The Running Thread Vol 2

[RobM77]

RizzoTheRat said:

jeremyc said:

RobM77 said:

However, I must say that whilst I'll always love running for fitness, I am finding it tough to motivate myself to do harder speed sessions when nobody has any idea when the next race is! All I would like is to know 100% that a race is happening on a given day, but nobody even knows that.

Any local clubs running virtual races? Or indeed just organise one with your friends, or maybe the PH club on Strava.

My running club has started doing a 5k handicap league, that along with submitting a not-parkrun time every week at least gives me some motivation to get out, so worth looking in to if you're a member of a club. Loads of mates doing various challenges on Strava so that's also worth a look. Since the rules on gatherings relaxed we've been meeting up with a few parkrun mates fro a run and breakfast on Saturday mornings, its not as good as the real thing but it's nice to do stuff that feels normal.

My wife suggested we run to Germany last weekend, gave us a bit of reason for a run, although I'm glad we were staying quite close to the border

I just find that such events don't really interest me; there's no sense of occasion, no dedicated course, and no other people visible to race against. I'd do it right now as a 50% effort for fun, but I'm not going to taper properly for two weeks for a race where I'm all on my own on hilly lanes with no chance of a PB, and the chance I'll have to stop for tractors filling the road or slow for nervous horses. With all those hazards, any such run just becomes another training run.

[ajap1979]

RobM77 said:

However, I must say that whilst I'll always love running for fitness, I am finding it tough to motivate myself to do harder speed sessions when nobody has any idea when the next race is! All I would like is to know 100% that a race is happening on a given day, but nobody even knows that.

I'm feeling this a lot at the moment too, and it's resulted in me spending a lot of time in the mid zone. I'll often go out with the aim of a long easy run, but it turns into a moderate/hard, and ultimately meaningless effort. I should be doing 80% easy/20% hard, but it's probably 100% in the middle at the moment. Everything is more-or-less on a whim. I'm enjoying my running, and I'm definitely improving, but it feels pretty aimless and unstructured at the moment.

[anonymous-user]

It will be good to do a race soon
A few races are still ‘on’ at this moment in time
Eg Maidenhead Half Marathon on 6th September
I’ll be a tad surprised if it goes ahead, will enter nearer the date!

[The jiffle king]

Jimboka said:

It will be good to do a race soon
A few races are still ‘on’ at this moment in time
Eg Maidenhead Half Marathon on 6th September
I’ll be a tad surprised if it goes ahead, will enter nearer the date!

I'd be amazed if it goes ahead but will train for that as it's local for me.
Won't enter until much closer to the event though

[ajap1979]

Some initial thoughts on the Air Zoom Tempo Next% from RoadRunTrail –

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FTXptwwuYg

[RizzoTheRat]

RobM77 said:

I just find that such events don't really interest me; there's no sense of occasion, no dedicated course, and no other people visible to race against. I'd do it right now as a 50% effort for fun, but I'm not going to taper properly for two weeks for a race where I'm all on my own on hilly lanes with no chance of a PB, and the chance I'll have to stop for tractors filling the road or slow for nervous horses. With all those hazards, any such run just becomes another training run.

Yeah I see what you mean, I find it helps motivate me to keep doing some running generally rather than race training as such.

[andy_s]

There’ve been a few good ‘virtual races’, Great Glen Ultra, West Highland Way race, Lakeland 50/100 - spread over a week it’s a good motivator for getting out at least.

[thebraketester]

Mad dogs etc etc....... running in the heat isn’t for me I have just discovered.

[Candellara]

ajap1979 said:

Some initial thoughts on the Air Zoom Tempo Next% from RoadRunTrail –

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FTXptwwuYg

Can't wait to try these out. If they're anything as good as the ZF3's - they'll be great but will probably sell out within minutes of being launched

[joshcowin]

Can anyone comment on sizing for NB 1080v10 I wear a 7.5 in Adidas Boston 8's and 7.5 in Asics.

I want a decent shoe for long runs and recovery runs, these seem to be very good.

I love my Bostons for quicker runs but find Adidas solar boost a bit disappointing. Only doing about 20-30 miles per week.

If anyone would highly recommend another trainer for longer runs I am all ears. There is only one place locally doing gait analysis and they seem to only offer ON and Hoka, so their guidance will be limited to a hoka shoe, which may be fine but pretty limited!

[ajap1979]

IME New Balance sizing is very similar to Adidas, whereas I tend to go half a size down in Nike. I wish I’d tried the 1080v10s, but they’ve been out for some time now, and I’m almost positive they’ll be bringing out the replacement in the near future. The new Saucony Ride 13s might be worth a look, out 1st August in the UK.

[joshcowin]

ajap1979 said:

IME New Balance sizing is very similar to Adidas, whereas I tend to go half a size down in Nike. I wish I’d tried the 1080v10s, but they’ve been out for some time now, and I’m almost positive they’ll be bringing out the replacement in the near future. The new Saucony Ride 13s might be worth a look, out 1st August in the UK.

OK thanks for the info! Saucony seem to be releasing some fantastic shoes recently.

I am not worried about latest versions, if I can get a deal great!!

[RobM77]

joshcowin said:

If anyone would highly recommend another trainer for longer runs I am all ears. There is only one place locally doing gait analysis and they seem to only offer ON and Hoka, so their guidance will be limited to a hoka shoe, which may be fine but pretty limited!

I use Brooks Glycerin for long and easy runs. They’re like a big Lexus: soft and comfy, but you wouldn’t want to run fast in them!

[joshcowin]

RobM77 said:

I use Brooks Glycerin for long and easy runs. They’re like a big Lexus: soft and comfy, but you wouldn’t want to run fast in them!

I'd love to be able to run fast!!! Thanks for that, are brooks sizes similar to Adidas and Asics?

Intervals this morning felt rubbish and my splits reflected that! 8minute intervals with 2 minutes rest, very hard work really had to grind that out!

[RobM77]

joshcowin said:

RobM77 said:

I use Brooks Glycerin for long and easy runs. They’re like a big Lexus: soft and comfy, but you wouldn’t want to run fast in them!

I'd love to be able to run fast!!! Thanks for that, are brooks sizes similar to Adidas and Asics?

Intervals this morning felt rubbish and my splits reflected that! 8minute intervals with 2 minutes rest, very hard work really had to grind that out!

I don’t know to be honest, as I have very wide feet and haven’t tried Asics or Adidas, other than the Adizero race shoe, which was ludicrously narrow for me, even several sizes too big. Now I know I’m a neutral runner with no special requirements, for a new shoe I just order a few different sizes and try them on at home.

[Ian Geary]

Morning all,

I'm new to this part of the forum. During lockdown (still working full time in an office job) I decided to stop wasting the early mornings and take up a spot of running, spurred on by uni friends and colleagues who enjoy running.

From being able to do a couple of laps of my local park in May, I made it round a 5k in June, and today did my first 10k (in just under an hour)

At 42, I didn't do any particular exercise before, but was only slightly overweight and reasonably active I guess.

Even so, I feel quite chuffed at this achievement and have really noticed the extra energy I have got from regular exercise.


So, my next thought is where to go from here?

- running club? Friend from work in a nearby town is in one, and they seem a friendly bunch who help spur her on. My town's club seems a bit more competitive though, and tbh I don't want to be getting into weekly willy waving competition with a bunch of guys half my age

- go for more distance? Noticed a half marathon nearby in October, which might be a suitable thing to aim at?

- go for better technique? Though this would need help from others, and i'm really not after chasing numbers.

Whatever happens I will definitely keep it up, at whatever speed or distance I can manage.

Ian

[RobM77]

Ian Geary said:

Morning all,

I'm new to this part of the forum. During lockdown (still working full time in an office job) I decided to stop wasting the early mornings and take up a spot of running, spurred on by uni friends and colleagues who enjoy running.

From being able to do a couple of laps of my local park in May, I made it round a 5k in June, and today did my first 10k (in just under an hour)

At 42, I didn't do any particular exercise before, but was only slightly overweight and reasonably active I guess.

Even so, I feel quite chuffed at this achievement and have really noticed the extra energy I have got from regular exercise.


So, my next thought is where to go from here?

- running club? Friend from work in a nearby town is in one, and they seem a friendly bunch who help spur her on. My town's club seems a bit more competitive though, and tbh I don't want to be getting into weekly willy waving competition with a bunch of guys half my age

- go for more distance? Noticed a half marathon nearby in October, which might be a suitable thing to aim at?

- go for better technique? Though this would need help from others, and i'm really not after chasing numbers.

Whatever happens I will definitely keep it up, at whatever speed or distance I can manage.

Ian

Great to hear you're enjoying running.

Running clubs are great if you have the time and like to socialise. Sadly I have a toddler to look after every day after work, which is why I started running, because it's all done in lunch breaks.

I've had technique coaching from a superb guy in Kew (https://www.therunninglab.co.uk/) and this is why I can run at all - my natural running style was very damaging to my knees, but now I'm fine, other than niggles I get pushing very hard in training. Technique can help with injury and also make you faster.

Generally speaking, the way to get faster is to very gradually increase the distance you're running and how often, and add in some speed sessions (intervals at first, then tempo). At first, run every other day, and then you can start cross training on off days, or doing some easy runs. Try and have a long run once a week. Keep all your runs easy at a conversational pace unless it's a targeted speed session.

[YellowCar]

Ian Geary said:

Morning all,

I'm new to this part of the forum. During lockdown (still working full time in an office job) I decided to stop wasting the early mornings and take up a spot of running, spurred on by uni friends and colleagues who enjoy running.

From being able to do a couple of laps of my local park in May, I made it round a 5k in June, and today did my first 10k (in just under an hour)

At 42, I didn't do any particular exercise before, but was only slightly overweight and reasonably active I guess.

Even so, I feel quite chuffed at this achievement and have really noticed the extra energy I have got from regular exercise.


So, my next thought is where to go from here?

- running club? Friend from work in a nearby town is in one, and they seem a friendly bunch who help spur her on. My town's club seems a bit more competitive though, and tbh I don't want to be getting into weekly willy waving competition with a bunch of guys half my age

- go for more distance? Noticed a half marathon nearby in October, which might be a suitable thing to aim at?

- go for better technique? Though this would need help from others, and i'm really not after chasing numbers.

Whatever happens I will definitely keep it up, at whatever speed or distance I can manage.

Ian

Glad to see another 'convert'. I also started running late - later then you, and only started to run when I was 45. Sounds as though you're making good progress.

Once things get back to normal, booking a few races can be a good motivator. I see you're not too far from London, where RunThrough usually organise several events each month, usually a 5K, 10K, and quite often HMs. It's also a good way to map your progress, and satisfying to see PBs coming down.

I'm a member of a local club, but it is pretty serious, with some properly fast runners, but also a few older slower folk. It's a good way to get some structure into your training, and you'd see your speeds improve if you go that way.

I think the best advice though it to try to stay consistent with your runs, and find what you enjoy and what motivates you. Running with others can be a good way through the times when it feels like too much hassle. I'm lucky in that my wife took up running too, and although we seldom run together, we'll often enter the same races, and will always encourage each other through injuries or lack of mojo.

Welcome to this corner of PH...

[Ian Geary]

Thank you both,

Some useful food for thought there

We've got 2 primary aged kids so I have to be somewhat mindful of how caring is split between me and my wife. That's part of the advantage of getting up early to run.

Ian

[RobM77]

YellowCar said:

Welcome to this corner of PH...

And a jolly fine corner it is too! No trolling, no arguments, just useful and friendly chat