ILX running running thread

i'll be asking at the gym come thursday or friday so that's grand, but thanks anyway. i'll see how i am after the first few weeks and look at it from there.

xp cheers for that will have a look.

That link that ilxor posted is a good one actually.

i'll see how i am after the first few weeks

These coming weeks, just get into a mindset of being motivated to get out the door for a 20-30 minute run a few times a week, and you'll be golden. Half marathon or not, that's the cornerstone of enjoying running (for me), it's gotta be fun and exciting, not a chore.

yeah i'm printing that link and using it as a template- i won't be giving up my footy on mon/thurs but it'll certainly allow me to make up a schedule.

That said... I skipped my 3 miler last night, it was snowing in Texas and the roads were iced over so figured I'd wait for today's 50+ degree weather to get out there again. Gonna head out for 5-6 miles this evening... if I can get off work early enough, I'd like to hit the local park trail before dark.

one last question- if i'm running on a machine, will it make a lot of difference? i know that running on a road is tougher, but if it's just to get me in shape i'm thinking i should be fine.....

round where i am there's not much in the way of pleasant runs where you don't run the risk of being flattened by cars/eaten by dogs.

I think you're supposed to increase the gradient a little bit (to 2% maybe?) to replicate the air resistance you get from running outside. The good thing about running machines is that they're not so hard on your knees, but that might mean you end up really feeling it when you do a long run on the road. Try and get a few outdoor sessions in as well, just to get used to the harder surface.

It won't make much of a difference as to your fitness, either way, other than being reaaaaaaaalllly boring if you're comparing it to getting out into nature, hitting a good trail or not terribly busy road, and enjoying the fresh air, beautiful days, etc.

looked up a few sites in the meantime and there's a few public tracks/recommended routes of varying lengths/gradient around the place so looks like i spoke too soon. good to know.

xp otm
there are no cute dogs to pass/admire on a treadmill

ready to get back into this but the weather is SOOOOOOO shitty

there are no cute dogs ladies to pass/admire on a treadmill

Well look at what's on the Runner's World forum today!

"I'm training for a half marathon on a treadmill," says kristen.long2009. "If I run inside until the race, will that negatively impact my performance?"

http://www.runnersworld.com/community/forums/runner-communities/beginners/treadmill-training?cm_mmc=beginner-_-2010_02_24-_-forum-_-FORUMS%3a%20Insider%20Training%20

Nice timing, huh?

heh that thread is some opinions4u huh? i'll get some road/track running in, starting with 2 miles tonight.

When I was a member of a gym I used to love doing speedwork on the treadmill. Unless there's a tv, they're kind of boring for running distances on, but if you crank the speed right up, they're fucking mad. And terrifying. Never got used to the sweatiness of running indoors though.

Good luck out there, darraghmac!

If I'm traveling for work and staying in hotels, I find it easier to use treadmills than find a new route, but generally I can't stand it. 75 mins or so is hell. Counting down the minutes, staring at numbers, sweating like mad, watching CNN repeat stories...I also find I don't work as hard - the bounce of the treadmill? Calorie / kj numbers also tend to be way overinflated.

Ran 10 miles before work in Prospect Park (Brooklyn) this morning. It was lovely - the rain's melted the snow, 40 degrees, almost entirely alone, and legs felt good. I just wish I still had a bit of uphill in my life.

I love visiting New York and running there, I was able to fit in a hard 6-7 miler at Central Park (main loop?) before heading to the office one morning. But you local folks are probably used to that, huh?

Can't do the treadmill. Never again.

I don't know how many other Prospect Park runners there are on this board. Maybe a few? I've run in Central Park twice - really, unless you live nearby, it's not really viable to arrive and leave (sweaty) via subway or similar. I prefer Prospect park anyway - no tourists, better landscapes, denser vegetation, more sky, and a greenmarket at my entrance, meaning fruit in the summer at the end of your run!

xpost: somehow running on the treadmill feels like input-output exercise only, without any of the mental relaxation and kinetic pleasure that comes with running outdoors. But I've heard of a few - not many - people who say they actually prefer it!

The one thing I really miss from the gym is the rowing machine (I love u Concept II)

so if i can run outdoors, is there much point in my joining a gym? still think it would help in having someone work out a plan (though i now have one of those i guess) and having access to other facilities like weights etc. no pool though!

Nice to have gym membership, but I can think of other things I'd rather spend my money on. That's probably the reason I've got arms like twigs though, in fact I think I've seen snowmen with bigger biceps.

i think it depends on your goals? if your looking to improve your fitness generally the gym wld be helpful if your just interested in training for a hm or 10k than its probably not necessary

i'm actually alright for muscles tbh, it's just the blubber layer between them and visibility that is holding me back.

okay 4 miles with dog is a start

Good sense from Lamp.

x-post way to go, forks's dog

i can't ever see myself lifting things repeatedly. use of tennis facilities and running/bike machines the biggest draw, and at €200 for 6 months it seems decent value.

I've tried the gym thing but ended up in the last year canceling my membership, saving the $35 a month, and working in a nice routine of push/pull/sit-ups, plank exercises and so forth for 10 minutes after most of my runs.

but gym machines are sexxayyyy

if i join a gym it'll be one that comes with a private members' house...i have a good routine of running/push&sit-ups going these days and tbh i'm not going to get more into fitness than i am now, though it'd be really good to get professional advice on a particular routine or something. but while the treadmill is usually hell, i could really have done with one this winter.

Not if you can't handle the weights with yr twig arms!

xpost

I can't imagine having to do a long run on a treadmill. Plus part of the fun of running for me us mapping my run and looking at all the numbers afterwards.

i have a gym membership because i want to be sure i have somewhere to go if it rains/snows/is 100 degrees all week. i also have a regular date with my friend on sundays and i would rather go to the gym and talk with her on the treadmill than sit and drink coffee and gab. she has 3 kids and rarely gets away from all of them at the same time.

I think I need to start lifting weights or something!

nah you look good man! I didn't mean it like that

4km in 35 mins, half walking half jogging/stumbling. inauspicious start but a start.

I just started getting back into jogging after about a year. I'm only a week into it. When can I expect to get a runners' high again? :)

Yay darraghmac!

Nice start indeed. Don't worry at all about times these first few months, just put in the miles and the times will eventually take care of themselves (or, you know, you can add speedwork days once you've built a mileage base).

This runners' high thing goes into hibernation in the winter I think.

Hard to feel the bliss when you can't even feel your fingers.

heh i think that was my speedwork tbh. five a side tomorrow night so at least i'll have something to chase for an hour.

xps it's 0 degrees here but lovely and crisp for getting out in. the further away i get from it the more i'm convincing myself i enjoyed it.

Yes, my runner's high will return in May.

Yeah, I'm just in pain right now. But good pain (I tell myself that at least).

back on 3.5 miles of straight running every other day after several months of slacking. it was fairly surprising how easily i fell back into the routine. by my second run i wasn't stopping for walks at all.

ok, have tacitly agreed with a friend that we'll both (out of shape, heading for 30) run this half marathon in July. hoo boy.

heading for 30
boo hoo

hey no heckling, it's embarrassing in the context of 'needing' to get fit while so relatively yonuh.

yonuh blud wtf with my typing lately

i never heckle
i was just trying it on for size ;)

I had my third rock climbing class last night and it was fantastic. Felt like I was using muscles I haven't used in years. Really makes me want to do more cross training throughout the year.