Random Running Questions

Casey78

Anyone ever use a back baller and can it be used as a normal foam roller, as in is it just for your back or can you use it on your legs etc?
https://www.elverys.ie/elverys/en/Elverys/Fitness/Accessories/Foam-Rollers/BackBaller-Rigid-Foam-Roller,-Green/p/000000000001090278?gclid=Cj0KCQjw-Mr0BRDyARIsAKEFbee6MJ0X3GgsG9QmQt5eKwfSv5t6-WOLM60D3hubjjPaN7sgneE5hN8aAha2EALw_wcB

Cartman78

Casey78 wrote: »

Anyone ever use a back baller and can it be used as a normal foam roller, as in is it just for your back or can you use it on your legs etc?
https://www.elverys.ie/elverys/en/Elverys/Fitness/Accessories/Foam-Rollers/BackBaller-Rigid-Foam-Roller,-Green/p/000000000001090278?gclid=Cj0KCQjw-Mr0BRDyARIsAKEFbee6MJ0X3GgsG9QmQt5eKwfSv5t6-WOLM60D3hubjjPaN7sgneE5hN8aAha2EALw_wcB

It can be used for virtually every part of the body once you get the hang of it....I think there's 12 or so basic workouts that come on an instruction sheet.

I've had one for a couple of years now and don't use my old traditional roller any more

IvoryTower

Casey78 wrote: »

Anyone ever use a back baller and can it be used as a normal foam roller, as in is it just for your back or can you use it on your legs etc?
https://www.elverys.ie/elverys/en/Elverys/Fitness/Accessories/Foam-Rollers/BackBaller-Rigid-Foam-Roller,-Green/p/000000000001090278?gclid=Cj0KCQjw-Mr0BRDyARIsAKEFbee6MJ0X3GgsG9QmQt5eKwfSv5t6-WOLM60D3hubjjPaN7sgneE5hN8aAha2EALw_wcB

Gimmick imo. Used one in the gym, no better than foam roller, would recommend some back movement drills over either(like you would see in pilates).

HelenAnne

mutley18 wrote: »

Thanks for your response I appreciate it. I will see if its possible to see someone, this couldnt have happened at a worse time!

The physios I go to, www.pearsestreetphysio.com are doing phone and video consultations. The video ones are really good - I don't have an injury, I was just really tight and sore (probably from running too many laps of my local park!) and I was pleasantly surprised at how much they could tell via Zoom consultation and how much having very specific advice as a Physio watched me move / foam roll etc helped.

I'd give them a call (it's pay what you can afford at the moment) or else your own Physio might be doing the same.

Best of luck!

crisco10

HelenAnne wrote: »

The physios I go to, www.pearsestreetphysio.com are doing phone and video consultations. The video ones are really good - I don't have an injury, I was just really tight and sore (probably from running too many laps of my local park!) and I was pleasantly surprised at how much they could tell via Zoom consultation and how much having very specific advice as a Physio watched me move / foam roll etc helped.

I'd give them a call (it's pay what you can afford at the moment) or else your own Physio might be doing the same.

Best of luck!

was literally about to post this. Same physio and all.

eyrie

Anyone recommend any good online Pilates videos?

ariana`

I've been trying to work on my cadence recently as it's dismally low for the most part. I'm curious what advice/opinions/experiences ye wise ones might have on the subject, things to watch out for perhaps with respect to the impact on form?

Here are some sample easy runs before i started consciously trying to increase it

Avg Pace|Avg Cadence
10:07|159
9:55|159
9:50|162
9:43|163
9:50|164


And in the past 1-2 weeks where i'm conscious of trying to increase it (by 5% to start with)

Avg Pace|Avg Cadence
9:31|175
9:57|170
9:55|169
9:41|170
10:30|165
9:54|169


To be honest it's sucking a wee bit of the joy out of running at the moment so if you could tell me it's going to turn me into a speed demon then that would be great

BeepBeep67

ariana` wrote: »

I've been trying to work on my cadence recently as it's dismally low for the most part. I'm curious what advice/opinions/experiences ye wise ones might have on the subject, things to watch out for perhaps with respect to the impact on form?

Here are some sample easy runs before i started consciously trying to increase it

Avg Pace|Avg Cadence
10:07|159
9:55|159
9:50|162
9:43|163
9:50|164


And in the past 1-2 weeks where i'm conscious of trying to increase it (by 5% to start with)

Avg Pace|Avg Cadence
9:31|175
9:57|170
9:55|169
9:41|170
10:30|165
9:54|169


To be honest it's sucking a wee bit of the joy out of running at the moment so if you could tell me it's going to turn me into a speed demon then that would be great

Cadence is an output, not an input.
Add short uphill and downhill repeats to your training along with various running focused plyometric drills (you tube them).

internet_user

Anyone have any tips on preventing blisters? I get a lot of blisters on my right foot in particular. My runners are comfortable while running

chris85

Anyone got some advice on a treadmill I could purchase. I had planned to buy one in a few years once we renovated house a bit but seems like good opportunity to buy now to use while in isolation (and likely for the next few months it seems).

Budget maybe €1k??

Casey78

chris85 wrote: »

Anyone got some advice on a treadmill I could purchase. I had planned to buy one in a few years once we renovated house a bit but seems like good opportunity to buy now to use while in isolation (and likely for the next few months it seems).

Budget maybe €1k??

I recently paid €1400 for a Proform Pro 1500.
A little outside your budget but it's a great machine.
Main thing when looking at treadmills is motor size. You really need to be looking for a motor that is at least 3chp minimum. Mine is a 3.8chp.

ariana`

BeepBeep67 wrote: »

Cadence is an output, not an input.
Add short uphill and downhill repeats to your training along with various running focused plyometric drills (you tube them).

I should have said i am doing focused drills before my runs. And also trying to consciously shorten my stride as everything i've read seems to indicate that a low cadence like mine suggests over striding. Maybe i am over-thinking it. I'll try the short uphill and downhill repeats - thanks for taking the time to reply.

IvoryTower

I just done an easy run, 163 avg cadence, is that bad

chris85

Casey78 wrote: »

I recently paid €1400 for a Proform Pro 1500.
A little outside your budget but it's a great machine.
Main thing when looking at treadmills is motor size. You really need to be looking for a motor that is at least 3chp minimum. Mine is a 3.8chp.

Yep motor has been the first thing looking at really. I had a look at PROFORM 525I TREADMILL on elverys site. €750 with a 2.6chp motor which seems resonable value.

https://www.elverys.ie/elverys/en/Elverys/Fitness/Home-Gym-Equipment/Treadmills/ProForm-525i-Treadmill/p/000000000001090345

€1400 may be a tad outside the budget.

diego_b

I have a Proform Endurance S7.5 at home for around 4 years now and it's been a good purchase for use in severely inclement weather.
It came from Elverys and it was around 1000, can't recall exactly. They have a similar never version for €750 euro. The belt is a small bit shorter but looks on images to be a similar sturdy unit.
https://www.elverys.ie/elverys/en/Elverys/Fitness/Home-Gym-Equipment/Treadmills/ProForm-525i-Treadmill/p/000000000001090345

I don't want to disagree with the previous suggestion on motor needed but my one has a 2.5chp and does the job...it can go up to 18kph and 10% incline...I weight 95kg approx and have had no issues to date with whatever type of run be it long (90-120mins), speed work or hill work with it. Saying all that I run on the road where possible so maybe if I was a heavier user the motor might come into play.

chris85

diego_b wrote: »

I have a Proform Endurance S7.5 at home for around 4 years now and it's been a good purchase for use in severely inclement weather.
It came from Elverys and it was around 1000, can't recall exactly. They have a similar never version for €750 euro. The belt is a small bit shorter but looks on images to be a similar sturdy unit.
https://www.elverys.ie/elverys/en/Elverys/Fitness/Home-Gym-Equipment/Treadmills/ProForm-525i-Treadmill/p/000000000001090345

I don't want to disagree with the previous suggestion on motor needed but my one has a 2.5chp and does the job...it can go up to 18kph and 10% incline...I weight 95kg approx and have had no issues to date with whatever type of run be it long (90-120mins), speed work or hill work with it. Saying all that I run on the road where possible so maybe if I was a heavier user the motor might come into play.

I just posted link to that one a min before, its the one I have been considering. Seems good value in terms of brand and motor. I am 70kg and would not really plan to use for hill work. It will be mainly long runs or medium tempos. Speed sessions I prefer outdoors so may use for warm up and cool downs for these if in isolation to limit time outdoors.

diego_b

chris85 wrote: »

I just posted link to that one a min before, its the one I have been considering. Seems good value in terms of brand and motor. I am 70kg and would not really plan to use for hill work. It will be mainly long runs or medium tempos. Speed sessions I prefer outdoors so may use for warm up and cool downs for these if in isolation to limit time outdoors.

For sure and I would consider a reputable seller also, you would have come back in case of issues. Price wise I would consider it's pretty good.

BeepBeep67

ariana` wrote: »

I should have said i am doing focused drills before my runs. And also trying to consciously shorten my stride as everything i've read seems to indicate that a low cadence like mine suggests over striding. Maybe i am over-thinking it. I'll try the short uphill and downhill repeats - thanks for taking the time to reply.

IvoryTower wrote: »

I just done an easy run, 163 avg cadence, is that bad

I don't pay too much attention to my cadence, I know it's lower for recovery and easy runs (about 165, this morning a recovery run at 8:15min/ml was 164) and higher for faster runs (last 3k and 5k was 181).
On easy runs I tend to focus on form more than cadence, landing with my foot almost under my center and getting my heels out behind me.

Bluesquare

I’ve recently got a new garmin - I swapped a 235 for a 245.

My heart rate has dropped massively as in when I am running ( resting remains same) . The old watch would record max bmp up to 190-200. ( I didn’t use this as thought it didn’t make sense as what garmin then said was easy effort was clearly not ) I use this formula instead - 211 minus 64% of age. This seemed more reasonable . I don’t heart rate train but use it as a guide to keep easy runs easy .

The new watch is now recording the same pace easy runs with a heart rate that’s much lower. For instance a 6:30 mink has dropped from 139 bmp to 130 bmp. My fitness has not increased that much. I did a five k TT at the weekend a realised the max heart registered was 169 . I went back through all of my runs since purchase and highest heart rate measured was 176.

So two questions
1. Has this happened to anyone else
2. I’m thinking of changing max now back to 220-age as I think that might give me a better indicator for easy runs ?

Sadly the second point will bother me for a week or two as since I’ve bought the watch , V02 max has increased by 3 points over three months . I know the Vo2 isn’t accurate etc but I think the gain might be!

IvoryTower

Buy hr chest monitor or just make sure when running easy it feels really easy

Casey78

Bluesquare wrote: »

I’ve recently got a new garmin - I swapped a 235 for a 245.

My heart rate has dropped massively as in when I am running ( resting remains same) . The old watch would record max bmp up to 190-200. ( I didn’t use this as thought it didn’t make sense as what garmin then said was easy effort was clearly not ) I use this formula instead - 211 minus 64% of age. This seemed more reasonable . I don’t heart rate train but use it as a guide to keep easy runs easy .

The new watch is now recording the same pace easy runs with a heart rate that’s much lower. For instance a 6:30 mink has dropped from 139 bmp to 130 bmp. My fitness has not increased that much. I did a five k TT at the weekend a realised the max heart registered was 169 . I went back through all of my runs since purchase and highest heart rate measured was 176.

So two questions
1. Has this happened to anyone else
2. I’m thinking of changing max now back to 220-age as I think that might give me a better indicator for easy runs ?

Sadly the second point will bother me for a week or two as since I’ve bought the watch , V02 max has increased by 3 points over three months . I know the Vo2 isn’t accurate etc but I think the gain might be!

The 245 optical HR monitor is more accurate than the 235. The 235 is well known for having a poor optical HR monitor. I had one for years until I changed to the 245 last year.
While still not as accurate as HR Chest strap it is definitely an improvement.
I've tested my watch vs a HR chest strap and it's close enough to work with. At long easy runs it's almost identical to the HR strap. It lags a bit on faster pace runs, but it's still close enough.

I wouldn't use the 220-age formula at all. Just go out and run a hard 5km and whatever your highest recorded HR is for the run use that as your Max HR value.
It still wont be totally accurate but it will be closer to reality than a formula imo.
My max HR was measured at 202. Using the 220-age formula it gives me a max of 179.
So as you can see my zones would be way off using the formula.
I'd rather be a couple of beats out using a optical Hr monitor estimate than 23 beats out using the formula.

ariana`

Bluesquare wrote: »

I’ve recently got a new garmin - I swapped a 235 for a 245.

My heart rate has dropped massively as in when I am running ( resting remains same) . The old watch would record max bmp up to 190-200. ( I didn’t use this as thought it didn’t make sense as what garmin then said was easy effort was clearly not ) I use this formula instead - 211 minus 64% of age. This seemed more reasonable . I don’t heart rate train but use it as a guide to keep easy runs easy .

The new watch is now recording the same pace easy runs with a heart rate that’s much lower. For instance a 6:30 mink has dropped from 139 bmp to 130 bmp. My fitness has not increased that much. I did a five k TT at the weekend a realised the max heart registered was 169 . I went back through all of my runs since purchase and highest heart rate measured was 176.

So two questions
1. Has this happened to anyone else
2. I’m thinking of changing max now back to 220-age as I think that might give me a better indicator for easy runs ?

Sadly the second point will bother me for a week or two as since I’ve bought the watch , V02 max has increased by 3 points over three months . I know the Vo2 isn’t accurate etc but I think the gain might be!

I had the 235 and switched to the 245 a year ago. I use a chest strap most of the time but the odd day i don't use it i find the 245 fairly accurate in comparison to like for like runs wearing the chest strap. I can't really remember how i used to find the 235 at this stage but my hr overall has dropped in the past year, a recent mini max hr test yielded a 175/176 result which i was pretty disappointed with.

The VO2 Max has increased because the HR is lower for the same pace so the watch sees this as an increase in fitness, so if you think the HR isn't accurate then neither is the VO2 Max or even the upward trend of the VO2 Max i'm afraid to say - though maybe some of it is! But personally i wouldn't get too bogged down in this especially as you're not training by HR. I'd suggest doing a max hr test with the new watch to satisfy your own curiosity and to input as a Max for Garmin/Strava etc. Over time GC will build a better picture of your progress.

katsky

Is there something like an ideal marathon HR to keep under but also within, at leat for the initial 20 miles? Expressed as a percentage of HR max?

28064212

katsky wrote: »

Is there something like an ideal marathon HR to keep under but also within, at leat for the initial 20 miles? Expressed as a percentage of HR max?

Yes... but it's totally individual, and will be affected by conditions on the day

Bluesquare

ariana` wrote: »

I had the 235 and switched to the 245 a year ago. I use a chest strap most of the time but the odd day i don't use it i find the 245 fairly accurate in comparison to like for like runs wearing the chest strap. I can't really remember how i used to find the 235 at this stage but my hr overall has dropped in the past year, a recent mini max hr test yielded a 175/176 result which i was pretty disappointed with.

The VO2 Max has increased because the HR is lower for the same pace so the watch sees this as an increase in fitness, so if you think the HR isn't accurate then neither is the VO2 Max or even the upward trend of the VO2 Max i'm afraid to say - though maybe some of it is! But personally i wouldn't get too bogged down in this especially as you're not training by HR. I'd suggest doing a max hr test with the new watch to satisfy your own curiosity and to input as a Max for Garmin/Strava etc. Over time GC will build a better picture of your progress.

The Vo2 deffo isnt accurate but the upward trend is a little I think because it was a long time coming.
It took me 2 months to move 1 point and then a month to move 1 more . I did a 5k TT last week - the max my heart rate went to was 169 which is lower than my age group formula thing but realistically it’s probably correct as I’m now getting 130 bmp for runs that with the 235 I was getting 140 last year when I was fitter . Who knew I had such a low max heart rate !!

TFBubendorfer

katsky wrote: »

Is there something like an ideal marathon HR to keep under but also within, at least for the initial 20 miles? Expressed as a percentage of HR max?

Top marathon runners run a marathon at about 88-90% of their max HR.
Lesser trained runners will collapse well before the end if they tried to run a marathon at 90% of their max HR - there is only so much that can be extracted from top runners and applied to your everyday Joe and Jane.

ariana`

Bluesquare wrote: »

The Vo2 deffo isnt accurate but the upward trend is a little I think because it was a long time coming.
It took me 2 months to move 1 point and then a month to move 1 more . I did a 5k TT last week - the max my heart rate went to was 169 which is lower than my age group formula thing but realistically it’s probably correct as I’m now getting 130 bmp for runs that with the 235 I was getting 140 last year when I was fitter . Who knew I had such a low max heart rate !!

Ooooops I read from your first post that it was when you switched watch you gained the pts

crisco10

Any good sources around cadence?

I saw a video yesterday from James Dunne (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCC2pHU-X8E) where he was discussing the interaction of heel striking and cadence. I.e. heel striking is not a bad thing, provided you aren't also over striding.

Apparently, a good indicator of over-striding is your cadence. Hence my interest in any good resources on ideal cadences, tips to increase if necessary etc.

All I know from my Garmin data is that my cadence tends to be about ~170pm for easy runs, ~180pm for fast runs. But no idea what that means really.

Mr. Guappa

crisco10 wrote: »

Any good sources around cadence?

I saw a video yesterday from James Dunne (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCC2pHU-X8E) where he was discussing the interaction of heel striking and cadence. I.e. heel striking is not a bad thing, provided you aren't also over striding.

Apparently, a good indicator of over-striding is your cadence. Hence my interest in any good resources on ideal cadences, tips to increase if necessary etc.

All I know from my Garmin data is that my cadence tends to be about ~170pm for easy runs, ~180pm for fast runs. But no idea what that means really.

This quote from this very thread last week really struck a chord with me:

BeepBeep67 wrote: »

Cadence is an output, not an input.
Add short uphill and downhill repeats to your training along with various running focused plyometric drills (you tube them).

Sussex18

Cartilage, early stage degeneratiion. Has anyone found any supplements or treatments useful? Glucosamine is mentioned a lot but the jury is out on effectiveness. Experience appreciated, S