wolfgate Member

LOL!!! I did two 50 mile trail races in 2009 and 2010. I figured the second time it had to be better than the first, right? Nope. Took over 6 weeks to feel normal again when I ran. Said "never again" and have no regrets about that. Kind of enjoying my 5k/10k seasons now. Some people love them - I'm not built that way.

Read Carson's post. A trail marathon can in no way, shape or form be described as "the next step up" from C25K. Yes, I understand some have done this successfully. Your odds of going down in flames, however, are much greater than your odds of success.

amytag - the phrase "we're all an experiment of one" is so true in running. Your thought process is right on concerning how to approach your question. Take the varying inputs, try something out, and figure out what works for you. And congrats on the improvement!

That one line made me giggle. At first i thought you must be really young where the 1970s would be ancient history, but we're about the same age! It was May 1921 when the distance was formally implemented. For the Olympics only, previous distances had ranged between 24.85 and 26.56. Your point may well be very valid that…

Don't want to drift down into semantics and arguing absolutes. As everyone is different, yes, I am confident for some people you are correct. In general, for the majority of runners, my point is valid.

I do not disagree that music can make some runners go faster. Studies have shown up to a 15% increase, particularly for disassociators, which likely do comprise the majority of runners. Those studies showed exactly what Stage14 and crackur said, that they can use the beat of the music to stay on stride, keep pace, etc. All…

Music is the opposite of focus. If you are working to run your fastest 5k, you need to teach yourself what level of effort you can maintain through the second and third mile. You also need to train yourself to run the first mile quick but easy. From your description, I think you're going out too fast the first mile. Back…

I'm a racer. It's what I do for fun. Nobody I know who is a racer thinks people who run but don't race are not also "runners". Two different things. Personally, I wouldn't say I'd "done a marathon" unless I registered for one and finished. Very few people only run 26.2 miles in a marathon of 13.1 in a half marathon.…

Amen!! And that is why I have my cups (yes, plural) of coffee everyday and eat my one egg omelet for breakfast. Have a Coke Zero ocassionally as well.

You need time to recover. Almost all of the people who run every day also use some days every week to recover - they just run a short, easy run those days as they are trained well enough to do so. Personally, I run 5-6 days a week, as at 51 I again find a day or two off is the recovery I need. As a newer runner you likely…

Love it. You are a monster. One of the most motivating posts I have read here.

BinaryPulsar - that is great detail and information. Thank you very much!!

Thanks. So both center around heavy lifting? (That would be good).

As others have indicated, it is largely what you've trained for. I do 95% plus of my running outside, tracking workouts on GPS so I know pace, etc. When I do run on a treadmill, I go slower for the same level of effort. Exact opposite of what people say who do most of their running on the TM.

I vary. In the summer I typically run in the early morning, but throw in a few lunch and evening runs to be best acclimated for hot/humid racing conditions. In the winter I tend to shift to running at lunch during the week and mid-afternoon on the weekends. I pick those times because it's warmest then. Regardless, I like…

As other have alluded, maximum heart rate is a very individual thing. Appears your is well above the average used on the charts. You can find tests (done on a track) to approximate yours by searching on-line. They do, of course, require you to be able to perform at maximum effort for a certain period to get your heart rate…

On top of being great GPS watches, Garmin is an excellent company. Great customer service. They do have policies on warranty, returns, etc. that in writing are pretty strict, but in reality their customer service people are allowed to be reasonable and go outside the policies to help customers in a reasonable fashion.…

Nothing wrong with it at all. For most people in a race, the standard they are going for is a PR. That is where the "racing against yourself" comes from. The faster runners (in each age group) usually are more concerned with placing and will get into tactical races to try and win their AG. I wind up doing both. Most of my…

This is really good advice. Both on the pace and on the LRs. For the weeks you were going to do 22/23, just do 20/21. Perhaps even take the first one of those off from that long a run and do 10-12 instead. You'll still get in 3 20+ mile long runs, more than enough. Rest your legs a bit by giving them a cutback - even…

The answer is you'll burn more running hilly routes than flat. For the purposes of trying to track calories in a weight control program, unless you're into measuring gnat's butts, it's not significant for almost every course you'll be running. Understand why you're curious though!

Wait. This one is pretty easy. You might get through it (others have and I'm sure someone will post their story) but it will not be as good an experience as it should be and the risk of injury will well outweigh the reward. No need to rush into the marathon.

Cookies and pies...

Just be glad you live someplace that has nutritional info on the menu. It's hard down here to figure out what to order...

Simplest would be to just keep track of the time you take to cover the whole C25K workout (walking and running included) and how far you run (use mapmyrun or something like that if needed). Then you can easily figure your pace. Enter time and pace in exercise section.

I'll pause mine if I stop at a fountain, tie my shoe, anything short like that. In the end I believe I get a more accurate reading of pace for that day. Just don't think the short time stopped speeds up the rest of the run significantly.

Yes, you can. Many people do at our age. Google coolrunnings C25k. There is a great program,

Unless you know what your personal maximum heart rate is, those numbers don't tell you anything. Workout based on perceived effort.

I'm fit. My hobby is running races. For me weight is a key component. Studies have shown that for fit racers, 5 extra pounds in a 5k adds about 30 seconds. (There is a point of dimishing returns there and a point where you losing more just makes you weaker). So yeah, for me much of it is about weight.

For the swim, prescription googles are reasonably priced and work well. They don't look any different than other googles, particularly if they are tinted. My daughter (year round competitive swimmer) wears them at all her meets. For running and biking, I always liked sport sunglasses, so I'd invest in a pair of…

Good = going back consistently and following the program. Anything else is, in the big scheme of things, irrelevant.