The Running Thread

[tenohfive]

Compression socks type things for shin splints. Snake oil?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Compression-Sleeve-Camden-...

Had someone point me towards them. Have got a race coming up but my shin splints are playing up, and I can't imagine the physio is going to suggest a course of action that doesn't involve resting up my legs between now and then.

[MC Bodge]

E65Ross said:

maybe you just aren't built for running.

You have mail.

It is amazing how poor many humans are at running without injury.

[bennyboysvuk]

E65Ross said:

Whilst our bodies can adapt, we're still ultimately what our parents made us and genetics do play a large role. It might be that your hip angles, knee joints etc etc just aren't a suitable candidate for running.....but without getting assessed it's impossible to say.

This is so true, but I'm still determined to try to beat a 40 minute 10k, despite my flat feet.

A few years ago, I was getting terrible knee problems during an endurance world record challenge (that I eventually succeeded in! ) and went to see a professional about the issue. The physio had some students in the room at the time and after asking me to stand face on in my boxers, he then pointed out to them how my flat feet caused some muscle or another to pull my knees outwards slightly, meaning poor alignment, hence the issues I was getting at around 20-25 miles of walking.

I'm never going to be running at under 6 minute miles, but my dad managed a 38 min 10k 30 years ago, so I've got to give it a go.

[E65Ross]

I have go both of your emails but I'm too busy to reply just yet. A quick 2min post on ph is ok but these will take a bit more time to sift through.... I'm not ignoring you

Nice 5 miles this morning before work. Only going to do about 3miles tomorrow while I'm still only just getting used to training 6 days a week, before using parkrun as a tempo/LT session Saturday and then a long run Sunday, probably around 13 miles. That'll take the week to 44-45 miles so it's building up, hence why 3 is enough for tomorrow.

[T S Magnum]

I haven't read all 395 pages but it's great to see such running enthusiasm. I'm 32 and only got into it this year, for three reasons:

1) Temporarily working in a fantastic city for running, Rotterdam - stunning parks, architecture and riverside, very pleasant climate.
2) Discovering 'Super Feet' insoles work very well at mitigating my pancake-flat left foot. This used to give me blisters, ankle and knee pain after only short runs.
3) Buying a Garmin Fenix 2 and getting well into the geeky performance stats side of things (I'm an engineer so do this with everything - walking, cycling, kayaking, rowing, driving)

I've really surprised myself, quickly improving to a comfortable 9min/ml pace for up to half marathon distance. Not super fast of course but still early days.

Here's an overlay of all my runs this summer:



If you haven't been, I strongly recommend bringing your trainers over to Rdam next summer. Unfortunately I leave tomorrow but aim to continue the running.

[Foliage]

cerb4.5lee said:

E65Ross said:

Foliage said:

I managed 30 minutes and 5 seconds this morning (5km) im well pleased, first time coming close to my goal of 30 minutes.

Well done mate. Not long and you'll get that easy! Don't be frustrated if the next one is slower though.... It'll come.

Plus one

Thanks guys , I managed a 30min 8seconds this morning, so it seems I am getting where I want to be

[markh1973]

Foliage said:

cerb4.5lee said:

E65Ross said:

Foliage said:

I managed 30 minutes and 5 seconds this morning (5km) im well pleased, first time coming close to my goal of 30 minutes.

Well done mate. Not long and you'll get that easy! Don't be frustrated if the next one is slower though.... It'll come.

Plus one

Thanks guys , I managed a 30min 8seconds this morning, so it seems I am getting where I want to be

Have you tried a parkrun? If you were running with other people then that might well be enough to pull you to under 30 minutes.

[cerb4.5lee]

Been out for a 13 mile run this morning managed it in 2:08hrs which I was pleased with because I had been training for 5 weeks then I didn't run for 6 weeks and have been training again since last Friday and its the furthest I have ever run.

I am doing a half marathon in two weeks for the first time so I just wanted to prove to myself that I could do that distance but I must admit my pace dropped a fair bit over the last 2 to 3 miles and prior to that I was keeping it around the 9:30 mile/pace.

It amazes me how people run the full marathon and that must take some serious training but I bet you feel on top of the world when you achieve it.

[andrewparker]

I was wondering whether anyone here could give me some advice.

After a rather disappointing Great North Run I'm trying to put some more goals in place. I did consider getting back on the horse and running another half marathon but I have the feeling that I have other issues to address before I tackle that. I felt my training for the Great North Run was pretty good and felt confident going into the race but I struggled and ran a 2.05. I'd ran the distance several times in training at around the 1.50 - 1.55 mark.

So I've turned my attention to higher intensity training, with the specific aim of breaking a 20 minute 5k. My current PB is 21.39 though that was the first three miles of a 10k. I've never competed in an actual 5k race.

So what do I need to do? My thoughts were to replace the mid-week 5 - 6 mile runs with shorter speed work and hills...

[markh1973]

andrewparker said:

I was wondering whether anyone here could give me some advice.

After a rather disappointing Great North Run I'm trying to put some more goals in place. I did consider getting back on the horse and running another half marathon but I have the feeling that I have other issues to address before I tackle that. I felt my training for the Great North Run was pretty good and felt confident going into the race but I struggled and ran a 2.05. I'd ran the distance several times in training at around the 1.50 - 1.55 mark.

So I've turned my attention to higher intensity training, with the specific aim of breaking a 20 minute 5k. My current PB is 21.39 though that was the first three miles of a 10k. I've never competed in an actual 5k race.

So what do I need to do? My thoughts were to replace the mid-week 5 - 6 mile runs with shorter speed work and hills...

Some speed work and hills will probably help but I think (and this is based on very little experience) that you might need to have some idea of what you actual 5k speed is.

My fastest 5k is 21:28 which is 30 seconds to a minute faster than I have managed as part of a 10k.

You also need to think about what the speedwork etc is for - is it to get you to a faster half marathon or a fast 5k.

I am running my first half in 4 weeks time - have run one in training (to prove to myself I could cover the distance) and did that in 1:57. My goal for my actual race is 1:45 although my last two weeks of training have been interrupted by a knee niggle induced by overtraining and then my fall last Sunday. Am hoping that next week I can get back to a proper set of runs.

[andrewparker]

markh1973 said:

Some speed work and hills will probably help but I think (and this is based on very little experience) that you might need to have some idea of what you actual 5k speed is.

My fastest 5k is 21:28 which is 30 seconds to a minute faster than I have managed as part of a 10k.

You also need to think about what the speedwork etc is for - is it to get you to a faster half marathon or a fast 5k.

I am running my first half in 4 weeks time - have run one in training (to prove to myself I could cover the distance) and did that in 1:57. My goal for my actual race is 1:45 although my last two weeks of training have been interrupted by a knee niggle induced by overtraining and then my fall last Sunday. Am hoping that next week I can get back to a proper set of runs.

Yeah, the reality is that I've no idea what my 5k race pace is. It may be that I could go out and run close to 20 minutes with my current training schedule.

I think my worry is that my normal training is too comfortable. I'm typically running 3 times a week, usually consisting of a 4, 6 and 12+ mile run. I too quickly settle into a constant pace and don't push myself enough.

I guess ultimately I want to improve my 10k and half marathon pace but I'd like to be able to run a decent sub 20 minute 5k.

[E65Ross]

cerb4.5lee said:

Been out for a 13 mile run this morning managed it in 2:08hrs which I was pleased with because I had been training for 5 weeks then I didn't run for 6 weeks and have been training again since last Friday and its the furthest I have ever run.

I am doing a half marathon in two weeks for the first time so I just wanted to prove to myself that I could do that distance but I must admit my pace dropped a fair bit over the last 2 to 3 miles and prior to that I was keeping it around the 9:30 mile/pace.

It amazes me how people run the full marathon and that must take some serious training but I bet you feel on top of the world when you achieve it.

Well done Lee. Did you take any energy gels or anything with you? I would for a 2 hour run. Generally if I get to around 1:40+ I'll start taking on something on board during the run. May be one reason you started struggling?

I've never run a marathon, I will one day but only if I can get back to my old ability to do myself justice over it. Furthest I've run was just under 21 miles with a mate training for one and to be honest, I felt ok!

[cerb4.5lee]

markh1973 said:

I am running my first half in 4 weeks time - have run one in training (to prove to myself I could cover the distance) and did that in 1:57. My goal for my actual race is 1:45 although my last two weeks of training have been interrupted by a knee niggle induced by overtraining and then my fall last Sunday. Am hoping that next week I can get back to a proper set of runs.

What has you`re training been like? when I was training before I stopped for 6 weeks I was only running three times a week and I would run 6 miles on Monday, 10 miles on Wednesday and 6 miles on Friday and leave the weekend to rest, are you similar or do you do a lot more miles?

Impressive goal time for you and I have estimated doing it in 2:05 but hopefully with the buzz of doing a half marathon it will probably spur me on more as I just run alone in training so hopefully I might get a better time.

[Tycho]

cerb4.5lee said:

It amazes me how people run the full marathon and that must take some serious training but I bet you feel on top of the world when you achieve it.

TBH the marathon itself is the payoff for a lot of boring miles during training. IMO if you can do a half then you should be able to do a full. How fast you do it in depends on the effort you put into the months before. The feeling crossing the line is amazing but if you do a big marathon then the support all the way through from spectators is brilliant.

[Cybertronian]

andrewparker said:

I was wondering whether anyone here could give me some advice.

After a rather disappointing Great North Run I'm trying to put some more goals in place. I did consider getting back on the horse and running another half marathon but I have the feeling that I have other issues to address before I tackle that. I felt my training for the Great North Run was pretty good and felt confident going into the race but I struggled and ran a 2.05. I'd ran the distance several times in training at around the 1.50 - 1.55 mark.

So I've turned my attention to higher intensity training, with the specific aim of breaking a 20 minute 5k. My current PB is 21.39 though that was the first three miles of a 10k. I've never competed in an actual 5k race.

So what do I need to do? My thoughts were to replace the mid-week 5 - 6 mile runs with shorter speed work and hills...

What's your 10k PB? Using something like the McMillan Calculator can give you decent idea of what you could achieve under optimal circumstances.

So for example, if your 10k PB is 50:00, you could expect a 5k performance of around 24:05; if your 10k PB is 45:00, you could expect a 5k performance of around 21:40.

The calculator isn't perfect and assumes you're equally as well trained at the different distances but in my experience, is pretty close to the mark. It starts to get a bit wild with predictions when you start going longer like the marathon, so it's always recommended you use a race PB from a distance that more closely resembles your target race, i.e. 5k for a 10k calculation, 10k for a half marathon calculation and so on.

It's also worth revisiting the calculator periodically if your racing is going well (or badly) to re-calculate.

Edited by Cybertronian on Friday 12th September 13:30

[andrewparker]

Cybertronian said:

What's your 10k PB? Using something like the McMillan Calculator can give you decent idea of what you could achieve under optimal circumstances.

So for example, if your 10k PB is 50:00, you could expect a 5k performance of around 24:05; if your 10k PB is 45:00, you could expect a 5k performance of around 21:40.

The calculator isn't perfect and assumes you're equally as well trained at the different distances but in my experience, is pretty close to the mark. It starts to get a bit wild with predictions when you start going longer like the marathon, so it's always recommended you use a race PB from a distance that more closely resembles your target race, i.e. 5k for a 10k calculation, 10k for a half marathon calculation and so on.

It's also worth revisiting the calculator periodically if your racing is going well (or badly) to re-calculate.

My 10k PB is 45.10 but that was done 12 months ago after only 7 months of taking up running. I've improved a lot since then. I'll see how I get on in the coming weeks and post back.

[Tycho]

andrewparker said:

I was wondering whether anyone here could give me some advice.

After a rather disappointing Great North Run I'm trying to put some more goals in place. I did consider getting back on the horse and running another half marathon but I have the feeling that I have other issues to address before I tackle that. I felt my training for the Great North Run was pretty good and felt confident going into the race but I struggled and ran a 2.05. I'd ran the distance several times in training at around the 1.50 - 1.55 mark.

So I've turned my attention to higher intensity training, with the specific aim of breaking a 20 minute 5k. My current PB is 21.39 though that was the first three miles of a 10k. I've never competed in an actual 5k race.

So what do I need to do? My thoughts were to replace the mid-week 5 - 6 mile runs with shorter speed work and hills...

Try and find a local parkrun, my local is the Thames Valley Park one and there is a really friendly atmosphere with all abilities of runner, this may give you the extra edge you need as you could find someone to tag behind and keep you pushing yourself.

[cerb4.5lee]

E65Ross said:

cerb4.5lee said:

Been out for a 13 mile run this morning managed it in 2:08hrs which I was pleased with because I had been training for 5 weeks then I didn't run for 6 weeks and have been training again since last Friday and its the furthest I have ever run.

I am doing a half marathon in two weeks for the first time so I just wanted to prove to myself that I could do that distance but I must admit my pace dropped a fair bit over the last 2 to 3 miles and prior to that I was keeping it around the 9:30 mile/pace.

It amazes me how people run the full marathon and that must take some serious training but I bet you feel on top of the world when you achieve it.

Well done Lee. Did you take any energy gels or anything with you? I would for a 2 hour run. Generally if I get to around 1:40+ I'll start taking on something on board during the run. May be one reason you started struggling?

I've never run a marathon, I will one day but only if I can get back to my old ability to do myself justice over it. Furthest I've run was just under 21 miles with a mate training for one and to be honest, I felt ok!

Thanks Ross no I only took some water in one of those little hand held water bottles that you can grip with your hand with me and I was fine up to around 11 miles but then I just started fading and I am pleased to have kept going but it was tough to be honest and was chuffed to be able to run for that length of time constant...but my legs feel a little tender now though!

[cerb4.5lee]

Tycho said:

cerb4.5lee said:

It amazes me how people run the full marathon and that must take some serious training but I bet you feel on top of the world when you achieve it.

TBH the marathon itself is the payoff for a lot of boring miles during training. IMO if you can do a half then you should be able to do a full. How fast you do it in depends on the effort you put into the months before. The feeling crossing the line is amazing but if you do a big marathon then the support all the way through from spectators is brilliant.

I did say to the mrs that I bet when you run a marathon the support from the crowd must be great because with me running on my own I just have to keep self motivating to keep going, that's very encouraging thanks that you say if you can run half then a full one is possible.

I think once I have done one half marathon it will spur me on to do others and maybe it becomes a little addictive.

[E65Ross]

cerb4.5lee said:

Thanks Ross no I only took some water in one of those little hand held water bottles that you can grip with your hand with me and I was fine up to around 11 miles but then I just started fading and I am pleased to have kept going but it was tough to be honest and was chuffed to be able to run for that length of time constant...but my legs feel a little tender now though!

If you want to try a few gels I can recommend the high5 ISO gels. Consistency is thin so they don't feel all gooey in your mouth and, I find, actually quench thirst a little. Highly recommended by me.

I've got shed loads, a couple of months out of date now but I still use them and they're fine. If you wanted to try them before you buy pm me and I'll get a few posted over.