Platypus' Beginners Guide to Running

I'm going to attempt my first run this Thursday lunchtime, dreading it!

I never used to be able to run for any distance, always last at school in the cross country but never last during sprints.

I've dropped 8 stone in weight over the past 18 months, I cycle regularly, I play 5 a-side about once a week and my general fitness is at a decent level now with a resting heart rate of under 50.

I'm not really sure what my plan is, the only thing I know is that I'm taking my GPS and heart rate monitor I use on my bicylce with me to see how hard I'm pushing myself and to give me my baseline reading before I'm a regular runner so I can measure improvement.

My goal is to run for 30 minutes and cover over 2.5 miles - which really is just a fast walking pace.
 
A very sensible approach. No shame in a run/walk approach at the start either. Training to HR is a good practice in my option, but you really to to have an idea of your true HR max, to make the most of it.

The can than base your training zones on the region between the resting and the max.

Good luck with, it will hurt at first.
 
Is there a way to know your true HR Max? I know when cycling in a race my HR has gone up to 183 bpm, which according to the Garmin software is 99% of max which I believe is based on age/weight?
 
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Rusty_Noob said:
Is there a way to know your true HR Max? I know when cycling in a race my HR has gone up to 183 bpm, which according to the Garmin software is 99% of max which I believe is based on age/weight?
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Maximal heart rate stress test is the only real way. But they ain't pleasant!

http://www.brianmac.co.uk is an excellent resource of info on this subject, a fair few theoretical approaches to calculating max HR.
 
King85 said:
I've been finding my boxers rub pretty bad on my longer runs, what are people wearing to stop this?
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I've ran in boxers once which was a long run of 16 miles in leggings. Very cold January morning in 2011 and when I got back and went in the shower I noticed a grazed area which I don't ever want to be grazed again! Very sore and painful. How I didn't notice during the run what was happening I'll never know!!!!!!!!
 
Richie said:
Commando in running shorts. They have a kind of meshy liner to keep things in check tho :p
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firstborn said:
Lycra! :)
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IndigoGorilla said:
I've ran in boxers once which was a long run of 16 miles in leggings. Very cold January morning in 2011 and when I got back and went in the shower I noticed a grazed area which I don't ever want to be grazed again! Very sore and painful. How I didn't notice during the run what was happening I'll never know!!!!!!!!
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Thanks for the replys!

I'll check out some proper running shorts when I go into bham on the weekend then as I was in agony at work last night.

Does anyone use anything like body glide?
 
Rusty_Noob said:
I'm going to attempt my first run this Thursday lunchtime, dreading it!
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Turns out I had this lunchtime free so I went today, perhaps I’ll run tomorrow lunch time too – depends if I’m sore at all!

I managed to fit 30 minutes of exercise time into my lunch hour, I got to where I wanted to run at 12:10, exercised until 12:40, walked back to the office and showered so I could be back at my desk for 1:00.

It was a lot harder on my legs than I anticipated, particularly my calves which started burning in the first few minutes – mad considering I can cycle for hours without issue at a decent rate. I managed to run 3 laps of the course I wanted too before breaking into a run/walk/run rhythm. My heart rate peaked at about 175 bpm, in the walk I let it drop to 130 before running again.

I’ve no idea on the distance I managed to cover as my Garmin Edge 500 didn’t pick up any satellites, I’m guessing it doesn’t like to be held!

On the whole I’m pleased with how it went, once the muscle groups get used to running action I’m sure I’ll be able to run decent distances as cardio wise I felt fine, I look forward to my first 10k!

Oh, I must remember to bring spare boxers, I brought sports socks but didn't think boxers would be necessary - turns out they are, unless you like sitting in damp boxers for the afternoon....
 
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Rusty_Noob said:
Turns out I had this lunchtime free so I went today, perhaps I’ll run tomorrow lunch time too – depends if I’m sore at all!

I managed to fit 30 minutes of exercise time into my lunch hour, I got to where I wanted to run at 12:10, exercised until 12:40, walked back to the office and showered so I could be back at my desk for 1:00.

It was a lot harder on my legs than I anticipated, particularly my calves which started burning in the first few minutes – mad considering I can cycle for hours without issue at a decent rate. I managed to run 3 laps of the course I wanted too before breaking into a run/walk/run rhythm. My heart rate peaked at about 175 bpm, in the walk I let it drop to 130 before running again.

I’ve no idea on the distance I managed to cover as my Garmin Edge 500 didn’t pick up any satellites, I’m guessing it doesn’t like to be held!

On the whole I’m pleased with how it went, once the muscle groups get used to running action I’m sure I’ll be able to run decent distances as cardio wise I felt fine, I look forward to my first 10k!

Oh, I must remember to bring spare boxers, I brought sports socks but didn't think boxers would be necessary - turns out they are, unless you like sitting in damp boxers for the afternoon....
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Should have gone commando.

Do you have a target 10k to enter?
 
King85 said:
Thanks for the replys!

I'll check out some proper running shorts when I go into bham on the weekend then as I was in agony at work last night.

Does anyone use anything like body glide?
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Yepp, long time user of body glide. If racing I normally just wear normal shorts and use body glide on my undercarriage and inner thighs; lycra shorts under normal shorts for training purposes.

Lycra tights in the winter though as I'm a bit of a jessie :p
 
King85 said:
Thanks for the replys!

I'll check out some proper running shorts when I go into bham on the weekend then as I was in agony at work last night.
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I go with Lycra inner shorts (anything from Skins / Linebreak compression to Decathlon own-brand) and a pair of cheapy-cheap Slazenger shorts from Sports Direct (£4 a pair) over the top for 1) modesty and 2) pockets for sweets / keys / etc
 
firstborn said:
Yepp, long time user of body glide. If racing I normally just wear normal shorts and use body glide on my undercarriage and inner thighs; lycra shorts under normal shorts for training purposes.

Lycra tights in the winter though as I'm a bit of a jessie :p
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I wear shorts whatever the weather. It is pretty damn cold sometimes but you warm up eventually.

Am I strange or is anyone else actually looking forward to winter?

I run better in the cold. :)

I like the dark evenings and seeing low lit streets both quiet and in the city centre. :)

I like the fact the weather is unpredictable. :)

I like how warm you feel when you get back home. :)
 
I prefer running in the colder weather. As you say, I also run in the same gear whatever the weather as you warm up within the first mile. There was one day that I nearly turned back to get a pair of gloves as my fingers felt as if they would fall off (was about -5oC and crisp) but they warmed up fine.

I think I would feel all restricted etc if I wore leggings....
 
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