Running

[Magnum Valentino]

You've inspired me lads, just downloaded that nhs couch to 5k app. How should I go about getting some suitable footwear so I don't permanently damage my spine?

See if there are any running shops or independent practitioners nearby who offer gait analysis. They'll have you run on a treadmill for a little while to see what way your feet fall when you're running and can recommend the appropriate footwear. I've been wearing Brooks GTS Adrenaline since I started running, just went for the analysis once then replaced the same shoes every time they wear out. They update them every year so you can usually find "out of season" pairs brand new for less. I'm currently wearing 22s instead of 23s, for example.

I've never got mine for less than £90 and the most I paid was £120. They mean the difference between being able to go and not, though.

[Gambrinus]

Specialist shops are definitely the way. Don't buy shoes from some bored teenager in JD Sports.

Once you find a good pair stick with it. I've been wearing New Balance for the last 6 years.

[Proactive]

Yeah, I bought some online and it took me a couple of months to realise that I should probably have taken it more seriously from the start (although you have to weigh up the fact that you might just fucking hate running and you've wasted money) and following a gait analysis at a branch of Runners Need I now have some Asics Cumulus 23, which are fucking magic.

[jobotic]

I wore the same type of Mizunos for years, always buying the pair from the year before to save money. Last pair I bought were Brooks though, again for over pronation. I like them but really should be getting a new pair now.

Anyway been put running five times in last two weeks, getting back to my times of five years ago.

[katzenjammer]

Cheers all, just what I needed to know. Was about to get some online but I'll look for a specialist shop

[dazed_and_bemused]

Going into a shop? Talking to an actual person? Not sure about that. I bought some Asics based on online reviews about 20 years ago and have stuck with Asics ever since - currently have a pair of Gel Pulse 14's which are pretty decent, although I'm only doing a 5K a few times a week rather than a marathon every weekend.

[MojoJojo]

I run around 40km a week, and have never bothered with the gait analysis malarkey. I know a lot of people are big on it but I think it's just a ego flattering thing. How much training do you think they actually get?

Just try some shoes on and choose something comfortable.

[badaids]

Glad this thread is here and seeing what all you lot do and that.

Since Jan I have had a strict running routine. I run 8k 2-4k and on a sunday I do a max effort, up to about 20k on that, best time for that is 1h47m. I try not to focus on time that much, but just to get round and improvement each time - a little further, a little quicker.  I do write down every run and have a chart - it helps motivate me seeing the improvements.

I've learned that I despite the actual act of running. The only way I can do it is to block out the voice in my head telling me to give up by playing songs, works stuff, or by doing entail arithmetic - working out the percentage of how far I've come, how much is left. The distraction works. 

However, once you've done it it feels great and like everyone else says the mental health benefit is great, and I've lost 19 kilos.

I'd like to run further than 20km, and I've got the endurance for it but I'm now getting old so my knee and ankle joints are screaming in pain by the end of it. They're fine the next day, but I'm kind of hoping that they'll get used to longer distances  it like your muscles do but no sign of that.  .

Do you lot get pain in the joints after a certain distance? And how do you manage it?  I've got proper shoes and that.

And how come some days you'll find it brutal to go even 8km, and then piss out 20km no worries another?  Never understood that.

[Proactive]

I run around 40km a week, and have never bothered with the gait analysis malarkey. I know a lot of people are big on it but I think it's just a ego flattering thing. How much training do you think they actually get?

Just try some shoes on and choose something comfortable.

Yeah the analysis is going to be very basic in a shop but I think the main reason to do it is to see if you need a stability shoe or not.

[dazed_and_bemused]

And how come some days you'll find it brutal to go even 8km, and then piss out 20km no worries another?  Never understood that.

It's a direct correlation to recent pasta intake in my experience.

[kalowski]

Going into a shop? Talking to an actual person? Not sure about that. I bought some Asics based on online reviews about 20 years ago and have stuck with Asics ever since - currently have a pair of Gel Pulse 14's which are pretty decent, although I'm only doing a 5K a few times a week rather than a marathon every weekend.

Yes I'm the same
 If I stray away from Asics I find things go wrong Asics are the best I've ever had.
And I agree you don't need this gait nonsense unless you are regularly running marathons. It's a bit like working out your power output if you are a weekend cyclist. A bit too much!

[Janie Jones]

I cannot run if I've eaten. I'm lucky enough to be able to run most mornings before breakfast but when I used to run after work, even though it was a few hours since lunch, I felt like I had weights tied to my limbs. And I always got a stitch but that's down to my poor core strength.

You guys know about caffeine? It's used by all elite runners and a coffee or energy drink 40 minutes before your run will make a noticeable difference.

I'm afraid I'm also in the 'no warm up' club, waste of time, and I also just pick the best-looking designer running shoes because I'm a vacuous label queen. EVERYONE has over-pronation. I'm a very stiff, unsupple person which means I'm shit at yoga but my inflexibility is perfect for running, my rigid joints can take a lot of punishment with no injuries. My hyper-mobile, bendy running mates are far more injury-prone than me.

[Magnum Valentino]

It's a direct correlation to recent pasta intake in my experience.

Pasta equals good or pasta equals bad?

[JamesTC]

Managed to get two pairs of Brooks really cheap from this weird looking website, Express Trainers. Usually £60 or £70 and I got them for half that. Worth keeping an eye out for their next sale.

Hopefully that is my running shoes sorted for a year now.

[dazed_and_bemused]

Pasta equals good or pasta equals bad?

Pasta equals good, though I mean give it a few hours before you try running after eating unless you want to see it again.

[badaids]

It's a direct correlation to recent pasta intake in my experience.

I think for me the link is bread.  If I don't eat it I always run better.  But I love bread so much.

[JamesTC]

Just fainted in Asda after a 6 mile run. So that was nice.

[Butchers Blind]

Just fainted in Asda after a 6 mile run. So that was nice.

How big was that ASDA?

[turnstyle]

Despite being chronically lazy, I did go through a patch of running a couple of years back. I loved it. Felt fitter than I ever had, lost weight, enjoyed chasing my best time each run, and it genuinely made me really happy, basically releasing a massive vault of endorphins that had been caged up in my miserable brain for years.

Then I fell off it as suddenly as I had begun for some reason, and now I'm too scared to go out for a run in case some bigger boys laugh and point at me.

[mrpupkin]

Fucked a foot up in 2012, can't exactly run on it can I

[Good Hank]

I'm a runner, but my glory days are behind me. Peak fitness was Feb 2020, when I was on for a sub-four hour London Marathon. Then Covid happened, it got cancelled and I never really got it back. I did end up doing the Marathon in 2021 but I was nowhere near as ready, because I fell over on a training run and cracked my ribs. So I ended up with 4.19, which I'm happy with. Got that medal, cba doing it again.

Long story short, knee's fucked, I like crisps too much, 4 miles the charm.

[Good Hank]

To add to the trainer discourse, Saucony Triumphs are great. The top ones for me were the 17, but they sold out ridiculously quickly and nothing I've tried since quite matches them. It was like running on a cloud. About six months back I came into work and a colleague was wearing a pair just as his knockabout trainers and I felt like hitting him.

[Magnum Valentino]

Despite being chronically lazy, I did go through a patch of running a couple of years back. I loved it. Felt fitter than I ever had, lost weight, enjoyed chasing my best time each run, and it genuinely made me really happy, basically releasing a massive vault of endorphins that had been caged up in my miserable brain for years.

Then I fell off it as suddenly as I had begun for some reason, and now I'm too scared to go out for a run in case some bigger boys laugh and point at me.

It is genuinely all in your head. As far as I'm concerned there is no cunt cooler than someone who isn't visibly "fit" doing exercise. Hate this world for making people feel the way you feel turnstyle, don't let imaginary Beano bullies put you off looking after yourself. Those endorphins are waiting.

[Gambrinus]

Despite being chronically lazy, I did go through a patch of running a couple of years back. I loved it. Felt fitter than I ever had, lost weight, enjoyed chasing my best time each run, and it genuinely made me really happy, basically releasing a massive vault of endorphins that had been caged up in my miserable brain for years.

Then I fell off it as suddenly as I had begun for some reason, and now I'm too scared to go out for a run in case some bigger boys laugh and point at me.

Ha, yes, this is why I'm primarily going out after dark at the moment.

[Mr_Simnock]

I had a good stint of regularly running up to last year. For some odd reason I can't get lower than 23 mins for a 5k, I can get to low 23 mins quite easily, just no idea why I can't get below it. Maybe I never ran enough, just used to do 2-3 5k-7k's a week and a longer run, up to 12k, at weekends along a canal. I'm in my later 40's now so age must be a factor.

[MojoJojo]

Are you doing any other exercise? I think there is a limit to how far you can go just by running, you need to add some flexibility and strength training in.

Not that I do either, and 24 minutes for 5k is my peak.

[turnstyle]

Just re-downloaded the app I used to use for recording runs.

My last run was April 2020, so slightly longer ago than I had thought.

After every run I would take a photo with the app and write something about how the run had gone. As a result I've got a whole archive on the app of my sweaty, smiling face.

My favourite note is:

Fun fact: Running after 4 pints is a very bad idea.

[Key]

Re: eating, I find the best thing is to run a while after eating. I work nights and my normal routine is to eat my lunch at about midnight/1am (lol) then go for a 30 min run when I get home at 7 am and thats perfect. If I run on a full stomach I feel like I'm about to burst and theres all kinds of stuff jiggling about inside. Conversely if I go for a run just after waking up and having no food, its a real slog and I feel devoid of energy.

[Magnum Valentino]

Yeah the ideal for me is if I can get a plain portion of overnight oats into me at least an hour (ideally 2) before running it goes a lot better. Oats, oat milk and chia seeds. Some coffee too but not enough to slosh. Learned the hard way recently that running on an empty stomach is a real good way to get sick.

Broke a few PBs last week for different tracks and settings but then had a dreadful weekend thanks to my MIND (see other thread Magnum Valentino fans) but hoping to keep the progress up this week.

[kalowski]

I run in the morning usually before eating. I like to have a small coffee and then go for my run.