Platypus' Beginners Guide to Running

All sounds good and a pretty good pace there. I will say however, that 8 min/miles for LSRs translates to targetting a sub 1:30 half or a sub 3 full marathon.

If you are aiming for 8min/mile over longer distance you poss need to slow down a little.

Hop on over to macmillan running and use their running calculator, stick in a target time for a distance and it'll give you suggestions for pace for various aspects of your training. You may be surprised at how slow a LSR it suggests.

Hope that didn't come across a negative. That said f it's all going really well you need to re-consider your goals. What you aiming for btw.

Finally try stretching out your quads 10 mins after a running and consider some low impact strengthening. May help the knee situ if it's a maltracking problem. I do them as a matter of course anyhow. Before I crash out on the sofa with a beer!

Picked up your message btw and will reply.

Cardiff half for me tomorrow, which is going to be a dissapointment no doubt as full of the snots so gonna take it really easy, unless i'm chesty in the morning then it'll be a DNS :(
 
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You're right about the Macmillan thing as I used it a while back and it suggested an LSR of about 9:11-10:11. Almost feels like a brisk walk LOL.... TBH I have never ran mid to long distances before so it's all a learning curve to me including finding out how my body reacts and what it can actually do. No doubt my goals will change as time goes on and I get a better idea what I can do.

I reckon the knee is a maltracking problem as well so I will try some quad exercises to see if that helps :)

Thanks again and gl with the half today...
 
It takes a fair amount of discipline to slow down the LSRs to a sensible pace at times. I know I'm not that disciplined.

Only 1:34 this morning, but all things considered I'm happy with that as finished quite fresh, need to get home and look at the stats. Will drop that by 8 mins or so over the coming months in my prep from London Marathon. Over 3 hours on a train now, just long enought to seize up :p
 
Hell of a journey for a run lol... The nearest half marathon to me is in about 4 weeks which actually fits in well with the plan I am doing... Shame its about 2-3 hours drive upto Lochaber area :(
 
Ahh, pooh. Manged to reset my garmin on the trip back. So only know my av. pace was ~7:09 min/miles. There were a fair few sub 7 and one nearing 8. So back to training on Tuesday.

I was born in Cardiff so go back for the race to keep my parents happy, that way they get to see me at least once a year :D
 
Did a 10 miler today as the LSR for week 5 of the HalHigdon programme.

Went reasonably good with an average 8:03/mile over the distance which I am happy with considering the 700ft of climbing involved most of which was in the first 5 miles (pluses and minuses of living in the sticks and running on country roads which follow hills). Knees were niggly but nothing worrying although the outer edge of my right foot became pretty sore right after I stopped...

I did find the last 1 mile a bit of a chore. Possibly due to lack of sleep over the weekend coupled with 70ft of climbing in the very last 0.5 miles (highlighted in the 10 mile lap time to the rest). I felt physically tired after this run even after 10-15 mins of rest.

Perhaps I was reaching my current "wall" but I guess that's to be expected given the steep ramping up of the mileage I am doing and running it at an average 1:00-1:30 over the suggested LSR pace.... I really need to sort that.

I still need to work on the early pacing of my runs as I start off a bit too fast and probably have to work harder than I probably need to in the tail end of the run :(


Lap Times
-----------

1... 7:20
2... 7:31
3... 7:55
4... 7:58
5... 8:09
6... 8:15
7... 7:49
8... 8:12
9... 8:20
10.. 9:02


RK Link - http://runkeeper.com/user/runningfromthelaw/activity/57223266



Next week are smaller runs of 3, 5, 3 and LSR of 7 so I should see that week out no probs LOL :D
 
sort those first few miles out and you'll prob maintain the pace in the last mile or so. Do you monitor pace whilst running or just download after and look at the stats?
 
I have Runkeeper telling me my average and current pace every 0.25 miles. The current pace can be a bit off whack sometimes but it works most of the time.... I try to run slower at the start but it feels like I am practically walking LOL...

Its a bit crazy as the first 5 miles were all uphill and were my quickest times... I can only imagine I will have tons more energy for the distance if I didnt blow so much in the first 5.

I will keep my pace in mind and make adjustments over the next few weeks....
 
Have been struggling to get back into running recently, so decided to motivate myself by spending hundreds of pounds in the Nike Running shop in Exeter :D

Firstly, I blame my gf - I didn't even plan on buying anything, but the problem is I love EVERYTHING in that shop.

Came out with a Nike+ Sportswatch and heartrate monitor (have already been using the Nike+ software with a sportsband, so it seemed like a logical step), http://store.nike.com/gb/en_gb/?l=shop,pdp,ctr-inline/cid-102202/pid-421197/pgid-422644 (one of the most comfortable pieces of clothing I have ever worn!) and some longer shorts :)

Now to get training for a half-marathon!
 
I'd be interested how you get on with the Nike jacket, it's one I've been looking at. Thankfully it's not cold or wet enough yet to need proper winter kit here, but I think I need to invest ready for when it does change!
 
Back running again after 9 days off.... Only 3 miles but the damn niggling right knee started again about half way in... It's not sore enough to stop but it's annoying as I don't want to risk injury as I up the distance...

Due for a 5 mile tomorrow, 3 on Thurs and an LSR of 7 on Sunday so I will see how it goes...

I am hoping it is not the shoes. I had them properly fitted and spend a good bit of cash to get good shoes in order to prevent any problems so I will be a bit ****ed off if it is the shoes (Brooks GTS 11, for mild/moderate OP's)... Makes me wonder if the support part is not right which is why the pain is on the inside edge of the right knee...
 
bcjames said:
I'd be interested how you get on with the Nike jacket, it's one I've been looking at. Thankfully it's not cold or wet enough yet to need proper winter kit here, but I think I need to invest ready for when it does change!
Click to expand...

Haven't had a chance to try it yet - still a little bit too warm. Need some wet/windy weather to try it. All I can say at the moment is that it is incredibly comfortable and looks ace! Will provide feedback once I start using it.

martinbeaver said:
which watch did you go for as the gps enabled one seems to be plagued with issues.
I went for the garmin 305 after reading some of them and it is so useful for tracking my runs.
Click to expand...

It was the GPS enabled watch. Not a single problem with it yet. My girlfriend has a Garmin Forerunner 110, and surprisingly, mine always finds satellites first - I think it helps that everytime I sync the watch online it updates the satellite positions in the sky so that the watch knows where to look. I think the Garmin software is slightly better, but Nike+ is improving a lot - the new beta maps feature is ace.

I understand where my girlfriend is coming from now when she says that she "can't run without the watch anymore" :)

Richie said:
Back running again after 9 days off.... Only 3 miles but the damn niggling right knee started again about half way in... It's not sore enough to stop but it's annoying as I don't want to risk injury as I up the distance...
Click to expand...

I had endless problems with my new shoes, but they have stopped now - doing the RICE technique stopped all my knee problems which was a huge relief.
 
Hi new runner here:)
About 3 years ago i stopped running as i came out the army. During that time i have been going to the gym 4 times a week but i been doing weightlifting. Im 14.6stone thanks to lifting heavy weights and a high carb and protein diet. But ive noticed ive been putting some fat on around the belly, so i decided to take up running aswell. Ive bought some shoes which should be here friday and ill go on my first run on sunday.

My worries is i think i still got a very fast metabolism and ill start losing a lot of weight,muscle and maybe strength. When i used to do running i was 11 stone i was a rake, i dont want to be like that again.
But i think it may be different as my diet is a lot more different now then when it was 3 years ago.

I was told if i want to just burn fat and not lose a lot of weight, is to run no longer than 20-30 mins does that sound right.
I do want the best of both worlds keep getting stronger in the gym and getting fit with my running.

Edit: I bought Asics Gel Kinetic 3 they look pretty good.
 
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Completed the 5 miler yesterday (5.33 miles) and still have the damn knee niggle. Iced it after I came back but this morning it is still a bit sore :(

9 days rest seems to have done sod all to help but I don't want to stop running as I am really enjoying it now. I have even considered something like these -

http://www.muellersportsmed.com/Knee_Chopat_Strap.htm
http://www.muellersportsmed.com/Knee_Max_Strap.htm

just so I can keep running but not sure. Anyone have any experience of these things? I am more concerned that, if I use them, my body becomes reliant on them (if that makes sense)...
 
7 miler today. Was a bit chilly (circa 3-4 Celsius) and I almost turned round for some gloves as my fingers were initially like icicles for the first 1-2 miles but I kept going and they warmed up soon after.

No knee pain but that could be to do with the fact my knee was permanently semi-iced all the way round due to the temps LOL :D

1/3 of the way through the schedule. Next week should be fun with a 3/6/3/12. Longest I have ever done is 10 so 12 should be fun.
 
Will be doing just a few miles later after a strength workout. Walking quite a lot at the moment, and I am getting the odd niggle in my shins - trying my best to avoid full blown shin splints, so while I want to run much further, I know I will probably regret it if I do.

Annoyed at Nike+, it lost my last run. Stupid website.
 
I use Endomondo and Runkeeper together just in case something like that happens as I can't see both sites being borked at the same time.
 
Anyone here run with a belt for carrying water? My distances are getting a bit longer now and I have went for 1h20m so far as my longest run without any kind of hydration until I get home. I think if I go longer without anything then I am asking for trouble.

Granted, organised events will have water stations but what do people here do for hydrating yourself during the run when these are not available?

I have had a look at these:

http://www.sportsshoes.com/product/THO92/nathan-elite-i-bottle-belt/
http://www.sportsshoes.com/product/THO201/nathan-hydration-combipack/
http://www.sportsshoes.com/product/ULP18/ultimate-performance-ribble-bottle-belt/

The 2nd one may be too big albeit it is hard to know as I can't find dimension anywhere. I may actually be able to pack my running jacket into the pocket for running over the unpredictable Winter months.

I am trying to keep my hands empty. For now, I hold my phone in my right hand which I use for MP3 and GPS but if I could stick it in the belt then that would be ideal.

Juts wondering if they are a pain to run with i.e. do they tend to jump around a lot?

Any experiences?

Ta
 
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