I am 32 and I'm becoming more and more addicted everytime I go out and run. Just this year I have become more serious about
what I am wanting to do and that is become a marathon runner but I got a long way to go. I can run comfortably 6-7 mile and I do this several
times a week. I would realy like to do the Lewis &
Clark 1/2 Marathon this year but I seem to be hitting a fitness plateau. How can I train to
get more mileage? I know how to build strength because when I started I was only running 1mile at a time and then over a course of time I built
up enough strength and endurance to get to where I'm at now. How can I do more?
There are several potential reasons for your fitness plateau, I will address the most common.
Mental barrier, for some reason a lot of people have a hard time jumping past the 6 or 7 mile barrier for the first time. Once you get past it once, it will seem just like any other distance that you currently run.
Nutrition, I am assuming that you are appoaching or just beyond the hour mark on the run. When you start to get into the 50-60 minute mark on a run, your body is forced to start converting fat into energy which your body does not like to do nor is it effective at creating energy from fat. Try using an energy gel or sprots drink to supplement the energy that your body is not readily producing.
Training plan, try using a proven training plan to be assured that your body will be ready and capable to accomplish what you are asking of it.
I just ran my 1st 5k on a challenge from a friend. Never been a runner but I wanted to see if I could do it, but only had 3 weeks to train. I would like to better my first time 26.30 because now I am hooked. I know I need to do a long run at least once a week but the problem is after about 3 miles my calfs are so tight. Am I not stretching enough, not in good enough shape, or poor fitting shoes? What do you think ?
Congrats on finishing your first 5k!
As for the calves, it could be number of things. 3 weeks is not a lot of time to train for a 5k, especailly if were not running to start with. The general rule for staying injury free in training is not to increase by more than 10% a week. It is not a hard and fast rule but one that errors on the side of caution. First possibility is that they are just overloaded from the work that they have been doing, scale back for a week or two and then start progressing with the training again.
It is possible that it could be a shoe issue either in fit or type. If you did not get them at Fleet Feet Sports, I suggest taking them up there and have them watch you run in them and see if they are what your gait cycle needs. I doubt it is a stretching issue, you would have notice much more acute pain than soreness if it was a stretching issue.
Do you have any suggestions as to what to do for a pulled Hip Flexor. I could barely walk or lift my right leg after a 6 mile run (it will be two weeks ago Tuesday). I didn't run for 5 days and started back running on the track - no hills. But, it is till very noticeable when I run - to the point of it really hurts. Any suggestions?
This is a tough injury to have, the hip flexor is used almost anytime we move so it generally requires more rest than a typical muscle injury. You started correctly by staying flat because it requires less work from the hip flexor. Like any muscular injury you want to apply the RICE principle (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation.) Do not run in the snow, very taxing to the hip flexor. Give it a solid 7 days of rest. Try to run again on the track at a slow pace to see how it feels. It feels okay, stay flat for 10 days pain free before starting on gradual hills. Be careful if the pain comes back, often in the hip a stress fracture can hide itself in what feels like muscular pain.
I've got one for you that's been bugging me since we were training for Green Bay (thanks again for that, by the way): my left hamstring has been very tight. I stretch it and try to strengthen it, but it's still hanging on. Do you have any suggestions? The race was in April and it started bothering me a couple months before that.
Let me start by saying you have attacked this nagging
hamstring with the right attitude, I just wonder if you
have the most beneficial mode. Our muscles tighten to
protect themselves. This means that there is some
trauma in muscle. I could explain how our bodies try
to repair and rebuild muscles but I do not think I
could write the explanation as well as I could
demonstrate so I will give you how to fix the nagging
hamstring. We want to attack this hamstring on three fronts, stretch, strengthen, and mold. Always take a very gradual warm-up without testing the hamstrings range of motion. What we want to do is strengthen as we stretch, so low weight dead lifts (be sure of proper form to prevent injury to the lower back) will allow you to feel the stretch and assist in increasing flexibility while strengthening. Start with 1 set of 10 reps 3 days a week and increase to 3 sets of 15 reps 3 days a week after 4 weeks. Give your entire body a good stretch after these exercises, be sure to keep every stretch controlled and hold for 20-30 seconds. What does it mean to mold? This can be done by massage or rolling. The stick is a great tool to use for this, what you want to do is to give pressured strokes following the length of the muscle. This will help the healing properties of your body to more quickly feel healed and inturn stop protecting itself by being tight.
What would be the best way for a person to stay in shape and maybe loose a little weight if they have a knee problem and running or walking any significant distance is out of the question. Your best bet is going to be circuit resistance training. Circuit training is doing a series of exercises with little or no rest in between each exercise. By having almost continual movement, your heart rate stays elevated while you are targeting each set of muscles individually. This prolonged elevated heart rate is what you are trying to accomplish with running or walking. I would suggest trying either biking or an elliptical machine to keep at least three, 30 minute cardio sessions every week.
How do I run a faster 5k? That is going to depend on your training history, what you have done in the past, what your body can handle and how soon you want to achieve your new 5k PR. Everyone will be different on what they need but there are a few constants that should be followed: 1) Weekly long run of 8-10 miles, this ensure you will have the strength to finish the race strong. 2) Speed workouts also done on a weekly basis will help both your Vo2Max and lactic acid threshold. 3) Consistent weekly mileage. There is one other important point but only if you have a goal date or event and that is a periodized training plan. A periodized training plan ensures that you will be absolutely ready, rested, and fast on the day you want to set your new PR. A good periodized plan usually requires at least 10 weeks to fully accomplish everything that is possible.
I've decided I want to run a marathon, what is my first step? The first thing you will need is a program to follow. A good program will tell you what to do on what days usually for 18-20 weeks at the beginner level. There are a lot of good beginner marathon programs out there, find one and stick to it, you will find the finish line. Then go and get some running shoes fitted for you and your gate, I suggest Fleet Feet Sports, they do an excellent job and are very knowledgeable about everything marathoning and running.
I want to lose the my love handles, how can I lose them the quickest? Spot weight loss is virtually impossible to achieve, especially in the "love handle" area. You can do lower-oblique work to try and target the "love handle" area but will not do much to shrink the them. Your best bet will be to work on cutting your body fat percentage. You will be amazed at how much of your body fat will come from the "love handle" region when you start dropping those body fat percentage points.
