Runners Questions

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DKing33
DKing33 Posts: 78 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I have been running for about 6 months. Have completed a few 5ks although not at the time I would like to be at. I would like to do a 10k in the spring with a possible half in the fall. I have been reading a lot of training plans and am wondering if I should start working on endurance first (currently am running 3/4 mile than taking a short walk break) or back up and work on speed and slowly increase the milage? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

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  • CoachsWife4
    CoachsWife4 Posts: 79 Member
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    I think both - some days you feel like getting out there and setting a new personal record, some days you just want to run a slow, steady race. In my opinion, I would want to set a pace now, that I could run for the entire 5K and do that for a couple of weeks. To me, it was my first goal to run the whole thing, no matter what the time. Then, you could transistion between building up your endurance for the 10k, plus setting new running speeds. BUT, I've only been running about the same amount of time as you, so what do I know?!? ha!

    Good luck - you're doing amazing!
  • k8bugz
    k8bugz Posts: 64 Member
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    My personal suggestion is to work up the endurance first. And do it slowly! Your speed may improve once you have the endurance and confidence, but you gotta log the miles first.

    Be careful - it's addicting!!
  • kac7700
    kac7700 Posts: 125 Member
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    6 months is a good amount of time to build a base, especially based on your current 5K times. I would do all the above. Set three or four days a week aside for training. When I'm organized, I try to do the following:

    Saturday - long easy run. Mileage varies, but try to increase that slowly.
    Sunday - Short moderate run
    Tuesday or Wednesday - Speedwork intervals, or hills
    Thursday - Easy run
  • gleechick609
    gleechick609 Posts: 551
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    Check out Jeff Galloway's training plans. Its a walk/run plan but everyone I know has increased their times by at least 2-5 minutes from training.Good luck
  • jmvh59
    jmvh59 Posts: 97
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    I've found what had worked for me years ago when I was in the Marines, and what I'm working on now, is to get the endurance built up before working on the speed. For me, that means keeping the legs churning, even if walking would actually be faster. Run in place if you have to stop moving--while waiting to cross traffic, for example. After you have a decent base, work on stretching out the length of your stride. Finally, work towards increasing the pace at which you take strides.

    There are many nuances to running, including breathing, launching, landing, what you do with your head/neck and arms. Generally, you want to keep your head tilted up to help keep your airway more open. Breathe deep breaths in through your nostrils and exhale slowly through your mouth. I like to keep my arms loose, though one usually is holding the dogs' leash. Try to land on the back of the ball of your foot and roll forward to your toes, using them and your calf to launch your next step. It is much harder to do downhill, where landing on the heel is a hard habit for me to break.

    I hope that helps.

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