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**TeamLiquid now has a group on what I consider to be the best GPS/logging site out there: Strava. You can join the group here: http://www.strava.com/clubs/Teamliquid**
A thread for all my fellow TL'ers who run. A place to discuss goals, training, racing, motivation; anything related to running. Should be a little easier now that everything won't get lost in all the traffic of one mega-thread.
Useful/Good Articles/Training Concepts
- Beginner/Starting Running
+ Show Spoiler +For those new to running their are a few common mistakes that many people make. The first is just plain doing too much, too soon. A general guideline reference is to increase mileage about 10% per week, with every 3/4 week being a cutback week of maybe 50-75% of the distance you just achieved. Obviously some people can increase much faster than this, and others will get an injury even following these guidelines. For people new to running its safe to add a day per week until your running 6/7 days a week, stay at the previous weeks number of days if that week felt particularly demanding. The other common mistake is running too hard. Perhaps because of PE/sports/etc. their is this mentality of "no pain, no gain" when running. This is wrong. Especially for beginner the key is adjusting to running and finding some enjoyment out of it. This probably won't happen if your hammering every run at 5K pace - 10 seconds. If you EVER have to take a break to walk (and its just not immense fatigue from long distance) your running WAY to hard. To give some basic guidelines if you can RACE a mile in: 5:00 - Normal running @ 7:00-7:45 pace/mile 5:30 - Normal running @ 7:30-8:45 pace/mile 6:00 - Normal running @ 8:15-9:00 pace/mile 6:30 - Normal running @ 9:00-9:45 pace/mile 7:00 - Normal running @ 9:30-10:15 pace/mile 7:30 - Normal running @ 10:15-11:00 pace/mile 8:00 - Normal running @ 11:00-11:45 pace/mile 8:30 - Normal running @ 11:30-12:15 pace/mile 9:00 - Normal running @ 12:15-13:00 pace/mile 10:00 - Normal running @ 13:30-14:15 pace/mile 12:00 - Normal running @ 16:00-17:00 pace/mile For those totally new to running that have been sedentary/non-athletic most their life here is one of the best introductions to running out there: Couch to 5K For those that have maintained a minimal level of activity beyond being sedentary its reasonable to jump in at 3-4 days a week of 3-4 miles. Progressing by adding a day per week until you reach 6 or 7 days per week. Mileage can be increased from there.
- Injuries:
+ Show Spoiler +General recommendation for most injuries is if the pain lessens, and perhaps if its mild and doesn't intensify you can continue to run on it. If the pain increases as you run, definitely stop. Nothing like turning a mild case of achilles tendinitis into a long term case of prolonged achilles tendinosis. You really have to listen to your body on these though. For the non-competitive runner running for fitness, its probably wise to just play it safe and take a a day or two off at any hints of injury. If your training competitively or for an important event then you really just need to try to listen to and judge the injury. Obvious training with anything other than routine soreness runs the risk of turning something minor into something serious, however, if you break training for every possible suggestion of injury you probably won't put together very good blocks of training. Great general listing of possible running injuries, descriptions, and treatments: The Fix: Primer for Running Injuries Not gospel obviously, but can help give you an idea of what may be going on the necessary PT to prevent recurrences.
- Glossary of Running Terms:
+ Show Spoiler +Racing Flat/Flat - Very lightweight shoes designed for long distance racing Trainer - Standard, heavier, and generally more supportive shoe used primarily for training due to wearing out less frequently than thinner racing flats
Easy Run - light run for general aerobic development; usually can converse easily with a partner, breathing rhythm usually around 2/2-3/3. Typically 60-75% of max heart rate. Marathon Pace/M-Pace/Aerobic Threshold Pace - usually fastest aerobic pace, obviously pace at which you could run for a marathon. Approx 40-60 second slower than 5K race pace Tempo/T-Pace Run - A common term that refers to several different run types. Tempo's typically have three popular durations, 20-30 min, 40-60 min, and extended tempos of 60-80 min. Correct pacing is around 5K+20-25 seconds per mile for short ones, 5K+35-40 seconds per mile for the medium, and 5K+50-60 seconds per mile for the longer ones. Reps - Fast track intervals @ around mile race pace w/recovery time twice that of repeat (400m in 75 seconds = 150 second slow jog recovery). Used to build economy at speed and make fast paces seem easier Intervals/V02 Max Interval - Longer repeats at slower pace with less recovery. Usually 1:1 recovery/repeat at around 3K-5K race pace (1200m in 3:30 w/3:30 jog recovery). Long Run - run longer than typical for YOUR mileage. Usually around 20% of weekly mileage (aka runner running 60mpw might run around 11-13 miles for a long run) Fartlek - Swedish for "speed play". A run that can be pretty much whatever a runner wants. Can involve just picking random targets and running as hard as desired toward them and then recovery for however long you want, or can be structured as in 2 min "ON", 2 min "OFF". Strides - Short pickups of about 50-100m done anywhere from 400m-1600m race pace. Serve to "stay in touch" with speed and maintain neuromuscular coordination for fast paces. NOT meant to be hard.
Kick - runners strong finish to the end of a race; crucial to winning championship races which are generally slower and more tactical in nature Tactial Race - typically slower pace, refers to a race in which different runners try to force the race to their strengths. Ex: a super fast runner might want to wait till 100m to go before kicking hard for home, while the slower, but stronger runner might really pick up the pace with 400m+ to go and try to "run the kick out of" the faster runner. Move - An increase in speed to either pass runners, obtain position, or make a move for the win. It's said you get one move in the 800m, 2 in the 1500m, and 3 in the 5000m/10000m Surge - Increase in pace of the race by a runner Stagger - difference in starting places to account for varying radius of the curves in races that are fixed lane or partially fixed lane. Turnover - basically a runners stride, turnover essentially referring to the length and rate of stride Cadence - Steps per minute Mileage - miles run, usually given as a weekly value MPW, mpw - miles per week Raw Speed - Most common measure is an athletes 200m time Speed - Generally refers to top end gear, but for distance runners is often cited as 400m speed. Ex: A world class 800m runner likely has 45-47 second speed V02 Max - measure of maximum oxygen uptake vV02 max - Velocity at V02 Max, lowest speed at which an athlete is at maximum oxygen consumption. Usually occurs between 3K and 5K pace Anaerobic Threshold - inflection point on the lactic acid accumulation curve, at which point blood levels of lacate increase significantly faster. Usually around high end tempo pace, a little slower than 10K pace. Bonk - usually applies to marathon, occurs when a runner goes out to hard and deplets glycogen too soon resulting in a massive increase in speed and major pace drop off Elite - top level runner LSD - long, slow distance Negative Split - last half of race faster than first Overpronate - Higher than normal amount of inward roll of the foot Heelstrike - generally undesirable stride in which the foot lands forward of center of gravity resulting in a braking effect and extra stress Splits - Times at specific distances. Ex: in a 5K might have splits read every K, in a mile splits might be read every 400m World Best - best time for an event without official world records, or a non-ratified world record. Ex: marathon world record is 2:03:59, world best is 2:03:02 World Lead - best time run for an event in that calendar year NR - National Record
- Running Form:
+ Show Spoiler + **All credit for this goes to Airblade Orange. **
Head
Your head and neck should look as if you were standing still as someone was measuring your height and you want to squeeze in every extra millimeter possible. Your head should be up tall and your eyes should be looking straight ahead. It helps to focus on an object in the near distance that you are aiming for. If you are racing stare at the back of a runner a little ahead of you. Do not stare at the ground because it will likely mess up the form of your midsection.
Arms
While you are swinging your arms visualize there is a vertical line in the middle of your chest. Do not cross any part of either arm over to the other side. Also make sure your arms are not swinging too far to the outside on the other side of your body. Keep your arms swinging between your imaginary vertical chest line and your shoulder. Your right arm should be between your right shoulder and the vertical chest line and your left arm should be between your left shoulder and the chest line.
Keep your elbows bent at about 45 degrees. Your elbows should not be doing much bending or straightening as you are running; keep them at close to 45 degrees the whole time.
Maintain stable wrists throughout your movements. Do not bend them in any way.
Keep your hands in a loose fist. If they are too tight you will be using unnecessary energy and if they are too lose you will look like a not as cool T-1000. Maybe if you're a sprinter you can do the T-1000 with your hands completely straight, but not as a distance runner. I like to keep my thumbs on the top and outside of my pointer finger rather than wrapping around a fist. Your thumb will be straight and pointing away from you if you do it this way. Doing it like this helps me focus on keeping a loose hand and straight wrist.
Chest/Back
Your chest should be just as it would be if you were standing still, straight, and tall. Your back will be straight as well. If you find that you are leaning forward, make sure you are looking ahead of you rather than below you. Also, you may have weak abdominal muscles that prevent you from running up straight and tall. I ran like this for the first couple of years when I started because I had no abs.
Hips
Keep your hips underneath you and forward you as if you're banging a hot girl and you're about to ejaculate. Practice this in front of a mirror without a shirt when nobody else is around or someone you are trying to impress IS around. Keeping your hips forward will help your body drive forward.
Legs
This is where most runners tend to need the most work. You should be hitting about 3 strides per second when you are running at a moderately fast to fast pace. This means that your feet are striking the ground at a rate of 3 steps per second. This is the most efficient way to run for distance runners but is difficult and probably not worth doing if you're not running fast (relative to your own ability). But the next time you are running faster, whether it's a tempo run, strides, or whatever, try this out. Count how many steps you take in 10 seconds. How close is it to 30? You probably need to be taking more and shorter steps.
Pick up your feet as soon as they hit the ground. It sounds obvious but really make an effort to think about this as you are running. The longer your feet stay on the ground the more momentum you are losing. Keep them legs moving fast and forward. Try running in place with this principle in mind.
Pick up your feet higher than where you perceive your knee to be. While some people (usually old people) prefer the marathon shuffle, keeping your legs moving in a more circular manner, you can increase your efficiency as long as you use all of these leg tips together. Just go watch some videos of elite distance runners to get a visual or this or anything else being described. Most elites have excellent form, specifically in the beginning of races before they get too tired. This is another technique that is difficult to do unless you are running fast. But when you are running fast this will make you fast AND smooth.
This last tip can be debated but I'll lay it down anyway. Strike the ground with your mid foot. Heel striking is very common and the normal way most people run when they slip on running shoes. This is interesting because if you run barefoot you will be mid foot striking. Try it out. I am a believer in the benefits of barefoot and minimalist shoe training, but that is a topic for another time. I still think a mid foot strike to be the best bet here. Not only is it the most natural way for humans to run but it also keeps your feet on the ground for less time. Remember that you are fighting inertia and need to keep your feet off the ground and your legs driving forward.
American<->SI Pace Conversion Tool (credit: Malinor) + Show Spoiler +
List of TLer Training Logs: + Show Spoiler +
TL Members 2016 Goals/Progress: Feel free to post up your goals for upcoming year, season, target race, etc. I will keep them updated.
+ Show Spoiler +
*Added a section to the OP for training logs. If you log your running online in an accessible form feel free to post your log up and I will add them to the OP.*
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2016 Recap
Training: A-
Overall as a training year I don't have many complaints. I had consistent workouts year round, no injuries, and generally had a good approach. Really the things that keep it from being a full A are the lack of VO2/Goal wattage effort workouts around the time of Lookout Mtn HC in March ("A" priority race), and a little bit of lack of focus leading up into the last month before the PPHC, especially ignoring the important of low cadence work for that hill climb.
Weight Loss: B-
I went from 74kg -> 67kg over the course of the year. That's solid work, but it wasn't what I needed for the goals I had set and the 60kg target I had in mind to bring performance to where I would have liked it. My biggest mistake was getting wayyy off track after Lookout in March, where I had dropped to 68.5kg, and jumpingback up to almost 73kg. Got back down to 69kg for PPHC, and then finished out the year managing to get down another couple kg to 67kg or so.
It's some of the best sustained weight loss I've done, and by far the longest period I've maintained weight in the 67-69 kg range, and I do think I've begun to understand pretty well for me what works as far as diet, eating habits, and how to combat my always dangers emotional/boredom eating.
Nutrition: D+
Pretty weak here. Even if I did generally manage a deficit the quality of my food was generally between very mediocre and piss poor. A soda or two a day was pretty routine, and I'd say I had at least 25% of my calories coming from true junk food (soda, chips, cookies, brownies, crackers, etc.) Not good.
The only thing that keeps it from being worse is that I did generally start to develop an understanding of how to control my emotional/binge eating, and how to better pay attention to boredom eating. That and I do eat a good amount of fruits/vegetables.
Overall Score: B
I don't consider this year a smashing success, but I didn't have any major mistakes and did a good job positioning myself to leave open the possibility of a monster 2016. A very strong build year, but repeating 2015 won't be enough to get me the results that I'm spending this much time training for.
PRs/Results
Race Results
- Lookout Mtn HC - 6th, 22:14
- Boulder Stage Race - 6th GC, 5th TT (Stage 1), 8th Road Race (Stage 2), 6th Horgan Hill Climb (Stage 3)
- Mt Evan's HC - 5th SM5, 2:22:13
- Pikes Peak HC - 3rd SM5, 1:30:27
PRs/Season Stats
- 5k - 17:56
- 5' Power - 392w, 5.85 w/kg
- 20' Power - 319w, 4.62 w/kg
- 60' Power - 296w, 4.35 w/kg
- Manitou Incline - 24:52
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With that in mind the goals for 2016 are:
Weight Loss
- 61kg by Apr 1, probably 59-60kg by May 31st - Self explanatory, weight loss is needed if I'm to play effectively on the more prominent stages
Nutrition
- Average less than 1 soda per week for 2016
- Less than 5% calories from junk food for 2016
- Up protein intake slightly to ensure 1.5 g/kg of body weight
I think those two goals about take care of it for me. If I eat clean, my diet is good. I get lots of fruits/vegatables, and if I am to succeed in that 5% calories goal I can't afford to do any binge or mindless eating.
Performance Goals
- 1' Power - 600w, 10 w/kg
- 5' Power - 410w, 6.8 w/kg
- 20' Power - 340w, 5.7w/kg
- 60' Power - 315w, 5.25 w/kg
- Sub 16:30 5k
- Sub 4:40 mile
- Sub 2:00 800m
Race Goals
- Lookout Mtn HC - 1st SM4, sub 19:30
- AFA Road Race - Podium SM4
- San Dimas Stage Race - GC Podium SM4, 1st HC TT SM4
- Superior Morgul Road Race - 1st SM4
- Tour of the Gila - GC Podium, at least one stage win SM4
- Boulder Stage Race - GC Podium, 1st on Horgan HC stage SM3
- Sunshine HC - 1st SM3
- Guanella Pass HC - Podium SM3
- Evans HC - Podium SM3, sub 2:00
- Pikes Peak HC - 1st SM3, sub 1:15
- Steamboat Stage Race - 1st GC, 1st RR stage
- Cat 2 upgrade by end of the season
That's basically the complete list of what I want to accomplish. Lofty goals without a doubt. They rely on about a 5% increase in power, and a 10% drop in weight. Neither are easy, but both are realistic I think. If I can hit the power/weight goals I should be one of the strongest guys in the state once the road turns up, with the ability to go anywhere from top 10 to KOM on basically any strava climbing segment. Asking to go from top 4-8% to one of the top 5 or so guys in the state is a pretty massive change, but the changes I need to make are there and don't involve any unrealistic targets in my opinion.
From a performance point, I basically want to dominate in categories 3/4 throughout the season. If I can hit my weight targets I will have the power to do so in the road races, and should be able to execute without difficulty in the hill climbs. The challenge will be road racing in the 3s, I'm still incredibly green when it comes to racing/tactics, and I'm going to have to work hard to learn how to actually race bikes effectively in races that aren't pure fitness tests like hill climbs.
It shouldn't be too bad in the 4's where everything is still a bit chaotic, people are still learning, and their is a general lack of team structure. Once I get to the 3's it will start getting hard, as by that point most everyone knows how to race and there begins to be much more team structure.
The one thing I do know is that if I don't nail nutrition all of this stuff is nonsensical pie in the sky fantasy stuff, so of everything I do that is priority number one. I'd like to think I've learned enough to make execute on that side of things. My success is based 98% on that.
This is a BIG deal year for me, especially the first half. I've decided it is the do or die year. I love the training, but can't afford to be devoting 15-20 hrs/wk to cycling just to be a pretender that can't get even get his eating and body composition right. That's just too much time that, at this stage of my life really needs to be devoted to other aspects of my life unless I'm really getting somewhere. If I haven't hit my targets by end of May that will be it for serious endurance training and all racing for the time being.
Big Stakes. Big Goals. Let's make it happen ladies and gentlemen, here's to a cracking 2016!
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Wow I've registered just because of this article :D Been a sc2 fan since WOL and reading TL since then aswell. Cheers for the new content initiative! I'm a duathlete so this thread is spot on! I've unfortunately been injured the entirety of 2015 with a chronic achilles tendinitis and haven't competed at all
My best results for 2014, however, are: 5k: 15:55 Sprint duathlon: 55:40 Competed at the Europeans as Elite for the first time.
2016 goals: Come back to form and push it further
GLHF in 2k16 and fast legs!
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Good stuff PirLo! I know all too well the pain of injuries. I was injured from fall 2012 all the way to mid 2014. The only thing I could do was elliptical to try and maintain fitness, talk about torture...especially during the summer months when it's warm outside and I had to be indoors.
That's actually what caused me to switch from running to cycling as well. Started doing it as cross training right when I started to be able to run, but found out I was stronger there than running and really enjoying it as decided to pursue it for a few years.
What are you doing as far as rehab for the achilles, and what's the status of the injury right now?
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Happy New Year, all!
Recap of mtmentat's 2015:
1) Don't get injured. Train for 5ish days per week, on good surfaces and at proper higher elevations, and stretch/massage as needed. I'm satisfied that I met this goal. I have had some nagging issues with achilles and more recently with an abdominal muscle giving me sass but for the most part, no stupid injuries! Pretty awesome feeling, actually.
2) Run the Dirty 30 [mile] with RMR. This race is well attended, looks both awesome and insane.
Possibly the highlight of my running in 2015. I had a pretty hard time keeping my head and body together in this race, but managed to tough it out for a sub-6hr finish = means I get to sit on a panel about "running my first ultra" in about 3 weeks! LOL.
3) Get Top 10 in La Luz Trail Run. Increased training WILL make this possible.
BOOM. Done. Both La Luz and Mt. Evans run this year were good studies in steady effort. I think I might be getting the hang of hill climbing, just a bit.
4) Run Mt. Evans in under 2:15. This is about a minute/mile faster than last year - but DOABLE with the correct training in place.
Close, but not quite. This was an ambitious goal, and I ran a hard good race for an 11 minute PR on a beautiful day.
5) One more trail ultra TBD with RMR.
Sorta noped on this one - with ideas that I would do a road marathon instead. I did not do a road marathon, so this goal was not at all achieved. :S
I'm pretty happy with 2015. Many more miles (1725ish) than previous years, harder trail runs were a blast, and felt pretty fast earlier in the year (Bolder Boulder PB! <36 minutes!).
Last three years compared: http://i.imgur.com/guihcPR.png?1
Goals in 2016 are still not set, will update later this weekend (after sleeping some more).
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I was a fat piece of shit 2y ago and went from 115kg @1.83m to 95kg in November, that's when I started to run. At first I was really terrible, like being dead tired after 3km at 7:00/km. Now I'm at 89kg, running 5k at 5:30/km 3 to 5 times a week. It is still weak as fuck but I'm happy with my progress, I think. Once I'm at a decent weight I'll also start to do some weightlifting. There is a 5 and 10 miles race in my campus in Mars too, I'm still wondering if it's gonna be ok to do the 10 miles one, since it's really long omg and the most I run was 8km at a slow pace, this is twice as long... I'd be very happy if I manage to do the 5miles at a 5:30/km pace though. We see, I guess once I'm not longer fat, running should be more easy.
So yeah, my goal this year : 1) Reach 83kg, while being really fit (no dad bod like right now) 2) Manage to run at least one 10mile race at 5:00min/km 3) Run at least 1000km in the year (Right now I'm doing between 10 and 15km a week, but I'm pretty sure I'll be able to run at least 20/week)
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Nice recap mtnmentat! Seems like 2015 was a pretty darn solid year for ya. Excited to hear what the goals for 2016 are!
On January 03 2016 01:26 Faust852 wrote: I was a fat piece of shit 2y ago and went from 115kg @1.83m to 95kg in November, that's when I started to run. At first I was really terrible, like being dead tired after 3km at 7:00/km. Now I'm at 89kg, running 5k at 5:30/km 3 to 5 times a week. It is still weak as fuck but I'm happy with my progress, I think. Once I'm at a decent weight I'll also start to do some weightlifting. There is a 5 and 10 miles race in my campus in Mars too, I'm still wondering if it's gonna be ok to do the 10 miles one, since it's really long omg and the most I run was 8km at a slow pace, this is twice as long... I'd be very happy if I manage to do the 5miles at a 5:30/km pace though. We see, I guess once I'm not longer fat, running should be more easy.
So yeah, my goal this year : 1) Reach 83kg, while being really fit (no dad bod like right now) 2) Manage to run at least one 10mile race at 5:00min/km 3) Run at least 1000km in the year (Right now I'm doing between 10 and 15km a week, but I'm pretty sure I'll be able to run at least 20/week)
Nice work on the initial weight loss. 25 kg is a darn good starting point, and that's some nice improvement in the running as well!
5km @ 5:30 isn't bad at all. If you run that regularly in training you could definitely run 44:00 for 5 miles right now in a race.
If you want to do the longer race, you've got more than enough time to make 10 miles in sub 1:28 a piece of cake goal. It's definitely not too far for you to run. The key would just be a gradual increase of the mileage. Add somewhere between 3km-8km a week (2-5 miles) onto your mileage each week. If a week feels really hard, repeat it at the same mileage. Once you get to about 40-50 km/wk then you can start to make one run a bit longer, shoot for starting at 8km and add 2km to this run until you get to 15km. That combined with a 40-50 km/wk base will make the 10 mile race no problem at all.
Combine the improvement from all that extra running with a few more kgs of weight loss (usually worth about 1-2 s/km) and I think you'll be looking good for sub 1:25 10M at the worst.
After that we can come back and start adding some good faster workouts as you'll have a solid base to support those workouts.
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On January 02 2016 04:41 L_Master wrote: What are you doing as far as rehab for the achilles, and what's the status of the injury right now?
I was doing a three month protocol of concentric-eccentric contractions of the calf muscles. Basically I would stand on a elevated plank or a pile of books on my forefoot and then raise 1 heel all the way, then lowering the heel through 5-6 seconds to the lowest point. Did this on both legs 60x for the first month, 120x second and 180x third month. I seem to have really tight malleolar ligaments so that's my week point. If I want to be reasonably fast I'll need to look after my achilles often. Right now the injury is healed, I'd say. I'm running around 70 km per week or more. I hope to step it up to 80+ and 2 speedy sessions in the next two months. I'll see if I'll do only domestic competitions this year or go international. All depends how fast I'll be around early march. I have this awesome benchmark training where I do 8 x 1k that I feel tells me everything. If I'll be able to do it around 3:08 min/km pace I'll go international, if not then just domestic with a lot of training focused for 2017.
My other training sessions are in the gym right now with a lot of spinning, cycling on the trainer, rowing erg., orbitrek etc. I work as a youth coach in the Mladost rowing club in Zagreb, Croatia so I have access to almost limitless training options. It's one of the best rowing clubs in Europe where, also, the Sikovic brothers train (olympic silver as quadruple sculls, world champs in the double scull, world record holders double scull). The head coach at the club is Nikola Bralic who is awarded the best coach of the year award for 2015. from the FISA (governing body of world rowing). So over time I have learned a lot about aerobic fitness training and performance that my Kinesiology college could never teach me. I wanted to say it's really easy to train hard in the winter with such a thriving environment of world class long distance athletes
What was your injury L_Master ? Have you considered duathlon as a combination of the sports ?
Also, Faust852 the best way I found to increasing mileage is to schedule a 30 minute easy "talking tempo" run every now and then. If you do it like twice a week that's 10k if you run 6:00 min/km.
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Thank for the encouragement Though I realised in reading the OP that I might run too fast for my current state, like I'm really out of breath after 5k and need a good 5min to cool down, and my bpm are around 170 at the end of the run. Ill try to slow down a notch, because I'm probably in this "no pain no gain" mindset still
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On January 03 2016 19:32 Faust852 wrote:Thank for the encouragement Though I realised in reading the OP that I might run too fast for my current state, like I'm really out of breath after 5k and need a good 5min to cool down, and my bpm are around 170 at the end of the run. Ill try to slow down a notch, because I'm probably in this "no pain no gain" mindset still
It's a great mindset to have though! It's important to realise that, in order for you to steadily progress in running, you need to mix up different types of aerobic training. I find these to be most important:
Long runs: - close to race distance, or longer than race distance if the race is short (5k) - running "effortlessly", the only tough part of the training should be reaching the actual distance planned - should be around talking pace (tempo)
Tempo runs: - around race distance or less (depends on the race distance again) - running something close to the desired race pace (or you might try a progressive effort starting at around 6:20 and progressing to the desired race pace (or faster) gradually)
Speed work: - any type of fartlek exercise ( 2 minutes hard + 1 minute easy or any other combination of effort+easy) - 5 x 1k, 8 x 400m, 6 x 800m, 100+200+400+200+100 x 2, with passive or active rests from 1-5 minutes (all depends if you want to build pure speed or you want speed endurance) - all these should be done after a decent warm up as the main part of the training is intense - warming down after the main part is also advised
If you try these principles out you might find the training itself more exciting as you will have different tasks to complete every time. If you add a fourth training type, which should be an easy 30 minute jog for recovery every now and then, you are well on your way to some serious running
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I have my first tri of the season in a month. First time attempting Olympic distance so hopefully no drowning!
I've been thinking about investing in some aero bars for my bike. For the more learned/competitive cyclists in this thread, do they make a big difference for time trial style events like triathlons? These would be aero bars added to a road bike--it's not worth the investment to get a proper time trial bike for me.
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On January 03 2016 20:50 RowdierBob wrote: I have my first tri of the season in a month. First time attempting Olympic distance so hopefully no drowning!
I've been thinking about investing in some aero bars for my bike. For the more learned/competitive cyclists in this thread, do they make a big difference for time trial style events like triathlons? These would be aero bars added to a road bike--it's not worth the investment to get a proper time trial bike for me.
Tri bars might help, but if you take a look a the top pros in ITU racing, not all have them. Most notably the Brownlees don't :D If you are racing a non drafting event (which most age group events are) they might be worth it. However, I'd rather go for a good bike fit specialist (like RETUL) and see how "aero" can I actually get. What I'm trying to say is that tri bars won't help you much if your stem and cockpit is high and your starting position is not optimised.
As for the triathlon bike, my coach bought a frame and fork from here for only 350 euro when it was on sale: http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/FRPXPC650TTFF/planet-x-stealth-pro-carbon-650-time-trial-frameset
I think it's a really good frame for the price. PX has been producing them for some years now. And the frame with tri bars will definetly help while racing in non-drafting events. He's done 3 full IM-s and one 70.3 on it with some shimano 105 components and a alloy cockpit. Went sub 10h twice!
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Thanks for the tips! I've had my bike fitted by a physio which helped a lot. Took minutes off my times which is pretty huge.
The race will be non-drafting and on a pretty long flat surface which is why I was thinking about the aero bars. Dudes on time trial bikes always whoop my ass so there must be some magic to that formula. But a the same time I don't want to spend thousands on a bike I really won't use much. I'm very much a weekend hacker.
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I can't recall if I ever actually contributed to the 2015 thread, but I was definitely keeping up with what all you guys were up to!
I was never a big believer in New Year Resolutions, but now's as good a time as any to look back and reflect.
All in all, 2015 treated me most kindly. No injuries, lots of good fun work-outs. I haven't run this effortlessly and lightly since before adulthood. What I'm specifically pleased with having done well in 2015 is consistent warm-up, cool-down and stretching routines when going for a run. Even more specifically I'm happy about the hip stretching I've been doing and how my hips feel. They used to feel fine and I wasn't having any problems, but now they feel good and sometimes even great. I'm also happy about the massages I've been giving my toes before warm-up. Seems to be a good addition to my bag of work-out rituals. I've been happy with my running form - particularly when I've been exhausted. The efforts to keep a good form even then have paid off nicely, I'd say.
As for 2016, I'm just looking to keep having a good time running, keeping up what I've done well, and maybe this year I'll actually sign up for a race for the first time in 7 years! (every year I keep wanting to sign up but I never get around to it :D)
Edit:
oh and happy training everyone! may 2016 prove injury-free and fun for us all! :D
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2015 was a successful first year of running for me I must say - went from completely sedentary with zero running background to having PBs of 9:16 (2.4km), 20:58 (5k), 44:39 (10k). Will be looking to build on that and go sub-19 for 5k and sub-40 in 2016. Also wanna eat healthier and train more consistently, by putting together and sticking to a well-planned schedule, which I haven't quite managed to do for an extended period of time in the past.
Cheers everyone
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Whelp, goals haven't really been coming to me in waves (for a pretty reasonable reason, as I will explain).
I have to get my miles in before June when my wife and I are having a baby. This definitely leads me to a less ambitious running year in 2016:
Pre-June: 0) Nurse/figure out this abdominal pain. I have some active training regimens I'm supposed to follow for this - hoping it will work well. 1) Work consistently to get myself into kickass marathon shape. I'm signed up for the Colorado Marathon (May 1), keeping things simple by staying close to home. I was definitely inspired by Bonham and some local Boulder friends who had spectacular marathons in 2015, and hope not to embarrass myself too much. 2) Keep running fun. Trails, weekly runs with friends and RMR, make this goal probably easy to keep (but I've heard marathon training can suck the fun out of it).
Post-June: 3) KEEP running! With sleep loss, continuing to work full time, and being a first time dad I'm going to have to remind myself often to go do good things like running. 4) Register for Boston 2017 when the time rolls round in Sept.
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I did 2miles in 15:30, I'm really happy :p That aint fast for you guys but it is for me :p Still a long way for the 2 miles in 14min but I'm getting closer every week
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I need to break 14:10 on 2 miles and it felt* like a huge obstacle.
*Felt, cause, well, f*ck holidays, birthday and new year. I`ve thrown myself so far back... i feel dirty inside :| Need to get back on track asap!
Oh, and i need 2 pairs of gloves. It`s my first winter season and i`m not quite sure if i`m prepared well. I`m wearing function clothes; undershirt, shirt and a very thin jacket (sometimes rainjacket). It feels okay after the first mile, but till there i feel the cold in every bone. It`s just like -5°C and i don`t think it will get worse, but who knows.. Head and legs are covered well i`d say.
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Well two weeks+ in and going good. Diet has been beautifully dialed in so far; no snacking other than an occassional tiny night time piece of chocolate, and no soda. Weight on the way down too, hit 66kg/146lbs for the first time since 2011 a few days ago. Within half a kilo of the lightest I've ever been since like middle school.
Training end going well too, but I need to relax a little bit. I've been making everything a little too hard, trying to press to much. Pushing recovery rides into endurance rides, always doing endurance rides at the upper end of ranges or harder, and trying to "race" each workout to be better than the last. Good workouts I've been having...but don't want to back myself into a hole and run into fatigue/motivation problems. Solid, consistent workouts always win out long term over some spectacular ones that lead to burnout/injury/illness.
Starting to get pretty amped for racing in March.
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