Running

[dappadan]

Any tips on getting motivated to do running?

I do kick boxing 4 times a week but can't seem to motivate myself to actually go for a run just seems so boring to me!!

[mjmooney]

I heard today it can be a bad thing to run on treadmills, damages knees etc, any truth to this?

I've heard the opposite - people I know with knee problems use the treadmill rather than the roads until it's cleared up.

Personally I wouldn't touch a treadmill with a bargepole, I hate gyms with a passion.

Run off road.

[mjmooney]

You know what, I can't seem to jog, I think that may be much of the problem. I go at football pace. I can't go slow, if I go slow I get bored.

I used to have this bother. Persevere though mate, get into a slow riddim (dub, not DnB on your iPod). You'll go much,much farther, feel a lot better for it and maybe even get the bug.

I got the bug, I love running, but can't seem to go any slower.

I've only ever run when I've played sport, so a quick short blast is about all I can manage naturally, and if I start running to dub music I might aswell take a beanbag with me

I feel as though there is no benefit to going any slower, like I might aswell do a quick walk instead.

Sprinting won't make you fit (in fact if you're unfit it'll probably cause injuries). Distance running will make you fit. The longer the distance, the slower the pace.

I know what you mean about jogging though. When my missus first started running, I could walk faster than she could run (actually I think I could stand still faster than she could run); I found it excruciating to run with her. And if people ask me if I "still do jogging" they are in severe danger of a fat lip.

But you should still be able to find a steady pace that you can keep up for longer periods.

The walk/run/sprint fartlek thing is good though.

EDIT: And drop the iPod, find something esle to think about.

[Jez]

A few tips from when i was a fatty now run fairly regularly after losing the weight.

These are based on my experiences so perhaps different for yourself and might even be wrong, but found them to work for me

Try and run with other people, its so hard running on your own until you get the determination and stubbornness just to not stop!

Get proper trainers fitted from a running shop otherwise you'll last 5 mins, in your Hi Teck Silver Arrow you wear day in day out!

Have rest days, rest is just as important as running, only really implies if you get the bug and feel like you can run all the time...

Get Nike + for you iPod or something similar, helps to balance your pace so your not going too fast.

Learn to control your stitches, there are things you can do whilst running to ease them..

I ran too much at the start and had a few knee problems because my left foot arch is slightly over thus going upto my knee joint is slightly out of the roll, few weeks rest and then runnung with rest days i have no problems.

On average do 10k ever other day and have weekends off, not much i know but am interested in increasing it gently.

[Ikantcpell]

I heard today it can be a bad thing to run on treadmills, damages knees etc, any truth to this?

I've heard the opposite - people I know with knee problems use the treadmill rather than the roads until it's cleared up.

Personally I wouldn't touch a treadmill with a bargepole, I hate gyms with a passion.

Run off road.

Nothing wrong with having a bunch of hot girls working out infront of you...gives me inspiration to keep on running

[mjmooney]

A few tips from when i was a fatty now run fairly regularly after losing the weight.

These are based on my experiences so perhaps different for yourself and might even be wrong, but found them to work for me

Try and run with other people, its so hard running on your own until you get the determination and stubbornness just to not stop!

Get proper trainers fitted from a running shop otherwise you'll last 5 mins, in your Hi Teck Silver Arrow you wear day in day out!

Have rest days, rest is just as important as running, only really implies if you get the bug and feel like you can run all the time...

Get Nike + for you iPod or something similar, helps to balance your pace so your not going too fast.

Learn to control your stitches, there are things you can do whilst running to ease them..

I ran too much at the start and had a few knee problems because my left foot arch is slightly over thus going upto my knee joint is slightly out of the roll, few weeks rest and then runnung with rest days i have no problems.

On average do 10k ever other day and have weekends off, not much i know but am interested in increasing it gently.

This-thissety this this, this this.

Except for the iPod thing which I find to be totally conterproductive.

The running partners thing is the main one. Hence my evangelism for joining a running club. Find one. Do it.

[knowles]

I heard today it can be a bad thing to run on treadmills, damages knees etc, any truth to this?

I've heard the opposite - people I know with knee problems use the treadmill rather than the roads until it's cleared up.

Personally I wouldn't touch a treadmill with a bargepole, I hate gyms with a passion.

Run off road.

Nothing wrong with having a bunch of hot girls working out infront of you...gives me inspiration to keep on running

Mate at my uni the ratio is 4 girls to 1 guy....Gym is my favourite time of the day...they love it aswell the cheeky mares 8) ..

[mjmooney]

Plenty of hot women in my running club. And I get to see them in fresh air and daylight, while not having to put up with shit music or shit TV.

[Santa_Rosa]

Except for the iPod thing which I find to be totally conterproductive.

Oh I dunno. Signing up to a few challenges on Nike+ has provided a great deal of motivation for me. Just signed up to do 60 miles before the end of August. Not exactly a major distance but certainly challenging enough for where I am at the minute.

[mjmooney]

Except for the iPod thing which I find to be totally conterproductive.

Oh I dunno. Signing up to a few challenges on Nike+ has provided a great deal of motivation for me. Just signed up to do 60 miles before the end of August. Not exactly a major distance but certainly challenging enough for where I am at the minute.

Oh sure, I realise I'm in a minority on this one.

Thing is, I love running and I love music. For years I wanted to be able to listen to music while running. Obviously first- and second-generation Walkman technology was no good, but when mp3 players came along I was quite excited.

Trouble is, I hate "beats"-type music. I use my mp3 box to play my record collection (mainly 60s/70s rock, pop, soul, folk, country, etc., etc.) on "shuffle". Terrible for running, as the rhythms and speeds keep changing.

But it's not just that. I find that with earphones in I'm too cut-off from the outside world; it affects my judgement of things like crossing roads, and I don't hear people coming up behind me, etc. So there's a safety issue.

And ultimately, it's antisocial. I get quite pissed off on club runs when I speak to someone in the group and they don't hear me. And in races it's a real menace. When I'm marshalling a race and have to tell people things like "stay in line as you go through the finish chute", the ones with iPods are just oblivious.

I believe the New York Marathon has banned the use of earphones for the above reasons, and this has led to loads of bleating from people who simply can't run without their precious iPods. Well, **** learn to then. Concentrate on your running, listen to the world around you. Talk to people.

Your mileage may vary, naturally.

[Santa_Rosa]

Aye, I can appreciate where you're coming from Mike, it does detract from the sensory experience of running somewhat and safety is a concern. It's the Nike+ motivation thing that swings it for me. Q quick touch of the screen tells me how far I've gone, at what speed etc. Before I had that, I didn't run to music at all. If I was in a club, or a Fun Run I wouldn't dream of using it. Antisocial like you say.

As it's our lass' iPod touch I have to use to get the Nike+ thing working I have little music that is to my taste on it too (although Living For The City by Stevie came on last night and that turned out to be a great tune to run to). I need to get a decent running playlist with tunes on it that will negate effect of the rhythm and speed changes that you mention. Mind you, I'm not out long enough to get through many tracks anyhow

[tonyh29]

Try and run with other people

never worked for me .. modesty apart most people were too slow so I had to run at a reduced pace which was sort of weird for me .. I used to have a longish stride which felt like a natural rhythm for me if that makes sense ? I had a friend who regularly runs marathons around the 2 hrs 20 min mark who was too fast for me and meant that as I tried to keep pace i was destroyed after a few miles ... so in the end just found it easier to plug in my music and do my own thing .. I used to do a track session twice a week where we did 10 x 400m intervals which you def did need someone to run with to push you along

I'm a treadmill runner now as my knees have gone .. again i find it hard as it upsets my natural stride but it's better than nothing and i'm slowly adjusting to it . Knees still a bit tender at times but i can live with it

[granto]

All the big races in the US will be banning iPods so best to get used to not using them.

How to motivate:

I always find if I don't feel like running, the best thing to do is to go and change into my running gear and just watch TV or do whatever. Somehow the fact that your gear is on prepares you mentally to head out there and do it.

Anyone interest in Asia events, or if you live out this way - check out my new site running-asia.com which I'm taking to the masses in a few weeks once all the content is on there. There is even a forum, although it will never be Villa Talk of course.

[mjmooney]

Training update: (touches wood, crosses fingers) my achilles tendons seem to have settled down a lot, and I've been increasing training - with a twist. I previously used to run 20-25 miles a week over three sessions, with rest days in between. I've now decided to run six days - the only rest day is Monday, and even then I walk a mile to the pub. Weekly mileage is now about 27/28.

On the former rest days now I now do a SHORT, SLOW run - usually with the missus. Maybe three miles, ten-minute miling. And, interestingly, it makes a difference. I seem to run better on the "harder" runs, and I'm less tired in between.

I'm not what I'd call fully race-fit yet, and I'm going easy on the speedwork (still a bit nervous about the achilles), but my fitness is definitely improving. Did a vets' league race last night and felt good - much faster and stronger than the previous two fixtures.

The temptation to enter a shitload of street races is increasing, but that is often the trigger for injury breakdown, so I'm wary.

[Jez]

I've managed to get this run of 6.9 miles around 10.54k down from 1,00,56 to 52,45

Pace of about 5,08 per km currently.

I keep improving it though, it obviously has to stop sometime.

I did it this morning though and when i was 4mins away from doing it in 53 i thought not going to do this and just carried on not pushing myself, still beat it

I can do the whole run now at a slow pace without even being tired at the end which is good i suppose, like to push myself though and feel like i've done something

[mjmooney]

For the uninitiated - Jez's run diagram is not to the same scale on the x and y axes!

Good work though Jez.

[Jez]

Sorry yes, its in miles and feet using Ordnance Survey software.

[stato]

I'm training for the half marathon and have been doing so for nearly 4 weeks now. I'm pretty comfortable doing around 4 miles at the moment.

I'm finding that my breathing/stamina is ok and I think I could go on for quite a bit further than 4 miles. However, my legs disagree. I guess working on strengthening them in the gym might accelerate my progress?

With attending the cricket and football getting in the way, I didn't run from last Saturday through to Wednesday this week. When I went out on Wednesday I barely got a mile before my ankles and legs were giving me serious grief, like it was my first ever run. It the end I had to stop, at which point they felt even worse, throbbing away.

I went out last night and did 4 miles without a problem. It was almost as if I had to get rid of the cobwebs on the Wednesday, having had a whole 4 days off!

Is this normal for somone fairly new to this, like me?

[kingphil]

I think it just depends on how your body is feeling that day.

Over the last few weeks, my hamstrings have been giving me a fair bot of grief. So much that I had to stop and walk the rest of my route last week.

But then this week they have been fine, but then suffered a fair bit of cramp in my calfs.

It's all flipping crazy

[mjmooney]

I'm training for the half marathon and have been doing so for nearly 4 weeks now. I'm pretty comfortable doing around 4 miles at the moment.

I'm finding that my breathing/stamina is ok and I think I could go on for quite a bit further than 4 miles. However, my legs disagree. I guess working on strengthening them in the gym might accelerate my progress?

With attending the cricket and football getting in the way, I didn't run from last Saturday through to Wednesday this week. When I went out on Wednesday I barely got a mile before my ankles and legs were giving me serious grief, like it was my first ever run. It the end I had to stop, at which point they felt even worse, throbbing away.

I went out last night and did 4 miles without a problem. It was almost as if I had to get rid of the cobwebs on the Wednesday, having had a whole 4 days off!

Is this normal for somone fairly new to this, like me?

In a word, yes.

Last week I did 30 miles, running every day except Monday. My seven mile run in to work on the Friday felt pretty comfortable, with hardly any aches and pains afterwards.

This week I ran on Tuesday evening (club night), but did nothing on Wednesday or Thursday. I ran in to work today as usual, but it was hard work, and my legs are still aching.