Platypus' Beginners Guide to Running

[Spacedeck]

Anyone use a bag for running? Might be planning to go up to my brothers more often, about 9 miles each way.

Planning on carrying spare clothes with me to change into, any recommendations for a good bag?

 

[JustBen]

Anyone use a bag for running? Might be planning to go up to my brothers more often, about 9 miles each way.

Planning on carrying spare clothes with me to change into, any recommendations for a good bag?

I got last seasons montane 12l running vest. I can fit spare clothes in there as long as you don't need spare shoes too

 

[JustBen]

Had about 10 weeks away from exercise due to sprained ankle, then covid (first time by God it was awful) then sciatica. It's totally wrecked my routine and I'm struggling due to the lack of fitness. I was up to around 25 miles a week and now hitting 15 is tuff. My zone 2 was around 1030 min miles now it's nearer 13. Park run this morning was 3 mins slower than usual. Im happy to be running by all means just demoralising how the fitness has dropped. Zone 2 work out the other day was run a min walk a couple it was almost embarrassing.

Make things worse my Garmin watch strap broke and the battery isn't holding great. Will likely grab something in black Friday sales to replace it with.

On the upside I got a pair of puma liberate nitro 2 and a pair of shokz headphones for my birthday so some improvements there

 

[div0]

Try to embrace the slower pace and focus on getting back to running regularly again. It'll come back pretty quickly once you've got back into it.

After Covid, I really had to dial the pace back for quite a while. But if you're able to now get a few weeks with slow but steady volume, you'll find the pace comes when your body's ready.

 

[div0]

Also, I find buying new toys is a great way to keep motivation up when you feel you've taken a step back. So can thoroughly endorse your new purchases!

Breaking in new shoes or playing with new gadgets is a perfect "excuse" for enjoying some slower runs.

 

[JustBen]

Yeh i suppose just need to keep getting out there.
New shoes are great, really rate puma's line up, i have the deviate nitro elite as well and the grip is unreal in these rather wet conditions.

Eyeing up a new watch as next purchase, i have the 645 music but likely go for the fenix 7 pro, will get the 47mm one as the bigger one does look a bit too big.

 

[JustBen]

went out a couple of days back and took the below pic, it's Furness Abbey. It can be quite spookey around the area i suppose with some believing they have seen monks etc. I enjoyed the run, the picture shows just how dark it gets now, i think it would have been around 5:20 pm at this point. The Petzl head torch is good, i had it ankled down in the photo so i don't blind drivers coming past.

 

[Martynt74]

Can see why people see Monks, i thought i could see them in that picture!

Interesting about the dark, it doesn't get like that here till ~6:30. I think that's something i need to adapt to, you don't get the crazy 3am-11pm days in the peak of summer, but then also don't get the crazy short days in winter either.

I ran (if you can call it that) yesterday. Just felt awful. I really need to sort my head out and stop drinking. Not sure what it is, whether it's ease of availability/cheapness/or the fact it's been a fairly stressful process and so it's an easy way to unwind.

 

[JustBen]

Can see why people see Monks, i thought i could see them in that picture!

Interesting about the dark, it doesn't get like that here till ~6:30. I think that's something i need to adapt to, you don't get the crazy 3am-11pm days in the peak of summer, but then also don't get the crazy short days in winter either.

I ran (if you can call it that) yesterday. Just felt awful. I really need to sort my head out and stop drinking. Not sure what it is, whether it's ease of availability/cheapness/or the fact it's been a fairly stressful process and so it's an easy way to unwind.

It's an interesting place really, even after all these years they find stuff buried there. Link here for more info: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/furness-abbey/history/

I went out at 4ish and it was light so in an hour it went from light to pitch black where there were no street lights.


I was out this morning running before work, set of around 4:30 am so dark again but best way to start the day.
In regards to drinking / head space.... when i was unable to run for 10 weeks or so i found myself drinking a bit, not excessively just a few cans a night to help destress from the joys of children and work (working from home often both at the same time). I find running even for 20-30 minutes takes that stress away and i've found i don't get the urge for a drink. Not running i also get tetchy according to my partner. I just have to force myself out of the door sometimes but once i am out its good.

 

[Martynt74]

I was out this morning running before work, set of around 4:30 am so dark again but best way to start the day.
In regards to drinking / head space.... when i was unable to run for 10 weeks or so i found myself drinking a bit, not excessively just a few cans a night to help destress from the joys of children and work (working from home often both at the same time). I find running even for 20-30 minutes takes that stress away and i've found i don't get the urge for a drink. Not running i also get tetchy according to my partner. I just have to force myself out of the door sometimes but once i am out its good.

Yeah, i don't even think i drink a lot but it's the regularity which is outside the norm and then lack of will power to stop at 1-2 at the weekend.

My issue is aiming to get up early, but i'm rubbish in the mornings if i've no strict plans, so it gets rolled to lunch, then work is busy so it gets rolled to afterwork, but then by the time i finish and make tea and spend time with the wife it's pitch black and i'm not as confident in the night here as i was in England.
In the hills you've got wolves/boars and lots of rock to trip up on, and the roads are pitch black with no street lights or pavements!

 

[JustBen]

Garmin have the older Fenix 6 Pro for £299 seems decent value, anyone have one or gone from it to the newer one? The 7 Pro is over £300 more and i don't think i could justify the extra. I am using a FR645 Music at the moment but battery doesn't last like it used to.

 

[Martynt74]

I went from a 6X Pro to the new Epix 2 (fancy screen version of the 7 Pro)

If i had the choice right now, i'd probably go for the regular Fenix 7 at £400 (link = https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/garmin-fenix-7-4235766) if you can afford the extra £100. I'm not saying the 6 Pro is a bad watch at all, but the 7 kicks it up a bit with the touchscreen and various new metrics and things like the Morning report and training readiness.

I don't then think the cost jump to the 7 Pro is enough of an upgrade over the regular 7.

 

[JustBen]

i was looking at the regular one, i've gone with the fenix 6pro for now. £100 can be useful elsewhere at this time of the year. It should be an upgrade on my 645 music. One thing i need to look into getting is an alternative strap for it. I usually wear mine 24/7 but recently have noticed it's irritated my skin so will look at an alternative. Garmin charge insane amounts for their nylon ones.

I like music on when running, for next years long run i might either use my phone for music or look into an ipod (if they even exist?) then i don't have to worry about the watch running out.

 

[JustBen]

Went out this morning did 9 miles, looked at splits and they were all negative splits so quite impressed with that. Need to wrap up a bit more as legs were bright red by the end. Cold and wet outside this morning here. I have some adidas running leggings but they're a challenge to pull up these days so need some new uns

 

[Martynt74]

With the 6 i don't think you'll have battery issues with playing music on it, i'd say it'd comfortably cop with runs up to around 10 hours, so absolutely fine for 99% of runs.

I agree about the strap, i never used to have issues, but recently have found my wrist to get really irritated. Aliexpress for me for replacement straps.

 

[JustBen]

I go through spells with issues with the strap, seems to be fine for ages then sore for a wile. Will have a look on aliexpress, don't think i've got out from there before but heard of it.

I've got the 55km trail run next year which i am aiming for around 10 hours, but given how training has gone i might just be happy with doing it in the 13 hour cut off. I ideally wanted to be around 30 mpw by now and be pushing marathon distance. I can likely go out and do half marathon at the moment so a chunk behind. One thing that may hamper (injures aside) is time, i mean my easy pace is around 12 min miles, so give or take 5 hours 20 ish, that's an awful long time! Certainly not something i can do before i start work at 6am so will need to be finishing work at 3ish then heading straight out before it gets to late. Suppose there's the weekends but then its a bit crap spending it all running when its family time really.

 

[Martynt74]

You definitely need an understanding wife. I sometimes had times going to the Lake District for 8 hour runs, and when you have an hour each side for travel it was a long day. I think the important thing is to not make it too regular, so i'd do 1 of those kind of days each month, and if you set off around 4-5am you can be home by 3-4pm and still have plenty time together.

 

[Martynt74]

So, another run on Tuesday, another bloody bite from a stray dog, this time a german shepherd type thing! That's the 3rd time now in around 2 years. Luckily this one just put its jaws around my right forearm and then decided it wasn't interested and ran off, but was fairly scary as there wasn't even an obvious owner around.

Have started the Knees Over Toes program, will be interesting to see if it helps my foot issues. I know it's not aimed for that, but given it works on ankle mobility and flexibility, i figure anything which strengthens and reduces tightness should help. I also wonder if the ankle sprain i had 2 years ago contributes to it, as ever since i've had numbness/pins and needles in that foot, suggesting maybe some circulation issues.

 

[doggs]

So, another run on Tuesday, another bloody bite from a stray dog, this time a german shepherd type thing! That's the 3rd time now in around 2 years. Luckily this one just put its jaws around my right forearm and then decided it wasn't interested and ran off, but was fairly scary as there wasn't even an obvious owner around.

Have started the Knees Over Toes program, will be interesting to see if it helps my foot issues. I know it's not aimed for that, but given it works on ankle mobility and flexibility, i figure anything which strengthens and reduces tightness should help. I also wonder if the ankle sprain i had 2 years ago contributes to it, as ever since i've had numbness/pins and needles in that foot, suggesting maybe some circulation issues.

Sorry to hear that. I've had a couple of bites this year. One from a small terrier, bite to the shin which drew blood. The other was a large mastiff type dog, this was similar to your one, had my forearm in it's jaws. Seemed like it was playing, could have done some real damage it it wanted to.

The most annoying thing is that in both cases, the owner tried to blame me for coming up behind them or for not giving them enough time to get their dog under control. I let them know that I didn't think it was my responsibility to not get bitten by their dog!

I do all my running in woods and now actively try to avoid people.

 

[Martynt74]

Sorry to hear that. I've had a couple of bites this year. One from a small terrier, bite to the shin which drew blood. The other was a large mastiff type dog, this was similar to your one, had my forearm in it's jaws. Seemed like it was playing, could have done some real damage it it wanted to.

The most annoying thing is that in both cases, the owner tried to blame me for coming up behind them or for not giving them enough time to get their dog under control. I let them know that I didn't think it was my responsibility to not get bitten by their dog!

I do all my running in woods and now actively try to avoid people.

Yeah, luckily this one was probably the least impactful. It was weird, there was a pickup driving towards me up a track, so i moved over to the side, then noticed 2 dogs running behind. However i don't think they were connected, just the dogs were loose and chasing the pickup for fun!

The one last year sounds similar to you. I documented it on here as it's left me with a long standing foot issue, but effectively a farmer had left a gate open and as i ran past, the dog launched itself out of the grounds and charged into my leg. Similar to you, the owner seemed to make out it was my fault he didn't have it under control. I actually reported that one to the police as it could've done some real damage if it was a kid.