New to running, but not to cardio

MrGonzo05

I'm new to running but have been doing a decent amount of cardio since January of this year. I've worked up to doing 2+ hour bike rides, using an elliptical 60+ minutes, etc. I did a 40 minute run today, and 30 minutes on Friday. There was still gas left in the tank. However, these two runs were my first in years!

Stories of running injuries abound. I'm hoping the runners out there can help me. How can I ramp up while avoiding injury? Am I likely to hurt myself if I jump straight to 90 minute runs, 3 times a week? Thanks for your advice.

tenunderfour

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-267--1051-0,00.html

The ten percent rule. Follow it.

CarsonRuns

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-267--1051-0,00.html

The ten percent rule. Follow it.

Personally, I'm not a fan of the 10% a week rule. When you extrapolate it out, you end up with a pretty huge jump really quickly. I prefer to use it a little differently. I say, go up 10% to 15% and hold it there for 2 weeks, drop back to previous level for a week and then go up another 10% to 15% for two more week, lather, rinse, repeat. So, the progression might look like this if you start out with 3 miles per run, 4 times per week

12
14
14
12
16
16
14
19
19
14

That gives the body time to adapt to the new mileage with a cut-back week to allow some recovery before jumping up again.

tenunderfour

Yeah, actually I always do the taper back week when I'm increasing my mileage for various races. Good advice.

MrGonzo05

Thanks for the advice. It makes sense to increase slowly. Programs like c25k assume some walking in the early weeks. Am I already pushing my luck? Any suggestion for a starting point, given that this is my first week?

scottb81

You don't need to walk unless you want to. Also, I wouldn't recommend running more than two days in a row for a couple of months. Your heart is strong from the other exercise but the bones, muscles, and tendons in your feet and lower legs need time to strengthen against the pounding of running. To minimize the chance of injury you can run with good form. Google "Good Form Running" for a lot of info, diagrams, and videos.

scottb81

Also, for a starting point 40 minute runs are perfect. You should work your way up to an hour at least once a week. Once an hour is comfortable you can go longer if it suits your goals.

khagador

Yep, no more than 10% increase. If you feel like you have more energy left after the run and want to keep going, then you can supplement your run with elliptical or the bike. Running is great, just don't need to risk injuring yourself so soon in the game.