Random Running Questions

Hannibal_Smith

hot buttered scones wrote: »

I haven't used a smart watch, but from what I've read a GPS running watch is the way to go. I have a forerunner 235 - has bluetooth, syncs to the phone, can read texts from the phone etc if required. I never take my phone with me when running though so I don't use the smart features. I think the running watches have a better battery life too.

Ah ok. I never thought that I'd have to have to bring the phone with me! I don't want that. I'll Google the forerunner 235. Thanks HBS

That is EXACTLY the ticket! It's fairly pricey mind you! Thanks HBS.

hot buttered scones

Hannibal_Smith wrote:

That is EXACTLY the ticket! It's fairly pricey mind you! Thanks HBS.

Check out the FR35 - it's a more basic model but it is cheaper.

Hannibal_Smith

hot buttered scones wrote: »

Check out the FR35 - it's a more basic model but it is cheaper.

I like it... it does everything and is a much better price. But now you've shown me the 235 ìm not sure I can go back :pac:

donglen

Hannibal_Smith wrote: »

I like it... it does everything and is a much better price. But now you've shown me the 235 ìm not sure I can go back :pac:

You could also check out the 230. The model before the 235. I have the 230, it ticks the boxes and will be cheaper. A quick check on Amazon.co.uk shows a saving well worth the difference in the watches (unless you're hard-core)

Swashbuckler

Do people have any opinions on how to approach training for a new (first time) dad? Was going well with 5k and 10k pbs throughout the year and consistently doing good intervals and tempo runs. Since the little one was born I'm definitely noticing a huge difference. The legs feel dead. Presumably due to lack of sleep and probably trying too hard to get back into it . Not sure how I should be approaching my training now. Should I

1. Keep up the intervals and tempos but ease back on the pace?
2. Keep hammering away as I have been and hope the legs come back?
3. Run less days?
4. Run more days but all easy?

I plan on starting a 10k plan in January but want to go into that plan in at least the same shape I was before baby was born.

Hannibal_Smith

donglen wrote: »

You could also check out the 230. The model before the 235. I have the 230, it ticks the boxes and will be cheaper. A quick check on Amazon.co.uk shows a saving well worth the difference in the watches (unless you're hard-core)

Just took a look. Am I right in reading you need a chest strap for the heart rate monitor? Not that that's a deal breaker :pac: but I like the idea of not having a strap.

Also I can't see that it has Bluetooth? But it must do if it can connect to your phone?

I like it! Thanks for the recommendation

HigginsJ

Swashbuckler wrote: »

Do people have any opinions on how to approach training for a new (first time) dad? Was going well with 5k and 10k pbs throughout the year and consistently doing good intervals and tempo runs. Since the little one was born I'm definitely noticing a huge difference. The legs feel dead. Presumably due to lack of sleep and probably trying too hard to get back into it . Not sure how I should be approaching my training now. Should I

1. Keep up the intervals and tempos but ease back on the pace?
2. Keep hammering away as I have been and hope the legs come back?
3. Run less days?
4. Run more days but all easy?

I plan on starting a 10k plan in January but want to go into that plan in at least the same shape I was before baby was born.

Run when you can, I have 2 young children (both under 4), the tiredness and deadness in the legs is definitely an issue and not something to take likely (teething will make you forget sleep existed) and make it even worse

If you are working full time and have a new wee one then I would simply aim to run when you can, no idea what your times are like or what your goals are but with the best will in the world they are secondary for the next short period of time.

Swashbuckler

HigginsJ wrote:

If you are working full time and have a new wee one then I would simply aim to run when you can, no idea what your times are like or what your goals are but with the best will in the world they are secondary for the next short period of time.

Thing is its not an issue getting the time to run. I run Monday to Friday on my lunch break and my very nice wife let's me run a long run at the weekend. So I have been running 6 days a week. Alternating easy and hard days. Usually one interval, one tempo, one long, three easy. Sub 38 10k. 18.01 for 5k.

My issue is the deadness in the legs especially this week although I suspect I went at it too hard last week. So I guess I'm asking myself should I be keeping up the mixed training or just building base easy miles until the freshness returns.

rainbow kirby

Maybe cut down to 1-2 hard days (long run and one session?), the rest easy mileage and be prepared to be flexible with your plans if baby has caused a rough night? The first year with a little one isn't really the time for being too ambitious but you can still be relatively consistent.

eyrie

Hannibal_Smith wrote: »

Just took a look. Am I right in reading you need a chest strap for the heart rate monitor? Not that that's a deal breaker :pac: but I like the idea of not having a strap.

Also I can't see that it has Bluetooth? But it must do if it can connect to your phone?

I like it! Thanks for the recommendation

I have this one and yes, you need a chest strap if you want heart rate readings. Mine came with one, but I think you can choose to buy it with or without (and pay extra or not). I think the lack of wrist-based HR monitor is the only difference between it and the 235. But a chest strap is supposedly much more accurate if you want to be able to track heart rate anyway.

It definitely has bluetooth

Hannibal_Smith

eyrie wrote: »

I have this one and yes, you need a chest strap if you want heart rate readings. Mine came with one, but I think you can choose to buy it with or without (and pay extra or not). I think the lack of wrist-based HR monitor is the only difference between it and the 235. But a chest strap is supposedly much more accurate if you want to be able to track heart rate anyway.

It definitely has bluetooth

Thanks Eyrie...i had a strap hr strap before and I felt like Robocop leaving the house

Atm it's a toss up between the 35 and the 230. The 35, for the price seems like a good one.

eyrie

Hannibal_Smith wrote: »

Thanks Eyrie...i had a strap hr strap before and I felt like Robocop leaving the house

Ha! I'm going to blame lack of sleep but I can't work out if that should be a good thing or a bad thing...

I've no experience of the 35 but it sounds like either one would serve you well

El Caballo

eyrie wrote: »

I have this one and yes, you need a chest strap if you want heart rate readings. Mine came with one, but I think you can choose to buy it with or without (and pay extra or not). I think the lack of wrist-based HR monitor is the only difference between it and the 235. But a chest strap is supposedly much more accurate if you want to be able to track heart rate anyway.

It definitely has bluetooth

+1. I have the 235 and I find the optical HR is off the wall. Some people love it but I've done 10k races with lower HR than recovery runs. I bought it specifically for the optical HR and if that doesn't work well, it's not really worth the price imo. The strap is the only way to go if you want to train by HR and there's much cheaper options out there that can do that without having to pay 350 bucks plus the cost of a strap for a watch which shouldn't need it.

Damo 2k9

Was actually going to post in here asking about a new watch, but thats been answered thankfully. Have a really old Forerunner 10 hand me down thats handy but the lack of being able to upload to the phone is a deal breaker for me kind of.

So now that the marathons over ive no major goal in mind as of yet, but definitely still wanna keep up the running. 3-4 days running preferably, throughout HHN1 it was 3 easy and one LSR. Now that ive gained a lot more fitness I wanna start doing some pace sessions etc. The only thing is I dont really know a lot about tempo runs, intervals etc. I know the jist of it, but before starting them id like to know exactly what im supposed to be doing etc.

Apart from advice I read on here, is there anywhere/anything yous would suggest me to read to get a better understanding of it all. Looking forward to getting the miles in (once the legs finally recover haha)

Annie get your Run

Damo 2k9 wrote: »

So now that the marathons over ive no major goal in mind as of yet, but definitely still wanna keep up the running. 3-4 days running preferably, throughout HHN1 it was 3 easy and one LSR. Now that ive gained a lot more fitness I wanna start doing some pace sessions etc. The only thing is I dont really know a lot about tempo runs, intervals etc. I know the jist of it, but before starting them id like to know exactly what im supposed to be doing etc.

Apart from advice I read on here, is there anywhere/anything yous would suggest me to read to get a better understanding of it all. Looking forward to getting the miles in (once the legs finally recover haha)

Well done on Sunday Damo! Is there an athletics club anywhere near you? If so I'd highly recommend joining it. If not there are a few running books read by many on here such as P&D or Jack Daniels. Also the graduates thread will have a post marathon plan in it when it starts in a couple of weeks, always a good one to follow.

Swashbuckler

Damo 2k9 wrote:

Apart from advice I read on here, is there anywhere/anything yous would suggest me to read to get a better understanding of it all. Looking forward to getting the miles in (once the legs finally recover haha)

Faster Road Running by Latter and Pfitzinger is a great book and very simple to follow. Has a bunch of plans for 5k up to half marathon. It explains a lot of the stuff behind tempos and intervals.

Some very good logs on here too
Some guys are doing a great mix of sessions which has helped me no end.

Best thing I did was buy the book. Have a read. See what you think and then drop in here with any specific questions. 8 months ago i went through what you're going through now so I had a lot of similar questions and confusion.

Hannibal_Smith

El Caballo wrote: »

+1. I have the 235 and I find the optical HR is off the wall. Some people love it but I've done 10k races with lower HR than recovery runs. I bought it specifically for the optical HR and if that doesn't work well, it's not really worth the price imo. The strap is the only way to go if you want to train by HR and there's much cheaper options out there that can do that without having to pay 350 bucks plus the cost of a strap for a watch which shouldn't need it.

That's the 235 knocked off the list then The heart rate thing isn't a deal breaker. I have a watch I got in Lidl for 20 quid with a hr strap, so if it was just for the hr I'd use that.

But it's more an all encompassing watch that does everything a smart watch does and everything a sports watch does for like...50 quid :pac:

(Sorry to read about dcm, but looking forward to seeing what you do with all that training!)

Hannibal_Smith

Annie get your Run wrote: »

Well done on Sunday Damo! Is there an athletics club anywhere near you? If so I'd highly recommend joining it. If not there are a few running books read by many on here such as P&D or Jack Daniels. Also the graduates thread will have a post marathon plan in it when it starts in a couple of weeks, always a good one to follow.

Psst! I took your advice from months ago about running without tunes and focus on the running (and to stop falling :pac: ) and you come to mind when I start to tire, I focus on the run and pick up on the slouching. So, thanks for the advice!

Huzzah!

Hannibal_Smith wrote: »

That's the 235 knocked off the list then The heart rate thing isn't a deal breaker. I have a watch I got in Lidl for 20 quid with a hr strap, so if it was just for the hr I'd use that.

But it's more an all encompassing watch that does everything a smart watch does and everything a sports watch does for like...50 quid :pac:

(Sorry to read about dcm, but looking forward to seeing what you do with all that training!)

Keep an eye on Amazon - they have a Warehouse Deals section, which is where I got my watch (Forerunner 220) for a relatively cheap price. I think the products in the Warehouse are ones that have been returned for whatever reason, which may or may not put you off. Also, Black Friday is coming up and there may well be some bargains to be had.

Annie get your Run

Hannibal_Smith wrote: »

Psst! I took your advice from months ago about running without tunes and focus on the running (and to stop falling :pac: ) and you come to mind when I start to tire, I focus on the run and pick up on the slouching. So, thanks for the advice!

:D

Delighted to hear it was of benefit and good to see you back posting and running again.

eyrie

Swashbuckler wrote: »

Faster Road Running by Latter and Pfitzinger is a great book and very simple to follow. Has a bunch of plans for 5k up to half marathon. It explains a lot of the stuff behind tempos and intervals.

I'm curious about this too actually. Does the book have plans for all levels, or is geared towards fairly experienced runners? Or to rephrase, are the plans all fairly high mileage or would there be anything to suit someone in the 30-40 mpw camp?

I'm keen to start training for my second HM in a couple of months so I'm looking for a plan that will bring me on a bit, but don't know if this would be too much of a jump.

Huzzah!

eyrie wrote: »

I'm curious about this too actually. Does the book have plans for all levels, or is geared towards fairly experienced runners? Or to rephrase, are the plans all fairly high mileage or would there be anything to suit someone in the 30-40 mpw camp?

I'm keen to start training for my second HM in a couple of months so I'm looking for a plan that will bring me on a bit, but don't know if this would be too much of a jump.

No, definitely not too much of a jump for you. I've followed the lowest mileage half plan twice now. I think it starts at 50km per week and tops out at 76km per week. The first time was definitely tough but doable. I hadn't really been running enough starting out, in that I'd followed the base building plan in the weeks previous to it and was running fewer than 50kms per week.

You're building a great base now, so it wouldn't be any bother to you. It's all relative, anyway, in that the paces of each of the runs fit with what you can run currently.

eyrie

Huzzah! wrote: »

No, definitely not too much of a jump for you. I've followed the lowest mileage half plan twice now. I think it starts at 50km per week and tops out at 76km per week. The first time was definitely tough but doable. I hadn't really been running enough starting out, in that I'd followed the base building plan in the weeks previous to it and was running fewer than 50kms per week.

You're building a great base now, so it wouldn't be any bother to you. It's all relative, anyway, in that the paces of each of the runs fit with what you can run currently.

Ahhh I knew you used this, should have gone back to check the details on your log! Hmmm sounds most intriguing... I may have to buy myself a present! :P

ariana`

Swashbuckler wrote: »

Faster Road Running by Latter and Pfitzinger is a great book and very simple to follow. Has a bunch of plans for 5k up to half marathon. It explains a lot of the stuff behind tempos and intervals.

Some very good logs on here too
Some guys are doing a great mix of sessions which has helped me no end.

Best thing I did was buy the book. Have a read. See what you think and then drop in here with any specific questions. 8 months ago i went through what you're going through now so I had a lot of similar questions and confusion.

Bought this book a couple of weeks back but i haven't had much time to start into it yet. Do you recommend reading it cover to cover or would it be ok to skip to the plans and then go back and read it in a more piece-meal approach?

El Caballo wrote: »

+1. I have the 235 and I find the optical HR is off the wall. Some people love it but I've done 10k races with lower HR than recovery runs. I bought it specifically for the optical HR and if that doesn't work well, it's not really worth the price imo. The strap is the only way to go if you want to train by HR and there's much cheaper options out there that can do that without having to pay 350 bucks plus the cost of a strap for a watch which shouldn't need it.

I've had the 235 for about 6 months and have to say i have generally found the HR readings to be pretty consistent. But last Wed evening i did a really slow 11km run and HR was off the wall high, the watch estimated 4 days to recover the run (3.5 days before the marathon :eek:), i hit max HR running 7 min/km (my 5k pb is sub 25 min) It was really not what i needed a few days before my 1st marathon as it completely panicked me :rolleyes: But i guess i've learned now to treat it with a pinch of salt. If i ever want to do HR training i'll invest further :cool:

The Muppet

eyrie wrote: »

I'm curious about this too actually. Does the book have plans for all levels, or is geared towards fairly experienced runners? Or to rephrase, are the plans all fairly high mileage or would there be anything to suit someone in the 30-40 mpw camp?

I'm keen to start training for my second HM in a couple of months so I'm looking for a plan that will bring me on a bit, but don't know if this would be too much of a jump.

There are suitable for everyone , you just need to calculate your session paces , easy , tempo etc from a recent race time and use those on the plan.

Ideally you should have a decent base of running the weekly mileage on your chosen plan at easy pace before starting the plan and incorporating sessions.

There are lots of calculators on the net to help work out your training paces like this one.

Hannibal_Smith

Huzzah! wrote: »

Keep an eye on Amazon - they have a Warehouse Deals section, which is where I got my watch (Forerunner 220) for a relatively cheap price. I think the products in the Warehouse are ones that have been returned for whatever reason, which may or may not put you off. Also , Black Friday is coming up and there may well be some bargains to be had .

This is EXACTLY what I have in mind and why I'm asking now. I want to keep an eye out when black Friday comes!

Thanks again for all the tips and recommendations. I'm so glad I asked!

Swashbuckler

ariana` wrote: »

Bought this book a couple of weeks back but i haven't had much time to start into it yet. Do you recommend reading it cover to cover or would it be ok to skip to the plans and then go back and read it in a more piece-meal approach?

Well it definitely helps to read some of the earlier sections in particular. He gives descriptions of each type of run, what they mean and why you do them. I find it helps me when I understand why I'm doing a particular type of run. Intervals and tempo in particular are so easy to get wrong, you should really get up to speed on what they are trying to achieve.

In saying that, you can easily get use out of the book by reading the first 3 chapters, skipping diet/masters runners/tapering and move on to the schedules. You can worry about those skipped chapters when you're targeting 31 minute 10k

The book will be a huge help. It answers most of the questions you'd be searching answers for online.

Well done on Sunday by the way. Delighted you made it through.

Swashbuckler

eyrie wrote: »

I'm curious about this too actually. Does the book have plans for all levels, or is geared towards fairly experienced runners? Or to rephrase, are the plans all fairly high mileage or would there be anything to suit someone in the 30-40 mpw camp?

I'm keen to start training for my second HM in a couple of months so I'm looking for a plan that will bring me on a bit, but don't know if this would be too much of a jump.

Looks like a few people answered already but it caters for multiple different mileage ranges for 5k/10/10 mile and Half M.
Lower limit is 30-40 miles pw I think. Upper limit is 120ish if i remember correctly.

Its not too much of a jump. Go for it. Just be sure to mind your paces and you'll be fine.

robinph

So my furthest ever runs have been exactly 26.2 miles long, well apart from when the course includes a couple of hills/ mountains so you end up doing a mile or so further because they measure the route using a drunken crow that can't fly in straight lines.

Seems that I've just signed myself up for 50 miler from the top to bottom of the Lake District for next year. I should really know better than to do such things during the boredom of not running the week after a marathon. The idea of spending double digit number of hours on my feet running through the middle of nowhere terrifies me.

Annie get your Run

robinph wrote: »

So my furthest ever runs have been exactly 26.2 miles long, well apart from when the course includes a couple of hills/ mountains so you end up doing a mile or so further because they measure the route using a drunken crow that can't fly in straight lines.

Seems that I've just signed myself up for 50 miler from the top to bottom of the Lake District for next year. I should really know better than to do such things during the boredom of not running the week after a marathon. The idea of spending double digit number of hours on my feet running through the middle of nowhere terrifies me.

Are you gonna use the same race strategy as Sunday :D. It was lovely to meet you in McGrattans - best of luck with the 50 miler!!!!!!