The Running Thread Vol 2

[tenohfive]

There are a load of different ways to lace your shoes that'll provide a less tight forefoot fit but still stay secure. Do a bit of googling. I've never tried them myself (never had the need) but I've heard some people rave about lacing techniques.

[smn159]

ukaskew said:

A bit random, but...

Any thoughts on having relatively loosely laced running shoes? Everything I've read suggests they should be tight; I had both my road and trail shoes pretty tight to begin with but used to get pain at the top of my foot after every run, loosening them (particularly the trail shoes) helped massively. Just about tight enough not to come off in thick mud, but loose enough to slip off with ease without adjusting the laces at all.

I've run 13 miles in my £20 Adidas Kanadia's (trail shoes) in an event that ended up being 80% paved, slightly loose laced in utter comfort, basically forgot I was wearing shoes and no issues after. I love them.

My road shoes (Asics) are incredibly comfy to wear, but relative to the trail shoes I seem to get minor discomfort and niggles, 10 miles in them and I certainly feel it, I never completely forget about them unlike my trails.

I'm only 4 weeks from the Bath Half, which is everything I've been working towards. It's a bit late to mess around with new shoes now, is there any reason not to wear my trail shoes for it?

You sure it's not tendon pain?

http://www.foot-pain-explored.com/extensor-tendoni...

I've had this and initially thought that it was shoe related, but in my case was mainly due to overuse / increasing my milage too quickly. Takes bloody ages to clear up if it is...

[MattS5]

RaymondVanDerDon said:

ukaskew said:

A bit random, but...

Any thoughts on having relatively loosely laced running shoes? Everything I've read suggests they should be tight; I had both my road and trail shoes pretty tight to begin with but used to get pain at the top of my foot after every run, loosening them (particularly the trail shoes) helped massively. Just about tight enough not to come off in thick mud, but loose enough to slip off with ease without adjusting the laces at all.

I'm only 4 weeks from the Bath Half, which is everything I've been working towards. It's a bit late to mess around with new shoes now, is there any reason not to wear my trail shoes for it?

If your shoe laces are too loose you're at risk of rolling your ankle on an uneven surface and if you've never rolled it before it's one of the worst feelings of sudden pain you'll ever experience. If you use both top holes in your shoes to tie the lace it makes them secure without being too tight - should be a guide on google/youtube.

My trail shoes are heavier than my road shoes so my legs will notice it more as the run progresses and slow me down.

I've just started to tie mine a little tighter/secure, using the bunny ears or loop technique.
For the last 4 years i've ran with them loose, but twisted my ankle a little around 4 weeks ago which has caused me a few issues in the last weeks.
I can feel it on hills and when pushing off.

Tieing them has not improved the niggle but has improved the way my shoes fit in regards not slipping

[tenohfive]

smn159 said:

tenohfive said:

Found myself in the unusual situation of wishing I'd stuck to the optical HRM on my watch for the last couple of runs rather than pairing it with the chest strap - the chest strap has been massively spiking in the first 10 mins (220bpm plus) before settling down to a more reasonable number.
Quick bit of googling suggests it may be something to do with the lack of sweat to conduct the impulses; given the weather recently I can buy into that. I've ordered some electrode gel following a DC Rainmaker suggestion but wondered if anyone else had experienced similar?

Yes, mine does the same sometimes - maxes out in the first 10 mins and then settles down. I've started running it under the tap before putting it on, which has helped. Watch seems much more stable at the moment!

Just tested mine with some electrode gel - it's still doing it, despite a good slathering of the gel. Settled down sooner (about 7 minutes rather than 11-12 previously) but still not right.
Going to wing an email to the manufacturers and whilst I wait for a response I'll try wearing it round the side.

[Mothersruin]

I had the same - I give the thingys a lick when I put it on and it's been fine since.

[bigandclever]

tenohfive said:

There are a load of different ways to lace your shoes that'll provide a less tight forefoot fit but still stay secure. Do a bit of googling. I've never tried them myself (never had the need) but I've heard some people rave about lacing techniques.

I've tried about 30 different lacing patterns and gave up and just bought some elasticated laces .. after a bit of fiddling they work great (for me)

[Cybertronian]

tenohfive said:

Just tested mine with some electrode gel - it's still doing it, despite a good slathering of the gel. Settled down sooner (about 7 minutes rather than 11-12 previously) but still not right.
Going to wing an email to the manufacturers and whilst I wait for a response I'll try wearing it round the side.

Is it an older Garmin strap by any chance? Notorious for causing spikes during the early part of a run (seems fine minutes later, or after an initial separate warm-up).

I swapped mine out for one from Polar, which I just clip the Garmin HRM unit into. Required a small bit of the rubber on the strap to be trimmed with a knife, but worth the effort as it's a better fit, doesn't chafe and the spikes disappeared entirely.

[ukaskew]

bigandclever said:

I've tried about 30 different lacing patterns and gave up and just bought some elasticated laces .. after a bit of fiddling they work great (for me)

This only just occurred to me, I have elastic laces on my trail shoes but conventional laces on my road shoes. Just ordered a set of elastic ones for my road shoes too so will see how that goes.

[RB Will]

Feel utterly broken right now and wishing my house had a stair lift but just been out an done a half marathon in 1hr36. my previous PB being 1hr52. All off road.
Not run that distance for a while as I keep doing 3-10 mile races.
Also managed a 5k PB of 18.46 at Parkrun on Saturday. My goal for this year was to go sub 19 so I can just sit around and eat ice cream now

[tenohfive]

Cybertronian said:

Is it an older Garmin strap by any chance? Notorious for causing spikes during the early part of a run (seems fine minutes later, or after an initial separate warm-up).

I swapped mine out for one from Polar, which I just clip the Garmin HRM unit into. Required a small bit of the rubber on the strap to be trimmed with a knife, but worth the effort as it's a better fit, doesn't chafe and the spikes disappeared entirely.

It's a TomTom one. If I can't suss it all out I'll have to consider a new HRM - the Tickr X being the one that's caught my eye as it'll future proof me, being both Bluetooth Smart and ANT+. At £65 though I'm willing to put that off until all other options have been exhausted though.

[The jiffle king]

RB Will said:

Feel utterly broken right now and wishing my house had a stair lift but just been out an done a half marathon in 1hr36. my previous PB being 1hr52. All off road.
Not run that distance for a while as I keep doing 3-10 mile races.
Also managed a 5k PB of 18.46 at Parkrun on Saturday. My goal for this year was to go sub 19 so I can just sit around and eat ice cream now

By the time you wake up and read this, you will surely have set a 5k target of sub 18 mins and a sub 1:30 half target..

[RB Will]

Nope lol. I will see where my current training strategy takes me. I don't really have the spare time to invest in getting much faster and I'm a large guy, 6'2 13st so there is only so far I can take it physically.

My aim for this year is to build up to do a marathon as I haven't done one yet.

[Tycho]

RB Will said:

Feel utterly broken right now and wishing my house had a stair lift but just been out an done a half marathon in 1hr36. my previous PB being 1hr52. All off road.
Not run that distance for a while as I keep doing 3-10 mile races.
Also managed a 5k PB of 18.46 at Parkrun on Saturday. My goal for this year was to go sub 19 so I can just sit around and eat ice cream now

Well done, excellent running.

RB Will said:

Nope lol. I will see where my current training strategy takes me. I don't really have the spare time to invest in getting much faster and I'm a large guy, 6'2 13st so there is only so far I can take it physically.

My aim for this year is to build up to do a marathon as I haven't done one yet.

Quoted so you can't bottle out! I believe if you can do a 1/2 then you can do a full, you just need a bit more time for your weekend long runs. I'm about 14.5st and need to shift a load in order to get faster and my target is sub 20min 5k and a sub 1:40 1/2.

[egor110]

What sort of timescale am i looking at for recovering from a suspected medial ligament?

I'm supposed to be doing the grizzly on the 12th march but i guess that's looking doubtful.

I can walk on my knee but it's all a bit stiff and week so wouldn't even attempt a run at the moment.

What's most annoying is i've been slowly building up to 18 miles off road and doing 12 miles the last few thursdays so haven't been under trained yet as last week was a scheduled low mileage week i did a half marathon that involved running down some massive hills , doing those hills on concrete just totally knocked the crap out of my knees .

Do i forget about the grizzly in march and focus on another off roader in april or aim for some events in october?

[markh1973]

egor110 said:

What sort of timescale am i looking at for recovering from a suspected medial ligament?

I'm supposed to be doing the grizzly on the 12th march but i guess that's looking doubtful.

I can walk on my knee but it's all a bit stiff and week so wouldn't even attempt a run at the moment.

What's most annoying is i've been slowly building up to 18 miles off road and doing 12 miles the last few thursdays so haven't been under trained yet as last week was a scheduled low mileage week i did a half marathon that involved running down some massive hills , doing those hills on concrete just totally knocked the crap out of my knees .

Do i forget about the grizzly in march and focus on another off roader in april or aim for some events in october?

Depends on the tear - when I did mine it was a grade 2 tear and it was 5 or 6 weeks before I could run again (and that was only for a mile). Physio expected it to take longer.

Think it was longer again before I could run trails because of the twisting. From doing it in mice Feb it was mid July before I covered a marathon distance.

So based on my experience March and April are out and you need to be looking at June or later.

[egor110]

markh1973 said:

egor110 said:

What sort of timescale am i looking at for recovering from a suspected medial ligament?

I'm supposed to be doing the grizzly on the 12th march but i guess that's looking doubtful.

I can walk on my knee but it's all a bit stiff and week so wouldn't even attempt a run at the moment.

What's most annoying is i've been slowly building up to 18 miles off road and doing 12 miles the last few thursdays so haven't been under trained yet as last week was a scheduled low mileage week i did a half marathon that involved running down some massive hills , doing those hills on concrete just totally knocked the crap out of my knees .

Do i forget about the grizzly in march and focus on another off roader in april or aim for some events in october?

Depends on the tear - when I did mine it was a grade 2 tear and it was 5 or 6 weeks before I could run again (and that was only for a mile). Physio expected it to take longer.

Think it was longer again before I could run trails because of the twisting. From doing it in mice Feb it was mid July before I covered a marathon distance.

So based on my experience March and April are out and you need to be looking at June or later.

Balls, kind of what i was expecting though.

I'm back at work today ( postie) and fairly comfy walking around but i'm not taking my normal big strides and having to be careful going down hills.

I guess there's the chance it's not a tear and it's just strained ?

Physio tomorrow so will see what i'm like after she's done her handy work.

[The jiffle king]

RB Will said:

Nope lol. I will see where my current training strategy takes me. I don't really have the spare time to invest in getting much faster and I'm a large guy, 6'2 13st so there is only so far I can take it physically.

My aim for this year is to build up to do a marathon as I haven't done one yet.

Great to do a marathon and it really is a bucket list item and its an amazing feeling crossing the line. A coach once told me that his advice was to get faster and then do a marathon.... as then it will take you less time. I ignored him of course, but with your half time, you're looking at a good marathon time, so enjoy the training and keep this thread informed.

Cracking running BTW!!

[KTF]

My Bath half stuff arrived today. Pen D in the white start behind the green start so it looks like my previous sub-90 time as accepted. I guess green is the Elites, then the quicker ones and Orange the masses as Orange has a different start point.

Just need to read back through the thread to find the station that I should be aiming to park at now

[ukaskew]

KTF said:

My Bath half stuff arrived today. Pen D in the white start behind the green start so it looks like my previous sub-90 time as accepted. I guess green is the Elites, then the quicker ones and Orange the masses as Orange has a different start point.

Just need to read back through the thread to find the station that I should be aiming to park at now

Westbury

I'm in Orange G with an estimated 2 hours. Just the one behind me (Orange H) for slower runners.

Ran the Castle Combe 10k today, thought I better do an actual bit of road running before the Bath Half. Dear lord it was dull after 5 months of entertaining trail races (quick though!) Once Bath is out of the way it's off-road all the way.

Edited by ukaskew on Sunday 19th February 16:26

[KTF]

Thx

I am doing the Meon Valley Plod next week - http://pjc.org.uk/?page_id=108 - which is 21.x miles of filth so that's my annual trail fix. Last year took 3h5x so hopefully will be quicker this year as it's been much dryer.