ILX running running thread

hey guys. i'm thinking about giving this a try, though aside from trailing the packing during laps in high school sports practice, i've never been much of a runner at all. i've been working on cardio -- elliptical & arctrainer machines @ the gym so i'm not hopeless. however, i now live a block away from a beautiful park about a half mile or so in circumference, and spring is upon us, and i want to get in fighting shape for lol kickball season. so.

any advice for a former chub scout whose knees are maybe not the best? or maybe encouragement, in addition to advice?

Go for it! Just take it a little at a time! Move into action, you'll get so much more! Go for it! Go for it!! Go for it now!!!

Yeah, just hit the park and have fun with it. Wear decent running shoes so you don't kill your knees. It'll take a couple of runs for you to settle into your pace, run at a pace that feels comfortable for you -- pay no attention at first to the other runners in the park who may be slower/faster than you.

yeah just ease into it - itll be tough and somewhat horrible at first but youll get a flow in no time and start enjoying it - one thing ive always found v helpful is to complete the distance i set out to even if it means walking part of it - often ill feel totally gassed and decide to walk out the rest then once i catch my breath find that ive got more juice left and start running again

thanks guys! :D

often ill feel totally gassed and decide to walk out the rest then once i catch my breath find that ive got more juice left and start running again

yeah i've found recently that i can basically double the distance i run b/c of this. also, when you find yourself really struggling, esp towards the end, set a point at which it's acceptable to stop - like, you won't feel like you gave up or anything - often the psychological relief of reaching that bridge/gate/whatever is so great that i can keep on going even further. you have to play these mind games w/yourself, i've found.

yeh thats part of the reason i pretty much prefer intervals because u get to take breaks - also they are imo fyi way more invigorating than a steady running

2.34 miles today, averging 9:01

5K
27:14

Then I walked .5 and jogged another .5

All of this after eating Arby's.

(.5 miles, I meant)

OK, today was my practice for the 5K on Sunday. So 3.10 miles in 28:29. 1st mile = 8:35, 2nd mile = 9:29, 3rd mile = 9:43, .10 mile = 42 seconds. Despite slowing down, I felt like I was keeping more of a consistent pace, which felt good. I would be extremely happy if I can hit that time on Sunday.

I decided today that I hate running and I'm never going to like it. I just like the resulting data set.

Funnily enough I decided this week that I hate running and am giving it up after the 5k in July.

i hate it too but i quit all the time and that just makes it worse. i just do it because i have to do something. i'm not really good at "sports."

Actually I don't hate it. I just wish my schedule was such that I could do it more often. Then it might become tolerable.

Even though I hated every step, today's 5K was pretty good. I didn't expect to break 28 minutes, but official time was 27:45. My Garmin clocked it at 27:35. I stopped for 16 seconds at the halfway point to drink some Gatorade. Sprinted the last .3 mile.

skipped a 5k today cuz i was too tired/hungover. one of my goals for the summer is a sub-24 minute 5k, though ive done nothing new to reach this and basically ALWAYS run 5k's in like 24:20 ~~ i guess :20 seconds isnt that tough an obtacle tho

had a great running week last week. inauspicious start on tuesday, when i tried to run my normal distance but got awful stitches TWICE - it was unexpectedly hot and i think i failed to hydrate properly. thursday, i ran 6 miles! my furthest distance ever! and it felt GOOD all the way. so much so that i decided to run off my hangover on friday - this would've been a totally insane concept six months ago - and did pretty good.

(all in 45mins-1hr, i don't keep strict track of anything)

i like running - been playing basketball mostly tho

JESSE K*** Time: 32:23 Pace: 10:26
Not fast, but better than I expected. I put myself in the 11:00/mile group b/c I was tired and I had a touch of GI distress. I ran the whole time, which is great.

Ha, I lined up with the 7 min a mile people. I did run the first mile in 7:44, but the was consistently passed the rest of the race.

I almost didn't run today out of laziness...and then...I ran!

I've been running across Golden Gate Park and back, 3 miles + 3 miles. I started out just running one way and walking back, then worked my way up to the full 6 miles. Never been able to do these kinda distances before in my life, so I'm pretty content.

http://pitchfork.com/news/35191-de-la-soul-prep-nike-running-mix/

started today. ran a total distance of about 1.75 mi in half- and quarter-mile intervals, mixed with about the same distance of walking. gonna take a while to get the endurance up but hey, it's a start.

So I've taken up running. It's only been a couple weeks. Right now is usually where I'd start to fear getting tired and slacking off on exercise, but I actually wake up early every morning excited to go out and run. In fact, I know I should take a day off and let my legs rest a little -- I also walk about four miles a day, to and from work -- but I keep putting it off, because I always want to go run.

I'm frustrated with my leg muscles, though. The first week was mostly about getting my cardiovascular system up to the challenge, just getting to the point where I could run over a mile without panting. Now my heart and lungs can keep up just fine, but by the time I start getting up toward two miles, my legs start giving out. Which is too bad, because I have to go home still feeling energetic, like I haven't really gotten a full workout. Hopefully the muscles will catch up soon.

Re: doing intervals of running and walking, it seems like this is demonstrably better for you, and more efficient in just about every way. Runner's World suggests starting out by doing 30-minute stretches -- first you alternate between 1 minute running and 1 minute walking, then gradually increase the running intervals until they're the full 30 minutes. I know I should do it this way, but a lot of the enjoyment and motivation I'm getting out of this has to do with seeing how much farther I can get each day, and I also don't trust myself not to cheat on intervals; I think I'd start doing all kinds of rationalizing and bargaining about why I can stop early or extend a walking bit.

even though i never approached it this way consciously, i think i was in the best shape was i did a lot of trail running that involved long stretches of walking. like, if it got so steep or rocky that running wasn't an option, or if i just got super tired.

you should probs take rest day, nabisco, if you're really out there seven days a week.

i'm doing about 4 miles every other day, w/probably about 3 miles running and 1 mile walking. it's basically stretching, then walking, then running, then a little walking, then a lot of running, then twenty second walk, then another mile of running. works out well for me.

xpost - I know, I'm just bummed about having to skip a run. Maybe I just need to focus on how much better it'll be the day after a rest.

BTW, I've been reading Haruki Murakami's little running book, since I've had running on the brain anyway. Dude has run a 62-mile ultramarathon. Pretty much twelve hours of straight running.

I am also going to leave a quick list here of reasons I like exercising/running every morning, so I can be shamed/reminded months from now if I ever drop off:

- awesome feeling of accomplishment, even after a short, crappy run
- higher energy level all day
- slight tiredness/soreness makes it easier to sit calmly and concentrate on things like writing
- mindset during running seems to help with concentration in general
- experiencing real physical tiredness at bedtime, the good kind
- body has better appetite, for healthier food, in healthier amounts; water intake has also shot up
- markedly positive effect on digestive system even apart from changed diet
- sudden ability during everyday activities to do something like sprint across an intersection without even feeling it

I haven't run since that last 5K I did. I don't know what happened. Actually, I do; I had to finish up a school project and then Chicago weather became infuriating. It's June, just stay warm.

When I'm in a groove, I don't like stopping or skipping days either. Back when I would run the most, I would go 8 miles and then realize for the last half hour I couldn't feel my left foot.

nabisco OTM! I went for a forty minute jog today, felt so lovely. It's a big muggy this week, though. I prefer running in our very big state park because it's fun getting lost.

yea all those observations are so on the $. many of those i can still get by running in the late afternoon (like i feel more alert, smart, personable if i go out for drinks later) but i do wish i could make myself run in the a.m. altho 4 it to work, id have to get up at like 5

h8 running in the morning

me too. i'm so stiff and slow in the morning.

a couple weeks ago i hit my long-term goal of being able to run 10 miles! it is exciting, i feel accomplished!

i've also been trying to run 25+ miles a week, but instead I've been doing a very unbalanced-feeling 5-5-10 or 2-3-5-10 schedule thanks to lots of travel and a little soreness keeping me from running as much as I'd like. i'm a little horrified that in july and august i'll be losing a lot of this progress because i'll be doing fieldwork and, if last summer is anything to go by, i'll quite literally not have time to fit in more than about 10 miles a week.

- slight tiredness/soreness makes it easier to sit calmly and concentrate on things like writing

^^^ very underrated side benefit from running (at any hour, not just in the morning)

there was a thing in the nytimes abt doing that running and walking thing quite recently

i hear a lot about it, and i do think it's useful to walk while running, but the plans for it are so regimented! it definitely makes sense if you can't hold yourself back from running too fast to keep up for long, but i think running slowly and walking when you think you need a break is so much less frustrating.

56 degrees, feels like 52, rain today.

I wish I could be like those hardcore runners that run all year.

it's not even the temperature that holds me back in the winter, it's icy sidewalks and roads and darkness before and after work. i sort of wish we didn't switch clocks in the fall, it would be a little better.

8.5k! 45mins! i feel so so buzzed right now.

There's nothing like the taste of that first beer after a run. It's like the most refreshing drink ever.

― NoTimeBeforeTime, Tuesday, March 24, 2009 4:31 PM (2 months ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

^^feeling this too

jeff's post remnded me that i've wound up doing my long runs in the rain for the past 2 weeks. i whine, but i might actually like it better than sun! so cool! makes me feel so alone and rebellious somehow!

My only complaint with rain is that when I run without glasses, I feel like I might look up at some point and not understand how I wound up in New Jersey. (On the plus side, running in a world where you can't see too far into the distance really helps you empty your head and just focus on keeping moving.)

I think the walk/run thing is probably really helpful for beginning runners (like me) who otherwise wouldn't be able to keep up that long -- I really wish I liked it better, because it'd probably enable me to spend twice as along exercising, instead of having my legs give out early on.

My legs are still pissing me off, btw, even after a few days of rest. I walk several miles, every day, fast -- I really thought they'd be able to adjust better to running!

jeff's post remnded me that i've wound up doing my long runs in the rain for the past 2 weeks. i whine, but i might actually like it better than sun! so cool! makes me feel so alone and rebellious somehow!

ugh i got stuck in a sleety downpour two days ago which really sucked. still finished tho. if its warm enough its okay and running when its overcast and ~about~ 2 rain is awesome u feel like its u against the incipient storm but the big problem is that constant rain makes it a lot easier to be like eff this and not go out

glasses in the rain really are a problem. not being able to see far is fine if you're on a quiet trail or road, but on a busier one it's a little scary. i have the option of wearing contacts, though, so if it seems that it might rain i wear them just in case.

i run along a canal so a busy road isn't a problem - i tend to wear prescription shades when i run, whether it's sunny or cloudy, they help block stuff out - but if it's raining heavily i do worry about randomly slipping over all the time.

I run on a plaza by the Hudson in Manhattan -- there's a little over a mile where it doesn't approach the street or cross with the bike path, and I normally go back and forth -- so there's no scariness related to anything fast-moving ... but it does get busy and crowded some days, so I feel like I should be able to see everything, just in case.

My groin muscle is still acting up. Haven't ran in a month. Winter will probably be here in 2 weeks.

man i wish i liked running more. really struggling to "train" ie stay in basic fitness for this 5k in a month. but when a friend suggests a 5k-10k-5k run-bike-run in the autumn, i don't think "oh god no", but "mmm sounds tempting!"

that actually does sound fun! bet your legs would be jelly by the second run though.

i reckon i would find it fun, it's just the training that suxxxxxxxxx.