The Running Thread

[Barnsy!]

I'm not a runner - but did a marathon today (there's definitely some stealth "I did a marathon" as it is a bit of an achievement for me).

They're good to do for fitness - not because you burn calories or get the blood pumping or anything - but for seeing how strawberry floated you are!

And I am strawberry floated after it - not just the usual blisters but dehydrated, knees don't bend properly, super tired, feet are swollen, I'm hunched over and my back hurts, skin feels burnt, neck hurts to turn my head, legs feel heavy I just feel grubby too. I got a rubbish time but happy to be able to do it at all - I had ran the odd marathon in the past and I struggled (like I say I'm not a runner) but didn't feel this bad afterwards. I am proud I did it but highlighted I'm not fit or even less fit than the not fit I was before. Which I will try to address! But I do feel deeply relaxed and quite happy after it.

[Rubix]

I'm not a runner - but did a marathon today

wow very impressive

[Afrocat]

I'm not a runner - but did a marathon today

That's mental. How are you feeling today? Could you move this morning?

[Tomous]

I'm not a runner - but did a marathon today (there's definitely some stealth "I did a marathon" as it is a bit of an achievement for me).

They're good to do for fitness - not because you burn calories or get the blood pumping or anything - but for seeing how strawberry floated you are!

And I am strawberry floated after it - not just the usual blisters but dehydrated, knees don't bend properly, super tired, feet are swollen, I'm hunched over and my back hurts, skin feels burnt, neck hurts to turn my head, legs feel heavy I just feel grubby too. I got a rubbish time but happy to be able to do it at all - I had ran the odd marathon in the past and I struggled (like I say I'm not a runner) but didn't feel this bad afterwards. I am proud I did it but highlighted I'm not fit or even less fit than the not fit I was before. Which I will try to address! But I do feel deeply relaxed and quite happy after it.

You did a marathon with zero training?

[Tomous]

Barnsy last week:

[Barnsy!]

That's all very kind thank you. And felt exhausted, terrible today.

.

You did a marathon with zero training?

Not quite zero training, but basically no running and nothing specific for the marathon.

I enjoy cardio more for mental health than physical or weight. I do one hour of cardio 4 times a week in the gym. Mainly exercise bike or cross training or rarely treadmill - all much lower impact then actual running.

It's more shown me how knackered I am at the moment . Painful though it was I enjoyed it [after] and booked one in September (so a bit of time) and intend to start doing park runs.... hopefully will be recovered by Saturday . Thanks

[Sprouty]

I have now completed seven 12k runs and they remain a significant challenge every time. It suits my current lifestyle really well, as I can go out just twice a week & keep on target for 100km per month. It's challenging, like really tiring, but I can finish it.

As a bonus, I have never run 12k before last month, so I've set a personal best 6 of the 7 times that I've run the distance! Today, I completed it in 1 hr 6 minutes exactly, a whole 2 seconds faster than my previous best time! I find that absolutely bonkers, because I'm not really leaving anything in reserve & yet the margins between my fastest two runs is pretty much insignificant, basically more time than it takes me to stop the run being recorded once I've completed the distance.

At the moment, I'm tracking at 5:30 per km. I'd love to get that below 5 minutes per km and finish the whole run in under an hour, but I'm not so sure that I've got it in me.

[Curls]

Nice work Sprouty, a friend of mine is a new dad and his free time seems to be spent running too, he's not a natural build for it but seems to be pushing out 10KM runs with 4:40kms now, how the hell he so quick!

After my broken radial bone a few months back I've finally started to get into a bit of a healthier routine with the running too, did 13KM the other day, my first 10KM plus run since January, pleased with myself.

[Sprouty]

It must feel nice to be back on that sort of distance after an injury, Curls! I'd love to be under 5min/km, but I'm not sure that I have it in me. Extended paternity leave is an ideal time to get fit. Almost feels like a last chance to get to a place of maintaining fitness, rather than building it.

Somehow though, I managed to slice a full minute off my 12k run today, taking it to a second or two off 1 hour 5 minutes (5:25 pace). Oddly, what helped was that I just didn't feel like I had a run in me when I started. My legs just felt a bit empty and I just couldn't push, but what typically slows me is actually my lungs, feeling short of breath, overheating etc. I stuck at my average pace for the first 9km, until something happened and I managed to pull out my three fastest km splits out of nowhere in my final 3 km.

[Rubix]

Went on a trail run today, ran through some deep puddles to wash off the mud and couldn't see one had a massive pothole, completely rolled my ankle and now i'm hobbling around the house, suppose to be pacing next Sunday.

Managed to pace 2 hours with a taped up ankle and plantar fasciitis pain. Finished in 2 hours and 11 seconds so ever so slightly over but it was slightly long so i'll take that. Really nice having everyone thank you for getting them PB's, I'm up for more pacing roles.

[Captain Kinopio]

I’m training for a half marathon. Seems silly when people in here just bash out a random marathon when they feel like it.

I’ve gotten into the habit of 2 runs a week. I’m very slow but slowly getting toward 30m 5k pace. Longest run I’ve ever done is 15k and that was a few weeks ago. Plenty of rests but surprised myself I made it that far. I’m not sure what goal to set myself for the half marathon I’d love to do sub 2hr but I don’t think that’s at all realistic. 2:15 probably seems like a good mix of challenge yet achievable to me.

Trouble I have is I just don’t know how to get faster.

[Rubix]

Ran my first sub 20 5k on the weekend and not just either. It was at a parkrun which was slightly longer but strava has me at 5k with a time of 19:33.

Over the moon with that.

[Curls]

I’m training for a half marathon. Seems silly when people in here just bash out a random marathon when they feel like it.

I’ve gotten into the habit of 2 runs a week. I’m very slow but slowly getting toward 30m 5k pace. Longest run I’ve ever done is 15k and that was a few weeks ago. Plenty of rests but surprised myself I made it that far. I’m not sure what goal to set myself for the half marathon I’d love to do sub 2hr but I don’t think that’s at all realistic. 2:15 probably seems like a good mix of challenge yet achievable to me.

Trouble I have is I just don’t know how to get faster.

Intervals etc, cadence drills. Stuff like that, and just more running, remember to do gentle runs too with a base level heart rate.

[Captain Kinopio]

What's a base level heart rate?

[Curls]

From google (not said sarcastically) -

Zone 1 (recovery/easy) 55%-65% HR max
Zone 2 (aerobic/base) 65%-75% HR max
Zone 3 (tempo) 80%-85% HR max
Zone 4 (lactate threshold) 85%-88% HR max
Zone 5 (anaerobic) 90% HR max and above


To estimate your maximum age-related heart rate, subtract your age from 220.
so for me I'm 32 - My max heart rate is about 188 beats oer minute.

Zone 1 for me would 103-122
Zone 2 - 122 - 141
Zone 3 - 150 - 160
Zone 4 - 160 - 166
Zone 5 - 166 and above.

Of course it depends on your kit, i just have a Garmin wrist watch which will never be as accurate as an actual Heart rate sensor.

[Afrocat]

And be aware that the age-based max HR formula is just an average and the spread can be massive. I'm also 32 and my max HR is somewhere in the low 200s.

A Base HR run should feel like you can sustain it for a long time and shouldn't require heavy breathing. If you're like me then it'll feel frustratingly slow and like you're not doing anything productive, but it turns out to be one of the most productive ways to train.

[Lex-Man]

I managed a costal half marathon in just under 3 hours. Although I spent about ten minutes messing around with kit.

[BTB]

Did 16km on the weekend in prep for the Swansea half in June, went well at an ok pace (5:25ish I think). Aiming to do the half in under 1h50 ideally (but won't be devastated if not) so will need to be a bit faster on the day. Also tired my first gel whilst running and it wasn't as bad as some people had made me think it would be which was a pleasant surprise.

The plan I'm on has a 19km run in a couple of weeks which will be the longest distance in training before the event. Enjoying the training plan although I've cut it down from 4 runs a week to 3.

[Rubix]

Just done a 10k and getting shooting pains up my left half muscle. The last two runs haven't been great for me with parkrun having major cramp for half of the run on Saturday and now this.

Hopefully will be okay for Reading parkrun on Saturday.

[Oblomov Boblomov]

Bashed out a marathon this morning. Not feeling too bad.

Jokes, I've not run more than 3k for two years.