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Re ways to help you improve, when I've trained for marathons, the programs I've done have been a combination of:
- long runs - keep pushing them out longer
- hill runs - really helps to strengthen your legs then when you get back on the flat its easy
- intervals of 500m to 1km - gets you used to running longer at higher intensity

So I would definitely recommend changing things up a bit, helps to stop you getting bored as well. I'm no expert either btw
 
Goal completed tonight:

1002.5 km at 4:23 minutes/km, 166 runs averaging 6.04 km per run.
Longest: 11.1 km
Shortest: 5.0 km

Best month: January with 113.8 km
Worst month: May with 55.3 km

Finished the year with 97 km in October, 103.5 km in November and then 111.0 km for December.
 
Great stuff Black Diamond.

I'm using the 1,000km challenge this coming year. Really like the idea.

2014 Goals:-

1,000km total
15km Run for the Kids - April
Age Run Melbourne Half Marathon - July
.....maybe....Melbourne Marathon - October
 
Don't limit yourself to 1000 km. I only picked it because of other lifestyle factors and goals. A guy at work did almost 1400 km without even setting a goal. He did most of it on hilly trails and is in his forties so he spent a lot more time running than I did.

I also reckon if you are serious about doing a half and full marathon you will easily do 1000+ just due to the amount of training. Anyway, good luck with it!
 
Black Diamond said:
Don't limit yourself to 1000 km.
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Cheers mate. No, I certainly won't be. However I see it as a good 'minimum kms' goal.

There will be times of lacking motivation and other periods where I am firing so overall I see a 20km per week average for an entire year good going for me. Obviously if I do go with the marathon and the required training then I should romp it in.
 

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Nah mate. No experience with that myself.
 
Deliverance said:
Anyone here tried barefoot/zero drop running shoes? I think its best to go without shoes whenever possible in life as I reckon it's better for our feet, but not quite sure about running. I have a mate who swears by them though. Thoughts?
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Fantastic for racing (worth up to 10 seconds per km i've found), and they do seem to improve your natural running style so it's a lot more efficient (especially if you're a heel striker) but i've found they increase the risk of injury. I've got an achilles problem that's a result of wearing them and i'm restricted to running in shoes with a big drop until it heals. So if you're going to start wearing them a couple of times a week, then make sure you stretch well before and after, especially your calves.
 
Rob said:
Fantastic for racing (worth up to 10 seconds per km i've found), and they do seem to improve your natural running style so it's a lot more efficient (especially if you're a heel striker) but i've found they increase the risk of injury. I've got an achilles problem that's a result of wearing them and i'm restricted to running in shoes with a big drop until it heals. So if you're going to start wearing them a couple of times a week, then make sure you stretch well before and after, especially your calves.
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Bloody hell! 10 secs per km is great. :thumbsu: Yeah, my mate said the chance for injury was greater with them, but not because of the shoes (according to the theories). Apparently when you first buy them you shouldn't even run in them, just wear them around in general use first. Then gradually introduce them into your training. He reckons this gives your body time to readapt to not having a huge heel support under your foot and gradually stretches out your calf/achilles back to where it is supposed to be naturally. Thanks for the info.
 
Thought I majorly effed my knee last week. Went to hospital with morphine and everything. Turns out it was just a nasty sprain and have been running since. Times are way back now, but am trying to increase my speed over shorter distances now rather than just running big 8-10km chunks.
 

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Hey Jarlcrbz...

I'm no expert (although i'd like to be) but my 2 cents:

Training for longer distances is all about running slower to run further. Slow it RIGHT down so around 60-90s SLOWER than your fastest 10k pace. So if you ran 10k in 1hr, that's 6min/km. So for your long runs, you want to be running at around the 6:45/km-7:30/km pace. It feels painfully slow and can be quite unsettling when you see people who are clearly less fit than you charge right past. But, if you leave your ego at the door, this is a sure fire why to run further and faster! Get the body used to running aerobically rather than anaerobically and you will go a long way (figuratively and literally). Try not to cheat and go faster just because you feel you can, that leads to injures - it's exactly what i did! Build your endurance base first, then work on speed later.

Training for speed over shorter distances is all about shocking your system, within reason. So this is shorter intervals at quicker than goal pace, mixed in with tempo runs. Allows you to run at threshold for longer, increases your bodies ability to flush out all that lactate quicker. If you're relatively new to running, 10k is a pretty long distance to be aiming at quicker speeds. Work on quicker 1km pace, then quicker 5k pace. Master the 5k run, then look at focussing on 10k pace.

I reckon you can increase speed running 2 times a week, doing interval/tempo work, and then throwing in a nice easy run every now and then. To increase mileage upto halfie/full marathon distance, you need to be running AT LEAST 4 times a week.

On a side note, last year i knocked out 1500+kms for the year, so this years personal goals are 3 marathons during the year and total 2014km. Both very difficult, but i think reasonable. Would also like to crack the 1hr 30m mark for a halfie, but that's not as important.
 
Deliverance said:
Bloody hell! 10 secs per km is great. :thumbsu: Yeah, my mate said the chance for injury was greater with them, but not because of the shoes (according to the theories). Apparently when you first buy them you shouldn't even run in them, just wear them around in general use first. Then gradually introduce them into your training. He reckons this gives your body time to readapt to not having a huge heel support under your foot and gradually stretches out your calf/achilles back to where it is supposed to be naturally. Thanks for the info.
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I dunno whether walking around in them will do much as you'll still heel strike. I'd more be inclined to use them running on grass for short periods first if you want to get used to them.

I started with a pair of Asics Piranhas and immediately took about 30 seconds off my 5km time. Woke up the next morning and my calves were super tight. But that's something that's gradually gone away with the more I used them.
 
So I've just starting jogging again after about 16 months. I used to do it on a treadmill but now I am hitting the pavement instead and enjoy it much more despite it being quite a bit harder. I will probably find it a little harder than some to get back into it due to having a congenital heart condition.

I started a week ago and my route is about 3.5 km's though I can't yet jog the entire thing. (Also the second half is quite hilly)
The first day I only got about 400 meters until I had to break into a power walk but was able to more than double that today to about 900 meters while focusing more on my breathing. I hope that by this time next week I manage to make it to about 1.5 km's before the first power walk and progress to being able to cover the entire route without slowing down in about 4-6 weeks.

It really does feel great to be doing it again and I will also be buying a new mountain bike to hit the Goulburn River High Country Rail Trail on the weekends I think.
 
Well done HolyWars. One step at a time and never feel like you can't take a step back if your body says it needs to. :thumbsu:
 

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