Running tips

I can tell you that when I was training for a 5K I joined a running group using a modified C25K protocol. For 8 weeks, it was 1 session with the group and 2 on my own each week. I struggled with pacing. When I was with the group, I just made sure to stay about a half-pace behind the group leader. On my own? I discovered that what worked surprisingly well was negative self-talk.

To elaborate, I'm 47 years old and ran my first 5K a year ago August. I was doing my 'homework runs' on a 400-meter track with my husband timing my walk-run intervals because I don't own a fitbit and tended to lose track of time if I had to check my own watch. There were often plenty of other people using the track to walk, run, bike ride, scooter ride, etc. But if anybody was less than 1/4 of the track ahead of me (let's say "around the curve, out of mind), something in me wanted to pass them. And when you're building up stamina and endurance, putting on an extra burst of speed in Minute 2 of an 8-minute interval isn't wise. So, I kind of had this going on in my head:

• It's a run not a race. Stop trying to beat everybody.
• Distance run not speed.
• You are 46 years old (or 47 in Year 2), 5'3" and this is your first/second 5K. Your competition is going to be younger. It is going to be taller, with longer legs. There will be people on their high school/college track teams. People who ran the Toronto Marathon in May. People who run more than you're doing, every day... for fun. You? You're not winning the 5K; you're just trying to finish it. So stop trying to get ahead; stop worrying about everyone else on the track; focus on getting through the next few minutes and just... do... you.

I'm not saying it always worked, but I did finish that first 5K in 28:17 and the second in 27:07.

For you? I totally recommend finding a running group. Some of them are probably free. Don't focus on heart rate; don't worry about speed, especially early in the program. Just concentrate on doing the walk-run intervals. Strength-training helps. A lot. So does stretching after a run. The ideal is to rest for a day between run days. In practice, I often did 2 days back-to-back and a 2-day rest before Day 3. I was fine. There was one time when I did 3 consecutive days. (I was due for dental surgery, the dentist had warned me that strenuous cardio could open the sutures, and I didn't want to miss a training day in my week, so I pushed myself to get the running earlier in the week before the surgery.) I was okay... but I would not willingly do that again.

First of all congrats on getting into running and doing the C25K program. That is the program I used and LOVED it! I never ran ever growing up (even in my school years) and then 3 years ago at 36 I decided to give it a go and haven't turned back and am now training for my 2nd half marathon.

Note, everyone is different and it is very important to listen to your own body but these are some things that helped me. Also, I agree with what the others were saying above :-)

1. Don't start off trying to push yourself to go your fastest; give your body time to adjust to the strains of running so you don't injure yourself. It's a terrible feeling when you do.
2. I was always told to start running at a moderate pace where you can easily hold a conversation - again this is different for everyone. It's harder than it sounds!
3. Personally I worked on slowly building up my distance and then after I started added more tempo runs and intervals of sprinting and then walking for a minute or two to help my VO2 max.
4. I also don't pay attention to my heart rate when I run - I use a Garmin Forerunner that helps give me more stats after but during my run itself I only focus on my pace just as a pulse check to see how I am doing compared to my baseline
5. Remember you are only competing against yourself, it's your own personal journey of growth

It's all about your improvement and accomplishing your goals. You can get your own baseline and then set goals going forward to slowly work towards. Hope that helps and I am excited for you and your journey!!

allother94 wrote: »

I’m on a couch to 5k program. I’m currently at 2.5 miles.

I’ve always ran as fast as my body would allow and I’ve never trained for running. Recently I’ve been trying to run so my heart rate does not go above a certain level that would cause me to be uncomfortable. Doing this, I’ve found I can run for a long time without getting tired.

Currently, I’m running at 90% of my max heart rate. I do find that I need to slow way down to keep from going over this rate. However, I’ve been reading lately that this might be too high a rate and I should drop to 80%.

If it wasn’t obvious before, I’m a complete noob to run training. Any quick tips on all of this? Should I be dialing in my heart rate or just running as fast as I can? If I should pace myself, what range is best? My goal is to run a decent 5k time (not competitive but not embarrassing), stay in shape, and rep all the benefits from running. Thanks!

If youre running so your hr is at 90% then you're pushing far too hard. The majority of your runs, especially at this stage, should be at around 60-70% effort. Basically you need to slow down and then slow down some more.

Once you're running the full 3.1miles you can start working on speed and even then around 75% of your runs should be at the easier pace.

I generally have 4 different paces (I mostly run 6-13.1miles in races).

Easy - this is maybe 5-6/10 perceived effort, feels like I can keep going for ever. The majority of your runs, especially the longer runs will be at this pace. Around 1min/mile below race pace.

Steady - 6-7 perceived effort, can still talk or sing but breathing is heavier and maybe not as sustainable as easy. Around 30sec/mile below race pace.

Race pace (threshold) - 7/8 perceived effort, cannot talk more than to say thank you. Cannot sing. Cannot sustain for more than the distance I'm running (so obviously actual pace depends on distance, shorter the run, faster the pace)

Sprint - 9.5/10 perceived effort, cannot speak at all, breathing extremely laboured, literally cannot push any faster over the distance (very short distance as in 100-200m max and more commonly 50m sprint finish). Takes a good few minutes for hr and breathing to recover, hr near to max. For me 3-4 min/mile above race pace (so obviously not sustainable for more than 30sec or so)

allother94 wrote: »

For what it’s worth, I ran 2.5 miles today and my heart rate was around 165 the entire time (90% of max). At one point, a speed walker past me...

I don’t think I can go any slower without just walking. The good news is I could have kept 165bpm going for much longer.

Not sure it’s related, but I play basketball. When I play, my heart rate will go into the high 170s and stay there while I’m playing (usually 15 mins per game). Maybe my body has been conditioned to run hot...

of note - there is NOTHING wrong with walking - check out Galloway - he qualified for the boston marathon with a run/walk plan; I do all of my runs wiht a run/walk combo - i just adjust the intervals depending on the focus of the run - so right now, my long slow run is 1/1:30 (run 1 min, walk 1:30) and that nets me a 12:45avg

allother94 wrote: »

For what it’s worth, I ran 2.5 miles today and my heart rate was around 165 the entire time (90% of max). At one point, a speed walker past me...

I don’t think I can go any slower without just walking. The good news is I could have kept 165bpm going for much longer.

Not sure it’s related, but I play basketball. When I play, my heart rate will go into the high 170s and stay there while I’m playing (usually 15 mins per game). Maybe my body has been conditioned to run hot...

90% of what you think is your max. I doubt that is true. And if it is, so what? You have to start somewhere. If you truly are at 90% of max (you're completely out of breath and sweating your *kitten* off), then it is what it is. Your body will adapt. Just don't over do it.