Want to do 2.0 miles tomorrow but 1.5 miles is sensible. Also hoping to get 'discharged' from dressing changes!!

Discharged from dressing changes!! Nurse said not to lift for a few more days.

1.50 miles in 17:03. 11:22/mile.

Had a stitch from 1.2 miles and stopped the run the moment MMR ticked to 1.50 miles. Strangely my pulse was at 126 suggesting I wasn't that tired. Any idea what's going on? I certainly felt tired but also ran slower than I expected (five days ago I was confident I could have done 1.5 miles at 10m 31s pace).

Focused on a strong final couple of weeks of April to end the month as far ahead of schedule as plausible. See no reason I'm not allowed to do leg press at the gym so perhaps that's what I'll do tomorrow.

17/04

1000m HIIT: (50m sprint 50m walk) * 10

Original plan was 50m sprint 50m light jog but I was pretty cream crackered after the second sprint. The nice thing about being so out of shape is the initial improvements will be vast. In two weeks time I'll find the 1000m HIIT noticeably easier and in two months time I'll jog the recovery periods and be relatively fresh after 10 intervals. In other good news I'm recovered and fresh, at the beginning of the month this would have had me feeling lethargic for the rest of the day.

Tennis v. Professor

1-6 2-6

- My toenail is ingrowing again. Not a huge deal of itself but ~a week ago it got infected so I chilled out from running (could have if I had to). I think the infection will clear in ~two days (it's improving) and then I'll have to deal with the underlying issue.

- Shoulder healing is behind schedule. I'm happy as long as it doesn't get reinfected.

- Biggest plus from tennis was vastly improved fitness. Which doesn't mean my fitness was actually good - far from it - but it was noticeably better.

- I need to stretch more. I need to stretch more. I need to stretch more.

Depending on how I feel the plan is to do some light lifting tomorrow (I did one set of lightish chest press and very light squat in the past week) and then run on Thursday. With stretching today, tomorrow and Thursday. Eager for a strong finish to the month and to stay well ahead of schedule.

30/04

1 mile run: 9m 59s

Woo!

My last 30s improvement for now, couldn't have gone much faster.

Toe is improved but I might need to see the podiatrist.



Shoulder is improved but still not all the way there.

The first month of this challenge went well despite inconvenient health issues. Ran a 10 minute mile which I was aiming to do some time in June.

May goals:

- 9:45 mile (happy enough with a small improvement right now).
- 33:30 5k (32:30 5k = "on pace" for 65:00 10k + a minute's leeway).
- Daily stretching.
- No crisps (eating lots recently).
- Calorie logs.

01/05

Tennis v. Professor

2-6 0-5

- Weird match. I got to 2-2 or 2-3 and then lost the remaining games. My fitness is much better but my lower back was really tight which affected my movement. Of course, my fitness still sucks and it's easier to overcome a stiff lumbago if you're feeling fresh.

- My approach shots (previously a big weakness) were way better.

- Professor is weaker this year - I think I'll win a set if I get in shape. Lots of my approach shots were outright winners - I hit them pretty well but most of the time he should have been able to force me to make a volley .

Next three days think I'll go:

Thursday - lifting. Max bench press, gentle squat & maybe some planks and/or farmer's walks. Log calories. Stretch.

Friday - Rest. Log calories. Stretch.

Saturday - Run. Bored of 1 mile so either 2 miles (gulp) or HIIT. Might hike this weekend in which case I won't run. Log calories. Stretch.

So I just entered the 2020 London Marathon Ballot. Find out in October, after the 10k run. Not sure I'd accept a place (it's a lot of training and I'm not convinced marathons are healthy). Chance of getting in is ~5% so it's probably academic but getting myself in good enough shape for late September where I could consider running a marathon seven months later is a nice added incentive.

What I am keen to do, is another triathlon. Those are fun. Once I get the 10k done I'll start seriously looking into triathlon availability (due to winter probably not for a few months after).

I'm not even convinced running anything much longer than a quarter mile is very good for you compared to other forms of cardio that increase your heart rate. I think most people generally are too heavy to not damage joints while running long distance long term and most people do not want to be super skinny.

That said, it's probably healthier not to have as much muscle as we want to have either, so I guess it's moot.

I tend to agree with you which is why I'd be likely to decline the marathon (although hmm). TBH I'm not totally comfortable running 10k at my current ~250lb weight (have 21 weeks to **** timber but still) but it's currently motivating me to eat better and exercise more which outweighs (!) the negative effect on my joints.

Non longterm it should be fine to run even at a higher weight as symptoms will warn you if you should stop and it's unlikely to do any lasting damage in a short period of time.

I ran track in high school and did a couple 5k and 10k's in my early 20's but I'm super done with that. I still hit up the track on nice days for some HIIT jog/sprint/walk type workouts along with burpees and pushups in between laps. Much more fun than straight up running.

06/05

1200m HIIT: (50m sprint 50m walk) * 12

Was going for 10 reps but had enough energy left over to go a couple more times. Was tired after 1000m hence proud I pushed it! Knackered after the 12th rep, but I think that's how you want to be after this kind of workout?

Have logged calories pretty well and not eaten crisps for four days (ate some leftovers the first two days of the month). Looks like tomorrow's tennis will get rained off in which case I'll get the two mile run in on Thursday? As much as I'm eating better and ahead of schedule re. run I do want to get a 5k in by the end of the month and we're 1/4 of the way through the month and I haven't done a single run (HIIT doesn't really count) so let's get going and stay way ahead of where I need to be.

Is it normal to dislike using a treadmill and/or find it "harder" than running outside? Went to do 2 miles at ~11 min/mile pace but stopped after .25 miles. Wasn't that tired (pulse ~133) but idk, didn't feel right and I like the ability to slow down and speed up as I choose. Either that or the treadmill "runs fast" or MMR is inaccurate & I've actually been doing like .95 miles in 9:59.

Anyway I'll get a two mile run in (outdoors) tomorrow.

Treadmill running is soul crushingly boring in my experience - I'd much rather run outside and watch the scenery change. But as far as pace or distance my treadmill runs are ~ to my outdoor runs. Or if anything easier compared to particularly hilly runs.

10/05

1.07 miles, 12:39 (11:51/mile)

Was going for two miles but body felt too tired/tight. Am confident it was this rather than cardio (pulse was ~153).

Was aiming for 11:00/mile. The pace is concerning. Humans aren't as good as they think at judging these things but I reaaally don't think this was ~20% than my "9:59 mile"
Now, I did a different route to previous runs, which probably explains some/most of the discrepancy. Today's route was a flat path, ~.35 miles long (according to MMR). So three "loops" there and back ~= 2 miles. I did one and half loops. So the elevation should look symettric around ~0:00 - 4:00 and ~4:00 - 8:00. And yet erm, it doesn't.



I need to find a reliable way to find my one mile time whether that's a 400m track, a path (must be some parks with one mile markers) or if needed a treadmill. Like if I can actually do a 10:00 mile I just need to keep grinding but if the fastest I can do is 11:00 I need to get cracking! Did 11:31 on a treadmill exactly five weeks ago (which was my third run in like a year) so am confident I'm not slower than 11:00.

Am disappointed to fail on running two miles. Going to stretch more and get a two mile run in within the next week. Preferably by Monday. Today's run didn't take lots out of me and I think I could get an "official" mile run in as early as tomorrow.

Update

- There's a 5k run at a local park every first Saturday of the month. It's hillier than I prefer but much flatter than September's run. 01/06 is a Saturday and close enough to count as my end of May 5k. That's something really nice to work towards btw, having a specific time and location for the 5k is excellent motivation and running with others will push me to actually complete the 5k (especially since those around my pace are likely to be fatties and/or old)

- After playing around a little with google maps it seems like I probably did run close to 1.07 miles today.

- Also playing around with google maps managed to find a one mile route to run. (Unfortunately the normal one mile run I do uses a cut through which google maps doesn't recognise). So I'll do that one mile this weekend* (google maps is going to be super accurate right?) *and* use Map My Run and I'll get insight on how fast I can actually do a mile + how accurate MMR is.

*unless I go hiking tomorrow

If accurate this is too high. I think you're too concerned with pace and not enough with building up basic cardio fitness. How many miles are you running in a week?

12/05

~3 hour hike.

Not much beats a gorgeous walk with ~perfect weather. Very few other humans around. Lovely.

I think this is right. The reason my 1.5 and 2 mile attempts suck is because I start slow to pace myself and by the time I get over a mile my body breaks down. So it sort of doesn't matter what pace I started at. I'm heavy and not 17 so it wouldn't be surprising if this was the case.

What do you think about just trying to run for 20 minutes? No MMR, just select a 20 minute playlist and go? I want to do the 5k on June 1st which will require running for more than half an hour so it's important I get a couple of ~25 minute workouts in first.

First I'd calculate your Maximum Heart Rate which is 206.9 - (0.67 x age). I'll just assume you're 35 in which case your MHR is:

206.9 - (70/3) = 184

Then I'd try to target my training in the Aerobic Heart Rate Zone which is 70-80% of your MHR.

184 * .75 = 138 beats per minute.

I'd try one of two things:

a) Try to run slow enough to keep your HR between 135-140 for 20-30 minutes. Or,
b) Run until your HR goes > 140 then walk until it comes back down to < 130. The better shape you're in the faster it will come down - I'd hazard to guess how long this would be for you.

What you need most is just to spend time in that aerobic zone every week. You're 3 weeks out from June 1. I'd try to spend 1 hours in that zone this week (3 x 20 min). Then 1.5 the week after that (3 x 30 min). Then 2 hours the week after that (including the 5k).

I don't really know the science behind optimal training, but generally you do not train for the distance you want to run by running that distance. If you want to run a good 5k, you should be upping your mileage to ~5 mile runs to build your base, and half to one mile runs to build your speed. It's much more important to just increase your overall mileage in the beginning though -- speed shouldn't really be a factor until you really try to lower your time. Don't go crazy and up it to 5 miles immediately, but increasing mileage should be your main goal.

Have you done the 5k before? You should definitely get in something closer to a 40 min run rather than 20 at a relatively easy pace as the date gets closer.

Nor do I but

I think it depends how far you're running? Like I've never seen a marathon training plan that involves more than a 22-23 mile run max. But if you were training to run a fast mile you'd obviously want to mix in some two mile runs. For 5k to 10k, well Sir Mo Farah is apparently nifty at those distances and does one 17 to 20 mile run a week in prep. But for my purposes I think it's fine to do a 9k run before the 10k? I'm just looking to get round in 65 minutes so I don't see the need to do 75 minute runs as prep although if I'm fit enough to do so great.

15/05

20:30 minute run, 1.69 miles (12:08/mile)

Made a 20 minute playlist (well 20:24) made of eight ~equilength songs.



Turned off MMR's voice feedback so I wouldn't worry about speed. After a few false starts I managed to run for 20 minutes so even though it's a little slower than I "envision" (would have guessed 11:00 per mile for 1.86 miles if you'd asked at the beginning of the month)

i) No particular reason to expect I'd have a great idea how far I can run in 20 minutes, given I haven't run 20 minutes in what, two years? Longer?

ii) I took my 1 mile time from 12 minutes to 10 minutes in a month and there's no reason to think I can't do similar for my 1.69 mile time especially since

iii) I was pacing myself. Very happy the run ended when it did but my pulse taken about a minute later was ~135 and my shirt still smells freshly washed and while I have endorphin tingles I'm really not that tired so there's more in there although re. the 33.5 minute 5k (10:43smile) on June 1, I now think 35 minutes is a better aim (11:12/mile). Let's see. As long as I put in the training I'm going to be so much fitter than at the beginning of April than it's basically an automatic W.

Won't know if the run really took so little out of me until tomorrow but want to keep at it with a limited amount of time until June 1. And I do want to get something around a 40 minute run in a week before Jun 1. Even if it's 35 minutes running and 5 minutes walking. Need to build up endurance (muscle more than cardio).

p.s playlist recommendations welcome!

That's really good PGUK. Just try to build off that and steadily increase time in that aerobic range each week.

Thanks. What do you think of the following plan:

Sat 18/05: treadmill 5k in 39-40 min
Sat 25/05: treadmill 5k in 36-38 min (depending on how 18/05 goes)
Sat 01/06: 5k run! Go at a reasonable/measured pace based on the results of 18/05 and 25/05

In between fill up with HIIT, lifting, 1 mile runs, tennis etc.

If that keeps you motivated then I'd say go with it.

However, my recommendation would be to cut out the HIIT and the 1 mile runs and replace them with easy 25-35 minute runs. I still think you're too focused on pace and not enough on just putting in the time to build cardio efficiency. I wouldn't really worry about speed until you're putting in 15-20 miles a week and have lost quite a bit of weight.

I know you enjoy tennis so I wouldn't cut that out. And you actually have to LIKE what you're doing - so if what you outlined is going to actually get you out there then go gangbusters on that and ignore my recs.

You may be correct but rn if I'd be near the maximum of my capacity if I did two ~30 minute runs a week + one * tennis & I'd find that very boring. I wish my gym had a swimming pool. I could do thirty minutes swimming and feel a lot less sore the next day than after running. And swimming provides a solitude I really enjoy - no need to interact with or observe other people, total escapism. I must see if there's a reasonable way to get some regular swimming in. Alternatively biking & elliptical machines. I could do forty minutes biking at ~14 MPH pace - not as good for building up long distance running cardio as well ... running but it would contribute.

Running websites are surprisingly kind about elliptical machines. They handles have naturally placed heart rate measuring thingies so perhaps I'll watch the second half of the FA Cup final on an elliptical machine while maintaining my heart rate around 130 to 135 BPM.