Thanks HC, I will try to do a bit different this time. I am not sure if that a good plan. I am still running, however, I will do more cross training such as swimming, water running, and biking to avoid injury. and I will do some races when it's time. Do you think that work?
Mai

While racing can be a good incentive for starting a running program, it can also cause problems in new runners who haven't yet built the mileage base to handle the stress.

However, I'll work with what you want.

Your main focus should be to build mileage slowly(and yes, keep cross-training) and stay injury free.
Keep your racing efforts to 5K or below.
Use 10Ks as a training/social run, do not try for a best time.
Remember that racing hard breaks down fitness. Do it sparingly.
I always recommend that new runners spend at least a year building up miles before attempting fast training such as tempo runs or intervals.

Be aware that an all-out effort 10K is very stressful to all runners. Even world class runners will only attempt an all-out 10K once or twice per season.

The joy of new shoes
 

And new socks.

I have pretty serious bunions. As long as I am careful with my shoe selection they rarely give me any problems. But finding running shoes that fit properly takes a lot of research and an occasional return (one of the reasons I buy from Road Runners is their very liberal return policy - even after a run or two). The bunions also tend to wear out the tops of the shoes before soles break down.

Last long run I noticed that my shoes really needed replacing before my race in Nov. So to save time, I drove a few extra miles to the closest running store and got a pro to help. We went through about half a dozen pairs and settled on Brooks Ghost 4s.

Today's tempo run was a such a pleasure! My feet were the last thing on my mind. Ahhhhh, I love running :D

Good deal! I've become a Brooks believer myself recently! :)

Thanks HC,
Your plan sounds good to me.
I should take back and do more cross training, stay injury free.
I actually still recover from that race. I signed up with a friend and don't want to let her down. I will try to be more cautious for sure.
Mai

Training is going pretty well, although I haven't put down quite the miles I think I should. However, today's run at elevation showed me that my 9 min/mi goal is pretty much on track.

I hope all you racers are healling up and thinking about the next race! :D

Well, my injury has pretty much healed up and no "real" pain left, just a lil sore still. So I decided to ease back into it and ran a very slow 4.5 miles after work yesterday and it felt great.
I'm also gonna go for a bike ride later today before the wet weather moves back in :mad:

It's been tough without that constant cardio-calorie burn for the last 3 weeks and my current weight definitely shows it.
I tipped the scales yesterday morning @ 169lbs and before my injury, I kept it at a constant 163-164 range- oh well, no biggie:D

I also got some blood tests back last week (routine stuff) and my cholesterol went up a lil, but still within the recommended range. It was 164 in April and now its now (Oct) its 194, I'll contribute that to the increase in red meat over the last 6 mos- summertime bbq'ing with to many fatty steaks and not enough fish.
That's ok, my next test will be in April and I want to get back to my previous number of 164, which is totally doable. I also have to cut way down on the beers....those numbers also showed up a lil high...oops, those blood tests don't lie:eek:

SW have you looked into the "Run less, Run faster" training program? I've found that it has really kept me injury free, but still improving. The idea is 3 runs a week, with some cross training inbetween. Each run has a specific purpose. It is much like the training program HC laid out for you. 1 endurance run, 1 interval session, and 1 tempo run.

Although it isn't as free-form as you seem to love, it might help in keeping you from over doing it :rolleyes:

Question for the coach:
 

HC, I have a 10K coming up in a month or so. It recently occurred to me that I have never actually raced this distance. A few 5Ks years back, but mostly 1/2 maras and a few fulls more recently.

So the question is: What kind of warm up do you recommend? For full and 1/2 marathons that's what the first mile or 2 is for, but I am pretty clueless regarding how to warm up for the 10K.

Pam, same as your 5K. The aerobic/anaerobic demands are similar(10K-90/10%, 5K-80/20%) and require a solid warmup.

What is your routine?

That's the problem I don't really have a solid warm up for a race. For training I walk, jog, run (short) then stretch before heading into the meat of the run. For 1/2's I do some plyometrics - hops and jumps - to get the heart rate up and then a few yoga poses, plus the usually runs back and forth to the port-a-pottie. But usually go out slowish on the first 1/2 mile and use that as the warm-up. The last 5K was nearly 10 years ago when I was just starting to get serious about running. I did a few strides and again stretches - expecially hip flexors which tend to bother me if I'm cold, but other than that mostly milled around.

There are several reasons for a proper warup for racing or a hard interval session.
1. The body functions better at a slightly elevated temperature. (hence, warmup)
2. The neuromuscular system is stimulated to work at the expected rhythm and stress levels.
3. A well established routine prepares you mentally for the effort ahead.

My routine:
Jog 1-1 1/2 miles depending on weather( colder-longer) accelerating over the last 1/4 mile.
3x150m fast, each a little faster than the previous.(800 race pace and faster)
300m fast appx. mile race pace.
2x30m high knee drives
2x30m butt kicks
2x30m bounding
Water.
Go to line and start.
Note: this was my routine for a track workout. For a road race I would go by appx. time/effort.
I did favor smaller races(no more than maybe 1,000 runners tops) that made it easy to get to the line just a few minutes before the start.
For large races, do your warmup and get in place, you'll probably have to jog/sprint in place off and on to maintain your readiness.

Very light stretching before only. A heavy duty stretching session temporarily weakens muscles, save for after.

So I started training for the 1/2 marathon. I read somewhere that working on speed, tempo, and endurance (in that order) is the best way to go for 1/2 marathons and marathons spending about 8 weeks on each aspect... is there any truth to this/is this a good way to go about it?

Other way around. Endurance first followed by tempo. Unless you're approaching sub 7 minute mile pace, speedwork has little use.

Typical week for half marathon

1 long run-build to 10 miles at least, preferably up to 15-17 miles.
Fewer miles are needed if your goal is to finish, more for racing.
Run at an easy pace.

2 tempo runs-20-24 minutes at tempo pace plus 1 mile warm up/cool down.

Starting from 3 months out, you can start doing some long intervals-these are for efficiency of movement. 4-6 1200m at 5K race pace. The half marathon is not an anaerobic event so high intensity intervals are not needed.

Taper starting from two weeks out.

Edited to add: Take one day a week off and three easy days of low mileage and/or cross training.

Hi Urbanmule,
Your training plan pretty much depends on where you are starting. If you don't quite have the endurance to run 10 miles, for the moment leave the intervals and tempos aside and work on building the endurance. If 10 to 13 miles is doable for you, then add in intervals and tempos.

I usually try to do one of each every week. The weekends are usually reserved for the long run, and sometime between Mon and Fri I try to get an interval session and a tempo (in the spirit of full disclosure - it doesn't always work out that way).

For me spending as long as 8 weeks on each (apart from the endurance) would not work, because each of the training runs support the other.

Hey HC, you beat me to it!!!

This is what my schedule looks like:

http://i1041.photobucket.com/albums/...at104603AM.png

My race is 7 months out...

That's quite a schedule Urban.

Make sure that you get ample rest - 'cuz that's when you are actually buiding your muscles. And with such a rigorous schedule, if you start to feel like you just can't do a run every now and again, take it as a sign you need a day off. You will be better for it.

No sense in working super hard and then getting injured a week before the race due to over training.

Most of us have been there, right guys?

Urban, you could make Monday/Friday runs your tempo days. Move the long run to Sat so you have a day off after, you'll really need it as late in the schedule, the long run distance ramps up quickly.
Be careful with the Wed/Th combo, that's two days of relatively high mileage in a row.

LOL.....yep, been there, done that:(

RunBikeSki: That is one of my biggest worries, getting hurt, but I'm taking it pretty easy and will for sure stop if I feel pain. So far the runs are easy, but I know I need the foundation to build on in the long run(no pun intended)

HC2005: What if I moved my wed to tues? and then moved my sun to sat?

One other question, I run 1.5 miles one day then 2.3 another then 3.0 and so on... How does training like this work? Is it just getting my body slowly adjusted to the mileage? almost like "tricking" it into being able to have more endurance? does that make sense?

If all else fails I hope to just be in better health at the end of this...

Urbanmule, sample week:
Mon-tempo (warm up /cooldown) 1 mile 15-25 minutes at tempo pace
Tues-4-6 miles or cross train for same amount of time
Wed-OFF
Thurs-tempo (warm up /cooldown 1 mile) 15-25 minutes at tempo pace
Fri-4-6 miles or cross train for same amount of time
Sat-Long run
Sun-OFF
You don't need heavy mileage during the week, the long run will take care of that.

Yes, the body needs time to adjust to the increased demands of training. The bones, ligaments and tendons take much longer to build up than the muscles.

You said it HC! My arm and shoulder muscles have definitely adjusted to the weight lifting. It is the tendon and ligaments that are rebelling. I'm glad you confirmed my experience :)

OK I'm ready to race
 

Hi All,
My goal is to run the 10K on Nov 13th at 9 min/mile or less. Not exactly an elite runner, here, but that's way faster than I have done before. So the training has gone well -no injuries, stresses or stains.

Given the training runs the last 3 weeks I pretty sure I'll achieve my goal.

The CrossFit has definitely help with chasing the hills and the general cardiovascular strength, but the only way to get the endurance and speed is to do the miles.

I have a fun, but challenging, trail run on Sunday and some "easier" gym WOs, runs, and yoga workouts planned for next week - nothing too hard, but I don't want to be a slug either.

HC, thanks for the warmup tips, I'll be thinking of you (and everyone else on this thread) as I toe up to the line.

Good Luck! I'll also be running a 5k on the same day:D

Nice to see you back SW
Good luck on your race as well!

Just checking in.

Finally running without any achilles pain. Running longer times and feeling decent after. The road to recovery continues, still not in the condition I'd like to be. Actually enjoying running more than biking right now.

Congrats!

I'm in the fourth week of my half marathon training and things are going very good.

I'm looking to run my upcoming 5k in under 30. I can run 3 miles easily, however it's at a 11 minute/mile pace... will interval training help get me under 10 (closer to 9) in less then a month? or should i settle for 11 for my first 5k?

With only three weeks, there will be some improvement but not much. Intervals only increase speed temporarily, you do not improve fitness. Rather, you improve efficiency and resistance to fatigue poisons.
This is not a state the body can maintain long term.

You will gain fitness and speed by just continuing to train and build miles.

Okay, I get pretty winded after 2 miles if I run at 6 or 6.5 mph, but if I stay at a constant slower speed I have no breathing problems...

I ran a 5.5 mile (wed) and a 5 mile (sat) my pacing was at 10min. and I was still going strong by the end.

Good show, Urban.

As I've mentioned, I coach high school cross country.
On Friday, our boys team and our top girl qualified for the California State Cross Country Meet.

Tough fight for the boys- only 25 points separated the top six teams(three qualify) and the winning score was unusually high (87) meaning no team dominated and even a few places would change the outcome.
In cross, low score wins, points are determined by the runners' finishing place. 5 runners score, 6th runner breaks ties.
Our girl has qualified for all four years she's been on the team.

Woohoo! I did it
 

6.27 miles in 54.46 = 8.44 min/mile!
4th in my age group and ~90th in out of roughly 300. It was a perfect day: 55 degrees, sunny, no wind, and lots of cheerful people.

Thanks HC for the warm up tips, they were very helpful and got me off to a great start.

I'll pick up the local paper tomorrow which will have all of the detailed info. I suspect that I was no where close to the 3rd place finisher in my group, I usually look for them. Since I almost always have enough gas in the tank for a final kick (today 7:35 min/mile for the last 0.25 mile) I do tend to hone in on the competition, but I didn't see any other old timers in the lanes.

So how'd you do SW?

OK... what's next? Maybe a half in Feb???

great job Pam, I'm envious.

Very good job, RBS.

Thanks :)

Hi everyone, i am joining in your group! I just started to run a week and a half ago. Acually i am walking with short lung killing runs intermixed in there!! :)
First day i could barely run 100 yards... so embarrasing, did everyone start off this way?
Just got fitted for shoes today, now i am stylin' on the road!

Wow Pam! Congrats on the awesome run!
My race went well, we had similar temps and a beautiful morning to run to.
I managed to run a 23:51 which was good enough for a 3rd place in my age div.

The next race is on Turkey day, it usually draws 25,000 + entrants:eek:





Yes, I did and I hated running, but kept doing it and it eventually became fun:D

Wow, great to see all these results here -

HC - congratulations to your students - must be amazing to see that happening,

Pam and SW - proud to be associated with such teams - must have felt great.

WayneGretzky - yes, we all started there, some of us more recently than others, I've recently gone from "couldn't run a mile" to my first 5K (and I made it in under half an hour). You can too! Welcome!

Thanks everyone :) On Friday i was up to running 4 1minute runs with a couple minutes walk in between and not too bad. Tonight is run night again so i think i am going to add in a minute or two, see how it goes.

waynegretzky, good to see a new face in here. Do you have a plan for your running?

Take a look at the Couch to 5K, it's the best beginner's program out there.