Running:
Posts 1 to 25 of 26

Just try to knock off say 15-30 seconds each day, doesn't sound like much at all, but that is the point. Going 15 seconds faster than yesterday won't be hard, will it? A month from now, you will have knocked minutes off your time.

Then, say in a month, get some steel toed work shoes (the kind people in factories wear) run with those for a week, then get a backpack and add a pound or two every couple of days. It doesn't happen overnight.

They sell vests with addable weight to them. Like 1-5lb sand bags, and multiple pockets. I think you can add up to like 50 lbs.
That would be a good way

Running 3km in 9 mins is really good already, best of luck! I'd suggest doing something like stuff suggested, you could just grab a backpack and throw some weights in there (10kg-20kg). (Make sure you get the weights padded well or your back will be fucked for weeks.)
Also do what Jinn said. Try gaining like 15 secs / time and you'll be running like a black man in no time!

From personal experience, I'd suggest you start training with eg 10kg on your back, after a few weeks move up to eg 20 etc. Move up slowly. In the beginning the 10kg will feel like a fuckload, but you get used to it quite quick, after a while the 40kg wont feel suicidal anymore.
Also, running eg. 3km depends surprisingly much on your mentality. With the same physical ability 2 people can "max" 3km, one in 9 mins and the other in 12, just depending on how set they are to complete each km in a certain amount of time.

you know whats good for running? cigarettes.

wtf?? ever heard of ankle weights?

did u get molested yet?

Well it turned out again the odometer in my car was wrong AGAIN when I quoted the above distance. I was only going 1.2km rofl in about 6 minutes (makes a whole lot more sense looking back on it)

Since the last post I'm now doing 2.8km in 15 minutes. For the record though probably about 25/30% of the distance is on a mild positive incline and anyone who runs knows that going up a hill is far more taxing then the slight reprieve you get from going back down it. I also do a 600 meter warmup walk / 600 meter warmdown walk which is up/down a very steep hill, I'm actually slightly out of breath when I get to the very top, from where I begin the actual run.

I know I'm still FAR from a decent speed or time but the fact that I'm still pretty happy with the fact that I've doubled my distance I'm doing in just a month. This is all after literally 6 or so years of a zero exercise lifestyle.

PS. If anyone's interested I'll take my mobile phone with me tomorrow when I go running again and I'll record the hill I walk up as the warmup to show that for a fatty like me it's pretty steep.

Last edited by Akari (09-01-2010 03:12:18)

I'll give you a call!

"End of February I should be up to 5Km I hope"

Christ was I ever wrong. I took a week off before going to NZ last month, then I didn't do any actual running in NZ, then when I got back It took me over 2 weeks to get back into jogging, so now I've only been going again for just about 2 weeks.

I'm back up to around 3Km in 14 minutes though which isn't too bad. Though I'm not even close to my mark of 5km//20minutes by the end of Feb I had set for myself when I started

Army is a no go, I withdrew about a month ago.

Intervals, as in HIIT? I'm not really looking to run faster, really the only reason I'm running anymore (it started as a preparation for the Army) is because I'm still very unhealthy. I really don't have any motivation to eat healthy, this is due to the fact I constantly procrastinate about getting into shape and it's coupled with the fact I no longer have an income which means buying fresh fruit and veg regularly and good cuts of meat is really difficult.

As I understand it HIIT is really more for people looking to lose weight, it doesn't contribute too much towards increasing your endurance.

I think I'll stick to what I'm currently/was doing. That is, running the same distance 3 times and then increasing it by a few hundred meters on the next trip, and repeat. You're right though, it's very VERY boring. I've tried listening to music when I run but I find it more of an annoyance then a distraction due to the fact I normally only listen to music to mellow out and relax (And when I used to drive to work at 11:45 at night I'd have it pumping to give me a boost and wake me up).

I've never heard of fartlek though. I'll google it now.