Running

[Walter Cronc]

Sitting here reading all this talk is making me quite envious.

Ran a half marathon at the end of July but knew straight away something was up. Picked up a slight niggle whilst playing 5-a-side months and months ago after i stretched too far when chasing a stray pass but it always seemed to ease off after a few days so ignored it. But Christ, the half was tough. Finished in just over the 2hr mark which is no disgrace but it was the toughest run i've ever had to do. Was in pain from the 1st minute but stubborness/stupidity made me complete it.

I think i've pulled some sort of muscle in my abdomen. Its roughly round where your belt buckle is and seems to be right inside my core. It can travel up or down, depending on the activity. Even coughing and sneezing hurts. A lot. I've done a few slow 5ks since and a bit of easy football and whilst it not too bad when i'm taking part i really struggle once i've cooled down.

Went to the docs but no joy so need to book in with a proper physio and see if they can tell me anything. I've tried to rest it for as long as i can but can see the weight creeping back on and i miss being active.

So the marathon is obviously a no-no as are a few other longer races i had planned. Gonna try and keep up the slow parkruns just to keep myself ticking over but Jesus it's so frustrating.

Anyone heard of anything similiar?

Get a second opinion. I was troubled with shooting pain in that area. Turned out to be a hernia. Very quick op, in and out in one day. Took me a while to get back running though.

[bamboo]

No obvious swelling or lumps to suggest a hernia. It has been mentioned by a few people.

Pain can stretch from one side of the body to the other and up into my waist and down to almost my knee.

Even sitting here now i can feel it being uncomfortable.

Doctor was very blase about it so hopefully the physio may be a bit more attentive.

[laoislad]

Thanks lads.
How much of a step up is it from where I am now with 1 x 10k and several 5ks under my belt to running a half marathon.?

Am I aiming to high to soon? I'm sure it takes a fair bit of training for the half marathon.

Firstly, fair play. Its quite addictive when you start.

As some-one who was in your position not too long I might be able to answer this!

I ran my first 5k about say August 2011 years ago, done a bit of biking before that for a few months. I done my first half marathon about 9 months after that, first marathon about 5 months after that. And i'm no natural athlete - far from it, about 5ft 8ish, overweight (still carry waist weight) and have absolutely no core/six pack. I'd have very poor flexibility and couldn't bench press the bar, never mind put weights on it.

The moral of that wee rant is that anyone can do a half, or even a full. Once you set your mind to it and address it the right way. One thing in my favour is that I have always had a good engine and the ignorance to match it, it suits the long runs.

The last of the halfs for this "season" are coming up but no reason why you couldn't do any of the spring halfs.

A 10k is half way to a half marathon, not a huge leap considering you've gone to 10k in a few months.

Well I'd certainly have the ignorance to match yours 

I use to be very fit as I played a lot of soccer at a highish enough level until I was about 29.
That's 5 years ago and haven't done much since,but I think that being involved in sport previously has helped me get back into getting fit.Like riding a bike I suppose.

As part of my running I am also doing a 0 to 100 press ups program and can do about 60 without stopping right now and I do about 100 to 150 everyday in about 10mins. The program is designed for you to get to 100 press ups without stopping.A bit like the couch to 5k but for press ups!.
I really think this is helping me with the running as I have read that push ups are a great way to strengthen the core.Maybe it's all in the head but I think it's helping anyway 

Really have the running bug now,nearly so much I am regretting spending several hundred quid on a new bike a few months ago as I haven't taken it out of the shed in weeks 

LL the key thing is to take it progressively but a half marathon is perfectly doable. Running can be harsh on the body so it's important to bed into it and not go gung-ho or you won't last too long but looking at your training you look to be going about it the right way so go about it progressively and no reason why you couldn't do a half.

You could do a half of getting up to 10-12 miles as your longest run. Very achievable. 10% a week increase max is  the guideline which is recommended to avoid injury.

Cheers Tommy,would love to be able do a marathon some day but will go for half marathon next.

[Walter Cronc]

No obvious swelling or lumps to suggest a hernia. It has been mentioned by a few people.

Pain can stretch from one side of the body to the other and up into my waist and down to almost my knee.

Even sitting here now i can feel it being uncomfortable.

Doctor was very blase about it so hopefully the physio may be a bit more attentive.

No obvious swelling or lumps to suggest a hernia. It has been mentioned by a few people.

Pain can stretch from one side of the body to the other and up into my waist and down to almost my knee.

Even sitting here now i can feel it being uncomfortable.

Doctor was very blase about it so hopefully the physio may be a bit more attentive.

I had no lumps or bumps myself. Just pain, which worried me a lot. My own doc at home was very blasé and infact it was a doc at university in England that discovered it. Get a second look if the physio doesn't say much.

[moysider]

Not sure if this is an old wives tale but I heard once that you should never go running in the fog (apart from the obvious dangers of not being seen) but that it can be bad for your chest as fog traps any toxins in the air. Any truth in this? Anyone ever hear of it before??

That would be true. In the case of a temperature inversion any smoke will be trapped close to the ground. Cold winter weather and coal fires would cause a smog. Not sure about the fog trapping toxins, just that any toxic gases will be in the mix. Unless you re in a built-up area it doesn t matter. You re only breathing in water droplets instead of water vapour in a pure fog.

That cold winter freeze-up 2010 or 2011, a gang of us ran several times in dark with headtorches. Sometimes the temperatures were <-10. We were breathing in tiny ice crystals in fact. It probably was harder to breath but it was great craic. We were told we were nuts and would get a pneumonia but nobody got ill. We ran on forest tracks and coal smoke and car fumes would not have been an issue.

[moysider]

No obvious swelling or lumps to suggest a hernia. It has been mentioned by a few people.

Pain can stretch from one side of the body to the other and up into my waist and down to almost my knee.

Even sitting here now i can feel it being uncomfortable.

Doctor was very blase about it so hopefully the physio may be a bit more attentive.

No obvious swelling or lumps to suggest a hernia. It has been mentioned by a few people.

Pain can stretch from one side of the body to the other and up into my waist and down to almost my knee.

Even sitting here now i can feel it being uncomfortable.

Doctor was very blase about it so hopefully the physio may be a bit more attentive.

I had no lumps or bumps myself. Just pain, which worried me a lot. My own doc at home was very blasé and infact it was a doc at university in England that discovered it. Get a second look if the physio doesn't say much.

Impossible to get a hernia around the belt buckle - it d be down in your balls.

You ve probably got a dose of osteitis pubis ( inflamation of the pubic bone - which is where the buckle rests).
abdominable muscles tie up there like a spider's web. It ll clear up but physio wont do it ant good but at least it s not a hernia and surgery. If it s any consolatin, a lad playing in AI final on Sunday had this sidline him for the guts of a year. You must have been waring the abs in the gym?

[Never beat the deeler]

Lads, I'm new to the running game, and probably coming from a similar position as Bingo was 2 years ago (5'9, carrying a gut, etc etc).

Have been training towards doing a 20km obstacle course at the end of Oct - doing boot camp and gym sessions 4-6 times a week as well as going for runs. Was upping the distance run, but hit a snag at the start of August.

Did a 9km obstacle course, ended up getting fairly wet and cold and was standing around for a while afterward. Got a bad chesty cold from it, and wasn't great. Problem is, I had arranged to do a 12km run the following weekend, and through stubbornness though I could push through it. Managed the 12k in a below average time, but was absolutely fecked after.

Long story short, only getting back to training now - did a 5km last night after work which went OK, though I don't know how much more I could do. Planning on doing 3 x 5km runs/week in the morning and core & upper body training after work 3 times / week with a longer run at the weekends.

Am I dreaming if I'm still planning the 20k in <6 weeks time?

I'm a plodder, and always feel knackered after a couple of kms but can keep going at a steady pace (about 5:30/km). Can't seem to up this at all. Maybe its related to my breathing. I can't breathe through my nose when I'm running as I broke it years ago, so I puff and blow quite a bit

[gerrykeegan]

Really have the running bug now,nearly so much I am regretting spending several hundred quid on a new bike a few months ago as I haven't taken it out of the shed in weeks 

Well done LL. I will give you 50 yoyos for the Carrera, I'll even pick it up!

[bluenosebandit]

Lads, I'm new to the running game, and probably coming from a similar position as Bingo was 2 years ago (5'9, carrying a gut, etc etc).

Have been training towards doing a 20km obstacle course at the end of Oct - doing boot camp and gym sessions 4-6 times a week as well as going for runs. Was upping the distance run, but hit a snag at the start of August.

Did a 9km obstacle course, ended up getting fairly wet and cold and was standing around for a while afterward. Got a bad chesty cold from it, and wasn't great. Problem is, I had arranged to do a 12km run the following weekend, and through stubbornness though I could push through it. Managed the 12k in a below average time, but was absolutely fecked after.

Long story short, only getting back to training now - did a 5km last night after work which went OK, though I don't know how much more I could do. Planning on doing 3 x 5km runs/week in the morning and core & upper body training after work 3 times / week with a longer run at the weekends.

Am I dreaming if I'm still planning the 20k in <6 weeks time?

I'm a plodder, and always feel knackered after a couple of kms but can keep going at a steady pace (about 5:30/km). Can't seem to up this at all. Maybe its related to my breathing. I can't breathe through my nose when I'm running as I broke it years ago, so I puff and blow quite a bit

6 weeks is plenty of time to get ready for a 20k, it will be a struggle but you will be able to do it.
With regards the flu, ive done a few marathons and had similar problems with being run down and getting flus and colds. Recommended to take plenty of vitamin c and Beetroot juice, its a natural creatine. You can get it in tesco, doesnt taste great, but its like anything, if its freezing cold its drinkable.
For your breathing, you should try nasal strips, they are supposed to promote breathing and increase nasal capacity, Robbie Fowler used to wear them as he had a very bad breathing problem

[Mayo4Sam]

Lads, I'm new to the running game, and probably coming from a similar position as Bingo was 2 years ago (5'9, carrying a gut, etc etc).

Have been training towards doing a 20km obstacle course at the end of Oct - doing boot camp and gym sessions 4-6 times a week as well as going for runs. Was upping the distance run, but hit a snag at the start of August.

Did a 9km obstacle course, ended up getting fairly wet and cold and was standing around for a while afterward. Got a bad chesty cold from it, and wasn't great. Problem is, I had arranged to do a 12km run the following weekend, and through stubbornness though I could push through it. Managed the 12k in a below average time, but was absolutely fecked after.

Long story short, only getting back to training now - did a 5km last night after work which went OK, though I don't know how much more I could do. Planning on doing 3 x 5km runs/week in the morning and core & upper body training after work 3 times / week with a longer run at the weekends.

Am I dreaming if I'm still planning the 20k in <6 weeks time?

I'm a plodder, and always feel knackered after a couple of kms but can keep going at a steady pace (about 5:30/km). Can't seem to up this at all. Maybe its related to my breathing. I can't breathe through my nose when I'm running as I broke it years ago, so I puff and blow quite a bit

Deeler have you looked at varying your running?
Say knock out 20k some saturday at a slow slow pace, whatever pace you need to get you through. Then the next session look at doing maybe 1k fast, 2-3mins recovery x 3, maybe another session do hill repeats, nothing too steep and maybe only 400m x 10, that'll get your times down

[Never beat the deeler]

Lads, I'm new to the running game, and probably coming from a similar position as Bingo was 2 years ago (5'9, carrying a gut, etc etc).

Have been training towards doing a 20km obstacle course at the end of Oct - doing boot camp and gym sessions 4-6 times a week as well as going for runs. Was upping the distance run, but hit a snag at the start of August.

Did a 9km obstacle course, ended up getting fairly wet and cold and was standing around for a while afterward. Got a bad chesty cold from it, and wasn't great. Problem is, I had arranged to do a 12km run the following weekend, and through stubbornness though I could push through it. Managed the 12k in a below average time, but was absolutely fecked after.

Long story short, only getting back to training now - did a 5km last night after work which went OK, though I don't know how much more I could do. Planning on doing 3 x 5km runs/week in the morning and core & upper body training after work 3 times / week with a longer run at the weekends.

Am I dreaming if I'm still planning the 20k in <6 weeks time?

I'm a plodder, and always feel knackered after a couple of kms but can keep going at a steady pace (about 5:30/km). Can't seem to up this at all. Maybe its related to my breathing. I can't breathe through my nose when I'm running as I broke it years ago, so I puff and blow quite a bit

Deeler have you looked at varying your running?
Say knock out 20k some saturday at a slow slow pace, whatever pace you need to get you through. Then the next session look at doing maybe 1k fast, 2-3mins recovery x 3, maybe another session do hill repeats, nothing too steep and maybe only 400m x 10, that'll get your times down

Cheers for that. Have varied it a bit, like when I try the longer runs I start out slow . Thing is though, whether I start out slow or (relatively) fast, I end up levelling out at 5'35 - 5'45 / km. Only difference is whether I get there after 1km or 3! Usually struggle on then up to 6/7 kms.

Will try some of the 1km runs with intervals and see how that goes. Cheers

[Never beat the deeler]

Lads, I'm new to the running game, and probably coming from a similar position as Bingo was 2 years ago (5'9, carrying a gut, etc etc).

Have been training towards doing a 20km obstacle course at the end of Oct - doing boot camp and gym sessions 4-6 times a week as well as going for runs. Was upping the distance run, but hit a snag at the start of August.

Did a 9km obstacle course, ended up getting fairly wet and cold and was standing around for a while afterward. Got a bad chesty cold from it, and wasn't great. Problem is, I had arranged to do a 12km run the following weekend, and through stubbornness though I could push through it. Managed the 12k in a below average time, but was absolutely fecked after.

Long story short, only getting back to training now - did a 5km last night after work which went OK, though I don't know how much more I could do. Planning on doing 3 x 5km runs/week in the morning and core & upper body training after work 3 times / week with a longer run at the weekends.

Am I dreaming if I'm still planning the 20k in <6 weeks time?

I'm a plodder, and always feel knackered after a couple of kms but can keep going at a steady pace (about 5:30/km). Can't seem to up this at all. Maybe its related to my breathing. I can't breathe through my nose when I'm running as I broke it years ago, so I puff and blow quite a bit

6 weeks is plenty of time to get ready for a 20k, it will be a struggle but you will be able to do it.
With regards the flu, ive done a few marathons and had similar problems with being run down and getting flus and colds. Recommended to take plenty of vitamin c and Beetroot juice, its a natural creatine. You can get it in tesco, doesnt taste great, but its like anything, if its freezing cold its drinkable.
For your breathing, you should try nasal strips, they are supposed to promote breathing and increase nasal capacity, Robbie Fowler used to wear them as he had a very bad breathing problem

thanks for the positivity. Should be ok cold/flu-wise. Its coming into spring here (in Perth) and I won't be getting and staying wet again. Might try the strips.

[moysider]

Lads, I'm new to the running game, and probably coming from a similar position as Bingo was 2 years ago (5'9, carrying a gut, etc etc).

Have been training towards doing a 20km obstacle course at the end of Oct - doing boot camp and gym sessions 4-6 times a week as well as going for runs. Was upping the distance run, but hit a snag at the start of August.

Did a 9km obstacle course, ended up getting fairly wet and cold and was standing around for a while afterward. Got a bad chesty cold from it, and wasn't great. Problem is, I had arranged to do a 12km run the following weekend, and through stubbornness though I could push through it. Managed the 12k in a below average time, but was absolutely fecked after.

Long story short, only getting back to training now - did a 5km last night after work which went OK, though I don't know how much more I could do. Planning on doing 3 x 5km runs/week in the morning and core & upper body training after work 3 times / week with a longer run at the weekends.

Am I dreaming if I'm still planning the 20k in <6 weeks time?

I'm a plodder, and always feel knackered after a couple of kms but can keep going at a steady pace (about 5:30/km). Can't seem to up this at all. Maybe its related to my breathing. I can't breathe through my nose when I'm running as I broke it years ago, so I puff and blow quite a bit

6 weeks is plenty of time to get ready for a 20k, it will be a struggle but you will be able to do it.
With regards the flu, ive done a few marathons and had similar problems with being run down and getting flus and colds. Recommended to take plenty of vitamin c and Beetroot juice, its a natural creatine. You can get it in tesco, doesnt taste great, but its like anything, if its freezing cold its drinkable.
For your breathing, you should try nasal strips, they are supposed to promote breathing and increase nasal capacity, Robbie Fowler used to wear them as he had a very bad breathing problem

thanks for the positivity. Should be ok cold/flu-wise. Its coming into spring here (in Perth) and I won't be getting and staying wet again. Might try the strips.

Better breathing will come with better fitness. It can take the breathing a while to settle down in a run and of course if you get conscious of it you can imagine it to be worse than it is. I d be a mouth breather as well because my sinuses are a mess. The thing is to avoid short shallow gaspy breaths. If you try to get a good long exhale - like ye would swimming, it might help. The thing is I think we get in more air through banjaxed noses than we think as well.

[Mayo4Sam]

Lads, I'm new to the running game, and probably coming from a similar position as Bingo was 2 years ago (5'9, carrying a gut, etc etc).

Have been training towards doing a 20km obstacle course at the end of Oct - doing boot camp and gym sessions 4-6 times a week as well as going for runs. Was upping the distance run, but hit a snag at the start of August.

Did a 9km obstacle course, ended up getting fairly wet and cold and was standing around for a while afterward. Got a bad chesty cold from it, and wasn't great. Problem is, I had arranged to do a 12km run the following weekend, and through stubbornness though I could push through it. Managed the 12k in a below average time, but was absolutely fecked after.

Long story short, only getting back to training now - did a 5km last night after work which went OK, though I don't know how much more I could do. Planning on doing 3 x 5km runs/week in the morning and core & upper body training after work 3 times / week with a longer run at the weekends.

Am I dreaming if I'm still planning the 20k in <6 weeks time?

I'm a plodder, and always feel knackered after a couple of kms but can keep going at a steady pace (about 5:30/km). Can't seem to up this at all. Maybe its related to my breathing. I can't breathe through my nose when I'm running as I broke it years ago, so I puff and blow quite a bit

Deeler have you looked at varying your running?
Say knock out 20k some saturday at a slow slow pace, whatever pace you need to get you through. Then the next session look at doing maybe 1k fast, 2-3mins recovery x 3, maybe another session do hill repeats, nothing too steep and maybe only 400m x 10, that'll get your times down

Cheers for that. Have varied it a bit, like when I try the longer runs I start out slow . Thing is though, whether I start out slow or (relatively) fast, I end up levelling out at 5'35 - 5'45 / km. Only difference is whether I get there after 1km or 3! Usually struggle on then up to 6/7 kms.

Will try some of the 1km runs with intervals and see how that goes. Cheers

Try going out at 6.30/km, really slow, keep the heart rate down and just go for longer, knock out two hours at that pace

[Bingo]

Bamboo - sorry to hear about the injury. Maybe its your wallet trying to get out  Was wondering where you'd got to on this, hadn't seen you on in a while. Thought maybe all those concerts in the summer had seen you run away to join the hippies.

LL - I reckon half or more than half of the battle with running is mental toughness, convincing the body to keep going and convincing yourself of the same. If you have the ignorance, you'll be flying and your background is well suited. To date you've approached it spot on. The main failing is when people try to do too much or got too fast too soon. They'll jack it in.

Onwards and upwards.