Getting in to running

[Chris_O]

I know there's a few people in to their fitness on here, so let me pick your brains.

My aim (probably pathetic for some of you) is to run a 10k in May/June time of next year. I used to do cross country at school in my early teens and was fairly good at it, however years of drinking/smoking, and generally being an unhealthy bastard, has brought my fitness down somewhat.

I do general building work for a living, and I have no problem in doing hard physical work for hours on end. Obviously this is a different type of fitness, and trying to run a mile these days would end me.

So how would you recommend I start out? I'm guessing I will need some sort of routine/timetable, track my records and gradually increase distances etc?

Can anyone recommend some decent running trainers? How much should I be looking at? £60?

Are there any decent gadgets/ apps that people use to log these type of things?

[MuZiZZle]

I hear good things about the Couch to 5k/10k app

[Mash]

Good to hear You will feel awesome when you finish the 10k., it's not daft at all - even though it's fairly short race wise it's still a fair distance.

Bupa do great plans here http://www.bupa.co.uk/running/traini...ng-programmes/ just choose the pace and distance and it pretty much tells you what to do.

You're right regarding the build up of distance and pace. I seriously advise against going to hard to quickly, it's hard to gauge pace but I've done myself in with injury just because I feel I can easily train harder.

To be honest if you are literally just starting now I would get out and get an idea of pace and distance and generally just have fun. When you've done that for a while then you can sort a training plan out (they are only normally 12-16 weeks anyway).

Shoe wise you need to know what foot type you have. Without getting anything custom there are 3 categories. This page explains it well http://www.runnersworld.com/shoe-finder/shoe-advisor

To work out your arch height do the wet test by dipping your foot in water and then placing it evenly on a piece of paper. Then just match the footprint up. If you run hard on the wrong type you WILL get injured so it's important to get it right. If you go to a decent running shop they will have a running machine so you can try them out and get some video feedback in slow motion. I would advise against just buying some online as the internal padding is important.

I.e I have an extremely high arch so if I wore the more common neutral shoes I would underpronate a lot. I don't think price is set in stone but if you aim for £50 with a decent brand you won't be doing bad, then just spend more if you want to.

And apps - my mates all love them unfortunately no names spring to mind but in my opinion 1. I can't be arsed waiting for it to load half the time and 2. The phone weighs me down. I have a lightweight ipod shuffle that sorts me out with some decent music, don't really need anything else.

Hope that reads well I just typed it out quickly. Good luck with it - if you want to get involved with some awesome weekly short runs you can find them here http://www.parkrun.org.uk/

[Yates]

phone weigh you down?! they weigh nothing! Altho if going to use an app, get an arm strap for your phone. I use the Nike + app, it shows you what your route was, fastest mile/1k/5k/10k and things like that. I know there are others out there but it was the first one I found.

Like Mash has said go to a decent shop and get your gait done. I agree with everything hes said, altho id expect to pay around 70/80 for some trainers (going from what i normally paid)

You are aiming to run 5/10k, Id honestly just think of a route near you in your head, use the app and see how far that is. Even if you end up walking it, but from saying you used to do x country, and are a grafter, doesnt sound like you would be one to give up. Even if you just go out and do a mile, the app will tell you what you have done, and the bench mark is set, go out to beat it next time! I would defo go for an app tho, I was injured for months and hadnt ran, then using that, I could see myself getting faster every time I went out, it pushed me on to keep going, when running I could feel if i was going faster and if i was on for a good time or not.

When I was training for my 10k and half marathons I never really ran more than 4 miles on an average run. Sometimes maybe even 2 miles. So Id also have a few different routes you could get, stops you getting bored and always doing a different distance

[wullvfr]

I've been running a lot of late,I average roughly 20 miles per week and my plan is to do a few 5k's and 10k's next year.

I did a lot of running back in 2009/2010 and since then I've not been doing as much,but of late I've got right back in to it.

I use the runkeeper app which is perfect tbh,its all you need.

[Brettles1986]

Haven't been running for a while myself either.

The mrs bought me a nice pair of running trainers for xmas and after xmas I intend on getting back into it. I was doing about 8 miles everyother day at one point.

The hardest part is pushing yourself to go that bit further. When you start to push past your previous distance it becomes easier.

I often find my hip starts to hurt after a while.

[D4MJT]

Originally Posted by Brettles1986

I often find my hip starts to hurt after a while.

Imagine how the sheep feel!

[Brettles1986]

Originally Posted by D4MJT

Imagine how the sheep feel!

I am rather well endowed.

[Mash]

I like to run as lightweight as possible

In all seriousness though they aren't heavy to handle but when you're putting in some serious miles it can cause discomfort - especially if it's strapped to your arm.

Just one of those things I've tried and prefer without, if you love the apps then it's probably a no brainer.

[rey]

I was the same as you op.

Years of smoking & stopping sport ruined any semblance of fitness I had, so I entered into the London Marathon ballot back in April, and got my place in October.

Since then I've been gradually building up my time I run for, and hit the 10k mark 2 weeks ago!

I use the 5k runmeter app to log my pace/distance/time, and run for a set amount of time each time I go out - the programmes on there aren't amazing tbh.

With regards to shoes, I got mine for £45 (following a session on a treadmill to tell me what shoe type I needed) but they were in a 30% sale.

[Chris_O]

Cheers for the good advice people. I will have a look in to these apps and see what's what.

There's a running shop in my local town, so I will pop in there and see if they've got a treadmill and can sort me out the right fitment of trainers.

I need to cut the smoking right down, or better still, sack it completely. Maybe when I get properly in to it that will spur me on to do so. Would love to do the London marathon one day, maybe 2020 haha

[rey]

The running was enough for me to finally kick smoking - I'd stopped before I started running, but all the training was enough to make sure I didn't start again.

Don't get me wrong, I still get urges, but I know if I start again, I'll be back to square one again.