# I've started running (any tips or advice most welcome)



## johnnyb47 (25 Jan 2021)

Hi,
With the dark cold nights rolling on, cycling this time of the year is hard going. I get quite cold for the first few miles before eventually warming up, and as I'm OCD with keeping my bike clean I'm forever cleaning it down. Also cycling at night on unlit roads makes me feel somewhat nervous from passing car's.
So i thought why not mix it a bit with a spot of running. I can pound the local streets and stay close to home whilst still getting some time in keeping fit. 
The last time i ever ran was to get to the pub before closing time so as you can imagine I'm a bit of a novice. 
As regards to cycling I think I'm fairly competent and enjoy rides of 60 miles.
Tonight I laced up my shoes and tacked a 2 mile run reaching a max HR of 172 bpm.
Once home i felt like I'd cycled 10 miles at full gas.
Are there any joggers here who can point me some advice in my tender first steps into running. 
I know this is a cycling forum but I also know you are all a good bunch who always give great advice. 
All the best, 
Johnny


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## Mo1959 (25 Jan 2021)

Don’t set off too fast. Give your cv system and legs time to warm up and settle down before picking the pace up if you want. Just build mileage very gradually to avoid injury. Decent shoes if you don’t already have them. Maybe do a bit off road to avoid too much heavy pounding. Good head torch can be fun. I’m often out before 6am and love the peace and quiet running along in my little bubble of light.


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## Darius_Jedburgh (25 Jan 2021)

Running and cycling use different muscles, or they use the same muscles in different ways. Running also makes more use of tendons. All of which means that when you start running it will hurt. Maybe a bit, maybe a lot. 
So don't go mad. Just build up slowly and let your body get used to a new way of doing things. Don't get hung up on heart rate, calories or any of the other fashionable ideas. Just do a couple of miles. If you are stiff tomorrow then have a day off. Listen to your body and it will come. 
You have the advantage of being relatively fit so no cardio vascular problems should occur. 

And get some good shoes.


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## mudsticks (25 Jan 2021)

johnnyb47 said:


> Hi,
> With the dark cold nights rolling on, cycling this time of the year is hard going. I get quite cold for the first few miles before eventually warming up, and as I'm OCD with keeping my bike clean I'm forever cleaning it down. Also cycling at night on unlit roads makes me feel somewhat nervous from passing car's.
> So i thought why not mix it a bit with a spot of running. I can pound the local streets and stay close to home whilst still getting some time in keeping fit.
> The last time i ever ran was to get to the pub before closing time so as you can imagine I'm a bit of a novice.
> ...



I started running regularly at the end of October, for purposes of staying fit, for everything else I like doing. 

Usually twice a week for 4 or so miles at a time.. 

Mostly off road, cos I'm lucky to have good country round me for that. 

I'd never really enjoyed running before, I think because I'd tried to go too fast straight off. 

This time round I decided to slow up or walk if I was struggling, and make it a bit more sustainable. 

Yesterday I ran 9 n a half miles in one go, fairly hilly, and muddy. and it felt fine, fun even. 

I'm going to keep it up, because it's been good for my mental elf as well as physically. 

Doing good stretches afterwards really helps too. 

And decent running shoes too. 

I've got some by Scott.


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## Mo1959 (25 Jan 2021)

mudsticks said:


> I've got some by Scott.



I’ve already got over a dozen pairs but just sent away for these today! Lol


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## johnnyb47 (25 Jan 2021)

Wow that was a quick response from you good people. Thank you so much for some great tips and advice.
With the lack of daylight hours and bitterly cold weather cycling has really taken a dive, and my six bellies and 5 chins are starting to make an unwanted appearance again.
My usual upbeat mood has also waned somewhat to and I'm putting it down to not getting out there and exercising as much. 
Life has seemed to of gotten in the way, which has had a knock on in my cycling adventures. 
When things go wrong, I'm finding myself really stressing out about them.
The last couple of years had been pretty intensive with cycling and felt as well as good for my fitness and weight, it was also great for my mental wellbeing.
That's why I'm feeling i really need to get out there again and burn some lard off when the cycling is not really practical,


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## mudsticks (25 Jan 2021)

Mo1959 said:


> I’ve already got over a dozen pairs but just sent away for these today! Lol
> 
> 
> View attachment 570607



I've got pink ones.. 






Plus lots of lovely mud...

Sportshoes have them on offer atm

Free returns via Asda, if you order several pairs to try on for size..


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## Mo1959 (25 Jan 2021)

johnnyb47 said:


> Wow that was a quick response from you good people. Thank you so much for some great tips and advice.
> With the lack of daylight hours and bitterly cold weather cycling has really taken a dive, and my six bellies and 5 chins are starting to make an unwanted appearance again.
> My usual upbeat mood has also waned somewhat to and I'm putting it down to not getting out there and exercising as much.
> Life has seemed to of gotten in the way, which has had a knock on in my cycling adventures.
> ...


Running definitely gives you a good buzz. I’m sure if you build up gradually you will enjoy it and feel good after it.


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## Milkfloat (25 Jan 2021)

My advise is to take it very easy at first, your cycling lungs may make it easy but your running legs won’t be ready and you can very easily injure yourself by doing too much too soon.


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## johnnyb47 (25 Jan 2021)

@Milkfloat.
I can well imagine that. I only ran a paltry 2 miles tonight and can definitely feel my leg muscles moaning about it.
In strange way though, it's a nice feeling and feel it will lead to a decent night sleep which i lack desperately at the moment.


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## mudsticks (25 Jan 2021)

johnnyb47 said:


> Wow that was a quick response from you good people. Thank you so much for some great tips and advice.
> With the lack of daylight hours and bitterly cold weather cycling has really taken a dive, and my six bellies and 5 chins are starting to make an unwanted appearance again.
> My usual upbeat mood has also waned somewhat to and I'm putting it down to not getting out there and exercising as much.
> Life has seemed to of gotten in the way, which has had a knock on in my cycling adventures.
> ...



If as your 'lard' expression suggests, you're a tad overweight, you really need to be careful of your knees. 

The extra weight pounding on them can be problematic. 

Perhaps a more 'power walking' style might be better at first. 

In my capacity as a yoga teacher I've seen a lot of people over the years with b*ggered knees from running. 

Good shoes, sensible stretches, a considered gait, and building up slowly, are all key to avoiding injury .


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## Drago (25 Jan 2021)

Find trainers that suit you, and replace them often. You'll be surprised how quickly they necome unsupportive and unsuitsble for running,

Good luck.


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## steveindenmark (26 Jan 2021)

Dress to keep warm. Be as visible as possible


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## MntnMan62 (26 Jan 2021)

I agree with what others have said. Don't take on too much too fast. That's how injuries happen. Running and cycling use totally different muscles so it takes some time to get into running shape. Also, if you can, stay off the pavement. Long term pavement wreaks havoc on your joints. Find a park nearby and run on the trails. You'll find that the "give" of the dirt is a godsend. In addition, you develop better reaction skills by learning how to avoid stuff you find on trails like rocks, boulders, tree branches, etc. Your overall fitness will benefit more from trail running over road running. Just make sure you have a shoe that is meant for trail running. A little beefier with better support. And the added weight will help get you in better shape as well. Lastly, it's so much more fun running in the woods than on the road. I found it liberating. I need to get back into it. I keep talking about it but have yet heed my own advice.


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## IanSmithCSE (26 Jan 2021)

Good morning,

I am not convinced by the running shoe industry, too much of smacks of if you don't have at least Ultegra cycling won't be fun. :-)

There are fashions, and currently there is a craze for barefoot running and shoes that are so thin that they are intended to very close to barefoot.

I definitely avoid gait analysis and "you run this way so you need this type of shoe to correct your pronation", these shoes will have padding and support to alter the way that you run, as this is "necessary".

The same people selling you heavily padded shoe will also sell you a "barefoot shoe"!

And of course there is a lot of what you learnt n years ago is wrong and you must change, landing on your heel (edited from heal) is now a no go, whereas 40 years ago it was the only way to run.

So I am stuck in the past and run in basic trainers that have a small amount of cushioning but are not sold as running shoes and I have never had a problem, they are fine for around about 2-3 months, 3-4 miles thrice a week.

Typically they are in the £20-£30 range from Sports Direct, I suspect that I will be told that they are the Muddy Foxes of the foot-ware world. 

Shoe Shaped Objects - SSO. :-)




Bye

Ian


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## mudsticks (26 Jan 2021)

IanSmithCSE said:


> Good morning,
> 
> I am not convinced by the running shoe industry, too much of smacks of if you don't have at least Ultegra cycling won't be fun. :-)
> 
> ...



Yup there can be plenty of hype.

You have to find something that fits.
Depends on the surface too.

I wear non membrane trail running shoes, for hiking, biking, and now off road running too. Usually innov8 - who have good ethics re manufacturing.

Sure super cheap shoes can be OK, if you can find a pair that suits your feet. but they don't last so long - midsole breaks down faster, which is just wasteful of materials imo

I've known a few people get tendon problems with zero drop / barefoot runners, takes a while to get used to it. .

Off road is definitely more fun if you can find somewhere to do it.. It engages the brain, as well as all the whole leg and foot anatomy, in the exercise.

I think like all these things you've got to go steadily at it, especially if you're overweight, and or not in the first flush of youth.


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## IanSmithCSE (26 Jan 2021)

Good morning,

I've just dug up the box from some Aldi Premium Running shoes from probably 5-6 years ago.

They were brilliant, I suspect that they were production overruns from a premium brand. 

The box now holds Battlestar Galactica videos.




Although they didn't make much difference to the actual run. they definitely did more miles/were in better condition after the same number of miles as the Sports Direct shoes.

They were also slightly supportive with a raised and reinforced arch, that I did like, just not enough to make it a required feature.

Unfortunately Aldi don't seem to be selling anything similar anymore, no serious runner would buy from Aldi and they were too expensive/too specialised for the then Aldi customer base.

A lot of the Aldi Crane stuff seems to have gone down in quality in the same way over the years as the company expanded in the UK, whether this is because of a need for higher margins, suppliers not having stock that they need to clear so let's stick a Crane label on it and it will all be gone or Aldi have worked out what will not sell very quickly.

Their current trainers seem to be the cheapest moulded plastic ones and I got through 4 pairs of walking shoes in a year before accepting that things had moved on. 

There is a review here https://outdoorsmagic.com/article/aldis-new-specialbuys-running-gear/

To be fair to the walking shoes everything failed at pretty much the same time, the soles were worn out, the front of the sole became unglued from the body and the internal padding was crushed, so it was a well balanced design.

Bye

Ian


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## Cathryn (26 Jan 2021)

Milkfloat said:


> My advise is to take it very easy at first, your cycling lungs may make it easy but your running legs won’t be ready and you can very easily injure yourself by doing too much too soon.



This is excellent advice. I LOVE running, I can never decide which sport I prefer but running is easier to fit into daily life. But as Milkfloat said, DO take it slowly even if you feel awesome. Your cardiovascular system gets stronger quite quickly. Your muscular-skeletal system takes longer, so you'll feel like you can go further/faster but your body can't necessarily support the additional strain. Better to take it slowly and NOT get injured. I'd suggest a structured Couch-to-5k programme. You might think it's too easy but it'll stop you getting hurt. 

And then, when life gets back to normal, the BEST thing you can do is parkrun!


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## fossyant (26 Jan 2021)

All I'd say, is, because you are fit don't go and overdo it. I wrecked my knee by running too far at first. Build it up, don't spend too long until your body get's used to the impacts.


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## matticus (26 Jan 2021)

IanSmithCSE said:


> And of course there is a lot of what you learnt n years ago is wrong and you must change, landing *on your heal *is now a no go,


only in the pedantry thread :P


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## Mines_a_pint (26 Jan 2021)

wearing the correct shoes (foot pronation) definitely make a difference especially when the miles start increasing As already said build the miles up gradually to avoid shin splints etc and always look at the surface ahead to avoid trips and stumbles, seen many runners injured (and taking months to fully recover) over the years by tripping up.


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## IanSmithCSE (26 Jan 2021)

Good morning,



matticus said:


> only in the pedantry thread :P


You have lost me, as I read your post there is something wrong the text you set to bold.

I have looked at it, twice, started up Word for a spell check and just can't see it.

I would have got it if you were tongue outing the sentence starting with And. :-)

Bye

Ian


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## matticus (26 Jan 2021)

IanSmithCSE said:


> I would have got it if you were tongue outing the sentence starting with And. :-)


Drat - I missed that horrendous error! No, what caught my eye was "heal" instead of "heel".

But this isn't (yet) a pedantry thread, so forget I said anything :-)


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## mudsticks (26 Jan 2021)

IanSmithCSE said:


> Good morning,
> 
> 
> You have lost me, as I read your post there is something wrong the text you set to bold.
> ...



heal / heel

Tsk, pedants they're _everywhere.. _


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## matticus (26 Jan 2021)

I think shoe sceptics take things too far: surely it's accepted that some poor folks need orthotics just to *walk* pain-free?
Running is much more stressful on our bodies, so it seems feasible that many bodies are sufficiently imperfect that they need some assistance/correction/etc to run with minimal damage.

(I firmly believe that _cycling _is the better exercise long-term, because it does so much less harm to most bodies! Happy to disagree with the running evangelists on that one though. For now ... :P )


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## newfhouse (26 Jan 2021)

IanSmithCSE said:


> Good morning,
> 
> 
> You have lost me, as I read your post there is something wrong the text you set to bold.
> ...


“Tongue outing” as a compound verb, with nary an hyphen, is unforgivable.


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## mudsticks (26 Jan 2021)

matticus said:


> I think shoe sceptics take things too far: surely it's accepted that some poor folks need orthotics just to *walk* pain-free?
> Running is much more stressful on our bodies, so it seems feasible that many bodies are sufficiently imperfect that they need some assistance/correction/etc to run with minimal damage.
> 
> (I firmly believe that _cycling _is the better exercise long-term, because it does so much less harm to most bodies! Happy to disagree with the running evangelists on that one though. For now ... :P )


I think a combination of lots of things, but not to excess is best.

Cycling can be good for cardiovascular, but doesn't do so much for your bone density, or proprioception.

Which running does - running is faster at building cardiovascular / aerobic fitness.

Neither really does so much for flexibility and strength - but yoga does both of those.

Depends a lot on age, previous exercise and fitness history, and or injuries too.

But anything is better than nothing.

And doing something you enjoy is vital.


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## Ludwig (26 Jan 2021)

It is a good idea to do some quality interval speed work and interval training and to run on grass, forest trail, sandy beaches etc and its nice to do some track sessions and sharpens you io no end. I It is great to find a running group or club and people of a similar standard. It is worth doing some gym work for strength and flexibility. I used to do lots of races and were cheap to do back then. I think you have the park runs now and can do time trials etc as well as all the races of every kind and distance. I did quite a lot if track races and even 800m and 1500m and 5000m and you are going very fast compared to the typical road races and is very good for getting speed into your running. You can run up mouintains, around cities beaches, along rivers and canals as is a great way to get to know an area.
If you look at the top runners they have a very fluid, economical and efficient technique and runming action almost like they are floating effortlessly along like the top pro bike riders and it a good idea to develop a good running style. 
It is important to enjoy it, don't get too obsessed and set a few targets et


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## Dayvo (27 Jan 2021)

newfhouse said:


> “Tongue outing” as a compound verb, with nary *an hyphen*, is unforgivable.


’An hyphen’ is unhygenic, spelling-wise.
😉


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## Mo1959 (27 Jan 2021)

Just hope you don't have too many runs like the one I've just had. What a bleeding slog. My old damaged legs were so sore, stiff and lifeless I was working at threshold heart rate most of the way just to keep moving  ..............and yet, it still gives me a buzz when I finished so not all bad.


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## stephec (27 Jan 2021)

Mo1959 said:


> Just hope you don't have too many runs like the one I've just had. What a bleeding slog. My old damaged legs were so sore, stiff and lifeless I was working at threshold heart rate most of the way just to keep moving  ..............and yet, it still gives me a buzz when I finished so not all bad.


Do you never have a day off? 

I'm younger than you (snigger 😄) and I only do four days a week maximum.


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