Running program

K!LL!@N

I've been losing weight since last June and have lost a 33lbs so far but it's been on diet changes alone.
I haven't really been all that active though.

The goals will be to help the weight loss continue and to get fitter.

So, I've decided to try a running program.
After a bit of searching I came across this guide.
It's geared towards absolute beginners and seems achievable.

This is mostly for me to keep track of things but all advice/comments will be appreciated.

Killian

K!LL!@N

Through the magic of the internet, here's one I prepared earlier.

I've just finished the first workout of the program.

I did the walking portions at 3.6mph and the jogging portions at 5.8mph.
Could have gone faster on both counts but I want to ease myself into this.
Finished with 5 minute cool down at 2.5mph.

Warm up: 3.6mph
Walking: 3.6mph
Jogging: 5.8mph

It didn't feel too bad overall.
I'll admit to getting a little tired on the last jogging portion and I worked up a good sweat.

I'm quite pleased (a) for getting up off my ass and doing it (b) that I feel pretty good after it.

Killian

Shrimp

If you have an iPod I can give you the link to a series of podcasts that accompany that exact programme. It's got music, and a voice over than comes in at the correct intervals to remind you when to speed up/walk/warm up/warm down.

I'm assuming you are running on a treadmill? you should try it one day on land, see if you can feel the difference.

K!LL!@N

That would be great!
I don't have an iPod but I do have an mp3 player.
Having the voice over on the mp3 would save me having to go out and buy a watch.

I started today on the treadmill as it's been raining on and off the last couple of days but I do intend to mix it up.
There's a small gym in the apartment complex so I have no excuse even if it's raining.

The weather is starting to pick up here, it was really nice last Sunday.
There's are some nice trails along the river and some parks, so I'll have plenty of places to go.

Cheers,

Killian

Shrimp

http://www.ullreys.com/robert/Podcasts/page6/page6.html

Week one starts at the bottom of that page.

K!LL!@N

Excellent, thanks!

I just listened to the start of week 1.
The music isn't something I'd typically listen to but it's not too bad.
I'll try it out.

Thanks again!

Killian

K!LL!@N

Had a rest day yesterday.
I'm thinking I'll do Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday.

I concentrated more on my breathing today and it seemed to work really well.

I kept the speeds the same as last time.

Warm up: 3.6mph
Walking: 3.6mph
Jogging: 5.8mph
Cool down: 3-2.5mph

Didn't have my mp3 charged to try the podcast.
I think I'll find it more useful for the outdoor runs.

Killian

K!LL!@N

Finished the last workout of the first week.

Went pretty well.

Varied the speed a little on the last running part.
Just kicked it up to 7mph to see how it felt.

Warm up: 3.6mph
Walking: 3.6mph
Jogging: 5.8mph ( last part at 7mph )
Cool down: 3mph

I'll be interested to see how next week goes.

Killian

r3nu4l

Hey Killian,

That workout looks pretty good to my n00b eyes I think I might give it a go myself! I'll probably start in a week or two but I'll be doing it outdoors so I'd better scout around for a good jogging location.

I'll keep an eye on this thread and see how you're getting on

Good luck.

K!LL!@N

I'm only a week into it but it's been good so far.

It's good to know that people will be keeping an eye on the thread, should help keep me motivated to see it through to the end.

If you have an mp3 player i'd suggest downloading the podcasts that Shrimp linked to.
I'm sure you'd find them very useful.

Killian

quozl

Heya K!LL!@N,

this the ICT Trinity Killian? Good luck with that programme either way, it's the business Only advice I can give is that you may be running a bit fast, especially with taking it up to 7mph towards the end. I know 5.8mph doesn't seem very fast but your muscles/ligaments won't be used to taking 3 times your body weight 150+times a minute and they take a lot longer to strengthen than your heart and lungs will. Oh, and counter-intuitively you won't get fit faster as a beginner by running faster but for less time.

So try and keep a reign on your enthusiasm for a month or two at least if you can, or minor annoyances like shin-splints are pretty likely.

The key to getting better is to increase distance/time run not to increase speed. If you increase distance/time then speed will follow slowly automatically.

On the plus side if you stick with that plan and progress afterwards you'll be amazed how quickly you improve. I went from starting the c25k last january to the dublin marathon in october. Best of luck with it.

K!LL!@N

Yeah, it's me.

Kicking it up to 7mph was to see how it felt.
It was at the end so i was well warmed up at that stage.
You're right though, it's probably not necessary or advisable to do it.

5.8mph is around the speed that I feel comfortable.
I could maybe lower it a little but if it's too low it starts to feel like i'm plodding along and actually seems more laboured.

I'll try lowering it a little later on today.

Killian

quozl

Heya If you're really comfortable at that pace then stick with it. Just don't ever worry that you should be running faster, the opposite is usually true. It's a pity it's more fun the faster you run isn't it Good luck with it mate.

K!LL!@N

Thanks for the tips.

Killian

K!LL!@N

I headed down to the gym use the treadmill and found a bunch of kids messing around, it's a pretty small space so i decided to give it a miss and come back later.

Instead i went back to the apartment, put the podcast for week 2 on my mp3 player and headed out.

It's a beautiful day here so i wasn't going to have a better opportunity to get outside.

The session was a bit of a shock to the system.
It's much harder to run outside than it is on a treadmill.
I don't know what speed i was jogging at but it certainly wasn't 5.8mph, i can tell you that much.

The podcast is great, thanks again Shrimp!

I got a bit of tightness in the muscle on the outside of my shins.
It wasn't painful as such but it was letting me know it was there.
I'm sure this is probably down to the fact that it was my first time outside.
During the cooldown it loosened out again and it's fine now.
As a precaution, i iced my shins for a few minutes when i got back.

Killian

K!LL!@N

Headed back down the gym to use the treadmill for this one, yesterday.

Stretched beforehand but after the second running section shins started to get very tight.
I skipped the next running section and just walked the next one.
Started to loosen out a little so i tried jogging again but lowered the speed.
This helped and i completed the rest of the jogging segments at the lower speed.

Thinking back the problem on the outdoor run might have been the slope of the footpath.
I think it was putting too much strain on the right leg.
I'll try and find a better place to run outdoors.

After the workout i went and sat with my legs in the pool for a few minutes.
The water was pretty cold so it would have been just as good as icing the shins.

Killian

K!LL!@N

Bit of an update.

I suffered badly with my shins after the last workout.
I think it was the workout outside that did the damage.
I've ended up taking the last couple of weeks off but I do intend to get back into it.

In the mean time i've been doing a bit of cycling just for something non-impact to do.

Killian

K!LL!@N

As I mentioned in the previous post I had to take a few weeks off the running but this evening I was feeling full of energy and having not been feeling any pain in my shins I decided to head down to the treadmill.

I went back to the week 1 program just to ease into it again.
I kept the speed down, 3mph for the walking and 4.5mph for the jogging.
I really tried to concentrate on my form, tried to make sure I was landing on my heels.
It went really well and I feel great after it.

Killian

quozl

Heya Killian,

sorry to hear about the shinsplints, it's practically a right of passage tbh Glad to hear you're not letting it stop you.

Be careful about this bit

I really tried to concentrate on my form, tried to make sure I was landing on my heels.

A lot of people run heel-ball instead of ball-heel-ball, landing on their heels first then rolling forward onto the balls of their feet. It can be fine, but if you're landing with your leg in-front of your centre of gravity or with a straight leg you're likely to have a braking affect because of your landing. So extra impact forces and slower running...

Just be careful you're not trying to modify your running gait for the worse. If you're landing midfoot already, that's fine, arguably better. Just make sure you're not landing with your foot in front of you and you'll be grand.

http://www.mindfulness.com/mrb4.html has a large quote from a book by Hal Higdon about technique.

Actually another good quote I can find from him is:

The most natural landing is mid-foot, the ball of the foot landing first, the heel contacting the ground a fraction of a second later. The toes push off a fraction after that. Some runners land further forward, or backward, than others, based on what feels natural to them. Attempt to modify this natural gait at your own risk.

K!LL!@N

Hey Greg,

The shinsplints were a bit of an annoyance alright but I didn't want to let it stop me.
I just don't get as much out of cycling or using a cross trainer, although the cycling is fun.
I really see running/jogging as being the best way to overall fitness.

When I'm down on the treadmill again I'll see what I'm doing naturally.
When I landed more towards the heel it did seem to feel more comfortable but maybe I was just imagining it.

I'll have a read of that site later.

Cheers,

Killian

flossie

Hi Killian,

I;m new to running too....kinda jumped straight into things....i do a ocuple of 5km runs by the canal (in Leeds) a week and a bit of interval training inbetween. I bought the book 'Running Made Easy' by Susie Whalley and Lisa Jackson. It is aimed primarily at women, but it has some great training plan, taking you from complete beginner to a marathon programme. Also has lots of tips, motivation, success stories etc. I've found it great:)

Good luck with it all, i'm starting to find it hard now after about 5weeks:eek: but it helps with the weight shift/toning up nicely:D

K!LL!@N

Hi Flossie,

I'm hoping by the end of the program I'll be doing 5k.
I'm definitely interested in any info, if I come across that book I'll check it out.

Thanks for the encouragement and good luck with your own running.

Killian

K!LL!@N

Busy day today but went down to use the treadmill at around 10pm.
I've been feeling like I've got energy to burn every day for the last few days.

Anyway, as I mentioned I've started over completely on the program so today was workout 2 of week 1.

Again keeping the speed at 3mph walking and 4.7mph jogging.

Felt fine throughout and feeling good now.

Killian

K!LL!@N

The weather is really fantastic here at the moment, it really makes you want to get outside after a day at the computer.

I went out for a cycle and did about 80 minutes, I have a route that I take but I haven't been able to work out the exact distance yet.
I had intended to run tomorrow as I figured I'd be tired after the bike ride but when I got home I was still feeling pretty good so I decided to head down to the treadmill.

I was really warmed up and felt really good throughout.
I think the slower speed is really helping.

I've been running naturally not trying to force myself to run a certain way.
I'm not making myself land on my heels, it's hard to tell exactly what's going on but it's feeling really comfortable which is the main thing.

Killian

hunnymonster

Something like
http://www.daftlogic.com/Projects/Google-Maps-Distance-Calculator/

Is useful for figuring out distances for cycles. I've used it a few times and it's never much different from the numbers I get off my speedo.

K!LL!@N

Excellent!

The route I've been taking seems to be just over 13 miles.
Half of it is on streets the other half on a bike trail.
Unfortunately, there's no quicker way for me to get onto the bike trail.

Thanks again for the link!

Killian

K!LL!@N

This is starting to turn into a general log, I suppose it doesn't really matter.

Another beautiful day here, did another 13 miles on the bike.
I didn't check the time for today, just wanted to get out and enjoy the nice weather.

Killian

K!LL!@N

Another beautiful day, another 13 miles cycled.
We got a lift to the bike trail so it was all on the trail, which I have to say is much nicer than having to cycle part of the way on roads.

I want to go do my run now but i don't have time as we're having people over.
Will do it tomorrow.

Killian

K!LL!@N

This has kind of gotten away from being exclusively about the running program.
I'm still keeping it up and it's going really well.
I've added in cycling too and with the consistently nicer weather some tennis and other activities.

On Saturday, I cycled somewhere between 26-30 miles.
It's the longest cycle I've ever done.
I was out with my wife, and two friends.
The two girls stuck together most of the time and kept at a moderate pace while myself and my mate were moderate to high intensity.
On the way back, I really kicked it up a few notches and kept the intensity really high.
By the end I knew I'd pushed myself pretty hard.
If someone had offered me to $100 to cycle another mile I don't think I'd have been able for it.
My muscles weren't sore but just wouldn't have been able to go any farther.
The only slight strain was a little niggle in my lower back from being on the bike so long.

I was pretty tired by bed time but this morning I woke up pretty fresh.
No muscle pain, no fatigue, I felt great.
So much so, that I headed down to the treadmill.
The running program has been pretty well.
I didn't count today as part of it but I did start off continuing the week 2 program of 90 seconds jogging, 2 minutes walking alternating between them.
Towards the end I was feeling so good I decided to see how long I could go with continuous jogging.

This is were I remind you that I lower my jogging speed considerably and I'm paying constant attention to how my legs are feeling.
Any kind of niggle or pain and I was ready to stop.
Surprisingly, 8 minutes later I was still going and could have continued longer only I needed to be somewhere and had to leave time for a cooldown.
8 minutes may not seem all that much but it's the longest continuous run I've done in...well I can't even remember the last time I ran for that long, if ever!
It wasn't even a full mile but it felt great.

In other news, I've lost over 40 pounds now in total.
So things are going pretty well.

Killian

quozl

That's brilliant Killian, sounds like a pretty major lifestyle change. Very impressive. And for the running, 8 minutes is ages, I'd say it's a lot harder to get up to running 8 minutes continuously than from 8 minutes to an hour non-stop.

Sleepy

40lb loss is very impressive! Well Done!