A Boxer Tries Running
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It's not that I know better than him... it's that I'm not coming off the couch... even just a 5k is a huge step down from my normal workout routine.
Hal's week 1 workouts are equivilent to my typical warmup routine. I'm sure in 3 or 4 weeks itll all balance out.0 -
Silent_Soliloquy wrote: »It's not that I know better than him... it's that I'm not coming off the couch... even just a 5k is a huge step down from my normal workout routine.
Hal's week 1 workouts are equivilent to my typical warmup routine. I'm sure in 3 or 4 weeks itll all balance out.
so just start a week later?0 -
^^ right, I'm looking at the plan and realizing I'm just doing week 3 as week 1.
I guess i was super intimidated at doing something new and different... I start literally every boxing session with 2 miles on the treadmill, so I was in a bit better shape than I gave myself initial credit for.
I'm a still worried about maybe hurting a knee or something, but 5k doesn't seem to phase me; no soreness, easily repeatable.
I'm leaning towards doing week 3 twice for my weeks 1 and 2, then just moving forward on the plan.3 -
Silent_Soliloquy wrote: »It's not that I know better than him... it's that I'm not coming off the couch... even just a 5k is a huge step down from my normal workout routine.
Hal's week 1 workouts are equivilent to my typical warmup routine. I'm sure in 3 or 4 weeks itll all balance out.
I think what you are failing to understand is that the plan is meant to be followed as it is written. The build up is designed to let your body adjust to the new stresses you are subjecting it to. Being in good shape is not the same as being an experienced runner. You use a completely different set of muscles boxing than you do running. Your cardio may be on point, but if you overtrain, you risk injury. Even runners who have done multiple races follow a structured, build-up training plan when preparing for a race.3 -
@debrakgoogins I do see what you guys mean...
... I don't have ten weeks to train, (this whole challenge was a bit spur of the moment), so I was trying to accelerate the beginning a bit. I'll taper back to the planned amounts, which equates to repeating the week i just did and moving forward with the plan from there.0 -
Dude - as an athlete I'm sure that you already have a pretty good idea of your limits and if you're comfortable with your routine, stick with it. As long as you keep the concept of easy mileage (that is, slow and steady), and maintain a fairly reasonable build on your volume you'll be fine. You don't have to stick exactly to the plan as written.
As a 40-something year old guy I've been playing sports and have kept relatively active my entire life. I jumped straight into running with 2 5Ks in my first week, three in the second week, and then kept adding distance from there. I experienced no ill effects from not taking walk breaks or increasing my mileage by more than 10% per week, etc. because I ran my mileage easy and was fine with backing off a few runs if I felt any nagging pains start to creep up. To be honest, I only started caring about my mileage adds once I hit 25 miles per week with the goal to build up to 40.
The key for you will not be the absolute distance (as long as you keep your weekly builds relatively reasonable), it will be running slow enough that the distance you do run doesn't put a ton of stress on your body and that any stress you do feel builds gradually enough that you can easily back off your volume if needed.
Basically, it's the normal stuff any athlete has to know...give yourself ample rest time, listen to your body for signs of cumulative stress, and don't force a workout through acute pain.3 -
^^ this very much reflects my feelings. But I dont want to be like "Oh, but I'm a former athlete, I wont get hurt!" And then be the laughing stock of the forum when I have to take a week off with crippling knee pain.
And... I'm not 20 anymore by a long shot ... So I think this is a good place for due humbleness.
And in these short runs, I have been focussing on forefoot strikes, and other good technique building drills...
... I just dont want to take it easy so far that i actually lose physical conditioning in the first month. So some level of balance is required.4 -
You are right. Some level of balance is required. Finding that balance can be very tricky. I agree with @DX2JX2 that you do not have to stick to the plan as written. You need to push yourself to make gains, but only you truly know where that edge is. The key is figuring out where your limitations are before it's too late. It's a challenge that sometimes eludes even the most experienced athletes, so you definitely won't be a laughing stock. Just keep in mind that recovering from an injury is about as sucky as it gets, so if you are unsure if you are pushing to hard, it's better to error on the side of caution.
ETA: I am a long time runner, but as I make my way into my upper forties, I am painfully more aware of my limitations than when I was younger. Recovery is tough. I am not currently dealing with an acute injury, but trying to figure out how to manage the nagging chronic aches and pains so that I can perform at my best, which, BTW, is not as good as it used to be. It is a constant battle and always still a guessing game to some extent.3 -
Silent_Soliloquy wrote: »^^ this very much reflects my feelings. But I dont want to be like "Oh, but I'm a former athlete, I wont get hurt!" And then be the laughing stock of the forum when I have to take a week off with crippling knee pain.
And... I'm not 20 anymore by a long shot ... So I think this is a good place for due humbleness.
And in these short runs, I have been focussing on forefoot strikes, and other good technique building drills...
... I just dont want to take it easy so far that i actually lose physical conditioning in the first month. So some level of balance is required.
Uh huh that was me lol. I followed a Hal Higdons marathon plan, thought I was a hot shot because I was a competitive swimmer on an Olympic team for 12 years... pushed harder than I should have, sprinted runs I shouldn’t have, didn’t listen to good advice and ended up sidelined with a knee injury right before the race. Sounds like you’ve got more common sense than me though but just in case learn from my stupidity, stick with the plan and all will be good. Wait and run the hell out of the actual race 😉.2 -
2 years ago I went ahead and entered a fight without the normal (6 month) cutting and training program. Did like 4 good weeks of bag drills and tried to eat less.
I was 178 lbs. I usually fight at 144.
I got destroyed.
It humbled me to the core. That was the day I learned I'm not in my prime anymore, so I'm super nervous about potential injuries etc.5 -
Silent_Soliloquy wrote: »^^ this very much reflects my feelings. But I dont want to be like "Oh, but I'm a former athlete, I wont get hurt!" And then be the laughing stock of the forum when I have to take a week off with crippling knee pain.
And... I'm not 20 anymore by a long shot ... So I think this is a good place for due humbleness.
And in these short runs, I have been focussing on forefoot strikes, and other good technique building drills...
... I just dont want to take it easy so far that i actually lose physical conditioning in the first month. So some level of balance is required.
Uh huh that was me lol. I followed a Hal Higdons marathon plan, thought I was a hot shot because I was a competitive swimmer on an Olympic team for 12 years... pushed harder than I should have, sprinted runs I shouldn’t have, didn’t listen to good advice and ended up sidelined with a knee injury right before the race. Sounds like you’ve got more common sense than me though but just in case learn from my stupidity, stick with the plan and all will be good. Wait and run the hell out of the actual race 😉.
OP, it is awesome that you have been so welcoming of the advice given by everyone! As posted above, it is very easy to fall into the trap of thinking you are a special snowflake ("I'm already athletic, I can modify this plan!") and that the "rules" don't apply to you. I know better, yet I still do the same thing because in my head I am still 30 years old. And guess what? I've been injured because of it.
Bottom line: I was a dumb *kitten*. Don't be like me!
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So I kept my pace steady today and ran a very easy 4 miles over my lunch hour.
I ended up at 38:40 for the 4 miles, felt very relaxed... no speed work or etc as has been suggested.
Still -35 windchills here so all treadmill work... but everything is super slippery and I dint want to risk a fall.
I "feel" like I could do much much more distance, but as has been discussed ad nauseam, increasing slowly to help my knees etc wear in easily.2 -
Weather finally broke so I've been running outside on my lunch break... I definitely feel the difference in my ankles. Not painful, but the muscles are more tired.
I also scored a 735xt for 200$ on ebay which was too good to pass up... mainly I want it just to know how far I'd gone during my run.
Here is my run from today's lunch break:
I know the heartrate seems high, especially given my resting is 54... but i passed the singalong test, and it felt comfortable, so I'll keep going forward on plan.
Always be yourself... unless you can be Batman... then be Batman!6 -
update... the weather has not cooperated at all these last few weeks. But ive gotten outside when i could.
Here is me doing a 5k in -22 windchill. Wasnt worried about time, just getting getting out there was enough...
One slight mod, today is supposed to be my rest day, and tomorrow my distance run, but we have 3 days of snow starting today at noon... so i did a morning run and will rest tomorrow.
I have found a 9:10 mile feels like recovery, and an 8:20 is "going to get winded". So I'm working on controlling my splits and making sustainable incremental changes to speed rather than the speed drills i was doing before.
Feeling strong. Its hard to not go ahead and try a 15k just to see what my time would be... but im taking the advice of the better runners on here and easing in.
Sore knees some, but nothing the hot tub hasnt cured. Always feeling 100% by the next morning. No DOMs or anything. Ive definitely found my joints hurt before my muscles get a workout.
My resting heart rate seems to be dropping some. Couple days in the 40's, which i think is a good sign.
And... just plugging away at the plan, i registered for my race, and got a hotel walking distance away, so its feeling very "real".
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Great progress!! Don’t worry about heart rate. My resting HR is consistently at 43-45 but I run my tempo runs at 180 and long runs around 175.0
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Sounds like you're doing well!1
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Wanted to update people on my progress:
As most of you know I stepped on a nail doing some construction demo and I have a kind of ugly wound on my foot. (Yes I saw a Dr... I'm fine)
I am wrapping the wound, mostly for extra padding... Of course it hurts, but nothing that would stop you from running. More like an annoyance.
Anyway I am running every other day other than a few skips due to the foot thing ... and loving it. I do:
A long slow day (currently 11 km)
A short slow day (currently 6 km)
A short race pace day (5k)
And every other day I rest. And ... I feel great!
Today's long slow was supposed to be 11k, but I felt so good I went ahead and did the race distance (15k) just to see how it feels. I backed off and jogged the last 2 miles super easy as you'll see in the splits.
I felt tired for at least an hour afterwards, but took my boy to the fun zone in the evening and did shopping etc and didn't feel too unusual ... tired legs for sure.
Well; here are the splits:
All in all I'm pretty happy with sub-84 minutes... I'll step my mileage back to normal now, but I'm thinking by March 30th getting 79 min is possible...
Any feedback or advice is of course appreciated...3 -
I wanted to update this thread as yesterday was my race:
Im not sure how to feel about it. I feel like i pushed plenty hard but the result was really poor. I did finish though, and set a decent baseline:
I finished in 1:23:28. ... i wanted sub 1:20, so i felt really bad when i saw that number. But the nail in my foot derrailed about half my training, and i had started getting some knee pain when i came back, so i was probably under-trained. But no race is perfect, so i don't want to pile on excuses.
It was cold, i was soaked. I shivered for 40 minutes before the gun, and at no point in the race did i ever feel anything but freezing cold. Muscles were very tight.
Classic newbie mistake; didn't plan to start so fast, but the crowd was really disconcerting to me, and my first 3 km i did 5:05, 5:09, 5:01. I had planned on two 5:45's for my first 2.
I lost 1:41 on a potty stop. I tried to not but it became emergency status, and then when i did, it took way longer than Anticipated.
On the 11 km i was in serious pain. Mostly In my hip flexors, it felt like i just couldn't life my legs ... as i knew i wasn't going to get 79 minutes i tried to do walking lunges for 20 seconds to loosen up, but it didnt help and i jogged in with no good finishing kick.
Heart rate was above 190 for basically the whole race, so the effort was there... it just didnt translate into speed. I did back off at HR 205 because in training i had had some chest pains around that zone.
All in all, i learned plenty. And hope to try a half at a local race on september 29. That's far enough out for more than 8 weeks of training and to build some base.8 -
I was wondering how it went.
I’m proud of you. I think you did an amazing job, given your short training time and all of the obstacles you faced.
Congratulations!1 -
Yv... i hope you've overcome your obstacles as well.1
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It was cold??? You made it look hot!
More importantly, what I want to know is...
did you have fun?!?!?!2 -
And congrats! I’d say you “nailed” it
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^^ @monkeefan1974 as you know you were one of the big three inspirations i had.
Im not sure it was "worth it"... the race itself. The childcare, the long drive, hotel, etc. Only to not even PR and be miserably cold for hours. I get some social anxiety, so i didnt really talk to anyone else or anything.
But i feel in vastly better shape, and I'll definitely do other more local runs in the future. I think adding in running is something I'll stick with... and it helped me get the confidence to do the september half marathon in my city.3 -
Silent_Soliloquy wrote: »^^ @monkeefan1974 as you know you were one of the big three inspirations i had.
Im not sure it was "worth it"... the race itself. The childcare, the long drive, hotel, etc. Only to not even PR and be miserably cold for hours. I get some social anxiety, so i didnt really talk to anyone else or anything.
But i feel in vastly better shape, and I'll definitely do other more local runs in the future. I think adding in running is something I'll stick with... and it helped me get the confidence to do the september half marathon in my city.
Congratulations!
My first race was in the cold and wet (and wind), too. It was a miserable experience. I ran one more 6 months later to prove to myself that I could get the result that I really wanted but have decided to 'retire' from formal races for all of the reasons you've laid out above. I run to enjoy running and a formal event doesn't add anything to the experience for me, especially once you factor in travel, traffic, crowds, etc. Technology has gotten to the point where if I really want to run a timed distance I can just do it myself.
I still do one 5K per year for charity but that's mainly because it's all of 3 miles from my house. I can basically run to the race, run the race in 20 something minutes, and then run home.1 -
@DX2JX2 ... insightful. I definitely enjoyed most of my practice runs more than the race day itself.0
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