The Running Thread

[mcjihge2]

My calf muscle has got a bit of an ache. Does anyone have any views on massagers or foam rollers?

Or are these things just used in adult movies?

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/4963198.htm


http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/2386399.htm

[Mini E]

Grab one of the foam rollers which are uneven - far more effective. Far more painful but if you're going to do it it's better to do it efficiently!

[Slartibartfast]

Foam roller - yes. Expensive massage thingies - no.

[Rex Kramer]

Can anyone recommend a half decent running watch? I'm not bothered about the pulse monitor and really am just after times etc. I've got my phone with me strapped to my arm for music but never bother with any of the GPS apps on it so maybe an android smartwatch might be a better option?

[Mini E]

If you just want times then just grab an app for your phone for a couple of quid. Nike+ does the job absolutely fine!

Reading Half Marathon in 36 hours. !

[mcjihge2]

Can anyone recommend a half decent running watch? I'm not bothered about the pulse monitor and really am just after times etc. I've got my phone with me strapped to my arm for music but never bother with any of the GPS apps on it so maybe an android smartwatch might be a better option?

Phone apps - Endomondo is pretty good. Parkruns official one is Strava and ive started using that. The free ones seem to be sufficient. Give the free ones a download and if you dont like them you can just delete them.

[Poser]

Reading Half Marathon in 36 hours. !

Don't panic mate; you'll run it much more quickly than that.

[Rex Kramer]

If you just want times then just grab an app for your phone for a couple of quid. Nike+ does the job absolutely fine!

Reading Half Marathon in 36 hours. !

What I was after though was times whilst running and with my phone strapped to my upper arm then that is difficult.

Good luck with the 1/2. I've signed up for a 10k in July and am considering a half marathon in September.

[Mini E]

If you just want times then just grab an app for your phone for a couple of quid. Nike+ does the job absolutely fine!

Reading Half Marathon in 36 hours. !

What I was after though was times whilst running and with my phone strapped to my upper arm then that is difficult.

Good luck with the 1/2. I've signed up for a 10k in July and am considering a half marathon in September.

If you have an earphone connected to your phone whilst you run, the app gives you splits through the earphones after every mile or kilometre (depending on how you set it up) so you can get updates throughout the run. You can also set your runs to be certain lengths so it tells you when you're half way through etc - there are a lot of options.

Thanks mate - I'll let you know tomorrow night whether the half marathon idea is a good one or not! I've got another one in October and how tomorrow goes will decide whether I sign up for any more inbetween!

[Rex Kramer]

Interesting, I'll check out the Nike app.

[Rex Kramer]

Thanks for the tip on the Nike app, looks like I've saved myself £60. Tried it this morning, turns out my mapmyrun 5k route isn't quite as 5k as I thought so I'm about 30 secs slower. Really helpful with splits, achievements etc so I can see this will really help me improve.

[Bunni]

Me and banjo have signed up for a 400m sprint up an old ski jump in Austria.

Also doing Dublin half a couple of weeks before that.

[Victor Mildew]

Runkeeper is also a good one, gives splits etc.

[Mini E]

Thanks for the tip on the Nike app, looks like I've saved myself £60. Tried it this morning, turns out my mapmyrun 5k route isn't quite as 5k as I thought so I'm about 30 secs slower. Really helpful with splits, achievements etc so I can see this will really help me improve.

Great to hear mate! My friend uses mapmyrun and we did a 15km route together and her app claimed it was 17km - we worked it out afterwards and Nike + was correct! So I'd recommend the Nike one!

Had the Reading Half this morning. When can I do the next one? That was honestly the most incredible fun!

[Starbreaker]

What time did you manage it in ME?

[Mini E]

I ran today with a friend and she really started struggling with a foot/cramp quite early on so I just stayed with her and got her around in under 2 hours. We did it in 1:58. My PB is 1:48:45 but to be honest, I was able to enjoy it so much more without the pressure of trying to beat a testing time for me. Was so much more of an enjoyable experience Nice route too apart from the final mile on an A road before the Madejski Stadium final bit...

[Rex Kramer]

Does anyone else have an issue with their headphones continually falling out of their ears? If so, I can definitely recommend the Inairs memory foam replacement tips. I've only used them once at the moment but they were fantastic this morning, seated really comfortably, barely moved while running. I've no idea how they'll be 20 runs down the line but at the moment I'm pretty impressed. I think you need to be careful when ordering as they have both 3 different sizes for your ear and also 3 different sizes of headphone that they fit (there's a guide on their website) and you can get them from Amazon for about £8 for 3 pairs.

[Bunni]

Get sports ones that wrap behind your ear. Otherwise get some micro pore tape from a first aid kit and tape the strawberry floaters in.

[Poser]

Managed my first run since last summer last night. It was very slow; more of a jog, and I had the dog with me.

I've had so little sleep since the baby arrived; I can't tell if starting running again is a good idea or not, but I'm hoping it'll clear my head a bit and make me feel bouncier. We'll see.

[Victor Mildew]

Doing my first 5 mile run this lunch time, furthest I've gone before is 4