UKC

I have been running for about 2 weeks now pretty out of the blue really, bought some running shoes half price (still £50!) and run 2.7 miles in 20 minutes few questions,
1. How am I doing?
2. How can I get further but keeping the same pace?
3. I am enjoying running but did I jump the gun spending £50 on some running shoes?
4. How often should I run with out a rest day?
Cheers!

In reply to sebflynn:

Fine I suppose. You are getting out and don't seem to be overdoing it to start with, so excellent. Pace is not important at this stage.

Just run a bit longer. Maybe go out 5 minutes more next time. Make sure you keep increments small and stop if anything is painful.

Well, it definitely makes sense to buy good shoes. Whether 50 pounds is a lot or not is relative. It's certainly a lot cheaper than the starting cost of many other sports.

Only you can tell, but it depends on how you recover. Don't run with sore muscles (to start with) and be sensible. If you go for run one evening and feel completely recovered the next morning, there is no reason not to run again if you really feel like doing though, but at the same time, if you went for a run on Monday and still feel it on Wednesday, be flexible enough in your schedule to wait till Thursday.

In reply to sebflynn:

One suggestion I have is to get a GPS watch or log the runs with mobile phone (the second option is better, wait with the GPS heart monitor purchase until you really feel you're into running and can spend more money): nothing animates me as much as seeing the progress and comparing my runs from one or two years ago with current results!

Cheers
RS

In reply to sebflynn:



23 minute 5k pace is pretty good for a beginner, so you are doing OK.


Don't worry about maintaining the pace to start with, just do some longer runs and get your legs used to running further. Try a few 5k paces (local parkrun) and maybe 10k when you get more confident with distance. It is amazing the difference racing makes compared to running on your own.

There are lots of different sorts of runs in training you can do to run faster and longer, but it is probably a bit early for that, just slowly build you weekly mileage for now.


No, a reasonable pair of shoes is pretty much essential.


I try and run most days, I don't quite manage it, but due to life not my body. Listen to your body, but the key thing is not to increase the distance of individual runs or your total weekly mileage too quickly. A lot of people not more than 10% per week, I think that is conservative, but it gives you an idea. People ignoring that advice often end up with shin splints. Don't worry if some of your runs are slower, a deliberately slow run is often called a recovery run.

In reply to sebflynn:

Think about joining a club. Get in contact with a few local clubs and try them out, the first club you try might no suit you, but another might. In my experience it makes training more sociable and fun, also give you access to coaching, general advice and lots of racing that isn't open to unattached runners.

In reply to sebflynn:




Pick one day a week to do a "long" run, where you add 5 minutes or so to your previous long run. Remeber to pace yourself though, and that your kim/min times will be a bit higher (in my experience, about 15/20 secs)


Definitely not, good shoes are vital to prevent injury.


When I started running "seriously" I did 3 days a week (not consecutively) for 6 weeks, then 4 days for the next six weeks (with a week off inbetween) and then the same process again to pick up to 5 days a week. Attempted to make it to 6/7, but life just gets in the way to much, and I'm more than happy with 5 days a week.

Having said that, scoring each workout on an A-D scale where A is amazing and D is so tired you couldn't finish is a good way to prevent overtraining. If you have a few C's and D's in a row, have a few days off and recover!

In reply to sebflynn:

These threads are quite common. You will get loads of advice but the only thing you need to hear is well done, just go and run more. Don't try too much too quickly and that's that.

In reply to sebflynn:


You're good at running short distances fastish. And well done for getting out.


By running a lot further, slower. None of this "increase by 5 minutes" stuff. If you can run that far that fast, you can manage runs of 45 minutes to an hour at chatting pace (i.e. at a pace such that, if you have a mate to run with, you could talk to them easily throughout). Do that once a week for the next couple of weeks, then twice a week. Then aim to be out for that sort of time most runs, most days (assuming you're enjoying yourself). Then run 2.7 miles in 17 minutes. You'll find this is better for your motivation and for your fitness than trying to run fast all the time.


Running is just a cover for shoe fetishism. You're on your way.


Think in terms of miles per week rather than rest days. Start with 20 (wild guess, but you're 17 and so made of rubber) and increase by 10% or a little more per week until you stop having fun.


Have fun.

In reply to sebflynn:

Ran it in 17 minutes woohoo