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Andi -- I'm glad I'm making sense to someone
What's with the $? I have to ask, are you American? I am going to check out those shoes, they sound very cool...
Nicola -- Sorry to hear that you were attacked at night that time... But at least the treadmill will enable you to keep up the running when it's dark and wet, or even icy... Oh, and always better to run when and where you feel safe
Mummysaurus -- You're very welcome to join us... Come one, come all, and all that... And I'm glad you're finding this thread of interest... How long have you been running? And why that choice of shoes?
Tank, the above shoes were released in america a day or two before they were in the UK. With shipping they were only 1 cent more than in the UK but fear I'm gonna get hit with Import Tax so my bad
Andi - yep I was the first UK sale
I had the original xeros but did a similar job on mine but I hadn't even had a drink....... Also like your reading choice I am currently reading the cool impossible by Eric Orton he was the coach from Born to Run.
Tank - I have only been running a few months I am currently working my way through the C25K I am on week 5 but I also run with my son who is an ultra runner (back 2 basics on the forum ) he runs in Luna Sandals which I am hoping Santa might be good enough to bring me a pair
I normally run in Brooks Puredrift which are also zero drop, I wanted the Sensori xeros as a pair of shoes that not only can I run in but I can also use to go to the office during the warmer weather And of course they are a good price.
Mummy, (That reminds me I should ring her soon), seems I was wrong to try and get my pair early then
It will be interesting to exchange notes on our thoughts 
Oh, shall add that book to my kindle wishlist then 
I do have a thought to go fully barefoot sometime as well. There is a guy on the Island that walks barefoot, looks like a hippy tramp, lives in the woods and is/was a well to do professional looking to find his mojo! (I'm not going that far though).
Mummy -- (Yep, that is weird) I'm guessing then that your son B2B is a barefoot/minimalist runner, in which you're probably getting all the good advice you need... Congrats on getting going with the C25K program, I'm interested to see how you progress with that... When I re-started, last week, I wasn't sure whether to do C25K or just cut my distance right back... In the end I went with just cutting my distances right back... I first did 4K, which felt like too much, then 2K, which felt like too little, and then 3K, which felt about right... This week I'm upto 3.3K!
Andi -- I've been for a run this morning, only 3.3K, and feeling inspired by your 204 spm I managed an average cadence of 180.4 spm! Woohoo!!
So I went out this morning with no expectations, decided to just run (rather than go with my walk/run plan) and managed 3.2 miles straight! I realised at about 1.5 miles that after the first mile I can actually get into a rhythm and it doesn't get any harder, it's just a case of telling my legs to keep going.
I really can't believe it!!
Nicola -- That's excellent!
I still find the first couple of miles the hardest... But after that my breathing settles down and I get into a rhythm and as long as the pace isn't too fast then keeping going isn't a great problem.
Tank, Nicola, sounds like you are both going about things the right way - nice and easily
Great progress Nicola!
I live in a bit of a dip (moving soon though) and 2 of my 3 routes climb about 300ft in the first 1.5 miles along single track roads. The 3rd route is along the 'big' road and a bit flatter. Like many/most it's the first mile or so that I struggle with and mainly it's with slowing down!
Oh, Tank, that 204spm wasn't for the entire run, just what Garmin said was my fastest
Out in the Bikilas for an easy 3 miles later so AHR down and a decent Cadence is the goal 
Wow Nicola that is fantastic!! What sort of speed do you run at? I am itching to try to go faster but I know it will have a knock on effect on the distance I can complete!
I am going tonight on my own and am hoping to push through the mile mark either to a mile and a quarter or a mile and a half. We will see how I get on.
I have just been playing with my spreadsheet making sure all is updated for the last few runs and adding in some extra columns. I cant wait to get out tonight now!!
Watto, we all want to run faster
however, if you keep it nice and slow as you become able to run further you will naturally run faster too 
Ooh, what are your extra columns then?
We were talking about connect.garmin the other day, if anybody wants to connect to me and see just how erratic my stats are they can find me here.
Well done everyone for getting out for a run - Nicola your doing so well congrats.
If it's too weird calling me mummy I promise to answer to MS if it's easier
Andi - I hope your xeros arrive soon, sadly I think you may find customs are likely to hold them for ransom........
I was going to say I don't think I will ever go really barefoot, but I have learnt that with running never say never, my original plan was to learn to run 5k just so I could do the race for life without walking..........then I read Booktrunks thread and yep you guessed it I am now looking at what 10k's are around for next year and have even started to daydream about if I could ever manage a half marathon.
Tank - yep B2B only runs in Luna's or other sandals and minimalist if he has to use the gym. He has been amazing with my training giving me loads of tips, I guess in some ways I am lucky that I had never run before because I didn't have to re-learn how to run. The only running I had ever done was at school and being of the older generation this was in flat plimpsols, thick trainers hadn't been invented back then
MS -- (That's better) I don't think I'll ever go completely barefoot either but that's more for practical reasons... I wish that when I started running, just over three years ago, I had been told to focus on good form rather than "go and get gait analysis to make sure you get the right shoes"... As I am now having to re-learn how to run, hey ho... Oh, do feel free to pass on any of those tips your getting
This is fast becoming something of a Booktrunk appreciation thread
MS it is then
and yup, we are all expecting 'free' coaching from you via B2B 
Tank, I know what you mean by 'if only...' though lets hope we are not to set in our ways to change.
If you look at my avatar you can see what a terrible over stride I have/had back in August. This was taken at the end of my first (and only) HM and guess if I was running like that for 13.1 miles my knees won't be lasting much longer.
Am sat here watching Bargain Hunt (officially sad) and have almost convinced myself not to run today, heavy rain is fine but have 30mph winds gusting to 52mph at the moment
Hold the thought about the Booktrunk appreciation thread - we need to draw up a plan to get her accepted onto the Asics 26.2 plan (it's a vote/poll I believe)
I like the sound of the appreciation thread!! I think i am going to read her whole thread again soon...it was like reading a very inspirational book!
Another silly questions....you can tell I am a newbie!! What is the Asics 26.2 plan? Clearly some sort of marathon?!
I will be keeping to pace tonight...even though i want to push I know what your saying about distance and time on feet is more important in these stages!
I have just been playing around with the route plotter on the greatrun website again and i'm looking forward to the days where i dont feel like a bit fat tit running and can go out on different routes. Plotted and saved some good routes by me, some hilly, some flat, some long, some short....a right variety!
Watto, am sure Booktrunk will explain fully but I think Asics get a bunch of runners of different ability into a bootcamp then train a selection for the Paris Marathon
Tank, I blame you for todays run! 3.11 miles should have had an AHR of 70-73% it was 79%!! Average pace was 11:08 with mile splits of 12:25, 11:30, 9:50 and 8:20 for the .11. The first 1.5 miles has an incline of over 300 feet hence the splits.
Why do I blame you? was messing with my Cadence in the bikilas and averaged 188spm with a MAX of 206
Oh, and connect.Garmin did an upgrade last night, average stride length was .77 metres (am going to like that stat).
Thanks guys! I'm still in shock! I did 3.2 miles in 39:17 so 12:15 min/mile which I'm fine with. It explains why I quit halfway on Monday as my first mile was 10:58 which is clearly far too fast for me!
Watto : go to the homepage and click on asics target 26.2 they sponsor the Paris marathon. So they get a group of 40-50 for a 1 day boot camp, then whittle it down to about 16? Then that gets whittled down to 5 or 6 who then get clothes / trainers / pro support and some more training days to get pb's at the Paris marathon.
Anyone can sign up, those that have done it even just the first stage say it's great, so seems a really interesting thing to try to win.
Andi -- When you say "blame" you mean "credit" right?
Did you get the stride length from connect.Garmin or did you calculate that yourself? An average cadence of 188 spm is very impressive... I'm going to try and get out later for another 3.3K and improve on my 180 spm from yesterday.
Watto -- What were the extra columns that you've added to your spreadsheet?
lol Tank and ok, 'credit' then
Yes, Garmin now calculate the stride length in connect.garmin. My next goal is to try and get my Cadence up to around 180 in 'proper' shoes. I was also thinking more about how I pick my feet up and (apparently) the trick is not to lift your foot but to bend your knee and pull your foot up without toeing off, this uses your thigh muscles more - for me that's easier said than done.
Nicola, that's great news! go slow and steady and things will naturally speed up over time
imho 12:15 is a respectable pace so if you try and stick with that and up the distance (if that's the way you want to go) you'll be running at 10:58 in no time.
Booktrunk, goodluck with this and it sounds like even the bootcamp will be helpful then
Very windy against me on one stretch which was not pleasant!
Times were not quick by any means 15.30/15.02 for the first mile and second mile.
Felt good after the first mile and that's when I decided to carry on and therefore didn't blast it at the end!
Going to attempt to do two miles again on Sunday and stick with that distance for the next week or two and then have a stab at three miles. I have a target of being able to run the three miles by Xmas which I think is doable and then as book trunk said I will then redo my asics plan in readiness for training for the 10k.
Spreadsheet additions were -
-food eaten (thought it would be good to be able to compare how I run against what I have had for lunch that day)
-warm up / cool down time (to be abler o'clock overall mileage in shoes and because I don't include warm up times or distance in overall times)
-shoes (as per your valuable advise)
-run rating (how I felt whilst running and afterwards - again to monitor any trends)
-partners (who I was running with - I have a feeling I will go quicker when with other people but further on my own!)
Think that was it, out on phone but will check spreadsheet in a bit and update if any other columns I have forgot!!
Awesome run Watto
That's all it's about at this stage just keep on plodding. don't worry about speed it's just getting used to running. You can keep going 30 minutes non stop.
I'd consider throwing in some 2.5 mile runs in the middle maybe once a week instead of 2 weeks at 2 then a jump to three it doesn't sound much but it's actually an extra 50% compared to how far you run now, so it's quite a big jump, that's why i started out running using KM's to measure as I could just add another km.
watto, great news with the 2 miles! A good plan to consolidate this distance for a few days and things will/should get easier. A big issue with lots of people that get to your stage is to overcook things, get injured then give up - WE won't allow you to do that but looks like you have a plan already
If you excuse the rather bad pun - 3 miles by Xmas? you'll walk it lol
Actually, best make that 3.11 miles then you can work on 5k times
And think you'll be doing that in November.
You have a comprehensive spreadsheet there now and am sure you'll be amazed when you look back on these early days next Spring and see how far you have come (another rather bad pun lol).
Well done Watto your times are looking good to me I am a slow plodder
and as Andi says I am sure you will be doing 3 miles by xmas easily. Your spreadsheet sounds amazing, I use my Garmin stats but thats about it although I do keep a check on what I eat before a run, just incase it doesn't agree with me
booktrunk -- How does one win a place at the Asics Bootcamp? Does one need the votes of other forumites or is it a ballot?
Watto -- Good work with the 2 miler!
Andi -- It makes sense about bending the knee and pulling the foot up... That's what I'm trying to do as I'm sure that my old style used the calf to push off... Alsotrying now trying to pull my foot up right under my arse so that my back remains straight... Like you though I can't be too sure how successful I am at all this... Do you find the "natural" style of running takes more effort? I guess it must take more energy to increase cadence... And have your times improved?
Thats great advise booktrunk...def an increase of half mile will be better to start with! I started trying to use KM but watch, asics plan and park is exactly a mile long so decided to keep to miles!!
Thanks Andi, I'm hoping that three miles by xmas is dooable, judging on progress so far I agree and would say it is very achievable, I think if i could get up to this in the next few weeks I might try the park run one saturday before xmas just to get an idea of times etc. Do they have an upper limit on time?! Judging on current pace I would estimate about 45mins, dont care about being the last to finish but would like to not be laughed out of the park because of how slow i am!!
Spreadsheet is shortly going to be updated with last nights run!! Such a geek but I love it!!
Booktrunk - the Asics 26.2 sounds fab...just seen an email about it. Can we vote for you to get a place!!!
Watto - The two park runs near to me both have a cut off time of 50 minutes, but they both say that if you know that you will be longer than this then just to email them or warn them at the start so that they don't all go off for coffee and leave you to finish alone. But with your time already you will be finished in plenty of time.
Ok, I will def email ahead of the race. I think I might aim for the one either the 14th or 21st of December. I do slimming world and my class is a saturday morning, so would have to miss this but can always weigh in at another class or the following week.
I like the idea of getting up to 5k by the end of November and then just gradually working at it over December to see if my speed improves at all (i dont mean actual speed training before Andi tells me off
, just natural improvements that would come with being able to run the distance regularly).
Its great to see how my speed already has come down, looking at the run last week on the Wednesdya which was my first full mile without stopping - this was done in 16.15 and then yesterdays average pace was 15.20 and that was over two miles.
Also that was not done by pushing myself at all yesterday, in fact I didnt pay any attention to the virtual pacer on the garmin yesterday as I for the first time put my music on.
Feeling very positive at the moment!
Tank, several 'experts' suggest the bum kicking method but right now I'm not lifting my foot that high I don't think (if I get my treadmill will video my running style I think). I'll probably try that method if/when I try to speed up and take slightly longer strides but keep the cadence up if possible.
Yup, when I 'think' about my stride it does appear to raise my HR a little. As for going faster, hard to tell right now as am still on running shorter distances of up to 10k as I'm still recovering from the Marathon (almost 5 weeks ago). That said although my mileage is down this Month my average pace is improving
In July I started HADDing properly (I had previously been using WHR not MHR)
The below is Month, Miles, Pace, AHR and pace difference to previous month...
July 123 11:59 73.4%
August 150 11:43 72.87% - 17 secs/mile
September 110 11:00 74.47% - 43 secs/mile
October 77 10:42 73.94% -18 secs/mile
If I keep this up I'll be running 7 min miles in training this time next year lol
Oh, and Watto, wouldn't tell you off, just remind you of how/why you went wrong (several times). If 5k in 40 minutes doesn't become an easy training run for you by Xmas I'd be surprised
I have a link (somewhere) that works out pace improvement based on weight loss! Will have a look later cos it's quite interesting.
Keep it up Watto and Mummysaurus, parkrun is a great target.
They are all friendly and if you'd rather suss it out first you could volunteer at one to see.
Tail runners regularly helped me along with the children in early days and another way to tackle it is to walk/run intervals - that's basically what the children did when they started.
What's great is you can track your progress (mine's in reverse right now) but the data analysis they provide on your times can be quite motivating.
Watto and Tank if i got to the last 16 or so you could vote for me. But my why would i like to do it in 150 words, was so incoherent that I don't think i'll get to the first boot camp. Heck enter yourselves :0 I'll they are sure to want one newbie so one of you lot has a good chance of getting in
run that hard and then if in London the week after just use London as a recovery jog 