My Forum

Hi Steve, how long ago was your race? I'd be surprised if you didn't get some pain after your first 10k on no training and it does take longer to recover at our age. Had you done much in your shoes at all before the race? I find that new shoes generally feel a little stiff for a couple of weeks (some are worse than others) and my feet do feel a bit stressed on the first few runs, particularly on the balls of my feet,  which is why you should give them a breaking in period.

 It doesn't sound like you've done any real damage, you've maybe just overdone it a bit, but I'm not a medic, just a fellow-runner. I think you should go out again as soon as you feel ready to do that, but take it easy, go back to basics and perhaps start on a jog-walk program to build back up to tain for another 10k (you've just done the training in reverse ). There are training programs elsewhere on this site and a quick check in a search engine should find you some more.

Well done for making a start, enjoy your running, and after some training you'll enjoy the next 10k even more.

I love the Torq gels too MakkaPakka, but I've only been able to find them in cycling shops locally, or via mail order.  I normally only take gels out on a training run if I'm going over 15 miles but I do use them in marathons and they fit very well in the elasticated SIS belt (which is really handy btw, doesn't slip or constrict and has a handy pocket for hankies, keys, emergency cash, whatever).

I think Lucozade gels are absolutely foul and the SIS ones taste OK but they're huge and they make me feel sick. I got a couple of High5 gels in a goody bag and they tasted quite nice but I've never used them in earnest .

Gels can have an almost instant effect when you're bonked, the problem is in identifying that that's why you feel so awful. Your brain just  doesn't seem to recognise that  it needs sugar. I have to take them before I really need to or I just get slower and slower without realising the answer is in a convenient pouch in my pocket.

Has anyone tried Nuun elctrolyte tablets? They're sugar free so you can take them alongside gels and they do seem to make a difference when you're running in the heat.

Come on chaps, there were no real hills on the course apart from the first mile, and it was downhill. I totally agree with the comments about organisation though. I've ventured out on every running of the Edinburgh falf, over at least three different routes and with two different organisers. They've never got both the start and end right on any one of them yet and this year they managed to make a mess of both, though it didn't even come close to the debacle of the first one where we had to queue up for about 10 minutes to get over the finish line.

 They managed to sort out the finish last year (although there was a huge problem with getting everybody out of Musselburgh) so I don't know why they didn't use the same arrangement this year. It's just lucky it wasn't a cold day since we had to hang around so long at the start and finish.

 I also wondered why I had to travel across Edinburgh to pick up my chip and number when they did send out race packs.If Ididn't live in the city I would have left it until Sunday morning as well.

The marathon is organised by a different company but it has had some fairly chaotic starts as well, and in fairness to the organisers of the half, Dunfermline Half is always very well organised, start, middle and finish.

I think Paula says she counts in her head to focus on pace and get past the rough bits rather than to combat boredom. I count when I have to really dig in and I just want to think of something other than 'this hurts' or 'still 5 miles to go and it's not fun any more'. It gives me a more realistic idea of where the next mile marker actually is when they seem to be getting further and further apart.

Unfortunately I think that's the only thing Paula and I have in common

Maybe you could carry on wearing your shorts along with some funky  leg warmers ?