Platypus' Beginners Guide to Running

Entered into the marathon ballot. Don't do any running, but will be inclined to train pretty hard as I'll be happy to do one marathon relatively well!
 
Ran 5K earlier and my time was 27:30 which beats my previous PB set 3 weeks ago by over a minute 28:40.

Don't know whether to try 1.5 miles tomorrow and aim for 11 minutes or not, previous best is 11:20.
 
Have now ran 42km this week and cycled 40km.

Legs need a rest.

That's a lot! Nice!
I want to cycle about more, but my bike has a few things that would need to be addressed before going on a proper cycle!

Ran 5K earlier and my time was 27:30 which beats my previous PB set 3 weeks ago by over a minute 28:40.

Nice. My past two 5km have been 1-2 minutes more than my PB :( I blame the hotter weather and lack of carbs lol.

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Just a quick question. To improve a 10km (or 15km, etc) pace, is it better to run 10km most runs, or to really get the 3-5km time down? Or 50:50?
 
Nice. My past two 5km have been 1-2 minutes more than my PB :( I blame the hotter weather and lack of carbs lol.

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Just a quick question. To improve a 10km (or 15km, etc) pace, is it better to run 10km most runs, or to really get the 3-5km time down? Or 50:50?

Thanks,

I think the best way to improve is by doing everything, take a look at my post above for my 5 different workouts.

HIIT will improve your recovery.
Sprint work will improve your top speed.
Hill Running will improve your strength.
Long distance will improve your stamina.

imo you need to do all of them.

i done 5k (my long distance) yesterday so today i am going to try 1.5 miles (my goal and short distance). tomorrow i shall rest. then on sunday i will do 1 hour HIIT. then on monday i will do hill running (incline), then rest tuesday.

i had originally planned to do them in a set order, now i am going to do them as i feel like, so long as i do them all, i should improve.

with the long distances you are doing though, you will require much more rest than i do in my short distance runs. so you will most likely need to do 1 workout every 2-3 days, whereas i do 2 workouts every 2-3 days.
 
My football has completely finished for the season now so I can get to proper training for the Manchester 10K in a few weeks. I ran a training 10K for the second time on Wednesday and was 2 minutes slower than last time I ran it at just under 47 minutes - to be fair I ran at 6:30 when I got home from work and had only eaten soup since breakfast and drunk lots of coffee so wasn't the best preparation. Also need to work on my pacing as I usually start pretty quick, drop off then run the last few K quicker - I tried to start off slower in this run but it didn't really work as my middle was still at the same pace I normally run.

Ran a 5K today and although my legs still had a bit of lethargy in them from Wednesday I managed to run a PB at 20:59, so under 21 minutes for the first time.

Going to either run a 5K on Sunday or a longer run on Monday depending on the legs - want to try and get at least 2 more 10Ks in before the race
 
That's a lot! Nice!
I want to cycle about more, but my bike has a few things that would need to be addressed before going on a proper cycle!

I've not done a lot of cycling, but my dad is a big time trial rider - so I'm using a very oldschool claud butler road bike and may start cycling some medium distances with him and try to get my pace up. I'm also about to start some swim training with my cousin. Next stop a sprint triathlon (750m swim, 25k cycle, 5k run)

Just a quick question. To improve a 10km (or 15km, etc) pace, is it better to run 10km most runs, or to really get the 3-5km time down? Or 50:50?

I began running 5km mostly and trying to get my time down from 25/26mins to as low as possible.

I shortly after that started running in a 5mile series competition, and that has helped my 10k time a lot. 5 miles is about 8.14km (I think) and my focus has been trying to get myself into a sub 4.30min/km pace - PB is now 34min50s. This means I finish the 8.14k and could easily run at that pace for the remainder and put in a 43min 10k. My 10k pace has come from running *almost* 10km.



Is anyone here running the Glastonbury 10km this weekend?
 
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tried running 1.5 miles in 11 mins but my stamina went about 8 minutes in @ the pace needed. i walked at a fast pace for 1 minute then ran for 3 minutes to do it in 11:50 ish, PB is 11:20 still.

i reckon the previous day's 5K was to blame.

i think from now on i will remove the 1.5 mile run from regular training and focus on, HIIT, 5K, Sprint Work and Incline Work.

then try 1.5 miles every month or so after a 2 day break.
 
I think the best way to improve is by doing everything, take a look at my post above for my 5 different workouts.

HIIT will improve your recovery.
Sprint work will improve your top speed.
Hill Running will improve your strength.
Long distance will improve your stamina.


Nice, didn't know that, thanks!
I'll change my routine up a bit then!

Just about to head out for the Bristol 10k! First event that I'll have participated in! I'm aiming for 50 minutes but my last 10k that I did was 53 minutes so not sure how close I'll get.
 
Not to be outdone by Kristoph, I ran an extra kilometre this morning, taking my total for this week to 43km. Forgive me, Kristoph, I am not usually such a petty man. It also took me over four hours to cover that distance, whereas I'm sure it took you a lot less time.

I'm starting to feel pretty good in myself now that I'm running four times a week, and it's a great sensation to finish a run and still feel strong. I'm going to see if I can start increasing my cycling distance again without it impacting my running. I'd like to get back to doing 160km a week - I managed 135km this week, which isn't bad considering how little I've done in the past few months. I've also started going to the gym in the evenings, so I'm probably going to blow up in a couple of months, but what the hell; it's better than sitting at home feeling sorry for myself, right?

Just about to head out for the Bristol 10k! First event that I'll have participated in! I'm aiming for 50 minutes but my last 10k that I did was 53 minutes so not sure how close I'll get.
Good luck for today! It doesn't matter if you don't crack your target the first time around, just enjoy the atmosphere and the glorious weather. It sounds as though you're getting into it now, so it's probably going to be the first of many events :)
 
Just got back in! It was such a beautiful day out! Should've taken a picture but my phone's camera is shockingly bad, and I was going to take my camera, but decided against it, just in case. Wish I had done now.

There was SO many people! I didn't realise how massive these events get!
Bit disappointed in my time.. got just over 54 minutes, but at the start because there was so many people I was stuck behind people; that didn't help. But the main reason why is because I got a stitch about 3km into the race :/ but I didn't want to stop so kept running but had to slow down... The water station was at 5km, so it was about 7-8km by the time the stitch went.. so I really pushed myself the last 2km or so (especially the last km), which was the best part of the race.

Oh, and this is how I dressed up (but without the mask).

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It was great running and every so often people (especially the kids aww :)) shouting 'It's Iron Man!!!' :D
 
class outfit - hats off :)

did a 10 mile tempo run with a friend from the club this morning - did a practice of the Great Baddow 10 mile in 2 weeks time, we managed 1'12 something - and still had some left in the tank for race conditions - so hopefully it'll mean I'll break last years PB of 1'13'40

tough going though :(

:)
 
sucks im still injured from my tumble at a muddly parkrun three weeks ago, still cant go more than 3 miles without ankle pain, think its time to totally stop and go swimming, needs to be fixed quickly Chicago in Oct :(
 
But the main reason why is because I got a stitch about 3km into the race :/

It doesn't work for everyone but I find the best way to deal with a stitch is to push your fingers firmly into your stomach just below your ribs (where it hurts) and breathe out hard. I've found that easing off pace helps but it can take a long time and then as soon as you speed up it often comes back. Other tips I've read include touching your toes as a cure and focusing on deeper breathing to prevent it in the first place.

Great costume and a decent time even if you missed your target :)
 
Glastonbury "Round the tor" 10km completed today. Not used to running in the warmth but a nice run overall.

Finished 134th/496 with a 46.53.

Smashed the screen on my Galaxy S3 though - crappy running armband decided it didn't want to hold the phone anymore. £120 race - lesson learnt.
 
Couple of really nice laps round colwick lake this morning, exactly 10k. Gardening, barbeque and a beer for the rest of the day :)
 
sucks im still injured from my tumble at a muddly parkrun three weeks ago, still cant go more than 3 miles without ankle pain, think its time to totally stop and go swimming, needs to be fixed quickly Chicago in Oct :(
I'm still broken as well - it's really frustrating. I'm just resting up for a few weeks. I did a local Parkrun on Saturday but ducked out after the first lap because I could feel my knee complaining. Better to do that than to injure it further. I might give it another go next weekend to see if it has improved.
 
I'm still broken as well - it's really frustrating. I'm just resting up for a few weeks. I did a local Parkrun on Saturday but ducked out after the first lap because I could feel my knee complaining. Better to do that than to injure it further. I might give it another go next weekend to see if it has improved.
I bet you wish you'd stuck with a geared bike, now that the fixie riding has ruined your knee!

Kristoph & ricky1981, those are some damn fine times; good effort!
 
This is the other knee! I managed to pick up an injury at the Kingston breakfast run a few weeks before the marathon - a combination of crap weather, running a bit too fast and the fact that almost the whole route is cambered off to the left. So I ran the marathon on a bad knee and had to walk the last 3.5 miles, but now it's swapped sides again presumably because I was running much harder on the other leg. Probably. I dunno :p
 
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