Running

SmallBeard

SmallBeard

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Essex
Morning all,

Myself and my girlfriend are running a 5km 'Fun Run' in September for charity. Myself running for Orchid, the male cancer charity, and SWMBO is running in support of pancreatic and bowel cancer.

Having played rugby up until a couple of years ago, I don't think it's going to be a problem for me, well I've just got back from a 5.59km run in not a bad time if I do say so myself. However, SWMBO hasn't done any sort of training or exercise since when we were at school, 5 years ago.

Can anyone give me any tips and pointers on how we should train? How far/how often a week? I know it's only 5km but it's a start, and we both want to be able to run it without stopping/walking.

My approach is just run until I can't anymore, and having played rugby for a long time, training 2-3 times weekly, and playing on Sundays, am used to pushing myself. The girlfriend though really hasn't done much, so what's the best approach to get in shape and conquer this? I don't think she will respond well to my approach!

Many thanks,

Alex
 
Run every other day.

There's loads of plans out there - usually they say something like 'Couch to 5Km' - I think the NHS do a Podcast one which takes you from literally nothing -walking/running to running for 30 mins in 9 wks.

That will be just in time for your 5km fun run.

Job jobbed.
 
Your brave you could just tie raw meat to your legs and unleash a werewolf that should do the trick :icon_razz: No....take the strong mans advice or just catch a cab :blush:
 
joe mcclaine said:
Run every other day.

There's loads of plans out there - usually they say something like 'Couch to 5Km' - I think the NHS do a Podcast one which takes you from literally nothing -walking/running to running for 30 mins in 9 wks.

That will be just in time for your 5km fun run.

Job jobbed.
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Thanks, I'll take a look, I hadn't heard of anything before but I hadn't exactly looked :blush:

Haha, cheers, John. I think I'll stick with the Podcast if its all the same with you ;). Or, I could tell her how much I've spent on shaving stuff and just try and keep ahead of her. After all, she'd have to catch me to kill me, right?
 
SmallBeard said:
joe mcclaine said:
Run every other day.

There's loads of plans out there - usually they say something like 'Couch to 5Km' - I think the NHS do a Podcast one which takes you from literally nothing -walking/running to running for 30 mins in 9 wks.

That will be just in time for your 5km fun run.

Job jobbed.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I'll take a look, I hadn't heard of anything before but I hadn't exactly looked :blush:

Haha, cheers, John. I think I'll stick with the Podcast if its all the same with you ;). Or, I could tell her how much I've spent on shaving stuff and just try and keep ahead of her. After all, she'd have to catch me to kill me, right?
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LOL sounds like the motivation she needs :icon_razz: you could take your debit/ credit card whilst training and threaten to buy a super expensive shaving piece of shaving crap.....but if she starts foaming at the mouth with rage.......your dead buddy :s
 
try here, its in text format, but you can download the leaflet. something i mean to do as i'm quite unfit.

http://www.upandrunning.co.uk/walking-to-5k

steve
 
Thanks Steve, bookmarked that. I'm doing mine with Big Fun Run at lee valley park.

I had wanted to for a while, as my grandad has prostate cancer, and I've had a scare with testicular cancer (turned out to be a varicocele) but it made me realise the importance of checking your nads. Seeing as women have the race for life, I wanted to do something for male cancer too (I can't grow a good moustache so movember is a no no) whilst also gaining some fitness and not being a lazy sod!

John, I'm not that brave! I get the evil stare just talking about shaving crap!
 
running is easy get a pair of trainers and go

if you get a heart rate monitor and work to that pace you start off slow and eventually get faster as you get fitter again easy

try and find 3 routes of 1.5, 3 and 6 miles all ish have these as circular type routes so you know as you pass half way its easier to finish than turn around and go back

most of all enjoy it
 
smallbeard, there is a nike app for running which is quite good, given that you now have an iphone, or some free apps for building a regime and monitoring progress to
 
That's a good point Al, about the halfway point. Thanks.

I use Runtastic Pro, which I think is really good. It automatically links up to MyFitnessPal too, which I use to track the calories I've eaten, when I can be bothered ;).
 
As a lardy wagon driver, I decided to shed some weight. Problem in this job is the long hours and never knowing where I would be parked at nights.

I started off by just walking as far as I could each night, wherever I was parked, be it town centre or country layby.

As I was getting fitter my walks needed to be longer, so I added a bit of gentle jogging, building upto running for 30 mins (approx 5km) without stopping. I achieved that in a very short space of time. I'd never run before, but just persevered.

Unfortunately I progressed onto off road running and fell one night, buggering my knee. A year later its healed and i've had to start from scratch but am upto 6 miles without stopping.

If you are serious about continuing running, get proper trainers, and if possible have your feet analysed fit the type you need. Good running shops do this for you, and I have seen a basic machine in some sports direct stores. This will prevent damage to your feet, particularly your arches.
 
I can't comment on the running really, never been a good long distance runner (played on the wing)
But I have recently taken to cycling to try and shed some weight. I have tried the running but I find my knees can't hack it and I used to suffer from shin splints, probably due to poor choice in footwear. So my first suggestion is as Thrifty, go to a specialist shop and get decent running shoes. They can be pricey but a guy I work with does a few marathons a year and even travels overseas with his wife to run in them, according to him good shoes are a MUST
Offer your girlfriend plenty of leg rubs after training, her calf muscles will be burning! And remember to do a little warm down after each session, take a 5-10 minute walk and then a good stretch. A lot of people forget to warm down after exercise, warm down well and it can make a huge difference to your recovery times. But it also adds an extra few minutes to your training without it seeming like its training. Making your body work for an extra few minutes when it's already tired is also training in itself and it can help you push that little further.
Above all make it as fun and enjoyable as possible for the other half, good luck to both of you.
 
hunnymonster said:
Or as I do just walk. Not as high impact on the joints but it takes longer to consume similar energy.

69.3km since last Sunday here... Slightly higher than normal due to my sciatica (walking helps to relieve it).
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This. ^

With really hard walking you can get up to about 80% of the cardiovascular benefits of running with about 20% of the impact on the joints.

I love running and used to go twice a week throughout my twenties and early thirties.

Stopped when my knees started to ache.

And, to echo Thrify's comment above, make sure you go to a decent running shop and speak to someone who knows their stuff with regards to shoes. I might still be running now if I'd done that from the start.
 
Humans are the most efficient bare-foot running machines on the planet - it's trainers that have knackered everyone's knees.

Doesn't matter which ones you get, they all bugger about with our natural physiology.
 
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