Back to running and FIRST running programs (Read 850 times)

TexasRunner

posted: 1/30/2008 at 4:16 PM

Jumping in late, but that's my life. I've known people who have used the FIRST program and have been successful. Some of them have run for 20+ years, so you can teach an old dog new tricks. However, there are two things I can't get past: 1. I like to run. I only x-train when injured. That's probably not good on my part, but that's me. I do lift 2-3 times per week so I'm not totally neglecting other parts of my body. 2. The intensity of the speed sessions. As noted, the first week includes 3 * 1 mile at 15 seconds faster than 5K pace w/ 1-minute rest. Assume that you can currently run a 5K at 6-minute pace. The program will have you running repeats at 5:45. If you can do that, chances are your 5K needs revising. If I hit that workout, I'd be looking for a 5K in which to break 18. Smile

If I ran my mile repeats based on my all-time best 5K, I'd be doing my mile repeats in 4:21 (PR is 4:19) and 400s in 59. I may have broken 60 for a 400 once or twice. Of course, if I could still run that fast, I'd have a coach and be running 100 miles per week. I tried the FIRST program for several weeks at the end of last year. The problem I ran into is that I run/workout at 4:30-5 a.m. It's hard to be warmed up enough at that hour to get a good workout without injury. The other thing is that it's not an easy program to follow in the cold dark conditions of winter. You could do the workouts on a treadmill, but the speed sessions could be difficult if you don't have a fast enough t-mill. Finally, if you are just coming back from injury, I personally would spend some time doing some easy running to get your muscles used to running again before embarking on such a strenuous program.

RunB

posted: 1/30/2008 at 9:59 PM
modified: 1/30/2008 at 10:01 PM

OK, it's been almost three weeks. I'm not following FIRST or any other program closely. I'm basically trying to do two 5 mile runs during the week and one other run the week-end which I'll make longer every week (I'm currently at 9 miles). Some of the weekday runs are harder than others, but I don't look closely at my pace. I'm also swimming twice a week for an hour each and doing some spinning once a week for an hour. I rest on Saturday. I'm trying to go by feel. This week was tiring but still ok. Last Sunday after my 9 mile run, my wife had the great idea of going snowshoeing (up a mountain Tongue

) and it took a couple of days to fully recover. I would like to run a half marathon mid April then a sprint triathlon in May and then see from there if I want to do a Marathon this fall or more halfs, or tris. So far, I really like the mix, even if I still prefer running out of the three sports. I like the sensation of being tired without feeling the stress on the joints. When I was running 6 hours a week, I felt it really put a lot of stress on my legs. Now I can get the benefit of the 6 hours of cardio with much less stress on the joints. My current worry right now is not as much injury as over training (I'm taking my pulse in the morning to monitor that).