Starting running again

uni-corn

uni-corn

Active member
So, I've been a runner for years. I ran while I was in middle school and high school but that was quite a while ago. I have ran intermittently since then over that past year or two, but not much. I recently signed up to run on part of a relay team in my city's local marathon and need to get back in form. I have 13 weeks to be able to run 5 miles in a respectable time.

Any help or suggestions for workouts from other runners out there?
 
id start small. soothing like a mile on mostly flat roads to get a base. i found my gate had really been messed up (combo of a few things) and it was easiest for me to try and get my mechanics down on a slight uphill.
 
What's your foot/arch type? Make SURE you get a reasonable shoe for how you run.

Personally, I'm a fan of New Balance, their minimus shoes are fantastic. It's all I use for tough mudder and saved my ass at worlds toughest mudder.

Go in to a respected running store and have them examine your feet.

Training wise, if you're running a marathon, you want to train at half-that. By the end, you'd want to be able to comfortably run 13 of 26 miles. If it's a four person relay, you'd want to be able to just get out and run just about 4 miles come race time, comfortably.

Start small, run 1 mile every other day or something, then build your distance and speed up as you get more comfortable with your route / pace.
 
5 miles isnt a big deal considering you used to run and i assume you havent been on the couch every single second since then

i'd say all you need to worry about is hurting yourself by rushing back into it so don't go out and run 8 miles your first day back. start with 1 or 2 and assuming you feel fine the next day slowly but steadily ramp it up

oh and yeah good footwear
 
13043927:plyswthsqrrls said:
What's your foot/arch type?
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About as low as you can get.

13043932:RubberSoul said:
5 miles isnt a big deal considering you used to run and i assume you havent been on the couch every single second since then

i'd say all you need to worry about is hurting yourself by rushing back into it so don't go out and run 8 miles your first day back. start with 1 or 2 and assuming you feel fine the next day slowly but steadily ramp it up

oh and yeah good footwear
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One of my biggest challenges will be dealing with my bad knees. One of the reasons I slowly stopped was due to them.
 
13043943:uni-corn said:
About as low as you can get.

One of my biggest challenges will be dealing with my bad knees. One of the reasons I slowly stopped was due to them.
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ah yeah, one of the only things i dont like about running is it is high impact. im no knee expert so all i can say to that is warm up/stretch thoroughly and be very smart about easing back into running

good luck have fun
 
I'm no expert, but I might suggest going with a zero-drop shoe and adding some sort of foot support (Superfeet are good, they make them for ski boots as well).

It'll force you to strike more with your forefoot instead of your heel and should even help with your bad knees.

something like this maybe

mr00bb2_nb_14_i
 
13043907:Ski_the_east01 said:
No actually I dont, I play real sports. Not trying to be the best at exercising
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My sport of choosing is running, and I will guarantee I could show you up in any sport. People who don't do cardio are generally fat slobs.
 
13043981:professor_chaos said:
sorry

wrong thread
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xAPFLab.gif


But seriously, OP, I have bad knees myself. I find if I do a brisk 5 min walk while concentrating on my gait, it really helps loosen everything up and my knees don't hurt as bad.
 
13043963:gRAPEFRUIT said:
My sport of choosing is running, and I will guarantee I could show you up in any sport. People who don't do cardio are generally fat slobs.
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Nice job bein a try hard on the internet bro...fucking dork

 
13043950:plyswthsqrrls said:
I'm no expert, but I might suggest going with a zero-drop shoe and adding some sort of foot support (Superfeet are good, they make them for ski boots as well).

It'll force you to strike more with your forefoot instead of your heel and should even help with your bad knees.

something like this maybe

mr00bb2_nb_14_i
Click to expand...

I have heard very good things about low drop shoes. My GF's dad just started using a pair due to injury and he is on the upswing because of them.
 
More than anything you will need a good solid core and legs workout routine. Running is pointless unless you have the body to keep up. Yes running itself is good conditioning but if you don't also incorporate weights a few times a week then your body will literally break down more than build up your strength and endurance.

I would recommend squat training, hamstring excercises, lunges, and any other leg workouts shooting for higher rep ranges on all if your sets. Unless you want to bulk up too, high reps are good for toning and strength building which is ideal for running. Also abs and core workouts are essential as well, good for strengthening the body as a whole

Hope this helps a little bit.
 
I wish. In 3rd grade I used to run a mile at recess everyday. Did cross country in high school and ran 4-8 miles a day.

I haven't ran in a long time. My knees are shot(not from running)

Was just thinking yesterday how much I miss it. Something about getting in the zone. After that first mile or 2 you just get in that zone. You have your breathing and pace perfectly controlled. Any pain almost feels good as the miles go on. Nothing can stop you. The sound of your footsteps your breathing cadence.

Fuck.

Hopefully after I get over this brain bullshit I'll be able to get back into some stuff on grass at least. I feel like my knees could handle a nice jog and my body could use it.

Just keep running OP. the more you run/the farther you run the easier it is. You'll get everything dialed again and be fine. Just run forest run
 
13043907:Ski_the_east01 said:
No actually I dont, I play real sports. Not trying to be the best at exercising
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13044002:Ski_the_east01 said:
Nice job bein a try hard on the internet bro...fucking dork

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Perhaps you should follow your own advice?

"I PLAY REAL SPORTS BRAH!!!!!!!!"

We can chalk it up to your autism buddy :] I'll let it slide
 
If you're relatively fit I'd try 1-2 miles at first, see how it feels, and if you're feeling good bump it up pretty quickly. No reason to stay at short easy runs if you feel good.

I went from running 6-8 miles to jumping straight to 16 miles and just doing that upped my endurance quite a bit. From then on 10-13 miles became my norm.

I'm a big fan of pushing past the discomfort (not pain, there's a big difference between discomfort and pain, pain usually means you're hurting something) when shit starts to feel weak and like your legs can't go anymore is when you're really progressing!

Oh and stretch your legs, almost all my knee pain comes from just not stretching enough. If I stick to the right stretches and use my foam roller I'm good.
 
Try to run on trails if you can. It takes a lot of the slamming from pavement off of your knees. Also, doing a lot of up hill will build your quad muscles and take some of the pressure of your knees. In terms of workouts, one of my favorites are tempo runs (running about 30 seconds slower per mile than your race pace). For example, my race pace is a seven minute mile so if I want to do a tempo run I'll usually do 3 miles at 7:30. Split 5k's, fartleks, and mile repeats are also great workouts. When I was in high school and running cross we usually had 2 workouts a week, 1 easy day, 2 moderately long days, a long run, and a rest day. Definitely start out slow when you're getting back into it, but I fucking love running and it makes me feel awesome, and I'm stoked for you. Going for a long trail run tomorrow!
 
13044325:XtRemE11 said:
If you're relatively fit I'd try 1-2 miles at first, see how it feels, and if you're feeling good bump it up pretty quickly. No reason to stay at short easy runs if you feel good.

I went from running 6-8 miles to jumping straight to 16 miles and just doing that upped my endurance quite a bit. From then on 10-13 miles became my norm.

I'm a big fan of pushing past the discomfort (not pain, there's a big difference between discomfort and pain, pain usually means you're hurting something) when shit starts to feel weak and like your legs can't go anymore is when you're really progressing!

Oh and stretch your legs, almost all my knee pain comes from just not stretching enough. If I stick to the right stretches and use my foam roller I'm good.
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Agreed with this 100%, I hate trying to explain to people how good it feels to run through that personal boundary between comfort and progress. Once you get past it, you really feel a difference.

Dynamic stretches before run, static after = success
 
13044532:Madzzb said:
Try to run on trails if you can. It takes a lot of the slamming from pavement off of your knees. Also, doing a lot of up hill will build your quad muscles and take some of the pressure of your knees. In terms of workouts, one of my favorites are tempo runs (running about 30 seconds slower per mile than your race pace). For example, my race pace is a seven minute mile so if I want to do a tempo run I'll usually do 3 miles at 7:30. Split 5k's, fartleks, and mile repeats are also great workouts. When I was in high school and running cross we usually had 2 workouts a week, 1 easy day, 2 moderately long days, a long run, and a rest day. Definitely start out slow when you're getting back into it, but I fucking love running and it makes me feel awesome, and I'm stoked for you. Going for a long trail run tomorrow!
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This makes me feel good. I have a lot of good Metro Parks around me to do some trail running.
 
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