Running : Longer distance or no walking?

aoa321

Hi everybody

I'm old. I have decided to train for a 10K. Years ago I was able to put my runners on and just keeping going for miles and miles and miles. Now I have to stop to take short walks (otherwise I'll have a cardiac failure).

My question is should I try to build up the distance that I am able to run without stopping (that wouldn't be very far at the moment) so start running for 1K then build up to 2K next week etc.

OR when I'm "training" is it more useful to do longer distances up to the 10K distance and if i have to, take breaks and walk for a short distance before continuing

In case anybody is wondering, I'm hoping to run the 10K in under 50 minutes.

voxpop

Im no expert, but what I would say is start with a smallish distance - say 3k. Run and walk this distance until you can run it without keeling over
Once you can run 3k up the distance by .5k or 1k. When you can run the new distance, up it again.
Just take it gradually and before you know it you will be up to 10k

Reyman

Generally you should increase your mileage by a max of 10% a week.
Going from a 1K run one week to a 2K run the next week is looking for trouble if you're out of shape

SparkyLarks

have a look arounf for a running program on the net

there 2 on www.beginnertriathlete.com
an agressive and a conservative one

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=27 is the conservativeone but it's probabl way too basic for you

Most programs designed for getting people back into running that I've seenuse a walk run approach and as time goes on the walking time decreases.

starting off at

aoa321

thanks for the replies

Downtime

Greatrun also have a training schedule @ http://www.greatrun.org/runners_services/training/gen_sched.asp#

kasintahan

10k in 50 mins would be impressive for any age.

You'd be fitter than 90% of the pop (at a guess).

aoa321

judging by what you're saying 50 mins might be a bit over ambitious ?! i'll aim for it over the next few of weeks and see how I get on

My main problem is that my knees hurt like hell when I'm running, I'm hoping that some of that is because of the extra 2 stones I'm carrying at the moment. I'm going to go back on the Weight Watchers points to try get myself down to about 11.5 stone, if I do that and the knees still hurt and I'm getting nowhere i'll probably just throw the towel in and take up golf !!!

Supercell

aoa321 wrote:

judging by what you're saying 50 mins might be a bit over ambitious ?! i'll aim for it over the next few of weeks and see how I get on

My main problem is that my knees hurt like hell when I'm running, I'm hoping that some of that is because of the extra 2 stones I'm carrying at the moment. I'm going to go back on the Weight Watchers points to try get myself down to about 11.5 stone, if I do that and the knees still hurt and I'm getting nowhere i'll probably just throw the towel in and take up golf !!!

Dont mean to hiijack your post aoa321, but this was thinking about the same kind of thing, ie knees and being heavier than is really considered to be healthy.
Anyone know just how overweight they can afford to be and take up something like jogging which is pretty tough on the knees?

rasherboy

Longfield wrote:

Dont mean to hiijack your post aoa321, but this was thinking about the same kind of thing, ie knees and being heavier than is really considered to be healthy.
Anyone know just how overweight they can afford to be and take up something like jogging which is pretty tough on the knees?

there is no definate weight it depends on your body! like if you are muscly under the fat then u can take alot more it can depend on how fit you are aswel as many other things!

as for running distance iv found that the fastest way to build up stamina is to run until you cant run anymore take a break and run onwhile your heart rate is up you are getting in the maximum ammount of exercise! this is a good thing! but the main thing to remember is to eat right and get sleep these will help you build up stamina even more!

Roy Was Right

On the subject of 10k run -
I am training at the moment and spending more time ( and miles) on the treadmill than on the road. Is my endurance on the treadmill a false assesment of my standard or what?
I find a huge difference between what I can do inside and outside.

Also, my gym instructor has advised me not to do weights for the few weeks leading up to the 10k as it might " unbalance" my routine. How weights would upset the running programme?

Reyman

You need to set the incline on the machine at 1.5 to 2.0 degrees to simulate running outside. It takes account of the wind resistance factor, which increases exponentially at higher speeds.

Watch your times change!

NewFrockTuesday

On the subject of 10k run -
I am training at the moment and spending more time ( and miles) on the treadmill than on the road. Is my endurance on the treadmill a false assesment of my standard or what?
I find a huge difference between what I can do inside and outside

This is what i am finding too...its WAY harder to run out in the real world than it is to fly along on the tread mill. Im 4.5k in 35 mins at the mo...hard going ...but id never manage that in the real world.

Reyman

It's like training on Gym machines versus using real weights.

Everybody knows you won't build a body using machines ---weights are the business. You're using all kinds of stabilising muscles with real weights that machines don't touch.

It's te same with running you need to be doing the real thing and out in the open!

rasherboy

purdee wrote:

This is what i am finding too...its WAY harder to run out in the real world than it is to fly along on the tread mill. Im 4.5k in 35 mins at the mo...hard going ...but id never manage that in the real world.

you have to take in to account that in the real world you are running up and down alot of minin hill(you may not know it but you are), wind, if running along streets ou may have to cross over and stop for cars etc....their are many reasons for this!

NewFrockTuesday

tonight i am goiong to do a 4.5 run out in the open. if i get off the dart @ clontarf, run over to vernon avenue and then up through to killester. is that 4.5k's? i want to see how long it takes in the real world v's the treadmill.

aoa321

I went out in the POURING rain last night and ran my loop - I only stopped once, I was about 800 metres from the end and a little hill at the end finally did me in, I only walked for about 50 metres and then ran on to the end.

Total time was 36 minutes 32 seconds - but I have no clue what distance it is. When I can run for about 35 minutes non-stop (should be on the next run) I will measure some distances in the car and start running for a distance rather than a time.

I bought a pair of really good runners and I'm drinking Cod Liver Oil like it's going out of fashion and this (temporarily) seems to have stopped the pains in my knees - at times now I am feeling NO pain in my knees.

So there you go, wifey is delighted with me, I have become obsessed with a hobby thats expensive (runners), time-consuming, and I'm in so much agony/fatigue after my runs that I can't do anything else for the rest of the evening - what more could a girl ask for ?

mcguiver

Fair play to ya.
Remember to train on grass as much as possible...save the impact on the knees.
What I tend to do when i'm pushing to further distances is run your usual maximum distance then....: run 100 paces as fast as you can, jog 100 paces to slow down, walk 100 paces to recover..and then off again, you can keep this up for ages...great for building speed too.

The tread mills are better than nothing but your not getting wind resistance ups+ downs etc. I use the one in the gym if I want to watch tv...... slow pace, switch off the brain and away ya go... how many times have you sat at home, watched some rubbish on tv and the night is gone!!

aoa321

Thanks for all the replies, I have taken all the advice on board over the last few weeks. When possible I pick runs where I can get a few miles done on grass or path - it's VERY difficult to find runs like this though. I also take my Cod Liver Oil - it tastes disgusting so I figure it must be doing me some good !

I trained hard for the last 2 months and did the Butlerstown 10K (County Waterford) on Saturday night, I finished in 45.05, and I'm absoloutely over the moon.

It's a great buzz taking part in something where there are so many people involved in a positive way, that's what I love about Athletics and road running especially - they don't give a damn about the level you are running at they welcome you and are happy to see everybody give it a try.

I would love to see more sports being as accessible as this and allow everybody have a go !!

I'm going to keep the running up for the summer, I have already picked out a 5K that I'm going to enter ... "strawberries and ice cream for all finishers".

I'd love to try rowing next but a total beginner would probably be more of a nuisance there because of the availability of equipment ... anyway here's to the strawberries and ice cream ... I'm loving this at the moment and I hope my knees hold up !!

Mr E

Wow... congratulations!