When to start working on getting faster?

jogger said:

I started running last July, switching from another sport that I was
getting bored of. I run every other day, between five and 12 miles at a
time, about 30 miles a week. I'm really slow, but I'm worried that I'll
injure some joint or tendon or ligament by adding intervals to my runs
since I've only got about a month of running under my belt. How do you
know when it's O.K. to do short sections of hard running? Oh, also, my
left knee has a nagging twinge from some too fast descending on
mountains years ago. I definitely don't want to aggravate that. I doubt
I want to try to be seriously competitive, but I don't want to trudge
forever either.

A consistent 30mpw over the next few months will do wonders for your ability
to run faster. That's quite a lot of running for a beginner though -- if you
start getting any twinges, be prepared to reduce the milage a bit.

Wouldn't worry about doing any formal speed work at this stage (or for the next
6 months or so). You'll improve a lot just by packing in the miles. Do some
strides or fartlek every now and then for variety and enjoyment, to keep it
fun. But no need to go to the track and run yourself into the ground.

I would recommend entering a race or two when you feel ready for it. Maybe
about one race a month. Make it a short one, say 5k or so. Short races are
good because you can recover from them quickly. Don't try to set a world
record, just go there and have some fun. The races will help you gradually see
improvement, and are good motivation.

Some argue that you need a lot of experience to race, but my viewpoint is that
it is good to race early. It's fun for beginners as well as experts, and most
road races do a good job at letting everyone compete at their own level.

Cheers,
--
Donovan Rebbechi
http://pegasus.rutgers.edu/~elflord/

jogger <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I started running last July, switching from another sport that I was
getting bored of. I run every other day, between five and 12 miles at a
time, about 30 miles a week. I'm really slow, but I'm worried that I'll
injure some joint or tendon or ligament by adding intervals to my runs
since I've only got about a month of running under my belt. How do you
know when it's O.K. to do short sections of hard running? Oh, also, my
left knee has a nagging twinge from some too fast descending on
mountains years ago. I definitely don't want to aggravate that. I doubt
I want to try to be seriously competitive, but I don't want to trudge
forever either.

I'd say wait another two months before doing any real hard running.
The risk of injury is highest after something like 2 months, approx.
At that stage, you have started to become more fit, and able to run
faster, but bones and tissues have not built much strength yet, since
that is a slower process.

Bjorn

Donovan Rebbechi said:

A consistent 30mpw over the next few months will do wonders for your ability
to run faster. That's quite a lot of running for a beginner though -- if you
start getting any twinges, be prepared to reduce the milage a bit.

O.K., I'll keep an eye out for twinges.

Quoted message said:

Wouldn't worry about doing any formal speed work at this stage (or for the next
6 months or so). You'll improve a lot just by packing in the miles. Do some
strides or fartlek every now and then for variety and enjoyment, to keep it
fun. But no need to go to the track and run yourself into the ground.

Check.

Quoted message said:

Some argue that you need a lot of experience to race, but my viewpoint is that
it is good to race early. It's fun for beginners as well as experts, and most
road races do a good job at letting everyone compete at their own level.

I've raced before, although not foot races. I'm sure I'll try a few of
those, but I am sort of ambivalent towards racing. IME it can provide
motivation to train well and to try to improve, but it can also add too
much stress and pressure to what is essentially a hobby, depending on
your mental make-up. But I won't know my mind until I at least try a few
races. It's good to know that last part about road races doing a good
job at letting everyone compete at their own level. I had been wondering
about that.

Thanks!

Bjorn Olsson said:

Quoted message said:

I'd say wait another two months before doing any real hard running.
The risk of injury is highest after something like 2 months, approx.
At that stage, you have started to become more fit, and able to run
faster, but bones and tissues have not built much strength yet, since
that is a slower process.

Thanks for the reply- I can definitely wait a few more months before
doing any hard running, since interval type stuff has never been the
funnest kind of training for me, although I do enjoy the effect of
getting speedier.

I've met so many people out exercising where I say to them, "Wow!
You're really fast on that bike, or those rollerskis, or that pogostick."

and they reply, "Well, I used to be a runner, but I hurt my knee, or
ankle, or tendon this and that, so now I can't run any more."

I don't want to go that route if I can help it. Thanks for your help!

Six months is sufficient to have conditioned most of your bodily organs to
the stresses of running. Then you may start on speed.
The proceedure is circular: to run faster you have to run faster.
Every 4-7 days run all out, even if you can only do it for a short period
of time and get sore. Within months you get faster.

jogger said:

I started running last July, switching from another sport that I was
getting bored of. I run every other day, between five and 12 miles at a
time, about 30 miles a week. I'm really slow, but I'm worried that I'll
injure some joint or tendon or ligament by adding intervals to my runs
since I've only got about a month of running under my belt.

Build slowly and conservatively.

Quoted message said:

How do you
know when it's O.K. to do short sections of hard running?

others have provided some answers

Quoted message said:

Oh, also, my
left knee has a nagging twinge from some too fast descending on
mountains years ago. I definitely don't want to aggravate that.

Have you tried any strengthening exercises? I had bad knees for years
after some over-exuberance while backpacking. Someone showed me the
drill where you sit against wall, legs outstretched, tighten muscles
around one knee at a time, lift, and hold for 10 sec. Repeat on other
knee. Repeat sequence for however long needed. Maybe start with a couple
reps and increase gradually. It helped me immensely - pain almost
disappeared in a few weeks. I still do them for prevention purposes,
esp. if running downhills.

Dot

jogger <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Donovan Rebbechi said:

A consistent 30mpw over the next few months will do wonders for your ability
to run faster. That's quite a lot of running for a beginner though -- if you
start getting any twinges, be prepared to reduce the milage a bit.

O.K., I'll keep an eye out for twinges.

Quoted message said:

Wouldn't worry about doing any formal speed work at this stage (or for the next
6 months or so). You'll improve a lot just by packing in the miles. Do some
strides or fartlek every now and then for variety and enjoyment, to keep it
fun. But no need to go to the track and run yourself into the ground.

Check.

Quoted message said:

Some argue that you need a lot of experience to race, but my viewpoint is that
it is good to race early. It's fun for beginners as well as experts, and most
road races do a good job at letting everyone compete at their own level.

I've raced before, although not foot races. I'm sure I'll try a few of
those, but I am sort of ambivalent towards racing. IME it can provide
motivation to train well and to try to improve, but it can also add too
much stress and pressure to what is essentially a hobby, depending on
your mental make-up.

Although many people do so, you don't have to decide months in advance
which races you're going to enter. Just wait until you get into a
period of feeling really great and fast on your training runs, and
then look around for a race that you can run in the next few days.
That way, you don't add any stress to your training schedule, and
won't pressure yourself to follow a schedule that turned out to be too
hard for you, just because you have this or that race coming up in two
months.

Bjorn

Bjorn Olsson said:

Although many people do so, you don't have to decide months in advance
which races you're going to enter. Just wait until you get into a
period of feeling really great and fast on your training runs, and
then look around for a race that you can run in the next few days.
That way, you don't add any stress to your training schedule, and
won't pressure yourself to follow a schedule that turned out to be too
hard for you, just because you have this or that race coming up in two
months.

That's a good idea. I've just started noticing how many races there are,
just from casually scanning public bulletin boards. I'm used to having
just 3 or 4 a year to choose from, so it's a nice change.

Dot said:

Quoted message said:

Have you tried any strengthening exercises? I had bad knees for years
after some over-exuberance while backpacking. Someone showed me the
drill where you sit against wall, legs outstretched, tighten muscles
around one knee at a time, lift, and hold for 10 sec. Repeat on other
knee. Repeat sequence for however long needed. Maybe start with a couple
reps and increase gradually. It helped me immensely - pain almost
disappeared in a few weeks. I still do them for prevention purposes,
esp. if running downhills.

Is that the same exercise described in the FAQ? What postition do you
have your feet in when you do these?
Thanks for the help!

jogger said:

Dot said:

Have you tried any strengthening exercises? I had bad knees for years
after some over-exuberance while backpacking. Someone showed me the
drill where you sit against wall, legs outstretched, tighten muscles
around one knee at a time, lift, and hold for 10 sec. Repeat on other
knee. Repeat sequence for however long needed. Maybe start with a couple
reps and increase gradually. It helped me immensely - pain almost
disappeared in a few weeks. I still do them for prevention purposes,
esp. if running downhills.

Is that the same exercise described in the FAQ?

Yes, pretty much.
from FAQ

Quoted message said:

For ease of explanation, start with your right leg being straight and flex
your foot (bring your toes towards your head, as opposed to pointing them
away from you). Turn your leg to the right, so that your toes and knee are
pointing to the right as far as possible. The position of the foot is
important because it helps to isolate the inner quad. muscle. Now, do leg
raises. When I started I could only do 10 or 20 before I needed to rest.
Don't do the leg raises too quickly because technique is more important
than speed. I now do three sets, each leg of 60 repetitions (alternating
legs after each set) for a total of 180 per leg. It takes me about 10
minutes.

You can tell if your muscle is getting fatigued because it will start to
quiver. Don't push it, change legs. Keep note of how many repetitions you
do before you get fatigued and try to increase the repetitions next time.
Compare you to you, not to others.

-end FAQ quote

Quoted message said:

What postition do you
have your feet in when you do these?

I usually have my feet straight up and dorsiflexed (try to point toes
back to knee), but it can be done with them pointed out as described in
FAQ or inward. When I do heel or toe raises, I do them with toes pointed
all 3 directions - straight, in, out - to work the various muscles.

Dot