[Closed] Anybody here run a fair bit?

Wondering if it's worth buying some new shoes before April as the ones I've got I've had forever..

Probably, yes. Cushioning starts to compact and stop working after, say, 800 miles or so (depends on the shoe, your weight etc. obviously).

Also is it worth getting them fitted on a treadmill thingy?

Sounds like you've got zero issues with your current ones - I'd just get an identical pair (or as close as poss).

the shoe, your weight

Asics Cheapish - Maybe 10 years old now
Weight - A heavy 90kg 😯

I think Aasics have kept a consistent shape across most their range. They definately changed the trail attack 6 from the previous trail attack 5 (which was narrower) but the 5 was the 'odd one out'.

A mate recently forked out £140 for a running assessment. He learned a lot about his running and perceived it good value - relevant only becasue all of the assessment was done outside. A treadmill is apprently inadequate as a place to asess you running properly.

If you can't get something exactly the same make sure you've done a couple of long runs in them with the same socks you'll use on the day.

Buy something now, wear them in before the event.

I run everyday, trail run that is. I've found new shoes from the same brand and make can be really different i.e.: I've 3'pairs of SportX3's from Solomon and each are different fitting 😕

As above. Break them in slowly, you want them worn in, but not worn out.

I'm doing the same as you (apart from actually doing a marathon) and my new shoes are waiting for tomorrow morning's short run for their first outing. Despite them feeling like slippers compared to my last pair, if I had worn them on the 16.7 miler on Saturday, I'd have been walking on bleeding stumps on Sunday.

Wondering if it's worth buying some new shoes before April as the ones I've got I've had forever..

Probably, as above...

Also is it worth getting them fitted on a treadmill thingy?

From my personal experience (some interesting research in the military trying to cut down injuries during basic training and a lot of time spent working with an Olympic coach) the most important thing when selecting a shoe to be efficient and injury free is to choose the one which is most comfortable. Simple as that and it doesn't need to be any more complicated. Don't worry about how your feet look to move on a treadmill or any of that other sales BS. A full, proper running analysis is worthwhile and can really help with technique and picking up areas of weakness with your body... but it has nothing to do with choosing shoes

Yes (new shoes) make sure they fit and do a long run in them to make sure they don't rub in a weird way

I've never bothered with gait analysis, but that's not to say it doesn't have value

Gait analysis=snake oil

[i]Gait[/i] analysis won't tell you too much about running 😉 A full, proper biomechanical analysis of your running is rare to find but worthwhile with the right coach. The stuff the local running shop offers is however all about sales...

Gait analysis = snake oil
Gait analysis on a treadmill = snake oil bath

Coaching and the Marathon Talk podcast are probably better alternatives. Good luck!

Btw, that was not a bad effort for Windsor for a newbie. I've run it before, and I'd run it again. It's a very pleasant course for scenery, and the longest ever last mile!

+1 buy soon and wear them in a bit.

FWIW I've been running (trail/road) in various pairs of Asics for 10+years after a successful fitting in a running shop. Recently I've been picking up pairs of similar Asics on eBay for a quarter of RRP as occasionally there are stores that have stock they want rid of. Saved £100s so far and still find them a perfect fit.

EDIT: don't be afraid to run dirty pairs through the w/m at 30deg. Brings them up a treat and adds a bit of spring.

Bought some Asics today from Runners Need

They *made* me go on the treadmill and said i pronate a fair bit.

Anyway i'm £100 lighter now, I'll see if they feel any different next time i'm out

Got 'professionally' fitted a few years ago and ended up with a pair of shoes that were never right. Went back to my old Nikes. Pretty worn now but still very very comfortable. I'd echo the comments above re comfort - if you haven't got any problems go with what you know.

They *made* me go on the treadmill and said i pronate a fair bit.

One of my training buddies (ran 52 mins for 10 at his best) used to pronate on one leg terribly. Never had a problem until he tried to "control" it. Had all kinds of problems. Threw the anti pronation shoes in the bin and went back to pronating in his "neutral" shoes 🙂

Buy something now, wear them in before the event.

Absolutely, don't try anything new for your marathon, which includes shoes, clothing, food the night before, pre-race food, and race drinks. Try them all out before the event and you should be fine. Good luck!

Oh, and start slowly and ease into it, and don't be pulled along by the guys around you setting an unsustainable pace.

I run 95% offroad and all those shoes are low and simple. The only road shoes I ever had problems with were a pair I was flogged after being filmed on a treadmill. I buy cheap and neutral now. Hope you get on with the ASICS - forget shoes if so and enjoy your running 🙂

Anyone out in shorts yet ?
I know we've had some cold weather of late, it's been long legs for me.. until today.. lovely to get shorts on the first time this year.

@bikebouy - shorts all winter, apart from one day when the sleet was coming down hard and I was going out for a few hours. Was nice to feel the sun on my face when I ran on Tuesday lunchtime. Early morning runs are getting less dark now too. Ahhh.

I've been out on some long runs in horrible weather over the winter in my SPECIAL shorts - More Mile weatherproof ones. Bit sweaty but keep the thighs warm.

I pronate pretty severely in neutral shoes. Hate the support.
Fair analysis I agree ia nonsense, however it was a good decision to go somewhere and run on the treadmill. However....sometimes they just aren't right. It will be annoying and is sometimes an expensive mistake but you will know after a few runs, don't persist....

Went out and did 5K in the new shoes..

.... Felt slow and awkward... we'll see

I pop out for the odd 5-8km. Was at risk of overheating yesterday. Had to take the gloves off after a couple of km and wished I only had one layer on!

I'd say yes, get some new shoes. Just because you are Ok now doesn't mean you won't be next time.

As far as gait analysis goes, horses for courses but I've found its worth it, if for no otehr reason than you ahve some comeback if the shoes you buy are causing you problems.

And whatever people say, Hoka's aren't the magic bullet for everyone, and they are a control shoe in stealth.

and they are a control shoe in stealth.

What?

They are neutral (the ones I have) they just have a larger area of midsole and a "rocker plate" which has helped my stiff toe joint no end.
They dont try to change your gait in the way a traditional "control" shoe does.

Anyone out in shorts yet ?

Yes! In love with Decathlon's trail shorts at the moment.

Not in love with the heat rash on my stomach :/0

I found they did - the extra wide sole with high arch supports forces your foot to roll to a flat level.

The wide and straight sole makes the shoe try to land flat horizontally. I found that they were more controlling than my Asics Gt1000s and the arch gave me tendonitis in the anterior tibialis. Shop gave me a full refund as it was a known issue apparently (begs the question why they were selling them in the first place).

shorts! no not yet, maybe in a couple of months, not yet though

I have the ATR the Bondi and the Mafate trail. None of them have an arch support that I can see. What model did you buy?

Clayton.
It has(d) a piece of foam on the outsole that rises in the arch. I found that this (which dug into my arch subtly) combined with the very flat sole made my foot rock into a flat landing. I just couldn't help thinking that they were anything but neutral.

Even though it's 12C here, still running in long legs.

The trails are sloppy gloop and slippy trail mud, mine will stay on for a few more weeks yet.

As for shoes feeling "slow" it'll be the padding in the sole not transferring the "shock" up your leg. I think that might be a good thing.

Well just did 16k in new shoes, (& Shorts) starting to feel better but I'm still slower in these.

I often feel slower in new shoes, I guess it could be because they're less flexible than the old ones

Tiger - are these shoes correcting your over-pronation? I tried and hated them (even though I do over-pronate). I went back to neutral shoes as I believe (and my physio agrees with me) that trying to correct what my body has done for its entire life could bring with it other issues.

Saying that, I did get an unconnected hamstring pull in January and only able to run for around 10 minutes now so it looks like my London Marathon place won't be filled this year 🙁 Gutted.

these

https://runrepeat.com/asics-gt-2000-5

I think they just offer a bit more stability than my last pair

There is a lot of foam in the sole, I'd say they'll bed in ok in a few weeks.

Tiger - are these shoes correcting your over-pronation? I tried and hated them (even though I do over-pronate). I went back to neutral shoes as I believe (and my physio agrees with me) that trying to correct what my body has done for its entire life could bring with it other issues.

Pronation of the foot when running is normal in everyone, elite athletes included. What is "over" pronation is debatable but more often than not this kind of motion of the feet comes from lack stability around the pelvis (eg weak glutes, etc). Buying shoes to try and fight what your body is doing just by looking at the feet is daft I agree...

Kind of shoe related... I really recommend a decent pair of socks. Personally I love the Hilly dual skins as they eliminate any foot rub for me.

well i recently, after two years of knee probs, went to a local shop and was filmed running on their treadmill and even without any expertise even i could see that my ankles were going in hugely with my shoes (bought using internet wisdom) and that by working through a number of pairs the overpronation lessened massively.

the 'bath of snake oil' has resulted in a far nicer running experience for me.

One of the first things my strength conditioning coach focused on & continues to focus on, was strengthening my ankles. Reading through the comments above about pronation/over pronation, it makes so much sense.

So how do you strengthen your ankles then?

Interested too. My ankles hurt after last night's, 2nd run in 6 months.

Gastrocs (calves) are usually the first to get lazy and overlooked (more so as you get older) for example. A lot of foot conditions can be helped or sometimes avoided by making sure they don't get too tight either

http://www.runnersworld.com/trail-running-training/train-your-ankles

balance cushion for a couple of mins a day, eg while brushing your teeth. 5 quid upwards on ebay, nothing wrong with the cheap ones.

Try squats too.

So after 3 weeks and 68km the Asics went back to the shop!

The heel fabric had a big hole in it 😯

RunnersNeed were very good and swapped them without hesitation.

Now have a pair of Brooks Adrenaline GTS to break in

I'm on my 5th pair of Brooks Adrenaline GTS, I generally get a new pair each year (slightly different colour obviously).

They've been really robust, and cope pretty well with the 900-1000 miles I plod through. Last years did start splitting down one side after 800 miles, but I'm not sure thats too bad.

(I'm aware I should probably replace my trainers more often than 1000 miles, I'm just a bit tight).

So after 3 weeks and 68km the Asics went back to the shop!

The heel fabric had a big hole in it

Just had the same shoes delivered today, hope that's a one off!

I change my trainers when they wear out. Not sure of exact mileage but it's a hell of a lot more than 1000. That 500 miles guff is just sales talk and advertorial. No-one does that unless they get their shoes free.

this thread instantly made me think of my workmate who's into his endurance running. hes just about to undertake a 200 mile run somewhere! 😯

hes always struggled with that plantar fasciliitis(sp) and last weekend he just did a 'warm up' 55 mile run over some big hills. his feet and shins were playing up beforehand but he wanted to see how they felt. got back in 9 hrs and said every step was painful, he was on painkillers for it. his leg was a right mess when he showed me, shin all red and swollen, with squidgy lumps. went for a scan and apparently he'd done his 55 miler with a broken leg! 😯

theres extreme and theres savage.

Or stupid ??

Tiger I always had trouble with the heel fabric in trainers wearing away until I started using the heel lock lacing up technique.
Do a search on Youtube for it!

with squidgy lumps. went for a scan and apparently he'd done his 55 miler with a broken leg!

Probably stress fractures. They are very painful and dont become "fractures" suddenly, there is a lot of build up pain, by the time they have become "lumpy" along the shin bone and the hairline fractures have appeared (on a scan) then you have been in quite a lot of pain for quite a lot of time! Only an idiot would ignore this type of pain and continue to train hard and race 😳
Although in my defence I was only young. Bit silly not to heed the warnings when you are as "experienced" as your mate!

I change my trainers when they wear out. Not sure of exact mileage but it's a hell of a lot more than 1000. That 500 miles guff is just sales talk and advertorial. No-one does that unless they get their shoes free.

My current ones have done around 480 miles and there is very obvious wear in the middle of the sole. The uppers however are near mint (or would be if I cleaned them :D). I'll be slowly switching over to the new ones over the next few months, imagine the old ones will have done around 600 when they become the backup/office set.

I've used GT-2000 in it's various guises for 18 years, always buy last seasons for 1/2 price usually pick them up for £55-60. Only didn't get on with one-years version about 15 years ago.

I tend to wear the upper fabric out on my asics trainers before the cushioning goes but I do run mostly off road but not at 69km

I've got Manchester Marathon next week managed to pull a muscle in my back this morning hopefully it's just a twinge.

I was looking at last years GT-2000 however in my size strangely this years were cheaper (£76)

I have 3 pairs of shoes on rotation at once for marathon training, all the same sort. I keep one for racing (not just the marathon but any racing in the build up too) and the other 2 I rotate for training. Not Asics though.
However, if you are comfortable in the shoes then try and get hold of the same shoes if you can, although having said that, shoe makers seem to want to continually 'improve' shoes, which doesn't always mean they feel the same.
Oh and good luck.

I have just had to withdraw officially from the London Marathon - a nine week old injury not showing significant signs of improvement, physio didn't have much effect so I have seen the doc and they have put me on Naproxen and referred me to the musculoskeletal specialist at the hospital with a view of probably needing an MRI scan (pins & needles in both feet, hamstring/back of knee pain, lower back pain, glutes pain, muscle 'hotness' etc). They think it may be sciatic issues but are really just guessing right now.

Gutted.

Johndoh - I feel you're pain! I'd be gutted too now if I was unable to go to London. All that work and nothing to show for it! Still you can defer it to next year so all is not lost.
My training is going well. I've done a HM pb and 20 mile pb in the build up so hopefully I can knock a few minutes off my Mara time too. Will see how it goes and hope I don't pick up any niggles over the next 4 weeks!

Gutted for you John, training for it is a right ballache and to postpone due to injury is crap.

Hope you heal fast

Cheers - hoping to get back running again soon and trying for a few 10ks / HMs later in the year.

Failing that, I will retire and become a full-time trainer to my 7 yr old girl who is running at county level in cross country on Thursday at Dalby Forest 🙂

Failing that, I will retire and become a full-time trainer to my 7 yr old girl who is running at county level in cross country on Thursday at Dalby Forest

"Elbows out" 🙂

😈

First 5K on the Brooks and felt more natural quicker than the Asics did so ultimately/hopefully the Asics failing so quick may be a blessing

Ran 20 miles!

By god I'm knackered now..

Running is hard work, at 22km I'd run out of water and my pace dropped off a cliff.

https://www.strava.com/activities/916603901

Good running. The key with the marathon is the consistency of pace/effort. If you go out too quick you'll have a really unpleasant last 6-8 miles. I deliberately did a 21 mile long run a few weeks ago where I ran the first 13 miles at 1/2 marathon pace PB pace. The next 8 miles was hell but I wanted to know my limits to stop myself getting carried away on the day.

Don't get carried away by all the people rushing off at the beginning of the race if you get your pacing right you'll be running past them in the second half of the race, which is a great feeling.

If you've done so already, download the Marathon Talk podcast from this week onwards as they'll be taking people through race strategies up until the Marathon.

I've got Manchester on Sunday and I'm starting to get nervous, I want to run 7 1/2 minutes faster than last year to get under 3 1/2 hours. Managed 10 miles at 7.30min/mile last Friday on the back of a 10 miler the day before, which 30 sec/mile faster than Marathon pace and i've lots of long runs so should be OK.

Will download the podcast cheers 🙂

I'm in a different league to that though and will be happy to just get round!

I'll be even happier if I get round in 4 hrs something

Good luck with yours 🙂

I'm also doing Manchester, aiming for a modest PB. Forecast looks ok for it.

Manchester went well 10 minutes off my PB at 3.28, here's my pacing I tried really hard to be consistent managed to stay within 5% of both my average and target pace of 8 min/miles. All I can recommend is you decide on a time and try and stick to a steady pace to achieve that. You'll feel fresh at the beginning and you'll be tempted to go out to fast really try not to as it will hurt at the end. Captain how did you get on ?

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3:28! Wow ! well done 😯

So how do you strengthen your ankles then?

Sorry, completely missed this.

Calf raises, pogos, single leg pogos/hops, depth landings. Feel pretty silly pogoing down a 10m track, but it's really helping.