Running

haven't been able to run for 2 years, but did 15 mins on a treadmill yesterday and it felt great. could have gone much longer, but thought i'd try and be sensible. also need to get some decent footwear sorted out.

anyone been to profeet?

SHAMELESS PLUG....anyone want any size uk 9 off road shoes?....SHAMELESS PLUG

I've just realised whilst working from home this afternoon I've chomped my way through a good half-dozen prunes... now worrying if it's 'safe' to go running...... :-(

Went for a run yesterday, rather than warming up properly I started running when the Garmin picked up the satellites. As a result I pulled something in my calf and spent the rest of yesterday (to quote my lovely girlfriend) looking like I had had a stroke, pulling one leg around behind me.

Just got a pair of Vibram Bikila's for running in. They do feel weird, shall start from basics though rather than go out pounding the floor. Everything I've read says start slowly, to let your body get used to near-barefoot running again.

Just got a pair of Vibram Bikila's for running in. They do feel weird, shall start from basics though rather than go out pounding the floor. Everything I've read says start slowly, to let your body get used to near-barefoot running again.

Why not just get plimsoles?

Why not just get plimsoles?

had plimsoles, just fancied something a little different :)

start real real slow. go out for ten mins then rest a few days and then a little longer next time and repeat. the point is not that you are simulating barefoot so much as trying to eliminate the heel strike from your running style, and 5 fingers help as they have no cushioning. when i started i was right up on my balls of my feet, now im more used to it i land slightly further back and occasionally my heel touches the floor but not before the rest of my foot. ive got so used to it now that i can run in shoes again (trail shoes off road - neutral, definately not corrective and with the thinnest padding i could find), as the fingers dont work so well in the mud round here.

I have read that you should expect to take 8 weeks for the transition from corrective footwear/heel strike running to barefoot/minimal footwear/forefoot landing running. 8 weeks to get back to the same level. thats a long time. so take it slow. lots of small quick pitty patty steps so your heels flick up to your ass then come back round to land just slightly in front of your centre of gravity so you are never putting a striking force through your heel like supportive shoes encourage you to do. .

another benefit of the fingers/minimal footwear is that they help to strengthen your ankles so they actually get back some of their flexibility and support that they lost from wearing shoes all the time. i fond myself wanting to walk in them more and more as my feet and ankles get stronger and stronger. initially i only ran in them and walking was no fun.

i may have said this already but the fingers forced me to change the way i ran and i enjoy running now whereas i never did before. ever. and i always wanted to. i used to get shin pain, quad pain, knee pain, groin pain every time i ran and it would last for days after. now i can go for an hour, not warm up, or warm down, or stretch and i dont hurt. this is what i always wanted from running and i love it now. if i really do a hard run, especially off road with a lot of side stepping and jumping i can feel it the next day, and if i dont run for a month its the same thing. but not at all like with my old heel strike first running style.

you know that beautiful feeling you get when you havent ridden for a long time and your bike feels light and quiet, riding hills like it aint no thing, like you're flying and it makes you smile? well i finally found that with running. its made me so happy.

I've just realised whilst working from home this afternoon I've chomped my way through a good half-dozen prunes... now worrying if it's 'safe' to go running...... :-(

going running and all of a sudden really needing a shit at the point you are furthest from home. every time...

when i run off road i now take bog roll in my zippy pocket in my shorts juuuust in case. not used it so far...

when i run off road i now take bog roll in my zippy pocket in my shorts juuuust in case. not used it so far...

Doesn't it get soggy?

What shoes are you using Whatfriends?

Doesn't it get soggy?

um yea it does absorb a bit of sweat. better than leaves though...

What shoes are you using Whatfriends?

when its dry off road and when on the road i use these

and when its muddy off road i use these so i dont slip onto my teeth.

was going to get another pair of (bigger) inov-8's, maybe the X-talon's, but when i tried them and a pair of walsh pb elites on a treadmill alongside the mizuno's, the mzuno's were just slightly more comfortable with my wider feet and also i thought that the tread would last longer if i did short sections of hard trail or road compared to the walsh and inov-8. i really liked the idea of the walsh. british company, made in boulton and all that. weird styling, but amazing grip and good comfort, just not quite right for me. a hard choice though..

Apologies for those who already have seen this on Popbitch this week...

http://exercisingwhileintoxicated.wordpress.com/2010/07/26/the-beer-every-mile-sf-half-marathon-13-beers-in-13-miles/

friend is organising a 5km road race around regents park, 22nd sep. winners get their weight in wine.

http://www.anthonynolan.org/What-you-can-do/Events---Fundraising/Run-with-us/5k/Anthony-Nolan-Royal-5k-Romp.aspx

Stop all the fucking light weight runners entering... job done.

the whole point of being a lightweight runner is that you get to laugh at all the tubbies as you trot off into the distance. take away this simple pleasure and you leave us with naught. who cares about winning wine? it's that smug sense of superiority that floats my boat. but ymmv.

oh, on the whole minimalist footwear thing. as a medic and a lifelong runner i really don't get it. sure, it may feel super for a week or two but, trust me, you'll end up with long term issues unless you're 55 kg and blessed with the biomechanics of a running god.

if you run 5 or 6 days a week, make one of those runs in minimalist shoes. that's all. just enough to remind your feet how they should perform. for the remainder, run in the lightest shoes your body can tolerate but that offer decent impact protection. your joints will thank you in years to come.

change running surfaces on a regular basis; avoid road and concrete whenever you can. eat wisely, hydrate well and don't become a lardarse. stretch. learn how to use a heart rate monitor. run by time/heart rate not by miles. laugh at tossers who use a gps. avoid chiropractors for they are quacks. find a friendly physio for the inevitable niggles. stay away from running clubs and the weird souls who inhabit them and learn to self-motivate. forget races; run for fun and for yourself.

that is all. your complete running 101.

What's wrong with using a GPS?

what's right about it? why do you need to know precisely where you've run, unless you're some kind of detail freak? there is no training benefit per se. it's just like the changing running short lengths or this years running fad (trail running? minimalist running? do a triathlon?). interesting, in a 'my headache is moving from the left side of my cranium to my right' kinda way, but utterly pointless in a getting fit or staying fit way.

of course, those who've splashed out on the lastest garmin toy are hardly likely to admit it's a useless piece of junk...

I just use the gps on my phone while listening to music. It's already there, cost 0 and why not :)

I don't need to know precisely where I've run, although it's quite interesting if I do a run somewhere abroad and then I can go onto google earth and see exactly where I was.
I use it for training to a particular pace. I can see exactly how many minutes per Km I'm doing, and what my heart rate is. I prefer really long runs, so that is important. I know that if I run at 6 minutes per k, everyone buggers off ahead of me, but after 50Km I start to catch up with them again and they all look like death.

If I need to know where I've run I turn round and look behind me.

Cheaper.

laugh at tossers

that is all.

ha. ha.

Ive been doing a bit of running recently, was surprised to find that I actually quite like it. I can run for about an hour but have had to stop after 35 mins max as my knees are fucked. Shooting pain kind of down the side of the knee (the outside), and slightly round the back bit, if you know what I mean. It almost feels like my bone. Complete agony for a couple of days. I keep trying to go again and taking it easier/doing more warm ups but still the same pain.
Do I have to accept I cant do it. I have new running shoes and everything.