Running 101

ecoli

Okay people it has come to my attention that alot of newcomers to the sport are always looking for different forms of advise. While i know everyone has different approaches to training i thought it might to be good to come up with basic principles by which to follow rather than actual training schedules

ecoli

Here are my beliefs if anyone disagrees we can add or take out stuff in order to give people a general guidline

1. Patience - Dont do too much too soon it is better to start slow and build strength dont go out busting a gut every run thinking it will show better improvements. Most times it can lead to injury. General rule is not to increase your mileage more than 10% from the previous week

2. Be consistent- there is no point going out for an 8 mile run one day if means you wont be able to run for 2 or three days.Its better to do a little each day than a load once or twice a week.

Peckham

Don't worry about pace. As tempting as it can be to do the same 2 or 3 mile circuit and time yourself, comparing your speed over a few days, this can be counterproductive and frustrating if one day is slower than the previous one. Leave the watch at home, go out and enjoy the run, the pace will come with time.

Running Bing

I think the biggest thing I've learned in my short time running is that it's ok to take it easy. Every session does'nt have to be flat out balls to the wall. By taking a few easy days a week it will be mean you will be better prepared for the hard days and get more out of them sessions.


I think as you point out ecoli patience is key as well. Speed kills endurance and endurance kills speed so you really have to take a long term view if you really want to improve focusing on different things at different times of the year.

tisnotover

One word:

VASELINE


(forgot this on my last long run )

ecoli

tisnotover wrote: »

One word:

VASELINE


(forgot this on my last long run )

Agree still suffering from my last long run :pac:

rainbow kirby

tisnotover wrote: »

One word:

VASELINE


(forgot this on my last long run )

I see your vaseline and I raise you BodyGlide, the stick of champions.

ParkRunner

Do you guys use pedometers to know how far you have run during training or just set a target to reach beforehand?

shels4ever

1. Set some short term and long term goals, helps the focus.
2. Don't run to fast , it can really put you of been tired after 200m (I know) .
3. Run often.
4. Listen to your body, If tired rest.
5. Run routes you enjoy .
6. Have fun .

Woddle

15 rules of training according to Newton and others.
1-Train frequently,all year round
2-Start gradually and train gently
3-Train first for distance and only later for speed
4-Don't set your daily schedule in stone
5-Alternate hard and easy training
6-At first try to achieve as much as possible on a minimum of training
7-Don't race when in training or run at race pace for distances over 16K
8-Specialize
9-Incorporate base training and peaking
10-Don't overtrain
11-Train with a coach
12-Train the mind
13-Rest before a big race
14-Keep a detailed logbook
15-Understand the holism of training

This is from Lore of running page 275, so I can't take any credit but how simple do they make it look, I guess it's just us that complicate things with things like family and work

BeepBeep67

1. Get a good pair of shoes
2. Set realistic targets - but do set a target (5k race, Marathon, Run 20mins without stopping)
3. Leave the watch at home once a week and just get out (I should do this more often)
4. Jump on this forum when you can - don't lurk - there's no such thing as a stupid question on here!
5. Variety - place, time of day, pace & distance - don't fall into the habit of running the same 3 mile loop every other night trying to knock 5 seconds of it each time
6. Join a club / group or start your own

Stupid_Private

EF wrote: »

Do you guys use pedometers to know how far you have run during training or just set a target to reach beforehand?

Personally I use mapmyrun.com to get an idea of how far certain routes I do are. I won't take a watch with me, and I just enjoy the jog. Exact distances and times aren't that important in training.

cfitz

tisnotover wrote: »

One word:
VASELINE
(forgot this on my last long run )

ecoli wrote: »

Agree still suffering from my last long run :pac:

rainbow kirby wrote: »

I see your vaseline and I raise you BodyGlide, the stick of champions.

I thought this was meant to be basic priniciples that should apply to almost everyone. The only thing I've ever used vaseline for is to put in spikes (so that I could get them back out in future), and I've been running for ten years doing sessions from 250m flat-out reps up to 15-mile long runs.

razorhead

Oh aren't you the lucky one cfitz!

cfitz

razorhead wrote: »

Oh aren't you the lucky one cfitz!

Maybe I shouldn't take it for granted! But I don't think any of the guys I train with use it either.

tisnotover

EF wrote: »

Do you guys use pedometers to know how far you have run during training or just set a target to reach beforehand?

bought a forerunner 205 last year.
had been running for a year before this+wasn't too concerned about distance+just ran for set amount of time. used mapmyrun to measure distance covered then like.

forerunner is a great piece of equipment though but would say not immediately needed starting out...spending money on a good pair of running shoes is def more worthwhile!

lecheile

The other points that I will add are:

(1) Get into the habit of warming-up and stretching before every session. The older you get the more important it is to help prevent injury and enable you to train on subsequent days
(2) Do a core strength workout session at least once a week. You can spend a useful 15-20 minutes working on your core which will help prevent injury and improve running form
(3) Set yourself a baseline that you can monitor on an ongoing basis so that you can monitor and enjoy your progress. (Whether it is being able to run for a particular time without stopping, a times race or a cooper test-type baseline)

jaymack75

Recovery is important -

good rest,
good nutrition,
properly refuelling / rehydrating immediately after runs
sports massages
active recovery days (swimming/cycling/walking etc)

limerickleader

Invest in a foam roller

jb-ski

hi, thanks ecoli for starting thread.

keep up the good advice, it's very encouraging. I started running over 2 years ago for fun, and enjoy it a lot, but still don't quite feel like a 'real'
runner.

it's great to be reminded of the basics, but once the topic moves to Garmins, heartrate monitors etc i have to admit i switch off!

Thanks.

TFBubendorfer

lecheile wrote: »

Get into the habit of warming-up and stretching before every session.

I disagree with that one. Stretching before a session can lead to injury rather than preventing it.

Stupid_Private

TFBubendorfer wrote: »

I disagree with that one. Stretching before a session can lead to injury rather than preventing it.

Can of worms... physios such as Ger Hartmann would recommend Active Isolated Stretching before and after. Static stetching however seems to get the thumbs down across the board.

Running Bing

cfitz wrote: »

Maybe I shouldn't take it for granted! But I don't think any of the guys I train with use it either.

I've never used Vaseline. I honestly wouldn't even know what to do with it I suppose Im just lucky in that I've never suffered from chaffing.


Agree with TF on the stretching as well. I never use static stretching and have not come across a great deal to recommend it tbh.

Running Bing

Stupid_Private wrote: »

Can of worms... physios such as Ger Hartmann would recommend Active Isolated Stretching before and after. Static stetching however seems to get the thumbs down across the board.

In the last month or two Ive started doing this on a regular basis and I absolutely swear by it. I feel it has made a huge difference both in terms of recovery and how tight my muscles feel.

Its also pretty quick to do and acts as a warm up in itself (rather than having to warm up first and then stretch). Id definitely recommend it.

Sniipe

Running Bing wrote: »

In the last month or two Ive started doing this on a regular basis and I absolutely swear by it. I feel it has made a huge difference both in terms of recovery and how tight my muscles feel.

Its also pretty quick to do and acts as a warm up in itself (rather than having to warm up first and then stretch). Id definitely recommend it.

What is it (active isolated streching)? (I will google it, but its handy to know here what it is)

Running Bing

http://www.duhac.tcdlife.ie/Training/stretching_local_copy.php


That article there from Gerard Hartmann explains it better than I ever could.

I do a stretch for the upper calves, one for the lower calves/achilles tendon, hamstring, quads and adductor. As your only doing 10 reps of 2 second holds for each stretch its pretty handy to do.

Sniipe

Running Bing wrote: »

I do a stretch for the upper calves, one for the lower calves/achilles tendon, hamstring, quads and adductor. As your only doing 10 reps of 2 second holds for each stretch its pretty handy to do.

sooo for hamstring AIS you get down on the floor and with a rope strech for 2 sec's, 12 times (according to the article 12 is the optiomal numbeR)?

Running Bing

Sniipe wrote: »

sooo for hamstring AIS you get down on the floor and with a rope strech for 2 sec's, 12 times (according to the article 12 is the optiomal numbeR)?

Yes. The idea is your muscle has a natural built in anti-stretching reflex to stop it from being damaged and after a couple of seconds this mechanism clicks in.

By engaging the opposite muscle to the one your stretching this relaxes the one you are stretching and by only stretching for a couple of seconds the anti-stretch reflex does not kick in.

lecheile

Stupid_Private wrote: »

Can of worms... physios such as Ger Hartmann would recommend Active Isolated Stretching before and after. Static stetching however seems to get the thumbs down across the board.

Accepting that there are differing opinions and methods of incorporating stretching into a warm up (and to put a lid on the aforementioned can-of-worms!).....the intention of my suggestion was that some form of warm-up is built into each training routine - each person can experiment with the type and mix of stretching that works for them.

aburke

Join a club.

Peterx

aburke wrote: »

Join a club.

+1
My running has come on leaps and bounds since joining a club, mainly from two things, better people to train with and structured training times+sessions.

Ger the man

I have been running for the last 2 months every 2nd day for about 10-12k, I can handle this distance no problem at my own pace and feel like I can do more every time I finish. Im doing the multi-marathon (20k) in Clontarf on the 28th, should I increase my distance between now and then??

Thanks for all repiles