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Random Running Questions
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If I had one piece of coaching advice to give to new runners it would be:
Run 1 Slow/Easy
Run 2 Slow/Easy
Run 3 Neither of the above
Run 4 Slow/Easy
Run 5 Slow/Easy
If you were to get more complicated, I'd add. Run 1 and 5 longer than 2 and 4.
Repeat for 5 years
Came here to basically ask something along the lines of this.
To flesh this out a bit, I've been running 5k three times a week for the past couple of months. At the beginning it was all about getting faster and hitting PBs and all that (which is pretty easy when you're coming from nowhere), but thinking about it a little bit more deeply, my motivation is about fitness and weight loss. I'm not training for marathons or anything like that.
I'm at the point now where I'd like to step it up a little bit and put a little bit more structure on what I'm doing. I've recently upped my runs to 4 times a week, the fourth run being 10km+ at a pretty comfortable pace. I've looked around at training plans and the advice, for beginners in particular, feels very inconsistent. I'm not sure when to go fast and when to go slow, what sort of distances should I be aiming for etc etc. I think the fact I'm not aiming for a specific event makes it a bit more ambiguous as it's harder to find a "just get better at running" training plan.
My question is, what things do you wish you knew when you were just starting out? Are there any specific pieces of advice for someone like me with a lack of specific goals?
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Came here to basically ask something along the lines of this.
To flesh this out a bit, I've been running 5k three times a week for the past couple of months. At the beginning it was all about getting faster and hitting PBs and all that (which is pretty easy when you're coming from nowhere), but thinking about it a little bit more deeply, my motivation is about fitness and weight loss. I'm not training for marathons or anything like that.
I'm at the point now where I'd like to step it up a little bit and put a little bit more structure on what I'm doing. I've recently upped my runs to 4 times a week, the fourth run being 10km+ at a pretty comfortable pace. I've looked around at training plans and the advice, for beginners in particular, feels very inconsistent. I'm not sure when to go fast and when to go slow, what sort of distances should I be aiming for etc etc. I think the fact I'm not aiming for a specific event makes it a bit more ambiguous as it's harder to find a "just get better at running" training plan.
My question is, what things do you wish you knew when you were just starting out? Are there any specific pieces of advice for someone like me with a lack of specific goals?
Serbian, it is a bit tougher when you don't have a goal but you could always follow the plan more or less even if you're not going to race at the end of it. If you're up to 10k and doing it comfortably you'd be mad not to race the distance a couple of times. Would ya think of joining a club? A lot of people think clubs are only for super-serious runners, but that's not true.
As for paces and distances. Keep it simple for the most part. Mostly you should be tipping around and enjoying it. Once or twice a week (once if you're doing a total of 3 or 4 runs) you should think of doing what is known as a 'session' or a 'workout'. There are as many possibilities out there as there are numbers. But if you want to improve (you'll improve with consistent running even if you don't want to!!) you should think about types of workout and change things up every now and then. You'll get stale and plateau if you just keep doing the same thing. Be that 6x1k repeats or 24x200 repeats. I'd advise you to keep your long run easy and just up the distance a little every two weeks. Before you know it you'll be doing 15 or 16km runs. There'll be minor setbacks and weeks you feel $hite. That's fine, roll with it. Sure none of us are aiming for the 2020 Olympics.
So...... try Day 1, easy pace about 6k or whatever, Day 2 some speedwork maybe just Fartlek to begin with, Day 3 easy (again 5 or 6km), Day 4 the longer run also easy pace. After a while, if you stick at it you can start getting fancier. Best of luck.0 -
Serbian, it is a bit tougher when you don't have a goal but you could always follow the plan more or less even if you're not going to race at the end of it. If you're up to 10k and doing it comfortably you'd be mad not to race the distance a couple of times. Would ya think of joining a club? A lot of people think clubs are only for super-serious runners, but that's not true.
As for paces and distances. Keep it simple for the most part. Mostly you should be tipping around and enjoying it. Once or twice a week (once if you're doing a total of 3 or 4 runs) you should think of doing what is known as a 'session' or a 'workout'. There are as many possibilities out there as there are numbers. But if you want to improve (you'll improve with consistent running even if you don't want to!!) you should think about types of workout and change things up every now and then. You'll get stale and plateau if you just keep doing the same thing. Be that 6x1k repeats or 24x200 repeats. I'd advise you to keep your long run easy and just up the distance a little every two weeks. Before you know it you'll be doing 15 or 16km runs. There'll be minor setbacks and weeks you feel $hite. That's fine, roll with it. Sure none of us are aiming for the 2020 Olympics.
So...... try Day 1, easy pace about 6k or whatever, Day 2 some speedwork maybe just Fartlek to begin with, Day 3 easy (again 5 or 6km), Day 4 the longer run also easy pace. After a while, if you stick at it you can start getting fancier. Best of luck.
Nice one, appreciate the detail. I'm looking to up my distance on the longer run already. Didn't know about Fartlek, sounds interesting. I have been mixing in 10 minute interval running on a treadmill, this sounds a lot more enjoyable
I'll think about a club, I like the social aspect of running (I run with a bunch of friends), so I think that could work for me alright.0 -
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I agree with all the advice on slowing down, as general training advice, but I don't think you are running enough for it to have an effect on your iron levels. Plus it usually takes a while for iron levels to deplete, so this could be something that started earlier. If you are trying to lose weight and have changed your diet you might not be getting enough iron in your diet any more.
Cheers. Doc reckons it was viral that caused the weakness as it lasted less than a week but probably exacerbated by diet and overdoing exercise. Blood pressure and physical all normal, bloods back next week.
But, I did head out this evening for my first run since asking advice here and took the pace way down. Had gone on my 3.5km loop, felt like I could have gone far further at the end, but didn’t wanna push it. Ended up with a 6.45 pace and while I broke a sweat and got the heart rate up, I never felt out of breath as before and found the gentler pace very enjoyable.
Many thanks again to all who gave the great advice! 0 -
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Have been unable to run the past week due to my muscle strain. Have however walked about 20 miles. Does this contribute much towards running fitness or 'weekly mileage'?. Thanks
In my experience ... no. I'm sure it's better than nothing but I always find the only way to build running fitness is to run.0 -
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What Username Guidelines wrote: »But, I did head out this evening for my first run since asking advice here and took the pace way down. Had gone on my 3.5km loop, felt like I could have gone far further at the end, but didn’t wanna push it. Ended up with a 6.45 pace and while I broke a sweat and got the heart rate up, I never felt out of breath as before and found the gentler pace very enjoyable.
Many thanks again to all who gave the great advice!
Just another update, I’ve done a few runs since and they’ve all been worlds apart from before. Previously, I’d finish a run being wiped, and feeling like I could go no further. Now that I’ve eased off the pace and stopped keeping such an eye on the clock, it’s become far more enjoyable. I headed out for a 5k on Wednesday, but this felt very different. Similar to walking, it wasn’t dictated by energy left in the tank, but it was more like “I’ll just run for as long as I feel like”, if that makes sense. I was getting to the end and felt really good, so added an extra loop to make it 7.5k.0 -
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ahnowbrowncow wrote: »https://www.nationalsportscampus.ie/nialive
My questions are am I mad to just jump in at the deep end with no experience or specific training? I've never even used a sprint block before or raced with lanes.
What races would you recommend doing, if any? Do you need spikes and singlets and what are the rules/etiqutte?
The NIALive races are quite relaxed afaik, so they're the perfect place to try sprinting.
You will need to use blocks in the 60m and the 200m, but they're not going to false start you for movement and I'm sure someone will give you a hand setting them up.
I'd do the 200 if you want to sprint, since it is less technical, your start from the blocks will matter less.
You don't need spikes, and you don't need a singlet.
There are usually faster and slower races, so just make sure you're in the slower one 0
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