Do you guys find strength training helps your running? It's just so boring and I'm not strong at all at this point, so it feels forced right now.

I was thinking about scheduling a run every other day, and then lifting weights on my off day. How do you make strength training tolerable? Does anyone here actually like it and think I'm nuts?

Thoughts please

Was slacking, but am going to get it back together. I've got my stamina up to running a full minute and then walking a full minute. I do this for 12 minutes altogether, running 6 out of 12. Very good for someone who started with running 20 seconds every minute and a half. I'm going to try to add another minute of running to this before January. Eventually I want to get it to 10 minutes of running altogether, and then slowly take the in between minutes of walking out. I can't imagine myself ever running 10 minutes without stopping just yet, but I also couldn't imagine myself running a full minute with just a minute of rest between, so who knows?

I'm still doing a 5 minute warm-up walk, and then 14-20 minutes of walking for a cool down. Totaling 30-35 minutes altogether usually. It depends on my energy and how far I am from my house. lol.

I do 2-3 BodyPump classes a week and they're fun (google it)! Each person has a step-bench and a bar and a selection of weights and you do one muscle group per song in time to the music at the rate the instructor tells you to! If you live in a largish place there's probably something like that near you?

Squat track and lunge track definitely help my running as there's some steep hills around here. Other than that, i'd say it wouldn't assist running very much.

Basically though it helps me at work a lot because i often have to lift things and move them about, and the other thing is it makes you look a lot better as you go in and out in all the right places!!

I agree though, i found it impossible to enjoy doing weights when i used to try them via the machines at the gym. Dull as.

I follow a program - New Rules of Lifting for Women and enjoy the challenge.

Strength training is critical for runners to prevent injuries and balance your body because running is not a full body work out. There's ton of info out there to support it.

I also like what strength training does for my physique.

Intervals today, went well. Rest tomorrow. 8 miles Sunday.

Today: 1 hour/5.8 miles. No knee pain. And I love my time- shaved off 1-2 minutes from last week :-D

aka I think lifting is critical when you are running + in a caloric deficit. Gotta protect those muscles as your body burns tissue. Plus, building muscle helps ensure your muscles bear more of the work, not your joints.

I don't have a program, but I do a consistent routine to hit every muscle group 1-2x a week till fatigued. I try to keep my lifts short and sweet- lift as heavy as I can, pushups, bench, shoulder press, lat pull down, squats, lunges. Plus wall squats and jumping squats because our gym doesn't have weights heavy enough for deadlifts!

I also do yoga 2x a week, including 1x a week hard, strength-building yoga that leaves me sore the next day.

Hi everyone, I haven't posted much here on 3FC but I sure have done a lot of lurking :P Anyway, I would like to add running back into my weight loss plan this month and continue throughout the winter. I am a high school senior and its currently the last week of volleyball season and then basketball starts! So I need to work my running around my practices, but it should be do-able. I've been on vacation this week and while I haven't been eating the best, I did get 3 30 minute (3 mile) runs in this week and I was planning on going to the gym this morning before we leave but I went down there and the gym doesn't open until 8! So I think I will do some on the elliptical tonight when I get home (I wish we had a treadmill) since it will be too dark to run outside as I'd like.

Today is my 5k and its about 25 out it will be my coldest run so far dang the weather!!!Oh well! As for weight training I love it slow and heavy or fast and light. I take an organized class as mentioned twice a week and do DVDs 3 other days. I love the changes it has made in my body and along with my other exercising has been what has allowed me to jump into running.{or my version of it}

Just got back from my 5k it was actually colder when we started 24 at 9 am.
I am very proud it was on sand and had hills,finished in 37:20. And low and behold I won THIRD Place overall in the womens division!!!!! HoAH! Next on on 12/10 here I come.

Fantastic 8 miler today, TFL hurting a little bit and I won't have time to use my massage stick til later, so alieve will have to do for now. I did stretch it though. It was just one of those runs that just felt awesome start to finish - love those!

That's the good news, bad news is my "skinny" winter pants from last year a pretty much unwearable...time to drop to cals...trouble I'm hungry at my current cals...man this maintenance thing is tough - oh well!

I did my first 10 miler today! It hurt like heck and I was struggling the last mile and a half, but I did it without stopping or walking. I never dreamed I would do such thing! I did realize how important it will be for me to consistently add in strength training to build my supporting muscles in my legs. My hip flexors and hamstrings were SOOOO fatigued toward the end of my run, and I know the stronger I make those muscles, along with my quads and glutes, the easier it will be for me to go the distance (not to mention how much less stress it will put on my knees).

Ncuneo - how do the massage sticks work? I have seen them around in my running store but am nit sure how to use them or whether they really help that much.

Well I am home from vacation and back at it. Got in another 30 minutes, 3 miles yesterday on the treadmill after playing basketball for 2 hours, so it was tough but I did it! I might be running today and I'd certainly like to but I was having a little pain in my right foot yesterday and I don't want to overdo it. It feels fine so far today though so if it continues I'm planning on running! (And another plus, I only gained 0.6 lbs on vacation eating pretty much what I wanted - the magic of exercise I guess )

good morning, runners!

mondays are my long run days so i'm going to go out for 8 miles this evening. i'm both excited and worried that i wont be able to make it. it will be my LDR, two weeks ago i did 7, and then last week i had my 10k so i took a break from my long run and just did my short ones but today is will be back on the horse.

last time i did a long run, i felt fatigued and nauseous afterwards. i think that this time i will try to eat the bulk of my calories before i run and i will also carry some sport beans with me just in case.

i live in a pretty good neighborhood but i'm a little apprehensive about running alone after dark. however, i have no choice since i run an hour after i come home from work and am exhausted right after i come home.

i do have a light that i wear as well as a waist pouch for my phone just in case. i think it will be okay-- it will still be from 6-7pm, not very late, i guess.

did 2.5 miles tonight! c25k week 7 done, on to week 8!

I'm doing a similar programme! I do strenght workouts on monday and wednesday, jogging on tuesday and thursday and sometimes epileptical on friday or saturday.
Way to go, girl

Do any of you ever experience pain around the base of your big toe that kind of spreads into that side of the foot? I may have gotten this from my last walk/run and it made this morning's pretty uncomfortable, but I did it anyway. I'm trying to get back in the habit of doing this everyday since I want to lose 5 more pounds before the middle of December.