Any Runners On Here??

[Flying_Monkey]

There was piece about one of them in the Guardian couple of months ago - in the Nagasaki region I think. Mainly though, the article was about the fact that this year the event would be run for the last time in view of falling interest.

No sign of that round here but Tokyo rather sucks the life out of everywhere else in Japan. BTW, who was the writer? There's a bloke out here right now who's done some work for The Guardian who wrote that (rather good) book, Running with the Kenyans. I'm supposed to be contacting him to put him in touch with some people.

 

[User169]

No sign of that round here but Tokyo rather sucks the life out of everywhere else in Japan. BTW, who was the writer? There's a bloke out here right now who's done some work for The Guardian who wrote that (rather good) book, Running with the Kenyans. I'm supposed to be contacting him to put him in touch with some people.

Same guy by the looks of it - Andharanand Finn.

 

[Rhythm Thief]

It's a funny old game ... I went out on Wednesday not intending to go particularly quick, but ran my quickest five miles yet. I felt great afterwards, too. Then today I set off to do a nice gentle 10k, but within a couple of hundred yards it became apparent that wasn't going to happen. I couldn't breathe properly, my legs felt like lead, my back hurt ... I just never really got going and eventually shambled to a stop after a very slow 2.5k. I hope the next one is better!

 

[fatblokish]

I've just signed up to my first ever event, the Bath Half marathon, and never having run before I need your advice and support. I began running about two months ago, starting with two mins run, two mins walk, two mins run. This is now increased to 20/2/20 at a running pace of 5 and a bit mph. I'm fat.

Anyway, here's my questions.
I'm on the cusp of needing to drink water during my run and last time out took a 500ml water bottle with me, a third full. It was a real pain to carry for the 40 minutes so are the "split" runners bottles any better?

I am presently wearing a long-sleeved cotton t-shirt but sweat copiously when running. Should I invest in a proper long-sleeved shirt? And when it gets cold this winter, would my Altura Night-vision jacket be of any use for running or would you recommend a different type (I've also got a Foska long-sleeved jacket but fear I will boil in the bag if I wear this).

Finally, as I am presently running 3 times a week, should I increase the length of my runs, increase to four or more days a week or do more repetitions e.g. 20/2/10/2/20?
Your considered advice gratefully received...

 

[Tommy2]

I've just signed up to my first ever event, the Bath Half marathon, and never having run before I need your advice and support. I began running about two months ago, starting with two mins run, two mins walk, two mins run. This is now increased to 20/2/20 at a running pace of 5 and a bit mph. I'm fat.

Anyway, here's my questions.
I'm on the cusp of needing to drink water during my run and last time out took a 500ml water bottle with me, a third full. It was a real pain to carry for the 40 minutes so are the "split" runners bottles any better?

I am presently wearing a long-sleeved cotton t-shirt but sweat copiously when running. Should I invest in a proper long-sleeved shirt? And when it gets cold this winter, would my Altura Night-vision jacket be of any use for running or would you recommend a different type (I've also got a Foska long-sleeved jacket but fear I will boil in the bag if I wear this).

Finally, as I am presently running 3 times a week, should I increase the length of my runs, increase to four or more days a week or do more repetitions e.g. 20/2/10/2/20?
Your considered advice gratefully received...

Well done for getting out there firstly.

Cotton is a big no, man made sweat wicking clothes are best otherwise you will end up carrying the sweat and chaffing, I sometimes wear a long sleeve base layer and a short sleeve cycle jersey or gilet and remove the sleeves as I warm up, it's essentially all the same gear, even run in bib tights/shorts straight off the bike as long as they have a small chamois that doesn't rub, triathlon specific stuff is best for this.

Split bottle would be easier to hold I reckon, I don't take water with me though. You could run a loop that passes your house and have a water bottle stashed like a race water station.

Have a search for a training plan on somewhere like runners world, they will likely be 4 runs a week, and will include tempo/interval/recovery and long slow runs to help improve speed and endurance.

 

[smutchin]

You can get a holster belt for carrying water bottles more easily, keeping your hands free, or use a Camelbak.

Personally, I try to avoid carrying anything though I have used my Camelbak for longer runs (I wouldn't use it for a 10k but maybe for a half marathon, and then only if there's nowhere en route to get a drink). For longer runs, I also carry a gel or two.

For the event itself, you can expect drinks stations on the course so there should be no need to carry any yourself.

Altura Night Vision jacket is likely to be too warm for running. I have a Helly Hansen ultra-lightweight training jacket and even that is too much except on very cold days (especially with a Lifa base layer underneath). Definitely wouldn't wear cotton - especially at this time of year, because the moment you stop, you will get cold very quickly.

 

[smutchin]

This is the jacket I have:
http://mshop.hellyhansen.com/gb/item/speed-jacket-49074/

It was only just above freezing on this morning's Parkrun, with an icy northerly wind whipping in off the sea, but it kept me lovely and warm. Highly recommended bit of kit.

 

[Irish_Marty]

Heres a typical weekly schedule for November and December.
Mon - 4 mile run in the morning. 30 - 40 mile cycle in the evening.
Tue - 20 mile cycle in the morning.
Wed - 10 - 12 mile run in the evening.
Thu - 30 - 40 mile cycle in the evening.
Fri - 10 - 20 mile run in the evening.
Sat - 20 - 40 mile cycle morning or evening.
Sun - 20 - 40 mile cycle morning or evening.

 

[Flying_Monkey]

Same guy by the looks of it - Andharanand Finn.

That's the fella.

Boy, that was a tough event. It wasn't just that I'm not 100% after my bad cold yet or that my leg was basically all uphill. It was a combination of two factors. The first was the whole team pressure thing: you can't let your team down by being 'white-sashed' - the relay baton is a coloured sash which you wear over your shoulder and tuck into your shorts, and hand over at the end of your leg. Club teams' sashes were yellow in this race - the university and high school teams had other colours. But you are given a white sash if you finish your leg outside the time limit and this means the team cannot record a time, even though they are allowed to finish the race.

The second factor was connected, and it was the fact that the race was so damn fast this year. The cut-off time is based on how different your team's net time is from the leading team. So if the leading team are greyhounds, you are in trouble. And from the first leg this time, some of the university teams went off like bullets. The first leg was 7.5km and mostly flat, and the leading teams came in just over 22 minutes - these kids were giving everything because this is the race they've been training for all year. We had three teams in this race and our best first leg runner came in in just over 27 minutes, the last over 30. The result was that one of our club's three teams was white-sashed on the second leg!

The other two were fine, however - and mine was the first of our club's teams home, probably around 80th out of 120-odd overall. Personally it was good. Although I had no kick at the end - my lungs are still not fully recovered: I ran a steady 8.4km leg - the longest one - in something over 33 minutes. I'm unsure of the exact time because it was all old-fashioned manual stopwatch timing and I was only wearing a basic watch.

Beer and sushi afterwards. I actually felt okay. And now, I'm starting to think that I really enjoyed it... I've already signed up for two other ekidens with the club...

 

[srw]

I'm on the cusp of needing to drink water during my run and last time out took a 500ml water bottle with me, a third full. It was a real pain to carry for the 40 minutes so are the "split" runners bottles any better?

As a cyclist you may well have the odd cycling jersey with pockets in the back. These can be used to carry water bottles. Just make sure you put the lid on tight - the last time I did that I ended up with an empty bottle and water all down my back.

 

[User169]

Sounds a bit high pressure FM. Relays are quite popular in NL, although no white sashing involved; I ran in one a couple of months ago with work colleagues. Here, they restart the field after every four or five stages so the event doesn't get stretched out too much. The biggest event here has 8 or 9000 competitors and kicks off at midnight. In true Dutch style, each team has a cyclist who accompanies the runners as guide and motivator. In the one I ran in, our cyclist had a brainfart, took a wrong turning and got lost!

 

[Crackle]

Did a section of beach I don't normally do, today. I remember why now. it's all boulders and mud and then a big lump of soft sand just before the steps you have to run up. I say run.

 

[Flying_Monkey]

This weekend it's my first serious trail race of the season, Mitake-san: 15km of forested mountain trail with 900 metres of vertical ascent and 400 metres of vertical descent. The first 5km rises 500 metres, then it drops back down 100 metres and goes a little up and down for a couple of kms before rising another 300 metres over the next 3km to the highest point of the race on the top of Mitake-san itself. There's about a km of gentle descent then an increasingly steep drop of of 150m over 1km, then another little bit of up and down, before the final 100m of ascent over the last km. It looks epic and the scary thing is that there is a cut-off of 2 hours 30 minutes, which suggests that some people don't manage this time. Needless to say I am looking forward to it!

 

[Crackle]

I slipped on a slippy thing: Running looks like it's out for a few days as I yanked a muscle in my calf doing it. In fact I had to sit in a pool of sea water I landed in for a few minutes stretching it before I could get up. Nice view though.

 

[Justiffa]

I am what John Penguin Bingham calls an accidental athlete. i started in my late 40s and hv been running since. sadly 2 yrs ago i suffered from an injury and thts when i started cycling as well. i hv done a couple of half marathons and 2 marathons to date. i might try an ultra of 50km but i'd probably say no to anything more lol. i am now also dabbling in duathlons but unless and until i improve on my swimming, i'd just stick to doing tri relays… i actually hv one lined up in 2 weeks time. do wish me luck