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GAF Running Club |OT| - Couch to Marathons, All abilities
- Thread starter Gowans
- Start date
Red_taiyaki
Member
I played it and it helped me go from plodding along w/ 35+ min 5ks to my first 10k and half marathon; which is what I arguably say helped jump start my new hobby/passion for running.
Now adays, I only use it to create fartlek runs when I'm running on my own away from my running team!
The_Inquisitor
Member
Well I started this week by capping my easy run bpm to 162 rather than trying to go by my current pace chart. It worked. I finished the run with no walk breaks and my shirt was not sweaty all the way through. So it looks like my after sunset 88F weather pace is somewhere between a 9:25-9:48 versus my group target of 8:10-9:05. I think as the weather gets cooler I can get there, but no way I can meet that pace target in my current shape. I am going to keep struggling on my group runs the next few weeks but I am going to stay a bit slower.
My watch agrees with me as well. Noticed my VO2 max had dropped 2 points the last 2 weeks. I simply think my body is not recovering.
My watch agrees with me as well. Noticed my VO2 max had dropped 2 points the last 2 weeks. I simply think my body is not recovering.
Gemüsestäbchen
Member
I lurk, I run, I pop my head up, and lurk some more.
Been really interesting reading everyone's experiences, thanks for sharing as always, I feel like I'm standing at the foot of giants though with my slow runs so I'm a little self-conscious.
In year 1.5 of my running "career" - It's been a summer of sticking to consistant 10K races - but not a whole lot of weekly mileage and I do feel somwhat lazy...
In any case, I've been keeping up with a monthly 10K races in London with this strange summer of muggy heat and rain, but I've seen the trend of getting slower... Somewhat disappointing...
April: 00:54:24
May: 00:55:10
June: 00:54:29
July: 00:58:14
August: 00:57:54
However! I do see benefits of doing a race each month and also it is really the part of running I like the most, to essentially have a goal or "achievement unlocked" at the end; The gamer in me I guess?
I am also setting up a proper schedule for a half-marathon this year, which should be end Oct, and I'm def got enough time to increase my mileage gradually and reasonably.
Last half left me with a nasty hip pain, and I struggled at the end.
The goal is to hopefully be as close to 2 hour mark as possible - sub-2 hours is maybe wildly optimistic atm.
Been really interesting reading everyone's experiences, thanks for sharing as always, I feel like I'm standing at the foot of giants though with my slow runs so I'm a little self-conscious.
In year 1.5 of my running "career" - It's been a summer of sticking to consistant 10K races - but not a whole lot of weekly mileage and I do feel somwhat lazy...
In any case, I've been keeping up with a monthly 10K races in London with this strange summer of muggy heat and rain, but I've seen the trend of getting slower... Somewhat disappointing...
April: 00:54:24
May: 00:55:10
June: 00:54:29
July: 00:58:14
August: 00:57:54
However! I do see benefits of doing a race each month and also it is really the part of running I like the most, to essentially have a goal or "achievement unlocked" at the end; The gamer in me I guess?
I am also setting up a proper schedule for a half-marathon this year, which should be end Oct, and I'm def got enough time to increase my mileage gradually and reasonably.
Last half left me with a nasty hip pain, and I struggled at the end.
The goal is to hopefully be as close to 2 hour mark as possible - sub-2 hours is maybe wildly optimistic atm.
Gemüsestäbchen
Member
Hmm... Though I had calculated that for last year's half too - but very dumb pre-race food options (decided to focus on proteins and not carbs) left me running on empty (no pun intended) and I literally crawled across the finishing line... I think it was 02:15?
(Not to mention the all night boozy bender I went on 24 hours before - that was also very stupid in hindsight)
I guess no harm trying to aim for sub-2 hours?
Definitely looking forward to cooler autumn - also I'll get the ballot results for the London Marathon about a week before the half-marathon I want to do. Be a good benchmark to see how I am faring around that time with training for a half.
Now that I'm sort of 75% commited to the half, I do feel more fired up. Might help me get over this "can't be bothered to run more than 6 miles" rut.
I've learned over the past 2 months that running in the heat is damn hard. Your heart rate is elevated, and you just feel awful. Only thing that gets me through is making sure I have my hydration backpack, so I get lots of water.
Sunday morning on a group run, me and another guy went 12km in 100% humidity. (thank God it was cloudy so no direct sun to worry about) and when we finished, I was drenched with sweat - like the worst I've ever been. I weighed in about 5 lbs lower than normal when I got home. We maintained a 5:44 pace, so not too bad though.
It's just brutal training in this, but when autumn comes, we will be stronger for it. Keep at it man.(oh and my Vo2 max has dropped from 49 to 47 in the past 2 months as well- it's the heat)
Hi runners, is there a good couch to half marathon plan for me. I run maybe once a week with a run group(3-5 miles) and play basketball maybe twice a week. Any good plans for me to start. Along with maybe working into with basketball if possible on short run days for the Navy Air Force half marathon on September 17th.
I run a 8:30-9:00 minute mile pace with the run group. I understand that my mile pace maybe a 9:30 on downward running a half.
I run a 8:30-9:00 minute mile pace with the run group. I understand that my mile pace maybe a 9:30 on downward running a half.
Duebrithil
Member
Well, since you can already run 5Km I'd say a C25K would be a bit of a waste of time. I think your best plan of action would be to train up to 10K (which shouldn't be hard since you run 5 miles already). From this point onward you can focus on building up weekly mileage and setting up a nice base.
Regarding structured training programs there are quite a few options: Jack Daniels, FIRST, Jeff Galloway or Hal Higdon are some of the most well known ones. Of all of those I'd say to try Hal Higdon's first, since they are free and posted on his website (http://www.halhigdon.com/training/).
Red_taiyaki
Member
Not sure if you have a running watch, but if you do- you can always check on the respective manufacturer's log-in portal if there's a structured plan. I know that Garmin and Strava (Premium) have one.
Regarding free there's Run Trainer from Under Armour; can provide a structured program for you based on amount of times you want to run per week but not sure as to the actual quality of it as I've only tinkered with it before. Never really implemented any of it into my training.
Anyhow, good luck!
I suppose now is a good time as any to join the GAF RC with my second marathon being a month out from now.
That being said my confidence has taken a hit in the last couple of weeks. I'm sure I'll be fine (I have no doubt in my mind I'll finish, but how fast), but my last two long runs were cut short due to heat and Friday I learned about rhabdomyolosis the hard way.
That being said my confidence has taken a hit in the last couple of weeks. I'm sure I'll be fine (I have no doubt in my mind I'll finish, but how fast), but my last two long runs were cut short due to heat and Friday I learned about rhabdomyolosis the hard way.
I did a 20k race this past Sunday in hot and humid Virginia. The weather started off nice, but warmed up quickly. Hot, humid weather kills my pace, especially runs over 10 miles. I'm a good 1-2 minutes off my fall-winter pace. I wish I could do better in the heat, but I have to keep it in the run-jog pace range or else I feel terrible.
Red_taiyaki
Member
Same here. Look at it this way though, your heat acclimation will pay off this fall once the temperature drops significantly- then you'll be ready to hit those fast times!
I've been looking at the Hal Higdon workout and trying to work in the mileage for the 10k to represent miles I will need for the half marathon
Unfortunately I do not have a running watch which sucks since I can not track my miles, pace, and routes. I really need to invest in one to help with my training. Any good budget ones you suggest or should I just get an apple watch 2?
You can find a garmin forerunner 220 for maybe 100-120€ which will be a much better running watch than the apple (although not a smartwatch).
Hey good to see you in here! I remember you from one of those wacky OT random running threads. You should join the fun over on strava too.
Sorry to read preparation is not going according to plan.
panda-zebra
Member
Free entry to Chester Marathon, yay!
It's in 6 weeks - 2 weeks after an attempt at a 24-hour race... aaahhh!
It's in 6 weeks - 2 weeks after an attempt at a 24-hour race... aaahhh!
Duebrithil
Member
Free entry to Chester Marathon, yay!
It's in 6 weeks - 2 weeks after an attempt at a 24-hour race... aaahhh!
You're a Running Saiyan though, your pace gets that much faster every time you push yourself close to breaking point. You shouldn't have a problem ;b
Red_taiyaki
Member
Free entry to Chester Marathon, yay!
It's in 6 weeks - 2 weeks after an attempt at a 24-hour race... aaahhh!
GL!
BrassDragon
Member
Had a suspect stomp on my instep and the resulting injury is taking all the fun out of training because of pain and turtle pace.
Need to make a decision if I'm going to tough it out until the Amsterdam marathon or find another race in spring. I know I shouldn't really. But dammit, I wanna.
Need to make a decision if I'm going to tough it out until the Amsterdam marathon or find another race in spring. I know I shouldn't really. But dammit, I wanna.
The_Inquisitor
Member
Well I ran against my heart rate versus the pace my group was running. I still finished within the pace range and didn't walk at all. So that's my plan from now on. I expect I'll catch up to them over the next few months.
Bumps in the road areto be expected, I suppose.
The_Inquisitor
Member
Really needed a true easy day today. So ran a casual 5 miles versus the 6 for today. I think I'll be actually able to run tomorrow now and not skip a run this week. Going from a 5 run a week to 6 run a week schedule is a bit of a shock so far so I'm doing my best to keep up.
About a year and a half ago, a 45-pound weight flopped over onto my foot, and after running a 5K the next morning I suddenly couldn't walk without extreme pain till just a few months ago. But, I've been slowly getting getting back into running, the past month (currently at 6 miles a week), with just some soreness that goes away, so life is looking up. All the pain and not being able to run was depressing.
LostMyNarbles
Member
Just finished the last week of the C25K app. It feels really satisfying being able to run for as long as I can now compared to barely lasting 2 minutes when I started. I purchased the C210K app and am going to start working on that now to build up more endurance. That being said it looks like I have a long way to go building up speed alongside endurance. I used Runtastic while running the 30 minute run today and according to Runtastic I only did 2.52 miles in 30 minutes.
After 3 weeks of running a very similar route all of a sudden Strava has started listing my new runs on the same route as way less distance than they used to be, as someone wayyyy into the data this is really annoying, it's added about 10sec a km to my splits and made me feel like I'm going backwards even though I know that things are actually going really well for my low standard of running.
Anyone ever seen things like this before?
Anyone ever seen things like this before?
Duebrithil
Member
I'm glad the pain is mostly gone and you can run again
Congratulations and good luck on your road to 10K! Don't worry too much about speed, you'll be able to introduce some speedwork once you have established a solid base.
How do you record your runs? Could the device be receiving a bad GPS signal, thus prompting Strava to use some kind of algorithm to filter bad GPS data points?
panda-zebra
Member
Just a few weeks and I go a bit loopy, anything longer and I loose a bit of interest, hard to get back into it, so well done on getting back up and running.
You've done the hardest part, with time your pace will pick up. Just keep at it and keep it enjoyable.
Hmm, maybe. If your device is situated where it has a hard time getting a good GPS lock odd things can happen. A phone going into power saving mode can play tricks such as giving a direct A-to-Z as the crow flies rather than the route you actually took. Let's have a look at the strava activities, got a link?
I find Strava can be a bit off from what Gamin connect records, but usually its consistent. Never had it change like that.
Then again, GPS is hit or miss... my old Garmin measures quite a bit differently than my new 920XT, and can be a difference of up to couple hundred meters on a long run.
funkystudent
Member
Ran a 10 mile race and didn't need to take any walking breaks for the entire thing.
Feel good about that. 1:32:23 was chip time
Feel good about that. 1:32:23 was chip time
The_Inquisitor
Member
Weather was 10 degrees cooler in dallas today for my morning long. I actually mostly kept up with my 1'35" pace group except when they started running faster than the pace bracket. These guys go run an extra 4-6 miles after our initial 6 so I respect their fitness and don't feel too bad about being done after.
Looks like my strategy of going by heart rate this week worked.
Looks like my strategy of going by heart rate this week worked.
vacantseas
Member
I'm in the middle of training for the Chicago Marathon. 40 some days out. This week is a "step back" week in mileage where today was only supposed to be 13 miles. Last week was 18 miles and next week is 19.
During one of my short weekday runs on Tuesday I got intense knee pain halfway through it, and had to take the rest of the week off. I'm taking today's 13 miles off but I'm kind of bummed I'm not out there running today. Knee feels much better after stretching, icing and resting it the past three days.
Training has been going great up til now. This will be my first full marathon, and I know little injuries like this are to be expected. It just kind of sucks I needed to take a week off. Luckily I'm still out from the race far enough where something like this isn't a setback.
During one of my short weekday runs on Tuesday I got intense knee pain halfway through it, and had to take the rest of the week off. I'm taking today's 13 miles off but I'm kind of bummed I'm not out there running today. Knee feels much better after stretching, icing and resting it the past three days.
Training has been going great up til now. This will be my first full marathon, and I know little injuries like this are to be expected. It just kind of sucks I needed to take a week off. Luckily I'm still out from the race far enough where something like this isn't a setback.
The_Inquisitor
Member
Better a week off than 3 months. You absolutely did the correct thing by listening to your body. You'll do great in your race.
Oppo
Member
going shoe shopping this aft, anyone have any noob tips?
I had a good pair of Mizuno shoes before, they are beat to shit now so I want to get new ones. I'm off to New Balance this aft for them to get me sorted out but wondered if there's any really good shoes or things to watch out for? I know nothing about shoes. I don't even know how my foot strikes.
I had a good pair of Mizuno shoes before, they are beat to shit now so I want to get new ones. I'm off to New Balance this aft for them to get me sorted out but wondered if there's any really good shoes or things to watch out for? I know nothing about shoes. I don't even know how my foot strikes.
Duebrithil
Member
Gemüsestäbchen
Member
Went for a slow Sunday run, starting to up that mileage for the half-marathon, tried to go a whole minute slower than my normal pace - and you know what - it was really nice.
I guess I'm realising I've never been "kind" enough to myself properly and just put in the mileage in without stressing about my pace. I'm getting more hyped about this half-marathon now!
I guess I'm realising I've never been "kind" enough to myself properly and just put in the mileage in without stressing about my pace. I'm getting more hyped about this half-marathon now!
Oppo
Member
much obliged
BrassDragon
Member
For what it's worth, I've always been an overpronator on the right side but the knee twisting associated with it got more and more pronounced over 2 decades. Never suffered related injuries but I did always go with very stabilizing shoes (Asics Kayanos most of the time) just to be sure and because everybody advised me to.
Since even stabilizing shoes are manufactured progressively softer over the generations (to add more 'boost'), I'm now at the point that I'll just crush the midfoot correction flat with my weird 'twisty' right foot landing. It doesn't impact my performance (although theoretically I could shave some seconds off with more economy, I'm just too old to care) so after conferring with a sports physician and my shoe adviser, I gave up on support shoes (since I'll just run right through their tiny adjustments and doing distance with broken shoes is more dangerous than a naturally flaring knee.) Didn't take all that long to get used to neutral shoes.
Moral of the story is, you can only do so much with a shoe to work against your body and natural motion for 'better' running. You do you.
Since even stabilizing shoes are manufactured progressively softer over the generations (to add more 'boost'), I'm now at the point that I'll just crush the midfoot correction flat with my weird 'twisty' right foot landing. It doesn't impact my performance (although theoretically I could shave some seconds off with more economy, I'm just too old to care) so after conferring with a sports physician and my shoe adviser, I gave up on support shoes (since I'll just run right through their tiny adjustments and doing distance with broken shoes is more dangerous than a naturally flaring knee.) Didn't take all that long to get used to neutral shoes.
Moral of the story is, you can only do so much with a shoe to work against your body and natural motion for 'better' running. You do you.
TheSecondSpitter
Member
Does anybody run in Under Armour shoes? I'm after a neutral shoe and prepared to give them a try.
MrOogieBoogie
BioShock Infinite is like playing some homeless guy's vivid imagination
Saw this video recently of some guy racing a bushman in Namibia and was shocked at the difference in running techniques. The bushman's gait looks so completely effortless compared to the guy. Wow! Anyone here have similar running form? Short, quick steps like that?
Nice work!
I'd call that the old man shuffle. As you get older, you lose muscle strength, forcing you to reduce stride length and increase cadence to keep speed up.
Cadence rant: The common wisdom out there is that 180steps/minute is the optimal. For all, weights, sizes, segment lengths, pace, sex, religion, belief systems, diet, political inclination. It's bullshit. Resonance frequency of an oscillator depends on system parameters, here I'd think leg mechanical impedance, leg rotational inertia, mass, speed, etc. But also degree of training of the neural system for the particular running gait pursued (is the corresponding central pattern generator well trained, with solid neural connections). The 180 steps fits all mentality is BS and comes from a lack of understanding of locomotion on a physical level. Feeling of comfort is a greater (physiological) indicator of efficiency than some arbitrary numbers shat out by an old man decades ago based on the performance of elites whose fitness and bio-mechanics could hardly be any different than that of the average hobby jogger.
All of that to say, don't listen to the experts, don't listen to me, don't listen to the bushman, try different things, see what works for you!
Only loosely related but some guy from where I'm from in France passed a cple of days ago. I knew of him, he won a race I ran in the Spring last year, I actually saw him on the trails the very next day. He fell off Mt Blanc, I assume preparing UTMB. I was and am still considering getting into mountain running a bit. Chilling reminder that safety and restraint are not optional. 28 years old, a baby.A young guy died today during a half-marathon not far from here
Sorry for the depressing post.
One Foul Note
Member
A young guy died today during a half-marathon not far from here
Sorry for the depressing post.
That's very sad, you never want to see a fatality on the track. I did a half marathon in March earlier this year and a middle aged gentleman had a fatal cardiac arrest at the finish line on the same race. Judging from the time the newspaper reported it he was probably about ten minutes ahead of me, so that was a very sobering look into the dangers of our sport. I remember quite quite disturbed at the concept of returning to racing in the days that followed, but as you mentioned fatalities are still (thankfully) rare and the health benefits of all exercises massively outweigh the dangers of the activity. I can't remember the exact stats, but their was one study I was reading earlier this year that basically concluded that although runners have ~8% more chance of having a cardiac arrest then someone sitting down in the same period, you are ~40% more likely to go to the hospital from the condition if you do little to no exercise.
Have you heard of BORN TO RUN? Great book, and it would provide you with some insight. I've read this a few times and think it's a really fun read too.
I switched to minimalist footwear and personally have had much greater success running with it than with big bulky shoes.
Red_taiyaki
Member
Great job, congrats!
MrOogieBoogie
BioShock Infinite is like playing some homeless guy's vivid imagination
Haven't read it, no. Thank you for the rec!
I recently got a pair of New Balance Minimus trail running shoes and I would love some tips for proper form.
I'm having the opposite trouble of heel-striking while getting used to minimalist shoes. I end up automatically running toward the forefoot rather than midfoot, meaning my heel almost never touches the ground. As you can imagine, a couple sessions of that and my calves are on fire.
Anyone have any very simple mental cues to remind yourself of proper running technique? The more I think about landing "flatter" with my feet the more my form in all is compromised.
mdsfx
Member
Sorry I forgot to reply to this (and others) thanks for the help guys, the GPS is coming from my phone so I don't think that's changed, but I'm using an app called Vi which did get an update just before my distances went up.
I've spent a bit of time looking at two very similar activities and I think I can see what's happened:
Old 5k https://www.strava.com/activities/1139759018
New 5k https://www.strava.com/activities/1151209424
I think the old run follows my actual path a bit better, you can see where I've moved out of the way of someone or just drifted to one side of the pavement or another. The new 5k is probably giving a better estimate of the actual road distance I'm covering.
I guess that's what I want at the end of the day so I'll just have to accept the challenge of my unfairly gained PRs!