The Loneliness of a Long-Distance Runner

[kinboshi]

Nice one Daniel good luck with this,if you say pardon though your getting fuk all from me though 

Sorry?

LOL,I've been thinking about doing one of the cycling trips that mcmillan do to raise money for them but i'm lazy sigh,I will do it though but I just couldn't imagine even attempting to run a marathon,wp sir

I have some friends who do triathlons - nutters.  I'm a pretty useless cyclist, and although I can swim OK, I don't think my speed in the water would scare anyone.  The thought of doing all three, one after the other doesn't appeal to me as fun at all.  You should do the sponsored cycling thing.

[mondatoo]

Nice one Daniel good luck with this,if you say pardon though your getting fuk all from me though 

Sorry?

LOL,I've been thinking about doing one of the cycling trips that mcmillan do to raise money for them but i'm lazy sigh,I will do it though but I just couldn't imagine even attempting to run a marathon,wp sir

I have some friends who do triathlons - nutters.  I'm a pretty useless cyclist, and although I can swim OK, I don't think my speed in the water would scare anyone.  The thought of doing all three, one after the other doesn't appeal to me as fun at all.  You should do the sponsored cycling thing.

I'm definitly going to,there's one they do through china which i think would be immense.

[kinboshi]

Went out this morning for an 8 mile run.  After 3 miles, I start to feel a pain in a toe on my left foot.  I decide to finish after 4 miles, expecting to see some rubbing on my toe or something.  Nope.  I take my shoe off, and the end of my sock is red from blood.  A small stone, barely visible had managed to get into my sock and had wedged itself between my toes.  After I'd cleaned the blood away, there's nothing to see except a minor scratch.  Bloody annoying though.

[pokerfan]

Out of interest what shoes do you run in?

[Eck]

Out of interest what shoes do you run in?

Sounds like something like these

[TheChipPrince]

Went out this morning for an 8 mile run.  After 3 miles, I start to feel a pain in a toe on my left foot.  I decide to finish after 4 miles, expecting to see some rubbing on my toe or something.  Nope.  I take my shoe off, and the end of my sock is red from blood.  A small stone, barely visible had managed to get into my sock and had wedged itself between my toes.  After I'd cleaned the blood away, there's nothing to see except a minor scratch.  Bloody annoying though.

Surely better that than a corn or something whichmay take a couple of weeks to get rid eh...

[kinboshi]

Out of interest what shoes do you run in?

A good question, and one that should have had a different answer today.

I've got a pair of New Balance 900s (which they don't make any more).  Quite lightweight and have been perfect for me for quite a while now.  I run as a forefoot/midfoot striker, rather than a heel-striker.  That means that when I run it's the front of my foot that hits the floor first, rather than my heel.  Most running shoes are made with thick mid-soles to cushion the heel on landing, and this makes the shoes heavy and less-suited to someone like me that doesn't heel-strike.



So I got the NB 900s because they didn't have too thick a mid-sole, and were fairly lightweight.  To be honest, I might be able to continue running in the same pair throughout my training and for London - but I don't want to get to a few weeks before and have them fall apart.  Nothing worse than running long distances in new trainers that might rub or cause discomfort.  So I'd rather replace them now, and have time to run them in.

I went and tried a lot of different shoes, and haven't found some that fit as well as the ones I already have (but unfortunately don't make any more).  So I thought I'd go for some other New Balance trainers - assuming that they'd be a similar fit.  I tried some on and found a pair that were lighter than my current ones and I thought pretty much ideal.  I decided to order them online from nbwebexpress.co.uk and they arrived yesterday.  But unfortunately, the shoes are slightly narrower at the front and felt as though they might rub if I ran in them. So I'll be sending them back (they have a very good, and free, returns system which saves a lot of hassle when buying something like this online), and looking for something else.

If anyone's interested in the forefoot/mid-foot/heel-strike running style debate, there's loads on the web about it.  This is an interesting piece:
http://crossfitatlanta.typepad.com/newsletter_archives/2007/06/june_7_2007.html

[pokerfan]

NB900 wouldv`e done 

[kinboshi]

Went out this morning for an 8 mile run.  After 3 miles, I start to feel a pain in a toe on my left foot.  I decide to finish after 4 miles, expecting to see some rubbing on my toe or something.  Nope.  I take my shoe off, and the end of my sock is red from blood.  A small stone, barely visible had managed to get into my sock and had wedged itself between my toes.  After I'd cleaned the blood away, there's nothing to see except a minor scratch.  Bloody annoying though.

Surely better that than a corn or something whichmay take a couple of weeks to get rid eh...

Oh definitely.  I was worried that it was something serious - and I'll be fine to go out tomorrow and do my proper run.  Just annoyed that I was up early and out running this morning in my bid to increase my weekly mileage and had to stop because of a bloody minute stone.

[kinboshi]

NB900 wouldv`e done 

I was already going to write about my new shoes, so you just prompted me to write that waffle .

[kinboshi]

Might go for these - but need to try them on first, obviously:

http://www.prodirectrunning.com/prodinfo.asp?PID=RUN-401-002-071&DEPT=401&BRAND=2&SS=1

[kinboshi]

Tried them, they were a bit too basic and cut-down for me - so I got these instead:

http://www.prodirectrunning.com/prodinfo.asp?DPID=RUN-401-002-094&DEPT=401&BRAND=2&SS=1

Will be trying them out tomorrow morning.

[Rooky9]

Is it weekly mileage update time?!

What do you train in clothing wise, cold and warmer weather?

[kinboshi]

OK - whilst half the country was grinding to a halt yesterday, I managed to do an 8-mile run in the morning before going to work.  I can't believe schools in the West Midlands are closed today either, there's no snow on the roads any more!

Anyway, back to the running.  The new trainers are excellent, very comfortable and a lot lighter than my previous ones.  They do have a design flaw though, and small stones can get wedged into the sole.  So I'm going to fill the problem areas to stop this from happening.  When people design these things do they not think about how or where they'll be used?  As it's something I can sort it's not a major issue so never mind.

So now I'm clocking over 25 miles a week, and as I start to build my long run up slowly from where I am now to the 23 miles that's scheduled for 3 weeks before the marathon, that will increase.  I'm also finding the 8 miles a lot easier and I'm doing it at 8 minute/mile pace as well, even yesterday in the snow.  Today I went out to do a run at a faster pace, so I went for 4 miles and did it at 7m 38 sec pace, which is quick for me.  I have the Silverstone Half Marathon on 15 March, and I'd love to do that at 7m 45 sec - but I'll be happy with 8 minute miles to be honest.

Is it weekly mileage update time?!

Sort of done above.

What do you train in clothing wise, cold and warmer weather?

Obviously my new trainers.  Then a decent pair of running socks.  Either a twin layer sock or a specialist sock with extra protection to prevent rubbing and blistering.  Other than that bloody stone, I've never had a problem with my feet when I run, and that's obviously important if you're running a marathon.

I always wear shorts when I run.  Even if it's -5, the cold doesn't really bother your legs.  I now also wear a base layer under my shorts and top.  These are excellent (and I wear them for any sport).  They help to wick sweat away from your body in the cold or when it's hot, and the layer under my shorts helps prevent chafing if my shorts get wet (and I've seen people with blood pouring down their legs from their thighs chafing against wet shorts - it's not a pretty sight).  Lots of people wear running tights in this weather - but they aren't really my thing. 

On top I wear a 'technical' top, one that's 100% synthetic that allows breathing and doesn't get damp.  Again, I've seen people run in cotton t-shirts and the rubbing on nipples that makes them bleed just isn't pleasant.  In weather like this, I have a running micro-fleece top that keeps me warm enough when I start, but makes sure I don't overheat when I've been running a while.  I also wear running gloves if it's colder than freezing, otherwise I don't bother.  Again, these are same material as the technical tops.

When it gets warmer, I might ditch the base layer under my top - I'll see how that goes.  I'll be running the marathon in an NSPCC running vest, so I'll be wearing that for training as well (when it arrives).

My running stuff is a combination of brand stuff and cheap stuff from Aldi (which does a brilliant range of running clothes every so often).

So that's my running kit, which is finished off with my Garmin Forerunner to monitor the pace and distance, and my MP3 player.  I much prefer running to music than without it.  I'll dig out the MP3 player and post up the tracks I listen to when I run.  Any suggestions would also be appreciated.

[RED-DOG]

  So I'm going to fill the problem areas to stop this from happening.


What will you use to fill them Kin?