New(ish) to running

[Monkeys]

I started running in January, exclusively outside. My motivation to do anything drops to zero when I am indoors, no treadmills. I have 2 5k under my belt and have completed a c25k program and am working toward my first 10k in June.

When I run I follow the directions of the app, which is fine but I am now looking for more. Not just running intervals slowly increasing run time and decreasing walk time.

I get lost when reading about the different interval training methods. What will help increase my speed, increase endurance, etc?

[jgore]

Welcome to RunningMania. It sounds like you're off to a good start.

At this point, I'd worry more about gradually building up your distance/endurance. You will get faster as you become more fit. It's very easy to overdo it by trying to improve everything all at once and too quickly. If you're headed to your first 10K, the best thing you can do is work your way up to being able to run 12K or 13K. That way, you know you have the endurance to go beyond 10K and can push it more on race day. Worry about working on your speed only after you have the endurance to do the distance.

[dgrant]

A lot of what you might see in training programs referring to "interval training" is very different from the run/walk intervals you might be using in the early stages of your running lifestyle. Interval training in the most popular sense is an intermediate-to-advanced workout that is used to improve your pace and fitness once your basic distance buildup is further along.

I don't think the sort of Run X minutes, Walk X minutes program you're using to progress through longer distances needs to get too complicated. Keep getting out for runs as frequently as possible (while listening to your body's feedback) and you'll continue to have new successes.

Good luck and welcome.

[ultraslacker]

Welcome to RM!

I agree with the others... you'll see lots of improvement just by sticking at it and gradually increasing how much/often/fast you're running. Once you're comfortable with a given distance you can play with some variety... just have fun with it. Try running a little faster for a couple of minutes at a time, play, experiment, work on getting out there consistently. :)

One of the cool things about being new to running is that everything you do is a learning process and experimentation and over time you'll learn how to listen to your body so that you can challenge yourself without overdoing it. :)

[Monkeys]

Thanks for the help.

In the first two races I did really well (top 10 in my age group) and need people to tell me to take it easy with training. Just by going for my scheduled runs, it will help.

[ultraslacker]

well you don't have to take it easy necessarily, just don't do too much too soon.... most of us have learned that the hard way by getting injured. So it's best to be cautious if you're increasing distance and/or intensity (and usually you'll want to focus on one of those, not both at once). But if it feels good and you're not overdoing it*, then go nuts. :)



*the hitch is that in the beginning it's hard to know when you're overdoing it.

[Jwolf]

*the hitch is that in the beginning it's hard to know when you're overdoing it.

This is very true, especially if you have some natural fitness or fitness from other sports. You still need to build the running gradually to let your bones, small muscles, and connective tissues adapt. Otherwise you risk injury from overuse.

How many times per week are you running now?

You might want to find another program geared toward the 10K distance so that you are following a gradual build. A friend of started following a "couch to 10K" program but he started in the middle at the level he was already running. Or there are some good programs on sites like halhigdon.com. My friend is very athletic (an avid cyclist) so he had better-than-average fitness in his 5Ks, but he wanted to make sure he built his distances gradually for the running.

[Monkeys]

After finishing the c25k I changed to the couch to 10k and started at the 5k mark. I run for the set times, 17 or 18 minutes this week and walk 1 minute and do this 3 times per week.

Before I ran my first race I thought my time was below average, but found out I was a lot faster than I thought. So now that I have realized that in my age group I am good, my competitive streak has come out. And I want to do well, but need to balance it with pushing myself smartly.

[Stampie]

Welcome to RM!
Loots of good advice here for you.

And I want to do well, but need to balance it with pushing myself smartly.

First, work on your base and slowly build that up. As your base progresses you will start to notice improvements. Your endurance will start greatly improve and as that is incurring you will notice yourself pushing a little harder. Eventually your speed will progress. What I feel is the key is to put some faith/trust in your training and overtime you will notice a remarkable difference.

Good Luck and most importantly, have fun!

[Avis]

Another welcome to RM!

All the advice above is sound. You might wonder what "building your base" means. I think it means to work on building the distances you can run at a comfortable, steady pace, and or increasing the total minutes/kilometers you run each week. Usually, you'll want to work on that before you work specifically on speed. You could also work now on increasing the ratio of running to walking until you can run 30 minutes and more without walking. That was my first goal when I started running: to be able to run 30 minutes straight.

In any case, you are off to a great start. Enjoy the journey!

[Monkeys]

Thanks again!

There's so much info out there. It's hard to know where to start, but now I have a direction and a goal to reach. Run a full 10k. I may or may not reach that by my 10k in June, but will definitely have it by September.