Jonzy

Right im 14st of unfit flesh and for some crazy reason I agreed todo the Cardiff 10K run for Marie Curie. Ive never been one for any sort of regular exercise and I know if I attempt this in my current state of fitness, I will die .

Anyone got any good starting pointers? I do a fair bit of street riding in the summer months, but the bike aint been touched since last year. I need some sort of flexible training as ive got quite a demanding job and a nipper to look after outside work.

Cheers

Steve200+

As none of the 'big guns' have replied yet, I'd start with some squats, some situps, some consistent-paced jogging with an MP3 player, get a decent skipping rope and try to keep a consistent comfortable pace... can be done anytime for 5 minutes.. And ride the bike!

If you can't do skipping for 5 minutes, take a break when you've had it, stop the clock, and carry on until you've done 5 in total, but with anything, try *not* to stop. Even if you're just jogging on the spot, it all helps.

Then as it gets easier, up the pace, and try jogging 30 seconds, then sprinting 30 seconds, and so on. Same with the skipping, with everything.

Learn some basic stretches which'll help with cramps/strains if you're not used to it. Time yourself on a mile run, then time yourself every two weeks. If you do it day to day, I've just found it winds you up!

Eat properly, go for the low fat options, cut out crap where you can, and if you drop weight whilst increasing your cardio fitness, you're approaching the problem from two angles!

Good Luck!

Rs1

iTrader: (1)

Imho i'd forget about the squats,situps and skipping as said above. Also as your a beginner forget about doing sprints,intervals,track or hill sessions,its totallly pointless at this stage.
What you'll need to do is build up a base. All distance runners do this by what is known as LSD (long slow distance )Pretty much is what it sounds like,jogging well below race pace for extended periods of time. As your not a runner just yet i would adivse you take a different approach(for now),use the rule of 5
4 mins walk, 1 min jog = 5 mins X 6 = 30 mins, try to do this every other day until you feel comfortable(i.e. no gasping for air,no burning throat,no lack of control of your legs)
Once youve done that you simply modify the rule of 5.
3 mins walk, 2 mins jog X 6, again to you feel comfortable to move on.
2 mins walk, 3 mins jog X 6
1 min walk, 4 mins jog X 6
Buy now you'll probably be well on your way to comfortably jogging a 30 mintue session. From here on you can try jogging 30 mins every other day and increase this time by no more than 10% every 3-4 weeks.
I would advise getting a decent pair of shoes suited to your foot, and maybe some twin skin socks to keep the blisters at bay.
If there pain/niggles at any time stop,its so easy to pick up an injury and if its not addressed asap can cause probs later on in life.
Remember your not going to be going out breaking any records or winning any prizes so dont over do it,both in training and whilst racing.
Take your time,soak up the atmosphere and ENJOY IT

Rob

Steve200+

While I'm not a marathon runner, I've got a decent level of cardio fitness, and have done this myself from scratch; and the exercise mentioned can't hurt... to get in shape from nothing, to a 10k run, it's going to need a lot of work. Fair enough, I don't know the specifics of training for that discipline, but I'll definitely argue whilst training for a level of cardio and lower-body fitness that skipping, situps and squats aren't 'pointless', especially as mentioned, he doesn't have much time spare.

I'm just in a pissed-off mood, but still.

Rs1

iTrader: (1)

If he didn't have a demanding job a wee nipper and was looking into running this at a competitive level then yeah core strength and cross training is an excellent way of getting the most out of your body. It sounds to me like its a bit of a fun run for himself,supporting the various charitys associated with this event. Last years event was in septemeber,so to make it round enjoyable if i was in his position i'd concentrate whatever spare time i had into actually putting the miles in rather then,situps,skipping etc.
I agree any excercise can't hurt(providing you do it safely and properly).
On paper it looks a very good event too,sizable crowd from elite to fun runner and walkers too.

Rob

Steve200+

My apologies Rob, I was in a shit mood last night (Ever had one of those 'the world is against you' moments? ). I'm going to start trying the 'LSD' method myself this week

Jonzy

Thanks for the advice guys, it falls into line with what others have said. The run is a bit of fun, but obv theres the serious side as to why im doing it. It'll also be a bit of a life changing experience, personal goals and all that. Determined to actaully run it rather than crawl/walk it! Loosing a few pounds and actaully being fit/healthy is a bonus

Im sure ill be back when im dying

PhilM

No substitute for running really, start gentle as stated and build it up...

Whens the funrun in Cardiff? I'm only in Rhoose so may take part, not sure I fancy doing a half marathon this autumn (Bristol maybe), so would be good training for it

Jonzy

Sun 3rd September ive just been told

Rolls

iTrader: (2)

Wahooo- another person who is doing a 10k run this year
I'm doing the Captial FM one in June!
The one thing that i have to concerntrat on if i ruunning at a reasonable pace is my breathing- apart from that, just wack your earphones in, and off you go!

As has been said, deof build up gently, and you will certainly want some decent running trainers

DaveMCMkIII

Just wrote a long post and accidently deleted it

Dont think this has been said but follow what i am doing. Im doing a 10km run, but its part of a triathlon so a 1500m swim and 40km cycle before lol but your run training can be the same.

Do the following:

Threshold/tempo run twice a week - this is running at 70-80% of max hr. it can be difficult to keep your hr consistant, but focus especially on keeping it around 75% of max hr. This run should not be too hard and when you have finished you should feel as though you could have gone further. Increase your distance steadily over the weeks (btu ensure you stay in the hr zone mentioned!), right up to 10km. I did writedown all the science for this but cant be botherd now lol but simply it ensures your exercising at an intensity that faciltates primary use of your aerobic energy pathways, which will provide you with the best source of energy for distance running.

Race pace run once or twice a week - this is running at the pace you want to run your race at and can be figured out by what time you want to do the 10km in. The distance you run this at should be less than your threshold run, with you increasing the distance gradually over weeks. Aim to increase this distance upto 10km or just below, before your race so you know you can run it in this time. Although this is ran at more like 75-85% of max and will facilitate greater use of anaerobic energy pathways in relation to threshold running, it can help your body adapt to and get used what happens during running of this intensity. In addition, even in endurance events, anaerobic energy patheways are used, especially in the later stages where you run faster for the last x amount of kms.

Hope thats not too confusing lol, it simple in reality, what time are you aiming to do it in?

Good luck

PhilM

Great advice there Dave, I think we can all learn from you there

Any advice as to what type of HR monitor to buy? Are the ones from Argos anygood? I am going to be working towards half marathon distance as opposed to 10k, same rules apply I guess?

Thanks

Rs1

iTrader: (1)

POLAR do a good range of heart rate monitors . To be honest unless your looking into racing serioulsy you really dont need a hrm,a stop watch will be fine,just to note your progress really.
For a beginer and/or fun runner there no need to be doing session at a percentage of hr or building lactic thresholds,just getting out 3 times a week and enjoying it will do you the world of good,maybe then it'll lead onto thinking more serioulsy about actually racing as opposed to running a certain event.

DaveMCMkIII

Evening,

As just said polar make the best HR monitors, these are what are used for studies and experiments and for sports science in whole. However, your looking at around a £100 for an entry model, which is alot, especially if you just want to know your general HR.

Ive just finished doing some soccer specific training for 4 weeks with a mate for somethig im doing next friday, and this required me buying a hr monitor as university wont lend me their polar ones (mainly cuz there over £200). So I bought a cheap one for £25ish from argos by target fitness. They are fine, they give you a hr readout, but are difficult to function, especially if you want to use the stopwatch function (still havent sussed it so i use a seperate stopwatch). However the main prob is my one isnt backlite which is crap at nite and you cant wear it on your wrist. So what ive done is used a neckstap and clipped to the metal bracket on the back and put blue tack over the open end to stop it falling off. However it still makes checking your HR awkward, even when just running. Therefore I think york do one which is very basic (i.e just states your hr) but you can wear it on your wrist, its got a big read out and its not too expensive if i recall

Oh and yes there the basic principles I would apply to any endurance event. The inclusion of weight, plyometric and interval training can also be very useful but to keep things simple Ive left that out. Hope all that helps

DaveMCMkIII

Very true, but in my opinion training this way will produice greater results, make the run easier (unless your pushing it for a personal best), and its easy to understand and only reuiqres a cheap hr monitor (unlike lactate and ventilatory threshold). Therefore why not, but i do see what your getting at mate, its a fair point

Rs1

iTrader: (1)

yeah i can well imagine you being knacked after running a mile in 5-6 mins. For a beginner 8-9 min mieling is totally acceptable,slower even if you need to