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Hi all,
MDL, at this stage, I reckon just doing more miles will improve your 5k time.If you can get to 5-6 runs a week with the long run being around 6-8 miles you'll see some dividends on your speed.
HI Wyn, Glowwfeet and Dizzy. Welcome
MD, I'm hoping to get into London next Tuesday for a look at the men's Triathlon if you fancy a pint in the West End at some stage.
Hope your race goes well Blimp.
Going to start getting some proper mara training done tonight.
NV definately up for a pint mate - do you have my number from the A&D last year (or the one before, can't remember) - planning on entering that again this year - imight have adecent winter of speed under my belt by then so might really attack the 40 minute level...although i've said that for about 3 years now and never done the work required! But i'm going to start running at lunch and the enforced cycle commute during the olympics will hopefully kick start my training, again, for a bit...hopefully
No running for me this weekend, i went to a spa instead, much nicer i wonder if there are professional spa visitors - that's a job i could go for!!!!
Hi Wyn, good idea re easing off, its better to start off slow and build up than to jump in too far and get hurt!
Hi all, been a while since I put anything on here, a brief (re-)introduction.
36 dad of 4, unfit beyond comprehension, overweight and a xbox addict, needed to do something about the years of beer and sedintry lifestyle, so I decided on running. Looking to lose another half stone, fit in 32" jeans once again, it's been so long since I've done that!! run a 5k, then my original aim was to run a half marathon in March/April time next year with a friend...Who dropped out on the idea a couple of months ago, so motivation is a little low, but I keep trying. I run alone as any local clubs run at times I'm at work or have my kids.
in January, 2 weeks in I wrecked my Achilles tendon in a pothole on a night run, so I had to stop, I joined this website after buying the mag in a service station, got some good advice, learnt what gait was then brought a pair of very comfy and THE most expensive shoes I have ever brought!! Then I started again, then decided to drop a load of plaster boards on my chest and broke a rib, so had to stop, then about May time I started where I left off, and went over on my ankle, so I had to stop..... (a pattern here?)
So last Wednesday I decided to go again... 24 minutes and 2.6 miles clocked, walking a minute running-I use that term loosely-for 2 looking at a 9 minute/mile pace.
Then Sunday morning I clocked 27 minutes, 2.98 miles same pattern walking/running for a 9 minute/mile pace again.
Then this evening I ran for 30 minutes covered 3.49 in a 8:37 minute/mile pace
http://www.mapmywalk.com/workout/159697881 (linky to tonight's run)
Is this any good for a beginner?
On these runs I'm always struggling to breath even though I try to keep a conversational pace, I say something to myself to see if I'm doing it, I'm getting chronic stitch this time round any tips tricks to avoid this? Other niggles, lead thighs after 20 minutes and tight left calf muscles, even though I make sure I'm stretching out before and after?
HI, and sorry for the ramble!
@glowfeet can't you run around your local area? unless you have a huge backyard!!
Morning all. Happy Wednesday
Darryll, i with you on your training, i was doing a few 'light weeks' on and off, motivation was baaaaaaaaad. Sucked big time, now im on my 'hardcoreish second week' if you can call it that! HA! Last night I think i have shin splints, they have been coming and going for months, they feel fine this morning however i was told just to swim for the rest of the week so i bagged my kit for after work later, i haven't been for YEARS but you know, i am SO DETERMINED to do the half marathon. I smoke, i like my beer but i have made a start and it feels good. My longest jogs, in my second week (should be running today) is 40 mins, i think im going way to fast doing to much, im already running up hills apparantley, (i use runkeeper) my bro spotted it and told me to stop. Print off the half marathon guide on here, i have one but im only using it as a guide and im doing alot more than i should, naughty me
Good luck and KEEP IT UP!
Hello! Another newbie here.
Started running a couple of weeks ago when I was pointed towards an app for my phone where I have to run from zombies, and discovered that I actually quite like it... despite years of insisting that running is no fun at all!
I made a fatal error in my first couple of runs and forgot that despite being reasonably fit from mountainbiking and climbing, running uses different muscles and in different ways and overdid things. Now suffering with a groin strain and in my impatience to get back out I've started lurking on internet forums to try to resist the urge to go out for a run anyway!
Anyone else got a bit carried away as a beginner and managed to injure themselves?
Hmmm. Wonder if the 2 things could be related Dizzy
Everyone can run if they put their mind to it KBT. Keep at it.
Pretty much everyone gets a bit carried away at some point SS. Find yourself a good plan and stick to it. Or, just build gradual easy-paced mileage.
8;40/mile is a pretty tidy start Darryl. It'll take time to build strength and endurance in the muscles you use, so just take it steadily.
MD, no I haven't got your phone number any more. My phone died in a tragic accident at the end of last year. I'll PM you my new number.
Hi Glowfeet, you could say that yes, but over the last 11 years it's been roughly the same pattern!!
I think I am taking it easy, but as I'm a newbie too I have no concept of what pace is, I read this; 5k 10k pace, farlek(?) and I cannot even comprehend it in real terms, so I just run at what I think is comfortable. Which by the time I'm starting mile 3 is usually wrong, but I guess that'll come with experience. I hope you've managed to keep going though and had a couple of nights of decent sleep 
Hi Dizzy and thanks I'll try to keep going! sounds like you're doing better than me already (not actually a hard feat!!) I'm on a couch to 5k and I'm trying to follow it as I'm on week 3 (of 8) again! It's where I keep falling down and next week looks like the same, 4 hours driving, 11 hour shift, I'll try and squeeze an hour in there somewhere!! I use Mapmywalk and Endomondo, give me a climb graph, though where I am I can't really avoid hills unless I run at a nearby running track, but I'd get bored of that pretty fast! Good luck to you too and keep going and stick to the plan
Hi Superslow, I want to know what that app is!! I'd say me as I went running at night and didn't look where I was putting my feet, ouch ankle! And tonight I went for a run got back and tried to do a core workout session, now I can't sit up along with not being able to walk properly!
Hi KBT I think it happens to all of us, I'm nowhere near as far along as you, but I had to drop between week 3 and 2 twice now, and don't believe for a minute you're not destined to run, everyone can run as NV said.
And Hi NV I eased off a little tonight covered a 8:44 per mile average tonight, but I managed a bit further distance in the same 30 minute run ok 0.07 mile further. I felt better tonight than I did Tuesday, no pain in the calf this time, and the stitch wasn't as bad either, should I look up some leg exercises? Squats? My only down fall is the day I'm supposed to do some kind of strength/cross training, in the past I just spent 30 minutes on an exercise bike.
Sorry this is long folks!
Hey Darryll, the app is called 'Zombies, Run!' it's kind of expensive but I'm enjoying it so far. I did have to turn off the zombie chases (zombie interval training!) because it was the speed increases that backfired and caused me to injure myself!
Feeling a lot better the last couple of days though and hoping to get out tomorrow afternoon. Fingers crossed for 5k of slow running by the end of next week.
morning all, well what a wweekend that was! Mo Farah, just amazing! Anyway, i did my own spot of running, a nice 8 miles steady on saturday morningm kept the HR nice and steady for 7 miles and then let rip in the last mile. The a nice short one on sunday at target half mara pace - felt the 8 from the day before a little in the legs but the pace held so very pleased with that. Also, I'm very pleased at how comfy i felt through both runs and after, I'm getting back at it now i think.
Superslow - the Run, zombies thing - how does that work - it sounds like it could be a good laugh for my commute run home!
Darryll, if you are getting a stitch you might need to back off a little, you are going at a decent pace but sometimes the way to get faster is to get slower and build the endurance first.
knackered - hi and welcome. That drop in motivation happens a lot to everyone! the first few runs back will be tough, for two reasons. 1) you know you can do more and so expect to be able to pick up where you left off - and 2) you have lost a little fitness and conditioning, so it will take a little while to remind your body what to do and how. Don't worry it will be much easier to get back, than it was to get in the first place. Keep trying and you'll see!
Welcome new newbies
Sorry not been about for a been ill
Hope everyone's running is going well and your all enjoying the Olympics as much as me ha ha
wow, quiet on here in'tit
well i managed to get out at lunch for a reasonbly rapid 4 miles at about 7'20 pace with a colleague, was nice and comfy and a great way to spend a reasonbly nice lunchtime at work. tot was 4.1miles in 30'08, no HR data etc but felt pretty good and could chat the whole way around.
Well I did another short run this morning about 3miles, not looked at time, it wasn't fast but it felt like a lot better run than Monday. It's looking like I may manage the 10k been thinking about doing this Sunday
looks like you must be claire. that or everyone else is watching the lympics and not running...
One really bad thing I have found from watching the Olympics I now want a bike
and you just know where that will end up!! I cant justify one at the moment so I maybe safe 
Sorry very quiet day at work so smiley face overload on here!
Hope your training is going well MD any races planned?
No comment Claire.
Except: How's your swimming?
Hi, l Have literally just started running last week. My 17 yr daughter and I (I'm 40) are on a mission to run a 10k together (and I need to lose 3 stone!) Am up to half a mile without stopping and can then repeat after a short walk break. Any advice - is it better to begin by just running as far as I can slowly and building up the distance each time or by walk/running a longer distance and cutting down the walking distance each time. Not sure where to start.
Hi all nice to read so many great stories and the one thing that becomes clear from reading the thread is that it DOES become easier and once you start seeing the increase in your abillity to run further the more it motivates you to continue getting out there.
l started exercising properly a year ago and when l first went out for a jog l had to stop 4 or 5 times on a 3km route and it took me 34 minutes to complete. l joined a military fitness class and attended that two or 3 times a week for about 9 months, eventually building up to the "endurance" session they have on a Thursday evening.
l then took up just going out for dedicated runs about 3 months ago but only properly began sticking to making sure l got out there 2 or 3 times a week about a month ago.
l clocked a 7km route in 29 minutes other day and l reckon l can get that down by a further 4 or 5 minutes as l had to stop twice on that route as it included 2 steep climbs. It took a long while but l really feel l can call myself a runner now, deffo got the bug.
Hope everyone else is enjoying the nice weather and still managing to get the miles in with a smile on their face whilst the weather is nice.
Sounds like your doing really well!! Any plans for any races?
Hi everyone, I'm a 23 year old woman and total noob.
Just started running fast for five minutes a day four days ago, followed by resistence training. Going to have one to two rest days per week. Previously I'd jogged for around 30 minutes several times a week, but never lifted my legs very high or get very out of breath; motivation to really go for it always failed me. Until my fitness improves, I'm finding that focusing on shorter, more intense running is easier mentally, and the Olympics is helping a lot. I put the track repeats on early in the morning when I run and visualise being in a race/fundraiser.
I also don't want to run for long periods yet because I'm battling normal weight obesity ('skinny fat') and need to increase, not decrease my muscle mass, however I've decided I'd like to take part in 5K fun runs for charity when I'm fit enough. It seems to be working already: yesterday I was breathing very sorely and noisily for the whole last three minutes and felt close to an asthma attack (which hasn't happened for years) but today I was breathing heavily but not painfully or sounding like I was about to die, and it felt easier than any of my earlier attempts despite not slowing down.
My goals:
1) Reduce symptoms of recently diagnosed anxiety disorder.
2) Get fit enough to run 5K fundraisers without stopping to walk.
3) Commit to running as a hobby and eventually make it sociable.
4) Do all this while simultaneously increasing my muscle mass.
5) Enjoy myself!
hi sinkingthinking-sounds great that you are trying the running faster for a shorter time-I also need to do this! I've been training for a 10k (great scottish run) and am managing long but very slow runs and it's been getting a little boring.
Hope you don't actually have an asthma attack though! Take care, and keep on running
Another newbie invading here! 17 years old, so still studying, and I decided to make building up to doing a 30 minute continuous run my summer project. I will hopefully continue running after term starts again, though I'm not sure yet how that will work when the evenings get dark early.
For now I'm doing the plan B from the "Bespoke Body" section, and also combining it with the strengthening circuit from plan A, as my strength right now is... abysmal! I'm a few weeks in now (joined the site a few weeks ago but couldn't edit my details to change my forum nickname from my real name), and it seems to be going well. I'm hoping that this forum will help me keep motivated, and I look forward to getting to know some of you.
Thanks for the reply Claire - managed to find the training plans
Feeling very proud - managed to jog 3 x half miles with a minute walk break between each one today. Feel like I'm making progress. Can't wait to see what I can do when my weight begins to drop!
Thanks.
Yeah I'm thinking of doing a bit of both. Descriptions I've read of proper sprint training sound like a way of doing HIIT training, which is supposed to be one of the most beneficial ways of working out and saves a lot of time too. You can supposedly get better physiological effects from 10 minutes of HIIT exercise than from a continuously sustainable 30 minute run. However, I like the idea of some level of endurance training as well, so I want to incorporate both, on different days. By the time I've increased my basic fitness a bit I'll probably have decided on exactly how I'm going to do it.
Hi Guys
Another newbie here, 30 years old. Quit smoking last Monday (6th Aug), started running on Tuesday to get healthy.
Well, the obsession has begun! So far managed a 28:11 5k and a 1:09:51 10k this week. Runkeeper profile here for those interested: http://runkeeper.com/user/danjnixon/activity/108964804
Hoping to get to 20min 5k and 50min 10k by the end of the year...
Hi Claire, yeah im certainly really chuffed with the progress i've made in the past year and hope to continue that. I ran the Doncaster 10k in April/May (cant remember which) this year in 54.50 but so far that's the only race i've taken part in. Hoping that with my additional training l can get that down to below 45.00 at least at some point soon.
l think entering races is deffo the way to go to help boost motivation/give you a kick up the arse but more than anything else l just find that the more l can do the more l want to get myself out there and keep on improving.
Hope all is well with you anyway and thanks for the welcome