll look to be addressing that.
If it wasn't for me knee, I could have gone on for longer.

It was a scorcher of a day, so I'm guessing a fair few dropped out as the trail was empty near the end.

Check out my activity on Strava: https://strava.app.link/GjVkka74rqb
 
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