beginner runner/ running results

arozman2

so when I say beginner i reaaally mean it haha... i ran last tuesday, yesterday and today and im up to 2.8 km which i know is terrible but its a start!

just a few questions regarding running for all the experts out there!

1) i signed up for a 10km run/walk for august 18th.. i realize i wont be able to run 10 km by then but is 2 months enough time to make considerable progress if i'm running 3-4 times per week?

2) also, i am 15 pounds away from my 1st goal weight and would just like some encouragement haha. im wondering if running even for short distances is an efficient way to lose poundage? give me your personal results!


3) finally, since running requires energy i am wondering if i should be eating back my workout calories or if i should suck it up and drink some water instead haha


thanks guys! any other advice would be amazing!!

runningjen74

Hi,

I think you'll get further running than you think.

They reckon that you can build up your time by about 10% a week.

Based on this for you for the next 8 weeks, 2.8 / 3.1 / 3.4 / 3.7 / 4.1 / 4.5 / 5 / 5.5 / 6.1...I would argue if you can run 6-7 km you would finish a 10km. I did in April, I'd got up to running 7km and it not killing me, I ran my first 10 km in April and loved it.

I would argue that the best way of losing weight when running is intervals (google intervals or HIIT, High Intensity Interval Training). This has the added advantage of improving your running speed.

I'm not going to answer about eating back your calories - I would argue absolutely. But I'm failing miserably at the moment at losing weight, but gaining in fitness....I'm going to come back to this in a few weeks for myself.

Jen

blues4miles

I guess in regards to the weight loss I'd say don't have too high of expectations. I've been running about two years, and tracking on MFP for just shy of one year, and have lost ~14 lbs in that one year. I can tell weight loss is way more impacted but how much I'm eating and very little to do with what I'm running. It's a good calorie burn, but the weight loss has still been way slower than even conservative calorie burns for slow jogging indicate. So be sure you're running because it's something you want to do, not because it's a miracle for weight loss. Also not sure how much you are eating now but if you are doing the 1200 calories and not eating back exercise thing, that's probably going to negatively impact your running performance. There are tradeoffs unfortunately.

bluefox9er

up to 2.8 k is awesome progress!!

I think you could complete a 10k, but if you cram in intense training, you might injure yourself!

rduhlir

10K is totally doable in 2 months. And even if you don't get up that much, and have to do a run/walk combo at the race, you will still be running it.

As far as running for weight loss, it is a very good tool to use to help boost it, but as Blue4miles says, it is mainly about what your diet is. That being said, you are going to need to focus on getting quality foods in and making sure to be properly hydrated.

If you set yourself up with a running program, you should easily be able to hit the 10k mark running. If needed just do run/walk splits. Run a mile, then walk a minute (or to recovery) then run again. Works wonders, believe it or not.

froeschli

http://www.vancouversun.com/pdf/SportMedLearnToRun10KProgram.pdf - its a 13 week couch to 10k plan. i'd suggest at least using it for reference - if you do too much too soon, you may end up injuring yourself.

when i first started running last year, i found the most significant change in weight loss was when i started running 45 minutes and more on a regular basis.

as for exercise calories - i'm with runningjen on this - i'd eat them back, but then, i'm not losing much just now either.... i always have a protein shake after long runs and lifting as well. i find it helps me not be too sore the next day.