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[Janus]

Greetings! First time posting here, but I've been reading the forum for a few weeks now and have found the information very helpful. I'm new to running so I thought I'd briefly give you a little background.

I started running a little over a month ago when my goof-ball friend challenged me to a race.  I'll be honest, prior to this challenge, I was not very fond of running. But with this new-found motivation, I really got into it.  

Intially, I started running 3 miles. I watched my PR rapidly drop from 26:40 to 22:57 (bear in mind I've only been running for about a month). After my 3 mile time started to plateau, I stepped it up to about 5 or 6 miles. That's pretty much where I'm at now. But now I'm having a little trouble getting beyond this.  By the time I get to mile 4 or 5 I'm pretty damn tired. I try reducing my pace, but then I get kinda bored.

What can I do to get over this hill? Also, I'm running about 6 sometimes 7 days a week, I've been told by some people that this is too much, should I step it down a notch? Thanx in advance for the feedback!  

[Zeke]

Welcome to the site and to running.  Great progress in your first month.  You've got the right idea about increasing your mileage.  If you're getting tired by 4 or 5, then you're probably going too fast.  Just go out and run without worrying about your watch or your splits.  Instead of seeing how fast you can go, pick one day a week and see how long you can run for.

If you're bored try recruiting your goof-ball friend as a running partner or find other runners in the area.  Pick a race to train for and have a goal.  That can help with the boredom.  

As you'll hear a lot on this site, listen to your body.  If you are feeling fine, running 6-7 (or more) times a week is fine.  Don't just take a day off because someone tells you are the calendar tells you.  Heck, if you ask another group of more serious runners, they might tell you to run 13-14 times a week.  My advice would be to listen to everyone's comments, but make up your own mind.  You may make mistakes along the way, but that's part of the learning process.

[Ryan]

Janus, welcome to Hillrunner.com and, more importantly, welcome to running.

I would second Zeke's comments almost to the letter. The key to successful running is listening to your body. If you are handling running 6-7 days a week without problems, there's no reason you shouldn't. If you're struggling every day at 4-5 miles, consider making at least some of your days 3-4 miles. In other words, stop before you start feeling that tired feeling on some days. On other days, continue through that tired feeling but not too far through this early in your running life.

I think a lot of people make the mistake of running too fast and actually have trouble slowing down. As Zeke stated, try leaving your watch at home sometimes. Or go out and run in completely new places. One of my favorite things to do is to go to a place I've never been and just go out and enjoy the scenery while exploring a new place. It can be a great way to find new places to run and it can be very refreshing.

I also agree with Zeke that maybe it's time for you to get "revenge" on your goof-ball friend by talking this friend into joining you once a week for a run. Having a running partner, even if only once a week, can be a great way to break the monotony.

You've made some great progress for your first month of running. Keep listening to your body and I think you have a bright running future ahead of you.

[Janus]

Hey guys, thanx for the great responses.  I probably should have mentioned that I've been running almost exclusively on a treadmill. I particularly like the treadmill for a number of reasons....I like that maintain a quantifiable pace,  I can force myself to maintain a certain speed, whereas if I'm running outside I can allow myself to slack a little bit without really knowing it. I also like knowing exactly how far I've gone and how much further I have to go.

Each time I get on the treadmill I set a number of myself that I'm gunna run and refuse to let myself stop until I complete it. I've found this to be a successful means of acheiving a set goal as there are many times when I've felt like quitting early on in the run.

Nonetheless, I do plan to start running outside much more as the weather gets nicer. I live in Chicago and we have a phenomenal path along the lakefront.  It's one of the priemer scenes for runners, bikers, rollerbladers, etc. so I definitely plan to take advantage of it.  But at the same time, I feel like I will miss having the treadmill set a quantifiable tempo.

I think you've both given me great advice regarding days off, and I will continue doing what I've been doing since my body has had no complaints thus far.

As for getting a running parter, I agree that it's a good idea.  However, it will have to be someone other than the goof-ball friend since he and I are in the midst of an intense rivalry.  I know he too is training, and perhaps my primary motivation right now is not to allow him to train harder than me.  I can't train with him, he's my opponent in this friendly (but fierce) competition.

[r-at-work]

like you, I used to run almost exclusively on the treadmill (when I was a single mom & the kids were younger) and still force myself to use it if there is lightening or ice outside... but as Ryan and Zeke have alluded to, running outside is really the thing... after all not many races are held on treadmills... that will help the boredom and maybe even the tired feeling... I have found that a little variation in the terrain can help the muscles from tiring too soon...

setting a goal on the treadmill can be a huge mental challenge & toughness booster... on the other hand if you do go outside you can always do an out & back loop that forces you to go a set distance... I used to play mental 'games' with the display on the treadmill and found almost certainly that it helped to boost the speed, unless I was also watching TV... outside I've found a totally different feeling, closer to meditation, especially on some of the wooded, less populated trails... since you are new to the sport you have lots of places & techniques to explore... you get to choose how your focus on running develops and then you can change it around when that gets boring... enjoy...

-Rita

[Ryan]

While I know there are benefits to treadmill running, I would suggest working in at least some outdoor running. If you want to improve in races, unless you can find a treadmill race, you should try to work in at least some outdoor running. Also, that ability to "slack off" a bit at times is a good thing. You don't want to push yourself too hard every day. Being not that far north, I know you have some great weather coming up this week. I'd suggest taking advantage of the weather, if you're not too scared of the rain or you can find a break in the rain, and try to get out once or twice late this week.

One word of caution that I already alluded to. Do not get too caught up with always trying to push the pace. Really, the best thing you can do is let yourself "slack off" pace wise sometimes, maybe even most of the time at this point. A lot of people tend to hit roadblocks because they try to push the pace harder than they are ready for all the time. It's easy to do because a pace that's too fast can seem fairly easy. Just be willing to back off on the pace. While it may seem like you're giving in, it can be the best thing for you in the long run.

[Janus]

A lot of people tend to hit roadblocks because they try to push the pace harder than they are ready for all the time. It's easy to do because a pace that's too fast can seem fairly easy. Just be willing to back off on the pace. While it may seem like you're giving in, it can be the best thing for you in the long run.

Ryan, you could not be more accurate with that point. If I lower the pace, I feel like I'm letting myself down. I need to figure out a way to get over that feeling. It's such a great feeling of accomplishment getting on the treadmill and saying to myself, "I'm not getting off this damn thing until I run X miles at X pace" I think the feeling of dissapointment I would feel if I didn't accomplish my objective is what keeps me going.....On another note, I told you I was having trouble getting past the 4 or 5 mile mark. Well I'm happy to say that this afternoon I ran 7 miles in 60:23. (I know that may seem like peanuts to guys, but to me that's one helluva feat)

[Ryan]

First of all, congratulations on your accomplishment. Is this your first run of over an hour?

Just a thought on your goals for each run. Maybe instead of thinking of those goals, think of a goal like "I will run 60 minutes or more and feel good at the end" or even more long term goals like "I will have at least 5 runs of at least 6 miles or more this week" or something along that line. Something to take the pressure off of running a given distance at a given pace and at least sometimes shoot for keeping comfortable and going for a longer period of time.

[Janus]

Hey Ryan, yea that was my first run of over an hour (by about 15 minutes)

With the weather starting to get nicer I will try to back off the treadmill and start running outdoors more frequently.  The only thing is (and this probably sounds so novice) but even though I'll be able to keep track of my time, how will I know how many miles I've ran (for purposes of gradually adding mileage each week or so)

[Ryan]

Janus, there are several ways you can approach this.

First and most simply, you can not concern yourself about distance. Just run by time. Have you been running for 45 minutes a day? Then, go out to a park and run for 45 minutes or just run from home, 22-23 minutes out and then return home. When you're ready for more, run out for 25 minutes and return home or do 50 minutes in the park.

Second, you could drive over a route if it goes along roads or, if you have a bike with an odomoter, measure the route with your bike. Just realize that car odometers are not always extremely accurate. I remember when I measured routes with car odometers being able to measure a route with one car and get 7.1 miles. I took out another car and measured the exact same route at 6.3 miles.

Third, if you are running on trails or in parks, you can see if the trails have distances assigned to them or mile markers along them. If so, you can work with those distances or mile markers. Just realize again that these are not always precise distances but they are usually close enough to get a reasonable approximation.

Fourth, how good of a judge of pace are you? If you are in tune with your pace, you could run for time and assign a distance based on time and pace. This is what I usually do and I find that my approximations are usually extremely accurate, usually more accurate than car odometers or mile markers on trails. If you need to calibrate yourself, you could hit a high school track and see how fast you run a mile (or 1/4 mile, 1/2 mile, whatever) on there. Just be careful to not change your pace if you do that.

Of course, if you want to spring for a GPS system, that could also be used but realize that even Garmin representatives suggest measuring courses in other ways because their units will have inaccuracies. In fact, not all that long ago, I contacted Garmin when there was a discussion of the accuracy of GPS systems and here is the response I got from them.

[GTF]

Hey Ryan, yea that was my first run of over an hour (by about 15 minutes)

With the weather starting to get nicer I will try to back off the treadmill and start running outdoors more frequently.  The only thing is (and this probably sounds so novice) but even though I'll be able to keep track of my time, how will I know how many miles I've ran (for purposes of gradually adding mileage each week or so)

Well done on the progression.  
Lydiard Say:

Start training by first running against time rather than timing miles run. Get yourself running fit so that you are capable of running long distances continuously. Do this by running on out and back courses. By running out, say 10 minutes and turning around and running back in nearly the same time. If it takes longer to return, then you should realize that you went too fast on the outward journey and so are forced to slow down upon the return journey. You will soon learn about your present capabilities and fitness and so adjust your running efforts accordingly. Progressively, the running time daily should be increased so that as your oxygen uptake improves you will find the training progressively easier, and your possibilities of increasing the running time greater.

http://www.fitnesssports.com/lyd_clinic_guide/Arthur_Lydiard.htm#Marathon