Am I on the right track? A few newbie pointers needed please! (Read 1348 times)

Howdy Folks I’m pretty new to running and boy am I glad that I found these forums! I’ve got a few newbie questions and for those who understandably don’t want my life story feel free to skip to the bottom of this post! For those who do……here’s a bit of background: I am 32, 6’ 1” and 217lbs. I have played Rugby since I was 9 years old but when my kids (2yrs & 3yrs) were born I just couldn’t justify the time away from home that Rugby was taking, so I started running about a year ago. Things were going OK. I trained for the “Hottest Half” in Dallas in August and ran (most of) it, in the summer heat in 2:12:57. Pretty happy! I came off the back end of that wanting to beat 2 hours and entered the White Rock half for December. Around September time I noticed that my right hip was stiff about 6 hours after running. No big deal, I thought, and I kept training. HTFU, I believe, is the term used round here! Training went well, my hip kept hurting after running, but not while running and when I completed 12 miles in 1:44:20 two weeks before the race I thought I was on to a sure thing. Race day sucked. Windy and much hillier than I had trained for and I ran (still walked a bit) a 2:07:07 – I was gutted. Also time to face facts about my hip. Pretty much the only time it did not hurt was when I was running. Two short runs in the week following that half and I had to go to the doc. He diagnosed an SI (??) injury and sent me for physiotherapy…. No running for 12 weeks. The Physio folks set me straight on a few things… I was a bad trainee: When I had been training I was a; fall out of bed, into my shoes and hit the pavement at training pace, round the block, back home and hit the shower type of person: No stretch, no warm up, no cool down, no stretch! I also did nothing else other than run. No core exercises, no lifting, no cross training, nothing other than run. I’ve started running again and now include a .75 mile warm up, a cool down walk and stretches before and after all of my runs. I still do not do any exercises or cross training. I travel a load for work so don’t train with anyone. I run when I can – three times a week, sometimes twice, maybe four times. I am not looking to become an elite just want to avoid getting fat and make the best use of the running time I have available. I was in the process of looking for an on line coach when I read this article .... and here I am. I’m hoping to get a few things: Obviously a big hug from the running community coz I ain’t getting any runnin’-luvin from elsewhere I appreciate any pointers from folks with more experience. I posted my training log as far back as I have Garmin data (yes, I’m afraid I’m a little bit “all the gear and no idea”) Cross training – If I’m only running 4 times a week max am I better dropping one of those and riding a bike or lifting weights? Core exercises – I believe this may reduce the risk of an injury reoccurrence in my case. I have no idea what I should be doing! A bunch of sit ups before bed? Heart Rate – I read somewhere that I should be training at 85%-90% of Max HR? If I calculate it on any of the formulae it’s around 188. 90% of that is 170. My HR is at that level in about 0.5 mile of starting and goes up to well over 188 when training (recorded it at 202 when I tried to push it). Something isn’t adding up and I’m sure it’s because I don’t understand what I’m doing! Can anyone set me straight. Thanks in advance folks – happy to have found this place! Cheers MattJ

If you've poked around here, I bet you can predict the advice you'll get. Stretching, core exercises, cross training, hugs -- these are all good. What you need to though is SLOW DOWN! No, SLOWER THAN THAT! From your 82 miles in November in 12:24:39, it looks like you are training at 9:04 pace. Using the mcmillan running calculator, it looks like easy runs should be 60-90 secs slower than half marathon pace. Could you run a half at 7:30 - 8 minute pace (1:38-1:45)? If not, then you should seriously consider slowing down. Recovery jogs (which should come after hard runs) are another 60 seconds slower than easy runs. The heart rate monitor is an excellent idea. 85-90% Max is ridiculously high though! Easy runs should be more like 70% maxhr. Now, as you've discovered, the MaxHR formulas can be way off. For example, my max is 200 and I'm 37. The only way to know your max is to actually test it. Also know that hear rate monitors can give spurious results, especially at the beginning of a run before you break a sweat. I'd recommend using a HRM to make sure your easy days are easy. Staying under 180-age (148 in your case) is a pretty good rule of thumb. It will be very, very slow, but you'll be surprised by how good you feel. If you need to cheat to stay sane then cheat, but try to keep it slow.

Given that you've already had hip problems the presumably came about because of your running, I think you would probably benefit quite a bit from cross-training/core workouts. I just missed running my spring goal race due to ITB/piriformis problems. My doctor pointed out that as a runner my outer quads get plenty of work, but the inner quads not so much. As a result there's an imbalance that, while it doesn't cause injury, it's also not as effective as it should be in preventing injury. I'd start by talking to your Physio about what types of exercises he'd recommend to help prevent problems in the future. I'd then take that information and find a personal trainer who is either a runner himself or very familiar with runners, and develop a workout schedule that meshes with your running schedule, fits into your life, and serves your needs as a runner.

I would keep all of your runs easy until your injury is behind you. I would skip the pre-run stretching. Actually, I'd skip all the stretching unless the doc wanted you to do some post-run. Given your goals, I agree with what iansyd said about whether core exercises and cross-training are necessary. If you like running, then run. Oh yeah, and hello from another fellow DFW-area runner.

Tagging onto the "slowing down" idea. Last year after the Country Music Full, I had finished in 3:57: xx and was absolutely stoked. I made the post here about getting faster, etc, and was slightly offended whenever I read to "slow down..." It never registered that I should "slow down" and somehow get faster. (Oh the amazing paradoxes of life.) Simply put: Slowing down is your best friend. I was training almost EVERYTHING at a 8:30 pace last year, and then marathon pace was 9:05. This year, my pace has consistently stayed around 8:50-9:00 m/m. Yes, it's been annoying at times, but I have seen huge gains in my running ability. Case and point, from last year on March 1 when I ran a 15k at 7:18 pace to this year when I ran a half at 7:13 pace, and in fact, went through the 15k two and a half minutes faster...with room to give more! If you slow down, it eases the stress off your body and allows your aerobic system to become stronger. Next week, I plan on bringing the pain on CMM 09 simply because I have slowed down, which has allowed me to put in more miles, which is going to allow me to PR by a big margin (at least I hope...come on good weather!) Anyways, take the advice listed by these other guys and implement it into your training. Running slow sucks at first, but as you increase mileage, and then adjust from there, it gets so awesome on runs to see the type of improvements you will make. I'm in taper mode, and some of my easy runs coast at 8:20 pace and I feel phenomenal, but had I done so before I built a base, I would hurt for 11 days. So, slow down and log the miles. Keep up the training!

Thanks for the encouragement everyone - really appreciated. makers, your post really hit the mark. Ran "easy" for the first time this morning and it was weird, no doubt.. That said, I did 4 miles and felt good as opposed to a 5k and feeling dead afterwards. I'll build a base and increase my mileage before pushing anything. (Though I do have a 10k on the calendar in about 6 weeks) I'm still a lacking a little faith about doing most of my training at 10:10 and then racing at 9:10 but the other posts on this board alone make me convinced I need to give it a try - It's the way forward! Thanks again folks.

PS, During your training runs do you have a crazy Indian riding a vespa waving a cricket bat and screaming to you to go faster? (ref. you avatar)

LOL - not now I have moved to the US... but I am from the UK and that is how we all train over there! : Simon Pegg just cracks me up and I often felt like "Dennis Doyle from downstairs" when I was training at my old "too fast" pace.