Aspiring runner's itinerary?

lonnbeimnech

Firstly I'm male, 22 years old, 6ft and I weigh 95 kg but should very much like to tone up especially around the stomach area. I recently started working out on Tuesday's, Wednesdays and Fridays so I'm inclined to start running Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and then have the 2 days off at the weekend.

It was said to me that I should start a relaxed run Monday for ten minutes and work to a faster run for ten minutes on the Friday and the next week extending the time. Can anyone confirm this? Maybe you have a better idea?

As far as food's concerned as I'll be running in the evenings an hour or two before sleep I've been thinking about running an hour after I have dinner and having some fruit and a sandwich when I come back. Do I have the timing correct? Should I leave my heavier dinner until after I've come back from running and go with the lighter fruit and sandwich beforehand?

Warming up and warming down - how important is this can this consist of a few minutes walking before running? - if not be so good as to englighten me to what I should be doing.

Stark

You should be able to start off doing 20 mins per run. Just keep the pace relaxed. 10 mins will do sfa for you. Keep at that for about 3 or 4 weeks as you'll probably start noticing little aches and pains everywhere. After that, when you're feeling okay, you can move one of the runs up to about 25 mins.

Timing of dinner and sleep is my biggest problem when it comes to my training schedule, given you have to leave lots of time after eating and lots of time before sleep and there aren't that many hours in the evening These days I either have a light snack before running and dinner when I come back or else have dinner before leaving work.

I'm not an expert but I reckon a few minutes walk before starting your run should suffice for now. When you build up to longer runs and faster pace then you can start doing 5 minutes slow jog before faster jogging and 5 minutes slow cool down. Make sure you stretch every muscle for at least 30 seconds when you're finished your run to avoid injury.

lonnbeimnech

Stark wrote:

You should be able to start off doing 20 mins per run. Just keep the pace relaxed. 10 mins will do sfa for you.

Thing is I had an attempt at this a few weeks ago and could only manage 7 minutes but in hindsight about what you've said about a relaxed pace maybe I could have went easier on it.

A year or so ago I was able to run for 30 minutes straight before I packed it in after a few months due to exam pressure. Since then I've put on 20 kg so bear in mind it's not just getting fit that will be hurdle it's carrying 20 extra bags of sugar

I'll warm down by going from as slow a jog as I can to a walk for 5 minutes after the initial 20.

gagalina

Hey,

you could try the following:

http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml

Seems to work quite well for me to get back into running.

Gagalina

lonnbeimnech

That looks great gagalina. I like how each week is all well defined. The running for a bit/walking for a bit method should be much more manageable 20 minutes then even the softest of straight runs.

Thanks for your earlier input Stark, what do you think of the regime gagalina's link outlines? Would anyone else care to comment?

gagalina

it works great for me. It doesn't take that much time to do this and you don't feel half dead after 30 minutes as you are slowly building up stamina.

I take the plan a little bit slower, I don't follow the week 1, week2, etc... just as soon as I feel completely confident with one set, I move on to the next one.

Gagalina

lonnbeimnech

How do you manage eating before and after running? Should I have a sandwich and fruit an hour before running and dinner when I come home or vice versa?

Myksyk

When I got back to the gym two years ago the instructor naively suggested I run for ten minutes ... I stopped breathless after 6 or 7 ... she clearly forgot what it is like to be truly unfit (my heart rate hadn't gone above 80 in years). There's plenty of time ... as long as you're pushing a little you'll improve. I ran on the same treadmill for 1 hr 40 minutes non-stop yesterday as part of my marathon prep. I ran the Leeds half marathon in May and the Frank Duffy 10 mile last week. With time and pereseverance you can't help but improve your fitness, endurance and speed. The jog-walk approach is an excellent way to start. Follow that 5k programme and you'll soon be doing that 20-30 minute run without difficulty.

Myksyk

Re eating ... yes, have some carbs an hour or more before exercise (do not exercise on empty) and have a good recovery meal after working out.

gagalina

I generally do the running before work, so I just have some water - then go running, have a shower and then have breakfast.

Generally speaking I would say to have a small snack an hour before if you are hungry, and then have your normal dinner about an hour later.

Stark

I've never been a personal fan of the coolrunning program but other people swear by it. Although I do orienteering between runs and that's a similar pattern with "run a bit, walk a bit" until you get fit enough to run most of the way. So I guess I'm following it implicitly

lonnbeimnech

Myksyk wrote:

There's plenty of time ... as long as you're pushing a little you'll improve. I ran on the same treadmill for 1 hr 40 minutes non-stop yesterday as part of my marathon prep. I ran the Leeds half marathon in May and the Frank Duffy 10 mile last week. With time and pereseverance you can't help but improve your fitness, endurance and speed.

Your words are very inspirational and let me commend you on your lates achievments in running.

Thanks for the input from gagalina and Stark also. I'm confident now about doing it so much that I'm going to head out later this evening.

Look out for my thread tomorrow in the Fitness board about my workout itinerary as there doesn't seem to be a bodybuilding board in the Sports forum

quozl

Another vote for the coolrunning program. It's how I started and I'm training for the dublin marathon now.

Trying to start off by running 20 minutes if you're not able for it really isn't practicable. And don't worry about running fast just concentrate on running for increasing durations and speed will slowly increase as a bi-product.

I don't know how many times I saw people say that running too fast is the biggest mistake beginners make but it still took me a while to really listen to it. Male ego and a confusion as to how faster/harder couldn't be better I guess.

As for eating, I don't run for at least 2 hours after a big meal, longer if it was high in meat/fat. I just end up not feeling great otherwise during the run. A banana or a couple of jaffa cakes beforehand is fine and I'll often run before breakfast without eating anything. Find what suits you.

Best of luck with it lonnbeimnech.

lonnbeimnech

Thanks for your input quzol. I was able to manage the 20 minutes outlined in the posted cool running itinerary earlier. Found it alot easier than running for 7 minutes straight (yes a whole 7) a few weeks back. Felt great. Roll on 5k

Stark

If you can make sense of their 5k training schedule