Running, you know... to keep the beer belly in check!

[EsterBanana]

Seems there are a few of us here who like running, so I thought it would be nice to have our own thread to share stories, PBs, tales of injury woe (it happens) and things like running gear, photographs, stories of success dealing with health issues, how you lost those lbs or bounced back from an illness or condition, races, anything you like really, just so long as it is related to running and of course beer.

I looked and couldn't find a thread like this, so here we go :)

I will start by saying I am a decidedly below average fell runner, just by deign of the fact that that's where I live, I don't really like races, or even just running with other people.

It's my time, I think of nothing else except how to not fall over on the next steps and the beautiful scenery, the weather, it's very much a 'in the moment' activity. It helps keeps my brain active and sharp, my body in reasonable condition for my age, I love it.

It also means of course that I can enjoy a couple of beers without worrying too much about the extra calories. Win win!!

 

[Covrich]

Do a fair bit of running but I do more all over athletic training.

Mostly full-body kettlebell circuits and upper body KB wth calisthenics and an indoor rowing machine/

I try and get a couple of runs a week usually 7-10k occasionally longer depending on my DOMs. I love getting outdoors and a bit of freedom

I train for spartan races and mud runs rather than normal flat races.

And yes, it is lovely to see your run has given you a full allocation of beers for the day

 

[Covrich]

This was me during a 10k wolf run at the weekend.

My washing machine still is not talking to me

 

[samale]

Running is great for your mental health, I am in the process of getting back into it again after 2 years of stop start.
I picked up a stress reaction on my left shin running the Dublin marathon. It's very frustrating, I can manage 6 or 7 miles but I can't run on consecutive days or I feel the pressure build up.
Hopefully I get back up to speed. My personal best marathon was 3.14.
I really enjoy running on my own, it's my time to myself

 

[Covrich]

Running is great for your mental health, I am in the process of getting back into it again after 2 years of stop start.
I picked up a stress reaction on my left shin running the Dublin marathon. It's very frustrating, I can manage 6 or 7 miles but I can't run on consecutive days or I feel the pressure build up.
Hopefully I get back up to speed. My personal best marathon was 3.14.
I really enjoy running on my own, it's my time to myself

I think well now I am 40 I think one big thing I do is plan my training and make sure to incorporate recovery. I won't run on consecutive days and I will maybe go upper body after a run. so my legs get a day off before I swing the kettlebell on them another day.

Is the stress thing a permanent thing ?

 

[UKSkydiver]

I did a bit of running in the past.... and I mean a bit. My knees prefer that I don't do it that often and I really do listen to my knees now.

I have always done exercise as part of my routine, a bit like Rich, circuits, box-fit etc. I much prefer instructor led / group classes.

Our local gym has a Les Mills subscription and we have videos of loads of their programmes. I do a thing called Grit (YouTube link here) 3-4 times a week. 30 mins HIIT and it's a ball breaker. I love it!

The Mrs prefers running and in the past we have had some great runs whilst on holidays / city breaks and the like.

EDIT: I meant to also say that we've done a couple of the muddy Wolf Runs. Nice, but I can live without the lake swim and the to be honest. Brrrrrrrrrrr. . And being a bit OCD, I could do without the mud too.

 

[samale]

I think well now I am 40 I think one big thing I do is plan my training and make sure to incorporate recovery. I won't run on consecutive days and I will maybe go upper body after a run. so my legs get a day off before I swing the kettlebell on them another day.

Is the stress thing a permanent thing ?

Hopefully not permanent, but it's taking along time for it to heal. If I could get back to running 30-40 miles a week I would be happy.
The gym in work closed because of covid. That was a serious set back, I loved Training on my lunch break. Shower facilities closed as well

 

[EsterBanana]

Really great posts, this is exactly what I was hoping for - brilliant!

Love your muddy photo Covrich I think I have to re-evaluate what I mean when I say I am covered in mud haha

No injury like that is permanent really, I have been through them all, okay not all, but a lot. I see it as just part of the process of getting stronger. Stress, recovery, then re-stress slowly while doing strength and flexibility training - should sort it out. Loads of info on Youtube about various things. What works for me when I get it right is never to get carried away and overdo anything, super easy to do when I'm feeling good and bounding down a hill. Oops. Done it again.

I've never done a marathon, but I would like to one day, one of the mountain marathons, hoping over the next few years to build up to that slowly but surely. I am looking into getting some weights so I can do some more more serious strength training in-between the running, but to be honest, I am totally lost when it comes to that stuff. I just know I need to do it. that's all.

 

[samale]

Really great posts, this is exactly what I was hoping for - brilliant!

Love your muddy photo Covrich I think I have to re-evaluate what I mean when I say I am covered in mud haha

No injury like that is permanent really, I have been through them all, okay not all, but a lot. I see it as just part of the process of getting stronger. Stress, recovery, then re-stress slowly while doing strength and flexibility training - should sort it out. Loads of info on Youtube about various things. What works for me when I get it right is never to get carried away and overdo anything, super easy to do when I'm feeling good and bounding down a hill. Oops. Done it again.

I've never done a marathon, but I would like to one day, one of the mountain marathons, hoping over the next few years to build up to that slowly but surely. I am looking into getting some weights so I can do some more more serious strength training in-between the running, but to be honest, I am totally lost when it comes to that stuff. I just know I need to do it. that's all.

https://worldsmarathons.com/marathon/seven-sisters-skyline
Something like this

 

[EsterBanana]

In my dreams

That looks like one serious route. wow. and also 8 miles more than a marathon. I guess it's not impossible. but...

 

[Graz]

I touched on this on another thread but here goes....

So around autumn/winter 2014 the lack of sleep and general exhaustion of having a 1 and 3 year old seemed to catch up on me. I would say I was pretty unfit then as exercise was a low priority, diet wasn't great and probably drinking too much. Had a succession of fairly bad colds which left me with a persistent cough that I could not shift, it was severely hampering my sleep and left me feeling really miserable. Several rounds of antibiotics later and it still hadn't gone so I got sent for a chest X-Ray, that showed something on my lungs, not to worry said the GP but we're sending you for a CT scan, things kind of accelerated from there....

Ended up getting signed off work for 6 weeks, possibly lymphoma / cancer but a number of other possibilities, on meds for anxiety, lung function tests, bronchoscopy, and finally a surgical biopsy. By this time the cough had largely stopped and I was relieved when I was told it wasn't cancer. Eventually the biopsy showed I had Sarcoidosis which is a fairly rare (1 in 10,000) autoimmune condition that causes inflammation primarily in the lymph nodes and lungs but can affect elsewhere. By then I felt okay so decided not to have any medication as the doctor seemed to think I had a fairly mild case. Several months later we go on a family holiday to Portugal, last chance to do a holiday outside of school holidays, predictably the Sarcoid kicked off again while we were away and the nice holiday that we were supposed to be having really wasn't great as I wasn't sleeping again and coughing a lot.

Back home I got an appointment with the GP who put me on steroids to treat it, which it did more or less instantly, and then saw the consultant who set me up with a long term steroid dosage to keep things under control with regular reviews. As happens with high doses of steroids the weight piled on.

Eventually as the kids got less demanding and I realised I could really do with doing something to get a bit fitter I decided to have a go at this Couch25K thing I'd heard about. Cycling was my go to activity before but I realised to get any decent calorie burn I'd need to be out on it for several hours on the bike whereas it seemed running could compress this into a much shorter time which would be a good thing with the family. I'd tried running in the past and never really got on with it but then that was probably my expectation that I could just go and run for half an hour without any prior training. So off I went phone in hand and app telling me when to run, when to walk and so on.

It went surprisingly well and I completed it early November 2016 with a resolve to keep up with the 3 x half hour run schedule over the winter. I kept it going and my run distances started to get longer in the half hour window and consequently my 5k time faster. I was also actually enjoying it and obviously the weight loss was really starting to happen. The following summer knowing that there was a large 10k race in Worcester in September I thought I'd have a go at that having never done any sort of running event before in my life. So a new app was installed on my phone for 5k to 10k training and I set about that. Finished that program and completed the 10k race in under an hour which I was really pleased with. Was really hooked on it now and 10k became my new distance with me running 2 x half hour + 1 x 1 hour session a week. Kept this going throughout the following year, did a few more 10k events getting faster each time, discovered Parkrun and started dabbling with a bit of trail running over the Winter.

Decided to up the ante again and attempt my first half marathon in 2019 (Stratford on Avon) so started training for that at the start of the year. Late April I managed that in just over 2 hours which I was pleased with at the time. Went on to do another 2 halves that year both under 2 hours and each faster than the previous.

The 2020 arrived and we all know what happened then....

I was signed up for another half late March which got called off but as I was most of the way through training I did a solo effort. Following that I did the Worcester half virtually in September and then trained for the rescheduled date of the one that got called off which got called off again so another solo.

Finally this year got to run the rescheduled half in August and then the Worcester half again beating my previous half marathon PB! To top off this year I decided to have a go at a fast Parkrun last weekend as nowadays I'm usually running it with my son or as part of a longer route, managed to take 20 seconds of my previous PB!

Running hasn't been without its issues, I have a few bouts of lower back trouble which i get anyway and had a dodgy knee for a while but none of it has stopped me for that long though the aches and pains are perhaps a little too frequent for my liking these days. Managed to lose getting on for 4 stone in weight since my worst time so that helps a lot. Been off medication for the Sarcoid for 18 months and all okay there too.

So I'm 50 next year, and I've got this daft idea of doing a marathon to celebrate, wish me luck!

 

[Graz]

I will start by saying I am a decidedly below average fell runner, just by deign of the fact that that's where I live, I don't really like races, or even just running with other people.

In my book anyone who does fell running, even "below average", is in a different league to us city / town runners. I'd love to do it but unfortunately don't live anywhere near any fells. The simplicity and solitude of it all is very appealing

 

[Clint]

I can't run.

 

[Covrich]

In my book anyone who does fell running, even "below average", is in a different league to us city / town runners. I'd love to do it but unfortunately don't live anywhere near any fells. The simplicity and solitude of it all is very appealing

Nowhere near the Malvern hills?

I have seen many people run them

 

[Slid]

ssI used to run quite seriously between 1986 and 1993, but distances and speeds have gently declined year on year since then.
Nowadays I aim for 5 or so six mile runs a week, which now take me over an hour each, usually early in the mornings.
In my hey-days I would look at shuffling, shambling old fat blokes and vow to myself that I would never be like them. Needless to say, I actually am.
Still quite enjoy exercise and the Covid WFH has freed up my commuting time to do more walking as well.
Highlights of the long gone glory years include winning a foot race - the Bungay Black Dog marathon in 1991, a sub 2:38 at the Potteries and ninth in the London to Brighton in 1992. After the London to Brighton, I found I could never feel the same intensity again. Maybe due to being in some pain for about a month or so. Then a bit later we had the 2 girls, who still live with us.

Used to run with Glossopdale H initially and then Burnden RR after moving to Bolton.

If anyone wants advice on anything running related, I would be delighted to pass on my advice. It may, or may not, be good advice, but my, do I like passing it on.

 

[EsterBanana]

@Graz that's quite a story, and with exception of the scary stuff with your lungs one I can relate to some degree. Totally awesome that you have turned it around, aren't C25K programmes ace

As for being in a different league, well yes they are very different styles of running, but honestly, the idea of pounding the streets fills me with dread, I never do well on the flat and I equally admire the people who can do that!

I mean, anyone who does any kind of self motivated sport like this deserves cheering on right?

Far from being daft, I think running a Marathon for your 50th is a truly outstanding idea and you have my full support. I will look forward to hearing how you get on, and if you don't do it this year, there's always the year after, I reckon it's close enough to count as a celebration for your 50th.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I can't run.

My running days are long gone, i did cycle regularly for a while and enjoyed it but the novelty eventually wore off and the rain finally killed it, i still have the cycle gathering dust in the shed i may one day give it another go but for now i am a lazy git.

 

[samale]

ssI used to run quite seriously between 1986 and 1993, but distances and speeds have gently declined year on year since then.
Nowadays I aim for 5 or so six mile runs a week, which now take me over an hour each, usually early in the mornings.
In my hey-days I would look at shuffling, shambling old fat blokes and vow to myself that I would never be like them. Needless to say, I actually am.
Still quite enjoy exercise and the Covid WFH has freed up my commuting time to do more walking as well.
Highlights of the long gone glory years include winning a foot race - the Bungay Black Dog marathon in 1991, a sub 2:38 at the Potteries and ninth in the London to Brighton in 1992. After the London to Brighton, I found I could never feel the same intensity again. Maybe due to being in some pain for about a month or so. Then a bit later we had the 2 girls, who still live with us.

Used to run with Glossopdale H initially and then Burnden RR after moving to Bolton.

If anyone wants advice on anything running related, I would be delighted to pass on my advice. It may, or may not, be good advice, but my, do I like passing it on.

Sub 2.38 is some running

 

[EsterBanana]

Laziness is all well and good and I am definitely not one for telling anyone what to do, but at the very least everyone should walk as briskly as the can for minimum 30 mins a day, I've seen what happens long term when people don't even do this much and it's not pretty or any fun for them whatsoever.

One of my favourite saying is "Be kind to yourself" I try and do this every day, at least once

 

[Tommo 2]

I can't run.

I have spells like that with walking