Running

I can't fault the inov-8 x-talon 212 shoes across all offroad terrain...

I've had about 10pairs now and think they're great, even if I'm fast losing patience with Inov-8 as a company.

FWIW I don't know a lot about running gaits, but my guess is that it would become less important as you move onto more rugged terrain. If complex terrain means that every footfall is different, then (my feeling is that) it would be harder for differences in gait to become obvious?

Innov8 trail roc 235 of you like fairly minimalist shoes.

Salmon speed cross if you want something with a little more sponge and structure...

Or Inov8 Mudclaws if you want a slightly more substantial shoe fro longer trail running.

Talons are great for shorter XC stuff though, and really good for super muddy conditions.

Otherwise inov8 can GTF.

I'm a fan of Saucony Peregrines, in fact I'm just about to re-up for the summer trail racing.

lovely to hear all about your lovely runs, great times and impressive achievements but let get back to what is really important here, aches, pains and the dying of the light.

Anyone roll their feet with golf balls to treat tendinitis? I have high arches (like @Dammit) and my relatively functioning left side has started to get a spot of plantar fasciitis.

i still haven't ran since london marathon. got the spitfire scramble 24 hour in 6 weeks and berlin marathon in about 9. fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.

chest infection has finally fucked off though but managed to roll my ankle playing basketball 2 weeks ago which is why i'm still not running. next week should be able to get back to it though.

I wouldn't bother... running in summer is shit.

My legs go like this after every single run I do in summer... Unattractive photo of my rashy stubbly leg... I think I'm allergic to grass.

Concur with that, I would always pick cold dark winter running over hot hayfevery runs with grass rash.

I love running in the summer, this may be because I always run next to water so my dog doesn't overheat which keeps things cooler and if it all gets too much I can just jump in....!

I do wish I had some means of carrying water that didn't involve carrying or wearing anything, my current tactic is just run for an hour or less and hydrate before and after....

oh man i could do with a nice cold dip in a lake/sea right now. fucking scorchio.

The worst thing about running in summer is when you miss a patch of sunblock and get burnt and then you sweat buckets running and the sweat gets trapped underneath your burnt skin in horrible little bubbles. Or is that just me?

Also, hayfever and the river nearest my house has Weil's Disease.

Does your dog swim? Moz will pause for a quick drink, but won't go in the water to cool down, even though I can tell she's getting hot. I try to ladle a few handfuls of water over her but she doesn't really like it. I need to teach her to swim... it would ease my mind if she would try to cool herself down a bit.

it's getting her to stop that's the trick! she only goes paw deep unless I give her some encouragement to swim which is handy as it means she doesn't get too far behind if she does detour into the water, she only really likes swimming to retrieve things, but a stone is enough as she'll go out and have a look for it!

She HATES it if I splash her with water!

the first time I went open water swimming she was off the lead and she followed me in, I'd swum 50m before I realised she was behind me with my wife standing on the bank not quite sure wheter it was funny or worrying!! when I turned round to say hello she freaked out and powered back to the bank and now will just splash about in the shallow water if she comes swimming with me!

^ Need pictures of dog swimming please.

Good idea. I normally do my OW swimming at Queensford Lake, but next time I'll try some river swimming and see if I can talk Moz into joining me. I'm sure she'll be fine with it once she's done it once, but she's never done anything more than paddling before. She normally doesn't even go in after sticks... she just lets the other dogs get them for her.

Does moz like getting hosed down?

Holly learnt to swim by being carried as a 3 month old pup into the sea in salcombe and basically thrown in, which probably isn't the best start to a swimming career but it hasn't stopped her...

@hats must take more photos of dog, don't have any of her swimming, the first time it happened we were too shocked/laughing to much to get a camera involved!

Golf ball's a good idea. When my PF struck it was under the heel rather than the arch, so slightly different treatment, but I would also recommend stretches. Calf stretches, particularly using an incline board or heel drops off a step. That can help lengthen the tendon out and relieve pressure. Also hand around the bottom of the toes and bring them towards you, to stretch from the other direction.

im not swimming but the pooch is!

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Lovely!

Moz doesn't like being hosed down at all... she's not much of a fan of water in any shape but when the water is being projected at her is probably the least favourite - a reaction probably worsened by the flat-coat who is in love with hoses!

Creeping up on Moz and gently bathing her back with a watering can and lots of stroking is tolerable but she still looks a little bit sheepish about it. If the weather is nice on Sunday I might try and tempt her into the water.

Funnily any water being forced on holly is not appreciated, but any time it's her choice she loves it. Good luck getting moz interested, but if she is getting her paws wet and having a few mouthfuls it's probably all she needs!

Yay!

Thirteen miles in some lovely country side east of Brizzle today. Legs literally covered in grass burns and nettle stings. Finished the run and they were like one massive raised welt. Looooooovely.

I don't suffer from hay fever or that grass rash... But burnt blistered skin full of sweet, yup.

But the biggest blisters come when burnt while running then sweating from rollers...

suspected broken ankle from last weeks trip down a rabbit hole....

the good news is a break is likely to heal faster than ligament damage, the bad news is that next weeks half ironman is going to hurt...

oh well...