runners | Weekly check-in

Last week I completed week 8 of the c25k program, and I got my joy in running back :-D

After switching from running by time to running by distance I had been finding it more boring and more like work, but luckily it was just because I pushed myself too hard.

Tomorrow I get to run 5 km for the first time in my life! I look forward to it so much, it's going to be a real accomplishment and a milestone for me.

I'm already making plans for what to do after I graduate. I think I'll continue to add half a km every week to my weekend run. On ordinary weekdays I'm not sure if it's best to stick to 5 km, or what. I plan to make the first run of the week a short one with speed intervals.

I find myself fantasizing about clothes and gadgets and tools more and more, the more confident I become as a runner. I used to think the bare necessities was enough, but now I'd like clothes for different weather conditions, and some gadget which can measure my pulse and time and distance.

But yeah, ordinary clothes and online pedometers do the job :-)

Having a long run and a couple of shorter ones is good, but the distance of the long run shouldn't be more than half your weekly total. So if you're running 3x/week, when you get your long run up to 10K you should start extending one of your shorter runs or add another running day.

Speed intervals aren't really going to help you much at this point, but it would be reasonable to try to run one of your short days fast after an easy warm-up.

Cool, thank you for telling me! I had wondered how it would be possible to keep up any endurance I had gained from week to week, with only one weekly long run.

No more than half the weekly total is at least easy to remember and calculate :-)

I'm okay with speed intervals not helping much, as long as they don't do any harm. I like intervals, they make me feel accomplished ;-)

I had the opposite experience of yours - I realized that I hadn't been pushing myself enough in my training sessions, so I stepped it up a notch and on Saturday I ran just under 2 miles in 20 minutes (10.30 minute mile). My pace has been between 11 and 12 minutes per mile, so I was very pleased.

This week I'm back into a regular training routine - I have a longish brick (45 minute bike/25 minute run) on Tuesday, a 25 minute run on Thursday and a 40 minute run over the weekend. . .My goal is to keep my pace between 10 and 11 minutes/mile, but also to avoid aggravating my IT bands/knees.

I'm not much of a gearhead when it comes to running, but like you, I find that the more serious I get about it, the more stuff I'm interested in. . .I'm definitely looking to invest in comfortable cold weather running gear when the weather changes - in previous winters I've tended to stop running, in part because I don't have the right kind of clothes.

Wow, 2 miles in 20 minutes! I want to be able to do that :-D
You sure have reason to be pleased, improving your performance from a 12 minute mile to a 10 minute mile.

Ah yes, good point about the cold weather gear, if it will help us keep running. I've been considering going to the gym when it gets cold and dark and slippery, but I'd hate to have to wait in line to use the treadmills, and it sounds so boring just to run in place.

I finished Couch to 5k on the elliptical last week! May start tomorrow with trying to transition to running outside.

Congratulations! How does it feel to have broken the 5 km barrier?
Running outside is awesome. There are other joggers to exchange nods and smiles with, dog walkers, interesting architecture and/or nature, so many things to see.

I've wanted to run outside from the beginning, but the first time I tried, I just had to come home in the middle, feeling ill. So I decided to do it on the elliptical, and get some basic fitness level, and then try again. So the fact that I'm done and I think I probably can start (gently) running outside is a really, really good feeling. I reaaaally hope my lungs are going to stand up to it (the only part I'm really worried about now).

I have to be considerate of my lungs too, having asthma and not being in great shape (yet!). I've found it makes a huge difference where I run.

Running near heavy traffic or near fields of grass is difficult and painful for me. Running on a paved surface is much more difficult than running on earth or gravel. Also the ground slopes, and sometimes an incline will be so close to horizontal you can't really see it, but you sure can feel it when you try to run up it!

I'm confident you can do it having graduated the program, and I wish you good luck with it.

Thanks for letting me know what's been difficult for you. I don't have much option, in my area, but we'll see what I can do...

Congratulations!! Good luck with the outside transition - I definitely prefer it for being more interesting, although the weather can also be much more challenging.

This is why Jimmy Carter was a smart man.

I'm up to week 7 in Couch to 5K, so I've got 3 25 minute runs planned for this week with the hopes of fitting in a 4th one.

Ooh, exciting! It's a pleasure to run a solid continuous run :-)

I accomplished some running, which is something - breaking in a new pair of shoes with one 6.2K and one 10K. One run got dropped off the schedule because I was busy test-riding bicycles...

As for goals, I want to get back to three runs a week, and am hoping to make Wednesday's a long one again (12K or even more depending on weather).

Thinking about running equipment is actually the least fun part of my hobby, because running gear in my size (14 US, 44 Euro) is scarce and often doesn't fit. Or it's pink. *blech*

New shoes, that sounds good! And a new bicycle soon too? :-D

Yeah, the selection of running gear in that size isn't great. I'm used to a 44 being a large, so I was kind of shocked that that's an extra extra large in running shirts :-|

One of these days, I will continue running again :/

(Moving + new job + starting new medication with heavy side effects = not a happy Yvi)

That's a lot of stuff you've had to deal with. I bet getting back to your normal, everyday rhythm including running will be a relief and a pleasure. I hope things calm down for you soon!

Up to 37 miles last week and a 15-mile long run, a new post-injury high for me on both counts.

This week I will try to get a similar mileage total. I also have a 5K on Friday night at which I hope to at least run as fast as the last time I did on this particular course, last year.

I don't really think much about the equipment - running is very non-equipment oriented. I did decide to buy some new insoles and tried them out today.

Congratulations on improving your distance :-D
Good luck on your 5 km, I believe you can match your (pre-injury?) time from last year!

That's probably the most positive attitude to have, focus on the running not the gear and bling. Hmm, I feel a bit childish getting excited about gadgets, but then again I still feel superior to those runners who feel they need a swoosh on their clothes to be comfortable ;-)

I admit that I am thinking about a new Garmin - I have a very old model and it's not very accurate. I actually am very gadget oriented, or at least, I love having the data. But I don't care much about the clothes. Most of what I run in are shorts/skirts from the thrift store and race shirts.

Data is cool :-D
I get the online pedometer to tell me everything, because even approximate data based on averages for someone my sex, age, and weight is better than none.

Last week I ran about 19 miles over five days, the most I'd done since this time last month. I'm really pleased and hoping to do 20 miles the next few weeks.

I'm mostly really satisfied with my iPod Nano. I like to hold it in my hand and use it as a stopwatch as well as for the music and podcasts and podfics. Sometimes I wish I had a GPS or a heart rate monitor but I don't think I want to spend that much money. (Seeing my heart rate just tends to make me nervous anyway!)

Hmm, yes, good point about seeing your heart rate.

Twenty miles a week, such a nice round number :-)
Good luck with increasing your distance.

Yay for 19 miles! I do like having my heart rate to get some idea of how much I'm pushing myself, but trying to keep my heart rate low enough for slow runs can be frustrating.

Last week I ran 23k total, and felt really good about it! The long run on Saturday was through a pine forest reserve, and when we started out there was ice on the puddles, but by the time we finished I was more than warm enough. I also need to get better at spotting pine tree roots - tripped on one and righted myself, tripped on another and ended up sprawling, after which my fellow runners spent the rest of the run pointing out any remotely dangerous tree root to me...

I'm not all that mad about the clothes - I use cycling tops, mostly, because they're made locally (Ground Effects) and have lots of pockets - but I do have a Garmin heart rate monitor/GPS that I bought with my economic stimulus boost from the Australian government. I would probably get more obsessive about it if the software were compatible with my Mac!

That sounds like a beautiful run through the pine forest reserve. Bad luck about the tree roots, but good for you you took it with a sense of humor :-)

I don't know the difference between a cycling top and a running top - just the pockets? Pockets sounds really useful.

Mainly the pockets! But the tops also have a high collar, which is useful for sun protection (not that I need this currently), and I have a winter one with an insulated front that is very toasty.

Those sound great for running :-)

I also have a couple of cycling tops I use running for that exact same reason - pocketses!

And I hit the ground on a trail run last week as well, and have the abrasions on my knee to show for it. Embarrassingly enough it was a flat and smooth bit of trail. I think it must have been an invisible rock.

I am pretty sure that the second tree root jumped out from somewhere off the trail :)

Oops, a bit of a late check in. I always open the tab and then promptly forget it exists.

Last week was pretty good. I ran indoors because of the heat and they were good runs. Worked on speed mostly, though I've yet to test that speed outdoors in the heat and humidity. :\

Weekly check-in

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