Novice Runner looking for tips/advice

[kei505]

Hello everyone, 

I am an on again off again novice runner who recently started running three times a week. I have been doing this for about two months. I am able to jog about 23 minutes without stopping. I’m not very fast (takes me about 10.30-11 minutes to complete a mile). Thus, in 23 minutes i can only complete about 1.89 miles.

I guess I’m mainly looking for tips on how to become faster and how to train effectively. I’d love to do a 5K some day, but I have a lot of work to do.

Any advice is appreciated! 

[Mukluk4]

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@kei505 wrote:

Hello everyone, 

I am an on again off again novice runner who recently started running three times a week. I have been doing this for about two months. I am able to jog about 23 minutes without stopping. I’m not very fast (takes me about 10.30-11 minutes to complete a mile). Thus, in 23 minutes i can only complete about 1.89 miles.

I guess I’m mainly looking for tips on how to become faster and how to train effectively. I’d love to do a 5K some day, but I have a lot of work to do.

Any advice is appreciated! 

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Assuming by faster you mean more endurance and not a sprinter.

Check out the C25K thing that everyone talks about.

[MagsOnTheBeach]

I used c25k - it is free and if you don't feel ready to move on, you can do days over again.  I get hints for running from my daughter (she is a school athlete).  One of the tips she gave me was picking up my knees a little more and moving my arms faster.  For some reason if your arms move faster, your legs will too.  Weird but true!  

My other advice is to cool down and then stretch at the end.  I warm up with a brisk walk, but I always have to stretch after a cool down walk.  It keeps my hip from being irritating, loosens my back and shoulders.

[kei505]

I will definitely try this! Thank you all so much! 🙂 

[Corney]

kei505:  What's causing you to stop?  A side stitch?  Out of breath?  Cramps?  There is only one way to become a better runner, that is to run.  Don't worry about speed.  You seem to have some kind of block at 23 minutes.  Take off your watch.  If you run the same course, have a goal to go just a little farther each day.  When I started, my block seemed to be at one mile.  Once I was able to run farther than 1 mile the rest became easier.  If you have it in your mind that you can only run 23 minutes, then you will only run 23 minutes.  Along time ago I got one of those watches with a stop watch feature and I would look at it at various times in my run and compare my times with other runs.  It was the worst thing I ever used, it spoiled the enjoyment of my run.  I took it off and never used it again.  Forget about time and speed and just enjoy the run, your distance will improve as your fitness improves.  If you only run one course, then try a new course where there is no way for you to determine where you usually stop.  Years ago, Frank Shorter the Gold medal winner in the Olympic Marathon spoke to us at a pre-race event, he made a point that I will never forget.  He said that running is 80% mental and 20% physical.  If you believe you can only run 23 minutes without stopping, than you will only be able to run 23 minutes.  Forget about time, speed and distance and just go for a run and enjoy it!

[emili]

@kei505 you just have to do it. if you run a set route- every day go past whatever your marker is or every day try to get to your marker a few seconds faster. whether you work on speed or length it is all about endurance. you have to build it by being tougher on yourself. I am not an outdoor runner. I prefer the treadmill. For the first year I wouldn't even run because I was afraid the belt would go faster than me and I would become an internet sensation. During a summer at the MD shore, I tried running. I loved it. The first morning I ran from 5th street to 10th street as fast as I could go. The next morning I got to 15th- so and so forth. When I came home, I hopped on the treadmill and just went. At my peak I was running 6 miles in 55 minutes. I have since cut back due to feet issues- I now do 4 miles once per week in 33 minutes. You just have to go.. that's it.

[Corney]

I agree. Don't look at your watch. If you run the same route go farther
each day, even if it's only 1 driveway or 1 block. Now don't worry about
speed, now is the time to work on distance or endurance. Once you have
built up a base the speed will come. Remember running is 80% mental, 20%
physical.

[shipo · Accepted solution]

@kei505, I coach a lot of beginning runners on two running clubs and here is my standard advice for beginning runners to get faster in a 5K race:

• Breathing; if you're running along and can maintain a conversation in short sentences, you're running at a good training pace. If you're breathing so hard you're gasping for air, slow way down, you're going too fast, and finally, if you feel you're in imminent danger of collapsing, stop running NOW!
• With the above point in mind, there really is no such a thing as too slow for a beginning runner.
• 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.

[essieL]

Be consistent, even on rainy, cold and blah feeling days when it is easier to let it slide; make yourself go. Steadiness helps with building strength and endurance; and you can gradually add distance and Speed. 

[Corney]

kei505:  I started running over 30 years ago when there was no program available to help beginners, now there are many.  I will give you what I did,  I would expire(not die) but let out a breath with every other step with my right or left foot, it worked like a mantra.  It allowed me to concentrate on my breathing instead of everything else, speed or distance.  As my aerobic capacity improved I was able to increase my speed and distance and still breath at a comfortable pace.  I still use this method today when I'm on my elliptical, rower and stationary bike with different numerics for each.  Good luck with your goal of running a 5K.