The Official Thread for Runners

[Moliere]

I want to post about my running and I want to read about others running, but there isn't a centralized place to do it. There are many random running threads so I figured I'd start an official thread that is dedicating simply to running. I'm not sure if there is a form or not to make it an official thread (if so send it along and I'll return it in 3 to 5 weeks).

Today I did my second morning run since I started running again. I hate morning runs. I'm always slower in the morning. I doesn't help that it was 71 degrees at 5:30am and all I had was a long-sleeved running shirt. I ran 3.25 miles in just over 30 mintues and came home drenched in sweat. Luckily I took water with me this morning so I could replace some the fluids I lost.

What do you guys usually use as a target for split times? I'm trying to keep my mile splits under 9 minutes. This is not usually a problem when I run at night but for some reason I'm always slower in the morning.

[OhioBlue]

I want to post about my running and I want to read about others running, but there isn't a centralized place to do it. There are many random running threads so I figured I'd start an official thread that is dedicating simply to running. I'm not sure if there is a form or not to make it an official thread (if so send it along and I'll return it in 3 to 5 weeks).

Today I did my second morning run since I started running again. I hate morning runs. I'm always slower in the morning. I doesn't help that it was 71 degrees at 5:30am and all I had was a long-sleeved running shirt. I ran 3.25 miles in just over 30 mintues and came home drenched in sweat. Luckily I took water with me this morning so I could replace some the fluids I lost.

What do you guys usually use as a target for split times? I'm trying to keep my mile splits under 9 minutes. This is not usually a problem when I run at night but for some reason I'm always slower in the morning.

I always run in the mornings. Shoes hitting road usually by 5:30. It's cold and dark, but there's an oddly peaceful solitude, and with virtually nobody else out and about I feel like I own it all to myself.

But I can understand not liking mornings. I myself swore I would never be that guy going to bed at 9:30 so I can get up for exercise every morning. Oops.

As for times, for me that varies. I never have two fast runs in a row, always at least one day of easy run in between (easy meaning I can barely hear my breathing and could easily have a conversation during the whole run). On my 'faster' days my times depend on what I'm doing.

My schedule up until this last couple weeks (I'm out with various pains and hip flexor issue right now) was:
Mon--tempo run
Tue--easy/lift
Wed--speed work (usually 400 repeats)
Thu--easy/lift
Fri--rest or short fartlek
Sat--LSD

So at least a couple times a week I am running faster paces, working on anaerobic threshold, teaching my body to run fast, etc. the other times I'm enjoying music or a podcast and just letting my body recover running nice and slow.

[Moliere]

I always run in the mornings. Shoes hitting road usually by 5:30. It's cold and dark, but there's an oddly peaceful solitude, and with virtually nobody else out and about I feel like I own it all to myself.

But I can understand not liking mornings. I myself swore I would never be that guy going to bed at 9:30 so I can get up for exercise every morning. Oops.

As for times, for me that varies. I never have two fast runs in a row, always at least one day of easy run in between (easy meaning I can barely hear my breathing and could easily have a conversation during the whole run). On my 'faster' days my times depend on what I'm doing.

My schedule up until this last couple weeks (I'm out with various pains and hip flexor issue right now) was:
Mon--tempo run
Tue--easy/lift
Wed--speed work (usually 400 repeats)
Thu--easy/lift
Fri--rest or short fartlek
Sat--LSD

So at least a couple times a week I am running faster paces, working on anaerobic threshold, teaching my body to run fast, etc. the other times I'm enjoying music or a podcast and just letting my body recover running nice and slow.

I never ran in the morning, even during high school. I tried it after my mission but I just am better in the afternoon or evening. I think I'll continue running in the evening as I get the same benefits (alone, cool (relatively of course), etc.) and we have decent running trails in my neighborhood.

My schedule has just been to run at least 3 times a week. My schedule with work, family, and church doesn't allow for me to run every day and I just want to get back in shape and maintain it.

I think I might try some easier runs though and try to go to 4 runs a week with two being hard and two being easier. Right now I'm pushing it every time as I am trying to get faster. I'm not a distance runner in heart or mind. I'm a sprinter and slowing myself down for a 30 minute run takes a lot of self control. I'll probably enjoy my running more if I did a couple runs at 10 min/mile pace.

In any case, I just bought $200 worth of running gear (long sleeved shirts, running jacket, shorts (not Nikuman length thank goodness) so I guess I'm in this thing for the long haul.

[ERCougar]

I never ran in the morning, even during high school. I tried it after my mission but I just am better in the afternoon or evening. I think I'll continue running in the evening as I get the same benefits (alone, cool (relatively of course), etc.) and we have decent running trails in my neighborhood.

My schedule has just been to run at least 3 times a week. My schedule with work, family, and church doesn't allow for me to run every day and I just want to get back in shape and maintain it.

I think I might try some easier runs though and try to go to 4 runs a week with two being hard and two being easier. Right now I'm pushing it every time as I am trying to get faster. I'm not a distance runner in heart or mind. I'm a sprinter and slowing myself down for a 30 minute run takes a lot of self control. I'll probably enjoy my running more if I did a couple runs at 10 min/mile pace.

In any case, I just bought $200 worth of running gear (long sleeved shirts, running jacket, shorts (not Nikuman length thank goodness) so I guess I'm in this thing for the long haul.

A couple of quick thoughts:

-I rarely if ever run more than three times a week. There are too many other things I like to do, and you really shouldn't do more than three quality runs (tempo, speed, or distance) a week, anyway--anything extra should be recovery runs, at least at the recreational level. If you make sure to do something aerobic every day (weightlifting counts if high intensity), you'll see plenty of improvement.

-There are very few sports that you can get fully into for $200, and you likely won't buy much more if you race at all--I have a drawer full of tech shirts and I can't remember the last time I bought one. I buy a new pair of shorts every year or so and a few pairs of socks. New pair of shoes every year. I have a pair of tights that I bought on a big sale and a cannondale light pullover that I throw on if it gets cold--both of those are 5+ years old.

Ask the cyclists about gear...

[happyone]

I'm mainly a walker, so if you want to kick me out of this thread, I'm okay with it.

This time of year, I go out as soon as I can get changed after work - about 4:00. I lumber, I can't really call it jogging or running, about 3/4 times a week 3 or 4 miles out of a total of 6 or 7 miles. If I jog more than that my aged body starts to object

I try a take a long walk - 8-10 miles every Saturday in the morning

When I jog it is between a 10/10:30 min/mile pace. Walking is between 13 and 14 min/mile.

[Pheidippides]

I'm mainly a walker, so if you want to kick me out of this thread, I'm okay with it.

This time of year, I go out as soon as I can get changed after work - about 4:00. I lumber, I can't really call it jogging or running, about 3/4 times a week 3 or 4 miles out of a total of 6 or 7 miles. If I jog more than that my aged body starts to object

I try a take a long walk - 8-10 miles every Saturday in the morning

When I jog it is between a 10/10:30 min/mile pace. Walking is between 13 and 14 min/mile.

Friend, you are a runner in my book. You log more miles than most of us and 14 minutes per mile is speedwalking at a minimum.

I strive to run five days per week. I don't always do it. Sometimes life gets in the way. Other times I feel like I need another day to recover.

I run long one day of the five and fast one day (sometimes more if I feel like it). The other days are just runs. For fast runs, the speed depends on the distance. 6:50 to 7:10 for a 5k, the rest extrapolated off of that. I try to keep it about 30 seconds slower than what I think my current race pace is.

For long runs, I just try to finish. Usually run about 9 to 9:30. Sometimes dragging at the end. Depends on day, temperature, weather, and humidity. Also, I run better at night. But it does me more good in the am.

[bluegoose]

Good thread idea, EJ.

My running week currently looks a lot like OhioBlue's. I typically do one day of tempo, one day of intervals and one day of long distance. I also try to "just run" on one other day each week and throw in a day or 2 on the bike or in the weight room. As I get further along in my program, I may try to add one other day of running on high mileage weeks.

As for pace, I use Daniels Running Formula by Jack Daniels. He has some great charts outlining various speeds for different kinds of workouts, based on fitness level and goals. My marathon goal time for this spring is 3:30, so based on that time, my tempo runs should be about 7:25, and intervals are 1:42 for 400m, 3:30 for 800m and 4:17 for 1,000m. Long run pace should be similar to nikumans at 9:17, but I rarely go that speed on the weekends. I typically finish at about 8:20-8:30ish due to me just trying to keep up with my running buddies.

I am strictly an early morning runner. Alarm clock goes off at 5:20 every morning and my feet are out the door between 5:30 and 5:45am. It can be brutal at times, but that is the only predictable time for me to run each day. If I try in the evening, it would likely only happen about half of the time.

[Sea Chicken]

I try to run every day except Sundays. When I'm in town, I have a neighbor I run with every MWF and we've been doing the same 7-mile loop for a few years now. When we get bored with it we switch directions.
On Tuesday and Thursday I do 7-10 depending on how much time I have. Saturday's I try to go long, but sometimes family/travel commitments mean I have to take the day off.
I'm hoping to average 8 minute miles in a marathon next year, so over the winter, I'm trying to keep most of my runs under 8mpm. When the weather is bad or I just don't feel like it, I run a little slower.
When the weather starts to warm up I plan on increasing the pace on most of my runs to closer to 7:45.
I've been told that this isn't the smartest way to train, but it seems to be working for me.

[Sea Chicken]

Oh, and I almost always run in the morning. Especially in the winter, I like to get out while my body is still warm. If I wait until it is light out and I can see how cold it looks outside, I'm more likely to talk myself out of it.

[Moliere]

Good thread idea, EJ.

My running week currently looks a lot like OhioBlue's. I typically do one day of tempo, one day of intervals and one day of long distance. I also try to "just run" on one other day each week and throw in a day or 2 on the bike or in the weight room. As I get further along in my program, I may try to add one other day of running on high mileage weeks.

As for pace, I use Daniels Running Formula by Jack Daniels. He has some great charts outlining various speeds for different kinds of workouts, based on fitness level and goals. My marathon goal time for this spring is 3:30, so based on that time, my tempo runs should be about 7:25, and intervals are 1:42 for 400m, 3:30 for 800m and 4:17 for 1,000m. Long run pace should be similar to nikumans at 9:17, but I rarely go that speed on the weekends. I typically finish at about 8:20-8:30ish due to me just trying to keep up with my running buddies.

I am strictly an early morning runner. Alarm clock goes off at 5:20 every morning and my feet are out the door between 5:30 and 5:45am. It can be brutal at times, but that is the only predictable time for me to run each day. If I try in the evening, it would likely only happen about half of the time.

I've never heard of this so I'll look into it. This might prove to be very helpful as right now I'm just going blind on my pace. I'm skeptical though as it is by a guy named Jack Daniels.

The attraction of running at night is mainly based off of my prior routine. The kids go down for bed around 8pm. After that, I usually would dish up some ice cream and sit down to watch TV or read. Now I've supplemented the TV watching time with running and cool down. Different strokes for different folks. My only concern is that all 5-Ks I've seen (My target is to run a number of these next year) are all morning runs. Maybe leading up to the race I'll do a couple morning runs to habituate my body.

[Pheidippides]

I've never heard of this so I'll look into it. This might prove to be very helpful as right now I'm just going blind on my pace. I'm skeptical though as it is by a guy named Jack Daniels.

The attraction of running at night is mainly based off of my prior routine. The kids go down for bed around 8pm. After that, I usually would dish up some ice cream and sit down to watch TV or read. Now I've supplemented the TV watching time with running and cool down. Different strokes for different folks. My only concern is that all 5-Ks I've seen (My target is to run a number of these next year) are all morning runs. Maybe leading up to the race I'll do a couple morning runs to habituate my body.

Just about all runs are morning runs. It's something to get used to for sure.

If I consistently run in the morning, I am better at it. Today was my first morning run in a long time and it sucked. We will see how tonight goes.

Does anybody else have certain running shoes they use on certain runs? I have a pair of Nike Lunarglides that I love on short fast runs, but anything more than five miles and they feel flat. Likewise, I have some Asics and Sauconys that I don't like for speed but love when it starts to get long.

[happyone]

Just about all runs are morning runs. It's something to get used to for sure.

If I consistently run in the morning, I am better at it. Today was my first morning run in a long time and it sucked. We will see how tonight goes.

Does anybody else have certain running shoes they use on certain runs? I have a pair of Nike Lunarglides that I love on short fast runs, but anything more than five miles and they feel flat. Likewise, I have some Asics and Sauconys that I don't like for speed but love when it starts to get long.

I have two pair that I wear, but not because of routes - i alternate them on days. I seem to get more life out of them that way - about a month more or so.

I hope I can get todays walk done before the storm hits, but the wind is really kicking up right now. You can hear it whistling around our building, that almost never happens

Yesterdays walk/run was done during a snow squall. I really like walking in the snow - if the wind is not blowing. It gives me a real feeling of peace. Wierd I know.

[OhioBlue]

I have two pair that I wear, but not because of routes - i alternate them on days. I seem to get more life out of them that way - about a month more or so.

I hope I can get todays walk done before the storm hits, but the wind is really kicking up right now. You can hear it whistling around our building, that almost never happens

Yesterdays walk/run was done during a snow squall. I really like walking in the snow - if the wind is not blowing. It gives me a real feeling of peace. Wierd I know.

Not weird at all, happyone. I can totally relate. For me running in the dark in the early morning after a snowfall, where everything's kind of quiet and bright and peaceful, and the trees are all covered....that's just a beautiful experience. Love it.

I also have started alternating shoes lately to extend life, though they are the exact same model (asics 2150s). Nikuman I've seen where people have shoes for long runs, shoes for speed work, racing flats, etc. I can see the appeal but being a novice and short on $$$, I'm shoe-monogamous.

[OhioBlue]

The attraction of running at night is mainly based off of my prior routine. The kids go down for bed around 8pm. After that, I usually would dish up some ice cream and sit down to watch TV or read. Now I've supplemented the TV watching time with running and cool down. Different strokes for different folks. My only concern is that all 5-Ks I've seen (My target is to run a number of these next year) are all morning runs. Maybe leading up to the race I'll do a couple morning runs to habituate my body.

Right on, EJ. I say do what works for you....and it sounds like you're building a good thing. I would probably do more evening runs but like others I just can't be consistent enough with stuff going on. I would think it is a good idea to run a few mornings before you do the races, even if just for the experience of learning how to, uh, flush the buildup in your tank before you hit the starting line.

[happyone]

I guess one of the reasons I don't do a whole lot of morning runs is that I have to be at work at 0600.

Really thay is just an excuse. I've never been able to consitantly get up early enough to get a decent run/walk in before I get to work. My Saturday walks normally start at about 0800 or so.