Build Your Own Clone Message Board

Yep - mapmyrun.com is pretty sweet - I haven't found anything else that works as well for route planning. The Android app is cool too. I use it only for the mapping features now, and I use runkeeper.com and it's Android app since I like the nice lady calling out my distance and pace every 1/2-mile, and I like their website/activity tracking features more. I think mapmyrun got a bit overzealous with it's paid options though - $100 a year to print maps? No thanks!

I used to be into keeping track of everything but I know all our trails so well here in Oly that I pretty much know what kind of a workout I'm getting and I usually figure out how hard I want to push it once I get warmed up.

Yeah - I'm the same way with the routes near where I live, but for me it's more motivational - if I see that I didn't improve in some area (speed, mileage, etc), then I get kind of upset with myself and it helps me strive to do so. Runkeeper let's you look at your personal bests, stats over time, etc. so it's a good tool if you, like me, are in constant competition with yourself.

Haha I love the Android lady. First time I heard her I was like "WHO IS TALKING TO ME!?!?"

Went out for my last pre-5k training today. Would love to go tomorrow, but I have a work bbq tomorrow afternoon/evening. Gotta drink some beers, eat some meats, lounge in the pool, and schmooze with the coworkers and higher ups. It's at the VPs house...

Anyway - continuing to use the breathe in-stomach out routine. My abs are sore! Is that sad? I extended my run from my usual 2.2 mile loop to a full 3 miles out and back, which is nearly a 5k (3.1). For the extra 8/10ths of a mile I ran, I only used a total of a minute forty over my previous best training time. 3 miles, 22 mins and 25 secs. Slow, especially since my route was ever so slightly downhill all the way out 1.5, and ever so slightly uphill for the return trip. But I'm happy with it. Wish me luck for Saturday! The good news is, even if I stink on Saturday, it's the Portuguese Feast 5k. As part of your race fee, they give you tickets to use to buy beer, Madeira wine (YUM!), food, etc. So I can always drink my sorrows away after I rehydrate.

Wait - are you doing this the entire run? Sorry - I only meant to do this if you feel a cramp coming on!! If it is helping it's probably just because it is making you concentrate on your breathing more. Keep doing that, but you can likely cut out the ab contractions!



Sounds like you're in fine shape - 7-1/2 minute miles are nothing to sneeze at. Plus, with beer, wine and food at the finish line I doubt you'll lack motivation to get there quickly!! Good luck!

Yeah, that's a decent rate, no shame there at all.

I prefer cross country running, just for the views really, but have a local flatish 5k I use to gauge how my fitness is doing occasionally. It's flat, but with about a 6 minute upward slope half way. Best I've done is about 22 minutes there.

Has anyone worked out how quickly you'd need to run to match professional 5000 meter track runners? Just shy of double the pace I can manage. They're virtually sprinting the whole distance

First - HAHAHA!! Yeah I was trying to do that the whole entire run, I thought it was to prevent cramping. It worked actually, and you're right it absolutely focused me more on my breathing which meant I was in a better rhythm, and also taking more air in when I needed more - like to go uphill.

And second, thanks for the luck wishes - I'm looking forward to the race actually! I'd love to be able to keep the same pace, my previous best for a 5k is 28 mins.

How'd it go man?

Hey y'all. The weather turned out great. Mid 70s, not bad on the humidity. A new personal best 5k time for me, avg just under 9 minute miles.

If you're wondering how I got from 7.5 minute miles in training to 8.75 minute miles in the race, it's because I was incorrect in the number of miles I ran in training. I thought it was 1.5 out and back, as it turns out, according to my odometer, it was more like 1.3 out and back. Still was a good training, I did more distance in the same amount of time and it led to a personal best 5k. Signing up for one in September so I can keep up with the training.

Nice going man! Congrats on a PR!

I don't think I'll ever get a PR in a 5K race - the last ones I ran were as a 2% body-fat, dedicated to fitness and nothing but fitness teenager on the varsity cross-country team who could repeat sub-5-minute miles all day long without thinking about it. 17 years and 40 pounds later I just don't see it happening!

I'll raise a beer for ya tonight!

Yep - bringing this thread back just to toot my own horn, but also to see how the other BYOC runners/cyclists are doing:

Had a good half-marathon this weekend - finished in ~1:47, ended up being about 8:02/mile since the course (according to my swanky GPS watch and HRM) was a tad long. Definitely my best run since I started up training again . . . now I have a full marathon this Sunday, and a 10K the following Sunday - all leading up to the mother of them all on October 23rd!

I'd say "can't wait" - but the truth is I can't wait until it's over!!

I know tonedeaf had another 5K this month - when is that?

That's a good question actually... I've fallen off the wagon already! Haven't run in a few weeks at least and I've lost track of my planned Fall 5ks. Truthfully it's been a whirlwind in work and outside work and I haven't noticed the time going by and things like, it's already halfway through September on the calendar...

Man, I just checked it out, and there are so many running events in your area it's just plain silly! Pick one and run it, nothing motivates you more than doing an event you aren't trained and ready for!!

5K (or about 5K) events near Attleboro in the coming weeks: http://search.active.com/search?f=activities&l=Attleboro%2C+MA%2C+US&m=meta%3AendDate%3Adaterange%3Atoday..30%2520days%2520from%2520now+meta%3Achannel%3DRunning+meta%3AsplitMediaType%3Devent+meta%3AsplitMediaType%3D5k+OR+meta%3AsplitMediaType%3D5%2520mile+OR+meta%3AsplitMediaType%3D8k&k=&v=list&s=date_asc&chk=5+K%2C5+Mile%2C8+K&r=50

Just recently getting into running. My whole life I thought I was only a sprinter, but in the last few months I've started getting into distance running. I'm trying to get up to a 15K by the end of October... we'll see. Up to now my best is 3.5mi @ 8:30.

Also, I've been digging the mapmyrun.com, but I need to try out the runkeeper stuff. Anyone know how well it works on iPhone? (sorry, i'm a mac nerd.)

I think most runkeeper users are iPhone users, actually. The forums are all about the iPhone version of the app. I can only speak for the Android app, but it's pretty great and I actually miss it now that I have one of those Garmin GPS HRM watches . . . I love the little ladylike voice calling out my distance and pace as I run!

Another decent app is trainingpeaks.com - they have a free version and a paid version. The paid version is kind of pricey ($120/yr) but you only need it if you are a total planning and data geek like myself. The free version is nearly as useful. I'd say between that and Runkeeper you have all the tools you need.

I'll have to try those out!

What kind of advice would you give someone starting out (like me), who wants to build up distance? I feel like I keep hitting a wall around 4 miles, where my legs just want to stop. Am I running too hard? Should I ignore my time and just run super slow?

Thanks for that! I've got 9 or so open right now for stuff between now and early November, waiting to see which I can register for.

Exactly. All runners who are starting out should not run for distance or speed, they should run for time (I know, you'll never read this anywhere, but it's in all the books . . . between the lines). The reason is that you are initially looking for physiological adaptations to occur - both in the way your muscles, bones and joints handle the movements and also how your body handles the overall exertion.

So instead of saying I'm going to run for 4 miles, just run for 45 minutes at a comfortable pace. If you have some spare funds laying around, the best thing you can do for your training is to get a heart rate monitor and use it make absolutely sure you are running as slow as you need to (be prepared for how slow you will need to run to stay in the aerobic training zones at first - it's ridiculous!)

Start out easy with 2 or 3 easy, shorter runs during the week and one longer run on the weekend. At first you don't need to worry about speed, but if you want to add some speed work - basic sprints and strides and whatnot, tag it onto the end of a run or two during the week.

Depending on how you feel, add time to your weekly plan in small increments (like 5-10% a week). But for the first few weeks you are really just interested in getting used to the motions, the impact on your body, etc.. Don't fall into the trap of adding significant time or distance too soon. You may feel fine now, or even a few weeks from now, but in a couple of months it will backfire on you.

After you've done this consistently for like a while, you can think about adding that distance.

Another idea about adding distance is that you don't need to be afraid to stop running. By that I mean if you plan to run 5 miles, but you know you will feel absolutely dead after 4 miles, maybe stop at miles 2 and 4 and walk for 30 seconds to a minute and catch your breath. See how that works for you - I found early on that it really let me keep moving longer and the drawbacks to doing this are pretty much nonexistent.

That's awesome. Thanks man! I used a friend's heart rate monitor the other day for a 25 minute run, and I was actually shocked at my readings : I was between 160 and 175 consistently. I'm about 5'9", 150.

So - to figure out where you should be, use one of the various Max HR calculations - you can either use a formula based on age (the old, tried and true "220-Age", or the newer "206.9 - (0.67 x age)", or one of the other umpteen variations to get a rough idea, or you can do a few 100% effort hill sprints for a more true estimate.

Then try to keep your HR in between 70 and 80% of that during training (that's the 'aerobic zone' - there are competing theories about exactly what percentages to use, so read up on it and pick one, they are pretty close to one another).

So for example, I have determined my max HR to be 192, so for aerobic training I need to keep my HR between about 135 and 153 - pretty low! Keeping my heart rate that low at first had me running 12 minute miles, but I've worked my way up to 10's pretty quickly and still been able to keep it in that range. When I push things I can beat a 7 minute mile, but my HR is through the roof and it's not quality training.

It's also useful to see how huge the jumps in HR can be in contrast to actual increases in speed. I learned that if I run a 9 minute mile my HR is up over 170, but dropping down to the high 140's only slows me down to a 10 minute mile and this makes it a lot easier to justify the 10 minute miles - all that extra effort doesn't garner me a whole lot more real world speed. As you get more in shape this will change and the HR monitor will help you see and understand that.

Great info. That helps simplify a lot of what I've been reading.

Cool. Hopefully it's somewhat useful info for you. Running is a strange activity for me . . . I really hate doing it, but I love having done it. For example, yesterday I ran home from work and took the long way home making for about 9 hilly miles. I hated it the entire way, but I'll tell you - I felt great about it the rest of the evening, a real solid feeling about how I was able to do that, how I wasn't really tired or sore from it, etc.. And that all comes from finally paying attention to what I'm doing, learning about the reasoning behind certain training theories (and figuring out what will and won't work for me, personally), etc. Just doing it the right way. Woke up this morning ready for more!

Yeah man, I feel ya. I took your advice and slowed it down for my run last night. Ran 6 miles in an hour. I could've slowed it down a little more, but it felt sooo much better. I almost felt silly how slow I was running, but when I saw it was a 10:30 pace, I felt silly for feeling so silly.