I wanna run 5km

[BreakfastBurrito]

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Very interesting and enlightening. But what is the scientific/mathematical basis behind these numbers?

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I've heard these numbers thrown around several times on running forums, and took that specific chart from this paper. It only mentions general techniques, and doesn't reference specific papers that generated those numbers. I'll admit I don't have any real knowledge of the techniques used to extract those values, and just have accepted them as reliable.

[00Snitch]

Thanks for the all the advice. Common themes seem to be:
1) Don't do four days straight
2) Add in some longer distance
3) 25mins should be doable with a few months training
4) 20mins is probably not doable with out a significant amount of work

So, my revised "plan" looks like this.

Point 1 & 2)

mon - 2km
tue - 5km
wed - 2km
thu - off
frid - off
sat - this eventually will be my longer distance, I guess I will aim for 10km, but I think until I can more comfortably run 5km, I will stick to that for a while
sun - off

I want to do four runs a week and I want to definatly have Friday (going out) and Sunday(cricket all day) off. I would prefer to do a short distance if possible on Wed because I run in the evenings (after work) and I also play touch football on wed night, so I don't waanna be too buggered for that. Does that look ok?

point 3 & 4)

I kind of expected this, although, my work participates in an anual fun-run type thing that is 5km and the winners do that in around 17 mins. So I thought I might be able to get to 20mins. However,given the comments, this could be out of range for the my level of dedecation. So I think I'll stick with my initial goal of 25mins and maybe work it down to around 22-23mins once I can do that.

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23% body fat seems really high for someone of your height and weight


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I thought the same thing. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] So I guess running should help this.

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If you're exerting yourself strongly in football and soccer


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Yep. I finish the game quite breathless, although I consider myself quite unfit, so it may not be "strong" exertion, but its hard work for me. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

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asfjasldjfasljfal ... just say 3.125 miles

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I'm Aussie! Actually, I normally convert things to imperial measurement when I post on 2p2, but I thought, if there was any forum that would understand metric, it would be gym. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] Isn't distance normally measured in metres for running. i.e. 10,000m, 5,000m. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

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Quit smoking


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ORly? [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] I have actually, been cutting this back, I've gone from about 4 packs a week at the start of the year to 1 or less a week (on the weekends [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]).

Thanks again for all the advice.

[Queensgrad]

remember to take before and after pics so you can be proud of yourself after a few months of hard work. Its the thing I always wish i did before starting a new training program.

[00Snitch]

You just wanna see me with my shirt off, don't you. [img]/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img]

[img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

I was just going to log my times, but this might be cool too. thanks.

[tdarko]

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mon - 2km
tue - 5km
wed - 2km
thu - off
frid - off
sat - this eventually will be my longer distance, I guess I will aim for 10km, but I think until I can more comfortably run 5km, I will stick to that for a while
sun - off

I want to do four runs a week and I want to definatly have Friday (going out) and Sunday(cricket all day) off. I would prefer to do a short distance if possible on Wed because I run in the evenings (after work) and I also play touch football on wed night, so I don't waanna be too buggered for that. Does that look ok?

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The advice in this thread, especially Burrito's has been good.

Getting in 4 days is a good plan. I run 4 days a week and my week is built around my big run on the weekend. For instance this week looks like 5m,6m,5m,12m...5 miles on Mon, 6 on Tues, 5 on Thurs, and 12 on Sat. I need a rest day on Wed b/c of the back to back Mon/Tues and it separates what would be 4 days in a row. Also, the most crucial thing is the day off before and after the long run.

I know Friday is big for going out but you will find that if you go out and drink all night and try to long run the next day you will not only run like crap but you will feel like crap. You won't get anything out of it for many reasons which would be good for another thread.

Endurance running is tough b/c it isn't just the running that is hard it is the lifestyle and the sacrifices that go with it, it is more of a discipline than anything else and fwiw when I was in college I wouldn't have worried about it so it is cool that you are even doing this (why am I assuming you are in college?).

[godofgamblers]

When I first started running track I probably had an equally hard time as you. I personally don't feel I have any natural talent at running or endurance in general, and I think 20 minutes is very attainable after 5-6 months of training. You'll get very solid results that'll definitely get you at 25 within 2-3 months if you keep at your plan. The only thing that might be a problem is your height, I rarely see 6ft+ people run well at distance events. For 20 minutes though, you should be fine. I also think a 5k/off/5k/off/off/10k would be better than 2k/5k/2k thing.

[00Snitch]

Actually, something else I was wondering, has to do with style, or technique I supose. Keeping in mind I have never done any running of any distance before.

In a nutshell, "how" should I run?

While I'm running, I try and keep my upper body quite still, especially my head, it seems like form and posture are important in every other sport, so I figured I would apply the same theory to running. Yes? I think I lean forward while a little I'm running. Bad?

The other thing I notice is that my stride doesn't seem to be too consistant. Sometimes I have a sort of small shuffle type thing going on, other times its more like a long sort of bounding type stride. I assume it is natuarl, but my stride lengthens when I'm going down hill and shortens when I am going up hill. Also, I notice when my legs start getting tired, I nearly fall to a shuffle and I have to make a concious effor to step out a bit further. Is all this normal and acceptable/good?

Should I concentrate on having a longer, slower type stride, or shorter and faster? Are there even different techniques to running? I figure sprinters would be really working on lenthening their stride by picking up their knees and stretching out. What do you do for more endurance type things?

Also I figure breathing is probably really important, but I don't really know what you do with this?

I guess the last question is my psychology. But what do you all think about when you are running? Do you even think about anything? I kinda zone out and try not to think too much.

Thanks again.

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why am I assuming you are in college


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Must be the drinking [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img] I'm about 2 years out. Working full time.

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I personally don't feel I have any natural talent at running or endurance in general


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This is actually part of the reasons I am doing this, I feel I am in the same boat in terms of natural talent. But I don't feel like there is anything I shouldn't be able to do (physically or mentally) to a moderate level. So I like finding things that I can't do, setting a moderate sort of goal and going for it.

My last conquest was sodoku. [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img] I went from never having done one in my life to being able to crack out "easy" type ones (SHD 75ish - 80 or 90) pretty quick (half an hour or so), moderate ones and the occasional hard one. This was over about 3-4 weeks.

I certainly have not goals of competition and don't plan on making any great lifestyle changes or sacrfices, hence why I set moderate level targets.

[godofgamblers]

Your arms should pump with your legs, as long as your shoulders aren't jiggling around and your upper body is straight, you're fine. Generally you want longer slower strides; though I know some excellent runners that have pretty short striders. The length of your stride isn't as important in distance running as it is for sprinting.

It's natural to have bigger strides going downhill and smaller ones uphill since you're expending different amounts of energy and the ground is different elevation, but you should try never to slow down to a shuffle when you start getting tired. That usually means you're not pacing yourself well. Run enough and you'll know the pace you have to run at and won't fall into the shuffling problem.

When I run, I usually just admire scenery, but most of the time I'm too tired to think of anything too deep, it'll probably slow you down if you do.

[tdarko]

00Snitch,

Don't bound when you are running long distance, you expend too much energy this way. You should have a heel to toe strike or flat-foot position, meaning the heel should strike first then the forefoot or they can strike at the same time. The wrong way is the forefoot striking first or running on your toes, this is what you do for sprints but terrible for endurance and increases chance of injury--causes more stress on the foot. If you are bounding a lot of the time it is b/c of a forefoot land.

As for the bounding the more excessive the movement of the body upward and downward, the less efficient you are. It takes energy to displace the body vertically, and this energy is excessive therefore wasted. You want your energy to go toward propelling you forward. A good cue to use to know if you are bouncing or moving forward is to focus on an object in front of you, if that object is appears to be moving up and down then your vertical movement is excessive, the less the object is bouncing the more you are propelling forward and not wasting energy.

A slight forward lean is correct. When running hills make sure you lean into the direction of the hill, for instance if you are running uphill--lean forward into the hill, lift the knees a little higher and the hill becomes easier. When headed downhill make sure you don't lean back which can be a tendency, it is terrible for you knees.

One thing I am real bad about is tightening my shoulders and keeping my arms too high, this is wasted energy too. I will catch myself doing this and shake them out and lower them, it makes a big difference.

[00Snitch]

Awsome, that all makes sense. Thanks tdarko and godofgamlbers.