Running goals, motivation and chat 2025 - Part 2!

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Hi all, just setting up a second thread - I hope you don’t mind @Jumbojem but the other one was getting a bit close to ending…

Sorry to keep harping on about the weather but it’s still raining up here so instead of running this morning I’m going to get back on my lovely water rowing machine which I’ve neglected totally since starting running back in Jan/Feb. I miss it (and I miss the muscle toning it gave me) so I’m going to get back on this morning for a change.

Might do parkrun tomorrow or a longer run, haven’t yet decided.

What do people recommend for keeping feet/shoes dry on grass runs? (Trail?) I run a 6km circular regularly but wet shoes are putting me off running it now.

I did park run yesterday, new run to me as I was travelling to the big city for the night and it was en route. It was incredibly windy and the wind was coming in sideways so there was no let up at all. So, again no PB but im ok with that. Did a gentle 6k this morning in the city as I was child free and it seemed too good an opportunity to miss, but kept it very very slow (7 min km)

Long run tomorrow but think it'll be a treadmill job as no childcare.

Hill fort training sounds ideal! Really like the sound of that.

I joined the hill gang today. I did a 10 mile run with some of my running club. Including about 3 miles of hill reps.

Well done @Cantbesure . Hills are good for you. I need to do more of them, as I am getting so bored of just increasing reps of 400 or 800 on a track every week.

I did do a 21k run today with a couple of running club friends. It was a very pleasant autumn morning for it.

It was a gorgeous day today. I hate hills so it was definitely a good thing to do.

Well done @Cantbesure got to love a hill rep! It was a lovely morning for it!!

well done on getting out and doing 21k @xsquared

Well done on your weekend runs @SFRSmum. When I figure out a way of keeping shoes dry I’ll tell you!! Currently I get around it by having different shoes for different eventualities. But that isn’t the most cost effective solution 😂🤪. I have added a picture of my shoes after today’s trail run just for fun! 😂

If you want dry feet its either goretex trail shoes or waterproof socks, I have dexshell ones. The socks are a bit thicker and less flexible than regular socks so I only tend to wear if it's really soaking wet.
Most of the time though I just run in my regular trail shoes and embrace the wet, and have had to go through ankle deep water in gateways or sunken paths before now.
I can recommend the snowpea shoe dryer though, I have the version with the fan and it dries shoes really quickly, although they do pong a bit if they are sweaty during the drying phase so a bit of tea tree or lavender oil helps with that. It's a godsend this time of year, especially if you are a family of outdoor sports people.

Just an hours easy for me today, set out in grim rain but stopped and came out sunny after a mile or so, for which I was thoroughly over dressed!

@Jumbojem thanks for the recommendation of the shoes driers. I think I’m going to invest in one!

I've managed a post-work twighlight run today, and at the weekend I ticked off my longest training run of 10 miles. My legs were in a good mood too which was nice as I've had a lot of niggly runs this year.

Hey. I have been following this thread for a while as you all are so inspiring.
I’m very new at running and I was wondering if I can ask a quick question…
How normal is to have knee pain when you’re a beginner? My knees really hurt when going up stairs etc, no swelling.
Do I just keep going out for a couple of times a week or need to wait for the pain to go away, as to not make it worse?
I have now started doing some Pilates and knee exercises so hopefully I’ll help them get strong enough for some weekly running as I’m really enjoying it and don't want to give up just yet. Thanks!

@catincar Welcome to the thread. It is normal to feel some aches in the muscles - for me it was quads when going downstairs the next day, but I have never felt any pain in my knees.

Someone with more experience may come along and be more help.

Well done for getting out after work @BogRollBOGOF and for your long run.

welcome to the thread @catincar. Have sometimes get a bit of knee pain, well more stiffness these days. When I first started running I got it more. What helped was doing strength training and other things such as yoga, ballet etc along side which help strengthen joints and knee things flexible. I always just ran through mine (apart from once when I had actually injured the lateral ligament), but if it’s bad it might be good to have a rest.

club run last night. 7 miles with a big gang of us. We are usually the second fastest pace group and we joined forces with that fastest so it wasn’t a relaxing run!! But still all good fun!!

No knee pain here but when I have any issues I do find gentle yoga helps to stretch out all the muscles around the joints. I get very tight so need to do 20mins of yoga 3-4x a week to function. And yes do some strength training even say 20 squats waiting for kettle boil daily. Wall sit, plank, lunges static or moving would all help.

Right I’m lying in bed knowing I’ve got to go run now or I’ll run out of time & motivation later.. I last ran Monday it was a great 8k run on the beach & coastal path but I’ve not got the energy yet today need to get off MN.

Phew 5k done very humid and no mojo but feel good to get it done. Happy Thursday running everyone

@RunningInto I read your earlier post while procrastinating with a cup of coffee and it made me smile. 2.5 very wet miles done.

@catincar welcome! I'm afraid I don't have any knee advice, like others I also do yoga and swim and the odd bit of cycling to cross train.

Well done on your long run @BogRollBOGOF.

Well done @OhOneOhTwoOhThree i hope you enjoyed some after buzz. My run really did do me good this morning although it was a slog. We have adhd genes in our family & the dopamine hit from exercise in the running really helps me focus & function at my desk job. Plus the dog walk in the evening to unwind. I’ve not been diagnosed but going through it with my both my DDs made both my DH & I realise how much we both “self medicate” with exercise hormones & caffeine to function. My eldest DD trains 15-20hrs per week in her sport so she too definitely needs the buzz too.

@RunningInto im exactly the same. I don’t have a diagnosis but everyone who knows me is like, yeah, definitely. My whole history screams adhd!! I did do the screening test at uni (5 years ago) which told me I should book a full assessment but I didn’t bother because tbh, I know how to make myself function these days. The running definitely helps! We’re all a little neuro spicy in our house but dd1 is the only one with a diagnosis.

glad you enjoyed your run earlier!

well done on getting out in the rain @OhOneOhTwoOhThree

8 miles tonight with a friend from the running club. Did the 3 big hills in town as Thursdays is usually hill reps so thought we’d better get some in. Nice mild evening for it.

I haven't been assessed, but when I see information about undiagonosed women in their 40s, I feel like I've been stalked... and looking through my family, I think there's a long line of it, but no one was looking at ditzy Edwardians running late for everything and barely functioning with life's tedious requirements, or at the other generations of women in between.

I need regular vigourous cardio to sleep. I hate it when I've been ill, and on day 5 the night time twitchiness kicks in when I'm still knackered. I first noticed it when I moved to this region and started driving and stopped walking to work. Within 10 days I was going to classes at the leisure centre, and barring pregnancy/ postnatal issues, I have always had some regular exercise on the go to keep mind and body in sync.

Regular running really does help keep me sane!

@catincar might be worth looking into a gait analysis to see what style of trainers you need. My knee pain stopped once I got trainers to correct over pronation. I occasionally get a few minutes of knee pain during a run but it’s mild and I run it off.

Trying to find the motivation to get out for this mornings run.

Hope you got out @Stripeymouse it’s a beaut day here in SW I was up super early to walk the dog at first light as my teen DD needed my car early for her sports training. Then after 1.5hrs of procrastination I did my 20min weights workout. Once I got going I enjoyed it but I rarely look forward to squats, press-ups and lunges etc. but I know I need to do it and was pretty good on my reps today.

I had a lovely sunny parkrun this morning. Unlike last week’s hilly trails it was flat tarmac, so I went for it and had one of my fastest parkruns this year. Woop woop!

I was very interested in the ADHD chat earlier in the week. My young adult DS has only recently been diagnosed although with hindsight all the signs were there. He did a huge amount of sport as a teen including academy level rugby. He’s no longer playing after one too many concussions and hasn’t yet found another sport (he played cricket over the summer but that’s come to an end now). He’ll do an occasional weight work out in the garage when he’s in the mood, but then overdoes it and can’t do any more for days because he’s so sore. I shall encourage him to try to get back in the habit of regular exercise - thank to those who posted about this.

Well done on getting your weight training done @RunningInto

well done on your park run @OhOneOhTwoOhThree

ive been a bit injured the last few days. Well, it’s been niggling for over a week but after my 8 mile hills session on Thursday I could barely walk! Had so much pain in my right hip and groin area. I thought it would sort itself out over night as these things sometimes do, but it didn’t!

I have a half tomorrow so have been “resting”, well as much resting as I can do anyway! 😂. Two yoga sessions yesterday and a 3.5 mile dog walk today. It was too glorious to stay inside and I was starting to get twitchy! I can still feel it but I think it’ll hold up for tomorrow. Might not get the sub 1:40 I wanted but I’ll make it round and it’s just a mo run event that dd1 and I have both signed up for just to do something together.

happy weekend running all.

DS1 is autistic and did his first early morning run this week 😍
He's done junior and 5k parkruns for years and until about a year ago, trundled around obligingly. Setting targets for his bronze DoE award a year ago gave him some drive and he's really found his mojo this year. He came 1st at a little juniors when touristing a while back, and recently came 1st at our home run out of 100+ runners.

Running/ parkruns work well for him because its so flexible to what you need. The social pressure is low too. There's familar people, but not much demand there. And the format is so consistent from one venue to another.

Interesting chat about ADHD and other ND. I have always been someone who needed to burn off energy, even in my teens when I wouldn't be seen dead exercising or doing sport I cycled a lot, alone and with friends, and walked miles. As an adult I know getting exercise, preferably outdoors, helps moderate my mood and helps me settle at desk work. Although yoga also helps keep me calm.

XC for me yesterday, over in Cardiff. It was incredibly warm and sunny too. Hard to believe it is November, I was too warm on the warm up in a long sleeve top and no shivering on the start line in a race vest! Felt pretty good despite not running so much lately, wet and dark hits my mojo hard! Waiting for the refurb on work showers to be done then will try to get lunch runs in to mix up the run locations. Gets a bit boring over winter otherwise for me.

Had a great week of running here. Felt like my recovery and easy runs were incredibly slooooooow, which is the point I know, but it was quite difficult to go that slow and I kept having to slow down.

I volunteered at park run on Saturday which was nice to do, good to see the other side of it all.

But had a 10k today and got a PB knocking 2 mins off my time at 53.49 which im massively pleased with. Not so pleased with the wet weather and my body playing havoc resulting in my sanitary towel leaking and me not noticing on my nice light purple leggings. Ive emailed race HQ asking for my finishing photos to not be published, hopefully they oblige!

Next race is a 10 miler at the end of the month. Ill be wearing black leggings and an extra long top 🤭

Long run day tomorrow will take it slooow (as per plan!) 18km to do. Decided to take the train to the next town and run back along to coastal path. Something different.

Hope the half went well today @Whataninterestinglookingpotato

I bailed halfway through today's long run. I'm in the taper, so no great loss and felt there was nothing great to be gained by pushing through hormonal fug. I did a steady parkrun yesterday, but my body was pretending that it had run a marathon.

I'd rather plug the gap with a couple of short mid-week runs.