Cyclists with a "Running" Problem

[SeaBee]

Two oceans entry = Withdrawn

Comrades = Withdrawn

Aggenee! But I may be staring down the same barrel for Oceans. After 60k's of running entire Feb (I'm lying... 61!) I'm off to a new bio this afternoon. Even if the news is good ito recovery, that's just way too little time on the legs. General fitness is fine due to some MTB, but for Oceans you need that time on the legs as well. Mentally not in a good space.

[Mats]

Ag no why?

 

Blood circulation issues seeing the vascular surgeon on Tuesday.

Will only know more after that.

[Andrew Steer]

Blood circulation issues seeing the vascular surgeon on Tuesday.

Will only know more after that.

Sorry Mattie... that sucks. I do hope it's nothing major

 

I'm not far behind you on the bench as well though if it makes you feel any better   

 

Got a scan on the 10th (my birthday of all days, but it was the first opening when I booked two weeks ago for the lady who is apparently the best in the business)

 

Seems I might have a tear in my achilles... an old touch rugby injury that's never been allowed to heal properly. May well have been the root cause of all my issues around my calf/soleus/achilles these years I have been running

 

I'm actually excited in a weird way, even if it means a moon boot for a couple months - just so desperate to have some proper answers 

 

 

[Mats]

Sorry Mattie... that sucks. I do hope it's nothing major

 

I'm not far behind you on the bench as well though if it makes you feel any better 

 

Got a scan on the 10th (my birthday of all days, but it was the first opening when I booked two weeks ago for the lady who is apparently the best in the business)

 

Seems I might have a tear in my achilles... an old touch rugby injury that's never been allowed to heal properly. May well have been the root cause of all my issues around my calf/soleus/achilles these years I have been running

 

I'm actually excited in a weird way, even if it means a moon boot for a couple months - just so desperate to have some proper answers 

 

 

 

All the best Andrew. I really hope it gets sorted.

Keep me posted.

[Jackes]

Yeah, just joking. Best shoes ever. I get a bigger benefit from the cushioning,not so much concerned about speed. Been injury free since I started using vaporfly and Zoomfly. And I got injured constantly.

 

Is it the Nike out of this world cushioning or is it because of a bigger base and a year more of training and more clever training?    

 

Hearing a Parry podcast advising a guy to change his Saucony Triumph's that is on 830km's now and he is doubting it, makes me wonder.    Obviously there it differs for each runner and different shoes, but surely that cannot be the max you get out of shoes? 

 

Actually I have a pair of Saucony Triumph as well and they are currently on 1282 and not done by a long shot I it is up to me.

My oldest Brooks Ghosts are as follows:

9's - 1,860 (up to marathons)

9's - 1,287 (all the marathons, ultras, oceans and comrades)

10's - 985 (all the marathons, ultras, oceans and comrades)

The rest is still new.

 

None of these pairs are at a point where I recon they should be retired, in fact that first pair are heading towards 2,000.

You can clearly feel the difference though between a shoe that has done just shorter stuff and the ones that did comrades for example in my case.  These ones are definately more banged up, but even they seem to be heading towards 1,500.

 

Am I taking things to far or how do you know when to change them? 

[SeaBee]

All the best Andrew! Getting answers and moving forward is a big thing.

[shaper]

Is it the Nike out of this world cushioning or is it because of a bigger base and a year more of training and more clever training?    

 

Hearing a Parry podcast advising a guy to change his Saucony Triumph's that is on 830km's now and he is doubting it, makes me wonder.    Obviously there it differs for each runner and different shoes, but surely that cannot be the max you get out of shoes? 

 

Actually I have a pair of Saucony Triumph as well and they are currently on 1282 and not done by a long shot I it is up to me.

My oldest Brooks Ghosts are as follows:

9's - 1,860 (up to marathons)

9's - 1,287 (all the marathons, ultras, oceans and comrades)

10's - 985 (all the marathons, ultras, oceans and comrades)

The rest is still new.

 

None of these pairs are at a point where I recon they should be retired, in fact that first pair are heading towards 2,000.

You can clearly feel the difference though between a shoe that has done just shorter stuff and the ones that did comrades for example in my case.  These ones are definately more banged up, but even they seem to be heading towards 1,500.

 

Am I taking things to far or how do you know when to change them? 

I change my shoes at 900km irrespective of how they look, the foam collapses, sometimes it becomes very soft and spongy, other times hard with no cushioning. Previously use to run in Asics, now in Nikes.  Irrespective of brand or model I change them at 900kms.

 

The cushioning support is not as good anymore and has the potential to lead to injury.  If not injury greater fatigue after a run.  I guess that will be fine if you run every other day as you have time to recover.  If you run every day or cross train for say triathlons the affected recovery can be significant.

 

I roughly go through 2 pairs a year of training shoes  and yes I have the vaporfly 4% which I limit mileage on and only use for racing and can honestly say the technology with regard to the carbon plate and foam ZoomX used, i feel fresher and recover quicker after racing hard in them (up to marathon) that I do with my training shoes which are also Nikes, the Zoom flyknits.  Will be using the 4% for ODD and Oceans this year as a comparison as ran in the flyknits last year.

[Jackes]

The cushioning support is not as good anymore and has the potential to lead to injury.  If not injury greater fatigue after a run.  I guess that will be fine if you run every other day as you have time to recover.  If you run every day or cross train for say triathlons the affected recovery can be significant.

 

Perhaps this assists me as I have a rest day between all my runs except 1 per week.  I obviously also rotate them, not running in a pair two days in a row, FWIW. 

Edited March 4, 2020 by Jackes

[SwissVan]

A little race report from the last couple weeks. Decided to find some warmer weather further south in Europe. First up was the Barcelona 21k two weekends ago.

My first time in the city and really enjoyed it. The temperature was top class at about 20 degrees so it reminded me a bit of Durban in the winter. People eat late in Spain, often around 10pm, so it's very festive on the streets in the evenings with tapas bars very popular.

The race is a big one and considered a fast course. Around 23000 entrants I believe but surprisingly very little in the way of a race expo. With a niggly calf in the days leading up to the run I wasn't expecting much at all and didn't even have a goal time in mind. Just ran a steady pace and finished up in a bit over 1h21. If I had the sub 1h20 goal in my mind before I think I could have achieved this. A few minutes off my 21k PB so I'd like to give a good go at a 21 later in the year. Calf was very tight afterwards so I was a bit concerned about how it would be in the following days.

The number of quicker runners was incredible compared to your typical race in SA. Hundreds of people finishing under 1h22 - I think I was around 800th. A friend from SA smashed his previous PB and finished in 1h14. He only just snuck in with a top 300.

 

It was back up to colder parts of Europe for a few days before making the trip down to Sevilla, Spain for the Sevilla marathon this past weekend. Again the weather was lekker. Sunshine and low 20s as the day went on. The route is regarded as a very fast one with no climbs besides one underpass and not too many turns. The field was around 14000.

My calf was feeling good again and I had done a few runs prior to raceday. It was always going to be treated as a decent Comrades training run so I figured if I sat with the sub 3 group and see how that went that'd be okay. I only decided on this strategy the day before really. Besides 2 pee stops an the first 12ks the k's were ticking by quite comfortably. With the sub 3 group through 21ks in 1:29:24. At about 5kms to go I was feeling fresh so picked up the pace a little to finish strong in 2:56:44 so a good little 2min negative split. Any marathon is hard, even a flat one, but I finished feeling like I had a whole lot more in me and nowhere near as tired as my first sub 3 in 2018.

Met a few South Africans briefly afterwards. Seems like everyone had some solid results and or decent training runs for Comrades. One of the chaps from Wanderers smashed a 2h36!!

Overall two good weekends away. Now to find a hilly event to at least get some hill training in.

Nice

Due to the lack of marathons in switz at this time of the year my wife also did her last comrades qualifier at the Seville marathon a few years ago

[Wil6]

Kinda new to running, and have a question. How much km do you do on your shoes before replacing them? Mine are almost on 1000km and still very comfortable. Strava suggested that I get a new pair 400km back...

[Andrew Steer]

Kinda new to running, and have a question. How much km do you do on your shoes before replacing them? Mine are almost on 1000km and still very comfortable. Strava suggested that I get a new pair 400km back...

It can vary hugely depending on many factors... 1000km is heading towards the upper limit though and it's probably a good idea to look at replacing them. Some people do push shoes to 1500km though... 

 

Some factors to consider:

 

Being heavier takes more of a toll on shoes.

 

Some shoes aren't designed to last long... the racier lightweight shoes in general.

 

Where you run and your foot strike can also affect things...

 

 

Good luck and welcome to the club

[Mudsimus]

Kinda new to running, and have a question. How much km do you do on your shoes before replacing them? Mine are almost on 1000km and still very comfortable. Strava suggested that I get a new pair 400km back...

Ive got a pair on 850km now. Feels like a new pair when I put them on, but after any run longer than an hour I can feel that my feet and legs are taking a pounding.

[Ronniek]

With me my left knee normally lets me know it’s time for a new pair of shoes. Have pushed a pair to about 1800km’s once but generally do about a 1000km’s on them.

[ridr]

With me my left knee normally lets me know it’s time for a new pair of shoes. Have pushed a pair to about 1800km’s once but generally do about a 1000km’s on them.

I work it similar to you, but with my right knee

As soon as I feel a 'niggle' I know it's time to retire the shoes. (This happens for me long enough before the 'injury' stage of running in shoes that are at the 'niggle' stage.)

[SwissVan]

Kinda new to running, and have a question. How much km do you do on your shoes before replacing them? Mine are almost on 1000km and still very comfortable. Strava suggested that I get a new pair 400km back...

I tend to treat my running shoes like the brake pads on my bike or car.... rather replace them sooner than later. I don’t see the point in pushing them to the limit.

 

Unfortunately modern running shoes still don’t have wear indicators so it can be difficult to decide when is the right time. Typically I start thinking of replacing them after about 500 km.

[Chris_]

(Its also just fun buying new shoes...  )