The Running Thread Vol 2

[hyphen]

feef said:

I have a 'regular' 10K trail route that I was doing once every couple of weeks through last summer. Went for a trot along it yesterday and found it very hard going as it was quite overgrown in places and still waterlogged and muddy in other spots while being rock-hard and clear elsewhere. Surprisingly tiring!

Were you wearing trail running shoes?

[hyphen]

VEA said:

feef said:

In looking at pace, I find myself more interested in seeing if I can go for longer, rather than go faster. Anyone else just not inspired by chasing a faster pace?

Yup, me.
I also really don't enjoy running with others or at organised events.
Maybe I'm odd.

+1 on the faster pace. I run for fitness, relaxation and mostly taking in the views and fresh air. So don't really care about pace. Do look at Strava every so often though.

About to switch from running distance to sprinting and won't really care about times there neither.

[hyphen]

Heads uo- Aldi are doing some waterproof running earphones. Have ordered a pair to try out. £30


https://www.aldi.co.uk/reka-waterpoof-mp3-earphone...

[feef]

hyphen said:

feef said:

I have a 'regular' 10K trail route that I was doing once every couple of weeks through last summer. Went for a trot along it yesterday and found it very hard going as it was quite overgrown in places and still waterlogged and muddy in other spots while being rock-hard and clear elsewhere. Surprisingly tiring!

Were you wearing trail running shoes?

Yes, but middle of the road (trail?) in terms of lug depth.

It’s not the mud that made it hard going, rather the calf-deep grass. Even with these trail shoes, I found I was passing plenty of folk in the muddier sections of the Childerley 10k the other weekend

[RizzoTheRat]

VEA said:

Yes, I've found myself watching in awe some of the really long stuff and wondering...

Same here, but then I realise how much training I'd have to do and decide I'm not that keen. My wife's done a few trail ultras, and is fairly slow so some have been 6+ hours, and I can see the attraction as I much prefer trail running to road, but I'd need to do a lot more training as I only do about 10-20km per week usually.

I did about 17.5 miles in a 12 hour trail relay the other week (White Star Running's Mad Cow Frolic, great event) and my knees were on the way out by the end. I'm thinking I might try soloing a similar event to do a marathon distance but with no time pressure to see how I do, but will need to train a bit more for that.

[mon the fish]

Challo said:

Thanks. Have they changed the route much? I noticed that the finish is quite a distance from the start line, is it a mission to get back into the city?

Also my girlfriend is coming up to watch, but I have no idea where is good for her to go and try and see me on the course. Any recommendations?

A decent bit I think (haven't studied it too closely) - looks like we now see a bit of central Edinburgh - National Gallery, Greyfriars Bobby etc instead of just heading straight out Meadowbank direction.

It is a bit of a faff to get back in IME - the buses leave from Wallyford park and ride, which is the best part of a mile from the finish. When you get there, you then stand in a queue to get on a bus. I appreciate they need to have them away from the finish, it's just that it's not great on tired legs I found.

My first year we did the bus after staying in Edinburgh the night before, now we stay in Musselburgh, leave the car there and take a taxi to the start - much better having the car near the finish ready to go.

In terms of spectator points, after the start or maybe Holyrood park, in Musselburgh she can see you at roughly mile 9 and then the finish. After Musselburgh it's an out and back loop so not brilliant, but one possible is at the 16 mile mark where the A198 meets the B1348 at the front at Longniddry.

They don't encourage folk to drive to Musselburgh so might be a bit of a faff. Best idea might be to wave you off and then head straight there

[Challo]

mon the fish said:

Challo said:

Thanks. Have they changed the route much? I noticed that the finish is quite a distance from the start line, is it a mission to get back into the city?

Also my girlfriend is coming up to watch, but I have no idea where is good for her to go and try and see me on the course. Any recommendations?

A decent bit I think (haven't studied it too closely) - looks like we now see a bit of central Edinburgh - National Gallery, Greyfriars Bobby etc instead of just heading straight out Meadowbank direction.

It is a bit of a faff to get back in IME - the buses leave from Wallyford park and ride, which is the best part of a mile from the finish. When you get there, you then stand in a queue to get on a bus. I appreciate they need to have them away from the finish, it's just that it's not great on tired legs I found.

My first year we did the bus after staying in Edinburgh the night before, now we stay in Musselburgh, leave the car there and take a taxi to the start - much better having the car near the finish ready to go.

In terms of spectator points, after the start or maybe Holyrood park, in Musselburgh she can see you at roughly mile 9 and then the finish. After Musselburgh it's an out and back loop so not brilliant, but one possible is at the 16 mile mark where the A198 meets the B1348 at the front at Longniddry.

They don't encourage folk to drive to Musselburgh so might be a bit of a faff. Best idea might be to wave you off and then head straight there

Thanks for all the info much appreciated. I'll speak the gf and see what she wants to do. We are staying overnight in the city before, but flying back to London late afternoon on the sunday.

[mon the fish]

Challo said:

Thanks for all the info much appreciated. I'll speak the gf and see what she wants to do. We are staying overnight in the city before, but flying back to London late afternoon on the sunday.

If you're going out for dinner book somewhere now - the usual places you don't need a booking for (Bella Italia, that kind of thing) end up with an hours wait for a table

[tenohfive]

RizzoTheRat said:

Same here, but then I realise how much training I'd have to do and decide I'm not that keen.

I think that's a bit of a myth. And I almost feel like I'm grassing up ultrarunners by saying this, but my training volume is much lower than most road marathoners. Strava tells me my average for the last 4 weeks is 55km/week. Now it's a bit skewed - I did a 50 miler within that period, so there's a bigger training week a slight taper and recovery - but I don't think I've ever averaged more than 60km/week for long.
I generally finish in the top 10-20% of ultras. Yes, I've built a good base of fitness - and I'm not old enough to be in the vets categories yet - but running volume in my book is only a fairly small part of finishing ultras. It's so much more multidimensional than that.

[feef]

tenohfive said:

RizzoTheRat said:

Same here, but then I realise how much training I'd have to do and decide I'm not that keen.

I think that's a bit of a myth. And I almost feel like I'm grassing up ultrarunners by saying this, but my training volume is much lower than most road marathoners. Strava tells me my average for the last 4 weeks is 55km/week. Now it's a bit skewed - I did a 50 miler within that period, so there's a bigger training week a slight taper and recovery - but I don't think I've ever averaged more than 60km/week for long.
I generally finish in the top 10-20% of ultras. Yes, I've built a good base of fitness - and I'm not old enough to be in the vets categories yet - but running volume in my book is only a fairly small part of finishing ultras. It's so much more multidimensional than that.

That's what intrigues me about Ultras. I've always had good stamina end endurance as well as the will to 'just keep going'. They seem to be more important in these events than outright pace. Once you're operating aerobically, it really comes down to fuel source and determination.

[CharlieH89]

Aiming to do the Wigan 10k in September. First run was yesterday in a long time which was 1.1 miles, a route around the streets near my house which took 12 minutes. Easing myself into it.

My dad runs marathons/ half’s/ 10ks quite regularly so really motivated to join him in 4 months time.

[Halb]

Manchester 10k in two weeks for me, running it as an Avenger, I wanted sub 50, that's not gonna happen, sub 55 should be doable, hoping for around 53 now

[The jiffle king]

CharlieH89 said:

Aiming to do the Wigan 10k in September. First run was yesterday in a long time which was 1.1 miles, a route around the streets near my house which took 12 minutes. Easing myself into it.

My dad runs marathons/ half’s/ 10ks quite regularly so really motivated to join him in 4 months time.

Good luck with this. Build up slowly and enjoy. If you have specific questions, someone on this thread is likely to be able to help

[Smitters]

Gave my trail shoes a scrub ahead of Sunday's race. Quite disappointed that they're holing in the inner sole and heel after 430kms. OK, 430 hard kms, but still. Asics FujiAttack4 - Boo. I have 80 racing miles in the next five weeks. Not the time to be breaking in new shoes.

[tenohfive]

I've got 4 pairs of trail shoes around 500km, and they're all showing their mileage. I've come to expect that much from them. Fortunately most of the wear is on the soles/grip rather than holes, so I should get away with them if the weather stays dry for a bit longer. That's a mix of Salomon/La Sportiva/Inov8 and Hoka shoes.

Edited by tenohfive on Thursday 10th May 10:30

[CharlieH89]

The jiffle king said:

CharlieH89 said:

Aiming to do the Wigan 10k in September. First run was yesterday in a long time which was 1.1 miles, a route around the streets near my house which took 12 minutes. Easing myself into it.

My dad runs marathons/ half’s/ 10ks quite regularly so really motivated to join him in 4 months time.

Good luck with this. Build up slowly and enjoy. If you have specific questions, someone on this thread is likely to be able to help

Thanks Jiffle King. That's what my dad has said, to build it up and most importantly enjoy it.
Hoping to lose some weight whilst doing it which will be a big motivator for me. Beach holiday with a family wedding in 5 months. I don't want to feel self conscious holding this extra bit of timber I am at the moment

[andy_s]

Smitters said:

Gave my trail shoes a scrub ahead of Sunday's race. Quite disappointed that they're holing in the inner sole and heel after 430kms. OK, 430 hard kms, but still. Asics FujiAttack4 - Boo. I have 80 racing miles in the next five weeks. Not the time to be breaking in new shoes.

Unfortunately my inov8 212s only seem to last a season, but offer so much when using them I don't begrudge the replacement cycle - they are supposed to be developing a graphene laced sole this year so it'll be interesting to see whether that gives them a bit more life.

[andy_s]

tenohfive said:

RizzoTheRat said:

Same here, but then I realise how much training I'd have to do and decide I'm not that keen.

I think that's a bit of a myth. And I almost feel like I'm grassing up ultrarunners by saying this, but my training volume is much lower than most road marathoners. Strava tells me my average for the last 4 weeks is 55km/week. Now it's a bit skewed - I did a 50 miler within that period, so there's a bigger training week a slight taper and recovery - but I don't think I've ever averaged more than 60km/week for long.
I generally finish in the top 10-20% of ultras. Yes, I've built a good base of fitness - and I'm not old enough to be in the vets categories yet - but running volume in my book is only a fairly small part of finishing ultras. It's so much more multidimensional than that.

Agree totally (from my end of the field especially!) VO2 is way less important than leg strength / nutrition etc, a healthy mileage will get you 90% of the way there rather than going mad with racking up low quality miles for the sake of it, although feet conditioning and kit/shoe choice benefit from a long trial outing for sure. A long day on the hill is perfect training for ultras I find.

BTW - highly rec'd the GL3D tenohfive, right up your alley.

Edited by andy_s on Thursday 10th May 13:37

[feef]

I'm currently running on Salomon XA-Lite which have a mild lug pattern for trails, and I've been wondering getting something with a more aggressive lug pattern.

I can get a good deal on Salomon stuff, and the S-Lab Speed2 appeals, but the Innov8 Terraclaw 220 seems to be a decent contender. Both have a lower drop than the XA-Lite I'm currently in (8mm), and I find myself preferring a lower drop, more minimal shoe at other times to the extent that I did the half marathon in October in my 5-fingers.

Any suggestions?

[andy_s]

As above feef, the x-talon series works very well - 8mm lugs and very low stack height are perfect for tricky terrain, I think there is a range between 2mm and 6mm drop within the range also - the trailtalon will probably last longer but the rubber compound is less 'tacky' I find. The 'precision' fit is a bit harsh past 30 miles but again, perfect for keying in your feet when contouring for example. Depends on the nature of the challenge I suppose.

Edited by andy_s on Thursday 10th May 13:48