xkcd

by **Bright Shadows** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 4:13 am UTC

The initial goal: 500 miles by September 2nd
The start: 45 miles so far
The areas to run: Hilly roads and flat roads
Method of choice: Multiple runs per day

The next goal: 18:00 in the 5K by season's end
The start: 21:40 in the 5K as of last season (I'm not much faster / slower)
The areas to run: Same, but during the school year I can run trails
Method of choice: Running

by **Breimann** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 3:31 pm UTC

I started out as a sprinter in 2004 (10th grade). Ran mid 7's for the 55 meter, and around 27 for the 200 meter. Which wasn't bad for me at the time. That was during winter track. When spring track rolled around, all the basketball players and football players who were faster than me joined the team, and I was basically benched. 3 meets into the season, I was tired of practicing and not running races. So on my own time i started doing slow runs around the park not far from my house (maybe 1/2 mile to the park, 1 1/2 mile around, 1/2 mile back). At the next meet, I asked the coach if I could run the 800m, and he said "sure". I ended up placing 4th with a time of 2:18.

He must have been impressed, because the next day I was running with the distance team.

Fast forward to my senior year (2007). Captain of the XC team and winter/spring distance crew. 18:46 5K at Sunken Meadow in NY (if you know about Cardiac Hill, you'll understand that 18:46 isn't all that bad), 2:01 in the 800m, and 4:58 in the 1600m. I would run both the 800m and the 1600m, then anchor the 4x800m relay team. The 2:01 got me into State Qualifiers but I wasn't able to run because of illness. Later that summer I reduced my 1600m time to a 4:44. I ran roughly 65-75 miles a week (including anywhere from a 1600m to 10K race almost every week)

2 years later, I'm 35 lbs heavier, just getting back into running, and my 5K time has gone up to around 22 minutes. See what college does to you?! Either way, I've been losing the weight, and running more and more. I hope to be back in decent shape by the end of the year.

edit - and I just realized this thread is almost a year old. way to go me!

by **Bright Shadows** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 5:14 pm UTC

Breimann wrote:(snip) I hope to be back in decent shape by the end of the year.(cut)

Good luck!

Side note:
It's not like it'll be a problem, probably, seeing as you only gained 35lbs, but making sure you aren't killing yourself, possibly with a doctor, isn't a half bad idea. It never really is a bad idea. I actually have to every 6 months; it's a high school sport requirement.

Hamish Campbell · by **baultista** » Tue Jul 14, 2009 2:28 pm UTC

Does anybody have experience with groin pulls from running?

I've pulled my groin in the past, but not as a direct result from a running injury. This happened on Sunday night. So far I've been using an NSAID cream and sporadic applications of an ice pack. Is there any chance that I'll be OK by Saturday? I have a summer tournament to play in, and I don't want to lose my $60!

by **Samsoneffect** » Wed Jul 15, 2009 10:41 pm UTC

Alright, back to cracking the two-mile mark, hit 3.27 km in 16:17. Pretty decent, a hair ahead of my desired 5-minute-km pace. I think I might have to switch it up tomorrow though, either a rest day or get back to lifting.

by **Bright Shadows** » Thu Jul 16, 2009 4:09 pm UTC

baultista wrote:Does anybody have experience with groin pulls from running?

I've pulled my groin in the past, but not as a direct result from a running injury. This happened on Sunday night. So far I've been using an NSAID cream and sporadic applications of an ice pack. Is there any chance that I'll be OK by Saturday? I have a summer tournament to play in, and I don't want to lose my $60!

The most obvious solution is to check with a doctor.
That's generally the extent of my advice. Sorry. Probably doesn't help much. =(

by **Samsoneffect** » Sat Jul 18, 2009 5:00 pm UTC

I just ran a WICKED 5K. Less than a second off my target time of 24 minutes, clocked it in at 24:00.89. It's practically a matter of starting my last kick about 30 or 40m sooner.

Next test is going to be another crack at the mile.

Edit, since I still had last post: Just clocked 3.3 km in under 15 minutes. Felt terrific.

by **el_loco_avs** » Thu Jul 23, 2009 11:00 pm UTC

Shiiit man. Taking a month off due to knee-frustration... was badly timed.

Let's just say i have about 5kgs to lose and 5 minutes to shave off my 5k fast training runs.

by **nothinglikeit22** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 1:42 am UTC

i finally got around to running and hope to get a sub 20 5k this year (in the fall xc season that is)

cheery-o : )

by **duckshirt** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 7:11 pm UTC

That's always a fun milestone to break... I made that my goal one year, and all summer I kept talking about it but I kept coming up short, and I think people eventually got sick of me, and two of my friends that I should've been beating broke 20 before me... I finally did it about halfway through the season and never looked back. Good luck!

Anyways... running hasn't been going that great for me lately, though... I was feeling great about 2 weeks ago, but for the past week or so I've been hurting. I ran an 18:30 yesterday, and I placed better than I did at this race last year, but it was actually a few seconds slower, despite the fact that I'm doing much, much better in workouts than I did last year. Hopefully once I feel better I can get one more good race in.

by **Izawwlgood** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 8:12 pm UTC

I'm feeling awful on the trails lately. But I'm registering for this:

https://www.menshealthurbanathlon.com/course.cfm

Anyone in the Chicago area interested in doing this with me?

by **Samsoneffect** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 10:45 pm UTC

2.66 km, in 12:16. Successful first test of new shoes.

They're giving me some hot spots and it feels a little funky in my right leg, but between new shoes and running-designed insoles, it's a bit of an adjustment. Definitely feel good though!

by **el_loco_avs** » Tue Jul 28, 2009 4:51 pm UTC

That Urbanathlon thing looks pretty cool! :mrgreen:

I'm not in the US though.

by **Samsoneffect** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 12:01 am UTC

It does look pretty cool, but WAY out of my league right now.

I'm hit or miss making it to 5K, never mind all that extra stuff.

by **el_loco_avs** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 9:02 am UTC

Yeah... I guess upping the training and then just basically taking it easy for the first bit of the race would be the best strategy. I can't imagine hanging on by a thread during a race and then climbing shit. I mean, you can grit your teeth and just keep running usually... but... damn.

I will keep my eye out for stuff like this :mrgreen:

When I'm back to my previous fitness level and have crossed off the half marathon I will definately do something similar. Maybe a shorter triathlon thing.

by **Samsoneffect** » Sat Aug 08, 2009 5:52 pm UTC

ALright, the new shoes are working great.

2.8 km, in under 12 minutes.

EDIT: Just clocked a 3K in under 12:20. Also, this thread got deserted, eh?

by **Tidia** » Sun Aug 23, 2009 7:53 am UTC

Well tried barefoot running at the track at University. Did one lap couple days ago for a trail warmup before hitting the gym. Discovered the next day that my lower calves were very sore! (the good, 'just worked my muscles sore')

Considering I work out and the gym as well as playing indoor sport I was kind of surprise that barefoot would be hitting my calves as much as it did. Still good progress, much easier to run barefoot outside! Be back for more...

by **duckshirt** » Mon Aug 24, 2009 1:54 am UTC

I didn't have any great races this summer... I ran a 5-mile leg of a 36-mile relay race with some other XC friends against a rival college, but again my split was nothing special. I might run one more race next week, but otherwise, I have a 4-mile cross country tryout, and then hopefully a fall full of PR's of some sort when the weather cools down. I did my new highest weekly mileage this week of 62.5, and hopefully my ankles will stop hurting once I get new shoes (I am long overdue).

Samsoneffect wrote:EDIT: Just clocked a 3K in under 12:20. Also, this thread got deserted, eh?

It sorta did... but not anymore. You should try another 5k again; you might very well be in the 21-22 range now, especially if you do a race and have the competition / adrenaline.

by **eekmeep** » Mon Aug 24, 2009 2:17 am UTC

Tidia wrote:Well tried barefoot running at the track at University. Did one lap couple days ago for a trail warmup before hitting the gym. Discovered the next day that my lower calves were very sore! (the good, 'just worked my muscles sore')

Considering I work out and the gym as well as playing indoor sport I was kind of surprise that barefoot would be hitting my calves as much as it did. Still good progress, much easier to run barefoot outside! Be back for more...

So you ran directly on the track barefoot? Had you run barefoot before? I am a little worried about the impact.

by **Samsoneffect** » Mon Aug 24, 2009 11:32 pm UTC

duckshirt wrote:It sorta did... but not anymore. You should try another 5k again; you might very well be in the 21-22 range now, especially if you do a race and have the competition / adrenaline.

Funny enough, did one on Saturday, clocked it at 22:42. Looking for some races in my area to do as well, my friends and I are all getting in on one in October.

EDIT August 27: Six-minute mile! Clocked it at 5:53.02.

by **thejohnli** » Sun Aug 30, 2009 12:00 am UTC

I'm a sophomore in High School, and I do XC and track. In XC (we run the 5k), and my best time so far is 20:57 (Yeah I know it kinda sucks)
And my best track times are here
200- 27.9
400- 63
800- 2:40.4
Mile- 5:40
2Mile- 11:59
110 Hurdles- 18.5
300 Hurdles- 47.2

Are these times decent for my freshman times? D:

by **Samsoneffect** » Sun Aug 30, 2009 11:06 pm UTC

A friend of mine posted these on a facebook group we all use to track our fitness stuffs. I just started the Freeway to 10K interval podcast, and it feels pretty damn terrific. I'll throw a recommendation in for this, see how you guys like it if you decide to use it.

by **el_loco_avs** » Mon Aug 31, 2009 10:49 am UTC

Hm that's interesting. I'll check it out at home!

by **el_loco_avs** » Tue Sep 01, 2009 10:15 am UTC

Sounded alright. Not a huge fan... but I might try that when I run out of audiobooks :mrgreen:

by **Izawwlgood** » Tue Sep 01, 2009 3:10 pm UTC

So, in the Red Mars trilogy, one of the characters frequently mentions lung gom, a form of running he practices on Mars, a kind of moving meditation.

I did a bit of wiki'ing, and found very very little (SUSPICIOUS!!!). But this:

http://www.realsuperpowers.com/lung-gom ... ld-tibet-0

Some float through the air so much, that they wear heavy chains around their bodies so that he is not in danger of floating off into the air.

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeet.

by **duckshirt** » Tue Sep 01, 2009 7:29 pm UTC

That's great, 'cause whenever I happen to have a dream where I'm running, I always have trouble staying on the ground. I'm always running great, but there isn't very much gravity in my dreams for some reason, so I fly up too high in the air.

by **Samsoneffect** » Wed Sep 02, 2009 1:26 am UTC

el_loco_avs wrote:Sounded alright. Not a huge fan... but I might try that when I run out of audiobooks

Yeah, the music's not for everyone, even I'm not a huge fan, but it keeps you going hard and it cues you at each interval.

ANYWAYS, did stage 1-2 of the Freeway to 10K, pounded out a grand total of 7.30 km in 38:37. Added a little bit of negative split work as well, sped it up after the first and third intervals. Felt fantastic.

by **defaultusername** » Wed Sep 02, 2009 7:09 pm UTC

I only began running regularly about a month ago. I run 2.4 km, two or three times a week. My best and most recent time is 12 min 50 sec, which I'm pretty happy with. My goal is to eventually get below 12 min, and then move on to longer distances.

by **Samsoneffect** » Fri Sep 04, 2009 12:54 am UTC

Week one of the 10K intervals is done. Workout today was 7.6 km in 39 minutes, and holy crap I love doing negative split training. Once I hit that second mile, I'm dialed right the hell in.

by **funkytwinkie** » Fri Sep 04, 2009 1:26 am UTC

injury inquiry!

i've been elliptical-ing and spinning all summer because my shin splint was bothering me. i have chinese herbal medicine patch on (which smells really bad right now, btw) and i got three acupuncture sessions in the recent past.

thinking all this injury business was behind me, i went on a run yesterday for about 45 minutes, a third of which i ran. this morning, my posterior shin area hurt so bad i didn't want to risk it; no exercise today, and ergo feel like crap.

am i just not meant for running? i felt fine when i was on the elliptical or the bike a couple days ago!

or has my worst fear come to reality: do i have stress fracture? >___< no wayyy...my shin bone-area does hurt when i press on it...

any thoughts?

by **iblis.raeb** » Sun Sep 06, 2009 1:35 am UTC

Meteorswarm wrote:I started running again (after a two or three-week long break), but my 5k is still really slow. I'm doing almost exactly 5k, but it takes me about 26 minutes, and I'm always exhausted afterwards. I've been running for about 6 months now without a lot of improvement, so this is kind of saddening.

Tips for improving speed?

Also, I still get side stitches, although they're less severe. I really wish they'd just go away.

Inspiring tunes motivate me to run faster.

Eating or drinking two soon before a run can cause stitches.

by **eekmeep** » Sun Sep 06, 2009 7:45 am UTC

Meteorswarm wrote:I started running again (after a two or three-week long break), but my 5k is still really slow. I'm doing almost exactly 5k, but it takes me about 26 minutes, and I'm always exhausted afterwards. I've been running for about 6 months now without a lot of improvement, so this is kind of saddening.

Tips for improving speed?

Also, I still get side stitches, although they're less severe. I really wish they'd just go away.

Occasionally do intervals, and occasionally do really long runs (long for you ... if you never run more than 3 miles, then maybe do 5 miles) reaaalllllyyyy sllloooowwwwlllllyyyy.

Helps for everyone I've known who has wanted to improve speed.

I'm sure someone out there has some sort of formula for the intervals and the distance run. I don't. Sorry.

by **thejohnli** » Sun Sep 06, 2009 12:53 pm UTC

Running=Epic Win.

by **Samsoneffect** » Sun Sep 06, 2009 2:00 pm UTC

eekmeep wrote:Occasionally do intervals, and occasionally do really long runs (long for you ... if you never run more than 3 miles, then maybe do 5 miles) reaaalllllyyyy sllloooowwwwlllllyyyy.

Helps for everyone I've known who has wanted to improve speed.

I'm sure someone out there has some sort of formula for the intervals and the distance run. I don't. Sorry.

I've also heard that running shorter distances harder can help, too. A runner friend of mine who is pushing a four minute mile has said that in the middle distances, like 800 or the mile, short sprint training over 50m or 100m helps the speed. So maybe to boost your 5K, try burning some hard 3K or 2.5K, following that reasoning?*

* Note: I am not an expert. Take with 50mg sodium chloride.

by **iblis.raeb** » Sun Sep 06, 2009 10:51 pm UTC

Meteorswarm wrote:Maybe I'll try varying the distance. I have a hard time judging my speed while, running, though, so I can't really tell how fast I'm going except by approximating my oxygen consumption, and all the hills where I live make that a very rough estimate.

Grab a Nike+ Wristband if you have the funds (Nike+ runners are also required). The Nike+ wristband is very accurate once calibrated and also motivational. The unit tracks pace, time, distance, calories burnt and features a USB interface to upload run data to an online application with many nifty features that include mapping running tracks via Google Maps.

by **el_loco_avs** » Wed Sep 09, 2009 10:25 am UTC

Meteorswarm wrote:Maybe I'll try varying the distance. I have a hard time judging my speed while, running, though, so I can't really tell how fast I'm going except by approximating my oxygen consumption, and all the hills where I live make that a very rough estimate.

You definately need to get some variation in. Maybe work up to a 10k run, this made the 5k feel 'short' to me.
Also do shorter, fast runs or intervals, in the end your former race pace will feel slower.

I just started doing intervals again after my injury myself. I can barely keep going and they feel awful when you're doing them (gasping for air haha, and not really having recovered when you have to go fast again) but the feeling afterwards is great. :mrgreen:

by **eekmeep** » Thu Sep 10, 2009 6:57 am UTC

Meteorswarm wrote:
el_loco_avs wrote:
Meteorswarm wrote:Maybe I'll try varying the distance. I have a hard time judging my speed while, running, though, so I can't really tell how fast I'm going except by approximating my oxygen consumption, and all the hills where I live make that a very rough estimate.

You definately need to get some variation in. Maybe work up to a 10k run, this made the 5k feel 'short' to me.
Also do shorter, fast runs or intervals, in the end your former race pace will feel slower.

I just started doing intervals again after my injury myself. I can barely keep going and they feel awful when you're doing them (gasping for air haha, and not really having recovered when you have to go fast again) but the feeling afterwards is great.

what are intervals?

Intervals = the generic term for varying super-intense running with slower running/walking. There are a gazillion versions, one of which is fartleks.

Generally I (*not* an expert or a pro, or even very fast) do them on a treadmill (easiest way to make sure you're hitting the "right" times and speeds (for example, lots of treadmills have an "interval" mode, so I'll set my run pace to something like 8.5 and my jog pace to maybe 5; usually do 2 minutes warm up and cool down, and then sprint for 30 seconds, jog for 20, a handful of times; then sprint for 45, jog for 30 a few times; then sprint for 1 minute, jog for 45 sec ... when I feel like I'm about to die I step it back down. Keep in mind though that if I feel really strong, I'll go harder or longer on the sprints, which usually results in longer and slower jogging sets ... in other words, I don't approach it scientifically.))

I also sometimes do it on a track (sprint 200 m, jog 200 m), or on a street (sprint to the next lightpole, jog to the next whatever).

by **el_loco_avs** » Thu Sep 10, 2009 9:50 am UTC

There are a bunch of different ways to do them, depending on your level. A little searching and you'll find a bazillion suggestions probably.
I just went with a very basic 1 minute fast 1 minute slow thing.

You could also do the fartlek ('speed play' iirc) style of just using landmarks on your route. Ie. sprint from this lamppost to the street corner, walk/jog from the corner till the hotdog stand. etc. :mrgreen:

by **Manifold** » Tue Sep 15, 2009 1:01 pm UTC

Yesterday, I ran a hilly 10km course in 47 minutes and 21 seconds. Now, I'm thinking of doing a 20km. I've never run this distance before - the most I've done is about 15km.

Does anyone have any good advice to train for a 20km? Any good websites?

by **iblis.raeb** » Tue Sep 15, 2009 8:40 pm UTC

I'm not sure how much my version of intervals actually qualifies as intervals; however, I just (try hard to) keep pace at inclines and run an undulating track.

oh, and I run a 4.5 km undulating track at a 5:00 pace working toward a target of 4:00.

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