The Running Thread

[ExV8]

Beetroot juice is great.....as a laxative.

I think it does make a difference but not always a good idea just before a run.

[Roger645]

SIS do a gel with Nitrates which is what you get from beetroot juice/powder. Not tried it myself but a few at the club said it goes down and stays in ok!

[Smitters]

Just entered the Bristol-Bath marathon in October. Will be my first formal marathon and first road marathon. Looking forward to the training, and as a first road mara it should be a pb (5.03 pb as part of a longer race currently...). Hills in the second half mean it won't be that fast a course though.

[Nickelson23]

Ran the Manchester marathon last year, well I finished it in 5:15. This year I am off the alcohol and taking my training more seriously. I have entered Paris aiming for sub 4:30. For Christmas, I was given a Garmin Forerunner. So if anyone wants to connect on Garmin Connect my user name is TomNicholson23.

[honest_delboy]

Blimey, sounds like you've really been through the mill. 2 guys at work have had persistent Achilles problems which have been mostly solved by wearing a special boot overnight. Might be worth a go if you haven't tried it already (apologies if you have). They are 44 (able to run 7/8 miles pain free) and 46(completed London 2014 but still having some issues).

[Smitters]

I had an achilles tear in 2008 and was lucky enough to see a chap called Rod Jaques. The eccentric loading exercises he prescribed for me were extremely hard, painful enough to make me physically nervous before starting them, but ultimately did the job. I'm not suggesting you should go out and find a plan on the internet and hurt yourself, but it is possible to recover from achilles issues. However, I'd suggest if you have a painful achilles today, London is probably not on. It took four years to get back to full operation, with several false starts, but in 2012 I was back to racing, albeit slowly. I may never recover the speed I had from back then, but I am still running.

Above all, good luck and don't let it grind you down. Keeping yourself fit now is far preferable to being immobile and unhealthy in old age. It's that big an investment in my eyes.

[MC Bodge]

thelittleegg said:

Thanks for the suggestion, I might look into it, or perhaps I might just start a "Runners who can't run" club with MC Bodge

It's a very prestigious club

I'm currently trying yoga and quite a lot of different calf exercises, at the suggestion of my Physio.

Having been unable to do periods of more than 3 months (and usually much less) of running since 1997 (only 1 x 10k race since!) before some sort of injury stops me for months (or years) I came close to giving up completely in September, but tried again, with predictable results.....

Ps. I've just realised how long ago the 1997 Great North Run was....

Edited by MC Bodge on Monday 12th January 20:10

[Nickelson23]

Does anyone have a Garmin gps watch and if so what are your Garmin Connect usernames ?

[ExV8]

Got a Polar but does not always work that well so may need an upgrade.

Changed my running and doing proper tempo runs now which seems to be around half race pace but just 7k. Much more fun and, more importantly can see the speed increase.

[Halb]

Roger645 said:

SIS do a gel with Nitrates which is what you get from beetroot juice/powder. Not tried it myself but a few at the club said it goes down and stays in ok!

Excellent. I just do not wish to take another one of those beet shots again!

On another note.
Leggings. I have some I wear when I just cannot bear the cold, but they all pull down my legs and then sag...it's annoying, any brands out thee that never ride down?
I have an Under Armour™ pair and a KooGa™ pair. I recall having a Skins™ pair but I got rid since they did the same.

[john2443]

Halb said:

On another note.
Leggings. I have some I wear when I just cannot bear the cold, but they all pull down my legs and then sag...it's annoying, any brands out thee that never ride down?
I have an Under Armour™ pair and a KooGa™ pair. I recall having a Skins™ pair but I got rid since they did the same.

Mine are Reebok, not because of being my preferred brand, just that they have an outlet shop nearby, and they are fine but maybe you're slimmer than me and my tummy gives them something to hold on to! They do have a tie string at the waist, not sure if they'd stay up with just elastic.

[Smitters]

Halb said:

Excellent. I just do not wish to take another one of those beet shots again!

On another note.
Leggings. I have some I wear when I just cannot bear the cold, but they all pull down my legs and then sag...it's annoying, any brands out thee that never ride down?
I have an Under Armour™ pair and a KooGa™ pair. I recall having a Skins™ pair but I got rid since they did the same.

I've found Sub to be quite good bang for buck. Easily had on Amazon. Not sure what you're doing to Skins to make them sag mind. They should be a struggle to get on really. Maybe washing too hot?

[Cybertronian]

Ran at the Brass Monkey Half yesterday - a race that I'd wanted to do for several years due to how flat it is. The name was certainly apt, with freezing temperatures and ice galore on the course, costing me about 20 seconds in total. Still, can't complain because I shaved nearly 90 seconds off my half marathon PB for 1:27:27!

Also pleasing to see is that according to the McMillan Calculator and my current 18:51 5k PB, I pretty much hit my half marathon potential. Sadly, my 10k PB is now very clearly short by 30 seconds or so. Instant target there or the late spring me thinks!

[Halb]

Thanks for the responses. I have rugby legs, and in comparison to my waist, they are big, I think my legs pull them down.

[Cos18]

Hey all,

I've been a bit slack on the running front lately, I just plain couldn't be bothered. I've moved to New Zealand for a few months and most of my training has been cycling (everyday in Jan for a challenge). This year I want to build a good base of running and start cracking some milestones. My biggest is my 5k PB. I got it down to 20.26 and am really wanting to smash the 20 mark.

I'm keen to return to longer distances, and this year I want to become a faster 1/2 marathoner as part of my intro into the world of half ironman triathlons. I seem to recall a good training plan flying about at some point, is that still available? My goal is sub 1.30 eventually but I will be happy with a time in the 1.35 ballpark for this year. I've done a couple in the past, for some reason I'm oddly craving the feeling of pounding the pavements for 13.1 miles!

Two distances I know, but I'm sure 1/2 training combined with speed work will see me go sub 20

[Cybertronian]

Cos18 said:

Hey all,

I've been a bit slack on the running front lately, I just plain couldn't be bothered. I've moved to New Zealand for a few months and most of my training has been cycling (everyday in Jan for a challenge). This year I want to build a good base of running and start cracking some milestones. My biggest is my 5k PB. I got it down to 20.26 and am really wanting to smash the 20 mark.

I'm keen to return to longer distances, and this year I want to become a faster 1/2 marathoner as part of my intro into the world of half ironman triathlons. I seem to recall a good training plan flying about at some point, is that still available? My goal is sub 1.30 eventually but I will be happy with a time in the 1.35 ballpark for this year. I've done a couple in the past, for some reason I'm oddly craving the feeling of pounding the pavements for 13.1 miles!

Two distances I know, but I'm sure 1/2 training combined with speed work will see me go sub 20

I remember vividly when I went under 20 minutes in 5k for the first time. I'd been gunning for it for ages and it was such a relief to finally do it. Psychologically, it also gave me a boost and physically, the benefit of a faster 5k trickled down to my other distances.

[Smitters]

Halb said:

Thanks for the responses. I have rugby legs, and in comparison to my waist, they are big, I think my legs pull them down.

Sounds like a similar problem cyclists have when coming to running! At least with the Sub stuff you can get awful and OK colours and they're under £30, so not a disaster if failing. But with a small waist versus legs, you should get mega compression!

[evo4a]

Booked in to do the Colchester half end of March, been training hard as I've never ran this distance before.
Did my first 13.1 mile training distance today in 1:56:35, with 2 months to go. I'm aiming for under 1:50 if possible.
Chuffed to bits.
3 years ago I was fast approaching 50 as an overweight couch potato who on his first run couldn't make it around the block(about 400 yards)without stopping. 50 this year and the ultimate aim is a sub 4hr marathon.

[MC Bodge]

Halb said:

Thanks for the responses. I have rugby legs, and in comparison to my waist

Same here. Buying trousers is always difficult.

I wear (and have had various pairs since the mid 90s) the trusty Ronhill Tracksters as they are less tight around the legs for a given waist size.

I do need to put a knot in the waist cord to stop it loosening though.

[MC Bodge]

Having been mid-foot running in a couple of pairs of 7-8mm drop' Puma Faas 300 trainers, I tried a new pair of Puma Faas 300S (formerly known as the 350) with a lower 4mm drop today.

I had been expecting calf problems, but Interestingly, I found it more comfortable to run with the relatively lower heels. I was conscious of the heels touching the ground less/'more gently', so maybe I was able to relax my calf muscles post-foot-strike?

I do wear Zero drop shoes day-to-day.

I'll need to see how my legs are tomorrow and after the next run, though.

Maybe these will help with my ongoing calf problems?

a new Physio has been very helpful too, so difficult to isolate.

Edited by MC Bodge on Saturday 24th January 22:27