Advice for newbie on running

IrishWelshCelt

So Im a bit of a newbie in regards to running but theres a work 5k run in two months so I need to get in some practice so I dont show myself up on race day!

So a bit of back story Im a 6"1 male I've gone from 18 and a half stone to 13 and a half in a year but most of that was up until february, I havent lost much since then maybe half a stone.

As you can imagine the slowdown is due to somehow managing to get a girlfriend combined with finishing my degree but we all know they're just excuses I made up to rationalise it with myself!

Around februrary I stopped going to the gym and could do a 5k in under 30 mins, not great but pleasing from where I started off when I was over 18 stone. When I went back to the gym last week (its a free college gym so not going wasnt costing me money) my time was 32 mins for 5k.

A few questions, what would you say should be a reasonable time to aim for? My work colleagues are all averaged sized but only a few run regularly that I know of. What is the best method for improving this time? Should I be upping the speed on the treadmill and do fast bursts followed by a lower pace to regain breath? Should I be aiming to run longer distances to improve my endurance? Also how much harder is street running compared to the treadmill? I've never done the former before but Im imagining it'll be harder to maintain the same time without a treadmill forcing me to keep up.

Thanks in advance for any help!

RonanP77

I'm not a great man to advise people because I only started running in Feb. I'll share the little I know though and someone will show up and tell me I'm wrong.

My physio told me to avoid treadmills because I was having problems with my sciatic nerve so I've never run much on one. I've been told by a buddy that's a fitness instructor that people tend to put up much better times on treadmills than on the road.

Anything under 30 mins for a 5k isn't bad, that seems to be the initial target according to the lads at work. My best time so far was 24 mins.

You should run on the road a few times beforehand so it's not a shock to the system.

Well done on the weight loss, that's pretty impressive.

huskerdu

Congratulations so far.
In order to improve, you need to stop worrying about times and concentrate on longer slower running to build up your endurance.

I am not a fan of the dreadmill, I cant stand the boredom. Running outside can be harder, especially to start, but give it s go. You can only stare at the wall of a gym for so long. There are hills and wind but there is fresh air and real life out there.

Slow down and run for longer. Run at a pace that you can still talk and Increase your mileage by 10% a week.

Your strength and endurance will improve quickly.

lbucko

First off well done on your progress so far, that's a great achievement.
I'd second the advice to try running outside and don't worry about times for now. You might be slower than on the treadmill but that's no harm and your times will improve. There's a few good 5K plans out there like Hal Higdon but as already mentioned you can first try increasing your mileage gradually. You could also introduce some higher intensity sessions like intervals. You'll improve and probably enjoy running outdoors more than the treadmill, especially during the summer.
Don't worry too much about times, enjoy your runs, times will improve gradually.

IrishWelshCelt

Thanks for the advice lads, as regards increasing my mileage do you mean in terms of distance run of mph?

inigo

Distance...

I'm just waking up from my nap after a run on the Dublin Mountains. It was hell with the wind and the rain but I loved every second of it!

rom

IrishWelshCelt wrote: »

Thanks for the advice lads, as regards increasing my mileage do you mean in terms of distance run of mph?

Increase mileage and slow down. You want to be at a pace where you are not breathing heavy/ conversational starting off. Also running at a slower pace will enable you to burn more fat and get slim. Basically once you get over a certain effort level where you are breathing heavy you are burning more from the sugars in your blood. This results in you craving sugary food post run and feeling worn out. Slowing down enables your body to burn fat as fuel. Over time at this effort level you get faster and faster. It takes about 6 weeks before you start seeing signs. I started this process a few years back and I was 12 min per mile at that effort and now that is about 7:30 a mile. It takes time. Lots of people don't improve at running as they run too fast.

RonanP77

That's probably very good advice, I'm running now at near enough the same pace as a mate that's been at it for 12 months longer than me. He can run 10k no problem and I can't get past 6k.

I was advised to keep the pace I'm at now and slowly up the distance, maybe I need to slow down a little.