Platypus' Beginners Guide to Running

Training run, same as martynt and probably just jam and toast or porridge but with porridge it takes longer to settle in my stomach so I need a bigger gap before heading out.

Gel wise, I use high5 gels and have for a while. Taste is good and not too sweet and don’t have any stomach issues. Never had with any brand to be honest but I know others have. High5 are generally cheaper than the likes of sis too.

Gels for training I tend to mix it up depending on how tired I’m feeling pre run. If feeling great I might not use any for 20miles, but I’d probably have at least 1 about half way or so, maybe 2 if feeling like crap.

Races it’s different and assuming I’m pushing my limits id probably take a gel every 4 or so miles.
 
See i probably fuel at a similar level on training runs/races, but then i rarely "race" and for me it's just getting round and pushing that little bit harder than going all out. Although i don't really enter shorter races where pushing yourself is possible. It does make long training runs get expensive though!
I also use Luchos Dilitos which i quite like, but not sure whether i'd buy again as they're quite a bit more expensive than what you can get gels for. I've also been trying to experiment with trail nut mix recently.

Another point is that i'll usually fill my bottles with a carb drink powder. That's ~200kcal per drink.

Guess it depends on your needs. I'm 6'3 and ~100kg and so will be burning a lot more than someone at 70kg!
 
I think the main benefit for me is not having sticky hands afterwards!

It does feel weird having a compostable packaging though but still putting it in my pocket because it doesn't feel right to chuck it on the floor!
 
Another very hot day out today. Again felt much hotter than the 24C forecast is saying!

Anoying issue where my left knee kept getting a bit of pain. Not something i've had before, but yesterday i went out for around a 30 mile bike ride on a new bike and wondering if it's a little out of alignment and so have strained it. I'm not a huge cyclist either so was a fairly bike ride for me.

Not ideal ahead of Saturdays event, but hopefully rest between now and then will be sufficient.
 
Don't really use gels much, only on runs up to a marathon I'll perhaps carry a small flask with three shots in each, just for the quick convenience.
I do enjoy the protein flapjacks from farmfoods, especially the lemon drizzle as they taste great and sit well.
Might try one on my next ultra, they do tend to crumble, but that'll make eating them all the easier.
I'm enjoying the high5 peanut bars Martyn suggested.
 
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Doctors finally put me through to physio next week, so maybe they will have some ideas on how long I should carry on reading what you lot are up to from the sofa :D
 
Haha, you seen any benefit from those knees over toes exercises?

I told myself last night i was going to do loads of foam rolling/stretching to loosen my legs/knee ahead of tomorrows run. Instead i sat on the sofa, drank most of a bottle of wine and then had whisky. I'm certainly my own worst enemy sometimes :p

I had considered getting in touch with the previous guy i'd used to create a training plan to try and structure my weeks a bit better, especially as i've been enjoying cycling a bit more. I know i have the capacity to create my own but mentally sticking to that is tricky. It's where having someone review what i'm doing keeps me accountable, which is something my recent weeks have shown i've been slacking!

However in the end I've just download a Ben Parkes training plan. It was £6 and i figured it's a decent base. It's only a PDF so no handy links to my Garmin or anything like that, but it'll do for a little while. After that i might start considering coaching again. For £50 a month it's not breaking the bank and might see me do better.
 
Just come to bed as need to be up fairly early to get to the Lakes in the morning.

This knee definitely isn’t right. It’s giving way a little now even when just walking. I’ve strapped it up over night and just hoping it holds out. On the plus side the cut offs are generous at 14hours so I can always just take it really, really slow!
 
Don't say that, I've got the Rat coming up in three weeks. I am however throwing everything at it, in hope to heal it fast as I can.
Like yours it has a generous 20 hours cutoff, so should be fine if I don't go mad.

My fingers are very much crossed for you.

Got new wheels in the form of Adidas Pro 3 and I love them, so much cushion hopefully I'll be taking them out tomorrow morning.

Did parkrun today, desperate feeling knackered still managed to best my previous by 7 seconds with a 24.23.
 
Great effort on the Parkrun. Was amusing today as we cut across one. Was like two opposing sides of running!

Knee held up brilliantly. I don’t know if it’s these recovery tights but I’m giving them credit. Realistically it was probably more just another nights rest.

The day was great. Much slower than I’d have liked. I’d set an “optimistic” goal of 8hrs and a realistic one of 10ths and came in at around 9:23. The last few miles were fairly gentle and so pace could be picked up after initially looking closer to 19 min/mile, ending at 18:03.
Main issue again is just the massive steep scrambles. Being just the wrong side of 100kg it takes a huge effort to climb up and I had a few 35 min miles which just brought up the average.

Bizarre day for weather too. Woke up to glorious sunshine. The race started in torrential rain. Then it was just cloudy for a while. Then coming up one big climb we got pelted with high winds and hail causing my hands to feel freezing.
Then got glorious sunshine again (with a few more twists along the way)

Generally the legs felt good, and still do. They definitely get more stuff post race if I’m doing a constant run vs spending a lot of time hiking up hills.

Officially my first (completed) Ultra :)
 
Midsummer murder half done. Strava link

The hills…chitty chitty bang bang windmill can do one! Such a steep hill and had to do it twice as they looped 3 climbs to turn the 10mile event into a half. Was quite fun though and very scenic, was glad it wasn’t too hot too.

Was surprised to see I was 7th overall and 3rd in my age bracket.
 
That’s a very impressive result.

Mine was just over 31 miles but 10,000ft elevation made it pretty tough going. I do enjoy the scrambling elements though.

Have a 50 miler in the Peak District the end of July. Think that’s only 6000ft elevation and mainly on footpaths so I’m actually looking forward to having a “runnable” event!
 
@Martynt74 That parkrun sounds like a lot of fun, ours is murder as on the last kilometre it's all steep hill climbing hence the time.

Pro 3's are amazing, nearly did my 12k trail run sub 1 hour, managed 1.02.35 it there about, once broken in they'll be rapid.

The bodyweight makes a huge difference, I'm 85kg and still struggling but I'm getting there.
Frustrating bit is I'm losing fat but not weight, as it's all going on me legs, can't grumble I suppose.
I know I'll get to a point, where I'll stop packing on muscle. Until then guess I'm going nowhere.
 
I never really bother with Parkruns, i know some people love the tourism aspect of trying out different ones, and a mate keeps suggesting coming up to do my local one in Preston, but it doesn't really interest me.

I could do with getting back to being a bit healthier generally, i was bouncing around 94kg for a while but have slowly put on about 5kg in the last month or so.

Got out for a nice easy recovery run this morning. My daughter has decided she wants to start running again and prefers company. So have told her i'm happy to swap my lunch runs for morning runs if she wants. Today was the first time after i'd been fairly firm saying if she didn't get up i wasn't going to keep getting up early for her to not bother. To her credit she was up on time, even though it was raining heavily.
Just need to find the right way to mix in the slow 5k runs with her with the rest of my training. Not sure whether i'm better to use the run with her as a warmup/cool down and just get up earlier or whether to do 2 runs a day. Trying to fit everything in along with cycling and getting back to weights is tricky!

On the plus side my legs were "ok", the first mile was a bit of a struggle, but they loosened up after that. If anything i think the most affected part is my throat. It feels like i've smoked 20 cigars!
 
I’m obviously not used to hill climbs any more, the doms were not great yesterday and still not good today.

Shall try a little lunch run and see if we can loosen them up. Swear I recovered after the London marathon quicker than this!
 
Was watching a video on DCRainmaker on new features hitting the Fenix 7. Have to say there's an awful lot to start tempting me now over my existing 6.

Have also just realised i'm able to create a training plan on the Garmin Calendar. I hadn't previously realised you could do that!
 
Martynt74 said:
Was watching a video on DCRainmaker on new features hitting the Fenix 7. Have to say there's an awful lot to start tempting me now over my existing 6.

Have also just realised i'm able to create a training plan on the Garmin Calendar. I hadn't previously realised you could do that!
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You are such a running gear hoarder!

I’d tried the garmin training plans before but wasn’t to my bag as they appeared to randomise the days and I preferred specific training days. Though that was many years ago and maybe it’s different now.

Legs are better today, just going down the stairs stressing them now.
 
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