The Running Thread

[satriales]

Thanks for the tips Avon, I shall check that site out. I do definitely need to up my mileage and have a longer run once or twice a week.

Taking this week off though as I ran parkrun when my leg was already hurting and just made it worse. Still managed to knock 30 seconds off my PB for that course

If my injury clears and I can up the mileage over the next 2 or three weeks then I shall definitely book the 38 miler as a nice challenge to keep me motivated.

[Spindash]

Spindash, to get quicker you should try and introduce a couple of "speed" sessions per week. You could start with intervals (warm up, short quick bursts i.e. faster than 5k pace followed by slow jog and repeat, warm down), a progression run (start easy and increase the pace by 30 secs each mile) or a tempo run (warm up, fast paced run, warm down or something like a park run). Doing this on a consistent basis will help with speed. Essentially, you are training your body to run quicker in short bursts so your body can handle running these speeds.

Perfect, thanks.

[Poser]

Haven't posted on here for ages, so hope everyones running is going well.

Pleased to report I achieved a milestone with my first sub 3 marathon last weekend finishing in 2.58.

Looking for some training advice... at the moment I can run 5k and 10k quite comfortably (weekend parkrun was 21:53, last 10k was 49:16), and I'd like to get faster, but I'm not sure exactly how and when I should be running, with regards to intervals / tempo runs / etc.

Any tips would be appreciated xox

Just to echo what Avon said basically - you need more speed in your legs. Do some shorter, sharper sessions. Also consider doing some hills sessions, focusing on driving your knees and working your arms, sprinter-style.


I have just done my first run since the kid was born

I feel so out of shape and so sluggish, that I'm just going to do the same, very short loop (1.7mi) until I feel like I can run again. It's also short enough that I can very easily fit it into my lunchbreak, and shower, and eat, in my lunchbreak.

Really don't want to be a fat dad; fortunately I've got a GNR ballot place this year, so I really have no choice but to get my arse into gear.

[Floex]

Anyone got any tips post run? I'm finding that after doing 6K+ I'm tired for the rest of the day. I drink plenty of water, take in nutrients but feel fatigue for the rest of the day.

[Poser]

What do you mean by 'nutrients'? Specifically what do you eat?

[Floex]

Along with water, I usually have a protein shake (mixed with banana, honey, almond milk) straight after a run, then porridge a little while later. Then fill up a bit more with lunch but I'm still beat for the rest of the day

[Poser]

Haha, ok, that's pretty much the perfect response

I'm honestly not sure, and may have to leave this for someone else to respond.

How far are you running?

[Rapidly-Greying]

I had a mild heart attack a few weeks back and have a 41 mile Tesco charity run in fife booked in a few day. Doc says to sit it out, but I feel fine so I'm going for it

Should be fun.

[Avon]

Anyone got any tips post run? I'm finding that after doing 6K+ I'm tired for the rest of the day. I drink plenty of water, take in nutrients but feel fatigue for the rest of the day.

Difficult to answer in isolation of other facts. How often do you run? What distance do you normally run? What's your current level of fitness? Are there other factors in your life affecting you (sleep/diet/stress/work)?

[Floex]

Haha, ok, that's pretty much the perfect response

I'm honestly not sure, and may have to leave this for someone else to respond.

How far are you running?

Around 6k at the moment, trying to get back to my peak of 8km before Christmas. Just feel really frustrated at the moment as going for a run seems to ruin the rest of my day

I had a mild heart attack a few weeks back and have a 41 mile Tesco charity run in fife booked in a few day. Doc says to sit it out, but I feel fine so I'm going for it

Should be fun.

This sounds like a good plan.

[Floex]

Anyone got any tips post run? I'm finding that after doing 6K+ I'm tired for the rest of the day. I drink plenty of water, take in nutrients but feel fatigue for the rest of the day.

Difficult to answer in isolation of other facts. How often do you run? What distance do you normally run? What's your current level of fitness? Are there other factors in your life affecting you (sleep/diet/stress/work)?

Once a week, around 6k, I'm in good health, maybe my sleep pattern can be abit iffy but nothing major. I've found my heart can reach 170 but I have no idea how I can lower it, I'm not exactly going fast.

[Mini E]

Turns out I ran the Reading Half in 2:03 with acute appendicitis. Came out of surgery an hour ago. I'm not allowed to run the Brighton marathon in 2 1/2 weeks. Absolutely gutted.

[Victor Mildew]

A guy is coming running fairly regularly now and he's so slow I may as well be walking from about a third of the way in. I'm having to zig zag and run in circles to try and keep any speed up and I'm about 2 minutes a mile faster. Yesterday I just had to say I need to push on as I need to get something out of it and tore off. The main aim is to shed a last bit of weight before my wedding in a couple of months and I feel like every session counts, so I may have to politely say I need to just do my own thing.

Did a 10k (as runkeeper insisted on calling it even though the units are set to miles) in 48:40 with an average of 7:42 which was a new personal best for me, made better by having cramp for the last mile and a half so I could have gone a little bit faster.

[Poser]

A guy is coming running fairly regularly now and he's so slow I may as well be walking from about a third of the way in. I'm having to zig zag and run in circles to try and keep any speed up and I'm about 2 minutes a mile faster. Yesterday I just had to say I need to push on as I need to get something out of it and tore off. The main aim is to shed a last bit of weight before my wedding in a couple of months and I feel like every session counts, so I may have to politely say I need to just do my own thing.

Did a 10k (as runkeeper insisted on calling it even though the units are set to miles) in 48:40 with an average of 7:42 which was a new personal best for me, made better by having cramp for the last mile and a half so I could have gone a little bit faster.

That's decent. Didn't you basically start running from scratch relatively recently? That's really good progress mate.

As for that last bit of weight, you could consider doing hills or shorter, faster reps, too, which will spike your metabolic rate. It's only really worth considering when you've reached a decent level of fitness, which you clearly have.

It's also a session you could include your 'slow' running companion on, too - you can both do as many reps of a hill, with a jog/walk back recovery, as you wish. We used hills all the time as part of our winter sprint training - it was good for group work as it means nobody is left behind and everyone still ends up knackered.

[Victor Mildew]

It's also a session you could include your 'slow' running companion on, too - you can both do as many reps of a hill, with a jog/walk back recovery, as you wish. We used hills all the time as part of our winter sprint training - it was good for group work as it means nobody is left behind and everyone still ends up knackered.

That's a really good idea, i may suggest that for tomorrow as theres a little short hill not far from here that we could use (it's the bit you always dread at the end because it'\s reasonably steep then leading into a shallow hill all the way).

I think ive been doing this a couple of years now but it's only in the last 6 months where i've made real progress and can consistently run fast (well fast to me anyway). The fact i did my 6.5 mile run at a faster average pace than i've managed to do on my 4 mile one (its an extension of the same route) tells me i've got a bit in reserve. When it's a cool day with no rain and im feeling up to it i'm going to see if i can get down to 7.30-7.35 average.

EDIT: That happened quicker than I expected, did the 4 miles in 30:19 - 7:31average. Was calling out 7:29 average when i stopped but i fumbled getting the phone out to stop it and drove the average up

Still,

[Mini E]

Nice one Ad! Just been told I'm not allowed to exercise for 6 weeks sucks.

[Jenuall]

Just started trying to get into running in the last week or so, I need to find a new method of exercise as I'm starting to put on a bit more weight than I would like. I used to cycle to work so I was doing ~20 miles each week day which kept me generally pretty fit, but have recently needed to switch to driving and so I thought I would give running a go.

I figured it was easier, and therefore more likely, that I'd be able to go out for a run than a ride of an evening, plus there's the option of fitting in a run during the odd lunch break at work.

I've always been fairly sporty and active, but have never really gone in for running, or for that matter exercise for the sake of it - generally all my exercising has either been as part of a sport/game - i.e. playing for football teams, tennis/squash leagues etc. or just cycling as a means of transportation. As a result I'm finding it hard not to get a bit bored so far - do people generally run with a club or group in order to make it more interesting?

What sort of distances/times should I be aiming for as a starter? Like I say I'm relatively fit, but haven't done anything much in the way of running in the past. So far I've been out for a few runs around my neighborhood - first couple were about 3k to get a feel for things, then I went for a 5k on Monday to see what time I would get - managed it in just under half an hour which felt like an okay time and one that I could probably improve on.

[Rubix]

Doing tough mudder so need to start running again. Not ran in 11 years so just popped out and did 2.5k to start.

Any hints?

[satriales]

Having run 4 miles last week I decided to try and do a gentle 5 mile run today. My leg was still aching from the weekend but I probably won't be able to fit another run in until Tuesday so figured I'll just take it easy and see how it goes. After 3 miles I was feeling really good so I took the long way home and ended up running 6.3miles (just over 10k!) in 59:09. I could have quite easily knocked a minute or two off that, or carried on for a couple more miles but I didn't want to push to hard. I'm pretty happy with that, now I just need to find some better routes that don't involve me waiting to cross main roads

[satriales]

What sort of distances/times should I be aiming for as a starter? Like I say I'm relatively fit, but haven't done anything much in the way of running in the past. So far I've been out for a few runs around my neighborhood - first couple were about 3k to get a feel for things, then I went for a 5k on Monday to see what time I would get - managed it in just under half an hour which felt like an okay time and one that I could probably improve on.

I'm no expert as I only got back into running about 5 weeks ago, but it really depends what you want to get out of running. Do you plan on running a marathon? Or race some 5/10k? Or just improve fitness?
I guess whatever your answer the main key (especially starting out) is simply run a lot of miles. I'm the sort of person that always tries to beat my previous best every time I'm out, so it's very hard for me to slow down but that is what you have to do. Run slow and run further. Then when you're comfortable you can introduce speed/strength work to improve your time but distance alone will also help you run faster.

I'd also recommend entering some parkruns if you can. They are a free 5k event held every week and it's a good motivation when you see your times improve, plus it beats running alone.