Any runners on here?

JonathanRyan said:
:)

Yeah - high on the list of reasons I like it is that most of my running friends use it. For some reason Endomodo etc never got that much traction among people I know.
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Fairy snuff. I can see it suits your character. ;)

The guys I used to ride with used both, with the consensus being that Strava is for the driven and Endo for those who just want info. Endomondo mucked out with their versions and compatibility last year, and I ended up looking at some of the other apps on offer, but in the end preferred to stay with them more than move away. Plus it's likely that anyone with some history of training is pretty much tied to whoever is storing that data unless someone can find a convenient way to port it over unless they don't mind starting from scratch.
 
ancient_mariner said:
Plus it's likely that anyone with some history of training is pretty much tied to whoever is storing that data unless someone can find a convenient way to port it over unless they don't mind starting from scratch.
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Pretty sure that all the major apps allow you to import stuff from all the other major apps. They certainly would if I'd written them :)

BTW for anybody who does use Strava and who uses Chrome, check this out - it gives you lots of stats and techie stuff for free.

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/...strava/dhiaggccakkgdfcadnklkbljcgicpckn?hl=en
 
Looks like the tingling in my left foot is nothing to do with my shoes - I seem to have developed sciatica in that leg this week. :p
 
Bit of an update.... Started wearing my old crap trainers and did better, after losing a few weeks with an ankle injury from 5aside. New trainers have been good and today broke the 5.25 mile barrier! Probably too little too late but at least I have beaten prev best of a year ago which was 3m.

Anyone else using Nike running app? I have been but today went with wide who used her 'thing' (has something in her show and the wristband tells you time, distance, mins per mile, calories). My app said 4.72m yet hers said 5.25? She has uses hers for years and when she has run in proper events like 10k races has always been pretty much on the money with official times as well as when she goes out with her friend who has a gps watch type device. Looks like I have been running slower and shorter than I actually have!
 
It's not the app - it's your phone. Phone GPS is notoriously shaky and often records wildly different distances from a dedicated watch.

In fact, GPS in general is more of a black art than the manufacturers would have you believe. I went running with my wife on New Years Day in a local nature reserve. This was partly in a shameless attempt to claim the KOM on Strava :) I have a Suunto and my wife has a Garmin. It was very muddy and slippery and on a few occasions I waited for my wife to catch up with my watch paused but we started and ended together.

Here's what Strava says.....

strava-travesty.jpg
 
Some of the smaller GPS units only take a position every minute or so, so a zigzag course may end up recorded as a straighter line. They also tend to wait for a second or so before pausing automatically. 10m over a 7.18(5?!) km run is a tiny discrepancy, well within GPS's margin of error as well as there being a possibility that you and your wife took slightly different routes (same paths but maybe you zigzagged more than her or walked a few steps while waiting!?)
 
Nod said:
Some of the smaller GPS units only take a position every minute or so, so a zigzag course may end up recorded as a straighter line. They also tend to wait for a second or so before pausing automatically. 10m over a 7.18(5?!) km run is a tiny discrepancy, well within GPS's margin of error as well as there being a possibility that you and your wife took slightly different routes (same paths but maybe you zigzagged more than her or walked a few steps while waiting!?)
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That's true. But we've noticed similar discrepancies on other runs. I've usually put it down to GPS smoothing but it always seems to make her faster than me..... :)
 
A friend and I ran together last year, recording km points at very similar intervals on our phones (I was using endomondo, him Strava IIRC). However when I was starting to run there was a regular route I would run on the road, usually about 3.2Km, that on one occasion was recorded as 3.68km - on the GPS map recorded it looked like I had been zig-zagging across the road continuously, even though I had just run straight. On another occasion recently I had the 'GPS lost/GPS restored' notification repeatedly and a 5K run recorded as 0.67Km.

The phrase 'for guidnce only' springs to mind.
 
JonathanRyan said:
That's true. But we've noticed similar discrepancies on other runs. I've usually put it down to GPS smoothing but it always seems to make her faster than me..... :)
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Have you tried going out with both strapped to the same person rather than having one each? In theory, both SHOULD then read the same - but theories aren't always proven!!!
 
So I'm starting to think training may be pointless :)

One year ago I did my first marathon. At the time I was deep into training for Paris and running every day, sprints, hills, long runs, the whole bit. The plan said 16 miles and I'd entered a laps race (6 hours to run as many laps as you fancy). 5 laps brought it to 18 miles or so but I still felt OK so I did 2 more. They were very very tough but I got my first marathon done. It was a tough course and I wasn't fully prepared for it so I didn't care about the time but it was 5:08. I carried on training hard and 10 weeks or so later I ran Paris in 4:01. Felt pretty good about it - though of course that minute has bugged me ever since.

This year I've been struggling with a whole series of injuries. I logged 69k for the whole of November and 45 for December :( I was starting to worry about Barcelona a lot. I've given up on hopes of a good time - I just want to finish.

Then yesterday I did another lap race. Easier course (though harder than a city marathon) and brutally cold conditions. And.....home in 4:07 :D Given how little training I've done, I'm over the moon with that. I may just "rest" between now and Barcelona and probably go sub 3 ;)
 
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Training is a funny thing and it's very possible to over-train, and it's also possible to maintain fitness for a while without training hard.

I seem to get so far, then have to stop or back off for a bit. Looking at a couple of half marathons this year, with the first in March at Upper Heyford. Before I had sciatica last year I was up to 16K and not feeling bad at all, but I ran 15.6K on Saturday and *at the time* it nearly killed me (I did recover better than I'd expected though). Will probably just do a 5K this week, plus another 10miler on Saturday if I can find the time.
 
JonathanRyan said:
Then yesterday I did another lap race. Easier course (though harder than a city marathon) and brutally cold conditions. And.....home in 4:07 :D Given how little training I've done, I'm over the moon with that. I may just "rest" between now and Barcelona and probably go sub 3 ;)
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That is quick Jonathan, particularly given the time of year.
I wish you well for Barcelona. Does the course include the climb up to Montjuic, or is it fairly flat?
 
Well, I know I am well behind on mine! Only managed to do 4 miles in mid Dec and was doing around 11.40 per mile so very slow, but had never broken 3 miles before. Am now up to 6.5 miles (and could have kept going yesterday but for daughters party) so know that my next big run at the weekend will be a 7 or an 8. So, although the half is only 5 weeks away, should be able to give it a go, albeit slowly.
 
cambsno said:
Well, I know I am well behind on mine! Only managed to do 4 miles in mid Dec and was doing around 11.40 per mile so very slow, but had never broken 3 miles before. Am now up to 6.5 miles (and could have kept going yesterday but for daughters party) so know that my next big run at the weekend will be a 7 or an 8. So, although the half is only 5 weeks away, should be able to give it a go, albeit slowly.
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Stop worrying about the time. Get the miles done. Do your 7/8 at the w/e and some more shorter runs if you can. Concentrate above all else on relaxing when you run - everything above the hips should be perfectly calm. The speed will come. You'll smash the half.
 
cambsno said:
Well, I know I am well behind on mine! Only managed to do 4 miles in mid Dec and was doing around 11.40 per mile so very slow, but had never broken 3 miles before. Am now up to 6.5 miles (and could have kept going yesterday but for daughters party) so know that my next big run at the weekend will be a 7 or an 8. So, although the half is only 5 weeks away, should be able to give it a go, albeit slowly.
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Agree with Jonathan that speed is not something to worry about. It's distance and you need to build up your stamina so get some decent longer runs in but remember to taper in the week or so before the event.

I've been pleasantly surprised with my running over the last few weeks. I've increased my annual target - I've done at least 1000km a year for the last two years - and seem to be going through a phase of getting decent times over a 10k distance. I've knocked over 2 minutes off my previous best time pretty consistently over the last couple of weeks and I'm not by any means knocking myself out doing it. Not bad for a grumpy 57 year old.
 
JonathanRyan said:
Stop worrying about the time. Get the miles done. Do your 7/8 at the w/e and some more shorter runs if you can. Concentrate above all else on relaxing when you run - everything above the hips should be perfectly calm. The speed will come. You'll smash the half.
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My problem is lack of willpower! The first half mile is ok, then the worst is mile 1-2. I just feel awful, legs and ankles aching... hate it, thinks thats why i struggled to break 3 miles in the past. Then around miles 4-5 it feels brilliant and pace picks up a lot. Obviously things ache but it does seem to take a while to be in the stride so to speak.
 
cambsno said:
My problem is lack of willpower! The first half mile is ok, then the worst is mile 1-2. I just feel awful, legs and ankles aching... hate it, thinks thats why i struggled to break 3 miles in the past. Then around miles 4-5 it feels brilliant and pace picks up a lot. Obviously things ache but it does seem to take a while to be in the stride so to speak.
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That's a pretty common experience. The first 1-2km is never great for me either but after that I get in the zone and the kms just fly past.
 
Yeah, the first couple of miles are always the worst. Apart from the 10 minutes before you start running. That's even worse ;)
 
JonathanRyan said:
They are claiming fairly flat ;)

http://www.zurichmaratobarcelona.es/files/Altimetria-Marato.pdf

Lots of people are getting decent times in the cold weather - I think it's because nobody wants to hang about at the aid stations.
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Quite a good sightseeing trip of the city.

http://www.zurichmaratobarcelona.es/files/recorregut2015.pdf

6K - Nou Camp stadium, 16K Sagrada Familia, and a nice home stretch taking in the harbour and front and bottom of Las Ramblas, before finishing at the Sortida Aribada, which is just before you start the climb up to Montjuic.
I envy you, and wish that I was still running marathons now.
 
andy700 said:
Quite a good sightseeing trip of the city.

http://www.zurichmaratobarcelona.es/files/recorregut2015.pdf

6K - Nou Camp stadium, 16K Sagrada Familia, and a nice home stretch taking in the harbour and front and bottom of Las Ramblas, before finishing at the Sortida Aribada, which is just before you start the climb up to Montjuic.
I envy you, and wish that I was still running marathons now.
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Yes. Paris was a lovely route too. It seems London is the only big city marathon that doesn't actually take place in the big city :) I know lots of people who are surprised it basically turns into a tour of docklands.

One day I'll do Venice. Apparently it's surprisingly hilly because of all the bridges.
 
So, tell me, what's the technique for running down steepish hills without getting hurt? Any videos you'd consider worth watching would be interesting too.

I watched that video on the previous page, and it was interesting to see the various techniques, exercises and about the cadence longer distance runners use. Unfortunately, trying to adopt a little of that has left my knees a bit sore, though that might also be from the cold I've had increasing inflammation generally.
 
ancient_mariner said:
So, tell me, what's the technique for running down steepish hills without getting hurt? Any videos you'd consider worth watching would be interesting too.
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Small quick steps. Weight forwards so you are actually falling down the hill and your legs are keeping you from falling over. It's quite scary..... I just came in from a run where we were hammering down a steep trail slope. It was all going well until I found the greasy tarmac bits.

If your knees are hurting, you may be overstriding - try to land your foot underneath your hips rather than in front.

Emelie Forsberg is amazing - wait for the bit where she meets other runners.....

 
What about the cameraperson running backwards to shoot her doing that? ;)
 
I think his daddy might have done naughties with a mountain nanny... And he's definitely got different ideas to you about running downhill!!!
 
Nod said:
And he's definitely got different ideas to you about running downhill!!!
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Yeah once the downhill gets vertical and the surface turns to dust it requires a whole new set of techniques. But basically he's falling and using his legs to stay upright.
 
JonathanRyan said:
Small quick steps. Weight forwards so you are actually falling down the hill and your legs are keeping you from falling over. It's quite scary..... I just came in from a run where we were hammering down a steep trail slope. It was all going well until I found the greasy tarmac bits.

If your knees are hurting, you may be overstriding - try to land your foot underneath your hips rather than in front.

Emelie Forsberg is amazing - wait for the bit where she meets other runners.....
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I tried the weight forward/falling forward approach, which gave an enormous increase in speed (from 8min40s/mile to 6min/mile) and I'm pretty sure was what hurt me. The other way, landing with a leg in front to apply the brakes, hurts at the time, but doesn't keep hurting later.

I'm definitely not over-striding, instead keeping the landing foot below or only just in front of me - in fact since I've been trying to run this way things have become worse, though that might have been going to happen anyway. :p I'm not *completely* convinced about the benefits of the bare foot running technique (high cadence, short stride with circular motion and foot strike just below the body) since although it's logical, it doesn't seem to be beneficial to me and most of the better runners that I've known have not run this way. Just looked up pictures of Paula Radcliffe - long stride & heelstrike. Mo Farah - sometimes long stride & heelstrike. It may be better for me to find a technique that suits me rather than fits a particular school of thought.
 
ancient_mariner said:
I tried the weight forward/falling forward approach, which gave an enormous increase in speed (from 8min40s/mile to 6min/mile) and I'm pretty sure was what hurt me. The other way, landing with a leg in front to apply the brakes, hurts at the time, but doesn't keep hurting later.

I'm definitely not over-striding, instead keeping the landing foot below or only just in front of me - in fact since I've been trying to run this way things have become worse, though that might have been going to happen anyway. :p I'm not *completely* convinced about the benefits of the bare foot running technique (high cadence, short stride with circular motion and foot strike just below the body) since although it's logical, it doesn't seem to be beneficial to me and most of the better runners that I've known have not run this way. Just looked up pictures of Paula Radcliffe - long stride & heelstrike. Mo Farah - sometimes long stride & heelstrike. It may be better for me to find a technique that suits me rather than fits a particular school of thought.
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There's been an awful lot of analysis of Mr Farah's stride. For example http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/athletics/10309714/The-secrets-of-Mo-Farahs-success.html

The current consensus appears to be that he actually varies it to rest different muscles on long runs which is a scarily clever thing to do.

But one of the key theories is currently that you run how you run. Over the age of about 15 some experts think it's unwise to mess with how you run. If like today I'm running down a steep track I don't know with mixed surfaces then I'll use my heels to dig in and stop myself going too fast. On less extreme terrain where I'm sure of the grip I'll lean forwards and let the hill carry me down. If your knees are hurting then maybe look at strengthening your quads.
 
Thanks for that. I rather suspect I'm a little stuck like this now in that case, which is OK, although to a large degree I've already had to re-learn how to run and retrain my body to cope with it. Cadence and breathing rate are now very tightly linked, and to maintain a decent pace I have to do a complete breathing cycle every full pair of strides. It sounds like I need to do whatever's comfy in the end.
 
Finally replaced the Karrimors this evening, went to a place in Banbury with gait analysis (have you had your gait checked - no-one's even been to look at my fence yet). Although my feet are flat it seems I run without any pronation, foot and ankle quite level and straight, so I've got some neutral Adidas shoes that feel nicely springy - hoping my knees will love me long time for this. :)

It was really odd running in the new shoes at first, and I wanted to run on the ball of my foot using the treadmill, and not even touch the heel at all. The other thing was 10kph feel darn fast on a treadmill, even though I normally run faster than that on the road.

Did 9 miles in the old shoes this morning, so won't be finding out how the new shoes are for a couple of days.
 
ancient_mariner said:
It was really odd running in the new shoes at first, and I wanted to run on the ball of my foot using the treadmill, and not even touch the heel at all. The other thing was 10kph feel darn fast on a treadmill, even though I normally run faster than that on the road.
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I find treadmills very hard to run on - probably because I almost never do it. Last time I ran on one I set it at about 95% of my 10k pace. After 10k I was lunging for the stop button..... :)

In other news, yesterday's race was pretty good. 4:10 for the marathon and 3rd place in the cake making competition :D
 
Congrats on that victoria sponge. ;)
 
People (ok, we westeners) don't half make a meal of things by over-thinking. I like the Roger Bannister approach.

"The following passage caught my eye, in part, because there are so many blogs (take, for instance, this one) and websites and books about running: how to train for it, how to be the best, etc. There are training plans that require one to know exact miles or pace; others that request minute readings of the palpitations of one's heart. Bannister, however, claims that none of these are really what is important, which is why I have grown to love him so much. It is, he insists, the desire to run that makes a runner great. PRs and races won come from an individual's ability to push themselves. Fancy gadgets, data and even coaches, he claims, distract one from the necessary drive it takes to be a successful runner. In lieu of paraphrase, however, I want to quote a the paragraphs that caught my eye, made me smile and re-examine many of the notions I've developed about what it really takes to be elite. "

"My ideal athlete was first and foremost a human being who ran his sport and did not allow it to run him. He was not a racehorse nor a professional strongman. He drank beer, he might smoke, and he listened to coaches when he felt inclined. With so many other interests and activities there was no danger of mental staleness. The man who mumbled about his weight chart and his pulse ratio was left to the tender merits of his fellow fanatics. All this may be wrong: but it had already produced twelve Olympic champions [in England] -- men whose personality and determination were sufficient to enable them to achieve balanced lives" (Bannister 49-50)."

From this running blog, "Why I Love Roger Bannister."
http://milesandpages.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/why-i-love-roger-bannister.html
 
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ancient_mariner said:
Congrats on that victoria sponge. ;)
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Thanks. It was actually a chocolate sponge, almond sponge and raspberry sponge held together with jam, marzipan and chocolate buttercream iced with white fondant. Runners love cake....
 
I managed a 10k PB on a run yesterday morning, which considering how foul the weather was, I rather surprised myself with. Trying to run into the wind was a job and a half though.
 
Mountkeen said:
I managed a 10k PB on a run yesterday morning, which considering how foul the weather was, I rather surprised myself with. Trying to run into the wind was a job and a half though.
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Yeah, but half of it was with the wind :)
 
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