Platypus' Beginners Guide to Running

Turns out my knee injury might be caused by running with a low cadance (150spm). This caused my feet to heel strike INFRONT of my body and then cause 'jarring'.

I did a 20 minute run 2 days ago on the treadmill. Set a metranome to 160BPM and just ran to that cadance. It felt fast..really fast! I ran around 11.5-12kph on the treadmill and had about 3 stops of 1 minute to walk (i've still not run properly for 4 years).

Anyway, for the first time in a LONG time my knee(s) did not stop me running. I had to stop at 20 minutes because 1)I thought it was sensible and 2)I WAS KNACKERED.

I'm going to focus on treadmil for running for the next 1-2 weeks. It's easy to work on this newer way of running.

My question - what speed do most people run at on the treadmill? Is 11.5-12kph too fast/tooslow/just right?
 
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I avoid treadmills at all costs, but really i'd just be looking to mimic the pace you'd take an easy run outside. For me that's be around 10kph, but others would be faster and others slower.

Regarding cadence, i wouldn't nessecarily say 150 is too low, i can sometimes run that low, but it doesn't mean i heel strike, might be worth just trying to take shorter strides and run at a slower pace at a cadence you're familiar with and slowly build up. I'm sure i read that you should only aim to increase by 5spm to avoid changing things too dramatically.
 
So i've been running every couple of days for a bit now and can see my park run results come down little by little which i am happy with. I am overweight and seem to get a high heart rate quickly which i am assuming is down to my fitness levels.
I had a look at my garmin data and can see on my 'easy runs' which i do at 11:30ish min miles i spend most of my time in HR zone 4. Todays park run i spent 44% of that time in zone 4 suggesting that my easy run isn't all that easy and i spent 53% in HR Zone 5 which im ok with as it was really hot and hard work this morning. My 5k average on a hilly park run is around 28mins.

Prior to this mornings park run i had my watch on HR Zones and tried sticking to HR Zone 2 for easy effort which was something like 15min miles and was a mixture of really slow running / fast walking.
So the question here is i suppose is... should i change my easy runs from a pace target which according to the HR Zone isn't easy and move to HR Zone of going really slow? Would it be beneficial ? I mean i could probs run all day at this mornings pre park run pace and i can see a benefit of probs doing that daily with no issue.

I could then switch to 3 easy runs a week and then a faster run at the weekend, either the park run or a speed workout on the sunday.
 
firstborn said:
@JustBen what are you trying to accomplish?
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Trying to get fitter and quicker ideally with minimal injuries mainly shin splints.
i went out today and did 6.5 miles @ 14.46 /miles which i did with mostly zone 3 as thats where it felt right, when it tipped to the zone 4 i walked until it was at the bottom of zone 2 and set of again. Took my lad with me so the pace was ideal for him too. Average HR was 141bpm and i barely had a sweat on despite the heat. i do feel fresh which is a nice change.
 
Is it normal for calves to really tighten up around 5 mins to a run (and stay tight) and be sore for for a few days when getting back into running? It's kinda below the main calf muscle and at the top of the achilles.

Done 3 or 4 runs on the treadmill and now 3 runs outside (5km/4km/5km). The treadmill runs my calves were find, the oustide runs my calves are just in bits.

I haven't really run properly for 4~ years.

edit: looking on pictures it looks like it might be the achilles on both legs, but not at the back of my ankle, but halway up my calf.
 
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Andr3w said:
Is it normal for calves to really tighten up around 5 mins to a run (and stay tight) and be a bit for for a few days when getting back into running?

Done 3 or 4 runs on the treadmill and now 3 runs outside (5km/4km/5km). The treadmill runs my calves were find, the oustide runs my calves are just in bits.

I haven't really run properly for 4~ years.
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Could be a couple of things, but not necessarily a bad thing given you're just getting back into it. Are you wearing different shoes between the two, running harder outside than on the treadmill? Outside will always be different because the world is far from flat so you're going to use different muscles and if you've done more treadmill work you'll likely just be feeling it more right now. Taking it easy is the best way forward, plenty of rest and low intensity however if it persists for weeks then you may need to look at your footwear and get some pro advice to help you there.
 
Yeah, resting is good, as it taking a minute after those 5 minutes to try and stretch them off. On the treadmill i was always told to stick it on 1% incline as that minimised stresses on the calves.

Could be just a case of overdoing it when first getting back to it and letting those muscles adapt again. Are you getting much rest between runs?
 
Not posted for a while but i think my running days are over, Spent 6 months on physio on knee and now been recommended for a MRI scan, but apparntly you need a X-ray first and if they see arthritis you don't go onto the MRI... Not happy.
 
Swimming is OK & cycling is so so unless i try to put power down i.e going up hills.

Only 52 so if its arthritis's I am going to give my mum a ripe ear bashing for crap genes :)
 
We shall see tommorow if its the A word then we are down to damage limitation until its gets so bad till a new is required i guess.​
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To be fair they have took some hammering over the years, Squash, Army, Skiing, Ice Hockey, Triathlons numerous wandering into mountains etc etc. Surprised they have hung on so well tbh :)
Thing i know when it went it, we was doing winter track speed work and I felt something odd, but not in pain way if that makes any sense.​
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How is the trainer selection coming on :)​
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It's a curious one. I sometimes get a lot of pain in my knuckles (no previous injuries) and i assumed it was arthritis but whenever i have blood tests they come back clear. Hopefully for you it's something else. Does sound like your knees have taken a pounding though!

I'm actually in need of new trainers. The weird thing is everyone raves about Hoka for foot injuries, including them now officially being pushed by a lot of podiatrists etc, but my current ones cause me foot pain and make my bursitis worse! Definitely think i'm an Altra convert. Just wish they weren't all so ugly!
 
Purchased saucony endorphin pro 3 online today, makes a 3 shoe rotation with Nike invincible 2 and Asics noosa tri 14.
I was tempted to try the outgoing vaporfly 2 as they're similar price but I have slightly wide feet so playing it safe.
Going to sign up for the Manchester half next year which will give me time to train. I'm on week 5 of Ben parkes 10k plan at the moment but think he has half marathon ones too.
Does anyone know how strict they are about headphones in events? I have a wireless headphones which I use, I only use one as I'm deaf in my right ear but always have the volume low enough that I can hear people chat, traffic etc.
I don't fancy bone conducting ones as they're pricey and the quality I suspect isn't great.
 
Generally not allowed. Bone conduction has come on a long way tbh. Great for podcasts and spoken word.

Think I did my first half training listening to Terry Pratchett's books. Had to stop a few as the laughing upset my breathing pattern :)
 
I'll have a look at them then or try some running without headphones. At rhe moment on our park run for example when we get to the steeper hills I usually turn the music up as it motivates and me turn it down once at rhe top.
Strangely I find hip hop style music my go to music for running but outside of deffo wouldn't be my choice.

On my last park run I wasn't to far of my pb which I set in 2019 when I was 12 stone which I'm really happy with as I'm 14 stone 7 so a lot heavier but can tell consistently running since Jan has sorted my legs out quite a bit, if I get anywhere near my old weight I'd be interested to what time I can achieve.
I used to have a bad habit of doing a few miles and then a few days later go for a long run which would be far to far for body causing me to not run again for a few weeks. I've barely missed any days through strains since Jan with taking care of my legs better and pacing better. I'm going to sign up for next year's north west marathon at Blackpool in Feb and the one in Manchester in may to give me a target after running Aintree in July. Taking 10 weeks to train for a 10k has been enjoyable, last time I did one was during covid so was virtual and I did little to no training and felt it for a few days later.
 
Generally i always thought headphones were allowed at events providing you're not competing for a prize, which i imagine none of us on here are. Apart from maybe good for age for the oldies :p


I'd definitely look into Bone Conducting though. I'm not saying the quality is up there with high end in ear headphones, but for background music for running i find them decent enough (Aftershokz Aeropex here), would definitely buy another pair if anything happened.
The only time i really find them lacking is when running over a motorway bridge and the background noise takes over.
 
Also my stats are depressing. Just caught a glimpse of Strava. 45 miles for the month of May and only 158 for the year.

Although for May, my 45 miles covered 6200ft of elevation which isn't too bad going!


New target of 750 for the year. Could be a tad optimistic given current position but i'm hopeful! Foot certainly still isn't right, but it's felt like its been more alcohol, heat and laziness hindering me recently. Hopefully being back in the UK will remedy some of that.
 
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