Ran a 5K today

I find myself getting tired of many podcasts after a few episodes, but I enjoyed Ben Greenfield, Running with the Pack and IMTalk for a while. In all cases, I preferred interview episodes.

Roughly timed my 5k today at 32.5 minutes.
I should be under 30 minutes again soon.
With any luck, I'll get some strength back in my shoulder before the mudder.
Right now it looks like I'm skipping obstacles. Crawling and just hanging from a bar are still difficult; only recently possible.

Can I sneak in here with my walking?

Spoiler:

I don't run but I welcomed in spring today with a 23km walk at 3 hr 45 min which for this route was 65 minutes better than google map's time. woo!

Today was the first cool down shower after running, instead of warm up shower.

Honestly, I don't mind running in the cold. The shower after is fantastic.

krev82 wrote:

Can I sneak in here with my walking?

Spoiler:

I don't run but I welcomed in spring today with a 23km walk at 3 hr 45 min which for this route was 65 minutes better than google map's time. woo!

A lot of my "running" is actually walking. Walk away! Walk forever!

Is it as good as running?

I dunno but if I can convert my long walks into 5k runs that would be great. For some reason I can't seem to jog very far much less run. Perhaps a breathing issue or the nature of my stride (heel strike rather that the forefoot strike I keep seeing suggested - don't understand how that's supposed to work mechanically).

My cardio seems fine in that I can go pretty 'far' on an elliptical or stationary bike and maintain a high heart rate but for whatever reason not so much with running.

Suggestions?

krev82 wrote:

I dunno but if I can convert my long walks into 5k runs that would be great. For some reason I can't seem to jog very far much less run. Perhaps a breathing issue or the nature of my stride (heel strike rather that the forefoot strike I keep seeing suggested - don't understand how that's supposed to work mechanically).

My cardio seems fine in that I can go pretty 'far' on an elliptical or stationary bike and maintain a high heart rate but for whatever reason not so much with running.

Suggestions?

Two suggestions:

1 - Couch to 5k. Cheesy name (as it tends to be abbreviated C25K) but it works, as a friend of mine will attest to.
2 - Find a friend to run with. If you don't know anyone, try your local Running Room (I know they have at least one in Halifax). They will have programs that will get you running with people.

Also, when you start to run, you need a bit of a shift in attitude. I started enjoying running once I accepted that, sometimes, no matter how much I wanted to run a 5k, my body would say no and I would only get 3 or 4k done, and end up walking the last bit. Sometimes, if I am feeling crappy, I get 1km in and realize I need to turn around.

krev82 wrote:

I dunno but if I can convert my long walks into 5k runs that would be great. For some reason I can't seem to jog very far much less run. Perhaps a breathing issue or the nature of my stride (heel strike rather that the forefoot strike I keep seeing suggested - don't understand how that's supposed to work mechanically).

My cardio seems fine in that I can go pretty 'far' on an elliptical or stationary bike and maintain a high heart rate but for whatever reason not so much with running.

Suggestions?

What is it that stops you being able to jog very far?

If the reason is that you 'run out of breath', then you're simply working harder than you're able to sustain. Simple and most obvious solution to that is reduce intensity i.e. slow down. Yes, that might mean that you're running at a speed that feels absurdly slow - don't worry, you'll build speed with time, as you build aerobic capacity to support the higher load of running faster. Try focusing not on the speed that you're moving at, but on your perceived level of exertion. If every time you go out for a run, you aim for a 5 out of 10, within a few weeks, you'll find that you're running faster at that same level of exertion. For what it's worth, a reasonable "easy" endurance training pace should leave you enough breath to carry on a conversation. It may just be that your idea of running is more like sprinting.

If the reason is that you get sore, then gait might be the issue. If you wanted to move to a more mid/fore foot strike, the most intuitive way I've found is to focus on increasing your cadence (i.e. steps/minute) *without* increasing your forward speed. Remember, speed is the product of cadence and stride-length. Folk who run with an overly-long stride *have* to heel-strike. Focusing on upping your cadence is a roundabout way to reduce your stride-length, which naturally moves you to a mid/fore foot strike.

Run uphill or up stairs to help develop a forefoot gait. This may not help you if you somehow climb stairs using a heelstrike.

C25K works. It's incremental, so the rise intensity is manageable and not daunting. My wife and I, with different body types and fitness types, trained roughly together and ran a few 5ks and a 10k last year, without having run too much before (some treadmill work but nothing consistent).

krev82 wrote:

Suggestions?

I was told that I use a 'midfoot' stride. I'm not on the heels or the balls of my foot really. It's a lot less jarring than a heel stride, and I always feel like hitting the ground evenly and then shifting towards the balls of my feet and then pushing off. Can you elaborate on your breathing issue concern?

krev82 wrote:

Suggestions?

Galloway run/walk. Basically take regularly scheduled walk breaks.

Hi running thread! I ran my first half marathon today, got some really good tips from this thread, so thanks. Finished in 2:13 and ran the whole way, so a pretty good first outing. Now I'm going to try put the kids to bed early and pass out for 12 hours.

wow major props Norman, nice time too!

My sis and I are doings couch to 5k. It is surprisingly easy to keep up with. Today we did our first non stop 20 min run. My legs are stills singing, but nothing i won't get over:) the biggest step up was the first time we did 5 minute runs. That one nearly finished us, but we persevered!

For reference, I've probably run more in the last 5 weeks than I have since leaving secondary school 12 years ago.

Kudos to all. I need to get up myself.

T minus 2 hours 30 minutes till I run my first 5k ever with some coworkers. I'm doing the Color Run in Minneapolis/St Paul, MN. I don't think I'll be able to run the full 5k/3.1 miles, but I'll be able to run at least 2 miles. I did the couch to 5k app on my phone, and had worked up to running for 30 minutes straight, had just working on improving my speed. I currently run at about a 4.5-4.7 mph.

You HAVE to run the full 5k. Or at least, that's what you should tell yourself. You will have some adrenaline at the start so try to suppress it and keep your normal pace. Then try to let the adrenaline push you the last mile. Just keep in mind that you will have people cheering for you at the finish line. It's a great feeling. Races are races, after all, so push yourself as hard as you can! And have fun :).

This isn't really a race, its supposed to be a fun run;)

cheeba wrote:

You HAVE to run the full 5k. Or at least, that's what you should tell yourself. You will have some adrenaline at the start so try to suppress it and keep your normal pace. Then try to let the adrenaline push you the last mile. Just keep in mind that you will have people cheering for you at the finish line. It's a great feeling. Races are races, after all, so push yourself as hard as you can! And have fun :).

So true! You can do it! The crowds really help too. Hope the weather is perfect for you.

Good luck, the most important part is to have fun! Being able to run the full 5K will come in time, but I bet you'll be able to run longer than you think.

(All of this) * 'finity. It's a different environment surrounded by thousands of people. I wanted to sprint the whole time because everyone was running at such a modest pace, and I'm no runner.

You'll surprise yourself almost certainly.

91 and humid. I wasn't last, but wasn't able to run even half of it.

IMAGE(http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a280/rainsmercy/Color_run_zps5cb8b377.jpg)

Rainsmercy wrote:

91 and humid. I wasn't last, but wasn't able to run even half of it.

IMAGE(http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a280/rainsmercy/Color_run_zps5cb8b377.jpg)

Do they shoot you with paintballs or something?

Good job, 91 and humid are rough conditions for running!

Its food color and corn starch basically, and scattered through the run they have 4 stations where they have 10-20 people dousing the runners/walkers with it when they run/walk past. When mixed with sweat is a strong dye....had to scrub with soap and rinse three times to get the majority of it off of my skin and still not fully gone.

You finished, and well by the sound of it. I hope you enjoyed it.

Rainsmercy wrote:

Its food color and corn starch basically, and scattered through the run they have 4 stations where they have 10-20 people dousing the runners/walkers with it when they run/walk past. When mixed with sweat is a strong dye....had to scrub with soap and rinse three times to get the majority of it off of my skin and still not fully gone.

I don't understand, but glad it was fun. And bravo! I find running really hard. I've been doing it for three years now, and I can still only manage, about 6:30 min kilometers over a 5k, on a good day. That works out to about 32-33 minutes.

Yah, it took me about 43-44 minutes since I walked so much. I did the couch to 5k program and was running for 30 minutes straight without stopping to walk until I did the 5k. I did the first half mile running and pretty much walked the rest of the run.