Hi all,
I am a complete beginner at running but I want to get better at it because I want to run an ultramarathon in a few years. I have been taking part in weekly local 5km parkruns for about 4 weeks now and have been averaging a time of 30 minutes. My Personal Best was 29 minutes 28 seconds.
Here are the numbers:
Distance: 5km
AverageTime: 30 minutes
Height: 6ft
Weight: 108kg
Body fat %: About 35%
Age: 24
Not a smoker, not a drinker, *I only drink water and nothing else*. However, I love sugary and fatty foods and eat plenty of it....I am very unhealthy.
Taking the above figures into account, is my 30minute 5km time good?
Are there any beginner tips you would give me? How should I improve my 5km running time?
Thanks!
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Comments
As regards to improving, you have already pointed out one problem maybe holding you back-diet! I'm sure others will have more useful advice to say than me tho.
As Trogs mentions if you're able to get out a couple of times during the week and start to build up your base endurance this will help in taking time off of your 5K. Once you have that base you can then adjust your training to include some speed sessions, which is where you're likely to see significant improvements in your times.
I think you realise your diet needs to be addressed and the benefit of doing more training will hopefully result in you losing weight. Once that starts to drop that will act is a motivation as well.
Good luck with it all.
Alrighty, I guess I will substitute the snacks for fruits instead
I would say take it in steady chunks. Does your Parkrun use pacers at all? If they do then as your current PB is 29.28 latch on to the 29 min pacer. It's sometimes easier to let someone else do the work of setting a pace and you just follow them and to get to 29 mins you'd only need to run 10 secs/mile faster than you currently are. Once you've felt the joy of beating your PB reset and aim to improve on it. Small gains are easier to achieve.
Is there a running club you can join? People who run with clubs come in all ages, shapes and abilities. They offer a wealth of support and experience and are incredibly supportive and welcoming. As TT says running is a very friendly activity.
I did 3 independent runs this week (they were 4 miles each) and 1 strength and conditioning workout on my glutes - I've also been eating (a little) healthier. I felt a huge difference in today's parkrun. When I set my PB of 29:28, I was completely gassed out and everything was hurting, I could barely walk. But today, I set a PB of 29:18 and felt like I could run another mile or two with the same pace. It's not the best time in the world but personally, I'm pleased with today's effort.
Cheers!
I would class myself as quite a competitive runner but also like sugary/fatty foods! I guess it is going to be different for everyone but my wife has found some good sugar free alternative I have been trying (like sugar-free Maryland cookies) which I try and eat instead of loads of chocolate. I stick to sugar free Alpen for breakfast and we also eat meals with a lot of veg in so hopefully not too bad overall.
One thing I think is important to add is that if you are increasing your mileage is to increase is gradually over a period of time (I've heard a rule of increasing 10% per week) and I think it is also a good idea to warm up and cool down to help avoid injury. Joining a local running club could be a good way of meeting people who will know about this.
Anyway, best of luck with your running and I'm sure you'll be running Ultras soon!