Runners Thread Continued

[almost40]

Hi everyone, and congrats to those who did so well over the weekend. I was trying to post a new message on the runners thread, but couldn't because I think there were too many messages (over 800). I have a beginner's question. I ran (walked/ran) everyday for 1 week, then missed 1 week, and then went out this morning, and found that I could not run at all. My ankles are in severe pain when I run, but strangely do not hurt at all when I walk. So I ended up walking the whole way. I just bought new trainers - but I can't imagine that's the problem. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Oooooooohhhhhh

I have just found the most fantastic website for measuring distance. Check this out. You can even do those awkward 'off road' runs (providing you're not running through thick forestry). It's great!

Are you all really hardcore runners on here?

I joined the gym a while back and have discovered I actually enjoy running.

Not sure if my 20minutes/2.2 miles on a treadmill will get me admission to this thread though........am i good enough?

Ooooh, no Emmatmg, please don't go....

Some of us have been doing this for a while and like to moan about our aches and pains as a result (great advertisement, eh?) but IIRC, the original point of this thread is to get everyone to gang together and motivate/advise/nag/bribe/threaten each other into regular running, for whatever reason.

And all of us started by doing 10 minutes at a time...although not all of us were running 9 minute miles at the time

Ohh am I in then?????

I go to the gym every other day, when I started I couldn't run for longer than 2-3 mins without almost flaking out. Can do 20 mins now with 1 or 2 slow downs for a drink.

My latest thing is to run a mile as fast as I can, I did it in 8m50sec on tuesday and 8m46ses on thursday, I'll be going again tomorrow morning.

As for aches and pains.....ohhh my knees!

Yikes, you're fast Emma! Obviously enjoying it, then?

I've got to go and pick up DS, but rest assured, there ain't no 'qualifying level' for this thread!

Fast?

Noooo, it's not is it?

Emma - I've been running for 6 years now and struggle to do much under 9 min miles so you're doing great. Stick around.

There is life out there !

Welcome Emmatmg, no qualifying times required here, just the ability to drag yourself out and run or run/walk.

Be careful though, it gets addictive..

Gizmo, (fab image of you nose down in the grass by the way ) having told myself that I certainly would take a year off before entering FLM again, I find myself backtracking rapidly as that 'good for age' barrier seems to be calling..

But, I go on holiday before the forms will be out and they may have all been snapped up by the time I return, ow shucks !

Angelp, good luck for Sunday, hope it's not too hot where you are, if it is take extra water & tip it over your head as you run - and hope the local press don't catch you on camera.

Whirr click, smoking brain; Gizmo can I infer from your comments that you'll be entering FLM ?

Maybe Fiona & Prettybird will decide to give it a go too after their half in Sept. Come on girls, a weekend away in London without kids, surely that's an incentive, 26.2 miles isn't that far (for ultra-distance loonies anyway )

oooooh, thanks for that potty, you've just made my day

twink, I've just read you post a little further down the thread and would love to do a RFL. How do I do one? it's a fab story too

Twink, don't worry I just found the site and the nearest race still left to run is now closed.

Oh well, maybe next year.

Emma...you're much faster than me
I have decided to wait until I come back from holiday to go out running with my neighbour, but I will....honest
My sil who also did the RFL last Sunday is keep to do another 5k in a couple of months and I am keen to improve on my time. I will persevere.

You don't need to wait until the next RFL series, there are loads of other local races if you want to have a go, this Runners World link is great for finding them but it's worth keeping an eye on the local papers too.

Never worry about being last, obviously someone has to be, but it's almost certain it won't be you. It can look quite scary when you see loads of 'club' vests but that is no indication of speed, honest, I've often been in 10km races when the last finishers have taken over 1.5 hours (nearly an hour slower than the winner !)

Lots of people aim to finish 10km in 60 mins after they've been training for a while (around about 10 mins/mile) so Emma you're potentially going be well ahead of that once you've built up your stamina !

Emma - whereabouts are you?

There are the Hydro Active 5k races at the end of September in London (think that's full though) , Birmingham and Liverpool. Women only, loads of walkers too so there's no way you'd be at the back. The only downside is it's £15 to enter although a fiver of that goes a charity of your choice. I'm running in Brum.

Sorry that's the beginning of September!!

so tell me ladies would running help me get rid of my wobbley bits?
i had a wee run and i mean a wee run the other day ie 200 meters and my chest went tight and my legs felt heavy and im only 31 so i reckon im really unfit.
i would love some tips on how to get started, should i warm up etc.
thank you
hey you never know i may do a half marathon next year

It'll definitely help bump

The first time I went out I got to the bottom of the road and had to stop. Guaranteed you'll have gone off too fast.

Most experts recommend a run/walk programme where you run for a couple of minutes then walk and slowly increase your running time. I started with a mile route and stuck at it 'til I could jog (very slowly) all the way. Once that was done I increased the time that I was running for by a couple of minutes each week. Don't worry about how far you go, it's 'time on your feet' you need to think about.

Have a look at the Runners World link below, there's loads of info for beginners and some aimed specifically at women too. Enjoy it!

thanks potty i have taken down the walk/jog schedule so i should be doing 30mins in eight weeks.
should i take water with me and may sound daft but could i push a buggy whilst doing this, just thinking of oppurtunities.

I'm on the surrey boarders, Potty.

I've had aquick looked at your link Twink, and registared so Thanks for that.

I rather like being part of a running club

I went to the gym this morning and managed to trim 16 seconds off my mile and ran it in 8m 30 secs. Really chuffed.

How can I increase my stamina to keep that pace for alonger distance?

I started off doing 2mins walking the 2 mins running and gradually build it up to running pretty much solidly for 20 mins. I really feel like I can go for longer so I assume my stamina isn't that bad( I do 20 mins on the bike straight after the runner aswell) but I just get sooooo hot and that's the thing that I can't get my mind to block out.

I suppose my answer would be to run on the street so the wind cools me down but I really enjoy the race of time Vs distance on the little dislay on the treadmill, thats what keep me insprired to go further/faster.

Morning all!

Frantic weekend - no time even to post on mumsnet so sorry I kinda ran out on you on Friday, Emma.

By the way, the way to extend your distance is to take it a bit slower - if you try 9.30 or 10 min miles you'll probably find you can add chunks of time/distance quite quickly. It's recommended not to add much more than 10% per week, mind you, to prevent injuries. If you have a 'need for speed' you can always run the last 5 minutes or so at the faster pace.

Once you've spent a few months building a platform of longer, slower runs, you'll probably find you can put short, faster sections into each run, and then you can join them together to make longer, faster runs. If you can put together 8.30 min/miles right now, you'll be amazed at the speeds you can run after a few months of this sort of training

At the moment, there isn't much of a cooling breeze outside, I can assure you! Depending on how hooked you think you might become (and how much of a gadget fiend you are) something like a GPS system can help you monitor your distance and pace if you're running 'in the real world'. They do cost upward of £120 though.

Twink, yup I'm going to enter FLM - be rude not to, really. Do you think we could persuade a few others? (round up the usual suspects, inspector)

In the meantime my arm has been twisted into entering a local half, and I'm contemplating doing Abingdon after that, because it has a good reputation and my sister in law is quite close, so I won't be spending a fortune on hotels

Hello Bump, btw, keep us updated on how the walk/run thing is going. I wonder where some of the other run/walkers are? Almost40, where are you......

Ohhh, just logged on again and seen this, Ive not been lying in wait for someone to post, Thanks gizmo.

When DH came home for work on saturday night he was quite amazed to see me reading the Runner world website instead on MN. I'm going to follow their beginners programme but starting with Week 4(run 5, walk 2, 4 times) and see how I go from there.

Is it normal for my knees to ache? I do alot of stretching but am I doing something wrong?
I'm 32 so could it be old age for running?

thanks im going to start tonight.can i run with a buggy?im in london.

Let us know how you get on, Bump - depending on what sort of buggy you've got it should be feasible to push and think of the good it will do you!

Morning Emma, all I can say is don't look at the RW forums - I did and now spend far too much of my working day flipping between them and Mumsnet . BTW, my knees ache sporadically too and I think a gentle ache can be normal when you start running. Sharp pain, increasing pain or pain that increases when you run downhill all mean you need to be very cautious. I live by a 10 minute rule, which means that if my knees start to hurt when running and the pain has not subsided within 10 minutes then that's the end of the run for me. That and large quantities of cod liver oil has worked so far for me (holding onto wood with both hands).

I can safely say that I won't be doing the FLM!

A friend of mine completed Race for Life on Sunday. She had done no training for it. None at all and yet she completed it in 32 mins. Whilst I was pleased for her and quite impressed, it is sobering that 32 minutes is my time for doing 5km, and I have been running for a little while now!

I'm concentrating on getting my speed up now. At the gym yesterday I did my 5 km as follows: run 1t 11.5km per hour for 60 secs, and then a slow jog at 8km per hour for 60 secs, then back up to 11.5...so minute by minute alternating.

Will that work by getting me used to running faster - even if it is only for short spurts? (I normally run at 9.5 km constant speed)