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Running

Nick

Member
Hi all. I'm thinking of starting some morning runs to keep myself fit. I've never really been big on the idea, and don't run much at all.
Any tips on how best to do this?
 
I was in the Navy for 20 years, and I ran almost every freaking day. So believe me when I say this, "I hate running."

But to make the transition as smooth as possible, I would recommend walking first. Progress to walking briskly. Then when you feel your ready, go for a jog. Do not forget it is okay to go back to walking.

Make sure you stretch your leg muscles before and after. Also stretch your back muscles. You would not believe how much you use your back muscles for everything and just take it for granted.

Regulate your breathing by trying, and I mean trying, to breath in through your nose and out through your mouth. Some days the nose will be enough, and some days it will not.

If you have ever been on a treadmill, you know how boring that can be. Well it is pretty much the same for jogging outside. The cure is music. I would recommend an MP3 player or some other portable music device with headphones or ear buds that secure to your ear. Inspirational music is the best. Whatever inspires you, play it. Contemporary Christian, Classical, Classic Rock, show tunes...

Running requires energy. Make sure you have a proper diet. Sugar is just a booster and burns out quick. Vitamins and proteins are your friend.

Do not forget water. I say again, do not forget water. And not a huge amount right before you run. But stay hydrated a day or two before you run. Then of course more after you run.

Some people like to run with someone else, but I prefer to run or walk alone. It is hard to concentrate on your breathing if you are talking to someone. Also let someone know where you are going and carry a cell phone. These days some drivers think it is okay to run you over even if they have the right of way.

Wear a T-shirt with "Jesus Loves You", and advertise for the Lord.
 
Great advice above!

Be sure and cool down after the run. Don't just stop and plop. End your run with a jog and slow down to a walk until your breathing slows down. Be sure to strecth good after your run as well.

As above, I HATE running, my knees hate it too.
 
Michae1 said:
Do not forget water. I say again, do not forget water. And not a huge amount right before you run.


I still remember basic training where we would be instructed to down 2 canteens of water then go on a 4 mile run. It was bad....
 
RyanT said:
Michae1 said:
Do not forget water. I say again, do not forget water. And not a huge amount right before you run.


I still remember basic training where we would be instructed to down 2 canteens of water then go on a 4 mile run. It was bad....

I remember those das!! Sheesh!!!! Back then I could run 8 miles no problem, now I just take my car. :D
 
Proper shoes. And I'm iffy about stretching before running. As a general rule, stretching before exercise shouldn't be done as it actually weakens the muscles. Mobility exercises for the joints before and stretching after. I don't know why running would be different but I'm not a runner.
 
Nick_29 said:
Hi all. I'm thinking of starting some morning runs to keep myself fit. I've never really been big on the idea, and don't run much at all.
Any tips on how best to do this?

Try Ultimate (football) Frisbee. It's a lot more fun than just jogging. A few hours of Ultimate will probably burn a lot more calories too (600 per hour est) as you run, sprint, and jog almost constantly. You should be able to find some pick-up games in Sydney on Facebook or meetup.com.

Here's a video of a team I put together playing competitively - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLShq84m8EQ

Here's Ultimate in Sydney - http://ufnsw.com.au/

Look under the "pickup" tab for pickup games. Once you start playing, you'll be hooked! Lol
 
researcher said:
Nick_29 said:
Hi all. I'm thinking of starting some morning runs to keep myself fit. I've never really been big on the idea, and don't run much at all.
Any tips on how best to do this?

Try Ultimate (football) Frisbee. It's a lot more fun than just jogging. A few hours of Ultimate will probably burn a lot more calories too (600 per hour est) as you run, sprint, and jog almost constantly. You should be able to find some pick-up games in Sydney on Facebook or meetup.com.

Here's a video of a team I put together playing competitively - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLShq84m8EQ

Here's Ultimate in Sydney - http://ufnsw.com.au/

Look under the "pickup" tab for pickup games. Once you start playing, you'll be hooked! Lol
Yeah, I know about Ultimate Frisbee; we used to play it in PE sometimes. TBH I'd rather just go jogging, but thanks for the pointers.
 
is the area of syndey that you will be running flat?
like goju and ryan t, i hate running and it hurts for me to run if i havent done so in a while.
you could ask stevebolts, he does marathons

i remmember almost blowing my right leg's achilles tendon on a six miler run in 92, while doing mighty fine pt for the army infantry regiment i was assigned to.

to brian and ryan t ever heard of engineer's bluff at FT.LEWIS?
 
jasoncran said:
is the area of syndey that you will be running flat?
like goju and ryan t, i hate running and it hurts for me to run if i havent done so in a while.
you could ask stevebolts, he does marathons

i remmember almost blowing my right leg's achilles tendon on a six miler run in 92, while doing mighty fine pt for the army infantry regiment i was assigned to.

to brian and ryan t ever heard of engineer's bluff at FT.LEWIS?
Yes, well does Jeff "bolt" it? :rolling



The area I live in is a bit of a mixture, it's a bit flat but has some smaller hils. Nothing major.
 
if you can run with hills and flat i will help the cardio training much, or you can use a track or a treadmill

the fartleg run
run 1 lap
sprint 50ft
run 1 lap
sprint 50 ft and so on till you feel its winding you enough.
this will help you with the run time
treadmill is the same use the time of 30 sec though and one min.
you can deiviate this.
lap are assume to be 1/8 mile

flat roads are boring to run i run in a very flat area max elevation 7 to 8 m above see level. i do run the bridge over the laggon if i have time.
 
Nick_29 said:
Hi all. I'm thinking of starting some morning runs to keep myself fit. I've never really been big on the idea, and don't run much at all.
Any tips on how best to do this?


Before I offer any advice I would like to know what your goals are? I can suggest many different types of runs, but I need a little more information before I could customize it for you.
 
InHisShadow said:
Nick_29 said:
Hi all. I'm thinking of starting some morning runs to keep myself fit. I've never really been big on the idea, and don't run much at all.
Any tips on how best to do this?


Before I offer any advice I would like to know what your goals are? I can suggest many different types of runs, but I need a little more information before I could customize it for you.
My goal is to improve! :).
Being able to run 3 k's would be cool.
 
Nick_29 said:
InHisShadow said:
[quote="Nick_29":1thirphn]Hi all. I'm thinking of starting some morning runs to keep myself fit. I've never really been big on the idea, and don't run much at all.
Any tips on how best to do this?


Before I offer any advice I would like to know what your goals are? I can suggest many different types of runs, but I need a little more information before I could customize it for you.
My goal is to improve! :).
Being able to run 3 k's would be cool.[/quote:1thirphn]


I would recommend starting out slow. I would run about 1.5 miles and increase it .5 mile every week. I would suggest trying to run three days a week. However, on the middle day I would do some sprint training. I am not sure if you have a track near by, but you could use google earth to map out your sprints. I would run 4 100 yd sprints, then do some suicides. With suicides or gassers you mark out 100yds in 20 yard increments. run 20 yds then back then run 40yds and back, then 60yds and back, 80 and back then 100 and back. Doing sprint work will help the endurance of your legs, and your cario level. If going .5 is too much every week, just go up a few tenths of a mile.

Schedule

Mon-1.5
Wed-Sprints
Fri-1.5

If you can run more then do more, but set a baseline to work off of. Let me know if you have any questions.
 
Thanks InHisShadow and Jason. I'll see what I can do. And yes, I do use the metric system, and was aware of the conversion. Bear in mind that since it's stretching it if I try and run 1.5 k's, then it's no use asking me to do 5 k's.
 
Hi Nick,

InHisShadow has some excellent advice!

If your currently not able to do 3k, then I think you have your goal. When I started running again, and I'm embarrassed to say, but it took me almost two weeks to run 1.5 miles without stopping. Looking back, building up my base to do 3 miles comfortably was probably the hardest part of getting back into running. Moving up to 5 wasn't that bad and once I had 5 down, the jump to 8 also came pretty easy. Like I said, the first 2 miles is where your struggles really are. Overcome those, and your on your way. :)

What I was taught, was to build my base first. It wasn't about the distance, but the time and comfort level out on the road. Keep it slow and comfortable at first and don't get in a hurry. You should be able to hold a conversation without any effort slow... By keeping it slow, it helps to build capillaries to move more oxygen into your muscles and to move lactic acid out. In the beginning, it's not all about the muscles, it's about building the infrastructure to support the muscles. Keep it slow and easy the first month, and it will pay off the second and third month and keep in mind, never double your miles and speed kills when you don't have a good base. Avoid sprints at first.

I'm thinking, and you can play this by ear, but do that for a month, then start upping your miles by no more than a half mile every two weeks until your up to 3 - 4 miles with your active recovery. When you start hitting your bigger miles, then you'll want to take a day off in between to let your muscles heal. Again, never, never double your miles regardless of how good your feeling.

Some days you won't feel like running, but when you get out there everything will change. Also, be careful stretching when your done with your run. You can easily over stretch damaging your muscles.

If you keep it slow, I think you would be fine, especially at your age, to run every day. When the 3k is comfortable, then do your first mile slow and comfy, then add some speed intervals with some active recovery. What I mean is that you can pick the pace up a good clip and instead of stopping to recover, slow back down and do your recovery still jogging. This helps not only your cardio (Short sprints help strengthen your heart muscle), but your leg and abdomen muscles as well. BTW, if your back starts to hurt, do some situps to strengthen your abs and the back pain will go away.

Have fun!
 
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