The Running and General Exercise Thread

[Henry]

Because the old one seems to have disappeared somewhere.

I ran the Belfast Marathon at the weekend, with a chiptime of 3.34.54
I had aimed for 3 and a half hours (always good to have an aggressive target) but after staying with the pacers most of the way, I needed to slow for the last few km. Still, nice progress.

The plan now is to ease off on the volume for a couple of months and concentrate on some speedwork instead. Then at the end of July I'll start training for the Dublin marathon which is later in the year.

I'm also doing the Great North Run before then, but that's more for the experience.

[Kikó]

I've got a ten k coming up but fuck doings further than that.

[Giggles]

I used to run 4 times a week and do weights the other 3. Not possible any more, though I can't say I miss it too much.

[Spikey M]

Nothing says 'hire me' like a breathless Welshman in a sweat drenched suit.

[Reg]

Henry that's a great time isn't it? I don't know much about marathons but under four hours is a big achievement right?

It's been nearly three months since my arm break and I'm allowed to run again in 8 days' time. :drool: Or more relative to me- play tennis again. I've been practicing but just hitting and serving without running about.

I've never been a big runner but might go for more runs just because it's going to feel great after so long.

[Boydy]

I started couch to 5k again recently. I'm on week 4 now. I'm getting horrible shin splints though.

[Mazuuurk]

Henners just wanted to replace "Weightlifting" with "Running" in the title.

[Henry]

There was a running thread though, different from the weightlifting one. I can't figure out where it went. If there's confusion with the thread titles, that can be sorted.

Anyway, Reg, what constitutes a "great time" depends on the runner really. An elite athlete expects to be under 2 and a half hours. A good club runner would be looking for under 3 hours. 4 hours is often the target of a first timer, whereas the actual average of all runners is closer to 4 and a half. But it's an achievement for a lot of people just to finish.
This was my third and having run 4.02 and 3.59 I was looking for well under 4.
For the next one, I'll see where I am in my training a few weeks out from the race and decide what to aim for. It might end up being 3 hours 20 minutes.

Beyond that I imagine I'll be coming against some physical limits, barring some very large lifestyle changes which aren't really an option to anyone with a full time job and a family life.

[Mazuuurk]

Really, a full marathon? Most people I know who run it (and I know because I run around cheering on them drinking beer if I can) always ran their first over 5 hours.

[Henry]

Speaking of beer, there was a landlord from a pub handing out free pints to any runner who would take them at around the halfway point.
Apparently he got rid of a few dozen, although most who took them just took a sip and then threw them away.

[Alex]

I started running about two and a half months ago. I just started for the exercise really, but I'm enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would. The first time I went out it was a single mile and I felt terrible at the end, it was a real "I can't believe I'm this unfit moment". So about four weeks later when I ran 5k for the first time I genuinely felt like some kind of god. :D

I guess I'm working towards 10k at the minute. The Leads 10k is July I think, so maybe that. The route I'm running currently is about 7.5k, so I probably just need to sort myself out and just go for it, I'm sure I could.

Although, I say that, I haven't been out in over a week. I had been going pretty much every other day since I started and having some problems on and off with my right hip hurting, but nothing that stopped me. The last run I did was Wednesday last week though, and it was really fucked the day after that. I haven't been able to properly put my own weight on it. It's been feeling a lot better the last couple of days though so I can hopefully get back out either this weekend or early next week.

It's really frustrating because I don't want to go too soon and make it worse again, but at the same time I'm really paranoid my newfound fitness will just disappear! Henry, you might be a good man to ask (although obviously the distances I'm talking are shit compared to yours :D ), but do you think having say, 10 days off will set me back a lot?

[five time]

Every other day is probably a bit much if you weren't really running before. The rest will probably help you if anything.

[Henry]

Henry, you might be a good man to ask (although obviously the distances I'm talking are shit compared to yours :D ), but do you think having say, 10 days off will set me back a lot?

Not a lot, and if you're injured then take whatever time you need. To echo what five time says, you were probably pushing it a bit and not getting enough rest. When you go back again, do twice a week for the first couple of weeks to see how that goes, and increase to three and then four times gradually.

[Mazuuurk]

I wish I could do running more, not long distances really but 5-6k here or there would be nice. But either my body isn't built for it, or my technique is wrong. Probably both a bit, but anyway what happens is if I run more than once every week or even every two weeks I get pain in my knees, feet, hip or lower back. Where seems a bit random but always somewhere. I've tried changing my running style a bit but it just doesn't seem to work in the long run (heh), and besides, I'm not sure it will have helped anyway.

[Boydy]

What can I do about the shin splints?

[Pepe]

What can I do about the shin splints?

Take it easy.

Start slower and with shorter distances than your fitness allows. Think of conditioning your body for the task, not necesarily getting in shape just yet. Be very conservative when it comes to increasing pace and/or distance. I'd say three days a week (say, MWF) is good at the start. If the pain begins, don't go back out until it is gone, you'll only make it worse. So yes, mostly patience, it will get better eventually.

My GF started running late last year, October maybe. She also followed that couch to 5k thing. She had tried running before but same thing, shin splints. We took it super easy at the beginning (I go with her most of the time,) doing the whole walk/run one minute thing even though she obviously could do more than that. Now she runs 10k at least once a week and 5-8k the other days and doesn't get the shin splints anymore unless she increases distance/intensity too quickly.

Also, if you don't have proper fitting shoes then you could look into that. Go into a specialized running store where they can help you choose the right ones and let you try a few so you can determine which ones feel best.

[Henry]

What can I do about the shin splints?

Lots of stretching of your calf muscles, and light ankle exercises. I wouldn't stop completely but don't push it too hard if they're really bad, and don't increase the intensity of what you're doing too quickly.

[Giggles]

What can I do about the shin splints?

Buy a bag of chips and a few cans. Sorted.

[Mazuuurk]

Boydy apart from Henners and Pepes advice, look into where you are running as well. Avoid harder surfaces. Big solid Concrete is a no-no (typically along waterfronts etc you get these massive blocks sometimes). Asphalt and sidewalks etc aren't good either. If you can run in the woods that's probably the best. It'll be a bit different, as you can't have a very monotone style with your running (but that's the point).

[Pepe]

Good point. Gravel paths are nice.

[Reg]

What can I do about the shin splints?
Get the book 'Pain Free' and do the stretches for calfs.

[Alex]

Every other day is probably a bit much if you weren't really running before. The rest will probably help you if anything.


Not a lot, and if you're injured then take whatever time you need. To echo what five time says, you were probably pushing it a bit and not getting enough rest. When you go back again, do twice a week for the first couple of weeks to see how that goes, and increase to three and then four times gradually.

Thanks for the advice gents. :hat:

I'll take it easy for a bit then.

[Offshore Toon]

Went for my first run in 8 days today, but when I do run I tend to do it every day too. I'm a bit impatient so I just get out there. Might try alternating days with weights until I've got more free time in a few weeks, though.

[Boydy]

Yeah, I sometimes go too often as well. I also skipped week 1 of couch to 5k, only did two days instead of three of week 2 and the same for week 3. Impatience, like you say. Fucking feel it in my shins now though. Well, when I'm running. They're fine when I'm not.

[Offshore Toon]

I've never had problems with that. Maybe it's because I sprint and walk as opposed to jogging.

[Offshore Toon]

1 fly in my eye
1 nearly up my nose
2 in my mouth (1 spat out, 1 swallowed)

I don't think I'll be running on the bike paths anymore. Is anybody into insects on here? Is there a time of day where its light enough to run but there aren't shitloads of shit-covered insects hovering about?

[Boydy]

I got one in my eye last week. Fucking horrible. It probably doesn't help that I run by the river but there aren't many other places around here.

[Offshore Toon]

Running on the normal path was fine, but its nowhere near as interesting. Ducking and swerving through branches makes it feel like playing Mirror's Edge.

[summsuccess]

Yeah, I sometimes go too often as well. I also skipped week 1 of couch to 5k, only did two days instead of three of week 2 and the same for week 3. Impatience, like you say. Fucking feel it in my shins now though. Well, when I'm running. They're fine when I'm not.

Forget me joking in the other thread. Do you do any leg work in the gym or curl your toes up etc? Serious question.

[Offshore Toon]

Glorious day for a run today, although the heat made running on an empty stomach a bit harder. Being able to lie in the sun for a bit at the half way mark and afterwards is just lovely.

[Alex]

I seem to enjoy running more when it's dark, and preferably quite cold, for some reason. I did dip my toe back in after a full two weeks off today though, my hip seems to have sorted itself out after a long rest.

I'm going to take Henry's advise and ease back in. But I didn't feel like I'd lost much in the way of fitness, which was encouraging. It was just a bit harder than normal to get into a rhythm. My legs felt a lot better and stronger for the rest though.

[Offshore Toon]

Running in the dark is good fun, but running through woodlands is so much better than road running. I have actually gone for a run through the woods at night using the torch on my phone, but I prefer not to exercise too late.

[Alex]

I do like the sound of a nice woodland run, I should probably investigate something like that round here. I imagine it's slightly more forgiving on the body than pounding the concrete all the time too.

[Pepe]

running through woodlands is so much better than road running.

Definitely. That can actually be enjoyable. Running on the streets is incredibly boring.

[Offshore Toon]

Yep, plus you get to play with dogs sometimes.

[Henry]

I'm doing a 10k on Sunday. I haven't really concentrated on those before and since I still have my marathon fitness, I'm fairly confident of a good PB even though there are some hills. PB is 45.49 right now. I'm looking to go under 44 minutes.

[Offshore Toon]

In the name of friendly competition, I'm going to try and beat your time.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/50.8710628,-0.0952131/50.886373,-0.11917/50.869352,-0.1137714/@50.8745068,-0.1237463,3621m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!4m1!3e2

That's the route. I'll try and beat you within a month. I'll let you know how I do running that for the first time tomorrow.

[CJay]

In the name of friendly competition, I'm going to try and beat your time.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/50.8710628,-0.0952131/50.886373,-0.11917/50.869352,-0.1137714/@50.8745068,-0.1237463,3621m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!4m1!3e2

That's the route. I'll try and beat you within a month. I'll let you know how I do running that for the first time tomorrow.

:lol:

This should be good. What shape are you in currently, would you say? Running a 10k in 45 mins is impressive.

[Offshore Toon]

:lol:

This should be good. What shape are you in currently, would you say? Running a 10k in 45 mins is impressive.
:D

I'm well aware I'll look like a twat, but if I get anywhere near it it'll be impressive so fuck it. My usual path is about 7k-8k (hard to tell because the path weaves about a lot) and very hilly and I do that in about 50 minutes.

[Alex]

As of this evening, 30:18 if my new best 5k time. :flex:

The idea of getting it under 30 minutes seemed completely unreasonable when I first ran that route a couple of months ago, I think I was slogging it out around the 38 minute mark. Almost there though!

Remove the hill from the equation and that would comfortably shave a couple of minutes off straight away I reckon, at least. But it doesn't work that way unfortunately. I seemed to be stuck indefinitely between 31 and 32 minutes before I had that couple of weeks off with the bad leg, so I was well happy when I finished tonight and I clocked that. Fuck knows how people get down into the low 20's and stuff though. Very impressive.

[Offshore Toon]

From a competitive point of view, is it better to take hills slowly or get them out the way?

[Raoul Duke]

As of this evening, 30:18 if my new best 5k time. :flex:

The idea of getting it under 30 minutes seemed completely unreasonable when I first ran that route a couple of months ago, I think I was slogging it out around the 38 minute mark. Almost there though!

Remove the hill from the equation and that would comfortably shave a couple of minutes off straight away I reckon, at least. But it doesn't work that way unfortunately. I seemed to be stuck indefinitely between 31 and 32 minutes before I had that couple of weeks off with the bad leg, so I was well happy when I finished tonight and I clocked that. Fuck knows how people get down into the low 20's and stuff though. Very impressive.

Nice one. Keep going and you'll be surprised how much you can bring your time in. I was similar when I started (and am probably around that now) but after a few months of consistency it'll start shrinking.

[Kikó]

I hit 22:11 on parkrun on Saturday in a 5k. Beat my previous time by 20 seconds which is pretty mega. I ran 60 minutes on the treadmill yesterday to start building up my longer run ability and did 9.4k. my ten know is in July so it would be great if I could get a 44 minute ten k.

[CJay]

Go Alex. :thbup: You'll have that down by another couple of minutes in no time at all.

I'm currently waiting on results from my MRI scan after doing in my knee. Probably ACL. So now I'm going to live vicariously through Offy's 10k attempts. :(

[hfswjyr]

From a competitive point of view, is it better to take hills slowly or get them out the way?

Run them faster to get a lower time. You're welcome.

I ran the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park 5k on Sunday, with a time of 26:55. That was good enough for 45th among the men. Thought I could do it in 25 flat, but turns out if you don't train, you can't beat your PB.

The winner ran it in 16:30, which is just unfathomable really. Everyone got a medal, so jokes on him really.

http://www.runthrough.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/17619218_10100777521729768_120565278_n.jpg

[Kikó]

From this weekend
http://www.parkrun.org.uk/results/sub17/

So fucking fast.

[Henry]

In the name of friendly competition, I'm going to try and beat your time.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/50.8710628,-0.0952131/50.886373,-0.11917/50.869352,-0.1137714/@50.8745068,-0.1237463,3621m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!4m1!3e2

That's the route. I'll try and beat you within a month. I'll let you know how I do running that for the first time tomorrow.

Good call, a bit of competition can't hurt. EDIT: Although might be a bit ambitious given what you've said subsequently.

As for parkrun, I think I've done one of those in 21.07 or something of that type. I'd love to get under 20 minutes eventually.

[Offshore Toon]

I'm currently waiting on results from my MRI scan after doing in my knee. Probably ACL. So now I'm going to live vicariously through Offy's 10k attempts. :(
We can do this!

[Offshore Toon]

Good call, a bit of competition can't hurt. EDIT: Although might be a bit ambitious given what you've said subsequently.
Aye, I'm only eating around 1,000 calories a day and I've never run 10k before. Not that I'm making excuses. Its going to happen. :cool:

[AyDee]

I'm half-heartedly training for a half marathon. Ran 10k in 50 minutes yesterday but (i) the tendinitis in my achilles continues to rear its ugly head; (ii) it gets quite boring. Hopefully a few new albums on the phone will sort out (ii) and actually continuing to run regularly will alleviate (i).

Did 4.5k in 20 mins the other day so my speed is fine but my difficulty is with my endurance. Suppose it's just a case of improving with time. But 13 miles seems a far cry at the moment.

[7om]

I'll join you, Offy. I don't know how to post a URL so I'll just stick it in this spoiler:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/RIO+Washingtonian+Center,+9811+Washingtonian+Blvd, +Gaithersburg,+MD+20878/@39.115865,-77.19755,16z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x89b62d53bd76d1e7:0x2b626593e926b f75

The place has a lot of joggers so at least I'll have some company and the lake perimeter is approximately 1 mile. I'm not a big runner and usually get about 90 minutes in a week with biking but it's never something I've pushed myself at. I've just checked my pace on the treadmill this evening and it looks like I'm doing 1km in around 9 minutes. So I'm nowhere near the pace here but let's see how quick I can catch up.

[AyDee]

Jogging is pretty similar to weightlifting in terms of beginner's benefits, which is good. Maintain it for like 3 weeks and you'll see a huge difference in your times/distances. Just a matter of sticking to it.

[Smiffy]

I have preferred using my bike until I'm able to buy a sufficient pair of trainers to start jogging. So far the diet and actually finding what sort of exercise I prefer are the only two things that are really letting me down right now.

Tomorrow it's two weeks no fag. :cool: I need to capitalize on this. Today I have my morning cup of tea (how shit is tea btw?) and now my target for the day is to drink only water.

[Offshore Toon]

I'll join you, Offy. I don't know how to post a URL so I'll just stick it in this spoiler:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/RIO+Washingtonian+Center,+9811+Washingtonian+Blvd, +Gaithersburg,+MD+20878/@39.115865,-77.19755,16z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x89b62d53bd76d1e7:0x2b626593e926b f75

The place has a lot of joggers so at least I'll have some company and the lake perimeter is approximately 1 mile. I'm not a big runner and usually get about 90 minutes in a week with biking but it's never something I've pushed myself at. I've just checked my pace on the treadmill this evening and it looks like I'm doing 1km in around 9 minutes. So I'm nowhere near the pace here but let's see how quick I can catch up.
Offy and 7om v Henry and Kikó :cool:

[Henry]

Can anyone beat me at present? My PB's are:

5k: 21.07
10k: 45.49
Half: 1.40.22
Marathon: 3.34.54

[Kikó]

Give me 6 weeks.


(and you still will be faster)

edit: Checked my 2009 Great Manc run time (the only time I've done a timed 10k) 53m 04sec. Hope I can beat that this time.

[Offshore Toon]

Give me a month and I'll break all those.

[Pepe]

I could beat all of those times but running sucks.

[Offshore Toon]

Right, my time today was:

1:12:24
When I set off I was genuinely expecting 1:30:00. The conditions were terrible, too. It was humid, slippery from rain last night and I picked up a little niggle in my calf yesterday that was very frustrating to run with. Still, a shave a minute off every day and success!

[Henry]

What distance was that?

[Offshore Toon]

Just over 10k. First time I've ever attempted 10k and I'm exhausted. Feels good, though.

[Henry]

Oh, okay. Well done. Did you stop at any point or did you manage to keep going?
You're at about 7 minutes per km at present, which I'd suggest you can get down to well under 6 minutes in a few weeks with regular training.
Forget about getting towards 4 minutes (and thus beating me) for quite a while though. :D

[Offshore Toon]

Probably stopped about 8-10 times. Its mostly uphill so the first half is agonising, then its fine coming back but I'm already knackered. I'll be very happy to get under 60 minutes before 17th June, which is when I plan on stopping and fully recovering before Glastonbury.

However, I'm not giving up on beating your time that easily.

[Henry]

I've a 13.5k route planned for this evening. Nothing fast, I'll do it by heartrate.
Trying to stop myself from getting lazy at the moment. My volume will definitely go down, but I hope that enables me to do a bit more speedwork.

[Smiffy]

I started couch to 5k again recently. I'm on week 4 now. I'm getting horrible shin splints though.

I've just downloaded them all. Would I be best off starting from the very beginning no matter how easy it seems?

[Matt]

5k: 19.36
10k: 46.01
Half: not done one yet, signed up for the Manchester one in October but aiming for 1.40ish
Marathon: 4.13.something. I like to think if I had trained properly I could break 4 hours.

Got a friend doing a 68 mile ultra marathon in the lake district in July so considering possibly signing up for that next year

[Offshore Toon]

I'd say run as much as you can. The early stages on that app are probably there to trick lazy people.

[Smiffy]

I'd say run as much as you can. The early stages on that app are probably there to trick lazy people.

I fall into that catagory I imagine. I'm not fit but I'm not unfit. I could probably go and do 3/4 miles now in 40 mins or so without having done a thing in however long.

I just want some sort of structure applied to it tbh. The hardest part is getting out of the door.

[Alex]

If you could already crack 3 or 4 miles of continuous running out Smiff then surely there's no need for the plan? Just pick back up at that level and keep doing it every few days until you get better/faster.

[Offshore Toon]

I fall into that catagory I imagine. I'm not fit but I'm not unfit. I could probably go and do 3/4 miles now in 40 mins or so without having done a thing in however long.

I just want some sort of structure applied to it tbh. The hardest part is getting out of the door.
Seriously, just do it. The structure will come as you begin to recognise what time of day you prefer to run. I prefer to run in the evenings so I'm not knackered all day, but some days if I'm struggling to get started with work then I just get the run out of the way. Running in the evenings came with a mental block because I'd already be tired, but once you get into it you realise you still have plenty of energy.

[Smiffy]

If you could already crack 3 or 4 miles of continuous running out Smiff then surely there's no need for the plan? Just pick back up at that level and keep doing it every few days until you get better/faster.

I should state I'm basing that on the fact I have done so before only a few years ago. It wasn't flat out continuous as I did stop to chunder my guts up every once in a while but I really want to take advantage of not smoking and feel the benefits I'm already feeling.


Seriously, just do it. The structure will come as you begin to recognise what time of day you prefer to run. I prefer to run in the evenings so I'm not knackered all day, but some days if I'm struggling to get started with work then I just get the run out of the way. Running in the evenings came with a mental block because I'd already be tired, but once you get into it you realise you still have plenty of energy.

I suppose you're right, I just figured a structured start whereby I could actively see my progression etc would spur me on.

Something like this is actually helping, I find.

https://www.imageupload.co.uk/images/2017/05/17/Untitled.png

I don't own a smartphone any more so just downloading one of those running apps isn't something I can do. I now have a T-Mobile Zest. :cool:

[Offshore Toon]

I started by just walking up to the woods and running what felt like a decent distance. It was only after that I looked up the distance and it was 6k-7k. If you're motivated to run, then just run. I find sticking to main paths a bit boring, so if you can find some off-road bike paths then use them. For this 10k malarkey I'm using the main paths because that's the only way to measure it properly, but today I was trying to occupy my mind because when I get bored I don't run as far. Just looking around seemed to help, but I might try playing little games in my head.

[Henry]

Don't run every day if you're getting started. Do it three times per week and force yourself to stick to it.

[Smiffy]

Don't run every day if you're getting started. Do it three times per week and force yourself to stick to it.

I was thinking every other day would suffice.

I'm going back many many years now but me and three mates started going out each evening and I was the last to drop. I only did so due to a legitimate injury but I just didn't bother again afterwards.

I probably benefit from doing an awful lot of walking so I'm not starting completely from scratch. I'm also thinking more about my diet before I start doing it (that's not looking for excuses, honest). I just think if I'm going to start then I want to do so properly whilst giving myself the best chance to succeed.

[Offshore Toon]

Just did 6.2k (in 40:19) but more importantly I got my breath back much quicker and felt like I was in much better shape. I think I'll do 6.2k again tomorrow, then rest, then after my exam on Monday I'll attempt something stupid like 15k.

[Alex]

As of this evening, 30:18 if my new best 5k time. :flex:

The idea of getting it under 30 minutes seemed completely unreasonable when I first ran that route a couple of months ago, I think I was slogging it out around the 38 minute mark. Almost there though!

28 fucking 40. :joy:

I really had to dig deep and fight the urge not to stop and collapse and/or throw up on the home stretch though.

[Offshore Toon]

28 fucking 40. :joy:

I really had to dig deep and fight the urge not to stop and collapse and/or throw up on the home stretch though.
You might as well try and beat Henry's 10k time now.

[Offshore Toon]

My calves are ridiculously tight right now. Is there anything I can do to help them loosen up overnight?

[Reg]

They probably just need stretching. Hold for 30 seconds or more.

[Lewis]

My calves are ridiculously tight right now. Is there anything I can do to help them loosen up overnight?

Has your former fatness blessed you with perfect calves? :cool:

[Offshore Toon]

Has your former fatness blessed you with perfect calves? :cool:
Aye, my calves are massive without any effort. Thighs, as well. I should really put them to some use in rugby, but I'm too much of a pussy.

[Raoul Duke]

If you're not stretching before and after a run you're just asking for your legs to get fucked up

[Henry]

I ran the 10k today in 43.30

New target, motherfuckers.

[Offshore Toon]

At least make it difficult. :lol:

[Offshore Toon]

I ended up injuring myself yesterday after the tight calves incident. I'm not running today, but I'm hoping it's alright tomorrow.

[ScousePig]

Can anyone beat me at present? My PB's are:

5k: 21.07
10k: 45.49
Half: 1.40.22
Marathon: 3.34.54

Are these just normal runs and not races? Our times are pretty similar. According to Runkeeper:
10k: 44.25
5k: 21.38

I only really run 10ks though, and think I could do 5k a bit quicker than the time above. I've done a couple of 90 minute runs recently and managed 18.4k, so I'd be doing a half marathon in 1.40.

I'm thinking of signing up for a race or two. Do you think that would spur me on for some PBs?

[Henry]

Those are personal bests, all set in races. You definitely run faster in those so go for it.

[Offshore Toon]

I'm proper injured. Not gonna attempt anything again till Friday, which will have meant a week lost. I don't think I'm gonna do it anymore.

[Boydy]

What's wrong?

You did seem like you were doing an awful lot very quickly.

[Offshore Toon]

I've been doing 6k on and off for ages now. That tightness in my calves the other night (Friday?) translated to a tweak on Saturday that I still ran on, then today I could feel it going again so I quit at like 1k.

[Henry]

Well, that was an easy victory...

[Shindig]

With my right wrist being apparently on the way to fuck-town, I've decided to get back on the push-ups on the slim hope that this someone strengthens it. At least when I'm working, I'm not aggravating it with typing.

[Offshore Toon]

Well, that was an easy victory...
Game abandoned.

[Alex]

So, running is bloody hard work the sun comes out, isn't it? Give me a nice, cold, winter night any day. Jesus.

[hfswjyr]

I did notice my times would improve in the colder conditions (even if my toes started freezing), but then you look at the countries that are good at long distance running, and they're all super hot climates.

[Shindig]

And high altitude. It's something to do with your body adapts to low oxygen levels.

[Mellberg]

Offy showing commendable will power there.

[Offshore Toon]

Went to the gym today and at the end had a little go on the cross trainer to see how my calf was doing. Could feel it as soon as I put the resistance up to a significant level. I thought it would have healed by now ffs. Although, a couple nights ago I had a spasm in my calf that woke me up and I reckon that fucked it again. The last few nights I've been getting leg cramps as I'm falling asleep too. Will that have anything to do with the sudden stop of running?

[Reg]

Went to the gym today and at the end had a little go on the cross trainer to see how my calf was doing. Could feel it as soon as I put the resistance up to a significant level. I thought it would have healed by now ffs. Although, a couple nights ago I had a spasm in my calf that woke me up and I reckon that fucked it again. The last few nights I've been getting leg cramps as I'm falling asleep too. Will that have anything to do with the sudden stop of running?
http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/sport-injuries/ankle-achilles-shin-pain/calf-pain/cramp-in-the-calf-muscles

Low carbs? (are you still doing the ketosis?)

Do dynamic stretching before you run/cross train etc, and static stretching afterwards.

Personally for tennis I do 3 mins of jogging/bike followed by around 7 mins of dynamic stretches. But I think some runners do just the dynamic stretches before a run. Henry or someone will know better.

[Henry]

You can't have a low carb diet if you're trying to be a distance runner. For fuck sake.

You probably shouldn't have a low carb diet anyway. They're bullshit.

[Offshore Toon]

I've actually broken keto this past week to try and recover. Didn't have cramps before.

You can, Henry. 10k is nothing.

[Boydy]

Are you drinking enough water?

[Offshore Toon]

3-5 litres a day.

[Henry]

1.45.04 half marathon this morning. I'm disappointed with that even though it was a hot day on a tough course. A couple of months ago, I was going faster in my long runs without even pushing myself.

Not long before I step up my training again for the Dublin Marathon.

[ScousePig]

Decided to do some marathon training by following an app on runkeeper. My aim is 3.45 and I should be ready by the end of September/beginning of October. I was going to do a half marathon programme but as I can do that already and it starts off slow, it seemed a bit pointless.

I'm not sure I'll be able to keep up with it though, as I'm meant to run four times a week and that's tricky.

[ScousePig]

1.45.04 half marathon this morning. I'm disappointed with that even though it was a hot day on a tough course. A couple of months ago, I was going faster in my long runs without even pushing myself.

Not long before I step up my training again for the Dublin Marathon.

The heat and a hilly course is bound to have an effect though. It's still a good pace.

[Byron]

Might as well post here. I've been running for about 6 months now in preparation for the Norwich 10k in August. I've lost nearly 20lbs and my best is 1hr 5mins but I just can't get the 5 minutes off.

Any tips for shaving those 30 secs per km I need to?

[Spikey M]

Run a bit faster.

[Henry]

My top tip is to get a heart rate monitor and run consistently at 150bpm. That will train your aerobic fitness better. You might find that you're going very slowly at first but it will pick up after a few runs.

Apart from that just run more, although only increase mileage by 10% per week.

[five time]

Haven't run properly for a while but I have a 5.6km one we're entered in with work next month so been doing a couple a week (JP Morgan Challenge if anyone else here is involved).

My breathing is still ragged as fuck but I'm getting close to 5 minute k's which I'd be fairly happy with. Haven't bothered yet, but do you guys find sprint intervals help you get quicker?

[Lemmo]

Decided to do some marathon training by following an app on runkeeper. My aim is 3.45 and I should be ready by the end of September/beginning of October. I was going to do a half marathon programme but as I can do that already and it starts off slow, it seemed a bit pointless.

I'm not sure I'll be able to keep up with it though, as I'm meant to run four times a week and that's tricky.

How do you find the training plans on Runkeeper? I've been tempted for £2.50 a month or whatever it is but tend to just keep doing the free run.

Do they vary the runs a little in pace/distance? Or is it literally just a build up your distance type thing.

[Henry]

22km this morning. Not proper marathon training yet, but I'm trying to do a decent long run every weekend to stop my endurance sliding any further.

[ScousePig]

Half marathon this morning in 1.40. I'm happy enough with that.

[ScousePig]

How do you find the training plans on Runkeeper? I've been tempted for £2.50 a month or whatever it is but tend to just keep doing the free run.

Do they vary the runs a little in pace/distance? Or is it literally just a build up your distance type thing.

I think you need to subscribe. I'm doing a marathon plan and it has me training four times a week. It generally builds up to your main/long run on a Sunday. It varies quite a bit, seems good. Just a shame I don't have the time.

[Henry]

Anyone else doing the Great North Run, by the way?

[Alex]

I've left the 5k world behind for a little while and tried to work on upping the distance recently. Whereas before I would just stick to a pre-determined route and just continuously run and try to improve on it, I've started staying out and going off on some extended detours if I'm feeling good. Which in itself is nice change of scenery.

I managed to crack 8 miles out last week, which I was pretty happy with. I weirdly feel less worn out when I get in from these runs than I was feeling from the 5k's, but I guess that's down to not really being concerned as much about pace on them. I did get an absolute bastard of a stitch about 7 miles in though, which isn't something that's happened to me since I first started doing it. Powered through it though. :flex:

I do need to keep half a mind on not over-doing it too though, I think. The various issues with the legs had completely disappeared, but as I've gradually increased the distance the knee has started to ache a bit again. I don't want a full-on reoccurrence of all that shit.

[Mazuuurk]

Since starting to train regularly (by that I mean ca 5 times/week rather than ca 2 times/week which was the norm before) in November last year, and since altering my diet quite a bit since maybe February (basically eating healthy on weekdays more or less) I've lost somewhere around 12+ kilo or so. Quite content with myself really. Only thing is since I've been trying to lose fat, it's been impossible to build muscle, so now I'm quite thin (not that I was ever that muscly before).

[Kikó]

Finished the London 10k earlier. Provisional time of 45:30 which is pretty great.

[ScousePig]

Nice one. I did 19k in about 1hr30 earlier. I've bought a bottle belt now that I'm doing longer runs, as at the moment I'm doing them with no water and they're tricky in this heat. I didn't take it today though as I want to trial it on a shorter run. I was desperate for a drink by 16k.

[Henry]

24k today, just under 2 hours. I think this is the start of my 3 months training for Dublin marathon. 200k in July. 250k in August. 300k in September.

Lots of miles means lots of grub though. :drool:

[Kikó]

Do you guys run multiple times in a day or is it just one longer run?

[Henry]

One long run.

[Henry]

Finally got sub-100 for the half marathon. 1.39.10 on a tough course, which is encouraging just as I am starting to ramp up the training again.

[Byron]

2 weeks tomorrow until the race, I've taken a week off because my heels have been giving me trouble but I'll go for a long run tomorrow.

Looks like 1 hour for the 10k isn't happening but I'm hovering around the 1:03 mark so who knows.

[Kikó]

I've got a half in October so 11 weeks to train. The missus wants to run with me which should help build up the running time.

[hfswjyr]

Unless your missus is roughly the same pace/fitness as you, I can only see that slowing you down?

[Spikey M]

2 weeks tomorrow until the race, I've taken a week off because my heels have been giving me trouble but I'll go for a long run tomorrow.

Looks like 1 hour for the 10k isn't happening but I'm hovering around the 1:03 mark so who knows.

Doesn't an official race slow you down anyway? What with the walking start and various mongs cutting across your path.

[Kikó]

Unless your missus is roughly the same pace/fitness as you, I can only see that slowing you down?

She will but at first I'll be wanting minutes rather than times.


Doesn't an official race slow you down anyway? What with the walking start and various mongs cutting across your path.

Depends if you're in the right time group. Otherwise your pin starts when you cross the line and you should be fine.

[Henry]

You run faster in races than any other time. Getting caught in a crowd is the exception.

[Byron]

Doesn't an official race slow you down anyway? What with the walking start and various mongs cutting across your path.

I've put myself in the 55 minute bracket, so in theory everyone should speed away and give me clean air to run. Or I keep up with them and finish in under an hour. Win-win :henn0rz:

[ScousePig]

I've put myself down for 45mins for my 10k in a few months. I did 13k in an hour this morning.

[Offshore Toon]

After a month or so off almost all exercise i went for a run this evening and it went surprisingly well. I've always maintained that festivals are very good for fitness, but I think this proves it.

[Alex]

I managed to crack 10 miles out tonight, which I'm pretty happy with. New record distance!

The time left a lot to be desired though (I think), it worked out at about at a pace of about 10:30 a mile. Which I assume is not good. I'm sure I was down at under 9 minutes a mile at one point when I was really smashing the 5k's. Although I suppose you can't expect to maintain the same pace over three times the distance. My knee was giving up a bit for the last couple of miles too, which slowed me down.

Still, it was just nice to be out for a nice long run and not even really be gasping for breath at the end. Especially given than five months ago when I started this little experiment I basically collapsed on the floor after a solitary mile. It's a very nice feeling of progression.

We'll see if I can walk in the morning now. :D

[Weaver]

Going ten miles, whether running, jogging or walking, is no mean feat Alex, well done!

Gives you something to aim for next time, too.

[Kikó]

Good effort. I ran 9 miles on Monday and doing again tonight. First 10k running home at my own pace then meeting the wife for a 5k at hers. She surprised me though as she was able to 8m/km.

[AyDee]

Started running again last week, hopefully can keep it up this time. Been for 3 runs in last 4 days (albeit incl. a slow one with the girlfriend) and feeling pretty good. Don't think I'll manage a 10k before I move on the 8th but it's a good aim to have.

[Offshore Toon]

Haven't you previously been in very good shape, though? I reckon you can do it. Smash Henry for me!

[Henry]

My new aim is a half marathon in under an hour and a half. Probably within a couple of months. Enjoy smashing me though.

[Kikó]

I've run 30k this week. 10k from work then a much slower 5k with the wife. The extra 5k is proving painful. I need to do a two hour run at some point for my half marathon in October.

[AyDee]

Haven't you previously been in very good shape, though? I reckon you can do it. Smash Henry for me!

Nah, not be in good shape for about 5 years. Best shape I've been in since then was being able to run a 10k earlier this year.

Henry's safe for now.

[Offshore Toon]

I ran 8.25k in 50 minutes earlier, which means I could do 10k in under an hour, but I do think a lot of that was to do with pizza energy. Stumbled on for another 20k after that, but it was half walking, half very slow jogging.

[Kikó]

How long did you do 20k in? 3 hours?

[Offshore Toon]

It was actually quite a bit less than I thought. 24.75k in just over three hours. There was plenty of walking after the 10k.

[Byron]

Managed the Norwich 10k in 1:04:07.

Considering the heat (about 17 degress with blazing sunshine), the need to move through the pack at the start and the fact that it's quite hilly, I think a time about 30 seconds off my personal bes was decent.

More importantly of the 3 of us at work who were seen as the back-markers I won, so that's the main thing.

[Lewis]

What was the route?

[Byron]

So;


Start down the Highstreet from Halifax and up Theatre Street
Round Chapelfield Gardens and back down along St Stephens Street and Castle Meadow
Down King Street and do a circuit round Carrow Road
Back down Wherry Road and past the Station
Up Rose Lane (toughest part of the course) and down Prince of Wales Road
Left onto Bishopsgate and down the Riverside Walk
Cross the bridge at the Red Lion pub and up through the Cathedral Grounds
Past the Law Courts and onto Magdalen Street
Up Tombland and back down Castle Meadow
Back up Theatre Street and then past the Forum for the finish line.

[Henry]

28.4k this morning. 355 metres elevation but I felt okay. Going to do 15k tomorrow, which will test me.

[Henry]

Completed another 28k this evening, which takes me up to 93km in the past 6 days. Really struggled at the end, could have collapsed if it had been much further. Sleep now. And then a couple of days rest.

[Kikó]

Good effort. How long did that take?

I've entered another 10k next weekend at regent's park. The day after a friend's party. Parkrun tomorrow.

[Henry]

It took 2 hours 21 minutes.

And obviously since I'm typing this, I can't in fact sleep. Overdoing it leads to a sore head.

[ScousePig]

I've started doing this training called ASICS pace academy challenge. It's shorter runs, with the aim of getting my 5k down (my target is 20 minutes). I've done a couple of 'surges' training, and I've just done my first 'Short Fartlek', which was 7.6k in 35 minutes.

[Kikó]

Got a link?

Parkrun this morning was a breezy 23:46. My legs are battered from an intense pre season training on Thursday.

[ScousePig]

It's from the Runkeeper app that I use. Google 'ASICS pace academy challenge' and you can find the details, but you might need the app (and maybe subscribe as well) to do it.

[Kikó]

Did a Regents Park 10k this morning. Lovely day and the course is great - two loops of the park. I think I got around 46:40 so not too unhappy with that.

[Henry]

New 10k PB this morning, 43 minutes dead.

[ScousePig]

Nice.

I just did a 5k in 21:56.

[Offshore Toon]

Do you guys all road run? I think I'm going to have to, partly at least, once I move, but whenever I've done it it feels a bit harsh on the joints so I might buy a bike instead.

[ScousePig]

Usually the canal for me.

[Raoul Duke]

I prefer parks to roads, but I mainly run at the gym.

[Kikó]

I run on the canals home from work and in parks.

[Alex]

Yeah, always the road for me. It is a bit harsh on the joints I suppose. I've started doing some exercises to help strengthen the legs recently though (nothing major, just some bodyweight stuff and stretches) and the difference it's made after just a couple of weeks is crazy. Particularly in the knees, which just feel a whole lot stronger during running and aren't anywhere near as stiff or painful afterwards.

[Henry]

I did a local parkrun last week and finished with 20.20 - I'd like to take that under 20 minutes.

This weekend I'm doing the Great North Run and then Belfast Half next.

[Pepe]

https://dgtzuqphqg23d.cloudfront.net/-K04Ve5ey3rtGPLencHZ-MaUM0Q2EQGrpDWNTbcW-Gw-2048x1152.jpg

That's me there all the way at the bottom. Glad the season is over. Next year I will don it I am sure.

[mugbull]

You're a bicycle??!

[Pepe]

I'm an arm and a helmet.

[Spoonsky]

St. Louis or Pompeii?

http://www.slate.com/content/dam/slate/blogs/atlas_obscura/2015/03/12/plaster_casts_of_victims_bodies_at_pompeii_in_ital y/155930602-tis-picture-taken-on-november-9-2012-through-the.jpg.CROP.promo-large2.jpg

[Kikó]

I've got a half marathon in four weeks. Need to get back running miles again.

[ScousePig]

Back to 10k in 45mins this morning. Much better when it's pissing down and chilly.

[Alex]

45 minutes is really good. :thbup:

I went out to do 10k the other night and ended up staying out for another couple of miles because the temperature had dropped and there was a bit of drizzle about. Honestly, it was lovely. Ideal conditions. Bring on the winter. :drool:

[Henry]

I finished the Great North Run in 1 hour 36 minutes. Great experience although trying to weave through crowds of people and getting boxed in was a bit frustrating and made it difficult to get into a rhythm.
I suppose I should have started with a faster pace group than I did.

[Alex]

I finished the Great North Run in 1 hour 36 minutes. Great experience although trying to weave through crowds of people and getting boxed in was a bit frustrating and made it difficult to get into a rhythm.
I suppose I should have started with a faster pace group than I did.

I imagine that is very frustrating, but even so, that time sounds fast as hell to me, well done!

What is that, like seven minute something miles? That's ace.

[Weaver]

Great time Henry, well done.

[Shindig]

I finished the Great North Run in 1 hour 36 minutes. Great experience although trying to weave through crowds of people and getting boxed in was a bit frustrating and made it difficult to get into a rhythm.
I suppose I should have started with a faster pace group than I did.

Good stuff. Is it your first?

[ScousePig]

Good time Henry. Think I'd be looking at 1 hour 40 without more training.

[Kikó]

Nice work Henry. Be delighted if I can get that in mine in a few weeks.

[Henry]

Not my first but it is a PB. I must have run about 20 half marathons by now. I'll be faster in Belfast Half next week.

[Alex]

I've been trying to work on upping the distance recently, but gradually so that my knees don't disintegrate or anything. 60 miles is the target for this month, so I've decided to make the return to going every other day. The current routine is alternating between "shorter" runs (5k or more) and "longer" runs (10k or more) with a days rest in-between, which appears to be working quite well so far. 30 miles done as of today, so I'm a bit ahead of schedule.

It's mostly nice to just have an actual routine back in place. I stopped going every other day a few months ago after my knees really started disagreeing with it and, even though I was still going fairly often, it felt like it lacked any kind of structure. I've taken steps to (hopefully) remedy the knee situation though and I'm feeling a lot stronger now, so I think this could be good.

[Offshore Toon]

Road running is actually very fun at night.

[Henry]

Got my half PB down to 1.34.19 in Belfast today.

[Kikó]

Did the shoreditch 10k today. Very cool street race. Smashed my pb by 2 minutes 38 seconds with a time of 42:52. Buzzing with that really.

[Henry]

My last three weeks mileage have been 80k, 90k & 90k. I intended to get to 100k in the final week but was exhausted and the quality was suffering so I ended up taking an unintended rest day. Now three weeks of a taper before Dublin Marathon.

Very relieved to have that training block done. 60k this week will feel like nothing.

[ScousePig]

Good stuff you two. I was psyching myself up for a good time in the Abbey Dash in a few weeks, but now it looks like I might have plantar fasciitis. Fuck knows when I'll be running again.

[Mazuuurk]

I've never been much good at running. Always got pain in my lower back and knees from it, and once when trying to do it a lot during one summer I got a stress fracture in my foot after a few months. I always was quite slow and struggled to run anything longer than about 4-5 km as well.

Having lost quite a bit of weight over the past year though, I tried it again and it's completely different now. I run a lot faster and get a lot less pain from it. I can also quite easily do 6-7 km without much problem. So have actually started thinking about doing some sort of 10k race (I wouldn't want to do more than that).

At the end of the day I probably won't, because I still think running is a bit boring, but at least it's an option these days for doing training other than more complicated stuff like the Gym, playing Football, etc.

[AyDee]

Gone to the gym a few times in past few days, hopefully will keep at it. Impressively unfit at the moment, probably due to alcohol but still a bit worse than I expected. Did 5 mins on the bike followed by 1km row on Friday which nearly killed me; did that twice today and felt a bit less dead afterwards. Hopefully will soon be able to do 3 sets and then gradually start increasing the time/distance of both.

Rowing is the best though. :drool:

[Smiffy]

I got back on it yesterday and restarted my running after nearly a month of nothingness. I was quite impressed with myself that I managed 5 miles although I do need to map out a route of sorts as much of it was on the road with cars whizzing by me at 50+. The time was nothing to be proud of, averaged 12 minutes a mile whereas when I was at home I was managing around 9-10 but it could be argued I was going too fast.

Plan now is Monday - Wednesday - Friday - Sunday to do at least 3-5 miles but use Monday for the big run as I tend to be off both then and on Tuesdays. I don't know if this is right but it allows some recovery although Sunday might have to be scrapped if I struggle for the Monday's, maybe a different sort of exercise in between.

I must remember to warm up and warm down properly though as I'm in bits today. :moop: On Friday I'm off to Tesco to do a big shop so I can start making better foods but doing so in bulk but it's a bit of a shitter given gluten free products are expensive. It's perhaps the one thing that's slipped more than anything is my diet but I'm determined to get back on it as I notice the difference in myself.

[AyDee]

Gone to the gym a few times in past few days, hopefully will keep at it. Impressively unfit at the moment, probably due to alcohol but still a bit worse than I expected. Did 5 mins on the bike followed by 1km row on Friday which nearly killed me; did that twice today and felt a bit less dead afterwards. Hopefully will soon be able to do 3 sets and then gradually start increasing the time/distance of both.

Rowing is the best though. :drool:

Made some good progress in the past fortnight. Now able to do the 3 sets that I wanted (w/ 6 minutes on the bike) and have seen a noticeable improvement in my fitness: went gym on Friday, had a relaxed 11 mile bike ride on Saturday and then a 5 mile run on Sunday which was just shy of 40 minutes. Few more weeks of this and I'll be happy.

[Henry]

I finished Dublin Marathon in 3 hours, 23 minutes yesterday. I'm pleased and looking forward to a break.

[AyDee]

That's a ridiculous time, congrats.

[ScousePig]

I did the Leeds Abbey Dash 10k this morning in 42:40.

[Kikó]

Nice time. I think I'm going to fit one more ten k in this year just before Christmas. Having something to aim for running wise definitely helps motivationally.

[Alex]

That's really good Scouse.

I broke my 5k and 10k PB's in the same run yesterday.....they're now 25:19 and 53:08 respectively. :moop:

On a related note, I bought a running watch a couple of months ago (which is why I now know these things) and it's definitely my new favourite toy.

[Offshore Toon]

I managed a 25:00 5k a couple of weeks back but I think it's something I can only do when fully recovered. I imagine it'll take quite a while to get down to a 20:00 5k.

[Ian]

At the other end of the scale I have stopped procrastinating and joined a gym. Tonight was my first actual visit after my induction over the weekend and I think my body is currently still deciding precisely how irate it's going to be with me in the morning.

[Henry]

I ran 20.03 in a 5k at the weekend, the only thing I've done since the marathon. It's a PB but I didn't realise how close I was to breaking 20 minutes until I'd finished so it pissed me off a bit.
I need to do another one before I lose my fitness, or else get back training at least a bit.

[AyDee]

Nice to see people making good progress.

Running once a week in addition to gym during the week is still going decent. Gone from 4 miles in 33:17 on 15th October to 7 miles in 54:37 on 03/11, so almost double the distance and 7.69mph instead of 7.22mph. The problem now is that my dodgy Achilles is potentially going to restrict me upping the distance any more; it was pretty painful after my run on Sunday and is probably the worst it's felt after a run for a while. Going to try hard to stretch it every day this week then attempt an 8 mile run on Sunday and see how it goes. Probably be the case that this will be my last time upping the mileage until my Achilles heels (pun intended) itself one day.

[Kikó]

I ran home last night to my new place which adds 2.5k onto my run. First one in a while 1h04 12.58k.

[Alex]

I cracked half-marathon distance for the first time tonight!

Not in an actual organised race, I don't think you get those on a Monday night! Just on my own. I've still yet to participate in any sort of proper race actually, for some reason. Nice milestone to hit though. It took me 2 hours and 6 minutes, I've no idea whether that's any good for a first attempt or not, but I've felt like I've been capable of the actual distance for a while now, so it was nice to just knuckle down and do it.

It also took me past 100 miles run in November, which is what I was aiming for, so I'm happy now. I think a couple of days off are in order!

[Giggles]

Doctor has told me to walk a bit so I'm buying a machine. Which would be best on the joints, a cross trainer or something?

[Pepe]

Go walk around the 'hood you grumpy twat.

[Giggles]

Go walk around the 'hood you grumpy twat.

Cold + other people, so no. Plus I'd be more likely to do it with some form of entertainment and I don't really like music, so if I had a treadmill/cross trainer/exercise bike then I could stick on Netflix or something.

[Offshore Toon]

I cracked half-marathon distance for the first time tonight!

Not in an actual organised race, I don't think you get those on a Monday night! Just on my own. I've still yet to participate in any sort of proper race actually, for some reason. Nice milestone to hit though. It took me 2 hours and 6 minutes, I've no idea whether that's any good for a first attempt or not, but I've felt like I've been capable of the actual distance for a while now, so it was nice to just knuckle down and do it.

It also took me past 100 miles run in November, which is what I was aiming for, so I'm happy now. I think a couple of days off are in order!
I take it, by the number of exclamation marks you've used, that you're rather chuffed?

That seems like a good time. I'm happy to average 6k/m on any run greater than 5k.

[Alex]

I take it, by the number of exclamation marks you've used, that you're rather chuffed?

That seems like a good time. I'm happy to average 6k/m on any run greater than 5k.

Yeah. :D

I think it's because I've hit 10/11 miles quite a few times and it's always pissed me off that I didn't just stay out and do it afterwards.

[Henry]

I cracked half-marathon distance for the first time tonight!

Not in an actual organised race, I don't think you get those on a Monday night! Just on my own. I've still yet to participate in any sort of proper race actually, for some reason. Nice milestone to hit though. It took me 2 hours and 6 minutes, I've no idea whether that's any good for a first attempt or not, but I've felt like I've been capable of the actual distance for a while now, so it was nice to just knuckle down and do it.

It also took me past 100 miles run in November, which is what I was aiming for, so I'm happy now. I think a couple of days off are in order!

2 hours 6 minutes is a decent first attempt. It shouldn't take much effort to get under 2 - which can be a big thing for some people.

[Alex]

2 hours 6 minutes is a decent first attempt. It shouldn't take much effort to get under 2 - which can be a big thing for some people.

2 hours and 29 seconds on the second attempt. It couldn't have just been half a minute quicker, could it? :moop:

I signed up for the Yorkshire marathon yesterday. It's not until October, so I've got plenty of time. Hopefully I can engineer a nice, strong, steady build up between now and then.

[Henry]

I've really let it go over the last 2 months. I did 10 miles last weekend and struggled. Still, a few weeks will have me back in okay shape at least. It helps that I have a half booked in February.
I'd like to beat my time in the same race from last year but I certainly won't be getting anywhere near a PB.

[Magic]

My kid is taking swimming lessons. You can view all the objectives online now and the teacher fills them out. 2nd lesson in and the only ones that aren't 'unable to complete skill' are:

Understanding of basic pool rules No running, diving or bombing. Shower and toilet before swimming

And

Jump safely into the pool from the poolside ensuring soft knees for landing Safe

Even they are only 'good progress but not consistent'.

:D

[Byron]

Did the Snetterton 10k on Sunday, managed to finish with a 1:07:39, which isn't too bad considering Christmas took it's usual sugary toll.

I'm thinking of the Snetterton Half Marathon in November but I have problems actually increasing the distance past 10k. Considering I'm running between 6:30-7 per km, any slower and I'd basically be power walking. Any tips for increasing the distance?

[Mazuuurk]

Lewis or anyone else who does a bit of lifting, any tips on how I can do pressing excercises without fucking my shoulder, which already seems a little fucked (AC joint, apparently)?

I'm not going far back with my elbows at all at the moment, but still can't shake this thing in my shoulder, and as soon as I try any chest or pressing exercises, it starts flaring up again the day after.

[Lewis]

I have shoulder pains at the minute, which I think come from sleeping on one side, and I've helped it a little bit (still there) by pressing with a narrower grip. Not close grip, but where your elbows are more tucked in than they would be with a normal one.

[Mazuuurk]

Tried that too, and "reverse" pressing (palms facing upwards towards head so to speak), which is really awkward though, and doesn't feel like I'm activating my chest muscles at all, but instead I get quite a lot of front delts and triceps. Basically like any pressing, but without the chest activated. Which is the big problem.

Flys are a no-go as well, it seems.

[five time]

Have you had the AC joint diagnosed?

I've hurt my shoulder a couple times (rotator cuff it seems like) and I had to just not press anything for about a month. Make sure you're doing enough pull work to offset the press stuff (face pulls help a lot) and try warming up the shoulder with some really light weight stuff (external/internal rotations, lateral raises) before you lift.

[Mazuuurk]

Yeah I have, went to some physiotherapists, did some physical checks and eventually did an ultrasound on it, all they said was it's a bit swollen (I'm able to pinpoint where it's sore), as well as a little bit of liquid (I think) having been gathered there. As a result, I got a cortisone shot in the shoulder, which seems to have helped a little bit, but I still feel it a bit.

I do do a lot of pulling exercises, mainly different varieties of Rowing (and I occasionally do that Face Pull, but didn't know it was called that) and Deadlifts.

But I'd like to be able to somehow train the chest without "involving" the shoulders too much, so to speak.

I guess I'll have to wait a bit more.


It's frustrating though as I'll do back one day, and then be sore to do it again next day (I only do legs max once per week as I train stuff like football or floorball maybe twice a week as well and go for the occasional run).

[ScousePig]

Did the Snetterton 10k on Sunday, managed to finish with a 1:07:39, which isn't too bad considering Christmas took it's usual sugary toll.

I'm thinking of the Snetterton Half Marathon in November but I have problems actually increasing the distance past 10k. Considering I'm running between 6:30-7 per km, any slower and I'd basically be power walking. Any tips for increasing the distance?

Playing football helps me when it comes to running. I find my runs easier if I play twice a week and run once, as opposed to not playing and just running three times. I suppose it's something to do with the high intensity. On Sunday I ran 8k in 34 minutes, and could have done 10k in about 43 if i felt like it. When I'm not playing football my times see to go up to around 47 minutes.

[Henry]

I ran 1.44.12 in the half yesterday. This was in line with my goal for the race but it also underlines how much work I have to do to get into shape for something like a sub 1.30 half - which I'd like this year.

[Alex]

I ran 1.44.12 in the half yesterday. This was in line with my goal for the race but it also underlines how much work I have to do to get into shape for something like a sub 1.30 half - which I'd like this year.

I'm very envious of the 1:44 pace, if that makes you feel any better Henry. :D

How do you generally go about working on the speed? I've only ever focussed on the distance to be honest, and the miles have just naturally gotten a bit quicker over time as a result, but I'm not talking anything impressive here though. It's generally somewhere between 8:30 and 8:50 a mile now. I do feel like I almost subconsciously sort of settle into that pace though. Maybe I'm just not pushing myself enough.

My friend who I sometimes run with, who's done a lot of marathons and has been very into it for years, was suggesting something along the lines of mixing some shorter, faster runs into the routine. When I go on "long" runs with him (10/11 miles usually) we never set the world alight pace wise, and he never seems that bothered. Then I'll see him on Strava doing 5/10k's and he's absolutely hammering it.

[Kikó]

As with everything , high intensity runs mixed in with your normal schedule helps to improve your speed. Try and sprint and you'll get faster.

[Henry]

I'm very envious of the 1:44 pace, if that makes you feel any better Henry. :D

How do you generally go about working on the speed? I've only ever focussed on the distance to be honest, and the miles have just naturally gotten a bit quicker over time as a result, but I'm not talking anything impressive here though. It's generally somewhere between 8:30 and 8:50 a mile now. I do feel like I almost subconsciously sort of settle into that pace though. Maybe I'm just not pushing myself enough.

My friend who I sometimes run with, who's done a lot of marathons and has been very into it for years, was suggesting something along the lines of mixing some shorter, faster runs into the routine. When I go on "long" runs with him (10/11 miles usually) we never set the world alight pace wise, and he never seems that bothered. Then I'll see him on Strava doing 5/10k's and he's absolutely hammering it.

The three important runs on your weekly schedule should be:


Long slow run - for at least an hour and a half, to build endurance.
Intervals to build speed - fast mixed with slow (there are various ways to do this depending on what level you're at but going as fast as you can for three minutes followed by two minutes jogging and repeating 8-10 times is a good guide).
Tempo - a comfortably hard pace for 40 minutes.


You can do others too but always try to keep to those.

[Spammer]

Started playing football again on a Sunday. First game was this Sunday, came on for the last 20 minutes up front and basically just ran around like a headless chicken. I could have scored a header at the near post but the ball was curling and I missed the fucking thing, which was a bit embarrassing.

All in all I did alright though, put myself about and showed I could do stuff with the ball. Everyone was knackered by this time and so we basically had no midfield, which made it tricky.

[Kikó]

I've got the Fulham 10k in a few weeks so need to ramp up again. First ten k in a while last night helped and I'll do one a week for the next 6 to get my speed up.

[Pepe]

I could have scored a header at the near post but the ball was curling and I missed the fucking thing, which was a bit embarrassing.

Was the wind blowing at 11mph to the right?

[Spammer]

Was the wind blowing at 11mph to the right?

It was very fucking windy in fairness

[Mazuuurk]

I think I have something called Mortons Neuroma (https://www.medicinenet.com/mortons_neuroma/article.htm), at least the descriptions completely fit the bill for what my foot feels like. Anyone of you runners who have had it and have any tips on what to do?

Since I googled it now recently when it got a lot worse, I've realized this has probably come and gone a lot over the years so it's nothing new but it's a lot worse recently.

[Henry]

I've had piriformis syndrome, which has similar symptoms. Lots of stretching fixes it although it recurs intermittently.

[Mazuuurk]

Hmm, but this is in the foot. How does one stretch the foot? I stretch my large muscles quite regularly and well.

[Henry]

Not sure that you can, but it may be worth confirming that it is in fact what you think it is. Lots of things can can affect the nerve running down the leg and into the foot, and be relieved by stretching glutes, hamstrings and lower back.

[Mazuuurk]

Yeah I will, but I'm quite certain given where it seems to hurt exactly. Anyway, I'll try to find a time with someone to see if I can confirm it. I hope not, since it seems like a bit of a bitch and not easily sorted.

[Henry]

I ran 1.36.43 in an extremely hilly half yesterday with a headcold. My third fastest time, but I'm thinking that it's probably been my best "performance" yet. I was placed fairly high up, 17th out of 254 runners.
Hopefully I'm still on for sub 1.30 before the end of the year.

And now I enter four weeks of hell as marathon training peaks. Marathon is on 3rd June.

[Alex]

That's really good Henry, impressive stuff. I'm doing the Leeds half marathon in about a month (which I've heard is also quite hilly) but I've got more modest goals, just hoping to crack 2 hours! :D

Which marathon are you doing? The idea of a summer marathon would scare me a little bit. I would end up fixating on the possibility of waking up that morning and it being blazing hot outside, which I can only imagine would make the whole experience very unpleasant.

I'm still on for the York one in October myself. I'm feeling quite good about it so far, I definitely feel like the training is well on track. I've been managing to pick up the pace a little bit over more extended distances lately too. My last two runs I broke my 10 mile PB on both occasions, and still felt like I had something in the tank at the end too.

[Kikó]

I signed up for a ten miller in May in London which should be a nice half way house before I finally enter a half.

[Henry]

I'm doing Derry marathon. I suppose heat would be a problem but then so would cold, or rain.

[Alex]

I suppose. I would take the cold over the heat any day though, but then I am a bit of a fanny when it comes to hot weather. How far do you tend to push it, distance wise, when you're approaching the marathon Henry?

I've been having a look into it (by which I mean googling and reading random running forum/reddit threads) to get an idea of what to aim for in the run up to October and the two main schools of thought I've encountered so far seem to be that I should either make 20 miles my longest training run and not go further, or that I should go a bit further look to make the cumulative total of my five longest training runs add up to 100 miles. But obviously I suppose the actual answer depends a lot on how well you're running and/or how injury free you feel at the time.

I just got back from 10 miles and seemed to have equaled my PB of a few days ago to the exact second, which is a bit annoying.:moop:

[Foe]

I'm in absolutely appalling condition at the moment. I've always avoided cardio because it hate it and have gammy hamstrings but I fear it may have to be the solution.

Think I'm going to get one of those Garmin watches to find out just how much of a lazy shit I really am.

[Henry]

My longest training run will be 35K three weeks out from the marathon.

Although my advice is to only go above 20 miles (which is approx 32k) if you can do that in under 3 hours. Running longer than 3 hours in training won't do you good.

[Alex]

Noted. :hat:

20 miles it is then. :D

[Spikey M]

Do you plan your route or just run until your app says you’ve done your distance? I do the latter but always find myself running round the block a few times because I turned back too soon. Are there any good route planning apps?

[Alex]

Do you plan your route or just run until your app says you’ve done your distance? I do the latter but always find myself running round the block a few times because I turned back too soon. Are there any good route planning apps?

I generally have a plan for the route in advance, but I'm pretty much always running slightly different variations of the same four or five loops at this point, so there's minimal effort involved in in. If I'm feeling up for it I'll branch off for a few miles and then come back on at some point.

I've never used any sort of app that plans out specific routes for me, I'm sure they exist but I generally just map them out myself.

https://onthegomap.com/#/create

I find that to be a nice, easy to use website for messing around and gauging the distance. I still end up in the same spot as you occasionally though, just running around random residential estates to make it up to another mile or whatever. :D

[Alex]

I managed to crack 2 hours over the half marathon distance in training tonight, 1:57:00. Hopefully I can drop it again a bit on race day in a few weeks.

[Alex]

1:56:45 in the Leeds half marathon. So a PB of a full 15 seconds! :D

I'll take it though, it was a lot more hilly than anything I've run in training. It was nice to finally run a proper race too.

[Pepe]

April 20-something was my first ride this year. I'm so incredibly out of shape. Getting dropped on all my rides. I hope it doesn't take too long to get back in shape because this sucks.

EDIT: Couldn't even fit into one of my jerseys yesterday. :eyemouth:

[Baz]

Anyone here done Race At Your Pace? You pick a target for the month (eg 25 Miles) pay £10 and then send proof (Runkeeper etc screenshot) and they send you a snazzy medal.

[Kikó]

No but I've seen it before and considered it.

Alex Well done - a pb is always welcome. I ran a 10 mile this morning at Richmond Park and managed to hit my target of sub 1:30. 1:26:21 -longest distance I've run and it was pretty comfortable.

Manchester 10k next Sunday to close off my month of running.

[Alex]

No but I've seen it before and considered it.

Alex Well done - a pb is always welcome. I ran a 10 mile this morning at Richmond Park and managed to hit my target of sub 1:30. 1:26:21 -longest distance I've run and it was pretty comfortable.

Manchester 10k next Sunday to close off my month of running.

Absolutely. Thanks mate, that was my thinking too.

I ended up in a bit of a weird spot where I was absolutely knackered and sure that I had blown it, and then looked at my watch with about .15 of a mile to go and realised than if I picked it up up I could break the PB. Which resulted in the most uncomfortable, minute long sprint of my life. I felt like I wanted to pass out at the finish line. :D

That's a great time for a first 10 mile run, by the way. A good minute and a bit faster than I've ever run it!


Anyone here done Race At Your Pace? You pick a target for the month (eg 25 Miles) pay £10 and then send proof (Runkeeper etc screenshot) and they send you a snazzy medal.

Yes! I did it in January. Somebody started a "January Running Challenge" group on WhatsApp amongst our friends, and everyone signed up on there for what they thought they could get to. There were loads of us, it was really fun.

[Dquincy]

I'm going to be skipping for 20-30 mins every night for at least 2 weeks. Hopefully I notice some positive results.

[Henry]

I finished my peak training week last week, and now I've begun tapering ahead of my marathon. I love tapering.

[Mazuuurk]

The nerve shit in my foot has gotten a little better from running with a pelotte or what it's called, and the weathers been stunning so been doing a lot more running than just hitting the Gym recently.

Also because my shoulder is still fucked it's pretty good to give it a bit of a rest.


I run usually around 6-7km per round, sometimes only about 5-6 though.


I don't feel like I run out of breath much, which is obviously because I keep a pretty low tempo mostly, but my limits seem more to come from just getting a little "worn" for lack of a better explanation after around 5-6Km or so, like my knee starts to hurt a bit and I sort of feel a bit stiff in my hip joints and what have you. Basically after a while of running I feel old(er).

Having had so much trouble with knee and foot I don't wanna try to increase the lenght as much as I should be increasing the pace really.


Still, 3 years ago I massively struggled to run anything over 5k so I'm much better at it now.

[igor_balis]

played footy once a week from september-novemberish, then twice a week until about january, and had built up solid stamina - could run around like a headless chicken for the full hour most evenings.

played for the first time since january last week and was blowing out of my fucking arse within 5 minutes. can't be arsed to start running yet, but i've started doing a somewhat pathetic 15 minutes a night on the exercise bike like an obese middle-aged woman trying to get back into shape, and i'm hoping it'll make a BIT of a difference. diet's fine, drinking is under control, and i get plenty of low-intensity exercise (i walk everywhere and i'm mostly on my feet at work, pedometer reckons easily 10,000 steps a day), so i reckon doing 15 mins on the bike every night and footy for an hour a week is good enough for now.

[igor_balis]

i do proper go for it on the bike for what it's worth

[Boydy]

I played badminton the other day. It's well good. Might take it up properly.

[Mazuuurk]

Yeah Badminton is really fun. You gotta play against someone of about equal skill though for it to be a workout. If someone is better than you, you don't even get a chance to run around and try to make up for it.

[Alex]

I cracked 15 miles in the marathon training tonight, which is the longest distance I've run to date. It actually felt alright too, relatively comfortable. Although my legs fucking hurt now though, and I've got a headache! The latter is to probably something to do with lack of hydration during, I imagine.

Still, the thought of repeating that and then adding on another 11 miles on in ten weeks time is still a little bit disconcerting, I have to be honest.