I am possibly the greatest runner of all time!

pokermonkey

No wait.... sorry, I meant "most useless" of all time :-)

Ok, I've no doubt that this place will be inundated with blogs/logs etc of people running. Having read through a lot of your posts over the previous weeks you all seem to be on top of things, achieving things i could only dream of, but i like to dream anyway.

Basically, I'm on a quest in 2011 to achieve what will probably seem to you to be rather un-impressive goals over the next year. I have never been a runner, but when I was in college all those years ago, I played a high standard of rugby, and had a decent level of fitness. The years haven't been kind and I may have let the fitness go a little, and replaced it with a couple of tyres around my midriff to keep me warm in winter.

Recently, after listening to the author in the radio, i read "Born to Run". I've no doubt you all know of this book, but not being a reader I was stunned by how good it was and i devoured it in 3 days (which beats my last record by about 6 months).

I'm not a complete novice in running. I did participate in the Great ireland Run, and the 5mile and 10 mile race series 2 years ago, but in the latter, i managed to crack the bone in my heal - which i will wholly admit to being down to a lack of preparation.

This time though I will do it right. I have all the gear, all the tech, all the spreadsheets to keep track of it, and most importantly i have the WILL to do it. Here's my targets for the year:

5 km in under 30 mins
5 miles in under 45 mins
10km in under 1 hour
10 miles in under 1 hr 30
1/2 marathon in under 2 hours
Full Marathon in under 4 hours (although i'll settle for actually running the whole thing!)

ok, you might spot that they're all at reasonably similar avg paces but if i hit the lower ones, surely the last one will be in sight!

The main challenge facing me on this goal though is that i am stupidly overweight. I've a big frame for someone of 6 foot, and i hide my 250 lbs very well (thats just over 17.5 stone). My fighting weight when i was at the peak of my rugby "career" was 15.5 stone, but i'm under no illusion that to become a strong runner I will probably need to drop below 14 stone. I'm hoping this will be a welcome result of all the training!

First step - get running (slowly). Just did my first pre- training run. 1.5 km in 21:59 on the treadmill. ok, it was a mix of walking and running, but everyone has to start somewhere!

Did i mention I'll be doing this my vibrams?

I'll keep you posted on how i get on, but If you have any advice, please let me know!

Wish me luck!

Blueskye

Best of luck with the training. Having goals and a log here makes it much easier to stay focused.

RayCun

5 km in under 30 mins
5 miles in under 45 mins
10km in under 1 hour
10 miles in under 1 hr 30
1/2 marathon in under 2 hours
Full Marathon in under 4 hours

Good luck with the goals, but just so you know, some of those are much harder than others. You might be able to run 5 miles under 45 minutes, but keeping the same pace for 10 miles is a whole other challenge. Similarly, it's more difficult to run 26.2 9 minute miles than to run 13.1 of them.

(Also, I'm no expert on weight loss, but there are threads about weight loss and running in the main forum every few weeks. The bottom line is, running short distances will not by itself make the weight fall off. And if it stimulates your appetite - or just gives you an excuse to eat - you could put on weight. You need to watch your diet as well as exercise)

Anyway, to end on something positive - I just started running a little over a year ago, and I've met all the targets above in that time. It's definitely possible, so long as you train consistently, running at least three times a week and building up the distances gradually. The couch to 5k running plan is a great way to get started, it's a mix of walking and running that builds up the running ties slowly over ten weeks. Lots of people on here have used it successfully. (There are podcasts by Robert Ullrey on iTunes based on the plan, I found them a great help)

liamo123

Best of luck PokerMonkey....Enjoy ur training and c where it takes u ..
With regard to "Born To Run" I've read it 3 times at this stage ( sad I know ) ..

pokermonkey

Liam, I hear you. Will start it again soon. In fairness though - awesome book!

Ray, good advice thanks. Will have a look at the couch to 5k program. 3 runs a week should be no problem. I'm setting a target of 5 a week to make sure i don't get lazy. I also hear what you're saying about the timing, but the plan is to hit the 9min mile mark for the 5 mile run long before i target the 9 min mile mark for the 10 mile, half and full marathon. I'm assuming that as i hit the 9 min mile mark for the longer races, my times for the shorter distances will improve. Well thats the theory anyway.

So, just did another short run - 1.1 miles in 24 mins on the treadmill.

Training proper starts tomorrow, (or maybe sunday depending on how tonight goes). looking forward to running outside though. treadmill seems to be a little inaccurate. At least when i hit the road/fields i'll have better telemetry!

Happy new Years guys!

RayCun

pokermonkey wrote: »

3 runs a week should be no problem. I'm setting a target of 5 a week to make sure i don't get lazy.

To be honest, you're better off targeting 3 runs a week and sticking to it than going for 5. You'll most likely get tired of it or injured, or possibly find yourself doing too easy runs because that's all you can do 5 times a week.

Consistency is the key to any new habit. Run the same three days every week, follow the programme, and build up gradually.

pokermonkey

Ok then - first run/walk of the new year, and I suppose the first day of training. Started very well with no rests for 7 mins, slowed to a walk, and then found that when i started to run a few mins later, my calves were incredibly tight. Guess I'll need to warm up properly in future.

Ok, todays log:

Type: Treadmill Running
Time: 25:51
Distance: 1.24 miles (still not convinced my treadmill is properly calibrated.
Calories: 196 (again, given my treadmill doesn't know my weight - i'm dubious!)

My running to walking ratio seems to be going up already. I think I'll jump into week 4 of the C25k programme and see what happens. Must admit though - I really hope it warms up a bit - I'm itching to go outside and get some accurate feedback from my watch. Small steps though I guess.

Oh - i thought I might post some of my measurements also (with a view to see some progression on this too! Here goes (be nice!)

31st Dec 2010
Weight: 246.0lbs
Fat: 33%
Water: 45.6%
BMI: 32.8
Neck: 46cm
Chest: 116cm
Thigh: 72 cm
Waist: 105.5 cm
Gut/Handles: 113cm
Derriere: 117cm

I'm update this about once a month to see if anything is changing.

menoscemo

pokermonkey wrote: »

Type: Treadmill Running
Time: 25:51
Distance: 1.24 miles (still not convinced my treadmill is properly calibrated.

I doubt your treadmill is calibrated properly. Given that the average person's walking speed is 3.1mph this would mean that you were going slower than that. Is there any particular reason why you can't run outside? It is a much more pleasant experience...

pokermonkey

I completely agree.
Thought I'd get up a reasonable tolerance on my feet first (as they are unaccustomed to this use) before i started to hit concrete and the elements. Plus, I'm using Vibram Fivefingers which only have a 3 mm neoprene sole, so i'll only go out if its over 4 degrees (so my feet still function).
Might try an introductory run around the park tm though to see how if I am actually that slow!

menoscemo

pokermonkey wrote: »

I completely agree.
Thought I'd get up a reasonable tolerance on my feet first (as they are unaccustomed to this use) before i started to hit concrete and the elements. Plus, I'm using Vibram Fivefingers which only have a 3 mm neoprene sole, so i'll only go out if its over 4 degrees (so my feet still function).
Might try an introductory run around the park tm though to see how if I am actually that slow!

I've no experience with Vibrams but I know you can get socks to wear under them. Definately avoid concrete though. Get to a park and run on either the grass or tarmac paths. Best of luck with your goals.

pokermonkey

ha ha, cheers - I've set enough so I'm bound to hit one or two of them!

RayCun

Why are you jumping in to week 4 of the programme - which contains 16 minutes of running in each session?
What is wrong with week 1?

pokermonkey

Well the c25k program i was looking at has an awful lot of walking in it. In week 4/5 it ramps up a little bit without going too nuts. I don't think i could hack 3 weeks of walk 5 mins, jog for 2/3/4/5 and then walk for another 5 mins. I understand the logic behind it, but the way i see it, if i'm not enjoying the training, I'm m not going to do it. I need to feel like I'm actually doing something.
I'm going to do 5w/7j/5w later today. If i fail miserably, I'll start from the beginning.

16 mins of running? we must be looking at different c25k's! I'm using this as base (as the other i found wanted money!) whats your resource?

RayCun

This is the plan I followed. It has a lot of shorter reps - 6 running sections in week one - rather than one long running section. I haven't seen that other plan before, and tbh I don't think it's as good, you'll improve more by doing a longer workout... but whatever works for you.

pokermonkey

RayCun wrote: »

This is the plan I followed. It has a lot of shorter reps - 6 running sections in week one - rather than one long running section. I haven't seen that other plan before, and tbh I don't think it's as good, you'll improve more by doing a longer workout... but whatever works for you.

Ray, that looks WAY better than the I was thinking of doing. As you said, the longer the better. I'd much rather do a longer workout with shorter mixes. Still think I'll pop in on week 4 though

I'll let you know how i get on this evening.

BrokenMan

Good luck with the training, you have done the hardest part in actually committing yourself to it. If you train consistiently and keep an eye on what you eat you will fond a couple of stone will disappear pretty quickly, I know I did, its after that its gets harder.

On your target times, to achieve them all in this year may not be realistic. I dont want to sound negative and certainly dont want to put you off but just thinking about the year as a whole, 52 weeks, I am not sure there is enough time for you to ramp up your trainig for each of the distances to hit those targets.
To get up to your 5K will take approx 8 weeks then you need to go up to 5 miles lets say another 4 weeks training, but you also want to increase your pace for this distance. As the distances increase then you will need more and more effort to maintain the 9 min mile pace for the duration of the race.

Now of course if you can get your 5K time below the 30 mins and the 5 mile below 45 then you are on the right road. Using a pace calculator link Mcmillan it indicates that to run a 4 hour marathon you need to be able to run a 5 mile in just over 40 mins and a half marathon in 1:53 (a lot of people will tell you that for your first marathon you need to double your half marathon time and add about 20 mins to it, in other words Mcmillan is being over optimistic for the first marathon)

Maybe just set yourself some time target for the shorter races up to say 10 miles and then have a look again at your targets for the longer races. I made the mistake last year of setting too aggressive a marathon target and wound up suffering for it on the day.

I am not trying to be negative or discourage you in any way but I would hate to see someone trying too hard starting out and getting discouraged because they cant hit their targets. The most important thing for you to do this year is enjoy your running, there is plenty of time for hard targets.

This is of course just my opinion and I have no coaching qualifications what so ever, just basing on personal experience, and coming from a similar situation to yourself 2 years ago. Feel free to ask any questions and I will be happy to help if I can in any way. Alternately feel free to ignore me completely, i wont take and offence

pokermonkey

Cheers buddy. Always happy to get input from anyone who has more experience than me. I can read as much as I want about the "game" but you can beat advice from someone with 1st hand experience. Having said that I am likely to pick your brain (since you've offered) at some stage SO YOU"VE BEEN WARNED .
I think realistically, If i hit the first couple of targets, get to the start line of the DCM in October, and finish it (in whatever time), it will be a huge success in my eyes. Even if i don't hit any of my targets, but am still able to run 10-15 miles in one go by the end of it, I'll still be light years ahead of where I am now - and thats a good thing!
Trust me, the priority of this whole log/targets thing is to do it with a smile on my face.

pokermonkey

Right, Just done C25K Week 4 - Run 1 outside around the park in my vibrams.
SO happy not to be on the treadmill. It was a bit nippy, but worth it.

Here's the log:
Time: 00:21:50
Distance: 2 miles (0.25 Jog, 0.125 Walk, 0.5 J, 0.25 W, 0.25 J, 0.125 W, and 0.5 J to finish)
Calories: 365
Avg Pace: 10:54
Avg HR: 172 bpm

Run felt good. Had a little tightness in my arch after the walking part, but nothing excessive. Could probably have done another couple of Walk/Runs, but thought I better stick to the plan, as everyone says don't overdo it in case of injury (well at my level anyway!)

I put Nike+ on my iphone on at the same time, and the distance was about 0.14 miles shorter. I'm guessing it down to a lesser GPS than my forerunner?

Looking forward to seeing those numbers come down.

pokermonkey

C25k Week 4.2 with a proper warm up this time!

Time: 00:22:26
Distance: 2.09 miles (0.25 Jog, 0.125 Walk, 0.5 J, 0.25 W, 0.25 J, 0.125 W, and 0.59 J to finish)
Calories: 380
Avg Pace: 10:44
Avg HR: 173 bpm

Here's hoping the snow stays away.

zAbbo

I found Week 5 to be quite hard, and ended up doing it twice and repeated some sessions around Week 7. Don't feel the need to skip weeks - especially as you bumped the first month. All in good time

Good luck, great progress so far

maria74

Well done, you seem to be breezing through it!
Hope you are enjoying it!

pokermonkey

zAbbo wrote: »

I found Week 5 to be quite hard, and ended up doing it twice and repeated some sessions around Week 7. Don't feel the need to skip weeks - especially as you bumped the first month. All in good time

Good luck, great progress so far

Thanks guys, I'm a little nervous about run "5.3' (week 5 run 3). Its a 2 mile no stopping run. It'll be a big jump from the run before (0.75J, 0.5W, O.75J). I might try and stick a run in between to "blend" the runs a bit. Maybe something like 1.0J, 0.5W, 1.0J.

If I can't do it though I'll be repeating the week I think.

maria74

Try not to think about it too much. I followed the programme according to time and remember the 20 min run in week 5. I thought there was no way I could do it but went out and ran really, really slow and did it first time. I can still remember the feeling of accomplishment at the end of that run, it was amazing!
So just take it slow and you may amaze yourself, and don't over think it too much.

zAbbo

Yup, thats good advice for starting out slow, it's a distance not a time goal so you just need to put the miles in the legs.

If you do struggle on a session, just repeat it until you pass it

specialk1977

your doing great WELL DONE ..I agree with de other posters..dont push yourself too soon as you might injure yourself which is de last thing you need..Start slowly and enjoy

pokermonkey

C25K 4.3 (same again). Cold and very windy. Also ran about 30% of it on concrete or tarmac to get a bit of a feel for it as i've mostly been running on grass which was very soggy today. There is definitely a difference !

Anyway the log:
Time: 00:21:42
Distance: 2.07 miles (0.25 Jog, 0.125 Walk, 0.5 J, 0.25 W, 0.25 J, 0.125 W, and 0.57 J to finish)
Calories: 383
Avg Pace: 10:27
Avg HR: 171 bpm

Looking forward to "Week 5".

One query actually, I run with my Forerunner 305 (which supplies the above stats, but i also have my nike+ app on my phone running which seems to be about 0.03 of a mile difference between the two, per mile. I'm assuming the Garmin (forerunner) is the more accurate. FYI - This is why my runs above are slightly above 2 miles, as i keep running until my nike+ gets the distance aswell.

pokermonkey

C25K 5.1 - 0.5J, 0.25W, 0.5J, 0.25W, 0.5J

Time: 00:21:28
Distance: 2.08 miles
Calories: 381
Avg Pace: 10:18
Avg HR: 171 bpm

Domino's was a bad idea for lunch!

pokermonkey

C25K 5.2 - 0.75J, 0.5W, 0.75J - next run is the "Big one" Well, big for me :P

Today:
Time: 00:22:57
Distance: 2.21 miles (nike plus was WELL off today!)
Calories: 418
Avg Pace: 10:21
Avg HR: 154 bpm (wow - that half mile walk in the middle made a difference)

Ran with a friend of mine today trying to convince him slower is better when starting out. He still isn't buying into it! he'll have to learn the hard way.
The run today was more like 0.75J, 0.35W, 1.1J - I'm putting it down to competition, but it felt good.

Really looking forward to Thursdays full 2 mile run. I'll obviously take it at a slower pace, but not by much I don't think.

I did start to get a little worried towards the end though as my forefoot started to feel a little boney. not quite sure how to describe it, but i'll avoid the hard surfaces for a few runs just in case.

shoegal!

Well done Pokermonkey, you are doing great so far!

Don't be worrying about the 20 minute run, I was exactly the same and was convinced I wouldn't be able for it. But it was grand - and if I can do it, believe me anyone can!

I echo the advice of the others on here - take it slow and easy and just think about getting it done. I found it helpful to break it into 'stages' in my head, like, just focus on getting to 5 mins... then 10... or break it into distances, something like that.

Good luck!

BrokenMan

good running. keep at it and you will be at the 5K before you know it.

specialk1977

well done pokermonkey-great progress