The Running and General Exercise Thread

First ultramarathon this year Brecon to Cardiff 45 miles felt really strong all the way round and at the end of a big week of activity.

Ended the week close to 70 miles in total and 4 hours strength training which is really paying off now legs and body really starting to deal with the miles well now legs were a little stiff walking up the following morning but nothing a little walk helped with.

My first 100 miler is close approaching less than 20 weeks to go now so nerves are slowly creeping in.

We only live once so may as well push myself and see what I’m truly capable of before I get to an age where the body’s unable to no matter how much my mind is willing.

Genuine question how do you push on through? Longest I have ever run is 16 miles. The biggest issue I have after that is having the time to train to do the longer runs. Then it gets in my head and I just can’t be arsed to go out and run for 3 and a half hours.

I did a sub 1.50 half marathon at the end of last September then I had a groin issue and basically couldn’t run for 3 months. Just now starting to build some fitness up again now but I’m already dreading the longer than half marathon runs even though I really want to do a marathon.

It’s more of a mental test than physical.

You wouldn’t have lost much over 3 months so a few weeks you wouldn’t be back up to a two hour half easy.

Ultras usually tend to have a lot of elevation the 52 miler I did over the Brecon Beacons was something like 10k elevation so training for that wasn’t really a case of long runs but runs with loads of elevation 6 mile runs with 1000feet elevation etc.

It is weird when I think about it but I can quite easily go out and run a marathon now without needing to actually train for it but it helps that I wouldn’t run it at speed either if quite easily maintain a 10 minute mile for ever now really but ask me to spring a 5km and I’m dead at the end 🤣

But in regards to pushing through sometimes you end up with another runner and you pull each other along I think that’s why there’s such a community spirit in trail running as it’s the same people usually at the events so you get to know everyone etc.

Signed up my older daughter to Taekwondo and now I'm seriously considering enrolling myself. Kicking ten year olds. :drool:

Any recommended brands and/or things to look out for when picking up some new running shoes? Mostly for indoor at the gym, rarely outside with them. I had some Karrimor ones which are on their last legs.

Did the St Helens 10K this morning.

Considering I’d never ran further than 6K before, and only started Couch To 5K in September having never done any running before, I’m pretty pleased to a) have not stopped to walk any and b) finish under an hour with a time of 56:33.

I strapped my knee up which was basically like a cheat code, considering they usually hurt after 10 minutes and were absolutely fine today and I even managed a sprint finish.

Also not sure if switching from some well used On Cloudmonsters to some 90s style Puma Magmax Nitro a few weeks ago has helped, or if it’s all placebo.

Who are you, and what have you done with Baz?

The secretary really changed his life

If he wasn't in fancy dress for EPICBANTZ then I refuse to believe it. Or maybe a sponsorship scam.

Well done Baz!

Running still going well for me. Think I’ve done at least 5k every day for the last two weeks and hit a this time running PB over 5k this afternoon in 24:19.

Keep trying to do 10k in under 50 mins and failing. Closest was 8k in 40:15 and I then hit the wall, but it’s definitely coming. 10k street run near me is 10 weeks today I think. Would love to hit sub 50 in that but think it’ll be too soon.

I have walked 62 miles in the last five days. Unsurprisingly, my legs are feeling it.

Getting closer to my first 100 mile ultramarathon now,

Last two weeks mileage has been ramped up close to 60 miles and 3000feet elevation week before and 70 miles and 4000ft elevation last week.

Both weeks had back to back long runs of 20 miles and 8 miles following day

This week 24 miles and a 10 mile run the following day.

Body weight is coming down nicely now close to 1 stone 7lbs lost since January and weight training is paying off really well feeling stronger and recovering quicker from runs.

Got my 2nd ultra of the year in 2 weeks Newport to Brecon along the old Monmouthshire canals so basically constantly running up a gradient for 40 miles.

This week is a recovery run with some strength training and low mileage of 25 miles in total.

If anyone would like to follow my training and runs leading up to the Epona100

I post all my updates here

https://www.instagram.com/andrewjjam...&utm_source=qr

Great work Andrew as always. The distances you're achieving is ridiculous.

100 miles is fucking insane.

I get knackered driving 100 miles.

https://epona100.com/epona-100-2024-results/

Aiming to beat Mark Smith's time from last year?

What sort of time are you aiming to hit? Are you planning to take many breaks for sleep or just push through with as little as possible?

There’s a 50 hour cut off and I believe there’s a sleep station around mile 70.

If I can keep a pace of 2 miles an hour that maxes out the full time allowance, I don’t think I’m going to be fast enough to really stop for to long anywhere never mind sleep so I’m just going to push on as best as I can.

Ive run with Sarah Skuse and a lady called Catherine Thompson who completed it last year.

Sarah didn’t sleep and started hallucinating she said it was manageable to a point she knew she was seeing things and that they weren’t real but found she was getting confused trying to navigate her way round at one point near the lonely shepherd in Llangattock 70 ish miles in she stopped at the top to eat something then couldn’t remember if she had run up the mountain or down and started going the wrong way.

Luckily enough another runner was coming up and turned her round!!

Catherine Thompson finished it in 49 hours and said she had 20 mins sleep and it did her the world of good so I guess I’ll just have to see how it goes.

Making sure I eat enough and constantly is the key im told to completing these so on my long runs now I constantly scuff 400 calories every hour and take a salt tablet etc.

Last weekend I run 24 miles on the Saturday and 10 miles through and up and down Wentwood forest lots of hills etc the following day and felt really fresh legs didn’t feel like I had done anything over the weekend my stomach muscles felt sore more than anything.

It’s the fact of Running a 40 mile ultramarathon 2 weeks before the Epona100 and then another one 2 weeks after is going to be brutal I think.

But I see pictures of how big I was 2 years ago to know and it just spurs me on to be better.

If I can post a link here of how I started to now then the difference is startling.

24 stone down to 16 hoping to be as close to 15 as possible by June

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DHHao...hodjgwNTBuaG40

I've managed to come down from 165.6KG (touch over 26 stones) to 94KG (little under 15 stones) in just over 2 years with diet and strength training.

When you find something that works and you can stick with it the results are incredible.

Hope you smash the 100 miles.

I found riding 100+ miles on my bike to be quite boring. No way I would do it running. Good job lad. You too, 'how.

I’ll post more later but this is genuinely insane reading and anyone that can pull 100 miles of running off is on a level well above mere mortals.

Kudos.

Did a mini hyrox in the gym today. 5*1k intervals, 1000m row, sled push 40kg *50 metres, 50*10kg medicine ball throw, 100m Burpee/broad jump. There's still another 3k plus stations to go in a real one and I wanted to die.

Sounds dreadful.

That's a mini? lol.

Well only that there's still another 3k to go. Not mini in effort.

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Originally Posted by Ben

Sounds dreadful.

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Think of the networking opportunities.

I was doing it alone in the gym :cab:

Bought some new running shoes the other week (Asics Gel Kayano 31s) and they're fucking up my left heel which now has a fairly big blister which just keeps getting worse.

I was using some Brooks Adrealine GTS 21s (IIRC) but my right heel started hurting when using those, I then put in a plantar fasciitis insole in them but the inside ball of my foot just under my big toe was getting fucked up.

:moop:

Seems I just can't get my footwear right which is annoying, I've done 15-20k steps almost every day (I had one day where I was sick and only did 2k :() this month and my average, despite the 2k day, should hit 15k for March.

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Originally Posted by Sir Andy Mahowry

Bought some new running shoes the other week (Asics Gel Kayano 31s) and they're fucking up my left heel which now has a fairly big blister which just keeps getting worse.

I was using some Brooks Adrealine GTS 21s (IIRC) but my right heel started hurting when using those, I then put in a plantar fasciitis insole in them but the inside ball of my foot just under my big toe was getting fucked up.

:moop:

Seems I just can't get my footwear right which is annoying, I've done 15-20k steps almost every day (I had one day where I was sick and only did 2k :() this month and my average, despite the 2k day, should hit 15k for March.

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Altra solved any foot problems for me have you tried them?

Altra Torin are a lovely road shoe bought them beginning of this month and done close to 200 miles in them from park run to Brecon to Cardiff 40 odd miles and were perfect.

Toe boxes are really wide but zero drop on the heel which might be an issue if you never worn Altras before.

Personally I just went from a normal running shoe to these and never noticed any difference besides the lack of blisters that I used to suffer really badly from.

Been a while since I updated, so here we go.

My treadmill efforts to break 50 mins for 10k and 24 mins for 5k continued to be close, but no cigar and back in early March with the road 10k I'm doing only 2 months away I thought it was time to get out into the park again. Joining me was my Sister, who can do sub two hour half marathons and off we went to the park. She knew roughly how fast I was doing 10k on the treadmill so set off like a tornado under the false pretence that I'd be quicker than her. I wasn't. We did the first 1k in 4:57 and by the time we hit the 2k mark in just over 10 minutes I knew there was no way I was finishing 10k at all, let alone in early 50 minute time.

It was at this point two things struck me. Firstly, running on the road is about 10% harder than on a treadmill. 8% for time and I'm rounding up to the 10% because every step brings a mild tweak/pain/whatever that just isn't there on a treadmill. Secondly, I'm still a fat bastard. Now when I started this a year ago a combination of working like a Japanese prisoner of war and eating what the fuck I like and in excessive quantities had led me to be about 15 stone 4lbs, which for 5" 10' I think was morbidly obese. A year on and I was under 14 stone, something around 13st 11lbs, fluctuating from 13 and a half to 14, but that's still fat and I'd plateaued at that weight for what felt like ages. Only conclusion I could draw was that I was still eating too much shit.

So that morning I set my sights on finishing 5k, which I did, dying home at something like 27 mins 30 seconds. Apologised to my Sister for her coming all this way to do what for her must be a light stroll and then set about making some changes. I'd still run, but now the focus would be on food, with the plan to get to 12 and a half stone as quickly as possible through a combination of the running, cutting out the crap and having (at most) one healthy, but decent sized meal per day and nothing else. With the plan put into action immediately we went out the next weekend and I managed to finish 10k this time in 55 mins, 30 seconds, which after the previous week I was quite pleased with.

Fast forward nearly a month and I've maintained the running (mostly treadmill) and cut all shit out of my diet (bar three exceptions - a work meal out, a Dominos Pizza when I came home pissed one night and three quarters of a small packet of cheddar that I annoyingly discovered in my fridge). Most days I'll have the one decent meal, but some I won't bother and, in just over three weeks, the results have been staggering.

I have lost 15 lbs in 3 weeks and as I type this I'm now 12 stone 10lbs.
Sometimes I feel a bit weak, the 5k I did just now was particularly hard to finish, but completing that meant I'd done 40k since Monday, which must be up there with my most ever during the working week, so I still clearly have loads of energy.
Times are no worse and in fact I got my fastest 10k without walking any of it this week in sub 52 minutes.
I'm sweating a lot more when I do run but my sweat feels like spring water cascading off an angels body rather than the oil and detritus from the bottom of a Dominos box sliming down a middle aged obese man about to die of a heart attack.

I'm going to aim for losing another half a stone and then I think I'll build up the food intake to give me more energy to get faster times, but on the downside this has made me realise I don't actually give a shit about running outside. It's harder, more annoying (dog walkers are genuine morons and up there with cyclists in their misguided belief that they and their bike/shitty little animal ALWAYS owns whatever piece of land they're walking/cycling on) and just generally not worth the bother when I have a treadmill sat there by my back door.

I'll still do the 10k run outside as I'd originally agreed to do it with my Sister, but I think that'll be it and it'll be treadmill until I can no longer run anymore.

Good job Yev.

The cheddar :D

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Originally Posted by Pepe

Good job Yev.

The cheddar :D

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:D I discovered it last night and knew as soon as I had that it was getting eaten. Held out for three hours but in the end it made the perfect accompaniment for Question Time.

What a write up.

:D

Superb.

The key to eating too much of something (cheddar, ham, your child's Halloween haul), is to do it in frequent trips, rather than one binge. That way you can lie to yourself about what a mess you are, rather than feeling like you have to do something about it.

If you can't eat the odd block of cheddar every now and again, what's the point of exercising?

Using the Spikey Method, you can eat the cheese and skip the run.

The problem with diet - I find, at least, as I continue my perennial effort to stay on/reach the right side of the overweight / fat cunt line - is that when one lives a normal life, it's hard work. I mean, our lives all vary to some degree - I don't have kids, some of you do, I go out to the office every day, others work from home, or whatever - but all of us are basically trapped in some sort of cycle of mild or extreme drudgery, laden with huge amounts of obligations just to keep the show on the road, with only fleeting moments of payoff. How does one get through that sort of life? By giving yourself frequent mini-respite. A beer, two beers, a glass of wine, a joint, a cigarette, this and that in the bedroom, and, let's face it, food. Food in western countries in this particular era is abundant and varied and delicious, and by historical standards probably not that expensive, so even without being Mr Creosote, it's one of the easiest ways to take the pain and dread and fear and terrible boredom away for a few minutes.

You can call it a vice or you can call it relief, but either way, the amount of willpower and mental strength involved in fending it off over a long period of time is considerable, so I truly applaud anyone from the working masses who can actually pull it off, as some of you are managing to. I'm going off for a four-hour walk this morning and told myself all I'll eat today is a bit of chicken, some coleslaw and salad that are in the fridge. I tell this to myself most days and succeed about a third of the time, which is just about enough to stay acceptable as a human being. Can I do any better? I don't know, maybe, in short bursts, but fucking hell.

The thing that’s kept me going for the last year and for the three weeks since I’ve kicked on a gear is that being fat is, well, fucking horrendous.

I know we live in an age where one shouldn’t say this, but that age also somehow gives me a free-er pass to do so because I am fat and…. It’s just horrible. Everything takes more effort, you’re always dragging yourself out of bed and you look and feel utterly disgusting.

Food is delicious and there’s never been a better time to be alive in that regard, I’ll give you that though.

The company I bought the Asics from wouldn't accept a return/exchange (it was a long shot) but they did suggest using the RUNNERS KNOT.

I tried it this morning before an hours walk and it worked a treat, zero heel pain which was pretty nice. Hopefully that continues.

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Originally Posted by Shindig

I have walked 62 miles in the last five days. Unsurprisingly, my legs are feeling it.

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How come? Specifically for exercise or on some hiking trip?

I was in London and most of the stuff I was going to was within an hour's walk. Plus my sense of direction failed me a couple of times. :D

London is a great walking city. You should rarely use the tube unless you really are going cross city, and you should never use the bus network.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jimmy Floyd

The problem with diet - I find, at least, as I continue my perennial effort to stay on/reach the right side of the overweight / fat cunt line - is that when one lives a normal life, it's hard work. I mean, our lives all vary to some degree - I don't have kids, some of you do, I go out to the office every day, others work from home, or whatever - but all of us are basically trapped in some sort of cycle of mild or extreme drudgery, laden with huge amounts of obligations just to keep the show on the road, with only fleeting moments of payoff. How does one get through that sort of life? By giving yourself frequent mini-respite. A beer, two beers, a glass of wine, a joint, a cigarette, this and that in the bedroom, and, let's face it, food. Food in western countries in this particular era is abundant and varied and delicious, and by historical standards probably not that expensive, so even without being Mr Creosote, it's one of the easiest ways to take the pain and dread and fear and terrible boredom away for a few minutes.

You can call it a vice or you can call it relief, but either way, the amount of willpower and mental strength involved in fending it off over a long period of time is considerable, so I truly applaud anyone from the working masses who can actually pull it off, as some of you are managing to. I'm going off for a four-hour walk this morning and told myself all I'll eat today is a bit of chicken, some coleslaw and salad that are in the fridge. I tell this to myself most days and succeed about a third of the time, which is just about enough to stay acceptable as a human being. Can I do any better? I don't know, maybe, in short bursts, but fucking hell.

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This is just general willpower isn't it?
Some people are able to summon more of it and maintain discipline, while others just don't seem to be able to resist taking the easy road every time.
From what I've seen around me, your upbringing plays a huge role in determining if you have this life-long discipline or not. Yes, there will be people who suddenly one day transform their attitude, but that feels few and far between.

Yep, really flat and pedestrianised. I only used the tube to get over to Wembley/Heathrow. I honestly think the cost of the tube is a great deterrent. You can use the entire NY subway with a weekly pass and all it'll cost you is £25-£30. Something similar on the tube is £116.

Jimmy is dead wrong about the buses not least because 95% of the chump tourists are afraid to use them. Best way to get about if you aren't walking.

10k steps a day is for pussies.

https://i.imgur.com/SgWtC57.png

Most I managed during the trip was 38,000 in a day.

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Originally Posted by Sir Andy Mahowry

10k steps a day is for pussies.

https://i.imgur.com/SgWtC57.png

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*the employed.

That is insane Mahow. I've just hit 9k for a full month for the first time and I was pleased enough with that.

Yeah, I can only do those numbers when I've got time off work. 10k is like 90 minutes.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Yevrah

That is insane Mahow.

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It really isn't