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I'm on week 3 now. Is anyone else here on this program?
http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.s html
I think this sounds like a great program. I'm afraid to start, though. I can't remember the last time I ran and I'm concerned I'll hurt my knees or something.
Did you buy special running shoes? Any advice for someone just starting?
I have a very good treadmill at my house that counts down instead of up. So I set it for 25 minutes on the basic walking program and keep the pace between 2.5 and 3.00 mph. So, I am going pretty slow-- but I am jogging nonetheless. There's no need to go really fast right now. I'll work on that later.
I really surprised myself that I could do this since I'm so out of shape. At some point, I'll start running outside but for now the treadmill is awesome for tracking purposes: watching the minutes and being able to set my pace. My shoes are okay-- now that I'm really into it though, I'm going to get a good pair of running shoes. Give it a try! Stick with their plan and you can do it too. Besides, I'd love to have a virtual running buddy. :)
A friend of mine told me about this program and I looked into it too. I have a goal to run a 5K next summer. I haven't followed the program exactly but every week I try to run a little further. I go outside now, but in the winter I'm not sure what I'll do. I don't have a treadmill (but I have an elliptical).
When I first started I couldn't go very far and I got really bad shin-splints. I gave up on it for a month or two, but have been doing good lately. It's amazing what you can really do when you push yourself a little harder. I usually go a mile or so before I need to walk but last weekend I went with my sister-in-law and she got me to go for 2 miles!! I couldn't believe it. I think it'll be easier as the weight comes off but I'm using the goal of jogging in a 5K as motivation!
My shins still hurt a little, not as bad as before, but now I ice them a couple of times a day. That seems to help. I wear asics with orthotics but think I need newer shoes.
My sister lost 60 lbs this year by watching what she eats and jogging. When she started (Jan. 08) she couldn't run at all and now she run 4-10 miles daily. Pretty cool!
Thats awesome about your sister losing all that weight.
When I've completed my 25 minutes I've only gone around 1 mile, of that I've jogged less than half. But again, I know I'm going really slowly right now. I'm being careful about how hard I push myseslf because I know if I overdo it, it will be that much harder to pick back up when I get frustrated and quit! The idea of the short intervals of jogging and then walking feels very do-able to me.
Yea, that's what happened to me when I first started...bit off more than I could chewand hurt myself. It was even hard to walk for excercise because my shins hurt so bad. Good for you to pace yourself out. I think the interval training is the best! Good luck!
To help your shins I would try(works best on a treadmill) walking backwards. I know it sounds funny but your toes hitting the ground when your walking backwards streches your calf mucsle. A physical thearapist taught me this and it worked! Walk for a couple of minutes before you jog and a couple afterward. After a while you will get to where you don't have to do this anymore because your bones in your lower leg will get stronger and won't develop the shin splints. Stay in your program and keep running. Don't be embarassed to walk. I started out wlaking for 1 minute and jogging for 1 minute. Slowly I increased my run time(were talking weeks here) and decreased my walk time. I started on a treadmill through the winter. By spring I was running 5k's and 10k's. The following summer I ran a 10 miler and a half-marathon. The following spring(early) I started training for the Detroit Marathon! I ran it that fall in a little over 4 hours! Not bad for a 50 year old! Along the way I lost about 45 lbs and felt 25 again. Find a good running shoe store. They will help you like nobody else can. Bring a pair of your running shoes. They can check your wear pattern on the soles and fit you in the right shoe. If they don't ask to look at your running shoe's---go somewhere else. KEEP ON RUNNING and remember- FOR ALL OF US-THE MIRACLE ISN"T THAT WE FINNISH,THE MIRACLE IS THAT WE HAD THE COURAGE TO START!
Thank you so much daddon. You are very encouraging. I'm 42 and I believe its not too late to get in shape. It seems that running is really the most simple proposition I can think of to get in shape. I don't need to be particularly coordinated or talented... heh.
Your tips are very helpful. Maybe I'll go get some real shoes this next weekend. And report back.
Are you working on anything now as far as running goals?
I'm glad I could help. Believe me when I tell you though that the best help can be had at a good running store. They are run by runners. Did I just repeat myself? Anyway I had to have minor arthroscopic knee surgery last summer. I was training for another marathon and stepped off the trail at about mile 12 and tore the cartlage. So I have been told to cut my running in half. Couple that with a new job that was pretty much 7 days a week 10 hours a day it has wreaked havac on my exercising. I've gained about 45 lbs in the last year. Good news is I've lost 23 of it and am well on my way to running again. Thanks to CC for the ability to get a handle on what I eat. Along with that I have been riding a bike 2 days a week (around 30 mi). And walk/running 2 days a week (5-7 mi a week). Along with lifting weights twice a week I'm slowly starting to feel myself again. I will start doing 5Ks and hopefully 10Ks next spring. Its killing me not to be doing any long distance running but you have to work with what you have.
Keep up the good work---
I've been looking at this post for days and finally i was like what the heck! Thank you for posting this, I will give it a try for sure! I'm glad you mentioned that you were doing it on a treadmill, i have a gym membership and will train there.
Wish me luck!
Good luck! I hate to admit it, but I've been slackin' lately. Between my job and my kids, I have been feeling very exhausted and can't find the energy to get back up there. I've got one who just started middle school and needs a little extra mom time right now and the other one has a ton of outside activities. I've just got to figure out something for me though! At least I've been pretty good with the calories.
Would you like to buddy up with me on this thing? Maybe we could motivate each other.
Yes! I would love to. I only have a 3 year old and I'm busy with him so i can imagine you having 2 and yours being older with more activities. We should definitely keep each other motivated!
I am new to community group feature so i'm sure we will also be able to email and "chat" on the threads.
Good luck guy's! Just please do what I said and don't run to $mart or #almart and pick up cheap shoes. I t DOES matter. More than half the time if your feet hurt its because you have the wrong shoes. You might "overpronate"(roll to the inside) or "underpronate" (roll to the outside). Or you might get lucky and be a nautral runner and everything thing strikes the way it should. The people there have shoes that can make up for ANY running style and will end up making a HUGE difference in how well you enjoy running. 60-70$ should be enough to get you into a shoe that should be good for 5 miles at a time. Be easy on yourself. remember ---
&nb sp; "Running is about defeating death,not inflicting it"
You know its funny-- a couple of months ago I took my 13 year old to buy him really good running shoes for cross country at school. I wanted him to do the best he could. I found a good store and they had him run up and down the sidewalk while they took a look. I dropped over $90 on him. Now when it comes time for me to get with the program, I dig in my closet for an old pair of sneaks, and say... good enough. Heh.
I will go to the store this weekend daddon on your advice though and take care of my own toes this time.
Great post and lots of good information!
I have question though. If you want to improve your time it takes you to run a mile but you also want to improve your distance, how would you go about that?
Do you just work on one concept each time or what?
Sara, its great you seem so eager to get in the swing of things with running. It has been proven time and time again it is the fastest way to lose weight and its something we been doing since we were kids. Takes very little money compared to other sports and you can do it any where! You have to get in a good base of run time before you start training for specifics(distance,speed etc). I would say once you've been at it for a couple of months that should be enough base miles to start training for speed and/or distance. As you said you DO train separatly for each goal. http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-380-381-388-11879-0,0 0.html is a great workout for speed training for beginners. In my opinion runners world is THEE spot for newbe runners. Distance running is just a matter of having 1 long run a week(at a slower than your normal pace) and adding a little more each week. Example: Say a normal day for you is 3 miles of running. On a long day you would run 3.5 miles at a slower pace. Or if it is 5 miles than 6 at a slower pace. Do the same work out for two weeks then step up the distance of each. Add maybe a 1/4 mile to each. This builds up your bodys immunity,if you will, to the pounding your body recieves while running(mucsles, bones, shoulders etc. Look in Runners world under "Perfect Form" to cut down on that pounding by the way. Do your reading and research. There is a ton of info on the net about every aspect of running. Above all, be gentle on yourself, if you injure yourself all that training will have to start all over again. Sorry if I seem to go on about this subject but I fell in love with running at 47 and discovered I COULD BE AN ATHLETE despite what was said about me in school--we all can! That's why the marathon meant so much to me at 50. The feeling you get after accomplishing your first race of ANY distance is a incredable feeling of accomplishment that is hard to put into words. Enjoy it!
i started this this week but only managed 5x!! has anyone else only managed to do half of it or is just me ?
xxjanexx-- I'm not sure what you mean by 5x-- are you talking 5 minutes or...?
Did you try to do the 5 minute warm up walk followed by alternating walking and running?
sorry javagen i was meant to do walk 1min run 1min 10 times and i could only do it 5 times,yes i did do my 5 min warm up,i think i must very unfit or just to heavy to run much,but im gonna keep at it untill i can do the full times
ah okay. Well I was able to do the whole thing, but I was going very slow for both running and walking. I think that's great you are joing us. Welcome to our little group. Er, you are joining us, aren't you?
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