Paddywhack Posted February 14 Share Posted February 14 I’m going to ask a stupid question. I’m following a basic training plan I found online. It seems to be working well for me, but it’s not very good at explaining some of the runs. So...what does ‘7 miles with 6 x 2 minute intervals’ actually mean? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lapal_fan Posted February 14 Share Posted February 14 3 minutes ago, Paddywhack said: I’m going to ask a stupid question. I’m following a basic training plan I found online. It seems to be working well for me, but it’s not very good at explaining some of the runs. So...what does ‘7 miles with 6 x 2 minute intervals’ actually mean? Within the 6 miles, you can have 6 lots of 2 mins not running? Not the clearest of language is it? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danwichmann Posted February 15 Share Posted February 15 (edited) 5 hours ago, Paddywhack said: I’m going to ask a stupid question. I’m following a basic training plan I found online. It seems to be working well for me, but it’s not very good at explaining some of the runs. So...what does ‘7 miles with 6 x 2 minute intervals’ actually mean? It means you should run hard for 2 minutes, six times during the run. But it's really not well explained if that's all it says because it should also give a rest interval and talk about pace. Normally when running intervals you keep the rest of the running quite easy and very easy or even walking during the rest intervals. For 6x2mins, I would suggest something like: 1)10-15 minutes easy running warm warm up 2) Run 2 minutes at a hard pace but not 100% flat out. You shouldn't really have breathe to talk but you don't feel like you are dying. 3) Jog or even walk for 2 minutes, this is your recovery interval. 4) repeat 2 and 3 5 more times 5) Run at an easy pace for remainder it the 7 miles. Easy means you should be able to talk easily while running. If you feel good and recovered, you can start to pick up the pace you your normal, moderate speed. Edited February 15 by Danwichmann 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paddywhack Posted February 15 Share Posted February 15 18 hours ago, Danwichmann said: It means you should run hard for 2 minutes, six times during the run. But it's really not well explained if that's all it says because it should also give a rest interval and talk about pace. Normally when running intervals you keep the rest of the running quite easy and very easy or even walking during the rest intervals. For 6x2mins, I would suggest something like: 1)10-15 minutes easy running warm warm up 2) Run 2 minutes at a hard pace but not 100% flat out. You shouldn't really have breathe to talk but you don't feel like you are dying. 3) Jog or even walk for 2 minutes, this is your recovery interval. 4) repeat 2 and 3 5 more times 5) Run at an easy pace for remainder it the 7 miles. Easy means you should be able to talk easily while running. If you feel good and recovered, you can start to pick up the pace you your normal, moderate speed. That makes more sense, thanks mate. I’ll be doing this next week then. This plan has made me realise I’m really bad at keeping to a pace, even when looking at my watch constantly. It’s more dictated by hills than anything else. I guess that’s when getting on a track is useful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa89 Posted February 15 Share Posted February 15 At breaking point now with shin splints. Seems to be no cure other than 45 mins of calf stretching a day which I am not going to do. Even after rest periods there's still pain. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Dog Posted February 15 Share Posted February 15 1 hour ago, Paddywhack said: That makes more sense, thanks mate. I’ll be doing this next week then. This plan has made me realise I’m really bad at keeping to a pace, even when looking at my watch constantly. It’s more dictated by hills than anything else. I guess that’s when getting on a track is useful. Don't submit to a track if you have a routine like this, stick at it on the hills, nothing, and I mean NOTHING, will increase speed and stamina like hill runs - It'll be rank AF in the early days, but it'll pay you back plus dividends over time 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danwichmann Posted February 16 Share Posted February 16 4 hours ago, Paddywhack said: That makes more sense, thanks mate. I’ll be doing this next week then. This plan has made me realise I’m really bad at keeping to a pace, even when looking at my watch constantly. It’s more dictated by hills than anything else. I guess that’s when getting on a track is useful. Yeah, I prefer to do intervals like that on a track but I'm lucky in having easy access to one. Don't worry about your pace on hills because it's obviously not going to be consistent. Try to run by effort and keep that steady, even if it means the pace varies. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sne Posted February 18 Share Posted February 18 Watching the Seville marathon on the telly and the guy in front is by the looks of it not wearing underwear under his tights. His whole package is hanging down bouncing on his thigh. Looks extremely uncomfortable Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danwichmann Posted February 18 Share Posted February 18 4 hours ago, sne said: Watching the Seville marathon on the telly and the guy in front is by the looks of it not wearing underwear under his tights. His whole package is hanging down bouncing on his thigh. Looks extremely uncomfortable Friend of mine had his come out his shorts during the 100m teacher race at college sports day recently. Or at least that was his excuse for not winning. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CVByrne Posted February 18 Share Posted February 18 Did my 30k there today, was meant to be the 28k but was feeling good so did additional 2. Have a 30k next week then 32k before the taper. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mozzavfc Posted February 18 Share Posted February 18 Other end of the spectrum to most of you but I'm due to finish the couch to 5k program this week. Now that it's getting warmer hoping to get out more and maybe do a 10k by the end of sunmer 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Risso Posted February 18 Share Posted February 18 5 hours ago, CVByrne said: Did my 30k there today, was meant to be the 28k but was feeling good so did additional 2. Have a 30k next week then 32k before the taper. Well done CV, that's excellent mate. What race are you training for? 4 hours ago, Mozzavfc said: Other end of the spectrum to most of you but I'm due to finish the couch to 5k program this week. Now that it's getting warmer hoping to get out more and maybe do a 10k by the end of sunmer Excellent, well done. When you first get into running, the couch to 5K bit is the hardest thing you'll do. I remember starting it a few years ago, and almost feeling sick when I looked ahead in the plan a few weeks and saw I'd have to run for 20 minutes straight at week 7 or whtever it was. I just couldn't imagine being able to do it. Once you've finished it though, the move from 5K to 10K (and even longer) is a whole lot easier. If you haven't already, have a look at your local parkrun. 5K every Saturday at 9am, most places with a few hundred runners of all ages, with times from the people finishing first at 15 minutes, to people walking and taking an hour, and everything in-between. It's a really good way to keep your running going, and motivate yourself to try to get a bit quicker/fitter every week. Just stick at it, and there will come a time, a bit like learning to drive, when everything just clicks into place. I'm currently training for the London Landmarks Half Marathon in April, which I'll be running with my 18 year old daughter. We're following a training plan, which at the moment looks comething like this: Monday - long run - currently up to 14K Wednesday - intervals. Usually something like a 1K warm up, then 4 x 1K at 4:40 pace with a minute cool down, and then a 1K cool down to finish. Thursday - an easy 5/6/7K run Saturday - 5K parkrun. My current pb for this (according to them) is 24:22. According to my watch it was 23:55. Ho hum. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Risso Posted February 18 Share Posted February 18 On 15/02/2024 at 21:06, villa89 said: At breaking point now with shin splints. Seems to be no cure other than 45 mins of calf stretching a day which I am not going to do. Even after rest periods there's still pain. Sorry to hear that mate, they're a bastard. Only thing I found that helped was to have a break for a couple of weeks (not great if you're training for something specific) and then make sure you stretched really well before going out, and then slowing your speed down. In terms of stretches I found walking on my tiptoes, and then on my heels backwards and forwards works well. Also doing some general leg strength work a couple of times a week, eg lunges and squats holding something heavy. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CVByrne Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 16 hours ago, Risso said: Well done CV, that's excellent mate. What race are you training for? Paris Marathon. Aiming to try get under 3h10 but my pb there is 3h18m 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenko#4 Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 I’ve recently started running again and I’m currently training for my first half marathon in May. Since January I’ve followed a plan and gone from struggling to run for more than 5 minutes, to being able to run 3 times a week and up to 5 miles without stopping. The problem is that all of my training so far has been done on the treadmill. I live in a small village that gets flooded easily and is not safe to run in the dark before or after work at the moment, as street lights are limited. My question for my fellow Villa runners is, have any of you ever trained for a longish run mainly on a treadmill, and if so, how did it go? I know I’ll be able to get outside soon, but I’m worried that if I build up to say 6-7 miles on the treadmill, then go outside, I won’t be able to get anywhere near that distance when I start running ‘properly’ and it’ll put me behind with my training plan. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Risso Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 20 minutes ago, Jenko#4 said: I’ve recently started running again and I’m currently training for my first half marathon in May. Since January I’ve followed a plan and gone from struggling to run for more than 5 minutes, to being able to run 3 times a week and up to 5 miles without stopping. The problem is that all of my training so far has been done on the treadmill. I live in a small village that gets flooded easily and is not safe to run in the dark before or after work at the moment, as street lights are limited. My question for my fellow Villa runners is, have any of you ever trained for a longish run mainly on a treadmill, and if so, how did it go? I know I’ll be able to get outside soon, but I’m worried that if I build up to say 6-7 miles on the treadmill, then go outside, I won’t be able to get anywhere near that distance when I start running ‘properly’ and it’ll put me behind with my training plan. Nice one! I can't speak for anybody else, but personally I find running outside ten times easier than on a treadmill, so if you've got used to the absolute monotonous drudgery of treadmill running, you'll love running outside and will find it really liberating! There are advantages to treadmill running, ie you can do it in any weather, you can control your pace more easily, and it's relatively easy on the joints. You can also keep a bottle of water on the machine so you don't have to cart anything around. However as I said, I just find it boring beyond belief, and struggle to do more than 2K before I'm ready to kill myself. Having the coordination of a pissed giraffe on ice, I also find it takes a bit of concentration, and if I look away for a few seconds I start to lose my balance and feel disoriented. I much prefer the fresh air of outdoor running, and the feeling you're actually going somewhere rather than staring at the same screen. Me and my daughter did a 14K long run round Rutland Water today. A lovely spring day, albeit with a bugger of a wind. It was nice to do it around some beautiful scenery and to see other runners out doing the same. We live in the middle of nowhere as well, where I wouldn't run at night due to the dark, narrow country lanes, and dickhead farmers speeding round in their pickups. So instead we bought a couple of head torches and ran around the nearest town which we drove to in the evening. Have you got an official parkrun near where you live? They're every Saturday morning at 9am, and there are hundreds all over the country. Free to race, and a really good atmosphere where there will be people at the same level as you who you can run alongside. (Just realised I said that abovem but it bears repeating. parkruns are ace. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenko#4 Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 1 hour ago, Risso said: Nice one! I can't speak for anybody else, but personally I find running outside ten times easier than on a treadmill, so if you've got used to the absolute monotonous drudgery of treadmill running, you'll love running outside and will find it really liberating! There are advantages to treadmill running, ie you can do it in any weather, you can control your pace more easily, and it's relatively easy on the joints. You can also keep a bottle of water on the machine so you don't have to cart anything around. However as I said, I just find it boring beyond belief, and struggle to do more than 2K before I'm ready to kill myself. Having the coordination of a pissed giraffe on ice, I also find it takes a bit of concentration, and if I look away for a few seconds I start to lose my balance and feel disoriented. I much prefer the fresh air of outdoor running, and the feeling you're actually going somewhere rather than staring at the same screen. Me and my daughter did a 14K long run round Rutland Water today. A lovely spring day, albeit with a bugger of a wind. It was nice to do it around some beautiful scenery and to see other runners out doing the same. We live in the middle of nowhere as well, where I wouldn't run at night due to the dark, narrow country lanes, and dickhead farmers speeding round in their pickups. So instead we bought a couple of head torches and ran around the nearest town which we drove to in the evening. Have you got an official parkrun near where you live? They're every Saturday morning at 9am, and there are hundreds all over the country. Free to race, and a really good atmosphere where there will be people at the same level as you who you can run alongside. (Just realised I said that abovem but it bears repeating. parkruns are ace. Thanks Risso, hopefully the leap from treadmill to road won’t be too bad then, when I eventually get there. The closest Parkrun to me is around 5-6 miles away, and I did it a few times a long time ago. The problem with the training plan that I’m following is that the weekend is my scheduled long run, so 5k wouldn’t be enough going forward. I’m not quite at the stage where I could run there, do the Parkrun, and then run back (maybe one day!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Risso Posted February 20 Share Posted February 20 Yes, it can be tricky to fit them into a programme. We're following one for our first half marathon too. We really enjoy the parkruns though, as running with hundreds of other people is quite inspiring, so don't like to miss it. Our rule is if we go all out on the 5K, we'll do the long run on Monday, or if we do it at easy pace, we'll run it on Sunday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paddywhack Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 (edited) On 15/02/2024 at 01:41, Danwichmann said: It means you should run hard for 2 minutes, six times during the run. But it's really not well explained if that's all it says because it should also give a rest interval and talk about pace. Normally when running intervals you keep the rest of the running quite easy and very easy or even walking during the rest intervals. For 6x2mins, I would suggest something like: 1)10-15 minutes easy running warm warm up 2) Run 2 minutes at a hard pace but not 100% flat out. You shouldn't really have breathe to talk but you don't feel like you are dying. 3) Jog or even walk for 2 minutes, this is your recovery interval. 4) repeat 2 and 3 5 more times 5) Run at an easy pace for remainder it the 7 miles. Easy means you should be able to talk easily while running. If you feel good and recovered, you can start to pick up the pace you your normal, moderate speed. I just did this. It was horrible I only managed 5 miles though, I had to head home because of stomach cramps. I think that’s the 3rd time I’ve had that whilst running that in the last few weeks, first time I’ve had to stop though. I got a parkrun PB at the weekend though - 22:14. I took 8 seconds off the time I set in 2018, so I was really happy with that. Edited February 22 by Paddywhack 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talldarkandransome Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 (edited) On 14/02/2024 at 20:17, Paddywhack said: I’m going to ask a stupid question. I’m following a basic training plan I found online. It seems to be working well for me, but it’s not very good at explaining some of the runs. So...what does ‘7 miles with 6 x 2 minute intervals’ actually mean? 6 pints at different pubs on the route, limited to 2 mins per stop, so don't dilly dally Edited February 21 by Talldarkandransome 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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