Will old fashioned plimsolls be adequate to start with?

[Beek]

66 year old, complete novice with limited resources. Planned on doing C5K last year but surgery prevented it. Very apprehensive about doing it at all but need to be fitter and leaner.

[con-brio Graduate]

Plimsolls are making a come-back: triradar.com/training-advic...

They help you land on the middle/front of your foot rather than the heel (not advisable). Having said that, you can pick up 'conventional' cushioned trainers for running for a relatively small amount of money (SportsDirect, Decathlon etc.). £10 upwards.

Try the plimsolls on week 1 and see how you go... Pop into a local sports/running store (if possible) and enquire about gait analysis (running on a treadmill while the 'experts' check how you land on your feet). It might help avoid aches and pains in the long-term.

This NHS page is always useful when first setting out on C25K: nhs.uk/Livewell/c25k/Pages/...

Let us know how you get on!

[Beek Graduate in reply to con-brio]

Thank you for the advice. Total novice but really appreciate these pages. I'll seek out a proper sports shoe shop for analysis (and hopefully avoid pain!)

[greenlegs Graduate]

Just a quick tip - 'slow and steady'! I wear shoes that are not much different from plimsolls and they seem to suit my feet well.

If you haven't run much before, going really slowly to start with (or even for quite some time!) can make the whole thing much more doable.

[Beek Graduate in reply to greenlegs]

I have never done any running (Canoeing used to be my thing) but not done any serious exercise for many years now. Finding all these posts very helpful.

[greenlegs Graduate]

I was sent a link to this quiz yesterday - "Are you ready to start running?" and thought it raised some good points to think about. You might find it useful, though I think it's over-cautious as it told me I was nearly ready to think about running - and I finished c25k two months ago!

sparkpeople.com/resource/as...

[runningwild Graduate in reply to greenlegs]

Hi greenlegs, I just did the quiz and I'm ready to run!!! No excuses then

[greenlegs Graduate in reply to runningwild]

Ha ha! Off you go then!

[Beek Graduate in reply to greenlegs]

Hi Greenlegs, Thank you for the link. It says I'm nearly ready to run, but I'm not clear why! Thought I had done the research. Guess I should just get on with it and stop putting it off!

[greenlegs Graduate in reply to Beek]

I think maybe it says that if you haven't definitely been told by your doctor that you can run? I hadn't asked my dr as couldn't see any reason why not, but I suppose they have to err on the side of safety.

[Legion Graduate in reply to greenlegs]

I'm ready to run! However, I tried the quiz again using what would have been the appropriate answers for me before I did c25k and got told I'm almost ready to run. I suspect the answers you give in relation to running shoes and having a running plan are quite key.

Best of luck on c25k, Beek. I'm sure you'll find it's a great programme and this is a very friendly, supportive community.

[Beek Graduate in reply to Legion]

It is a great community! So many useful replies already and they have given me a HUGE lift to get started! Thank you Legion, runningwild, AnnieW55 and Greenlegs. I am looking forward to this now! I have only got to work out how to get the podcasts into the MP3 player - then I'm off!!

[DeliaItaly Graduate in reply to Legion]

Hi Legion!

[George42 Graduate in reply to greenlegs]

Says I am not ready yet, even though I have been running for a couple of years now.

[runningwild Graduate]

Yes I'll second that, very supportive, good luck from me as well!

[AnnieW55]

Good luck on starting the plan. It took finding the podcasts and support of this site to get me to do what I'd been trying (and failing) to do by myself for a very long time.

If you do run in you plimsolls - and they don't have much padding - can I suggest you don't wear thin socks. If you have some thicker ones that still mean your plimsolls fit it will give some cushioning to your feet and help keep them more comfortable.

[DeliaItaly Graduate]

Good luck and welcome on board. I hate to put a damper on things but I would forego the plimsolls as soon as you can for a padded pair of trainers. There are many cheap ones around in running shops. Go for it and happy running!

[Legion Graduate in reply to DeliaItaly]

Hello Delia. Fancy seeing you here.

I got distracted by the quiz and forgot the original question was about shoes. As Delia says, I would go for a good supportive pair of running shoes as soon as you can. I had really good running shoes from day 1 (cost me £25 from Amazon, reduced from about £80-90 I think, end of line) which I bought when I first thought about trying running. It wasn't until I discovered c25k and this amazing community that I actually put them to the intended use though!!

[wilmacgh Graduate]

Good luck and well done for starting out. I'd tend to agree that plimsolls are not the best footwear to start out with. I'd see if you can get some proper running trainers . They do make quite a difference.

[barwal]

Hi Beek so good to know someone else who is 66 yrs young and just starting out ,I did my first day week one today only managed 30 sec runs but I can try again and if needs be do week 1 twice the fact that we are doing it is main thing good luck to you

[Beek Graduate in reply to barwal]

Thank you for your encouragement, Barwal. I have been watching too many 'Secret Eaters' type of programmes and find myself feeling impatient with how helpless some people can be. I don't want to end up like that and I must do it before it gets too late!.

Do let me know how you are getting on! And I like your phrase '66 years young' In my head I'm still in my twenties! i have had a difficult couple of years with health issues and miss my sense of having a huge amount of energy. Hopefully this will return eventually. People used to be amazed at what I managed to do in a day and now I feel a bit of a wuss and I don't like it! My son says 'Well you are older Mum, what do you expect? I just want my energy back!

[Beek Graduate in reply to barwal]

Last night I was going to do W1R1 today too but bed was too cosy at 7.30! Good on you for getting out there and doing it! I must do it tomorrow - NO excuses!

[barwal]

I think we can just be gentle with ourselfs brisk walks then bit faster etc untill we feel ready to break into a gallop (well maybe a trot ) as long as we are doing something posative hey good luck

[Beek Graduate in reply to barwal]

And good luck to you too! Yes, we must stay positive! We could be flying round by the end of the year! Thank you for the encouragement.

[greenlegs Graduate]

There's a lot of debate about how much padding we need in shoes - it may not be as simple as more padding is necessarily better - just thought I'd throw that in!

Long distance runners in the early 20th C used to run in shoes that were not much more than plimsolls apparently, and it only really changed when sports shoe companies started competing for sales (well, that's the impression I've got from a fair bit of reading round). There's quite an argument that more padding is worse, as the feet have loads of nerve endings, and the more padding you have, the less the feet can detect the changing surfaces. But I know lots of people disagree! (I find my expensive running shoes less comfortable than my thinner soled everyday shoes.)

Older feet that haven't run much might need more protection (or more breaking in?).

This bit is copied from an older post of mine - you might find the link interesting.

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If you've still got reading time available, have you tried reading Gordon Pirie's online-published (and free) 'Running Fast and Injury Free'? scribd.com/doc/13695/Go...

He was a world-class English long distance runner who didn't get to be as well-known as perhaps he should (didn't fit into the university-type mould of the world-class runners of his time, plus other issues). He clearly had a chip on his shoulder (unsurprisingly) and he goes on a bit perhaps, but it's an interesting read, and he says much the same as Christopher Macdougall in Born to Run. I really enjoyed it, and it made me see running in a different light.

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[George42 Graduate in reply to greenlegs]

I run in a barefoot shoe, I love them, but it was a big adjustment swapping styles.

I do struggle with arch pain sometimes but the knee pain I got in regular running shoes has basically gone.

I am a 'Born to Run' convert.

[GoogleMe Graduate]

(Apologies to those who have heard this many times before) I started C25K in walking boots. I stood on the canal towpath wearing normal clothes, with my overfull backpack handbag, and my raincoat with my dog on a lead and off we went. I've run through brambles in a long knitted skirt. I treated myself to running shoes (I hadn't possessed a pair of trainers in many, many years) some way into the programme. I've more or less always had fairly minimalist running shoes (the one time I had normal ones I hated them and they went back - the advantage of buying them somewhere expensive) However, come to think of it I did have some plimsolls but didn't wear them. I was also in a position where I could resolve never to run on roads/pavements (I was very keen to protect my joints) and now I wear trail shoes.