Running

Gyms are for weirdos.

I just run very hot - Got away with a thin gilet and gloves last winter. Not being in Norway helps in that respect, although I'd much prefer the running there!

Doesn't take much to run through winter here.
But a decent outer shell is essential. Just keep the wind chill off, and the snow from stealing your body heat.

This reminds me, I'm going to Iceland at the weekend and want to do lots of running. It's so hard to know what to pack for it - I'm still in vest and short shorts mode.

It's so hard to know what to pack for it

If you're spending time in Reykjavik, you should pack sleeping pills, and hope that you can stay in bed until it's time to leave.

Shorts and vest with a wind jacket then.

OMM Aether....

the jacket version is 35% off at wiggle at the moment and might be found elsewhere, I'm tempted myself, but if I'm honest with myself I never really suffer from cold and wet as I don't run much more than 2 hours....

What?! I'm looking forward to it!! Though we're only in Reykjavik for a couple of days at the end, we'll be driving around the north west before that.

Hat and gloves too, do you think?
I'm going to look a right tit.

Well done! GL with Snowdonia.

I still have a very negative view of the country. I'm sure that anyone who isn't me will have a great time though.

As for what to wear - it looks like it will be like a mild UK autumn / winter of 10 degrees & lkight wind.

G-string weather for kl, but shorts & t-shirt for the rest of us, maybe a light rain jacket for if the rain starts.

Find a doctor doing the race, get him to write one on a napkin (decairon 2013).

I'm not in hat and gloves yet.

Ymmv.

Cheers

Are there any runners on here who live in Beckenham, Downham, or nearby? Perhaps who do Parkrun, and who'd be interested in a little project? Drop me a PM if so.

Running on the balls of your feet - is this even a real thing?

My good woman and myself entered into another bottle of Fleurie bet half an hour ago (I'm currently up by two) where she informed me that experienced runners do not land on their heels, but on the balls of their feet.

I am not a runner. I have a plastic patella of 25 years vintage and I'm not fucking with that shit (which is why I ride).

But seriously, have I just lost a bottle of wine? How can anything other than a horse land on it's toes at full sprint? Surely it's heel, ball and take off on the toes?

Landing on heels is bad. Landing on toes normally means flat sprint, or the runner is a little drunk and has lost their balance. Landing mid foot is normal (I think).

Running on the balls of your feet - is this even a real thing?

This article discusses different footstrikes. Best hand over the wine to Mrs BN.

http://running.competitor.com/2014/03/injury-prevention/footstrike-101-how-should-your-foot-hit-the-ground_63548

Landing on heels is bad.

Is it?

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/the-running-blog/2014/oct/09/is-heel-striking-the-enemy-of-good-running-form

Mid foot striking feels very much like stamping to me.

Heel strike and rock the foot forward for toe off. = feel ok.
Front strike and flex ankle before toe off = feel ok.

Im alternating between the two right now. Having fallen out off love with bare foot running. When I do heel strike, I land lightly on my heel with my weight coming down mostly mid foot. But when this moves to mid foot striking, it's like a stamp. My knees hate it.

I can run bare style for 5km without issue. I love it. It's super fast. But it fucks my legs up for the next day. I don't really have the schedule to train it more frequently, and I'm already carrying injuries.

After a short period off through injury. I feel like I forgotten how to run.

Running on the balls of your feet - is this even a real thing?

Yeah, fore/midfoot strike means the foot and calves absorb most of the impact.

Thanks!
I'll stop off at the wine shop then.......

What was the bet exactly? If the question is whether midfoot is possible then the answer's definitely yes, but I'm not sure that all experienced runners, or even all elite runners, are midfoot strikers. From what I understand, heel striking is a common thing amongst novice runners, and is a bad thing if you're landing in front of your centre of gravity (over-striding). However, if you're heel striking directly under the body's centre this is less extreme, and puts less stress on the joints. It may be barely perceptible in normal motion but the heel's still landing marginally before the rest of the foot hits the ground.

(See also sloppy discussions confusing pronation with overpronation, pronation being the natural motion of the foot rolling in through the transition from foot landing to toe-0ff.)

Today I will mostly be eating four hot cross buns & jam, and a whole fruit cake, on top of my normal diet. I do love a good carb load! Berlin minus three days. Eeek!!

And go to the wine shop anyway. It's good for the soul. :)

Dogs. Pls control them. Thx.

^ Because if it bites me, I'm going to come back with a bat and go to town.