CherryPie99: That is a good time, but please remember that running faster is a great way to get injuries. Faster is not always better, especially if you have to take time off from running altogether to heal.
If you are going to run faster, then you also should be running "like a dancer" - meaning, you must have the correct running technique in place.
Like where is your power coming from? is it coming from your upper thighs or is it all in your lower leg and the ball of your foot (bad)? Also, how is your foot hitting the ground? How is your posture? Are you swinging your arms too much?
I hope I don't sound discouraging - but running fast is an art, especially when we have extra weight we are carrying around. I too think it is fun to go faster - but have had to have counseling from profi's to understand exactly 'how' to do it.
Most importantly, and this goes with every jog: start off slow. start VERY slow. Keep yourself purposely slow for the first 10 minutes. This will also keep the injuries at bay.Then you can rev it up for mile 2 and the home stretch.
So, my boyfriend is back so we are going to do a 10km jog around the lake.
Ran 6.5km on Tuesday. It started lightly raining - a bit cold, but I love running when it drizzles!
Aleksandra: there are so many days I wish I had a treadmill! (my apartment is small and european - big exercise equipment is a no-go) I saw your exercise journal - pretty cool! I love how consistent you are, its very motivating to me.
tell me about it - I'm renting a 9 m2 room luckily I have a semi-cheap gym really close to my tiny apartment european winter makes it neccesary to workout indoors, because we're already pretty close to cold winterly tepreratures
CherryPie99: That is a good time, but please remember that running faster is a great way to get injuries. Faster is not always better, especially if you have to take time off from running altogether to heal.
If you are going to run faster, then you also should be running "like a dancer" - meaning, you must have the correct running technique in place.
Like where is your power coming from? is it coming from your upper thighs or is it all in your lower leg and the ball of your foot (bad)? Also, how is your foot hitting the ground? How is your posture? Are you swinging your arms too much?
I hope I don't sound discouraging - but running fast is an art, especially when we have extra weight we are carrying around. I too think it is fun to go faster - but have had to have counseling from profi's to understand exactly 'how' to do it.
Most importantly, and this goes with every jog: start off slow. start VERY slow. Keep yourself purposely slow for the first 10 minutes. This will also keep the injuries at bay.Then you can rev it up for mile 2 and the home stretch.
So, my boyfriend is back so we are going to do a 10km jog around the lake.
Fall running is sublime!
I appreciate the advice. One thing to note is that I am not pushing myself to run faster, the speed is coming naturally as I get stronger. I also think the weather is playing a large role. I have run all summer on my lunch hour - which a short time ago meant running in 85 degree heat with 70% humidity. Now at lunch the temps are 60 degree with little humidity.
I also have been working hard at running with my thighs. I've been fat for so long my thighs didn't rub together, they were plastered together, so I walked - if this makes any sense - from my knees down. So that's how I was running. I have been concentrating now that they don't rub together to walk and run from my hip - which means longer and more powerful strides.
aleksandra: It is getting cold here. There are TONS of joggers and walking trails where I live - last winter I learned to love the experience of jogging in the snow!
CherryPie99: Good - I just think many people believe faster is always better and push themselves too hard and end up with injuries. Also, to go faster, shorter, faster steps are easier on the body than doing super long strides. I would practice both if I were you.
Anyway, it is just my advice, nothing more - I've been running steadily for a few years and have unknowingly caused many injuries that could have been avoided.
oh wow, you all, getting back on the horse is really hard! yesterday morning i tried to get back and run my usual 4 miles. after a week off and being scared about rehurting my knee, i pooped out after a mile and a half and walked the rest home.
one thing i learned, i am used to running in the evening- i think that i need to stop making saturday mornings my long distance days because the sun and the tiredness/lack of food throws me off!
when i got home, my knee was a little tender but it didnt show continual pain- i'll take that as a good sign. however, i'm ready to move on and continue in my journey as a runner, so, cheers, here's to a better run on monday!
jayohwhy: I'm definitely an evening runner too. I never get side stitches or feel hungry and have tons of energy. I have stopped planning runs before 5pm.
jayohwhy: I'm definitely an evening runner too. I never get side stitches or feel hungry and have tons of energy. I have stopped planning runs before 5pm.
i'm glad to see that i'm not alone! i'm ready to get my run in tonight-- but i decided that i'm going to wear an elastic knee brace for support
just thought i'd check in, even though i haven't been running for a few days. We had visitors staying with us over the weekend and they're walk-for-exercise-ers, so we went walking for a few hours on saturday and on sunday.
My glutes know about it though! Definitely different muscles to running, and good to do some fast walking for a change.
oh wow you guys!
i went running today with the knee brace, but before i went i had bought some vibrams.
i didnt run with them today-- since the 10k is coming up, i need to train distances and with the vibrams you have to take it incrementally. however, after even wearing the vibrams for 5 minutes i finally figured out striking midfoot felt like! it revolutionized my run. i was able to go for 5.2 miles with minimal knee pain. however, when i would forget and take a step and heel strike, it would bother my knee. it also helped that i shortened my stride. it really kept up my endurance!
I also find a shorter stride to be better for injury prevention and maintaining energy.
Yesterday, it was dark and grey and windy here. I love running when the weather is like that.
I set out with my lightest ever long- sleeve running shirt and by 3km I just felt like I was totally overheated. I hate unknowingly dressing too warm for a run, it just felt so ICK! I put in my 45 min., but just barely. The super-light shirt ended up feeling like heavy wool by the end.
jayohwhy: what type of cross-training are you doing for your knee?
unna-- on my cross days, i've been dancing (my second love) but taking it easy on my knee. I've also incorporated some small lunges and side squats to try to strengthen the area.
i also hate it when i find out i'm wearing too much! its especially tough when it's cold outside and your normal good sense is telling you to wear a little more.
jayohwhy: There are tons of specialized exercises to build up the muscle around the knee - I'd look it up at runners world (to avoid future knee problems).
Also, one time I was starting to develop a knee problem and went to have my gate tested. Apparently I was wearing the wrong type of shoe (despite the fact that I had bought it from a specialty runners store); The shoe was built up on the outside, completely unnecessary and therefore messing up my gate.
The problem healed itself after a few weeks of jogging in the neutral padded shoes. So, it was definitely worth looking into the problem further!
Today, it was raining pretty hard, but I wanted to put in my 4 miles anyway - so I put on my boyfriend's super expensive Gore-Tex rain jacket for jogging. At first it was good, but the weather is still just a bit too warm.
After mile 3, I shed the jacket, my arms were beet red! It felt SO good, I could scream.
I'm not doing so well with this transition in weather.......
Enjoyed reading this thread! I'm finally getting back into running again-- I started running for the first time in my life back in the Fall of 2005, and did several 5Ks, two 15Ks and a 1/2 Marathon over the next couple of years. I was "overweight" the whole time, but feeling pretty great overall. Then after I had emergency gall bladder surgery shortly after the 1/2, I lost the motivation and essentially quit running altogether That was in 2008. Well, I did manage to complete one of the 15Ks in the early Spring of 2009, but that was really when the spark fizzled. I ran a 5K last Fall, but it wasn't anything special.
When I say "run," it's really jog...and also includes walking breaks. So, really, now I'm trying to start from scratch. I want to be able to run without feeling like I HAVE to take walking breaks. I don't want to feel like I HAVE to start at the back of the pack with the walkers. There's nothing wrong with walking--- that's just not part of my goal!
I've just started week 1 of the 5K "podrunner intervals" training plan and really hope to start seeing some improvements in my endurance.
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Unna-- Glad to see some of your comments re: stride length, etc.. My husband is always trying to tell me I can easily be faster if I'd just lengthen my stride. I know it's not as simple as that!
Cherry-- Good job on your improvements!! I really need to work on my core. I have a stability ball here that hasn't been used in ages... must change that! Any advice on what I should start with?
murfcat: Nice to have you! I used to think I needed a longer stride, but found I needed to quicken my normal stride to gain speed. I also tired out really quickly with the longer stride and was more prone to injury.
Since you have SO much jogging experience, do you think it is a mind over body thing? I mean, do you feel like, if you really buckled down, that you could make it through the entire jog without stopping? Or are you out of air/energy? Just curious.
If I run 4 miles straight through, I do like to reward myself with a little walking.... I think most people do. I think of it as somehow extending my super high calorie burn
Anyway, another 4 miles today. It is finally cold here, so jogging in a light long sleeve shirt was pleasant. I'm not doing a lot of jogging mileage right now because I've been doing tons of walking on top of jogging these past couple days (I don't have a car and my bike is broke) and my legs are just tired.
One more thing, I found a natural-ish protein powder that I have been drinking at breakfast and after running. It has really been keeping the intense hunger pangs at bay and makes 1400 - 1600 cal. a day pretty manageable.
unna jealous of your cold weather! It's upper 80s here... boo. I hate running in the heat.
Sooooo I did a 45 minute DREADMILL run today. UGH. First time in months.
And... my knee started hurting about 20 minutes into it. THe same one that had been bothering me May-June and prompted a break from running. I took some ibuprofen and it feels fine now.
I was really cognizant of my stride and it felt a bit unnatural. Like I was always having to reach, my knees being too far out in front of body.
Does anyone else feel unnatural/in bad form running on a treadmill? I wonder if I need to only run outside, if I can get better form that way.
luckily I have a semi-cheap gym really close to my tiny apartment 
european winter makes it neccesary to workout indoors, because we're already pretty close to cold winterly tepreratures 
