beginning runner

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Question:

Basically you want to start walking and then move up as you body allows. Consider getting a physical and a real pair of running shoes from a real running store. Walk 30 minutes, run a little, like one minute out of ever five if you feel up to it and walk quickly. Do that a few times. If you body is still ok, then start running more and walking less. The goal is to be able to run for the full 30 minutes. It is not important to be able to run fast. You should notice that you are going a little further as time goes on. During this time you should be doing this three to five times a week. More is counter productive and less will mean very slow improvement. After you can run the full 30 minutes you will then start trying to add distance/time. By this time you should have a pair of real running shoes, not just athletic shoes. Your best bet here is to visit a real running store, not your local do everything sporting goods store or a general shoe store. Choosing the right shoe is more than just what feels good in the store. You should looking to be running somewhere around three miles or a little less in those 30-40 minutes. You are now ready for your first race a 5K. After that you want to add additional distance, but don’t add more than 5-10% in any one week; it could promote injuries, your body needs time to get ready. You also will want to pick at least one day to run a short buy fast distance and one day for a longer than usual run. — Dia ’s Muire duit Joseph E. Meehan Delivery delayed by IP server problems.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I am 38 years old and have been weight training for years, and entered a couple of bodybuilding contests. However, i have a question…since i am getting older i want to compliment my weight training with running, because i want to train the entire package…strength, cardiovascular and flexibility. I have been jogging/walking around the track for a few months now and find myself short winded really fast… i cant even make it around once…is there something i should be doing better? how should i breath? i know its not my legs, my legs are pretty strong! i need help with my endurance…can somebody help me? thanks in advance! Bob

Response:

Running slower is the key; you can walk a lap, but you can’t sprint one – somewhere between these extremes is a jogging pace you can maintain for a lap – and if you slow down some more you will find a pace you can keep going at for a mile. Keep doing this for a while and eventually you’ll be able to go for a few miles. — Regards, Barry Running & Stuff: http://distancerunner.tmfweb.nl "The woods are lovely, dark and deep; but I have training logs to keep; and miles to run before I sleep".

Response:

Congratulations on adding running to your life. After a few months of training, you’ll find running an incredible joy. In fact, running is seen as very spiritual by Plains Native American Religions, and you will understand why. Just go for long slow runs for now. Also, try mixing walking and running. Bob – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I am 38 years old and have been weight training for years, and entered a couple of bodybuilding contests. However, i have a question…since i am getting older i want to compliment my weight training with running, because i want to train the entire package…strength, cardiovascular and flexibility. I have been jogging/walking around the track for a few months now and find myself short winded really fast… i cant even make it around once…is there something i should be doing better? how should i breath? i know its not my legs, my legs are pretty strong! i need help with my endurance…can somebody help me? thanks in advance! Bob

Response:

I am 38 years old and have been weight training for years, and entered a couple of bodybuilding contests. However, i have a question…since i am getting older i want to compliment my weight training with running, because i want to train the entire package…strength, cardiovascular and flexibility. I have been jogging/walking around the track for a few months now and find myself short winded really fast… i cant even make it around once…is there something i should be doing better? how should i breath? i know its not my legs, my legs are pretty strong! i need help with my endurance…can somebody help me? thanks in advance! Bob

Response:

It just takes time! Try to keep it slow to begin with and gradually increase the distance, e.g. jog one lap, _very slowly_, then walk one lap, and repeat 4 times. If you can do this, you have already run 1 mile! There are lots of beginners’ running programmes on the web, e.g. www.newrunner.com: lots of useful tips there. Good luck, and keep us informed as to your progress. Oliver.

Response:

<snip I also like the cross-training advice that Donovan brought up. <snip Like Donovan’s latte…

<snip When the heck did I become Donovan? jeeez! cheers, — David (in Hamilton, ON) www.allfalldown.org "The most insecure people are the ones you see putting other people down constantly."

Response:

Hey dude, I’m a big guy too so these points may help. I’m definitely no expert though so I’d seek some advice if you’re worried. 1) Always use good running shoes – they protect you from the impact and help support your feet. Go to a specialist running shop where they let you try on the shoes and watch you run to get the best ones for you. My gait is awful – I have no arch on my left foot, but a decent pair of Asics got me through a marathon last year. The rest of my running gear is about as cheap as it’s possible to get, but I never try and save money on my shoes – a good shop won’t necessarily sell you the most expensive pair anyway. 2) Always warm up and stretch before and after a run – this is very important for us big guys. Leg exercises down the gym can help strengthen the muscles around the knee, but some hands on advice from an expert will sort you out and confirm you can run ok. 3) Noone laugh at me for suggesting this! As I’m big, I take a lot of fish / cod liver oil, and eat oily fish for my joints. This may be mind over matter, but I damaged my knees in a car crash a few years ago and need to protect them. If it’s mind over matter… break it to me gently Cheers, Joe.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I’m 23 years old. I was a high school athlete (football and baseball), but my training was strictly limited to those sports. My playing weight was 220 pounds, but after 5 years of college and relative inactivity, I’m now 6′3" and 250 pounds. I’ve begun jogging around my neighborhood for two reasons: (1) I want to make a lifetime commitment to staying fit (2) I would like to lose some weight, for health and aesthetic reasons. I’m already having a problem with my right knee, and I think it may be due in large part to toting around 220+ pounds for the last several years I’ve determined a route that is 1 mile long and I’ve split it into 7 nearly equal parts. I run every other day and add 1/7 of a mile each time. At this rate, I’ll add a mile every two weeks. Right now I’m at approximately 2.5 miles. My current goal is to hit 5 miles, but I may raise that number once I get there. Is this a good way to get in shape? Does anyone have any suggestions for me, since I have little to no experience with distance running? Thanks very much for anything you can give me! ~Trojan

Response:

I really like your conservative approach and how you are adding 1/7th of a mile at a time… Hey dude, I’m a big guy too so these points may help. I’m definitely no expert though so I’d seek some advice if you’re worried. 1) Always use good running shoes – they protect you from the impact and help support your feet. Go to a specialist running shop where they let you try on

Amen! Amen!!! Amen!!!!! And if they blow you off because you aren’t running 50 miles per week, take your money somewhere else. When I first crossed over from swimming (190 lbs. – mostly upper body muscle and running only 10 mi/wk), one local running shop recommended a cheaper pair of shoes then what I believe I need. After running in those pair with worsening knee problems, I trashed them at only 6 months (less than 250 mi on the shoes). I went to a different shop and they spent more time evaluating my stride (barefoot and in various shoes on the treadmill). The shoes I have from them now have over 300 mi on them and I still very little knee pain. 2) Always warm up and stretch before and after a run – this is very important for us big guys.

I agree more with the warming up part…stretching (like hurdlers, butterflies and quad stretches) has not been shown to significantly reduce injuries. But there is something called dynamic stretching that’s being recommended by sports physios and PTs. (http://www.brianmac.demon.co.uk/articles/scni8a2.htm). I do the leg swings, hip stuff and arm swings described on the page. I also include knee circles (basically knees together, slightly bent and circle gently/softly in one direction for 15-20 seconds then reverse directions) and ankle circles (stand on one foot, rest the ball of the other foot on the ground and circle that ankle in one direction and then the other). 3) Noone laugh at me for suggesting this! As I’m big, I take a lot of fish / cod liver oil, and eat oily fish for my joints. This may be mind over matter, but I damaged my knees in a car crash a few years ago and need to protect them. If it’s mind over matter… break it to me gently

Not sure about the oily fish…but both me and my horse take glucosamine for our joints! (If you think your running heavy – look at a horse. A racehorse has 1000 lbs. of weight on legs that are very slender. Even if you divide by 4 that’s still over 250 lbs. per leg!) I take the glucosamine/chondritin combo, though not as religiously as I should. I’m fairly certain that there is a fairly good body of evidence to support glucosamine/chondritin. Other advice – If your knee continues to be a problem (even with correct shoes and glucosamine), go see your doctor to get a referral to a PT. You may be right that the weight is contributing to the problem, but the football history makes me worry that you may have other contributing factors/injuries as well. Knee problems can arise for a variety of reasons and making sure that you are physiologically sound will help. I also like the cross-training advice that Donovan brought up. I truly don’t think that swimming causes significant weight loss without a lot of time investment (3+ hrs/day), but it is a great weight to help develop a strong core and be active on a non-running day. Biking is some of the best cross training I have found and it’s a nice break for the knees. And I just learned that if you continue to have knee pain while biking – it may be a sign of IT band problems…always interesting to learn more… I think you have a great approach. Keep a positive attitude and give yourself a lot of positive reinforcement. You can do it and you are doing it! Like Donovan’s latte, I love to go buy that a book or rent that movie I’ve wanted to read/see forever after my long run. You might also considering getting involved in a fun team sports again. It doesn’t have to be anything serious…maybe a weekly drop-in basketball game, an adult kickball league, or my favorite – a pick-up or rec league ultimate game. Nothing is more rewarding to me for putting in the mileage than playing a great game of ultimate. Getting done and not being exhausted and knowing that I played well because I trained well is just such a positive reward. (On the other hand…nothing is more frustrating than a really horrible game… = ) ). peace, ~b – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Cheers, Joe. I’m 23 years old. I was a high school athlete (football and baseball), but my training was strictly limited to those sports. My playing weight was 220 pounds, but after 5 years of college and relative inactivity, I’m now 6′3" and 250 pounds. I’ve begun jogging around my neighborhood for two reasons: (1) I want to make a lifetime commitment to staying fit (2) I would like to lose some weight, for health and aesthetic reasons. I’m already having a problem with my right knee, and I think it may be due in large part to toting around 220+ pounds for the last several years I’ve determined a route that is 1 mile long and I’ve split it into 7 nearly equal parts. I run every other day and add 1/7 of a mile each time. At this rate, I’ll add a mile every two weeks. Right now I’m at approximately 2.5 miles. My current goal is to hit 5 miles, but I may raise that number once I get there. Is this a good way to get in shape? Does anyone have any suggestions for me, since I have little to no experience with distance running? Thanks very much for anything you can give me! ~Trojan

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I’m 23 years old. I was a high school athlete (football and baseball), but my training was strictly limited to those sports. My playing weight was 220 pounds, but after 5 years of college and relative inactivity, I’m now 6′3" and 250 pounds. I’ve begun jogging around my neighborhood for two reasons: (1) I want to make a lifetime commitment to staying fit (2) I would like to lose some weight, for health and aesthetic reasons. I’m already having a problem with my right knee, and I think it may be due in large part to toting around 220+ pounds for the last several years I’ve determined a route that is 1 mile long and I’ve split it into 7 nearly equal parts. I run every other day and add 1/7 of a mile each time. At this rate, I’ll add a mile every two weeks. Right now I’m at approximately 2.5 miles. My current goal is to hit 5 miles, but I may raise that number once I get there. Is this a good way to get in shape? Does anyone have any suggestions for me, since I have little to no experience with distance running? Thanks very much for anything you can give me! ~Trojan

Hi Trojan – running is a high-impact sport and I can tell you that it’s fairly well-known (unfortunately) that beginning runners tend to improve faster in the cardiovascular sense before the connective tissues and some key muscles have time to get accustomed to it. It’s a time-lag thing that really does resolve itself, but not before discouraging many runners to quit before they ever really get started. Your program looks good on paper, and makes me think that there may be an underlying problem – perhaps you’re wearing shoes that are incorrect for your foot shape and heavy body weight. Something as simple as getting fitted with good shoes and /or a quality pair of aftermaket insoles could do the trick. Go to a real running store and pay the bucks. In the big picture, it’s a fairly cheap sport (unless you race often!) Another option is to try easing into fitness with other sports as well, along with the running. This can also prevent future injury, anyway since you will be working on different muscle groups. Also, the more you can get accomplished on a weekly basis will dictate how fast you get fit, so cross-training makes a lot of sense. I like the exercise bike a lot, and sometimes I swim. This really helps my running, as it allows me to "train more" with less wear. cheers, — David (in Hamilton, ON) www.allfalldown.org "The most insecure people are the ones you see putting other people down constantly."

Response:

If you are already having knee trouble, you might want to consider sticking to walking at least until you strengthen your muscles & lose some weight. And then edge *slowly* and *carefully* into some running with the walking. You can get a good workout with brisk walking! And you can do it pretty much every day. bj

Response:

I’m 23 years old. I was a high school athlete (football and baseball), but my training was strictly limited to those sports. My playing weight was 220 pounds, but after 5 years of college and relative inactivity, I’m now 6′3" and 250 pounds. I’ve begun jogging around my neighborhood for two reasons: (1) I want to make a lifetime commitment to staying fit (2) I would like to lose some weight, for health and aesthetic reasons. I’m already having a problem with my right knee, and I think it may be due in large part to toting around 220+ pounds for the last several years I’ve determined a route that is 1 mile long and I’ve split it into 7 nearly equal parts. I run every other day and add 1/7 of a mile each time. At this rate, I’ll add a mile every two weeks. Right now I’m at approximately 2.5 miles. My current goal is to hit 5 miles, but I may raise that number once I get there. Is this a good way to get in shape? Does anyone have any suggestions for me, since I have little to no experience with distance running? Thanks very much for anything you can give me! ~Trojan

Response:

I am a beginning runner and am hoping to run for my high school’s cross-country team this coming school year. The problem is that I just started training this June. The team runs 5K races at each meet. I am currently running 2.5 miles every other day and hope to bump that # up soon. How can I "get up to speed" before this September? What are the proper techniques in running the 5K? Any advice would be great. Thanks. Strobe

Yo Strobe, After running your 2.5 every other day, walk/run another 2.5 so that you’re doing 2.5 plus 2.5 of walking running for a total of 5 miles. Gradually on the off days, do a 3.5 mile run at an easy pace. Right now don’t worry about speed, you need the base miles in so that you can go the 5K distance without any thoughts or worries or concerns of finishing and feeling good. Also we don’t know what up to speed means. What speed do you want to be up to? If you get up to that speed but are injured, what does it matter if you’re up to speed. Cross Country is a team sport run solo. Your coach will help you get to where you need to go in the next 3 or 4 years. Right now work on the base so that you can have fun running and talking for 8 or 10 miles with your friends several times a week. — In health and on the run, Ozzie Gontang Maintainer-rec.running FAQ Director, San Diego Marathon Clinic, est. 1975

Response:

You’ll probably get as many different suggestions as you do responses, but here’s mine: I ran HS cross country all 4 years, and like everyone else, I was a sub 6 minute miler (but I really was). Now I’m 31 and once again a sub six minute miler, but it took a ton of work to get back there. Anyway, I would suggest you build up your mileage to 25/30 miles per week. What you need is endurance, you can already run fast, you just can’t endure a really fast pace for the whole race. If you pack on the miles, the 5K will seem trite, and a little speed work mixed in will help with your pace. Run at 70% effort for longer runs, work up to some 5 and 6 milers, or maybe occasionally longer. Once a week run some fast laps around the track at race pace. Get the mileage up though. Now that I have hindsight, I think my HS coach should have concentrated us more on medium speed distance work and only a smattering of speed work. He was just the opposite and I think it broke us down too much. Besides, the rigors of racing twice weekly is really tough on the body. Take it easy, but take it long. Hope this helps. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -I am a beginning runner and am hoping to run for my high school’s cross-country team this coming school year. The problem is that I just started training this June. The team runs 5K races at each meet. I am currently running 2.5 miles every other day and hope to bump that # up soon. How can I "get up to speed" before this September? What are the proper techniques in running the 5K? Any advice would be great. Thanks. Strobe

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