New Happy Place

[CBDB]

A quick morning run in my new happy place, a route that I’d walked only once in the last 5 years, so it feels like I’m on a journey of discovery. I can extend it up to 10k, so it’s a nice route for my consolidation of 5k and then possibly extending to ca 7-8k.

Presently I have no plans to do a 10k plan, as I’m still focussing on taking my runs quick and easy and getting on top of my PF with additional strength and flexibility workouts.

But this route is so nice!

I also put a list together of Stoke-on-Trent musicians and bands, as it is the centenary of the city. So it was really nice to connect the musical talent of the city to my running.

Spotify playlist is here: open.spotify.com/playlist/7...

Happy running!

[SueAppleRun Graduate10 60minGraduate]

What a lovely route

[Tessie66 Graduate10]

Sounds really nice and I'll give your stoke on trent list a listen is Robbie Williams from that way?

[CBDB Graduate10 in reply to Tessie66]

He is! 👍🏽😊

[Tessie66 Graduate10]

open.spotify.com/playlist/2... seeing as I'm from Nottingham originally I've done a playlist of singers from Nottingham for you. Let me know what you think and if you could run to it

[CBDB Graduate10]

ohhhh fabulous! I was in Nottingham not too long ago, and did a walk near the park near the university. That playlist would have fitted nicely!

Will definitely listen and run to it!

[Tessie66 Graduate10 in reply to CBDB]

Some on that list you probably didn't realise was from Nottingham

[GoogleMe Graduate10]

Oooh, thanks for that! Am spending a lot of time in Stoke at the moment (and all being well for a few years to come) I've already had a number of very enjoyable canalside runs so I am very up for hearing about places to run in the area.

[CBDB Graduate10 in reply to GoogleMe]

Oh fabulous! We live at the rim, just over the Cheshire border, so I work rather than run in Stoke, but I did a couple of routes that were part of the “Six-Pack Challenge Stoke-on-Trent”. The routes seem to be carefully curated and the attached map shows a lovely discovery of a delightful route (6km) near Wedgewood.

And of course thete are 2 parkruns associated with the city. Together with parks, green spaces and canals, plenty routes to choose from.

Map of one of the SoT six pack challenge routes

[GoogleMe Graduate10 in reply to CBDB]

Excellent tip off, thank you! (At this rate I am going to need YoungGM2 to do a Masters and a PhD!)

[CBDB Graduate10 in reply to GoogleMe]

What is a YoungGM2?

[GoogleMe Graduate10 in reply to CBDB]

One of my offspring (who has significant support needs)

[CBDB Graduate10 in reply to GoogleMe]

lol! YoungGM! It makes all sense now! 🤣🤣🤣

(Studying at Staffs or Keele? Great pair of unis … I work at one 😊)

[GoogleMe Graduate10 in reply to CBDB]

He's at Staffs.

[CBDB Graduate10 in reply to GoogleMe]

Yey! Yup, that’s where I’m based! Great stuff!

[Overnight_Oats_99_]

What kind of shoes do you use for running on that terrain? The same as for tarmac/concrete, or something different?

[CBDB Graduate10 in reply to Overnight_Oats_99_]

I use trail shoes. I usually have two in rotation:

a) Altra Lone Peak 5 Trail (0 drop)

b) New Balance Hierro Fresh Foam Trail (11 mm drop)

But I have just bought another New Balance Fresh Foam trail pair as my toe box now needs to be wider. So I’ve moved up half a size and opted for wide fit.

When my calves are tight or my PF niggles appear, I often switch over to the New Balance shoes, which do give me some relieve.

[Overnight_Oats_99_ in reply to CBDB]

Thanks. So the key thing is 'trail shoes'. I'll keep those brands in mind. What does 'drop' mean here?

[CBDB Graduate10 in reply to Overnight_Oats_99_]

Yes, trail for any off-road running.

Drop means how high your heel is. Most normal running or walking shoes have a higher heel than toe, some quite high (9 mm), normal I’d say is about 5-6 nm, and low is anywhere between 0 or 3mm.

0 drop means that your heel is on the same level (height) than your toes.

What can confuse people is that you can have a high “stack” and still have 0-drops, e.g. a lot of cushioning but the heel is still at same level than your toes.

Barefoot shoes are no stack / minimal stack AND 0-drops. But one would have to slowly get used to it train up to using both 0-drops or low cushioning.

Hope this makes sense.

[Overnight_Oats_99_ in reply to CBDB]

CBDB - that's very clear indeed! Thank you very much.

[Cmoi Graduate10 in reply to Overnight_Oats_99_]

Loads of brands do trail shoes, and there are often several models within the same brand, designed to suit different runners and varying types of terrain.

This article tells you more about the basic differences between road and trail shoes: rei.com/learn/expert-advice...

If I know I'm going to run mostly on steeper, more unstable, rutted and slippery forest trails, I don't wear the same trail shoes as I would for less technical routes on gravel or sandy tracks and country roads.

If you're just starting off-road running or are unlikely to do much of it, a basic pair of trail shoes would most probably suit, or a road-to-trail model.

[Overnight_Oats_99_ in reply to Cmoi]

Brilliant! Thank you! [edited for typo]

[Cmoi Graduate10 in reply to Overnight_Oats_99_]

You're welcome. Don't worry about the typo, I'm always editing my posts because of those!

Your post lured me to Vinted - doesn't take much! Got a pair of little-worn Decathlon TR2 women's road-to trail running shoes for 12 euros to test out as a replacement for my Brooks Calderas, which are getting very worn.

Current TR2 models here: decathlon.co.uk/p/women-s-t...