How often should i run?

[Gtkozik]

I have been pretty active for few months before i got my flex. (Best gift ever) I am running and walking a lot these days but mostly walking. How much running a person should do to gain most health benefits and avoid future problems with things like knee problems or other issues? I did 141k in a work week hustle and I notice some warm sensation on a side of right leg that comes and go. I suppose I might me over doing it slightly. What you think?

[shipo]

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@Gtkozik wrote:

I have been pretty active for few months before i got my flex. (Best gift ever) I am running and walking a lot these days but mostly walking. How much running a person should do to gain most health benefits and avoid future problems with things like knee problems or other issues? I did 141k in a work week hustle and I notice some warm sensation on a side of right leg that comes and go. I suppose I might me over doing it slightly. What you think?

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As with many things, it depends...

To safely build from being sedentary to running at least once per day is probably a one to two year process; if you try to accelerate the process you'll most likely encounter what I call TFFFS (Too Fast, too Frequently, too Far, too Soon), which will in turn most likely cause an injury.  Why?  The issue is how the human body adapts to increased stress levels in general as well as the particular stresses caused by running; the thing is, while the circulatory, pulmonary, and muscular systems adapt relatively rapidly, the skeletal and connective tissue (ligaments and tendons) systems take a heck of a lot longer to grow/adapt.  If you push the envelop too quickly you WILL develop either stress fractures and/or repetitive use issues with your connective tissue.

I coach a lot of beginning runners in my company running club as well as a local public running club and here is the advice I frequently give to beginners:

• Get on the internet and find a C25K (Couch to 5K) program which you feel comfortable with, there are many to choose from.
• Nose over toes; many beginning runners have a tendency to over stride, keeping your nose over your toes will still allow a natural "heal touch" first, but transition the main weight contact to the mid-foot area.
• Run on dirt or grass wherever and whenever possible. In addition to the cushioning benefits of running on grass and dirt, there are other benefits, chief among them are a different series of stresses for every step (as opposed to having step after step after step being of a very similar nature and series of stresses), and improvement of ankle flexibility under load.
• When the C25K program says "run", that means "run barely faster than a fast walk"; many folks interpret the "run" directive to mean, "run as fast as you can".
• Repeat weeks as necessary; it is not at all unusual for someone to work up to say, week 4, and then realize they just aren't there yet. When this happens, no worries, repeat week 3 as necessary until you feel ready for week 4.
• Once you've reached the end of the C25K program and can run non-stop for the full 3.1 miles, start extending your training runs at the same pace (or slower), and keep extending the runs until you can run for roughly 1 hour non-stop. Once to that threshold, you can gradually start speeding things up, however, see my LSD comments below.
• Long Slow Distance (LSD); I am an advocate of strict LSD for beginning runners; nothing, and I do mean NOTHING improves speed over a 5K distance for a beginning runner better than lots of LSD. Once a runner can run roughly 6 miles at a 10:00 per mile pace (i.e. 1 hour), the best way to start introducing the body to the rigors of faster speeds is to start dialing up the pace for say the last quarter of a mile; then the last half mile, then mile, then two miles. That said, once you're ready for dialing up the pace for the last two miles, you're long since ready for extending the distance as well; try 8 slow miles some days and 6 miles with a fast finish on others.

[Gtkozik]

Wow. That was a very technical and sophisticated advice. I appreciate it greatly. I will keep that in mind and see about the program as well as get off too much concrete on a street. Thank you for your time and advice. Can i inquire my about your coaching? Do you only do it in person?

[shipo]

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@Gtkozik wrote:

Wow. That was a very technical and sophisticated advice. I appreciate it greatly. I will keep that in mind and see about the program as well as get off too much concrete on a street. Thank you for your time and advice. Can i inquire my about your coaching? Do you only do it in person?

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I don't do formal coaching over the internet (if for no other reason than I like to run with those I coach, doing so allows me to analyze their stride, breathing, and pacing), however, I am more than happy to help out, answer questions, and offer suggestions on next steps.  What are your goals vis-à-vis running?

[Dominique]

Steps can be addictive, and it’s easy to get carried away, especially in the beginning, and now there are challenges (they didn’t exist when I started in 2013). 141k steps in a workweek challenge is a lot, especially if you have a full-time job that doesn’t allow you to move a lot. You have to think about what’s sustainable in the longer term: the last thing you want is being injured or burned out.

As to running: it depends on your goal(s). Do you intend to run a long-distance race like a marathon one day? If so, you will have to prepare for it and that will include some well-planned running. Or do you want to run only to achieve a certain level of cardio fitness? I belong to the second category and I only run as much as needed to keep me reasonably fit. If you upgrade to a Charge 2, it will give you a cardio fitness score and rank you against people of trhe same age. Mine gave me 56 and says it’s "excellent ... for men your age" (I guess it’s one advantage of being older ).

At one point you may also "graduate" beyond steps. Most people only have a finite amount of time they can dedicate to fitness. If you only have – say –  two hours per day, you may want to do 75 minutes of walking/running and 45 minutes of resistance training, for instance (instead of just 2 hours of walking/running). You may end up winning less challenges, but will improve your overall fitness and physique.

[Gtkozik]

The charge 2 I m getting it this week. I just would like get fitter now and lose some weight as quickly as possible. I would like to learn how to run, breathe better and get in better shape. When i was in military my running was the weakest from all the exercises. I scored a 100 on pushups and sit ups and like 73 points on 2 mile run which was like 14 46 if I can remember correctly. Well that was like 17 years ago. But it bothered me that some guys did 13minutes and less. So I really would like get in best shape to do a decent 2 mile run in my age and I don't think I can run more that a mile now.

[Gtkozik]

And now i am out of work so I have been really active the past month and my wife keeps inviting me to these challenges. 

[shipo · Accepted solution]

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@Gtkozik wrote:

The charge 2 I m getting it this week. I just would like get fitter now and lose some weight as quickly as possible. I would like to learn how to run, breathe better and get in better shape. When i was in military my running was the weakest from all the exercises. I scored a 100 on pushups and sit ups and like 73 points on 2 mile run which was like 14 46 if I can remember correctly. Well that was like 17 years ago. But it bothered me that some guys did 13minutes and less. So I really would like get in best shape to do a decent 2 mile run in my age and I don't think I can run more that a mile now.

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Wow, a lot there...

A few comments in no particular order:

• The C25K program sounds perfect for you as a first step; that said, you might already be ready for week three or even week four.
• A "decent 2 mile run" for your age is highly variable; I'll be 60 in a couple of months and I can do it in about 13-minutes (depending upon the course).  I don't know if that's good for my age or not; I beat most folks my age, but there are a few doing it in as little as the mid ten 10-minute range.
• Like I wrote above, lots of LSD is what will A) make you faster in the 2-mile, and B) ramp you up to longer distances.
• I haven't been in the military since the 1970s (Marine Corps), so I don't remember if there are age graded criteria for the runs; I do remember 18:00 for 3-miles was a score of 100 back in my day.  If there are age grading for the runs, that might be useful to you for measuring your relative progress for folks your age (late 30s/early 40s?).

[Gtkozik]

Sounds like you really know what you are talking about. I am learning a lot from people like yourself. I'm going on 37 this year. As far as conditioning I have a difficulty running outdoor in the city. I can't catch a ride tempo and I get tired easily. Probably no more than a mile. On a tread mil with an incline 1 i can do like 45 minutes. I can do like 5 miles in an hour and 5 minutes with the cool down on a treadmil. That's as far as I went so far and usually very early in the morning when I have the most energy and motivation.

[Gtkozik]

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@shipo wrote:

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@Gtkozik wrote:

The charge 2 I m getting it this week. I just would like get fitter now and lose some weight as quickly as possible. I would like to learn how to run, breathe better and get in better shape. When i was in military my running was the weakest from all the exercises. I scored a 100 on pushups and sit ups and like 73 points on 2 mile run which was like 14 46 if I can remember correctly. Well that was like 17 years ago. But it bothered me that some guys did 13minutes and less. So I really would like get in best shape to do a decent 2 mile run in my age and I don't think I can run more that a mile now.

---

Wow, a lot there...

A few comments in no particular order:

• The C25K program sounds perfect for you as a first step; that said, you might already be ready for week three or even week four.
• A "decent 2 mile run" for your age is highly variable; I'll be 60 in a couple of months and I can do it in about 13-minutes (depending upon the course).  I don't know if that's good for my age or not; I beat most folks my age, but there are a few doing it in as little as the mid ten 10-minute range.
• Like I wrote above, lots of LSD is what will A) make you faster in the 2-mile, and B) ramp you up to longer distances.
• I haven't been in the military since the 1970s (Marine Corps), so I don't remember if there are age graded criteria for the runs; I do remember 18:00 for 3-miles was a score of 100 back in my day.  If there are age grading for the runs, that might be useful to you for measuring your relative progress for folks your age (late 30s/early 40s?).

---

Sounds like you really know what you are talking about. I am learning a lot from people like yourself. I'm going on 37 this year. As far as conditioning I have a difficulty running outdoor in the city. I can't catch a ride tempo and I get tired easily. Probably no more than a mile. On a tread mil with an incline 1 i can do like 45 minutes. I can do like 5 miles in an hour and 5 minutes with the cool down on a treadmil. That's as far as I went so far and usually very early in the morning when I have the most energy and motivation.

[Gtkozik]

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@Dominique wrote:

Steps can be addictive, and it’s easy to get carried away, especially in the beginning, and now there are challenges (they didn’t exist when I started in 2013). 141k steps in a workweek challenge is a lot, especially if you have a full-time job that doesn’t allow you to move a lot. You have to think about what’s sustainable in the longer term: the last thing you want is being injured or burned out.

As to running: it depends on your goal(s). Do you intend to run a long-distance race like a marathon one day? If so, you will have to prepare for it and that will include some well-planned running. Or do you want to run only to achieve a certain level of cardio fitness? I belong to the second category and I only run as much as needed to keep me reasonably fit. If you upgrade to a Charge 2, it will give you a cardio fitness score and rank you against people of trhe same age. Mine gave me 56 and says it’s "excellent ... for men your age" (I guess it’s one advantage of being older ).

At one point you may also "graduate" beyond steps. Most people only have a finite amount of time they can dedicate to fitness. If you only have – say –  two hours per day, you may want to do 75 minutes of walking/running and 45 minutes of resistance training, for instance (instead of just 2 hours of walking/running). You may end up winning less challenges, but will improve your overall fitness and physique.

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I have definately been over doing it with the steps and all and I feel like I cant stop right now (another work week hustle challange coming up/never mind weekend warrior that I am in now). I got my charger 2 on friday. Today I looked at my performace score and it was between 42 and 46. That tracker is great. I am not really working now other than snow removal this weekend so I am pretty much walking all the time in the last couple of weeks. As you stated previously this is not sustainable. I need some routine on a daily basis and sticking to it. Right now I am pushing myself to the max and I am going on adrealine most of the time.

[Gtkozik]

I have no balance. All or nothing thinking. It's crazy.