Platypus' Beginners Guide to Running

@Martynt74 I had similar issue with dropping off at various points of the year. Sometimes due to being busy at work, but same as you say and after a particularly long run I would sometimes feel like I'd "earned" a few days rest, which easily turned into weeks or longer once I got out of my normal routine.

That's one of the main reasons I'm trying to put more focus on minimum weekly targets. Try and push myself to not break the routine, as when I keep it going regularly I do build some good volume relatively easily.
 
Thought New Year treat myself to some new running shoes

Pair of Guide 15 for road
Pair of Peregrine 12 ST for off road

Should be a good upgrade for the 18 months old Guide 13 that I have that I should have replaced ages ago

Had planned to do Park run Christmas Eve, Day and New Years Eve and Day but Covid stopped that :(
 
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Good trainers, i saw Sport Shoes having a cracking sale on (assuming you picked them up there as i noticed those models)

I'm trying to make an effort to get out this week. Work is manic. Year End in finance is always so much worse than i tell myself. Got out last night about 10pm as otherwise feared it would be another day of nothing. Really need to try and get out early before work and anything gets in the way.

Annoyingly i took a wrong turn last night and ended up on loads of very muddy tracks in pitch black as i was expecting a road run with streetlights so didn't take a torch. Kept thinking "It'll come out on the road up ahead" but it never did :(
 
no - was with Wiggle but unfortunately (and annoyingly) the parcel got lost somewhere between them at the courier. As there was no further stock they could only refund me

I've instead ordered off Sport Shoes today another pair of Guide 15s and some Xodus Ultras - hopefully will be good - and hopefully these ones will turn up. The had the Peregrine 12 STs also in stock but the Xodus Ultras looked interesting.

As prices are so good atm I might end up ordering the STs as well if the other 2 fit fine.

ref wrong turn - oops ! not good in the pitch black !
 
Buckster said:
ref wrong turn - oops ! not good in the pitch black !
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Yeah not ideal. It was annoying as i'd charged the battery on my torch especially for the run but it didn't work. I tried the torch later on with AAA batteries and it worked fine which suggests the battery is having issues (although the light shows green for fully charged).

Amazing service from Silva, phoned them up and they're sending out a new one, no request to return the faulty one or proof of purchase needed!
 
First park-run since Covid this morning - was hard work

Love my new Saucony Xodus Ultra trail shoes though - they have so much bounce and loads of grip. Park-run was part concrete part muddy through woods, and was fine on the concrete and loads of grip in the mud - flew past everyone in road shoes in the off-road bits
 
Martynt74 said:
Trail Runner Free (i think it's called)
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Oh dear, that'll be mine though I have both the 4ah battery and the smaller one for the rear led unit.
Always had a suspicion that tiny battery might be a fail point.
I have the trail speed 5r also, which is for ultras and misty days as the trail runner struggles in such conditions.
Have you had to bend the pins in the case, I often find they stop making contact.
 
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I am somewhat surprised that they just offer to send out a new one though... Surely that leaves them open to all sorts claiming to have problems etc? Or did they need a photo or serial number or anything?
 
hux said:
Oh dear, that'll be mine though I have both the 4ah battery and the smaller one for the rear led unit.
Always had a suspicion that tiny battery might be a fail point.
I have the trail speed 5r also, which is for ultras and misty days as the trail runner struggles in such conditions.
Have you had to bend the pins in the case, I often find they stop making contact.
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No, i never tried doing that, although with normal AAA batteries working fine in the case i just ruled out the case being the issue. Will see what happens when the replacement battery comes, although since the rear light works, i would have assumed the connection was ok.

@Ian_Eb Yeah really surprised, absolutely no proof required. I offered to send my purchase email and was told it wasn't required.


Never quite found enough time last week to run due to work. Oddly enough my "best" run was at 9:30 at night after a long ~13hr day on the laptop working. Maybe just the relief to be outside in fresh air rejuvenated me, i did around 7 miles and felt great and contemplated extending it further. In contrast to my runs on Saturday/Sunday where i felt really low on energy and struggled around 4 miles :(

Have booked another podiatrist appointment, seems a bit cheaper than the last one which is what stopped me going. If anything the pain has changed, i'm now getting some kind of tendonitis around the top of the foot infront of the ankle and some aches on both feet under the arch (plantar fasciatis?).
I've been doing loads of stretching/spikey ball rolling the last 2 weeks so if anything i'd have thought it would've been better. Really starting to annoy me now.
 
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Martynt74 said:
i was expecting a road run with streetlights so didn't take a torch. Kept thinking "It'll come out on the road up ahead" but it never did :(
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I've been there before. Nice road run just to get out because I don't fancy hitting the trails in the dark, and end up heading somewhere where the streetlights just stop.

Would have been better off on the trails, as I'd have at least taken my torch.
 
So, went tonight to another podiatrist. He suggested shockwave therapy that the previous person used isn't ideal as it increases inflamation as part of a healing, however since i've got excessive inflammation it wouldn't have helped. He's suggested 4 sessions of something called laser therapy, and if that doesn't help suggested an MRI to properly diagnose might be needed.

He's given me temporary insoles to wear, i was initially 100% opposed to insoles and told him as such, however have accepted them as a temporary measure if it gets me back to where i was. As said above, i'll try anything. Luckily he said that from his initial look at my feet when standing barefoot doesn't suggest a long term need. My arches are good and the only real issue is claw toes which could put increased stress on the tendons of my foot, which would be exacerbated by running ultras.

He's also said no running for 4 weeks, that's going to be a killer. The look he gave me when i said i wished i'd got out for a run today before hand was priceless, i then asked if i was allowed to run on grass and he told me to just stop :(

I'm at the point now where i'm less fussed about the cost, i just want it fixed and so willing to accept no running, i feel sorry for my wife. Maybe i'll look for one of those anti-gravity treadmills locally!
 
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Have had a few good runs with snow/ice underfoot recently. Definitely keeps you concentrating on where you're putting your feet. Although still I still managed to go into autopilot today and head off in completely wrong direction along one of my daily routes, instead of the intended route. Extra couple of km further than planned, but worked out OK.
 
div0 said:
For me I'm aiming for:

Good Year
- 1500km with around 40,000m ascent
- No weeks with zero distance

Great Year
- 2000km with over 50,000m ascent
- No weeks below 30k
- Bag some runs over 50km and 50 miles
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Jan update

19 runs complete (duration 22h30).
228km with 5000m+ ascent.

No weeks below 30km & well on track for yearly goals.
 
Good work, i'm at about 37 miles for the year. That's not even a good weeks worth!

Currently at around 2.5 weeks since i last ran. My foot doesn't seem to be getting much better despite the rest which is annoying. I'd hoped i'd at least see a little improvement. Might just get them to amputate and fit a prosthetic :p

Have also tried to use some compensation solicitors to try and reclaim the costs from the dog owner which has annoyed me as i generally dislike the compensation culture and don't actually want any compensation, would just like to reclaim the costs incurred from treatment as i've now had a physio and 2 podiatrists say it's pretty certain that they impact of the dog hitting my thigh will have caused the problem. Attempts to have that discussion with the owner direct have been ignored though so feels like this is the only option to make progress.

It's now cost me about £400 in treatment costs and had to cancel a couple of events which weren't eligible for refunds, with the liklihood of cancelling the 100 miler in July which was ~£130 :(
 
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Ouch! I think that at the point I had spent that much, then I would be doing the same.

I didnt set any targets this year and am really struggling with any motivation to go out and try anything.

Target: ...
To Date: 0 Miles Run
 
Recently moved from Hertfordshire up to West Yorkshire, my level of fitness feels like it has fallen off a cliff with all this hills around here. We now live about 1.5 mile from a pretty decent moor so it's great to be able to explore that and spend some time figuring out how to run (or walk quickly) up a steep hill and then come back down the other side without stacking it into a peat bog :D.

Entered a couple of local running events and joined the local club so looking forward to exploring a bit more.
 
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@Martynt74 sorry to hear you're still not recovered. I remember you posting about the dog incident when it first happened.

What's the current prognosis? I hope the
Physio can get you back running again soon.
 
div0 said:
@Martynt74 sorry to hear you're still not recovered. I remember you posting about the dog incident when it first happened.

What's the current prognosis? I hope the
Physio can get you back running again soon.
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Basically seems to be excess inflammation of the tendon where the second toe connects to the foot. I don't really understand why it's not healing given it's been almost 4 months!

The current podiatrist seems to think 4 sessions of treatment should sort it, but it's the 3rd one tomorrow and i can't say i've noticed much improvement. If anything the insoles seem to be causing strain along the tendon at the bottom of my foot and just deferred the issue and created an issue in the other foot (although it's fixed by some spikey ball rolling). I wonder if i can recover costs for having to ***** a load of money on a new bike to make myself feel better? :D

Next option is MRI for a full diagnosis which i'm hoping i can claim back through my work health plan.
 
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