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Hi again everyone, I have a new question for those of you who may be runners. In mid September my home town does a 5k run for the canal festival. I have previously decided to dedicate this summer to getting back into respectable shape and when I found out about that 5k I felt that it would be a good goal for the end of the summer.

My only problem is I have never done long distance running before, and I have only run very short distances on pavement before. Currently I can run 1.25 Miles on the treadmill without much trouble, so the 3.1 Miles of a 5k seems like an attainable goal.

If any of you guys are runners or have done any type of running like this before is there any tips you could offer me as far as preparing for the race? Any specific things I should make sure to do before I try this?

Thanks for any help you can offer.



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Hi again everyone, I have recently started going back to the gym but I am facing a few problems I have never had before in my workout routine and was hoping some of you would be able to help me.

1) I decided that instead of purely lifting, this time I instead want to mix in some running as well. However I have no clue as to how one progresses when they run. When I lift, I just do reps of a weight until I feel it get slightly lighter and then move up to the next weight. Is running the same way? For instance, I ran a mile my first day, and at the end I felt i may have been able to go a bit longer but wasn't sure how far I should try for.

What I guess I am trying to find out is if there is some kind of set up similar to weight progressions for me to follow or if it is mroe of a go until you cannot go anymore type thing...

2) About a year ago I was told I have a build up/small growth of bone in both of my shoulder joints which causes me intense pain after doing most forms of Presses(IE Bench, Military, Incline etc..) for around a month. My problem arises because Presses were some of my main arm workouts but I can no longer do them for extended periods of time. So I was wondering if anyone here could reccomend me some lifts that works the same groups of muscles without putting downward pressure on my shoulder joints.

3) I also would like to really work my pecs this summer and try to help lose a bit of the weight I have been carrying around on them. My main problem here is the only exercise or lift I know of that works that area is flys, which is fine but I would like to be able to vary my workout up every so often so I was wondering if anyone could recommend to me some good things to do aside from flys to work the pec area.

Thanks for any help you can offer guys.

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With the bench, try using dumbells instead of a bar. As someone with a shoulder injury, I can attest to benching being a pain (literally). When I moved away from using a bar, I never looked back. You can also try tricep pull downs as an alternative for your triceps. The major problem with working the chest is.......well......it's made for pressing and pushing. So you are kind of SOL in that respect. Best bet is to just find stuff that doesn't hurt as much.

Try dips for your chest. Yes, it is still a pressing motion but at a different angle. Maybe that is all you need to get rid of the pain.

You may also try cable cross overs (Google it, hard to explain), or anything like that.

For more triceps, go with tricep extensions (again, Google it). I LOOOOOOOVE these!


For cardio I prefer a "timed" workout rather than a specific distance or goal. If I have access to a treadmill (which I currently do not), I prefer a 30 minute warm up at 50% my max mile pace. It's a good pace, but nothing strenuous. Saves my energy for lifting. Now I'm more concerned about muscle mass than anything else, so you may want a longer/more intense run.

Now you can go by distance, which I would gradually increase. Now if you find a mile to be too easy, bump it up. Just watch out for shin splints and such which CAN be caused by too much, too soon.

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Thanks Burks, would have replied sooner but I had forgotten I made this topic >.<

I think i will just take a day of the week off from my normal workout and do several different types of chest exercise and see which ones feel the best for me.

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You're looking for endurance, endurance, ENDURANCE.

I used to run distance track in high school and our tougher practices we ran an average of 3-5 miles. So the first question is do you want to attain a certain time, do you want to finish the race at a leisurely pace while not being tired, or do you just want to finish?

At any rate, I suggest running outside when weather permits. And not on pavement, trail running is best IMO. Less impact on your shins, feet, and other parts. As far as diet tips go, make sure you take in moderate protein for muscular endurance and recovery...but nothing near to what a bodybuilder or weightlifter takes in. Carbs are key for running since they're your source of energy. And STAY HYDRATED. A lot of people think that's a no brainer but you can easily lose time and worse if you're not properly hydrated.

As far as working out goes, I maintained a pretty light full body workout with a little higher emphasis on legs (quads, hamstrings and calves) but again, no reps or weight comparative to a bodybuilder. Abs, however, are key. Lots of abs means better endurance. It wasn't unusual for us to do several hundred abs (sit ups, crunches, bicycles, whatever) every practice.

Lastly the key is RUNNING. 1.25 miles is respectable, but trust me when I say that three miles straight is a tough run. The key (IMHO) is to gently increase your distance until you're ABLE to reach that threshold of 3.1 miles comfortably. An increase of .5 miles a week is a good indicator for sure. Every time you step on the treadmill or step outside, increase your distance by .1 mile. It seems simple, but you'll find at the end of the week you'll be running a total .5 miles longer with no problem. Of course, you're the only one that knows your limits but the key with running is to PUSH THEM.

So yeah. After a few weeks you'll hit that 3.1 mile mark with no problem, then you can work on your time if you like or push past the distance! Either way, the 5k will be a breeze. My last point of advice is even on off days (2 days a week, or one day totally off) run at least a mile or something at an easy pace. It's incredibly easy to lose endurance if you don't maintain it.

Good luck!!!

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Thanks for that Lander, to your question as of now I mainly just want to finish. The run is still close to three months away however so if I do start to find 3.1 easy when I am training I may very well switch that and got for a faster pace than just finishing.

I will definitely rethink my workout to more revolve around this since I'm fairly certain my arms are big enough that I would be happy just maintaining this level of muscle instead of gaining more.

To the protein, currently I take Creatine for strength and conditioning support. But what did you use for protein? Do you think Creatine would be good to keep going with?

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donuts help a lot too.

This is true.

Proffesional Footballers (Soccerer's) eat Jelly sweats to give a short bursts of energy for the first half an hour of the match.

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Thanks Lou for the help with the avatar.

that's just an excuse... they eat them because they're good... same reason our football players eat hersey bars...

donuts and chocolate are both valuable training assets, as well as major food groups.

Funny you should mention that, the part of Columbus I go to school in has absolutely no donut stores or shops. The closest ones to me are way over by Ohio State which would be about a 5 mile walk just for donuts lol.

So consequently I havn't had a donut since last summer even though I am in my hometown now which has at least 4 or 5 places to get them.

I miss them so...

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That can be your goal, then! ^_^

Run 5 miles, get a donut! :3

I didn't take any protein supplement when I was in track, I just made sure to eat plenty of lean meats. When I want to make gains in muscle, I use whey, however.

At Hiker and everyone: That's funny and also very true...we used to eat honey before a run, and I've read sucking on some sugar is good for that little boost of energy as well.

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I personally would not use creatine close to the race. Training, fine. Race, no.

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I'll keep that in mind Burks, I have about 1/3 of a canister left.

Were I to continue using some form of a supplement after I run out of creatine, would you have any recommendations? Perhaps just whey if anything?

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Probably so. Maybe some BCAA's because you lose a lot of nutrients and such running. Not only from sweating, but from the process of just making energy.

I've always loved BCAA's. I didn't notice an effect until I stopped using them, then I felt like crud. But a well balanced diet can do just as well, which I don't have.

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So figured I would give an update on this. Back in July I started off by running on the tredmill in the gym. It was bad at first, I struggled to run a mile. But I kept running throughout July and since the last week of July a friend and I have been alternating between running at the local track and running the actual 5K course in the city.

We havn't run the entire course stragiht through yet but we are close, earlier today we ran 2.25 Miles and Walked .8 Miles in about 35 Minutes. This Friday we are going to try running the course the entire way through to see how much work we have left to do in the next month or so.

As a wonderful side effect, I have dropped about 15 pounds since the start of July and I have noticed the extra weight I was carrying on my waist and chest rapidly vanishing.

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You have made excellent progress so far. For the last month I suggest changing your running routine around to accelerate your results and keep things challenging. Try running intervals of sprint, walk, etc... you'll notice that you will be able to take more running much faster. Also running on different surfaces (sand, grass, concrete, turf) will also help. This way you won't get bored and you'll finish your training strong.

Good luck!

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That's awesome, Scar!

As a matter of fact, I'm starting to run cross country. I try to increase my endurance by running somewhere local (my park) and back, then the next day/week, I run to there and around it, then I run back. It's a total of 1.5-2 miles for me. I might catch up to you soon.

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Kikori wrote:

Topsummoner wrote:

Riptide wrote:

I used to get you and J@n mixed up. Except your funnier. And nicer. Happy 21st bro!

Oh man Jan, you just got zinged by Riptide. How much does THAT suck?

Well, statistically speaking, slightly more than a giant suckusaur. A dire one.

PenguinGuy wrote:

Lets see if I remember how to play...

EX REX IS MAFIA SCUM FOURTHVOTER UNVILLAGE BLAH BLAH BLAH SCUM BLAH WINE IN FRONT OF ME BLAH BLAH META GAME BLAH BLAH BLAH SMELLS OF ELDERBERRIES BLAH

Right?

Thanks, and yea, part of the reason my friend and I started running the course was because the track is just so dull.

For the intervals though, we have been doing that in a way, at least on the track. Wednesday for example we will start off by walking a lap and then jogging one, followed by stretching, then run 4 laps, walk a lap, run 4 more, walk one and then run 2 sets of 2 at a quicker pace.



Good luck to you, one of the biggest reasons I started this was because I remembered how nice it was to be in shape back when I was a Sophomore in highschool(before I quit the football team) and I want to get back to that.

I have also been considering finding a half marathon around me somewhere to set as a long term goal for my fitness.

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i never liked running long distance, i am gona put it down to my body consisting of fast twitch B muscles as im great at sprinting.

But why eat sweets for long distance wouldn't something like bananas be better, you can even get those dried bananas.

They have 2-10k Runs about 5 times a year near my house,

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