Any runners on here; advice needed.

The marathon training plan I’m going to follow from Jan wants me up to 60 miles/wk at peak, so I need to be comfortable with that. But yeah, the mileage over the summer was definitely counter-productive with hindsight. Will definitely do it differently next year.

I don’t religiously follow 80:20, but do tilt more towards easy/steady. I also mix my runs up to get some quality stuff in, including some track sessions and plenty of hills round my way too.

 

Sounds like you’re excellently placed to push on then!

Keep us updated with progress

 

An update. Was all going well and very much on for a sub 3h for my first marathon in April. Then a few weeks ago, I did a tempo run when I was tired and felt a pain/ tightness near my hip flexor.

Had been limping round, but on the advice of a generalist private physio, I continued my plan with a few adjustments. The pain seemed to get better after a few miles, so kept running, including two 30ks.

Still hurting and limping 3 weeks later so I saw a running specialist physio. Turns out I likely have a stress fracture in my hip. Eek. Scan next week, but marathons almost certainly off and looks like I’m probably on crutches for 6 weeks and back to stage 1.

Note to everyone. Never increase weekly mileage by more than 10%, or try to catch up if you miss a run. It’s not worth it!

 

Ah that’s a nuisance. Fingers crossed it’s a pessimistic diagnosis and not a stress fracture! What’s the thinking behind it possibly being that?

I’ve been seeing an osteopath for my hamstring niggle. Think he’s made some progress with it - he’s pretty sure it’s referred pain / over stress on the hamstring being caused by a weakness in my hip. He did some acupuncture the other week and it made a massive difference with zero pain for a few days running. Really surprised me as it’s the first time I’ve ever had it and always been slightly sceptical of homeopathic treatment.

I’m 8 weeks into my marathon training block. Was zooming along but last Sunday’s long run (18 miles) was a *******. Week before I did a parkrun in Northampton and then ran the 13 miles home straight after. Ran like a dream, hit my planned pace even over a very hilly route, tired of course by the end but all good. Then last Sunday I slightly overdressed for the temperature (seemed colder than it was), felt strong first 8 miles but then even with normal fuelling before and a gel I nearly bonked at 10 miles after a steady 2 mile uphill climb. Came on so quickly it caught me by surprise. Oh and stomach was delicate too, which is unusual for me. Was supposed to push to marathon pace in the last 10k but just couldn’t get going. Got to the end and left calf was super tight. Limped around for two days but it’s recovered now fortunately. Anyway, treating last Sunday as a good mental workout for resilience and will put it behind me.

First race of the year is Sunday - taking the wife and kids to sunny Great Yarmouth so I can do a half. Really hoping I can pace myself properly this time. Learning the lessons from last year!

 

Stomach issues are normally about hydration (shuts down stomachs ability to break down glucose), which makes sense if you’ve overheated and trying to take on gels. Ever tried electrolyte tablets?

Of all the homeopathic treatments, I think acupuncture has quite a lot of scientific backing (for inflammation) and is recommended by the NHS.

I hope it’s a cautious diagnosis, but I trust his judgement. It basically hurts to walk 3-4 weeks on and he did a few impact tests and despite normal muscular strength I can’t take any impact without pain and limping. Really hope it isn’t a stress fracture, as otherwise I could have done some real damage with those 30k.

The frustrating thing is my mind and body said to stop, but the first physio (who I was a bit sceptical of) said it could be damaging to stop as your muscles weaken so I should push through.

Good luck at GY. I’m sure you’ll get into a rhythm and knowing what to expect from a HM reduces mental load and frees you up. I’m sure you’ll smash it, conditions permitting.

 

Knocked just over a minute off my PB! Brought it down to 1:28.37. And more important than the time I got my pacing plan bang on in a half for the first time. It actually felt comfortable, I did a decent negative split and spent the second half of the race overtaking, which is much more fun than being overtaken

GY is such a flat course so the next step is to try and get a time like that somewhere more undulating.

Good luck with the injury recovery. Had you actually paid for a marathon place?

 

Give this person a urine sample test !!
Seriously tho ... well done !

 

Congratulations, that’s a very decent time! Personally I train on undulating hills (probably do about 450-500m incline) in the Chilterns and race on the flats, but that’s because I’m a bit too obsessed with PBs.

I had paid unfortunately and according to a quick google search it’s too late to defer or transfer my ticket, which is annoying given I was still a month and a half out.

 

400-500m is hefty, though I can clock up 300-350m on a long run round my way, so definitely enjoyed the flat yesterday! And my marathon is Boston (Lincs), which is super flat too.

Hope the scan gets you closer to finding out what the problem is!

 

I have a Garmin Forerunner 235 which has been perfect for my fitness for the last 6+ years. Unfortunately it's now starting to become unreliable and dropping GPS randomly, (for example yesterdays parkrun was 4.1km apparently), so time for an upgrade. So, without breaking the bank, can you give any recommendations for a decent watch that will track my runs, bike rides and monitor my heartrate. That's all I need really.

Cheers

 

I just bought a galaxy watch 6. They've been flooding ebay recently due to being a free gift with the s23 ultra and s24s. Picked it up for a little over £100. Seems decent enough and goes well with my s23+.

I've also just got my first pair of Brooks Adrenaline GTS 23. Hoping they'll be good for my slight overpronation.

 

What’s your price point? They’ve just released a new 165 which looks good for what you’re after but it’s £250.

I’m on my third pair of 22s, albeit just use them for easy runs currently. They’re good and I believe the 23s were a gentle evolution rather than changed massively. Big plus point for me is they sell them in wide fit.

 

Reviews seem to suggest poor battery life. Do you see that?

 

That would be absolute top end, but would prefer cheaper as the phone's on its way out too

 

Hmm you’re possibly looking at the worst time. This is the time of year when the running brands like Garmin are releasing new kit and there are less offers around because spring race season is just starting so this is their time to make £££. Plus you’re obviously miles from Black Friday. You can get a Garmin 55 for £150… https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/garmi...GIFYDkvzop52X9MdX-KXL28VeIj7OV2RoC0ekQAvD_BwE

If it’s literally tracking runs and rides and telling you your HR then @Horace_goes_up_north’s suggestion isn’t bad, unless you’re on iPhone in which case it’s a no go as you’ll lose half the functionality.

 

It's my first pair of Brooks and my first pair specifically bought for overpronation so I'm interested to see how they do. I generally only get issues over 12k or when I've done a lot in a week where my knee starts to hurt so I'm hoping these might do OK.

 

I don't wear it at night so it's always charged up overnight. I seem to get a decent amount out of it though, if I run probably down to maybe 50% and if I don't run seems to get to the night with 70+% still in tact.

Not sure if that's good to be honest but suits my needs I guess.

 

Well today was a new experience - tripped over a stealthy roadworks sign that had blown over about 8 miles into my 21 mile run. Dodged one sign but didn’t see the other on the ground directly behind it and did that thing where you have a split second knowing you’re going over but can’t do anything about it. Rolled twice over and ended up stopped by one of those big plastic red and white roadworks barriers. Managed to scrape my left shoulder and palm but luckily avoided any big injury or damage to my legs. And subject to any belated appearances on the socials later I reckon I got away without being seen, which is obviously the most important thing.

Had some cool looking blood running down my arm for the next 13 miles, which made me look well ‘ard for all the dog walkers at least.

Tiny bit sore for now but bet I’ll be able to feel it in the morning…

 

I fall over plenty of times in the winter when I’ve spontaneously taken a trail in what I then realise to be inappropriate footwear.

A couple of months ago, I ran through what looked to a large puddle on the Thames path, only to be submerged to my waist. Felt embarrassed until someone said “wow - you’re brave” thinking I’d done it deliberately, which was a great outcome.

Only once stacked it on the road, on a steep downhill in high stack drop racing shoes and ended up with blood, mud and gravel on my knees, hands, arm and face. Was holding my phone but saved it to the detriment of my own physical wellbeing.

Walkers, alerted by a 6ft 1 bloke sliding down a gravelly hill and swearing loudly, walked quickly around the corner, but I luckily I was up by then. So I nodded sheepishly, tried to run off proudly and avoided eye contact, pretending I didn't just humiliate myself and say some of the rudest things they’ve probably ever heard.

 

A few years ago I went ass over *** on a morning run between Hope Cove and Thurlestone in Devon. I was admiring the view whilst running a rocky path and took a tumble. Nothing bad, slightly grazed knee and a bruised ego. I perched on a larger rock to catch my breath for a second when I noticed a female runner not far behind me. I am not one for fuss so I was hoping she wouldn't make a big deal out of it, but when she got to me 30 seconds later she said something like 'good morning' and ran past me. I didn't want any fuss but I was a bit surprised that she didn't even ask an inquisitive "Are you ok?".

 

My running hasn't been the same since having covid, but I was just getting back into a bit of routine again. I suspect I may have had covid or something similar again last week as I was regularly feeling breathless, and running has very suddenly felt like a challenge again.

I am booked onto the Furth/Nuremberg half marathon in June so my half marathon training starts as of this weekend. Fingers crossed for a few weeks of decent running weather.

 

Hope you’re back on it soon. There’s definitely something doing the rounds. I work largely from home but typically work’s decided to have an all staff in-person thing on the Tuesday before my marathon. Almost perfect incubation period!

And yeah, the weather’s been atrocious for weeks now. Every run until maybe the last couple of days has been lashing rain, ferocious gales or something both just for fun. Good luck with the half marathon training. I’ve just a couple planned over the summer, plus Great North Run in Sept to look forward to.

 

There's 100% something going on out there. I haven't been able to get any sort of pattern to my running since the end of last year due to random illnesses every other bl**dy week! I blame it on playing poker twice a week which is also a perfect place to pass this cr*p on.

As for falling over, Mrs Diamond fell over on the canal path a couple of years back when running and smashed her face up so bad I had to take her to A&E for stitches. Nothing like sitting in a hospital waiting room with a wife with blood all over her face. No m'lord. it really wasn't me.

 

Marathon done for this year. Absolutely brutal weather yesterday in deepest darkest Lincolnshire in the eye of the storm. I'm probably not doing it justice when I say it was really windy throughout from the North, rained on and off (mostly on) throughout and as an added bonus the course was flooded in places. It was around 5c in the windchill, which is bonkers for late April. I reckon at least every half mile we had to run through ankle deep water for 10-20m. Oh and in a most-welcome twist the final 6 miles was straight into a headwind so strong I had to close my eyes at times just to keep going as the rain pelted us. I couldn't feel my hands by 20 miles even in gloves, so god knows how I got my last gel out of my pocket and into me. It was a proper battle for the ages

I got round in 3.09 though, so a big PB, hit my goal and definitely have lots to take away from the experience to build on from there. Rest of the year will be trying to bring my half marathon time down closer to 1h25 then fingers crossed if fit go again for a marathon next spring with sub-3 the aim.

 

I ran the F*rth to Nuremberg half yesterday, and it is one I would highly recommend. Flat course, scenic, well supported and very well organised. My training has been up and down - partly due to illness, partly due to a few holidays meaning I wasn’t clocking up as many miles per week as I’d like but I came it at 2:14:31. I’m usually around 2:10 so I’m pretty pleased with the time.

I recuperated like a professional runner last night with countless pints of Guinness whilst watching all the Euro ‘24 action back to back.

 

thats an amazing time…isn’t the Boston qualifying time around sub 3 hours?

 

Good job it wasn't today! We're heading down to Stuttgart and the weather is horrific!

 

My first post here for a while, but a little update and some advice needed potentially.

Had a goal this year of doing a sub 20 minute 5K and sub 44 minute 10K. Everything started off pretty well, and managed to get my 5K down to around 20:30 by April. However, I probably overdid it and got the dreaded 'runners knee' so sadly basically stopped all running at the end of April and went off to see the physio. Fast forward to now and I'm back at it again. Two runs a week max, and nothing longer than 5K for now. I did a midweek run last week trying to keep it slowish between 5/5:30mins a KM, and then did a parkrun on Saturday at a faster pace, about 4:30mins a KM (prob the max I can do now as my fitness has decreased). The knee seems fine, but I don't want to get back to the issues I had before. Obviously now I'm slower than I was but would like to speed up again.... so what would the advice be to try and build back up to a faster pace? I'm not sure I'll get sub 20 this year now, is that pipe dream? At the moment my plan is one slow recovery run in the week 5K distance then push it a bit on the weekend, preferably at a parkrun.

Is it too soon to do interval training for example and anything further than 5K? All suggestions welcome.

 

I also got runners knee back in April and haven't run since. My physio suggested two runs a week for no more than 5k to give the knee plenty of chance to recover. Even if it feels fine there maybe a little damage which could get worse if you over do it. I played some cricket at the weekend couldn't believe how unfit I am again. Back to Couch to 5k for again I think!

 

Thanks. Proper Boston is 3h5m for my age group, though I think for this year they ended up only offering paces to people who were quite a way sub-3.

Next HM is Leamington this weekend. Not sure it's a PB course and the weather looks warm so may just settle for trying for a course PB instead (done it in the last 2 years).

 

It is great when you feel truly fit, but once you have experienced that feeling it is a sickener to then feel unfit again.

 

First thought was sub-20 5K and sub-44 10K don't quite match to be honest. If you can do a 20:30 5K I'd have thought around a 42 min 10k should be doable.

That aside, I don't think you can adequately train for a sub-20 5K off the back of two runs a week neither of which is longer than the target distance, unless your base fitness is tip top for other reasons (maybe you cross train lots or work a job that requires a lot of cardio fitness). There are loads of plans out there to get faster at the 5k distance if that's your goal and I'd say take a look at those and then adapt accordingly. I suspect the common factor though is most of those will expect you to be doing at least 25-30km a week including a mix of easy runs, sessions with short sprint intervals and a longer run.

I'd also suggest checking your shoes are fit for purpose first. You don't need to spend silly money but if you're running on worn shoes that'll impact on you. I can feel it more in my knees when the foam on some of my shoes is dying (for example).

Finally, it's worth saying running faster = more impact on and effort for the body = higher injury risk. A 5k is pretty much an all out effort, so you're targeting something that naturally gives you more chance of hurting.

 

Cheers UEA. Yeah the 10K doesn't match really, but 44 is my PB at that distance so was just trying to get under that whilst really pushing at the 5K distance (which is/was my main target this year). Agreed, two runs a week isn't enough, I only really started bringing down my 5K time when I started doing longer 10K+ runs, but I think it's just a case now of building back some fitness and strength slowly to avoid getting injured again. I'll have to be patient until I can get my weekly distance back up, even though that is easier said than done. Before the injury I was doing 50K a week quite easily, so bit of a come down shooting for 10K a week now.

I have some reasonable shoes, both running and trail shoes, but maybe worth me looking into that again as you say. The trail shoes are bit more padded so I've been leaning towards using those a bit more since my injury.

 

No more than +10% distance each week is one way to approach it as a general rule of thumb. And don't be afraid to throw some run/walk stuff in too while you're going up the mileage initially. Another option is to run on grass for one of your runs to lessen the impact. Only downside to that is it needs to be relatively flat, as you don't want to jam your leg into a hidden dip and do your knee again!

 

I used to live in Nuremberg, although a long time ago now, lovely city.