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Running Question

Remember to work up to it gradually. 

Even cycling the hills would benefit you.
 
I'm going to see how fast I can run a 2.4km, I'll let you know what I get when I get back. The last time I timed it I did it in 11mins I think, this was a while ago though.


Dylan
 
Well it wasn't as fast as I was hoping. I got 10:09 but it's a working progress this week I'll try and aim around 9:45.
 
10:00 is already in the "superior" bracket.  instead of sprinting the 2.4km,  why don't you try for distance,  for example, the 5km?
 
rjr said:
10:00 is already in the "superior" bracket.  instead of sprinting the 2.4km,  why don't you try for distance,  for example, the 5km?

I have been working on my distance for the past month or two I use to only be able to run like 2 km I'm now running up to 5km.....I'm still working on it too, I just wanted to see what I could do it in.

Dylan
 
SoldierInTheMaking said:
I did my first 4km run today pretty happy with myself, I no it's not much but for me it's a decent jump from what I was running, wasn't tired after or nothing just a bit sore in the feet [...]

Congrats on your progress.  If you have sore feet, you prolly need new runners.  You should be swapping them out about every 3 mos.  The Running Room is a great place to get runners.  When you go in, tell the staff about your mil aspirations and your running objs.  They will give you invaluable advice on the runners you should be buying.  RR *is* a bit more expensive than the bigger chains, but your runners are an investment!  RR also sells awesome socks (coolmax with extra cushioning).  Once you are in the mil, you will receive a 10% discount on all RR purchases. 

I used to get shinsplints and sore feet from running, and I don't anymore.  Shinsplints can be avoided by having your running style sorted out.  (Again the RR has trg seminars).  For the sore feet (tendon and stress fracture overspill in my case) I solved  by massaging foot cream (anything will do) into the bottoms of my feet paying particular attention to the arches.  I do this before going to sleep at night and the next AM I am G2G.

I don't recommend running every day.  3 days a week with a day off in between will ensure that you do not over trg.  You can do another form of cardio on your days off -- swimming would be an excellent trade off.

It sounds like you are running outside or on a track.  I like to do HIIT on the treadmill once a week so that I can get my speeds up.  I do 30 secs at 6mph then 30 secs at 7mph then 30 secs at 8mph, then 30 secs at 7mph, then 30 secs at 6mph.  Keep repeating the pyramid for 30 mins or so.  I got amazing results from this.  (The treadmill is also gentler on your joints!)  There are all sorts of interval trg progs on the internet -- just don't do one that is too aggressive or you can mess your legs up.
 
Good2Go said:
Congrats on your progress.  If you have sore feet, you prolly need new runners.  You should be swapping them out about every 3 mos.  The Running Room is a great place to get runners.  When you go in, tell the staff about your mil aspirations and your running objs.  They will give you invaluable advice on the runners you should be buying.  RR *is* a bit more expensive than the bigger chains, but your runners are an investment!  RR also sells awesome socks (coolmax with extra cushioning).  Once you are in the mil, you will receive a 10% discount on all RR purchases. 

I used to get shinsplints and sore feet from running, and I don't anymore.  Shinsplints can be avoided by having your running style sorted out.  (Again the RR has trg seminars).  For the sore feet (tendon and stress fracture overspill in my case) I solved  by massaging foot cream (anything will do) into the bottoms of my feet paying particular attention to the arches.  I do this before going to sleep at night and the next AM I am G2G.

I don't recommend running every day.  3 days a week with a day off in between will ensure that you do not over trg.  You can do another form of cardio on your days off -- swimming would be an excellent trade off.

It sounds like you are running outside or on a track.  I like to do HIIT on the treadmill once a week so that I can get my speeds up.  I do 30 secs at 6mph then 30 secs at 7mph then 30 secs at 8mph, then 30 secs at 7mph, then 30 secs at 6mph.  Keep repeating the pyramid for 30 mins or so.  I got amazing results from this.  (The treadmill is also gentler on your joints!)  There are all sorts of interval trg progs on the internet -- just don't do one that is too aggressive or you can mess your legs up.

Thanks for all that great advice. I did end up getting new shoes and they work great they have good arch support so my feet no longer hurt. I'm running about 3 or 4 times a week, depends how my body is feeling.
I'm usually running out side just on the roads but there is a track near by that I would like to start running on, and as for treadmills I was running on them for the first little bit until I had no access to one anymore, but when I was I would have it at incline 2 at 6mph running for about 25-30 min. Other days I would go on the bike. I really have seen a big improvement since I started running thanks to advice like yours so I appreciate it. Thanks!

Dylan
 
I don't exercise regularly anymore, but have always been somewhat "fit". I haven't gone running in years...

I just mapped out a 2.4km route from my house and tried running it... 14:03

I am a 1/2-pack/day smoker also... Should I be proud of myself..? I don't see many times posted except Johnson101.

Also, would an eleptical be of any help in regaining lost cardio/stamina due to smoking? Or is it not strenuous enough..?

???

* Oh, and I walked about 1/3 of the way...
 
FishOuttaWater said:
I don't exercise regularly anymore, but have always been somewhat "fit". I haven't gone running in years...

I just mapped out a 2.4km route from my house and tried running it... 14:03

I am a 1/2-pack/day smoker also... Should I be proud of myself..? I don't see many times posted except Johnson101.

Also, would an eleptical be of any help in regaining lost cardio/stamina due to smoking? Or is it not strenuous enough..?

???

* Oh, and I walked about 1/3 of the way...

I wouldn't be proud; I'd be motivated to quit smoking and to get more active.

I'd rather the stairmaster over the Elliptical, but both are perfectly fine.
 
FishOuttaWater said:
I don't exercise regularly anymore, but have always been somewhat "fit". I haven't gone running in years...

I just mapped out a 2.4km route from my house and tried running it... 14:03

I am a 1/2-pack/day smoker also... Should I be proud of myself..? I don't see many times posted except Johnson101.

Also, would an eleptical be of any help in regaining lost cardio/stamina due to smoking? Or is it not strenuous enough..?

???

* Oh, and I walked about 1/3 of the way...

If you are walking a third of the way, try completing the 2.4km without walking, even if it means going down to a trot.  Complete the 2.4 first (and hopefully more), then work on lowering the time.

Cardio has always been a weak point for me too.  I DON'T smoke and my first run was about 13min.  I carved it down to a consistent 11:20, but even then, that is pretty middling performance. 

Keep in mind that 12:30/2.4km (not sure of the exact time...) is the CF minimum. IMO you should strive for your personal best, and you'll probably thank yourself once you get into training.  I would guess a lot of people do not get Johnson's times, but thats no reason not to aim for them. 

Also keep in mind that you may be administered the step test, which doesn't care what time you can achieve, but your heart BPM afterwards (and your ability to recover).  Meaning longer distance, moderate exertion endurance activities (5+ km) might be better than short distance, high exertion ativities (2.4km).  When I went for my first physical, I was able to meet the standard, but after the step test by heart rate was at 192 BPM....

Ellipticals are great for aerobic activity while reducing the strain on joints.  I would recommend it for sure, but try to introduce running sooner or later.  Keep in mind that in actual training, you will be running and not using a machine.  It'd be good to get your tendons, joints, and muscles used to the relatively higher impact of running vis-a-vis using an elliptical.

Hope this helps
 
FishOuttaWater said:
I don't exercise regularly anymore, but have always been somewhat "fit". I haven't gone running in years...

I just mapped out a 2.4km route from my house and tried running it... 14:03

I am a 1/2-pack/day smoker also... Should I be proud of myself..? I don't see many times posted except Johnson101.

Also, would an eleptical be of any help in regaining lost cardio/stamina due to smoking? Or is it not strenuous enough..?

???

* Oh, and I walked about 1/3 of the way...

Smoking may be cool, but it's nothing to be proud of  ;D

If your aim is to be a faster runner, I would say run more. That is unless you also plan/need to lose weight, in which case you could use the elliptical machine until you're ready to start running.
 
I started my to run at the beginning of the summer when I decided to start my application.

By then end of the summer I was able to do 2.4km in under 13min which is quite an achievement since I had a decent amount of weight to lose. I would have pain in my calves when doing this type of run

After consulting some track runners, I decided to slow my pace down in order to build endurance.
My 5km run takes me 33min which sucks I know but I keep a steady pace and easily get to 7km.
However, I have had to add some sprinting and interval running back into my program since my 2.4km run got slower as my endurance for 5+km runs increased.
At least with these long runs my calves don't hurt.

im open to suggestions
 
mathabos said:
I started my to run at the beginning of the summer when I decided to start my application.

By then end of the summer I was able to do 2.4km in under 13min which is quite an achievement since I had a decent amount of weight to lose. I would have pain in my calves when doing this type of run

After consulting some track runners, I decided to slow my pace down in order to build endurance.
My 5km run takes me 33min which sucks I know but I keep a steady pace and easily get to 7km.
However, I have had to add some sprinting and interval running back into my program since my 2.4km run got slower as my endurance for 5+km runs increased.
At least with these long runs my calves don't hurt.

im open to suggestions
Have you tried entering any races? Time trials are really not the same...when there are other people to race against it gives you that extra kick in the butt. Once you've done that, put your time into this online calculator http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/mcmillanrunningcalculator.htm
to work out the correct training paces (easy/tempo/interval).

Instead of intervals you could also try running really fast up a hill for a minute to ninety seconds. Keep your head up,maintain a good posture, and keep your stride rate constant with shorter stride length rather than slower stride rate and same stride length. Repeat three times, building up to five. You might puke, but it'll make your legs strong and fast, and you're less likely to get injured (than with intervals).

Good luck.
 
thx for the information. the site with the calculator is quite cool.
I will also give some hill training a try.
 
I have heard that you cannot run too frequently (within your personal, reasonable limits), unlike with resistance training.  I like the idea of mixing it up with hills, and different surface types (try running in mud, through the bush, through shallow water, etc.).
 
try running in sand if you can. Right now is hardly the best time of year for it, but in the summer, nothing burns your quads harder.
 
Hey guys, not to hijack, but I have a running question that I haven't found the answer for in a search, and I don't want to get in trouble for starting a new thread.

I looked at the fitness prep pdf for the passing times for the 2.4k run, and I was wondering if you had to run constantly for the whole time at a steady pace when qualifiying. The reason I ask is I did the run the other day and finished it in 10:52 which for my age (35) is considered superior. The thing is is I kind of ran a little too fast on the first 3 laps (1:30ish), so I was sucking wind a bit in my last 3 laps and walked probably a total of 100m out of the 2.4k on the last 3 laps.

I still got a good time though, so I was curious if that kind of thing happened in the actual test, if that would fly or not.

I am rehabbing an ACL reconstruction, so I am a bit out of shape. I used to be a competitive kickboxer and submission grappler/mma fighter so I was in great shape before I got my knee fixed. I could run 2 miles in 13 minutes or so. I'm hoping to get back to that level of cardio before (if) I get a chance to go to BMQ.
 
stabmasterarson,

I think you'll be fine. I'm not an expert (i'm joining, like you) but - from what I understand, the 2.4 is just a guide. WHen you go, you'll be needing to do the beep test, that's really what you should be focusing on timing wise so you don't get booted your first week. The longer distances will be great on those early morning PT sessions. But, the beep test is the test they use during the express test.

No one sits there the first week and makes you run 2.4 kms as part of the test. Too many people to sit there and get their timings. So, they do it en masse with everyone with the beep test.

You can find the beep test on wikipedia if you do a search for it.

It seems you don't have anything to worry about but again? i'm not the expert here :)
 
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