Running Motivation Club

[Shibbywiggles]

Hello blues,

Due to a horrible disease called Huntington’s coming out the blue and hitting my family over the last couple of years I’ve signed up to do a marathon in April.

I’m currently 33 years old, weigh 19 stone 3, hate running and the only run I’ve ever done was a 10k 10 years ago so this is no easy feat given a marathon is around 42k.

I’ve always liked the camaraderie we have around a good cause so thought I’d try a thread here to get some buzz and positive thoughts going as I know I’ll need them at times over this process!

Get involved too if you run or have any charity runs coming up too! I found back when I used to be fitter that a bit of back slapping and encouragement goes a long way!

 

[COYBL25]

Hello blues,

Due to a horrible disease called Huntington’s coming out the blue and hitting my family over the last couple of years I’ve signed up to do a marathon in April.

I’m currently 33 years old, weigh 19 stone 3, hate running and the only run I’ve ever done was a 10k 10 years ago so this is no easy feat given a marathon is around 42k.

I’ve always liked the camaraderie we have around a good cause so thought I’d try a thread here to get some buzz and positive thoughts going as I know I’ll need them at times over this process!

Get involved too if you run or have any charity runs coming up too! I found back when I used to be fitter that a bit of back slapping and encouragement goes a long way!

Are you doing it for a Huntington`s charity mate ?

The only reason I ask, is that when I did my one and only off road ultra marathon last year, the fact that I was running it for two charities, really gave me the motivation to both train for it and also to finish it - it was one of the hottest days of the year and over a quarter dropped out along the way, with the heat !

Forgive me, if you know this already, but if you contact your chosen charity, they will have a designated person, to assist you in the process, walk you through setting up out JustGiving page and some charities, will supply you with one of their vests / T shirts to run in.

You`ve got the best part of eight months to train for it and even though you`re in effect starting from scratch, finishing it, is totally doable.

The first thing you need, is two decent pairs of shoes. You`ll need two, as in the Winter, one pair will be drying, whilst you have the other pair on !

With the fact that you`ll be a " heavy " runner ( no offence ) I highly recommend Hoka Challengers . They`re not cheap, but are wonderfully light and cushioned - Cheap shoes are a false economy and you`ll end up with sprains, pulls and worse from running in cheap shoes, plus you`re feet will be battered too.

Have a look at some of the run / walk training programmes, as they`re designed to make long distance running enjoyable for normal people, who aren`t arsed about finishing times - you run for a bit, then walk for a bit, rinse and repeat.

Biggest tip I can give you, is baby steps to start with, as you need to get your legs used to doing something, that they`re not used to doing and if you do too much to soon, you`ll end up hating it and in pain too !

The usual way that people train for a marathon, is increasing their mileage slowly over a period of months.

If you need any advice mate, don`t hesitate

 

[Shibbywiggles]

Are you doing it for a Huntington`s charity mate ?

The only reason I ask, is that when I did my one and only off road ultra marathon last year, the fact that I was running it for two charities, really gave me the motivation to both train for it and also to finish it - it was one of the hottest days of the year and over a quarter dropped out along the way, with the heat !

Forgive me, if you know this already, but if you contact your chosen charity, they will have a designated person, to assist you in the process, walk you through setting up out JustGiving page and some charities, will supply you with one of their vests / T shirts to run in.

You`ve got the best part of eight months to train for it and even though you`re in effect starting from scratch, finishing it, is totally doable.

The first thing you need, is two decent pairs of shoes. You`ll need two, as in the Winter, one pair will be drying, whilst you have the other pair on !

With the fact that you`ll be a " heavy " runner ( no offence ) I highly recommend Hoka Challengers . They`re not cheap, but are wonderfully light and cushioned - Cheap shoes are a false economy and you`ll end up with sprains, pulls and worse from running in cheap shoes, plus you`re feet will be battered too.

Have a look at some of the run / walk training programmes, as they`re designed to make long distance running enjoyable for normal people, who aren`t arsed about finishing times - you run for a bit, then walk for a bit, rinse and repeat.

Biggest tip I can give you, is baby steps to start with, as you need to get your legs used to doing something, that they`re not used to doing and if you do too much to soon, you`ll end up hating it and in pain too !

The usual way that people train for a marathon, is increasing their mileage slowly over a period of months.

If you need any advice mate, don`t hesitate

Thanks mate! Appreciate the advice!

My brother in law (who was diagnosed with Huntingtons and lost his father to it even though none of us knew what it was two years ago) is doing a 50k in September (as he’s a proper runner) so I’m not setting anything up until that’s completed as he’s fundraising too and I don’t want to detract. I’ve had an email from the charity already and they do seem really helpful so fingers crossed that’ll all be easy!

Great advice on the trainers I hadn’t thought of getting two pairs! Probably not an issue for a couple of months but it’ll be winter before I know it!

And yeah, slow and steady progress with run/walk intervals.

I did two 3.5k last week and just finished my second 5k this week this morning and I’m feeling my body get more used to it which is good but a long way to go!

No offence taken by the way, hopefully I’ll be a bit less heavy by April!

 

[Stephen Gibson]

Good luck. My missus used the couch to 5k app which she found very good then used 5k to 10k before she did her half marathon last year. Would recommend them as they deliberately speed you up & slow you down at intervals then increase the length of the intervals over time to build you up & give you a good base fitness. Using that method she found going from around 8k distance to 15k really not that different. She said after that it's really down to you.

 

[COYBL25]

Thanks mate! Appreciate the advice!

My brother in law (who was diagnosed with Huntingtons and lost his father to it even though none of us knew what it was two years ago) is doing a 50k in September (as he’s a proper runner) so I’m not setting anything up until that’s completed as he’s fundraising too and I don’t want to detract. I’ve had an email from the charity already and they do seem really helpful so fingers crossed that’ll all be easy!

Great advice on the trainers I hadn’t thought of getting two pairs! Probably not an issue for a couple of months but it’ll be winter before I know it!

And yeah, slow and steady progress with run/walk intervals.

I did two 3.5k last week and just finished my second 5k this week this morning and I’m feeling my body get more used to it which is good but a long way to go!

No offence taken by the way, hopefully I’ll be a bit less heavy by April!

You’re doing your training right - 2 x 3.5 k and then a slightly longer one at 5k.

Next week try 2 x 4 k and 1 x 6k and then increase your distance each week incrementaly.

The rule of thumb for training plans is - one hard session, followed by two easy sessions.

If your only aim is to finish, I wouldn‘t worry about times, as on the day, you will fall in with runners, who run at your pace and you’ll naturally support each other.

Also, look at the gradient of the marathon, as if there are any significant hills, you‘ll need to train for them. Hills are killers, as they just destroy your legs.

Re fundraising. Start it about six weeks before and try and time the start, on pay, the beginning of the month, when people are flush !

 

[ilikecheese]

I would highly suggest finding a running specialty store. They can analyze your gait to help select shoes that can help prevent injury.

Do you supinate? Pronate? Perhaps you are neutral. You can actually tell if you have an old pair of shoes based on the wear pattern. I will bore everyone if I explain it here. Most running shoes are designed for a neutral gait...or rather encourage that in their design. The same can be said for shoes that are designed for people that supinate or pronate.

@COYBL25 is giving you sound advice, however we are all built differently...and remarkably walk/run differently. The running shoe industry has advanced so much since the 90's. There literally is a shoe built for you to help prevent injury.

*Edit...don't buy them at that store. You can find them cheaper elsewhere.

 

[SerenityNigh]

Hello blues,

Due to a horrible disease called Huntington’s coming out the blue and hitting my family over the last couple of years I’ve signed up to do a marathon in April.

I’m currently 33 years old, weigh 19 stone 3, hate running and the only run I’ve ever done was a 10k 10 years ago so this is no easy feat given a marathon is around 42k.

I’ve always liked the camaraderie we have around a good cause so thought I’d try a thread here to get some buzz and positive thoughts going as I know I’ll need them at times over this process!

Get involved too if you run or have any charity runs coming up too! I found back when I used to be fitter that a bit of back slapping and encouragement goes a long way!

1) Get in the running thread; having some accountability goes a long way
2) April is soon (maybe too soon), get on some kind of training plan so you can make reasonable progress
3) Find the things you enjoy about running and maximize them
4) Soak in as much knowledge as you can, you'll be doing a lot of running over the next half year or so and you'll need it
5) personal anectdote: I've enjoyed few things in life as much as running when I've been in running shape, and I've found few things as unenjoyable as running when not in shape.

 

[SerenityNigh]

I would highly suggest finding a running specialty store. They can analyze your gait to help select shoes that can help prevent injury.

Do you supinate? Pronate? Perhaps you are neutral. You can actually tell if you have an old pair of shoes based on the wear pattern. I will bore everyone if I explain it here. Most running shoes are designed for a neutral gait...or rather encourage that in their design. The same can be said for shoes that are designed for people that supinate or pronate.

@COYBL25 is giving you sound advice, however we are all built differently...and remarkably walk/run differently. The running shoe industry has advanced so much since the 90's. There literally is a shoe built for you to help prevent injury.

*Edit...don't buy them at that store. You can find them cheaper elsewhere.

Don't want to disagree with cheese here, because I have lots of ideas that many don't agree with, so I'll keep it simple and (hopefully) agreeable.

1) Keep as much of your running as possible on soft surfaces. Maybe you aren't running 70k a week now, but when you get there if it's all on hard roads you'll beat up your legs. Run on grass in parks/greenways/public paths as much as possible. Any non-road surface helps out, but may take some time getting used to the surface.
2) Don't run in only *1* pair of running shoes, you should probably have 3 pair (not 3x the same pair) and rotate them. Just trust me on this.

 

[kev]

Hello blues,

Due to a horrible disease called Huntington’s coming out the blue and hitting my family over the last couple of years I’ve signed up to do a marathon in April.

I’m currently 33 years old, weigh 19 stone 3, hate running and the only run I’ve ever done was a 10k 10 years ago so this is no easy feat given a marathon is around 42k.

I’ve always liked the camaraderie we have around a good cause so thought I’d try a thread here to get some buzz and positive thoughts going as I know I’ll need them at times over this process!

Get involved too if you run or have any charity runs coming up too! I found back when I used to be fitter that *a bit of back slapping and encouragement goes a long way!

* Consider yourself virtually back slapped. ? I think it's fantastic that you are even considering this.
Huntingtons really is a terrible disease. Good luck with your fundraising and don't forget to post your details on here when the time comes. ?

 

[Shibbywiggles]

Thanks all for the advice and encouragement, lots to take in thank you!

Didn’t know their was already a running thread, clearly I’m not good at using the search function properly, will try find again and post in there!

I agree Serenity April is soon and may be too soon which is why I’ve been saying I’m doing a marathon rather than running a marathon
I’ll make it over the finish line one way or another but I won’t be looking for a specific time or be hard on myself if I need to walk some of it.

 

[COYBL25]

Thanks all for the advice and encouragement, lots to take in thank you!

Didn’t know their was already a running thread, clearly I’m not good at using the search function properly, will try find again and post in there!

I agree Serenity April is soon and may be too soon which is why I’ve been saying I’m doing a marathon rather than running a marathon
I’ll make it over the finish line one way or another but I won’t be looking for a specific time or be hard on myself if I need to walk some of it.

Finishing lines, not finishing times mate.

You’re going to need good Winter gear too, as the bulk of your training will be in Jan/Feb/March.

Buy the best you can afford, as the cheap stuff isn’t fit for purpose.

Inov8 / Salomon and Aussie Grit are good for running jackets - not cheap, but their stuff “ breathes “, where as the cheap stuff doesn’t and you end up freezing from cold sweat.

 

[SerenityNigh]

Thanks all for the advice and encouragement, lots to take in thank you!

Didn’t know their was already a running thread, clearly I’m not good at using the search function properly, will try find again and post in there!

I agree Serenity April is soon and may be too soon which is why I’ve been saying I’m doing a marathon rather than running a marathon
I’ll make it over the finish line one way or another but I won’t be looking for a specific time or be hard on myself if I need to walk some of it.

I know there is a thread and I had to search to find it, so no harm by you

https://www.grandoldteam.com/forum/threads/running-2022.114559/

 

[SerenityNigh]

Finishing lines, not finishing times mate.

You’re going to need good Winter gear too, as the bulk of your training will be in Jan/Feb/March.

Buy the best you can afford, as the cheap stuff isn’t fit for purpose.

Inov8 / Salomon and Aussie Grit are good for running jackets - not cheap, but their stuff “ breathes “, where as the cheap stuff doesn’t and you end up freezing from cold sweat.

Good advice this. Winter is mild where I live but I had a really nice set of NB training top/pants and it was invaluable. Like COYB said, you can't get by with cheap stuff, and the good stuff is worth what you pay for it. If the sticker shock is too much, just browse boutique vendors like Tracksmith (which I enjoy even though I don't run any more.) After looking at their prices, you'll be ready to pay for top end stuff from the mainline vendors.

Performance Running Gear, Apparel, and Accessories | Tracksmith

Tracksmith is an independent running company that celebrates the competitive spirit. Shop premium running equipment for racing, training and all conditions.

www.tracksmith.com

 

[COYBL25]

Good advice this. Winter is mild where I live but I had a really nice set of NB training top/pants and it was invaluable. Like COYB said, you can't get by with cheap stuff, and the good stuff is worth what you pay for it. If the sticker shock is too much, just browse boutique vendors like Tracksmith (which I enjoy even though I don't run any more.) After looking at their prices, you'll be ready to pay for top end stuff from the mainline vendors.

Performance Running Gear, Apparel, and Accessories | Tracksmith

Tracksmith is an independent running company that celebrates the competitive spirit. Shop premium running equipment for racing, training and all conditions.

www.tracksmith.com

I get a lot of high end “ worn once “ stuff of EBay, usually at the end of January, when all the New Year Resolution runners are giving up lol

 

[Joey66]

I get a lot of high end “ worn once “ stuff of EBay, usually at the end of January, when all the New Year Resolution runners are giving up lol

No wonder you have smelly feet lol