Running

Just consistently upping my mileage. No target in mind.

From doing the same relatively recently try and avoid doing more runs at the same pace - I found it increasingly monotonous with no obvious gains in speed/comfort. After a few weeks of a tempo run and a slower long run at the weekend I felt significantly more prepared when starting training for a marathon than I had done previously!

That said each to their own, try a few different things and see what you enjoy

edit: just seen @duncs covered the same in fewer words...

Could you give me an example of what a weeks running schedule looks like

I'm currently using a Hal Higdon HM plan and halfway through it:

Mon 4.5 miles
Wed 4.5 miles
Fri (or Sat) 7 miles

Long run to be done a slower rate than the others. I've found going off road/on trails for the long run slows you down if the paths are twsity enough, and means it feels less strenous.

Here's mine from a few weeks ago, sorry it's hard to read. I have a coach who sets the plan but its a mix of slow long runs, easy runs, and harder sessions like hills and intervals.

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Monday: rest
Tuesday: Tempo/interval
Wed: 10ishk at conversational pace
Thursday: warm up at convo pace, few KM at marathon pace, couple km warm down at convo pace
Friday: rest
Sat: few k at easy pace
Sun: long run at easy pace try to go for time rather tahn look at how fast/far I've gone

Similar to @Jimm doing some bits faster some bits slower, mixing it up a bit to keep it interesting!

Different volume / intensity of training exercises different energy systems, plus variety keeps things fresh and makes it more likely you'll stick to a schedule (albeit one that will be tweaked along the way.) Best to keep the majority of your runs at an easy pace but maybe make one run per week a "long run" at a very easy pace. If you can get up to one hour or more you'll specifically work on endurance adaptations such as fat burning and mitochondria development. At the other end, a regular weekly/fortnightly interval, tempo session or parkrun will keep things fresh and act as a good gauge of fitness improvement.

I'm still alternating hard sessions using Saucony Endorphin Speed (nylon plate) and Endorphin Pro (carbon plate) to see which I will use for the marathon. The Pros might have edged back into the lead after yesterday's run, a half marathon comprising 22 laps of a local park, which I managed in 1:13:51, working hard but definitely not flat out. Legs/feet felt good throughout, despite a niggly calf recently. I think I may be getting used to the squishiness of the Pro compared with the Speed, and they have got go-faster stripes on them. :)

Thanks Chaps. It’s good to get an idea of the patterns and different volumes of work.

(Edit: missed a few earlier replies)

Could you give me an example of what a weeks running schedule looks like

If you're currently doing about 20 miles a week then could be something along the lines of

Sunday
9 miles easy
slow enough that you could comfortably chat to someone you were running with

Tuesday ~6 miles or so but with a warm up and some changes of pace
1.5 mile easy warm up...
5 x 0.5m at a pretty quick pace followed by ~90 seconds very easy recovery (doesn't have to be much quicker than walking, basically just keeping your legs moving a little bit)
Aim to keep each of those reps around the same speed so that you're not going out too fast then dying by the last rep. Instead you should try to find a pace you can hold that starts out feeling a bit too easy on the first rep and and finishes feeling a bit too hard on the last.
1.5 mile cool down...

Thursday or Friday: 5-6 miles a bit quicker than your longer Sunday run, but not too quick.

As Phil said, the different pace and intensity works different muscles and energy systems.
Getting comfortable running shorter faster intervals also helps you mentally get used to tempo/threshold pace. If you mostly run at one pace then the day you turn up for a 5k
parkrun and try to go hard then it'll be a shock mentally as well as physically. If you're used to running 1k a few times at faster than your 5k pace then you'll be more confident when you're trying to hold a race pace.

a half marathon comprising 22 laps of a local park, which I managed in 1:13:51

Very well done and great pace.

Really interesting section in a Huberman Lab podcast about increasing your stress threshold by dilating your gaze, I was playing with it yesterday during a middle 4 mile session, not sure whether it was the right tempo to try it as it took a long time to reach the point where it was required. I am going to try with some 60 second hill sprints next week.

https://youtu.be/ntfcfJ28eiU

Finally managed to get over to Snowdonia to run this week, after years of putting it off. Wow, what a beautifully wild place!

Set out for 29km of trails run across some 'peaks' including a scramble along Crib Goch.

Things learned:

• You shouldn't run to the Snowdon horseshoe
  
• 30km in Snowdonia feels like 50km elsewhere
  
• I am terrified of heights
  
• Salomon shoes are life-savingly excellent
  
• Ridge lines are not for me
  
  

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Ridge lines are not for me

You're not alone on that. My wife has been working on being more comfortable on ridges for years and its slow progress. I totally understand it too. Must be the worst trigger for vertigo.

Nope.

Nope nope nope.

At least you can't see all the way down in the mist!!

In other news, my Salomon Glide trail shoes have worn through on the sole knobs to be smooth.... 130 miles. Same as the Nike's. Is this just me, or is sole durability lacking in aid of traction?

Terrain of 75% wood paths (so wet or dry mud), 20% stoney trails and 5% tarmac getting to said trails.

Maybe I should look for shoes that use more well known sole materials, vibram or conti.

I do Supinate, so land on the outside of my feet, but can't imagine that should increase wear, your feet have to land somewhere?

Sole knobs is a great term. Stolen.

Are they a mud/wet grass shoe? All those hard surfaces (even hard packed earth) will wear them much quicker than a grassy or muddy surface. I often run in road shoes for summer trail runs because everything is basically tarmac hard after a few dry, hot weeks.

All those hard surfaces (even hard packed earth)

Yeah it's a fair shout, the woods is a bit of a mix of wet and dry.

But then they sell these shoes all over the world, and tons of people would wear them on rocks in dry climates etc.

Maybe I'll go back to Speedcross. They never seemed to wear as much on the same terrain. Granted these were Speedcross 3's.

Ingebritsens training from when he was a kid bonkers

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Same here

Anyone doing the GNR on Sunday ?

If you are , Here's a recce film of the new route for this year -https://youtu.be/WA1L6-5sze8

After a physio trip, it seems like the pain on the side of my calf is actually most likely some sort of nerve pain. Has anyone had something like this?

I’ve had sciatica (lower back disc problems, but pain down leg and in calf), or did the physio think a local calf nerve problem?

Referred pain is pretty common, as far as I know.

Muscle injury leads to inflamation, which puts pressure on nerve fibres, which makes them sent funky signals.

I mean - all pain is nerve pain, I guess, as they're the things sending the signals.

A decent physio would, I hope, be looking at causal factors and making a treatment plan (while keeping you informed of the whys and wherefores).

I have one or two spinus erectus muscles that like to go completely spastic occasionally*, resulting in a postural kink that irritates my lower back, sending referred pain all down my right glute and hamstring.

* exacerbated by infrequent breaks from using a mouse.

Back seems fine it looks like it’s coming from weakness in my ankles. I’ve got exercises and a plan to get back running -fiingers crossed!

Just had a lovely "down" week in the New Forest, ran 6 days out of 7 but all easy, longest run 10 miles. So felt fresh for this morning's long one which might end up being my biggest effort before London, 22 miles incl. 7 miles @ 5:40/m. The quick bit was particularly pleasing because it was a progression of recent fast-finish runs over the same route where I've previously struggled to hit target MP (5:42/m) over 5 or 6 miles. Even the 3-mile "cool-down" to get back home was less of a hobble.