I've started running (any tips or advice most welcome)

[johnnyb47]

Hi,
With the dark cold nights rolling on, cycling this time of the year is hard going. I get quite cold for the first few miles before eventually warming up, and as I'm OCD with keeping my bike clean I'm forever cleaning it down. Also cycling at night on unlit roads makes me feel somewhat nervous from passing car's.
So i thought why not mix it a bit with a spot of running. I can pound the local streets and stay close to home whilst still getting some time in keeping fit.
The last time i ever ran was to get to the pub before closing time so as you can imagine I'm a bit of a novice.
As regards to cycling I think I'm fairly competent and enjoy rides of 60 miles.
Tonight I laced up my shoes and tacked a 2 mile run reaching a max HR of 172 bpm.
Once home i felt like I'd cycled 10 miles at full gas.
Are there any joggers here who can point me some advice in my tender first steps into running.
I know this is a cycling forum but I also know you are all a good bunch who always give great advice.
All the best,
Johnny

 

[Mo1959]

Don’t set off too fast. Give your cv system and legs time to warm up and settle down before picking the pace up if you want. Just build mileage very gradually to avoid injury. Decent shoes if you don’t already have them. Maybe do a bit off road to avoid too much heavy pounding. Good head torch can be fun. I’m often out before 6am and love the peace and quiet running along in my little bubble of light.

 

[Darius_Jedburgh]

Running and cycling use different muscles, or they use the same muscles in different ways. Running also makes more use of tendons. All of which means that when you start running it will hurt. Maybe a bit, maybe a lot.
So don't go mad. Just build up slowly and let your body get used to a new way of doing things. Don't get hung up on heart rate, calories or any of the other fashionable ideas. Just do a couple of miles. If you are stiff tomorrow then have a day off. Listen to your body and it will come.
You have the advantage of being relatively fit so no cardio vascular problems should occur.

And get some good shoes.

 

[mudsticks]

Hi,
With the dark cold nights rolling on, cycling this time of the year is hard going. I get quite cold for the first few miles before eventually warming up, and as I'm OCD with keeping my bike clean I'm forever cleaning it down. Also cycling at night on unlit roads makes me feel somewhat nervous from passing car's.
So i thought why not mix it a bit with a spot of running. I can pound the local streets and stay close to home whilst still getting some time in keeping fit.
The last time i ever ran was to get to the pub before closing time so as you can imagine I'm a bit of a novice.
As regards to cycling I think I'm fairly competent and enjoy rides of 60 miles.
Tonight I laced up my shoes and tacked a 2 mile run reaching a max HR of 172 bpm.
Once home i felt like I'd cycled 10 miles at full gas.
Are there any joggers here who can point me some advice in my tender first steps into running.
I know this is a cycling forum but I also know you are all a good bunch who always give great advice.
All the best,
Johnny

I started running regularly at the end of October, for purposes of staying fit, for everything else I like doing.

Usually twice a week for 4 or so miles at a time..

Mostly off road, cos I'm lucky to have good country round me for that.

I'd never really enjoyed running before, I think because I'd tried to go too fast straight off.

This time round I decided to slow up or walk if I was struggling, and make it a bit more sustainable.

Yesterday I ran 9 n a half miles in one go, fairly hilly, and muddy. and it felt fine, fun even.

I'm going to keep it up, because it's been good for my mental elf as well as physically.

Doing good stretches afterwards really helps too.

And decent running shoes too.

I've got some by Scott.

 

[Mo1959]

I've got some by Scott.

I’ve already got over a dozen pairs but just sent away for these today! Lol

 

[johnnyb47]

Wow that was a quick response from you good people. Thank you so much for some great tips and advice.
With the lack of daylight hours and bitterly cold weather cycling has really taken a dive, and my six bellies and 5 chins are starting to make an unwanted appearance again.
My usual upbeat mood has also waned somewhat to and I'm putting it down to not getting out there and exercising as much.
Life has seemed to of gotten in the way, which has had a knock on in my cycling adventures.
When things go wrong, I'm finding myself really stressing out about them.
The last couple of years had been pretty intensive with cycling and felt as well as good for my fitness and weight, it was also great for my mental wellbeing.
That's why I'm feeling i really need to get out there again and burn some lard off when the cycling is not really practical,

 

[mudsticks]

I’ve already got over a dozen pairs but just sent away for these today! Lol


View attachment 570607

I've got pink ones..

Plus lots of lovely mud...

Sportshoes have them on offer atm

Free returns via Asda, if you order several pairs to try on for size..

 

[Mo1959]

Wow that was a quick response from you good people. Thank you so much for some great tips and advice.
With the lack of daylight hours and bitterly cold weather cycling has really taken a dive, and my six bellies and 5 chins are starting to make an unwanted appearance again.
My usual upbeat mood has also waned somewhat to and I'm putting it down to not getting out there and exercising as much.
Life has seemed to of gotten in the way, which has had a knock on in my cycling adventures.
When things go wrong, I'm finding myself really stressing out about them.
The last couple of years had been pretty intensive with cycling and felt as well as good for my fitness and weight, it was also great for my mental wellbeing.
That's why I'm feeling i really need to get out there again and burn some lard off when the cycling is not really practical,

Running definitely gives you a good buzz. I’m sure if you build up gradually you will enjoy it and feel good after it.

 

[Milkfloat]

My advise is to take it very easy at first, your cycling lungs may make it easy but your running legs won’t be ready and you can very easily injure yourself by doing too much too soon.

 

[johnnyb47]

@Milkfloat.
I can well imagine that. I only ran a paltry 2 miles tonight and can definitely feel my leg muscles moaning about it.
In strange way though, it's a nice feeling and feel it will lead to a decent night sleep which i lack desperately at the moment.

 

[mudsticks]

Wow that was a quick response from you good people. Thank you so much for some great tips and advice.
With the lack of daylight hours and bitterly cold weather cycling has really taken a dive, and my six bellies and 5 chins are starting to make an unwanted appearance again.
My usual upbeat mood has also waned somewhat to and I'm putting it down to not getting out there and exercising as much.
Life has seemed to of gotten in the way, which has had a knock on in my cycling adventures.
When things go wrong, I'm finding myself really stressing out about them.
The last couple of years had been pretty intensive with cycling and felt as well as good for my fitness and weight, it was also great for my mental wellbeing.
That's why I'm feeling i really need to get out there again and burn some lard off when the cycling is not really practical,

If as your 'lard' expression suggests, you're a tad overweight, you really need to be careful of your knees.

The extra weight pounding on them can be problematic.

Perhaps a more 'power walking' style might be better at first.

In my capacity as a yoga teacher I've seen a lot of people over the years with b*ggered knees from running.

Good shoes, sensible stretches, a considered gait, and building up slowly, are all key to avoiding injury .

 

[Drago]

Find trainers that suit you, and replace them often. You'll be surprised how quickly they necome unsupportive and unsuitsble for running,

Good luck.

 

[steveindenmark]

Dress to keep warm. Be as visible as possible

 

[MntnMan62]

I agree with what others have said. Don't take on too much too fast. That's how injuries happen. Running and cycling use totally different muscles so it takes some time to get into running shape. Also, if you can, stay off the pavement. Long term pavement wreaks havoc on your joints. Find a park nearby and run on the trails. You'll find that the "give" of the dirt is a godsend. In addition, you develop better reaction skills by learning how to avoid stuff you find on trails like rocks, boulders, tree branches, etc. Your overall fitness will benefit more from trail running over road running. Just make sure you have a shoe that is meant for trail running. A little beefier with better support. And the added weight will help get you in better shape as well. Lastly, it's so much more fun running in the woods than on the road. I found it liberating. I need to get back into it. I keep talking about it but have yet heed my own advice.

 

[IanSmithCSE]

Good morning,

I am not convinced by the running shoe industry, too much of smacks of if you don't have at least Ultegra cycling won't be fun. :-)

There are fashions, and currently there is a craze for barefoot running and shoes that are so thin that they are intended to very close to barefoot.

I definitely avoid gait analysis and "you run this way so you need this type of shoe to correct your pronation", these shoes will have padding and support to alter the way that you run, as this is "necessary".

The same people selling you heavily padded shoe will also sell you a "barefoot shoe"!

And of course there is a lot of what you learnt n years ago is wrong and you must change, landing on your heel (edited from heal) is now a no go, whereas 40 years ago it was the only way to run.

So I am stuck in the past and run in basic trainers that have a small amount of cushioning but are not sold as running shoes and I have never had a problem, they are fine for around about 2-3 months, 3-4 miles thrice a week.

Typically they are in the £20-£30 range from Sports Direct, I suspect that I will be told that they are the Muddy Foxes of the foot-ware world.

Shoe Shaped Objects - SSO. :-)



Bye

Ian