Running Thread - Page 28

On March 25 2012 03:17 Snuggles wrote:
Hey guys I've got another question from a newbie runner =).

So taking your advice from my last post I completely stopped worrying about time/speed and just focused on running more miles. I've noticed a lot more improvement, or maybe not much but enough for me to really notice. Well in other words the 3 miles runs have gotten much easier for me. I finally cut out any sort of slow-down, or I guess "breaks" in the middle of the run. I guess that means I've finally established a proper running pace? Because before I'd be pretty tuckered out after 3 miles, and to go any slower I'd be practically walking. Now I breeze through the first two miles without really noticing it, and then my legs start to burn going into the third mile. My heart rate and breathing feel very very comfortable throughout the whole thing.

I've now tried adding in more miles to my routine on my days off from running. Usually I just do those 3 miles every other day, but now I've added in a quick 1 mile run the days after that 3 mile run. Running a mile has become so nice and easy now I just thought why not.

So my question is how should I continue my exercise routine? Should I maintain the same pace for both workout days? Or should I up the pace for the short 1 mile? Or should I continue adding in more miles for longer runs?

My guess would be to continually work on mileage (I think thats the correct term?) since it seems like I have all the time in the world to focus on my endurance before worrying about speed or anything of that sort.

Ultra marathoners are completely nuts. This is one of the areas where I know some runners start to waffle on, especially Dean Karnazes, but what those guys do is impressive. I read his book and the most ridiculous thing that stood out to me: he did a 200+ mi race and still dropped a sub 6 for his last mile.

On March 27 2012 14:42 NationInArms wrote:
So I decided to finally do a more structured workout based on the Couch to 5K program after finding out that I'm way too out-of-shape. Even though I'm not as out of shape as people who start the c25k program, I'm still finding the workouts pretty enjoyable and worthwhile. The c25k program focuses on the amount of time you run rather then your speed or distance, so after finishing the c25k I'll probably focus on more mileage and try to get in faster times. Knew I should have done Track instead of academic stuff. :S

So I decided to finally do a more structured workout based on the Couch to 5K program after finding out that I'm way too out-of-shape.

On March 28 2012 07:25 L_Master wrote:


Glad to hear it. You'll notice some huge differences in your fitness in just the first few months.



Don't think there are any problems with whatever you do decide to do, but I am curious what you mean by more structured workout as I recall C25K being a pretty structured type of thing.

On March 29 2012 13:02 NationInArms wrote:
I recently came across this article from a post on reddit that pretty much says stretching doesn't actually help. I know that when I started running in high school, we were told to stretch. But my second year stretching was put on the back burner. What are your views on this article? Does it seem to correlate with what you know already?

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-241-287--7001-0,00.html

On March 30 2012 14:52 L_Master wrote:
New incline PR today in 24:11!

If your not familiar with it the Manitou Incline is basically on hell of a hill. It's one mile and length and rises from 6600 feet to about 8800 feet for an average grade of about 41%.

The Incline:
+ Show Spoiler +

On March 31 2012 06:12 Ender985 wrote:
Ok, I'm sold. I'm gonna start couch to 5k tomorrow. I tried running during last fall, but I could not go further than 15 minutes; of course I was going from nothing to straight up running until bust, and that felt pretty bad. This sounds like a much more civil way to do it.

The only caveat is that I'm used to biking long distances, last week for instance I did 40 km in the mountains, and I handled it no problem. I don't know to which extent biking improves running capacity, if so then maybe I could start by jumping into week 2. What do you guys think?

Great thread btw, keep it up!

On March 31 2012 07:13 pyrofoam wrote:



While biking certainly does influence your overall fitness, I would suggest starting from the beginning of couch to 5k. The first week may end up being too easy, but there isn't any harm in trying it out.

On March 31 2012 07:13 pyrofoam wrote:



While biking certainly does influence your overall fitness, I would suggest starting from the beginning of couch to 5k. The first week may end up being too easy, but there isn't any harm in trying it out.

On March 31 2012 08:02 AirbladeOrange wrote:
Biking definitely does help out running. That's why it's the most common form of cross training for runners. The extent to which it helps depends on how long and fast you are biking. There are similar zones of aerobic workload and you can simulate them by trying to mimic your perceived level of running effort on the bike.

On March 31 2012 07:59 L_Master wrote:


I going to go ahead and disagree here.

Your a fit guy, there is almost certainly no need for you to worry with something with C25K.

You said you couldn't make it 15 minutes....this tells me you were running much to hard. Start small, say 2 miles and go "stupid easy" I'd say start the first couple minutes out at walking pace (i.e. run same speed you walk) and from there naturally allow it to pick up to a relaxed, natural, but still easy (if not very easy) pace. Start with 2 mile 3 times a week maybe, then go to something like 3 miles 3 days a week, then just keep adding days till your at like 5,6, or 7 or wherever you want to be.

C25K is really a program aimed at people that have been very inactive (read: sedentary) for a long period of time. I really don't think that conservative of a plan is necessary at all for your typical HS/College age person unless they have been truly sedentary for a several years.

On March 31 2012 08:46 Ender985 wrote:


Well.. I really don't consider myself fit. I'm 26, and appart from the weekly/bi-weekly bike rides, I spend my hours sitting in a chair in front of a computer, either at work or at home. I think it's simply I've been biking for so long that I just got really efficient at it, so I can do it very naturally without getting tired. However when I tried running in the past, it felt the complete opposite, it was essentially a painful experience, very against my body. I thought that was because the set of muscles used for running is differerent, and because you need much more ventilation, I don't know.

This is why I thought alternating running and walking was a good idea, rather than just keep trying to do straight runs from the get go. But yeah I'm not an overweight 100%-couch type of guy either, so by looking at the program, I think I'll give week 3 a try and see how it feels, and go from there.

Thanks for the advice!

However when I tried running in the past, it felt the complete opposite, it was essentially a painful experience, very against my body. I thought that was because the set of muscles used for running is differerent, and because you need much more ventilation, I don't know.

On March 31 2012 08:15 L_Master wrote:


Curious to throw this out there...

When I bike I notice that me perceived effort generates a noticeably lower HR than a given running perceived effort does. For instance is I go at tempo effort while running I'm usually around 170-180 HR, but this same feeling of effort on the bike might only generate 155-160. It also seems to grow more pronounced the harder I go, as in at a very easy pace the HR/Effort is similar but I have a higher HR at a given perceived effort while running the greater the effort.