Good morning All!

I have been lurking, but haven't had much to contribute. You guys are really motivating me. I am happy to report that the day before yesterday I ran a mile without stopping for the first time in about 14 or 15 years. It was very slow, and not much compared to you all, but to me, it was a major, major deal. I'm on my way!

I'm wondering about windsprints....

Do any of you (or have you) done them to build endurance?

mkroyer - woot woot! awesome story, awesome time! it sounds like you did wonderfully!

i "officially" started my half marathon training program last night for my first ever hm in october. did 5km in 32:50 so, not great, but pretty good for me! i have and easy 4km thurs, 6.5km saturday and another 4 on sunday!

It is WAY too soon for windsprints. Build your endurance up by running longer. Windsprints dont build endurance they build top speed. Kind of. And they should never be done all out.

Ennay, I so agree with you! Wind sprints my hiney! I was able to do one and it was a wrap! There is good news though...

Today I jogged for 1.5 of 2 miles. First I jogged a mile, then powerwalked half a mile and jogged the last half mile. That's a major accomplishment for me. I think jogging that 1 mile nonstop the other day really opened up something for me big time. Before I did that, I was walking through about 3/4 of my 2 mile walk/jog. So, I'm quite proud of myself today.

I have a question...

Right now it takes me 12 minutes to jog a mile. Is it realistic for me to set a goal of jogging 3 miles in 25 minutes by the end of September? Right now I'm practicing jogging about 3x a week. Four times when I'm feeling industrious.

Thanks!

Amay- I do not think that is a realistic goal--Sorry!?! Thats just over an 8 minute mile..pretty fast, almost 4 minutes per mile faster than what you are running now...took me over a year of running HEAVILY to be able to run that fast, and i couldnt do it comfortably till i was below 23% BF...but everyone is different of course, and im not naturally athletic, so....

Please don't apologize. I just didn't know, so I thought I'd ask. It will still be my goal, of course, but if it doesn't happen, I won't feel bad. Thanks!

Just to give you an idea, I have been running since November, so 9 months and I'm still not down to 25 minutes. It also depends on the weather and where you are running. My fastest 3 miles was done on a still cool day on a very flat surface with no roads. Add in roads to cross, wind, rain or sun and you can add at least a minute onto my times, sometimes more.

What a great day!

Monday, for the first time in 15 years I jogged a mile without stopping. Afterwards I actually threw up and was so winded I had to sit down in the middle of a parking lot. I jogged it again on Wednesday. Still struggled a bit, but not quite as bad, and I did my walk/jog for an additional mile. No vomiting... Today I did it and felt like going further! I was pleasantly winded, but not sick to my stomach. After the mile I walked/jogged in half mile increments until I completed 3 miles.

Whenever I go to the park or track, I usually do 2 or 3 miles of walk/jog. I think, though, that my first jog of each week will be just to see what my limit is. This past Monday is was a mile of nonstop jogging. Today, I felt like I could go more. Every Monday or Tuesday, I'm going to test myself a bit. Not ever again the point that I vomit (not purposely), but until my stomach starts to "warn" me.

I'm so excited. I'm eager to see where I am in the next few months.

Hey all-
Did a 10K in colorado springs yesterday morning...For any of you who read my last report about the 15 mile race i did last weekend, you wil prob know i went into this race with an entirely different attitude, and a huge boost in confidence... I wanted to run this race in sub 50 minutes!!! That was my goal. My previous best "official" 10K time was 56 minutes (at this same race last year).
I went out HARD-- first mile 7:10, second mile 7:10. At 2 miles i wanted to be at 16 minutes, but instead I was at 14:20... I knew i had given myself a really decent pad on finishing in my goal time! I also did not allow myself to convince myself i went out too fast (even though i did!) I told myself to just go with it, and see how far it took me! By mile 3 i was loosing a LITTLE steam- approx 7:30-7:45, and mile 4 was prob about 7:50. However, between mile 4 and 5 i got a WICKED side stitch out of NO where! It was so sharp i couldn't even breath, so i had to walk 3X during the mile, for 10-15 seconds each time trying to work it out...needless to say, that was my slowest mile at a little longer than 9 minutes. AT the point though, it was ok, because i knew i was still going to come in under goal....I gave it EVERYTHING i had, and it was HARD...so much harder than running comfortable paces over longer distances....I was constantly feeling like i was gonna puke, that my legs were turning to jello, or cramping up...it was just REALLY HARD running that fast. So hard in fact, that as i rounded the last .2 miles and could see the finish line, i had NOTHING left to push..its usually very exciting and adrenaline speeds you up, but i was seriously considering taking a walking break! Anyway, official time 48:45!!! avg pace 7:50 (although if it hadnt been for that darned side stich bringing my avg way down i wouldve without a DOUBT finished in under 48 minutes, with an avg pace closer to 7:30 or 7:40)
I feel like im really a runner now........

Well guys I ran my first 7 miles this weekend and I did in 82 minutes. Pretty slow but I am cool with that. I felt great. Of course my legs are paying for today ...hehehe. I am just going to do some strength training today and a tempo run. I am sad to fine out my Fiance (got engaged last weekend) has to go to MS for 3 months and will miss my very first HM! This frightens me.


Mk - WOW WOW WOW> The 15K epxerience was just what you needed you push you even further. I am glad your 10K went so well. WTG. That is only time I dream of.

Amany - I have been running since January and my fastest 3 miles is 32 minutes and some changes. I don't know if 25 minutes is feasible. BTW you are doing awesome just keep working at endurance and then work on speed.

Mk - That's so incredible! Thanks for sharing your story with us. You're so inspirational!

Cake - Congrats on 7 miles!! What an accomplishment!

Amany - Way to go! The best thing to do is take it slowly and work your way up. You'll be running longer distances before you know it and you'll be injury free!

I'm currently training for a 10K (Oct) and a half marathon (Feb). I have plenty of time so I'm building my distance kind of slowly and then closer to the races will start working on speed. Is that what you guys did or did you go for speed right away? I'm currently at 10min/mi but my longest distance is 4.25mi so I'm not sure how sustainable that'll be when I start running more miles.

I'm off to try for my first 4.5 - we'll see how it goes!

Takingcharge-- my advice is to not worry about speed, especially if this is your first 10K and first half marathon..you just want to finish at this point..worry about speed later. My marathon training has me doing zero speed work....it is all about training my body to run LONG not to run fast. However, if you feel comfortable enough to start doing speed training, now is as good a time as any. Try running intervals once a week--it helps if you have access to a track, but a treadmill works really well too, as well as a nice long flat "straightaway" or path around a lake or something. Start by running either for time or distance, such as 2 minutes hard 2 minutes easy, or 200m or 400 meters hard, then recovery jog. you might want to start with 3 or 4 repeats, such as 4 X 200 meters with 200m recovery jog in between. The intervals are not designed to be run all out at a sprint, but rather at a pace a little faster than your 10K pace, or 5 k pace. So, if you run a 10 minute mile comfortably now, you might want to do your intervals at a 9:30 or a 9 minute mile.You should be able to finish the interval without DYING, and able to maintain the same effort for each repeat. If you find you are dying and cant maintain the pace, then you started out too fast. Gradually build up to doing either more repeats, such as 6 or 8 instead of 3 or 4, OR you can increase the LENGTH, workin gup to 400, 600 and 800 meter repeats.... Good luck, i hope this helps!!

Thanks Mk! That was really, really helpful. I just got back from running 5 miles, my longest distance ever, so I'm pretty stoked about that! Granted, it was on the treadmill, so I kind of feel like I cheated, but I'm definitely still proud. Maybe if I get up to a comfortable 5-6 miles soon, I'll start working on speed. I'd love to finish the 10K in under 60 minutes, but we'll see. I'm a new runner so there's no need to rush into anything. Slow and steady wins the race, right?

Thanks again!

Congrats on the 5 miles Taking Charge! That is an excellent distance to be able to run "comfortably". Speed takes time--for now, be very proud of the DISTANCE that your body can now run!! Its very exciting! BTW, i dont think the treadmill is cheating at all, and i personally APPLAUD your ability to run 5 miles on a treadmill!! I would have to shoot myself in the foot, just to make it stop!! i get SO BORED, and then i convince myself i am too TRIED, and then i give up...it sux.

On this last day of July I plan to run a quick 5 miles. Today is not my long day as that will be 8 miles. This is the plan:
5miles today
Spin class and 25-30 minute tempo run tomorrow
8 miles sunday

What do you all think?