I’m only doing a half so I wouldn’t feel bad about it! I certainly don’t feel that I could run a marathon at this stage
I’m only doing a half so I wouldn’t feel bad about it! I certainly don’t feel that I could run a marathon at this stage
I've done a few 10k's but only after swimming 1500m & cycling 40k as part of a triathlon. My best time for the 10k was 38 something. My bike was by far my best discipline though. Normally 57 or 58 minutes for 40k. However I've done quite a few 48's (pb 48:14) for 40k when it's bike only.
However Mrs T-7 was a pretty good runner back in the day. She's done 1:15 for a half marathon and 2:08 for 800m. She also won her age group at the Triathlon World Champs in 2004. Nowadays we don't even run across the road although we've not totally lost our abilities on the bike
Had a heavy week last week drinking every night. Saturday had a long dinner party and did not fancy running a half on Sunday.
Turned up and felt pretty ropey. Got the first 10k out of the way in 40:31, I vowed to keep plugging away and finished with 1:26:45 including a shoelace stop and a stop to wipe my bleeding nose (perhaps my body was trying to tell me something!)
Just about to sign up to a marathon in 2019 and go for <3:05 which would mean taking 5 mins off my current PB
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Unfortunately I have been out for almost 2 weeks. A couple of running induced knee problems struck me and I stupidly kept running through them hoping they would just magically go away. Well they didn’t :( I even managed to slightly improve my PB while in pain. Seeing physiotherapist regularly to get back on track. According to her, one was a very mild case of IT Band Syndrome (I’ve had ITBS before but on the other side) which seems to have settled now. The other, more problematic one, is something with a complicated name (which I forgot) but is more common in adolescents than adults Apparently my bow-leggedness and running posture are to blame for my increased risk of injury and getting exhausted easily despite running relatively slow and short distances. If she is correct, these really are restricting me by making me work harder than I should be. It would explain a lot.
Trying to make up for running by doing other stuff like gymming more frequently and swimming. Currently on holiday but alarm set to wake me up for the on-site gym. This will be followed by a lot of other activity throughout the day. Nothing beats running though ... no matter what I do, I will not be able to compensate for the loss while I’m unfit to run :(
interesting reading through this thread. My youngest starts pre-primary at end of September so I will at last have some regular free time. Fitness totally shot through 7 years of night shift coupled with daddydaycare, so must be addressed.
Plan to commence with couch to 5k programme, and would appreciate any advice.
Rob
Just take it slowly and build yourself up. I started off running for 1 min and walking for 2 on a treadmill but was surprised at how quickly my fitness improved and helped my ability to run further. I've been running 3 1/2 years now and love it.
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Well, I have signed up to start a local Couch25K starting tomorrow evening, I consider myself relatively fit, but have never run, so will see how it goes. I am keen to have some guidance as i start out so as not to establish bad habits.
My current dilemma is footwear, I thought I had it sorted with a visit to the local Runners Need last weekend, but that was a really disappointing experience!
I hoped to get some assessment and guidance on what footwear I should be looking at but the sales person explained that whilst gait analysis and fitting is a service that RN provide, it was conditional on a purchase "so I will leave you there so you can have a think about whether you are going buy anything today". I found that absolutely astounding.
Whilst I was looking to buy to get ready for the C25K I was confronted with a selection of shoes from different brands, in different styles, ranging from <£100 to >£150, of course not all would be suited to me and some I simply would not wish to buy even if they were... I found it impossible to "promise" to purchase something... left unattended and bewildered, I left the store.
I have written to them as it felt like I just got the wrong person on the wrong day, but a week has passed and I have heard nothing so may be this is how they chose to do business.
So I guess the question is if not RN where are people buying their running shoes and where can some guidance be provided? the couple of independents locally seem to have closed.....
this might be too simplistic but it's well meant, go run barefoot on a beach, look at your footprints and you should be able to tell whether you're gait is neutral, over pronating, under pronating, from there it's relatively easy to choose the right shoe for you. Also consider your height, weight to help determine the amount of padding and support you might need. I tend to stick with Asics personally as I find their sizing consistent, they're a good shoe and pricing isn't too insane.
Good luck.
The attitude from Runners Need is appalling! Getting the right shoes is THE most important thing for someone starting out, forget the bitfits/apps/garmins and all the peripherals, it’s your feet that matter and getting the wrong shoes is an expensive (and painful) mistake thesedays.
The gait analysis thing is v. helpful, but other factors such as weight and amount of running are v. important too. You can never be 100% certain a shoe will be right, but you can eliminate a lot that definitely won’t be!
One thing to bear in mind: if it doesn’t feel right in the shop it won’t get any better, and be careful not to buy them too small! As shoes wear, the toes have a tendancy to curl upwards and a shoe that’s only just big enough when new can end up feeling too small. The fact that some shoes shrink slightly when they’ve been wet and dried out doesn’t help.
Paul
Agree on the watch. Nice Polar watch makes a world of difference.
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Get yourself to a local independent running shop that can do the analysis
I went to Coventry Runner on Saturday with the first pair of shoes I bought from there after gait analysis to show them the wear. Lady in there spent a good 30 minutes with me explaining the wear and analysing 4 pairs of shoes using the fair analysis to settle on a pair. Then spent another 10 minutes advising me of lacing techniques etc. Great shop - prices are more expensive than online but you are paying for their expertise and I’m happy to do that and support an independent
On a related note I did a 10k PB today in Stratford upon Avon - 43.34
Pushed myself too hard though and basically was completely exhausted at the end - lesson learned
Agreed but not to the point where you need the medics to give you the once over! Just a little too hard and I think blood sugars crashed and it was pure exhaustion at the end - need to dial it back a little bit from there as I don’t want to need medical attention at the end of every race
Thanks for the advice, it does sounds like gait analysis is essential to make a positive start to the hobby... I have searched for independents in Devon and there simply seem to be no survivors... I might have to swallow my pride and go back to RN and hope for a better experience...
....on the plus size it sounds like they will take my knackered New Balance pub trainers and give me a £20 credit! That might well put them ahead of the competition financially! https://www.runnersneed.com/about-us/recyclemyrun.html
I’m on week 7 of couch to 5k. Which has taken about 14 weeks with injuries and work interfering with my schedule.
I was getting blisters on my instep from my old shoes - so went to the local independent for gait analysis before buying new shoes. He advised a few options with built in orthotics & I ended up with Brooks - possibly the ugliest shoe in the shop - but they fit the best & I’m more interested how they perform than how they look...
Already a marked improvement form 6min/km in week 6 to 5:42min/km in week 7 a although I think some of that is just a steady improvement over the weeks too ... & not all down to the shoes
...& no blisters !
At 49 years of age I’m pleased with that ...for now.
z
Last edited by zelig; 9th September 2018 at 17:52.
I like Brooks too currently have 2 pairs of Vapour 3s as my regular shoes.
If they are working well for you then I would suggest buying another pair to even out the wear and save costs / fitting bother. I tend to buy a new pair from the running shop and 2nd pair in last years colours on line if possible that way I save costs but still feel I am not ripping the running shop off either.
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Your welcome. As well as evening out the wear it will save you not being able to find the same model when you want to replace them as no doubt be Vapour V or something and often will have changed the pronation support etc. so you will be back to the running shop and buying blind again.
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Top tip on shoes: buy a pair from the running shop with fitting advice etc and pay the full price. If you like them buy another pair (or two) as cheaply as possible on line. Worst thing to do is rely on a single pair until they’re worn out.
Also worth having a pair that are suitable for off-road running, something with a decent tread pattern is a must.
Paul
Sound advice buying a couple of pairs and rotating use ime.
Week 7 finished & on a steady & repeatable pace of 5:43 per km.
[ This week was 4.46km in 25min & I feel ok afterwards - i.e not blowing & exhausted.
Next week I start week 8 - so 28min runs & I'm hoping to hit the 5km distance.
Depsite my reservations - I’m actually getting into this running lark & want to continue to 10km
... maybe more.
So I could do with some advice from the more experienced runners.
Do I just carry on & gradually increase the duration of the run by 5 mins per week?
(as per the 5k program)
...or is there a better way ?
I don’t want to go faster - just further (if that makes sense).
Thanks,
z
Last edited by zelig; 25th September 2018 at 18:23.
I would do just that. I would probably stick to a couple of 5 km a week and a longer run to add the distance. I used to add a bit a week and stretched to about 8 km. I have run 15k on occasion but sore afterwards. The trick is to increase distance without injury particularly if you have a race goal. You can always do (I reckon) 20% more if needed so I would try to balance pace and distance as that will be your ultimate goal so don’t sacrifice too much speed for distance especially if don’t have a particular goal. 200 m or so a week will add up quite quickly
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That pace is respectable!
The advice I give to people that want to run longer is (no surprises) to run slower.
However, that is on the condition that you are physically capable of going longer. I would make the assumption from your post above that you are capable of covering, say, 7km distance at 6:30min/km.
Plug your most recent run into a pace calculator to see what speed it would advise you to run at for a certain distance.
I did a nice 5miler this morning, easy pace - it's getting cold here in Berlin. Sub 3 marathon training for Valencia is going to be brutal
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Thanks for the positive feedback guys.
I know I said I want to go further, not faster ...
However, maybe a bit giddy by the prospect of hitting the 5km - I went off a bit quick today...
Suffered a bit in the middle and rallied at the end.
5km done.
Just need to work on pacing myself better to get to 6km and beyond.
z
Last edited by zelig; 25th September 2018 at 18:22.
That’s really solid…. You go about my pace…. I was doing 25 min 5km a year ago, but, twisted my ankle and had an enforced stop for 6 months…. Back into it now, but, my best now is only 27 min…
Your running at that pace, which is a lot more satisfying
29.5 min 5km today…. It felt very slow :-(
Some days are better than others!!!
To be honest…. Once your solid at 5km, just keep going…. I moved up to 9km with no issue at all…. Was just a little steadier maybe, but, that’s all…
Try 8km next and see how you get on
Ben
Thats also very similar to my pace, on a bad day there is about a minute in difference. Theres a very long uphill from the offset (about 2.k) which gets my lungs bursting, very tiring at times. Funny thing is the rest is downhill and I find that part awkward to let myself go, even though the uphill kills its not as gruelling on the legs but cant seem to get much past the 7k mark without the knees and calfs starting to twitch
I had both knees done for cartilage a couple of years back so ever so grateful I got the opportunity to don a pair of running shoes again and feel the wind, rain, cold and sun in my face again - happy days
Doing really well. If you seriously want to get your distance up, try this on your next run (worked for me trying to extend my distance from 15km to 21km). Aim to run the first km 6mins or slower. If you are under, force yourself to slow down so the next one is slower than 6mins/km. Try to run slower than 6 mins for the whole 5km then see if you feel up to carrying on. It’s harder than you think but radically slowing down did work for me.
I gradually built the speed up after that.
This pace is similar to mine as well. My last run was 5.2km in 28:11. That was 6 weeks ago as I was told not to continue running until my knee injury heals. Initially diagnosed as IT Band Syndrome but it quickly turned out that was only a minor case of ITBS and the real problem was Patellar Tendonitis. One of the exercises prescribed to me seems to have caused another knee issue. Not happy at all and feeling increasingly frustrated every day. Reading this thread and seeing people running makes me very jealous! Just feel like ignoring all advice, go out for a run and deal with the consequences later but then common sense prevails. Don’t want to make matters even worse. This is by far the longest break from running I’ve had since I started more than a year and a half ago.
Apologies for the downbeat post in a thread filled with positivity but just had to let it out
My last 5K race was almost four years ago at age 67. There was a long, steep hill at about Mile 2 that had most competitors walking for a bit, and I only managed a 34:30. Six months later I was getting my right hip replaced!
Appreciate the advice - so apologies for the dumb question - but - how do I run slower ?
I had every intention of backing off the pace yesterday - but ended up going off faster than intended.
I use FitBit - but this only chips in with an update at km markers - so by then I knew I was too fast but already 1km in.
I realised that was ahead of my normal pace - but I was also dumb enough to carry on even though I made a mental note to slow down.
So the 2nd km was only 4s slower.
Anyone know of a pacing app for iPhone that projects km pace at shorter intervals (250m or 500m) to warn me to back off ?
z
Easiest way is to use a watch that can show you average pace over last km as that updates and you can slow down/speed up
These normally also show you instant pace but this changes a lot so pace over last km is best
I use Garmin Forerunner 30 which is a “budget” option but does everything most people need and is <£100. On the home screen when running I have average pace, total distance and total time which allows me to adjust pace quite easily
However it is difficult to run slower than natural pace
Slowing down is a challenge for me too. I walk briskly normally so find it difficult to walk slower as well (my family hates me for that). I use Runkeeper app. You can set it to display either the “current” or average pace. Obviously the current pace lags slightly and won’t be very accurate but just enough to give a rough idea. It shows average pace after every km also.
I ran a couple of Parkrun 5ks for 28 minutes with no running experience. I enjoyed the experience and being part of a large group event, shortly afterwards I entered the Winchester half marathon last Sunday. I'd never so much run up a hill before and the course was pretty challenging and hilly towards the start, the weather was terrible but I was determined to give it a go. I finished it at 2 hours 15 which I was pleased with. Learnt alot about breathing, pace and what gear I need.
I'm going to run the Bournemouth half marathon in a couple of weeks and this time I'm going to train regularly.
You are getting to the most important insight. The whole point of this exercise is to learn to be able to control your pace based on how you feel. To start with you have to really exaggerate slowing down. You’ll practically feel like you are walking but I bet you are surprised by how fast you still go. It honestly is quite hard but after years of doing this I can estimate my pace to within about 5s per km based on how I feel and keep the same pace for an hour or more.
It really isn’t about a better app or watch (of course I use those as well).
Give it a try, what have you got to lose? So your first km takes 7 minutes and then you speed up a bit, so what? You are learning a new skill for fun, not just exercising your heart and legs.
Good luck.
Spent £1200 on a running machine last year, great piece of kit.
Probably used it twice as never at home and just don't have the time. Need to make more time as could do with shifting a stone...or 2.