Runner's Forum: The Official: Training Summary Start Up Thread

Well, looks like everyone seems to be in the same boat as me. I wound up delaying one run last week and completely  canning another due to two sick kids (Projectile Linda Blair-style vomiting!!!!)  Today I got back into the swing of things. I decided to run with a local running group. They do an 8 mile loop around town, so I ran to the Y to join them, then ran home, for a total of 9.53 miles.

I started off trying to keep up with these guys... OOPS! They've been at this a couple days longer than me and are just a few seconds faster (note the sarcasm). So, I burned out a little and wound up being the last one back. I managed to finish in 1:34:11 for a 9:52 pace. I think this may be my best pace for a long run so far, and it's a PR for distance (granted only by about a quarter mile). I guess we all gotta start somewhere. Three easy miles tomorrow. 

 Good luck to everyone on their upcoming runs. Wish me luck, I have my first race on Sunday (still debating between the 8k and the 5k)!

Hey guys! Had another great run tonight... about 4 miles so nothing huge again but was just rockin'. Even with my circuit training induced constricted calf muscles (they were like lead balls at the start!). I know these are small runs compared to all you guys, I am just starting - and thanks for the advice everyone! - but it's nice to be able to share my joy and enthusiasm with others (as I don't really have anyone else that understands). Thanks for listening!

KDogg - one of the things I used to use was a technique called End Point Visualization... I'm no expert in it but what I was taught was to essentially remember the feeling, or feelings, that you had when you were doing something successful (i.e. running a particular time in a race, etc), then visualize yourself doing it AND (and this is the important part) remember the feelings that you had when being successful in the past.  Basically, search for the memory of the feeling you felt when being successful.  I know this worked for me because it would stop me from thinking about "needing to win" or "needing to do-whatever-it-was-I-needed-to-do" and instead just focus on feeling good about doing something I know that I have done before.

Just a thought... it could be psychological mumbo-jumbo too... 

 

Great day for 8.3 miler @ 9.3 pace.  Had a accent of 142 ft in 1/4 mile in between mile 3 and 4 with another 83ft accent at mile 6.  It felt really good to keep this pace with all of the hills.  Feel like I'm getting back to my healthy self.

 Looks like my wife and I are going to run the 10k Beach to Beacon in Aug with the Portland, Me Marathon in Oct.  Will be my 1st Marathon.

 Run Safe everyone.

 

It sounds like mostly everyone is doing pretty well. Chiggyxc, sorry to hear about your injuries. Maybe you were compensating for your achilles and that's how you injured your hamstring? Just a thought. Rest up so you can get back to it sooner. No sense in tearing something. KDogg, visualization is pretty effective. I use it a lot in several aspects of my life and am shocked every time. And like GrantB said, visualize the feeling more than the act. I use this a lot at work when I'm dealing with stuff like high-stress pistol shooting, etc. It calms the nerves and I bet it decreases adrenaline production a little.

Today's run for me was 5 miles on the Midland Rail Trail. It was about 42 degrees, so I ran in shorts and a long sleeved Brooks shirt. Not being all bundled up felt AWESOME! I pushed pretty hard (for me), finishing in 42:42 ( an 8:31 pace, another improvement). I figured since I'm running my race on Sunday, I would shuffle my schedule around to allow for some recovery time. I'll run about 3 miles with my wife, Sarah, tomorrow, at an easy pace, then rest on Saturday before my race.

Thanks for all the encouragement, everyone. I've decided I'm going to do the 8k. If I'm using it as a training run, I may as well do a little more distance. 

Good work all. I got out yesterday for some speed work but I was all over the shop. I did 5x1600m at 5:40, 5:37, 5:23, 5:28, 5:36 with 800m jogs in between. I felt awful to be honest. I'm taking today off as I've got visitors from back home and of course I had a couple of pints last night. I feel a bit guilty, but I can't be too anti-social, plus this week is timetabled as an easier one for me!! Will get out on Sunday for a 20k run when visitors have left to run off the guilt and ale. Keep up the good work everyone. gfinkelde, good luck in the final, hope you knock a few boundaries and take a few wickets.

Sounds like lots of people have running plans for the weekend. As I said earlier, I'm resting up a little before my first road race on Sunday. Today, I ran about 2.25 miles with my wife (mostly because she wanted to get out). We took it pretty easy, about an 11:13 pace. The weather the last two days has been phenomenal!!! I think it broke 55F degrees today!!!

Good luck to everyone on their runs this weekend. I'll post my results sometime Sunday or Monday. Wish me luck.  

ex-k1w1

Welcome on board. Great to have another Melbournian posting. Whereabouts do you live. I live in Sandringham. Take it you are a former kiwi judging by your name.Another stinking hot day for us tomorrow. Apparently 37,36,36 the next three as well.

My next run is Tuesday after a cricket grand final this weekend. Chasing some runs tomorrow but I will keep you all posted.

 

 

.....Well I am the third Melbournian here (have been in exile here in Norway for 5 years now :( ... 

I miss doing laps of albert park or princess park after work...

Anyway;  Have just started very careful training tonight after about 6 weeks off. Just did 6 tender kms to feel out my left knee.

No pain,  just stiff, and it feels weird.... will do an easy 10km before Tuesday and give it a bit of a test out before I am back to the physio. Fingers crossed. I really want to start training properly again.  

First off. sorry it's a little late, but Good Luck Dan in the race tomorrow.  At this time of night I hope your resting up for it. But better late than never.

I have a 10miler for tomorrow, but thinking of running the full 13.1 early to get into it. 

Real reason for the post is I just signed up for the Beach to Beacon 10k.  So happy I made it in time.  Registration opened at 9am this morning 3/15/08 and I was # 5563 out of the  5,700 places that are available.  In the nic of time. 

 

KDogg, good job on the win! Those times are nuts! Chiggy, sorry to hear about the achilles, that sucks. Nahtus, good luck with the Beach to Beacon. Where is that held?

Thanks again for all the encouragement everyone! Nahtus, unfortunately, I had a couple cups of coffee a little too late last night, so I was awake the better part of the night. My race was at noon today (I decided on the 8K), and I was feeling good. Unfortunately, I pulled my left hamstring Friday, and it's been hurting ever since. I applied some Biofreeze last night, and it helped, at least till I started running. Then it was 5 miles of nagging ache. However, I managed to beat my goal time. I hoped for a 42-42:30 time, and finished in 41:09. Then my hamstring really started to burn. I think I'm gonna spend the next couple days icing it down well. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd love to hear them!

 

Gee, some of you guys sound serious!

KDogg, wow, great to be mixing with the likes of you.  Congratulations on the top placing.

chiggy, my achilles have both been tender over the last week or so, so I sympathise.  I'm hunting around for some Voltaren Emulgel or similar to do some deep rubbing.

gfinkelde, yes, no prizes for guessing my origins.  I live in Wheeler's Hill and have been in oz since transferring with my work in late '99

Simmo, what's the weather like up your way in mid-May?

On to the training.  Monday morning saw a 10k recovery run after the weekend.  Lethargy rules okay?!

Hi all. My first post here. I started running four weeks ago. Before that, not even run to chase the bus. My motivation in the first place was my health, I wasn't feeling well and committed myself to do something about it. Now I thing I caught the bug... for good. I surprised myself waking up in the morning and feeling good because it is... run day!

Two days ago I went into my first race ever. A 5K. Pretty modest outcome (29:12) but tasted like a triumph for me. Now I'm going for a 10K in 5 weeks and after that, who knows!

See you all around

 

Your right Kdogg, some pool running would be the ideal thing for me right now but i'm at home for spring break and there aren't any pools around. There wasn't much pain today so i think i'm through the worst of it. I'll just have to keep an eye on it.

Today was 10x300m w/ 100m walk rest, most were in 45 and 44. I ran on my old high school track, its about the worst track i've ever been on (its just ground up tires but its better than the cinder track we had 6 years ago) but it brought back some good memories.

My thighs and back were very sore for this workout. We have a small ranch, about 700 acres, and I had to ride my horse down to one of the pastures last Sunday and bring back some cattle to be sorted. I haven't ridden in quite some time since i've been away at school and it can really make you sore that first time back. It feels good to get out away from everything again, away from traffic, noise... basically just away from people.

KDogg - good to hear you are feeling like you are finishing strong

 Dan - congrats on your finishing time, sorry to hear about the injury

My training has been suffering lately.  There have been some big personal changes in my life that have thrown my scheduling completely out of whack and I seem to be taking it out on my running times.  This week, however, I am hoping to get it all back on track..... or at least starting to get it back.

Yesterday I had to fix problems at work that just did not want to be fixed and I ended up not running until after my gym workout late in the evening.  The end result was a 4 mile treadmill run instead of a road run.  Today, I had much of the same at work (except the problems stayed fixed this time) and I was able to go out and do a road run at the end of the day: 4 miles in 32:05.  The time was not good, I felt like I was running with lead shoes for the first mile or so, but I think it was the first time I have run on back-to-back days in quite some time so taking that into account I guess I can find it acceptable.  

Lost my cricket on the weekend so it was pretty disappointing, good news is I can now devote time to running.

Did some speed work last night at the Tan for those from Melbourne. 2.5km warm up, some run throughs and then 6x1 km reps with one minute rest. trying to keep the time of the reps within 30 secs. Without knowing what to expect I probably went too hard for the first ones, but am looking forward to going again next week.

Finished with 2.5km warm down - nice scenery. Finally the heat wave broke a well. 25C when running last night.

I have just purchased a new heart rate monitor with a few extra functions than my old one. Of course I have no hard and fast evidence that it will help my performance.....But any kind of feedback is helpful if you ask me - especially if you train alone most of the time.

I think it might be good on the days when you are supposed to be having an easy run (to be able to monitor things etc) - I tend to speed up over the course of my runs (i.e. run negative splits) which might not be such a good idea for recovery/easy runs etc....

Apart from that - anything that can take away some of the boredom. Lets face it, not every run is of the nice weather, feeling great, variety. Some runs are just a hard slog, and a bit of information on how you are going can really help. 

 

Had my deep tissue massage yesderday and it worked wonders.  I actually woke up today a little sore in some spots, but overall my legs were loose and ready to go.  I did an easy 6 miles today.  I will plan on getting in some speedwork tomorrow.

I never used heart monitors.  I have nothing against them....just never used them unless on a treadmill.   I will occasionally grab the sensors to see where I am.  I like to guess ahead of time to see how accurately I can predict my effort.  Because I am generally fairly close, I have never felt the need to get a heart monitor.

Incidentaly, I love how the treadmill machines flash all kinds of warnings that you shouldn't grab the sensors if you are going at a speed above 4 MPH.......and then it tells you the heart rate!  If you really want to discourage people from taking their heart rate when the machine is going over 4 MPH.....don't allow them to do it......or force them to put the feet on sensors on the sides to get the heart reading.

ex-k1w1 ~ I use my HRM all the time. I really depend on it for runs over 15 miles as it helps keep me in my aerobic range. I've found that running within that range allows me to run farther and longer without undue stress. When I am done, I do not feel so tired that I could not continue as I have been in the past.

MY FIRST 10 MILE RUN!!! I did 10 miles today in 1:40:49 (about a 10:04 pace). The weather was great (I wound up dropping my wind pants in favor of just shorts. I also wound up stashing my gloves and hat in my wind jacket. I wats planning on taking it easy, since this is the longest run I've done so far, plus my aforementioned hamstring. I felt great throughout the run, up until about the last .75-.5 mile. Then my left hamstring started acting up again. It really seized up for a while, and I was struggling to keep moving. Then it loosened up, and I was able to finish okay. I iced it down right after I stretched, and it feels okay now. I'll see how I feel tomorrow, then decide on my mileage for my next few runs.

 pdx, good job beating last year's time! Nahtus, good luck on that run. I remember reading about that a few months ago in RW. There was a pretty good article about Joan Benoit-Samuelson in it.

Good luck to everyone else on their weekly workouts. 

This is my first post...I just got hooked up into this website this past week and I really love it.  I've already ditched another I had signed on because I like this one better. 

I'm pretty new to running.  Only started at the beginning of Jan, with the exception of a brief interest in it about 5 years ago...I"ve been more into cycling, but my interest has been resparked from training for a 10.6 mile charity run - Big Sur, CA - this coming April.  I hear it's quite the run. It will be my first time doing anything "formal" (i.e. as part of an organized mass of people) that is over a 5K, so I'm quite excited.

 To date, my longest run has been 8 miles, and it was actually, do I dare say - fun?!  This coming Sat I will be running 10 as part of a group training for the upcoming Big Sur "race" (in quotes since I"m not doing it competitively).  My pace is pretty slow compared to most of the posts I've read, but my friend (who has been an avid runner for years) tells me I should focus on finishing and not the time.  OK, OK.  But I still love to watch that clock.  Right now I'm at a steady 10:30 mile pace....more like 10:45 when I run outside around my neighborhood which is very hilly. I know Big Sur is similarly "rolling" so I'm trying to do some hill training to get me going.

I do use a HR monitor when I run and I love it.  I've been using it for over a year now, most of my recorded workouts being related to spinning classes or cycling....but I can't exercise without it.  I have definately noticed a change in my heart rate min/max, goals, etc since I started to wear it and track my workouts.  It's been nice to see the progress (it also helped me shed about 35 pounds).

So...being a newbie to the running...any comments or suggestions that you want to direct my way - let me have em! 

Good luck to you all, and wish me luck on my mini training run tomorrow and my first time doing the big 10 miles on Saturday!

Thanks for the responses re HR Monitor training.  The main reason I asked is that my second one bit the dust a couple of months ago after using it on and off for about 6 years and I've been training without one since.  I feel I am better able to judge what is a sensible pace for a given type of workout than I was before I used one.  However, I will replace it soon.

 Missed my second day in a row after pulling out of my run on Tuesday but feel a lot better tonight for having done so.  Will go for 30min tomorrow morning and see how things are then.

 Welcome to another newbie, Runninggirl33.  Running IS fun for those of us involved.  Just wish I could convince others in my immediate family of that!

Hey Dan, I take it from your excitement over the first 10 miler that you're still relatively new to all this.  If so, COOL!

Enjoy the Easter weekend all, and good luck to those racing.

Hi everyone,

I've been a member of this site for a while and just came across this post.  Hope the regulars don't mind.  I am currently training for my first marathon in over two years.  I ran one in my hometown of Philadelphia in 05 with a time of 4:26:58.  This May I am running in a much smaller race in Burlington Vermont.  I am hoping to break 4 hours this time out.

Last night I didn't have my best run....It was pouring rain and the wind wasn't helping.  I did 6 miles in 51:07 or 8:25 splits.  Normally I would have been about 3 minutes faster, but I just wasn't feeling the rain.  I Have a few issues to work out with my shoes, but the training must go on.  Thursday is a short run day with 12miles this Saturday.

By the way, I now train with a HRM and I have really been able to be more consistent in my runs.  I have also seen my Avg. HR go down 10 bpm over the course of my training while my times have gotten better.

Hi there... thanks for everyones advice on the last post, I will take it and use it! So far so good, things are still going really well for me. Last Saturday i took part in the St. Patricks Day 5k race here in Vancouver. I thought it was going really bad mostly - I just didn't seem to relax into it, got really tired and IT band and my legs really hurt (not shin splints, it was a muscular burn either side of the shin - any ideas?). I thought I was really slow but I actually came in at 29 minutes. I know that IS really slow for all you guys but I was happy with it. I only started running in feb and my aim was under 30 mins so all good. I've signed up for the Sun Run now too, which is something to look forward to! My running group is going well, I've gone from the slow poke to one of the speedy folk (it's a beginners group) which is ace. This week was a 6.7k (about 40-45 mins) which I really enjoyed despite bad knees at the start. Speed run tomorrow...

Well, I did go for about 30min today.  Managed just over 6km (middle 2 miles at tempo) in just over 32 mins.  Not quite up to the leisurely 4:30/k pace for me either, but I'm happy I got through it without wanting to stop.  Still feeling breathless so whatever it is that ails me is not completely gone yet but my legs felt strong so we'll see how tomorrow goes.

I too have my sights set on a Marathon.  The 2008 Melbourne Marathon is on the 12th October.   Still a few miles to cover before then.  My last marathon was the Gold Coast event back in 1998.  (OMG that's 10 years ago!)  Had a top 10 finish there - in the Clydesdales section! That's the over 90kg section for those who don't know.  I'm a bit smaller nowadays; closer to 84kg most of the time.

Train on!