Active Community: Message List

Dogs!

guest — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 17:00:26 GMT

And if the same large, aggressive dogs are regularly running loose, this is exactly what animal control is for. Call them. Your fellow runners, and other pedestrians who might not be as able to defend themselves will thank you. The owner won't appreciate it. Too bad.

If I can only do a long run on the weekend, which program on the treadmill to do mid week?

guest — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:54:44 GMT

Mixing them up is probably best. One longer run on the weekend, and hopefully at least two more runs during the week. I'd do one set on manual for a simple fairly flat run, and for the other run(s) I'd alternate between the programs you have available.

Wondering when I could realistically run a marathon

guest — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 22:14:03 GMT

If your goal is to finish, upright, with perhaps some walking but preferably not too much, you can still be ready to run a marathon in May. If you can already run ten miles without stopping, you're far enough along to complete a marathon in May without fear of embarrassment, provided you work out (or pick out) a training plan and get fairly serious from here on out.

30 days before first half!

guest — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:30:59 GMT

What you're doing is not very different from Hal Higdon's novice half-marathon program. It calls for two medium-length runs a week, one longer run on the weekend, one day of cross training, one day of either a shorter run or cross training, and one day of strength training. With 4 weeks to go, you should have completed a long run of 8 miles.

You've done all those things and more, so it sounds like you're in good shape. If possible, I'd basically follow his plan the rest of the way, though you may not be able to find a 10K race at this point (run a nice slow 9-10 miles if you can't, and if health allows).

http://halhigdon.com/training/51131/Half-Marathon-Novice-1-Training-Program

Re: How does terrain affect time?

guest — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:21:08 GMT

There was a study done on this a while back, mentioned in "The Lore of Running". Study found that if you ran with a steady level of effort regardless of ascent or descent that you would lose 0.65 km/h of speed for each 1% of upward grade on the road, and that you would gain 0.35 km/h for each 1% downward.

Agrees with Len that you do not gain back on the descent what you lost on the ascent, and agrees with my perception that I run slower times on hilly courses than I do on flat courses.

So if time is what you're going for, you want a flat course. But if you want to prepare yourself for a future race, you want a course with some (ideally short) hills. 100-200 meters of powering up a hill is a great workout, do that a few times in a training session and your quads will hate you that day, but thank you later. Frank Shorter called hills "speed work in disguise" Kenyans do some jaw-dropping hills in training.

I haven't tested it, but this calculator is supposed to let you figure, given your speed on a hilly course, how you would have done on a flat course (also adjustments for altitude and temperature)

http://www.runworks.com/calculator.html

Re: Rock songs about Running, Speed, Etc. - 100+ in list

guest — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 03:04:32 GMT

Let's see from my library,

Kate Bush - Running up that Hill

Arcade Fire - Keep the Car Running*

Mike and the Mechanics - Silent Running

Eagles - The Long Run

Oingo Boingo - Run Away*

Scissor Sisters - Running Out*

White Denim - I Start to Run

Janelle Monae - Faster*

Ra Ra Riot - Too Too Fast*

Queen - Don't Stop Me Now*

The Cars - Don't Cha Stop*

Edit- Forgot, Gnarles Barkley - Run (I'm a Natural Disaster)*

You got most of the classic and hard rock songs, so these are mostly different styles.

* means not just about running, but a pretty good beat to run with as well.

Boycott New Balance

guest — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 03:47:41 GMT

Bit of a zombie thread, but

Going back to the original sources, http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0711/60329.html reported on July 31 that "A new Super PAC created to support Mitt Romney raised $12.2 million in the first half of the year entirely from high-dollar contributors" ... "Also giving half-million were New York hedge fund manager Louis Bacon and James Davis, the Boston-based Chairman of New Balance shoes"

Then, http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0811/Romney_signs_marriage_pledge.html on August 4th reported "Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has joined Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann and former Sen. Pennsylvania Rick Santorum in signing a pledge to oppose same-sex marriage on a number of specific fronts."

So the New Balance exec donated in the first half of the year, well before Romney made his reach to the hardcore right. I don't see any evidence that he made this donation shortly after Romney's signing of NOM. And on the very link provided, New Balance distanced itself from the personal donations of the chairman, "Mr. Romney’s position on this issue is not reflective of Jim Davis', my or New Balance’s position and support of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered community."

So if Davis' donation was made long before Romney's decision, and New Balance as a company has publically said they don't support that position, what would anybody want him to do? Davis can't go get the money back.

Re: Signing up for 7k. Need help!

guest — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 19:16:28 GMT

"One does not need to have run a 7K distance before the race in order to run a 7K race"

Truth. I hadn't run 13.1 miles before my first half, or 26.2 before my first full. But I'm not sure who here was suggesting it was necessary.

All I was suggesting was that the c25k is designed for people starting basically from zero. IF the original poster happened to not be at zero, they might be able to complete a single week of the 10K preparation program replacing an early week of the 5K program. That B210K week involves running 4 10 minute intervals, separated by walking. Many people training for their first 5K run around a 12 minute/mile pace from what I've seen, so that would be 4 total miles of running.

If you can manage 10 minute miles, you probably might go a touch further than really necessary to prep for a 7K (though with resting breaks), and incidentally the B210K program would also have you going too far week 6 if you were in fact preparing for a 10K run, where it has you run 60 minutes. And the C25K, where it ends with you running 3 miles.

Basically, I'd start with the C25K program, but if you do have sufficient base fitness beyond the "couch" I don't see a problem in going a single step into the B210K program. That single step would represent roughly the 7K prep distance. Only if you have a good base from some other activity, else I'd just to C25K and expect to perhaps walk a bit in March.

Listen to what your body is telling you.

Re: Signing up for 7k. Need help!

guest — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 16:43:55 GMT

Depends on what kind of shape you're in-- I'd do the first week of the c25k program. If that was just no strain whatsoever, I'd skip week 2 and go straight to week 3, and on week 8 do the first week of the b210k program, week 9 returning to the last week of c25k. If week 1 of c25k was a little difficult, I'd just go straight through it and plan on walking some of the 7k.

Very new to running!

guest — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 04:38:53 GMT

Welcome! The couch-to-5K program is a great place to start!

Winter running is a little different, there are a number of good articles here on running in the cold, like this one: http://www.active.com/running/Articles/Winter-Running-Tips.htm They do all assume you're going hard enough to generate a lot of heat internally, which is tough when you're just starting up and walking most of the time.

Layers are good, including tights. The layer next to your skin shouldn't be cotton, it feels horrible wet and cold. You don't have to break the bank at your local specialty store, most department or dry goods stores carry gear that's very good for us non-elite runners and won't break the bank. But start with a few layers, so if you feel like you were TOO warm, you can go one less next time.

Get started, and if there's a tough week in the C25K program, come back for encouragement, or just repeat the week until you feel like you have it down.