October 2015 Running Challenge
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@Stoshew71 - I think I remember you posting sometime back about creating a BPM playlist for yourself for pacing. How did you calculate the BPM you wanted/needed for the pace you wanted? And what software did you use for calculating the BPM of the songs (and/or adjusting it)?
It will say music for running 180 bmp. And the reason for 180 (beats per minute, or steps per minute) is explained in the few videos and links just above it.
I guess my main question was, "Why 180?" But it appears that 180 is the "magic number": most of the elite runners are using that cadence - and the biggest difference between them and us plebes is the length of their stride.
Is that the way you'd understand it?
I was thinking that my cadence would be dependent on my height & my stride length, my desired pace, etc....
Elites are known to go even faster than 180, but yes they have a much more powerful gait which enables them to have a longer stride length. They also have the dexterity and muscle strength to pull off a paw back effect which allows their front foot to extend out way in front of their center of mass in the swing phase and then have the foot land just under their center of mass just as the foot makes contact with the ground. That takes a lot of practice and specific strength exercises and drills to pull that off.
180 spm can be achieved regardless of your height and pace. The pace should be controlled by how powerful your pushoff (the foot behind you as it leaves the ground) but the cadence should be maintained.
So why 180? Bottom line, it forces us to run more efficiently. Most beginners and recerational runners run at a cadence of around 160-165 spm. This slower speed in our steps promotes many negative effects in our running gait which in turn puts more stress on our lower bodies to include the hip, knees and ankle joints. This causes running related injuries. The biggest one is what is known as the vertical loading rate which is the amount of force being applied by the ground to your body as your foot strikes the ground. The quicker your feet, the less impact force to your body. The momentum in our feet helps absorb some of the shock. This reduces injuries.
Also, as you are trying to increase your pace with less steps, you are forcing a longer stride length which means that the chances of your feet landing way in front of your center of mass (overstriding) is increased. Overstriding also causes injuries.0 -
@skippygirlsmom - Thank you!! I wasn't sure how I'd like the 5k but the second it was finished I couldn't wait to sign up for another race and start looking into HMs.
@7lenny7 - Thank you so much for the info! I think it's funny what you said about not being quick to label a half as my "ultimate" running goal. When I first started running my "ultimate" goal was a 5k. Then it was a 10k. Now it's a half - so you're absolutely right.0 -
I've nearly injured myself jumping over what I think is something and it turns out to be a leaf or stick. And this usually happens right when a car or rare person is out and I jump up and over looking like I'm trying to do some type of Cirque de Soleil move. Then I just get right back into my rhythm as if that was just part of my usual routine.
"I meant to do that!" -- PeeWee Herman
Or - - - "Look what I can do." - - Stuart from MadTv Love it0 -
I had an hour this morning between when my kids got on the bus and when I had to leave for work so I got in a quick 7km. I'm at 226km for the month, my goal is 250km.0
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So many errands to run and I should not be wasting time reading all this great information. But still love it. So pleased with myself to have already reached my goal miles. I am babysitting grand-babies from Halloween-Wed evening. Thanks to my awesome husband I will still get my long run in on Sunday morning and will have to wake at about 5am to get my Tuesday miles in before he leaves for work. Enjoy your day fellow runners.
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Been having phone and internet issues for the last few days. Haven't run since Saturday.
Hope every one is doing well! Looks like I've missed 140+ comments!0 -
I don't have an iphone but you can use the audiostep app to change bpm for all your music supposedly?
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/audiostep-improve-your-run/id652697216?mt=80 -
I restarted the C25k with another MFPer today, so with last night's walk and today's walk/jog, I've added 5 miles and now my total is 66.87. MTG = 4.43Ok I'm in. I've got 61.87 miles on my shoes since the 1st so I'm aiming for 71.3 miles this month. Next month I will aim for a 75 mile goal.
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I'm starting to think it will be easier not to take rest days so I don't get so behind on everyone's posts/progress!!!
My on running schedule is on a bit of a holding pattern...it's a bit of a TMI medical situation, so I am trying to spare you all the details. So anyways, I have a HM on Saturday that I have really been looking forward to! I haven't run since Sunday (so much for my tapering schedule) but I have been walking. And I plan to do a "practice" run tonight - just a few, slow, easy miles, to see if my body can handle it - and then plan from there! I don't think the doc will have the results in time to make recommendations about the half. And as we have been discussing, so many medical doctors are anti-running/activity, that I fear I know the answer anyways.
One other rec about songs at a certain pace - jog.fm will create playlists of songs set to a 10:00 min mile or 9:00 mile, etc.; you pick. Or you can type in a song and it will tell you the pace of that song. That one keeps my honest...just because I like a song doesn't mean I get to slow down and listen to it because I've looked it up and I now know it's an 11:00 pace or whatever!
@Somebody_Loved - Like many others, I went straight from a 5K to a HM, race-wise. I was running longer distances before I started "training" but swore I would never run a HM...until a friend convinced me and now it's my favorite race distance! As far as training, she had recommended a Hal Higdon plan that did not work for me so I researched several others and then merged them into one that I felt worked for me. It's amazing how quickly you adjust to running longer distances!!0 -
@HealthyFocused715 - That's awesome, I hope it's the same way for me! It really is amazing... at first I didn't believe I could ever run for 30 minutes straight and now I can run for over an hour. It's spectacular to see how much progress you can make!0
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HealthyFocused715 wrote: »One other rec about songs at a certain pace - jog.fm will create playlists of songs set to a 10:00 min mile or 9:00 mile, etc.; you pick. Or you can type in a song and it will tell you the pace of that song. That one keeps my honest...just because I like a song doesn't mean I get to slow down and listen to it because I've looked it up and I now know it's an 11:00 pace or whatever!
The link you gave is blocked here at work. But I am confused what you mean. How is a pace of how many minutes it takes you to run a mile correlate to beats of a song?
Do you mean picking songs in a playlist so that running time of a particular song ends just when you come up to a mile?
Sorry about your TMI medical situation. Hopefully it's not too bad that you miss your HM. Don't fool around to exasperate your injury any further tho. be careful.0 -
Trying to catch up.. lol
@snha Glad you got your run in!
@ShanazAsiya and @aligarmizo Welcome! Don't be embarrassed about walking! The people here are lovely and very helpful! I used to walk 3-5 days a week, anywhere between 2 and 5km depending on how much time I had. I don't walk as much anymore, now that I've started running, though now and then I still go for a stroll to stretch my legs
@Somebody_Loved Awesome that we are pretty much sitting at around the same in distance by the sounds of it. How are you finding the 5to10k program? I'm not 100% sure about doing a HM just yet.. No harm in upping my distance though and see where it takes me. You are going to smash that 12k in December!
@kristinegift Those photos are amazing! We don't get colours like that where I live. We have Jacaranda trees in bloom at the moment so the streets are lined with purple! Here's a pic..
@Stoshew71 Once again, thank you so much for all of the advice you are sharing! Conversational pace is the only pace I know now lol It's been the best advice I've been given.
@skippygirlsmom Hope the tooth pain goes away soon!
@suzu_2 Good work on meeting your goal!
@ewrook Nice work! and a moonlit run too!
@juliet3455 Where you run sounds amazing! Sounds very picturesque!
@7lenny7 Thanks for posting the plan that your friends made up.. I figure I could possible fit into week 4 of that plan already, although I only run 3 days a week. I think that is the part that I'm not sure about. I can really only run 3 times a week most weeks. The 4th day a week could be a struggle some weeks, working around the kids - I could do it, though it would have to be the shortest run each week so I'm not far from home. My eldest is 16 so he doesn't mind minding the two youngest for a little, though I stay within a few streets from home and run no longer than 30 mins just in case. I don't like doing this though, if I can help it and usually only do it now and again if I miss a weekend run. Good luck on the HM!!
@shanaber Nice run! Glad it went well.
@parfia Welcome!
@patrikc333 You look like a duck!! A friend and I had this conversation after our run last week.. She wasn't happy with any of her professional photos and there was only 1 that I thought looked 'alright' of myself, considering all of the other photos looked like I was all over the shop! As for using spotify.. I tried it a few times though the app would crash every time I opened or checked on my runkeeper app for pace/distance etc. It's a real shame as spotify was a really great music app usually!
@9voice9 I jump regularly on runs as where I run we have huge water dragons that sunbathe near water on the path.. They camouflage so well and move when you get close - usually running right in front of you. Must be a funny site for everyone else around me
@jtarmom Congrats on your HM! Must have been very scenic?
@aarar Nice one getting a quick run in there!
@Virkati Awesome work!
@HealthyFocused715 Really hoping your Dr gets back to you with some good news! Sorry to hear you're going through a bit of a rough time! So inspiring though that you are still managing to do a HM soon!0 -
October Goal—stretch goal 120 km, realistic goal 100 km
10/1—rest getting a cold I think…
10/2—10.18 km
10/3—rest, taking care of errands and resting up for…
10/4–10.73 km
10/5—typhoon day, good thing it’s a traditional rest day anyway
10/6–5.16 km
10/7—rest
10/8–5.49 km
10/9—rest
10/10–13.92 km
10/11—3.34 km recovery run
10/12—5.12 km
10/13—2.89 km
10/14—rest
10/15—5.38 km
10/16—rest
10/17—5.24 km—2 laps around a hilly park
10/18—15.53 km
10/19—rest
10/20—5.10 km
10/21—rest
10/22—complete rest day—no running no weights
10/23—5.37 km
10/24—10.47 km
10/25—8.42 km. 4 times around a hilly loop in a local park. The worst hill (HILLdegaard) is my current nemesis.
10/26—rest
10/27—traditional run day, but I was still feeling exhausted from this weekend so I decided to rest
10/28—5.11 km—pollution MISERABLE 31:14 5k time
10/29—5.35 km—30:32 5k…should be able to get to under 30 5k before my 5k run on Dec 6…at least I hope so
Bought flight tickets from my current location to Manila for Chinese New Year. Going to plan to run my first Half on the 1st anniversary of my father's death. Still waiting for the Condura Marathon to open registration.
In terms of running music, I LOVE and LIVE Rockmyrun.com Free for mixes under 45 minutes. Anything over you need a membership. They occasionally run deals for a lifetime membership for $80.0 -
@kareF - Definitely - we need to keep comparing notes! I love the 10k app, it's only 3 days a week so it would fit your schedule if you're ever interested in trying it out. I'm in week 12 (out of 14) and the current workout is to run for 18 minutes, walk for 1 minute and repeat that 3 times. After I "graduate" I'm going to keep increasing my mileage based on all the wonderful advice we've been given here and see how the 12k goes. If all goes well (which I anticipate it will) I'll start looking into HMs! 0
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@Stoshew71 - I didn't think I was explaining it very well, sorry. My work blacklists a bunch of random things too...
So when you go to the homepage it says: "jog.fm helps you find the perfect music for your run...and your walk and your ride" and then it has a drop-down menu for: "my mile time is ????". You select your time and hit Go and it will generate a list of songs that are best for that pace. Does that make sense? So forever I was a 10:00 minute miler so I made a 9:00 minute miler playlist. If I were to run to the beat, I would be running 9:00 minute miles. It does allow you to search via BPM's for those of you looking for 180s. 10:00 minute miles are 150 BPMs.
Thanks for the well wishes on the race...think I'll decide for sure on Friday after I see the doctor.
@kareF and @Somebody_Loved - thank you! I'm trying to do a half in every state (over the course of my lifetime; I fully expected to be finishing up in Arizona with my walker at 80) and this would be number 5...VT. I have tried to run this same race last year and crashed my car that weekend. The race organizer was nice enough to forward my registration so really hoping to make it this year. What is it with this race???
10/1, 3 miles
10/2, 5.2 miles
10/3, 14 miles
10/4, yoga for runners
10/5, Zumba
10/6, 4.75 miles
10/7, 5.2 miles
10/8, 8 miles
10/9, rest
10/10, local 5K here in Maine, finished in 25:31!!
10/11, 6 mile hike
10/12, 1 mile
10/13, Zumba and yoga for runners
10/14, 7.6 miles
10/15, 5.0 miles
10/16, 3.5 miles
10/17, 10 miles
10/18, 3.6 miles
10/19, 5.2 miles
10/20-21, rest (got some short walks in but that was it)
10/22, 2.5 hour Zumba challenge at work for breast cancer awareness - I know this has nothing to do with running but it was pretty awesome!
10/23, another walk/rest
10/24, 5.0 miles
10/25, 8.0 miles
10/26-27, walks
10/28, 4.2 very slow miles...kept my heart rate between 135-145 and seem to be doing okay!
Goal: 100 miles. Total 96.35 miles0 -
HealthyFocused715 wrote: »So when you go to the homepage it says: "jog.fm helps you find the perfect music for your run...and your walk and your ride" and then it has a drop-down menu for: "my mile time is ????". You select your time and hit Go and it will generate a list of songs that are best for that pace. Does that make sense? So forever I was a 10:00 minute miler so I made a 9:00 minute miler playlist. If I were to run to the beat, I would be running 9:00 minute miles. It does allow you to search via BPM's for those of you looking for 180s. 10:00 minute miles are 150 BPMs.
@HealthyFocused715, there are two stride variables that determine your pace...stride cadence (BPM) and stride length.
You could hold your stride cadence constant and vary your stride length, you hold your stride length constant and vary your cadence, or some combination of the two. What you are doing is varying cadence to try to maintain a pace. I used to do this exact thing as well (if you look through the May 2015 challenge thread I posted many links to find music of certain beats).
What I've come to learn is that some people some where did a study and found that the most efficient stride cadence is 180, regardless of your height or inseam. To run faster you increase your stride length but maintain the same cadence. To run slower you reduce your stride length.
While I know that this is true I have one heck of a time actually putting this into practice but as my speed increases, I'm getting closer. I finally decided to ignore my cadence for the moment as I work on other aspects of my running but I plan to return to it at some point.
My point is, while varying the BPM of you music may help you maintain a target pace, eventually you want to get to the point where your cadence is always 180 BPM regardless of your pace.
If you already have a music service (I use Google Music) search for whatever BPM you're looking for and you will find plenty of playlists and even albums catering to that cadence. When I was listening to music on the run, I'd then take the songs I liked and create my own playlist. No need to pay for another service unless you just find that easier. Maybe jogfm is free, I have no idea. You call also search the web for "180 BPM playlist" and find plenty. Add a genre qualifier if you'd like to target the music you prefer.
here's a trip...I found a military cadence playlist (160 BPM) and for a few runs ran to a drill instructor barking out cadences. I kept thinking about Bill Murray in Stripes and would crack up though, so I quit.
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The weather for my upcoming 10k is calling for scattered thunderstorms and 15mph wind gusts. Temps should be nearing 60° F.
Buy a rain coat and enjoy the event? Likely to be cancelled? Or horrible running conditions and bail?0 -
@patrikc333 - Here is a good (older) article on calories burned.
http://www.runnersworld.com/peak-performance/nov-10-burn-baby-burn-of-exercise-and-calorie-burning
There is also a calories burned calculator that will give you for your weight and pace how many calories you burned
http://www.runnersworld.com/fitness-calculators/calories-burned-calculator
@Stoshew71 - I love garageband! I haven't used it to speed up a song but it works great for making ringtones from your favorite songs
Thanks for the breakdown on spm/bpm interesting. Something more for me to look into improving!
@Somebody_Loved - I pretty much started with HM. I ran for a long time without racing or wanting to race. I ran a 5K and didn't really like it because it takes me too long to really get going. The HM os just the perfect distance for me. I have run a few more 5 and 10Ks and like the 10K better but not enough to run it often other than for training.
@kareF - Are you in So. California? We have jacaranda trees too - I like to think of the seed pods as our fall colors since they are sort of orange-ish
@Elise4270 - Personally if it were me - I would just go out and run it and not worry about it. I rain a 10K in Seattle in just about those conditions, maybe a little cooler, pouring rain and windy. I had no jacket and didn't feel the need for it while I ran. This is the race I PRd and got 2nd in my AG. I was however FREEZING when it was all over. If you think the conditions will make you miserable then I would get a lightweight wind/rain jacket that you can tie around your waist. But make sure you get it soon so you can at least test it once or twice before your race.
@HealthyFocused715 - I hope everything works out and you are able to run your race! I love the idea of running a HM in every state!
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Somebody_Loved wrote: »@kareF - Definitely - we need to keep comparing notes! I love the 10k app, it's only 3 days a week so it would fit your schedule if you're ever interested in trying it out. I'm in week 12 (out of 14) and the current workout is to run for 18 minutes, walk for 1 minute and repeat that 3 times. After I "graduate" I'm going to keep increasing my mileage based on all the wonderful advice we've been given here and see how the 12k goes. If all goes well (which I anticipate it will) I'll start looking into HMs!
My left leg/hip is a little tight.. I think it has something to do with my doing strength exercises on Tuesday! Have learnt my lesson.. Won't be doing strength training the day before a big run again! lol I tried the c25k originally when I first started running though found the constant stopping/starting made my shin splints worse.. That and my form wasn't too great either
@7lenny7 and @Stoshew71 I'm going to see if I can add a 4th running day each week. It won't be a very long run, maybe 3-4km on the same day each week so I'm not far from home. Would this be okay to keep the same distance while upping my distance on the other 3 days? Or should I try and up distance on this day also? At the moment I would be stuck for only a few km on the 4th day.. Or should I not worry about it just yet? At the moment I run:
Saturdays 8-10k
Sundays 5-6k
Mondays (possible 4th day) 3-4k
Wednesdays 8-10k (aiming to up distance slowly on this day)
Does that sound okay?0
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