Running

[treelizard]

Hey, the Chinese new year is coming up soon, in a couple of weeks, and I think it's the year of the Fire Dog. So anybody who slacked on New Year's resolutions has no excuse.

I should probably add, lest it sound like I'm trying to play one-up or "look how much I run!", that I think I do tend to slack off on other things I should be a lot more consistent about, particularly core strength. I need to make some New Year's resolutions.

[Tom Yum]

Heh I like your idea. Tom are the hanging leg raises you're talking about, the ones for abs where you lift your legs while resting your elbows on something? Just want to make sure. I can beat you at situps I did 72 in 2 mins.

Son of a.....I'm gonna catch up with your 72 situps !

I can bang out 93 pushups and 19 pullups in 2:00 if I'm fresh.

Leg raises

Hang from a bar as if you're about to start pull-ups.
Lift your legs from hanging position up atleast until they are parallel to ground. I bring em about 20 degrees higher.

Nice.

[Tom Yum]

Tonight's workout

Liz, I feel your busy-ness. I too have homework and work that I have to do.

I've just learned that the challenge and follow through of intense physical excercise makes me more tenacious.


Today

1. 1 mile warm-up run 8:00

My legs feel like they've been thai kicked about 50 times after this past month of intense running. I assume that's expected since I probably logged about 20 miles total in 2005.

I've logged approximately 25-30 miles in 2006.

That warm-up was more of a warning that I should alternate my running days with either a swimming, weight training or boxing training day to allow my legs to heal.

2. Cont'd workout borrowing from Tree Liz - I did 20:00 on the elliptical trainer 30 sec spring, 30 sec jog. Covered 2.27 miles.

3. About 6 upper body weight training excercises to hit several muscle groups at a time.

Benchpress 225, 7 reps, 2 sets
Arm Curls 90lb barbell, 8 reps, 2 sets
Shruggs 100 dumbells, 8 reps, 2 sets**
Military press 185, 7 reps, 3 sets
Low pulls 165 8 reps, 3 sets

** Nothing like a powerlifter to jump in and show you how weak you really are. I was using the 100 dumbells to do shrugs and this guy who had a neck as thick as my quadricep (like Mike B) ask to work in. When I rested between sets he CURLED the 100 lb dumbells

[Tom Yum]

I run a good bit; currently about 4-6 miles a day (very rarely I'll do 8-12 on a Saturday), 5 days a week, and try to do intervals at least one day a week, but I'm about as good about it as I am about flossing. My cousin is a ultra-triathlete, and considers my routine to be about as much of a workout as waving your arms around.

Dang.

Britt, please share some good running technique so we can get a little more mileage out of our runs and move more efficiently.

[blitz]

Son of a.....I'm gonna catch up with your 72 situps !

I can bang out 93 pushups and 19 pullups in 2:00 if I'm fresh.

Leg raises

Hang from a bar as if you're about to start pull-ups.
Lift your legs from hanging position up atleast until they are parallel to ground. I bring em about 20 degrees higher.

Nice.

Ah, I do leg raises too then :P I just don't do alot of em.

I can only do 65 pushups tops in no time limit but I can do about 40-45 in 1 minute.

[Britt]

Dang.

Britt, please share some good running technique so we can get a little more mileage out of our runs and move more efficiently.

I'm hardly an expert, but I'll try. As with anything, bad form saps your energy. This page has good tips on improving form:

http://www.runningplanet.com/articles/article_detail.asp?article_id=410

In short, it says keep your posture mostly upright, with a slight lean forward, don't pump your arms or keep too much tension in your arms and chest, and "run sneaky" -- keep your steps quick and light, don't plod, keep an even stride. Most everything you'll read says keep your form focused on moving forward, and don't swing your arms, legs, hips etc. from side to side excessively. Unfortunately this also means don't cross your arms in front of your chest too much, which I do slightly, because doing otherwise feels unnatural. It can help to have a runner friend run with you, but that can also be a little exasperating -- I've been running since I was a kid and I feel pretty comforatble with my form, but to my aforementioned triathlete cousin (a full foot shorter than me) I apparently look like a moderately inebriated giraffe.

As far as more distance, you're on your way now -- a 6:58 mile is a pretty good mile, although I think you'll probably be pleased how dramatically you can improve it (think maybe two or three miles at nearly that pace within the year). Basically the key will be consistency and gradual improvement. If you're doing two at a good pace now, try three, and in a few weeks try four once. It helps to have a few routes memorized with different mileage, like "okay, today I'm taking the four mile route out past the Baptist church, and if I feel up to it I'll go the extra half mile to the McDonald's and make it five." Don't try to kill yourself with speed, just keep an even pace. The last half mile or so I usually up the pace a little, or a lot if I'm up to it, and end with a good hard run. I'f you're gasping for air, dry heaving, and feel like you've been gutshot, don't worry -- that means you've had a good run. You won't be able to do that every day (and probably shouldn't even if you could); some days you'll feel like you could go forever, some days you'll feel like there's no gas in the tank, some days you'll feel what I call "leg-weary," like you could do more but you have no muscular endurance. It's all good, just keep at it and run consistently.

That's all I can think of right this second, I'll try to post more later.

[Tom Yum]

If you're gasping for air, dry heaving, and feel like you've been gutshot, don't worry -- that means you've had a good run.

Yeah, I've gotten that feeling during many of my runs! I'm slowly adjusting to it.

[treelizard]

20 min interval (15/45), 1.85 mile! Up from 1.62 last time. This is good news, but it may be because I ran before weights this time and last time it was the other way around. Had a really good workout. We'll see how sore I am tomorrow. RAH! PAIN IS WEAKNESS LEAVING THE BODY!

[Tom Yum]

Good job on bumping up your speed. Keep it up!

[blitz]

RAH! PAIN IS WEAKNESS LEAVING THE BODY!

Pain keeps me going!!!! It makes me feel I'm becoming better.

[Tom Yum]

Pain keeps me going!!!! It makes me feel I'm becoming better.

It means you're pushing your thresh hold and that you are also still alive.

[THT]

you guys are bad asses (I'm not what you would call a great runner)

[seppuku]

Best of luck to them all
I ran a mile earlier, in about 15 mins. So im a fair distance behind everyone else who's posted. But Ive never claimed to be good, and that i a guess at how far it was.

If anyone has had the feeling after running that their calf muscles hurt, esp when walking etc, please let me know what you do to get rid of it. Im meant to be training tomorrow and my legs feel like they are going to object to me kicking people.

Ill get better at running in time

[Tom Yum]

Best of luck to them all
I ran a mile earlier, in about 15 mins. So im a fair distance behind everyone else who's posted. But Ive never claimed to be good, and that i a guess at how far it was.

If anyone has had the feeling after running that their calf muscles hurt, esp when walking etc, please let me know what you do to get rid of it. Im meant to be training tomorrow and my legs feel like they are going to object to me kicking people.

Ill get better at running in time

Just keep on working at it.

Sounds like your calves are sore. Let em heal and get back to work, but allways do a good stretch.

[Tom Yum]

Upping it

I'm bumping it up from 2-3 miles to 3-4 miles per day. Did this yesterday; my average mile time is a little slower (8:02), with my first two miles being somewhat strong (noticeably under 8:00 per mile) and the last mile and a half being more difficult to finish.

Finished with some basic ab work:

Crunches
120
100
80

Cool down